An optimised dock management process can transform the inbound and outbound movements at warehouse loading docks and deliver new DC efficiencies.
Proactive, collaborative dock scheduling allows carriers and suppliers to request appointments for deliveries or collections – with the software solution automatically offering a number of slots based on goods’ priority, available dock spaces, staff and equipment.
Slot scheduling tools typically reduce labour
by over 10%.
Bookings are based on business need, priority, as well as being assessed and optimised in line with the resource capacity of the warehouse, ensuring a smooth transition between inbound and outbound activity.
With this real-time insight, warehouses and distributors can become far more sophisticated at prioritising activity, considering customer demand, loads, product types and delivery destinations.
This comprehensive visibility of the dock management process gives DC operators the ability to begin exploring trends in operations. Out of norm behaviour can be rapidly identified, enabling change and further optimisation of the process. Reports can show KPI’s such as ‘on time’ performance and ‘no show’ by carrier or supplier; or identify a specific delivery – driver or load type – that takes longer than the normal time to load or unload.
By ensuring all your supply chain partners are involved in the process and have full visibility to request, schedule, and rescheduled dock appointment slots, your warehouse receiving operations can concentrate on being optimised and ready for inbound shipments as well as helping to coordinate outbound pickups.
The Dock Appointment Scheduling module allows you to model all relevant constraints:
- Number of dock doors
- DC hours and manpower/equipment resources
- Unload time by product type etc.
Your staff can monitor the process via a web-based visual interface and can see all the appointments, making simple drag and drop manual overrides as they see fit.
With the system in place, carriers can book appointment slots, arrival times are confirmed normally by the gate guard and your managers can produce reports showing on time performance and no-show reports by carrier.
Have goods delivered better, for less
When recommending appointment times to the carriers, based on true receiving capacity, we see that our customers are able to remove the peaks and troughs in labour demand across the day or days. In doing so you can reduce overtime and headcount.
Our software goes the extra mile, so you don't have to.
The Descartes Dock Appointment Scheduling Solution is a module within the Descartes Transportation Management Software.