When it comes to the logistics of last mile delivery, our research has found that workers spend nearly 80 percent of their time “searching” in the delivery station or sort center. Not only is the amount of time spent on searching a tremendous waste of human resources, it’s also a major cause of lost, damaged, or expired goods in package delivery.

We describe “searching” as any activity that involves workers looking for the item intended for customer delivery and then making sure it’s placed in the correct vehicle for that delivery. To be specific, searching involves the following:

* Finding the required package or product for delivery
* Finding the required location, e.g., container, vehicle, or specific position
* Undertaking various actions to help find the package, product, or storage location
* Undertaking remedial actions to correct mistakes in the searching process

By way of comparison, the time spent moving goods in a last mile delivery facility accounts for less than 20 percent of the total time.

Although it may be difficult for many in the package delivery industry to accept the fact that 80 percent of the workers time in a facility is wasted on searching, our research here at HYCO has proven that to be case.

 

Why Searching Is Not Fundamental To The Delivery Operation

If you apply a First Principles analysis to the operation of a delivery station and sort center, you’ll recognize that searching is not really essential to the fundamental task at hand. If you’re not familiar with the First Principles concept, it’s a method of analysis in which you break down a process to its basic components to determine what’s essential.

The fundamental activities in a package facility for last mile delivery are as follows:

* Load packages from delivery station
* Drive to customers’ address
* Grab packages in the vehicle and deliver them to customer assigned place

Apart from these three essential actions, all other tasks are auxiliary or remedial measures that do not add value to the process.

From a “First Principles” perspective then, other actions in a last-mile package facility are not fundamental and hence waste time. Specifically, they are:
* Finding the designated package on the conveyor belt
* Finding the correct location for sorting or loading
* Undertaking various actions to help locate the correct package

In fact, facility workers often write a big number on the package to make it more convenient for the driver to spot the correct delivery item. But if the worker puts the wrong number on the package by mistake, then the driver won’t get the right package delivered.

The Solution: Wireless Light Tag Technology

What can you do to eliminate “searching” in a facility? You should take advantage of technology for quick package identification.

HYCO Technology with GHE Solution Inc. (Go Home Early – last mile delivery solution) has developed an intelligent labeling system that eliminates “searching.” Workers place Hyco wireless light tags on packages that provide audio-visual cues for item identification in seconds. As a result workers don’t have to search around in the sort center or delivery station to find the correct packages for a customer drop-off.

When an inbound delivery takes place at a sort center or delivery station, workers attach a tag to each package. Although the attachment of a tag does take time at the front end of the process, it saves far more time at the back end because workers can now quickly select the correct packages to load the delivery van. In addition, the use of tags makes it easy for the driver to quickly identify the correct customer’s package at a delivery stop.

Introducing wireless light tag technology into their facilities gives last mile and package delivery companies a means to boost productivity by eliminating worker time wasted on “searching.” By saving time, they will maximize labor resources to reduce costs and improve overall operational efficiency.

Step 1：
Binding the wireless light tag to each package. Can be do it by drivers, It is better binding tags to packages by delivery station, not only save drivers’ time, but also can improve delivery station efficiency a lot.

Step 2：
Drive to the delivery destination, the wearable computer will accurately help driver track your destination, displaying all nearby package information in real time, helping to avoid missed deliveries and unnecessary round-trips.

Step 3：
The wearable computer will control the wireless light tag on the target package to flash and beep, helping the driver quickly grab the target packages instead of long-time finding. so can very easy to complete the delivery.

In fact, facility workers often write a big number on the package to make it more convenient for the driver to spot the correct delivery item. But if the worker puts the wrong number on the package by mistake, then the driver won’t get the right package delivered.

For more about Go Home Early Last Mile Solution

Solution overview - https://www.hycoiot.com/why-last-mile-delivery-needs-a-human-centric-approach-to-technology/
GHE Solution Inc. - https://www.ghelmd.com