Analyzing the main and first order effects of operational policies on the warehouse productivity

Using SIMIO#8482; simulation modeling framework, the main and first order effects of warehouse operational policies on the pallet order consolidation productivity is analyzed. The internal warehouse processes and functions are modeled by means of the discrete-event approach, while the unit-load automated guided vehicles are modeled by means of agents. The input data are based on 1,047 real customer orders. The warehouse storage area is modeled with a capacity of 10,080 pallet positions. Because this model is intended to support the design of a novel warehouse, it is validated following the parameters variability-sensitivity analysis. Then an exhaustive series of simulation experiments are conducted varying the number of AGVs, the AGV's load/unload time and the worker's picking-time. The scenario analysis indicates that the maximum hourly productivity of 394 picks per worker is obtained via 10 workers, 8 AGVs, AGV's pallet-load time of 6 seconds, and worker's picking-time distributed uniformly in 5-10 seconds.