The yard is the key conduit or the transaction point between the warehouse and the transportation. This applies to both inbound and outbound shipments. The operational efficiency of your supply chain is heavily impacted by this critical link.
Some companies need to move their inventory through a long supply chain. These companies have understood that delays in the shipment of orders are not only impacted by the delays on the roads but also have some share of it in the dwell time at yards of distribution centers (DCs) and manufacturing plants. Let see what is Yard Management and the need for it.
Need for Yard Management
According to industry experts, a trailer shipment takes an average of three days to move from one facility to another. For two days the trailer actually idles in a yard.
Sometimes shipments have to move through multiple yards through their lifecycle. The inefficiencies at each yard would get cascaded and amplified as the delays propagate through the supply chain. Typically this kind of idle inventory is the result of delays due to trailer status information delays and other information inaccuracies.
Any such delays can result in serious issues like production downtimes due to the manufacturing operation coming to standstill or getting slowed down due to non-availability of the parts or goods, spoilage of perishable items, lost sales due to stock out at the retailer outlets, loss of credibility with the carriers, etc.
This is notwithstanding the fact that today businesses have invested in systems to manage their supply chain including transportation as well as warehouse assets. They now have found out that despite these systems in place without having real-time information about trailers and shipment status, it is becoming difficult to get the fullest out of these use cases in technology.
Managers at the yards of distribution centers and supply chain definitely agree upon the need for a dependable yard management solution that can accurately track arrivals and departures and also provide the necessary visibility to the operations team. Errors and inaccuracies tend to disturb the entire workflow and has a ripple effect on the operational plans of the warehouse as well as the transportation
Yard Management Challenges
Different companies are faced with their own set of unique challenges of yard management. Large-sized companies face a different set of challenges when compared with those of small and medium-sized companies. At times, the challenges from yard to yard may also differ depending on the differences of the products handled at the yard.
Nevertheless, some common challenges still get to be seen generally in all of them
- Delayed shipments need quick replanning
- Shipment and trailer visibility
- Reduce spotter and shuttle spend
- Efficient Gate and Dock management
- Reduce Demurrage or detention charges
- Safety and compliance violations
What is Yard Management System
Yard Management Systems are basically designed to facilitate and manage the movement of the trucks, trailers, pallets, personnel, warehouse, and the yard itself so that inbound as well as outbound shipments are loaded and unloaded efficiently. Today’s supply chains demand a lot faster turnarounds hence operational efficiency is more important than ever before.
Yard Management Systems need to provide increased visibility and better control over the yard operations. Thereby, maximizing the flows of the inbound and outbound goods reducing costs, and meeting up with increasing customer demands.
Providing warehouse operations with real-time information about the yard activities as well as locations of the trucks, trolleys, and other equipment inside the yard as well as within the warehouse floor will help better yard management. Finding pallets, goods within the yard can be done easily with such a system also this will help streamline operations.
Quicsolv’s Yard Management Solution
The Yard Management System by Quicsolv is an internet of things based solution. The solution uses Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) technology. The entities to be tracked are attached with Bluetooth tags of different form factors. These tags are configured to identify the asset or a person associated with it. The area where they are to be tracked are fitted with relays and gateways. The relays and gateways constantly listen for signals from these tags. These signals are transmitted to a central server. The central server acts as the intelligence hub and runs algorithms that help pinpoint the location of these tags in real-time using a real time location system (rtls)!!
As trucks and trailers as well as the drivers are let inside the yard through the main gate, they are given tags to identify them. Now onwards, the yard management system dashboard starts showing their location within the yard as well as inside the warehouse. Now it becomes easier to locate the trucks, their drivers, and spotting trailers becomes easier. It becomes easier to plan and manage the operations of a yard as well as a warehouse. The gates can be better managed and utilized as one gets to quickly find loaded trailers waiting. Additionally, it gives an overall picture of the yard activities. As the trucks and trailers check out the trucks and drivers return their tags back at the gate. The cycle continues with new trucks and trailers entering the yard.
Finally
Quicsolv offers various solutions using the internet of things ISAE framework. Apart from yard management, there are specific solutions for Warehouse Management as well as implement Employee Tracking and Monitoring within the offices. To know more about our solutions feel free to contact us.
