Cross-docking : How to deal with the different pallet dimensions?

Cross-docking

When the goods are unloaded from the incoming trailer and placed directly in the departing trailer, we call it cross-docking.

This means that in normal cases the goods remain in the cross-dock for (much) less than 24 hours. In some cases, that time is even shorter than one hour! Cross docking not only saves time, it also saves costs.

One of the challenges is to be able to handle the different pallet sizes, because with the enormous diversity time of clients, the number of pallet sizes is at least as diverse.

With a standard fork length, not all pallets can be picked up and the forklift driver (the organization) takes the risk of picking up pallets whose length is longer than the pallet, causing damage because the pallet behind is just lifted and the top pallet shelf destroyed and thereby the product on it. Fork-sleeves are often a quick fix because they are often not at the agreed location, are already occupied or it takes too long to long before they are mounted on the existing lift truck forks.

To prevent this damage, it is efficient to use KOOI® ReachForks (hydraulic extendable forks), especially with the length measuring system.