Control When Trucks Bump Your Dock with Inbound Transportation Management
More control over scheduling inbound freight is important, and that’s why the unique features in our Inbound Transportation Management module will help streamline deliveries and give warehouse managers much more control to manage the delivery process.
How long does it take to unload deliveries? Are vendors coming in late, on time, or early? Are trucks idling for extended periods while waiting for bays to open up? Many warehouses and DCs schedule deliveries using an Excel spreadsheet or a whiteboard, or they just “wing it” and hope that a dock door will be free when a truck arrives.
Using an intuitive web-based dashboard, PathGuide’s ITM Module makes it easy to assign specific times and bays for deliveries and ensure that the right equipment and manpower is ready for unloading (i.e., pallet loaded vs. floor loaded). Once the shipment arrives, employees can check the trucks in and out and attach notes to each delivery, all from the web browser or an RF hand-held computer.
The ITM Module will also keep track of a variety of metrics automatically, such as how long individual employees spend unloading a certain kind of delivery. This is a great tool for warehouse managers who need to forecast and assign labor each day.
Having a pre-arranged appointment also means that trucks won’t arrive at the same time and cause a bottleneck. If a truck arrives outside of its scheduled 20-minute arrival window, it will be flagged as ‘late’ or ‘early’ – and warehouse employees can enter additional notes if the products arrive damaged in any way.
This level of insight gives managers powerful metrics, including vendor performance reporting tools to help in negotiating future business.
Want to learn more about Latitude WMS and PathGuide? Call us today at 1.888.627.9797.