Several solutions -

First is have the driver open the back of the trailer, put it in reverse, come back fast and hit the brakes. Empties the trailer every time.

Times change and so do practices. Even though most LTL (less than truckload) truck lines have a "tailgate" policy, meaning the driver sets your freight at the back of the trailer and it's up to you to remove it from the trailer and do as you wish from there, most freight is now on wrapped pallets, many what they call "city trucks" that do the local deliveries (as opposed to the "line haul" trucks that go from city to city, have lift gates and pallet jacks. And, since they already have the pallet on the jack and have the jack on the lift gate, most drivers will "spot" your pallet for you CLOSE TO THE DOOR. They are not going to back into the hole on the other side of your building for you.

And you can also use a pallet jack to spot the pallet where you want it. Only if you are moving a lot of goods, or if you want to go up several layers, do you really need a forklift in most situations.

I've been receiving and shipping freight for several decades and have never had an LTL carrier charge extra for a liftgate. There was a time when only a few carriers had them, period. But now they are pretty common, so it's just a matter of making a few calls, seeing who in your area has them available and then specifying those carriers when ordering.

All of this refers to LTL's such as Yellow, Overnite, Roadway, Estes, RL?Greenwood, etc. If you suppliers use contract carriers or have their own fleet, they are probably prepared to handle whatever it is they bring you, no problem. But again, while they might go past the "tailgate" rule by a few yards, none of them is going to spot your freight in your building for you.

Such services are available in metro areas, often referred to as Shipper's Services. These people will deliver that piano to the 14 th floor, stock your products on the shelf for you, whatever (in addition to delivering it), but you need a super deep pocket for such custom services.

As far as buying / leasing a forklift, it depends on how much? how far? how high? You can start renting a pallet jack and going from there.