In the freight centre, the goods of different forwarders are sorted and grouped based on their destination. Subsequently, the optimal means of transport with the best possible utilisation is selected in order to transport goods with a similar destination together.
A freight centre connects at least two modes of transport (e.g. rail/road). For this reason, a conveniently located site is usually chosen, which optimally also represents an intersection between local and long-distance traffic.
The term goods distribution centre is often used as a synonym, but is usually only used by one company, whereas a freight centre is used by several different companies. In goods distribution centres, goods of an individual company are bundled based on the destinations.