Ready for the last mile in a matter of seconds
Dietikon, 14 December 2023
Parcel sorting systems are at the heart of parcel logistics and ensure a smooth, efficient shipping process.
Straight off the train into the delivery vehicle
Never before have so many items been ordered online as today. The efficiency of logistics systems is a key factor in the successful handling of high volumes of shipments. In light of this, we examined our parcel logistics. Shipments are delivered to one of our eleven Swiss parcel centres. Ten of these are located near cities and can be reached via the environmentally friendly railways. The eleventh parcel centre is located right beside the motorway and is accessed by road. In light of this, we examined our parcel logistics. Shipments arrive at our 10 parcel distribution hubs in metropolitan areas across Switzerland by climate-neutral rail, from where they complete the last mile to the recipient’s door in ‘Planzer Parcel’ delivery vehicles. The only question: how do we get thousands of parcels an hour off the train and into our parcel delivery vehicles – and do this so efficiently that the daily volumes are manageable?
Perfectly sorted in our hub
The answer to this question is a sorting system. This is at the heart of every parcel centre. In order to keep up with demand, our 2017 service portfolio underwent extensive process optimisation and was expanded both structurally and technologically.
The result is a highly efficient sorting process: parcels are fed into the sorting system from several points. Within a fraction of a second, the system identifies the parcel and the vehicle to which our delivery algorithm has assigned it.
It automatically sends the parcel to the right vehicle, where a member of our logistics team takes over, carefully placing the shipment in the allocated delivery vehicle. As soon as all the parcels are on board, the vehicle sets off on its daily round.
Intelligently orchestrated technologies
A digital weighing system with visual and tactile recording technologies is crucial for achieving the desired efficiency boost to our sorting systems. As parcels whizz through the tunnel, they are measured and weighed. At the same time, the system reads the QR code with the shipment number. Two volume sensors, various light barriers and several industrial cameras are used to record the data. They can simultaneously measure an individual parcel from five sides. If there are several bar and QR codes on the parcel, they identify which codes are relevant for its onward processing and which are not.
Moving things up a gear
The interaction of these technologies is controlled by software that significantly accelerates the overall processing speed. This means that our upgraded sorting systems now process parcel volumes that would be impossible to handle manually. In Zurich-Altstetten, for example, over 5,000 parcels per hour pass through the system. To enable this throughput, we use conveyor belts to move the parcels at a speed of 2.2 metres per second or almost 8 kilometres per hour. As the sorting process no longer involves any manual tasks, the current error rate is virtually zero.
Do not disturb
People make mistakes, machines break down. So fail-safe components are used in the event of a breakdown. These keep operations going, because system downtime would be disastrous. At our 10 parcel sorting sites, specially trained conveyor belt technicians also regularly maintain and correctly service the sorting system. They know exactly what to do in the event of a breakdown. But if they have any questions, they can contact the Planzer internal service organisation for round-the-clock support or emergency assistance.
