In recent months, industry expert Bart De Muynck has taken the enterprise food-shipping logistics world on a compelling journey across three major articles.
The story arc moves from recognizing the yard as a major blind spot, to diagnosing why technology investments alone aren’t solving the problem, and finally to making yard operations a C-suite agenda item for 2026.
Let’s walk through that evolution and highlight what it means for enterprise shippers, especially in food and beverage.
In his first piece, “Enterprise Yard Operations as a Strategy for Food Shippers,” Bart lays out the case that yards, once considered mere support functions, are now strategic. He highlights that:
Trailer yards sit at the intersection of transportation, warehousing, labor, and real estate, yet most organizations treat them as tactical cost centers.
Despite large investments in warehouse technology and transportation analytics, the yard remains one of the last “dark spaces” in the supply chain with limited visibility.
Yard inefficiencies may account for a small percentage of warehousing costs, but their impact is far greater: OTIF deviations, missed service windows, idle equipment, and driver wait times that compound across volume.
The solution: Treat the yard like a system. Unify labor, assets, technology, and performance metrics, drive real-time visibility across sites, hold labor providers and equipment vendors accountable, and integrate yard operations with warehouse and transportation goals.
Key takeaway: If you operate in the food-shipper world (or any high-volume, multi-site distribution environment), the yard is not just a cost-control area. It’s a performance multiplier. Your investments in upstream and downstream tools won’t fully pay off unless the yard is integrated.
Next, in “Why Your Yard Management System (YMS) Isn’t Delivering ROI,” Bart explores why many organizations fail to see returns on their yard-technology investments. His diagnosis:
A YMS alone isn’t the answer. When deployed without the right people, processes, and accountability, technology can actually amplify underlying chaos rather than fix it.
He identifies four recurring barriers:
Fragmented operations: YMS is plugged into existing outsourced vendor models, but behaviors and structures remain unchanged.
Lack of process alignment: Without standard operating procedures, role clarity, KPIs, and enforcement, technology yields little change.
Disconnected data flows: A YMS in isolation, not integrated with TMS, WMS, or appointment systems, leaves major blind spots.
Neglected safety and sustainability outcomes: Many yard tech rollouts measure labor and move counts but ignore idle time, emissions, asset condition, and safety risks.
Operational maturity, meaning people, process, and equipment, must come first. Then technology becomes the enabler. Otherwise, the yard system is simply “software on chaos.”
Bart offers recalibration questions: Are workflows embedded day-to-day? Are processes standardized across shifts and sites? Is the yard treated as strategic, not just a cost center?
Key takeaway: Before buying or upgrading technology, ask yourself: Do we have the foundation? Are our processes ready? Is our vendor model aligned? If not, you’ll just digitize the waste.
Finally, in “Why Yard Operations Will Be Part of Every Executive Agenda in 2026,” Bart shifts the conversation. The yard moves from an operational discussion to a boardroom priority.
He introduces the concept of a Yard Operating System (YOS), a unifying framework that connects people, processes, technology, and assets across the yard network. Key points include:
Historically, yards were local services (spotting, shuttling) viewed as low-value. YMS introduced early digitization but often at the facility level and disconnected from enterprise strategy.
The YOS model aligns yard operations with enterprise objectives such as on-time delivery, cost per move, asset utilization, and emissions reduction.
Standardization across the network becomes essential: SOPs, data definitions, performance dashboards, and integrated systems. One facility performing well isn’t enough if twenty others lag behind.
Shift from reactive to proactive. Leverage telematics, IoT, and AI to anticipate bottlenecks, reassign trailers, optimize flow, and measure performance as rigorously as transportation or warehousing.
The human dimension still matters. Empowered, trained people supported by technology, not replaced by it. This means lower turnover, better safety, and consistent execution.
Sustainability and resilience are intertwined. The yard becomes a lever for ESG performance, reducing idle time, fuel use, and emissions while improving adaptability.
Key takeaway: The yard is no longer behind the scenes. For large, multi-site food shippers, tariff-sensitive retailers, or any organization managing complexity, yard operations will become a strategic lever in 2026 and beyond, visible to executives, tied to KPIs, and aligned with enterprise goals.
For us at YMX Logistics, these three articles validate and amplify our core narrative: enterprise yard operations require a 360-degree approach.
They align directly with how we position ourselves, not just as a provider of labor, equipment, or yard technology, but as an integrated partner delivering network-wide optimization, cost reduction, accountability, and sustainability.
For our customers, particularly enterprise food shippers managing large, distributed networks, the implications are clear:
Don’t treat the yard as an afterthought: Inefficiencies ripple into OTIF, customer satisfaction, cost, and emissions.
Fix the foundation before adding tech: Establish SOPs, align vendor models, integrate data flows, train your workforce, and ensure equipment is fit for purpose.
Think network-wide, not site-by-site: One well-run yard is good, but inconsistent sites still drag the entire supply chain. Standardization and visibility across all locations move the needle.
Make the yard a strategic conversation: Engage executive leadership, align KPIs with enterprise goals, and treat the yard as a value driver, not a cost center.
Embed sustainability and resilience: Idle trailers, diesel yard trucks, and unmanaged dwell time are both cost and ESG risks. The yard is the next frontier for resilience and green performance.
The arc Bart has drawn, from yard as bottleneck, to yard tech frustration, to yard as strategic asset, deserves industry attention.
In food shipping, where margins are tight, service expectations high, and network complexity intense, this shift is overdue.
At YMX Logistics, we believe the yard is one of the final frontiers in the supply chain to be optimized, and when it is, the returns are significant.
As you build your 2026 roadmap, ask yourself: Is your yard delivering the strategic value you expect?