Riverside, CA · Edison, NJ
Cross-Docking & Container Transloading for Amazon FBA
Your ocean container arrives, we unload it, sort by Amazon fulfillment center, repalletize, prep, and forward — an FBA-ready outbound flow at ARDI’s own warehouses in Riverside, CA and Edison, NJ.
Definitions
What Is Cross-Docking and How Is It Different from Transloading?
Cross-docking is a flow-through operation: inbound freight is unloaded and moved to outbound trucks with minimal dwell time and little or no reconfiguration. Container transloading goes further — an ocean container is unloaded, counted, sorted, and repalletized onto domestic pallets before outbound shipping. Most Amazon-bound container work is technically transloading: the freight is rebuilt for FBA before it moves.
ARDI does both at its own warehouses on two coasts — Riverside, CA for containers arriving through LA/Long Beach and Edison, NJ for Port Newark freight. For Amazon sellers the two operations combine into one service: container in, FBA-ready freight out.
Process
ARDI’s Container-to-FBA Cross-Dock Workflow
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01
Receive
Your container is drayed from the Port of LA / Long Beach to our Riverside dock, or from Port Newark to our Edison, NJ dock (drayage arranged on request).
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02
Unload & count
Floor-loaded or palletized freight is devanned, piece-counted, and inspected against your packing list.
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03
Sort by destination
Cartons are separated by Amazon FC assignment or sales channel.
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04
Repalletize & label
Freight is rebuilt on domestic pallets; FNSKU, carton, and pallet labels applied to Amazon spec.
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05
Forward
Outbound SPD or LTL to Amazon fulfillment centers through licensed motor carrier partners, typically within 24–48 hours of unload.
Unloading
Container Unloading, Devanning & Palletizing — What’s Included
Container unloading (also called devanning or destuffing) is the physical dock task inside every cross-dock job: opening the 20', 40', or 45'HC container, hand-unloading floor-loaded cartons or offloading pallets, verifying the piece count, flagging visible damage, and building freight onto standard 40×48 pallets. ARDI handles floor-loaded containers as standard work — the most labor-intensive scenario and the most common one for freight arriving ffrom Asia and Europe.
Unloading is scheduled for the day your container arrives — the freight moves off the chassis the same day, the driver isn’t held at the dock, and the empty is released for return. That schedule discipline is what keeps per-diem, detention, and chassis charges off your invoice; a container that waits two days for an unload slot quietly costs more than the unload itself.
Two coasts
Why Inland Empire Transloading Often Beats Near-Port — for Amazon Sellers
Near-port transload facilities win one metric: minutes from the terminal. If all you need is a fast container-to-trailer transfer, they are the right tool. But most Amazon importers need more than a transfer — they need unloading, FBA prep, short-term storage, release pacing into Amazon’s appointment system, and proximity to the fulfillment centers themselves.
That is where the Inland Empire changes the math. ARDI’s Riverside warehouse sits inside one of the densest Amazon logistics clusters in the country — five FCs within roughly 20 miles — with warehouse economics that near-port real estate can’t match. When your container needs prep and staging anyway, the question isn’t “who is closest to the port” but “where does the total landed cost and the final leg into FBA work out best.”
The same logic runs on the East Coast: containers through Port Newark land at ARDI’s Edison, NJ warehouse — about 25 miles from the terminal, with Amazon’s LGA9 three miles away — giving East Coast importers the identical unload-prep-forward flow. One provider, both gateways, and the option to split a single import program across coasts to cut placement fees and reach FCs faster.
Service map
Cross-Docking vs Transloading vs Unloading vs Drayage vs Warehousing
| Service | What it means | Storage | Where at ARDI |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cross-docking | Inbound freight moves to outbound trucks with minimal dwell | Minimal | This page |
| Container transloading | Ocean container is unloaded, sorted, repalletized, forwarded to FBA/domestic | Short hold possible | This page |
| Container unloading / devanning | The physical dock task: unload, count, inspect, palletize | Optional | This page — section above |
| Drayage | Short-haul truck move from port or rail ramp to the warehouse | No | Drayage page |
| Warehousing | Storage, inventory management, and fulfillment over time | Yes | Warehousing page |
Fit check
When Cross-Docking at ARDI Is the Right Call and When It Isn’t
Good fit
- Amazon FBA containers needing FC splits
- Floor-loaded containers that must be repalletized
- Shipments needing FNSKU/prep before Amazon
- Fast forwarding without long-term storage
- Splitting one import program across West and East Coast warehouses
- Overflow rerouting when an FC appointment falls through
- Combining transload with short-term storage and release pacing
Not the best fit
- Refrigerated or frozen cargo
- Hazardous materials
- Bonded / in-bond moves
- Oversized or out-of-gauge freight
- Jobs where a 15-minute port-to-trailer transfer is the only requirement — a near-port facility serves that better
Amazon prep
Amazon Ended Its Own FBA Prep in January 2026 — Plan for It
As of January 1, 2026, Amazon discontinued its US FBA prep and labeling services. Every unit must now arrive at the fulfillment center fully prepped — FNSKU-labeled, poly-bagged where required, and case-packed to spec. Because ARDI preps inside the same building where your container is unloaded, prep adds hours to the cross-dock flow, not a separate vendor and another truck move.
FAQ
Cross-Docking & Transloading FAQ
What is cross-docking?
Cross-docking is a warehouse operation where inbound freight is unloaded and moved to outbound trucks with minimal dwell time — hours or a day, not weeks. It suits freight that is already sold or assigned, like Amazon FBA shipments heading to specific fulfillment centers. If inventory needs to sit, be managed, and ship over time, that’s warehousing, not cross-docking.
What is the difference between cross-docking and transloading?
Cross-docking transfers freight with little or no reconfiguration. Transloading rebuilds it: an ocean container is unloaded, sorted, and repalletized onto domestic pallets before outbound shipping. Rule of thumb: if the freight changes form — floor-loaded cartons becoming labeled pallets — it’s transloading. Most China-to-Amazon container work is transloading, even when providers call it cross-docking.
Is cross-docking the same as container unloading?
No — unloading is one task inside the flow. Container unloading (devanning) covers the physical work: opening the container, unloading cartons or pallets, counting, and palletizing. Cross-docking is the end-to-end outcome: freight in, sorted and forwarded freight out. At ARDI both happen in the same building on the same day.
How long does it take to unload a 40' container?
A palletized 40' container typically takes 1–2 hours. A floor-loaded 40' with hand-stacked cartons runs about 2–4 hours with a full crew, depending on carton count and weight. ARDI schedules unloading for the day of arrival so containers, drivers, and chassis don’t sit — which is also how you avoid per-diem and detention charges.
Is near-port transloading better than warehouse-based transloading?
It depends on what happens after the transfer. Near-port wins when the only job is a fast container-to-trailer move. A warehouse-based transload — ARDI’s Riverside, CA or Edison, NJ facility — wins when the freight also needs prep, short-term storage, or delivery into nearby Amazon FCs: the extra drayage miles are offset by lower handling and storage economics and a shorter final leg into FBA.
When should Amazon sellers use cross-docking?
Use it when inventory already has a destination: FBA shipments split across fulfillment centers, replenishments on a deadline, or floor-loaded containers that must become labeled pallets before Amazon accepts them. If you want inventory held back and released to FBA in controlled batches, combine cross-docking with ARDI’s short-term storage instead of pure flow-through.
Does Amazon still do FBA prep and labeling?
No — the service ended on January 1, 2026. If units arrive at a fulfillment center unprepped or mislabeled today, Amazon can refuse the shipment at the dock, charge unplanned-service fees where it still fixes minor issues, or flag the shipment as a defect against your account health. Build prep into your inbound plan before the final truck leg — not after a rejection.
Can ARDI store inventory before forwarding it to Amazon?
Yes. Both flow-through and hold-and-release work: the Riverside, CA and Edison, NJ warehouses offer short-term pallet storage, so you can transload the container, store part of the inventory, and feed Amazon in smaller batches — useful for avoiding Amazon’s storage surcharges and managing capacity limits during Q4.
Cross-Docking Services
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