In a flow through system, product is received at an
in-bound dock, broken down, and placed on a conveyor
system. The product is coded immediately after arrival
and moved via conveyor to a sorting area where it is
sent to the appropriate out-bound truck for shipping.
Product is not stored or palletized during this
process.
The advantage of this system is that there is reduced handling of product. This is especially true
if a full pallet is requested but is also true when
loads are broken down since this function can be done
at a single specified site where the use of lifting aids
and other mechanical equipment is more feasible.
The principle disadvantage of this system is that
it is very floor space intensive and it involves an
extreme degree of coordination to get all product to
the right place at the right time.
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Flow Diagram of Cross-Docking.
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