loadproof - use cases€¦ · loadproof use cases introduction this document discusses the...

Highly Confidential – For Selective Distribution only of 24

Copyright Smart Gladiator/LoadProof

This document is protected by US and International copyright laws. Reproduction and distribution of this document without the written permission of Smart

Gladiator/LoadProof is Prohibited.

LoadProof - Use Cases


LOADPROOF USE CASES INTRODUCTION This document discusses the different Warehouse Use Cases, the various picture scenarios along with the relevant meta data and the best practices to follow while deploying Loadproof, so your organization gets the maximum return on investment from LoadProof. This document also discusses in detail the key steps and processes that need to be implemented so users would obtain the maximum benefit from Loadproof in their facilities. TERMINOLOGY

# Term Explanation 1 LTL Less Than Truck Load. Merchandise is shipped in pallets when shipped through LTL 2 FTL Full Truck Load. Merchandise is shipped in pallets when shipped through FTL, here in the US. 3 BOL Bill of Lading 4 Parcel Small Boxes shipped individually through Parcel Carriers such as UPS and or FedEx 5 Manifest Same as Bill of Lading for Parcels 6 DC Distribution Center 7 Load/Shipment/Pallet/

Freight/Product Load, Shipment, Pallet, Freight, Product, Merchandise all of them are used interchangeably. They all mean the same thing in this context for discussion purposes

8 SE Safety Expert 9 CL Container Load

10 LCL Less than Container Load 11 Concealed Damage There was no damage on the outside, but upon opening the box, there is one or more damages to the product inside the box

LOADPROOF USECASES 1. Outbound LTL Use Case 2. This is the scenario where the merchandise is being sent from the distribution center to a customer, hence the shipment is going outbound through an LTL delivery

process. 3. LTL stands for Less than truck Load. LTL shipments are shipments where a truck gets loaded with pallets going to multiple customers are loaded in reverse stop

sequence, hence the truck driver makes a stop, then drops one or more pallets at the stop, then goes to the next stop and again drops one or more pallets at the second stop and then goes on to the next stop and does the same thing and continues to do this until all the pallets are delivered in all the stops

4. Generally, LTL pallets need a little extra packaging because while the truck driver is dropping off pallets, he could potentially move or hit the pallets that are to be delivered in the next stop, hence a ding or dent might happen here and there or he might be moving the pallets to make way for the pallets to be dropped at the current stop. Hence it is important to add more packaging for pallets that are getting delivered by an LTL truck

5. Also, there may be scenarios where an LTL truck might go through a cross dock facility, which means the pallets are touched even more number of times, which means the pallets might need even more packing to sustain that extra handling

6. This is done for the reasons below a. To capture the condition of the product when the product is shipped to a customer to demonstrate that the product has left the facility in a pristine state b. The objective is to share feedback with the customer that the following have been thoroughly completed using pictures,

i. The cartons have been stacked and built into pallets in a thorough fashion following pallet building requirements ii. The pallet has been shrink wrapped with the required number of wraps, 3 or 5 whatever the count may be


iii. The shipping labels, retailer labels, pallet labels have been applied at the designated places on the pallets iv. The appropriate documents have been added also, some of them are listed below

1. Bill of Lading 2. Packing Slip 3. Any Licenses – for example DEA – Drug Enforcement Administration license while shipping controlled substances 4. Shipping Manifest if any, it is usually the BOL or Shipping Manifest 5. Non-conforming product report if needed

v. Then the pallets have been loaded onto the container or trailer or the truck vi. Then appropriate tie bars, pillow cushions, straps etc. have been applied to tie down the pallets, so that the pallets don’t fall off

7. Listed below are some example pictures

LTL shipments that are loaded and packed with tie bars

LTL shipments that are loaded and packed with loading

straps and pallet covers/tarp

LTL shipments that are packed individually documented

with LTL quality checklist


LTL shipments with “Do not stack” signs loaded individually

LTL shipments with different labels staged individually

LTL shipments loaded with loading bars

Shrink wrapped LTL shipments captured with “Do not

stack” label

LTL shipments loaded with loading straps

International shipment packed as one with individual

shipping labels


2. Outbound FTL Use Case 1. This is the scenario where the merchandise is being sent from the distribution center to a customer, hence the shipment is going outbound through an FTL delivery

process. 2. FTL stands for full truck load. FTL shipments are shipments that are transported from Point A to Point B, where the driver picks up the truck at Point A and drives to

Point B and drops off all the pallets at Point B. 3. The chances of damages in FTL process are less compared to an LTL process, hence less packaging is required for an FTL whereas LTL might require more packaging 4. This is done for the reasons below

a. To capture the condition of the product when the product is shipped to a customer to demonstrate that the product has left the facility in a pristine state b. The objective is to share feedback with the customer that the following have been thoroughly completed

i. The cartons have been stacked and built into pallets in a thorough fashion following pallet building requirements ii. The pallet has been shrink wrapped with the required number of wraps, 3 or 5 whatever the count may be

iii. The shipping labels, retailer labels, pallet labels have been applied at the designated places on the pallets iv. The appropriate documents have been added also, some of them are listed below

1. Bill of Lading 2. Packing Slip 3. Any Licenses – for example DEA – Drug Enforcement Administration license while shipping controlled substances 4. Shipping Manifest if any, it is usually the BOL or Shipping Manifest 5. Delivery order document 6. Trailer inspection sheet

v. Then the pallets have been loaded onto the container or trailer or the truck vi. Then appropriate tie bars, pillow cushions, straps etc. have been applied to tie down the pallets, so that the pallets don’t fall off

vii. Then capture the picture of the seal application viii. Then capture the picture of the seal itself


FTL trucks that are fully loaded are captured

FTL trucks that are sealed and documented with the seal #

FTL trucks that are sealed and documented with the seal #


FTL shipment captured with its Trailer number

FTL shipment captured with the door number

FTL shipment packed with pillows captured

FTL shipment captured before loading all the pallets to be

shipped

FTL captured with its seal number

FTL shipment packed with straps captured


2. Outbound Parcel Use Case 1. This is the scenario where the merchandise is sent from the distribution center to customers in small boxes through carriers such as UPS and FedEx. These are small

boxes that are predominantly shipped to both residences and commercial businesses. The majority of the 1Z, 2Z, orders received through Internet would be shipped through this method of transportation. These are not palletized and shipped as individual boxes.

2. Parcels shipped in the B2B world are often for time sensitive orders that need to be shipped to end users, so any damages could affect multiple parties in the Supply Chain.

3. Parcels are also often parts for projects that are needed on a time sensitive basis. 4. Hence pictures of parcels help the Shipper to demonstrate that the shipper did the job right and also shipped the order on a timely basis 5. The following are the objectives behind capturing pictures of the parcel shipments

a. To capture the condition of the product when the product is shipped to a customer to demonstrate that the product has left the facility in a pristine state b. To capture the condition of the fully packaged box that is shipped to a customer to demonstrate that the product is packaged very well and has left the

facility in a pristine state c. The shipping label, retailer label, and any other labels have been applied at the designated places on the boxes d. Then the parcel boxes have been loaded on the container or the UPS truck or FedEx truck


Outbound parcel shipment captured with contents





Parcels captured individually before shipping

Parcels captured individually before shipping

Parcel to shipped captured with its bag

Parcel to be shipped captured with the item in the bag

Individual boxes in the shipment is captured


3. Inbound Use Case 1. This is the scenario, where the merchandise coming inbound into the distribution center is documented by capturing pictures using LoadProof 2. This is done for the reasons below

a. To capture the condition of the product when the product is received from a vendor or a manufacturing plant b. The objective is to share feedback with the vendor or manufacturer on the following

i. Damaged merchandise for the reasons below 1. Incorrect handling 2. Incorrect equipment used for handling 3. Placing heavier items on fragile items – if the vendor is shipping fragile items, ask them to add a FRAGILE mark on the shipment/pallet

and also ensure the trucking company is handling the fragile items appropriately ii. Incorrect packing or insufficient packing – This often happens when the vendor is not aware that their shipment is going through a cross dock

facility, make them aware of it and ask them to add more packing for the extra handling that is done at cross dock facilities iii. Insufficient shrink wrapping – for example you might require 5 wraps of shrink wrapping but the vendor applied only 3 wraps

c. This is used as part of Vendor Performance metric, to determine the Vendor Performance Score of the vendor 3. Listed below are some example pictures

Inbound FTL shipments documented with seal number.

This seal is broken to open the container.

Floor Loaded cartons in an Inbound FTL shipment that is

documented with shipment#

Inbound shipment documented with order number


Inbound shipment captured after all loads are unloaded

Inbound shipment captured with damage

Inbound shipment staged in warehouse captured

FTL Inbound shipment captured: Pic 1

Inbound FTL Seal captured: Pic 2

Inbound FTL captured with loads: Pic 3


4. Returns coming back Inbound into the DC 1. This is the scenario where the merchandise is returned back to the distribution center from a customer for the reasons below

a. Because it arrived damaged at the destination, so the buyer sent it back as the buyer cannot use the product with such a damage b. A wrong product was shipped in the first place c. Or a Kit was shipped with a missing part in it

2. The following are the objectives behind capturing pictures of the Returned shipments a. Take pictures of the return in scenario a described above to show the damage, then compare this picture of the damaged return with the picture of the

original outbound shipment and show that you did your job right and have a conversation with the carrier that attempted delivery to the destination. Apparently that carrier that attempted delivery messed up the product by creating that damage, so the customer at the destination returned it back. With both the pictures, have a conversation with the carrier.

b. File a freight claim with the carrier that made the original delivery and show both the pictures to prove beyond reasonable doubt that it is the fault of the carrier to get your money back


Return from Inbound shipment documented after

unpacking shipment

Picture of the return’s design documented with the same

load

Damage noticed in the return shipment is documented and

the image is used as a proof for Freight claims


Label of return goods captured to verify the item







Return item captured after unpacking in Pic 1

Return item with damage captured in Pic 2


5. Shipping to Retailers such as Lowes, Home Depot, Walmart, Kohls, Amazon, Staples etc. 1. Take pics following one of the following Outbound scenarios

a. Outbound LTL b. Outbound FTL c. Outbound Parcel

2. If there is a chargeback issued for the photographed shipments, generate a PDF for the Load from LoadProof.com 3. Upload that PDF to the Retailer portal 4. With the PDF establish the fact that, when the product left your facility, it was in pristine condition, so the problem is somewhere else, it could be the Retailer’s

carrier or the receiving process at the Retailer’s end 5. Have a conversation with the Retailer asking for cancellation of the chargeback, mentioning the PDF that was already uploaded to the portal 6. When such a PDF is provided, the retailer cancels the chargeback

PDF Showing pics and Contextual Meta Data – Pg1


PDF Showing pics and Contextual Meta Data


6. Freight Claims for Outbound Shipment 1. This is a scenario where the freight/shipment you shipped arrived damaged at the destination. 2. So now you have the pictures of the outbound shipment at the time it left the facility (as you have taken pictures of the Load, when it left your facility), which

shows the condition of the product when it left your facility 3. Also have the receiver at the destination end, take pictures of the damages to the shipment and have them upload the pictures to Loadproof. This can be done by

setting up the receiver as a customer user under your site, give them both Browser access and the mobile app access. 4. In case of a concealed damage (concealed damage is a situation where the receiver acknowledged the receipt by signing for the shipment after external inspection,

but upon opening up saw damages, which were not visible outside, this requires informing the Carrier within 5 business days, or else the claim could be denied) take pictures of the damage immediately, upload them to Loadproof, as Loadproof applies a date stamp and time stamp to the pictures

5. While submitting a freight claim, it is important to prove beyond a reasonable doubt, that the mistake was made by the carrier. Use the pictures from LoadProof to do exactly that, by providing both sets of pictures, both before damages and after damages.

7. Freight Claims for Inbound Shipment 1. This is a scenario where the freight/shipment that was shipped to you from your vendor arrived damaged at your Distribution center 2. So you used Loadproof to take pictures of the damaged shipment that showed up at your dock door. 3. Also have the shipper at the origin end, take pictures of the shipment and have them upload the pictures to Loadproof. This can be done by setting up the shipper

as a customer user under your site, give them both Browser access and the mobile app access.





4. In case of a concealed damage (concealed damage is a situation where the receiver acknowledged the receipt by signing for the shipment after external inspection, but upon opening up saw damages, which were not visible outside, this requires informing the Carrier within 5 business days, or else the claim could be denied) take pictures of the damage immediately, upload them to Loadproof, as Loadproof applies a date stamp and time stamp to the pictures

5. While submitting a freight claim, it is important to prove beyond a reasonable doubt, that the mistake was made by the carrier. Use the pictures from LoadProof to do exactly that, by providing both sets of pictures, both before damages and after damages.

8. GEMBA Walk 1. Japanese term “Gemba,” means “the real place”, a “Gemba walk” refers to physically observing where value exists in a system and looking for different

opportunities to improve efficiency. Applying this principle to a distribution center setting involves supervisors physically walking the warehouse floor in search of current and potential waste, which degrades value-added processes.

2. For example, a supervisor notices that the productivity for all loading associates has been decreasing over time. At first, he or she might jump to a conclusion that associates are not working at the required pace and may need to be disciplined. During a Gemba walk, he or she goes to the “real place” (the loading dock) and notices that the decreased productivity is not due to the loading associates’ pace and methods at all. Instead, the order selection associates have been staging pallets in multiple directions without consistency or standardized method. This in turn is causing the loaders to move and search for pallets all over the dock, therefore resulting in a decrease in loaded pallets per hour. Having seen this in practice, the supervisor sees where the problem is occurring and now has a lead to investigate further. Here is where the supervisor can use LoadProof to take pictures and or videos to document the ergonomics of the operation step by step, which can be later analyzed to improve the processes.

3. A Gemba walk can help warehouse management discover where problems end up but more importantly can give them a lead to where more problems are present. The reason that the order selectors were staging pallets haphazardly on the dock could stem from additional root causes such as poor training, an increase in hiring of new selectors, available dock space, or an unbalanced workforce. Without physical observation by walking the warehouse floor with a critical eye, a supervisor may not be able to effectively address the slip in productivity.

4. The Gemba walk should become a standardized operating procedure for supervisors. With this procedure in place, there is a greater opportunity to work proactively to discover potential problems before they affect productivity. During these walks, it is important to talk to the associates to understand if there have been any noticeable changes to the work environment that affect productivity (defects, overproduction, waiting, non-value-added activities, transportation, inventory, motion, and employee under-utilization). Also, the extra visibility will help gain trust and buy-in from the workforce. In summary, this methodology can help management truly understand how the current operation is running and can be an effective action plan to solving problems that are often hard to trace from behind a computer screen.

9. Safety Issues Documentation with Loadproof 1. Warehouse personnel are trained on a regular basis on the tasks they are expected to do. However, things get out of control and accidents happen. This is

especially acute during the peak season, where there are a lot of orders to fulfill, everyone is under a time crunch and there are plenty of temp workers that are working alongside, sometimes with limited training.

2. So, it is important to designate a Safety Expert (SE) for your DC and equip that SE with Loadproof, so he/she can document Safety infractions. 3. Then those Safety Infractions can be reviewed as a team more so as Learning moments than pointing fingers. 4. So instead of debating and discussing after everything has happened, the SE is pro-actively prepared with safety measures, foreseeing upcoming accidents based on

the peak volume, new hires, temp workers, holiday volume, pressures to fulfill orders quickly etc.


5. The last thing you want is answering OSHA and other relevant labor departments, getting citations, going through recertification processes, instead of fulfilling orders. Examples of quality issues are documented as shown below:

Safety issue is documented with the door number

The safety issue with the doorknob is documented

A clear picture of the issue is documented

Inhouse error documented under safety issues




10. Quality Issues Documentation with LoadProof 1. Quality department is often tasked with documenting quality infractions through pictures, as pictures help communicate and resolve those issues quickly and

succinctly with vendors 2. Arming the quality personnel in your distribution center with LoadProof is another way to get the most out of LoadProof. 3. Also the vendors that are located in the far east, after given access to LoadProof, can quickly look at the pictures and get the quality issues resolved rather than

waiting for emails with large picture attachments 4. Examples of picture documentation demonstrating quality issues are shown below:

Quality issue of shipments are documented with Order#

Quality issue of shipments are documented with Order#

Even damages inside the trailer are documented

11. Warehouse Building Condition - Tenant Move in/Move out Documentation using Loadproof 1. Third Party Logistics companies often rent out their facilities to tenants. 2. As part of the move in/move out process it is important to document the condition of the building to ensure there are no damages and if any, the tenant is

appropriately charged for the damage or alteration. 3. Using Loadproof to document the before moving in and after moving out condition of the buildings help with quicker move in and move out and hence the building

is available for the next tenant relatively quickly 4. Listed below are examples of the scenario


The condition of the warehouse is documented

Condition of warehouse is documented

Condition of warehouse is documented

Condition of Warehouse doors are documented

Amenities in the warehouse are also documented






12. Parts Orders 1. Users also take pictures of parts orders using Loadproof to demonstrate that all the components or BOM SKUs have been shipped as part of the order 2. This makes it very clear to the customer that all the BOM SKUs needed to assemble the finished product has been shipped out.

13. Take pictures only in certain scenarios – Not for 100% of the orders leaving the facility 1. Warehouse managers some time realize that it might not be a good use of their time to take pictures of 100% of the orders that are shipped from the DC. 2. So they decide to document only certain orders that are shipped from the DC. 3. They could be based on one or more of the following criteria

a. Carrier performance in terms of delivering without damages b. Historical data available c. Value of the order d. Importance of the customer/brand name e. Urgent Orders

15. Using LoadProof to Streamline Current Picture Taking Process - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7NcoRuPEeA 1. Warehouse personnel often take pictures using their Smart phone but do not have a proper cataloging system to keep the pictures in one place along with the

contextual information associated with those pictures 2. Often some of their pictures are in in their Smart Phone, some in their Inbox, some in their computer etc. 3. Users sometimes users Google drive to store the pictures also, however there is no way to store the contextual data associated with it


4. With LoadProof, users are able to seamlessly take pictures super-fast, upload them super-fast to the cloud with the associated contextual data, retrieve them super-fast and share them super-fast

16. Videos – Where videos make more sense? 1. Document GEMBA Walk Study, for example document through video ergonomics of a picking function 2. Document Safety infractions, so that video can be used as a learning moment on how not to perform a function 3. Document the condition of a large shipment, that requires someone walking and capturing the video of all sides of the shipment because the shipment is so large 4. Document with audio message or instructions 5. Example of a video is posted below

Video is captured to cover all the sides of the shipment (click on the link to view the video) https://youtu.be/EZRpNEEN4Ms

17. High Value SKUs 1. High value SKUs lose a lot of value even if they get a small damage such as small dent or a ding or a scratch, some of them are listed below

a. Stryker - Hi tech Hospital Beds b. Sealed Air – Bubble wrap making machines c. Appliances such as Refrigerators, Washers, Dryers, Ranges, Ovens d. Daikon - HVAC Units e. Kohler – Fancy Faucets f. NCR – Retail Point of Sale Systems g. Liquor Shipments h. Komatsu Excavators – Time sensitive parts delivery as they are needed to complete larger assemble projects i. Ancerre Design - Fancy Bathroom Wash Basins j. Food Products – Especially Perishable Products k. And many other expensive SKUs

2. Examples of some high value SKUs/shipments are listed below:


Multi-specialty hospital beds are documented before

shipping to the customer

Bathroom wash basins are captured before shipping to the

customer

Pallets that are staged in warehouse is captured before

shipping to the customer

White glove service is documented with pictures

Fancy faucets are documented before shipping it to the

customer

Perishable products are shipped before shipping it to the

customer


18. Image Capture for Documentation Scenarios – BOL, Packing Slip, DEA – Drug Enforcement Administration License, Shipping Label, 1. The following are some of the documents that are captured today

a. BOL – Bill of Lading b. Carrier Shipping Label c. Retailer Label d. Packing Slip e. Parcel Manifest f. DEA – Drug Enforcement Administration License g. Do Not Stack Notice h. Fragile Placard i. Sales order information

2. Example pictures are listed below:

Loads captured with “Do not stack” labels




Load captured with “Do not separate pallet” label

Load captured with “Quality focus account” label

Load captured with “Long Fork only” label

Load captured with “Freeze me” tag

Load captured with “Corrosive” label

Load captured with “Caution label indicating flammable”


MISCELLANEOUS Listed below are the different Damage Scenarios that Warehouse supervisors need to watch for 1. Shipment Arrived Damaged when it arrived at your facility 2. Shipment left your facility intact, but it arrived damaged when it arrived at the other facility 3. Concealed Damage - There was no damage on the outside, but upon opening the box, there is one or more damages to the product inside the box Challenges while rolling out LoadProof 1. Change Management

a. How are millennial users adapting to the change? b. How are veteran users adapting to the change?

2. Cultural change a. Employees resisted the new process of taking pictures initially, but once they realized the picture documentation is protecting them, it is actually showing

everybody else that the employees are doing a great job, they embraced the change What are the savings? 1. Damages are prevented – rather you are not losing money because those damages did not happen at your facility, basically you shipped everything intact 2. Transportation cost on hauling the load back 3. Labor cost on fixing the load again

a. Trailer clean up b. Repacking the boxes c. Building the pallets again d. Shrinking wrapping them again

4. Transportation cost to deliver the load again to the customer 5. No time and labor spent on researching how an issue occurred after the issue occurred and putting in process changes to prevent the issue from happening again,

sometimes these process changes add more bottle necks and aggravate the situation even further 6. Lost trust, Lost Relationship or messed up relationship, that cannot be easily quantifiable by dollars

Caveats to watch out for while configuring LoadProof

1. Do not use user id that is more than 8 bytes long 2. Do not configure too many meta data elements, unless it is absolutely necessary

loadproof - use cases€¦ · loadproof use cases introduction this document discusses the...

Documents