Innovation in logistics to digitise cross-docking operations

For anyone passionate about logistics innovation and efficiency, cross docking is a fascinating concept. It was born in the 1930s, became globally popular in the 1980s and today is not only still in use today, but is one of the main logistics strategies, especially in pallet shipment services, used by all kinds of industries and for almost any product.
Cross-docking introduced a new intermediate stage in the logistics chain, which was a major innovation in logistics. Instead of transporting goods from A to B directly, products from different customers are unloaded at a hub and stored temporarily, usually for a few hours.

When the pallets or packages sharing the same destination reach a sufficient volume, the goods are loaded onto the truck to complete the route.
It is true that cross docking slowed down delivery times compared to direct transport, but it optimised routes and offered a more economical shipping solution. How is it possible that the logistics competitiveness of many industries continues to depend on a strategy that is almost a century old?
It is clear that cross docking has evolved over the last decades, that solutions have been incorporated to optimise different transport or warehousing processes, but as a strategy it has remained virtually unchanged, making this intermediate stage of warehousing a standard in the shipping business.
Reinventing cross docking, the pending logistics innovation
At Ontruck, we have been working on logistics innovation since 2016.