Reporting and Analytics: What To Expect From YMS Software
While it’s true that a transportation management system (TMS) and a warehouse management system (WMS) are the bread and butter of logistics management, they alone would make for a crappy sandwich. What’s missing? The MEAT. A yard management solution (YMS) acts as the link between the TMS and WMS for end-to-end visibility and pure management bliss.
How is YMS software so helpful? The reporting and analytics features of a cloud-based system are incredible. Here’s what to expect from a YMS like Vector.
What Kind of Visibility Can YMS Software Give You?
Maximum visibility. It’s like not realizing you needed glasses until you put them on and no longer have to squint to read.
As Logistics Management puts it, “By using software that provides trailer and shipment visibility; automates the truck arrival, check-in and departure process; monitors trailer movement out in the yard; and tracks activity taking place on the dock, companies can bridge the gap between their existing solutions.”
Since the YMS is tethered to the driver, you gain visibility beginning from the first person in the chain of custody. This allows you to see the “whole picture” when you track key performance indicators (KPIs).
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Gate Metrics
In many cases, real-time communications stop at the facility gate and are replaced with paper. From a handwritten Bill of Lading (BOL) to physically interacting with drivers one at a time, the process instantly slows. But, you don’t need us to tell you that.
A YMS can show you the exact state of your gate transactions. You can see:
- The total number of gate transactions.
- The number and percentage of transactions by load type.
- The number and percentage by transaction type.
- The number and percentage by equipment status.
For example, you can view exactly how many empty vs. loaded bobtails arrived at your yard and compare that number to how many departed and how many were turned away. With spiffy data like this, you’ll know where the bottlenecks occur and can spot trends in gate operations. When you can see what’s working at the gate — and pinpoint the epic fails — you can work to improve gate transactions immediately.
Spotter Metrics
Want to know how hard everyone is working? Sure, that can be done. But even better than that is the ability to see how effectively tasks are completed. Peerless Media’s Supply Chain 24/7 even goes as far as to say that the ability for a YMS to track “necessities such as gate, appointment, dock, and spotter optimization” is now demanded by modern supply chains.
Innovative software has spotter metrics covered. You can track the percentage and number of tasks by type: dock bump, manual move, pull, and spot. This includes the average time per task and the average number of tasks completed per driver. Go ahead and pat the drivers and yard employees on the back! They deserve it! Then, view trends in idle time to facilitate a more efficient yard.
Carrier Metrics
Tracking carrier metrics is like a magic wand that can show you how to reduce dwell times, including detention rates. With a few button pushes within your YMS software, know which carriers are on time with deliveries and who is consistently running late. Track detention times to find improvement opportunities. And for the love of french fries, use these metrics to prove to everyone involved that it’s time to ditch handwritten documentation by comparing the difference when you digitize documents by scanning them into your software.
Equipment Metrics
Most yard equipment management operations are a black hole of chaos and confusion. But before you bang your head on the wall out of frustration, have you considered using equipment metrics? Equipment metrics let you see the percentage and number of equipment used for drop and live loads so you can compare and analyze shipment processes for every day of the week.
Track the average delay for late loads and use this powerful information to communicate capacity needs throughout the yard and make adjustments to prevent future problems from happening. That’s not just proactive, it’s pro-sanity.
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Benefits of Using YMS Software Reporting and Analytics
The reporting and analytics tools within robust YMS software can be used in nearly countless ways. When you do it, it will pay off. Some of the benefits include:
Improved Visibility
Real-time tracking and communication with a driver give you visibility for that driver in that particular yard. Now then. Let’s add this feature to every driver for all of your facilities that you can view and analyze using the same YMS software.
What a beautiful thing.
You can also see your yard capacity at any moment; no more confusion about space availability at your yard. You can use real-time data to pull reports and accurately predict capacity based on the current status of your yard, shippers, and carriers.
Guided Inventory Management
Sometimes, it can feel like your inventory is managing your yard, rather than vice versa. Too much or not enough inventory means costly challenges either way. With YMS software, you’ll know exactly what you have and where it is at every step. Additionally, you can reduce the inventory cushion to save space and improve efficiency with loading, unloading, and storage.
Automated Gate Management Reduces Errors and Manual Tasks
When you remove manual data entry at the gate — and beyond — you can reduce gate processing times. An automated system that lets drivers check in using an app on their mobile device removes the need for manual labor and ensures accuracy. This is because that check-in app is connected to your YMS for a flow of data straight from the driver to the software. Identify issues as they occur and track process changes to see if they produce the desired results. You’ll waste less time finding and fixing mistakes, and more time finding additional ways to streamline yard operations.
Stay on Top of Your Yard With YMS Software
In the past, drivers had no idea what to expect once they pulled up to a yard. The yards didn’t know what to expect either. The communication gap was as astounding as it was frustrating. The Vector Yard Management Solution makes analyzing and adapting your yard possible so you meet the demand for streamlined yard operations to save time, money, and headaches shipment after shipment.
For more information on how YMS software can do the heavy logistics lifting, contact us.
