The benefits of cross-docking

Understand Logistics & Freight

Owning a business is no easy task. In between prospecting new clients and closing sales deals, one of the biggest challenges of selling your products can be underestimated: Getting the goods to their buyer, safe and sound while guaranteeing customer satisfaction. This can be especially hard for e-commerce businesses, that often don’t have storage space nor the money to invest on one, and that impacts on their effectiveness and their costs.

The good news is that the logistics segment is constantly coming up with adequate solutions for a diversity of demands, and one of these solutions is the cross-docking system, that facilitates the process of moving goods and eliminates the need of a storage space.

What is cross-docking?

Cross-docking is the name given to a distribution system, that works around the idea of replacing warehouses with distribution centers and offering faster delivery times. These centers receive packages coming from multiple sources, brought by multiple vehicles, sorts them by where they’re supposed to be delivered, and consolidates them into the transport that will take the products to their receivers on the other end.

The packages are not kept in the distribution centers for more than 24 hours, and since the products are constantly coming and going, there’s always space for more, with no need of a large physical storage to meet the demands.  

Which are the benefits?

There are many benefits in implementing a cross-docking system to your business model, but we can highlight the two most notable ones:

• The reduction of storage costs: Since your products won’t be stored at all, you will not be spending money on warehouses nor will you be waiting too much time for them to be taken to transport.
• The efficiency of the delivery process: Your products will be moved into the delivery vehicle as fast as possible after they reach the distribution center and are checked and sorted, they will also arrive faster to your consumers which will give your business an advantage, as well as improve your clients’ view of your services.

As a bonus, the freight will cost you less too, since your products will be consolidated with other shipments and that is one of the cheapest ways to send cargo.

Even though the cross-docking approach benefits e-commerce businesses considerably, this practice is not only limited to them! It can also offer advantages to other companies that ship larger parcels of larger products, as well as some time-sensitive goods that can’t endure long storage periods.

A freight forwarder can optimize a client’s business through a cross-docking system by implementing efficient logistics and supply chain strategies, enhancing the effectiveness of the processes and providing significant benefits to the client’s business.