How to organize cross-docking in a warehouse

Cross-docking moves goods from the receiving area straight to the shipping area, without storing them in stock. In Viindoo, set the warehouse to receive and deliver in two or more steps, tick the Cross-Dock route on the product, then validate a receipt of that product: Viindoo creates a Cross Dock transfer from the input location to the output location and a delivery order to the customer.

Who	Users with the Inventory Administrator access right to configure the route; Inventory User to process the transfers.
App	Inventory ‣ Configuration, Inventory ‣ Operations

Before you start

• Install the Inventory app.

• Turn on Multi-Step Routes in Inventory ‣ Configuration ‣ Settings.

• The warehouse receives in two or three steps and delivers in two or three steps (see How to choose the receipt flow of a warehouse). The Cross-Dock route stays archived until both are set.

How do I turn on the Cross-Dock route?

1. Go to Inventory ‣ Configuration ‣ Settings, tick Multi-Step Routes in the Warehouse section and click Save.

2. Open the warehouse in Inventory ‣ Configuration ‣ Warehouse Management ‣ Warehouses. On the Warehouse Configuration tab, choose Receive then Store (2 steps) under Incoming Shipments and Pick then Deliver (2 steps) under Outgoing Shipments, then click Save.

3. Go to Inventory ‣ Configuration ‣ Warehouse Management ‣ Routes and open the route Cross-Dock of the warehouse. Its rules take goods from the vendor and push them from the input location to the output location.

4. Under Applicable On, tick Products, then click Save. Without it, you cannot choose the route on a product.

How do I use cross-docking for a product?

1. Open the product in Inventory ‣ Products ‣ Products. On the Inventory tab, tick the Cross-Dock route of the warehouse under Routes, then click Save. Every receipt of this product in that warehouse now follows the route, including receipts created from purchase orders if you also install Purchase.

2. Receive the product: create a receipt, as in How to receive goods in two steps (receive, then store), and click Validate. The goods enter the input location.

3. Viindoo creates a Cross Dock transfer from the input location to the output location instead of a Storage transfer. Open it from Inventory ‣ Overview and click Validate.

4. Viindoo creates the Delivery Orders transfer from the output location to the customer. Open it from the Delivery Orders card and click Validate.

You should now see the delivery order Done. The goods never entered the stock location.

If you also install Sales, tick the option for sales order lines under Applicable On on the route to choose it on the lines of a sales order.

Which fields matter?

Field	Effect	If wrong or empty
Incoming Shipments and Outgoing Shipments (warehouse)	Two or three steps on both sides keep the Cross-Dock route active.	With one step on either side, the route is archived.
Applicable On ‣ Products (route)	Lets you choose the route on products.	The route does not appear on the product form.
Routes (product)	Receipts of the product are pushed to the output location instead of stock.	Goods are stored as usual.

Common errors

Symptom	What to do
There is no Cross-Dock route on the product form.	Check the warehouse steps, then tick Products under Applicable On on the route.
The receipt creates a Storage transfer instead of a Cross Dock transfer.	The route is not ticked on the product, or the receipt belongs to another warehouse than the one of the route.

Next steps

• How to configure putaway rules in a warehouse

• How to limit what a location holds with storage categories

• How to choose which goods leave first with removal strategies

• How to use routes and pull or push rules to supply a location