Dispatch and Spotter Orchestration
Stop dispatching spotters by radio and guesswork
Terminal assigns the next best move automatically, by priority and proximity, so your spotters stop deadheading and your supervisors stop guessing what's urgent.
The Problem
Your spotters are idle and overworked at the same time
In most yards, spotter moves are assigned over the radio by a supervisor working from memory and instinct. Spotters drive empty across the lot to the wrong end, the genuinely urgent move waits behind a routine one, and there's no record of who did what or how long it took. You end up with spotters who are somehow both idle and overworked, and a labor line you can't explain.
The Solution
Seamless yard scheduling starts with Terminal
By replacing chaotic radio chatter with a digital command center and an intuitive, browser-based spotter app, Terminal empowers dispatchers to visually manage yard assets, digitally assign tasks, and track live workflows in real time.
FIELD GUIDE
A practical playbook for spotter management.
How dispatch and spotter orchestration works
02Urgent moves stop waiting in line
03Supervisors manage exceptions, not traffic
04Every move is on the clock
05It runs on what your yard already knows
FAQs
Here are the most common questions teams have before getting started with Terminal Dispatch and Spotter Orchestration:
How are moves assigned?
Automatically (or manually via our dispatch application), by priority and proximity, pushed to each spotter's mobile app.
What are Missions?
Terminal's orchestration engine that turns yard conditions into the next best move for each driver.
Will I be able to measure spotter productivity?
Yes. Every move is logged with duration, by shift and by site.
Does this need the full platform?
It's strongest with yard visibility, but you can start here and add modules.
Other Terminal solutions that pair well with Spotter Orchestration
I can't see what's in my yard.
YARD VISIBILITY - Know where every trailer is, in real time without tagging a single one. Terminal's Yard Visibility and Asset Inventory keeps track of where all of your material is in your yard and gives you single pane of glass reporting of all tasks from gate to dock.
Learn More0Manual Yard ChecksMy gate is a bottleneck.
GATE MANAGEMENT - Digitize gate check-in and check-out. With Terminal Gate Management, our computer vision system captures key data on trucks, chassis, trailers, and containers and uploads them before the truck stops at the gate. Check-in/out in under two minutes, no clipboard required.
Read More85%↓in Gate Processing TimeI can't prove what I shipped.
LOAD VERIFICATION documents what actually leaves the yard. With Terminal Load Verification capture seal numbers, container condition, load configuration, and BOL defeating retail chargeback fraud and producing the ISO 17712 seal record CTPAT and modern cargo insurers expect.
Read More100%Load CapturePerimeter security and cargo fraud keep me up at night.
YARD SECURITY - Verify every driver and load before it moves. Terminal Yard Security checks the driver's identity and the carrier's legitimacy against the appointment automatically, so a fraudulent pickup is stopped before it leaves.
Read MoreMaxAsset ProtectionMy dock is constantly backed-up.
CARRIER APPOINTMENT SCHEDULING - Carriers self-schedule and cut dwell. With Terminal Carrier Appointments, carriers self-book, slot appointments dynamically against real arrival times, and tie every appointment to the gate and the dock, so your doors stop sitting idle and then getting slammed.
Read More50%+↑In Yard Throughput
Your yard automation journey
starts your way
Let's discuss how Terminal can help you with your yard of the future. Start with one application and only pay for what you need. Contact us today to schedule one of the following:
30-minute demo
Needs discovery call
Yard ROI assessment
Anything else...
Powering the yards for brands large and small.
Resources
Learn more about Terminal Yard Visibility
blog
Why We Built Missions™: Turning Yard Activity into Execution.
Every operator knows the pattern: a truck arrives, maybe Steve figures out why it’s there and radios a colleague across the yard, the driver checks-in (maybe after waiting for more than an hour), then they’re assigned a dock, load or unload, and then leave.
blog
The Yard Doesn’t Have a Visibility Problem. It Has an Execution Problem. Introducing Missions™.
Terminal Industries is launching Missions™ — a new capability within its Yard Operating System™ that transforms how yard operations are planned, executed, and measured. Missions™ introduces a fundamentally different way to run the yard: not as a collection of disconnected events, but as a system of structured, real-time workflows that govern how work actually gets done. Because despite years of investment in visibility tools, integrations, and tracking systems, the yard remains one of the least controlled environments in the supply chain.
blog
Stop Trailer Hunt: Yard Management System That Works
Yards are often managed through a patchwork of radio calls, spreadsheets, manual scans, and tribal knowledge. A location may be “updated,” but only after the move. A status may be “confirmed,” but only by someone who had time to type. Within a few hours, the system of record quietly stops matching reality. Teams notice. Trust breaks. And the yard reverts to what it has always been: people chasing certainty by driving around.