The first thing we think about is to optimize transport and storage operations if we are to increase the effectiveness of the supply chain. However, the connection between these two major aspects is small but very important, and the link is often overlooked and underestimated — the yard.

Late deliveries leading to financial losses, missed chances, and customer dissatisfaction, for example, one of the most common problems for the logistics industry. But if you look deeper at the reasons for delays, you might be surprised if it is not often due to traffic or bad routing, but because loading is inefficient.

Improving the management of your yard can greatly influence your supply chain enterprise’s efficiency. More than one-half of respondents acknowledged that implementation of a yard management system could help to reduce their spending by at least 5 percent according to the 2020 State of Yard Management Report.

YARD MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

Yard Management is a range of activities designed to monitor inbound and outbound cargo flows. This includes aspects like

• Organizing the movement of trucks in the factory, warehouse or distribution centre (DC) yard;
• Plan and perform operations of loading and unloading at the docks;
• Tracking and transportation assets, etc.

With one of the most common scenarios, we will shortly illustrate it. The carrier must, for example, collect the load from the warehouse. A certain number of steps are required for this:

• The appointment must be programmed by the carrier and confirmed. Normally here the vehicle details are collected for checking too.
• When the truck arrives, the driver will check in at the gate and may undergo some kind of safety check and will be directed to the parking lot where the trailer is dropped.
• The guard informs the dock team and/or manager of the arrival of the truck.
• The spotter receives instructions on how to get the trailer to the door when the dock is available. Cargo is ready for loading at this time.
• The trailer is loaded by dock workers.
• The spotter transfers the loaded trailer into the parking lot where it is hooked to the truck.
• The truck inspects the gate.