SAP Yard Management & Cross Docking

Extend Warehouse Management Beyond the Physical Walls to Expand Visibility and Control Across Your Network

SAP Yard Management offers new opportunities for companies wanting to drive down supply chain costs, improve visibility and increase customer satisfaction all within the limits of their existing SAP investment. As of SAP release 4.7 extension set 2.0, Yard Management and Cross Docking are fully integrated with the LES module, including Shipping, Transportation, Warehouse Management and SAP Console, therefore eradicating expensive and cumbersome interfaces while still providing the functionality expected for success.

SAP Yard Management

SAP Yard Management provides the visibility and control needed to simplify and accelerate all yard activities, extending warehouse management outside the physical walls of the warehouse and enabling better management and control from the time goods are planned to their arrival in the warehouse. For some organizations, the yard can be a blind spot where time is wasted searching for the right trailer, then matching it to the right resource at the right time. These time and resource delays can affect productivity, impact customer satisfaction and increase the overall costs for both the yard and any warehouse that it supports. In fact, most shipping delays happen in the yard and not on the road.

With Yard Management, SAP expands on its work with handling unit management to provide visualization and real-time tracking from check-in to check-out. Previously unmonitored vehicles become SAP virtual handling units assigned to inbound or outbound reference documents in the yard.

SAP Yard Management Key Capabilities Include:

Check-in and Check-out Operations With a checkpoint tool users can manage the throughput of vehicles in and out of the yard. Actions such as weight and movement determination are then made available through the tool, ensuring the beginning processes are seamless for the operator. RF-Enabled Tracking SAP Console delivers transactions for real-time tracking of vehicles between yard bins and door assignments. The standard RF-enabled transactions that SAP supplies include the following:

Displays in graphical format the inbound and outbound dock door and staging area appointments based on the deliveries or shipments that are scheduled to arrive or depart from the facility. Details of each delivery or shipment can be obtained from within the Yard Scheduling cockpit to show the overall status of the object as well as vehicle information. Monitoring Tools SAP delivers a high-level yard monitoring tool to keep management up-to-date and enable them to assess next steps. With the alert monitor, real-time alerts come configured to allow you to run your facilities on an exception basis. In addition, users may also subscribe to alerts that notify management of issues such as missed loads, door assignments or failed scheduling attempts.

Check-In / Check-Out Seal / Unseal Move Block / Unblock Load / Unload

System-Guided Yard Movements Advanced movements can be planned or manually triggered and completed via RF devices in the yard with or without confirmation. Multi-level management is available to help move through staging areas and door assignments. Movements are controlled through yard definitions in configuration. Yard Scheduling Chart Graphical representation in drag-and-drop form for creating scheduling activities, modifying duration periods and cancellations. Bar graph length and color helps represent different attributes of each load, making actions and gaps more accessible and easy to follow.

Yard Monitor

Displays all objects and activities associated with the yard and their current status. Inbound and outbound deliveries and shipments can be monitored along with the trailer and vehicle information. In addition, users can branch to an alert monitor to view activities that have exceeded the configured threshold within the system (i.e. arrival time, departure time, etc).

Yard Scheduling

SAP Cross Docking

Cross docking is the process of moving material directly from the goods receipt area to the shipping area without storing it first. It enables companies to efficiently handle materials and reduce unnecessary double-handling, inventory and labor costs. With configurable levels of optimization, SAP Cross Docking is a tool that systematically defines the links between the inbound and outbound flow of material taking the analysis work and any confusion out of the warehouse. In addition, and although not required, SAP Cross Docking is fully compatible with SAP Yard Management.

Opportunistic Cross Docking Creates similar decisions, but on a real-time basis in the case of unexpected inbound or outbound demand. Combined with SAP Console, your floor operators are system-directed to the optimal location, including incoming purchase orders.

Optimizes your results by performing immediate analysis during transfer order creation after goods receipt or during the release of an outbound document. This method not only constantly searches for the most optimal pulling location, but in the example of a large inbound load with open transfer orders, cancels existing transfer orders and triggers an alert to management. In a fast-paced environment with changing schedules, this method can get the most out of your project investment without any manual intervention.

What Does SAP Cross Docking Offer?

The solution offers two main areas of opportunity: planned and opportunistic. Planned Cross Docking Allows management the opportunity to link inbound and outbound demand together before actual stock arrival. Then when comfortable with the design, SAP provides a planning tool to perform the analysis for you, decreasing your effort while still pushing towards optimization.

Planning and Alert Monitors

Similar to other SAP functions, user-friendly planning and alert monitors are included with both solutions, providing the detailed visibility of the operation. For example, configurable release times handle instances of delayed inbound or outbound shipments, notifying management of possible missed shipments through the cross docking alert monitor. While a cross docking decision might exist for planned execution times, the system adapts to the revised plan, ensuring the outbound demand is visible in the normal picking flow.

Configurable for both a one-step and two-step process. With the one-step process, goods are moved directly from the inbound document to the outbound document. With warehouse management, this is reflected through one single transfer order. The two-step process allows for an intermediate storage type serving as a staging area and creates two separate transfer orders for putaway and picking.

Implementation Made Easy

Implementing SAP Yard Management and Cross Docking gives you the visibility and control you need in the yard, helping you achieve your warehouse throughput numbers while freeing up more space for storage. With faster implementations and less risk, InfoLogix provides everything you need to gain immediate ROI benefits. A typical implementation would include:
Full life cycle support for your solution Project management Business analysis Warehouse management and RF requirements definition Transaction design and implementation Testing complete testing of the system inclusive of transactions infrastructure and hardware/printing Training and go-live

Our SAP Knowledge, Experience and Expertise

InfoLogix is an SAP partner focusing on Logistics Execution Systems (LES) and Supply Chain Execution components of the SAP Application Suite. InfoLogixs SAP consultants share a wealth of experience and knowledge when it come to designing and implementing world class SAP LES solutions to enable organisations to gain operational efficiencies and reduce and manage the costs related to supply chain operations. InfoLogix is fast becoming a thought leader in the SAP Logistics and Supply Chain arena and is ideally suited to help SAP customers with their SAP solution design and implementation. SAP Yard Management and Cross Docking can deliver significant benefits for many companies, as long as it is designed and implemented to take full advantage of the systems capabilities. InfoLogix has the skills, experience and a deeper understanding of these SAP solutions to deliver these capabilities to ensure that customers gain maximum return on their investment. Customers running on SAP platforms will benefit from enhanced product functionality, performance and full SAP LES implementation and support services delivered by InfoLogixs world class experienced and expert consultants to ensure consistent, comprehensive and reliable service for all its customers.

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