YMS or carefully planned delivery. How to implement such systems and how much does it cost?

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Precise planning of time windows for loading and unloading of vehicles allows better use of existing company resources and minimizes the risk of accumulation of work. The YMS systems (Yard Management System) comes in handy. How to implement such systems and how much will it cost?

Planning docking can be tricky. The use of IT solutions for this purpose, specifically YMS, saves 60-90 per cent time, both for planners as well as suppliers and carriers. Practice shows that the waiting time for loading or unloading can be reduced by as much as 40-70 percent.

However, the decision to implement the YMS system should not be a hasty one. It must be preceded by a detailed analysis of the situation and the needs of the given company. Identifying the real sources of problems allows you to determine whether the YMS class solution is indeed the best choice.

In the course of the analysis, it sometimes turns out that a better answer to the company’s problems are WMS or TMS systems, or small applications used, for example, for managing time windows.

Specialists from Logintegra emphasize that Time windows is a solution that can be used in virtually every sector, has so far improved the work of warehouses in the electronics and household appliances, pharmaceutical, construction, chemical, agricultural, food and wood industries and the world leader in transformer production . Each time, the system is adapted to the specifics and needs of the client, and the implementation phase is preceded by design workshops. The result of the workshop is a detailed system design – it allows you to think together and accurately describe how it should be configured so that work on it brings as many benefits as possible, and its service for new users is quick and intuitive.

The costs related to running time windows are divided into two components – the cost of adapting and implementing the application, as well as subsequent fees for system maintenance. Precise preparation of the project ultimately reduces the quantity and, consequently, the cost of additional work/changes. They often result from a rush and hasty assumption that „after all the process is simple, it is just planning the notification the same as in any other company”. It is very possible that planning a warehouse work schedule and managing shipments is not the most difficult task in the entire company, but it is certainly not a simple task,” explains Jakub Warda, Advisor for IT solutions for Logistics, Logintegra.

The next stage is programming and adjusting the functionality of the system in accordance with the prepared project. The client then tests the system and checks whether the operation of the application corresponds to the previous arrangements. The last stage is the implementation of time windows and training.

All these activities are included in the work related to the adaptation and implementation of the system. Since the implementation consists of several stages, the amount for these works is also settled in tranches. After the customer receives each stage, an invoice is issued.

We are able to present the specific cost evaluation after assessing the needs of the company in advence and pre-determining what scope of functionality would be appropriate. Sometimes it is enough to run the basic system and make cosmetic changes, but often it is necessary to carry out a wide adaptation of the system and integrate it with ERP, WMS or another tool already used in the enterprise,” adds Warda.

After starting the application, the system provider is responsible for server maintenance, administration, training/technical assistance for all users, reaction to 24/7 failure, etc. This range of services is billed on a monthly subscription basis.

The amount of remuneration most often depends on the number of loading/unloading recorded in the system in the last month. In short, if the system helps in handling more loads/unloadings, the monthly subscription is higher. In the off-season, when there are fewer cars, and thus the application helps in handling smaller amounts of loading/unloading, its maintenance is cheaper.

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