Batch picking in narrow-aisle order picking systems with consideration for picker blocking

This paper develops strategies to control picker blocking that challenge the traditional assumptions regarding the tradeoffs between wide- and narrow-aisle order picking systems. We propose an integrated batching and sequencing procedure called the indexed batching model (IBM), with the objective of minimizing the total retrieval time (the sum of travel time, pick time and congestion delays). The IBM differs from traditional batching formulations by assigning orders to indexed batches, whereby each batch corresponds to a position in the batch release sequence. We develop a mixed integer programming solution for exact control, and demonstrate a simulated annealing procedure to solve large practical problems. Our results indicate that the proposed approach achieves a 5–15% reduction in the total retrieval time primarily by reducing picker blocking. We conclude that the IBM is particularly effective in narrow-aisle picking systems.     

Travel time analysis for general item location assignment in a rectangular warehouse

A travel time model with general item location assignment in a rectangular warehouse system is presented. We give the exact probability mass functions that characterise the tour of an order picker and derive the first and second moments associated with the tour. We apply the model to analysing order batching and storage allocation strategies in an order picking system. The order picking system is modelled as a queueing system with customer batching. The results are compared and validated via simulation. The effects of batching and batch size on the delay time are discussed with consideration to the picking and sorting times for each batch of orders.     

Tabu search heuristics for the order batching problem in manual order picking systems

In a manual order picking system, order pickers walk or ride through a distribution warehouse in order to collect items requested by (internal or external) customers. In order to perform these operations efficiently, it is usually required that customer orders be combined into (more substantial) picking orders that are limited in size. The order batching problem considered in this paper deals with the question of how a given set of customer orders should be combined into picking orders such that the total length of all picker tours necessary for all of the requested items to be collected is minimized. For the solution of this problem the authors suggest two approaches based on the tabu search principle. The first is a (classic) tabu search (TS), and the second is the attribute-based hill climber (ABHC). In a series of extensive numerical experiments, these approaches are benchmarked against other solution methods put forward in the current literature. It is demonstrated that the proposed methods are superior to the existing methods and provide solutions which may allow distribution warehouses to operate more efficiently.     

A fast simulated annealing method for batching precedence-constrained customer orders in a warehouse

Batching customer orders in a warehouse can result in considerable savings in order pickers’ travel distances. Many picker-to-parts warehouses have precedence constraints in picking a customer order. In this paper a joint order-batching and picker routing method is introduced to solve this combined precedence-constrained routing and order-batching problem. It consists of two sub-algorithms: an optimal A^∗-algorithm for the routing; and a simulated annealing algorithm for the batching which estimates the savings gained from batching more than two customer orders to avoid unnecessary routing. For batches of three customer orders, the introduced algorithm produces results with an error of less than 1.2% compared to the optimal solution. It also compares well to other heuristics from literature. A data set from a large Finnish order picking warehouse is rerouted and rebatched resulting in savings of over 5000 kilometres or 16% in travel distance in 3 months compared to the current method.     

Optimizing a dynamic order-picking process

This research studies the problem of batching orders in a dynamic, finite-horizon environment to minimize order tardiness and overtime costs of the pickers. The problem introduces the following trade-off: at every period, the picker has to decide whether to go on a tour and pick the accumulated orders, or to wait for more orders to arrive. By waiting, the picker risks higher tardiness of existing orders on the account of lower tardiness of future orders. We use a Markov decision process (MDP) based approach to set an optimal decision making policy. In order to evaluate the potential improvement of the proposed approach in practice, we compare the optimal policy with two naïve heuristics: (1) “Go on tour immediately after an order arrives”, and, (2) “Wait as long as the current orders can be picked and supplied on time”. The optimal policy shows a considerable improvement over the naïve heuristics, in the range of 7–99%, where the specific values depend on the picking process parameters. We have found that one measure, the slack percentage of the picking process, associated with the difference between the promised lead time and the single item picking time, predicts quite accurately the cost reduction generated by the optimal policy. Since relatively small-scale problems could be solved by the optimal algorithm, a heuristic was developed, based on the structure and properties of the optimal solutions. Numerical results show that the proposed heuristic, MDP-H, outperforms the naïve heuristics in all experiments. As compared to the optimal solution, MDP-H provides close to optimal results for a slack of up to 40%.     

A clustering algorithm for item assignment in a synchronized zone order picking system

In a synchronized zone order picking system, all the zones process the same order simultaneously. There may be some idle time when the zone pickers wait until all the pickers complete the current order. This paper develops a heuristic algorithm to balance the workload among all pickers so that the utilization of the order picking system is improved and to reduce the time needed for fulfilling each requested order. A similarity measurement, using customer orders, of any two items is first presented for measuring the co-appearance of both items in the same order. With this similarity measurement, a natural cluster model, which is a relaxation of the well-studied NP-hard homogeneous cluster model, is constructed. The heuristic algorithm is then proposed to solve the model for locating all the items into distinct zones. Finally, empirical data and simulation experiments verify that the objectives of the item cluster model are achieved.     

考虑完全拆分的拣选分批与拣选路径集成优化模型

在电商海量订单背景下,在线订单拣选作业难度加大,因此设计了基于订单完全拆分的拣选分批与拣选路径综合优化模型解决此问题.模型共分两阶段.第一阶段,基于种子算法,设计考虑订单完成度、等待时间与拣选路径的拣选分批模型;第二阶段以拣选单流为单队列,设计多拣选员并行服务的拣选系统.行走策略为基于返回型和遍历型的综合策略,拣选路径优化模型采用模拟退火算法求解.算例分析表明,与传统的不拆分拣选分批模型相比,构建的综合优化模型能够显著提高拣选系统效率.拣选员为4人时,模型能够使总服务时间减少58.79%,订单完成率提高10.09%.     

考虑商品数量和商品拣选成本的AGV智能仓库订单分批问题研究

AGV(Automated Guided Vehicle,自动导引车)智能仓库是一种基于“货到人”拣选模式的自动化仓库。本文考虑了订单中商品的需求量和货架上商品的存储量,以极小化货架搬运成本和商品拣选成本为目标,建立了AGV智能仓库订单分批问题的整数规划模型。本文针对订单分批问题的特点,提出了一种基于订单和货架交替选择的贪婪求解算法。对比CPLEX求解器的精确最优解,本文提出的贪婪算法的误差百分比不超过10%,平均误差百分比为5.38%;对比基于相似性的分批算法的求解结果,本文提出的贪婪算法不仅运算时间更短,解的质量也更好。进一步地,对比不考虑商品拣选成本的订单分批模型,本文提出的模型在不明显增加货架搬运成本的前提下,可以大幅度降低商品拣选成本。因此,在订单分批模型中考虑商品拣选成本是非常必要的。     

分类存储返回型与S型拣选路径随机模型的比较研究

物流配送中心中,减小订单拣选行走距离进而优化人工拣选作业系统可有效提高客户满意度,降低成本.货位指派和拣选方式是影响拣选行走距离的两个重要因素.作者在分类存储的货位指派策略下、分别对返回型和S型拣选方式,建立了拣选距离随机模型.仿真结果表明,模型结果能在误差允许条件下较好地与仿真逼近.通过在4种物品订购频率和货位分配情况下对返回型和S型拣选方式的比较,得出两种拣选方式各自适用的情况.     

基于AGV的智能仓库系统订单分批问题研究

研究了基于自动引导小车(AGV)的“货到人”智能仓库订单分批拣选问题, 在同时考虑工作人员拣选商品成本和AGV搬运货架成本的前提下, 建立了以总成本极小化为目标函数的订单分批问题整数规划模型。根据订单中包含的商品信息和商品所在的货架信息构建了描述订单之间关系的加权相似度指标, 分析了加权相似度与总拣选成本之间的正相关关系。基于订单之间的加权相似度设计了求解模型的贪婪算法。利用具体算例进行模拟计算, 分析了加权系数的变化对订单分批结果的影响, 以及加权系数λ的取值与工作人员拣取一件商品的成本c₁和AGV搬运一次货架的成本c₂之间的关系, 得到了贪婪算法中加权系数λ的确定方法。进一步分析了贪婪算法的计算时间和计算效果, 结果显示, 通过适当选取加权系数, 利用贪婪算法可以在短时间内得到订单分批问题的近似最优解;对于小规模算例, 贪婪算法在最坏情况下近似比不超过1.35。利用本文的模型和算法进行订单分批, 兼顾了工作人员拣取商品的成本和AGV搬运货架的成本, 可以有效提高订单拣选效率, 降低订单拣选总成本。     

Routing order pickers in a warehouse with a middle aisle

This paper considers a parallel aisle warehouse, where order pickers can change aisles at the ends of every aisle and also at a cross aisle halfway along the aisles. An algorithm is presented that can find shortest order picking tours in this type of warehouses. The algorithm is applicable in warehouse situations with up to three aisle changing possibilities. Average tour length is compared for warehouses with and without a middle aisle. It appears that in many cases the average order picking time can be decreased significantly by adding a middle aisle to the layout.     

“货到人”拣选系统中电商订单分批优化研究

本文在电商行业迅速发展及人工智能日趋成熟的背景下,研究以自动导引车(AGV)为搬运工具的“货到人”拣选系统订单分批问题。首先以最小化AGV搬运货架次数为目标建立订单分批模型,然后提出了基于货架相似度的两阶段订单分批算法,在第一阶段分为新批次创建及订单加入批次两个步骤得到初始解;在第二阶段采用局部搜索改进初始解。在算法中构造订单选取货架规则,定义货架相似度函数并设计两种方法创建新批次,同时考虑周转箱数量限制求解订单分批方案。最后通过实验测试验证了模型和算法的有效性,分析了两种批次创建方法的适用性,并通过灵敏度分析给出了合理的周转箱数量配置建议。本研究可为采用“货到人”拣选系统的企业通过订单分批优化进一步提高AGV拣选效率提供理论依据和实践指导。     

Serial-batching group scheduling with release times and the combined effects of deterioration and truncated job-dependent learning

This paper investigates a single machine serial-batching scheduling problem considering release times, setup time, and group scheduling, with the combined effects of deterioration and truncated job-dependent learning. The objective of the studied problem is to minimize the makespan. Firstly, we analyze the special case where all groups have the same arrival time, and propose the optimal structural properties on jobs sequencing, jobs batching, batches sequencing, and groups sequencing. Next, the corresponding batching rule and algorithm are developed. Based on these properties and the scheduling algorithm, we develop a hybrid VNS–ASHLO algorithm incorporating variable neighborhood search (VNS) and adaptive simplified human learning optimization (ASHLO) algorithms to solve the general case of the studied problem. Computational experiments on randomly generated instances are conducted to compare the proposed VNS–ASHLO with the algorithms of VNS, ASHLO, Simulated Annealing (SA), and Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO). The results based on instances of different scales show the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed algorithm.     

基于物流AGV的“货到人”订单拣选系统任务调度研究

基于物流AGV的“货到人”订单拣选模式由于其高效率和灵活性,逐渐成为电商物流配送中心订单拣选系统发展趋势。本文通过对基于物流AGV的电商物流配送中心订单拣选作业流程分析,提出多拣选台同步拣选和多拣选台异步拣选两种作业模式。然后对基于物流AGV的订单拣选任务调度问题进行描述,以物流AGV完成所有任务的时间最短为目标,分别建立同步和异步两种拣选模式下物流AGV任务调度模型;针对物流AGV任务调度问题特性,对共同进化遗传算法粗粒度模型进行改进用于模型求解。最后,通过改进前后算法的对比,验证了改进共同进化遗传算法在求解物流AGV任务调度问题中的有效性;通过在求解速度和优化结果上对多拣选台同步拣选和异步拣选两种作业模式进行比较,得出同步拣选优于异步拣选的结果。     

工件按加工长度不增序到达的最小化最大流程在线分批排序

研究单处理机工件按加工长度不增顺序到达的在线分批排序问题．工件按时在线到达,目标是最小化最大流程．流程时间是指工件的完工时间与到达时间的差值,它体现了工件在系统内的逗留时间．对于批容量有界的情形,给出了一个竞争比为1＋√5/2的最好可能的在线算法;对于批容量无界的情形,给出了一个竞争比为√2的最好可能的在线算法．     

Batch scheduling and common due-date assignment on a single machine

We consider the problem of scheduling n groups of jobs on a single machine where three types of decisions are combined: scheduling, batching and due-date assignment. Each group includes identical jobs and may be split into batches; jobs within each batch are processed jointly. A sequence independent machine set-up time is needed between each two consecutively scheduled batches of different groups. A due-date common to all jobs has to be assigned. A schedule specifies the size of each batch, i.e. the number of jobs it contains, and a processing order for the batches. The objective is to determine a value for the common due-date and a schedule so as to minimize the sum of the due date assignment penalty and the weighted number of tardy jobs. Several special cases of this problem are shown to be ordinary NP-hard. Some cases are solved in O(n log n) time. Two pseudopolynomial dynamic programming algorithms are presented for the general problem, as well as a fully polynomial approximation scheme.     

Design and control of warehouse order picking: A literature review

Order picking has long been identified as the most labour-intensive and costly activity for almost every warehouse; the cost of order picking is estimated to be as much as 55% of the total warehouse operating expense. Any underperformance in order picking can lead to unsatisfactory service and high operational cost for the warehouse, and consequently for the whole supply chain. In order to operate efficiently, the order-picking process needs to be robustly designed and optimally controlled. This paper gives a literature overview on typical decision problems in design and control of manual order-picking processes. We focus on optimal (internal) layout design, storage assignment methods, routing methods, order batching and zoning. The research in this area has grown rapidly recently. Still, combinations of the above areas have hardly been explored. Order-picking system developments in practice lead to promising new research directions.     

最小化总完工时间与分批费用之和的有界分批排序问题

考虑了当每分一批均产生固定费用、批容量有界且为固定值b、加工不允许中断抢先.所有工件在零时刻到达时的单机平行分批排序问题.目标是最小化总完工时间与分批费用之和.利用动态规划方法给出了多项式时间算法,时间界为O(n~(b(b-1))).     

Mixed-width aisle configurations for order picking in distribution centers

Space required for the order picking area and labor required to perform the picking activity are two significant costs for a distribution center (DC). Traditionally, DCs employ either entirely wide or entirely narrow aisles in their picking systems. Wide aisles allow pickers to pass each other, which reduces blocking, and requires fewer pickers than their narrow-aisle counterpart for the same throughput. However, the amount of space required for wide-aisle configurations is high. Narrow aisles utilize less space than wide aisles, but are less efficient because of the increased likelihood of congestion experienced by pickers. We propose a variation to the traditional orthogonal aisle designs where both wide and narrow aisles are mixed within the configuration, with a view that mixed-width aisles may provide a compromise between space and labor. To analyze these new mixed-width aisle configurations, we develop analytical models for space and travel time considering randomized storage and traversal routing policies. Through a cost-based optimization model, we identify system parameters for which mixed-width aisle configurations are optimal. Experimental results indicate that annual cost savings of up to $48,000 can be realized over systems with pure wide or narrow aisle configurations.     

Construction of rule-based assignment models

Assignment refers to the problem of assigning objects or alternatives described on multiple dimensions into predefined categories.Most assignment models use analytical mechanisms to aggregate multiple dimensions in order to select a category for each candidate object. We investigate another approach based on the use of simple “if…then…” rules.We propose a general approach for a progressive construction of a rule-based assignment model. The process consists of testing iteratively the consistency of the rule base to transform it progressively into a consistent assignment model. Consistency tests are based on a correspondence between the logical representation of rules and an equivalent algebraic representation. This allows us to express rules by linear constraints and then to test the consistency of rule-based assignment models by solving a series of linear programs.