Dock and yard management solution that reduced contractual penalties by $2 million per year

The client lacked transparency in cargo loading and shipping processes at the warehouse, resulting in:

• drivers having issues with locating the right gate for loading cargo
• operators not being able to properly track a shipment’s status once the driver left the yard
• shipment delays and penalties from the company’s customers

In response, the company performed an internal audit and approached Yalantis with a request to develop a solution that could address major challenges and improve operational visibility.

By examining the company’s findings, the Yalantis team uncovered a few problems linked to inefficient yard management at the warehouse:

Phase 1: Business analysis and technical solution consulting

After uncovering the client’s business challenges, the Yalantis BA team refined them and engaged the client in a series of consultations in which we proposed ways to address them.

As a result of these consultations, Yalantis technology consultants offered a solution focused on automating routine yard management processes:

• A web-based application for operators with a tracking feature, scheduling functionality, and order distribution
• A cross-platform mobile app for drivers with a QR code scanning feature and multilingual support to solve issues at the check-in stage
• Digital signature functionality for the driver’s app that allows drivers to digitally sign documents like packing notes and delivery lists

The Yalantis team proposed uniting all these features within an MVP over a four-month development cycle. Then, by turning the system into a SaaS solution, we will assist the client in implementing it across all their warehouses, thereby solving issues with scalability and improving customer satisfaction.

Phase 2: MVP creation and implementation

After the Yalantis consulting team presented the solution, the client decided to start working with Yalantis developers. Our implementation strategy focused on addressing the client’s main challenges and consisted of the following steps.

#1 Automating routine processes within the check-in flow

To solve the issue with drivers’ navigation at the terminal, we integrated the following functionality into the driver’s app:

• QR code scanning. Once a driver has registered in the app, the system assigns them a unique QR code that carries all information about the driver, shows their workload, and can be scanned at the gate. After scanning the code, the driver receives routing instructions and a loading schedule, which allows them to get to the designated terminal on time.
• Multilingual support. By adding a translation management service to the app, Yalantis developers ensured multilingual support for drivers and operators. POEditor translation platform can be integrated into the app chat for instant translation, which helps drivers avoid miscommunication with operators while reducing development and operating costs.
• Digital signature. Yalantis specialists integrated the COTS digital signature service that allows for signing documents like packing lists and delivery notes. This simplifies work for operators, who now have everything in one app, and for drivers, who don’t have to worry about lost or damaged documents.

#2 Improving customer satisfaction by 27% by embedding a tracking feature in the operator-facing app

The next pain point that the Yalantis technology team addressed was poor operational visibility during transit. Shipping delays and miscalculations often resulted in large fines and penalties from the client’s customers. To address these issues, Yalantis consultants suggested implementing the following functionality:

• Tracking feature. The integration of Google Maps Routes API into a mobile-native app for drivers and a web app for operators allows tracking of order delivery in real time, enabling timely detection of delivery delays connected to truck malfunctions.
• Route calculation. Once the driver has left the yard, the operator’s app estimates the delivery time and determines whether the driver will arrive on time. This information is stored in the system’s back end and can be further used in analytics and reporting to screen for inefficient drivers.
• Chat with the driver. If the system detects potential delays, it alerts the operator, who can then communicate the issue with the driver in real time, improving visibility.

#3 Designing a cross-platform app for warehouse operators

Prior to collaborating with Yalantis, the client didn’t have a dedicated application for warehouse operators.

Yalantis developers built an app that works on web, mobile, and tablets. The app will help operators in:

• having a clearer picture of upcoming, dispatched, and in-transit shipments
• filling out paperwork for each shipment
• seeing if dispatched shipments are moving according to the schedule and contacting drivers in case of delays

The app was enhanced with Power BI tools to fetch data about shipments and use it for analytics and reporting. This helps improve overall process visibility for company operators and warehouse managers.

#4 Unlocking scalability potential

Once the Yalantis team delivered and tested the MVP in real conditions at one of the client’s warehouses, we could finally address scalability challenges.

We proposed an AWS-based solution to unite all of the company’s warehouses in the yard into a single network. To do this, Yalantis specialists added SaaS capabilities to the application and integrated it with cloud infrastructure.

Phase 3: Post-release support

In terms of ongoing post-release support, the Yalantis team has proposed the following format of collaboration:

• collecting and analyzing feedback from end users
• factoring insights into development of new features and functionality
• offering DevOps services on demand to ensure system stability