Contactless visits became a very hot topic during the 2020 pandemic. As a result, companies investigated contactless options. The benefits of contactless visits can be significant, and therefore drive the initiative to embrace the practice. However, some operations may not be a good fit, and the pursuit of contactless visits may not make sense. As with many practices and technology-driven processes, a hybrid approach may serve the operation best. Below we discuss the idea of contactless visits, the benefits, the drawbacks, and what it takes for success. We hope this article will help answer your questions regarding the practice and help you not only identify if it is the right fit for you but which parts could improve your operation and efficiency.
What are Contactless Visits?
Contactless visits are fairly straightforward in true definition - Drivers arrive at your operation for a pickup or delivery and are not in direct contact with your personnel whether it be at a guard gate window, in an office, or for the transfer of paperwork. Tasks such as checking in, communication moving to or from a dock door, and the check-out process are all done without direct human interaction.
What Processes Need To Be Accounted For In A Fully Contactless Set Up
Many processes need to be accounted for in a fully contactless setup. However, these may be unique to your operation and may also be unique depending on what type of load or what personnel are driving the assets. The most common process that should be covered include:
Gate Check-In and Yard Access Most operations require a driver to check in when arriving at the property. However, if it’s your own driver with a dedicated or company-owned asset, the check-in process might be more limited. In any case, the operation should know the asset has arrived. The arrival process can be performed on a stand-alone Kiosk, on a personal device, via text messaging, or this could be on a computer screen hanging on a wall for example.
Directing Drivers to Dock Doors or Yard Locations Once the gate check-in process is complete, the drivers should be instructed on where to drop the unit, or what door they should proceed to. The system should have real-time information on the best parking or dock location that is relayed to the driver to complete.
Transfer of Paperwork Paperwork, BOL’s, Invoices, packing slips, etc. ,must be signed off on for the transfer of ownership of the load. In a contactless environment, the documents should be viewable by the driver and the ability to capture the signature of the driver via a device is necessary.
The Check-Out Process Once the load is dropped, unloaded, or the shipment is loaded and ready to go, the driver should be notified that they can leave. In a contactless approach, this may be done on their personal device, via text or phone call, alerting them that the load is ready, and recommends for them to proceed to a gate. If at a secured gate, there may be a code input device or screen, a Kiosk, or other methods to trigger the gate to allow for departure.
Benefits of Contactless Visits
The benefits of contactless visits are significant and may drive organizations to explore options to get the infrastructure, processes, and tools in place to achieve it. Benefits include:
- Health and Safety: Contactless visits can help keep your staff healthy and safe. Reducing contact with your employees by hundreds of visitors a day may cut down on common colds all the way to more serious conditions.
- Process Efficiency: Typically, contactless visits require some level of planning on the arrival side. Knowing the plan of what will arrive for pick-up or delivery will help any operation become more efficient and streamlined. It may also reduce some head count at your operation.
- Shipper of Choice and Driver Satisfaction: Processing all visits and quickly turning around drivers at your operation will help you become a shipper of choice and offer a better experience for the drivers who visit your site. If you can provide easy and seamless contactless visits, while handling all exceptions that may arise, your operation can run smoothly.
- Customer satisfaction: Whether your customers are internal to your company or outside parties, they will benefit when your operation is running on time and well. If contactless visits are achieved at your site, benefits to the whole supply chain can be realized.
Contactless visits to a warehouse, distribution center, or manufacturing plant can offer a safer, more efficient, and more convenient experience for drivers and visitors while prioritizing the health and well-being of all parties involved. Contactless visits may be an important option to explore. Contactless visits address the challenges posed by past challenges and will set you up for what the future of visits to operations will look like. Taking the first steps may be tackling just one touch point of the entire visit and then building from there.
Interested In Learning More About Contactless Visits?
For over 25 Years YardView yard management software has supplied the industry with best-of-breed, innovative, and industry-advancing software. Contactless visits are just one of the areas that can be achieved with our top-tier YMS software solution. If you are looking to fully adopt the industry’s best practices or are just looking to learn more about best practices and the options available to an operation like yours, our experts are here to help.