Yard Management Software and Trailer Tracking Software enable organizations to track trailer and content movement across multiple locations, access the history of trailers, and driver & yard activity.

Descartes Yard Management™ is specifically designed to help operators more effectively manage the movement of trailers.

This service is an add-on to Descartes Dock Appointment Scheduling™, a collaborative solution that enables shippers, carriers and consignees to schedule dock door appointments and optimize receiving operations for inbound shipments to a distribution center (DC) or warehouse.

Descartes Yard Management leverages the power of the Descartes Global Logistics Network™ (Descartes GLN™), enabling organizations to electronically connect with shippers, carriers and regulatory authorities around the world.

Features of Descartes' Yard Management

Visibility into Trailers within the Yard

Real-time visibility into trailer content and locations within the yard enables organizations to quickly identify and access stock on hand, thereby reducing inventory requirements to save costs and improve efficiencies.

Enabling Effective Planning

Plan and track trailer positions, arrivals and departures across distributed or centralized yards; as well as record trailer status, moves, inspections and security seal changes. The solution also provides the ability to assign parking, quickly locate trailers in the yard, and identify content within a trailer as well as its age and condition.

Track Trailer Movement Across Yards

Provides insight into movement and location of trailers across all yards in a single instance. It enables users to search for specific inventory within a trailer and also makes it easy to prioritize trailers for unload according to its contents, trailer age (by hours or days), carrier, or a driver’s current hours of service. It also provides support for multiple trailers per parking spot.

Audit Trail to Minimize Loss Prevention

Automatically records all trailer movements and maintains a valid audit trail for loss prevention and security. Recording the history of every trailer enables more effective incident tracking and consolidated report development, and ensures differentials can be calculated according to check in/out status. It also provides for ongoing data collection to improve the planning process, and uses trailer aging reports to ensure that unload objectives are also being met.

Touch Screen Devices and Graphical User Interface

Descartes Yard Management offers a graphical user interface that is optimized for use with a touch screen tablet PC. These devices can be used in-cab, while walking through the premises, or in the guard shack to identify and validate loads that arrive and leave the yard, or confirm the location of a trailer. Built specifically for low Internet connectivity, the devices ensure that content is never lost even when an Internet connection is not available.

Historical Data Tracking

Since Descartes Yard Management tracks trailer and content movement across multiple locations, users can easily access a detailed history of the trailer, driver and yard activity, along with its current status.

Visibility into Yard Management

Descartes Yard Management offers functional support in such areas as

  1. Updating and recording arrival, inspection and departure of trailers
  2. Yard checks
  3. Tracking the history of trailer, driver, yard, yard jockey and appointments
  4. Assigning tasks
  5. Providing notifications to carriers, as well as reports for shipping, receiving and loss-prevention staff

To compliment your Descartes Yard Management solution, the Descartes Transportation Manager™ solution helps logistics professionals quickly evaluate money-saving transportation and shipping options, and then execute those shipments with contract carriers.

Built to accommodate the end-to-end supply chain management process, the Descartes Transportation Management System (TMS) also supports order management through consolidation, financial settlement and auditing.

Improved Inbound Yard Visibility

Descartes extends visibility to carrier/vendor yards. It also documents trailer arrivals and facilitates departure gate checks, as well as movements within the yard to enable audit trail analysis and dispute resolution. Visibility is also extended to appointment data, and arrival and departure statuses. It enables appointment information to be compared to warehouse receipts and purchase orders.

Ensuring Compliance Prior to Yard Entry

Descartes Yard Management improves compliance and security measures by preventing the loss of high value goods. It ensures that every driver is verified prior to yard entry and that CTPAT regulations are met. It also provides an effective approach to security seal management during trailer inspections.

Integrated Solution for Dock Appointment Scheduling and Yard Management

Descartes Dock Appointment Scheduler and Yard Management applications integrate with Transportation Management TM solutions to accept tenders and book appointments, handle automatic door assignments for inbound/ outbound loads, and stage trailers according to door availability. When integrated with a route planning solution, routes can be staged according to door availability and empty trailers in the yard can be assigned to planned routes.

Knowledge Articles

Four Ways to Improve Yard Management

Many companies are automating transportation processes that have traditionally been handled manually in an effort to streamline the supply chain by identifying bottlenecks and improving efficiencies. Automated yard management software will help operators more effectively manage the movement of trailers and the associated inventory.