What are the last mile truck delivery methods to Amazon warehouses?
In recent months, FBA last mile delivery in the United States has faced repeated issues. Amazon released new regulations for warehouse appointment bookings, and there was the incident where UPS strictly checked for false waybills, resulting in widespread delays in cargo allocation. In the current environment of recurring strikes, many Cross-Border E-commerce sellers generally choose truck delivery for last mile FBA delivery.That is, after the goods arrive at the destination port and clear customs, trucks deliver the goods to Amazon warehouses.
There are three methods of FBA last mile truck delivery in the US: Palletized, Floor Loaded, and Full Container Load Delivery. What do they mean and what are their advantages and disadvantages?
Palletized
Palletized refers to Amazon FBA truck deliveries on pallets to warehouses. That is, after arrival at the port, containers are destuffed, goods are palletized and wrapped at the overseas warehouse, then loaded pallets are trucked to Amazon warehouses.
Advantages
Palletized warehouse intake is the fastest of the above three modes. It can reduce the workload of Amazon staff during receipt and unloading, greatly improving stocking speed. Especially during peak seasons, it has an absolute advantage in stocking speed.
Disadvantages
Increased costs from additional pallets and trucking.
Floor Loaded
Floor loaded refers to the process of deconsolidating the container at an overseas warehouse after it is retrieved from the destination port, directly manually loading the goods into trucks without additional palletization, and then transporting them to Amazon warehouses. Qualified floor loaded shipments will go directly to the conveyor belt for next steps after unloading.
Advantages
Saves costs of pallets.
Disadvantages
- Without pallets, unloading is more difficult for Amazon, requiring more labor and time.
- Higher chance of canceled appointments and slower listing times.
Full Container Load Delivery
Full Container Load Delivery, also belongs to a type of Floor Loaded.It refers to consolidating goods that need to be shipped to the same Amazon warehouse into a container, shipping them from China by sea to a US port, then once retrieved at the port, a truck will deliver the fully loaded container directly to the Amazon warehouse without deconsolidating midway.
Advantages
Less transhipment, higher safety, no need to unpack and repack, and lower costs.
Disadvantages
Generally more suitable for deliveries to popular Amazon warehouses in the US. Less convenient for remote warehouses. And it can be very difficult to make appointments during peak seasons when Amazon warehouses are full, which impacts listing.
Also, since the receiving and unloading staff are different groups, and there are no pallets to assist, unloading and receiving may be slightly slower, typically taking 2-7 days to show as received for listing.
The above three last mile truck delivery methods to Amazon warehouses each have their own advantages and disadvantages. Cross-Border E-commerce Sellers need to choose the appropriate methods based on their own situations.
PGS CBEL focuses on providing Amazon FBA logistics services.We have long-term partnerships with various shipping lines. Our operations team has over 10 years of experience in Cross-Border E-commerce logistics and strong operational capabilities for the last mile delivery. Our shipping routes cover all Amazon warehouses. If you have any needs, we can safely transport your goods to Amazon warehouses and save you all the troubles.
