Skillweb launches Locate-it
Skillweb has launched an item tracking solution that locates items within a cross-docking operation. It will enable companies “to react effectively to fast moving supply chains and keep handling overheads to a minimum”.
Locate-it will form part of the Houndit portfolio of simple-to-implement mobile communications tools and allow operatives to find cargo wherever they are on the warehouse floor using ruggedised handheld computer or PDAs.
Locate-it is suited to cross-dock operations where traditional warehousing is not viable or where storage space is tight, requiring dynamic location of items to allow flexible storage. It is designed to streamline operations by increasing product traceability, reducing labour requirements and improving the speed of availability.
The system utilises a combination of item tracking technology and a real-time location system, enabling fast and efficient unloading and quick and accurate location of key items, ensuring vehicles depart on time with the maximum load.
The solution incorporates barcode scanning with the ultra wide band real time location system, making it possible to fill a pallet, cage, stillage or tote with items and cost effectively track them without scanning barcodes at every point.
Locate-it offers a solution which can detect the presence of an item in 50,000 square metres with a single sensor or track movement in 10,000 square metres by installing four sensors requiring only a single cable each to minimise installation costs. Furthermore, the system is accurate to within 15 centimetres so lost items in a cross-dock operation become a thing of the past.
Product locations can be communicated in real-time over Wifi to a mobile computer allowing the operator to find the goods without referring to potentially inaccurate shipping or unloading lists. This added level of visibility provided by Locate-it can optimise just-in-time operations serving automotive or other manufacturing production lines; high volume fulfillment operations and pallet networks.
Paul Ridden, managing director of Skillweb, said: “Whilst the cross docking concept may seem simple, requiring reduced put-away, storage and picking, the express nature of the operation creates its own set of challenges and demands. Speed is key and it is essential that operatives can locate items in a quick and efficient manner, so Locate-it offers an effective means of optimising the process and making the most of a warehousing infrastructure.”
