WMS CROSSDOCK RECEIVING AND LABELING

If you are working on a cross dock process without an ACD system, your WMS system can be used to receive the merchandise and produce the necessary labels. The following description of these procedures can be used as a guide.

This process starts out using the ‘Receipt Data Entry’ process described in our article on ‘The Receiving Process.’ Once done, the WMS FOMB’s all outbound orders associated with the PO and ASN and assigns the orders to a default route. The receiving unloaders unload the items from the trailer. The cross dock merchandise is identified via the receiving documentation.

The cross dock loader prints the shipping labels from the WMS and applies them to the boxes, matching the product on the label to the product description on the box. Once this is done the loader determines whether there are extra cartons left over. If so, he sets them aside for verification of the quantity shipped verses the ASN quantity. If not, then he holds the boxes in a designated cross dock staging area.

The loader determines whether there are any left over labels. If so, he scans the labels, or types in the PO, product, or receipt number into the WMS to remove the unused containers from the system. At this point the WMS adjusts the receipt quantity and deletes the unused container numbers.

If there were no cartons left over at the end of the unloading process the loader updates the receipt quantity to reflect the quantity received and confirms to WMS that the receiving process is complete. This closes the PO in the WMS, and the putaway procedure is run and putaway labels are printer for any overage. These labels are then applied to any new cartons and the freight bill is signed with notations made for any overages or shortages.

At this point the putaway and shipping portion of the cross dock process can begin. First, determine whether there are any boxes set aside for putaway. If so, label the boxes (if they haven’t been labeled yet). Also, determine whether there are any extra boxes set aside that do not have shipping labels on them yet.

If there are extra boxes that are destined for a customer that do not have labels on them yet, start by adjusting the PO if necessary to add the additional quantity to the order. Create an ASN for the box using the information available. If necessary, add customer demand if it does not already exist. Finally, perform the receipt data entry process described in our article on ‘The Receiving Process.’

Now that you have determined that everything is properly labeled, determine whether your conveyors can pre-sort by batch. If not, the boxes will need to be sorted manually into appropriate batches for processing. If your conveyor can pre-sort the boxes, load the boxes onto the conveyors. The conveyors will then sort the boxes for later processing. In either case the boxes are stored in a cross dock staging area waiting for the next process.

Before I continue, I think you should gain an understanding of how cross dock boxes are fit into the picking and shipping process so that you understand why boxes need to be presorted and staged.

There is someone in your company who plans and schedules the picking process for each day. This is called developing the ‘Batch Grid’ and includes such factors as available cubic space (cubes) in each container or trailer, and routing for each trailer based on delivery schedules for each customer.

The transportation management system (MTM) routes all orders (including cross dock and non-cross dock) to be BOMB’d. The WMS sends customer and lane information to the sorter when each batch is processed so that the conveyor system knows where to send each box.

Once this is all considered, the order is released, and your cross dock loaders load the staged cross dock boxes for each batch onto conveyors based on instructions from operations received either through your RF system or by paper orders.

In some cases there are non-conveyable (Non-CON) boxes in your staging area. If this is the case, your loader moves these boxes to the correct shipping lanes staging area for this type of merchandise. These boxes will be RF loaded onto the correct trailer. RF loading is a term used to describe the manual scanning of merchandise during the loading process.

If the boxes are conveyable, the conveyor routes the cross dock boxes to the sorter for assignment and directing to the correct lane. The shipping loader then places these boxes into the trailer for shipment to the customer.

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