Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

BARCODES, SCANNERS, SENSORS

Scanning your way to smoother operations

Improving order picking, fulfillment, and delivery may be just a tech upgrade away, logistics and data-capture experts say.

DCV24_03_barcode_art_1200x900.jpg

Having an effective data-capture strategy is vital to success in today’s logistics world, where fast and accurate deliveries can make or break a business. Using advanced barcode scanning solutions—today’s lighter, faster, more accurate scanning guns, for example, and software that is compatible with a wide range of devices—can be a game-changer for companies that are struggling to keep up with accelerating demand and ever-higher service expectations. For many logistics companies, this often means saying goodbye to time-consuming, error-prone manual processes or ditching outdated technology.

Business leaders at courier service provider Blue Dart Express Ltd. and home delivery service company Rappi can attest to the benefits of upgrading your data-capture solutions to keep pace with changing business needs. Both have overhauled their logistics strategies in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic and explosive growth in e-commerce by giving employees better equipment and software that is improving operations in house and in the field. 


Here’s how they did it.

ELIMINATING MANUAL DATA ENTRY 

Blue Dart provides express package delivery service throughout India and is a subsidiary of global logistics and delivery company DHL Group. Faced with steadily rising demand for its services, company leaders decided in 2022 to automate Blue Dart’s in-house business operations as well as its pickup services and logistics management tasks. Essentially, the company needed to replace old equipment and manual data-entry processes with an automated approach that would better meet customer needs and help the firm maintain a competitive edge in the South Asia marketplace. Company leaders worked with mobile computing firm Zebra Technologies, a longtime business partner, to replace outdated scanning devices with some of Zebra’s newest mobile and wearable technology solutions—tech that would enable more accurate data capture in the field and seamless integration of that information into Blue Dart’s back-end system and customer portals.

Following a two-phase implementation—in July 2022 and September 2023—the business partners documented the project in a case history published late last year. The solution included a combination of mobile computers, ring scanners, and handheld scanning devices, along with a suite of managed services that include technical support, analytics, and status updates. Android-based mobile computers are used for field deliveries, in-house operations, and pickups. Workers use Bluetooth-enabled “ring scanners”—so called because they can wear them on their fingers, typically the middle or index finger—and handheld barcode scanners for package loading and unloading at Blue Dart hubs. 

Automating those tasks led to immediate efficiency improvements and faster turnaround times, in large part because workers could focus on core activities rather than data entry both in house and in the field. Real-time status updates allow for better decision-making across the organization, especially when it comes to delivery and route planning. 

On top of that, the system provides better visibility into parcel tracking, which has led to improved customer satisfaction levels, according to Blue Dart and Zebra.

“By utilizing Zebra’s solutions, Blue Dart was able to provide enhanced efficiency and accurate tracking information to its customers,” according to the case history. “The real-time tracking feature empowered Blue Dart’s customers to closely monitor the progress of their shipments, thus fostering improved transparency and trust in the company’s services.”

OPTIMIZING ORDER PICKING

Leaders at Colombian home delivery service provider Rappi realized in 2020 that they would need to quickly scale operations to meet burgeoning demand for its services, driven by the Covid-19 pandemic. That meant hiring more “shoppers” and drivers to pick and deliver orders for prepared foods, groceries, clothing, and other items from restaurants, supermarkets, and retailers across nine Latin American countries. But Rappi’s bring-your-own-device (BYOD) policy was creating problems that could only be solved with a better software solution. Rappi had been using open-source scanning software that shoppers would download to their devices to pick orders for millions of products per week. The problem was, not every shopper’s device was compatible with the solution, leading to order and delivery problems.

“We realized that our app’s open-source scanning solution did not work properly on several of our shoppers’ and drivers’ smartphones, as they could not scan product barcodes correctly, which resulted in delays and incorrect deliveries to customers,” Firas Al-Ashram, a product leader at Rappi, said in a statement describing the project. “[Of] the several hundred different device models that our shoppers used, ranging from low-end to high-end models, many [were] older versions of the Android or iOS operating systems. While we wanted to maintain superior service to our users, we realized that we were expecting high-quality order fulfillment from our shoppers without providing them with a reliable tool to find the right products fast.”

In 2021, Rappi turned to data-capture technology provider Scandit to solve the problem, implementing the tech firm’s barcode scanning software, which is compatible with more than 20,000 smartphone models, according to Scandit. The partners deployed the software companywide in just two weeks and saw immediate improvements, including a 30% increase in worker productivity and double-digit gains in scanning accuracy. In its supermarket business alone, error complaints fell by 20%, according to the two companies.

Rappi has since expanded its use of the Scandit solution, and as of early 2024 was using it across three different applications within its business.

“Looking ahead, we want to keep growing, but more importantly, continue making life easier for our shoppers and customers … whether it is scanning barcodes to get the weight of products, for pricing, or to read ID cards, and several other activities for which scanning is not traditionally used in supermarkets,” Al-Ashram said in the statement. “We have an entire … team dedicated solely to initiatives related to Scandit, which offers us the flexibility to test quickly and adopt the best route.”

The Latest

More Stories

photos of forklifts in warehouses

2025 IFOY Awards nominees announced

Seventeen innovative products and solutions from eleven providers have reached the nomination round of the IFOY Award 2025, an international competition that brings together the best new material handling products for warehouses and distribution center operations.

The nominees this year come from six different countries and will compete head-to-head during a Test Camp that will be held March 26 and 27 in Dortmund, Germany. The Test Camp allows hands-on evaluation and testing of products based on engineering and operational design. In contrast to the usual display of products at a trade show, The Test Camp also allows end-users and visitors to the event the opportunity to experience these technologies hands-on as they would operate in a facility.

Keep ReadingShow less

Featured

Happy interesting New Year

While Christmas is always my favorite time of the year, I have always been something of a Scrooge when it comes to celebrating the New Year. It is traditionally a time of reflection, where we take stock of our lives and make resolutions to do better. I’ve always felt that I really didn’t need a calendar to remind me to kick my bad habits in favor of healthier routines. If I was not already doing something that was good for me, then making promises I probably won’t keep after a few weeks is not really helpful.

But as we turn the calendar to 2025, there is a lot to consider this new year. The election is behind us, and it will be interesting to see how supply chains react to the new administration. We’ve been told to expect sharp increases in tariffs, like those the president-elect issued in his first term. Will these cause the desired shift away from goods made in China?

Keep ReadingShow less
a blurred image of a forklift in a warehouse

Lift Truck Roundtable: An inside look at a volatile market

Roundtable participants:

MARTIN BOYD, CMO, Big Joe Forklifts

Keep ReadingShow less
trends in robotics

IFR: five trends will drive robot growth through 2025

As the global market value of industrial robot installations passes its all-time high of $16.5 billion, five trends will continue to drive its growth through 2025, according to a forecast from the International Federation of Robotics (IFR).

That is important because the increased use of robots has the potential to significantly reduce the impact of labor shortages in manufacturing, IFR said. That will happen when robots automate dirty, dull, dangerous or delicate tasks – such as visual quality inspection, hazardous painting, or heavy lifting—thus freeing up human workers to focus on more interesting and higher-value tasks.

Keep ReadingShow less
chart of cargo theft activity in 2024

Cargo theft activity set new highs in 2024

Cargo theft activity across the United States and Canada reached unprecedented levels in 2024, with 3,625 reported incidents representing a stark 27% increase from 2023, according to an annual analysis from CargoNet.

The estimated average value per theft also rose, reaching $202,364, up from $187,895 in 2023. And the increase was persistent, as each quarter of 2024 surpassed previous records set in 2023.

Keep ReadingShow less