SMS in Automotive Production: Directing Trucks to the Right Gate at the Right Time

In vehicle production, material supply runs just in sequence: parts must be at the line exactly when they are needed. Dozens of trucks from various carriers arrive at the plant every day. Many drivers don't know the site, speak different languages, and only find out at the gatehouse which gate they should go to.
The consequences: queues at the entrance, trucks at the wrong gate, and long wait times. Short-notice changes, such as an occupied gate or a rescheduled time slot, often don't reach the drivers at all. If material is missing at the critical moment, the line may come to a standstill in the worst case.

The plant's yard management system is connected via the LOX24 SMS API. As soon as a truck is registered, the driver automatically receives an SMS with the gate, time slot, and directions. An SMS reaches any mobile phone, with no app, no data connection, and even for drivers from abroad.

If anything changes, the system sends an update immediately: "Please use Gate 7 instead of Gate 4" or "Time slot moved to 10:30 a.m." A reminder arrives shortly before arrival, and once the gate is free, the call to enter follows. Via a dedicated inbound number, the driver confirms by reply SMS, and dispatch sees the confirmation directly in the system.