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Frequently Asked Questions: LCL Receiving Facilities
Q: Why are you consolidating your South Florida facilities?
A: In today’s economic climate, we have searched for ways to continue to improve our customer service levels and drive down costs. Consolidating dry LCL cargo into one facility in Miami will help us create a more efficient, centralized service.
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Q: Will this change affect any services Tropical offers at the Port of Palm Beach?
A: No, all services that Tropical offers at the Port of Palm Beach will operate as normal, all cargo that currently ships out of the Port of Palm Beach will continue to be shipped out of the Port of Palm Beach. The West Palm Beach LCL facility is located outside of the Port of Palm Beach.
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Q: When will the West Palm Beach LCL facility stop receiving LCL cargo?
A: We will stop receiving cargo on April 2, 2010 at our West Palm Beach LCL facility.
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Q: What are you going to do with the West Palm Beach LCL facility?
A: The West Palm Beach LCL facility will be retained for future use when market growth returns or as other opportunities present themselves.
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Q: I am located in West Palm Beach and I was delivering my cargo to your facility there. Now what do I do?
A: If you prefer to deliver your cargo or make arrangements with trucking vendors, you should begin to deliver your cargo to the Miami facility at your earliest convenience, but not later than April 2, 2010. Our National Pickup services are available to pick-up and deliver your LCL dry cargo to our Miami facility, you can arrange to have your cargo picked up by calling 561-881-3999.
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Q: Will the Miami LCL facility offer all the features and services that the West Palm Beach LCL facility offered?
A: Yes. The Miami facility is prepared to accommodate the consolidation, some of the features of the facility include:
165,000 square foot warehouse and office space and 53 bay doors
A secure, bonded area for high-value cargo
A separate, covered area for walk-in customer deliveries
24 hour state-of-the-art security system
LCL Import and Export Services
FCL and LCL consolidation services
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Q: They don’t know me in Miami – will this affect my shipment?
A: No. The same computer systems are used at our Miami facility and there are knowledgeable customer service representatives available to assist with your shipment and access your profile and shipping history. Custom consolidation accounts will continue to be handled by documentation coordinators.
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Q: Is the shipping process different?
A: No, the process is the same in both locations. The shipment is received, booked and stored the same way. When the cargo is received it is put into our computer system and assigned a shipment number, which you can use to track your shipment on-line (www.tropical.com) or with a customer service representative. The cargo is then labeled with a bar code so it can be scanned anywhere in the warehouse and all the shipment information will be displayed.
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Q: What do I have to do differently now that I have to switch receiving locations?
A:
a) You will need to update the delivery address on your paperwork and contact your suppliers to inform them about this change. We have a Routing Instruction form that you can send to your suppliers to assist you in moving your cargo to our Miami LCL facility. This form allows you to provide detailed delivery instructions to one or all of your suppliers. You can either fax or email the form or have one of our local sales representatives contact your supplier(s) on your behalf.
b) Make sure that all cargo received has the recipient’s name, address, final destination and total number of boxes clearly and visibly marked on all cargo. All paperwork should be consigned as follows and this format should be used for online orders as well:
Recipient’s name and Destination
C/O Tropical Shipping
Receiving location address
Recipients address
Recipients email address (if available)
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Q: Is there security?
A: Our Miami LCL facility offers enhanced state of the art security systems as well as fenced and lighted facilities, security guard 24 hours a day and security cages for high value cargo.
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Q: Is there storage? How long can I store cargo?
A: LCL consolidations get 14 days free time of storage. After the free time is up storage charges will apply.
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Q: Will the cut-off times remain the same?
A: The cargo and documentation cut-off times will remain the same and are listed on tropical.com. This link will take you to the LCL Cut-Off Times.
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Q: Now that I have to change my delivery location, will it affect my transit time?
A: No, as long as your cargo and documentation is received by the cutoff times listed above your times will not change.
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Q: If I move my cargo to the Miami facility will my inland charges increase?
A: Your inland charges depend on the origin of your cargo and the carrier you use to deliver it to us. We would have to look at each request on a case by case basis to determine what the inland charges would be. If you prefer, we have a network of trucking partners we work with and we will do our best to minimize any additional inland charges.
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Q: Will my contact change?
A: At Tropical Shipping it is our goal to provide a superior customer experience. We respect the special relationships that are formed between our customer service representatives and their customers. We also understand that our specialized service levels require detailed account knowledge and understanding. Our customer service representatives are seasoned employees with the skills required to handle the needs of our special accounts. It is always our goal to lessen the disruption caused by changing your contact. There are times however, when moving your account from one customer service representative to another is our only alternative. When these changes occur, be assured that we will handle the transition with utmost responsibility to ensure that you are made aware of the change before it occurs, and that your customer service representative is as knowledgeable, resourceful and helpful as your former customer service representative.
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Q: Where do I send my documentation?
A: In cases where documentation cannot accompany the shipment, documentation source documents (i.e. invoices or proformas) can be sent to the customer service representative handling your shipment or for registered web users, can be uploaded on tropical.com. This link will take you our LCL Contact Information.
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Q: Do I need a booking number or can I just drop off my cargo?
A: For LCL dry cargo you do not need a booking number; however we encourage you to pre-book your cargo. All LCL refrigerated and frozen cargo must be pre-booked. Our LCL refrigerated service is available to the Barbados, Grand Cayman, Marsh Harbour, Nassau and the Turks & Caicos Islands. For bookings and further information, please contact our U.S. Customer Service Team at 561-881-3999.
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