At a Glance
- Throughput time in the cross-dock
- Ideally < 24 hours
- Storage costs
- Almost zero (no stock)
- Requirement
- Precise schedules, synchronised delivery
- Typical sectors
- Food, automotive, retail
- Drawback
- No buffer against delivery delays
How cross-docking works
The cross-docking process runs in three phases. On goods-in, lorries from suppliers arrive at the cross-dock. The consignments are unloaded, scanned and sorted by consignee or destination region. Within the cross-dock, consignments are pre-sorted to the outbound docks (usually on the opposite side). On goods-out, the sorted consignments are loaded onto delivery lorries and dispatched directly. The total throughput time is ideally less than 24 hours.
The benefits: why no warehouse is the ideal state
Cross-docking removes storage costs almost entirely: no racking, no warehouse management software, no capital tied up in stock. Fresh food benefits particularly: fruit, vegetables and chilled goods can travel from supplier to supermarket within a few hours.
Drawbacks and limits of cross-docking
Cross-docking requires precise delivery schedules and a high degree of synchronisation. If one supplier delivers late, the entire distribution plan stalls. It offers no buffer against fluctuations in demand. Cross-docking also requires substantial investment in suitable cross-dock infrastructure.
Applications: food, automotive and retail
Food retail: discounters and supermarket chains operate regional cross-docks through which fresh goods flow to their stores daily. Automotive: suppliers feed production lines just-in-time via cross-docks. Retail: seasonal goods are bundled centrally and distributed to all branches simultaneously.
