Crossdocking in action

-- Modern Materials Handling, 1/1/2004

S.P. Richards Co., the second-largest office products wholesaler in the United States, relies heavily on the push work upstream type of crossdocking to support its customers. Small and large office products retailers and distributors only stock a fraction of the products they sell in their own distribution centers (DCs). They rely on S.P. Richards to pick orders and ship them directly to the customer, or to the retailer's DC for crossdocking with the rest of the customer's order. Frequently this process is initiated in the afternoon or evening for an early morning delivery the next day.

"We view crossdocking as a strategic advantage," explains Pete Viehweg, senior vice president of S.P. Richards. "We have 36 full stocking DCs around the country, and product can come from multiple warehouses. Because turnaround time is critical, we crossdock sometimes twice - all during the nighttime hours - in order to meet the cycle time requirements that drive our business."