How DWS Systems Improve Order Fulfilment Accuracy and Speed?

To understand how DWS improves order fulfilment, let’s examine these processes in which automation depends on the parcel data collected by the solution, particularly Dynamic DWS Systems, because the integrated conveyor eliminates any workflow bottleneck occurring during material transit between workstations: 

• Billing: Warehouses, third-party logistics companies and carriers don’t just bill based on the dead weight and the distance the parcel would travel. They also consider the space the parcel would occupy in the shipping/transportation container. Based on the details captured by the dimensioning, weighing, and scanning solution, which are then conveyed to the WMS by the WCS software, the accounting and billing module of the WMS generates the bill for the given parcel. 
• Sorting and Picking: When the code reader, integrated with the accurate parcel dimensioning machine, breaks down the product specifications and the destination PIN Code the label carries, the parcels are sorted. For the sortation process, sorting arms or other touchpoints in the sorting mechanism are activated at the right time by the WCS, based on the PIN Code information and the conveyor speed. 

As the sorter pushes the parcel into its respective bin, where other parcels are going to the same or the same set of PIN Codes, a robotic arm picks the items and loads them onto an Autonomous Mobile Robot (AMR), such as an Autonomous Forklift. In this way, the parcel moves to the next workflow. 

• Intralogistics and Packing: Given that AMRs or other automated material handling robots are likely to be used for various workflows, how do transportation or G2P (Goods-to-Person) robots know when the bins need to be picked and the items delivered to the storage unit or the next workstation? Bins usually have an ultrasound sensor to know the depth of their fill, and after a certain point, the sensor signals the WCS to initiate the picking and G2P processes. 

However, timing the availability of an AMR right when the sensor signals the bin being full is easier said than done, even for an intelligent and seamlessly connected Warehouse Automation Solutions suite. This is because, despite the advanced navigation and anti-collision systems in the AMR, covering the usually large distance between workstations can be time-consuming.  

Therefore, the WCS uses the volumetric data of parcels to estimate the depth filled inside the bin and instructs the AMR to begin moving towards the bin at the sorter. 

After the picking is over, the AMR could either head for the packing station or the storage area. 

It is worth noting that this scenario is only one among the many where the accurate parcel dimensioning machine provides the vital data for intralogistics. 

• Storage and Retrieval: As per the input of the accurate parcel dimensioning machine, communicated to the ASRS (Automatic Storage and Retrieval System) by the WCS, the rack, its shelf, and slot are decided by the ASRS. Based on the item that needs storing and retrieving, specialised AMRs called Carton Transfer Units are used for the racking and unracking process. 
• Outbound Logistics or Last-Mile Delivery Planning: The intralogistics of outbound parcels is also carried out by the Warehouse Automation Solution suite in the same way as other workstation-to-workstation material handling workflows. 

However, in this case, the WMS specifically refers to the data from the accurate parcel dimensioning, weighing, and scanning solution, to decide in which vehicle the item will be loaded. To optimise outbound logistics planning, the WMS, empowered by the accurate parcel dimensioning system, considers factors, including other parcels travelling to the same destination, the weight of the parcels, the space they will occupy in the vehicle, and the vehicle’s load capacity, among others.