Buyer’s Guide: Weighing Equipment for the Logistics Industry

As the logistics industry continues to grow globally, having reliable and accurate weighing equipment is crucial for efficiency and compliance. This buyer’s guide provides an overview of key weighing solutions for various logistics applications to help you determine the right equipment based on your operational requirements and budget.

Understanding the Logistics Industry and Its Needs

The logistics industry is a broad sector encompassing the management of the flow of goods from the point of origin to the point of consumption. Key activities in this industry include transportation, warehousing, inventory management, packaging, and handling. Each of these segments demands precision and efficiency, where weighing equipment plays a fundamental role.

Popular Weighing Systems in Logistics

1. Pallet Scales: Essential in warehouses, these scales enable the weighing of goods on pallets, facilitating inventory management and shipping accuracy.
2. Vehicle Scales: Also known as weighbridges, truck scales are vital for ensuring vehicles comply with legal weight limits, preventing overloading and ensuring road safety.
3. Forklift Scales: These scales integrate into forklift trucks, allowing simultaneous lifting and weighing, thereby optimising workflow in warehouses.
4. Conveyor Scales: Incorporated into conveyor systems, these scales automate the weighing process of goods in motion, enhancing efficiency in packaging and shipping areas.
5. Counting Scales: Ideal for inventory management, these scales facilitate the counting of items based on weight, ensuring accurate stock levels and order fulfilment.

The Role of Weighing in Logistics and Supply Chain Management:

• Accurate Inventory Management: Weighing systems enable precise tracking of goods throughout the logistics chain. This precision is crucial for maintaining accurate inventory levels, which is fundamental for effective supply chain management. Accurate weighing ensures that inventory records match the physical stock, reducing discrepancies and the risk of inventory shrinkage.
• Cost Management and Billing: Weighing is essential for calculating shipping and handling costs. Accurate weight measurements ensure that costs are allocated correctly and transparently. In logistics, where billing often depends on the weight of the goods, precise weighing is crucial for fair and accurate billing practices.
• Compliance with Legal Requirements: The logistics industry is governed by numerous regulations, including weight limits for vehicles on public roads. Weighing ensures compliance with these legal requirements, helping to avoid penalties and legal issues. For instance, overloading vehicles can lead to fines and increased wear and tear on transportation infrastructure.
• Enhancing Safety: Proper weighing helps in maintaining the safety of transport vehicles. Overloaded or unevenly loaded vehicles pose a significant risk on the road. Accurate weighing helps in distributing the load evenly, thereby enhancing road safety and reducing the risk of accidents.
• Operational Efficiency: In logistics, time is a critical factor. Modern weighing systems, such as conveyor scales or forklift scales, integrate the weighing process into the operational workflow. This integration speeds up the process, reduces manual intervention, and enhances overall operational efficiency.
• Quality Control: Weighing can also be a part of quality control processes. In logistics, ensuring that the shipped goods match the order in terms of quantity and weight is crucial. Weighing systems aid in verifying that the correct amount of product is being shipped and received.
• Environmental Impact: With a growing focus on sustainable practices, efficient weighing contributes to environmental conservation. Accurate weighing helps in optimising loads, which can lead to fewer trips and reduced fuel consumption, thereby minimising the carbon footprint of logistics operations.
• Customer Satisfaction: Accurate and efficient weighing processes play a significant role in customer satisfaction. Delivering the correct quantity of goods in a timely manner, with accurate billing, directly impacts customer trust and business reputation.

Choosing the Right Weighing Equipment for the Logistic Industry

Floor and Pallet Scales for Warehouses

If you need to weigh pallets, packaging or products at various points in your warehouse operations, floor and pallet scales offer durable and high capacity solutions. Key features to look for include:

• High weight capacities – up to 30,000 lb
• Flexible scale sizes and platform dimensions
• Ramp and pit installation options
• Integrated indicators and software

Floor Scale: Gram ZMissil 

The Gram ZMissil floor scale is an all-purpose, robust solution for various weighing needs. It features electronic display in two positions, double tare functionality (normal and permanent), and a keyboard lock for security. The scale is equipped with flash memory to retain the last weighing data and offers optional GLP-GMP functions with date, hour, and ticket number recording. It supports wireless connectivity and direct USB data transfer to PCs without requiring software. 

The scale is adaptable, with stainless steel AISI 304 platforms and plates available in four sizes, making it suitable for a wide range of applications. Its design is geared towards intensive use, being protected against liquids and dusty environments, and it’s easy to clean due to its smooth surface and soft edges. The ZMissil also incorporates DSF technology to filter out disturbances or vibrations, ensuring accurate weight readings.

Pallet Scale: Xtrem Scorpion

The Xtrem Scorpion pallet scale is a highly versatile and efficient weighing solution, designed with a low profile platform that is ideal for Euro-pallets. It features a fully digital weighing core for precise measurements. The scale is equipped with front wheels and a handle for easy relocation. Its low height (72 mm with optional LP feet) allows easy access with loads, facilitating pallet weighing without the need for ramps. The Xtrem Scorpion is capable of sending fully autonomous data to an indicator, PC, tablet, or iOS/Android smartphone. It offers maximum safety with embedded adjustment and calibration data. 

The pallet scale connects to WiFi networks and can transmit data via both cable and WiFi, ensuring flexibility in various industrial environments. Its sturdy construction includes a steel structure with a baked epoxy resin coating and IP-65 nickel-plated steel load cells, ensuring durability and reliability in demanding industrial conditions.

Forklift Scales for Load Handling

Mounting weighing systems onto forklifts allows operators to efficiently weigh loads during handling without slowing down operations. When evaluating forklift scales, consider:

• Compact low-profile design
• Wireless transmission of weight data
• Easy to clean construction that sheds debris
• Battery or alternator power sources

The Gram Bull forklift scale 

The Gram Bull forklift scales, equipped with Xtrem WiFi technology, offer the latest in fully autonomous weighing without the need for cables. They are designed to be simple to use, with no installation required. The scales feature standard forks that assemble easily on positioners. All internal components are protected within the fork, ensuring durability and safety. The scales have a low fork height of only 56 mm, which makes them compatible with a wide range of pallet types. The removable batteries are protected inside the structure and offer up to 72 hours of continuous work. Additionally, the scales include a programmable pallet overload warning and a memory for up to 20 tares.

Vehicle Scales and Portable Axle Scales

Portable axle scales quickly weigh truck axles for payload compliance. Durable, lightweight construction allows use anywhere. Useful features:

• Bluetooth connectivity
• Battery powered operation
• Easy trailer towing
• On-screen instructions

Gram PR – portable weighing pads for weighing trucks

The Gram PR is a portable wheel scale, ideal for efficiently controlling vehicle weights. It features a low profile design with a height of only 60 mm, ensuring easy vehicle access. The scale can be installed either on-ground or in-built, offering flexibility for both mobile and permanent weighing stations. Constructed from high-strength aluminium, the PR series can support a maximum capacity of 20,000 kg. It includes handles for easy mobility and transport, and optional rubber ramps for improved platform access. This scale is designed for quick and easy weighing of vehicles by separately weighing each axle.

Vehicle Scale: Xtrem Speed

The Gram Xtrem Speed is a digital scale designed for weighing light vehicles, suitable for both floor and recessed mounting. This robust scale is capable of handling vehicles moving across it in any direction and features a double range with CE-M verification for legal use. The Xtrem Speed is highly reliable, incorporating Z Link communication technology and an Xtrem digital core. It can autonomously send data to various devices including PCs, tablets, and smartphones. The scale is prepared for high connectivity, aligning with Industry 4.0 standards. It boasts a 2-layer epoxy coating, Class C3 sensors, and IP67 protection, ensuring durability and resilience in industrial environments.

Other industrial Scales that will help you boost efficiency in your logistic company

Industrial Pallet Scale: Accurex RX Snake

The Accurex RX Snake is an industrial-grade U-shape floor scale, crucial for logistics due to its practical design that streamlines pallet weighing. Its low height and U-shape enable easy pallet loading and unloading, enhancing workflow in warehouses. The scale’s robust steel structure with epoxy treatment and IP67 protected nickel-plated steel load cells ensure durability. Key features include a LED display, 400 cm cable, 1500 kg capacity, front wheels, and a handle for mobility. Its operational functions, like zero adjustment and tare function, contribute to accurate inventory management and compliance with shipping weights, making it a valuable asset in logistics for precision and reliability.

Heavy-duty drive-through Scale: Xtrem Condor

The Gram Xtrem Condor enhances logistics efficiency primarily through its advanced design and technology. Its very low height platform and wide ramps allow for smooth operation, significantly reducing the time and effort required for loading and unloading, which is crucial in fast-paced logistic environments. Additionally, the Xtrem Condor’s digital weighing core and connectivity options, including WiFi, ensure accurate data collection and seamless integration with other digital systems. This high level of efficiency and connectivity makes it an invaluable tool in modern logistics operations.

Xtrem Penguin Heavy Duty Drive-through Scale:

The Gram Xtrem Penguin is designed with a robust structure, featuring a steel frame with epoxy treatment and IP67-rated nickel-plated steel load cells for durability in industrial settings. It has a maximum capacity of 3000 kg and a display resolution of 1 kg. The scale includes a large, backlit LCD display with adjustable contrast for clear readings. For mobility, it is equipped with front wheels and a handle, facilitating easy transportation. Additionally, the Penguin scale offers practical operational functions such as zero adjustment and tare function, enhancing its usability in various logistics scenarios.

Software and Integration

To maximise efficiency, choose weighing systems capable of integration with warehouse management systems, logistics software and other platforms for seamless data flows.

The Xtrem Software, integrated with the Xtrem weighing equipment, is a pivotal component for enhancing logistic operations. This software offers a high degree of flexibility and connectivity, supporting both cable and WiFi data transmission. It facilitates seamless data flows by connecting weighing terminals to any Xtrem platform, allowing for complete balance autonomy and data storage.

The software’s multi-indicator capability enables platforms to connect to any indicator or PC on the network. Additionally, it provides functionalities like configurable autozero for weighing tanks and silos, very high resolution with Xtrem S, and a web server for direct data sending to PCs. This advanced technological integration is key in driving efficiency and accuracy in logistic processes. Read here: How can Xtrem Software revolutionise your weighing automation processes?

Importance of Calibration and Maintenance

Regular calibration and maintenance of weighing equipment are crucial. It not only ensures accuracy but also prolongs the life of the equipment. In the UK, strict regulations govern the calibration of industrial scales, making it a mandatory practice for logistics companies.

For detailed insights on calibration procedures, regulations, and their importance in warehouses, you can explore our resources:

• Calibration for Warehouses
• Commercial Scale Calibration

Legal-for-Trade Weighing in Logistics

In the logistics industry, the importance of legal-for-trade weighing systems cannot be overstated. These systems are crucial because revenue often hinges on the weight of the goods being bought or sold. Ensuring that scales are legal for trade means that they meet specific regulatory standards for accuracy, making them permissible for use in commercial transactions where product weight determines price.

Legal-for-trade scales are not only a legal requirement in many business dealings, but they also offer numerous advantages. They provide consistent and reliable weight measurements, which is vital for customer satisfaction, precise billing, and maintaining accurate inventory records. Read here: Everything you need to know about industrial scales: Verification, Regulations and Calibration.

Conclusion

Equipping your logistics operation with properly designed weighing systems enhances productivity, safety and regulatory compliance while minimising errors and delays. Assessing your workflow requirements helps determine ideal equipment capacities, features and integrations. Reach out to discuss solution options tailored for your needs.

FAQ’s – Frequently Asked Questions