Cross-docking: what it is, how it works, types and advantages

cross-docking

Within the eCommerce sector, one of the terms that you should know is the so-called cross-docking. Do you know what we are referring to?

If you have not heard of this term before, but you are interested in saving costs, increasing the quality of your products and also reducing delivery times, then you should take a look at the information we have prepared for you. Let's go?

What is cross-docking

Automatic box distribution system

Cross-docking is a term related to order preparation. The objective is for the products to be distributed directly, but rather to go through storage.

To make it clearer to you. Imagine that they place an order for a product. Instead of having it in your warehouse, What is done is that they are distributed directly, for example from a factory. Or from your warehouse but with that product only being there for a few days.

Also known as dock crossing, this technique is based on optimizing storage time, since you will know that the longer a product spends standing, the more its quality can deteriorate and, therefore, it will cost you more money.

That is why this tool is used to make the logistics chain more efficient. But, to do this, it is necessary to coordinate and manage the warehouse properly.

How cross docking works

Now that you know this tool, surely you will also intuit its operation. It is about releasing the products in the warehouse more quickly so that they are not accumulating but rather it is almost buying those products and already having them to sell.

As a general rule, Products only spend a maximum of 24 hours in the warehouse although the ideal is that, as soon as they arrive, they are picked up again by another means and transported to the place where those products have been ordered.

This, in the case of large products or those that order a large quantity, would not be a problem. But when they are small in quantity and you receive many products in the box, The important thing is to carry out good management so that it is practically unpacking that box that arrives to pack all the boxes that are going to leave that same day (or at the latest the next day).

Advantages and disadvantages

Ecommerce distribution center

From everything we have discussed so far, there is no doubt that cross-docking gives you a very important time control and savings tool. AND The truth is that there are many advantages to it. Among them, the ones you should consider are the following:

Costs are minimized

In the sense that you do not have to keep products in the warehouse, which requires less space.

If we add to that the fact that with each passing day the products are devalued, if too much passes they may not be suitable for sale.

Less handling

Imagine an eCommerce that has a warehouse. You have bought 10 products and you have to open them, take the products, take them to the warehouse, leave them there until they ask for them. As time goes by, you may have to move something from the warehouse, and you may touch those products. Dust and dirt can also affect them. AND Then when they ask you, you have to take them again, clean them, package them and send them.

The handling tasks carried out mean that in the end the product may not arrive in the best conditions.

With cross-docking, this manipulation is minimized as much as possible.

Products with longer useful life

In the sense that it is the end customer who will enjoy the products that will be like new for longer. Instead, Those in the warehouse, if they accumulate, can end up breaking sooner and thus cause dissatisfaction among customers.

Faster and more efficient delivery time

Not only do you ship products faster, you are more efficient because you limit the time it takes to ship products. You no longer have to see if there is stock, If you have operators to pack it, etc.

Here are the main advantages of cross-docking. But it also has drawbacks that can throw away all the enthusiasm and good work of the above. To avoid them, it is best to know them and here we leave you the most important ones:

No failure can be allowed

The logistics chain must function continuously and without making errors since a single one compromises the deadlines for all the others. Hence it is difficult to maintain over time (especially when many do not depend on good management but on external people or the human being himself).

In fact, errors can not only be made when preparing the order, but also with the delivery of these products. If that happens, the error will be your fault and you will look bad to the client.

Supervision is necessary

In order to know if everything is done correctly and that there are no errors (in that case we would go to the previous point).

The dreaded “bottleneck”

This name refers to poor chain synchronization. That is, there are some parts of the production chain that are very fast and others that are very slow.

Your goal is to make the synchronization flow without it stopping or working more on one part of it than another.

Types of cross-docking

box distribution

Finally, we want to talk to you about the types of cross-docking that exist right now. Basically, they are divided into three:

  • Predistributed cross-docking. The most basic is to receive merchandise and automatically send it to its destination. In this way, the products do not pass to the garden workers.
  • Consolidated. In this case, the products are manipulated. As an eCommerce you receive the products and you have to reorganize them and assemble the shipments so that each one reaches the end customer.
  • Hybrid. It is a mix between the two, and one of the most complex. That is why it is only recommended for companies that are quite large and with great purchasing power (to buy everything they want and sell it almost immediately).

Although cross-docking is a foreign term, the truth is that more and more eCommerce and companies, both physical and online, are carrying it out due to all the savings it entails. How about you try it for your business? Has it caught your attention?


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