Vehicle yard management presents numerous challenges for automotive logistics, particularly in shipping.
Inefficient vehicle yard management increases operational costs due to wasted labor and extended idle times. Delivery delays and mishandling decrease customer satisfaction, reduce asset security and increase the risk of vehicle damage and theft. Poor management also limits transparency and accountability, hindering decision-making and operational efficiency.
These operational challenges require the right yard management software solutions to streamline processes and enhance visibility and security.
Explore different case studies demonstrating how AutoVentive’s auto yard management system effectively addresses complex automotive supply chain issues.
Optimizing Operations with AutoVentive’s Yard Management System
Business Research Insights reported, “Customers are becoming stricter in terms of delivery times and the increase of order completion speed. Customers demand quicker delivery and products to be delivered to the right place. Hence, companies have to improve the efficiency of their logistics operations to the high levels demanded by the increased logistics needs.”
This growing demand pushes warehouse management systems (WMS) to enhance their overall efficiency and agility to meet these heightened expectations.
Our solution is AutoVentive YMS, a web and Android yard management app that uses leading wireless, software and hardware technologies to provide end-to-end visibility and analytics on all assets, shipments and workforce activities.
Our telematics vehicle tracking system is hosted in a secured cloud and can be conveniently accessed on any internet-connected computer. Client-owned servers can also co-host it.
1. Enhanced Operational Visibility and Dynamic Route Optimization
According to a 2023 report by Gartner, 79% of supply chain executives cited real-time traceability as one of the top enablers for improving supply chain resilience.
Our strategic partnership with Ford Motor Company enhanced operational transparency at Ford’s assembly plants in Spring Hill, Ohio.
Our yard management tools streamlined the previously labor-intensive and error-prone manual process of railcar identification for transporting F-250 and F-350 utility trucks. We replaced it with an automated, accurate Transportation Management System (TMS). This shift improved data accuracy and operational speed.
AutoVentive YMS is reliable in tracking trailer locations of inbound and outbound loads and managing yard workflows.
Our advanced telematics tracking system, AV Shadow, has a dynamic route optimization feature that adjusts vehicle movement paths within yards to optimize fuel consumption and reduce operational costs. This feature ensures cost savings and environmentally sustainable logistics operations.
2. Automated Monitoring and Damage Prevention with Comprehensive Telematics
During beta testing with Ford, we utilized AV Shadow’s real-time data to track dwell times and monitor activity spikes around hump yards and crossroads.
The system’s advanced telematics capabilities provided a real-time, end-to-end view of the logistics process. This system allowed detailed vehicle monitoring and pinpointing potential damage locations with 3D rendering.
McKinsey Digital research supports the idea that AI-driven automation, like AV Shadow’s, will boost supply chain productivity by 15 to 20% over the next five years. This productivity gain comes from the system’s ability to make more informed decisions that streamline operations and reduce delays, thus significantly enhancing the industry’s responsiveness.
By leveraging these innovative features, AutoVentive’s YMS meets the complex demands of modern vehicle yards and sets new benchmarks in managing automotive logistics.
Our partnership with Ford Motor Company highlights the system’s effectiveness in real-world settings, proving its status as the best yard management software provider in automotive logistics.
3. Integration of AUTOChargeit for Electric Vehicle (EV) Logistics Efficiency
Managing the battery life of electric vehicles in the yard is also important as more people decide to use sustainable fuels for their cars.
In large yards, EVs with depleted batteries are stranded in locations far from fixed charging stations, disrupting the flow of operations and causing logistical inefficiencies.
We collaborated with our sister company, Precision Vehicle Logistics, to address these challenges and develop AutoChargeIt, a mobile UTV.
This mobile charging unit has twin level two electric charging stations and extendable 60ft charging cables.
It can charge EVs efficiently without needing to be moved to fixed stations.
This capability significantly enhances yard efficiency by minimizing downtime due to battery depletion and streamlining the handling of electric vehicles in operational workflows.
Client Integration and Support
When you invest in AutoVentive, you get our technology and access to our passionate team.
Our client-centric approach to onboarding and continuous feedback exemplifies our commitment to client integration and support. This approach facilitates a seamless transition to our yard management system and ensures each solution is tailored to our client’s specific operational needs.
Client-Centric Onboarding and Feedback
Our onboarding process adopts a collaborative, Agile methodology, which is instrumental in customizing the integration of our yard management system software to suit each client’s unique demands.
Our dedicated customer service team supports clients throughout the transition for an optimal yard management experience. From the onset of the onboarding process, the team, consisting of customer success managers, technical support specialists and product experts, engages actively.
We communicate our yard management solutions clearly and address technical challenges promptly for smooth and effective system integration.
Engagement Through Regular Check-ins and Workshops
The first step in meeting our clients’ evolving needs is maintaining an ongoing dialogue through regular check-ins, feedback sessions and interactive workshops.
This engagement gathers valuable insights into how the system performs in real-world scenarios and what improvements can be made.
For instance, during our collaboration with Ford, the regular updates and feedback sessions allowed us to quickly identify and address specific railcar identification and vehicle tracking challenges.
This proactive engagement helped refine the functionality of our AV Shadow technology, ensuring it provided maximum benefit in terms of operational visibility and asset management.
As we continue to support our clients with current technologies, we also look forward to evolving our services.
Future Developments: Enhanced Reporting and Operational Insights
As we continue to enhance our YMS dashboard with new reporting capabilities, we’re embracing a customer-driven approach to innovation and improving how we listen, learn and deliver.
We’re launching beta programs so clients can test new features before they go live. Since real-world feedback should shape our solutions, this co-creation approach invites you to coordinate directly with us to refine usability and performance.
Our new dashboards will offer instant visibility from a yard perspective, enabling efficient staffing and logistics planning. This will give senior-level teams the overall status and performance of the operations without the need to review detailed and complex data.
Additionally, we’ll introduce satisfaction metrics like NPS (Net Promoter Score) and CSAT (Customer Satisfaction Score) to measure how well we’re meeting your needs. Lower scores will prompt targeted improvements, ensuring we exceed expectations at every step.
Your feedback is valuable and drives us to think of ways to better serve you. Your insights and experiences become the basis of our development process through feedback integration, helping us build the future of yard management technology.
What features should a good yard management system have?
A good yard management system should offer real-time visibility, automated data collection, comprehensive inventory management and seamless integration with other systems. It should also include reporting and analytics for customizable and scalable operations that adapt to different operational sizes and needs, ensuring efficiency, profitability and compliance across all yard activities.
Considering the broader context of supply chain optimization, reflecting on the fundamental components of a successful supplier management strategy is essential.
A Deloitte and Manufacturers Alliance study noted, “What emerges are four components important to a successful supplier management strategy: strengthening existing relationships, engaging multiple suppliers, deploying digital tools for increased visibility and combining efficiency with resilience. These may be tried-and-tested tactics, but they are now being enhanced to meet new challenges head-on.”
AutoVentive’s YMS integrates this strategy to help bolster strong supplier relationships and resilience while employing cutting-edge digital tools to improve operations monitoring.
The Strategic Advantage of AutoVentive’s Yard Management System
AutoVentive’s yard management system stands out in the automotive logistics industry due to its flexibility, convenience and scalability. It is an indispensable tool for modern supply chain management.
Customizable Solutions for Diverse Needs
Our customizable system allows clients to configure a fleet telematics management system that perfectly fits their logistics requirements.
We can personalize our system to meet your needs, whether you want to enhance data accuracy, optimize yard operations or improve appointment scheduling and dock management. Using this process, we cover every aspect of your logistics operations.
Convenience Through Real-Time Visibility
Our YMS provides real-time visibility into all yard assets and activities from a single location. This system eliminates the blind spot and bottlenecks that often exists in yard management.
The comprehensive traceability ensures that every vehicle and asset is accounted for, reducing errors and enhancing the yard’s overall security, efficiency and throughput.
Scalable Across All Levels of Operation
AutoVentive’s yard management system is scalable, allowing it to adapt to any business’s size and scope.
Our system can meet your demands, whether your operations are contained within a single yard or spread across global supply chains.
This flexibility is vital for businesses that want to grow and expand without significantly overhauling or replacing their existing systems.
Driving the Future of Automotive Logistics
By integrating these key features — customizability, convenience and scalability — into our best yard management system, AutoVentive provides a tool and delivers a strategic advantage that propels businesses forward.
Our commitment to continuous innovation ensures our clients access the cutting-edge solutions necessary for thriving in the dynamic automotive industry.
Request a demo today to discover the AutoVentive difference with our yard management system.
