Freight that should not stop moving.
Some inventory does not need storing, it needs turning around. Cross-docking receives it on one door and ships it from another, with no storage line on the invoice.
What is cross-docking?
Cross-docking is receiving freight and shipping it out without putting it into storage. Product moves from an inbound door to an outbound door, typically inside 24 to 48 hours. Because nothing is racked, there is no storage line, only inbound and outbound handling.
| Cross-dock | Store then ship | |
|---|---|---|
| Storage billed | None | Per position per month |
| Time on site | 24 to 48 hours | Weeks to months |
| Put away | No | Yes |
| Suits | Known destination on arrival | Destination not yet known |
When does cross-docking make sense?
When the destination is already known at the moment freight arrives. If you know where a load is going before it lands, storing it adds a put-away, a pick and a month of storage for no benefit. If the destination is still open, it needs to sit, and that is storage.
That single question, whether the destination is known on arrival, decides it more reliably than volume or product type.
What a cross-dock actually involves.
Booked inbound
The load is scheduled against a door rather than turning up, because a cross-dock only works if both trucks are on site in the same window.
Checked, not racked
Freight is counted and inspected on the floor. Nothing is put away, which is the whole reason there is no storage line.
Staged by outbound
Pallets are built to the outbound load, not to your storage profile, so the trailer is loaded in the order it will be unloaded.
Released the same window
Out on the nominated carrier inside 24 to 48 hours. Past that it stops being a cross-dock and becomes storage, and it is billed as storage.
Tell us what you need to store.
Pallet count and dwell time are the two figures that set the price. Send those and you get real numbers back, not a discovery call.
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