There are many ways of organizing, shipping, and transporting goods for sale. They all focus on different aspects of the shipping process such as cost, time, the fragility of the product, amount of the product, etc.
Cross docking is one of the most efficient and commonly used shipping processes when shipping time-sensitive goods like pharmaceuticals, produce, seafood, and chemicals. So, what is cross docking, and why is it so commonly used?
Cross docking is done through a highly organized process that begins with unloading unsorted goods from a freight vehicle. Those goods are sorted on the spot and placed on trailers or brought to a cross docking facility.
Cross docking facilities are specialized warehouse shipment centers, that are built around organizing and sorting large shipments in the smallest amount of time.
Typically, large trucks unload their products there, and employees at the center sort the goods based on location and needed quantity onto multiple trailers. The sorted goods are also checked for damage, and fragile goods are loaded in specific ways to ensure their safety. Those trailers then go to businesses or directly to consumers to give them their products.
Shipping goods using cross docking means cutting out the middle man or the storage facility. It saves money and time because part of the supply chain process is eliminated.
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