Yard Management System (YMS): New capabilities for managing complex scenarios
Enhanced planning, supervision and optimisation of warehouse yard flow
Yard Management System (YMS) — the Easy WMS module for real-time oversight of vehicle flows in warehouse yards and at loading docks — has been updated with new features to handle more complex operational scenarios.
Carrier appointments
With this new functionality, the YMS module supports integration with ERP and TMS (transport management system) software to automatically manage truck arrivals, departures and dock assignments. It provides a synchronised, real-time calendar across systems, enabling users to create, update, close or cancel appointments instantly.
Auxiliary appointments
Most yard traffic is generated by the arrival and departure of material at the docks. However, secondary activities — such as waste collection and management, delivery of auxiliary materials, visits and external audits, and certain maintenance operations — also require vehicles to access the yard.
The new auxiliary appointment feature allows these types of appointments to be scheduled for specific handling. This streamlines the check-in/check-out process compared to standard appointments while maintaining key access-control functionalities (e.g. vehicle and driver verification and compliance with access restrictions)
.Dock assignment by the yard manager
In medium and large warehouses with long distances and numerous docks, access checkpoint personnel may not have full visibility of dock availability. Delays in previous appointments, mechanical issues with dock doors, traffic and accumulated work in internal buffers and staging areas can all affect real-time conditions. This is where the yard manager comes in — overseeing vehicle traffic and dock usage.
With the new YMS features, final dock assignment for loading and unloading can now be handled by access control staff acting as yard managers. Key enhancements include notifications to the yard manager when a new truck arrives and an updated graphical interface displaying wait times, available docks and the status of other appointments. These tools support fast, informed decision-making, triggering automatic notifications to drivers and warehouse staff. The outcome is improved internal coordination and better operational flow.
This improvement brings several benefits to the dock assignment process:
- Support for yard managers, facilitating operations and decision-making.
- Instant communication to drivers to speed up operations.
- Reduced waiting times and fewer appointment delays.