Cross-docking in Global Supply Chain Management
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Cross-docking is a relatively new and extremely effective technique used in global supply chain management. This technique can rapidly consolidate shipments from different sources and reduce the cost of outbound transportation by eliminating the inventory-holding function of a warehouse without hampering its consolidation and shipping functions. An important adjunct to the warehouse management systems now in use in many industries (Hill, Fig.1), cross-docking eliminates several intermediate steps in the warehousing process. Instead of shipments of goods being received, stored, and then shipped out again, cross-docking transfers incoming shipments directly to outgoing trucks without storing them in between, usually transferring them from one truck to another via conveyor (ôCross-Docking Systems,ö Fig. 2). Shipments usually spend less than 24 hours in the warehouse, and in some cases even less than an hour. Cross-docking is an integral part of the warehouse management system (Hill, Fig. 3). The difference between the traditional stocking/shipping process and cross-docking is simple:In a traditional warehouse, goods are received from vendors and stored in devices like pallet racks or shelving.á When a customer (e.g., the consumer or perhaps a retail outlet) requests an item, workers pick it from the shelves and send it to the destination.á In a crossdock, goods arriving from the vendor already have a customer assigned, so workers need only move the shipment
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antial competitive advantage (Czerniawska & Gavin Potter, 1998).
As part of global supply chain management, cross-docking makes a fundamental change in the management process. It shifts the focus from the supply chain to the demand chain, because any stock coming into the cross-docking center has already been preallocated against a replenishment order generated by a retailer in the supply chain (Cross Docking). In this respect, Wal-Mart has transcended the old tried-and-true (and inefficient) ways of managing the supply chain and has reinvented them under a new paradigm. This is true innovation.
It must be understood that cross-docking alone does not represent the totality of Wal-MartÆs global supply chain management system nor the complete picture of its innovations. Cross-docking is just one vital part of a skillfully crafted, superbly synchronized system of managing Wal-MartÆs supply chain. Many interconnected components and processes work together to provide the complete solution that has made Wal-Mart the reigning monarch of supply chain management. One of these critical components to the Wal-Mart way of doing business is its RetailLink information system. This system promotes the flow of information necessary for th
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Treacy Wiersema, Cross Docking, Gavin Potter, Hill Fig, Carlton Collins, Via RetailLink, Wal-Mart Corporation, Utilization/Stock Location, Carr Cone, Hill Table, supply chain, chain management, supply chain management, warehouse management, management system, warehouse management system, global supply, global supply chain, wal-martÆs cross-docking, potter 1998, efficient business, wal-mart spent, czerniawska gavin potter, cross-docking technique, gavin potter 1998,
Approximate Word count = 1810
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page)
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