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Yard management systems optimize a sometimes-overlooked supply chain link, helping shippers maximize the potential of their yard and strengthen KPIs.
A s with the rest of the supply chain, the challenges of the yard— the area of shipping/receiving activity located outside of a warehouse, distribution center, or manufacturing facility—have become more complex in recent years. As a result, shippers increasingly are turning to sophisticated tech-based solutions to help. While sometimes overlooked, the yard serves as a crucial connection between transportation and warehousing—two prominent, heavily analyzed components of the supply chain. Despite that, the yard has not always been recognized as the critical supply chain link that it is, says Yemisi Bolumole, Ryder-endowed professor of supply chain management at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. “Yard management hasn’t gotten enough attention, but it’s nally starting to get the attention it deserves,” Bolumole says. IMPROVING A CRUCIAL NODE For many shippers, paying attention to the yard means using a yard management system (YMS), a software solution that monitors movements inside the yard. Similar to warehouse management systems and transportation
visibility technology headquartered near Atlanta. “Yards are also powerful indicators of the overall health and effectiveness of a shipper’s supply chain,” he adds. “When optimized with a YMS, shippers can maximize the potential of their yard, accelerating key KPIs such as throughput, capacity management, and spotter productivity, which leads to an increase in overall operational velocity.” TRANSFORMING YARDS FROM INEFFECTIVE TO EFFICIENT A YMS can help shippers effectively plan, schedule, and coordinate yard activity, which includes not only trucks and trailers but also staff and other resources at a facility. It can also bring vital agility to yard operations, touching on everything from the movement of trucks and trailers to parking and inspection. In addition to the yard itself, a YMS often supports activities at a facility’s gate as well as the inbound and outbound dock doors. One factor driving increased interest in the yard and in yard management systems is the supply chain sector’s struggles with idling and dwell among trucks when they reach a warehouse and wait in the yard to load or unload. Both the inef ciency of dwell and the environmental implications of idling have helped bring yard management to the foreground. “How are we managing these trucks as they get into the warehouse yard?” Bolumole asks. “How are we assigning them to doors so they can be unloaded in a way that not only cuts down on dwell time, but also cuts down on the idling of trucks in the yard—or worse, the detention when the driver just drops the container and races off? “It’s a perfect storm of conversation that is bringing yard management to
light,” he adds. “It’s a case of technology and need coming together.” Without yard management, processes often remain ineffective, for instance, trucks check in at the gate and then fall out of visibility. When a dock door is ready, it then requires a team member’s time to locate the truck. “It’s the epitome of inef ciency,” Bolumole says. Companies can improve their yard operations with one-off optimizations, such as improving the design and layout of their facilities, and with a yard management system to boost everyday, operational improvements. Technology, in the form of yard management systems, is there to make yard processes ef cient, using tools such as Internet of Things (IoT) and digital twins. A YMS also takes everyday operational data and constantly mines it, enabling a data-driven focus. A more detailed look at the Kaleris YMS solution helps illuminate how yard management systems can bolster a critical element of many shippers’ supply chains. KALERIS YMS: A FLEXIBLE SOLUTION FOR DYNAMIC SUPPLY CHAINS Con guration exibility is at the heart of what makes the Kaleris yard management system distinctive. Shippers can easily con gure the solution to meet their unique operational needs and requirements, and every interface can be tailored to surface the information most relevant for that user. “This level of exibility makes the Kaleris YMS highly adaptable to support the dynamic conditions of a facility,” says Holland. One example of the solution’s con guration exibility is its Asset Operations feature, which can digitize a wide range of operational work ows. Instead of manually updating an
management systems, a YMS can help shippers operate their yards more ef ciently. Without a YMS, the yard can
become a neglected space and fall into a visibility gap between transportation and warehouse, creating inef ciencies and other challenges. With a YMS, the yard can become an area of strength. “Yards are crucial nodes in shipper supply chains—they can either accelerate operations or be the origin of disruptions that cascade throughout the logistics process, driving up costs and partner frustration,” says Scott Holland, chief product of cer at Kaleris, a global provider of supply chain execution and
May 2024 • Inbound Logistics 57
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