Determine Carton Content, Minimize Shipping Costs, and Improve Customer Service

Numina Group announces the release of IFM’s 3-D Smart Sensor Camera incorporated to our latest release of Vision Pack and Audit System, V-PAS.

V-PAS can be purchased as a stand-alone carton content and case picking inspection system or as a component within Numina’s Real-time Distribution System, RDS™, a modular and scalable Top Tier Warehouse Execution and Control System, WES- WCS.

The 3-D camera inspection is designed to provide automated conveyor systems the ability to in-motion examine the internal content of a carton prior to the pack, void, and seal process. The 3-D smart sensor imaging technology adds carton depth perception to the V-PAS System.

3-D sensing looks inside the carton and inspects the internal carton contents to determine the actual fill rate occurring during the picking process. The system performs an audit of the open cartons for pick & pack inspection and void detection measurement. For example, if the distribution center set the desired carton pack rate to 90%, the sensor compares the actual carton fill rate to the set pick-pack efficiency goal, to provide a method of verifying that the right size carton is used for each shipment, eliminating costly dimensional parcel shipment errors.

V-PAS diverts errors over or under optimal packing to the inspection
re-pack lane. This prevents higher shipping costs and lowers void usage to improve customer service, and increase operational profitability.

3-D Vision “completes the loop” on cartonization software that is used to determine the right size carton prior to order release for pick to carton. V-PAS works to improve cartonization software by detecting cartonization errors due to a change in SKU weight, dimensional packaging, and will ensure SKU changes no longer go undetected. The technology provides the means to more rapidly update your item master database.

V-PAS can combine multiple measurement and imaging technologies for picking and order shipment validation. V-PAS can combine the 3-D smart sensor with a digital camera to inspect pack and record the internal carton contents to assist customer service in validating item shipments. V-PAS can be combined with an in-motion scale to perform weight audit and capture a digital image of the carton content to further validate the actual product shipment.

Major Benefits of Vision Pack and Audit System, V-PAS includes:

• Electronic Visual Verification Records of Full Case Shipments

• Verify Shipment Contents

• Eliminate Oversized Carton Shipments

• Reduce Packing Labor and Shipping Errors

• Visual Carton Content and Shipment Weight and Dimensional History

• Improve Customer Service Through Order Visibility

Numina Group’s Real-time Distribution System, RDS™ WES-WCS includes the software module to store time-stamped records of the order ID and carton content image in its relational database for order detail data web based viewing and reporting of order delivery verification, audit shipments, and compliance requirements.

Vision-Inspect Module
The Vision-Inspect Module is an optional inline case inspection software module that can be used for full case shipment inspection, pick verification, and ship validation. It operates in high speed 180 cases per minute conveyor and sorting applications. The system can include up to 4 high resolution digital cameras to perform the case image capture and inspection. The software module is used extensively in the Wine and Spirits distribution industry providing a “product case color pattern match image learning algorithm” that performs comparison of the picked cases and barcodes, to known images and barcodes for on-line order shipment verification. The software module operates in real-time and prevents case picking errors to ensure 99.98% picking and shipping accuracy.

Reports and Inquiry
All V-PAS Systems include a Web based browser dashboard interface to view carton shipment contents or full case carton image and inspection history. The software contains a Search Feature to inquire on any carton by the order number, shipment label, or tracking barcode. When the case ID is scanned or keyed into the search field, the time-stamped carton history, image, and inspection details are displayed on the screen. V-PAS includes conveyor and sorting control signals, and all information is retained in the system for 60 days. The data can easily be integrated to your ERP-WMS System.