Transform Your Yard with These Three Must-Have Tools

Introducing three new product features: revolutionising supply chain management

In the world of logistics and supply chain management, seamless coordination and visibility are paramount. However, a persistent problem has hindered operations for years—the lack of insight into booked time slots for retail transportation. This transparency gap has led to inefficiencies and challenges. But fear not, because we have developed a new solution: Supply Chain Sync. This comprehensive feature transforms the industry by providing total transparency, seamless integration, and instant sync between transportation and retail operations. 

Optimising logistics and streamlining operations are vital in today's fast-paced retail industry. To tackle the challenges retail customers face, we proudly present our latest feature within our Dock and Yard Management portfolio, Mobile Yard Book, a mobile solution that enables drivers to create yard book entries. This feature reduces customer workload, supports onboarding processes, enhances reporting and analytics, and boosts overall supply chain efficiency. 

Efficiency is the lifeblood of logistics, where every minute counts. Managing shipments without bottlenecks or delays is crucial for a smooth supply chain. That's why we're thrilled to announce the launch of our Carrier Slot Booking API—a game-changing feature that revolutionises how carriers interact with our Transporeon Time Slot Management (TSM) system. This innovative advancement streamlines carrier operations and ensures seamless collaboration throughout the supply chain. 

With Supply Chain Sync, the Mobile Yard Book, and our Carrier Slot Booking API, we are driving a new era of efficiency and effectiveness in the logistics and supply chain landscape. 

Introducing Supply Chain Sync: Improving efficiency by reducing complexity

Supply Chain Sync solves a series of long-standing problems that have always plagued shippers.  

First, it provides valuable insights into the time slots booked by carriers on the retailer and wholesaler sides who are using Transporeon TSM for Retailers, enabling better planning and coordination. Gone are the days of separate booking applications for carriers, as Supply Chain Sync eliminates duplicated efforts and potential errors.  

Retailers benefit from enhanced real-time visibility, allowing them to anticipate arrivals. Additionally, carriers no longer need to allocate vehicle licence plate numbers in multiple time slot management (TSM) systems, simplifying data entry and reducing complexity. With Supply Chain Sync, these general supply chain woes are effectively resolved. 

The overarching problem: the root cause of these challenges is the absence of a link between the shipper's transport and the purchase order of the retail company. This lack of connection impedes efficient coordination and hinders the optimisation of supply chain operations.

With the advent of Supply Chain Sync, the logistics and supply chain industry can bid farewell to the long-standing challenges of limited visibility and disconnected operations. By linking transportation with retail purchase orders, the platform provides real-time synchronisation and transparency to shippers, carriers, and retailers.  

From streamlined transport creation to automated booking and accurate ETA calculations, Supply Chain Sync revolutionises the way supply chains are managed. Embrace this game-changing solution, and unlock the potential for enhanced efficiency, reduced errors, and optimised operations in your supply chain.

Mobile Yard Book: Mobile solutions for drivers to create yard book entries

The primary goal of our mobile solution is to alleviate the burden on retail users, such as warehouse employees and gatekeepers, who often lack the necessary resources and capacities to create yard book entries for unplanned arrivals in their daily work. By outsourcing this task to drivers, we aim to reduce the internal work and effort required from the yard, allowing retail customers to focus on their core operations. 

One of the key benefits of our mobile solution is its ability to support onboarding processes for new retail customers. These processes can be particularly challenging when dealing with unknown, new, or non-booking carriers. Our solution provides a means of capturing essential data from these carriers, facilitating smoother onboarding and ensuring that all necessary information is readily available. 

Moreover, our mobile solution offers robust reporting and analytics capabilities. By capturing data from arrivals with no booked time slots, retailers gain valuable insights into the performance of non-booking carriers. This data enables fruitful discussions with carriers, leading to improved planning for goods receipt and fostering better collaboration throughout the supply chain. 

A notable feature of our mobile solution is the responsibility it places on the driver or carrier for creating yard book entries. Instead of relying on retail users to perform this task, drivers can take ownership by using our solution. This encourages drivers to communicate with carrier dispatchers and request the planning of time slots in advance, further reducing their workload upon arrival at the yard.

Mobile Yard Book key features: 

1. Mobile accessibility: The solution is designed specifically for mobile devices, ensuring convenience and ease of use for drivers on the go. 
2. Integration into the Yard Book feature: A dedicated button within the yard book overview provides quick access to the entry creation window or pop-up. 
3. QR code and shareable link: The pop-up displays a QR code and a shareable link. Drivers can scan the QR code or share the link via email for easy access to the data entry page. 
4. Validity and limitations: The QR code is valid until the end of the day, ensuring timely and secure access. A limit could also be set for the number of yard book entry creations, prompting the driver to share the QR code again once the limit is reached. 
5. Location-specific QR Code: Each QR code is location-specific, providing accurate and reliable data for the corresponding yard. 
6. Data entry web page: Scanning the QR code or accessing the link leads drivers to a mobile-friendly web page where they can enter the necessary yard book data seamlessly. 
7. Instant yard book entry creation: Once the driver completes the data entry process, a yard book entry is generated automatically, eliminating manual paperwork and ensuring real-time visibility. 
8. Yard book number display: At the end of the process, the driver is presented with the assigned yard book number for reference and further yard book activities.

Flow:

1. Select the QR button in the navigation bar
2. Scan the code
3. Fill in the form 
4. Confirmation of entry and yard book entry number
5. New entry line visible in the system

In addition to these impressive features, our mobile solution also offers a premium option for retail customers. This advanced feature, available at a special rate, enables retail customers to reduce effort for their retail users while maintaining optimal operational efficiency. 

At Transporeon, we understand the unique challenges faced by retail customers and strive to develop innovative solutions that address their pain points. Our Mobile Yard Book solution for drivers revolutionises the way yard book entries are managed, streamlining operations, enhancing communication, and empowering drivers. Join us in embracing this cutting-edge solution and take your supply chain efficiency to new heights.

Carrier Slot Booking API: bridging the gap with in-house TMSs  

The reason behind the development of this modern product was clear: we wanted to address the limitations faced by larger carriers who rely on their in-house systems to manage their operations. While our WebUI interface served the needs of many carriers efficiently, those with their own software solutions encountered challenges when integrating with our platform. The Carrier Slot Booking API was developed to bridge this gap and provide carriers with a seamless way to access our TSM system directly from their in-house systems. 

So, what exactly does this new feature solve? Let's take a closer look at the problems it addresses and the benefits it brings to carriers: 

1. Eliminating double work and improving data quality: Larger carriers often use the WebUI to initially book slots, but struggle to update our TSM system with the most recent information, due to duplicated effort, leading to data discrepancies between systems. With the Carrier Slot Booking API, carriers can seamlessly integrate their in-house systems with our TSM, reducing double work and ensuring better data quality through automated processes. 
2. Simplifying integration and scaling: Traditionally, carrier integrations with our TSM system required custom development projects, which were time-consuming and resource-intensive. This approach did not scale well for a digital product. However, the Carrier Slot Booking API offers a unified interface that can be easily integrated with both Transporeon's Retail and Industry TSM systems. It simplifies the integration process, saves time, and eliminates the need for individual development projects. 
3. Avoiding unannounced shipments: In the current setup, carriers sometimes show up unannounced at a shipper's warehouse because slots were not properly booked. This lack of communication creates disruptions and inefficiencies. By leveraging the API, carriers can avoid such surprises and ensure that all shipments are properly scheduled and communicated.

Now, let's explore the specific features and use cases of the Carrier Slot Booking API:

1. Creating bookings via the API: Carriers can now automatically create bookings for transports or purchase orders within a given time range, directly from their in-house system. This eliminates the need for manual interaction with the Transporeon platform and significantly reduces double work, streamlining the booking process. 
2. Deleting bookings: In cases where a booking cannot be made or needs to be changed, carriers can delete existing bookings through the API. This feature gives carriers the flexibility to adapt their schedules and make necessary adjustments on the go. 
3. Accessing free time slots: Carriers can leverage the API to retrieve information about available time slots within a given time range. This empowers them to plan their tours effectively, considering valid transit times between bookings. By knowing the exact available slots, carriers can optimise their operations and minimise waiting times. 
4. Updating vehicle information: The API allows carriers to update crucial vehicle information such as licence plates, driver details, and emissions standards, for existing bookings. This automated process improves data accuracy and reduces the risk of missing or outdated information. 

We understand that system integrations can often be complex and time-consuming. That's why we designed the Carrier Slot Booking API to be user-friendly and accessible without any additional setup or activation process. It comes with an OpenAPI Specification, enabling the auto-generation of any client-side software needed to utilise the API. 

Security is of paramount importance to us, which is why we have implemented industry-standard OAuth 2.0 authorisation for secure access to the Carrier Slot Booking API. 

Our purpose is to empower our customers, and the Carrier Slot Booking API does just that. By providing carriers with direct access to our TSM systems from their in-house system, we reduce manual effort, enhance data quality, and optimise daily operations. Moreover, this integration comes at no additional cost, allowing carriers to create the integration themselves without any financial barriers. 

In a fast-paced industry where time is of the essence, embracing cutting-edge solutions like the Carrier Slot Booking API can be a game-changer. Unlock efficiency, improve collaboration, and streamline your operations with this powerful feature from Transporeon. Stay ahead of the competition and take your logistics to new heights with the Carrier Slot Booking API – the future of seamless carrier integration.