What is cross-docking?

• A. A warehousing process where incoming goods are directly transferred to outbound shipments with minimal storage.
• B. A warehousing process where incoming goods are stored for weeks.
• C. A method of storing goods for long periods before shipping.
• D. A Transportation routing optimization.

Answer: (A)

Cross-docking is a warehousing technique where incoming goods are moved directly to outbound shipments with little or no intermediate storage. In practice, items arrive at the receiving dock, are quickly inspected and sorted, and then immediately loaded onto outbound transportation to their next destination. This minimizes handling and storage time, speeding up delivery and reducing warehouse costs. It hinges on tight coordination between inbound and outbound schedules and often uses a staging area just to route items to the correct outbound loads.

The other descriptions involve storing goods for weeks or long periods, which is traditional warehousing, not cross-docking, or describe routing optimization itself, which is about planning transportation rather than the immediate transfer of goods within a warehouse.