YardFlow lands over 200-site yard automation deal

Freight yard automation specialist YardFlow has secured a deal to expand its software to over 200 facilities of a major beverage company. The company's technology aims to streamline the often chaotic process of loading and unloading trucks at distribution centers. The new system processes close to 2 million shipments across the 26 sites it already serves with 99.9% uptime.

According to YardFlow founder Jake Koppinger, the beverage company will deploy YardFlow's system in order of facilities size, from largest to smallest, to ensure consistency in its yard operations. The new software digitizes the traditional paper-based bill of lading handoff process, which often leads to errors, delays, and cash attribution issues.

By digitizing the driver journey from gate check-in to check-out, YardFlow's system reduces the need for manual paperwork and helps prevent detention penalties due to delayed shipments.

Koppinger highlights the challenges of implementing yard automation in large, diverse facilities, where each warehouse may operate with its own unique processes. He notes that even though a single facility can generate hundreds of millions in revenue, the lack of standardized reporting across facilities makes it difficult to compare performance and results.

YardFlow's solution targets the core aspects of yard operations, such as driver check-in, dock assignment, and signed documentation, by leveraging machine vision and QR code technology to create a digital twin of the yard system.

Koppinger emphasizes that the goal is to standardize yard operations across all facilities, allowing shipper executives to accurately compare performance and identify areas for improvement. By addressing the operational challenges first, YardFlow aims to create a foundation for additional automation, such as autonomous yard jockeys, once the basic processes are in place.