On this page (6)
- What logistics, the warehouse and the gate each know
- Splitting the roles: the plan, dock capacity and adjustments at the gate
- Delivery type, dock group and permissions in TraxSystem
- Common mistakes in dividing responsibility for the docks
- What TraxSystem does not decide in dock planning
- Questions and answers
Docks should be planned by three departments, each in a different role: logistics sets the plan in advance, the warehouse sets dock capacity and handling times, and the gate adjusts the schedule during the day. Arguments about who draws up the schedule usually arise because two different activities are being treated as one. Setting tomorrow’s plan and adjusting it today at eleven o’clock need different knowledge and shouldn’t belong to the same person.
What logistics, the warehouse and the gate each know
| Department | What it knows best | What it can’t see |
|---|---|---|
| Logistics | what is due to arrive, from whom and when it is needed | how long unloading really takes and who is on shift today |
| Warehouse | how many people and forklifts are available, which docks are working | what is coming and with what priority |
| Gate | who is standing outside the site right now | why this vehicle matters more than that one |
None of these departments has the full picture, so a schedule handed over entirely to one of them always leaves out what the other two know.
Splitting the roles: the plan, dock capacity and adjustments at the gate
Logistics sets the plan in advance. It decides how many slots are available and for which types of delivery, and makes sure they match the orders.
The warehouse sets capacity: it says how many docks are in use, how long a given type of delivery takes to handle and when the breaks are. It sets the framework the schedule has to fit into, but doesn’t draw up the schedule itself.
The gate adjusts the plan during the day. A vehicle that arrived early, a delivery that didn’t turn up, a driver without documents: decisions like these are made in minutes and have to be made where the queue can be seen. Adjustments at the gate do need an explicit rule, though, because without one the old problem comes back and whoever asks loudest decides the order.
Delivery type, dock group and permissions in TraxSystem
This division carries over into the TraxSystem settings:
- slot length is tied to the delivery type, because the same dock handles different vehicles and each needs a different amount of time,
- a dock group describes which docks handle a given delivery type; the warehouse knows that the chilled dock won’t take pallets, and it is the warehouse that should enter that knowledge,
- permissions separate the roles: who creates a booking, who moves a time and who releases a dock, and these don’t have to be the same people.
Common mistakes in dividing responsibility for the docks
Most often one department runs everything, usually logistics, because the initiative came from them. That ends with phone calls to the warehouse for every adjustment.
The second mistake is a gate with no right to change anything: the driver waits for someone to answer the phone while the dock next door stands empty. The third is the opposite: everyone can change everything, and the schedule stops being an agreement and becomes a record of the last change.
What TraxSystem does not decide in dock planning
TraxSystem won’t decide for you who has priority. The order in a conflict is an organisational decision, and the system enforces and documents it. Nor will it make the warehouse provide real handling times: if the configuration says half an hour and unloading takes an hour, the schedule will fall apart in the second hour of work. The system will expose a mismatch between departments, but it won’t replace the conversation between them.
Questions and answers
Can the warehouse get a view without the right to make changes?
Yes. Permissions separate reading from writing, and the data scope limits visibility to the warehouse’s own area.
Who should be responsible for dock groups?
The warehouse, because it knows which dock can handle what, and logistics works from the division it has set up.
Can the carrier see who moved its delivery?
It sees the change and the reason for it, if one was given, but not the site’s internal arrangements.
How much does the dock planning module cost?
It depends on the number of docks, because that is how the Bookings and warehouse module is priced, and the dock limit grows with the size of the base package. The best place to check the amount for your site is the pricing configurator.
See also: How to organise time slots at your loading docks · What is a dock time slot · Truck queues at the gate: where they come from and how to clear them