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UBD Realizes Measurable Efficiency and Financial Benefits with Cube-Scanning Solution

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Solutions Profile:
  • United Book Distributors (UBD) is the warehousing and distribution division of Pearson Australia Group (PAG)
  • UBD, an international book distributor, seeks to improve distribution efficiency and order fulfilment accuracy
  • According to Sebastian Parkes, Managing Director, “use of cube data at UBD may well have resulted in savings of 10 or more percent of our distribution costs.”
  • The cubing/weighing solution provider: CubiScan® by Quantronix
                                                          
 
The Customer
United Book Distributors (UBD) is the warehousing and distribution division of Pearson Australia Group (PAG), Australia’s largest book publisher.  PAG is part of Pearson PLC, an international media company with market-leading businesses in education, business information and consumer publishing. UBD‘s responsibility is to receive, hold and distribute books and related goods on behalf of PAG. Its 312,000 square-foot distribution facility is located at Scoresby (Melbourne), Victoria, Australia.

The Challenge
UBD’s operational philosophy is to provide efficient book distribution services through cycle-time reduction, order accuracy and the elimination of resource and material waste. In keeping with this philosophy, UBD needed to streamline its warehouse and fulfilment operations.  Accurate dimensional and weight data are deemed important elements in this process.

The Solution
UBD now employs six cubing/weighing systems to dimension and weigh received books and related materials as part of its internal handling processes. Two units are used to precisely dimension and weigh a representative book or unit item while the larger four units handle cartons and case packs.

The Results
Once item dimensions are ascertained the data is fed via an automated interface to the site’s warehouse management system.  The WMS retains the data in its item master file and applies it when directing slotting, putting, picking, packing, check-weighing, manifesting, selecting a carrier and reporting.

UBD’s order fulfilment and cartonization processes also benefit from cube-scanning.   The thousands of daily orders (which include loose-pick components) have packaging materials of the appropriate size automatically selected before they are filled, minimizing consumption of packaging material and reducing freight costs, as goods are consolidated into the fewest cartons possible.  Goods also reach the end customer in better condition, as they are tightly held together and require minimal or no void fill, allowing them to be load-bearing and not crushed.

Completed goods are also check-weighed to ensure accuracy, invariably trapping 1-2% of cartons that would otherwise have shipped with picking errors, impacting the company’s goodwill and incurring additional customer service, freight, and fulfilment costs associated with replacing items and correcting the order.



 
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