Optimize warehouse dock management to reduce times

Almost two years after the entry into force of the ban on loading and unloading by drivers (Royal Decree-Law 3/2022, March 1), the industry reports an increase in loading and unloading dock times and continues to focus its efforts on optimizing warehouse dock management.

Despite the fact that all the agents in the sector detect an improvement in terms of visibility and conditions for drivers, the truth is that they all agree that the prohibition of loading and unloading by drivers has resulted in an increase in times, constantly failing to comply with the time established by the new Transport Chain Law, approved in 2022, which leads to a substantial increase in costs due to stoppages.

This was stated by transportation and logistics executives participating in the second edition of FIELDEAS Talks, focused on complete supply chain visibility, who point out that the most critical aspect of the Transportation Chain Act is the lead time.

Specifically, the regulation makes an amendment to Article 22 (Stoppages) of Law 15/2011, on the contract of land transport of goods, which states that “when the vehicle has to wait for a period of more than one hour until loading or unloading is completed, the carrier may require the shipper to pay compensation for stoppage”.

In addition, the standard states that the time starts counting from the time the truck arrives at the loading/unloading platform until it leaves. For the managers “one hour is clearly not enough for standard and palletized goods, let’s imagine for other types of goods”.

In summary, the managers emphasized that this time restriction entails:

• Increased costs due to downtime, resulting in economic losses, since these costs are not borne by the end customers.
• Loss of operating efficiency.
• Increased tension with transportation providers due to non-compliance with deadlines.

In addition, they warn that this situation is accentuated with duo-trailers and with the forthcoming extension of the masses and dimensions up to 44 tons.

With all this context on the table, in addition to asking the Administration to regulate taking into account the real conditions of the sector, companies are betting on collaborative tools to optimize the management of warehouse docks.

Collaborative tools to optimize warehouse dock management

Therefore, the most important thing to optimize slot management is to rely on technology, but one that allows all the agents involved to be included.

The key to optimizing spring management is to involve the driver. At the end of the day, it is the transport companies that control the truck and offering them a technology that allows them to make a slot reservation optimizes time and operations.

Likewise, the shipper must be in charge of approving or not these reservations, taking into account the rest of the logistics grid.

In addition, the fact that all parts are connected at the same point enhances visibility and makes it possible to know whether or not the vehicle is on time, which facilitates the management of loading and unloading operations.

Another feature that a collaborative slot management tool must have is the ability to optimize the different loads (tanks, sides…), in such a way that the tool itself separates the management of the docks destined only to special loads. Not all springs are the same and with this type of technology, management can be adjusted to each spring model.

Flexibility in dock management

In summary, the goal of optimizing warehouse dock management is to achieve a flexible scenario.

By having full visibility of the situation in real time, it is possible to manage the resources a shipper has for loading and unloading more efficiently, avoiding long waiting times and making it a win-win situation for all parties.

In addition, this way, the slot reservation is made according to the actual conditions of the carrier.

FIELDEAS Track and Trace spring management

The dock management module of FIELDEAS Track and Trace module already allows this flexibility in dock management, improving planning and gaining efficiency and consensus.

A correct management of docks is directly related to the prediction of possible present and future incidents. The FIELDEAS Track and Trace tool allows real-time processing of information, which facilitates proactive decision making and replanning of dock reservations before problems materialize.