Dock scheduling systems are far more efficient than manual scheduling—eliminating hours of wasted time and confusion. They reduce the back-and-forth of scheduling by letting carriers book available delivery slots directly.
However, there are still some considerations a savvy warehouse manager should have when making use of a dock scheduling system. While they’re great at overhauling and streamlining the process of managing warehouses, some business owners stop short of extracting the full value of these tools.
In this post, we're going to outline the ten best practices when using a dock scheduling system to ensure you're setting up your business for long-term scaling and efficiency.
Here are the ten best practices to keep in mind when using a dock scheduling system to ensure you're getting the most out of it. It’s worth bookmarking this list to revisit, as some of these practices will need to be implemented over time.
Think of using dock scheduling systems in terms of a phased rollout. Accurate carrier information should be your top priority, as it determines traffic to your warehouse docks. Outdated carrier information can actually result in missed slots and wasted labor.
Ensuring that the logistics of your carriers are up-to-date will enable you and your supervisors to coordinate quick unloading or loading of vehicles. This includes having the necessary manpower and machinery required to handle shipments.
If you're using a high-quality dock scheduling system, you should be able to establish scheduling rules and time windows for carriers. In phased rollout terms, you want to set rules here sooner rather than later, since carriers will then be able to book appointments in open slots through self-service.
This eliminates endless email chains and phone calls. Rules will often revolve around time buffers, dock priorities, and appointment lengths. Implementing these rules will prevent detention fees and congestion.
Many warehouses use multiple digital platforms to streamline their business needs. If you're making use of a transportation management system (TMS) or warehouse management system (WMS), look into integrating it with your dock scheduling system. This will allow for easy transferral of data such as booked appointments or shipment status to ensure that data is uniform and accurate across your business.
Effective dock scheduling systems include features such as detailed reporting and data tracking for their users. However, you still have to use this information to benefit from it. Without tracking detention and dwell time, you can’t prove where costs are leaking. And as we’ve covered before, warehouse dock metrics have a major impact on overall efficiency.
Making use of real-time tracking of inbound and outbound shipments will enable you to make informed decisions on the fly. This can be especially handy in identifying delays and making adjustments to ensure there isn't resulting congestion which can lead to detention and demurrage fees.
Use any communication tools that dock scheduling systems offer. This can include in-app messaging or notifications that you send to carriers, drivers, and workers. This will allow all parties to remain apprised of any changes in delivery status or freight loads to ensure you and your team are always prepared. Proactive communications will also help build trust and reduce no-shows.
Note: Some light internal training may be necessary to ensure that your drivers and workers are aware of communication expectations on their end.
Use the information provided by your dock scheduling system to reorganize your team as needed for last-minute changes. Reallocate dock doors, schedule team members, and ensure the availability of equipment such as forklifts and pallet jacks. Your dock scheduling system should have the design and features necessary for you to make logistical changes on the fly.
A Whatfix survey found that 84% of software users don't know how to use all the software features and workflows they have access to. Well-trained users lead to higher adoption, fewer errors, and faster ROI.
Make sure to provide internal training to your team members to ensure they know expected and proper usage of the dock scheduling system on their part. This can also include sending short, easily understood documents to carriers so that they understand how to use the software to achieve mutually beneficial outcomes for all parties.
A common mistake of the phased rollout model of a new system is neglecting to optimize once the adoption period goes smoothly. Using historical data provided by dock scheduling systems allows you to get a bird’s eye view of your warehouse's operations over a period of time. Understand how your shipment load varies from week to week, month to month, season to season, and year to year.
Use this data to locate trends, spikes in truck waiting times, and even increases in overtime for your workers. Then use that data to optimize how you plan for routes and schedule workers to improve overall profitability.
Many dock schedulers will allow you to establish scheduling rules that will trigger automated alerts and notifications for events such as shipment arrivals or new appointments. Ensure supervisors can act quickly on critical alerts. Just don’t overload staff with every alert. Assign role-specific notifications so critical updates don’t get lost.
Every unplanned delay costs money and damages carrier trust. However, Opendock provides the data, automation, and support you need to prevent issues and protect margins. Request a demo and see how much you could save.