The fragmented warehouse: Location assignment for multi-item picking
Name
Ho-2009-The fragmented warehouse Location assignment for multi-item picking.pdf
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222.6 KB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
c2f7c0ae95a42eea636915a5dc8c2b51
Author(s)
Ho, Stephen S.
Sarma, Sanjay Emani
Date Issued
September 2009
Journal
2nd International Logistics and Industrial Informatics, 2009. LINDI 2009.
Publisher
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Citation
Ho, S.S., and S. Sarma. “The Fragmented Warehouse: Location Assignment for Multi-Item Picking.” Logistics and Industrial Informatics, 2009. LINDI 2009. 2nd International. 2009. 1-6. © Copyright 2010 IEEE
Version
Final published version
Abstract
Warehouse operations typically aggregate identical stock keeping units (SKU) into the same storage bin for easier bookkeeping and organizing of goods. With the emergence of automatic identification and tracking technologies like RFID, free-form storage of goods becomes a viable alternative. We consider the strategy of storing identical copies of an SKU in a fragmented manner and evaluate the operational characteristics that benefit from fragmented storage. Fragmented storage of identical SKUs creates a greater number of feasible picklist opportunities - with greater choice, greater optimization follows. We present an abstract warehouse model to evaluate the location assignment problem in warehouse systems. Specifically, we investigate picking operations that retrieve multiple items during a warehouse pass. We provide an analytical result for operations using a 'hybrid-cost' cost metric, and a brute force analysis for operations using the more common 'maximum-cost' picking metric. We show that fragmentation is more favorable when the number of copies picked for each SKU is small.
Subjects
warehouse storage planning
order picking
location assignment
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mechanical Engineering
Terms of Use
Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use.
Persistent DSpace Link
DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1109/LINDI.2009.5258752
