---
title: 3 Key Tips to Improve your Dock Scheduling Operations
description: "If you’re currently scheduling appointments and the volume of emails and phone calls is alarming you, you're certainly not alone! The solution: automating your communications. Learn more!"
image: https://info.c3solutions.com/hubfs/Emails.png
---

 C3's Yard Management  
 and Dock Scheduling Blog 

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- ![Frank Dorval](https://info.c3solutions.com/hubfs/Frank%20Dorval%20-%20square.jpg) [ Frank Dorval ](https://info.c3solutions.com/blog-c3/dock-scheduling-are-you-flooded-with-phone-calls-and-emails#author)
- November 25, 2015

![](https://info.c3solutions.com/hubfs/Emails.png)

If you’re currently scheduling appointments and the volume of emails and phone calls associated with this process is alarming you, then there’s a good chance you fall in one of these categories.

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## You’re not alone 

1. You’re a small to medium sizebusiness that is growing and the person managing the schedule is also multi-tasking (e.g., buyer, transportation mgr., warehouse mgr.).  The projected growth means that you’ll either have to hire a full time person to manage the appointment scheduling or you’ll need to automate the process.
2. You may be a sizable business receiving 200 to 300 emails per day.  You’ve got a seasoned staff that are efficient in their duties.  
3. You may be a large organization with 10 or more schedulers, either in a centralized scheduling office or decentralized across your warehousing network.  

 

## How to improve your scheduling process

You may consider that your business has a ‘’scheduling process’’, yet the fact that appointment requests, confirmations, amendments and cancellations are executed via emails and phone calls is totally inefficient.  In fact, within the realm of dock scheduling, inefficient communication is the most expensive facet of the operation. To resolve this, you should automate communication as much as possible.  

 

### Self-Serve Portal

Utilize a web-based[ dock scheduling system](https://www.c3solutions.com/dock-scheduling/), with secured portal access for internal business users, carriers, customers/suppliers to speed up communication at all levels.  

- 24/7 Self-Serve Kiosk for carriers and vendors
- Instant appointment confirmation / notification
- Ability to attach documents (such as Packing slip, bill of lading, etc.) to an appointment
- Real time visibility on incoming loads.

Reduction of 90 % of your inbound phone calls and emails.

 

### Automated Notifications

Throughout the ‘life’ of an appointment, the system can automatically send emails to the relevant parties (i.e., internally to your business, the associated carrier, supplier/client) at any stage of the appointment process (e.g., appointment request, confirmation, amendment, arrival, departure, no show).  

This eliminates 100% of all your outbound emails and phone calls.

 

### Integration with other information systems

![dock scheduling](https://info.c3solutions.com/hs-fs/hubfs/integration_-_transparent-1.jpg?width=200&name=integration_-_transparent-1.jpg "dock scheduling")Communication can also be automated between information systems.  Often the scheduling staff is manually entering appointment data in their WMS, TMS or ERP systems or at the very least validating data in these systems before actually approving an appointment.

Through data integration, an information feed such as purchase orders can be sent to your dock scheduling system just as the appointment data can be extracted automatically from [C3 Reservations](https://www.c3solutions.com/dock-scheduling/) to be sent to your information system(s).   

Data integration completely eliminates the tedious tasks of consulting or entering data in multiple information systems.

Since scheduling loads in and out of your facility serves the purpose of creating efficiencies at your docks, the process itself should not be burdened by incessant phone calls and emails.

Recognizing that this issue plagues businesses of all sizes, you should be comforted by the fact that solutions exist.  Act NOW!  [Request a live demonstration](https://www.c3solutions.com/live-demo-request/) of C3 Reservations.

 

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