UK Firm’s Yard Management Tech Wins Nestle Deal

A solution developed by smart tech firm Sauce is aimed at solving complex yard management challenges for confectionery and beverage manufacturer Nestlé. The system is being used to track and manage all trailer movements at the firm’s York factory, where products such as KitKat and Yorkie are manufactured; and at its Regional Distribution Centre, where products such Nescafé and Smarties are dispatched.

After being successfully introduced at the York site, the solution will now be applied to a revolutionary new distribution centre in the East Midlands, known as the Digital Distribution Operation of the Future. The multilingual system could then be rolled out to other Nestlé operations internationally – the business operates more than 400 factories in over 80 countries.

Sauce, which is based at the Centre for Digital Innovation (C4DI) tech hub, in Hull, was approached by Nestlé to develop a bespoke yard management system to monitor and manage trailer movements. The system is used to improve the visibility and tracking of movements of drivers, vehicles and trailers.

Previously, lorry drivers coming to the York site would drop their trailer off at the warehouse to be unloaded, then remain in a waiting area until it was ready, or collect a previously loaded trailer. Communication was via two-way radio or walkie talkies and the recording system was largely paper-based.

Under the new system, all delivery drivers now input their details digitally upon arrival at security, including their name, vehicle and trailer numbers. They then wait in a designated area where they can view a “flight board” – similar to an airport or train station information screen – enabling them to monitor the status of their load. When it has been loaded or unloaded, they can return to their vehicle and leave the site.

Shunter drivers, who manoeuvre delivery trailers on and off-loading bays at the warehouse and factories, also access the live information via a tablet in their cab, meaning they are fully aware of all movements on site.
Sauce Chief Executive Matt Weldon said: “To have a company the size of Nestlé put their trust in us to deliver this system is huge for us and we are incredibly proud to work with them.

“They have an amazing logistics operation and we’re delighted that we have been able to provide a further digital dimension to it. We have been able to provide Nestlé with the enhanced level of visibility they wanted as part of scalable solution that can be applied to any of their sites.

“Nestlé had looked at various off-the-shelf shelf yard management systems, but none suited their requirements. That’s where we came in. We worked closely with Nestlé to understand exactly what they needed and to create a completely bespoke solution.”

Sauce has created five programs to meet Nestlé’s requirements – a booking system; a traffic management system; a warehouse tracking system; a shunter tablet app; and a live flight board – which work seamlessly together.