When it comes to managing a yard and its associated loading docks, time is money—quite literally, since every transport loaded or unloaded represents money made or lost. In addition, idle fees, waiting fees, and demurrage costs mean that any time wasted is costly.
Our partner, Transporeon, has released its Dock and Yard Efficiency Blueprint Report, which discusses the common reasons respondents give for delays. Let’s be realistic; not everything is in your hands. A lot of the time, however, it is. Let’s examine the problems and their solutions.
Almost three out of four respondents indicated that peak arrival hours at their yard were a big problem for them. Sticking to the time-slotting schedule becomes very difficult when some drivers are late, and some are early. The result? Large queues at reception, congestion in the parking lot, and a bigger chance of trucks pulling up to the wrong dock.
In this category, we find road work, weather conditions, border control queues, and traffic jams. When these issues arise, they are hard to predict and even harder to influence.
Logistics is a global industry, and drivers have varied backgrounds. When not everyone is fluent in a common language, communication becomes difficult. Respondents mentioned frustrations and longer queues than necessary at reception.
We have also seen our clients experience communication problems not only during registration but also during dispatching. Drivers often struggle to understand the correct location and loading dock in these circumstances.
Surprisingly, a whopping 35% of companies still work with manual processes like pen and paper, Excel, and fixed time slots. This lack of flexibility and speed is hurting them during the day. Especially in combination with some of the other factors mentioned above, these manual processes can really slow down a logistics flow.
When equipment is not well-maintained, misused or simply too old, there is a good chance it will fail at a critical moment. While accidents and plain bad luck can happen, in many ways, this is the efficiency blocker that is the easiest to prevent and control.
While peak times will happen, how you manage these driver arrivals is where the magic happens. With automated driver self-registration, you can speed up the whole flow. There are several methods to get the fastest results.
Peripass offers three methods:
Though you cannot control when traffic jams happen or where the road gets worked on, you can stay informed about traffic conditions. If road work is announced in your area, you can brief your shipping partners about the most efficient route to your site.
Flexible time slot scheduling is another great way of absorbing traffic disruptions as they come along. With tools like Transporeon you can quickly adjust arrivals, and with Peripass you have the tool to register all shipments and to have the exact timestamp of their arrival.
When it comes to multi-lingual communication, there are very few shortcuts. People either speak a language or they don’t. But technology can help! While many companies use tools like Google Translate to try to bridge the communication gap, this is not an efficient solution.
Peripass offers over 20 languages during driver self-registration. Drivers select their preferred language and move through the registration process. This is not only easier for drivers but also speeds up registration and relieves pressure from reception. Less stress, quicker processing and your staff still have all the required information.
Finding tools that work together is a game-changer for optimising your processes. For example, Transporeon and Peripass integrate, so all flexible time slotting done through Transporeon is reflected in the Visitor list from Peripass. Now, it is easier than ever to know what transports are coming in soon, when they arrived, when they left, and how long it took them to get on and off your site.
Automating your logistics flow requires examining how things are currently run and deciding how you want them to be. Then, you can find the tools that give you the speed, accuracy, and security you need.
As stated above, the best way to prevent these blockers is to track your equipment’s age and maintenance schedule. Proper care will prevent many issues, and when machinery wear and tear is tracked, a replacement can be acquired in a timely manner. However, back luck is just that, so be prepared for material breaking at the worst possible time!
Prevention means anticipating and preparing for the worst. When doing so, nothing will be able to surprise you. However, this does not mean you need to exist in a state of stress and worry. With the correct tools, you can prepare once, and let the technology take it from there. A smooth day-to-day on any yard or logistics site begins and ends with automation that takes out the friction.
Find out why companies like Bridgestone, Alpro, and Saint-Gobain use Peripass to manage their yards. Please fill out the form to see how our software works.
