For example, one significant trend is increased use of cross docking, an approach whereby products received at a warehouse are immediately shipped out without ever being put into storage. With computerized information systems, warehouses can pre-assign a shipping door for each inbound carton.
When the shipment arrives, a receiving dock employee can quickly apply a bar-coded-shipping label that includes destination data, and place the carton directly on an outbound vehicle. Cross docking is even changing the configuration of the warehouse.
Although traditional warehouses are square, with truck doors on one side and rail doors on the other, combination storage/cross dock warehouses took more like a modified U with storage at either end and cross-docking areas in the center.
Goods are received through the cross-dock area and moved directly to shipping doors or, if necessary, to short-term storage, which minimizes the distance goods have to travel within the warehouse.
With more and more companies eliminating inventory, warehouses are performing fewer storage functions. Instead, they are growing adept at keeping products moving quickly and accurately.
This requires sophisticated computer information systems to minimize storage costs and time while maximizing quality service to warehouse customers.
The best warehouses are therefore reinventing their role as supply chain partners by becoming expertly managed "flow through" centers.
