Published on June 8, 2018 – SAP Yard Logistics
In our last blog entry, we pointed out that SAP Yard Logistics (SAP YL) can not only be used for distribution centres monitoring the use of trailers and swap bodies, but also for an endless variety of other yard types – simply adjusted to your needs and the real life of the yard.
As our last example showed a scenario on an oil and chemical yard, we would like to now show you how SAP YL can also be used for a dry port/container terminal and a seaport, and how these can be combined using an integration of SAP TM.
Just like in a distribution centre or an oil and chemical yard, container terminals and sea ports bear a great number of challenges – from making sure containers are stored in the right slot and eventually loaded onto the right vessel, as well as considering special storage and stowing requirements, such as restrictions due to the IMDG code for hazardous cargo. Some containers will even require regular monitoring of temperature or humidity. With SAP YL it is possible to monitor and coordinate all of these factors.
To demonstrate this, we have created some example scenarios. In order to display and visualize these, we will have a look at the Yard Cockpit where we can observe movements taking place. The Yard Cockpit is a tool in SAP YL which shows a live 3D-vision of your very own and unique yard and lets you see what is currently happening in it. It helps you not only track vehicles, but also transportation units as containers or trailers and gives you information about their actual location.
Firstly, we will look at our container terminal scenario where containers are handled for hinterland transport as well as for onward carriage to the port.
In our example scenario, laden export containers are brought into the dry port by trucks and loaded onto freight trains heading to a port. Therefore, lanes for trucks offloading these containers are available, as well as container storage spaces. With the help of the gantry cranes, these can then be lifted onto the freight train. In this example our truck has loaded a 20’ container and above you can see it checking into our dry port (cockpit view; picture below).
From there it could, for example, move to a scale where the weight is noted to ensure the container is not overloaded or it could be moved to an inspection area where temperature is measured.
Our truck then moves to one of the off-loading lanes where the container is off-loaded using one of the cranes. The traction unit would then go back to the check-out and leave the site.
Freight trains and rail cars can also be managed as vehicles and transportation units as trucks are.
Our container could then be loaded onto one of the incoming trains and be loaded as shown above. Once all export cargo is loaded, the train can check out of the port and leave towards the seaport.
The transport between dry port and seaport can be displayed with SAP TM if an integration is given.
In our scenario, the transport between the dry port and the seaport is connected with a Freight Order in SAP TM. This means that once the container exits the dry port, the freight order is updated and the information, such as container number and ETA, is forwarded to Yard Logistics for pre-planning at the seaport. The pre-planning includes all necessary activities in detail. Close to arrival of our container in the seaport, a Yard Order would be issued using prior information received from TM to do the final planning, such as preparing a loading slot and planned times for yard activities (e.g. weighing, inspection, temperature control).
An integration of SAP TM and SAP YL therefore means full visibility at every single step of the transport chain without manual monitoring or the necessity of maintaining data in several systems.
Now that the transport has been executed we will also have a look at our seaport visualization in the Yard Cockpit. As you can see, our train with the container has now arrived at the rail terminal in our seaport (picture below).
Our container would now be offloaded and brought from the rail storage space into one of the storage slots closer to the quay, waiting to be loaded (pictures below).
Naturally, the scenario would not only work on the export side but also vice versa for imports. The containers would be loaded off the vessel and stored in the port until they are shipped back via freight train into the dry port.
Contact our experts for a demo and see what Westernacher and SAP Yard Logistics can offer your business.
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