With increasing stress on logistics operations to deliver more small and non-conveyable packages and parcels more quickly, there is a need to increase throughput and efficiencies. This can be achieved by using the right sorter in your process, but also by making use of smart design in the exits of the sorter. With smart design, the number of exits could be doubled without the need to double the footprint of the sorter. This could not only decrease the amount of handling, but also enables much deeper sorting (for example, to postal code instead of regions). The right combination of sorter and exits can help any logistics operation to increase efficiency and ultimately reduce costs.

The increasing demand for speed and flexibility is creating a potential to implement robotics, AGVs and IoT within parcel operations. The unexpected enabler for many of these future developments is the effective use of parcel load carriers. When implemented correctly, parcel load carriers can reduce (un)loading times and enable pre-sorting, which reduces overall sortation costs. Furthermore, the reality is that all national postal operators have a current fleet of roll cages that, when installed with IoT technology, can reduce manual scans and gather information about everything from routes to loop times and customer behavior. The development of new technologies, such as AGVs and robotics, make it possible to improve the logistics network, meet new market demands and reduce parcel sortation costs.

Software for letters and flats processing has evolved to a point of extreme sophistication. Gone are the days of simple barcodes. In today’s interconnected world, postal and mail processing organizations deploy intelligent sorting algorithms to handle complex data streams and get the mail delivered. As the global parcel market continues to grow, the amount and complexity of data is snowballing. Now is the time to evaluate what we have learned from lettermail and flats processing and apply the lessons learned to the rising challenges in parcel sortation.