Shipping Inspection System YAMATO SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT … · The Warehouse Product Inspection System...

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NEC has developed the logistics industry’s first Warehouse Product Inspection System, which is being used by Yamato System Development (YSD) to streamline shipment inspections for catalogs, pamphlets, manuals, and medical package inserts that do not have product IDs. This system has led to a 20% reduction in costs and time for all warehouse operations. Improvements in inspection accuracy have also translated to improved shipment quality. A large amount of time and effort were being spent on inspections in the logistics outsourcing business of YSD, so the company was looking for ways to streamline these operations. “In pre-shipment inspections, expert operators were responsible for inspecting the products visually and had to refer to documents multiple times to check that there were no mistakes,” explained Mr. Hiroshi Maki, Executive Officer of YSD and President of YSD’s logistics outsourcer e-logi Solutions Company. “We wanted to create a labor-saving system, but we did not receive a positive response from the vendors we contacted. Only NEC enthusiastically raised their hand to help us with this project.” Mr. Takeshi Hirata, Head of the YSD’s On-Demand Center at Haneda Airport, specifically requested NEC. “We wanted to invest in ICT and build a system that could inspect the number of items by weight as well as identify products based on photographs,” said Mr. Hirata. “This would allow us to eliminate the pre-processes of selection and confirmation and bring efficiency to the entire operation. We also asked NEC to make the response time for inspecting one item to not exceed three seconds.” YAMATO SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT CO., LTD. Shipping Inspection System Streamlining of inspections for products without product IDs Overview Challenges NEC's image recognition technology improves shipping process by reducing costs and time of shipping inspections. Challenges Inspection work was highly inefficient and required a huge amount of time and effort to manually process catalogs and pamphlets that did not have product IDs. Needed to build a system that could simultaneously inspect the number of items not only by product ID, but also by weight. No vendors came forward to act as development partners because of the complexity of the project. Solution Adopted NEC’s specialized image recognition technology to compare pre-registered product information with product photographs taken by cameras installed on workbenches to verify whether products matched. Installed a new system to verify product quantities by comparing the weight information of pre-registered products with weight of products on workbenches. Results 20% reduction in costs and time for performing shipping inspections of products without product IDs. Greater inspection accuracy and shipment quality. Case Study

Transcript of Shipping Inspection System YAMATO SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT … · The Warehouse Product Inspection System...

Page 1: Shipping Inspection System YAMATO SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT … · The Warehouse Product Inspection System can also be linked with YSD’s cloud-based warehouse management system enabling

“The operation can now be performed with a manpower reduction

of about 20%, and in future we estimate the same reduction in cost

and time,” said Mr. Hirata, describing the anticipated benefits of the

system. “Another major benefit is that we can shift operators from

inspection work to other work. And the inspection accuracy and

shipment quality has certainly improved.”

“With the inclusion of inspection work in the production line, the

entire line can now be managed in an integrated fashion by using

ICT,” added Mr. Maki. “This is a revolutionary system noteworthy in

the industry and could only be achieved through a collaboration

between NEC’s technical capabilit ies and YSD’s operations

know-how.”

“Unti l now, we have been working with the Haneda Airpor t

On-demand Center to promote the adoption of NEC’s Warehouse

Product Inspection System so that we can improve the efficiency of

YSD operations,” concluded Mr. Hiroki Nakamura, Branch Manager

of the East Japan Logisys Branch Office. “But based on this

success story, YSD is now looking to promote external sales of this

system in collaboration with NEC. We have three on-demand

centers in Japan: in Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka, and we are thinking

next to adopt this system in our Osaka center. We are also planning

to conduct demonstration tests for inspecting 3D objects without

barcodes.”

YSD was established following its split from the computer section of

Yamato Transport, and has been developing and operating the

TA-Q-BIN (parcel delivery service) system for many years. By

utilizing its development and

operations know-how, as well

as its extensive network and

infrastructure assets, YSD is

expand ing i t s bus iness to

provide solutions to customers

in a range of different industries.

As a “Business Process Efficiency

Partner”, YSD is leveraging ICT

to help its customers improve

the efficiency of their business

processes.

The Warehouse Product Inspection System developed by NEC

identifies products by comparing product photographs taken by

cameras installed on workbenches with pre-registered product

image information. The system also simultaneously identifies

product quantities by comparing the weight of each product

measured by a weigh scale installed on each workbench with

pre-registered weight information. By utilizing NEC’s high-accuracy

image recognition technology, matching images are accurately

extracted and products can be identified, even if the products in the

images captured by the camera are partially hidden, only part of the

product is photographed, the product is reflecting light, or the

product is tilted or crookedly placed.

Fur thermore, for products that are dif f icult to photograph,

inspections can be performed visually from the start because the

system also incorporates a sub-function that facilitates visual

inspections so that master information can be confirmed on a

screen.

The Warehouse Product Inspection System can also be linked with

YSD’s cloud-based warehouse management system enabling

integrated management of product master data, shipment

instruction data, and actual inspection data.

The newly developed Warehouse Product Inspection System is a

pioneering logistics system that simultaneously inspects products

based on both image and weight during shipping inspections.

NEC has developed the logistics industry’s first Warehouse Product

Inspection System, which is being used by Yamato System

Development (YSD) to streamline shipment inspections for catalogs,

pamphlets, manuals, and medical package inserts that do not have

product IDs. This system has led to a 20% reduction in costs and

time for all warehouse operations. Improvements in inspection

accuracy have also translated to improved shipment quality.

A large amount of time and effort were being spent on inspections

in the logistics outsourcing business of YSD, so the company was

looking for ways to streamline these operations.

“In pre-shipment inspections, expert operators were responsible for

inspecting the products visually and had to refer to documents

multiple times to check that there were no mistakes,” explained Mr.

Hiroshi Maki, Executive Officer of YSD and President of YSD’s

logistics outsourcer e-logi Solutions Company. “We wanted to

create a labor-saving system, but we did not receive a positive

response from the vendors we contacted. Only NEC enthusiastically

raised their hand to help us with this project.”

Mr. Takeshi Hirata, Head of the YSD’s On-Demand Center at

Haneda Airport, specifically requested NEC.

“We wanted to invest in ICT and build a system that could inspect

the number of items by weight as well as identify products based on

photographs,” said Mr. Hirata. “This would allow us to eliminate the

pre-processes of selection and confirmation and bring efficiency to

the entire operation. We also asked NEC to make the response time

for inspecting one item to not exceed three seconds.”

YAMATO SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT CO., LTD.

Shipping Inspection System

Streamlining of inspections for products without product IDs

Overview

Challenges

NEC's image recognition technologyimproves shipping process byreducing costs and time of shippinginspections.

Challenges

• Inspection work was highly inefficient and required a huge amount of time and effort to manually process catalogs and pamphlets that did not have product IDs.

• Needed to build a system that could simultaneously inspect the number of items not only by product ID, but also by weight.

• No vendors came forward to act as development partners because of the complexity of the project.

Solution

• Adopted NEC’s specialized image recognition technology to compare pre-registered product information with product photographs taken by cameras installed on workbenches to verify whether products matched.

• Installed a new system to verify product quantities by comparing the weight information of pre-registered products with weight of products on workbenches.

Results

• 20% reduction in costs and time for performing shipping inspections of products without product IDs.

• Greater inspection accuracy and shipment quality.

Case Study

Page 2: Shipping Inspection System YAMATO SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT … · The Warehouse Product Inspection System can also be linked with YSD’s cloud-based warehouse management system enabling

“The operation can now be performed with a manpower reduction

of about 20%, and in future we estimate the same reduction in cost

and time,” said Mr. Hirata, describing the anticipated benefits of the

system. “Another major benefit is that we can shift operators from

inspection work to other work. And the inspection accuracy and

shipment quality has certainly improved.”

“With the inclusion of inspection work in the production line, the

entire line can now be managed in an integrated fashion by using

ICT,” added Mr. Maki. “This is a revolutionary system noteworthy in

the industry and could only be achieved through a collaboration

between NEC’s technical capabilit ies and YSD’s operations

know-how.”

“Unti l now, we have been working with the Haneda Airpor t

On-demand Center to promote the adoption of NEC’s Warehouse

Product Inspection System so that we can improve the efficiency of

YSD operations,” concluded Mr. Hiroki Nakamura, Branch Manager

of the East Japan Logisys Branch Office. “But based on this

success story, YSD is now looking to promote external sales of this

system in collaboration with NEC. We have three on-demand

centers in Japan: in Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka, and we are thinking

next to adopt this system in our Osaka center. We are also planning

to conduct demonstration tests for inspecting 3D objects without

barcodes.”

YSD was established following its split from the computer section of

Yamato Transport, and has been developing and operating the

TA-Q-BIN (parcel delivery service) system for many years. By

utilizing its development and

operations know-how, as well

as its extensive network and

infrastructure assets, YSD is

expand ing i t s bus iness to

provide solutions to customers

in a range of different industries.

As a “Business Process Efficiency

Partner”, YSD is leveraging ICT

to help its customers improve

the efficiency of their business

processes.

The Warehouse Product Inspection System developed by NEC

identifies products by comparing product photographs taken by

cameras installed on workbenches with pre-registered product

image information. The system also simultaneously identifies

product quantities by comparing the weight of each product

measured by a weigh scale installed on each workbench with

pre-registered weight information. By utilizing NEC’s high-accuracy

image recognition technology, matching images are accurately

extracted and products can be identified, even if the products in the

images captured by the camera are partially hidden, only part of the

product is photographed, the product is reflecting light, or the

product is tilted or crookedly placed.

Fur thermore, for products that are dif f icult to photograph,

inspections can be performed visually from the start because the

system also incorporates a sub-function that facilitates visual

inspections so that master information can be confirmed on a

screen.

The Warehouse Product Inspection System can also be linked with

YSD’s cloud-based warehouse management system enabling

integrated management of product master data, shipment

instruction data, and actual inspection data.

The newly developed Warehouse Product Inspection System is a

pioneering logistics system that simultaneously inspects products

based on both image and weight during shipping inspections.

NEC has developed the logistics industry’s first Warehouse Product

Inspection System, which is being used by Yamato System

Development (YSD) to streamline shipment inspections for catalogs,

pamphlets, manuals, and medical package inserts that do not have

product IDs. This system has led to a 20% reduction in costs and

time for all warehouse operations. Improvements in inspection

accuracy have also translated to improved shipment quality.

A large amount of time and effort were being spent on inspections

in the logistics outsourcing business of YSD, so the company was

looking for ways to streamline these operations.

“In pre-shipment inspections, expert operators were responsible for

inspecting the products visually and had to refer to documents

multiple times to check that there were no mistakes,” explained Mr.

Hiroshi Maki, Executive Officer of YSD and President of YSD’s

logistics outsourcer e-logi Solutions Company. “We wanted to

create a labor-saving system, but we did not receive a positive

response from the vendors we contacted. Only NEC enthusiastically

raised their hand to help us with this project.”

Mr. Takeshi Hirata, Head of the YSD’s On-Demand Center at

Haneda Airport, specifically requested NEC.

“We wanted to invest in ICT and build a system that could inspect

the number of items by weight as well as identify products based on

photographs,” said Mr. Hirata. “This would allow us to eliminate the

pre-processes of selection and confirmation and bring efficiency to

the entire operation. We also asked NEC to make the response time

for inspecting one item to not exceed three seconds.”

YAMATO SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT CO., LTD.

Results

About

NEC provides advanced image recognition technology to meet the customer’s development needs

Inspection costs and time reduced by 20% by implementing ICT management that links all work lines

Solution

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Inspection unit (1)

Control terminalDatabase /

WMS interface server

WMS(warehouse

ManagementSystem)

Inspection unit (2) Inspection unit (n)

Camera(image recognition)

Scale…

• System configuration