Dock Scheduling / Dock Appointment Scheduling

Dock scheduling is the process of coordinating when carriers arrive at a facility to load or unload freight. Rather than allowing trucks to show up whenever they want – creating bottlenecks, idle drivers, and overwhelmed dock crews – a dock appointment system assigns each carrier a specific time slot tied to a specific dock door. The shipper or warehouse controls the calendar, and carriers book against available capacity.

A typical dock scheduling system manages appointment windows (usually 30-minute to 2-hour blocks), dock door assignments, carrier and PO validation, confirmation notifications, and check-in/check-out timestamps. More advanced systems also factor in whether a load is inbound or outbound, FTL or LTL, and whether specialized equipment like reefer doors or liftgates are required. The system should prevent double-booking and automatically enforce buffer times between appointments.

Poor dock scheduling has a direct cost impact. Uncoordinated arrivals lead to detention charges – carriers bill shippers when drivers wait beyond free time, often $50–$100 per hour. Facilities without appointment discipline also see lower dock utilization, longer dwell times, and strained relationships with carriers who deprioritize facilities known for delays. For shippers managing retailer compliance programs, missed or late appointments can trigger chargebacks and OTIF penalties.

The shift toward self-service carrier portals has changed how dock scheduling works in practice. Instead of back-and-forth emails and phone calls, carriers book their own appointments through a portal that shows real-time slot availability – reducing coordination overhead for the logistics team while giving carriers more control over their schedules.