Value Adding Roles- Cross Docking

Introductory video of cross docking

What is Cross Docking?

Cross Docking is a practice in which materials are unloaded from an incoming semi-trailer truck or a rail cars, with little or no storage in between. This may be done to change type of conveyance, or to sort material intended for different destinations, or to combine material from different origins.

In purest form this is done directly, with minimal or no warehousing.In practice many "cross-docking" operations require large staging areas where inbound materials are sorted, consolidated, and stored until the outbound shipment is complete and ready to ship. If the staging takes hours or a day the operation is usually referred to as a "cross-dock" distribution center. If it takes several days or even weeks the operation is usually considered a warehouse. Walmart first explored this idea.

Another Diagram showing how crossdocking is done.

Illustration and Graphic Elaboration

The suppliers bring in the parts from the various manufactoring factilities

Here Cross Docking Activities are applied.

Take note that the goods may not necessarily be constantly moving all the time.

The subassemblies are then assembled, packed and sorted out

The Assembled Computers are then loaded into the trucks, which will then send it to the outlets.

2 – 3 usefulness of this topic in the distribution centre

• Reduced Handling and warehousing Costs at the DC and Shortened Lead time
  
• Retailers have the ability to streamline the supply chain from point of origin to point of sale through cross docking
• Reduced Inventory Level

2 – 3 Constraint of this topic in the distribution centre

• Difficult to coordinate due to complexity of managing Cross Docking.
• High precision required for successful mixing is highly dependent on information technology.