Continental Optimizes Goods Receipt with ZetesMedea

As part of its Industry 4.0 strategy, Continental has chosen ZetesMedea ImageID to automate the goods receipt processes at its locations in Ingolstadt and Groß-Rohrheim. Thanks to the warehouse execution solution based on machine vision technology, Continental achieves higher productivity, accuracy, and more transparency in daily operations.

(Hannover/Vienna) After the first two installations, further camera-based Zetes ImageID gates are already planned. They will be put into operation at the newly built plant in the USA and in Lithuania.

Continental previously conducted the goods receipt process manually with handheld scanners, which was associated with a high workload and took several minutes per pallet. To save time and improve productivity and accuracy, the warehouse execution system ZetesMedea and an ImageID gate were introduced. One of Continental’s pilot locations for this is Ingolstadt. There, large quantities of pallets are received daily, each stacked with up to 60 individual containers. Each box has a label with a 2D barcode that needs to be read and compared with the deliveries stored in SAP.

User-Friendly Interface

For this purpose, the pallets are unloaded from the truck at the goods receipt and transported to the ImageID gate after removing the stretch film. The gate is located in front of the hall entrance that separates the goods receipt from the warehouse. Zetes ImageID cameras are installed on the right and left in front of the entrance. Other elements include a signal traffic light and a mobile workstation with a mobile scanner, label printer, and monitor. The screen displays the web-based and user-friendly interface (Web UI) of ZetesMedea.

Real-Time SAP Reconciliation

As soon as the forklift driver has placed the pallet between the two camera columns, the scanning process begins, lasting only a few seconds. During this process, the item data from ZetesMedea is not only read but also reconciled in real-time with the deliveries available in the SAP system. If everything matches, the traffic light turns green, and Zetes ImageID opens the hall entrance. The label printer is then activated, automatically generating a summary label in SAP. If individual barcodes were not recognized during the scanning process—due to being damaged or obscured, for example—the employee is immediately informed via the traffic light and the web interface (WEB UI). In these cases, the employee receives visual assistance and can then specifically re-scan the affected containers with the handheld scanner without the time-consuming search or recreate and attach the label. “With this technology, we work faster and with higher quality in goods receipt,” confirms Andreas Dinzinger, Head of SCM Warehouse and Shipping at the Ingolstadt location. The investment is expected to pay off in less than two years.

Different Processes

Continental expects an even faster return on investment with the second installation of an ImageID gate in Groß-Rohrheim, southern Hesse. There, Continental operates its central logistics center for the automotive spare parts market on an area of 34,000 square meters. Unlike Ingolstadt, 1D barcodes are captured in Groß-Rohrheim instead of 2D barcodes. Another difference lies in the reading distance between the pallet and the camera, which, however, is not an issue: ZetesMedea and the ImageID gate can capture all barcodes within a freely definable reading area. This means in practice that the reading fields can be several square meters in size. In this respect, the solution developed by Zetes is also extremely flexible.

Photo: © Zetes