Consignment Scanning for Real-Time Weight and Volume Tracking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing PUD networks lack accurate monitoring and control of consignment physical characteristics, leading to suboptimal service planning, rating, and invoicing due to deviations and changes in consignment physical states during transportation.
Innovation Solution
Implement high-throughput weight and volume scanning systems at hubs and depots to measure and monitor consignment characteristics, including weight, volume, dimensions, and shape, with integrated imaging capabilities, and a monitoring system to track and manage these data in real-time.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If shipment information (weight, dimensions) is initially used for determining price and routing, then billing can be performed, but the physical characteristics often deviate from actual physical state during transportation, leading to suboptimal service planning
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements continuous feedback by scanning consignments at multiple checkpoints (depot entry, hub transfer, destination depot) to update their physical characteristics. This feedback loop allows the network management system to track actual consignment state changes during transportation and adjust routing and capacity planning accordingly, resolving the contradiction between initial measurement and actual physical state deviations
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary scanning and recording of consignment physical characteristics at depot entry before transportation begins. This preliminary action establishes baseline data that can be compared against subsequent measurements at hubs and destination depots, enabling proactive identification of physical state changes and better service planning
2Productivity
If manual scanning of markings is used at depots, then consignment tracking is possible, but the process is time-consuming and limits control and optimization possibilities
Solution Approach 1:
The system replaces manual scanning with automated optical scanning systems that use cameras and image processing to capture consignment markings and physical characteristics. This substitution dramatically increases processing speed and enables simultaneous capture of multiple data points (weight, dimensions, shape) without manual intervention, resolving both productivity and information loss issues
Solution Approach 2:
The scanning system is designed to perform multiple functions simultaneously: capturing consignment markings for identification, measuring physical dimensions, and recording weight information. This multi-functional approach eliminates the need for separate manual processes and ensures comprehensive data collection in a single automated operation
3Reliability
If consignment physical characteristics are not monitored during transportation, then system complexity is reduced, but accurate network capacity planning and contingency planning become impossible
Solution Approach 1:
The monitoring system is segmented into distributed scanning stations at key network points (depots and hubs) rather than requiring continuous monitoring throughout transportation. Each station independently captures consignment data, and the network management system aggregates this segmented information to achieve accurate capacity planning without overwhelming system complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The network management system acts as an intermediary that receives data from distributed scanning stations and processes it for capacity planning and routing decisions. This intermediary layer manages the complexity by abstracting the detailed monitoring operations from the planning functions, allowing accurate planning without direct complexity in the monitoring infrastructure
Data Source
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AI summary
A system for monitoring the physical structure of consignments transported in a pick-up-and-delivery (PUD) network is described. The monitoring is based on measured consignment information, such as measured weight and measured volume of a consignment, the system comprising: a computer system connected via a first scanning system controller to a first scanning system in a first consignment processing location, e.g. a first depot, of the PUD network; and, connected via a second scanning system controller to a second scanning system in a second consignment processing location, e.g. a second depot, of the PUD network, the first and second scanning system comprising one or more scales adapted to measure the weight of a consignment, a volume scanner adapted to measure the volume of the consignment; and, a consignment identification system comprising one or more camera units adapted to capture images of different sides of the consignment and to determine a consignment identifier on the basis of the captured image data; and, a database for storing consignment information measured by the first and second scanning system;