The yard – blind spot of digital transformation
Digitalization has changed or is currently changing many areas of logistics: from warehousing and transport to real-time tracking of global supply chains. In many areas, we are still in the early stages, not least because of the new and often underestimated possibilities and, above all, outdated patterns and ways of thinking, as well as a lack of willingness to invest. And then there is one place that seems like a relic from the analog past: the yard—the last few meters before the gate, which only seem to interest the gatekeeper!
My thesis: After 15 years in yard management and in-depth market knowledge of both yard and plant logistics: Classic yard management systems (YMS) were created in a world that no longer has anything to do with today’s world. They work as they were designed to. However, they are not only inadequate for today’s world and requirements, but their rigidity and isolation increasingly jeopardize the performance of modern supply chains. The time for radical rethinking is now.
Historically, YMS were often confused with slot management systems (even by the providers themselves) and introduced as simple planning and management tools: booking time slots, recording arrival times, managing parking spaces, assigning gates. However, with increasing complexity, global competitive pressure, a focus on sustainability, and the advent of autonomous technologies, the yard is now a strategic bottleneck—and at the same time an underestimated lever for transformation.
Analysis of the innovation backlog: Old systems facing new problems
Many companies have acquired a YMS in recent years in the hope of gaining control and transparency. However, the reality is often different:
🧱 Rigid processes instead of flexible control
Traditional YMSs are rule-based. They map processes that were once conceived in analog form—only now they have been digitized. But real process intelligence? Not a chance. Genuine learning from bottlenecks? Not a chance! Process variance? Project work!
🕰 Lack of real-time capability
Many systems work with outdated interfaces or require manual updates. The result: congestion at access points, lost time, unused resources. At a time when every package is tracked, the yard often remains a blind spot.
🔌 Isolation instead of integration
YMS are often not integrated into transport, storage, and production systems, or only to an insufficient degree. Information does not flow consistently. What is missing is an end-to-end concept—the yard as a fluid part of the chain.
🎭 Buzzwords instead of substance
“Cloud-based,” “mobile-enabled,” “user experience”—many modern YMSs advertise with terms that are more style than substance. Often, these terms simply refer to the digitization of old processes—but no real transformation. Usability that cries out for help and cannot be operated by new colleagues, let alone automated by agentic AI!
💬 The plant manager of an international chemical company summed it up succinctly:
“Our YMS is like a digital clipboard. Everything that used to be on paper is now just a click away—but it doesn’t think for itself.”
Solution spaces and vision for the future: The yard as a living organism
But there is another way. True innovation arises where technology, new ways of thinking, and collaboration come together. The path to the smart yard begins with a paradigm shift:
🚀 1. Platform thinking instead of isolated solutions
A modern yard is not an island, but a hub in a dynamic network. Instead of individual solutions, platforms are needed that connect transport, warehousing, production, and external partners in real time. APIs instead of Excel. Data streams instead of deadlocks.
🧠 2. AI-supported scheduling and forecasting
Why should a time slot be fixed if we can predict the arrival time? Of course, because the warehouse also uses fixed times for staging and picking. This is an argument in favor of our legacy systems! AI can take over ideal control based on traffic data, production status, warehouse information, and priorities—proactively, adaptively, and with the ability to learn. And this applies both internally to warehousing and production and externally to shipping, sequencing, etc.
🌐 3. Digital twins & real-time transparency
Sensors, gate cameras, GPS, and telemetry now provide a wealth of data. But often, this data goes unused. A modern yard ecosystem uses IoT to respond in real time: from the gate to loading.
🦾 4. Autonomous yard management – from human-machine interaction to autonomy
Autonomous vehicles, automatic parking space allocation, digital accompanying documents—what sounds like the future today is already a reality in pilot projects in many places. The vision: a yard that operates independently, recognizes bottlenecks, plans, and learns.
🤝 5. New ecosystems and collaboration as catalysts
Innovation does not happen in isolation. It requires partnerships between logistics providers, tech startups, industrial companies, and consultants—all on an equal footing. Anyone who wants to rethink the yard today must also redesign the way they work together.
🌍 Open source, co-innovation, logistics communities such as Shift³: they create spaces where new solutions can be tested, scaled, and implemented on a broad scale.
Conclusion and impetus: The yard is ready for a new beginning
The yard has long been the blind spot of digital transformation—but this is precisely where enormous potential lies. Companies that have the courage to radically rethink their yard management not only achieve efficiency gains. They also build a strategic competitive advantage by:
- shorter turnaround times
- transparente Prozesse
- more sustainable transport chains
- höhere Zufriedenheit bei Fahrern, Kunden und Mitarbeitenden
🚨 Now is the time to act. Why?
And because sustainability can’t wait—every unnecessary minute on the yard is a step backward for our emissions.
Because technologies such as AI, IoT, and autonomous systems are developing rapidly.
Because the shortage of skilled workers is forcing us to make processes more intelligent and self-managing.
