Effective yard management is critical to maintaining a smooth, efficient warehouse operation. In this blog, we explore how Oracle WMS Cloud empowers businesses to take control of their yard operations—improving visibility, reducing delays, and enhancing coordination between gates, docks, and yard locations. Whether you're managing inbound appointments or tracking trailer movements, this guide will help you understand the key components and best practices for optimizing your yard with Oracle WMS.
Yard operations process is part of Gate to Dock processes covering all activities related to managing the yard activities such as allocating a yard location, within yard movements and tracking trailers within the yard.
Yard operations consist of following activities:
- Yard operations typically begin either after the trailer gates in (as part of gate-in activities) or post dock check-out (as part of gate-out procedures).
- If the assigned dock is unavailable or occupied, the trailer moved to an empty yard location until it can proceed. Similarly, if a trailer is not yet ready for gate-out, it remains staged in the yard.
- When a dock becomes available, the trailer is directed to the designated dock location. The system is updated accordingly, both during gate-in and gate-out processes.
- If no dock is available at the time of arrival, the trailer is temporarily assigned to an available yard location using the "Locate Trailer" function within the Trailer U.
- As soon as a dock opens up, the trailer is moved from the yard to the dock location and the status is updated in the system.
- Optionally, the trailer's weight can be measured and recorded in the system during both gate-in and gate-out operations, if weight tracking is required.
- The trailer is then reported either at the dock (for receiving) or at the gate (for departure), based on the workflow stage.
- Once trailer leaves the yard, trailer location is cleared using Locate trailer functionality in Trailer UI. Unless location is cleared, trailer will reflect in the yard location only.
- Trailers can also be moved between yard locations as needed, using the same "Locate Trailer" functionality to maintain accurate yard mapping.
Integrations:
- Oracle WMS can be integrated with external Yard management system and trailer movements can be interfaced into Oracle WMS (Locate to yard, First Available, Remove from yard) for better Yard management.
KPI:
- Yard capacity utilization.
- Average trailer dwell time.
- Truck / trailer turnaround time.
Reports:
- Dock appointment scheduled for today - Dock management dashboard.
- Inbound traffic (inbound shipments) scheduled for today.
- Outbound traffic (pickups) schedule for the day.
- Available yard locations - Yard Management dashboard.
Best practices:
- Schedule appointments before trailer / truck arrival at warehouse for better traffic management & turnaround times.
Oracle WMS Cloud enables real-time tracking and automation of the Yard operational processes offering best practices to improve operational visibility, reduced trailer wait times, and better compliance.
References:
- #1 Demystifying Oracle WMS Cloud: Key Terminologies you should know
- #2 Mastering the Basics: Warehousing Processes with Oracle WMS
- #3 Gate to Dock Process in Oracle WMS Cloud: A Step-by-Step Guide
- #4 Gate Operations process in Oracle WMS Cloud: A Step-by-Step Guide