The worker in a cross-dock

Overview

For the worker, a cross-dock is one job in their list, even though there are two trucks. When it starts, unloading and loading begin at the same time: what comes off the inbound truck goes onto the outbound one in the same move. On the same screen they capture what was received, record what was loaded and take photos of both legs. Confirming the receipt and closing the shipment is done afterwards by a supervisor.

Before you start

• The cross-dock job is assigned to the worker. If it was created with no worker, it isn’t in their list and only a supervisor can start it from the board.
• To capture what comes off, the warehouse needs the receiving module; to record what goes on, the shipping module. Without them those panels don’t appear (see Cross-dock without receiving or shipping).
• The worker goes to Operations › My Work. See The worker app.

Step by step

1. Start the job. The receipt moves to in progress and the cross-dock to Receiving.
2. In the Receiving panel, capture the received quantity and location per product and click Save receiving.
3. Those same products appear in the Loading record panel: check what went onto the outbound truck, lower anything that didn’t, enter the seal and click Save loading.
4. Take at least one unloading photo and one loading photo.
5. Capture accessorials if any and finish the job.

The Receiving panel: what comes off

• It shows the cross-dock receipt with its lines: expected, received and location.
• The location comes pre-set to XD-STAGE, the pass-through location. Leave it unless the freight really stays elsewhere: if you clear it, the supervisor can’t confirm the receipt until it’s set again.
• If the received quantity doesn’t match the expected one, the difference is flagged as short or over.
• At the top there is an Unload photo (to receipt) button.
• If the receipt has no lines (the cross-dock was created with no declared products), the panel says so and offers to capture the receipt lines if the worker has Capture Receipts; otherwise it asks them to tell a supervisor.

Saving the receiving confirms nothing: it only writes the quantities. The receipt stays in progress.

The Loading record panel: what goes on

• A notice explains that what comes off the inbound trailer goes onto the outbound one, and that what was captured in the unload shows up here.
• Each product captured in the unload appears as a shipment line, with the received quantity suggested. If the shipment already carried the customer’s plan, the ordered quantity is kept and the loaded quantity is recorded against it.
• You can’t record more than what came off.
• If you correct the unload (for example, a wrong SKU), the loading record adjusts itself: anything no longer backed goes to zero.
• At the top there is a Load photo (to shipment) button, and the outbound driver’s details (not the inbound one’s).

The panel is explained in Loading record and verification, and what happens to shortages in The loading record and shortages.

Photos of both legs

The job camera asks which leg each photo belongs to: Unload (to receipt) or Load (to shipment), and shows the number of the document it uploads to. Each panel’s photo button already opens it on the right leg. Finishing requires at least one photo of each leg. The loading photos are the ones that can travel in the shipment-closed email.

Finishing the job

When it finishes:

• The cross-dock moves to Loaded; unloading and loading share the same end time.
• The two original jobs inherit the start and end times, and the outbound driver gets checked out.
• The inbound trailer is marked empty.
• In warehouses with receiving and shipping, a supervisor still has to confirm the receipt and close the shipment. See Tracking and closing a cross-dock.

Example

Carlos Ruiz has cross-dock CD-2026-000014 in his list. He starts at 8:40. In Receiving he captures 26 of SI-PAL-01 into XD-STAGE and saves. The line with 26 appears in the Loading record: he checks it, enters seal 771205 and saves. He takes a photo of the open inbound trailer and another of the sealed outbound one. He finishes at 9:35.

Messages the worker may see

Best practices

• Save receiving often, not only at the end: that way the loading record always has something to record against.
• Take the unloading photo when the inbound trailer opens and the loading photo with the seal on.
• Don’t change the XD-STAGE location unless the supervisor says so.

FAQ

Do I unload everything first and then load?

No need. Both legs run at the same time; you can capture what comes off and record what goes on as you go.

What do I do with a damaged piece?

Capture it as received and don’t record it as loaded. Tell the supervisor: on close, that piece stays in XD-STAGE and someone has to decide what to do with it (move it to a real location and mark it damaged).