20 to 25 percent productivity increase
Continental was previously handling their goods receipt process with handheld scanners, which involved a lot of effort and took several minutes per pallet. To save time and improve productivity and accuracy, ZetesMedea warehouse execution system and an ImageID gate were implemented. One of Continental’s pilot locations is in Ingolstadt. A high volume of pallets is received there every day, with up to 60 boxes stacked on each pallet. Each box has a label with a 2D barcode that must be read and compared with the inbound deliveries in SAP.

User-friendly interface
On receipt of goods the pallets are transported from the truck to the ImageID gate. The Zetes ImageID cameras are installed on the tripods to the left and right of the door that separates the goods receipt and warehouse areas. The other components include a traffic light and a mobile workstation with a mobile scanner, label printer and monitor. The monitor displays the user-friendly, web based ZetesMedea user interface (Web UI).

Real-time SAP comparison
The scanning process, which takes only a few seconds, starts as soon as the forklift operator sets the pallet down between the two camera tripods. During the scanning process, ZetesMedea not only reads the label data but also compares it in real time with the inbound deliveries in SAP. If everything is right, the traffic light turns green and Zetes ImageID opens the quick door. Then the label printer automatically generates a Sum label with SAP.

If individual barcodes were not recognised during the scanning process because they were damaged or covered, for example, the employee is notified immediately via the traffic light as well as in the web user interface (WEB UI). “With this technology, we can work faster in goods receipt with higher quality”, says Andreas Dinzinger, Head of SCM Warehouse and Shipping at Ingolstadt. The payback time for the investment is expected to be less than two years.