Georgia-Pacific digitises yard operations at 28 sites

Georgia-Pacific has deployed automated yard management technology at 28 manufacturing facilities in the United States, replacing manual gate processes with digital vehicle identification, trailer tracking, and connections to its enterprise systems. The project, developed with logistics technology provider project44, has reduced the time drivers spend completing gate procedures and improved visibility of equipment movements within industrial sites.

Georgia-Pacific manufactures building products, tissue, packaging, and consumer goods through an extensive production and distribution network. Its logistics operations handle large numbers of inbound and outbound freight movements, requiring vehicles to move between factory entrances, trailer staging areas, loading facilities, and the wider road network.

Before the automation programme, vehicle check-in relied heavily on paperwork, manual confirmation of load assignments, and telephone communication. Drivers typically spent between five and ten minutes completing the procedure, while gate personnel checked documentation and established whether the vehicle was authorised to enter or leave.

Tracking trailer movements within the yard created further difficulties. Personnel often relied on radio communication and knowledge accumulated by individual workers to establish the location of equipment. Inconsistent records made it harder to determine where trailers were positioned and how long they had remained at a particular facility.

The resulting delays could affect transport scheduling beyond the factory boundary. A vehicle held at the gate remains unavailable for its next planned movement, while a misplaced trailer or an unconfirmed load assignment can interrupt the sequence of collection and delivery operations inside the site.

Georgia-Pacific worked with project44 to redesign these processes, beginning with its manufacturing facility at Sweetwater, Texas. The implementation introduced driver self-service, electronic gate controls, and a central yard management system before the approach was extended to additional locations.

Drivers can complete check-in through a digital process designed to reduce the need for manual interaction at the gate. Self-service kiosks and in-cab arrangements allow relevant information to be captured while gate employees concentrate on exceptions requiring additional investigation.

Gate authorisation is connected to load-assignment information held in SAP. The integration allows the system to confirm whether a departing vehicle has the appropriate assignment, introducing a control that prevents unauthorised departures from proceeding through the normal exit process.

The project44 yard management system provides a central record of vehicle and trailer activity. Arrivals, departures, and movements within the site can be associated with equipment information, allowing operations teams to maintain a more consistent view of the yard than was possible through paper records and informal tracking.

Spotter drivers move trailers between staging positions and loading locations as required by manufacturing and distribution activity. Access to current equipment position information can improve the coordination of these movements, while voice communication remains part of the operating process where necessary.

The yard management system also connects physical movements with the enterprise records used to organise freight. When a trailer reaches a loading area or leaves the facility, the recorded event can support the corresponding administrative and operational processes without requiring separate manual reconstruction.

Georgia-Pacific has incorporated Snowflake data technology into the wider system architecture, supporting the collection and analysis of large numbers of yard events. The information enables the company to examine gate throughput, trailer dwell periods, and equipment movements across multiple facilities.

During 2026, the live network has recorded more than 114,000 driver check-ins and approximately 274,000 spotter and equipment movements. Georgia-Pacific reports an average of more than 5,100 gate events each week across the 28 manufacturing sites using the technology.

Those records provide a basis for comparing activity between facilities and identifying recurring sources of delay. The information can show how vehicle arrivals vary throughout the day, how long equipment remains within the yard, and whether handling activity is aligned with the transport movements scheduled for the site.

At Sweetwater, average driver check-in time has fallen to one minute and 42 seconds. Check-out averages 11.8 seconds, compared with the previous manual process in which drivers could spend several minutes completing gate formalities.

Across its reported results, Georgia-Pacific identifies a 66% reduction in check-in and check-out processing time. The improvement is associated with replacing manual verification and paperwork with automated controls, while the company continues to manage exceptions and transport requirements through its operations teams.

Shorter gate processing times allow vehicles to complete the administrative stages of a visit more quickly. The benefit depends on the wider yard operation remaining capable of handling the vehicles, because loading capacity, trailer availability, and internal traffic conditions also influence how long a truck stays at a manufacturing facility.

Georgia-Pacific estimates that the project has recovered approximately 12,540 driver hours. It values that time at between $600,000 and $1 million, using hourly detention rates ranging from $50 to $75. These are company estimates based on recovered time rather than independently established cash savings of the same amount.

Safety improvements are another part of the implementation. Driver self-service reduces the need for personnel to leave their cabs near active yard traffic, while electronic departure controls address the risk of vehicles leaving without an authorised assignment.

The operating model has been extended beyond the initial Sweetwater facility to manufacturing locations producing gypsum, lumber, plywood, and plaster. These sites have different production processes and freight handling characteristics, requiring a common technology approach to be configured around their individual yard arrangements.

Standardised gate procedures and event records allow the company to compare performance across different facilities. Local variations remain necessary where the type of cargo, vehicle movements, loading arrangements, or physical yard layout affects how the system is used.

Georgia-Pacific intends to expand the deployment to 40 sites. It also plans to quantify additional results covering trailer dwell time, spotter efficiency, staffing requirements, and gate throughput by the end of 2026.

The 28-site operation has already produced a substantial record of driver and equipment movements. Its expansion will extend the use of automated gate controls and yard visibility across more manufacturing facilities, while the accumulated operating data will support further assessment of transport delays and internal handling performance.