Determining Number of Zones in a Pick-and-pack Orderpicking System

Tho Le-Duc and René de Koster

ERIM Report Series Research in Management from Erasmus Research Institute of Management (ERIM), ERIM is the joint research institute of the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University and the Erasmus School of Economics (ESE) at Erasmus University Rotterdam

Abstract: In this study we consider a pick-to-pack orderpicking system, in which batches of orders are picked simultaneously from different(work) zones by a group of order pickers. After picking, the orders are transported by a conveyor to the next station for packing. Our aim is to determine the optimal number of zones such that the overall (picking and packing) time to finish a batch is minimized. We solve this problem by optimally assigning items to pick routes in each zone. We illustrate the method with data taken from a distribution center of one of the largest online retailers in the Netherlands.

Keywords: distribution; logistics; order fulfillment; orderpicking; warehousing; zone picking (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C61 L81 M M11 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2005-05-18
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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