The problem

Kestrel moves freight through 40 cross-dock hubs. Every morning, yard leads planned the day on a whiteboard and spent the rest of it on the radio. Trucks queued at the gate while doors stood empty, and nobody could see why.

What I did

I spent the first six weeks in the yards: 18 site visits, 42 interviews with dispatchers and drivers, and a lot of standing next to the gate. The pattern was clear — the plan lived in one person’s head and broke the moment a truck was late.

We designed a live yard map that shows every truck, door and pallet, and a dock scheduler that re-plans itself when something slips. Drivers check in from their phone, get a door and a time, and leave with digital paperwork.

The result

Dwell time fell by 31% in the first quarter. The scheduler now runs at 40 hubs, and the whiteboards have quietly come down.