What is Cross-Docking in Logistics?

America’s economy relies heavily on a reliable supply chain. Goods are shipped in trucks across the contiguous United States in an endless network, supplying consumers with vital medicines, food, consumer packaged goods, everyday household necessities, and more.

Overland freight transportation is essential to daily life, and according to reports, the amount of goods shipped will only grow. In 2021, the U.S. Transportation system moved approximately 53.6 million tons of freight daily. This tonnage is expected to increase by 1.6% a year to 2050.

Seasonally, the country depends on the timely delivery of goods and packages for Christmas, Thanksgiving, and other holidays. Shippers and retailers can prepare for the busiest shopping day of the calendar year – Black Friday – by leveraging a coordinated and efficient supply chain.

Black Friday Supply Chain Challenges

The surge in online shopping puts even more pressure on an already struggling supply network to ensure customers receive their orders quickly and in one piece. Online shopping hit an all-time high on Black Friday in 2022, with businesses recording over $9 billion in online sales. As consumers split their shopping between in-store and online, ensuring a fast, reliable, and efficient shipping process is more important than ever.

Cross-docking enables suppliers to fulfill orders at reduced cost and on time. At our campuses in Atlanta, we offer expert rail and truck cross-docking services to get our client’s freight to its destination on schedule.

What is Cross-Docking?

Cross-docking is an essential component of on-time delivery, allowing goods to be moved quickly from one trailer or railcar to a separate outbound trailer – and in the correct drop sequence – without the need for put away in the warehouse. Eliminating the need to store freight and double handling reduces the cost of delivery and reduces dwell times.

Cross-docking requires multi-modal coordination, which ensures the various freight transport modes (such as rail and truck) work together cohesively. Cross-docking also requires appropriate facilities to allow for the efficient transfer of cargo. Typically, a cross-dock warehouse or distribution center is flanked by inbound and outbound docks so the goods can be offloaded, sorted, and reloaded onto outbound trucks quickly. Despite the coordination requirements of cross-docking, the system dramatically streamlines the freight’s journey, allowing a fast turnaround between the product’s point of origin and its destination.

Cross-docking helps companies reduce the costs associated with warehousing, inventory holding, and handling. It also benefits various stages of the supply chain in several ways:

• Shippers: Can deliver their goods to their clients quicker and at a lower cost, avoiding warehousing and reducing inventory holding costs. As time-sensitive goods do not need to be stored, they can reach their destination sooner, reducing the potential of delivering compromised products.
• Retailers and Supply Chain Managers: Retailers of high-volume products that enjoy a steady demand benefit from cross-docking to keep their shelves continuously stocked. Retailers shipping perishable or temperature-sensitive products use cross-docking to avoid costly warehousing, allowing the goods to arrive with more shelf life. (Atlanta Bonded Warehouse provides temperature-controlled warehousing, so in the event storage is required, temperature-sensitive goods will be protected). This faster delivery system also allows retailers to push more products, confident they will receive a new delivery on time.
• Consumers: Cross-docking helps retailers meet customer expectations as they receive their orders in a shorter time frame with a lower risk of damage to their goods.

How Can Atlanta Bonded Warehouse Help?

Together with our 3PL shipping partner, Colonial Cartage, Atlanta Bonded Warehouse has the facilities, technology, and expertise to make your cross-docking a seamless process. We have designed our facilities for flexible staging areas to order to manage cross-docking for high-volume deliveries and rail access for railcar and truck exchanges.

Atlanta Bonded has handled warehousing and logistics for small and large businesses for over 70 years. Over that time, we have built up unparalleled resources, technology, and know-how to deliver first-class customer service and reliable shipping.

Contact us for more information about our cross-docking services in Atlanta, GA, and visit our website to learn more about our other services.