Cross-docking is the practice of unloading freight and reloading them for transport to the next destination, with little to no storage in between trips.
This is typically done to bring in loads from different points of origin to consolidate onto fewer trucks for delivery to a final destination, or to sort and redistribute a variety of freight bound for multiple destinations.
What is a Short-Term-Hold (STH) or Short-Hold Storage?
Shippers have schedules on when freight needs to go out and/or needs to deliver. When a carrier needs to consolidate a truck for LTL shipments, the local pickup schedule to bring in freight from multiple locations may vary for a variety of reasons.
The freight that was picked up earlier than the truck’s outbound date will need to be stored for a short period of time, with the proper handling and temperature.
Another situation would be where the shipper sent a full truckload, with freight going to different destinations, to be broken down into LTL on different trucks.
Basically, it is storage for a short period of time so that other freight can come in and be consolidated into fewer trucks with shared delivery locations, thus making the shipment more efficient.
Short Term Warehousing and Freight Storage
Warehousing is a great way to handle spikes in demand without committing long term. Short-term warehousing typically means storing products for fewer than 90 days, but it can also be used by manufacturers and retailers who need temporary storage with quick turnaround times on orders or stock rotation needs.
Short term warehousing is ideal for situations such as those with seasonal demand, special projects needing temporary storage, the introduction of new products, and start up companies.
Included with Cross-Docking Services?
Most brokers and carriers have this as part of the cross-docking service since it is inevitable to be part of the process with LTL shipments, especially with temperature-controlled freight.
This is where a shipper really needs to make a decision to using the right people for the job, since this a key piece of the supply chain where any mistakes can snowball to a much bigger problem. We have a guide on the Four Responsibilities of a Good Freight Broker.
BOA Logistics has warehousing and cross-docking services available. Get in contact with the team to get started!
