027 - The 6 Phases of Marshaling Yard Operations (Part 1)

Your truck is "in line." Great. Which line?

At a big trade show, that's not a silly question. Freight can wait in several lines before it ever reaches your booth.

In this episode 027 clip, Chris and Khalil sit down with logistics expert Martin Laurel. He lays out the six phases of the marshaling yard, then digs into the first one.

What Is a Marshaling Yard?

A marshaling yard is a staging lot near a show venue. Trucks delivering directly to the show have to check in there, get weighed, and wait to be sent to the loading docks.

It keeps thousands of trucks from jamming the streets around the venue. It also adds time to every delivery.

The Six Phases at a Glance

Martin breaks them down like this:

1. Get in line. The truck shows up and waits its turn to enter the yard.
2. Enter and weigh in. The truck gets weighed inside the yard.
3. Get a dispatch number. The truck is placed on a waiting list in the yard.
4. Get dispatched. The truck heads to the venue, then waits for an open dock.
5. Offload. Freight comes off the truck.
6. Weigh out. The truck returns to the yard for an "empty weight."

That's a lot of steps for one delivery. Did you know your freight was doing all that?

Think of It Like a Friday Night Restaurant

Khalil compared it to checking into a busy hotel. Valet line, lobby line, elevator line.

Chris had a better one. Picture a Friday night restaurant with a 75 minute wait:

• You get your buzzer and wait outside.
• You get called, but it's "just a minute more," so you move to the lounge.
• Finally, they show you to your table.

Swap the table for a loading dock and you've got it. Thankfully, restaurants don't weigh you on the way in.

Chris is based in Orlando, so he added another one. It's a lot like a theme park. You queue everywhere you go.

How Long Does It Take?

Khalil asked the obvious question. Martin called it a loaded one. Two big things affect wait time:

• Show size. A show like CES has thousands of exhibitors. A small regional show might have a couple hundred.
• How many ship to the advance warehouse. Freight sent to the general contractor's warehouse ahead of time skips the marshaling yard. The more people do that, the shorter the lines.

Exhibitor count doesn't match truck count, either. Some trucks carry several exhibitors' freight. Some exhibitors need several trucks.

Phase 1: The Free-for-All

Martin calls phase one the free-for-all. It's first come, first served.

Some drivers show up a day or two early and park at the front. Others trickle in late and land at the back.

Experience matters a lot here. A driver who knows the drill gets a head start. A driver new to trade shows may end up waiting all day.

Targets Change the Order

Most people don't know this next part. Many shows schedule move-in by booth space or zone. These are called targets.

So being first in line doesn't guarantee you go first. If your target is tomorrow, you may be held. A driver behind you with today's target might get waved ahead.

Who decides? A traffic person in a golf cart drives the full line.

They check each driver's freight, booth number, exhibitor, and target. Then they decide who moves up and who stays put.

Ask the Right Question

Exhibit houses and labor teams call drivers all the time for updates. But in phase one, a driver can't tell you much.

Martin explains that companies like his, known as exhibitor appointed contractors or EACs, need to know what to ask. The best quick question: "What's your dispatch number?"

No dispatch number? Then the truck isn't officially in the yard yet. Now you can estimate how long it'll really take.

How Long Is Too Long?

The first truck in line might be unloaded in a couple of hours. The last one could wait 10 to 12 hours, depending on the show.

Dock space is another bottleneck. Many Las Vegas venues don't have built-in ramps, so they use portable ones, three to five at a time. At the venue once known as the Sands Expo, only three or four trucks may unload at once.

Is a Truck Guaranteed to Unload That Day?

Not always. If the truck is part of the current target and checked in on time, Martin expects it to unload.

If it's checked in but not on target, it'll likely move to the next day. And if all of today's targets are in by, say, 2:00 p.m., the yard may start pulling tomorrow's targets early.

The Big Money Lesson

Khalil connected the dots. Get the arrival right and you could save a full day of a driver sitting still.

That's why so many companies aim for the advance warehouse. It means you aren't stuck waiting on a truck when it's time to install.

Marshaling Yard Takeaways

• Do we know if we're shipping direct or to the warehouse?
• What is our target date and time?
• Is our carrier experienced with trade shows?
• Do we have the driver's phone number?
• Do we know to ask for the dispatch number?

Part 2 covers weigh-in, dispatch, and what happens when freight goes missing. Watch the six phases of marshaling yard operations, part 2. Or hear the full talk in episode 027: understanding the marshaling yard with Martin Laurel.