Yard management system (YMS) software is developing rapidly, offering greater efficiencies and valuable data for that segment of the distribution supply chain, says Colin Mansfield, vice president with YMS.

Yard management software can essentially be divided into two main types, Mansfield says. One is a bolt-on application to an existing execution system, such as transportation or warehouse management. The other is a dedicated application offered by a vendor that deals solely in that area of technology.

Regardless of which system a yard might opt for, many yard-management processes have been manual in nature until relatively recently. That means a proliferation of “clipboards and pieces of paper.” In that respect, warehouse management has been more advanced in embracing automation. Yard management is beginning to catch up, although the relative youth of those systems means there have been fewer iterations and improvement in features during their existence. “But a lot of organizations are learning very quickly,” Mansfield says.

YMS systems are, as their name suggests, designed to handle functions that are unique to the yard. But they must also communicate with WMS and other software overseeing operations within the facility walls. “Integration is paramount,” Mansfield says. “It’s going to be something you need.”

Artificial intelligence is playing a key role in the latest generation of YMS. It can remove the need for human intervention at the gate, by identifying the carrier and trailer number before authorizing both entry and exit. Mansfield says the newer systems are employing computer vision as an alternative to the use of sensors and radio frequency identification. “A lot of companies are still working through the bugs,” he adds, “but it offers a huge amount of potential.”