. We can estimate the distance that the forklifts
travel to locate freight from the lay-down area to the
corresponding lanes based on the dimensions of the
crossdock, the location of the lanes inside the facility,
and the composition of the freight carried. Usually,
freight from one trailer must be placed in different
lanes inside the facility. The total distance traveled to
unload freight from a trailer depends not only on the
distance between the lay-down area and the lanes, but
also on the number of forklift trips needed to locate
the freight in the lanes. Therefore, we can estimate the
average distance that the forklift travels by calculating
the length of the path a forklift driver would take
when going from the inbound dock to the center of
the lane in which the freight will be located, and multiplying
this distance by the number of forklift trips
needed. Transfreight engineers provided us with a distance
matrix for the unloading of trailers at each dock.