Overview
An instant grocery delivery service was receiving around 10,000 new SKUs every month across its fulfillment centers. Before those SKUs could move through the warehouse, operators had to measure them, collect product attributes, and prepare the information for the item master in the WMS.
Most of this work was done manually. As the number of new SKUs increased, the receiving process required more measurement and data-entry work.
The company installed vMeasure automated parcel dimensioning systems at its receiving stations to capture dimensions, collect required product attributes, and send the data to its WMS.
How was the grocery operation handling 10,000 new SKUs each month?
Operators measured incoming SKUs by hand and recorded the product information needed for the item master.
They also had to capture dimensions for different packaging levels, including individual units and outer cases. This meant repeating measurement and data-entry steps before each new SKU was ready for use in the WMS.
At around 10,000 new SKUs a month, that was a lot of manual work to repeat at receiving.
Why did manual SKU dimensioning become difficult at this volume?
Every new SKU added another set of measurements and product details for operators to capture. The products also came in different sizes and shapes, which made it harder to keep the measurement process consistent.
Measurement and data entry happened in separate steps. If the dimensional information was incomplete or inconsistent, the same data was then used by downstream processes such as slotting, storage planning, and cartonization.
The company needed a simpler way to collect this information while the SKU was still at the receiving station.
How did vMeasure Parcel Ultima change the SKU onboarding process?
The company installed vMeasure Parcel Ultima at its receiving stations and integrated it with the WMS. The system handled approximately 95% of the product and SKU sizes processed by the operation and captured dimensions in less than one second.
The SKU onboarding workflow changed to:
- Operators placed the SKU within the camera’s field of view.
- vMeasure Parcel Ultima captured the SKU dimensions in less than one second, including irregular SKUs positioned within the field of view.
- Operators collected the required product attributes through the custom workflow.
- They selected either inner-pack or outer-case dimensions directly from the measurement screen.
- Once the required information was captured, vMeasure Parcel Ultima sent the data to the WMS.
This workflow removed the need for an additional desktop or laptop during parcel dimensioning and kept dimension capture, product attribute collection, and WMS data transfer within the same SKU onboarding process.
What changed before and after vMeasure?
| Before vMeasure | After vMeasure |
|---|---|
|
Operators measured SKUs manually. |
Parcel dimensions were captured automatically. |
|
Product attributes were collected through separate steps. |
Dimensions and required product attributes were captured in the same workflow. |
|
Operators repeated the process for different packaging levels. |
Inner-pack and outer-case dimensions were selected directly from the measurement screen. |
|
An additional computer was used during data entry. |
Operators captured the required data without an additional desktop or laptop. |
|
Item data had to be prepared before it could be used in the WMS. |
Captured measurement data was sent directly to the integrated WMS. |
What improved after automating parcel dimensioning?
The receiving process became easier to manage because operators no longer had to rely on repeated manual measurement and separate data-entry steps for every new SKU.
More consistent item master data also gave the WMS better dimensional information for slotting, storage planning, and cartonization.
On the administrative side, vMeasure Forge brought measurement records into one place and helped the company manage vMeasure Parcel Ultima devices across its fulfillment centers.
Talk to the dimensioning experts
Explore how vMeasure Parcel dimensioner fits into your parcel measurement workflow.
Book a demo to discuss a similar setup for your operation.
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