Positioning of goods in a cross-docking environment

Cross docking is one of the options to reduce lead times and inventories and to improve customer response time in supply chains. Cross-docking centres are dynamic environments where products arrive, are regrouped, and leave the same day. In this paper we focus on the process of short-term storage of unit-loads in a cross-docking environment. The goal is to determine temporary storage locations for incoming unit loads such that the travel distances of the forklift trucks with these unit loads are minimised. We model this problem as a novel application of the minimum cost flow problem and show the applicability of the model for different types of layouts and priorities. We demonstrate both the efficiency and effectiveness of the method in the operational and design phase at cross-docking environments by applying it to practice-oriented examples. Furthermore, we show that the approach is superior to a commonly used heuristic method

A survey of literature on automated storage and retrieval systems

Automated Storage and Retrieval Systems (AS/RSs) are warehousing systems that are used for the storage and retrieval of products in both distribution and production environments. This paper provides an overview of literature from the past 30 years. A comprehensive explanation of the current state of the art in AS/RS design is provided for a range of issues such as system configuration, travel time estimation, storage assignment, dwell-point location, and request sequencing. The majority of the reviewed models and solution methods are applicable to static scheduling and design problems only. Requirements for AS/RSs are, however, increasingly of a more dynamic nature for which new models will need to be developed to overcome large computation times and finite planning horizons, and to improve system performance. Several other avenues for future research in the design and control of AS/RSs are also specified

Routing order pickers in a warehouse with a middle aisle

Please refer to this article as: Roodbergen, K.J. and De Koster, R. (2001), Routing order pickers in a warehouse with a middle aisle. European Journal of Operational Research 133(1), 32-43. 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