Dock the Halls: How Exceptional Tools Prepare Warehouse Docks for High-Volume Holidays

Consumers crave convenient shopping and faster shipping during the holiday season, which puts added pressure on warehouse docks across the country. Pre-Black Friday deals, Cyber Monday sales, and regular Christmas shopping continue to rise both online and in-person. In 2021, 88 million buyers shopped on Black Friday, with both in-store and online traffic increasing by 19% (source).

With the push for accelerated e-commerce deliveries and faster supply chains, on the whole, warehouses have to push for faster loading and unloading. It’s critical that docks operate successfully while meeting such high demand. Having the right tools in place can keep people, products, and equipment moving safely and efficiently.

Streamlines loading and unloading
One of the biggest benefits of having better dock equipment is saving time. Dock efficiency helps overall warehouse performance. As the smooth flow of products is critical, their importance is heightened during the holiday season. Docking tools like the Nordock Telescoping-Lip offer practical solutions to common delay issues. The telescoping lip saves both time and money and eliminates the need to manually unload a cubed-out trailer.

Reduces risk of damaged products or goods
Product damage can happen anywhere along the supply chain, but accident probability increases at shipping and receiving bays. Additionally, during the stresses of the holiday season, there’s a higher risk of damage when trying to keep up fulfillment momentum. Tools like the TLH Retrofit telescoping lip dock leveler can substantially decrease damage to end-loaded trailers. Common levelers have a fixed rotating lip, which can impact the product if the leveler is not properly handled. With the precision of the telescoping lip, an operator can lay the lip on the trailer bed without damaging goods.

Maintains dock safety
Docks frequently get mentioned as one of the most dangerous places to be. Thus, warehouses should prioritize safety at the dock. During this time of year, many warehouses bring in more hands through part-time and seasonal employment, and their safety is important.

When it comes to tools like the TLH Retrofit, safety was built into its innovation. The Retrofit offers clear sight lines as it stores flush with the dock floor. Further, it increases floor space for a safe cross-traffic operation and staging area. It also eliminates “stuck truck,” preventing forklift damage that occurs when tires become stuck between a trailer bed and a loading dock.

Efficient levelers like the Nordock TLH Retrofit Telescoping-Lip save companies hassle, time and money — all critical during the holiday season. Read more about how we saved one customer over $1 million per year (link to case study).

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