Yard Management System Use Cases Across Industries

The promise of a digital tool such as a yard management system (YMS) almost sounds like magic. Words like streamlining and profitability are thrown around as this kind of software positions itself as a quick and easy solution for warehouse managers looking to improve operations. But in our opinion, there isn't enough discussion of the hard facts, including use cases and measurable impact.

That's why in this post we're going to dive into yard management system (YMS) use cases across industries, from retail and eCommerce to manufacturing and food and beverage operations. Our goal is to help different industry leaders better understand the potential value that a yard management system can bring to their business, should you choose to incorporate one.

Retail and eCommerce Yards

Retail and eCommerce yards represent a marriage of physical freight management with digital tracking of shipments and orders. Transportation managers must keep track of both physical and digital orders while coordinating yard arrivals, departures, and storage of shipments. Therefore, technology that can track both physical and digital information is key. Trailer yard management systems hit this exactly, with options for either manual or automatic check ins, appointment tracking, and live yard asset tracking.

Handling High-Volume Variability

Yard management systems are also great for handling the high-volume variability native to retail and eCommerce yards. These tools allow you to communicate across your operations to managers, staff, and drivers, to keep everyone apprised of changes in expected arrivals and order volume.

Additionally, logistics yard management systems can help you track seasonal fluctuations at your warehouse, which is data that you can use to make informed decisions when it comes to routing and staffing in the future.

Manufacturing and Industrial Yards

Manufacturing and industrial yards also benefit from yard management systems. In particular, these industries are often dealing with operating heavy machinery and hefty loads.

In this industry, safety and allocation of equipment is a major concern. The use of a YMS lets warehouse managers communicate necessary equipment and expected staff at specific dock doors, improving readiness and reducing the odds of an accident. With the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recording 5,283 fatal work injuries in 2023, every step towards a safer warehouse is one worth taking.

Aligning Yard Moves With Production

Beyond safety, a logistics yard management system provides greater visibility of trailers and necessary tasks in manufacturing and industrial yards. Track equipment, reduce truck dwell times, and improve your ability to move freight in a timely and safe manner, which also helps cut down on any detention or demurrage fees.

Food, Beverage, and CPG Operations

Food, beverage, and CPG (Consumer Packaged Goods) operations benefit from yard management software as well. Here, the name of the game is consumer demand and yard visibility. Keeping track of inbound and outbound freight is critical, as is making special accommodation for deliveries. Perishable goods will need to be stored in ways that take into account any requirements for temperature control and timely shipment in order to avoid spoilage.

Managing Time-Sensitive Inventory

The increased yard visibility provided by the digital tracking in yard management systems helps greatly here. Monitor where freight is stored, and also set the status of trailers in the digital tools to seamlessly alert your team to goods that are ready to be unloaded or loaded. 1.3 billion metric tons of food produced are lost or wasted each year. Warehouse managers can become indispensable to their partners by using a logistics yard management system to avoid their facility contributing to this food waste.

High-Volume Distribution Centers

High-volume distribution centers benefit greatly from having a trailer yard management system in place. These are facilities dealing with a consistently large amount of inbound and outbound traffic, which raises the stakes of having proper organization in place.

Due to the higher volume of incoming and outgoing freight, these facilities tend to make full use of dock doors to optimize operations. This means that a delay, whether due to an accident or a logistical mixup, will not only impede a singular shipment, but can cascade into delays for the rest of the day or even week at that facility. This causes a reputational hit along with any demurrage charges or detention fees suffered.

Standardizing Repeatable Processes

Yard management systems help high-volume distribution centers through providing greater visibility, organization, and communication at all levels of warehouse traffic, from drivers delivering freight to your staff loading and unloading vehicles. Beyond that, an effective YMS will also standardize repeatable processes, allowing you to automate repetitive tasks such as gate check-ins for arrival and departure events.

Frequently Asked Questions About Yard Management Systems

While the above covers how yard management systems are useful across industries, it's understandable for business owners to still have some questions. Even if you like the idea of adopting a YMS, the introduction of technology into your operations can be a time-consuming process. It's important to understand everything you need to know about yard management systems before you make the leap.

What Is a Yard Management System and How Does It Support Yard Operations?

A yard management system is a digital tool designed to help warehouse managers and transportation directors oversee incoming and outgoing freight. A YMS supports yard operations by providing greater visibility and automating communications between you, your staff, and your drivers.

What Problems Does a Yard Management System Solve for Warehouses and Distribution Centers?

A yard management system solves the problem of keeping track of trailers and goods as well as the management of both warehouse capacity and occupation at dock doors for warehouses and distribution centers.

How Does a Yard Management System Integrate With Dock, Transportation, and Warehouse Systems?

A yard management system integrates with dock, transportation, and warehouse systems by providing and sharing real-time data between software, contributing to digital records that can later be reviewed to optimize operations, and sending automatic notifications for events such as driver arrivals and departures.

Discover How Different Industries Leverage YMS

Ultimately, the value you can get out of a yard management system depends on how well you leverage the functions included in these tools. Opendock provides the comprehensive capabilities needed across industries: automated dock scheduling, SmartGate for digitized check-ins with automated validation, live asset tracking with dwell time monitoring, and drag-and-drop trailer assignments for simplified yard management.

Whether you're handling high-volume retail peaks, managing perishable food and beverage inventory, coordinating manufacturing production schedules, or running a high-throughput distribution center, Opendock adapts to your industry's specific operational challenges.

Schedule a demo of Opendock today!