7 ways logistics solution providers and dimensioning experts can work together to change the warehouse.

When it comes to warehouses, logistics providers and dimensioning experts go hand in hand. However, cubing or dimensioning solutions have changed the game regarding lowering shipping, particularly in light of the present COVID -19 situation.

Today’s major shipping companies, including FedEx, UPS, and USPS, altered their charges based on parcel dimensions rather than weight. As a result, data collection is aided by cubing or dimensioning methods, and the proportions of product transportation costs can be estimated with much more precision. Additionally, producers, distributors, and retailers are struggling to keep up with the rising internet demand for necessities like clothing, protective gear, medicine, and electrical equipment to survive in the market.

Why is warehousing critical to logistics?

An important component of logistics is warehousing. It controls the movement and storage of stocks, maintains a balance between commodity supply and demand, and contributes to profitability in various ways. Therefore, the warehousing and shipping functions must be well-aligned and collaborative for greater efficiency in inbound and outbound logistics.

Challenges faced by warehouses in logistics firms:

Logistics service companies have been driven to reduce costs due to rising fuel prices, capital expenditures, a lack of storage space, and labor shortages. Logistics companies compete to make the best use of the space without sacrificing speed or quality because every square foot of warehouse space costs money. Additionally, businesses struggle to profitably employ warehouse workers because they concentrate on crucial supply chain operations that boost productivity and profitability rather than tedious, boring chores that might be automated.

Another significant area that needs attention is reverse logistics. Customers, goodwill, and money will all be lost if the product return process is not handled properly. Transporting, repackaging, inspecting, and reconditioning customer-returned goods is a substantial challenge for logistics organizations. Providers of logistics services need to improve time management effectiveness, predictability in inventory movement, and security and quality.

Resolving warehouse challenges:

Many logistics organizations are turning to dimensioning technologies nowadays to tackle their warehousing problems. Implementing efficient dimensioning solutions is essential to give warehouses a competitive edge and increase their profitability. To maximize cost, labor, and quality, dimensioning systems automate the measuring of a product’s length, breadth, width, and weight. Additionally, it streamlines attribute measurement, data administration, and data synchronization to minimize pointless manual operations and time-consuming paperwork.

What is Dimensioning equipment?

Dimensioning equipment refers to the tools used to measure a product’s height, width, weight, and other dimensions. For warehouses to improve measuring efficiency, selecting the appropriate dimensioning equipment is essential, particularly for products with irregular shapes, protrusions, and troughs. Warehouses can pick between measurement devices for small packages and portable workstations, high-speed-line cubing machines for automated sort facilities, and huge static systems for larger palletized loads depending on the situation and available funds.

Benefits of dimensioning equipment:

Warehouses can profit from investing in top-notch dimensioning equipment in the ways listed below.

Accurate pricing: 

The proper calculation of transportation costs is facilitated by precise dimensioning and weighing. By using precise dimensional data, logistics companies can cut shipping costs and prevent product returns and chargebacks due to inaccuracies in dimensions and freight costs.

Easy slotting: 

In a warehouse, it’s crucial to arrange the products in the most condensed, effective, and optimum way possible. Warehouses may ergonomically slot the products to prevent handling concerns and damages by knowing the precise dimensions, weight, and properties of the objects in the package.

Improved cartonization: 

The ideal method of packing each carton is determined by precise dimensioning and weighing. The kind and quantity of packaging material required to assure safety and reduce packing costs depend on the product’s weight and volume. Additionally, it avoids wasting time and effort trying out various containers for the products.

Supports capacity planning: 

Planning for capacity is essential in warehouses with limited space. Dimensioning improves capacity plans by lowering fulfillment costs, reducing picking time, and making the most available space.

Boosts quality control: 

Dimensioning finds initial shipping flaws. As a result, it expedites quality control, saves time on physical inspection, and aids in preventing product returns and related expenses.

Seven ways dimensioning specialists con transform warehouses:

Logistic service providers today are increasingly collaborating with dimensioning specialists to transform the efficiencies of their warehouses. The dimensioning services help warehouses boost profitability, reduce costs, and optimize productivity

Read on to learn seven ways logistics providers join forces with dimensioning specialists to transform their warehouse capabilities.

1. Automate the dimensioning process: 

The conventional measuring process using tape and ruler is time-consuming, error-prone, and workforce intensive. In addition, it results in delays and concealed damages, thus increasing quality costs and affecting productivity.

Automating the dimensioning process efficiently measures the Stock Keeping Units (SKUs) and assists in resourceful slotting, cartonization, and quality checks. As a result, it simplifies warehouse functionalities and reduces carbon footprint and waste, reducing operational costs and overheads.

Easily integrable with technology innovations such as warehouse robots, vertical lift systems, pick-to-light systems, and self-driving vehicles, dimensioning equipment enhances supply chain functionalities and contributes to higher profits.

2. Enable better decision-making: 

Logistics companies can improve their data-driven judgments in the warehouse with the aid of dimensioning specialists. Measuring objects with irregular shapes is difficult, but the data collected by tools like image sensors, bar code scanners, 2D cameras, and label printers offer precise dimensions. Logistics companies can choose the best options for space allocations and quality improvements by using the insights from the inputs. Dimensioning experts also assist warehouses in selecting the appropriate packaging, storage area, and handling machinery. Freight costs and shipping methods. Additionally, dimensioning companies offer additional services that logistical companies can use to create precise sales forecasts.

3. Determine warehouse rents: 

Logistics organizations want a reliable method to determine the fair leasing price because warehouses are struggling with a space shortage and rising rents. Warehouses can use the value and volume of their inventory to calculate fair rents with the aid of dimensioning service providers. However, manual measuring of the physical characteristics that establish the worth and volume of the SKUs is error-prone and subject to interpretation. Therefore, dimensioning professionals use automated techniques to calculate an item’s precise value and volume to arrive at a fair rent or leasing arrangement.

4. Increase throughput: 

To increase warehouse throughput, material handling equipment, including conveyor belts, pallet flow racks, and mezzanines, must be upgraded. One of the crucial roles of warehouses is to increase the number of units processed or moved and decrease handling time while filling orders. By developing automation systems and equipment modifications depending on the size and weight of the SKUs, dimensioning experts assist logistics companies in improving warehouse workflows. To achieve the design objectives of warehouse equipment that maximize productivity, precise measurements of product qualities are essential.

5. Enhance revenue recovery: 

Due to erroneous freight rates, incorrect packing damages, product returns, refunds, and replacements, logistics companies frequently suffer financial losses. Warehouses are compelled to optimize dimensioning because most of these losses are linked to inaccurate product measurements. Due to laborious procedures and human tiredness, typical manual dimensioning is prone to mistakes, which causes warehouses to lose money, goodwill, and reputation. To precisely measure the physical characteristics of objects, dimensioning specialists employ dimensioning equipment. The productivity, operational effectiveness, and throughput of warehouses all significantly increase thanks to the precision of the measures. Additionally, dimensioning specialists assist logistic organizations in finding and fixing errors, arriving at precise pricing, organizing efficient resource usage, and recovering lost money from the days of manual measurement.

6. Ease inbound shipping: 

Legacy reception systems are a key logistical barrier in inbound traffic. Each incoming package had to be manually weighed and measured by warehouse workers, who then entered the information into the Warehouse Management System (WMS) and searched for the optimum place to keep the product. This traditional approach was fragile and unreliable due to numerous measuring mistakes, data entry problems, and handling flaws. By installing automatic parcel and pallet dimensioners in the receiving area, dimensioning experts were able to resolve all of these problems. Thus, the arriving freight may be measured, collected, sorted, packaged, and transported via Al-led material handling devices to its suggested destination in a matter of seconds.

7. Implement dimensioning equipment:

To add value and boost the profitability of logistics and transportation service providers, warehouses must effectively adopt and maintain dimensioning equipment. Selecting the appropriate dimensioning expert is the first step in implementing dimensioning equipment. If this stage is done well, the rest will follow. Therefore, warehouses need not be concerned with improving operational and financial efficiency.

The following stage is choosing the appropriate infrastructure and dimensioning equipment. The warehouses must then implement a sound plan to measure and weigh all SKUs accurately. Finally, to add value to supply chain activities and applications, the measured details must be recorded and preserved in a master file.

Conclusion:

The warehouse must innovate and use new technology immediately in the modern world. It’s a race to satisfy omnichannel requirements while competitively differentiating in terms of accuracy and speed. But you should start by asking inquiries like:

  • What are the types of goods that are stored in the warehouse?
  • What are the dimensioning goals of the warehouse?
  • What is the perceived life of the warehouse?

Ultimately, dimensioning equipment may be a straightforward yet effective procedure, but it also calls for experience and knowledge that can only be acquired by working with a reputable dimensioning professional. To succeed in the logistics game and open the door to minimizing cost, effort, and quality while boosting operational effectiveness and profitability, that is essential.


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