In addition to its many other benefits and uses, EDI presents a solution to helping organizations mitigate the impact of loading dock congestion. Congestion at the loading dock, whether at the distribution center (DC), warehouse or store-level is a major headache for retailers as well as many other types of organizations dealing with merchandise that needs to be transported from a distribution
centre or warehouse to a store. Time is money and time wasted on loading dock congestions is money you’ll never see again. A primary aspect of having a holistic process to reduce the inefficiencies of congestion at the loading dock is the use of an Advance Ship Notice (ASN) related to a particular Purchase Order (PO). The EDI-based ASN that supports cross-docking can dramatically enhance the related logistics needed to operate an effective merchandise handling operation.
An efficient loading dock operation will result in:
| 1. | Reduced Energy Costs Energy costs are reduced through the timely and rapid manner in which the shipments and deliveries are handled. A poor loading dock operation causes wasted energy due to pickup/delivery scheduling delays. |
| 2. | Improved Safety of Stock |
| 3. | Increased Productivity Shipments and deliveries can be handled with the efficient use of labour and the most relevant conveyances and equipment to deal with the type of merchandise being handled. |
| 4. | Improved Pickup and Delivery Efficiency A poor loading dock operation causes endless problems with delivery and shipment schedules that result in wasted time, traffic delays and traffic problems. |
| 5. | More Efficient Yard Operation It is worth noting that an integrated PO-ASN and an integrated Delivery and Shipment Appointment Scheduling operation and reduce or eliminate the need for a yard operation altogether. This alone could be of huge benefit to an organization. |
| 6. | Reduced Need Temporary Goods Storage Integrated PO-ASN and Delivery Shipment and Appointment Scheduling can eliminate the need for satellite, temporary and/or retrieval goods storage areas. |
In order to achieve full benefits, a well executed ASN process including cross-docking is crucial to reduce and eliminate loading dock congestion. In our next post, we’ll discuss the key components that make up an efficient loading dock operation including an integrated PO-ASN process, scheduling processes and cross-docking.
