About

Starting Semester: Fall 2025
Assigned: No
Location: Atlanta

DHL eCommerce

Client Profile

DHL eCommerce is one of four divisions of DHL Group that specializes in providing logistics and shipping solutions for e-commerce businesses operating in the Americas, Asia Pacific, and Europe. The division is focused entirely on servicing Business-to-Consumers (B2C) online merchants, shipping lightweight packages and parcels domestically and internationally.



Overview:

DHL eCommerce Americas is a specific segment of DHL eCommerce that leverages its extensive global network and expertise in logistics to support e-commerce businesses in the United States as well as cross-border shipping to Canada and Mexico. The division focuses on delivering efficient, reliable, and scalable shipping solutions that enhance the customer experience and drive business growth.



Key Services:

1. Domestic Shipping Solutions: DHL eCommerce provides a range of domestic shipping options, including standard and expedited services, allowing businesses to meet diverse customer demands across the U.S.

2. Last-Mile Delivery: The division emphasizes efficient last-mile delivery through a workshare partnership with USPS, ensuring timely and reliable delivery of packages to customers' doorsteps, which is critical for maintaining high customer satisfaction.

3. Technology Integration: DHL eCommerce offers advanced technology solutions that integrate seamlessly with e-commerce platforms. This allows businesses to automate shipping processes, track shipments in real-time, and manage logistics more efficiently.

4. Customer Support: With a focus on customer service, DHL eCommerce provides dedicated support to help businesses navigate shipping challenges and optimize their logistics strategies.

Project Description

Scan2Nest (S2N) is a significant initiative aimed at enhancing DHL eCommerce’s ability to deliver on the key services mentioned above. S2N is a React-based web application specifically designed for warehouse staff to streamline the process of managing containers. The application allows users to scan placards to create “bookmarks” or timestamps that indicate when a container is full and ready to be swapped out. These events generate partitions that facilitate the identification of mail items within each container. The nesting process involves mapping mail items to their respective containers, ensuring accurate tracking and organization.



Problem Statement

Air containers have the smallest capacity and hold our most premium product, Expedited Max. The current bookmarking process with S2N is unreliable, performing below the overall 95% accuracy target for nesting. Our current approach requires the sorter to scan every mail item placed into the air container, which leaves significant opportunities for improvement.



Goals

The key goals for the senior design team are as follows:

1. Determine the optimal design for sorting mail items into air containers with the goal of reducing the total number of scans by the sorter. This includes considerations for:

1a. hardware to limit throughput to the container

1b. facility layout, such as packing and scanning areas

1c. limitations of the nesting algorithm

2. Create a data sampling methodology that operations can employ daily across the network to measure accuracy performance for all containers.

2a. The current heuristic is for Quality Assurance to randomly select one container of mail and rescan all its contents to validate what is nested.

3. Develop Power BI Reporting that will allow management to measure operational performance on key performance indicators (KPIs) like nesting accuracy.



Summary

By implementing Scan2Nest, we aim to reduce processing times and enhance overall service quality in our operations. To achieve this, we are dedicated to improving employee satisfaction through a simple process design and clear accountability. Notably, the senior design team will not need to develop the Scan2Nest application, allowing for flexibility in the project scope, which can be adjusted as necessary. As GT ISYE alumni, we are committed to providing an excellent senior design experience and showcasing DHL eCommerce as a fantastic place to work.

Skills

Data Analysis
Data Sampling
Design Thinking
Process Improvement
Prototyping
Power BI Reporting