When the US advertising executive Fred R. Barnard coined the phrase, ‘a picture is worth a thousand words’ he couldn’t have dreamt that 100 years later, this same concept could be applied to supply chain execution. Yet the immediate impact an image delivers is exactly why Machine Vision technology is such a practical investment for logistics operations. Useful in so many settings and for a large range of applications, by automatically capturing images at high speeds, a Machine Vision solution takes away the need for high volume (and infinitely tedious) individual barcode scanning.
Jeffrey Verberne, Business Consultant at Zetes explains how ZetesMedea ImageID can solve common warehouse challenges and why it’s so useful to business users.
Can you avoid the tedium of mass barcode scanning?
Reading and capturing barcodes is a well-established technology used in almost every warehouse around the world. It’s cheap, easy to do on an ordinary device and very accurate, but every single barcode needs to be captured individually. A solution based on machine vision takes away this time-consuming component and in the warehouse environment, generates ‘a picture that’s potentially worth many hundreds of scans’. Without the cost implications of introducing RFID. Imagine a pallet loaded with hundreds of boxes, each marked individually with a barcode that needs reading. Machine vision technology captures all these barcodes simultaneously, in seconds, delivering a huge efficiency gain.
Provided there is a line of sight to read every barcode on a pallet or consignment, multiple barcodes are instantly and simultaneously captured. Deliveries can be checked into and out of the warehouse automatically, without any need for operator involvement. It is an ideal solution for both inbound and outbound logistics.
How can ImageID sharpen your warehouse execution?
Let’s consider the many different applications where ImageID has transformed warehouse operations for leading businesses.
Loading Verification. Warehouses dedicate huge levels of resources to picking and building the perfect pallet, but what happens if the delivery goes to the wrong location, because there were no checks in place at the dock door? Beer manufacturer Budvar uses ImageID to monitor and control the correct loading of pallets, alerting truck drivers to any errors. It means that actually load their own trucks independently, minimising errors and saving time.
A solution based on machine vision takes away this time-consuming component and in the warehouse environment, generates ‘a picture that’s potentially worth many hundreds of scans’.
Autonomous (or Automated) shipment verification. Warehouses can receive goods more quickly because ImageID will automatically check delivery vehicle credentials; confirm that items in a consignment are correct and potentially trigger an alarm to alert operatives about errors. It can also capture an image showing the condition of goods being delivered as a final quality verification. Tyre manufacturer Continental uses ImageID powered gate control to automate goods receiving, saving 1 minute per scanned pallet and achieving a 25 percent productivity increase.
Mass serial number reading. Highly regulated industries, like pharma, alcohol, tobacco and luxury food manufacturing, use serialisation to assign each product unit with a unique identifier. This is required to comply with track and trace legislation like FMD, TPD or to verify the genuine provenance of high value goods. Rather than track this at the picking stage, ImageID allows serialised barcodes to be captured in bulk before dispatch or during goods receiving, with compliance reports sent directly to regulators. Pharma distributor Tedis is using ImageID to perform a mass reading of decommissioned products with no manual intervention required. Operators can position any number of boxes containing out of commission medications under the camera for automatic verification.
Quality built into each process
Using ImageID allows an extra quality check to very easily be built into every day, manual logistics processes. Wherever there are people involved in any warehouse process to complete routine checks and balances, ImageID has an application. Whether that’s instant dock door audits to correct errors before they become costly mistakes, controlling the flow of restricted goods to prevent theft or counterfeiting, or conducting unattended delivery verifications. It’s easy to visualise the immediate impact that automating the mass capture of barcodes can have and ImageID is a flexible solution to do this job.