PINC Yard Management System

Summary of Innovation

PINC was founded in 2004, and today hundreds of locations across the globe have deployed its patented enterprise cloud-based YMS. The PINC Yard Management System is the only digital yard management solution that truly automates and optimizes gate activities, trailer movements, dock scheduling, yard operations and functions performed by yard workers and administrators, and communication between trading partners and carriers. It is suitable for both small and large enterprises, it enables management of multiple yards and provides a single bird' s-eye view of all the yards.

PINC supports several industries, including manufacturing, retail, automotive, and 3PL. PINC Yard Management System's key differentiator is automation. The system provides a number of automation capabilities on top of the traditional yard management system capabilities, including:

- Automated gate management: PINC provides a gate kiosk capability for automated check-in and check-out. It offers drivers an ATM-like experience where drivers can easily self-check-in and out of facilities.

- Automated data capture: PINC's patented real-time location system (RTLS) is a low-cost IoT sensor platform that uses a combination of real-time GPS, passive RFID, optical, and cellular technologies for providing real-time visibility and orchestration of assets. Each trailer receives an RFID tag during check-in at a facility and spotters equipped with PINC's tracking system, as they perform their routines and drive by the trailers parked in the yard or dock doors, capture the location and status information associated to a particular trailer. Aerial robots or autonomous drones are also available to perform automated asset inventory checks and auto-data collection.

- Spotter Automation: Through an in-cab monitor, PINC's yard management software facilitates two-way communication between managers and yard or shuttle truck drivers to assign, prioritize, and confirm trailer move tasks. Additionally, managers can monitor in real-time the location of the yard and shuttle trucks through the PINC system. All transactions and information are recorded and can be accessed online through PINC's YMS. Beyond the tasking functionality, users can automate workflows and expedite existing processes to achieve higher productivity with PINC's yard and shuttle trucks automation modules. Workflows within a yard can be automated by using a series of defined combinations of asset operations, yard filters, and spot recommendations. When assets meet specific conditions, PINC intelligence automatically initiates workflow progressions, including changes of state and trailer move requests.

- Integration: 80% of PINC's installations are integrated with other systems. PINC yard management software enhances the value of existing warehouse management systems (WMS), transportation management systems (TMS), and enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems through easy integration and the provision of real-time visibility to trailer, inventory and shipment data via web API.

- Carrier View: Our advanced yard management system enables carriers to see their assets from their point of manufacture to their final destination. Carriers gain real-time visibility over assets in the customer's yards and can make gate appointments online 24/7, eliminating the need for frequent phone calls and faxes. Carriers can also perform live inventory checks, view current load status, and obtain historical records of asset activities.

Please find below some of the unique features of PINC's yard management software that enables our customers to operate more efficiently and cost-effectively:
- PINC advanced software provides real-time location and status information of trailers and inventory via facility map tool – provides a graphical representation of a particular facility yard and dock doors, its assets, and all sorts of information associated to them. The whiteboard tool – Provides a graphical view of dock doors, showing yard asset details and the ability to initiate moves to and from the door. 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 software.

- Dwell Time tool: This functionality is another great tool for facilities to measure, create benchmarks, and improve the overall productivity of yards and warehouses.

- Shipment Management tool: All shipment information is electronically recorded at source or imported via integration with other systems or through file uploads into PINC YMS. The data is available to the destination facility team before the load arrives at the destination facility gate. This process improves shipment velocity, expedites check-in and check-out, and eliminates manual data entry and errors.

- Accessorial Charges Management tool: The Accessorial Charges functionality enables users to have visibility and effectively manage demurrage and detention charges at a facility. This functionality allows users to create business rules based on fees to be incurred from the transportation company for the time a trailer is at the property. PINC Yard Management Software highlights and alerts which assets require attention, and automatically calculates how much the penalty will be in case action is not taken. This information is available to all users throughout the system, including in the facility map, whiteboard application, and asset details information page. Users can also create alerts, dashboards, reports and measure KPIs for continuous improvement and pro-active monitoring.

- Communication Automation: Watches: Users can automate communication of asset status changes - i.e., Load Status from "Loading "to "Loaded"- to provoke action by or to inform recipients. The communication can be assigned to one or multiple recipients or groups; users, carriers. The frequency of the watch can be tailored to your business need. Alerts: Users can identify exceptions so they can be addressed in real-time - Inbound/Outbound loaded too Long, missed check-out, dock overstay, reefer trailer check overdue, etc. - It can be customized to address specific issues - i.e., Inbound loaded too long, needs to be addressed to avoid detention/demurrage charges.

- Seal verification, damage inspection, and reporting tool: When trailers arrive at a facility, guards at the gate check the seal number and compare it with the one in the BOL as well as check if the trailer has any damage. If the information is not accurate or something is missing or broken, all this information is captured through the PINC yard management software. Guards can electronically record the information and notify the responsible parties for proper action.

- Reporting and Dashboards: PINC's yard management system provides more than 100 standard reports and dashboards, including recent arrivals, departures, and yard capacity. See empties by the carrier, which can be augmented by custom reports. Reports can be exported by yard managers to Excel or scheduled to be run at predetermined times.

- Enterprise Visibility tool: For enterprise customers deploying PINC enterprise-wide or at multiple facilities, the Enterprise Visibility application provides a comprehensive view of all of the deployed locations within the corporate supply chain network. Corporations gain insights into the efficiency, trends, and other customizable metrics for the utilization of all the yard assets across all these locations. Best practices based on quantifiable KPIs can be established, and all the service providers can be held accountable for meeting specific performance targets.

Innovation Statement

With an advanced yard management solution featuring cloud computing, the internet of things (IoT), mobile, and drones, the digital yard management experience is now real-time, data-driven, automated, integrated, and connected. It also provides immediate value to warehouse and transportation operations, across the enterprise, and to trading partners. We’ve seen digital yard management systems deliver important wins in distribution environments where efficiency, agility, and flexibility are a must.

Applicability

PINC enables companies to identify, locate, and orchestrate assets and inventory throughout the supply chain predictably and cost-effectively.

Posted Date	12/18/19
Contact	RAFAEL GRANATO
Contact Email	RGRANATO[at]PINC.COM
Category	Best Innovation of an Existing Product

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