Dock & Yard Management

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In this post, I would like to explain Dock and Yard management process.

Dock & Yard management is EWM functionality that integrates the warehouse with the yard. The yard is based upon loading, unloading spaces, doors and checkpoints.

Introduction - This functions can be used to manage the flow of loading and unloading vehicles. The yard is the outside area of the warehouse where all kinds of transportations are being managed.

SAP Yard Logistics offers standard integration to EWM and SAP TM to cover end-to-end processes in supply chain execution. With integration to SAP TM, Yard Logistics recognizes upfront which trucks will arrive in our yard by receiving information from Freight Orders. Upon door arrival, SAP Yard Logistics will send an update to SAP EWM, so warehouse processes can start immediately after arrival. Once loading or unloading is finished, SAP EWM will update SAP YL and the truck is allowed to proceed to the yard. When the truck departs from the yard, SAP Yard Logistics sends an update to SAP TM which can further process the truck to its next destination.

‘Dock & Yard’ enhances delivery performance, brings efficacy in the entire supply chain process.

What is Dock & Yard?
By Dock & Yard, we mean a contiguous area around a facility where vehicles or containers used for moving goods are stored, including the dock doors or loading areas to the warehouse. Please note that operationally gate control is necessary. Yards are defined as one or more Plant/Shipping Point combinations. Warehouse numbers may also be assigned to a Yard. Dock doors and Yard slots (positions) are defined to a Yard. If a Warehouse number is assigned, Dock doors are validated against Warehouse configuration.
Through Dock & Yard, end users schedule loading / unloading appointments which can be live or drop vehicle, investigate line load opportunities, search for not yet scheduled documents or date / time of scheduled document, can set up capacity consumption according to business needs, execute vehicle movements and reports within the yard and
the entire process enables efficiency for carriers, loaders and administrator.
The Load Appointment scheduling is used for scheduling an appointment for unloading and/or loading of a vehicle, based on a call / info from a carrier with reference to different documents related to the logistic flow, which could be an inbound or an outbound flow. The inbound flow will be related to purchase of raw material or finished products, the reception of stock transfers between plants / storage locations, returns / refusals from customers and returnable from customers. The outbound flow will be related to deliveries to customers, the issue of stock transfers between plants / storage locations etc.

Why Dock &  Yard is so important?
Dock & Yard does maintain and manage detailed loading/unloading schedule, manage vehicles in yard and at dock doors, and performs reporting. Obvious question that comes to our mind is that as to why Dock & Yard is so important ?

The reason as to why it is so important can be well understood if we go through the following benefits one by one that Dock & Yard renders:

Customer delight through delivery performance
Through Dock & Yard management, it is possible to micro manage delivery schedule and all actions can be taken to ensure that shipment is made as per the schedule. It is possible to calculate the Must Depart Date and Time (MDT) and the Latest Appointment Date and Time (LAT) for each load or shipment

Efficiency of carriers, loaders and administrator
Dock & Yard management, through scheduling of appointment and its execution, enhances the efficiency of carriers, loaders and administrator. Since all activities are based on pre-appointed schedule, it puts extra pressure on carriers, loaders and administrator to finish the activities within the appointed time schedule, which, in turn, does increase the efficiency.

Time Management
One of the prerequisite for D&Y is to define the appointment flow (master data) as per the business requirement. The appointment flow types are (1) Customer outbound, (2) Returns / returnable, (3) Stock transport orders outbound, (4) Stock transport orders inbound, (5) Inbound from supplier and (6) Other. All these flow types have a pre fixed time slot during the working day and the appointments are scheduled according to each flow type time. This leads to an excellent time management and its full utilization as per the plan.

Scheduling based on advanced transportation planning
In SAP,  standard Transportation processes are managed using:
Shipment documents (for Scheduling & Execution)
Shipment Cost documents (for Purchasing & costing)
Shipment documents can only be created based on Delivery documents.
Shipment Cost documents are created with reference to a Shipment document

However, one of the main drivers for transport cost reduction is the capacity to early plan and confirms transportation services. Given that the template recommendation is to create deliveries at the latest stage possible, standard SAP transportation is not adapted to Nestlé processes. SAP has been enhanced in order to support transportation scheduling based on Sales Orders or Stock Transfer Requisitions:

Transportation scheduling for Sales Order documents is done using the custom object “Load”
Transportation scheduling for stock transfer requisitions is done using Stock Transport Orders

In Dock & Yard, scheduling of appointment for sales order is done through reference document ‘Load’ and for stock transport orders, reference document ‘STO”.

This process gives operational insights into inventory management and process controls to deliver on time and every time.

I hope this article will be useful to understand Dock & Yard Management process.