Optimise Your Supply Chain with Cross-Docking Solutions

Cross docking solutions 2 1 The changing landscape of the supply chain industry over the last two years has had a significant impact on businesses, and having the agility to be able to adapt has been the key factor needed to survive. Cross-docking solutions can provide that agility for your business.

One such change is the significant increase in the number of people shopping online ^[¹^], with many people continuing this habit even as pandemic restrictions ease, and over 40% of UK shoppers planning to carry on doing their food shopping online once the pandemic is over ^[²^]. This has inspired new ventures for the grocery sector, which in turn has led to challenges and the need for flexibility in order to stay relevant and up to date with current trends. As less people go shopping in person, being able to provide an efficient and reliable home delivery service is paramount to customer satisfaction.

Dawsongroup TCS ‘pop-up’ cross-docking stations are the ultimate solution. They combine the streamlined process of cross-docking with the facility to accommodate goods at any temperature, improving the operational efficiency of your business at the same time as cutting costs.

Put simply, cross-docking is a logistics procedure where incoming goods arrive at the distribution docking terminal, are unloaded, sorted, and promptly reloaded onto other vehicles which are ready and waiting to deliver the goods to your customers.

Despite having a history dating back to the 1930s ^[³^], cross-docking is such an effective logistics procedure that it is viewed as being the future for warehousing ^[⁴^]. Although many logistics companies utilise such facilities, Dawsongroup TCS goes one step further by providing options such as:

Attached storage set at chill, freeze, or ambient temperatures
Spacious handling areas with the option of refrigeration
The option to split the handling area to divide product types, e.g., frozen, chilled, and ambient
A range of loading dock quantities and sizes suited to your requirements
Data logging equipment for product traceability.

The cross-docking facility acts as a ‘pop-up’ Regional Distribution Centre which can be located anywhere there is space and a power supply. All vehicle sizes can be accommodated, from vans to double decker lorries, and with everything in one place transport costs and CO₂ emissions decrease, while efficiency and customer satisfaction increase. Labour costs are reduced as there is minimal handling, double handling is removed completely, and storage time is kept to a minimum. Likewise, transport costs are reduced as trailer movement efficiencies are optimised within drivers’ Working Time Directives.

If your goods require lower temperatures, cold stores can be attached to the cross-docking facility to enable a fast transfer to storage when receiving goods. The wide body design allows for a centre aisle, providing an efficient stock-picking process when goods are ready to be distributed.

Customers have found Dawsongroup TCS cross-docking facilities, “…revolutionary. Everything is working really well and satisfying our demand. The reliability of the cross-docking facility is a big plus, enabling us to store both chilled and frozen goods.”

Ultimately, using Dawsongroup TCS cross-docking facilities saves time and money by streamlining the supply chain process and improving your business’s operational efficiency. In such a transient time, when the future is even less predictable than it used to be, flexibility and adaptability are key to your business not just surviving but flourishing. Dawsongroup’s range of rental solutions give you that agility with the minimum amount of risk should demand change your operational requirements.

Watch this video to see an example of a Dawsongroup TCS cross-docking solution which was set up for global transport and logistics company Kuehne + Nagel.