Dimensioners at the price of a coffee per day

Case Study

How did a Vehicle parts distributor save on Shipping with the vMeasure Dimensioner machine?

Industry
Vehicle parts distributor
Product
Static Parcel Dimensioner

Process

Inbound Process
Use case
Updating Item master Data
Shipping cost Reduction
Integration
Warehouse Management System

Case Study Summary

The client is a vehicle parts distributor for premium and performance cars. They deployed vMeasure at the receiving station to dimension vehicle parts as they entered the warehouse.

vMeasure Dimensioner machine provided a special QR code in its touch screen, which the mobile app-based WMS system used to capture data through the QR code decoding facility. The dimensioning data was then stored in the client’s item master data.

The client can now create the right packaging for the vehicle parts based on the accurate dimensions and maintain a clean item master in their WMS system.

Problems faced by the Client

Wrong-sized packages

Wrong-sized packages were used for different-sized SKUs because of incorrect dimensions.

Calibration

Because of wrong packaging, the calibration of the high-performance motor parts was damaged. This led to longer repair times for their customers (Auto Service centers).

Wrong dimensions

Wrong dimensions, especially on similar parts, lead to bad item master data.

Decreased packing efficiency

Because of wrong packaging, the customer must do increased quality checks at the shipping station leading to decreased packing efficiency

Wrong item master data

Wrong item master data led to wrong dimensions being sent for packaging, and as a result, oversized boxes increased shipping charges.

Quality control activities

The staff had to do extra quality control activities at the outbound leading to lower throughput at the packaging station.

Integration capabilities

While the current mobile-enabled WMS was perfectly adequate for their operations, it lacked integration capabilities.

Complex integration

The IT team could not provide the resource to handle complex integration for the logistics team.

WMS were fully mobile

The client’s WMS were fully mobile on their tablets.

Business Problems
Wrong-sized packages

Wrong-sized packages were used for different-sized SKUs because of incorrect dimensions.

Calibration

Because of wrong packaging, the calibration of the high-performance motor parts was damaged. This led to longer repair times for their customers (Auto Service centers).

Wrong dimensions

Wrong dimensions, especially on similar parts, lead to bad item master data.

Logistics Problems
Decreased packing efficiency

Because of wrong packaging, the customer must do increased quality checks at the shipping station leading to decreased packing efficiency

Wrong item master data

Wrong item master data led to wrong dimensions being sent for packaging, and as a result, oversized boxes increased shipping charges.

Quality control activities

The staff had to do extra quality control activities at the outbound leading to lower throughput at the packaging station.

IT Problems
Integration capabilities

While the current mobile-enabled WMS was perfectly adequate for their operations, it lacked integration capabilities.

Complex integration

The IT team could not provide the resource to handle complex integration for the logistics team.

WMS were fully mobile

The client’s WMS were fully mobile on their tablets.

Why did the customer choose vMeasure dimensioner machine to solve the above logistics problems?

vMeasure Dimensioner covers all the major SKU sizes which need to be dimensioned

The accuracy and repeatability metrics were in-line with the Operations teams' expectation

Provided a workaround for the integration with the warehouse management system. Also, vMeasure was integrated with the client’s own weighing scale

Provided a scannable QR code that produced data in a WMS friendly format so its camera system could read, decipher, and upload into the item master

Customized the screen to make the QR code visible

The QR code was embedded with all the data required by the WMS in the prescribed format

vMeasure Dimensioner was small and compact

The difference was as much as 60% from vMeasure’s next economical option

Dimensioning Capability

vMeasure Dimensioner covers all the major SKU sizes which need to be dimensioned

The accuracy and repeatability metrics were in-line with the Operations teams' expectation

Software Integration

Provided a workaround for the integration with the warehouse management system. Also, vMeasure was integrated with the client’s own weighing scale

Provided a scannable QR code that produced data in a WMS friendly format so its camera system could read, decipher, and upload into the item master

On-Screen Customization

Customized the screen to make the QR code visible

The QR code was embedded with all the data required by the WMS in the prescribed format

Physical Characteristics

vMeasure Dimensioner was small and compact

The difference was as much as 60% from vMeasure’s next economical option

Benefits accrued by the client by using vMeasure dimensioner machine

Lower carbon emissions because of reduced shipping volume

Improved customer experience as the products went into right-size packages and the items were not damaged

Verify the quality of the inbound SKU through SKU photograph at inbound stage

The company could see the variety of SKU sizes which helped them optimize packaging and lower costs

Reduced risk of using inaccurate data for shipping or data management entered manually