An Analysis of Block Stacking with Lot Splitting

Previous block stacking research has focused on determining the depth of a storage row to store unit loads of a particular lot of product under dedicated storage and random storage conditions to minimize the sum of the cost of storage and the cost of storing and retrieving the product. In this paper, for both random and dedicated storage conditions, a total cost model is developed that incorporates the cost of travel and the cost of storage space when the production lot can be split and unit loads can be stored in multiple row depths. Using dynamic programming, we determine the optimum row depths for storing unit loads under random storage and dedicated storage conditions. A number of interesting insights are gained regarding lot splitting when unit loads are stored using block stacking..