Robotized Warehouse Systems: Developments and Research Opportunities

Robotized handling systems are increasingly applied in distribution centers. They require little space, provide flexibility in managing varying demand requirements, and are able to work 24/7. This makes them particularly fit for e-commerce operations. This paper reviews new categories of robotized handling systems, such as the shuttle-based storage and retrieval systems, shuttle-based compact storage systems, and robotic mobile fulfillment systems. For each system, we categorize the literature in three groups: system analysis, design optimization, and operations planning and control. Our focus is to identify the research issue and OR modeling methodology adopted to analyze the problem. We find that many new robotic systems and applications have hardly been studied in academic literature, despite their increasing use in practice. Due to unique system features (such as autonomous control, networked and dynamic operation), new models and methods are needed to address the design and operational control challenges for such systems, in particular, for the integration of subsystems. Integrated robotized warehouse systems will form the next category of warehouses. All vital warehouse design, planning and control logic such as methods to design layout, storage and order picking system selection, storage slotting, order batching, picker routing, and picker to order assignment will have to be revisited for new robotized warehouses

Operational Control of Internal Transport

Operational Control of Internal Transport considers the control of guided vehicles in vehicle-based internal transport systems found in facilities such as warehouses, production plants, distribution centers and transshipment terminals. The author's interest of research having direct use for practice has resulted in a combination of theoretical and practical research in vehicle-based internal transport systems. An overview is given of the related literature and results are presented that show how different vehicle dispatching rules behave in different environments

Sustainable development in contract logistics through green warehousing and distribution. Practical case: Maersk warehouse

The thesis is dedicated to the staple part of contract logistics – warehousing and distribution. The nature of this study is to show the sustainable development of (green) warehousing, the crucial changes and achievements in the sector and how these improvements impact the environment and society. The author appeals to the research and analytical methods where he investigates the sources and related documents to analyse the global situation in contract logistics and describe the current situation of green warehousing. The practical method helped to study the Maersk warehouse and to show if it indeed responds to the requirements of sustainable durability as well as highlights the transformations conducting the company towards decarbonisation. The first part dedicated to the general research of warehousing and distribution. The author investigated the main features of warehouse location and its crucial importance, studied different types of layouts, showed the modernisation and application of WMS facilitating the operation’s running, examined the efficiency of equipment usage, light and air conditioning systems and analysed the social impact of warehousing for sustainability. The second chapter observes the practical case of Maersk warehouse as the first logistic centre for the company in Iberia area. The author not only investigated the main features of warehouse, but also showed how the company is implementing the sustainable tools to reduce the environmental impact as well as gave at the glace the future of warehousing via innovation and technology usage

Enhancing Warehouse Performance by Efficient Order Picking

This thesis studies order picking in warehouses. Order picking, the process of retrieval products from their storage locations to fill customer orders, is regarded as the most critical operation in a warehouse. Using stochastic modelling, we develop a model to estimate order picking system performance on various design alternatives and operating policies. The model is fast, flexible, and sufficiently accurate for practical purposes. The thesis introduces a concept of Dynamic Storage. In a Dynamic Storage System (DSS), orders are picked in batches and only those products needed for the current pick batch are retrieved from a reserve area and are stored in the pick area, just in time. Through analytical and simulation models, we demonstrate a DSS can substantially improve order throughput and reduce labour cost simultaneously over conventional order picking systems, where all the products required during a pick shift are stored in the pick area. The thesis also studies an internal distribution process at a flower auction company. Based on simulation and optimization models, we propose ways to reduce congestion and improve order lead time

Best Practices for Commercial Vehicle Monitoring Facilities Design

The great technological advances that were made over the last decade in monitoring traffic and the increased emphasis on highway safety for truck traffic have prompted a need to determine more effective ways to monitor and inspect truck traffic. Commercial Vehicle Monitoring (CVM) facilities provide the highway community with the means of supervising truck traffic. However, in an era with limited funds and space for roadway expansion. some consideration must be given to the types of facilities needed and the most efficient way to spend the available funds. Hence, a research study was initiated to determine the successful practices for designing a new CVM facility or retrofitting or upgrading an existing facility; the findings are presented here. A questionnaire was distributed to all 50 states to identify the state of the nation with respect to the newly constructed and lately upgraded CVM facilities. This report focuses on the presentation of issues that need to be considered and addressed when designing or upgrading a CVM facility and provides a checklist of critical factors, considerations for facility components, and typical facility layouts

Integrated design for urban mobility

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 2006.Includes bibliographical references (p. 402-412).This thesis demonstrates a rethinking of urban mobility through ecological design. Human mobility and ecological accountability are inextricably linked in city design; our current world ecological crisis underscores this fundamental connection. Through original design exploration ranging in scale from automobiles to tall building clusters, this work proffers a critical vision towards green urbanism. These conceptions challenge the everyday practices of city planning and design by offering an interdisciplinary framework for design production. The work concludes with the necessity for a new design field entitled "Ecotransology". Ecotransology is still in the nascent stages. It has the potential to become a far-reaching awareness that bonds the disciplines of road ecology, urban design, transportation planning, automotive engineering, and energy consultation. This work establishes the theoretical foundations for Ecotransology in four parts. Part one, Ideation, is a survey of visions on cities illustrating original concepts such as "Gentle Congestion", "Transport User Interface (TUI) Valley Section" and "Netwheels". Part two, Eco, illustrates the principles of ecological design in projects such as "MATscape" and "Fab Tree Hab".(cont.) Part three, Trans, conveys the principles of smart mobility in "Soft Cars" and "Omni-Flocking" vehicles. Part four, Ecotrans, synthesizes these approaches in a series of designs for circulation in bridged tall building clusters such as "PeristalCity". The work describes a burgeoning field, Ecotransology, which promotes ecological transitions within urban contexts. By linking tall building clusters and cars, unique green design proposals for urbanization were produced, which promote a new role in defining the ciphers of future design thought.by Mitchell Whitney Joachim.Ph.D

Stochastic Modelling and Analysis of Warehouse Operations

This thesis has studied stochastic models and analysis of warehouse operations. After an overview of stochastic research in warehouse operations, we explore the following topics. Firstly, we search optimal batch sizes in a parallel-aisle warehouse with online order arrivals. We employ a sample path optimization and perturbation analysis algorithm to search the optimal batch size for a warehousing service provider, and a central finite difference algorithm to search the optimal batch sizes from the perspectives of customers and total systems. Secondly, we research a polling-based dynamic order picking system for online retailers. We build models to describe and analyze such systems via stochastic polling theory, find closed-form expressions for the order line waiting times, and apply polling-based picking to online retailers. We then present closed-form analytic expressions for pick rates of order picking bucket brigades systems in differe

Optimizing the Performance of Robotic Mobile Fulfillment Systems

A robotic mobile fulfillment system is a novel type of automated part-to-picker material handling system. In this type of system, robots transport mobile shelves, called pods, containing items between the storage area and the workstations. It is well suited to e-commerce, due to its modularity and it's ability to adapt to changing orders patterns. Robots can nearly instantaneously switch between inbound and outbound tasks, pods can be continually repositioned to allow for automatic sorting of the inventory, pods can contain many different types of items, and unloaded robots can drive underneath pods, allowing them to use completely different routes than loaded robots. This thesis studies the performance of robotic mobile fulfillment systems by solving decision problems related to warehouse design, inventory and resource allocation, and real-time operations. For warehouse design, a new queueing network is developed that incorporates realistic robot movement, storage zones, and multi-line orders. For inventory allocation, we develop a new type of queueing network, the cross-class matching multi-class semi-open queueing network, which can be applied to other systems as well. Resource (re)allocation is modeled by combining queueing networks with Markov decision processes while including time-varying demand. This model compares benchmark policies from practice wit