The Facts about Cross-docking – 4 Myths Dispelled

Posted on March 31, 2015 by Crossdock Manitoba

Crossdock ManitobaMyth # 1 – Products Take Longer to Arrive Because of Distance Involved
False! If your supply chain is managed correctly, the desired products are flowing down the pipeline all the time. An experienced Third Party Logistics provider like Crossdock Manitoba can help keep your materials flowing smoothly from point of purchase to point of sale, minimizing your expenditure on storage and handling while ensuring that things get where they need to be.

Myth #2 – Additional Freight Handling can Result in Product Damage
Done correctly, crossdocking involves less handling of your freight, not more. By eliminating unnecessary transfer to and from a warehouse facility, you’ll not only save money on storage, but on shrinkage too.

Myth #3 – Potential Partner Might Not Have Right Storage Capacity
Only if you choose the wrong partner! In Winnipeg, Crossdock Manitoba is your go-to partner for all manner of shipping services. We’ve got a 50,000 square foot facility along with additional warehouse space with the potential for expansion, ideally located at the intersection of road, rail, and air smack dab in the middle of the country. We’re fast, flexible, and experienced. There’s no eventuality we can’t handle.

Myth #4 – Crossdocking Gives You Less Control Over Inventory
Logistics is about giving you more control at less cost. Because your inventory is always in transit, it’s always “almost there”. For best results, choose your partner carefully – not all facilities are created equal, and not all are ideally located. In Winnipeg, we’re confident you won’t find a better third party logistics provider than Crossdock Manitoba.
To find out about working with Crossdock Manitoba to fulfill your customers’ needs, call us at (204) 987-1500 or contact us online.

Watch our latest video Cross-docking myths de-bunked:

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Why Canadian Railcars are Essential to Distribution

Posted on March 30, 2015 by Crossdock Manitoba

Rail ShippingRail is one of the most cost-effective shipping methods. It’s the shipping method that allows your business to bring goods from all over the world (using Canada’s three coasts to connect to marine shipping) close to your market, and then transfer them to truck for the final few miles of their journey.

Fast and effective, rail is much more fuel efficient than over the road shipping, which uses 1.5 – 5.5 times as much fuel, and more labour to move. In an increasingly global marketplace, it’s important to have long-range shipping of materials, from your suppliers and to your customers, at your disposal. Rail shipping gives you access to more than 75% of the North American marketplace.

That’s why we were sure to include multiple rail docks at our facility. Crossdock Manitoba is ideally located to provide all manner of shipping services. We’re in Winnipeg, at the geographic centre of the country. We’re near Canada’s largest highway, and Winnipeg’s James Armstrong Richardson International Airport, one of North America’s busiest Air Cargo hubs.

From this ideal location, we provide all manner of third party logistics services, cross-docking and warehousing included. We can help you plan and execute a supply chain management system tailored specifically to the needs of your business. Whether your goods and materials are coming from across town on a truck or across the world in shipping container on a rail car, we can help you get them where they need to be, when they need to be there.

To find out about working with Crossdock Manitoba call us at (204) 987-1500 or contact us online.

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Speed Plays a Vital Role in Cross-docking

Posted on March 27, 2015 by Crossdock Manitoba

Crossdock ManitobaCross-docking has become an integral part of the shipping strategy of many companies. As a third-party logistics provider, Crossdock Manitoba has seen firsthand the difference that cross-docking makes in the supply chains of our many customers.

For those new to the concept, cross-docking aims to move goods from their point of origin to their point of sale with minimal or no warehousing. When goods arrive at our 50,000 square foot industrial park, they are immediately unloaded from the carrier (truck or rail based) that brought them in, and placed on the appropriate vehicle for outbound shipping to their final destination. This minimized handling and storage costs, and allows for faster arrival of inventory at the point of sale.

Materials caught in the supply chain are consuming resources, not generating revenue. Cross-docking streamlines the process, making your business more efficient. It’s likely that all of your competitors are using Just-in-time delivery to reduce their inventory costs. By engaging the services of Crossdock Manitoba, you can do it too, at a fraction of the cost of setting up your own facilities.

In addition to cross-docking services, Crossdock Manitoba is a full-scale third party logistics company. We offer warehousing, distribution, pick-and-pack shipping services, and delivery services.

The pace of business is forever increasing. You need innovative solutions and trusted partners to remain competitive. That’s where we come in. Since 2001, we’ve been serving the needs of companies from our Winnipeg headquarters, which is optimally located to handle shipments by truck, rail, and air. Our customers’ loyalty means a lot to us – the average length of relationship we have had with our current clients is 7 years, and growing.
To join the many companies trusting their cross-docking and warehousing needs to Crossdock Manitoba, call us at (204) 987-1500 or contact us online.

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Save Money and Ship Orders with Pick and Pack Services

Posted on March 24, 2015 by Crossdock Manitoba

Pick and PackPick and Pack is, simply put, outsourced order processing that takes place in a location where you don’t really have a location.

By utilizing the services of a third party warehouse provider that offers Pick and Pack service (like Crossdock Manitoba here in Winnipeg) you will enable your business to compete with any of the big consumer-centered Internet retailers.

These big companies are having a huge impact on the retail landscape, because they are able to offer the same products that bricks-and-mortar stores do, at a much lower cost because they don’t have the same overhead expenses as the traditional outlets.  They pay for less space (a warehouse only, no retail showroom) and a much smaller staff.  By placing their operations strategically around the country, they are able to offer delivery times that no centrally located retailer can match, due to geographic proximity.

That’s where an outsourced warehouse provider with Pick and Pack service comes in.  A single warehouse location will provide services for a large number of businesses.  Each business saves on the capital cost of warehouse space, and the cost of maintaining your own staff is negated by outsourcing the actual order packing.

In the very competitive world of e-commerce, the most important link in your supply chain is your warehouse – it’s the last stop your product makes on the way to the consumer, who will value on-time delivery of quality goods.  Because there are many online options, your customer’s order needs to be accurate, and on time every time.

Because of our central location, Winnipeg is a popular location for Pick and Pack warehousing.  Crossdock Manitoba has considerable experience providing first-rate Pick and Pack service to a variety of clients, from very small operations to very busy national retailers.

To find out why you should choose Crossdock Manitoba as your Pick and Pack solution provider, call us at (204) 987-1500 or contact us online.

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5 Industries that Can Benefit From Cross-docking

Posted on March 17, 2015 by Crossdock Manitoba

Crossdock ManitobaCross-docking is designed to put your goods in the hands of your customers in the shortest time possible.  While just about any business can benefit from faster shipping, it’s more important in some sectors than others.  Here are some of the types of clients who benefit most from the services of Crossdock Manitoba:

Automotive

Automotive parts suppliers are classic users of “just in time” delivery.  Traditionally, a shop deals with a “jobber” located in the same town, but with recent advances in shipping and warehousing options, suppliers can be located just about anywhere.

Food and Beverage

In the hospitality industry, it’s important to have ingredients for everything on the menu, but with consumption that varies widely, and limited storage space on premises, timely shipping can make you a favourite of your clients.

Consumer Goods

Customers have become far more confident in making online orders than they used to be.  If you sell consumer goods, the limiting factor in your ability to satisfy your clients is often shipping time.  The big businesses in the field (Amazon, etc.) have gotten it down to a science.  By utilizing modern shipping techniques like cross-docking, and pick-and-pack warehouse services, you can be competitive!

Chemicals

Chemicals are difficult to ship, and even harder to store.  Often, the best way to get goods that are considered dangerous from source to store is the most direct route.  With crossdocking, you can avoid the hassle of unpacking and storing chemicals, which will reduce your costs without impacting customer satisfaction.

Retail

Retailers need good supply chain management.  With a third party logistics provider like Crossdock Manitoba on your side, you can keep merchandise where it needs to be – on store shelves.

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Understanding the Giant – Amazon at Work

Posted on March 11, 2015 by Crossdock Manitoba

AmazonThe last decade has seen the emergence of North America’s premiere online retailer, Amazon, as the single largest force in retailing worldwide.  Larger than the 20 next largest online retailers combined, Amazon has an incredible 200 million customers. Orders are shipped 24/7 from an amazing network of “fulfillment centres”, huge warehouses strategically located throughout North America.

Everything Amazon does is about growing their business.  Some of their competitive practices have been labeled “predatory”.  The company plans their entry into new business areas, and when possible enters into arrangements with existing sellers in that marketplace.  They use their status and customer base to leverage the lowest possible prices from their suppliers, who may sometimes struggle with the volume of sales Amazon, can suddenly help them produce.

If forming a relationship isn’t possible, Amazon will source and market their own products, often at a lower price, which puts a lot of pressure on online retailers.  Bricks and Mortar establishments are feeling the pinch of competition, too.  Many are experiencing a phenomenon called “showrooming”, in which customers will go to their stores to do research and then use their smartphones to scan product UPCs, which they will then purchase online from Amazon.  Amazon even offers a discount for shoppers who do this.

Regardless of your opinion of Amazon’s practices, you must admire the work that’s gone into their warehousing operations.  Their latest design, the 8th generation fulfillment centre, is an amazing feat of engineering.  There are 10 such centres across North America, employing more than 150,000 people and using more than 15,000 robots to keep their packages rolling out the doors, at peak times more than 15 million per day!

If your involves shipping items to your customers, you need to follow Amazon’s lead and find innovative ways to get your goods into their hands in short order.  To find out about working with Crossdock Manitoba to fulfill your customers’ needs, call us at (204) 987-1500 or contact us online.

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Cost Fiction

Posted on January 13, 2015 by Crossdock Manitoba

Gary is a business manager at his uncle’s widget factory in rural Manitoba. His dream of becoming employee of the month might just come true if he makes the switch to cross-docking, saving his uncle Eddie enough money for an extravagant lifestyle.

You may be tempted to do it all yourself but these are just some of the costs you’ll encounter when you warehouse your own goods.

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Better Your Inventory Storage and Delivery

Posted on December 31, 2014 by Crossdock Manitoba

Crossdock ManitobaIf you have a business that’s focused on the sale of goods in a large geographical area, there will probably come a time when your organization’s inventory storage and delivery needs beg you to ask a question: Does your business need a third party warehouse?

There are a lot of factors to consider when deciding if outsourcing warehousing is right for your organization, in the end, it all boils down to this – it has to make sense.

Third party warehousing might be the solution for your business for any of the following reasons:

Cost – It will cost you less to outsource warehousing than to maintain your own operation.

Experimentation – You are floating a trial balloon into a new market, and don’t want to risk a large capital investment.

Competitive Edge – Your competition is shipping goods much faster than you are, and it’s costing you business.

Key clients – You have a large customer in an area that’s hard for you to serve, and they require quick delivery or need you to carry emergency stock.

There are, of course, other reasons you might find yourself in need of a warehouse provider to partner with.  Every operation has a unique set of needs.  At Crossdock Manitoba, we’ve built our business on personalized, individual service for each of our clients.  If you are looking to establish a warehouse in the Winnipeg area, you should look at the long list of services that we provide, that you can choose from.

We offer a wide variety of crossdocking, warehousing, and transportation solutions designed to specifically address your needs.  To find out why our reputation for exemplary customer service is unsurpassed, call us at (204) 987-1500 or contact us online.

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Understanding the Pick and Pack Service

Posted on December 18, 2014 by Crossdock Manitoba

Pick and PackAs online retailing becomes a larger part of a landscape that just about every business that sells physical products must navigate, the need for Pick and Pack warehousing has grown exponentially in recent years.

Whether in-house or outsourced, Pick and Pack service works in identical ways.  The warehouse is stocked with the products that are offered for sale, either online or to existing clients, so that they’ll be available when needed.  As an order comes in (usually via computerized Warehouse Management software), the necessary items are assembled, packed securely into the appropriately sized shipping container, and scheduled for shipping immediately.

Large vendors run their own Pick and Pack operations at strategic locations around the country, minimizing transit time so that orders can be fulfilled very quickly.  This rapid shipping has been very successful for a large number of retailers, who are finding that the public is very receptive to the lightning-fast arrival of the products they purchase online.

On the other hand, we’re learning that those who purchase goods online are very value-conscious, and that news travels very quickly across the Internet.  If a product takes longer to arrive from one retailer than another, this feedback is available to potential customers, who can be very fickle.

In order to be competitive in the online marketplace, you need what the big companies have – a warehouse and a staff in strategic locations.  In Canada, there is probably no place more strategically located than Winnipeg, Manitoba.  We are smack-dab in the middle of the country, and James Armstrong Richardson International airport is an important cargo hub.

Crossdock Manitoba offers flexible pick-and-pack service to a wide range of companies.  We offer robust, flexible, and customizable solutions that will allow you to fulfill your customer’s needs today, and as your business grows.

To find out about working with Crossdock Manitoba to fulfill your customers’ needs, call us at (204) 987-1500 or contact us online.

 

 

 

 

 

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Pick and Pack Services – More Than Just Storage and Shipping

Posted on December 1, 2014 by Crossdock Manitoba

Pick and Pack services from Crossdock Manitoba are about more than just getting stuff to your customers.  Our professional logistics service is about order fulfillment, accurate and appropriate shipping, and inventory management.

At Crossdock, we do more than just keep a skid of your stuff in the back room and mail it out when you say so.  We serve many clients, large and small, and have dedicated employees who will accurately and quickly pick the contents of your order, place them carefully and quickly in the appropriate shipping container, and schedule them for the correct shipping option right away.

We provide Pick and Pack service as an integral and seamless part of a company’s supply chain management.  As the last stop before your product reaches your customer, we recognize that our role is very important to your business, and we treat each order as though it’s the most important job in the world.  Because, to your customer, it is.

Our service is completely flexible, and completely scalable, which means that we can grow with you (just temporarily, if your business is seasonal) or permanently, as your satisfied clients begin spreading the news of your product’s excellence and your company’s fast and accurate order fulfillment.

No matter what types of goods you need to ship, and no matter how you need to ship them, we have the experience and the resources to make it happen.

Our location in Winnipeg, Manitoba is conveniently located in the geographic centre of Canada.  Winnipeg International Airport is a busy cargo hub, and road shipping options are plentiful.

To find out how Crossdock Manitoba can customize Pick and Pack services to meet the specific needs of your business, call us at (204) 987-1500 or contact us online.

 

 

 

 

 

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