A puzzle‐based material handling system for order picking. (12th October 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Shekari Ashgzari, Mina; Gue, Kevin R.
• Other Names: Crainic Teodor G. guestEditor.; Guajardo Mario guestEditor.; Roy Debjit guestEditor.; Wallace Stein W. guestEditor.
• Is Part Of: International transactions in operational research. Volume 28:Number 4(2021)
• Page Start: 1821
• Page End: 1846
• Publication Date: 2020-10-12
• Subjects: automated warehouses -- goods‐to‐person order picking system -- decentralized control -- multiagent systems -- numerical modeling -- performance analysis; Operations research -- Periodicals; 003
• DOI: 10.1111/itor.12886
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0969-6016

Abstract

Abstract: We propose a new type of automated goods‐to‐person system based on a grid of unit‐sized conveyors. The system uses a negotiation‐based decentralized control algorithm to route required totes or cartons to one or more picking positions on the perimeter of the grid. We describe the algorithms to accomplish a "puzzle‐like" movement of totes on the grid and explore several design parameters and their effects on system throughput. One interesting result is that a 77% increase in throughput is possible if the orders processed by different workstations have no SKU commonality. The degree of stock keeping unit (SKU) commonality also affects the choice of layout.