Setting Up Oracle Yard Management

This chapter covers the following topics:

Setting Up Oracle Yard Management

Oracle Yard Management interacts with the following Oracle products in the Oracle E-Business Suite. Although licensing and implementing the following products is optional, they can help optimize your business processes and operations:

You must complete the following steps to set up Oracle Yard Management:

  1. Define the yard.

  2. Configure yard areas and parking spots.

  3. Synchronize dock doors.

  4. Create equipment types.

  5. Assign Oracle Yard Management responsibilities.

  6. Related setups:

    • Set up accounting open/close periods.

    • Set up yard organization parameters (system provides initial default values).

    • Set up costing and cost groups (system provides initial default values).

    • Set up yard lookups (system provides initial default values).

Defining Yards

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. A yard can be associated to one or more inventory organizations within the same operating unit since a yard may be common to multiple warehouses. A yard can be further configured by dividing it into logical areas that represent activities such as inbound, outbound, or parking operations.

Important: A yard is defined as an organization in the Oracle E-Business Suite. The system provides default yard parameters that control the operations and transactions for a yard organization. You must use the Oracle Yard Management application to create yard organizations, but if you have installed and licensed Oracle Inventory, you can view the related yard setup parameters in the Organization Parameters window.

To define a yard

  1. Navigate to the Define Yard window.

    the picture is described in the document text

  2. Choose one of the following methods to create your yard:

    • Web ADI: Use the Oracle Web Applications Desktop Integrator (Web ADI ) process to download a file (such as a spreadsheet or other supported format), complete your entries, then upload the data to the system. This process is most effective for bulk data uploads.

      the picture is described in the document text

      1. Click the Create icon under the Define Yard tab and select the document type to be downloaded. A file will be downloaded to your desktop. When prompted, choose to open the file and to enable macros. If no prompt appears, ensure your browser security settings allow files to be downloaded.

      2. Validation messages are returned to the spreadsheet, allowing you to identify and correct invalid data.

      3. After your entries are complete, upload the data to the system.

    • Create Yard UI: Click the Create button (in the Search region) and enter yard information directly into the Create Yard window.

      Additional Information: You can also create yards using the web-enabled user interface (WebADI).

      the picture is described in the document text

    the picture is described in the document text

  3. Enter the following data (selected fields are described):

    Field Name Description
    Organization Enter a short code that uniquely identifies the yard such as YD1 or YD2.
    Name Enter a name that easily identifies the yard such as Main Yard North.
    Service Organization Select the name of the service organization associated with the yard.

    • The yard is a copy of the service organization, therefore they both share the same master organization.

    • Oracle Inventory users can use the Material Workbench to view material and yard-specific elements for the service organization as equipment in the yards.
    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, sub-account, and product for that material account. For more information, see the following sources:

    • Oracle General Ledger Implementation Guide: Defining Your Account Structure

    • My Oracle Support note: Accounting Flexfield Setup and Usage (Doc ID 124333.1)
    Dock Area Enter the dock area.

    Note: Yard areas are stored internally as subinventories. The dock area corresponds to the default subinventory to which all dock doors in the yard organization are associated.
    Cost Enabled Select Yes to track costs in a yard organization (only average costing is supported).
    Daily Calendar Start/End Times Enter the start and end times for the yard operating hours (this information is used when scheduling dock door appointments).

    Note: 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 a.m. start time for the yard corresponds to 5 a.m. on the server. The start time parameter should therefore be set to 5 a.m.

    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/set-of-books.

  4. Click Apply to save your changes. Alternatively, if you used the Web ADI process to download a file, upload your changes to the system.

To update a yard

  1. Navigate to the Define Yard window.

  2. Do a search to find the yard to be updated, then click the Update icon in the Actions column to update the name, start, or end times for the yard.

    the picture is described in the document text

  3. Click Apply.

After you the yard is created, you need to:

Related Topics

To configure yards.

To synchronize dock doors.

Configuring Yard Areas and Parking Spots

Configuring a yard involves dividing it into logical areas that represent activities such as inbound, outbound, or parking operations. A yard area can be further divided it into one or more locations called parking spots. A parking spot determines the exact location of a trailer within the yard such as a storage locator (for example, a gate or parking place) or a dock door. Parking spots can accommodate one or more trailers based on the trailer's capacity. The yard area and parking spots can track the yard entities such as the trailers or power units.

Types of parking spots include:

Additional Information: A yard area is modelled as a subinventory in Oracle Inventory (Subinventories window) and parking spots as locators in the Stock Locators window .

Similar to subinventories, the following considerations apply to yard areas:

Prerequisites

To configure a yard

  1. Navigate to the Configure Yard page.

  2. Click the Create button, and complete your entries for the area and spot:

    the picture is described in the document text

    Notes

    • (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/bin designation, use the stock locator alias to give the locator a more meaningful name such as P123 for parking locator #123.

      Note: Locator aliases must be unique within a yard organization.

    • (Spot) Parking Order: Enter the parking order priority for the spot.

    • Update: Click the Update icon to update the area description, area parking order, alias, and other details.

  3. Click Apply to save your changes.

Synchronizing Dock Doors

Dock doors are used for loading and unloading trailers. To optimize dock-door usage, you need to establish an alias in the yard for the corresponding dock doors in the serviced facilities.

Important: You must create the yard before synchronizing dock doors.

To synchronize dock doors

  1. Navigate to the Synchronize Dock Doors window.

  2. Select the yard from the Yard drop-down list and click Go.

  3. Click Create to enter the dock door information for the service organization and yard.

    the picture is described in the document text

    Notes

    • (Service) Organization: Select the service organization for the dock.

    • (Service) Dock: Select the dock belonging to the service organization to be synchronized with the yard.

    • (Service) Default Staging Area: Select Yes or No depending on whether you want the selected dock to serve as the default staging area.

      Additional Information: A default staging area is a subinventory that is created in the service organization, not in the yard. It is applicable only to Oracle Warehouse Management-enabled service organizations. The purpose of this subinventory is to store staged LPNs that have been loaded into a trailer. The LPNs are moved from the staging lane inside the warehouse into this subinventory, when the loaded trailer is moved from the dock door into a parking spot using a yard move order.

    • (Yard) Dock: The name you selected in the service dock field automatically defaults in this field but can be changed if desired.

    • (Yard) Dock Alias: Enter a user-friendly name that enables you to readily identify the dock.

  4. Click Apply.

Creating Remote Organization

Remote organizations are placeholder service organizations defined in an external Oracle E-Business Suite instance or an enterprise resource planning application.

To create a remote organization:

  1. Navigate to Yard Manager, Yard Setups, and then Remote Organization. The Remote Organization page is displayed.

  2. Choose one of the following methods to create a remote organization:

    • Use Web ADI: Use the Oracle Web Applications Desktop Integrator (Web ADI) process to download a file (such as a spreadsheet or other supported format), complete your entries, and then upload the data to the system. This process is useful for bulk data uploads. To use this method, perform the following steps:

      • Click the Create icon and select the document type to be downloaded. A file is downloaded to your desktop.

      • When prompted, choose to open the file and to enable macros. If no prompt appears, ensure that your browser security settings allow files to be downloaded.

      • Using the validation messages that are returned to the spreadsheet, identify and correct invalid data.

      • After your entries are complete, upload the data to the system.

      Note: If you want to update the file using Web ADI, click the Update icon and select the document type to be downloaded, updated, and uploaded to the system.

    • Use the Create Remote Organization page: Click the Define button and enter remote organization information into the Create Remote Organization page. You can enter details for the following fields: Organization, Name, Calendar, Yard Organization, Location, and Disable Date.

  3. Click Apply to save the information you have entered.

Creating Documents for Remote Organizations

You use yard documents to identify contents of the equipment. Yard documents are of type Trip or Delivery. The documents can be inbound or outbound. Examples of yard documents are purchase order, ASN, shipment, and so on. Yard documents are imported to Oracle Yard Management using the Yard Documents public API. To create yard documents Shipping parameters must be set up for the Yard Organization.

Creating Equipment Types

You need to create the various types of equipment such as trailers and powering units that check into and out of your yard so that Oracle Yard Management 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 normally 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.

After you create an equipment type, select a seeded category that corresponds to the type of equipment created. For example, use the Trailer category for an equipment type named 40 Foot Trailer. Oracle Yard Management provides the following equipment categories:

The system provides seeded category sets and categories to identify equipment types in Oracle Yard Management. You can create equipment in Oracle Yard Management based on these category sets and categories.

System-Supplied (Seeded) Category Sets and Their Related Categories
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 can be created from the seeded categories:

Equipment Name Category
40 Foot Trailer Trailer
60 Foot Trailer Trailer
Single Power Unit Power Unit
Double Power Unit Power Unit
Dry Van Trailer
Refrigerated Unit Trailer
Vessel Container Container
Rail Container Container

To create an equipment type

  1. Navigate to the Equipment Types window.

  2. Select the yard from the Yard drop-down list and click Go.

  3. Click the Create button. and enter your data for the equipment type.

    the picture is described in the document text

    Notes

    • Equipment Type: Enter a name for the equipment type such as a Rail Container, 60 Foot Trailer, or similar entity.

    • Category: Select the category that identifies the type of equipment such as trailer, power unit, or container.

    • Dimensions, Weight, Volume: Enter the related physical dimensions, weight, and other relevant information for the equipment type.

  4. Click Apply to save your entries.

The system assigns a unique internal serial number for each combination of equipment number (or asset ID) and SCAC code. The system uses the internal number (which is not visible to the user) to perform inventory transactions that represent the check-in, yard move(s), and check-out operations.

Creating Drivers and Yard Personnel

In Oracle Yard Management, you can add employees or persons such as drivers, jockeys, and other yard personnel who need to access or work in the yard. Typical users who may need yard access include:

Prerequisites

To create drivers

  1. Navigate to the Drivers page.

  2. Choose one of the following methods to create drivers:

    • Web ADI: Use the Oracle Web Applications Desktop Integrator (Web ADI ) process to download a file (such as a spreadsheet or other supported format), complete your entries, then upload the data to the system. This process is most effective for bulk data uploads.

      the picture is described in the document text

      1. Click the Create icon under the Drivers tab and select the document type to be downloaded. A file will be downloaded to your desktop. When prompted, choose to open the file and to enable macros. If no prompt appears, ensure your browser security settings allow files to be downloaded.

      2. Validation messages are returned to the spreadsheet, allowing you to identify and correct invalid data.

    • Create Driver UI: Alternatively, on the Information tab, click the Create button to enter driver information in the Create Driver window.

      the picture is described in the document text

    Notes

    • License Number: Enter the driver's license number.

    • Allowed in Yard: Select whether this driver is allowed or not allowed into the yard. When the driver arrives at the gate, the security guard or gate clerk can check the system to see if the driver is permitted to enter the yard.

To update driver information

You can update a driver's record to change selected information about a driver (some fields cannot be updated).

  1. Navigate to the Drivers page.

  2. Do a search to find the driver.

  3. Click the Update icon to update driver and related information including the carrier, Allowed in Yard designation, and address information.

    the picture is described in the document text

  4. Click Apply.

Defining Rules

You can define two types of yard rules:

  1. To direct equipment entering the yard

  2. 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 system suggests a locator during check-in and for movement inside the yard.

To create rules

  1. Navigate to Yard Manager, Yard Setups, and then Rules.

    The Rules page is displayed.

  2. Select a Yard and click Go.

  3. Click Define.

    The Define Rules page is displayed.

  4. Enter values in the following fields: Name, Description, and Weight. In the Applicable To field, select Yard Check-In or Equipment in yard.

    The Applicable To value determines where the rule is used. If you select Yard Check-In, the rule is used when equipment is checked into the yard and area or spot is not specified. If you select Equipment in yard, the rule uses the Yard Moves and Notifications concurrent request.

  5. Click Apply to save this rule.

  6. You can set the restrictions and sort criteria for the rule using the respective tabs.

    Use the Update Rules page to make changes to an existing rule.

Assigning Oracle Yard Management Responsibilities

Oracle Yard Management needs to accommodate the diverse needs of users such as:

Note: Jockeys and security guards are generally contract laborers.

To use the Oracle Yard Management features, each application user can be assigned at least one responsibility. A responsibility determines whether the user can access Oracle E-Business Suite or Oracle Mobile Applications; which application functions a user can use; which reports and concurrent programs the user can run; and which data those reports and concurrent programs can access. Oracle Yard Management provides the following responsibilities:

Prerequisites

Related Setups

This section describes the following related setups for Oracle Yard Management.

Warning: Although Oracle Yard Management uses Oracle Inventory transactions for check-in, check-out and yard moves, Oracle does not support using Inventory windows or open interfaces to manipulate yard management data. Yard transactions should be performed only from the desktop and mobile windows that are part of the Oracle Yard Management application.

Accounting Periods

Oracle Inventory uses accounting periods to group material and work in process transactions for accounting purposes. Equipment check-ins, check-outs, or moves within the yard are all inventory transactions (in the Yard organization) of the internal serial number assigned to that equipment. The accounting periods must be open to permit these transactions otherwise the transactions will fail. For more information on inventory accounting periods, see the Oracle Inventory User's Guide.

Yard Lookups

Use the Manufacturing Lookups window to maintain existing lookups and define additional lookups for your shared lookup types. Oracle Yard Management provides the following initial default lookups and their values:

Additional Information: The following access level settings for a lookup type determine whether you can change its lookup codes:

Access Level: Extensible Lookup type Description
N YMS_ACTION_CODE Create, Query/Update
Y YMS_APPT_EXCEPTION Appointment exception reason: 1) Incorrect Equipment at Dock Door 2) Equipment not in Yard 3) Equipment not at Dock Door 4) Equipment at a different Dock Door 5) No Trailer Activity 6) Appointment ended but Equipment still at Dock Door
N YMS_APPT_FREQUENCY Repeating frequency: 1) Don't repeat 2) Every day and so on.
N YMS_APPT_HOURS 1 AM, 2 AM, 3 AM,…11 PM.
N YMS_APPT_STATUS Appointment status: Pending, Active, Exception, Completed.
N YMS_APPT_TYPE Inbound, Outbound, Other.
N YMS_CONFIG_SEARCH Configuring yard search condition: Area Name, Alias.
N YMS_DOCUMENT_SOURCE Indicates document source: E-Business Suite, Other.
N YMS_DOCUMENT_STATUS Document status includes: Pending, In Yard, Complete, Deleted, Archived, and so on.
Y YMS_DOCUMENT_TYPE Shipment document type:

  • For inbound: ASN, Purchase Order, Intransit Shipment, RMA, or Other.

  • For outbound: Trip, Delivery, OTM Plan, or Other.

Note: The document type Other is available for both inbound and outbound shipments.
Y YMS_EQP_CONDITION Condition of the equipment: Good, Damaged, Leaking, Strong Odor. Others could include: Unacceptable foreign material (metal shavings, glass, powder, etc.), Infestation.
N YMS_EQP_LOAD_STATUS Load Initiated, Unload Initiated, Full, Empty.
Y YMS_EQP_LOAD_TYPE Perishable, Dry, Hazardous, etc.
Y YMS_EQP_OWNER_TYPE Equipment owner type: Carrier Owned, Leased, Private, Other.
N YMS_EQP_STATUS Status of Equipment: Defined but not used, In yard, At Dock, Active, Hold, Ready for Pickup, Checked Out.
Y YMS_SEAL_STATUS Sealed, Unsealed, Damaged.
N YMS_SEARCH_CONDITION Search condition for Define Yard page: Service Organization, Yard Name, Yard Organization.
N YMS_SYNC_SEARCH Sync Dock Door Search Condition: Service Organization, Service Dock Alias, Yard Dock Alias.
Y YMS_VISIT_PURPOSE Purpose of visit: Live Load, Live Unload, Live Unload and Live Load, Other

Costing and Cost Groups

Cost updates are based on the movement transactions of yard equipment. The cost value will be in the functional currency and will run as an average cost update to the equipment instance.

Note: Inbound and outbound shipments are supported.

Yards support only average costing using the following cost groups to track liabilities which are derived from the associated service organization. You can change these values based on the accounting definitions defined in general ledger (GL).

Cost groups provide additional flexibility for cost accounting. A cost group will be created automatically during equipment check-in based on the organization account setups; the cost group name will be unique per equipment instance.

Calculating Trailer Content Cost

The total trailer cost is the cost of the contents only. The cost of only the trailer cannot be stored or calculated.

Inbound Shipments-Trailer Content Cost

Outbound Shipments-Trailer Content Cost

Trailer cost updates are considered average cost updates and are initiated by trailer moves. Oracle Yard Management initiates the costing API at the organization level which returns the cost in the functional currency. A cost group level API is run only if the first call returns a zero value.

Important: The following hook API is provided to retrieve the item cost for a given inventory item in an equipment instance:

You may use this API to write custom logic to derive the item unit cost.

Closing Period Considerations

Period close issues are managed in the following manner:

For both inbound and outbound operations, the transaction date should occur in the present or future (not past).

Yard Valuation Report

The following reports provide the valuation of the yard inventory (in asset subinventories) for any time period:

For more information on cost group reports, see the Oracle Cost Management User's Guide and Yard Requests and Reports.

Options for General Ledger (GL) Accounting

If you require general ledger (GL) accounting, you need to enable the Transfer To GL parameter and configure the system to prevent double accounting issues; for example, for in-transit shipments with FOB=Shipment, the receiving organization already owns the product and is accounted for in the in-transit account when the shipping organization ships it.

Warning: A double accounting issue may arise when the value of trailer contents (either at the shipping or receiving yard) and the value of the shipment itself appear on the accounting books twice.

Options for No Yard Costing

The following setup is recommended for customers who do not want costing for the yard organization:

Other Product Integrations with Oracle Yard Management

Oracle Yard Management interacts with many Oracle products in the Oracle E-Business Suite; although licensing and implementing the following products is optional, they help to optimize your business processes and integration with Oracle Yard Management:

Oracle Order Management Integration

If Oracle Yard Management is licensed and installed, then the order lines in Oracle Order Management will be enhanced to support the capture of trailer information for return material authorizations (RMAs).

Note: Oracle Order Management uses the return material authorization as the full form of RMA, not return merchandise authorization.

In addition, the following business rules apply to RMAs and order management:

Oracle Purchasing

Receipts against inbound equipment typically occur when the equipment is unloaded. If Oracle Yard Management is licensed and installed, then the following changes are made to Oracle Purchasing to support Oracle Yard Management:

Oracle Shipping Integration

If Oracle Yard Management is licensed and installed, then the following changes are made to the Shipping Transactions window to support both WMS and NON-WMS inventory organizations.

Note: The equipment number is not stored on purchase lines or on shipment lines created by the purchase order receipt. The equipment number is stored for the following document types: ASN, Intransit Shipment, and RMA.

When performing a query (Query Manager window for the Shipping Transactions window), select from the following yard criteria available at the line and LPN levels:

If Oracle Yard Management is licensed and installed, then the following Shipping Transactions windows display the listed yard fields:

If Oracle Yard Management is licensed and installed, then the following mobile ship confirmation pages are enhanced to capture yard information such as the equipment number (trailer number), dock door, and seal information. Ship confirmation can be initiated by either the trailer number or the dock door.

Ship Confirm pages

Oracle Distributed Warehouse Management Integration

To use Oracle Yard Management with distributed warehouse management (DWMS), Oracle recommends that you should:

Yard organizations on DWMS do not need to be mirrored on the ERP host (unlike warehouses) since inventory contained within equipment (such as a trailer or container) in the yard is not tracked as on-hand balances in the yard organization.

Oracle Yard Management allows the equipment cost to be calculated based on its contents. Costing setups determine the item cost, and then multiplies the item unit cost with the quantity of each item in the equipment to derive the total cost of inventory in the equipment.

When Oracle Yard Management is installed on DWMS, since there is no costing on the DWMS instance and no item costs set up, customers can instead implement the stub API YMS_CUSTOM_PUB.get_item_cost to derive item cost for each item in the equipment. This allows the trailer cost to be tracked within Oracle Yard Management. Since yard organizations are not mirrored on the host instance, equipment costs cannot be reflected in the host system financials. For more information, see My Oracle Support <Doc ID 821294.1>, Distributed Warehouse Management System.