Cross Docking White paper

From Saddle Creek:

Some interesting findings:

Of those who have implemented cross-docking, 28 percent are veterans, having cross-docked for more than 10 years. Another 30 percent have been cross-docking for four to 10 years. However, the practice is still drawing new practitioners, as 32 percent of those who cross-dock have been operating a cross-dock for just one to three years.

Typically, cross-docks can be developed using a variety of strategies such as (but not limited to) the following arrangements:
• Either pre-picked to a customer order or bulk-picked to a pooling location to handle the "last-mile" shipment to the customer.
• Pre-picked orders to a less-than-truckload (LTL) carrier break-bulk facility from where the LTL carrier’s network is used.
• Pre-picked orders transferred to LTL through the use of a third-party warehouse facility to handle the cross-docking process.
• From multiple plants (deconsolidated) into a third-party cross-dock that, within hours, picks and consolidates all products from all plants into customer or route orders and then delivers.
• Consolidating LTL into truckload which reduces the number of deliveries to retail outlets.


Cross-docks generally can be divided into three levels of complexity:
• One-touch – Products are touched only once, as they are received and loaded outbound without being placed on the warehouse dock. This is highest velocity "load-as-you-go" and the focus is on cross-dock productivity.
• Two-touch – Products are received and staged on the dock then loaded outbound without being put into storage. The focus is on outbound load optimization and gaining transportation efficiencies.
• Multiple-touch – Products are received and staged on the dock, then reconfigured for shipment and loaded outbound directly from the warehouse dock. This method offers the greatest opportunity for customization and end-user value-add.


Cross-docking makes the most sense when:

• Current order cycles and traditional distribution methods cannot handle customer needs.
• Outdated distribution strategies and networks create extended cycle times and compromise shelf-life guarantees.
• Inefficient distribution networks create plant inefficiencies.
• Transportation networks become over-extended, creating unacceptable on-time performance rates at excessive cost.
• Distribution cost increases outpace sales growth.