Switching to Amazon Freight: a step-by-step onboarding guide for your pallet shipping

If you’re a logistics or supply chain manager moving freight and thinking about switching providers to Amazon Freight, you’ve probably got several key questions. How much disruption will this cause? And how long until we can resume shipping?

This guide answers both. It walks you through exactly what Amazon Freight onboarding involves, from setting up your account to booking your first pallet, so you can plan the switch with confidence.

Moving freight providers means more than just looking for a new quote. It’s about finding a network you can rely on and a process that won’t disrupt your operation while you make the move.

Whatever the shape of your pallet freight, there’s a booking option built for it. Shippers in the UK and EU get access to Amazon’s network for palletised full truckload (FTL) while those in the UK and Germany can also access less-than-truckload (LTL) services. Either way, you’re not paying for capacity you don’t need or squeezing large volumes into the wrong service. Need a trailer to yourself with fast turnaround? FTL bookings come with a 24-hour lead time. Shipping smaller loads into Amazon Fulfilment Centres (FCs)? LTL bookings are built for exactly that.

A few warning signals tend to suggest it’s worth exploring a provider move. For instance, if your pallet volumes are growing faster than your current provider can flex with or if you’re finding yourself chasing your current provider for tracking updates that should be self-serve. Timing is also a key factor. Onboarding during a quieter shipping period gives your team room to learn the online portal and run test shipments before you lean on it during peak.

Switching freight providers understandably raises questions around downtime, integration with existing systems, and new processes for teams. These are all fair and valid concerns. However, a structured onboarding process can help to prevent them.

A little preparation before you begin the process makes the onboarding faster and smoother.

Before you start, gather your core company details and valid VAT registration for the countries you ship in, along with your billing information. Having this to hand speeds up business verification and gets you to a working account, and access to credit where applicable, faster.

It also helps to have a clear picture of your pallet freight before you begin. Shippers will ideally have key information to hand such as average pallet counts, dimensions, whether pallets are stacked or non-stacked, your typical lanes, and whether loads are inbound to Amazon or destined for other facilities. The more accurate the information is, the more accurate your quotes will be.

The same goes for pickup and delivery locations. Accurate addresses, facility opening hours, and a primary contact at each site all feed into the online portal, which uses these details to validate pickup slots. Getting them right from the outset means fewer failed or delayed collections down the line.

With your details to hand, here’s a breakdown of the process from account creation through to your first pallet on the road.

You can create a free shipper account directly on the Amazon Freight website . Once you’ve submitted your details, Amazon Freight runs a business verification check process. There’s no long-term contract required to get started, so you can begin shipping as soon as your account is verified.

With your account verified, you can add your pickup and delivery locations, confirm your opening hours, set notification preferences, and add payment methods.

From there, booking is straightforward. Request a new quote, choose your lanes and dates. Define your pallet counts and handling types. If you’re a regular shipper, the “Copy Shipment” feature allows you to rebook a previous lane in a few clicks, rather than starting from scratch each time.

For LTL shipments, which move through Amazon’s shared network, you’ll need to generate labels through the portal ahead of pickup so each pallet can be sorted correctly. As the whole trailer is dedicated to your load, FTL shipments don’t need individual labels, but the CMR document still needs to be ready for handover.

Once your shipment is on its way, the online portal lets you track it in real time, access documents including proof of delivery, and review invoices. You can also make basic changes yourself: FTL shipments can be edited up to two hours before pickup, covering details like pallet count, commodity description, pickup number, and shipment value.

Getting your account set up is only half the job. These are the habits that make the switch land well across your wider team.

Rather than moving all your volume across on day one, start with a small number of lanes to validate performance. Choose lanes that are meaningful enough to tell you something useful, but low-risk enough that any early teething problems don’t disrupt your wider operation.

Take the time to brief your warehouse, finance, and customer service teams on the new booking, labelling, and tracking flow, and document the process changes so the knowledge doesn’t sit with a single logistics contact.

Once you’re up and running, keep an eye on the basics such as on-date delivery and feedback from your warehouse team on collections processes. Bring anything you spot to your Amazon Freight contact or support channels. Early feedback is what keeps the service tuned to how you actually operate.

Create your free shipper account to explore Amazon Freight’s services, get a quote, and start shipping your pallets with more visibility and control.

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