Importance of Yard Management in Operations
Yard management is a crucial step in the flow of supply chain operations. If neglected, it can cause harmful effects on overall productivity by decreasing efficiency and profits. When yard management is properly optimized, the entire system benefits.
Goals of Optimization
Optimized yard management should result in streamlined processes, increased visibility and safety, and profitability by creating a more efficient system that positively impacts every level of supply chain operations.
Understanding Yard Management
Definition and Scope
Yard management encompasses all activities within a shipping yard or facility. This can include the directing of inbound and outbound trucks, personnel management, scheduling, coordinating, and more.
Key Components of Yard Management
Safety Measures: Protecting employees’ health and safety is the first priority in any operation. By implementing training techniques and supplying protective gear and equipment, yard management can reduce hazards and maintain a safe and effective environment.
Planning and Scheduling: One of the best ways to optimize efficiency is to create a detailed schedule of all comings and goings through the shipping yard. This prevents confusion and traffic, saving time and increasing profitability.
Effective Communication: For all of the moving parts of yard management to seamlessly work together, effective communication is critical. This will ensure that the necessary tasks are accomplished in a timely manner.
Visibility: Complete visibility includes knowing the location of all assets, trailers, resources, etc. within the yard at all times. This can be assisted by the implementation of a yard management system (YMS), which utilizes technology such as GPS or RFID to provide precise location data.
Challenges in Yard Management
Common Issues Affecting Throughput
In logistics, throughput is a measure of how effectively goods are processed and transported. One of the main issues affecting throughput is storage space. When storage is not properly utilized, companies can struggle with not enough or too much space. Another common issue is inventory management. It is important to maintain an inventory level that satisfies customer demand without over or understocking.
Cost Factors in Yard Operations
Equipment, personnel, and fuel prices are some of the main costs in yard operations. When yard activity is not running smoothly, it can increase operational costs by causing delays.
Strategies for Enhancing Yard Management
Implementing Technology Solutions
A YMS offers methods of automation that help yard management increase productivity. By utilizing GPS, RFID, and IoT devices, yard visibility can drastically improve.
Streamlining Processes
When yard visibility is improved, vehicles and shipments can be loaded and unloaded quickly and efficiently. This allows for more optimized scheduling and inventory management, resulting in quicker delivery times and overall customer satisfaction.
Improving Staff Training and Accountability
Logistics companies can invest in their staff by implementing techniques such as training sessions, workshops, and seminars. This creates a workforce that is prepared and equipped to deal with any problems that may arise during yard management.
Increasing Throughput
Utilizing Real-Time Data for Decision Making
When a YMS is used, it provides real-time data on the movement of all assets within a yard. This precise knowledge can assist managers with decision making that will reduce delays and prevent bottlenecks.
Optimizing Layout and Flow
By analyzing and designing the layout of a shipping yard, goods and vehicles will be able to move quickly and efficiently through the facility. Combined with YMS data, this will prevent congestion, bottlenecking, and increase throughput and efficiency overall.
Enhancing Communication Among Teams
By establishing clear lines of communication among teams, urgent issues will be dealt with promptly. This also lessens the risk of confusion and errors made due to miscommunications between different kinds of personnel such as managers, drivers, shippers, warehouse workers, and more.
Reducing Operational Costs
Identifying and Eliminating Waste
Effective communication among teams will also help to identify areas for improvement. To eliminate waste even further, it can be useful to implement key performance indicators (KPIs) to monitor downtime and improve the supply chain’s overall efficiency by increasing productivity and allowing yard staff to focus on other activities.
Investing in Automation
As technology continues to advance, it is important to stay up to date with all the ways automation can make logistics more efficient and productive. By integrating a YMS, your company can leverage technology to cut costs, optimize operations, and increase throughput.
Regular Maintenance of Equipment
Another way to reduce operational costs is by conducting regular maintenance and upkeep of yard equipment. By evaluating the condition of a yard’s trucks, lifts, and other equipment, problems can be identified and fixed before they cause delays and affect operational costs.
Case Studies and Success Stories
Real-World Examples of Effective Yard Management
According to an article from GoRamp, a company that offers supply chain management software, logistics companies that successfully integrated YMS, increased communication, and optimized flow of shipping yards reported “40% reduction in truck waiting times, 25% reduction in operational costs, 70% decrease in detention fees,” and “45% cut in transportation costs.”
Lessons Learned from Successful Implementations
Kaleris is a global leader in yard management solutions. By implementing their YMS, logistics companies can reduce their total transportation budget by up to 10%. Another company that successfully automated their yard system found that they were able to streamline processes “from the moment a truck arrives at the gate.”
Summary of Key Strategies
Yard management is a very important step in logistics procedures. To ensure that the yard is operating as efficiently as possible, it is important to invest in employees through training, increase communication efforts between departments, and consider the benefits of implementing a yard management system.
Future Trends in Yard Management
As technology continues to grow and evolve, logistics experts predict a greater shift towards AI and automated techniques in the future of yard management. More and more supply chains are turning towards digitization—some are even employing self-driving vehicles and drones. Additionally, there has been an increased focus on sustainability practices as eco-consciousness grows stronger among businesses and consumers. No matter how the industry changes in the coming years, yard management will remain a critical part of supply chain operations. Contact us today to learn more about how Turbo Terminal Tractors can help your yard management operations.
