As organizations are struggling to hire and retain skilled supply chain workforce, and customers are demanding faster response times, and lower delivery costs, investment in technology has become a priority. However, one area remains almost completely unchanged: The trailer yards.

Manufacturing plants and distribution centers’ yards are a critical intersection between warehouses and transportation management. Each year in the United States, there are approximately five hundred million trailer shipments across 250 thousand plants and warehouses – and for eighty percent of the time, those assets sit idle either empty or loaded at the source or destination facilities and that’s primarily because most of these transactions are handled on pen and paper, spreadsheets, or manual systems.

Although assets are heavily tracked and documented on the road, the lack of technology enablement in yards typically causes: 

1. Delayed shipments to and from the warehouse 
2. Lack of shipment and trailer visibility needed for efficient shuttling between facilities
3. Gate congestion
4. Demurrage or detention charges
5. Inability to monitor operations for safety and compliance violations

So how can we illuminate those blind spots and provide an enhanced yard management experience to your organization?

You will find invaluable information about the rise of digital yards in this educational video put together by CSCMP and PINC. 

As always, please let us know what you think.