Optimizing Yard Management: Key Benefits of Yard Automation

In the simplest form, yard management was a cost of doing business, however, with the advancement of yard automation technology, companies look at yard execution as a differentiator. By leveraging technology to simplify tasks, reduce errors, improve visibility, and maximize efficiency, customer order fill rates and OTD improve significantly. Automating manual processes allows businesses to manage trailer movements better, improve safety, and optimize yard space.

Managing a busy yard is challenging. Whether you’re overseeing a plant, distribution center, warehouse, or a multi-site campus, the complexity of managing trailer movements, dock schedules, and available space can easily become overwhelming. Fortunately, yard automation transforms how facilities manage their yard operations, helping businesses streamline processes, boost productivity, and enhance safety.

In this blog, we’ll explore the key benefits of yard automation, how it streamlines traditional processes, and how automated solutions help improve labor efficiency, safety, and visibility. We’ll break down the main stages of yard management, discuss the challenges of traditional methods, and explore how automation is revolutionizing this critical part of logistics.

Main Stages of Yard Management

Yard management involves several key stages:

• Driver Check-in: Drivers enter the yard, often passing through guard shacks, to check in and receive instructions on where to park their trailers.
• Dock Assignment: Dock doors are assigned for loading or unloading after check-in.
• Spotter Coordination: Yard spotters are responsible for moving trailers and ensuring they are parked in the correct locations.
• Trailer Management: Trailers are moved around the yard based on availability and operational needs.
• Yard Audits: Regular audits ensure trailers are properly maintained in the correct spots.
• Identifying Equipment Issues: Equipment status is checked to identify potential issues, such as damage or maintenance needs.

Top 5 Traditional Yard Management Challenges

While suitable to “get by,” traditional yard management processes present several challenges in managing the stages outlined above:

1. Manual Operations

Manual scheduling and tracking are prone to human error, leading to misplaced trailers, missed appointments, and delays. Without an automated system to track progress in real time, operations can become disorganized.

2. Dock Management Inefficiencies

Without an automated system to assign dock doors or track trailer availability, there can be confusion over which trailer is at which dock, leading to wasted time and inefficiency. Logic often resides in individuals’ minds, making onboarding new resources slow and hard to standardize.

3. Paper-Based Systems

Many yards still rely on paper records, which can be slow, error-prone, and difficult to manage at scale. Paper-based yard audits and manual check-in processes increase workload and waste time. In addition, there is no visibility into where opportunity for improvement exists.

4. Lack of Real-Time Visibility

Without a digital system, yard managers have limited visibility into the status of trailers, spotter actions, and the overall yard layout. This lack of transparency makes it difficult to track inbound and outbound shipments, identify inefficiencies, monitor progress, and allow carriers to see real-time trailer statuses.

5. Slow Processes

Manual checks and constant communication between different teams slow down operations. Yard managers need a faster way to assign tasks and track trailer movements.

How Does Yard Automation Simplify Yard Processes?

Yard automation addresses common challenges by introducing technology into supply chain management, enhancing efficiency, and reducing manual tasks. Here’s how automation simplifies various yard processes:

1. Automating Driver Actions

Yard management systems enable drivers to receive automated instructions, significantly reducing reliance on paper-based systems and manual communication. Once drivers arrive, the system automates the entire check-in process, assigning specific instructions immediately upon arrival. 

For example, drivers can “Pre-Check” in advance of arrival to the facility, similar to airplane travel,, receiving a digital gate pass and real-time directions. The system signals that the product is ready for pickup (via WMS integration), and the driver is then automatically assigned to a designated dock door or instructed to drop the trailer in a specific parking space via app messages.

Through trailer management automation, these automated workflows also trigger automated move requests to ensure trailers are moved efficiently around the yard based on real-time needs. By automating these processes, yard automation solutions eliminate manual intervention, streamlining the entire operation and providing immediate, accurate instructions from the driver’s arrival. 

2. Trailer Assignment Logic

Trailer aging is often an overlooked task in yard management. With automated trailer assignment, you can set triggers based on order type, equipment type, trailer age or other factors, such as product type, carrier, or delivery priority. For example, when a trailer has been on-site for seven days, it may be automatically marked red on the digital map, prompting action from the spotter, the carrier, and the shipping office. This logic-based allocation moves trailers based on priority needs, improving operational efficiency.

Automated notifications—sent via app or email—can prompt immediate action on trailers that have been in the yard for too long. These notifications alert the spotter, carrier, and shipping office when a trailer is approaching its time limit, helping to avoid costly carrier fees for delayed trailers. By automating this process, businesses can prevent unnecessary charges and reduce the risk of trailers staying in the yard for extended periods.

Furthermore, real-time trailer tracking enables yard managers to monitor trailer aging and location, ensuring trailers are assigned and moved according to the most efficient logic. Automated reports provide insights into trailer status, helping managers track aging and optimize movement without manual intervention. This combination of automation and real-time data maximizes efficiency and keeps yard operations running smoothly.

3. Move Requests for Spotters

In traditional systems, yard spotters rely on human decision-making to determine when and where trailers must be moved. However, with trailer spotter automation, this process is streamlined through integration with the WMS. The system automatically generates move requests based on inventory needs, check-in activity or optimizations needed of the yard. 

For instance, when a trailer is ready for unloading, the system can create a move request based on inventory staging or available space in the yard. This automated approach reduces human error and ensures trailers are moved to the most suitable location based on real-time requirements, increasing operational efficiency. Automating these spotter requests eliminates the need for guesswork, providing a smoother and more accurate yard operation. Your shipping office now becomes process monitors and focus on efficiency vs. manually doing the work.

4. Optimizing Yard Organization

Keeping the yard organized is essential, but it often requires human intervention to ensure trailers are parked correctly. With a yard management solution, businesses can automatically assess the yard layout and identify trailers parked in the wrong spot. The system can then issue a move request, ensuring trailers are organized based on operational priorities (e.g., empty trailers, damaged trailers, refrigerated trailers, etc.).

5. Digital Yard Audits

Traditionally, yard audits involve staff walking the yard with paper checklists to confirm trailer locations. This process is time-consuming and prone to human error. There is no efficiency gain from audit to audit, either. With yard management software, audits can be performed digitally, allowing real-time tracking of trailer status and automatic updates to the yard map when changes occur.

For example, a company conducts trailer checks at 6 a.m. and 2 p.m. to confirm that trailers are empty, but spotters often overlook this task. They walk around the yard, handwrite the findings on paper, and submit them to the shipping department. With automated yard audits, the system streamlines this process to occur once per day—or even less—eliminating manual steps and improving efficiency.

Moreover, digital yard audits provide real-time reports and analytics that help yard managers make data-driven decisions. These insights allow managers to spot inefficiencies, better manage trailer usage, and enhance safety protocols, ensuring that the yard operates more smoothly and effectively.

6. Identification of Equipment Issues

Yard automation helps identify equipment issues through photographic evidence stored directly within the platform. This capability allows for the easy confirmation of tasks. It enables quick identification of potential issues, such as damaged trailers that aren’t clean or those that do not meet the required standards. The system also helps detect problems related to the product, ensuring that any concerns are flagged and addressed promptly. Any trailer issue can automatically notify the carrier to pull the trailer or send a mechanic on-site to address the issue.

Key Benefits of Yard Automation

Not that we’ve explored how yard automation works, let’s highlight some key benefits it brings for businesses: 

1. Operating Margin Improvement

By automating routine tasks, yard automation reduces the need for manual labor, allowing staff to focus on higher-value activities. With less reliance on human error and manual processes, businesses can save on labor costs and reduce mistakes that lead to operational disruptions.

2. Trailer Turn Time Efficiency 

Automating processes like trailer assignment, product staging, and dock management streamlines operations and reduces the time spent on manual tasks. The result is faster throughput, better coordination, and a more efficient yard.

3. Space Utilization

Yard automation helps optimize space by automatically tracking trailer locations and providing real-time data on yard usage. This feature helps prevent congestion, allows for better planning, and ensures trailers are parked most efficiently.

4. Real-Time Yard Orchestration

Vector’s real-time map enables yard managers to see exactly what is happening in the yard. From trailer locations to the actions of spotters, managers can coordinate movements and tasks more efficiently. This real-time data helps eliminate confusion and reduce delays, resulting in smoother operation. 

How to Implement Yard Automation Successfully

Implementing yard automation can be complex, but the right approach can transform your operations. Here’s how to implement automation successfully: 

1. Assess Your Current Yard Operations

Before implementing automation, assess your current yard management processes to identify inefficiencies or bottlenecks. This step will help you pinpoint where automation can have the most significant impact.

2. Select the Right Yard Management System (YMS)

Choosing the right system is crucial to unlock key YMS benefits. Look for a platform that integrates well with your existing systems (WMS, TMS, ELDs), offers real-time visibility, and provides automated features like scheduling, trailer tracking, and reporting.

3. Training and Integration

Once you’ve selected your Automated Yard Management System (YMS), you must train your team to use it effectively. Integration with your existing systems, such as TMS, WMS, and ELDs, ensures a seamless transition. Connecting the YMS with these platforms allows data to be shared in real time, improving overall operations and eliminating the need for complex system migrations. This integration enables more accurate tracking, automated scheduling, and efficient trailer movements, resulting in smoother processes across the entire yard.

Incorporating AI in yard management enhances the automation of decision-making processes, improving efficiency and reducing human error. Training your team on leveraging these integrated systems will ensure a smooth transition, maximizing the benefits of automation without disrupting current workflows. Communication and collaboration throughout this process are key to a successful implementation and long-term success.

Next Steps: Optimizing Your Business Yard Management

Yard automation streamlines your yard management processes, enhancing efficiency, reducing errors, and providing complete visibility into yard activities. You can make more data-driven decisions and improve overall operational performance by automating key tasks.

Ready to transform your supply chain with effective yard management? Discover Vector’s yard automation and elevate your operations to the next level.

FAQs About Yard Automation

1. How do automated yard management systems improve efficiency?

Automated systems reduce the need for manual tracking and scheduling, speeding up processes and improving accuracy. By automating routine tasks, workers can focus on more critical yard areas.

2. What are the cost benefits of implementing an automated yard management system?

Automation reduces labor costs, minimizes errors, and increases throughput, resulting in significant business savings.

3. How do AI and machine learning contribute to yard management?

AI applications in yard management can predict trailer movements, optimize traffic flow, and detect potential issues before they arise, improving overall yard efficiency.

4. What role do IoT and smart sensors play in yard management?

IoT for yard management and smart sensors enable real-time tracking of trailers, allowing yard managers to monitor trailer locations, status, and conditions without manual intervention. This technology provides increased visibility, helping to optimize trailer movements, reduce delays, and improve overall operational efficiency.

5. Can yard management systems integrate with autonomous shunter trucks?

Yes, autonomous shunter trucks benefit from automated rules-based decision-making and priority setting rather than waiting for humans in the shipping or receiving operation to decide on what tasks to perform.

6. We use 3PLs to manage our logistics. Can yard automation work with 3PLs?

Yes, whether you procure the technology or the 3PL does, yard automation can be configured for multi-site, multi-3PL operation, allowing the shipper full visibility across the entire network, regardless of which 3PL provider is running the warehouse.