A yard management system or YMS is software designed to keep track of the movement of trailers, trucks, containers, and other assets in a dock door facility. It is a software solution designed to streamline and optimize the management of activities and resources within a facility’s yard or outdoor storage area. A yard management system provides real-time visibility, automation, and coordination for various yard-related processes, ultimately improving operational efficiency, reducing costs, and enhancing overall supply chain management.
Key Features of Yard Management System include:
- Real-time Visibility
- Appointment Scheduling
- Dock Door Management
- Task Prioritization
- Alerts and Notifications
- Reports and Analytics
- Real-time Visibility: Real-time visibility is essential in yard management for several reasons, as it significantly improves operational efficiency, decision-making, and overall supply chain performance. Real-time visibility allows you to track the movement and location of trucks, trailers, containers, and other assets within the yard. This prevents assets from being misplaced, lost, or stolen, ensuring that they are used effectively and efficiently. With real-time visibility, you can monitor the availability of resources such as loading docks, personnel, and equipment. This enables you to allocate these resources based on current needs, minimizing wait times and optimizing resource utilization. Inherent in real-time visibility is the understanding of residence time of trailers and containers. In this visibility is the ability to avoid demurrage charges on those trailer/containers that been in your yard too long.
2. Appointment Scheduling: YMS enables scheduling appointments for trucks and carriers to ensure a smooth flow of traffic and efficient use of loading and unloading resources. Appointment scheduling allows you to allocate specific time slots for trucks, carriers, and other vehicles to arrive at the facility. This prevents a large number of vehicles from arriving simultaneously, which can lead to congestion, long wait times, and inefficient use of resources. Scheduled appointments provide predictability for both the facility and the carriers. Carriers know when they are expected to arrive and can plan their routes and operations accordingly. The facility can also plan its operations based on the scheduled arrivals since you now predict the arrival of critical materials. Further features allow drivers to schedule themselves to your facility via provided mobile application.
3. Dock Door Management: Dock management is a critical component of a Yard Management System (YMS) because it focuses on optimizing the allocation and utilization of loading and unloading docks within a facility’s yard. Effective dock door management ensures that goods are received and dispatched efficiently, leading to improved operational performance and enhanced supply chain management. Effective dock management increases the rate at which goods are loaded and unloaded. This higher throughput contributes to a faster flow of goods through the facility, ultimately improving overall supply chain efficiency. With real-time visibility as to exactly when a specific load can be shipped, you have the ability to marshal shipments to a specific dock door – loads can filled in their trailers in minutes
4. Task Prioritization: Task prioritization is a crucial aspect of a Yard Management System (YMS) because it allows for efficient allocation of resources and streamlined operations within a facility’s yard. Task prioritization ensures that the most critical and time-sensitive tasks are addressed first. Task prioritization allows you to allocate resources, such as labor, equipment, and space, to tasks in a way that maximizes efficiency. Prioritizing tasks helps ensure that urgent or time-sensitive shipments are handled promptly. By identifying and addressing high-priority tasks first, you can prevent delays and meet customer delivery commitments.
5. Alerts and Notifications: Alerts and notifications play a vital role in a Yard Management System (YMS) by providing real-time communication and updates about critical events, exceptions, and important information related to yard operations. Alerts and notifications help yard personnel and relevant stakeholders stay informed about any issues or exceptions that arise in the yard. This allows them to take immediate action to address problems and prevent disruptions. Additionally, alerts can be set up to trigger when specific exceptions occur, such as delays in shipments, unexpected changes in schedules, or equipment malfunctions. This enables proactive intervention and minimizes the impact of these issues.
6. Reports and Analytics: Reports and analytics are important components of a Yard Management System (YMS). They provide valuable insights into yard operations, performance metrics, and trends. Reports and analytics allow you to measure key performance indicators (KPIs) related to yard operations, such as turnaround times, asset utilization, dock usage, and labor productivity. This enables you to assess how well your yard is performing and identify areas for enhancement. On top of that, by analyzing historical data, you can identify trends and patterns in yard activities, enabling you to anticipate/plan busy periods, bottlenecks, or potential issues.
In conclusion, implementing a Yard Management System can lead to several benefits, including reduced wait times, improved resource utilization, enhanced accuracy in inventory management, increased throughput, and better communication and collaboration among various stakeholders. It plays a crucial role in ensuring the smooth flow of goods through the yard and contributes to overall supply chain efficiency. If you want to see a YMS in action, we offer a free no commitment demo! It’s time to BWISE!!!
