Recent disruptions have necessitated the importance of digitalization in the supply chain more than ever. The current practices see coherent transportation planning and warehouse execution as the driving forces behind operations like shipping, receiving, order management, tracking, and tracing. This coherence increases efficiency and effective resource utilization such as trucks, MHE (Material Handling Equipment), and labor-reducing delays and chaos. However, one area that needs more attention in the context of digitalization is the Yard, which is operated manually without any integration into the supply network. This gap in digitization can pull down the overall performance of the supply chain.
SAP Yard Logistics (SAP YL) optimizes and manages the movement and storage of goods within a yard or warehouse environment with cutting-edge features that make managing and controlling transport processes and vehicles on-site easier.
SAP YL tackles capacity planning issues by integrating with SAP Transportation Management and SAP Warehouse Management systems. This integration can effectively streamline and centralize the flow of information in real-time, giving yard planners greater scope to plan operations accurately and increase throughput and efficiency of the workforce, MHE, and other resources, while avoiding yard congestion. Capacity planning also includes in-yard routing.
To streamline yard operations and reduce unnecessary traffic across the yard, planning of arrival and departure of vehicles with loading/unloading is crucial. Integrating the SAP Dock Appointment Scheduling component with SAP YL and SAP BNL makes this possible and facilitates vendor collaboration on vehicle timings. Carriers with access to the system can directly plan their loading appointments and update details in the system.
Vehicle checks at the entry gates are often one of the most crowded areas. The manual entry of driver and vehicle information and passing on the information to the yard supervisor are both tiresome, time-consuming, and error prone. It could take hours to days just to get in, regardless of if the truck arrived on schedule. The self-check-in process helps to reduce these delays and congestion at the gate by collecting details via a handheld device and transferring them instantly to the operator, allowing faster decision-making. Scanning devices at the gate enable vehicle numbers to be scanned, and data on drivers and their load is promptly transferred to the SAP system with IOT technology.
Vehicle movements within the yard are important for yard operations. Without the proper information, many drivers unnecessarily waste time and fuel going back and forth. With SAP YL, yard operations are planned, and tasks are distributed to the yard staff accordingly, such as weighing the truck, cleaning, or inspecting. Integrating with IOT ensures that all the movements are logged and all activities can be monitored through geofencing.
The yard often becomes chaotic due to the lack of visibility. However, with the data from transportation and warehouse systems, planning ahead for weeks and anticipating incoming orders and vehicles is possible. The Yard Cockpit makes it easy to perform yard operations all in one place. Through the Visual Yard graphical representation, you can easily view the entire yard and all its vehicles and resources. The Cockpit enables you to perform tasks like moving a vehicle from the gate to parking or parking to the door with ease and speed.
SAP YL comes with two options for deployment:
SAP Yard Logistics is a powerful module that helps businesses optimize yard operations, streamline supply chain processes, and improve efficiency. With its cutting-edge features, companies can achieve real-time visibility into their yard operations, enhance asset utilization, reduce wait times, and improve customer service. SAP YL’s flexibility and configurability allow businesses to tailor it to their unique operational requirements. ArchLynk, as a domain expert, can help businesses implement and leverage the full potential of SAP Yard Logistics. To know more, Speak to an Expert.
