Rhett Talley, National Business Development Manager, Scale Components Pty Ltd

Ten Ways to Supercharge your

DC & WMSwith Accurate SKU

Master Data

Buy a

CubiScan!

Who uses a CubiScan in Australia?

Crikey! The SKUs are attacking!

“No Plan Survives First Contact with the SKU”

Sun Tzu (not really)

1. Facility design. When a company starts planning for a new Distribution Centre, one of the first things the DC designer will need is the detail on the products that will be stored there: What are their dimensions? The smallest? The biggest? Their shapes? How much do they weigh? Will they be stored individually or on pallets? Seems obvious, right?

The answers will dictate everything from the design of the facility's picking and packing areas to the type(s) of storage systems that will be used.

2. Storage. Good dimensional data can help DCs maximise their storage space. Once stock-keeping units (SKUs) have been weighed and measured, their profiles can be uploaded to a warehouse management system (WMS) for use in determining the optimal storage location for each item—where it should go and whether it should be stored in flow racks, shelving, or other storage mediums.

Not only does this help optimize storage space, but it also ensures that the SKUs will actually fit in their assigned spaces.

3. Slotting. Dimensional data can help streamline the slotting process. Once the SKUs' dimensions have been captured, they're imported into special slotting software (say, dynamic slotting), which uses that information—in conjunction with data on order characteristics like pick frequency—to determine how to arrange products within the pick zones to optimize order fulfillment.

4. Picking. When workers pick directly into shipping cartons, dimensional data can be key to preventing carton selection errors. Often, pickers are left to make their best guesses as to what size carton to use, but that can prove costly and time consuming. If the box is too small, the packer has to remove the items and repack them, slowing throughput. Dimensional data can help ensure the right size carton is used. In addition, the data can be helpful in determining where individual items should go in a carton and the order in which they should be picked to ensure everything fits neatly inside the box without crushing the items on the bottom. Also, accurate weight information on SKUs can promote good ergonomic practices by ensuring that order cartons weigh no more than, say, 20 kgs.

5. Verification. Once a SKU's weight has been captured and uploaded to the WMS, the information can be used to verify picking.

As each order is received, the WMS calculates how much it should weigh, based on the weight of the carton itself plus each of the items it contains. After the order has been assembled, the carton is “check-weighed”—perhaps via an in-line scale on a conveyor system. If the actual weight differs from the expected weight, the carton can be set aside for further examination. Automated verification can cut down on the need for manual order inspections, resulting in substantial savings in time and labor.

6. Packing + Carton Optimisation. Dimensional data helps DCs optimise their packaging. Shipping items in oversized cartons stuffed with filler can lead to big waste and inefficiency. Some companies are shipping cartons that are 40 to 60 percent too large and so are paying to ship just air. Dimensional data can also help with packaging optimisation in operations that use standard- sized cartons. For example, the data can be used in computer-aided carton selection as well as for decisions about the optimal amount of void fill and other packing materials to use.

7. Pallet building. Dimensional data can be very helpful when it comes to building stable pallets. Once the data has been entered into the WMS, the system can use it to determine how items should be stacked on the pallet (typically with larger and heavier items on the bottom) to ensure load stability.

Pah! Who needs pallet building software?

8. Load building. Not only can dimensional and weight data help with building pallets, it can help with building loads for trailers, shipping containers, and other conveyances. Whether an operation is shipping full pallets, cases, irregularly shaped products, or a mix of all of the above, it can feed the data into shipping, warehousing, or load building software, which then determines how to load the truck to make the best use of space while staying within weight limits.

Bad. Good. Also good.

9. Shipping. The advent of "dimensional weight" or "dim weight" billing has changed the economics of parcel shipping. Good dimensional data will help shippers avoid costly mistakes. Under the carriers' dim weight rules, a shipper must define the package's actual weight and its L/W/H dimensions or its cubic volume.

If the dimensional weight exceeds the actual weight, that becomes the basis for the freight charge. By gathering precise dimensional data on their packages, shippers can ensure they're rating their parcels correctly and avoid chargebacks by carriers. But it's not just about avoiding chargebacks. Good dimensional data also allows shippers to estimate carrier charges for rate shopping purposes.

“I wonder, will this thing “weigh-out” or “cube-out”?

Hmm, gonna go with the cube.”

10. Customer service. Good service includes providing customers with good data. By providing accurate dimensional data on your products, you give customers the opportunity to use that information to benefit their own operations. Plus, if you charge for shipping, you can boost your credibility with customers by including the relevant dimensional and weight data on invoices. That way, they can be assured they're being charged appropriately for freight.

Is this your customer? Or is this your customer? OMG -how big iz zee cube?

The guy on the left invested in a new CubiScan to obtain accurate SKU dimensional data. This changed his life for the better and improved his companies performance – and he was promoted!

The guy on the right did not invest in a CubiScan.

Don’t be the guy on the right - please.

In conclusion…

SKU & FREIGHT MEASUREMENT DATA: CRITICAL to SUPPLY CHAIN EFFICIENCY

Which CubiScan is right for you?

CubiScan 100 for SKUs and cartons CubiScan 150 ideal for small to medium boxed freight and cartons

CubiScan 125 for smaller irregular shapes and boxed SKUs

CS AKL 1200 portable version for SKUs andpalletised freight and “uglies”

Is a CubiScan right for your business?

Simply consider the following:

Do you have a modern WMS that needs accurate SKU master data in order to make smart decisions about picking, packing, slotting, cartons, loads, quality control, shipping and so on?

Do you have thousands – perhaps tens of thousands of individual SKUs?Are you getting many new SKUs into your system each year? Do the SKUs vary in shape, size or weight?

If you answered “Yes!” to these two questions then a CubiScan might be right for you.

Please log onto to www.scalecomponents.com.au to learn more.

If you’ve made it this far – thanks for viewing! © Rhett Talley 2014