Each serves about 120 stores, and most of them have assigned a shipping dock to every store, with a truck-trailer parked waiting to fill up for a run.

FORBES: Merchant Princes

Dockwise was formed in 1993 through a merger between Wijsmuller Heavy Transport and Dock Express Shipping.

FORBES: Will the Vanguard Semi-Submersible Ultra Heavy Lift Ship Keep Dockwise Afloat?

It also means that spare pallets take the most economical route from a retailer's loading dock back to a warehouse or factory that is shipping out goods.

FORBES: Beast of Burden

We had a chance to check out the Apple dock connector flavor in March, and now the Kickstarter-backed company is shipping its micro-USB version, supporting power and data transfer with just about any USB-equipped gadget.

ENGADGET