A global logistics company that specializes in small parcel handling is responsible for loading, delivering, and unloading millions of packages every year. An improvement in the efficiency of the loading and unloading process can save the company an exorbitant amount of time, money and headaches.
UNEX pioneered a truck conveyor solution to a common shipping problem encountered by global logistics companies.
The company was packing 28 ft. trailers, packed to the seams with products for delivery. The trailers were cubed and the products were stacked in boxes, making the cubing process was very involved. Rather than having dockworkers carry the products from the dock onto the truck and all the way to the back of the 28 ft. trailer, the company began using gravity conveyor. At each distribution center or hub, the loading dock workers would move a gravity conveyor onto the truck and then place the product on the conveyor and guide the product to the back of the truck. This was not only an ergonomic improvement for the workers but was more time efficient as well.
As the truck was packed from the back, the workers would slide the gravity conveyor back off the truck until the whole trailer was full. This process would be repeated at every hub or DC.
The logistics company began to think to themselves, “We’re moving a gravity conveyor onto the truck manually at every load and unload. Each time this happens there is labor and time involved in getting it set up and over the life cycle of the trailer that is an awful lot of time spent just for preparation.” The company contacted their truck manufacturers to determine a better solution. That manufacturer contacted the Pickologists at UNEX.
We suggested building a gravity conveyor right into the floor of the truck. We thought "if the conveyor is used in loading and unloading, every single time, why shouldn’t it be a permanent fixture in the truck?" This solution took a lot of customization, as the axle was specially designed to prevent the rollers from popping out with the vibrations of the truck. It was also a custom designed width. However, once the logistics were hammered out, it became a standard feature in every single truck that the parcel handling company buys.
So as you wait for your gifts to be delivered this holiday season, there is a very good chance that they were delivered with a big helping hand from UNEX gravity conveyor!
Have questions? Contact a UNEX pickologist today.
