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The massive uptick in e-commerce orders combined with a persistent labor shortage has pushed more companies to rethink the way they manage their yards. A link in the supply chain that’s often referred to as a “black hole” because it lies where the TMS picks up and the WMS leaves off, the yard was once a place where problems were solved by adding more employees and arming them with clipboards and handheld radios.

This approach doesn’t work anymore.

Not only has labor become more expensive and harder to come by, but manual approaches fall short miserably when measured up against technologically advanced, automated yard management systems (YMS).

A collaborative tool for scheduling and managing the warehouse or distribution center (DC) yard, YMS helps logistics team members anticipate and plan loading and unloading flows right down to the smallest detail. It also supports on-time delivery and optimal resource use; synchronizes warehouse operations with yard events; and helps maintain a smooth flow of vehicle movement in and out of the yard.

“The global supply chain has been growing more complex and sophisticated over the past few years, and now that the COVID-19 pandemic has forced the adoption of more agile and streamlined processes,” SupplyChain reports, “there is a greater emphasis on the importance of digitization and technological solutions.”

The Tremendous Positive Impact of YMS

One solution that SupplyChain says has had a “tremendous impact on the logistical side of supply chain networks” is dock and yard management. It defines dock and yard management as the “creation of systems that address all activities related to or impacting the dock and yard, taking into consideration relevant capacities, resource availability, and constraints, as well as demand and company goals.”

Once in place, YMS also:

-Ensures on-time delivery: Improve punctuality, quality and visibility, even when volumes increase.

-Makes the best use of warehouse resources: Synchronize operations in the yard with those in the warehouse. Optimize inbound and outbound operations while gaining visibility. Make the right decisions, quickly, while also reducing operating costs.

-Helps companies be the “shipper of choice” in the capacity-constrained transportation market: Automate appointment scheduling, reduce driver wait times, and track the implementation of transport specifications.

-Leverages automation: YMS plays an important role in helping organizations automate otherwise manual processes, save their human labor for more important projects and use data to plan for unexpected supply chain disruptions.

-“If companies invest in suitable dock and yard management systems, they’ll find that they can significantly reduce costs, inventory stock, and congestion,” SupplyChain adds, “while simultaneously increasing throughput, saving waiting time, and hastening the process of loading and unloading cargo.”

Accelerating the Speed of Business

When companies start processing a higher volume of orders, stock densifies, operations speed up, daily trucks come and go by the dozen, and every inch of space on the docks has to be used. When this happens, being able to anticipate the loading and unloading flows—and plan them down to the slightest detail—become table stakes for the companies operating these yards and docks.
Synchronizing warehouse operations with events in the yard has always been a critical aspect of delivering on time and maximizing resources. With longer queues of trucks to manage and regulatory issues like the hours of service (HOS) rules to consider, pressure to reduce driver wait times is intensifying.

Designed for businesses that want to best plan and optimize their yard operations in order to improve their customer service rate and logistical performance, YMS helps organizations offer the highest level of service to their customers; efficiently manage operations and take charge of unexpected events in a dynamic way; reduce operating costs, and make the best use of available resources.

A digital YMS also helps companies:

-Synchronize multi-pick and multi-drop routes and make easy adjustments in case of unexpected events.

-Reduce transportation costs through more efficient loading of trucks.

-Improve activity planning, scheduling and management.

-Reduce driver wait penalties.

-Monitor driver compliance according to transport specifications.

Integrating with Other Systems

Generix YMS also easily interfaces with WMS, TMS, automated barriers, access controls and other onsite digital tools. An application with a proven return on investment(ROI), the solution presents clear benefits for shippers that use it, including:

-The ability to manage more trucks with a limited number of doors, thus enhancing both dock and dock door productivity.

-Manage peak volumes without increasing square footage or having to move to a new site.

-Maintain excellent customer service and punctuality rates.

-Effectively operate multi-pick and multi-drop routes, thus achieving results while concurrently reducing associated costs.

-Improve carrier relations through reduced driver wait times (and measure their quality of service).

The Benefits Don’t End There

Fundamentally, Gartner’s Bart De Muynck tells Logistics Management that YMS helps solve one of the most pressing supply chain challenges for any shipper: just how efficiently carriers and other parties are using the time clock. This is particularly important in an HOS world, where drivers are limited in terms of how much time they can spend behind the wheel.

“Imagine the implications of a driver having to stay at a location for an extra three hours,” he points out, noting that this would create a 75% increase in the expected crash rate. “Truck driving is a profession that causes a high number of driver fatalities, many of which could be happening as a result of detention in the yard.”

Solutions exist today that can ensure any warehouse or distribution center operates at peak efficiency, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. From Warehouse Management Systems (WMS) and Transportation Management Systems (TMS) to Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) and more, software platforms can deliver a wide range of benefits that ultimately flow to the warehouse operator’s bottom line.

This article originally appeared here. Republished with permission.

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way in which businesses operate. With the new regulations taking place, constant changes of guidance from various governments, and overall instability, companies have figured the significance of effective yard management systems.

A yard management system (YMS) is a special type of software developed to track the progress of trucks and trailers belonging to a yard of a warehouse, manufacturing facility, distribution center, or other buildings. The significance of such a system is clear – it shows real-time information which is very helpful in managing the yard.

Company employees see real-time data about trucks and trailers and they effectively move trailers from staging to docks. As a result, the company is more effective, all orders are completed right on time, and the overall effectiveness is increased. And of course, setting up such a system saves the expenses on maintaining the yards.

Even without the pandemic, the yard management system would have a great impact on the effectiveness and cost-efficiency of a business. Digitalizing the yard operations each year saves the expenses on transportation and capacity. Overall, the impact of digitizing yard management is significant, and here is why.

Benefits of Yard Management Digitalization

Even though the recent data shows that most companies invest from 0% to 5% of their budget into digitization and automation, there are still businesses willing to digitize their yards. Digitalization may improve efficiency, improve security, and greatly reduce transportation costs. Here are some key advantages of digitizing yard management:

-Digitalization has great potential to remove human error in transportation.

-Digitalization gives aid to shippers by optimizing not only the time but also resource consumption and labor.

-Significant decrease in package time, allowing clients to receive their purchases a lot quicker – and that is good for business. When the most famous e-commerce companies deliver their packages within days, it is hard to be competitive when delivering orders within weeks.

-It makes a company more competitive due to the spread of digitalization. Nowadays, most competitive companies have at least basic automation.

-Reduces operating costs.

The most advanced systems will even notify the managers about the most trending products to be almost out of stock. Thus, whenever managers receive such messages, they can order more trending products so when the clients order them, they won’t have to wait for months.

Moreover, huge companies’ logistics executives are seeking methods of optimizing automatically the flow of products into and out of the available facilities (warehouses). They seek ways of effectively managing yard capacities, yard service providers, trailer pool availability, transportation contracts, etc. A lot of things can be improved by simply choosing the right maintenance system.

Overall, a digital yard system is more beneficial than standard paperwork. PINC – a digital yard solutions provider, takes a deeper look at how this can benefit operations in a recent series of articles and webinars. Instead of using tons of company’s resources on managing which isn’t as effective, a company is spending on fixing the most common issues thus enabling more efficient workflow. The digital yard system solves many problems as stated below.

Visibility

An effective yard operation is when everything is done on time. That’s why visibility is so important. Instead of creating bottlenecks and moving trucks in or out without any purpose, the company manages all yard operations effectively due to visibility provided by YMS.

Wise Planning

Wise planning isn’t possible without visibility. Before the trucks arrive, you see what exactly is coming at you thus giving time to plan before the truck arrives. As a result, a company’s executive sets appointments, work schedules, organizes yard moves, etc. When the truck arrives, the workflow is organized effectively and there is no waiting time.

Speed

The speed is related to visibility. When you see what is inside the containers, when they arrive, etc., you can manage effectively. Productivity is largely improved since the employees move everything effectively.

Labor Forecasting

If you visit a traditional yard (the one managed by a manual system with all the paperwork), you will see trucks waiting for their turn to be unloaded or uploaded. That is due to the waiting time since the manager has to manually find a place for a container, or where the truck should be loaded with goods. A YMS system is a lot more effective since managers direct trucks to sections where they should upload or unload goods prior to their arrival.

Improved Communication

YMS allows managers to set the software so it will automatically notify customers, drivers, yard managers about the goods that are in or out, or goods that are on their way. In fact, all the supply chain will have access to the yard through real-time data supply.

Loss/Theft Prevention and Security Improvement

YMS offers a way to save money on security improvements since it tracks all the goods the moment they have arrived in the yard. A lot of things can go missing or be stolen if the yard is managed manually, but it is nearly impossible with YMS.

Reputation Improvement

Effective yard management directly affects your reputation. When all the packages are delivered when customers expect them, without any delays, your company is seen as a reliable option. Most customers also prefer to track their purchases, and YMS can help with that.

Cost Saving

The visibility and overall management improvement directly impact the expenses of a company. It reduces fuel costs, labor, retention costs, and minimizes the amount of freight on the shelves instead of trucks. Companies that have implemented YMS make fewer errors, they don’t need that many trailers to host goods, impact the costs on expired inventory, etc.

Better Work Environment

YMS greatly reduces every hostlers’ anxiety during work. Instead of having tedious paperwork, hostlers use easy to use tablets. With the help of these tablets, they effectively manage the yard and it takes less time and effort. Thus, no depression, anxiety, and it immensely reduces the stress of everyday work.

Conclusion

Even without the need of implementing optimizations due to the pandemic, digital yard management has a great impact on the cost-effectiveness and overall progress of the company. It makes everyone’s life easier and YMS reduces the cost of transportation and yard management.

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Since her teen years, Bethany Watson was always interested in writing and esports, so she decided to merge these two passions by choosing the career of a journalist who mostly writes about trends in eSports. She regularly contributes to the major media publications in the niche and serves as an editor for bestesportsbettingsites.net.

Yard Management Software-The “Black Hole” of Warehouse Management