10 jun 2022
It might sound surprising, but in quite a lot of businesses, people still have to do a great deal of manual counting. Whether it’s a physical inventory count, an incoming shipment check, or dispatch management, manual counting is an integral part of daily operations. We aim to offer a solution that is more twenty-first century than trying to tediously tally your items by hand. In this blog post, we’d like to tell you how an app that counts things can make the process of counting much easier and faster in various industries.
Count-from-picture apps normally employ neural networks that are trained to identify objects in images. Of course, the type of neural network and the way developers train them matter a great deal. Some mobile app developers use pre-trained AI models because they are free to use and relatively easy to adapt to your purposes. However, the best results always come when you train a neural network from scratch to accurately identify certain types of objects.
iScanner was one of the first object-counting apps with an AI-based image counting tool. To increase accuracy, we came up with a shortlist of objects that are most likely to be counted in various industries and were most requested by our users, like pipes, lumber, differently sized boxes, and variously shaped pills. We’ve also switched to a new-gen neural network and designed a remarkably accurate object detection algorithm.
The process is very simple:
When we order something online, we hardly give a thought to what stands behind a timely delivery to our door. Large product-based companies can handle thousands of shipments every day. Mistakes on dispatch can lead to logistical hell, not to mention increased expenses, so most businesses choose to check outgoing shipments before dispatch rather than deal with the consequences of an incorrect delivery or failed timelines.
On top of that, recent data show that over 50 percent of businesses provide same-day delivery. This means the timeline for pick-up, quality control, packing, and dispatch is very fine. Quite a lot of retailers resort to using some kind of dispatch management software, but those can be costly and are often unaffordable for small businesses.
The image-counting tool in iScanner can be of help in this situation. For one thing, it’s perfectly affordable, and for another, it’s a mobile solution, which is an ideal setup for logistics. Staff on dispatch can instantly count the number of boxes to be shipped at the outgoing gate, rather than having to count them manually, and then share evidence with a manager at the office within seconds.
Depending on the type of merchandise, product-based businesses can spend up to 30 percent of their manager’s time on stock count and stock-count-related admin work. At large warehouses, inventory counting can continue for up to two weeks. Of course, physical inventory count is vital for efficient stock management. But more often than not, it also means that you have to cease operations. Obviously, any business wants to reduce the time spent on inventory counting as much as possible.
A reliable count-from-picture app is the perfect way to do just that. Not only does it facilitate the process, but it also makes it much easier for the staff. Imagine having to spend hours in a refrigerated room counting items on every shelf, row after row. Being able to just take a picture and be out of there sounds much nicer.
You’d be amazed at how much manual counting certain types of healthcare workers have to do. Admittedly, medicine is a pioneering field in terms of manual count automation. The first cell counters appeared on the market nearly ninety years ago.
Still, some medical professions—especially in clinical trials, like clinical research associates and pharmacy personnel, for instance—have to do a great deal of manual counting. You might be wondering what it is that they need to count. The answer is simple: every single pack, tablet, bottle, carton, syringe, and vial that arrives at the research site to be administered to patients. One hundred percent accountability is vital in clinical research because it allows traceability. Study teams need to ensure that all experimental medications are being used appropriately.
What’s more, they need to count everything twice—once when it arrives at the clinical site and the second time when patients return it. If you have ever tried to manually count small objects like pills, you’d agree that it’s exceptionally tedious and time-consuming. An object counting app like iScanner can make the task much, much easier and save up to 80 percent of the time.
When a large shipment arrives at your warehouse or shop, things can get hectic, especially if you don’t have enough space in the incoming area to put all the containers into neat rows. Delivery couriers usually try to get away as soon as possible and are not happy when you keep them waiting. But still, you’ve got to inspect your consignments properly and ensure that the number of containers corresponds to that on the delivery note before signing off. Otherwise, you might have a hard time disputing with the freight company and trying to prove something was missing from the shipment on arrival. An object-counting app can speed up the inspection process a great deal. Snap a picture of the pile of boxes and compare the total with the number in the delivery note. Piece of cake!
Don’t hesitate to try Count mode! This feature works on both iOS and Android devices. Install the app and see how much of a difference it can make.
Learn more about the ways iScanner helps small businesses thrive and makes processes in logistics more efficient.
