Pre-distribution and post-distribution cross-docking operations

In this paper, we construct analytical models for distribution strategies with two major types of cross-docking, pre-distribution cross-docking (Pre-C) and post-distribution cross-docking (Post-C). A traditional distribution center system is also discussed for comparison purposes. Three models are compared pair-wisely. Analytical results show that, Pre-C is preferred for environments with shorter supply lead time and lower uncertainty of demand, without the benefits of risk-pooling. The Post-C mitigates the weakness of the Pre-C at the expense of higher operations cost spent at the cross-dock. Numerical experiments are conducted to support our results and explore other findings.