This chapter covers the following topics:
Use the Yard Management feature to define the entities that are required for yard operations and capture the real time yard transactions. You can view the location of trailers or trucks in the yard and enable yard employees to move them from parking to docks to fill orders. Yard management provides visibility into inventory in your yard and the equipment checking into and out of the yard for both inbound and outbound operations.
For the WMS-enabled organizations, use the Yard Management option of the Warehouse Manager responsibility to perform the following yard management tasks:
Setup tasks – set up yards, dock doors, equipment types, and rules
Operations – check in and check out trailers or trucks, schedule dock door appointments, and monitor movements of containers in the yard
Reports and requests – generate requests and reports for various tasks that you perform in the yard
Complete the following steps to set up a yard:
Define yards
Configure yards
Synchronize yard with dock doors
Create equipment types
Create drivers
Define rules
A yard is an external area typically adjacent to a warehouse where trucks and containers with material wait to be loaded or unloaded for shipment. You can associate a yard with one or more inventory organizations within the same operating unit since a yard may be common to multiple warehouses.
Additional Information: An inventory organization can have only one yard organization attached to it and the yard organization should have the same operating unit, legal entity, or set-of-books.
To define a yard, complete the following steps:
Navigate to the Warehouse Manager responsibility, Yard Management, Yard Setups, and then Define Yard. The Define Yard page appears.
Click Define. The Create Yard page appears.
Enter the yard information. The following table describes some of the fields:
| Field Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Organization | Enter a short code that uniquely identifies the yard such as YD1 or YD2. |
| Service Organization | Select the name of the service organization that is associated with the yard.
|
| Location | Select a location code that corresponds to the physical location of the yard. |
| Material Account | A material account is an asset account that tracks material cost. The material account number is a numeric code --each segment of the code represents the company, department, account, subaccount, and product for that material account. For more information, see the following sources:
|
| Dock Area | Enter the dock area. Yard areas are stored internally as subinventories. The dock area corresponds to the default subinventory that is associated with all dock doors in the yard organization. |
| Cost Enabled | Select Yes to track costs in a yard organization (only average costing is supported). |
| Start Time and End Time | Enter the start and end times for the yard operating hours. This information is used when scheduling dock door appointments.
Important: Enter calendar information according to the database server time zone. For example, if the server is located on the West Coast (PST) and the yard is on the East Coast (EST), an 8:00 a.m. start time for the yard corresponds to 5:00 a.m. on the server. Therefore, set the start time parameter to 5:00 a.m. |
Click Apply.
To update a yard, complete the following steps:
Navigate to the Define Yard page.
Search for the yard that you want to update.
Click Go.
Click the Update icon in the Actions column. The Update Yard dialog box appears.
Update the required fields.
Click Apply.
You can configure a yard by dividing it into logical areas that represent activities such as inbound, outbound, or parking operations. A yard area can be further divided into one or more locations called parking spots. A parking spot determines the exact location of a trailer in the yard such as a storage locator (for example, a gate or parking place) or a dock door.
Types of parking spots include:
Storage locators
Dock doors: An opening or door in the warehouse for unloading the inbound material and for loading the outbound material shipments.
Additional Information: In Oracle Inventory, a yard is modelled as a subinventory in the Subinventories window and parking spots as locators in the Stock Locators window. Similar to subinventories, the following considerations apply to yard areas:
Nonasset versus asset: For noncost enabled yards, the yard area will be nonasset.
Cost groups enable tracking costs to different general ledger accounts.
By default, yard areas enable you to track equipment similar to the quantity-tracked subinventories.
To configure a yard, complete the following steps:
Prerequisite: Create a yard.
Navigate to the Warehouse Manager responsibility, Yard Management, Yard Setups, and then Configure Yard. The Configure Yard page appears.
Select the yard to configure.
Click Go.
Click Define. The Configure Yard page appears.
Enter the yard information. The following table describes some of the fields:
| Field Name | Description |
|---|---|
| (Area) Name | Enter a short name for the yard area. For example, the name could identify the function within the area such as Inbound, Fueling, Cleaning, Dock, or Outbound. |
| (Area) Parking Order | Enter the parking order priority for the area. For example, a yard area with an order of 1 takes priority over a yard area with parking order 2. |
| (Spot) Name | Enter a meaningful name that identifies the physical location in the yard. Since parking spots are modeled as locators, they require an internal name that uses the same naming convention as stock locators in the warehouse. However, since parking spots do not usually need a row, rack, or bin designation, use the stock locator alias to give the locator a more meaningful name such as P123 for parking locator number 123.
Tip: Locator aliases must be unique in a yard organization. |
| (Spot) Parking Order | Enter the parking order priority for the spot. |
Click Apply.
To update a yard area or parking spot, complete the following steps:
Navigate to the Configure Yard page.
Search for the yard to update the area or spot.
Click the Update icon. The Update Area or Spot dialog box appears.
Update the required fields.
Click Apply.
You can match the yard to the dock doors that are used to load and unload trailers. To optimize dock door usage, you need to establish an alias in the yard for the corresponding dock doors in the serviced facilities.
To synchronize the service organization with the yard, complete the following steps:
Navigate to the Warehouse Manager responsibility, Yard Management, Yard Setups, and then Sync Yard Dock Doors. The Synchronize Dock Doors page appears.
Select the yard.
Click Go.
Click Define.
Enter the dock door information for the service organization and yard.
Click Apply.
To update a dock door, complete the following steps:
Navigate to the Synchronize Dock Doors page.
Search for the service or yard that you want to update.
Click the Update icon. The Update Dock Door dialog box appears.
Update the required fields.
Click Apply.
You need to create various types of equipment such as trailers and powering units that can check into and check out of the yard so that the application can capture their movement and operations. Trailers can be freight or cargo trailers that transport goods and other items from one location to another. A cargo trailer is usually not equipped with a means of locomotion so it is attached to some means of conveyance to transport it from one location to another. A tractor (or powering unit) refers to a powered vehicle designed and used for towing trailers.
The application provides predefined category sets and categories to identify equipment types.
| Category Set | Related Category |
|---|---|
| Yard Container | Container |
| Yard Power Unit | Power Unit |
| Yard Trailer | Trailer |
Note: If required, you can create additional categories (category codes).
The following table shows examples of equipment types that you can create from the predefined categories:
| Equipment Type Name | Category |
|---|---|
| Vessel Container or Rail Container | Container |
| Single Power Unit or Double Power Unit | Power Unit |
| 40 Foot Trailer, Dry Van, or Refrigerated Unit | Trailer |
To create an equipment type, complete the following steps:
Navigate to the Warehouse Manager responsibility, Yard Management, Yard Setups, and then Equipment Types. The Equipment Types page appears.
Select the yard.
Click Go.
Click Define. The Define Equipment Type page appears.
Enter a name for the equipment type.
Select a category that identifies the type of equipment.
Enter the related physical dimensions, weight, and volume for the equipment type.
Click Apply.
To update an equipment type, complete the following steps:
Navigate to the Equipment Types page.
Search for the equipment type that you want to update.
Click the Update icon. The Update Equipment Type dialog box appears.
Update the required fields.
Click Apply.
You can add employees or persons such as drivers who need to access the yard or work in the yard. You can add drivers and their credentials to the application during a yard check in transaction or in advance.
To create a driver, complete the following steps:
Navigate to the Warehouse Manager responsibility, Yard Management, Yard Setups, and then Drivers. The Drivers page appears.
Click Define either in the Information tab or the Address tab. The Define Driver dialog box appears.
Enter the driver's details.
Click Apply.
To update driver information, complete the following steps:
Navigate to the Information tab or the Address tab on the Drivers page.
Search for the driver details that you want to update.
Click the Update icon. The Update Driver dialog box appears.
Update driver and related information including the carrier, whether driver is allowed to enter the yard, and address information.
Click Apply.
You can define two types of yard rules:
To direct equipment entering the yard
To direct equipment present in the yard, except equipment present at the dock door
You can automate the locator selection for yard equipment using the WMS Rules Engine. Based on yard rules the application suggests a locator during check-in and for movement inside the yard.
To create a rule, complete the following steps:
Navigate to the Warehouse Manager responsibility, Yard Management, Yard Setups, and then Rules. The Rules page appears.
Select a yard.
Click Go.
Click Define. The Define Rules page appears.
Enter values in the required fields.
Click Apply.
You can set the restrictions, sort criteria, and consistency for the rule using the respective tabs.
To update a rule, complete the following steps:
Navigate to the Rules page.
Search for the rule that you want to update.
Click the Update icon. The Update Rules page appears.
Update the required fields in the subtabs.
Click Apply.
You can perform the following yard operations in the WMS-enabled organizations:
Check in
Check out
Schedule dock door appointments
View and manage yard activities
A yard check in refers to the activity of registering the trailer, powering unit, or container as it enters the yard of a warehouse. Typically, security guard or personnel at the gate perform this action.
A check in transaction can be completed for any equipment type. For example, the check in action can be performed for a loaded trailer attached to an inbound shipment or an empty trailer required for an outbound shipment.
To perform a yard check in operation, complete the following steps:
Navigate to the Warehouse Manager responsibility, Yard Management, Yard Operations, and then Check In. The Check In page appears.
Select a yard.
Click Go.
Enter values in the required fields. The following table describes some fields:
| Field Name | Description |
|---|---|
| SCAC Code | Enter the Standard Carrier Alpha Code (SCAC) that identifies the carrier. Although this field is optional, it is recommended that you enter this value to distinguish between equipment from different carriers that may randomly have the same equipment number. |
| Equipment Number | Enter the serial number of the equipment instance to be checked. This is usually the asset ID or some visible identifying number assigned by the carrier or the equipment owner.
Note: The number that you enter is different from the internal serial number that the application uses to track each unique piece of equipment. The combination of SCAC plus Equipment Number is considered unique. After a combination of the SCAC plus Equipment Number is checked into any yard, it cannot be checked in again. The first time a unique combination of SCAC plus Equipment number checks into a yard, the application assigns a unique serial number that is not displayed to the user. After that, if you check out the equipment, and check it in again at a later date (into the same yard or a different yard), then the application uses the previously generated internal serial number. |
| Appointment | Search for the appointment that you create using the Schedule Dock Appointments page. |
Click Check In.
Click the Details icon to add additional information about the equipment and load.
A yard checkout refers to discharging a trailer or container that exits from the yard of a warehouse. During a yard check out transaction, an issue transaction is performed for the internal serial number. The equipment instance can be loaded or empty. However, the status of the delivery lines associated with a loaded trailer must be In Yard or Interfaced before they can be checked out. Perform yard check outs from the desktop check out UI. Sealing of outbound trailers is optional; check outs can be performed even if a seal code is not entered in the application.
To perform a yard check out operation, complete the following steps:
Navigate to the Warehouse Manager responsibility, Yard Management, Yard Operations, and then Check Out. The Check Out page appears.
Select a yard.
Click Go.
Enter values in the required fields. The following table describes some fields:
| Field Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Shipment Number | A (non-validated) numeric or alphanumeric identifier used for grouping one or more trailers that may have checked in together to pick up or drop off a shipment.
Important: When you select a shipment number, the remaining fields in the Check Out page are automatically populated with information associated with that shipment number such as the SCAC, Equipment Number, Document Type and Number, Area, and so on. |
| Driver | Select the driver who is checking out the equipment. If a driver’s name does not exist, then click the Create Driver icon to add information about the driver. |
Click Check Out.
Click the Details icon. The Manage Equipment page appears. From this page, you can view the following details about the equipment that is being checked out:
Equipment contents such as related documents
Equipment seals
Equipment details such as load status, detention limit UOM, detention limit, and other information
An appointment is a time slot with start and end times that is scheduled for a shipment that is received at the dock doors. You can collaborate with carriers and shippers using the dock scheduling workbench, Dock Scheduling in Oracle Inventory Management or Oracle Warehouse Management, or using Oracle Transportation Management.
To schedule an appointment, complete the following steps:
Prerequisites
Set up calendars for your organization.
Navigate to the Warehouse Manager responsibility, Yard Management, Yard Operations, and then Schedule Appointment. The Schedule Dock Appointments page appears.
Select a yard.
Click Go.
In the Dock column, select the dock where the appointment is required. A truck icon next to a dock indicates that the dock is not empty while a green circle icon indicates that the dock is empty.
Important: The icons may appear even if there is no dock appointment; for example, the trailer may have been moved to the dock door for unscheduled loading or unloading.
Click the Create Task icon. The Create Appointment dialog box appears where you can enter the appointment details.
Click OK. The appointment appears as a colored bar in the Dock Appointments page that displays the following information: time, duration, and the status of the appointment. The color indicates the status of the appointment:
The following table describes the appointment statuses:
| Status (Color) | Description |
|---|---|
| Active (Yellow) | The yard check in transaction is complete and the appointment is assigned to the trailer that is checking in. |
| Completed (Blue) | The trailer is either loaded or unloaded and is moved from the dock door. |
| Exception (Red) | One of the following exceptions has occurred:
|
| Pending (Green) | The appointment is first created. |
To edit an appointment:
On the Schedule Dock Appointments page, double-click an existing appointment to edit it. In some cases, such as appointments in Completed status, you can only view the appointment.
To update the dock appointment status:
Run the concurrent program Update Dock Appointment Status (either manual or scheduled) to update the appointment status for a yard. Alternatively, on the Schedule Dock Appointments page click the Update Appointment Status icon to run this concurrent program.
The Yard Workbench is the central UI for viewing and managing the yard areas, parking spots, and equipment types including their status and contents in the yard. For example, you could view the equipment in a particular yard or move a trailer from one area of the yard to another.
Important: Oracle Inventory users can also use the Material Workbench window to view material present in the yard by selecting the Inbound option.
Use the Yard Workbench to perform the following tasks:
View move or picking slips for manual moves.
View equipment details and content including current and historical information for equipment.
View equipment transactions.
Generate move orders and assign users to pending moves.
View or cancel pending moves.
View check in and check out dates and times, appointment dates and times, and detention information.
To access the yard workbench, complete the following steps:
Navigate to the Warehouse Manager responsibility, Yard Management, Yard Operations, and then Yard Workbench. The Yard Workbench page appears.
Select a yard.
Click Go.
View the respective tabs for information about the equipment details and move details.
To cancel, reassign, or print pick slip for a move equipment request:
You can reassign a pending move equipment request, cancel a move equipment request, or print a pick slip from the Yard Workbench.
Note: These tasks are applicable only to equipment that is already assigned to a move request number in the Number column.
On the Yard Workbench page, click the Move Details tab to view details about equipment and current move requests.
In the Actions column, click the Move Equipment icon.
In the Move Equipment dialog box, click the required action button.
Assign: Reassigns the move equipment transfer to a different user (search for the new user and then click Assign).
Print Pick Slip: Prints a pick slip for the move equipment transfer.
Cancel Move: Cancels the move equipment transfer assigned to the current user.
To generate yard reports and perform yard requests, follow this navigation path: Warehouse Manager responsibility, Yard Management, and then Requests. You can generate the following requests and reports in the WMS-enabled organizations:
Generate All Rules: If any of the yard equipment routing rule is modified, then you must run this concurrent request to regenerate all the enabled rules across the yard organizations.
Label Requests: You can submit requests for label printing. You can analyze records of the label requests that have been generated. The history contains the XML data that was generated as part of the label request and other information regarding that label request. You can query, view, and reprint label requests using the Label Requests History window.
Shipping Documents: Use the Shipping Reports and Documents window to find shipping documents that are generated during outbound activities such as loading a trailer or ship confirmation.
Update Dock Appointment Status: Schedule this concurrent program to run periodically to update the dock appointment status. This is required to detect appointment exceptions, which are then displayed on the Schedule Dock Appointments page.
Yard Moves and Notifications: Use this request to automatically move equipment in the yard and generate alerts as required. For example, you can provide the required parameters and use this concurrent request:
To move equipment to the dock door from a waiting area just before the appointment start time
To move equipment to a cleaning area when the equipment status is updated to clean
Parameters
Create Yard Moves: The default value is Yes. This value processes yard rules for all equipment that is selected based on the input criteria and automatically creates yard moves.
If you enter values for the parameters Detention Limit Threshold and Detention Limit Threshold UOM, then the request generates a workflow business event for equipment that is approaching the detention limit.
Yard Move Document: Use the yard move request Yard Equipment Move Slip (XML) to generate a manual yard move. This request is submitted automatically when a move is initiated from the Yard Workbench.
Yard Valuation Report: If the yard is enabled for costing, then the following reports provide valuation by cost group or by asset subinventory for the selected date range:
Inventory Value Report - by Cost Group
Inventory Value Report - by Subinventory