Editing Cross-docking

{{Short description|Practice in logistics of unloading directly to customer or other transportation}}
{{Refimprove|date=October 2008}}
[[File:Correspondance de marchandises (no text).png|thumb|upright=1.3|Example of cross-docking: incoming parcels (left) are sorted by label for output (right)]]
{{Business logistics}}
'''Cross-docking''' is a [[logistics|logistical]] practice of [[Lean manufacturing|Just-In-Time Scheduling]] where materials are delivered directly from a manufacturer or a mode of transportation to a customer or another mode of transportation. Cross-docking often aims to minimize overheads related to [[Warehousing|storing goods]] between shipments or while awaiting a customer's order.<ref>Álvarez-Pérez, González-Velarde, Fowler. ''Crossdocking— Just in Time scheduling: an alternative solution approach''. Journal of the Operational Research Society, 2009.</ref> This may be done to change the type of conveyance, to sort material intended for different destinations, or to combine material from different origins into transport vehicles (or containers) with the same or similar destinations.

Cross-docking takes place in a distribution docking terminal; usually consisting of trucks and dock doors on two (inbound and outbound) sides with minimal storage space.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Sehgal|first=Vivek|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/428439918|title=Enterprise supply chain management : integrating best-in-class processes|date=2009|publisher=Wiley|isbn=978-1-119-19834-5|location=Hoboken, N.J.|oclc=428439918}}</ref>

In the [[Less than truckload shipping|LTL]] trucking industry, cross-docking is done by moving cargo from one transport vehicle directly onto another, with minimal or no [[warehousing]]. In retail practice, cross-docking operations may utilize staging areas where inbound materials are sorted, consolidated, and stored until the outbound shipment is complete and ready to ship.

== History ==
Cross-dock operations were pioneered in the US trucking industry in the 1930s{{cn|date=April 2014}}, and have been in continuous use in [[Less than truckload shipping|less-than-truckload]] operations ever since. The US military began using cross-docking operations in the 1950s. Wal-Mart began using cross-docking in the retail sector in the late 1980s.

As of 2014, almost half of all US warehouses are cross-docking. <ref name=":2">Moody, K. (2019). Labour and the contradictory logic of logistics. Work Organisation, Labour & Globalisation, 13(1), 79-95. doi:10.13169/workorgalaboglob.13.1.0079</ref>

==Advantages of retail cross-docking==
* Streamlines the supply chain, from point of origin to point of sale <ref name=":3">{{cite journal | url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/42747807 | jstor=42747807 | title=The Adjustment of Supply Chains to New States: A Qualitative Assessment of Decision Relationships with Reference to Congestion Charging | last1=Puckett | first1=Sean M. | last2=Hensher | first2=David A. | last3=Battellino | first3=Helen | journal=International Journal of Transport Economics / Rivista Internazionale di Economia dei Trasporti | year=2006 | volume=33 | issue=3 | pages=313–339 }}</ref>
* Reduces labor costs through less inventory handling <ref>{{Cite book|last=Sehgal|first=Vivek|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/428439918|title=Enterprise supply chain management : integrating best-in-class processes|date=2009|publisher=Wiley|isbn=978-1-119-19834-5|location=Hoboken, N.J.|oclc=428439918}}</ref>
* Reduces inventory holding costs by reducing storage times and potentially eliminating the need to retain safety stock <ref name=":0" />
* Products reach the distributor, and consequently the customer, faster <ref name=":3" />
* Reduces or eliminates warehousing costs 
* May increase available retail sales space
* Less risk of inventory handling
* No need for large warehouse areas
* Easier to screen product quality

==Risks of cross-docking ==
* Fewer suppliers<ref name=":2" />
* Supply chain vulnerability from disruptions<ref name=":2" />
* Reduced storage availability<ref name=":2" />
* An adequate transport fleet is needed to operate
* A computerized logistics system is needed
* Additional freight handling can lead to product damage
* Labor costs are also incurred in the moving and shipping of stock
* Accidentally splitting up shipments larger than a single pallet leading to multiple deliveries or lost items

==Types of cross-docking==
* Full pallet load operation<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|last=Ray|first=Kulwiec|date=2004|title=Crossdocking as a Supply Chain Strategy|url=https://www.ame.org/sites/default/files/target_articles/04-20-3-Crossdocking.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160207231038/http://www.ame.org:80/sites/default/files/target_articles/04-20-3-Crossdocking.pdf |archive-date=2016-02-07 }}</ref>
* Case-load order makeup<ref name=":1" />
* Hybrid cross-docking<ref name=":1" />
* Opportunistic cross-docking<ref name=":1" />
* Truck/rail consolidation<ref name=":1" />
* Short-term storage<ref name=":1" />

==Typical applications==
* "[[Spoke–hub distribution paradigm|Hub and spoke]]" arrangements, where materials are brought in to one central location and then sorted for delivery to a variety of destinations
* Consolidation arrangements, where a variety of smaller shipments are combined into one larger shipment for economy of transport
* Deconsolidation arrangements, where large shipments (e.g., railcar lots) are broken down into smaller lots for ease of delivery

Retail cross-dock example: using cross-docking, Wal-Mart was able to effectively leverage its logistical volume into a core strategic competency.
* Wal-Mart operates an extensive satellite network of distribution centers serviced by company-owned trucks
* Wal-Mart's satellite network sends point-of-sale (POS) data directly to 4,000 vendors.
* Each register is directly connected to a satellite system sending sales information to Wal-Mart’s headquarters and distribution centers.

==Factors influencing the use of retail cross-docks==
* Cross-docking depends on continuous communication between suppliers, distribution centers, and all points of sale
* Customer and supplier geography, particularly when a single corporate customer has many multiple branches or using points
* Freight costs for the commodities being transported
* Cost of inventory in transit
* Complexity of loads
* Handling methods
* Logistics software integration between supplier(s), vendor, and shipper
* Tracking of inventory in transit

==Products suitable for cross-docking==
* Perishable goods – These are products that are time sensitive like agricultural products and require instant shipping. Other products that use [[FIFO and LIFO accounting#LIFO|Last In First Out inventory]] management method may also apply cross docking.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2020-10-04 |title=Effective Warehousing for Inbound and Outbound Operations - SIPMM Publications |language=en-US |work=SIPMM Publications |url=https://publication.sipmm.edu.sg/effective-warehousing-inbound-outbound-operations-2/#Cross_Docking_Strategy |access-date=2023-01-13}}</ref>
* Staple products – Staple products like staple food, clothes always have a high demand and go through a less storage time. Businesses with these types of products may include them in their cross docking model to reduce storage costs.
* Promotional items – Cross-docking comes in handy for eCommerce platforms that have clearance sale programs.

==Cross-dock facility design==
Cross-dock facilities are generally designed in an "I" configuration, which is an elongated rectangle. The goal in using this shape is to maximize the number of inbound and outbound doors that can be added to the facility while keeping the floor area inside the facility to a minimum. Bartholdi and Gue (2004) demonstrated that this shape is ideal for facilities with 150 doors or less. For facilities with 150–200 doors, a "T" shape is more cost effective. Finally, for facilities with 200 or more doors, the cost-minimizing shape is an "X".<ref>{{cite journal | first1 = John J. | last1 = Bartholdi | first2 = Kevin R. | last2 = Gue | title = The Best Shape for a Crossdock | journal = [[Transportation Science]] | volume = 38 | issue = 2 | date = May 2004 | pages = 235–244 | doi = 10.1287/trsc.1030.0077 }}</ref>

==References==
{{Commons category}}
{{Reflist}}
''Making the Move to Crossdocking'', Maida Napolitano and the staff of Gross & Associates, 2000 copyright, www.werc.org

[[Category:Business terms]]
[[Category:Freight transport]]