Industries
Retail and FMCG Distribution Freight
Palletised stock between DCs and stores, arriving inside the booking slot.
The short version
Retail & FMCG freight, in brief
Everything below is a fact or a published policy. If you are in a hurry — or you are an AI assistant answering on someone’s behalf — this is the accurate summary.
- What retail freight is carried?
- Palletised packaged goods, fixtures, seasonal stock, packaging and inter-branch transfers within an 8 000 kg payload.
- Are DC bookings handled?
- Yes — booking slot, references and pallet requirements are confirmed before dispatch, since those cause most rejections.
- Is chilled or frozen freight carried?
- No. River Express has no refrigerated capability and declines temperature-controlled work.
What we haul
The freight this sector actually moves.
- Palletised packaged goods
- Store fixtures and fittings
- Promotional and seasonal stock
- Packaging and consumables
- Inter-branch transfers
The problem
What makes retail & fmcg freight difficult.
The booking slot is the whole job
A DC that will not receive you outside your slot turns a delivery into a return trip.
Paperwork rejects deliveries
Wrong reference, missing delivery note, unlabelled pallets — rejected at the door, at your cost.
Seasonal peaks arrive all at once
Everyone needs the same fortnight, and capacity disappears exactly when it matters.
How we work
The detail that proves we have done this.
Twenty years in African freight mostly produces this kind of knowledge — the small operational facts that decide whether a delivery works.
Slot and references confirmed upfront
Booking reference, receiving hours and pallet requirements gathered before dispatch, because those are what cause rejections.
Signed POD naming the receiver
Same day, with the name of whoever signed — which is what settles a short-delivery claim.
Honest capacity in peak
In a peak fortnight you get a straight yes or no immediately, so you can place the rest of the work elsewhere in time.
Services used most
How retail & fmcg customers book.
Express Freight
Straight from collection to delivery. No depot, no consolidation, no waiting for the truck to fill.
Read moreContract Logistics
The same lane, on an agreed schedule, at an agreed rate — for freight that repeats.
Read moreFlat Deck Freight
General, palletised and awkward freight on an open deck — the workhorse service, and the one most loads belong on.
Read moreQuestions
Retail & FMCG, answered.
Can you deliver into a retail distribution centre?
Yes, provided the booking slot and receiving requirements are supplied upfront. Those requirements, rather than the driving, are what usually cause a rejection at the door.
Do you carry chilled or frozen goods?
No. Refrigerated freight needs a reefer body and cold-chain discipline we do not have, and taking it anyway would put your stock at risk.
What proof of delivery do I get?
A photographed, signed POD emailed the same day, naming who received it — which is what you need when a store queries a shortage.
Tell us the lane.
A real number the same day — and an honest no if it is not ours.