Fixed scanners handle high volumes of cases and pallets efficiently, key supplier explains

Zebra Technologies underlines the benefits of fixed industrial scanners for collecting and for verifying data automatically in end-of-line and storage areas with fewer manual operators. 

The supplier says it is letting its installed systems and case studies do the talking, emphasising data systems that are intelligently automated and which “deliver more asset and inventory visibility for the frontline”.

These are the words of Paul Eyre, Zebra’s global director for fixed industrial scanning and machine vision. He cites the example of a European food manufacturer which ships nearly 2,000 food pallets daily to an international list of customers.

In the past, each completed pallet of product was manually scanned by operators using a handheld device. The company was keen to reduce contact between operators and pallet loads in order to improve work safety and speed up tracking.

It took the manufacturer’s technology partners just three days to install fixed industrial scanners and tablets throughout the plant. “The solution, which was seamlessly integrated with the manufacturer’s existing warehouse management system, eliminates pedestrian traffic and ensures accurate hands-off scanning of every pallet,” says Eyre.

“The manufacturer gained a return on investment within three months,” he reports, adding that the new system delivered a 50% increase in forklift loading rates.

Eyre picks out a second user of Zebra technology, this time in the logistics area, handling shipments of fruit and vegetables. With fresh produce, speed of turnaround is clearly of critical importance.

“Following a rise in orders, [the customer] implemented fixed industrial scanners fitted to gantries, totalling nearly 60 readers, to increase the speed at which a pallet can be processed,” he says.

The routing of pallets is determined by datamatrix codes read by the new scanners, which can process the data much faster than was previously the case.

“The results include time and productivity gains of 20-to-30% and a reduction in errors with reading rates of 95-to-99%,” Eyre says. “Frontline workers and managers now have real-time visibility of their inventory and logistical operations.”

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