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Developing design guidelines for a case-picking warehouse

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  • Thomas, Lisa M.
  • Meller, Russell D.

Abstract

Warehouses can be characterized in many ways, including the number of items stored, the average number of cases per pallet, throughput and inventory requirements, and demand profile, to name a few. Thus, there is no one-size-fits-all design for case-picking warehouses, and hundreds of designs are possible. Moreover, the decision variables in warehouse design are interrelated and this further complicates the design process. The purpose of this paper is to provide a set of guidelines for arriving at a “good” design configuration for a manual, case-picking warehouse. Our goal in developing a set of guidelines is that it would provide a design that is close to the optimal solution, which could then be further analyzed and improved. We limit the decision variables considered in our analysis to include the size and layout of the forward area, dock door configuration, pallet area shape, and pallet rack height. To develop our design guidelines we employ a statistical-based methodology, whereby we use one set of data to develop the guidelines and an independent set of data to evaluate the performance of the guidelines. Our response variable is the number of labor hours. We use analytical models to evaluate labor hours for each design in the solution space. The most impactful parameter that influences our guidelines is using a forward area. Other parameters include: the ratio of SKUs to bottom-level pallet locations, ABC curve skewness, and number of lines per batch. Our results indicate that our guidelines provide a good design that minimizes labor hours.

Suggested Citation

  • Thomas, Lisa M. & Meller, Russell D., 2015. "Developing design guidelines for a case-picking warehouse," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 170(PC), pages 741-762.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:proeco:v:170:y:2015:i:pc:p:741-762
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpe.2015.02.011
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. van den Berg, Jeroen P. & Sharp, Gunter P. & Gademann, A. J. R. M. (Noud) & Pochet, Yves, 1998. "Forward-reserve allocation in a warehouse with unit-load replenishments," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 111(1), pages 98-113, November.
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    3. Gu, Jinxiang & Goetschalckx, Marc & McGinnis, Leon F., 2007. "Research on warehouse operation: A comprehensive review," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 177(1), pages 1-21, February.
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    Cited by:

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    3. Kateryna Czerniachowska & Radosław Wichniarek & Krzysztof Żywicki, 2023. "A Model for an Order-Picking Problem with a One-Directional Conveyor and Buffer," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(18), pages 1-18, September.
    4. van Gils, Teun & Caris, An & Ramaekers, Katrien & Braekers, Kris & de Koster, René B.M., 2019. "Designing efficient order picking systems: The effect of real-life features on the relationship among planning problems," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 47-73.
    5. Giannikas, Vaggelis & Lu, Wenrong & Robertson, Brian & McFarlane, Duncan, 2017. "An interventionist strategy for warehouse order picking: Evidence from two case studies," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 189(C), pages 63-76.
    6. AERTS, Babiche & CORNELISSENS, Trijntje & SÖRENSEN, Kenneth, 2022. "The internal warehouse replenishment problem: the importance of storage and replenishment policies," Working Papers 2022007, University of Antwerp, Faculty of Business and Economics.
    7. Guo, Xiaolong & Chen, Ran & Du, Shaofu & Yu, Yugang, 2021. "Storage assignment for newly arrived items in forward picking areas with limited open locations," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 151(C).
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