Mark A. RyderDirector: Marketing & Key Accounts

100% SORTING: REMOVING BARRIERSSorting without rejects: Strategies that eliminate costly manual handling

Post-Expo 2014Stockholm

Who are Prime Vision?

• Part of a postal operator ourselves;• Core technology developer in reading and coding systems;• Middleware developer between sorting systems, decision

systems and IT;

Partners with posts to develop automation solutions or reutilize existing investments in automation and software in new ways;

Postal / parcel automation has come a long way

Sorting becomes as easy as loading and unloading

Fewer operators required Higher throughput in less time Lower processing costs Higher quality

The main challenge with an automation strategy becomes the mail that fails automation

You need processes You need people You need time Higher error potential Higher processing costs

Common causes of automation rejects

Damaged, scuffed, poor quality addressing / bar code;

Identification failure; Input errors, such as double-feeding or

incorrectly faced; Machine errors, such as blockage Operational errors, such as chutes full

Rejects: Structural or dynamic?

Structural: predictable, for example barcode based systems will never be 100%. Expect a 2-5% reject rate;

Dynamic: unpredictable, for example operational events such as loss of critical data links, eDi information, batches of poorly printed labels

You need to develop strategies for both categories!

Increased sophistication of sorting / automation

Ever increasing scope means higher potential and impact of rejects

Multi-format sorters (wide range of mail) Growth of cross-border e-commerce Data-rich identification, deeper level reading,

indicia, volume, weight….capturing every aspect of a mailpiece

Revenue recovery & protection measures Sequencing and more complex sorting schemes Increasing involvement of sender and recipient,

i.e. track and trace, delay or divert in-transit and more

The cost perspective

Impacts of automation rejects vary considerably depending on complexity and volume; For one major client, handling 4% rejects costs them 7 times

more overall than handling the 96% with automation Can you put a price on all the cost drivers?

Potential for errors; Calling in emergency or agency staff; Late or missed deliveries / SLA

Video-coding can be a quick win strategyVideo-coding can be a quick win strategy

A surprising number of parcel / packet sorters have no video-A surprising number of parcel / packet sorters have no video-coding capability, compared to letters / flats etc;coding capability, compared to letters / flats etc;

Video-coding provides a low-cost means of keeping the item on Video-coding provides a low-cost means of keeping the item on the sorter and reducing extra physical handling;the sorter and reducing extra physical handling;

Value on barcode based sorters as well as more complex OCR Value on barcode based sorters as well as more complex OCR systems systems

Impacts are much more than cost alone

Missed delivery windows Do you have the people available? Drafting in extra people is one thing, but do they have the

process knowledge?

100% sorting efficiency: some strategies at design stage

Identification at the earliest opportunity; Build in delay lines to enable additional process time if required, or

recirculation for loop sorters for example; Enables second pass opportunity or video-coding;

Consider multi-side imaging systems on sorters rather than single side; A hybrid identification system, for example operators can voice the

destination city as they load parcels onto the sorter which can be combined with label identification on the sorter to reduce rejects;

Prioritise what you need to sort the mailpiece as opposed to what is necessary for secondary processes;

Build-in tools that enable easy analysis of rejects

100% sorting efficiency: strategies on existing automation

Reject mode analysis is critical to prioritise; Significant percentage of rejects can be read simply by a second pass; After conducting an analysis of your reject items, consider what can be

done prior to sorting for those difficult categories, i.e. fix it before you put it on the sorter (maybe re-labelling);

Consider an upgrade to older identification / reading systems; Review the original specifications of existing automation…maybe your

mail mix or operation of the machine differs from original design parameters

Final thoughts

100% sorting efficiency is achievable, in ways that minimise re-work and costs;

Identifying dependencies for your sorting/automation process enables you to mitigate risks;

Ensure mission-critical elements are duplicated (servers, data lines)

Mark A. RyderDirector: Marketing & Key Accounts

m.ryder@primevision.com

100% SORTING: REMOVING BARRIERS

Thanks for your attention!