Yard and dock management impact each operation within your supply chain. Non-standard, manual processes are among the most significant problems affecting an operation. Manual processes contribute to issues in scalability and create additional stress for your staff. Upgrading systems to reflect the latest, best-in-class systems can help manage workflows for your team, reduce the risk of delays, and much more. Supply chain leaders need to understand how a yard and dock management platform overcomes these issues and its correlating benefits.
Problems within yard management begin with the gate and permeate every activity on the dock. Part of the reason companies forgo implementing a yard management platform lies in the uncertainty between developing an in-house system or working with a software vendor. Companies may wish to remain independent and avoid the risks of giving up control over to a system. However, developing an in-house system, which up to 60% of businesses still use today, will remain impossible with manual processes in place. Some of the critical problems in manual yard and dock management include:
Meanwhile, poor scalability accompanies another problem—limited visibility into the yard, dock, and inventory. The growth of Amazon demonstrated the value of real-time inventory management. The right flow of trailers through effective yard and dock management enable supply chain leaders to ensure products are always in-stock. Fluctuations within markets leave companies with vast warehouses storing product beyond optimized levels, resulting in higher carrying costs. In addition, gate security may be lax, leading to poor planning of the yard itself. In today’s world, a distribution manager may oversee thousands of loading and unloading operations, and a misstep will lead to problems. Rapid changes in demand require a higher level of scalability, allowing companies to plan for changes in delivery and outbound shipping. Until operations achieve scalability, the most straightforward processes will contribute to delays in loading and unloading.
The right yard and dock management tools, including GPS and RFID tags, help staff understand what is stored in your yard and its location. The premise is simple; implementing new technology to gather and track information increases real-time awareness of what is happening. Automating the process also eliminates the uncertainty in manual processes, as well as the labor costs associated with conducted manual inspections, reviewing bills of lading and more. Automation itself begets further digital transformation in the yard, notes Supply Chain 24/7, empowering scalability, regardless of available staff and demands, which is especially true as more companies look to avoid the pitfalls of limited e-commerce capabilities.
Increasing scalability within the yard yields positive results in yard and dock management beyond real-time inventory management. These benefits include:
Scalability is everything in today’s world. It is not enough to simply please customers; businesses must be ever-mindful of Amazon's and Walmart's growing service offerings. Companies must evolve their operations to stay relevant and keep costs under control by implementing the platforms and technology to automate activities and data management. Such actions will inevitably contribute to optimal scalability, creating a self-fulfilling process. Find out more about what your organization needs to succeed in light of the e-commerce revolution by downloading our white paper, “The E-Commerce Effect: The Modern Supply Chain Disruptor,” today. If you are ready to see what automated, scalable C3 Solutions look like in practice, schedule your demonstration online now.