Blind Spots in Yard Management? How YMS Software Gives Real Time Visibility
In yard management, flying blind is commonly expressed when you don’t have the ability to see or you’re doing something based on guesswork. When using a manual or outdated system, you will struggle with blind spots or sections of your operations that isn’t being tracked efficiently or effectively. To sum it up, for you to find out what is going wrong, you will have to manually inspect the situation, spending more time and money that could be allocated elsewhere. When utilizing an updated yard management software system, you can achieve real-time visibility into your yard for easy yard asset tracking by knowing what is on your yard and where every asset is located at any given time.
What Real Time Visibility Means for Yard Management & Asset Location
Achieving real-time visibility means you receive live information that allows you to monitor the route of goods as well as know their exact location at any given point. Essentially, you will understand what is happening, under what conditions, and the occurrence of any issues. Having real-time visibility starts with tracking the route of inbound freight, what/when it is arriving on your yard immediately at the gate, where it goes, where it parks once it is on the yard, and tracking yard asset locations as it moves throughout the property. This continues all the way to the moment it leaves your yard and exits the gate. By investing in a YMS that provides and delivers real-time visibility, you’ll never have to worry about estimating when a specific asset will arrive, where it is parked, or where it is being transported to. Instead, you can sit back, relax, and watch live.
How Yard Management Software Gives You Real Time Visibility
If real-time visibility is lacking in your yard, then you probably don’t utilize optimized yard management system software. On the other hand, if you do use yard management software but don’t have real-time visibility, then it’s time to research systems that are recognized as best-in-class for the industry. Utilizing a proper yard management system will have every solution you need to get the job done right, while having extensive real-time visibility that allows you to oversee what’s happening on the yard, starting from the gate to the warehouse dock doors. There are multiple avenues to how YMS provides a new level of visibility into your yard operations; for example, YMS workflows with bar code scanning, software integration with warehouse management systems (WMS) and transportation management systems (TMS), task automation with no staff to conduct manual checks, as well as technologies including radio frequency identification (RFID) tagging or aerial drones are just a sample of the solutions that greatly enhances your yard’s operations. Leave manually locating specific trailers behind, erase the headache, and let your yard management software system take the lead.
Common Yard Management Problems That are Solved with Real-Time Visibility
With all the handful of possible problems that can occur while on the yard, real-time visibility provides a solution that fills in the gaps to a few of common issues yard managers face daily. From big headaches to small, yet annoying, pain points, real-time visibility that is provided by YMS software solves the problems you hate most. Do any of the following issues sound familiar?
- Not knowing where trailer assets are located on the yard.
- Yard drivers not knowing where to drop off their trailer(s).
- Yard drivers not remaining aware of which dock door the trailer is moving to.
- Yard drivers not confirming nor reporting that a trailer was moved to a different location.
- An increased amount of time wasted by internal and external staff on the yard by not knowing where to go.
- A rise in detention fees.
- Poor turnaround times.
- A decrease in productivity due to excessive wait times or from drivers being onsite for a large amount of time.
Even if your head nodded ‘yes’ to at least one of these common problems, then it’s time to throw away the manual process you’ve been using and invest in a yard management software that provides the real-time visibility your yard desperately deserves. Your productivity and the success of your supply chain operations will thank you later.
YMS Software Should Give You Far More than Just Visibility into Your Yard
Having a yard management system that provides real-time visibility is essential, however, it’s not everything you need to make your YMS solution work. A truly integrated, top-of-the-line yard management software will provide accurate, real-time visibility into your operation as well as an intuitive, customizable interface with powerful tools and information that informs every department, includes a diverse support team of YMS experts who are an extension of your team, and 24/7 support that is there when there is a problem. In addition to earning yard visibility, yard management systems include a highly secure cloud-based infrastructure, in-depth reporting, extensive monitoring and alerting for key tasks, automation abilities that eliminate redundant tasks, and integrates with any software system that either you have in place or plan to adopt (such as WMS, TMS, or ERP systems). Our team at YardView created a best-in-breed yard management software because we fully understand the ins-and-outs of yard management operations. Check it out today by visiting https://www.yardview.com/demo-the-software to schedule a demonstration of our YMS software.