Loading Dock Scheduling: Say goodbye to congestion
Loading docks and the surrounding areas are often a bottleneck in logistics. Smooth operations depend on coordinating these areas perfectly. Loading Dock Scheduling from AEB manages all pieces of the puzzle: time slots for your carriers, loading dock personnel and equipment, and more. This lets you know in advance what’s headed your way and gives you all the tools to manage it, even at peak times.
From GBP 92 / month
Convenient and reliable: book and manage time slots
Carriers send several trucks at the same time, leading to unnecessary spikes in the workload: That’s a day-to-day reality at logistics centers. Loading Dock Scheduling makes this a thing of the past. Give your carriers the option of electronically booking time slots when trucks can be loaded or unloaded without having to wait. The software lets you define restrictions for each loading dock, so trucks go to the right loading dock straight away. The system sends each driver a text message with the assigned dock.
Simplify your planning by organizing communications
Loading Dock Scheduling brings measurable relief to your dispatchers and logistics planners. Fewer emails and phone calls with carriers and drivers – coupled with better visibility of the shipments en route to your logistics center – mean that your team can focus on long-term optimization and genuine emergencies.
See into the future: know what’s headed your way
Loading Dock Scheduling lets you see the big picture in your loading area at a glance, including delays and remaining capacities. This visibility translates directly into more reliable processes, because you can also give your transport partners a view of their own time slots and the loading/unloading status of their own trucks. So when you do talk with suppliers, customers, and service providers, you’ll know the facts.
Balance your resources
What’s the use of having a truck at the loading dock if there is no forklift standing by? Not much. Loading Dock Scheduling from AEB lets you avoid spikes in the workload, establish a better basis for assigning your internal resources, and optimizes the loading and unloading process. That’s what we call smart loading dock management.
Quickly find your footing when problems occur
A truck arrives late. The loading process takes longer than expected: Responding to such situations is part of the daily routine in goods issue and receipt. Loading Dock Scheduling from AEB helps you respond without breaking a sweat, rescheduling in just a few clicks with the help of a booking wizard. You can quickly visualize the consequences of a disruption and respond proactively.
Utilize the power of data on punctuality and performance
Loading Dock Scheduling is continuously gathering data on time slot usage to compile powerful statistics. This makes it possible to see at a glance whether your carriers arrived on time for their assigned time slot at the loading dock and how long the loading processes will take. This in turn makes it possible to immediately identify vulnerabilities, potential improvements, and opportunities.
AEB Loading Dock Scheduling: Insights in our time slot management software
AEB Loading Dock Scheduling brings efficiency and transparency to how you organize inbound and outbound deliveries at your loading docks.
Overview of all the shipping orders and their current status: Here you can see, for example, when which goods are expected at which loading dock.
When disruptions occur, time slots can be easily rescheduled in a calendar view.
Customers already mastering their supply chain collaboration with AEB software
Clear and simple: our cloud solution pricing models
Basic
From GBP 92/month
plus setup fee
3,000 time slots/year
GBP 0.23 for each additional time slot
- Basic features
- Reporting & Analytics*
* Price on request
Business
From GBP 356/month
plus setup fee
30,000 time slots/year
GBP 0.13 for each additional time slot
- Basic features
- Reporting & Analytics*
* Price on request
Enterprise
From GBP 1,843/month
plus setup fee
300,000 time slots/year
GBP 0.07 for each additional time slot
- Basic features
- Reporting & Analytics*
* Price on request
Request an individual, non-binding quote
Questions?
Can I define new loading docks on my own, or does AEB need to do that for me?
You can define new loading docks or reconfigure your locations on your own without the involvement of AEB.
Do carriers need an account login to book time slots through the application?
No, not necessarily. You can send your carrier a direct link to a loading order. The direct link is encrypted and does not require a login. It allows the carrier to perform one task only – book a time slot, for example.
If I give the carriers who regularly pick up and drop off at our company access to the loading dock calendars, will they also see the time slots of other carriers?
When a carrier logs in, the loading orders and time slots of other carriers are hidden. The calendar view shows time slots belonging to someone other than the active carrier as “private.” The carrier can only see that they have been booked – not the identity of the booking party or the contents of the delivery or drop-off.
Can I control which loading docks receive certain goods (refrigerated or hazardous goods, for example)?
Yes. Loading dock attributes let you define what can be unloaded at each individual loading dock. If a loading order contains hazardous goods, for example, the booking wizard will only allow the carrier to book loading docks capable of accepting such a shipment. You can freely configure what can be unloaded at each loading dock.
How can I ensure that the booked time slot is the right length?
Various parameters let you control the duration of the time slots that are booked. You can define a fixed length for all time slots or differentiate by type of order, for example. You also have the option to have the time slot duration automatically calculated based on the loading positions and the equipment available there. Or you can simply let carriers book the time slots of their choosing, which you then approve or amend after a visual inspection.
Can I manage more than one site in the system?
Yes. It’s possible to define and configure as many sites as you wish. Each location can have as many loading docks as you want, each with its own attributes and hours of operation. A site does not necessarily need to be a distinct geographic location. It might make sense, for example, to define the goods receipt and goods issue areas as completely separate sites if they use different loading docks.
Geoff Taylor
Managing Director UK
"In the digital age, it's amazing how much chaos still exists at loading docks – and how much time is still wasted through waiting times and unscheduled deliveries. Our solution creates transparency, order, and efficiency at the loading dock for all involved parties."