Loading Dock Automation

Why can't we deploy AI at the loading dock to simplify and streamline all the invoices, manifests, and order confirmation forms that get exchanged at store loading docks?  Our client has 12,000 trucks that each make 7 to 12 deliveries to retailers daily. Their current system involved a complex set of matching documents and invoices at the loading docks for each delivery, then forwarding paperwork on to headquarters for reconciliation. It was cumbersome, prone to errors, and expensive to ship all those documents.

As part of an overall digital transformation throughout the supply chain to more paperless solutions, we leveraged Interplay® to build an AI-centric document recognition app for drivers. This app not only scanned documents for full digital copies, it extracted all important printed data and performed real-time reconciliation with HQ systems of record. 

Delivery drivers simply need to hold their phone over the printed manifest. The app recognizes the type of document being scanned, extracts all important information, including account numbers, product line items, quantities, and delivery dates.  This is much more advanced than any other document scanner-- this is a full document recognition and reconciliation system. 

Once a document is recognized and data is extracted, a complete data set is reconciled with the home office's ERP, accelerating the order management and inventory management systems to real-time.  This marks a very large improvement over the legacy process of batch processing via physical mail, where data lag is up to 48 hours.

Further, the app also has a full failover mode to store all document data locally in case of low bandwidth connectivity, and then auto-syncs when bandwidth improves.

Success for this project shows up in several forms: 

• elimination of express document shipping costs, 
• increased accuracy, 
• real-time analytics on shipments, 
• better storage of historical data,
• increased safety for drivers (less time shuffling paperwork).