ABSTRACT
Across-the-Dock Operation An across-the-dock warehouse is a supply chain logistics strategy design that requires minimal SKU storage or customer-order pick activities. An across-the-dock warehouse moves individual customer orders or SKUs directly from a receiving dock, via a warehouse transport concept and sort area, and into an order shipping staging area or directly onto a delivery vehicle. In a manual across-the-dock design, there is a WMS identification on the exterior of each SKU. An employee scans/reads each identification and transfers the SKU to a staging area or delivery truck. Because a manual across-the-dock design is not conveyor supported to assure an efficient and cost effective operation, a SKU flow from a receiving area to a pack/ship area, scan, sort and unitize/direct load activities are well organized and occur in the proper sequence. In a mechanical across-the-dock
warehouse, the preferred characteristics are a powered conveyor sort design, human-/machinereadable codes on the exteriors of SKUs surface (which permits an employee to scan/read the delivery address), and computer-controlled divert devices on the sort travel path. In an acrossthe-dock operation, SKUs flow through a value-added activity prior to a sort activity, in which an employee or a machine enhances the SKU value to the customer (e.g., a retail price ticket on each retail SKU).
