The black hole of transport logistics efficiency : a multi-method study on yard management

Yard management is crucial for warehouse efficiency, as it accelerates and aligns incoming and outgoing material flows at these sites. This is especially relevant in modern logistics and supply chain management because recent market trends demand increasing product assortments, which must be produced, processed, and delivered in ever shorter times. While efficiency improvements within warehouses have received considerable interest in operations management research, prior studies have generally failed to establish how to design and evaluate processes at warehouse sites. Research on decision prioritisation regarding critical sub-processes in yard management could offer interesting new insights, helping to increase overall warehouse efficiency through the prioritisation of critical optimisation sub-processes. Accordingly, this paper examines the prioritisation and evaluation of critical yard subprocesses for efficient yard management at warehouse sites. A multi-method research approach is applied, combining analytic hierarchy process (AHP) interviews with a detailed literature review and quantitative empirical data analysis to allow for triangulation of the results to develop theoretical contributions and practical implications. Five critical yard sub-processes are identified and prioritised: management of the shunting system, registration at the gateway, allocation of trucks to gates/parking spaces, removal of a transport unit from the gate, and exit control.