Augmenting the distribution of goods from warehouses in dynamic demand environments using intelligent agents

Warehouses are being impacted by increasing e-commerce and omni-channel commerce. Future innovation may predominantly involve automation but many warehouses remain manually operated. The golden rule of material handling is smooth product flow, but there are day-to-day operational issues that occur in the warehouse that can impact this and order fulfilment. Standard operational process is paramount to warehouse operational control but inflexible processes don’t allow for a dynamic response to real-time operational constraints. The growth of IoT sensor and data analytics technology provide new opportunities for designing warehouse management systems that detect and reorganise around real-time constraints to mitigate the impact of day-to-day warehouse operational issues. This paper presents an intelligent agent framework for basic warehouse management systems that is distributed, is structured around operational constraints and includes the human operator at operational and decision support levels. An agent based simulation was built to demonstrate the viability of the framework

Improving warehouse responsiveness by job priority management: a European distribution centre field study

Warehouses employ order cut-off times to ensure sufficient time for fulfilment. To satisfy increasing consumer’s expectations for higher order responsiveness, warehouses competitively postpone these cut-off times upholding the same pick-up time. This paper, therefore, aims to schedule jobs more efficiently to meet compressed response times. Secondly, this paper provides a data-driven decision-making methodology to guarantee the right implementation by the practitioners. Priority-based job scheduling using flow-shop models has been used mainly for manufacturing systems but can be ingeniously applied for warehouse job scheduling to accommodate tighter cut-off times. To assist warehouse managers in decision making for the practical value of these models, this study presents a computer simulation approach to decide which priority rule performs best under which circumstances. The application of stochastic simulation models for uncertain real-life operational environments contributes to the previous literature on deterministic models for theoretical environments. The performance of each rule is evaluated in terms of a joint cost criterion that integrates the objectives of low earliness, low tardiness, low labour idleness, and low work-in-process stocks. The simulation outcomes provide several findings about the strategic views for improving responsiveness. In particular, the critical ratio rule using the real-time queue status of jobs has the fastest flow-time and performs best for warehouse scenarios with expensive products and high labour costs. The case study limits the coverage of the findings, but it still closes the existent gap regarding data-driven decision-making methodology for practitioners of supply chains

Proposal to track the final mile delivery for e-commerce orders handled by a 3PL Fulfillment Center in Colombia

El presente trabajo trata sobre la operación de una cuenta de comercio electrónico por parte de un operador logístico 3PL en Colombia, en el que se identifica el procedimiento de alistamiento y procesamiento de las ordenes, y su posterior despacho para realizar la entrega de última milla al consumidor final. Se presenta, paso a paso, el procesamiento de una orden de comercio electrónico en un Centro de Cumplimiento desde el momento en que es creada hasta la entrega al consumidor final. Se identificaron las limitaciones para el seguimiento de las entregas de ultima milla al consumidor final, debido a que el sistema actual de monitoreo de las entregas no está adaptado a las necesidades de los consumidores finales, quienes solicitan información del estado de sus pedidos en tiempo real. Se propone como mejora la implementación de un módulo adicional en el sistema del Operador Logístico 3PL que permite una mayor visibilidad al consumidor final del estado de su pedido, brindando información sobre las variables que más influyen en el retraso de las entregas, teniendo en cuenta las tendencias de los sistemas de seguimiento de las entregas de última milla para ordenes e-commerce en países donde este tipo de mercado está más desarrollado.The present paper it’s about the operation for an e-commerce account handled by a 3PL logistics operator in Colombia, which identifies the order fulfillment process (picking and packing process), and then it is dispatched to carry out the final mile delivery to the final consumer. It is presented, step by step, the process for an e-commerce order in a Fulfillment Center from the moment the order is created to the delivery to the final consumer. In this case study, we identify the tracking limitations for the final mile deliveries to the final consumer, due to the fact the current delivery tracking system is not adapted to the needs for e-commerce consumers who demand information for the order status in real time. It is proposed the implementation of an additional module in the 3PL Logistic Operator system which allows better visibility for the order status to the final consumer, providing information on the variables that most influence the delay in deliveries, considering the latest trends in for the last mile deliveries tracking systems for e-commerce orders in countries where this type of market is more developed

Estimation and Allocation of Cost Savings from Collaborations

학위논문(석사) -- 서울대학교대학원 : 공과대학 산업공학과, 2021.8. 문일경.The physical internet (PI) is a state-of-the-art open global supply chain network that is gaining attention from both participants and researchers of supply chains. The PI uses standardized containers to dispatch shipments through an interconnected network within a supply chain, where information, storage facilities, and transportation methods are shared participants of the physical internet. The network aims to save costs, handle volatile demand and information, and be socially and environmentally responsible. Up until now, however, almost all studies concerning the PI have focused primarily on its conceptual development and the advantages of putting it into practical, widespread use. Studies that consider realistic constraints of its use, such as empty runs of transportation, limited capacity of resources, or an equitable allocation of the cost savings obtained from its implementation are limited. While in general the PI can offer greater efficiency and sustainability compared to the traditional supply chain network, in certain situations some users of it experience loss through its use because of the inherent setup it presents of sharing capacitated resources. Therefore, compensating companies that experience loss when joining a PI is essential in building a solid network. In this thesis, in order to address the minimization of a total cost problem in the production-inventory-distribution decision of a PI, we first propose a mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) model formulation that takes into account capacitated factory and warehouse capacity, the penalty sustained by empty runs of transportation, and the maximum delivery distance of freight runs. Next, we use the model to compare the costs incurred by individual players when they do not participate in the PI and the costs of collaboration in the PI in which players do participate. After comparing the costs saved by participating in the PI, we then allocated the cost savings among independent supply chains, allotting them through three different allocation methods, including the Shapley value method, which is a cooperative game theory solution method.피지컬 인터넷은 최첨단의 공유 글로벌 공급망 네트워크로 다양한 학자 및 실무자들의 관심을 끌고 있습니다. 피지컬 인터넷은 표준화된 컨테이너를 이용하여 상호 연결된 네트워크를 통해 제품 및 재화를 발송합니다. 이 때, 정보, 보관 시설 및 운송 수단은 참여자들 간에 공유됩니다. 이 네트워크는 비용을 절감하고 변동성이 큰 수요와 정보를 처리하고 사회적, 환경적으로 지속가능성을 유지하는 것을 목표로 합니다. 지금까지 피지컬 인터넷에 대한 연구는 주로 그 개념과 프레임워크의 개발, 그리고 사회에 도입하였을 때의 장점을 주로 다루었습니다. 피지컬 인터넷 속에서 운송 수단의 공차 운행, 자원의 한계 용량, 절감한 비용의 배분 등과 같은 현실적인 요소들에 대한 고려를 한 연구들은 아직 제한적입니다. 피지컬 인터넷은 전체적으로 보았을 때 기존의 공급망에 비해 더 큰 효율성과 지속 가능성을 얻을 수 있지만 특정한 상황에서는 일부 참가자는 현실적인 제약 상황으로 인해 오히려 손해를 보는 경우가 존재할 수 있습니다. 따라서 더 큰 효율성과 지속 가능성을 얻을 수 있는 피지컬 인터넷에 기업들을 참여시키기 위해선 그들이 참여함으로써 손해를 보는 상황을 만들지 않는 것이 필수적인 조건입니다. 본 논문에서는 먼저 운송 수단의 공차 운행 페널티 비용, 최대 운송 가능 거리, 창고의 폐쇄를 고려한 통합 생산-재고-물류 최소 비용 혼합 정수 선형 계획법 모형을 제안하였습니다. 그 후, 개별적인 공급망의 비용과 피지컬 인터넷 하에서 협업한 통합 공급망의 비용을 비교하여 비용 절감 효과를 계산한 후 협력 게임의 일종인 섀플리 값을 포함한 세 가지 배분 방법을 통해 비용 절감 효과 배분을 살펴보았습니다.Chapter 1 Introduction 1 Chapter 2 Literature Review 5 2.1 The Physical Internet 5 2.2 Cost Savings Allocation Problem 8 Chapter 3 Model Formulation 10 3.1 Problem Definition 10 3.2 Assumptions 15 3.3 Notaions and Formulations 17 Chapter 4 Numerical Analysis of the MILP model 22 4.1 Experimental Design 22 4.2 Results Analysis 26 4.3 Cost Parameter Sensitivity Analysis 29 Chapter 5 Cost Savings Allocation Problem 31 5.1 No Pre-set Rules 31 5.2 Proportional to Customer Demand 33 5.3 The Shapley Value 35 Chapter 6 Conclusions 37 Bibliography 39 국문초록 42석

Best Performance Frontiers for Buy-Online-Pickup-in-Store order fulfilment

With the proliferation of omni-channel retailing, Buy-Online-Pickup-in-Store (BOPS) retail services have gained increasing popularity as they have benefits for both customers and retailers. However, using conventional retail stores to fulfil orders received online whilst also serving walk-in customers is challenging for retailers, particularly when a high customer service level is promised to online customers (e.g., order by a certain time and pick up in store after a specific time later the same day). This paper examines store picking operations for same day BOPS services. Specifically, we derive Best Performance Frontiers (BPFs) for single wave and multi-wave order picking. New relationships, propositions, and results are presented to determine the minimum picking rate needed in stores to guarantee a target service level, the number of picking waves a retailer should launch in an ordering cycle, and the timing of picking waves. We also examine demand surge scenarios with different order arrival rates in an ordering cycle. Insights and implications of the results are discussed for retailers that seek to benchmark their current BOPS performances and understand how to schedule and improve the picking of online orders in conventional retail stores and the picking rates needed to guarantee a desired service level for online customers

Supply chain and logistics in digital transformation

The aspirations to reduce environmental impact, the ongoing labor shortages, and the expanding possibilities of digital technologies urge logistics companies to reinvent their network designs, their methods of operating, and even their business models. For the logistics sector, we provide an overview of contextual perspectives, mechanisms of change, and outcomes in digitization, digitalization, and digital transformation. Specifically, we evaluate developments and opportunities in the logistics sector from the viewpoint of food distribution in cities. We find that both customers and suppliers in the food supply chain are willing to initiate or join novel logistics concepts that require collaboration with other stakeholders in the supply chain. Notably, we investigate attitudes towards the concept of bundling, where goods of different suppliers are jointly delivered to customers by the same vehicle. Furthermore, we quantitatively demonstrate the added value of such collaborative efforts. Collaborations between companies require an increased effort in digital exchange of data and other digital technologies to reap the potential benefits we determined. We identify an impending transformation in the business model of innovative food distributors that may change the landscape of food distribution in cities

Digital transformation in logistics from the perspective of a food distributor

The aspirations to reduce environmental impact, the ongoing labor shortages, and the expanding possibilities of digital technologies urge logistics companies to reinvent their network designs, their methods of operating, and even their business models. For the logistics sector, we provide an overview of contextual perspectives, mechanisms of change, and outcomes in digitization, digitalization, and digital transformation. Specifically, we evaluate developments and opportunities in the logistics sector from the viewpoint of food distribution in cities. We find that both customers and suppliers in the food supply chain are willing to initiate or join novel logistics concepts that require collaboration with other stakeholders in the supply chain. Notably, we investigate attitudes towards the concept of bundling, where goods of different suppliers are jointly delivered to customers by the same vehicle. Furthermore, we quantitatively demonstrate the added value of such collaborative efforts. Collaborations between companies require an increased effort in digital exchange of data and other digital technologies to reap the potential benefits we determined. We identify an impending transformation in the business model of innovative food distributors that may change the landscape of food distribution in cities