Buoyed by cloud-based technology, yard management software (YMS) is gaining a reputation as a problem-solver, helping DCs avoid bottlenecks and delays in their bustling yards.
Ben Ames has spent 20 years as a journalist since starting out as a daily newspaper reporter in Pennsylvania in 1995. From 1999 forward, he has focused on business and technology reporting for a number of trade journals, beginning when he joined Design News and Modern Materials Handling magazines. Ames is author of the trail guide "Hiking Massachusetts" and is a graduate of the Columbia School of Journalism.
Long seen as a specialty logistics tool needed by only the largest companies, yard management software (YMS) is taking its turn in the spotlight as a way to bring digital clarity to often-chaotic DC yards.
The reason is simple, experts say: Warehouse fulfillment operations are beset by the same market challenges that have hobbled supply chains from coast to coast this year, including worker shortages, pandemic uncertainty, and a trucking capacity crunch. By using YMS tools to manage the movement of trucks and trailers to dock doors, companies can tighten up operations in an area that’s often plagued by hours-long delays and missing equipment.
Despite those pain points, the yard has traditionally been overlooked when it comes to tech investment. “While there’s been billions of dollars of investment in the warehouse, the yard is operating much as it has for the past several decades,” says Andrew Smith, CEO of Outrider, a Colorado-based startup that’s developing technology for autonomous yard operations and self-driving trucks.
To illustrate the extent of the neglect, one software vendor notes that most of his company’s YMS clients are not replacing a competing YMS product but rather, automating tasks previously handled by workers with clipboards and printouts. “I can count on one hand when we get a new [yard management software] customer and we’re replacing another system,” says Greg Braun, chief revenue officer with C3 Solutions, a Montreal-based provider of yard management and dock-scheduling software for companies in the retail, grocery, distribution, manufacturing, and parcel post industries. “Instead, they’re using pen and paper and the walkie-talkie. And with dock scheduling, it’s almost as bad; they’re using voicemail and email.”
That stands in stark contrast to the millions of dollars many of those same companies have invested in enterprise resource planning (ERP) and warehouse management (WMS) systems, Braun says. And by failing to link those platforms to their yard operations, users are missing an opportunity to create a single stream of data that could reveal ways to save time and money.
Creating that single stream has become much easier in recent years, thanks to the rise of cloud-based software applications, says Adam Kline, senior director of product management with Manhattan Associates, an Atlanta-based developer of supply chain, omnichannel, and inventory software. When a user’s YMS, WMS, and TMS (transportation management system) are all running on the same platform, they can share a single pool of data and react to real-time changes on the ground, instead of generating discrete reports and “throwing [them] over the fence” to another application, he says.
“Companies that want to unify applications need to look at the yard itself; that’s where WMS and TMS collide,” Kline says. “How do you execute within the fulfillment center most efficiently with regard to transportation? That’s where the yard comes in; it’s the glue that’s binding these things together.”
BETTER SCHEDULING THROUGH SOFTWARE
Empowered by that growing ability to share data across platforms, users are deploying YMS technology to solve a wider range of problems than they could in the past. “For years, the rule of thumb was that if you walk out of your DC and you can see all your trailers, you don’t need a YMS. Now, that probably doesn’t apply,” Kline says.
That’s because business patterns have changed over time and aging warehouses are struggling to keep up, he explains. For example, thanks to the pandemic-fueled e-commerce explosion, DCs have started dedicating some of their dock doors to small-parcel pickup. While that might expedite the process of getting small packages out the door, it also means those facilities lose some of their freight-handling capacity, Kline says. And with today’s rising real estate costs, expanding the DC’s physical footprint to compensate for that loss would be an expensive proposition.
In response, companies have been turning to yard management systems to help them do a better job of scheduling. “The importance of YMS has increased, because they need to turn over their dock doors faster,” Kline says. “They have to get quicker and more efficient at getting each trailer to a door and determining which truck comes to what door. They also have to tie all that to the operations inside the fulfillment center.”
KEEPING THE TRUCKS ROLLING
At the same time that companies are trying to make the most of their real estate, they have also been struggling with a warehouse labor shortage. According to C3’s Braun, yard management systems can also help in that regard—namely by allowing users to automate tasks like tracking trailers that were previously handled by humans.
Although the digitalization of yard operations has been going on for years, the pandemic has accelerated the transition, he adds. “Even before Covid, [interest in] automating the gate process was rising, as people asked, ‘From an efficiency point of view, can we avoid human contact?’” While pandemic-era health concerns have hastened the adoption of contactless systems, the Covid-induced labor crunch has played into it as well, Braun says. “Before, the reason was ‘I don’t want to spend money to hire someone for my gatehouse,’ and now it’s ‘I can’t find anyone.’”
And the advantages of YMS technology don’t stop there, according to Braun. In addition to easing their labor woes, yard management systems can help companies stay in their trucking partners’ good graces—an important consideration in times when shippers face stiff competition for freight capacity. As for how a YMS can help in that regard, it has to do with the software’s ability to smooth out traffic flows and keep operations on schedule, thereby ensuring drivers can get in and out as quickly as possible. No driver wants to be delayed while dropping off or picking up cargo at a DC, says Braun, who points out that holdups can throw off their schedules and cost them money.
Taking steps to keep drivers happy can have a big payoff, he adds, noting that it could mean the difference between securing needed truck capacity and having freight languish on the dock. “If a trucker shows up and has to wait four hours to unload, then it won’t be long before he tells his dispatcher ‘I don’t care where you send me, just not there,’” Braun says. “And you don’t want to be on that list.”
AFTERTHOUGHT NO MORE
Warehouses are increasingly turning to YMS software to streamline operations with an eye toward ensuring quick turnarounds and keeping trucks moving swiftly in and out of the DC yard. The software enables more precise operations at all stages of the journey, from the entrance gate to the parking lot to the dock door and back out onto the highway, experts say.
Thanks to those capabilities, the technology is turning the yard from an afterthought into a competitive weapon as companies emerge from the pandemic and learn to navigate a new normal.
Supply chain planning (SCP) leaders working on transformation efforts are focused on two major high-impact technology trends, including composite AI and supply chain data governance, according to a study from Gartner, Inc.
"SCP leaders are in the process of developing transformation roadmaps that will prioritize delivering on advanced decision intelligence and automated decision making," Eva Dawkins, Director Analyst in Gartner’s Supply Chain practice, said in a release. "Composite AI, which is the combined application of different AI techniques to improve learning efficiency, will drive the optimization and automation of many planning activities at scale, while supply chain data governance is the foundational key for digital transformation.”
Their pursuit of those roadmaps is often complicated by frequent disruptions and the rapid pace of technological innovation. But Gartner says those leaders can accelerate the realized value of technology investments by facilitating a shift from IT-led to business-led digital leadership, with SCP leaders taking ownership of multidisciplinary teams to advance business operations, channels and products.
“A sound data governance strategy supports advanced technologies, such as composite AI, while also facilitating collaboration throughout the supply chain technology ecosystem,” said Dawkins. “Without attention to data governance, SCP leaders will likely struggle to achieve their expected ROI on key technology investments.”
The British logistics robot vendor Dexory this week said it has raised $80 million in venture funding to support an expansion of its artificial intelligence (AI) powered features, grow its global team, and accelerate the deployment of its autonomous robots.
A “significant focus” continues to be on expanding across the U.S. market, where Dexory is live with customers in seven states and last month opened a U.S. headquarters in Nashville. The Series B will also enhance development and production facilities at its UK headquarters, the firm said.
The “series B” funding round was led by DTCP, with participation from Latitude Ventures, Wave-X and Bootstrap Europe, along with existing investors Atomico, Lakestar, Capnamic, and several angels from the logistics industry. With the close of the round, Dexory has now raised $120 million over the past three years.
Dexory says its product, DexoryView, provides real-time visibility across warehouses of any size through its autonomous mobile robots and AI. The rolling bots use sensor and image data and continuous data collection to perform rapid warehouse scans and create digital twins of warehouse spaces, allowing for optimized performance and future scenario simulations.
Originally announced in September, the move will allow Deutsche Bahn to “fully focus on restructuring the rail infrastructure in Germany and providing climate-friendly passenger and freight transport operations in Germany and Europe,” Werner Gatzer, Chairman of the DB Supervisory Board, said in a release.
For its purchase price, DSV gains an organization with around 72,700 employees at over 1,850 locations. The new owner says it plans to investment around one billion euros in coming years to promote additional growth in German operations. Together, DSV and Schenker will have a combined workforce of approximately 147,000 employees in more than 90 countries, earning pro forma revenue of approximately $43.3 billion (based on 2023 numbers), DSV said.
After removing that unit, Deutsche Bahn retains its core business called the “Systemverbund Bahn,” which includes passenger transport activities in Germany, rail freight activities, operational service units, and railroad infrastructure companies. The DB Group, headquartered in Berlin, employs around 340,000 people.
“We have set clear goals to structurally modernize Deutsche Bahn in the areas of infrastructure, operations and profitability and focus on the core business. The proceeds from the sale will significantly reduce DB’s debt and thus make an important contribution to the financial stability of the DB Group. At the same time, DB Schenker will gain a strong strategic owner in DSV,” Deutsche Bahn CEO Richard Lutz said in a release.
Transportation industry veteran Anne Reinke will become president & CEO of trade group the Intermodal Association of North America (IANA) at the end of the year, stepping into the position from her previous post leading third party logistics (3PL) trade group the Transportation Intermediaries Association (TIA), both organizations said today.
Meanwhile, TIA today announced that insider Christopher Burroughs would fill Reinke’s shoes as president & CEO. Burroughs has been with TIA for 13 years, most recently as its vice president of Government Affairs for the past six years, during which time he oversaw all legislative and regulatory efforts before Congress and the federal agencies.
Before her four years leading TIA, Reinke spent two years as Deputy Assistant Secretary with the U.S. Department of Transportation and 16 years with CSX Corporation.
As the hours tick down toward a “seemingly imminent” strike by East Coast and Gulf Coast dockworkers, experts are warning that the impacts of that move would mushroom well-beyond the actual strike locations, causing prevalent shipping delays, container ship congestion, port congestion on West coast ports, and stranded freight.
However, a strike now seems “nearly unavoidable,” as no bargaining sessions are scheduled prior to the September 30 contract expiration between the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) and the U.S. Maritime Alliance (USMX) in their negotiations over wages and automation, according to the transportation law firm Scopelitis, Garvin, Light, Hanson & Feary.
The facilities affected would include some 45,000 port workers at 36 locations, including high-volume U.S. ports from Boston, New York / New Jersey, and Norfolk, to Savannah and Charleston, and down to New Orleans and Houston. With such widespread geography, a strike would likely lead to congestion from diverted traffic, as well as knock-on effects include the potential risk of increased freight rates and costly charges such as demurrage, detention, per diem, and dwell time fees on containers that may be slowed due to the congestion, according to an analysis by another transportation and logistics sector law firm, Benesch.
The weight of those combined blows means that many companies are already planning ways to minimize damage and recover quickly from the event. According to Scopelitis’ advice, mitigation measures could include: preparing for congestion on West coast ports, taking advantage of intermodal ground transportation where possible, looking for alternatives including air transport when necessary for urgent delivery, delaying shipping from East and Gulf coast ports until after the strike, and budgeting for increased freight and container fees.
Additional advice on softening the blow of a potential coastwide strike came from John Donigian, senior director of supply chain strategy at Moody’s. In a statement, he named six supply chain strategies for companies to consider: expedite certain shipments, reallocate existing inventory strategically, lock in alternative capacity with trucking and rail providers , communicate transparently with stakeholders to set realistic expectations for delivery timelines, shift sourcing to regional suppliers if possible, and utilize drop shipping to maintain sales.