Digitization is helping every industry transform and reap tremendous benefits in many ways. Logistics is one such industry that is gaining momentum with digital technologies. The logistics digitization market stood at US $11,794.24 million in 2019 and is anticipated to reach the US $23,607.06 million by 2027, growing at a CAGR of 8.5% during the forecast period. Software solutions have unlocked possibilities for the industry to expand faster. One of these solutions is yard management system software.
When the market is fiercely competitive, companies aim for more efficiency, smarter decision-making, and robust strategies to stand out. Several components come together to help this business grow. Companies can use these solutions from supply chain management to transportation management software per their needs and goals.
In this section, we will talk about the yard management system and why yard management software development might be a good idea for your business.
What is Yard Management Software?
A yard management software system is a solution that helps manage yard operations in a warehouse, distribution center, and manufacturing unit. This software is an agile and automated replacement for the traditional methods involved in yard management practices.
Logistics companies use yard software development services to implement a custom solution that allows them to automate various operations per their needs. The software provides a complete view of vehicles in the yard and helps in the efficient management of inbound and outbound shipments.
The yard management system offers real-time information to logistics and supply chain businesses which eases the process of moving trailers and helps them minimize operational inbound and outbound shipment costs.
The software allows managers to view real-time data, which helps prevent mishaps with a handy plan. By implementing YMS software development, companies can increase efficiency in their operations, work at higher productivity, and manage on-time deliveries.
Yard Management Challenges
Yard management is not a plain sailing process. Various challenges keep obstructing the operations. We’ll take a look at the common challenges in yard management:
A large number of inbound
There are times when ships need to be tied up for a few days since they need to refuel before taking on new cargo. It is a common challenge before yard managers, given that they cannot accept any inbound ships until a berth is available.
When you have yard management software, you can use it to schedule the time for the arrival of new Inbound. The best part about it is that you can add data in real-time and determine which outbound ship has to depart now. It will help you get the berth ready and prevent fuss.
Vehicle Breakdown
You can’t control everything. Can you? For instance, vehicles breaking down is an unprecedented situation. Tires can go flat, engines can fail, and unfortunately, there are times when accidents take place. These stances can cause a lot of issues.
You can be proactive and keep everything planned with a yard management system solution. The software helps you keep track of everything, allowing you to stay ahead of basic requirements like vehicle maintenance. It will enable you to prevent such accidents.
Operational Costs
Another crucial factor that challenges yard management is operational cost. The manual process of checking in and checking out, lack of real-time updates, and proper communication between parties can increase detention time at a yard. It results in a waste of time and effort.
Manual processes can also lead to fuel wastage owing to idling vehicles. It eventually impacts the operational cost, shipments, and customer experience. With yard management software, you can run automated processes, track everything in real-time and schedule deliveries.
Weather Conditions
The progress in the logistics industry relies a lot on favorable weather conditions. When the weather is not on your side, it could lead to vessel delays for a day or two or more. It results in several cargo ships arriving together, which can be overwhelming. The YMS software can keep you alert about weather forecasts. It helps you be prepared for any changes in the program.
Key Features of Yard Management Software
When planning to develop a yard management system software, you must note the important features that will be useful to you in the long run. Deciding on the part is important in YMS software development as it determines how well the solution aligns with your goals.
Let’s look at the essential features of yard management software:
Gate management
Gate management functions are used for drivers’ verification for inbound/ outbound traffic at the gate. Drivers must enter the appointment data into self-service equipment to enter the gate. This feature enables them to open and enter the gate upon their data entry.
In this case, the software verifies, approves, or rejects appointments, opens the gate in an automated way, and allows parking spots for the vehicle. The yard management software makes sure that the vehicle operations are within visibility while they are there.
Apart from that, this feature also allows consignors to provide a shipment notice beforehand. They can do this when they receive products from the supplier.
Dock Management
Dock management is another important feature in your YMS software development plan. This feature is a surefire way to boost the effectiveness of the yard. The drivers and your dock team can use this feature to be aware of the time the vehicle enters the dock door for freighting/discharge.
With this function, everyone in the team, including the dock employees, supervisors, and yard drivers, can work more efficiently and avoid delays in their inbound and outbound shipments. Furthermore, yard managers can also set the time gap to load and unload trailers based on the cargo factors, like the amount and the type of goods arrived.
Appointments
The appointment is one of the major features of YMS software for all the good reasons. The self-service online appointment booking function of the software can make a significant difference in your processes.
The schedule should have various statuses that indicate whether the shipment delivery will be able to meet the deadline. If the appointment is modified, the yard management software notifies all the members about it and enables the arrangement rescheduling option.
Real-Time Tracking
The yard management system software helps you track all the assets in the yard. The radio-frequency identification technology powers the software to provide the option to keep an eye on the placement of each object that is located on trucks.
So, you can easily keep track of every single change that is made in their locations. This feature eliminates the need for manual inspection of specific assets in the yard and saves time.
Task Management
With yard software development, you can make sure to have a feature that helps you with the easygoing process of assignment management. You can assign the tasks among your staff with the help of notifications.
Your employees can receive these notifications on their workstations or smartphone. It will help them be quick with the process. The yard management solution with a feature for distributing tasks on priority among the yard staff and dock employees will save time. It will result in team efficiency and better utilization of resources.
Also Read- How to Develop a Task Management Software?
Analytics
Analytics counts as a key feature of yard management system solutions. The statistics collected by the yard software can be incredibly useful for tracking KPIs and many other productivity indicators. Moreover, the reports fetched by this software will help you identify the areas that need improvement.
When opting for custom yard software development, you can come up with the metrics that work per your business operations. It will lead to smarter decision-making and result in better organization.
Alerts
The alerts feature is a must for your YMS software. It keeps you updated about everything that goes on during the operations. This feature will notify you about the status of a task and whether there’s any delay or arrival.
Some goods demand consistent temperature maintenance. By opting for yard management software development, you will come up with a solution that informs you about the temperature fluctuations. Overall, this feature is useful in staying alert about everything and taking immediate measures whenever needed.
Benefits of Yard Management Software
When opting for yard software development services, you must understand their significance for your business operations. Understanding your requirements and goals will help you plan the yard software development in a well-thought manner.
Let’s look at the benefits of yard management software that you can use for your business growth:
Increased Efficiency
Yard Management software increases the yard and warehouse efficiency. It manages the flow of your inbound and outbound shipments. With the right yard management solution, you can easily plan, implement, track, and audit loads based on critical factors like the type of shipment, load configuration, labor demands, and dock and warehouse capacity.
More Visibility
YMS software allows you to streamline operations in the yard and the warehouse with real-time updates. It leads to effective decision-making and saves time and effort. The software will enable you to reduce yard congestion and queue at the gate.
Cost Reduction
Yard management operations include fleet equipment costs, yard driver fees, and accessorial charges. You can reduce driver detention fees and increase throughput by automating yard operations with yard management software.
Less Wait Time
By automating appointment scheduling, you can reduce drivers’ wait time. Moreover, you can implement transport specifications. With real-time, you can manage yad and make sure there’s no fuss around the inbound.
Security
Security is one of the topmost benefits of implementing YMS software development. Eliminating manual workload helps improve the level of safety. The software keeps a complete record of trailer movements. It also maintains an audit trail for security and prevents the risk of loss. The audit trail of every truck and trailer ensures effective tracking and reporting.
Utilization Rate
Since yard management software solutions manage and streamline vehicles, it improves utilization rates. The system also ensures that resources like drivers and parking spaces are planned ahead of schedule.
Improved Customer Service
Yard management is indirectly linked to inventory operations. Thus, yard management software improves customer satisfaction by making processes error-free and more efficient. Yard management software features like real-time tracking and analytics increase visibility, enhancing customer service.
Better Inventory Management
The inventory management becomes much more accurate as the inventory numbers get updated faster. It will help make order management decisions easier and less costly, especially if one does not have to buy when the prices are high.
Get Started with Yard Management Software Development
Automated Yard management systems are useful in optimizing cost and time in supply chain logistics. The functions like real-time tracking ensure better monitoring of the yard activities. It allows you to avoid paperwork and errors.
The software also augments security and operational efficiency. The data recording allows yard managers to make smarter decisions and ensures accuracy. Moreover, the software boosts the level of transparency, allowing the system to collaborate with carriers in a better way. It also helps get data in real-time.
The right yard management system streamlines the yard management, warehouse management, and transportation management operations in many ways. If you are planning to implement yard management software, we are here to help you.
Matellio has been helping businesses digitize their yard operations with the best yard management software development services. Our team of engineers has years of experience crafting competitive software solutions for the logistics industry that help them give an edge to the contenders in the market.
Reach out to us today to implement a tech-rich, robust yard management system software.
