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Reducing Labor Costs in an LTL Crossdocking Terminal

Author

Listed:
  • John J. Bartholdi

    (School of Industrial & Systems Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332)

  • Kevin R. Gue

    (Department of Systems Management, Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California 93943)

Abstract

Handling freight in a crossdocking terminal is labor intensive and therefore costly because workers must unload, sort, and transfer a wide variety of freight from incoming to outgoing trailers. The efficiency of workers depends in large part on how trailers are assigned to doors around the dock; that is, on its layout. A good layout reduces travel distances without creating congestion, but until now no tools have been available to construct such layouts. We describe models of travel cost and three types of congestion typically experienced in crossdocking terminals, and we use them to construct layouts that minimize the labor cost of transferring freight. We report on the use of our models in the less-than-truckload trucking industry, including an implementation at a terminal in Stockton, California that improved productivity by more than 11%.

Suggested Citation

  • John J. Bartholdi & Kevin R. Gue, 2000. "Reducing Labor Costs in an LTL Crossdocking Terminal," Operations Research, INFORMS, vol. 48(6), pages 823-832, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:inm:oropre:v:48:y:2000:i:6:p:823-832
    DOI: 10.1287/opre.48.6.823.12397
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    References listed on IDEAS

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