Visidot to Improve Shipping

Israel In Our Day Listen online: http://frontpagejerusalem.com/site/index.php
Reported by Shalle McDonald
Written by Kasey Barr

Making sure packages get from point A to point B is no easy task in today’s global economy. Most business relationships are incredibly complex resulting in products being shipped, transshipped and reshipped before they finally reach their destination. Manufacturers and distributor have little control over their packages once they are in the hands of the shipping companies and often suffer significant profit losses from misplaced or delayed shipments which can be fatal for companies operating within thin profit margins.

So how do companies keep track of the global web of deliveries? The most widely used method is to manually scan bar codes and record the information through a computerized inventory system. This system relies on manual scanning, which adds labor cost and yields a high rate of error from incorrect or incomplete scanning.

An alternative method for tracking packages called REID or radio-frequency identification, uses tags and radio waves to record information into a computerized inventory system which yields far fewer stray packages, however the tags are expensive and beyond the budget of companies with high-volume shipping.

Israeli company ImageID of Hod Hasharon, has developed an innovative image recognition application called “Visidot” that has already been field-proven and deployed throughout the globe providing an effective low cost solution.

Visidot Reader is a high-speed, large field of view automatic identification and data capture system. It is comprised of industrial, high resolution cameras attached to mounting infrastructure and linked to a PC-based processing unit via high-speed Firewire connections. Once triggered, the Visidot Reader powers up its illumination units and initiates image capture, simultaneously scanning hundreds of assets in a single pass. Captured images of asset labels, bar codes or other attributes are quickly analyzed, decoded and stored in XML data files. This decoded date represents the number of items and their XY location coordination. Sophisticated algorithms enable detection of tags in any orientation and even of partially damaged tags, and are capable of identifying the location of missing or illegible tags.

In case of shipping error, a real-time alert is presented, along with visual guidance for corrective action on a user-friendly touch screen interface. Visidot maintains an image bank with archived visual proof of delivery and asset condition to help resolve delivery-related dispute.

“Visidot enables users in a broad range of industries to track and trace hundreds of thousands of assets a day - with 100% accuracy - maintaining lean logistics and complete supply chain control," says ImageID marketing director Ayelet Avriel.

Their field studies reveal far greater efficiency and accuracy than the hand-held scanning systems. Several companies throughout the world are already using the system with great success. Some, such as SeaChill, a fresh fish supplier in the UK, claim the technology moved them from red to black by practically eliminating fines for late-delivered merchandise.

This is just one of the many business Israel ID and their Visidot system has helped return to profits in a tough global economy where every cent counts. This report is brought to you by Israel 21C and Front Page Jerusalem.