An Evaluation of Routing and Volume‐based Storage Policies in an Order Picking Operation
评估了不同路径启发式与最优路径在基于体积的存储环境下的表现，提出了多种体积存储方法，并考察了路径与存储策略在不同拣货单规模和需求偏斜度下的交互作用。
ABSTRACT Order picking, the assembly of a customer's order from items in storage, is an essential link in the supply chain and is the major cost component of warehousing. The critical issue is to simultaneously reduce the cost and increase the speed of the order picking activity. This study departs from the limited prior research that focused on either routing of workers or storage of warehoused items. The main objectives are to (1) evaluate various routing heuristics versus an optimal routine in a volume‐based storage environment, (2) propose several methods of implementing volume‐based storage, and (3) examine the interaction of the routing and storage policies under different operating conditions of pick list size and demand skewness. The experimental results show statistically significant differences in the mean route distance for the routing policies, storage policies, and their interactions. Further testing indicates that the choice of certain routing and storage policies in combination can result in increased picking efficiency.