EXECUTIVE FOCUS
{ WAREHOUSING}
By Carrie Mantey
UPPING THE
YARD MANAGEMENT AUTOMATION
ANTE
Yard management systems plan and optimize daily yard tasks to boost the bottom line
Y
ard management systems and visibility of trailers in your yard. If a yard doesn’t manage its assets (YMSs) are upping the This fills a blind spot that typically well, a domino effect ensues, negatively ante when it comes to exists in supply chain. You generally affecting productivity. Greg Braun, distribution efficiency by have an enterprise resource planning senior vice president of sales and automating manual processes. Rather (ERP) system that helps you plan marketing at C3 Solutions, offers an than tying up staff with mundane tasks resources, a warehouse management example, “Not having sufficient empty like knowing what where inventory is, system (WMS) that controls your trailers on hand at the beginning the systems plan and optimize daily warehouse, and a transportation of a shift delays outbound orders. yard tasks, which helps ensure on-time management system (TMS) that Therefore, the ability to track, filter deliveries, improves inventory and manages the routing and delivery of and report on assets is significant, dock management and increases gate the end product. There is clearly a not simply for the direct costs, throughput. disjoint when it comes to yards.” but most certainly for the costly YMSs contain a central control system to store a Decreased detention costs of up to yard’s business logic. “When a load is delivered or a trailer becomes available for loading, reduction in yard trucks the control system creates and allocates the required tasks. The tasks are either allocated through a device installed in the truck or delivered increase reduction in fleet trailers in time at the gatehouse in dock through a tablet/mobile utilization device,” says Steve Temple, A return on solutions consultant, EMEA, at investment of International Business Systems. increase less than “Automated yard management in dock although this is dependent on the level of yard activity productivity tools enable real-time tracking
estimated YMS benefits by the
numbers
20% 30%
46
90% 25% 40-50% 15% REDUCTION
12 MONTHS,
SUPPLY & DEMAND CHAIN EXECUTIVE | March 2016 | SDCExec.com
SDC0316_46-47_Warehousing_cm_RG.indd 46
3/16/16 9:00 AM