The value of accurate item dimensions is indisputable, but the process of attaining them is something many warehouses, distribution centers, and other supply chain environments struggle with. Many of these struggles are solved with a mobile dimensioning solution – below are the three most common problems solved by xDIM Mobile.
1. Shrinking storage space with expanding product lines
Warehouse space is at an all-time premium, and real estate and construction costs make expansion an expensive proposition. Many companies are also dealing with increasing volumes of stock and expanding product lines, meaning more stuff with less room to store it all.
Knowing item dimensions allows for precise storage planning, leading to more efficient operations and avoidance of bottlenecks. Space utilization is optimized by ensuring incoming stock will fit into the allocated slots. The data can also be used to reassign slots to improve organization or make better use of space on the racks. For outbound order building, pallets are correctly sized for loading on trucks and handling at the destination.
2. Unreliable or inaccurate dimensional data
Without a fast and convenient way to dimension items continuously entering a warehouse, existing dimensional data can become outdated, inaccurate, or missing entirely – especially when relying on manual measurements or even worse, a worker’s best guess. This causes major problems when slotting or racking items, meaning wasted time and manpower. For fulfillment companies and others who use parcel carriers, issues such as poorly built pallets for outbound shipments or costly audit fees due to inaccurate dimension reporting can occur.
Workers using xDIM can quickly capture dimensions within half an inch of accuracy in just seconds, removing the risk of human error and ensuring correct shipping charges are calculated. The data is instantly uploaded to the back-end system where it can quickly and easily be accessed through the cloud-based Insight Dashboard.
3. Heightened consumer expectations
The explosion of e-commerce has greatly impacted consumer demands – they expect items to be in stock and delivered quickly. Fulfillment must be fast and accurate to meet these expectations. This trend has accelerated during the pandemic and continues through the current surge in demand and supply chain disruptions. One of the biggest bottlenecks in speedy fulfillment is the time needed to physically transport an item to a stationary dimensioner. These cumbersome and bulky dimensioners often run outdated software with less intuitive user interfaces which leads to frequent errors in data capture and storage.
An additional cause of lost time is hiring and retaining workers. Often cited as a key challenge for supply chain environments, there is a constant, steady stream of new workers who need to come up to speed quickly. Providing workers with tools that are easy to learn and use is critical to making them productive right away. Designed with time savings in mind, xDIM is a convenient and fully mobile solution. Dimensions are captured using the device already in a worker’s hands, at the location of the boxes themselves – rather than pulling boxes from the racks, moving them to a central dimensioning location, and then putting them back again. The software enables workers to measure boxes anywhere in seconds and capture critical data with a rugged tablet. Everything from dimensions, dimensional and actual weight, barcode scans, and product images can be taken from a single device.
xDIM is solving supply chain and warehousing problems left-and-right, and now we’ve made it even better. Check out 4DMobile’s Release Notes to stay up to date with the latest xDIM Mobile Dimensioning software features, improvements, and bug fixes.