Four commonly used strategies to configure a firm’s distribution activities are direct shipment, milk-runs, warehousing, and cross-docking. In a direct shipment strategy, each shipment is sent directly from origin to destination. A milk-run strategy groups shipments into routes visiting multiple origins and destinations sequentially. These two strategies are associated with low implementation costs as they do not involve intermediary logistics facilities. When shipment sizes are small and customers are geographically dispersed, a direct shipment or milk-run strategy results in partially empty trucks and longer transportation lead times as products are stored further away from their demand points. In response to these shortcomings, firms can employ a warehousing or cross-docking distribution strategy.