Introduction
Yard management involves tracking and coordinating trailers, shipments, and other assets in a facility. The purpose is to accurately manage the in-check shipment, the used docks, and the outbound movement of the trailers to minimize unnecessary costs and delays in the yard processes.
RFID technologies are essential in today's logistics world because they provide real-time visibility, reduce the number of manual tracking errors, and make gate processes faster and more efficient. RFID removes the guesswork of tracking yard assets using real, useful, actionable data, which provides control and accuracy to its logistic teams.
Today, RFID is no longer a tech upgrade; it has become a mandatory integration to offer
efficiency in your yard. This blog will explore the key works of RFID along with its top advantages
to help you consider its importance today.
What Is RFID and How It Works in a Yard?
RFID or Radio Frequency Identification is a system that uses electromagnetic fields to automatically detect and track tags on a certain object in a certain area. Due to its auto-detecting ability, it offers loads of benefits in tracking, sorting, and managing goods on a large scale. Apart from warehouse management and transportation management, RFID tags are now getting due importance in Yard management as well.
Overview of RFID
There are two basic types of RFID tags: active tags and passive tags. These are typically a chip or antenna whose work is to transmit data to the RFID reader. The job of these tags is to send data wirelessly to the main system. The passive tags draw direct power from the reader signal, whereas the active tags carry their own battery and transmit to do the job.
Due to this extra added facility, active RFID tags are costlier than passive ones. Passive tags are mainly used in non-stationary inventory tracking, whereas for mobile or in-transit tracking, it is always good to invest in active tags. Therefore, passive tags are effective in monitoring objects in a specified area, whereas active tags are more suitable for a large-scale operation.
How RFID Readers are Deployed in Yard Gates, Docks, and Vehicles
Using the revolutionary RFID tags, you can enhance the efficiency of goods tracking in your yard management. This advanced tech can be deployed on yard gates, dock areas, and each vehicle passing through it. This increases the efficient tracking ability for every yard asset in real time.
Deploying RFID readers in these specific areas completely eliminates the manual need for tracking and bookkeeping. Introducing RFID readers inside the yard improves control of inbound and outbound shipments. It helps yard operators in maximum resource utilization, reducing gate congestion, and ensuring a smooth yard activity.
Real-Time Data Capture Explained
RFID technology allows real-time access to the data of the assets with the RFID tags. This greatly helps the logistics department by tracking the exact location of any shipment during transit or passing through the yard gate. With this facility, yard owners can stop worrying about assets getting misplaced.
With real-time
monitoring, yards can prepare for out-of-stock situations more comprehensively.
Why Integrate RFID with Your Yard Management System?
Traditional yard challenges include manual logging, check-in delays, and misplaced trailers. While these challenges are headaches for logistics teams, they also incur hidden costs.
With real-time, automated visibility, you can take away these pain points. The RFID technology market is expected to reach USD 47.63 billion in 2030 due to the high demand for tracking solutions.
RFID provides immediate location information, integrates with a yard management system to
automate asset tracking, and minimizes manual reliance. Essentially, it redefines yard control
and improves efficiency to the extent you need it to.
Top 10 Benefits of RFID Integration with YMS
Integrating RFID with your yard management system will allow you to operate faster, safer, and more efficiently. When RFID tags start tracking your assets, the delays diminish, visibility improves, and the margin for manual mistakes becomes smaller. RFID is one of the smartest upgrades for a yard management operation to improve its productivity and accuracy.
Real-Time Visibility of Assets
RFID gives an instantaneous view of where assets are, so you don't have to guess and delay. You're able to assess if your trailers, containers, or equipment are clear. This improves your response times and drastically reduces misplacement of assets. This real-time visibility provides total control and clarity to your operations in the yard.
Faster Gate-In/Gate-Out Processing
RFID allows you to automate the check-in and check-out process and allows vehicles to move without stopping. It offers almost instantaneous adjustments in the yard management system whenever assets are logged in, or take a site-exit seamlessly. The most valuable asset is time, right? RFID completely eliminates lines, ensures shorter turnaround times, and happier drivers with zero waiting in line.
Improved Yard Efficiency
When RFID is paired with your yard management system, you will be able to give the yard jockey direct instructions. No more driving all the way around the yard looking for the right trailer. RFID provides more than just yard efficiency; it enables the work to be done accurately without hesitation.
Enhanced Security and Theft Prevention
As we have talked about previously in the article, security is paramount for a high-volume trailer yard. RFID provides visibility of all assets every minute of every day. When assets move, without permission, RFID can trigger an alert within your yard management system that will help you proactively prevent the theft of your assets.
Accurate Inventory & Trailer Tracking
When the warehouse relies on manual counts, the possibility of error is high. With RFID, you will have an accurate, FM inventory of all the trailers and initiatives that progress through the yard in real-time. The awareness through real-time inventory or trailer tracking can reduce shrinkage and greatly improve an audit's preparedness.
Streamlined Dock Scheduling
Have you ever experienced a trailer waiting and an empty dock? RFID eliminates these inefficiencies; it works directly with your yard management system. RFID enables the trailer to be more quickly positioned at the open dock. Real-time tracking makes loading and unloading possible without a delay.
Labor Cost Reduction
RFID eliminates manual scans, increases efficiency in clipboard checks, and eliminates repeated work for your staff. Instead of expending resources on manual workers, it can be allocated to more productive activities. Over time, this technology provides significant savings on labor costs and less fatigue or boredom in your labor force.
Integration with ERP and WMS
RFID not only optimizes the yard, but it also integrates into your yard operation. When RFID is integrated into your ERP and WMS platform, your yard data flows easily down your channel. Your yard management system thus becomes integrated into a smarter operation by the end of the channel.
Data-Driven Decision Making
As RFID collects and presents real-time data, visibility is increased for the yard management team. Consequently, the operators can make decisions with more visibility and assurance. By utilizing inbound and outbound data, you can make collective decisions on trends and stockouts.
Better Compliance and Reporting
RFID makes compliance less of a nuisance. With accurate and automated reporting, you do not
need to worry about maintaining clean logs. Whenever you need to prepare for an audit or
want to look at trailer movements, you can do so instantly from your yard management system,
with limited guesswork required.
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Real-World Use Case or Industry Example
PINC (a Kaleris company) improved its automated yard management functionality with HID passive RFID tags. This allowed automated low-profile tracking of trailers with no human input, thereby increasing reliability with real-time location accuracy in the yards (Source).
Ford Motor Company deployed RFID-enabled mobile devices to all of its overflow trailer lots. This integration with their yard management system greatly reduced search times and also improved the speed at which they could process trailers.
These types of improvements achieve quick payback—frequently less than a year—and are able
to reduce processing bottlenecks by as much as 50% while delivering clear and compelling ROI
for yard operations.
How to Get Started with RFID-Enabled Yard Management
While starting RFID may feel intricate, it is a lot easier if you follow the appropriate steps. An
RFID system drives clarity, accuracy and speed through visibility. A solid strategy for RFID
implementation allows for seamless integration and improvements over the long term across
your yard operations.
Assessment and Infrastructure Planning
You will need to assess your yard with respect to what challenges your yard has today - lost trailers or delays related to the gates. Plan your RFID placement at the gates, the docks, and choke points. Plan your infrastructure, identify where you want to include the gate readers to get full coverage.
Selecting the Right YMS with RFID
Support Choose a yard management system that supports RFID integration natively. Look for a system that has the ability to track items in real-time, alert users when tagged items are transiting in real-time, and can work with your existing WMS or ERP. The correct yard management will let you explore all the potential of RFID and thus provide operational efficiency.
Partnering with a Tech Provider
Find an informed technical partner like Silent Infotech, who specializes in RFID-enabled yard offerings. An experienced partner will be a valuable resource to ensure proper alignment of hardware and firmware, and help you configure your yard management process based on your needs.
Pilot Testing and Phased Rollout
Start with a pilot test, a small-scale test, to evaluate performance and adaptation by your
operational staff. Monitor the results to identify any processes that need refinement or issues
that need resolution. Then deploy phase-wise implementation to help mitigate disruption to
workflow and ensure a proper or more manageable transition across your entire yard.
Future Advancements in RFID Yard Management Systems
RFID technology is developing so quickly; its influence on the yard management system
ecosystem is getting stronger by the day. RFID has already made improvements to trailer
tracking and gate automation, but the ideas that will follow will be beneficial beyond our
imaginations for logistics and supply chain teams.
- One area of development will be the ability to incorporate new artificial intelligence and machine learning into RFID-enabled systems. This capability will assist in predicting yard congestion, improve yard jockey routing, and improve asset utilization in real time.
- Another major trend will be battery-free sensors or ultra-low-cost RFID tags that can update temperature, vibration, and pressure. This will pave the way for smarter insights in your yard management process, along with more sensitive goods like food, chemicals, or pharmaceuticals.
- Lately, there is also the future of 5G connectivity. This will make the transmission of RFID information quicker and more reliable, even in larger yards with thousands of assets.
The use of more cloud-based yard management systems will make them popular and open up
data to be accessed anywhere by your team. This will offer you a way to scale across multiple
sites in real time.
Why Choose Silent Infotech for RFID + Yard Management Integration?
Silent Infotech provides an end-to-end solution for integrating RFID into your yard management system. They have proven rugged RFID IoT gateways that connect to your ERP and allow you to process and transmit data from RFID readers in real time.
They provide services on custom app development, work seamlessly with systems like Odoo,
and develop multiple scalable deployments that suit the needs of your operation. Silent
Infotech provides complete automation from design all the way through implementation. Their
RFID integration will fundamentally change the way you operate your yard management.
See How RFID Can Save You Time & Costs
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Conclusion
The advantages of the RFID integration into your yard management system are too good to ignore. They range from real-time visibility, faster gate processing, improved security, and reduced labor costs.
As managing logistics is getting more complex each day, you need to switch to automation to ensure data accuracy and visibility. Including RFID technology in your yard management will help you gain speed, precision, and insight about each of your assets. Therefore, introduce RFID in your place with the help of a reliable partner like Silent Infotech.
Jignesh V
Jignesh Vaghasiya, COO of Silent Infotech, is a technology visionary with a passion for innovation. He has deep technical expertise and a commitment to client success to drive the company's growth. His relentless pursuit of new technologies, combined with his process-focused approach, has led to innovation and technology implementations that boost business outcomes. Jignesh's ability to connect with people makes him the ideal partner for onboarding new clients and fostering strong business relationships.
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