How to choose a dock scheduling system: seven questions to ask the supplier

To choose a dock scheduling system, ask the supplier above all what the system does at the moment a vehicle is standing at the gate. The answer separates a calendar that shows bookings to people from a system that controls entry. Both classes of solution make sense, but they cost different amounts and solve different problems.

What happens when a vehicle pulls up at the gate?

The answer should tell you whether the system only shows the booking on a screen, or whether it can control the barrier, recognise the number plate and let the vehicle in without security getting involved. A calendar’s work ends with the booking, while a system also covers the moment of entry. If your problem is the queue at the gate, booking alone won’t solve it, because vehicles will still be waiting for a person.

How does the system know the vehicle has arrived?

Check whether somebody has to enter the arrival. There are three options, listed by how much work they create for staff: the driver checks in at a kiosk, a camera recognises the plate, or security enters the arrival by hand. The last is the cheapest to implement and the most expensive to run.

How does the driver find out they can drive in?

What counts is whether the message reaches the driver or only appears on a screen in the office. Without an SMS notification, the driver has to wait somewhere they can see the gate, which means on an internal road or right by the entrance. With a notification they can wait off site, so for the same number of deliveries, the text message decides whether there is a queue at the gate.

Who enters the data: the site or the carrier?

Without a carrier portal, times are arranged by phone and someone on your side types them into the system. A portal moves that work to where the data originates and puts an end to the “what time should I come?” calls. Ask as well whether a carrier sees only its own bookings in the portal.

What does the system handle besides bookings?

Ask whether vehicle entries, people access control, the weighbridge and security all go into one log or into separate tools. That determines what the system will cost you two years from now. Four separate tools from four suppliers usually cost noticeably more than one system with the same scope, and they still don’t talk to each other.

How much does the system cost, exactly?

Look for an amount in the answer. “Individual quote after a needs analysis” means several sales meetings before you can compare offers, while a price given up front shortens the whole buying process. Ask directly, too, what is charged on top of the licence, what happens when the subscription expires and whether the licence can be bought outright. The TraxSystem price list is in the configurator, which calculates the amount for the base package and modules you choose.

What does this system not do?

The question about limitations is the best test of a supplier. One who answers “anything can be done” either doesn’t understand their own product or is counting on the discrepancies only coming out after the contract is signed. A supplier with a ready list of limitations has thought the product through.

These are the answers we give about TraxSystem:

• it isn’t a WMS: it doesn’t keep stock levels, storage locations or picking,
• a site ban doesn’t block the barrier on its own, because the operator sees a warning and decides,
• the lack of a valid health and safety induction doesn’t block entry by itself either,
• there are no ready-made connectors for SAP or Oracle, and integrations are built on the API,
• we don’t record camera video continuously, because we only save photos and short clips of events, and we don’t do facial recognition.

Demo, implementation time and the supplier’s track record

Questions and answers

See also: Time slot calendar vs yard management system: what is the difference · How much does a dock scheduling system cost? · An access control system contract: what to look out for