In-Clinic Shipping Policy

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Thank you for purchasing from Covetrus North America. Terms and conditions of our shipping policy are outlined below and apply to products ordered from Covetrus North America.

Shipping Terms

All shipments are made F.O.B. Origin. Title of ownership of the goods transfers from the seller to the buyer once the goods are picked up at the seller’s dock.

Carrier Selection(s)

Covetrus North America is responsible for carrier selection. Carrier selection is determined by the Covetrus North America Corporate Transportation Team on all orders. Carrier modes chosen can include (but not limited to) parcel, common carrier, or air depending on the size of order; Covetrus North America Distribution Center (DC) location and product requirements. The default carrier service level is Parcel Ground service on standard shipments when one-day transit is available from the home DC. Next Day Air service is offered when Ground service transit is more than 1 day for cold chain orders only. Covetrus North America will use LTL or Truckload carriers; when needed; on orders deemed too large to ship via parcel carrier.

Shipping Destinations

Covetrus North America offers direct delivery capability to customers located in all 50 states within the U.S. and customers located on U.S. Military bases overseas. Covetrus North America captures additional revenue to cover shipping and handling to Alaska/Hawaii via the cost of the products shipped.

Covetrus North America offers indirect delivery capability to customers in the Caribbean. Covetrus North America is responsible to deliver product to the customer’s designated freight forwarder of choice that must be located in the contiguous 48 states.

Order Confirmation & Shipment Tracking

An automated order confirmation email is sent on all orders placed online. Customers must opt in to receive automated order confirmation emails on orders placed through their Inside Sales Representative Contact. Please contact Inside Sales Representative if you want to receive auto generated order confirmation emails when placing orders through this channel.

Please check your secure account on our webpage to receive tracking number(s) for each order. Expect tracking numbers to be active within 12 hours of shipment release.

Order Processing Time

Order processing time is dependent on the carrier mode used to process your order. Orders will ship the same day if received by the order cut-off time listed in the table below. Covetrus North America does not process or ship orders on weekends or holidays.

Covetrus North America reserves the right to amend the order cut-off time or allow extra processing time if we are experiencing a high volume of orders. We will communicate via email, telephone or general announcement on our webpage if there will be a significant delay in processing of your order. All holiday closures will be communicated through our webpage.

Delivery Time Estimates – Home DC

In general, Covetrus North America offers product delivery through third party partner carriers by end of next-business-day when shipped from your home DC. Covetrus North America reserves the right to use Ground service on standard shipping when one-day transit is available from our DC. Ambient products will deliver Monday thru Friday. Cold Chain products will deliver Tuesday thru Friday only. Covetrus does not offer standard delivery on weekends or holidays. See below table for delivery time estimates by carrier mode:

There will be occasional exceptions when Covetrus North America cannot deliver items to your company on a next day basis. This typically occurs when your location of business is beyond our delivery partner’s one-day ground reach. The list of exceptions can include (but not limited to) hazardous materials; bulk items and fluids. Please reach out to your local sales representative for further clarification.

Delivery Time Estimates – Non-Primary DC

When an order ships from a non-primary DC, the delivery times by carrier mode in the below table will apply.

Shipping Rates

Covetrus North America is responsible for carrier selection and base shipping cost of all shipments from our 13 Distribution Centers to your specified location of business. The customer is not responsible for freight cost on standard product orders. All orders will have a freight charge of $4.00 applied.

There are times when the customer is expected to pay additional fees for special services requested. See below table for fees types and their respective cost:

Please contact your local Inside Sales Representative to obtain carrier list rate rates. They will coordinate with the Covetrus North America Corporate Transportation team to confirm pricing.

Less-than-Truckload (LTL) Carrier Delivery Expectations

There are times when a customer order is big enough that requires it be shipped on a pallet. When this occurs, Covetrus North America will use a Less-than-Truckload (LTL) Carrier to complete delivery. Covetrus North America’s delivery partners offer pallet jack, liftgate and inside delivery services at time of delivery; when needed. Below are the expectations for each delivery service:

Liftgate: Driver will use liftgate to lower pallet from trailer to ground threshold. The max weight per pallet threshold is 2,000 lbs. If needed, driver will break down pallet to safely operate liftgate under this weight threshold.

Inside delivery: Driver to deliver product at the most immediate threshold of the outer door only. Driver is not expected to deliver into a second room; up/down stairs or beyond the basic door entrance. Driver is not expected to uncrate or assemble product at delivery location unless pre-arranged by Covetrus North America Corporate Transportation Team.

Pallet Jack: Driver is expected to use pallet jack and/or hand cart to bring pallet from trailer to customer location door. Driver is expected to haul freight a reasonable acceptable distance to complete delivery. Driver is not expected to use pallet jack deliver freight through grass, gravel or water.

Delivery Time: End of business day.

Customer Liability – Equipment Deliveries: Title of ownership transfers to customer the goods are picked up at the seller’s dock. Covetrus North America will only ship out product replacement(s) when the order was refused for damages or items missing. Missing or damaged items that were noted on the delivery receipt must be reported to Covetrus North America Inside Sales Representative within 24 hours of receipt. We reserve the right to reject any damage/missing replacement requests if the below steps are not followed.

1. Count the number of boxes (items) on the pallet. Make sure that your count matches the count printed on your delivery receipt before signing for your delivery.
2. Scan pallet for signs of damage. Look for any punctured holes or tattered outer packaging. If damage signs exist, remove wrapping or boxes in front of the driver. Inspect all equipment and make sure it is not dented or heavily scratched. Do not sign the delivery receipt until thorough inspection is complete.
3. If there are no damages, dents, scratches or missing items, accept your delivery and sign delivery receipt “clear”.
4. If there are any damages, dents, scratches; refuse only the damaged items in your delivery. Then ask driver to mark your delivery receipt damaged (specific to the item damaged) and sign.
5. If there are any items missing; accept your delivery. Then ask your driver to mark your delivery receipt “short” while notating which item(s) are missing and sign.
6. If the outer packaging is tattered or replaced, but your equipment appears to be untouched, have the driver mark your delivery receipt “wrap broken” and sign.
7. Perform a thorough inspection of the equipment within 24 hours of receipt. Contact your Covetrus North America Inside Sales Representative within 24 hours if any concealed damage is found.

Backorders

Items that are not currently available will be place on backorder and will ship at the first available date once it stock.