UPS has started deploying a new scanner and paperless printing device from HP to reduce operationalcosts while slashing its consumption of paper.
The new paperless printing solution will print millions of sorting labels directly onpackages saving UPS capital costs as well as costs for paper and ink and is expected to increasethe productivity and effectiveness of UPS package centre employees. By eliminating paper labels, itwill save 1,338 tons of paper each year once the imprinter is fully deployed and millions ofdollars in annual operating costs.
UPS and HP collaborated for 18 months to develop a mobile, wireless printing/scanningsolution called the “HP Handheld sp400 All-in-One“. UPS then built a custom business application tosupport the device.
UPS already has deployed HP Handheld sp400 All-in-One devices in 41 US package centres andplans to expand the deployment to a total of 850 imprinters in 55 centres by the end of this year.The company expects to use the device to process 1.5 million packages per business day by mid-2009and to increase that to 3.1 million by 2010.
As a package enters a UPS centre for sorting, a UPS employee uses the HP device to scan theshipping label. The device obtains the proper sorting information from a UPS database via a WiFinetwork inside the facility, then prints those instructions directly onto the package using aspecially formulated, fast-drying HP ink.
Employees can take the HP printing device to packages rather than having to bring packages tothe device. It replaces and simplifies the current fixed solution, which includes a large thermalprinter, PC, monitor and scanner. In addition to replacing the current bulky set up, the HPsolution also improves processing time and reduces the rate of mislabelled packages to virtuallyzero.
“Leveraging technology innovation is critical in today’s tough, competitive economy,” saidDave Barnes, senior vice president and CIO of UPS. “The new HP handheld device means increasedefficiency and effectiveness at a lower cost, with less waste.”
The wireless, wearable HP device is being used in conjunction with UPS’s award-winningPackage Flow Technology (PFT) system for route planning. PFT not only designs delivery routes thatminimize left-hand turns, but also generates specific handling instructions for each package thattell loaders the exact position in which truck to place a package for delivery the next day.
