Dimensioners at the price of a coffee per day

Case Study

How did a fulfillment center manage customer shipping charges through accurate dimensioning with the vMeasure DWS System?

Industry
Fulfillment center
Product
Static Parcel Dimensioner

Process

Inbound & Outbound Process
Use case
Efficient slotting & space management
Shipping Cost Reduction
Integration
Warehouse Management System

Case Study Summary

The client is a fulfillment center providing same-day to 2-day delivery. They deployed vMeasure both in the packing and receiving stations to capture the volume occupied by a case and reduce shipping costs by providing accurate dimensions.

vMeasure Static Parcel Dimensioner enabled customized workflows that captured product attributes like fragility and special handling requirements to enable appropriate slotting measures.

The client has now improved slotting mechanisms and warehouse space utilization enabled by the volume data captured in the inbound stage. Their customers are also protected from unnecessary surcharges as our client provides accurate shipping charges.

Problems faced by the Client

Lost revenue

The company lost revenue since its warehouse space was underutilized because it did not have the actual volume occupied by an inbound case (The client billed clients on the volume occupied in the warehouse)

SKU damage

SKU damage was common, as their WMS couldn’t help slot items at the right place without accurate SKU dimensions and attributes

Increased packaging costs

The company spent more on packaging since the orders went out in oversized boxes because they couldn’t get the right DIMs.

Slightly oversized boxes

The orders usually went out in slightly oversized boxes, increasing dunnage and further adding to the shipping costs and surcharges.

Reduced picking efficiency

Picking efficiency was reduced because the slotting mechanism was unoptimized during the inbound stage.

Delays in loading the trucks

Absence of a simple picking process further led to delays in loading the trucks. Thus, the company could not meet its promised delivery deadline.

Lack of eCommerce friendly solution

The company did not have a suitable solution to handle eCommerce orders

Sparse resource for complex integration

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

Insufficient space

There was insufficient space for an additional desktop for rate shopping if the dimensioner was installed

Business Problems
Lost revenue

The company lost revenue since its warehouse space was underutilized because it did not have the actual volume occupied by an inbound case (The client billed clients on the volume occupied in the warehouse)

SKU damage

SKU damage was common, as their WMS couldn’t help slot items at the right place without accurate SKU dimensions and attributes

Increased packaging costs

The company spent more on packaging since the orders went out in oversized boxes because they couldn’t get the right DIMs.

Logistics Problems
Slightly oversized boxes

The orders usually went out in slightly oversized boxes, increasing dunnage and further adding to the shipping costs and surcharges.

Reduced picking efficiency

Picking efficiency was reduced because the slotting mechanism was unoptimized during the inbound stage.

Delays in loading the trucks

Absence of a simple picking process further led to delays in loading the trucks. Thus, the company could not meet its promised delivery deadline.

IT Problems
Lack of eCommerce friendly solution

The company did not have a suitable solution to handle eCommerce orders

Sparse resource for complex integration

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

Insufficient space

There was insufficient space for an additional desktop for rate shopping if the dimensioner was installed

Why did the customer choose vMeasure Dimensioning Weighing Scanning - DWS System to solve the above logistics problems?

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

The accuracy and repeatability metrics aligned with the Operations teams' expectation

vMeasure enabled easy integration with their WMS and barcode scanner. The barcode scanner was used as a trigger for measuring the inbound SKUs. This allowed them to improve pack speed as the warehouse associate needn’t interact with the touch screen for each measurement

The captured SKU dimensions were automatically set to clear after 3 seconds to limit the additional step of manually clearing the measurement before proceeding to another

The UI was customized to include a field that could capture the SKU attributes, which was then pushed to the WMS

The volumetric weight was displayed along with the SKU dimensions

vMeasure Dimensioner was small and compact, fitting right into the packing station

The touch screen allowed the system to work standalone without needing a separate computer/laptop, thereby saving packing station space

Dimensioning Capability

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

The accuracy and repeatability metrics aligned with the Operations teams' expectation

Software Integration

vMeasure enabled easy integration with their WMS and barcode scanner. The barcode scanner was used as a trigger for measuring the inbound SKUs. This allowed them to improve pack speed as the warehouse associate needn’t interact with the touch screen for each measurement

The captured SKU dimensions were automatically set to clear after 3 seconds to limit the additional step of manually clearing the measurement before proceeding to another

On-Screen Customization

The UI was customized to include a field that could capture the SKU attributes, which was then pushed to the WMS

The volumetric weight was displayed along with the SKU dimensions

Physical Characteristics

vMeasure Dimensioner was small and compact, fitting right into the packing station

The touch screen allowed the system to work standalone without needing a separate computer/laptop, thereby saving packing station space

Benefits accrued by the client by using the vMeasure DWS System

The company was able to make better use of its warehouse space since the WMS had accurate DIMs and product attributes for slotting

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

The throughput rate in the receiving station increased since the staff felt it easy to measure inbound SKUs

The company’s profitability grew as it lowered shipping costs with zero capital outlay

The pick and pack time was reduced by 30% because of the efficient slotting mechanism in the inbound stage

The SKU attributes were visible to the picker. Therefore, additional caution was given to that order during pick if the SKU called for it

Warehouse staff could push accurate dimensions to the shipping software easily

Reduced the efforts needed to dimension the parcel as it entered the warehouse

Reduced the time and resources spent on carrier chargebacks as the team shared accurate DIMs

Improved SKU safety during the put-away process since the WMS had SKU attributes to slot items at appropriate places

The team knew the volume of each item which enabled better warehouse space planning and utilization

The company could now rely on its records and data because of the accurate information derived from vMeasure

What makes vMeasure the only DWS System capable of solving your needs?

vMeasure is a highly adaptable dimensioning-as-a-service solution that can capture the height, length, width, weight, and image of the parcel/SKU in <1 second. With an ability to dimension anything from envelopes to refrigerators using three different mount heights/modes (Small Sku Mode, White goods mode, All Parcel mode), Check out the complete dimensioning range in the interactive below
vMeasure Parcel Ultima Specifications
Minimum Dimensions
(L – W – H​)
1.2 x 1.2 x 0.8 in*
3 x 3 x 2 cm
(* For items below 0.8 inches in height, a special envelope base plate is required)
Maximum Dimensions
(L – W – H​)
39.4 x 29.5 x 17.7 in​
100 x 75 x 45 cm
Accuracy
Cubes/Cuboids – 0.2 in / 0.5 cm​
Other Objects – 0.4 in / 1 cm
Mounted on
Table / Mobile Cart / Mechanical Conveyor
Data captured
  • Annotated SKU/Parcel image​
  • Additional SKU/Parcel image​
  • Custom fields for additional data capture during measurement
* For items below 0.8 inches in height, a special envelope base plate is required​
vMeasure Parcel Ultima Specifications
Minimum Dimensions
(L – W – H​)
2 x 2 x 2 in​
5 x 5 x 5 cm
Maximum Dimensions
(L – W – H​)
53.1 x 41.3 x 33.5 in
135 x 105 x 85 cm
Accuracy
0.4 in / 1 cm
Mounted on
Table / Mobile Cart / Mechanical Conveyor
Data captured
  • Annotated image
  • Multiple angles of SKU/Parcel
  • Custom fields for additional data capture during measurement​
vMeasure Parcel Ultima Specifications
Minimum Dimensions
(L – W – H​)
3.9 x 3.9 x 3.9 in​
10 x 10 x 10 cm
Maximum Dimensions
(L – W – H​)
78.7 x 59.1 x 55.1 in​
200 x 150 x 140 cm
Accuracy
0.6 in / 1.5 cm​
Mounted on
Floor / Mechanical Conveyor
Data captured
  • Annotated image
  • Multiple angles of SKU/Parcel
  • Custom fields for additional data capture during measurement

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