Keeping Your Inventory Moving During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Organizational Pandemic Response

The global pandemic has thrown manufacturers, distributors, and retailers into a mode that most have never experienced before.

While social distancing rules, shutdowns, and high demand for certain product groups are top-of-mind right now, employee and driver safety should also be factored into an organization’s overall pandemic response.

Research firm Gartner, Inc. sees technology as a key enabler for companies that are implementing new driver and safety measures. “As capacity continues to tighten and there are fewer drivers on the road, it’s a requirement to keep them safe,” Gartner’s Carly West said in a press release.

“While safety is especially important now, it should be a key issue for logistics leaders at all times. Fortunately, there are a variety of technologies available that increase driver safety and also help run more efficient operations now and in the world after COVID-19.”

Gartner’s top options for companies looking to enhance employee and driver safety include:

Tech-Enabled Virtual Practices Enabling Social Distancing 

“Technology solutions help reduce physical contact to a minimum. Routine procedures like gate check-ins and paperwork signing can move to the cloud via software-as-a-service (SaaS) solutions. Real-time transportation visibility platforms flag shipments carrying essential goods, so staff can already prepare with protective gear, such as face masks and be in place to retrieve or offload quickly,” West said.

“Proactive alerts are also a good practice for last-mile delivery to end consumers. Tracking technology allows them to see when the delivery is approaching their home, as well as when it has arrived.”

PINC’s YMS solution, for example, offers functionalities like gate automation, appointment scheduling, real-time visibility in the yard, trailer movement automation, automated alerts and notifications, and enterprise visibility.

PINC offers two types of self-service gates PINC Kiosks and PINC Dropbox. PINC Kiosk includes a touchscreen kiosk with an optional PINC RFID tag dispenser for drivers to self-check-in or out. Shipment/appointments information can be automatically provided during check-in through integration with any system of record. Once the details are validated by the driver, he or she is presented with a drop location based on criteria (i.e., live/drop, type of inventory, type of equipment, load status, etc.). The gate arm opens automatically and the driver proceeds.

On the exit side, PINC Dropbox is an automated system for auto-check-out drivers and trailers from facilities. During check-out, drivers insert PINC’s RFID tags inside of a dropbox similar to a mailbox, and the driver and trailer will be checked-out in the PINC YMS, and the gate arm will rise automatically if all criteria are met.

Some of PINC’s customers are leveraging PINC Kiosk and PINC Dropbox to emphasize social distancing at their facilities and protect employees and drivers coming to these facilities.

There’s no more the need for gate personnel or shipping and receiving office teams to interact with drivers at check-in and check-out.

“Allowing drivers to wait in their truck makes it easier for all of us to practice social distancing. Previously, the driver would be waiting in the lounge to talk to the DC after completing check-in.“ - L. M., Major Beverage Manufacturing company.

These automatic processes streamline gate procedures, increases the velocity of check-in and check-out of trailers, yard trucks, shuttle trucks, tractors, and drivers, and loads can be electronically reconciled with purchase orders or bill of ladings.

The information to be captured at the gate during check-in or check-out can be customized in the YMS. More importantly, they enable organizations to keep truck drivers and their employees safe during this public health crisis.

Monitor and Locate Critical Items Moving Through the Supply Chain with IoT Sensors

For product safety, supply chain leaders should consider using sensors on products and trailers to keep products safe. Sensors can be used within trailers or products to track the movement of the product on the road and set alerts for deviations or issues,” Ms. West said.” Using technology to track critical and expensive products is a smart practice for companies to have better control on the location and safety of their assets.” 

As we know, misplaced or stolen trailers and containers parked at facilities also cause a major disruption to the supply chain. We would like to add to West’s point that It’s also imperative that trailers, containers, and inventory are tracked not just over the road but also while these assets are parked at facilities across the U.S.A.   

PINC Real-time location system (RTLS) enables users to track and locate assets in real-time using passive RFID, GPS, and other sensors. All the information collected is presented online on PINC’s yard platform. Through PINC’s yard management application, users access real-time yard inventory lists, count, and history information eliminating the need for yard checks.

Information is readily available in the application in the form of reports, digital yard maps, digital whiteboards, and dashboards. Also, information can be filtered, and this functionality enables users to define, create categories of trailers, and group them to facilitate and expedite

trailer search. Also, resulting matches can be used to feed other activities like recommending specific slots for where the assets should be parked, dock doors they need to be moved to, or displayed on the facility map.

PINC also provides the system of record to the assets (trailer, container, dry, reefer, …) on the yard to the customer’s systems such as WMS, TMS.

Our customers call the PINC YMS the “Google of trailers.” Because it’s easy a fast to find any information associated with a trailer or shipment in PINC’s yard management application.

PINC Yard Management System: Your Facility Live in 2 Weeks

PINC’s yard management system is highly configurable and modular. It is the only turn-key solution that can evolve from SaaS only implementation to SaaS + IoT Hardware and is scalable to enterprise-wide.

PINC’s automation engine enables facilities to simplify workflows and improve efficiencies by letting PINC YMS automatically check-in and out trailers, recommend a parking spot to drivers, notify a user about an event, notify a carrier about a load status, send an email informing about demurrage and detention fees, generate a report and share it, change the status of an asset, auto-create a move for an asset, and much more.

To help you navigate through these tough times, PINC has a dedicated team that can bring your facility operational in 2 weeks and our deployment and training can be totally virtual. Questions? We can help.

Related Article: Using Yard Management Systems to Close Supply Chain Gaps

Related Resources

PINC Yard Management Systems: 4 Case Studies
In these 4 Yard Management System case studies, we detail how Pactiv, Batory Foods, Cost Plus World Market, and East Coast Warehouse & Distribution Corp. implemented PINC's Yard Management solutions to increase productivity, reduce expenses, eliminated trailer detention fees, and maintain control and visibility over yard operations, and more. Download Now!

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The Four Forces Driving Supply Chain Innovation
When supply chain professionals discuss supply chain execution, their focus is typically put on transportation management systems and warehouse management systems, the yard management systems capability and importance is mistakenly undervalued. Download Now!

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The Rise of the Digital Yard
In this white paper, we explore the rise of the digital yard and show how technology is enabling significant efficiencies, productivity gains, and cost containment in a world where every penny added to the bottom line positively impacts organizational success. Download Now!

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Solution Brief: Yard Management System
Yards are the intersection between warehouses and transportation, they are a critical linkage in logistics management practices and have a significant impact on the overall efficiency of the supply chain. Download Now!

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