Metaheuristics for the Order Batching Problem in Manual Order Picking Systems

Sebastian Henn (), Sören Koch (), Karl Doerner (), Christine Strauss and Gerhard Wäscher ()
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Sebastian Henn: Faculty of Economics and Management, Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg
Sören Koch: Faculty of Economics and Management, Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg
Karl Doerner: Faculty of Economics and Management, Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg
Gerhard Wäscher: Faculty of Economics and Management, Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg

No 9020, FEMM Working Papers from Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg, Faculty of Economics and Management

Abstract: In manual order picking systems, order pickers walk or drive through a distribution warehouse in order to collect items which are requested by (internal or external) customers. In order to perform these operations effciently, it is usually required that customer orders are combined into (more substantial) picking orders of limited size. The Order Batching Problem considered in this paper deals with the question of how a given set of customer orders should be combined such that the total length of all tours is minimized which are necessary to collect all items. The authors introduce two metaheuristic approaches for the solution of this problem; the rst one is based on Iterated Local Search, the second one on Ant Colony Optimization. In a series of extensive numerical experiments, the newly developed approaches are benchmarked against classic solution methods. It is demonstrated that the proposed methods are not only superior to existing methods, but provide solutions which may allow for operating distribution warehouses signi cantly more effcient.

Keywords: Warehouse Management; Order Picking; Order Batching; Iterated Local Search; Ant Colony Optimization (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 28 pages
Date: 2009-06
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (11)

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