Warehouse and Distribution

Warehousing is the static side: receiving inbound freight, putting it away in defined locations, and holding it accurately until it is needed. Distribution is the moving side: picking orders, packing them, and shipping them out to stores, distribution centers, or end customers on a schedule. In practice the two are one continuous operation. Goods that are received badly cannot be shipped accurately, and inventory that is not counted honestly will pick short at the worst possible moment. CargoTrans runs both under one roof and one accountability line, so the same team that scans your inbound also owns the ship confirmation. That removes the handoff gap where most inventory errors and delays are actually created between separate vendors.

Accuracy is a daily discipline, not a yearly physical count. We scan every inbound receipt against the advance ship notice and purchase order, direct each pallet to a specific location rather than a general area, and confirm the location on put-away. From there we run ABC cycle counting, counting fast-moving SKUs frequently and slow movers on rotation, so discrepancies surface within days instead of quarters. Lot and serial tracking follows goods that need it, and on-hand numbers reconcile to your ERP in near real time through our Control Tower feed. When a count variance appears, we investigate the root cause, a mis-slot, a short receipt, a mis-pick, rather than just adjusting the number. That is how the on-hand figure stays trustworthy enough to promise a ship date against.

Yes. We operate customs bonded warehouse space and FTZ-adjacent inventory control, which lets you hold imported goods without paying duty until they actually enter U.S. commerce. That defers cash outlay and, for goods you re-export, can eliminate the duty entirely. Because our storage operation sits next to our brokerage desk, the bonded receipt, the withdrawal entry, and the duty calculation are handled by one connected team rather than passed between a warehouse and an outside broker. Every bonded movement is logged against CBP records as it happens, so your compliance file is built in real time. This matters most for importers carrying high-duty inventory, seasonal buys, or goods that may be shipped back out, where deferring or avoiding duty materially improves working capital.

Dock-to-stock time depends on the freight, but our target is under four hours from the trailer being opened to the goods being scanned, slotted, and available to pick. Floor-loaded containers of mixed cartons take longer than clean palletized freight, so we ask for advance ship notices and packing detail before arrival to stage labor and dock doors. Blind receiving catches quantity and damage exceptions at the door, where they are cheap to document, instead of days later when they are a dispute. The faster and cleaner the put-away, the sooner the inventory is sellable and the fewer errors flow downstream into picking. We publish dock-to-stock as a measured metric so you can see receiving performance rather than trust a promise.

Yes. We connect to your systems so inventory, orders, and ship confirmations flow automatically instead of living in spreadsheets and email. Common integrations cover ERP platforms, e-commerce storefronts, EDI trading-partner feeds for retail routing, and order management systems. Inbound receipts, on-hand adjustments, cycle-count results, and outbound tracking numbers post back to your system of record in near real time. If you want a lighter touch, our Captain platform gives your team a portal view without a full integration project. For deeper visibility across your whole flow, our Captain warehouse management module exposes the same inventory events your operators see on the floor. The goal is that your ERP and our physical count never disagree by the time an order drops.

We pick using the method that fits your order profile: single-line orders move on batch or zone picking, while multi-line and retail orders run on waves timed to carrier cutoffs. Packing follows your rules, whether that is a plain box, branded pack-out, kitting of multiple SKUs into a bundle, or custom inserts. Every unit is scanned at pick and at pack, so accuracy is verified twice before the label prints. Carrier-compliant labeling and documentation are applied for the destination, and orders are staged by pickup window so nothing misses the truck. Same-day ship on orders received before cutoff is the standard we operate to. Because we also route the outbound freight, we can choose the mode that lands each shipment at the lowest compliant cost per unit.

Once an order is picked and packed, we tender it to the right outbound mode and hand it off clean to the carrier or final-mile provider. For retail and DC-bound freight we follow routing guides and appointment rules so your shipment is not refused or charged back for non-compliance. For smaller shipments we tender to the most economical compliant carrier for the zone and service level. Appointment scheduling, dock coordination, and documentation travel with the load, and the ship event posts to your system so you and your customer can track it. Because our warehouse sits inside CargoTrans, the same organization that stored the goods also controls the transportation, which closes the visibility gap that normally opens the moment freight leaves a third-party storage building.

Yes. Inside the four walls we handle the light manufacturing and finishing that keep goods sellable: relabeling, re-boxing, kitting, light assembly, display and promotional build-outs, and compliance labeling for specific retailers. On the reverse side we run returns processing, inspecting inbound returns, grading them, and either restocking sellable units or routing the rest to disposition per your rules. Handling these tasks where the inventory already sits avoids a second freight move to a separate facility and keeps one accurate count. For importers, doing value-added work in bonded or duty-deferred space can also change when and whether duty is owed on the finished goods. We scope these services to your SKUs during onboarding so labor and space are planned rather than improvised at peak.

Storage and fulfillment pricing has a few standard components rather than one flat number. Storage is typically billed by the pallet, bin, or square foot per period, based on how much space your inventory occupies and for how long. Handling covers receiving, put-away, picking, and packing, usually priced per unit, order, or line depending on your order profile. Value-added work, returns, and special projects are quoted by the task. Because pricing follows your actual SKU shapes and order volume, we start with a free capacity review that maps your inventory before quoting, so the number reflects your real flow instead of a generic rate card. Importers using bonded or duty-deferred storage should also weigh the working-capital benefit of deferring duty against the storage cost, since the two often net out favorably.

A simple SKU profile with clean palletized freight can be live in two to three weeks: about a week to profile your items and design slotting, a few days to connect your order feed, and a receiving window for the first inbound. More complex accounts, deep SKU counts, retail routing compliance, kitting, or bonded inventory, take four to six weeks because the rules and integrations are heavier. We sequence it so receiving and storage go live first and outbound fulfillment follows once the ship rules are tested against real orders. The gate is rarely our labor; it is usually how fast your inbound freight arrives and how clean your item and order data is when we load it. Clean data on day one is the single biggest driver of a fast, low-exception start.

When our on-hand and your ERP disagree, we treat it as a variance to investigate, not a number to quietly overwrite. Cycle counting usually catches the gap within days, and we trace the root cause: a mis-slot, a short or over receipt, a mis-pick, or a return that was never posted. We reconcile to the verified physical count, document the adjustment with a reason code, and feed it back so your system of record matches the floor. If the variance points to a process gap, we fix the process, not just the number. Because receipts, put-aways, and picks are all scanned, most discrepancies leave an audit trail we can walk back rather than a mystery to absorb. That is what keeps the on-hand figure trustworthy enough to promise a ship date against.

Those solve different problems. CargoTrans runs the warehouse: our dock, our team, our racking, and our accountability for the count and the ship window. Licensing warehouse management software is the other route, where you keep the building, the labor, and the equipment and buy only the screens that direct them. Most importers who ship physical goods do not want to sign a lease and hire a floor crew just to get inventory control; they want the outcome, so they buy the service and let us run it. If you already operate your own building and only need the system that directs put-away, picking, and counts, the software is the product to license instead. If you want the goods physically handled and counted by one accountable team, buy the warehouse and distribution service on this page.

To load your account cleanly we ask for an item master with SKU, description, dimensions, weight, and any lot or serial requirements; your inbound schedule with advance ship notices; and your order and shipping rules, including carrier accounts and retail routing guides. For imported goods we need the commercial invoice, packing list, and entry details so bonded receipts tie to the customs record. On the system side we set up an integration or portal access to your ERP, store, or order management tool, plus EDI credentials if you have retail trading partners. The cleaner the item and order data on day one, the fewer exceptions surface once real freight starts crossing the dock, which is why the onboarding checklist front-loads data validation before the first inbound arrives.

It depends on the size and complexity of the account. Simple programs often start with no setup fee and no hard minimum, billed on the space and handling you actually use. Larger or more customized operations, dedicated space, custom pack-out, or deep integrations, may carry an implementation fee to cover the onboarding work and a minimum that reserves committed capacity for you. We are direct about which applies during the capacity review, and we would rather size the commitment to your real volume than lock you into space you will not fill. Storage bills on the pallets, bins, or square footage you occupy, so the ongoing cost tracks your actual inventory rather than a flat block you pay for while it sits empty.