Cross docks

All about Cross docks

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.

Growing Cross Docking to a Mainstream Level

Cross docking is becoming a common choice for major retailers to ship their products in a more effective manner, but how might a smaller business take advantage of these points?

Companies must consider the points in favor of using such a system to determine the most appropriate way to implement such a system in their own organization. This system can easily be customized to best address the needs of a growing organization.

Points in Favor of Cross Docking 

Those looking to invest in direct cargo reloading facilities can consider a number of vital points when opting to implement such a system.

  • Facilities that focus on direct deliveries can improve customer service by keeping their stores stocked more efficiently. Not only with this avoid a shortage of products, these operators will be able to offer products at a lower price because they will not have to pay for storage facilities. 
  • Truck loading facilities are less expensive to manage than a warehouse. Consolidating shipments can further reduce shipping costs so you can shrink your logistics budget.
  • Companies that focus on cargo redelivery can minimize packaging to encourage sustainability while ensuring that your products will arrive without becoming damaged.
  • You will be able to customize your shipping needs so that products may be easily tracked at every level of the shipping process to avoid having to track down parcels or hire additional people to count each package as it comes in. They can simply be scanned with a barcode on the packaging.
  • Companies using a truck reloading system do not need to make a large financial investment to set up their facilities. They can eliminate much of the brick and mortar establishments within their facility and focus on moving their product directly to their customers. Every move that is made to tighten the shipping network will help to save on the company’s bottom line. Some have saved as much as 40 percent of their costs over 4-5 years of using a cross docking system.

These systems are the most efficient when applied to companies that can manage same day or overnight shipping for products. High volume organizations often see neutral results, though improvements can be made for those that deal with perishable items or those that require constant temperature control.