Why vMeasure Dimensioning System?
Innovation Everywhere (Except at your warehouse!)
Innovation and automation are the two words we wake up to. We see robots taking the role of pickers at the warehouse. Smart solutions reveal the best way to stack multiple SKUs inside a shipping box. There are even fully automated warehouses in operation.
Yet over 80% of warehouses still do not have any automation!
An automated dimensioner is the first step towards upgrading a warehouse and leveling it with today’s industrial standards. However, for some reason, if you do not feel motivated enough to transition to automated dimensioners, here are 12 reasons to say goodbye to manual measuring and hello to vMeasure Parcel Dimensioners!
Table of Contents
12 reasons to use vMeasure Dimensioning System
Reason #1: Increased Productivity
It takes around two to three minutes and two or more warehouse associates to manually measure a medium-sized package. This number can vary based on the complexity of the actual package, but it serves as a good example. Manual dimensioning process increases labor expenses, and the warehouse will really suffer from low parcel dimensioned per hour count.
With vMeasure, one person can dimension any shaped SKUs within less than a second! That is 120 times faster than manual dimensioning.
Assuming the end-to-end automated dimensioning takes 5 seconds, the warehouse associates could measure 24 more boxes in the two minutes spent on manual measurement on one box!
vMeasure is not just restricted to the warehouse walls, but we are also on the desk of the finance team! Check out how we reduced the manual bill reconciliation time from 7 days to 20 minutes for a premium sanitaryware manufacturer.
Reason #2: Improved Accuracy
Even a slight error in package dimensions would hurt a company’s financials when the carrier sends the revised invoice. That is why accuracy matters!
Accuracy translates to the right package selection at the outbound station. Accuracy becomes the ease of handling goods and avoiding any surprises in that regard at a carrier’s place. Accuracy is the peace of mind you get when the carrier bills your shipment exactly for what it is. And you would be wrong to expect that from manual dimensioning.
vMeasure can dimension anything from an envelope to a refrigerator with 0.2-inch accuracy. Any measurement that comes out of vMeasure will become the single source of truth that the entire supply chain industry believes in!
Reason #3: Cost-savings
Imagine spending 30% less on warehouse rent and 20% less on shipping. You could make it true by using a dimensioning and weighing system.
You could plan your warehouse space using the right product dimensions so that every square foot gives immense value to your operations. Hence, you can store more SKUs without needing to rent a larger space unnecessarily.
Accurate dimensions will also make your shipping expenses predictable and because you give the right product measurements, your carrier will be more than happy to sign favorable contract rates because you make their job easier!
Reason #4: Enhanced Customer Satisfaction
The fast-paced ecommerce world will never let your warehouse operations slow down. A warehouse manager will be worried about getting more parcels out the door, especially during peak season.
Customers want fast shipping and are willing to pay extra for it. So, time is of the essence.
With vMeasure, scan any parcel in <1 second and increase the throughput rate by 30%. It speeds up the rate at which the product goes from the warehouse to the customer’s place. Moreover, the products do not get damaged during transit since the truckload would be optimized to ensure SKU safety as well.
Manual dimensioning can never help you achieve this level of speed.
Reason #5: Compliance with Shipping regulations
Manual dimensions are just assumptions that are most likely to blow up into a bigger problem when the shipment reaches the carrier.
For instance, a shipper assumes the load is within the allowable weight of a carrier but at the last moment, it turns out to be false. As a result, the carrier penalizes the shipper or in some cases, even rejects the shipment.
So, there’s a high possibility of the shipment getting delayed and not reaching customers on time.
However, with an automated dimensioner, there’s no guesswork. You know what you ship, and the carrier knows what enters their network.
Reason #6: Integration Capabilities
A system working in isolation is a system that doesn’t exist! Multiple software solutions need to pull up data from other systems to do their own functions.
It is impossible to integrate product dimensions and other information from the manual dimensioning process with other systems like Order Management System, Transportation Management System, and Warehouse Management System.
vMeasure solves that problem for you. With features such as webhooks and filehooks, the device lets you push the dimensional data, and any other information you wish to capture, to the WMS, TMS, or OMS.
You can also integrate with other multi-carrier shipping softwares and rate shop within the vMeasure Parcel Ultima Touchscreen.
Check out how one of our customers automated data entries using vMeasure + UPS WorldShip integration.
Reason #7: Improved Warehouse Management
Warehouses that use an automated dimensioner see an average of 6.7% increase in the inventory accuracy rate and a 5.8% reduction in carrying costs.
Imagine running your warehouse using a manual dimensioning process. The shelves would be packed with items that are too small for them or a large rack with tiny SKUs that is too large for them.
This will decrease the warehouse space utilization rate and restricts the number of SKUs you can store. Also, inaccurate dimensions from manual measurements affect the core operations of the warehouse starting from slotting to picking.
With an automated dimensioner, you can increase the usable space, create SKU-specific racks, and increase inventory stored per sq ft.
Reason #8: Improved communication with carriers and partners
With an automated dimensioner, the quality of carrier and partner relationships increases because you give them what they want the most—accurate dimensions.
A carrier will readily offer the best rates because they know what type and volume of shipments to expect from your company. This will help them prep the right equipment and deploy special handling requirements if there is a need to handle those shipments.
Reason #9: Improved Environmental Sustainability
The supply chain impacts more than 80% of the global CO2 emissions. With consumers shifting towards more sustainable options, companies are duly reacting to align with the consumers’ interests.
However, many online orders still go out in oversized boxes, leading to excessive packaging and the use of void fills. Apart from increasing the shipping costs, it generates a lot of material waste. Moreover, trucks with oversized packages need to make additional trips, consuming more fuel than necessary. And about 17 trees need to be put down to manufacture one ton of corrugated cardboard.
With accurate dimensions, you can right-size the parcels and avoid material wastage while decreasing packing expenses. This change will ripple across the chain as more parcels will go inside trucks, eliminating additional trips and exorbitant fuel consumption.
Companies will traverse the sustainability fastlane and achieve their ESG goals faster just by optimizing their packages using the right DIMs.
Reason #10: Reduced risk of Chargebacks and Fines
Shippers will spend almost 9 hours disputing a chargeback with their carriers. That is because the only proof is their words, and it is as good as no proof at all.
With the vMeasure automated dimension system, a shipper can drastically cut down the process to minutes. All they need is the annotated SKU image containing the SKU dimensions along with the date and time of measurement from vMeasure.
This will be undisputable evidence and eliminate all the time and resources spent on handling numerous chargebacks and fines.
Reason #11: Reduced risk of delivery delays
Imagine the reduction in time and resources when a SKU is organized and is at its appropriate place on the warehouse shelf. The picker takes very less time to pick an order since there is no confusion in locating the SKU in question.
Likewise, less time is spent on choosing the right package for that order as the WMS gives the best package that can minimize packing material and empty space. Therefore, the packer does not need to manually try out a couple of packing options before arriving at a choice hoping it is the right one.
Finally, no confusion shall arise in the loading bay as the staff knows exactly what truck to call and the optimal loading sequence to make the best use of the truck’s capacity.
All the saved time and resources will reduce delivery delays which will eventually turn into cost-savings, better utilization of available resources, quicker order fulfillment, and happy customers.
Reason #12: Improved efficiency for parcel auditing
How many times did your warehouse receive damage claims? And in how many of the damage reports were you able to track and identify the damage source? Warehouses using legacy systems and manual dimensioning processes often have no idea of where and why their SKUs get damaged. Moreover, it is difficult to assess inventory status and conduct extensive audits manually.
With vMeasure’s SKU image capture and robust cloud-based solution, it becomes easier to maintain records of a parcel’s health across various stages inside the warehouse and this will serve as proof to dispute damage claims and identify damage sources.
Catch up! It’s already too late
An automated dimensioner isn’t a luxury but a necessity. It is a key driver of growth in your warehouse operations. And we have just given you 13 reasons why an automated dimensioning system should be with your business.
In the end, an automated dimensioner is not a mere tool but a ticket to smoother operations, more savings, and happier customers. If you don’t want to get left behind in this tech-powered world, it’s time to take the leap.
Make every measurement count with vMeasure!
