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As the customer expectations and intense competition is rising, there is need to reduce supply chain costs. However, all these put pressure on businesses to deliver products more quickly and efficiently. Cross-docking is a supply chain management strategy and logistics technique that can help.
Cross docking in supply chain management is a process that covers directly transferring goods from inbound trucks or railcars to outbound vehicles at a specially designed logistics facility. This technique expedites product delivery, reduces costs, and minimizes or even eliminates the need for warehouse storage at the facility. Many companies, these days, use cross-docking solutions, including e-commerce and brick-and-mortar retailers, manufacturers, and freight carriers.
What Is Cross-Docking?
Cross-docking is a logistics technique aiming ataccelerating goods delivery and increasing supply chain efficiency. It includes unloading goods from vehicles making incoming shipments at a logistics facility and shifting them to vehicles that handle outgoing shipments, requiring little or no storage time in between.
There are many companies who take advantage of cross docking warehouseto consolidate products from multiple suppliers. Many businesses leverage it to break down bulk shipments into smaller lots and reorganize products for efficient delivery to retail stores, fulfillment centers, and customers.
For the most part, cross-docking needs close coordination among a company’s supply chain partners, such as its suppliers, and freight carriers. With such capabilities, supply chain companies or production units can deliver products faster, drop the need for warehouse space, optimize inventory control, and reduce transportation and labor costs.
Get NetSuite’s Warehouse Management System to Run a Successful Cross-Docking Operation
To successfully manage a cross-docking operation, businesses require real-time visibility into supply and demand, accurate inventory management, and coordination with supply chain partners. This helps ensure a streamlined, efficient flow of goods from suppliers to customers.
NetSuite ERP Warehouse Management Systemhelps businesses achieve better control over operations and get clear visibility into data with a single, integrated, cloud-based solution. It integrates accounting, supply chain management, inventory management, warehouse operations, and more.Additionally, NetSuite’s Warehouse Management System (WMS) automates day-to-day warehouse operations to help businesses multiply their efficiency and consistently meet evolving customer expectations.
For the most part, it comes with inbound logistics capabilities to coordinate transportation, receipt and storage of inbound inventory, enabling companies, and track shipments along their journey. Eventually, improved supply chain management brings into higher customer satisfaction, higher business profitability, and reduced risk.
With increased visibility into supply chain, companies can track and manage the flow of goods at each level as they move from suppliers and manufacturers to distributors. Moreover, they can stay on track with inventive capabilities such as integrated demand planning, procurement, inventory management and predictive analytics.
Advantages of Cross-Docking
Cross-docking delivers a range of business benefits, such as enabling faster shipping, increasing supply chain efficiency, reducing the costs of storing, handling, and transporting inventory. Companies can reduce or eliminate the need for warehouse storage by directly shifting goods from inbound to outbound shipments. Moreover, technology enhancements can help these businesses gain the supply chain visibility and operational control needed to successfully manage a complex cross-docking facility. The benefits include higher customer satisfaction, greater business profits, and fewer risks.
Faster shipping
Cross-docking solutions accelerate the delivery of goods or products to business partners and customers. This is because the products spend little to no time in warehouses. Particularly, this is beneficial for retail and B2B sellers that are under increasing pressure to serve their customers with fast delivery of products and meet buyer expectations.
Reduced inventory storage costs
Business can leverage cross-docking in logistics to reduce and in some cases eliminate the need for expensive warehouse space. Many businesses use that space to store products during their journey from suppliers to customers. Also, warehousing and cross docking system reduces other warehouse management costs, such as the need to track items while they are in the warehouse.
Reduced labor costs
You can bid farewell to the need for warehouse storage which means less handling is required. Workers can move products between inbound and outbound trucks, and they don’t have to route products from inbound docks into warehouse storage. With such inventive capabilities, you can manage them as warehouse inventory and then retrieve them for outbound shipping.
Lower shipping costs
By consolidating and deconsolidating cross-docking, companies save on shipping costs. Additionally, businesses can combine or split loads to optimize the number and size of vehicles required to distribute products or goods.
Lower risk of product damage or spoilage
Generally, there is a greater risk of damage for more frequently handled and stored for long products than those which are handled with low frequency. Cross-docking in NetSuite Warehouse Management System cuts down on the amount of handling required. This reduces the risk that items may suffer and get damaged.
Industries that Use Cross-Docking
A diverse range of industries use cross-docking solutions—right from department stores and pharmaceutical manufacturers to auto parts suppliers.
Supermarkets
These businesses use cross-docking in logistics to ensure a daily flow of fresh produce and other foods from suppliers to retail stores.
Department Store Chains
Businesses in this industry use cross-docking solutions to maintain a steady supply of goods to their retail outlets. Giants in this field often uses cross-docking extensively as part of a broader strategy to reduce costs and maintain low prices.
Parcel Delivery and Logistics Businesses
This industry unituse cross-docking to speed package delivery for their customers and extend their reach. Also, manufacturers and product distributors apply cross-docking to reduce inventory costs as well as ensure quick delivery of products.
Pharmaceuticals
Businesses in this field use cross-docking to ensure timely delivery of medicines, and other products. These may cover those products that must be kept at certain temperatures. Also, cross-docking can reduce the need for costly specialized storage facilities.
Why inoday?
For the most part, cross-docking is a valuable logistics method that helps supply chain businesses deliver products faster while multiplying the efficiency of supply chains. At inoday, an official and #1 ORACLE NetSuite Channel Partner, you can avail of the expert-level guidance, and 16+ years of driving Digital Transformation via Cloud Computing Solutions.
Our NetSuite Consultants deliver industry standard-based practices, proven methodology, and support services to help you make the most of the application deployed. You can connect to us to leverage NetSuite WMS and unleash your growth potential without burning a hole in your pocket.
FAQs
What is an example of a cross-docking product?
Transferring pallets from a train car to a truck or cargo containers from a ship to a truck can be an example of cross-docking.
What is the objective of cross-docking?
Cross docking helps eliminate the put away process and directs the product to shipping. It readily minimizes the handling time and storage time. Also, decreasing order fulfillment time is essential when suppliers are delivering slow, or manufacturing is lagging.
What are the five types of cross-docking?
Types of Cross-Docking
- Pre-distribution
- Post-distribution
- Products get on the road faster
- Companies that sell time-sensitive products
- Companies using multiple suppliers
For more details on Cross-docking in NetSuite Warehouse Management, write to us at info@inoday.com Or Schedule A Demo