Integration project boosts parcel sorting
LOGISTICS PROVIDER Asendia UK invested £2.5 million in automated sorting belts and robotic over-labelling arms at its a Heathrow distribution centre.
The hub handles large volumes of eComm parcels, being labelled, processed, and sorted for both domestic and international air and road freight.
While the sorting and labelling systems were each designed to perform well on their own, integrating them highlighted room for further innovation. The absence of real-time visibility into system performance created inefficiencies, requiring the operations and engineering teams to manually investigate the causes of rejections, stoppages, and other operational issues.
In response, the team developed a digital monitoring system capable of accessing and integrating data from both the sorting and labelling systems, allowing for proactive issue resolution.
The fully automated Operational Visibility System, integrated with a web-based operations dashboard alerts the team in real time. Large monitors placed next to each sorting line not only display text alerts but also provide data on line performance. Additional monitors are strategically stationed across the warehouse, offering relevant information, such as pressure levels in the chutes.
By creatively pairing two systems that weren’t originally designed to collaborate, Asendia UK has achieved a major breakthrough in operational efficiency, with outcomes including a 46% reduction in downtime.
