What is cross-docking?
Cross-docking moves received goods straight from the inbound dock to outbound for an open order, skipping storage.
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When cross-docking makes sense
If goods arrive for an order that ships soon, putting them away and picking them again is wasted work. Cross-docking sends them from the inbound area to outbound staging instead.
It works best when inbound timing is reliable and orders for the incoming stock are already known.
Worked example
In this example, 12 pallets arrive at 08:00. Five of them match an order that ships at 11:00.
Those 5 pallets go straight to outbound staging. The other 7 go to storage as normal. The site saves 5 putaways and 5 picks.
How Waresify handles it
Cross-docking is a module on every plan. It moves stock from inbound staging to outbound staging against open demand, with the same scan confirmation as any other move.
Questions
Do I need a special building layout for cross-docking?
Not for occasional cross-docks. A short distance between inbound and outbound staging helps, and dedicated cross-dock sites are built around it.
Does cross-docked stock appear in the ledger?
It should. The receipt and the move to outbound are both stock movements, so the history stays complete.