LTL freight + flatbed delivery + appointment scheduling, how does it work at checkout?
Flatbed-only routing for lumber, drywall sheets, rebar, and OSB, UPS Ground will reject anything over 70″ or 150 lbs. The rate-shop logic:
- SMC3 CzarLite rate engine, aggregated LTL pricing across ABF, Estes, R&L Carriers, Saia, Old Dominion, YRC/Yellow. Pulls live quote per cart at checkout.
- Project44, similar, better tracking + appointment management.
- Freightos, alternative for smaller yards; bookable + insurable.
- ShipperHQ, Magento extension that wraps all the above + handles dimensional-weight, hazmat, liftgate, residential surcharge.
Appointment scheduling: customer picks a delivery window (8am, 12pm or 12pm, 5pm) at checkout, jobsite address validates against truck-accessibility rules (16-ft box truck vs 53-ft flatbed; some jobsites can’t take a 53-footer). Liftgate fee ($85, $150) auto-adds for ground-level drop. Residential surcharge ($75, $120) auto-adds for non-commercial addresses (jobsites that haven’t been commercially zoned yet).
Will-call pickup at the branch is the cheap path: customer picks a 2-hour slot, branch staff stages the order, customer arrives with a flatbed trailer and a forklift hands it across. SMS notification when ready. Cuts ~$120 average delivery cost out of the order for jobs within 30 miles of a branch.