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Cross-docking Might Just Be What Your Halloween Makeup Store Needs To Thrive

By Daniel Wood


It's an understatement to say that today's cosmetics market landscape is a challenging one. In an era where consumers are more informed than ever, a retailer's survival their ability to fulfill orders accurately and on time. If that sounds like a tall order for your still-growing Utah Halloween makeup online store, maybe it's time you adopted cross-docking as a logistics management strategy.

You're probably wondering what cross-docking is all about, and whether you actually need it in the first place. It's essentially a supply chain model under which inbound inventory is used to fulfill outbound orders. Upon arrival, goods are usually unloaded, screened, and segmented based on current orders. What follows is their dispatch to various destinations, often via pre-selected channels.

Much like every other concept known to man, cross-docking is far from being a universal answer for all supply chain problems. No prizes for guessing that careful planning and effort are mandatory for its successful implementation. Nevertheless, the technique has proved a handy tool for online businesses. So it's only natural that you'll want to take a look at its potential benefits:

Better Turnaround Times: This comes from the ability to link up both ends of your supply chain, thus bypassing the warehousing phase . Keep in mind, though, that this won't do away with the need for the said facility. In actual sense, what cross-docking does is reduce the amount of time inventory spends in storage. This creates room for quicker order fulfillment, more so when combined with automated processes.

Free up Room: The lower the amount of inventory needing long-term storage, the less space it will take up in the warehouse. This may very well be that opportunity you've long been seeking to free up room for expansion. It could also be a prospect to lower the square footage you rent. Ultimately, it's all up to you to decide what will best suit your business's bottom line.

Less Risk: A cross-dock facility will do away with most of the processes involved in your warehouse setup. This will in turn reduce the amount of handling your inventory experiences, thereby lowering the risk of damage and/or loss. The lean operation will also minimize instances of overstocking as well.

Cost Effective: With cross-docking, shipments headed to a similar destination can be transported together. This leads to better utilization of the available carrying capacity, thereby optimizing costs in the long term. The carbon footprint of each unit product also shrinks.

Added Value for Shoppers: The ability to match market demand with fast, reliable deliveries will never go out of fashion. And if that sounds obvious, so too should it be to offer free shipping to your customers. The cost savings realized thanks to cross-docking will more than make up for the sacrifice.

The biggest concern for any product-dependent business is to match existing demand with supply capacity. Additionally, this is an era where cost-efficiency can be the difference between your success and failure. Cross docking could very well be your ticket out of this catch-22 situation. Of course, proper planning will be key during its implementation.




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By Daniel Wood


It's an understatement to say that today's cosmetics market landscape is a challenging one. In an era where consumers are more informed than ever, a retailer's survival their ability to fulfill orders accurately and on time. If that sounds like a tall order for your still-growing Utah Halloween makeup online store, maybe it's time you adopted cross-docking as a logistics management strategy.

You're probably wondering what cross-docking is all about, and whether you actually need it in the first place. It's essentially a supply chain model under which inbound inventory is used to fulfill outbound orders. Upon arrival, goods are usually unloaded, screened, and segmented based on current orders. What follows is their dispatch to various destinations, often via pre-selected channels.

Much like every other concept known to man, cross-docking is far from being a universal answer for all supply chain problems. No prizes for guessing that careful planning and effort are mandatory for its successful implementation. Nevertheless, the technique has proved a handy tool for online businesses. So it's only natural that you'll want to take a look at its potential benefits:

Better Turnaround Times: This comes from the ability to link up both ends of your supply chain, thus bypassing the warehousing phase . Keep in mind, though, that this won't do away with the need for the said facility. In actual sense, what cross-docking does is reduce the amount of time inventory spends in storage. This creates room for quicker order fulfillment, more so when combined with automated processes.

Free up Room: The lower the amount of inventory needing long-term storage, the less space it will take up in the warehouse. This may very well be that opportunity you've long been seeking to free up room for expansion. It could also be a prospect to lower the square footage you rent. Ultimately, it's all up to you to decide what will best suit your business's bottom line.

Less Risk: A cross-dock facility will do away with most of the processes involved in your warehouse setup. This will in turn reduce the amount of handling your inventory experiences, thereby lowering the risk of damage and/or loss. The lean operation will also minimize instances of overstocking as well.

Cost Effective: With cross-docking, shipments headed to a similar destination can be transported together. This leads to better utilization of the available carrying capacity, thereby optimizing costs in the long term. The carbon footprint of each unit product also shrinks.

Added Value for Shoppers: The ability to match market demand with fast, reliable deliveries will never go out of fashion. And if that sounds obvious, so too should it be to offer free shipping to your customers. The cost savings realized thanks to cross-docking will more than make up for the sacrifice.

The biggest concern for any product-dependent business is to match existing demand with supply capacity. Additionally, this is an era where cost-efficiency can be the difference between your success and failure. Cross docking could very well be your ticket out of this catch-22 situation. Of course, proper planning will be key during its implementation.




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