VOPP - Virtual Operation Process Planning

What is VOPP?

VOPP is Python-based library that improves the logistics of warehouses and businesses that exchange packages and physical goods between each other. VOPP reduces costs associated with package management by improving packaging efficiency whilst also reducing the number of errors made in the process. It is a fully integrated end-to-end solution that provides a complete loop for warehouses and their customers and contractors to optimize their logistics.

Why should our business use VOPP?

The majority of VOPP is Free-and-Open-Source and licensed under the MIT License, so it is ideal for SMEs that want to reduce their logistics costs without paying for an expensive commercial solution. VOPP is completely modular and flexible, consisting of multiple interconnected components that can be used for other parts of the business and hence connect to existing solutions in a non-disruptive manner. Furthermore, the intuitive UI of the VOPP web app is very easy to use and doesn't require the employees to endure a steep learning curve.

How does VOPP work?

At the beginning of the VOPP cycle there is a Customer, for example a Store that wants to order a product consisting of multiple parts located in a Warehouse. The Customer opens the online web application and inputs the IDs of items that they require.

The item IDs are then sent to the Warehouse, where they are used to find the actual Items in the database of all parts and retrieved along with their properties. The Warehouse then selects the Boxes that they have available for packing.

These items and boxes are then send to the Paccurate API, which returns a list of Packages, where each package corresponds to a Box of efficiently packed Items. These are returned along with instructions of packing order and also an image to graphically aid the packing.

This information is displayed on the web application in a warehouse computer to a warehouse employee, who finds each Item in the warehouse, scans its barcode with a barcode scanner as a proof of it being packed, and places it into the Box in the required order.

Once this is completed, the Package is shipped to the Customer.

When the Package arrives, the Customer opens the web application again, where another interactive interface is waiting. Here, they can tick off every item that should have been delivered.

In the unfortanet event of an item being lost in delivery, the Customer doesnt tick that item off, and the web app automatically suggests another Order to the Warehouse.

This completes the end-to-end loop of VOSS, which completes all the logistics between the Customer and the Warehouse.

How does VOPP work under the hood?

Under the Hood, VOPP consists of multiple interconnected modular components.

The web app runs on Flask, which interfaces the Warehouse, which consists of a MongoDB database for the items. Once the queried items are retrieved from the database, they are bundled into ItemSets and send alongside with Boxes to the Packer class. Packer sends a HTTP post request to Paccurate API. The repsponse from the API is parsed and converted into a list of Packages. These are then displayed in the web app. The web app is then connected the the barcode scanner, which inputs the data.

All other components just use the Flask app.

Authors

The Bowden Cables Team of the IfM Hackathon 2020.