Same-Day Pick Ups

If you're in a hurry to get your freight delivered, or just keen to get it out of the door, you might be interested in a same-day pick up. While this might normally be a frantic experience, FreightSimple makes it easy for you.

Preparation is the key to everything running smoothly in freight. This guide will tell you some critical information to ensure your same-day pickup goes smoothly.

1. If you can book it in advance, you should

A successful shipment is strongly linked to preparation. So the further in advance you can get your pickup booked, the better.

But if you do have something that you want to move today...

2. For same day pickups, try to book in the morning

Booking it in the morning gives the shipper, the pickup dock, and the carrier plenty of time to prepare and pick up the freight.

All LTL freight is picked up by local trucks, and brought to the carrier's cross dock to be loaded onto much larger trucks that perform the long haul routes. A carrier typically needs 3 hours notice to get a local pickup truck to your dock - as those trucks are probably making pickups many miles away.

The later it gets, the more likely the carrier will not be able to make the pickup, and the bigger chance your freight will miss the departing cross-country truck.

3. Take a moment to double check your details

Once the truck is on its way, you'll want to make sure the driver can find your dock successfully. Mistakes in the pickup details often cause missed pickups.

• Make sure the phone number for pickup is correct - and goes to someone on the ground at the dock.
• Add any helpful notes to help the driver find the correct entrance, or know what to buzz.
• Make sure your dock hours are accurate. While it might feel like a good idea to say the dock closes a bit earlier to encourage the pickup driver to come sooner, this often means a driver will not have enough time to get there along with their other pickups and your pickup moves to the next day.
• Make sure you put a Pickup Reference Number while booking your shipment - so the driver knows exactly what they are picking up.

4. Make sure the Shipper is prepared

The role of the shipper is to give the correct freight to the driver when they arrive, along with the Bill Of Lading, any relevant MSDS documents for dangerous goods, and if your shipment is going cross-border, your customs documents. All these documents will be automatically generated for you - you can find them in your Pickup Package.

If you won't be giving the freight to the driver yourself, make sure the shipper is well prepared. They should:

• Know what they are shipping.
• Make sure they have the Bill Of Lading, found in the Pickup Package on your FreightSimple dashboard. If you have made changes, make sure they have the latest version. Remind them to sign one copy, and attach a copy to each piece of freight.
• Make sure they have your customs documents ready to give to the driver.
• Make sure you follow all the instructions on your Pickup Package.

Key reasons for pickups not happening once the driver has arrived are: confusion over what freight is actually being shipped, not having a FreightSimple bill of lading, or missing customs documents.

If your shipment is moving cross-border, customs documents must be ready, and handed to the driver. A driver might refuse a pickup that is missing customs documents.

5. Work with a Customs Broker who can quickly clear your shipment

While not tied to actual pickup, there's no point racing to get the shipment out of the door only for it to be held up shortly after due to a customs delay.

Make sure you have given the shipper your customs documents prior to pickup, and also uploaded the customs documents on your FreightSimple dashboard. FreightSimple will automatically forward those to the carrier for pre-clearance, and some carriers won't even dispatch a pickup truck until they have received documents for pre-clearance.

If you're shipping from a state or province close to the border, there is a good chance that the carrier will want to move it across the border on a truck that evening. A carrier will not load freight to cross a border unless customs have been cleared - so it is important you use a customs broker who is reachable by phone and can work in the evening to clear your freight. Even better, send your broker your documents as soon as the shipment is booked, so they can begin working on it.

These tips should help you book same day pickups with ease.