The North American freight distribution system conveys several opportunities to
extract added value from distribution efficiencies. One notable form is crossdocking,
in which a distribution center essentially acts as a high-throughput sorting
facility where inbound shipments are reconciled with various outbound demands.
Big-box stores are heavy users of this form of sorting of inbound freight flows to a
multitude of large stores. For instance, the world’s biggest retailer, Wal-Mart,
delivers about 85 % of its merchandise using a cross-docking system. This structure
takes advantage of the massification of shipment via long-distance rail corridors: a
decomposition of shipments at a regional warehouse/cross-docking facility serves
an array of stores with daily trucking services. This retailing structure is more
dominant in North America. Europe has several large players (e.g. Carrefour), but
tends to involve more locally-based companies (cultural market differentiation).