C3's Yard Management and Dock Scheduling Blog

Canadian Tire Upgrades to Yard Smart Version 4

Canadian Tire Corporation (CTC) has successfully upgraded to version 4.0 of C3's Yard Smart yard management system.  Version 4.0 signifies a major milestone in the progression of C3's yard management solution.

Software Agents make the Yard Smarter

Yard Smart V 4.0 represents C3 Solutions first implementation and utilization of multiple software agents.  A software agent is a convenient and powerful way to describe a complex software entity that is capable of acting with a certain degree of autonomy in order to accomplish tasks on behalf of its users.  At CTC, Yard Smart’s Shipping Agent, Receiving Agent, Transfer Agent and Empty Trailer agent all work in concert to ensure that the appropriate trailers are always available to the business so that shipments to the retail stores are not delayed. 

For example, in the greater Toronto area CTC manages in excess of 3.5 million square feet of warehouse space, 450 dock doors and more than 5,000 trailers and containers at any given time and, therefore, ensuring  each operating area has just the right amount of yard resources available was a real challenge.  With Yard Smart V4.0 software agents do the work automatically.  If a specific operation is short of empty trailers, the Empty Trailer agent will either communicate with the Receiving agent to increase the priority of certain trailer unloads or it will communicate to the Transfer agent to shuttle empty trailers from off-site yards. This is all done without human intervention.

"Over the last five years C3 Solutions has become a valued business partner for Canadian Tire” says Gary Fast, Associate Vice President of Domestic Transportation Operations.  “Given our unique operating environment, yard management has always been a challenge for us.  Together with C3, CTC has been able to deliver on our supply chain objectives - to better serve our expanding retail network."

Enhanced Business Intelligence

In addition to the implementation of software agents, Yard Smart V 4.0 also includes new features to manage large national fleets through the use of decentralized regional servers, enhanced business intelligence through it’s new data store functionality and the implementation of web services that provides expanded integration capabilities to external business systems.
“C3’s primary focus has always been to find the best solution to our customer’s business issues as they pertain to yard management.  Innovative technology like software agents are simply a means to that goal” claims Nicholas Couture President and Chief Technology Officer at C3 Solutions.  “C3 is proud to have built a valued relationship with a world class retailer like Canadian Tire.”

About Canadian Tire

Canadian Tire Corporation, Limited (TSX: CTC.A, CTC) operates more than 1,200 stores, gas bars and car washes in an inter-related network of businesses engaged in retail, financial services and petroleum. More than 57,000 Canadians work across the Canadian Tire organization from coast-to- coast. Canadian Tire Retail and its Associate Dealers together form one of Canada's best-known and most successful retailers with 476 stores in communities nationwide. Canadian Tire stores offer a unique mix of products and services through the leadership of three specialty stores under one roof - Automotive, Sports and Leisure, and Home Products. Canadian Tire also offers customers the opportunity to research over 25,000 products online at www.canadiantire.ca and order items by phone order at 1-866-746-7287.

Learn More About Yard Smart Version 4.0

If you would like to learn more about how Yard Smart V 4.0 can improve your yard operations and increase your warehouse throughput, please contact us for a free web demonstration.