Crossdocking

Stockless distribution of totes and cases

 Crossdocking

Crossdocking sortation systems are ideal for stockless DCs. In Crossdocking operations, goods flow directly from receiving to shipping without putting them away and later picking them. 

Crossdocking is the ultimate dream of any distribution center

Crossdocking is the ultimate dream of any distribution center, since the inventory keeps moving and the high cost of order fulfillment subsystems are minimized. Whatever comes in each day, get processed and ships to the stores by the next day and more often, the same day. Furthermore, the longer products sit in a warehouse, the more there is potential for shrinkage or damage. Crossdocking’s greatest advantage is labor savings.

Labor cost per carton has the potential to drop dramatically 

The labor cost per carton has the potential to drop dramatically.  In addition, crossdocking has proven to take time out of supply chain operations. Finally, cross-docking has been known to increase store replenishment accuracy.

 

The sorter has many benefits, such as:

  • No need for putaway to stock
  • No picking locations or replenishment needed
  • Receiving process may be automated,  through bar-code scanning or RFID
  • Goods in may be direct from truck, or via ergonomic or automated depalletising

Depalletising

 Depalletising

Depalletising cross docked products can be achieved in several ways, from fully manual through to fully automated. The photo here shows a depalletiser for crates, used in a chilled food DC.

Scanning Tunnel

 Scanning Tunnel

Identification of the cartons or trays can be achieved in several ways, such as

  • Tracking from a single SKU pallet
  • Reading a product barcode
  • Reading RFID tag

The photo shows a 5 way scanner arrangement for barcodes, also incorporating RFID scanning.

Direct Truck Loading

 Direct Truck Loading

Case sortation systems are frequently used where trucks are loose loaded with cases. This is particularly the situation in countries with long travel distances between cities, and products that are relatively low density (for example, general merchandise).

Palletising

 Accumulation Chutes

Accumulation chutes may also be arranged to allow manual palletising of products. Products may be scanned in order that they can be associated with a particular pallet.

Selected References

Please visit our References section to get an overview of Dematic solutions implemented around the globe.

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