Gain, real-time, 24/7 insight into trailer locations, statuses, and dwell times throughout the yard.
Dedicated yard management is an outsourced service in which a logistics provider supplies trained spotting personnel and yard-management technology to control the movement, tracking, and staging of trailers within a facility’s yard. It pairs on-site labor — yard jockeys operating spotter trucks — with a yard management system (YMS) to reduce trailer dwell time, eliminate detention and demurrage fees, and keep gates and docks flowing.
Keller Logistics delivers this service through our proprietary YardLink software, backed by experienced, on-the-ground operational teams. A well-managed and smoothly flowing yard is a key sign of a healthy logistics network. As your operations grow, it may seem like your yard has shrunk, but the real issue is increased throughput, which can result in trailer bottlenecks.
A well-managed yard is a sign of a healthy logistics network. As throughput grows, trailer bottlenecks form — and clipboards, radios, and spreadsheets create blind spots that drain your budget. Reducing trailer dwell keeps drivers moving, protects warehouse throughput, and helps you meet customer service commitments and retailer relationships.
Keller replaces manual tracking with a synchronized system of people and technology that gives you real-time control of every trailer in your yard.
With our dedicated freight capacity solutions, you receive strategic labor for your yards. You can better absorb seasonal demand spikes or promotional surges without the need to constantly scale internal headcount. With us managing yard execution, your internal management teams can refocus on core warehouse and production tasks.
Mitigate risk in high-volume yards with our dedicated teams that know the ins and outs of your business and adhere to safety and compliance regulations. Here are the dedicated services you get with our yard management experts:
YardLink is Keller’s proprietary yard management platform. It provides real-time, 24/7 visibility into trailer locations, statuses, and dwell times, replacing manual tracking with automated timestamps that prove arrivals and departures. Because Keller built the platform, it can be customized and integrated with your existing warehouse management system (WMS) or enterprise resource planning (ERP) software. YardLink specifically targets idle time and increases moves per hour to drive down your total cost per move.
YardLink & Keller’s Operational Advantage: Delivering End-to-End Yard Efficiency
Yard congestion is a full-system issue, not just a staffing one. With Keller, you gain a synchronized combination of experienced spotting personnel and proprietary technology that replaces ad-hoc processes with a data-driven operational strategy built for high-volume yards. With dedicated capacity, you absorb seasonal spikes without constantly scaling internal headcount — and your internal teams refocus on core warehouse and production work.
Gain, real-time, 24/7 insight into trailer locations, statuses, and dwell times throughout the yard.
Automated timestamps resolve carrier disputes and dramatically reduce detention and demurrage fees, leading to significant cost savings over time.
Real-time yard data informs gate-to-dock scheduling, balancing labor and improving driver collaboration and relationships.
Flex operations up for peaks and down when demand cools, keeping staffing right-sized, reducing idle time and increasing moves per hour.
A foundation of safety and compliance lets you balance risk without building extensive internal programs:
Keller is an asset-based 3PL with 40+ years of logistics experience and 3,000+ industry-compliant carrier partners. Active analysis of your performance metrics lets us continuously optimize your yard layout and daily execution — so you get more than trailer movement; you get a yard that works better over time.
It is an outsourced service combining trained spotting personnel and yard-management technology to control trailer movement, tracking, and staging within a facility’s yard — reducing dwell time, detention and demurrage fees, and gate congestion.
Yard visibility is the real-time data layer — knowing where every trailer is and how long it has been there. Yard management is the full service that acts on that data: the people moving trailers plus the technology tracking them. Keller delivers both as one solution.
A yard jockey (also called a hostler or spotter) is a trained driver who operates a spotter truck to move trailers between gates, docks, and staging areas within a facility’s yard.
Spotting is moving trailers within a single yard, such as from a dock to a staging spot. Shuttling is moving trailers between nearby facilities, such as a plant and an overflow lot.
Detention is a charge when a carrier’s trailer is held at a facility beyond the agreed free time. Demurrage is a similar charge for containers held at a port or rail terminal. Accurate yard timestamps reduce both by proving actual arrival and departure times.
Moves per hour measures yard productivity — how many trailer moves a team completes each hour. Cost per move is total operating cost divided by moves completed. YardLink raises the first and lowers the second.
Timing depends on yard size and complexity. Keller builds a customized implementation plan before transition, designed to match or exceed your current performance with no disruption to throughput.
Eliminate yard bottlenecks and regain efficiency with dedicated management from Keller Logistics. You can turn to us for a tailored solution to your specific yard management challenges. Operating as an extension of your business, we seamlessly integrate with your existing processes while seeking out opportunities for improvement.
Discuss your needs with us to get started. You can also turn to us for a freight services quote.