Cross Docking

How cross-docking work?
In the past, goods arrive will be stored in the warehouse. When customer request for item, staff will only start picking the goods based on the picking list. In a cross-dock case, goods arriving from the vendor already have a customer assigned, so workers need only move the shipment from the inbound trailer to an outbound trailer bound for the appropriate destination.

Warehouse personnel can direct inbound goods from receiving to issue without interim storage. By using cross-docking, companies can minimize duplicate goods movements within the warehouse, optimize the flow of goods from inbound to outbound, and shorten routes within the warehouse. The figure below shows the flow of goods in cross-docking in a through flow warehouse.

Cross-docking is a relatively new logistics technique used in the retail and trucking industries to rapidly consolidate shipments from disparate sources and realize economies of scale in outbound transportation.

From focusing on “supply chain”, cross docking shift to “demand chain” for example: stock coming into cross docking center has already been pre-allocated against a replenishment order generated by a retailer in the supply chain.

Benefits of cross docking:
(i) Reduce operating costs
(ii) Increase throughput
(iii) Reduce inventory levels
(iv) Increase sales space