Cross docks

All about Cross docks

Pallet Handling and Other Considerations

Cross docking will vary based on the needs of incoming pallets to ensure that each good will be treated with care to avoid damaging the goods contained within

  • Semi-trailer reloading areas will need to be kept clear to ensure that all shipments are kept organized and nothing is moved or damaged as new loads come in.
  •  While it is vital to economize at your shipping stations, your cargo cross docking solutions should include adequate space around the docks: it ensures that workers and pallets can move quickly and safely without pile-up. Create isles and logical pathways to ensure that shipments can be readily moved. High traffic areas should have oversized pathways.
  • Areas for pallet storage should be designed to differentiate between temporary storage, seasonal products or staple products for easy retrieval.

Before designing your facility, evaluate the products that will regularly be moving through these areas. This will help you determine which areas are likely to see more traffic versus areas where products may require temporary storage.

Facilities must also be adaptable so they can continue to address the needs of the business as it grows and changes.

Considerations for a Cross Docking System

Your cross dock facility will be the heart of your business, so you will need to give a great deal of thought into its organization. In general, economizing space will help you save money, but you will also need to ensure that you have enough space to manage the loads that are moving through.

Determining the Proper Layout

 If you are creating a truck reloading program from scratch it will likely be shallower than the system used to manage a group of warehouses and the additional resources necessary to manage your storage facilities.

  • Areas designated for cargo redelivery can be shorter, focusing on offering conveyors at 90 degree angles moving at high speeds to make transit to different delivery vehicles as efficient as possible, rather than having to provide additional space for long-term storage.
  • Your area used for truck loading can simply consist of a group of doors. The truck can back up to the building and load the given shipment.
  • If you will be managing your cargo reloading in a facility that will be seeing a high volume of goods, you may need to dedicate different points of your setup to managing each type of shipment: this ensures products are not lost or sent to the improper venue.
  • Whether or not each truckload of goods can be handled as it comes in or if it should be treated as a greater part of the day’s shipment will depend on how each shipment will be organized for delivery.

In general, the more distance you are putting between your delivery points, the more money you are costing your business. Your setup on the road and at your transfer facility should be designed as efficiently as possible to best manage your needs without having to waste time between shipments.

Cross Docking Factors and Influences

There are a number of points that must be considered by a company when designing their crossdock system. The cargo reloading schedule and tools that can be used will vary based on the number of venues that needs to be managed. You will also need to customize your delivery methods to best accommodate the nature of your goods.

 

Applications for Cross Docking Systems

There are a number of ways that a cross dock system can be implemented in order to most effectively manage the type of cargo a business is attempting to ship.

  • Cargo cross docking solutions are designed with a unique set of checkpoints and a fleet system, based on the size of the company and the average amount of cargo that will need to be shipped on a regular basis.
  • One of the most common types of crossdocking arrangements is a consolidation system. In this case semi-trailer reloading is used to take a set of small shipments, combining them into one big shipment that is moved to the sales location. This system is designed to better manage the economy of the transport system.
  • Truck loading in a “hub and spoke” arrangement will focus on bringing materials to a central location where it can be sorted and then shipped to a variety of additional destinations as necessary.
  • On the other end of the spectrum, pallet storage in a deconsolidation system focuses on taking large shipments like those from a rail yard and breaking them down into smaller shipments that can be easily delivered to a variety of locations as necessary.

One of the most common examples of a successful crossdock system is the one used by Wal-Mart. This system tracks the truck reloading and transport with a network of satellites that help to watch both the distribution centers and sales locations.

 

As many as 4000 vendors are tracked on this system to ensure that all merchandise is within the system at any given time. Each of these registers can connect to the system directly to send information about sales and items within distribution centers directly to Wal-Mart headquarters to determine the company’s growing needs.

Factors for Retail Crossdocks

Cross docking depends on constant communication between all parties including distribution centers, suppliers and the point of sale.

  • Cargo reloading schedules will vary based on the geography between customer and supplier. Corporate institutions will likely need to manage a variety of branches at once.
  • The amount that can be transported will vary based on the cost of transit, the budget of the shipping agent, the cost of the commodities being transported.
  • The cargo redelivery methods used during transit will vary based on the nature of the goods and the complexity of the loads.

Tracking during transit is essential to maintaining your system. This will allow you to evaluate the effectiveness of your system while ensuring that no part of the process has gone missing. Even if you are working with an existing logistics system you will need to customize your crossdock system to meet your personal needs.