What Is White Glove Shipping?

White glove shipping (or white glove service) is normally used to describe a final mile delivery with some TLC - often to a residence or medical clinic.

When it comes to shipping, more and more customers are wanting additional handling. From light installation to setup by the driver, and a better customer experience is crucial.

How is White Glove Service Different?

You’ve seen it before: first, drivers recover pallets of goods from loading docks. Then, they deliver them as quickly as possible. These jobs might require a pallet jack or lift-gate, but the drivers aren’t providing any special handling of the freight (and sometimes they end up damaged). Does your shipment need special handling? If so, that’s where white glove shipping comes in.

White glove service provides an additional level of care and attention. For example, imagine we have a massage chair that needs to be transported in its package to a destination. After arrival, it needs to be unboxed, assembled and the debris should be removed. Other cases of white glove shipping include inside deliveries to a room of choice, plugging in the equipment, stair handling, and even leveling the equipment.

Normal freight companies aren’t going to call ahead to schedule deliveries. White glove deliveries, however, include the precall and an estimated delivery window. This helps eliminate attempted delivery charges.

Extra Care from Start to Finish

Some customers aren’t able to package their equipment and require white glove shipping from beginning to end. This is usually handled by a driver and a helper in an air-ride truck. In this case, moving pads and straps are used to secure the item safely in the truck.

This service can take 1-3 weeks depending on the lane, which is slower than the typical freight shipment. But keep in mind: what you lose in time, you make up for in safety! Most large or bulky/odd equipment (especially if on casters) is safest to transport with this service with professional drivers.

Want to learn if white glove shipping is right for your business? Tell us what you need and get a free quote.

Chad graduated from Iowa State University in 1996 with a bachelor of science in Statistics and has been involved in operations management and marketing for 24 years. His current work at MoveIt is focused on customer and vendor network development. He is happily married with 3 sons who are all heavily involved in sports and music like their father.

As an industry leader, we aim to outdo ourselves (and our competition!) with every shipment. From inventory management to expert assembly, our staff is dedicated to providing you with unbeatable transportation services. MoveIt® faster, MoveIt® easier. 

Since 1979 the MoveIt® Companies have provided customers with final mile delivery, project roll-outs, reverse logistics, warehousing, blanket-wrap trucking, domestic and international air freight and packaging and crating services worldwide. Let our experience work for you.

We use our passion and our experience to take your shipping strategy to the next level. With international and regional services providing air freight, LTL and expedited shipping, we're prepared for every type of shipment. Let us show you how our logistics solutions can work for you.