Cross-docking
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Cross-docking is a logistical practice of 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 storing goods between shipments or while awaiting a customer's order.[1] 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.[2]
In the 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
[edit]Cross-dock operations were pioneered in the US trucking industry in the 1930s[citation needed], and have been in continuous use in 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. [3]
Types of cross-docking
[edit]Cross-dock facility design
[edit]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".[5]
To achieve this objective, coordination of facility layout, transportation and material handling processes is required to ensure continuous goods flow through the cross-docking terminal, which will minimise the handling of goods, the travel distance between the material handling point of origin and destination, loading delays and vehicle waiting time. [6][7][8] It has been found that dock door assignment and vehicle scheduling are important design considerations directly affecting terminal capacity and freight flow.[9][6] Dock door assignments involve assigning specific dock doors to different inbound and outbound trucks, while vehicle scheduling involves coordinating truck arrival and departure schedules to ensure inbound trucks are available when outbound trucks are ready to load.[9][6][7]
Information and automation technologies are used to optimize cross-docking operations, such as electronic shipment tracking, warehouse management systems, and bar code and radio-frequency identification (RFID) all of which improve shipment visibility and allow better communication among a system's suppliers, carriers, distribution centres and customers in order to speed up decision making and accurately handle deliveries with time sensitive requirements for the shipment's arrival and departure points.[6][7]
Cross-docking can cut down on holding storage space and/or freight handling costs, the transportation lead time and the responsiveness in the transportation system in the logistics chain by coordinating the facilities' command and management with transportation planning, information systems, and the operation.[10][9][6] By coordinating the command and management of the logistics chain facilities with transportation planning and the information system, cross-docking can further shorten the transportation lead time, reduce the holding storage space and freight handover cost, and improve the response speed of the operation, etc., in the logistics chain.[6][7][8]
References
[edit]
- ↑ Álvarez-Pérez, González-Velarde, Fowler. Crossdocking— Just in Time scheduling: an alternative solution approach. Journal of the Operational Research Society, 2009.
- ↑ Sehgal, Vivek (2009). Enterprise supply chain management : integrating best-in-class processes. Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley. ISBN 978-1-119-19834-5. OCLC 428439918.
- ↑ 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
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Ray, Kulwiec (2004). "Crossdocking as a Supply Chain Strategy" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2016-02-07.
- ↑ Bartholdi, John J.; Gue, Kevin R. (May 2004). "The Best Shape for a Crossdock". Transportation Science. 38 (2): 235–244. doi:10.1287/trsc.1030.0077. hdl:10945/52000.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Agustina, Dwi; Lee, C.K.M.; Piplani, Rajesh (2011). "Cross docking scheduling with delivery time window and temporary storage". 2011 IEEE International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Engineering Management. IEEE: 131–135. doi:10.1109/ieem.2011.6117893.
- 1 2 3 4 Van Belle, Jan; Valckenaers, Paul; Cattrysse, Dirk (2012). "Cross-docking: State of the art". Omega. 40 (6): 827–846. doi:10.1016/j.omega.2012.01.005. ISSN 0305-0483.
- 1 2 Apte, Uday M.; Viswanathan, S. (2000). "Effective Cross Docking for Improving Distribution Efficiencies". International Journal of Logistics Research and Applications. 3 (3): 291–302. doi:10.1080/713682769. ISSN 1367-5567.
- 1 2 3 Boysen, Nils; Fliedner, Malte; Scholl, Armin (2010). "Scheduling inbound and outbound trucks at cross docking terminals". OR Spectrum. 32 (1): 135–161. doi:10.1007/s00291-008-0139-2. ISSN 0171-6468.
- ↑ Bartholdi, John J.; Gue, Kevin R. (2004). "The Best Shape for a Crossdock". Transportation Science. 38 (2): 235–244. doi:10.1287/trsc.1030.0077. ISSN 0041-1655.
Making the Move to Crossdocking, Maida Napolitano and the staff of Gross & Associates, 2000 copyright, www.werc.org