THE CROSSDOCK PROCESS

What is Cross Docking?

Cross docking is a term that is used to describe the unloading of merchandise from one trailer and immediately distributing it to one or more waiting trailers for shipment to a store or customer. The receiving process is performed through the Receipt Data Entry process described in our article on ‘The Receiving Process.’ There are three methods for the receiving and labeling of cross dock merchandise. 

They are:

• ACD Labeling Using and Inline Printer

• ACD Labeling without an Inline Printer

• WMS Receiving and Printing

Items that are categorized as Flow Thru can either be moved using an Automatic Conveyor Distribution system (ACD), or they can be moved using the Non-Conveyable method (Non-Con) and are transported by fork lift to staging areas next to the loading dock.

Acronyms used in this process that you will see mentioned here are FOMB, POMB, and MTM.

FOMB is defined as Flow Thru Order Maintenance Batch. It is a process that allocates Flow Thru and X-dock inventory, and generates work assignments to move the product by PO or SKU using the ACD or Non-Con systems. It executes the inventory reduction process for all destinations having Flow Thru demand for the PO or SKU.

POMB is defined as Purchase Order Maintenance Batch. It is the process of looking up a purchase order and determining the customers for whom the materials were purchased, or for whom the materials are allocated.

MTM is an acronym that stands for a Transportation Management system. It is the system that is used for many parts of the shipping process including routing.

The Cross Dock Process

Depending on the size of your system, and whether your company is part of a network of distribution centers or a single warehouse, some or all of the following processes might apply.

If your part of a network of distribution centers your WMS system will have received customer orders and purchase orders from your purchasing department. You might also receive ASN’s from the vendors. The carrier calls for an appointment, and your receiving clerk follows the appointment scheduling process previously described in our article titled “The Receiving Process.”

Trailer Checkin

Once the trailer arrives at your warehouse, your security team will give the driver the receiving dock number and instructs him or her to that location. The driver gives the freight bill to the receiving clerk who checks for an ASN. If none exists the receiving clerk creates the ASN using the fright bill and PO quantities.

The clerk then enters the receipt header information into the WMS. If there are no errors then the clerk will decide whether to print the labels using your ADC system or the WMS system. This will depend largely on the capabilities of your system, but may also depend on whether the cases are conveyable, and whether there are any known problems with the vendor’s labels. If you have a truly optimized supply chain, the vendor will have already tested his labels with your system for compatibility.

Once the decision on where to print the labels has been made, your WMS system should automatically populate the receipt quantities from the ASN. These should again be compared to the quantities listed on the freight bill, and any changes in quantity should be made at this time.

The Receiving and Labeling Process

Once done, you proceed with the receiving and labeling process. The first step is to FOMB the outbound orders via your WMS. These should be associated with the PO’s and ASN’s allowing the WMS to assign them to their default routes. The FOMB will update the ACD master cross docking order table for you.

As your unloading team checks in the order your ACD clerk groups the information in ACD by appointment and PO and generates an ACD truck number. The ACD then loads the order information into the appointment table based on the inputs from your ACD clerk.

The next step is the labeling process, and due to the complicated nature of the labeling processes I have created separate articles discussing each.

Live Unloading and Receipt Verification

If you are doing a live unload (a real time verification of received goods), you need to view the received case count and error case count on ACD at the end. Compare the freight bill count with the total of ACD received cases and errors. If they match, sign the freight bill and give it back to the driver. If they don’t match, tell the driver that the freight bill will be signed after the errors are reconciled.

Check the error lane for boxes.

Are there any ‘NO READ’ labels on them? If yes, scan or type error label and vendor label information into ACD system. If a record is not found in the ACD system, open the box if necessary to determine the SKU of the item. Search the ACD system by product for unreceived cases, and attempt to match the case with an unreceived one. If you find a match, print a new case label. By doing this, the ACD system will mark the record as received.

Finishing the Receiving Process

If you do not find a match, determine whether the ASN quantity is greater than the demand quantity. If yes, then prepare the case for putaway by setting it aside and waiting for the WMS system to generate a putaway label. If not, then further research is necessary.

If a record was not found in the ACD system when you typed the vendor label information into it, and you can verify that it is on an order, print a new case label. The ACD system will mark the box as received.

Once the error lane has been cleared, verify that the error case count is as expected. Instruct the ACD system to send the processed order file to the WMS. Mark any damages out using the WMS system and labels. Locate the receipt in WMS. The system automatically populates from the ACD tables. Confirm that the receipt process is complete in WMS. Once confirmed, the PO is closed by the WMS.

Your WMS should now remove the WMS labels not scanned in ACD from the shipping labels. The putaway labeling process is run in WMS and the putaway labels are printed for any overage accounted for.

If the freight bill has not been signed yet, mark the overage or shortage on the freight bill and sign it, giving it back to the driver. If it was previously signed, then the cross dock receiving process is finished and the merchandise can be putaway or shipped.

If you have a question that is not answered here, feel free to contact us.

We are also available to consult with your company in logistics areas and have extensive experience in distribution management and problem resolution.