Ask the expert: Sheri Ascencio

Question: What can automated dimensioning offer airfreight service providers, especially in this region?

Expert: Sheri Ascencio, Executive vice president of marketing, FreightScan.

Outlining benefits

Scanning systems are faster and more accurate than manual measurement. A man with a tape measure must estimate measurements with his eye. This is especially true with irregular cargo, where the high point is often in the middle of a skid, or the shipment has bulges on the side and cannot be measured easily.

An automated dimensioning system is not subject to these limitations, and the result is a chargeable weight based on true length, width and height

In addition to precise measurements, there are significant time savings from automated dimensioning, with no interruption in workflow. Scanning a piece of cargo takes less than five seconds, when the measurements are captured and transferred to the software system of a cargo facility.

Manual measurements, by contrast, average 90 seconds per piece for the time the tape measure is used, the measurements are written down, and data is put into the software system.

As a result, more cargo can be processed with less manpower, human error is eliminated and customer service is improved through reduced acceptance time.

Looking at this region

The Middle East is a substantial cargo market that moves an immense amount of freight through multiple modes. FreightScan believes there are hundreds of potential customers in the region, including warehouse management, trucking and a multitude of other logistics companies.

Our conversations to date with air cargo and port facilities in the Middle East have indicated that there is a strong interest in automated dimensioning systems, and we therefore anticipate that there will be installations in this region by around mid-2009.

Keeping a record

Scanning systems create a retrievable record of both the visual composite and data for each piece of cargo in every shipment. FreightScan's systems take a digital photo, create a laser image, capture the data, and associate all of this information with a specific waybill. When a customer needs to review a shipment, the data can be retrieved from a database and sent electronically to related parties.

Automated dimensioning systems standardise the process of dimensioning cargo, enabling operations to capture 100% of potential revenue from shipping bulky, lightweight shipments. Finally, dimensional data can be used in a variety of applications to optimise load planning, warehouse management, and lane routing.

Other technologies

FreightScan is one of the few technology companies that is bringing both industry and segment solutions to the market. Specific segment solutions are currently being developed and the first is scheduled to be announced to freight forwarders this year.

In addition, FreightScan is nearing approval for CargoVizion, a non-radiation cargo-screening solution that works with the FS100 to conduct security screening at the same time as cargo is being dimensioned.

What FreightScan offers

FreightScan offers the FS100, which is an overhead mounted scanner that typically installs over a scale or nearby so the cargo can be dimensioned in the same time period and location that it is being reweighed and/or processed.

We also offer the FL1000; a forklift-mounted scanner that allows cargo operations to automatically dimension cargo while it is on the forklift. A warehouse can be configured with these solutions to enable a standardised process for dimensioning 100% of cargo that is subject to dimensional weight.

All of FreightScan's products are capable of operating as stand-alone systems, or can be fully integrated with existing warehouse applications to automate not only the process of capturing dimensions, but have the ability to transfer those dimensions so that they move easily from the warehouse floor through to cargo accounting without the time and errors of manual data entry.

Implementation and cost benefits

FreightScan's products comprise both hardware and software. We sell the hardware up front and the software portion is offered through a three-year monthly subscription agreement or one-time payment. Implementation of our products consists of installation and integration configurations.

Our standard timeframe is an install date of 60 days from the signing of the contract. FreightScan has compiled data for air carriers and forwarders in the US, Latin America, the UK, EU and Asia. The average results for these global sites is increased dimensional weight revenue of US$1.4 million per cargo facility, manpower savings of 10 hours per day, and acceptance times decreased by an impressive 6.5 minutes per shipment.

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