Storage assignment problem with travel distance and blocking considerations for a picker-to-part order picking system

Order picking is a key operation in managing a warehouse efficiently. Most previous studies on picking only considered single-picker operation; however, many pickers frequently work concurrently in the same region. Since congestion may occur in such a multi-picker system, waiting time must be taken into account together with travel time and distance when evaluating the efficiency of picking operations. The picking model under investigation can be formulated as a queueing network, and a heuristic storage assignment policy that considers both the travel time and the waiting time simultaneously by minimizing the average order fulfillment time is developed in the paper. An approximation method and a simulation model using eM-plant software are presented to implement the proposed heuristic algorithm and to compare the mean travel time for different storage assignment polices as well. The results indicate that the proposed heuristic policy outperforms existing storage assignment policies in a multi-picker warehouse environment.

[1]  F. Robert Jacobs,et al.  Batch Construction Heuristics and Storage Assignment Strategies for Walk/Rideand Pick Systems , 1999 .

[2]  Stephen C. Graves,et al.  Optimal Storage Assignment in Automatic Warehousing Systems , 1976 .

[3]  Carl Kallina,et al.  Application of the Cube-Per-Order Index Rule for Stock Location in a Distribution Warehouse , 1976 .

[4]  Angel Ruiz,et al.  Space allocation and stock replenishment synchronization in a distribution center , 2008 .

[5]  Marc Goetschalckx,et al.  Research on warehouse operation: A comprehensive review , 2007, Eur. J. Oper. Res..

[6]  Meir J. Rosenblatt,et al.  ESTABLISHING ZONES IN SINGLE-COMMAND CLASS-BASED RECTANGULAR AS/RS , 1994 .

[7]  J. Coyle,et al.  The management of business logistics , 1976 .

[8]  Gunter P. Sharp,et al.  Order batching procedures , 1992 .

[9]  Ek Peng Chew,et al.  Order picking systems: Batching and storage assignment strategies , 1997 .

[10]  T. NICK LARSON,et al.  A heuristic approach to warehouse layout with class-based storage , 1997 .

[11]  K.-C. Tsai,et al.  A BOM Oriented Class-Based Storage Assignment in an Automated Storage/Retrieval System , 2001 .

[12]  Sunderesh S. Heragu,et al.  Order oriented slotting: a new assignment strategy for warehouses , 2007 .

[13]  Gino Marchet,et al.  Optimal layout in low-level picker-to-part systems , 2000 .

[14]  Gino Marchet,et al.  Routing policies and COI-based storage policies in picker-to-part systems , 1998 .

[15]  E. A. Frazele,et al.  Correlated assignment strategy can improve any order-picking operation , 1989 .

[16]  Mats I. Johansson,et al.  Storage Location Assignment: Using the Product Structure to Reduce Order Picking Times , 1996 .

[17]  Kees Jan Roodbergen,et al.  Design and control of warehouse order picking: A literature review , 2006, Eur. J. Oper. Res..

[18]  Venkata Reddy Muppani,et al.  Efficient formation of storage classes for warehouse storage location assignment: A simulated annealing approach , 2008 .

[19]  Gajendra Kumar Adil,et al.  A branch and bound algorithm for class based storage location assignment , 2008, Eur. J. Oper. Res..

[20]  Charles G. Petersen,et al.  A comparison of picking, storage, and routing policies in manual order picking , 2004 .

[21]  Edward D. McDowell,et al.  Optimal Product Layout in an Order Picking Warehouse , 1991 .

[22]  Chin-Chia Jane,et al.  A clustering algorithm for item assignment in a synchronized zone order picking system , 2005, Eur. J. Oper. Res..

[23]  Russell D. Meller,et al.  The effects of pick density on order picking areas with narrow aisles , 2006 .

[24]  Gunter Bolch,et al.  Queueing Networks and Markov Chains - Modeling and Performance Evaluation with Computer Science Applications, Second Edition , 1998 .

[25]  Myron Hlynka,et al.  Queueing Networks and Markov Chains (Modeling and Performance Evaluation With Computer Science Applications) , 2007, Technometrics.

[26]  Hark Hwang,et al.  A Stock Location Rule For A Low Level Picker-To-Part System , 2003 .

[27]  Stephen C. Graves,et al.  Scheduling Policies for Automatic Warehousing Systems: Simulation Results , 1978 .

[28]  Hing Kai Chan,et al.  Improving the productivity of order picking of a manual-pick and multi-level rack distribution warehouse through the implementation of class-based storage , 2011, Expert Syst. Appl..

[29]  Gunter Bolch,et al.  Queueing Networks and Markov Chains , 2005 .