Dimensioners at the price of a coffee per day

Case Study

How did a fulfillment center use vMeasure SKU image capture feature and eliminate chargebacks?

Industry
Fulfillment Center
Product
Automated Dimensioner

Process

Inbound Logistics
Use case
Parcel Audit
Revenue Recovery
Integration
Warehouse Management System

Case Study Summary

The client is a fulfillment center that deployed vMeasure at the receiving dock to audit parcels and protect themselves from any damage claims.
vMeasure team built custom APIs that enabled image annotation preferences and configurable units on those images.
It was now easier to provide SKU photographs as proof in case of any damage claims and recover revenue lost due to billing discrepancies because the company had accurate dimensions to bank on.

Problems faced by the Client

Decreased company’s goodwill

The customers were unhappy with the billing as they felt the rates were too expensive and inaccurate. This decreased the company’s goodwill.

Frequent damage claims

The company was getting damage claims frequently and they could not identify the source as they had inadequate documentation because of manual dimensioning.

High rate of product

The company was seeing a high rate of returns as the parcels got damaged.

Space allotment delays

There were delays in allocating storage space for incoming SKUs as the warehouse associates were predominately using manual dimensioning processes.

Misguided Put-away

SKUs went to undesirable places where it was prone to damage because of the misguided and underinformed put-away process.

Unloading schedule misses

Many trucks had to wait for unloading as most of the inbound process was manual and slow. Hence, it was difficult for the trucks to unload at their scheduled time.

Lack of scalability

As the warehouse starts growing and the order volumes increase, it would be difficult for the current legacy systems to manage such high volumes of data.

Non-compatible dimensioning solution for WMS

They could not find a suitable dimensioning solution that seamlessly integrates with the company’s WMS without demanding drastic makeovers of their existing IT systems.

Inadequate Technology

The company’s technological infrastructure at that point did not support sophisticated integrations.

Business Problems
Decreased company’s goodwill

The customers were unhappy with the billing as they felt the rates were too expensive and inaccurate. This decreased the company’s goodwill.

Frequent damage claims

The company was getting damage claims frequently and they could not identify the source as they had inadequate documentation because of manual dimensioning.

High rate of product

The company was seeing a high rate of returns as the parcels got damaged.

Logistics Problems
Space allotment delays

There were delays in allocating storage space for incoming SKUs as the warehouse associates were predominately using manual dimensioning processes.

Misguided Put-away

SKUs went to undesirable places where it was prone to damage because of the misguided and underinformed put-away process.

Unloading schedule misses

Many trucks had to wait for unloading as most of the inbound process was manual and slow. Hence, it was difficult for the trucks to unload at their scheduled time.

IT Problems
Lack of scalability

As the warehouse starts growing and the order volumes increase, it would be difficult for the current legacy systems to manage such high volumes of data.

Non-compatible dimensioning solution for WMS

They could not find a suitable dimensioning solution that seamlessly integrates with the company’s WMS without demanding drastic makeovers of their existing IT systems.

Inadequate Technology

The company’s technological infrastructure at that point did not support sophisticated integrations.

Why did the customer choose vMeasure over other dimensioners?

vMeasure covered all the product/SKU sizes which need to be dimensioned within <1 second.

The accuracy and repeatability metrics aligned with the Operations teams’ expectations.

vMeasure TeamvMeasure Team worked on a custom API that uploaded non-annotated images to the client’s desired server.

The user can configure the units and annotation preferences via the API.

The barcode trigger option helped the warehouse associate to trigger measurement with a scan.

The wireless barcode was seamlessly integrated with the dimensioner without requiring drastic software changes.

vMeasure was small and compact, leaving more space for the warehouse worker to move freely.

The device came with minimal parts and can be installed in 15 – 20 minutes.

Dimensioning Capability

vMeasure covered all the product/SKU sizes which need to be dimensioned within <1 second.

The accuracy and repeatability metrics aligned with the Operations teams’ expectations.

Software Integration

vMeasure TeamvMeasure Team worked on a custom API that uploaded non-annotated images to the client’s desired server.

The user can configure the units and annotation preferences via the API.

Easy Dimensioning Flow

The barcode trigger option helped the warehouse associate to trigger measurement with a scan.

The wireless barcode was seamlessly integrated with the dimensioner without requiring drastic software changes.

Physical Characteristics

vMeasure was small and compact, leaving more space for the warehouse worker to move freely.

The device came with minimal parts and can be installed in 15 – 20 minutes.

How did the client benefit from vMeasure parcel weigh dimensioner?

The company could now charge its customers accurately with the help of the right parcel dimensions.

The SKU image capture feature helped them protect against damage claims and pinpoint parcel damage or pilferage. As a result, the company reduced its returns.

The company was now able to reduce costs including labor costs, material costs, and the costs of potential mistakes.

Automated dimensioner enabled the business to scale further and handle more volumes of parcels.

Warehouse associates allocated less time for reverse logistics as customer returns reduced and SKU health improved because the SKU image capture enabled better quality control.

The speed of the receiving and put away process improved as the warehouse associates took less than 3 seconds for end-to-end dimensioning.

Accurate product-level dimensions went into WMS and as a result, each inbound SKU was allotted a safe storage space.

The SKU image capture feature in the inbound stage complimented picking at the outbound stage and ensured the right orders were picked by referring the image and the product dimensions.

The SKU images served as proof of the shipment’s health and receipt and saved a lot of time that would have otherwise been wasted in disputes.

Accurate measurement data provided a clear record of inbound logistics operations, making auditing and regulatory compliance easier to manage.

Streamlined record-keeping and SKU data management, leading to more efficient information retrieval through vMeasure Forge.

The admin team spent less time collaborating with other departments since they got all the billing information from the vMeasure system.

What makes vMeasure the only vMeasure parcel weigh dimensioner capable of solving your needs?

vMeasure is an highly adaptable dimensioning as a service solution which can capture the height, length, width, weight and image of the parcel/SKU in <1 second.
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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