The Zero-Error SCT (Supply Chain Traceability) Solution
Key Benefits
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Zero shipping errors -
No more claims and returns
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Improved operational efficiency
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Faster shipping processes
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Full supply chain traceability and control
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Visual proof of delivery and condition
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Seamless integration with WMS/ERP
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A reliable, field-proven solution
Short lead times, manual processing of outbound products and dispatch bottlenecks can all lead to costly shipping errors, delivery-related disputes and even potential claims and charge-backs.
ImageID’s Visidot Director is a fast and effective traceability solution designed to overcome these challenges. It provides automated and error-free verification of production sequencing, shipping and other logistic processes.
A single Visidot Director is designed to support one or more Visidot gates deployed throughout a shipping depot or production facility, via a standard IP network. Visidot gates capture, analyze and decode large field of view images, providing depot operators with meaningful information on the multiple assets captured in these images, along with their exact spatial coordinates.
Visidot gates then deliver raw XML data to Visidot Director, which uses ImageID’s patented technology to automatically compare this information to a set of business rules, such as content validation logic, order data or sequence information, and alert operators on any discrepancy.
Alerts are presented on the Visidot gate’s Operator Console in real time, along with visual guidance for corrective action. Additionally, Visidot Director may be configured to activate status indication lights, conveyor controllers, rotating tables, pallet label barcode printers and other flow control devices, to ensure the most effective handling of any potential errors in shipment content.
Visidot Director can easily be integrated with Warehouse Management and ERP systems, and is capable of processing hundreds of tags in just a few seconds. It maintains image bank archived proof of delivery and proof of asset condition, so as to help resolve any delivery-related dispute. Visidot Director Web server delivers activity reports that can be viewed by authorized personnel using any Web browser. Visidot Director effectively eliminates production and shipping errors, and improves logistics operation efficiency, labor utilization and bottom line results.
Verification
Picking assets to form a pallet is, in many cases, tiresome, confusing and prone to human error, even when using such approaches as pick by voice, pick by light or RFID. Pick by voice, for example, may verify that a correct asset has been picked but may fail to validate proper quantity. 100% accurate picking verification with existing solutions is a tedious, time consuming and expensive process, and is therefore avoided by many companies.
Visidot Director can enforce any rule modeled in a structured “if… then… else…” manner, and apply it to decoded asset data. Typical rules may, for example, associate all assets on a particular pallet to a specific shipment or validate that all assets’ expiry date is within a specified range.
In case of error – the operator is notified with clear indication of the assets that need be removed, replaced or added, guaranteeing focused and effective corrective action.
DUAL: Detection of Unlabeled Assets’ Location
Visidot Director provides DUAL - a unique ability to determine the type and, in some cases, even the content of unlabeled assets within a pallet. DUAL uses a machine learning mechanism and patented algorithms to produce a computerized model of the pallet and its assets, and to fill in the ”holes” for unidentified assets. This model is graphically superimposed on a captured image of the pallet, which can help the operator take such corrective action as reapplying a label or replacing a non-labeled asset.
Shipping Verification
Supply chain management is becoming increasingly ERP-oriented. Orders, inventories, shipments and accounting information are all fed into and managed by WMS and ERP systems.
Visidot Director seamlessly integrates with ERP and WMS systems, enabling it to retrieve and compare shipping order information from backend systems to the actual contents of a pallet to be shipped. Visidot Director's unique patented ability to compare a list of assets to be shipped with captured visual information is critical to achieving fast and accurate shipment content validation. Real-time alerts with clear indication of any discrepancy, enable corrective action before pallet is sealed.
Production Sequencing and QA
Errors in production sequencing may not only result in delivery of defective products, but may also create excessive bottlenecks in product assembly lines, due to potential misalignment between manufacturing parts.
Proper sequence verification, even before parts arrive at the assembly line, prevents such incidents and eliminates the high costs they lead to.
Visidot Director uses its inherent verification capabilities to process batches about to arrive at the assembly line as per sequencing guidelines and rules. It ensures JIS (Just in Sequence) production, providing valuable information on parts’ compatibility and alerting operators and supervisors well before errors occur.
Visidot Director Image Bank
In a competitive, highly regulated and quality demanding environment, the cost implications of shipping errors are ever increasing. Vendors along the supply chain are often exposed to claims and charge backs for allegedly damaged, missing or incorrect items. For example, when a large retail chain claims it has not received an item, the supplier will typically not argue with this claim without concrete proof in hand.
The Image Bank comprises a dedicated server storing all captured asset images and their associated decoded data, and a Web-based viewer enabling easy image retrieval. The Image Bank provides convincing and indisputable visual proof of the status and condition of shipped pallets, as well as that of each asset within that pallet.
Should a dispute arise, customers may either be sent images of the shipment in question or invited to view them online. Once the customer is made aware the supplier’s ability to produce visual records of shipment – all false claims will likely cease to exist.
Multi-site Logistics
Visidot Director offers geographically distributed manufacturing companies and logistics service providers a truly global view of shipping processes, inventory levels and delivery states. It can aggregate and communicate information from multiple depots to company headquarters, while maintaining a seamless, bi-directional interface with ERP and other backend systems. Visidot Director provides real-time Web-based reports on the status of orders and shipments, as well as indication of outstanding and underperforming sites and processes.
The modular architecture of Visidot Director for SCT enables seamless multiple site deployment in either centralized or distributed configuration.
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