Why Do Third-Party Logistics (3PL) Companies Need DWS Systems?
The services offered by third-party logistics (3PL) companies are integral to customer satisfaction and, hence, the growth of the e-commerce industry. Besides the prohibitive infrastructural costs around last-mile delivery and warehousing that brands and online marketplaces must otherwise incur, improving throughput, i.e., order processing speed, is at the heart of the collaboration between 3PL and e-commerce industry players. Hence, with the standard and expected delivery time decreasing by the day, the need for high throughput is becoming progressively urgent.
High throughput goes hand in hand with quick shipment data capture, ensuring that parcels can be accurately billed and sorted before heading to the outbound station—the two key warehouse management tasks. However, smooth shipment handling can be daunting without automation, especially given the constant deluge of orders that the average 3PL business processes every day.
Embracing 3PL Warehouse Automation with Dimensioning, Weighing, and Scanning (DWS) Systems
The first step towards smart warehousing involves automating billing and parcel handling— sortation and retrieval—, and that’s where Dimensioning, Weighing, and Scanning (DWS) Systems prove transformative. This blog explores the vital role of dimensioning, weighing, and scanning in third-party logistics (3PL) operations.
Let’s dive in!
Third-Party Logistics (3PL) Players Automating Billing with DWS Systems
Driving Profit Maximisation with 3PL Automation
Transparent and accurate billing in third-party logistics (3PL) companies usually involves a set of considerations, including:
- Industry or in-house billing standards which dictate the rate of non-volumetric and volumetric billing for shipment based on a defined range of dimensions and weight
- The delivery distance of the shipment(s)
- Pricing list which covers services such as order packaging with delivery, bulk order deliveries, and handle-with-care shipments, among others
- Individual contracts with clients where the cost of services differs from one client to another
Dimensioning, Weighing, and Scanning (DWS) Systems for Volumetric Billing and Why It Is Important
In the context of 3PL automation, it is important to reiterate the concept of volumetric weight we explored in our blog, Why Is a DWS System Required? Discover Its Role in Modern Logistics.
For profit maximisation and fair pricing, it is important to consider both the space a shipment occupies and its dead weight. To elaborate, let’s take a common scenario:
Among two cartons headed for the same destination, the bigger one is lighter, while the smaller one is significantly heavier. However, if the 3PL company must carry both in the same vehicle, the warehouse executive must make a trade-off between the number of shipments and the vehicle load.
Billing more per unit volume for larger shipments, the business accounts for the cost of carrying fewer parcels in the given trip. On the other hand, pricing based on per unit weight helps recover fuel costs. Hence, the invoiced amount must add charges per unit volume and per unit weight to ensure fair pricing.
When high throughput is the goal, both dimensioning and weighing must be performed as efficiently as possible. Using Camera-based Machine Vision profilers, other 3D profiler types or different dimensioning technologies, DWS Systems automate volume measurement. Automating dimensioning also improves measurement accuracy, helping the 3PL company optimise the billed amount without depending on the client-declared details. Similarly, scales integrated in conveyor-based DWS Systems leverage load cells to weigh shipments on the go, while also tallying the reading against the client-declared weight.
The Dimensioning, Weighing, and Scanning (DWS) solution also maximises throughput by automating dimensioning and weighing as well as integrating the two key tasks in the same workflow.
The Role of High-Speed Image-Based Scanners in Billing Accuracy
Omnichannel sales connect buyers with products across geographies. Therefore, the shipment may pass through several hubs until it reaches the buyer’s doorstep through last-mile delivery, depending on the destination and where the shipment is stored. This sheer network of warehouses is a key reason to opt for the services of third-party logistics (3PL) companies.
Extensive travelling may cause wear and tear in the shipment labels, making it difficult for regular industrial AIDC products to read. At the same time, the conveyor speed, optimised for the desired throughput, may be too high for the label scanner.
Thanks to camera-based Machine Vision-enabled scanners used in DWS Systems, damaged labels can be read more often than with most industrial AIDC products. These scanners extract information encrypted in the label through the image captured, significantly reducing the instances of no-reads.
The client’s name is one of the key details covered in the labels. When the Warehouse Management System (WMS) decodes the scanner’s reading, invoices are generated according to the rates mentioned in the client’s contracts. Thus, scanners in DWS systems are also important for billing.
How Do DWS Systems Improve the Effectiveness of 3PL Automation?
Without the DWS System identifying and parsing key shipment details, end-to-end 3PL automation is unlikely. Let’s look at some workflows to understand how DWS Systems fit into the puzzle of warehouse automation solutions.
Sortation
DWS stations are often connected—in fact, are the gateway—to sortation systems. The sortation system depends on the DWS System’s scanner (camera-based Machine Vision-enabled scanner) reading to learn about the shipping PIN Code. Depending on the PIN Code, the sorter nudges the shipment into the correct bin.
As discussed above, the read rate of the scanner integrated into the DWS Systems is significantly better than its counterparts. By minimising no-reads, this scanner type boosts the efficiency of the order processing workflow because after a no-read, the shipment must be manually sorted or processed again, thus hampering the throughput. This sorting process is also important for storing and retrieving items.
Inbound and Outbound Shipment: Storage and Retrieval
Inbound shipments are stored in specific zones and racks in the warehouse based on details such as client, product type, etc. Once a chute is filled in an end-to-end automated warehouse, an Autonomous Mobile Robot (AMR) carries the shipments to the designated storage unit. Then, the WMS’ AI models leverage the dimension and weight identified by the DWS to help the robot store shipments intelligently, i.e., ensuring storage space maximisation without overloading or damage.
Much like the storage process, the shipments are detected and retrieved by AMRs according to the shelf and the rack position mentioned in the WMS. After retrieval, the robot carries the shipment to the PIN code-specific outbound zone or loads it into the transport vehicle. The selection of the vehicle is done and conveyed to the AMR by the TMS (Transport Management System).
Final Thoughts
The data collected through the DWS systems may be useful across several operational touchpoints. Hence, by digitising the flow of key shipment data, 3PL automation decreases instances of manual data entry errors and accelerates decision-making throughout the supply chain, as shown in the WMS and TMS-driven storage and retrieval process above. However, designing an end-to-end warehouse automation plan for uninterrupted data flow is easier said than done, and that’s where Quinta comes in.
Quinta has a sterling track record of solution-building for supply chain automation projects. Our team of hardware and software experts have designed and deployed several Intralogistics projects, including DWS solution integration for major 3PL players.
Curious to know more? Contact us now, and our team of experts will get in touch with you as soon as possible!
