Answer to Question #129558 in Management for Nikiwe

Question

Advise a retail company on the role and importance of cross-docking facility as well as the requirements for such a facility

Answer 1

The Role, Importance and the Requirements of a Cross-docking Facility

Retail cross-docking involves sourcing products from different vendors and delivering the collected items to the retail outlets. There are two categories of procurement in this case. The first one includes the goods used daily, like fruits, groceries, vegetables, and others. The second category comprises products that are occasionally needed; some are bought once in a year and hence need not be stocked daily.

Cross-docking in a retail company comes along with numerous benefits. The cost associated with allocating and sorting the products is completely minimized. Handling inventory is associated with multiple risks. With cross-docking in a retail company, there is less inventory that requires storage while there is higher inventory turnover. The product coming in is quickly sorted and processed; hence such risks minimized. In addition to that, it becomes easy to spot the damaged products while in the doc, thus, customers will only receive quality products. The art will help the retail company maintain its competitive advantage since customer satisfaction is maintained.

Nevertheless, planning is necessary to ensure a smooth flow of goods at any given time. A suitable schedule is a requirement to help adapt to any change swiftly and effective management of delays. For purposes of streamlined operations, a coordination platform design is as well necessary.