Using YMS to close supply chain gaps

Poor visibility in the warehouse and distributing center (DC) yard isn’t anything new. In fact, it’s so prevalent that analysts and technology vendors have taken to calling the yard the “black hole” of the supply chain. Where companies will invest in warehouse management systems (WMS) to run the activities taking place within their four walls, and then complement those platforms with transportation management systems (TMS) to manage freight movement, the staging area where goods are shipped and received is often left to its own devices. “The yard is still an area that not too many people are bothered about,” says Bart De Muynck, Gartner’s research vice president for transportation technology. “In fact, companies seem to be doing well by not doing anything out in their yards. In other words, they’re sticking with the status quo and it’s working, so why change it? However, we’re seeing a little bit of progress in this area in terms of technology adoption, but it’s still early.” Some of that progress is being driven by directives like the hours-of-service (HOS) regulations, which dictate how many hours a driver can be behind the wheel and how much time he or she needs to rest in between shifts. Administered by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), HOS governs the number of working hours for anyone who operates a commercial motor vehicle in the United States. Waiting around for a dock door to be available or for a shipment to be loaded onto a truck, for example, can derail a transportation plan due to a driver being placed out of commission.