The role of logistics in the e-commerce environment is to be as efficient, fast, low-cost, and, of course, error-free as possible. In every type of business, it is not always possible to save on costs, but there are cases when you can also save on logistics.
One of them is cross-docking, which simply means distribution based on the immediate transfer of goods without the need for their storage. In fulfillment, it can be, for example, an e-shop whose goods arrive at the 3PL warehouse directly from the factory or from its supplier, where they are immediately processed for shipment without the need for storage.
This logistics system makes distribution more efficient and many times faster, as it requires less work with the goods. It also enables faster supply, reduces transport costs, and brings better services to your customers.
Therefore, companies looking for a transport solution that is efficient, fast, and cheap can benefit from this system.
This can be, for example, an e-commerce company that manufactures its own products or has them supplied by a distributor. It has received orders from the e-shop, the packages are ready, and it does not need storage, sorting, packaging, or other fulfillment processes.
However, he needs to get them to his customers as soon as possible under favorable conditions. It can be companies with domestic production or intercontinental sellers who want to sell their products to Europe. Our daily transportation lines redistribute these products to various countries, where last-mile couriers then deliver them directly to customers or businesses.
Benefits of cross-docking
Throughout the year, as well as during the busiest parts of the season, many e-commerce businesses need to speed up logistics, the movement of goods, reduce delivery times, or many other factors. If you are thinking about outsourcing logistics or a part of it to a third party and cross-docking is the most suitable for your business, it brings the following advantages:
- Reduces costs – The more work with the goods logistics requires, the more expensive it is. In addition, when you add the cost of warehousing, the required space, technology, the price of delivery, and so on. The advantage of cross-docking is the reduction of these costs.
- Saves time – Another benefit is that less time is needed to deliver products to customers. The movement of the goods does not require major downtime, after receiving them, they are automatically sent to the expedition, thus speeding up the overall delivery time. Especially if it is combined with our transport lines, which significantly speed up the delivery, which is faster than, for example, by courier.
- Increases distribution efficiency – Your goods will come directly from a distributor to us, for example, in several shipments. In our fulfillment center, we sort these shipments according to their codes and individual orders and assign them to a specific transport line according to the place of delivery. As a result, the goods are efficiently processed and immediately moved to delivery.
Cross-docking in practice
Immediate transshipment of goods without the need for storage is currently a popular and sought-after service among clients. We have many years of experience with cross-docking, during which we were able to improve the process of this logistics system.
As part of our fulfillment services, the cross-docking process takes place as follows:
- Registration of receipt and order – As with any product, the first step is to register the product in the system, after which we have information about its arrival at the warehouse. Also, an order to the customer, where the goods are to be delivered by cross-docking, must be recorded in the system. Each shipment must be marked with the UID order code or a shipping label.
- Receiving the goods – After receiving the goods, we weigh the shipment and scan the UID code or barcode on the shipping label. If the shipment does not have a shipping label, we scan the UID code, after which a shipping label is automatically printed, which we stick on the package. The system therefore assigns weight to the order and changes its status to shipped.
- Finalization – Shipments processed by our system are thus ready for finalization. This consists of assigning the package to our transport line, depending on the country of delivery or the courier company for the last mile.
- Delivery – After receiving the package, it is immediately ready for delivery, without the need for storage. This saves clients not only money but also important time, thanks to which the customer has the goods as quickly as possible.