SK153395A3 - Method of distributing parcels, and container for carrying out the method - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention concerns a method of distributing parcels or other piece goods for delivery to addresses scattered throughout a supra-regional distribution system. The parcels are assembled at at least one depot and forwarded to distribution points from where they are delivered to the addressee by vehicle delivery rounds. In order to make the method more cost-effective and more rapid, the invention calls for the parcels to be grouped in delivery-round assemblies when they are taken to the depot, placed in a particular order corresponding to the course of a delivery round and brought in this order to the distribution points and placed in the vehicles. The container for carrying out the method is designed as a vehicle unit load with at least one closable access opening and preferably with internal shelves enabling parcels to be positioned in the correct order.

Description

METHOD OF DISTRIBUTION OF PACKAGES AND CONTAINER FOR IMPLEMENTING THIS METHOD

Technical field

The invention relates to a method for distributing packages according to the preamble of claim 1 and to a container for carrying out the method.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Existing federal mail delivery systems as well as other state or private delivery services at home and abroad have developed improved dense network distribution systems that, using a large number of distribution warehouses and distribution lines, strive for cost-effective and timely delivery of each individual piece goods from sender to recipient . Costs and delivery times are only partly determined by the length of the route. This is largely due to handling, sorting and reloading times, which also make a significant contribution to costing.

At the same time, complicated and densely cross-linked systems also prove to be less flexible with regard to the international expansion of their territory, following the broadening of the common market in Europe. The expansion in the normal way leads to a disadvantageous multiplication of the number of distribution and reloading stations through which each package or similar piece of goods must pass.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a method of distributing packages which makes it possible to realize the distribution of packages and similar piece goods more economically and quickly and facilitates, in particular, access to other regions across substantially national and regional boundaries. It is an object of the invention to provide a container for carrying out the method.

Said object is solved by a method based on the preamble of claim 1 by means of method features. This method leaves the basic idea of a dense network of stations and lines and counts with a strongly centralized distribution, where the goods to be distributed are transported to one or a few large-scale central warehouses where they are definitively stacked in ready-to-distribute distribution units . This generates batches which are delivered as a whole from a central warehouse to distribution stations, at the distribution stations they are transferred to vehicles and distributed in the order already specified in the warehouse.

The decisive advantages over the current multistage distribution method are the savings of handling costs. It is not necessary to take the package, send, translate and hand over the package several times and only place it at the distribution station in the location corresponding to the order of the journey, but it goes on an expedition from the warehouse through the distribution stations in a predetermined sorting.

It is understood here that the transport of the batch from the warehouse to the distribution stations is preferably carried out by large vehicles which transport several batches at once and deliver them individually or in groups to the distribution stations.

Advantageously, the batching of bulk goods is carried out by placing them in containers which represent a unit which can be easily handled by means of mechanization, for example by a forklift, while forming a reusable package which, however, can be formed in particular as an extension for the distribution vehicle. already in stock ready for distribution.

It is further understood that such containers can at the same time receive dispatch packages at distribution stations which can be conveniently transported as return cargo on the way back to the warehouse in the sense of central collection. Thereby, the distribution stations are expediently able to serve as collection stations again. In order for a shipping journey to start without interruption, preparatory work and planning, each batch is already assigned a shipping list on the warehouse side, which includes not only shipping addresses, parcel identification and similar information from the sender, but also indicates the location of the individual parcel in the batch. This facilitates and speeds up shipping work.

Above all, however, it is important to simplify and expedite the expedition that a systematic arrangement of packages or other piece goods in which the accessibility of the packages corresponds to the expedition order is already predetermined in the warehouse. In this way, the expedient gets to the package to be dispatched without looking for it.

The arrangement within the container can be achieved in a particularly advantageous manner by means of uniformly designed racks which are also arranged in order of sequence. However, the arrangement of the packages also allows the container to be completely filled. Indeed, when opening the container is the closest package to the one to be dispatched first, it will not hurt if the packages to be dispatched at the end of the journey are inaccessible stopped.

However, such a system envisages centrally capturing roads, starting with distribution stations and, moreover, centrally capturing the addressees at least in the order of the route in question. Only with the appropriate preprocessing, it is possible to select packages in the central warehouse according to the paths of the peripheral distribution stations and sort the recipients within one path. However, preprocessing of this kind is feasible with justifiable costs on the basis of local knowledge of distribution station personnel and the possibility of computerization.

According to the invention, a container in the form of a translatable extension for a vehicle with at least one closable inlet opening is further proposed according to the invention, while the bales are placed on the warehouse side in a roadway arrangement and can be transported from warehouse to a distribution station as a single road unit. wherein the container is mountable on an expedition vehicle so that the expedition journey can be carried out without further action.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

An exemplary embodiment of the invention is shown in the drawings and will be explained in more detail below. In the drawings:

Fig. 1 shows a schematic section of a stock, FIG. 2 shows a semi-trailer truck with six containers, FIG. 3 shows a view of a single container, FIG. 4 shows a sectional view of the internal distribution of the container, and FIG. 5 Container shipping vehicle.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The warehouse 1 in FIG. 1 has a central supply rail 2, and twelve oppositely oriented branches 3, which at the end are provided with places for the delivery of a truck, which can be represented, for example, by the semi-trailer according to FIG. 2. It is understood that motor vehicles or trailers may be attached in the same way. Each branch has two rows each with 6 locations for the container 5, each of which is intended only for piece goods for a particular distribution path, in the region of a very remote distribution station.

A large number of these containers 5, in the simplest case one row from one side of the branch 3, are loaded onto the truck 6 (FIG. 2) and eventually transported hundreds of kilometers to a distribution station which basically does not need any cargo equipment. In particular, the distribution station is the transfer point of containers 5, which are individually shifted from the truck 6 to the expedition vehicle 7, which can be carried out, for example, by a forklift or other suitable storage device.

The driver of the vehicle 7 receives in a cover letter all the important information for him, such as the exact marking of the road, if different roads are possible, the individual delivery addresses for the parcels or piece goods dispatched, and in particular the location of the parcel.

In addition, the arrangement of the packages in the container is also systematic in such a way that the packages in the container are always accessible during the journey, preferably the one which is in sequence is always prepared as the next one.

The container 5 of FIG. 3 is a predetermined fixed unit which is adapted to standardized, operating and permitting conditions with the following dimensions for large lorries for long-distance transport to distribution stations. The gaps on the underside allow for easy folding of such a container in a warehouse, lorry and / or expedition vehicle. Advantageously, expedition vehicles 7 as shown in FIG. 5, tailored for the transport of such containers, in particular the smaller wheels on the rear axle, which allows a lower loading height and thus convenient access to the container 5.

The container 5 is provided with an inlet 8 which can be closed by a roller shutter 9. The roller shutter 9 thus constitutes a space-saving, openable door in the warehouse and on the distribution vehicle 7, which can simply be provided with a motor drive.

As shown in FIG. 4, the inner partitioning (schematically) is mainly formed by racks which divide the interior space into racks 10 to 17, and these are arranged such that they are also in this order, i.e. beginning with rack 10 and ending with rack 17 during the journey, they empty. The shelves are provided by shelf racks, which may be in the form of tilting shelf racks 18 or fixed shelf racks. The movable shelving shelves, i.e. foldable upwards onto the side inner wall 20, allow the space 5 to create a space for movement in the container as the container 5 continues to empty, thereby facilitating work.

As a matter of principle, it should be noted that such a container 5, when stacked systematically, can be filled not only in the shelf area, but also in the shelf passages required for access to the shelves. The emptying thus takes place first from the outside into the inlet opening 9 and proceeds inwards.

All of this, however, is a logistics concept in which the expedition route, which usually involves only one day hike in the area close to the distribution point, is already established when the container is filled in a possibly remote central warehouse. Even if an individual supply is predisposed due to local disruptions to traffic or detours, such a journey cannot be translated or changed in its entirety. However, the systematic and schematic loading of the container is not problematic in the case of the small traffic disturbances mentioned above, but also supports a simple, well-arranged and trouble-free work operation.

An increase in security is also ensured in the warehouse by a compiled list of deliveries which allows for deviations from the arrangement (cf. Fig. 5) according to a schematic order when perhaps individual packages due to their size or weight are not on the shelf but are located elsewhere.

Claims (11)

PATENT CLAIMS 1. Method of distributing parcels or similar according to the addresses of delivered piece goods in a trans-regional permanent distribution system, in which the parcels are collected in at least one warehouse (1), further transported to distribution stations and transported by vehicles (7) by consignment characterized in that the parcels are already divided into batches according to the expedition routes, already arranged in the warehouse (1), placed in a mutual arrangement determined by the course of the expedition route and in this arrangement brought to the distribution station and loaded onto the vehicles (7). Method according to claim 1, characterized in that each of the doses for one route is stored in a container (5) which can be manipulated as a unit. Method according to claim 2, characterized in that the packages in the container (5) are located from the inlet opening (8) in an arrangement determined according to accessibility. Method according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that the container (5) is mounted on the distribution vehicle (7) as an extension in the distribution station. Method according to one of Claims 1 to 4, characterized in that each batch is accompanied by a shipping list containing the location of the packages in the warehouse (1). Container for carrying out the method according to one of claims 2 to 5, characterized in that it is designed as a translatable extension for a vehicle with at least one closable inlet opening (8). Container according to claim 6, characterized in that it has inside the shelf (18, 19) for arranging the packages. Container according to claim 7, characterized in that the shelf racks (18) are at least partially movable. Container according to claim 8, characterized in that the shelf racks (18) extend along the inner walls and are foldable thereto. Container according to one of Claims 6 to 9, characterized in that the inlet opening (8) is arranged in one side wall, behind which there is a central passage between the side shelf racks (18, 19). Container according to one of Claims 6 to 10, characterized in that the inlet opening (8) is closable by a roller shutter (9). List of reference marks