What Is a Fixed Appointment in Logistics?

How Does a Fixed Appointment Work at the Dock?

A fixed appointment reserves one dock and one handling period for one truck at the loading or unloading point. The warehouse publishes the time, the carrier accepts it, and the driver must be at the gate when it starts.

Control stays with the site. The warehouse picks the time because it runs the ramps, the forklift drivers and the order in which trucks are called. The carrier then builds its transport plan around that time.

The appointment fixes the arrival, and the slot length covers the handling. Unloading starts once the dock team calls the truck forward, and the warehouse sizes each slot to the pallet count it expects.

Warehouses also call the booking a delivery appointment, a dock appointment or a time slot booking. The software that allocates the slots is time slot management. Arrival slot, loading time, unloading point and delivery window together decide how long a truck spends on site, and each one is defined in the loading and delivery terminology printed on transport orders.

Where Does a Fixed Appointment Appear on a Transport Order?

A transport order records a fixed appointment in 3 fields: the date, the exact time and the booking reference issued by the receiving site. The gate or dock number and a site contact sit on the same order.

Gate staff work from the booking reference. They check it against the day's slot list. A truck that arrives on time with a wrong or missing reference still waits or is sent away.

European orders name the same booking in different languages: "Fixtermin" in German and "livraison sur rendez-vous" in French. Each version carries one logistics glossary definition: one exact time, one site and one reference.

How Is a Fixed Appointment Different From a Delivery Time Window and a Delivery Date?

The difference is precision. A fixed appointment names an exact time, a delivery time window names a span of hours, and a delivery date names only the day.

Precision decides how much freedom the carrier keeps. Multi-drop parcel and pallet routes run on ranges, so the delivery window meaning centres on arrival at any point inside agreed hours. An exact appointment locks the truck's day to one gate time. A date-only booking leaves the hour open within the receiver's opening times.

Each receiving site chooses the precision it needs, and some sites insist on exact times.

Who Requests Fixed Appointments and Why?

Sites with few docks and fixed shift teams request fixed appointments, because each booking reserves a dock, a forklift and staff for one truck.

The main users are:

• Retail distribution centres: trucks from different suppliers arrive at every dock door each morning.
• Production plants on just-in-time supply: a late part stops an assembly line.
• Construction sites: a crane or unloading crew is booked for a set hour.
• Trade fair venues: build-up days give each exhibitor a delivery time at the hall gate.
• Cold-chain warehouses: a refrigerated load can stand at an open dock only for a limited time.

A dock handles a set number of trucks per hour. Booked slots spread arrivals across the shift, so trucks do not queue at the start of the day while docks stand empty later.

Receivers also score how carriers keep their slots. Punctuality, no-show rate and on-time-in-full delivery (OTIF) are standard warehouse KPIs, and repeated misses affect the carrier's standing with the receiver. Every one of these scores starts with a correct booking.

How Is a Fixed Appointment Booked?

A fixed appointment is booked through the receiving site's slot system in 6 steps:

1. Slot release: the warehouse opens free slots on a ramp calendar or dock booking portal, based on its gates, shifts and equipment.
2. Slot request: the shipper or carrier picks a slot that fits the planned arrival time.
3. Booking reference: the system issues a number linked to the slot, the gate and the order.
4. Advance notification: the booker submits the shipment data: pallet count, loading equipment, temperature requirements and any dangerous goods.
5. Confirmation: the warehouse confirms the slot, or proposes another time if the requested hour is full.
6. Gate check-in: the driver quotes the reference at the gate on arrival and waits for the dock call.

Smaller receivers take bookings by email or phone. Larger sites link the slot system to their warehouse management system (WMS), the carrier's transport management system (TMS) and yard management, so arrival data moves without manual entry.

Incomplete advance data holds up the dock. A truck carrying more pallets than declared overruns its slot and pushes back the next booking, which is why the carrier needs complete details before dispatch.

What Information Does the Carrier Need to Meet the Slot?

The carrier needs slot, site and goods details before the truck is dispatched. Each missing item puts the appointment at risk:

• Slot date and time: the local time zone matters on cross-border lanes. Portugal and Ireland run on Western European Time. Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Bulgaria, Greece and Cyprus run on Eastern European Time.
• Booking reference: copied exactly as the receiving site issued it.
• Address and unloading point: including the gate or dock number.
• Site contact: a phone number answered at the slot time.
• Vehicle requirements: for example, a ramp-capable truck for a dock, a tail-lift for ground-level unloading, or side loading for long goods.
• Goods data: pallet count, gross weight, dimensions, and ADR class if dangerous goods are on board.

Vehicle requirements decide which truck arrives. A site without a loading ramp cannot take a standard trailer at dock height, so the delivery needs a tail-lift vehicle or a forklift on site.

How Do Carriers Plan Around a Fixed Appointment?

Carriers plan a fixed appointment in reverse: they start from the slot time and work back to the departure time. The calculation combines distance, driving time, legal breaks and a buffer.

EU driving rules set the minimum time. Regulation (EC) No 561/2006 limits a driver to 9 hours of driving per day and requires a 45-minute break after 4.5 hours. A long lane with an early morning slot therefore needs a departure the previous day and a rest stop close to the site.

The buffer absorbs traffic, roadworks and border queues. Its size depends on the lane, the time of day and how strictly the receiver treats late arrivals.

Trucks that arrive ahead of time wait in pre-parking areas or truck parks near the site and move to the gate shortly before the slot. Telematics sends live ETA updates to the planner, so a delay shows up before the slot is lost and the receiver gets warning.

What Happens if the Truck Arrives Early, Late or Misses the Slot?

The receiver's slot rules set the outcome, which differs for an early arrival, a late arrival and a missed slot.

Early arrival. The truck waits in the yard or pre-parking until its slot opens. A site with a free dock calls an early truck forward at its own discretion.

Late arrival. Each receiver applies a tolerance written into its own rules. A truck inside the tolerance is unloaded. A truck outside it loses the slot and waits for the next free time, which can fall on the following day.

Missed slot. The booking lapses, and a new slot is requested through the same system. The goods stay on the truck or return to the depot until the new time.

Costs follow the transport contract. Waiting time beyond the free period in the carrier's terms becomes chargeable, and detention applies when the vehicle is held longer than planned. The party that caused the delay, whether carrier, shipper or receiver, carries the extra cost under the agreed terms.

Warning the receiver before the slot starts gives the best chance of a same-day rebooking. The same rules apply on the outbound side of a shipment.

Do Fixed Appointments Apply to Collection Too?

Yes. Shipping warehouses book fixed loading slots for outbound trucks in the same way receivers book unloading slots. The truck must reach the loading dock at the agreed time, and the sender must have the goods packed, labelled and staged before it arrives.

A truck that misses its loading slot delays every stop on its route, so outbound slots get the same planning care as delivery slots. A collection time window gives a span of hours instead. It suits senders who keep goods ready all day, while an exact loading slot suits sites that share a small number of docks between inbound and outbound trucks.

Which Transport Services Suit a Fixed Appointment?

Dedicated transport suits a fixed appointment best, because one vehicle carries one load straight from the loading point to the receiver. Full truckload transport works this way: the truck leaves with a single shipment, so its departure is timed to the receiver's slot and no other stop competes with it.

Groupage, LTL and parcel networks run differently. Goods pass through sorting hubs and multi-drop routes, and the delivery order changes every day with volume. These services commit to a delivery date or a time window. Exact-time delivery on these networks is limited and subject to carrier confirmation for each lane.

Dedicated van delivery covers smaller urgent loads that must meet a slot, such as spare parts for a production line or display stock for a trade fair stand. Matching the service to the slot is part of how the booking is arranged.