This paper presents a detailed survey of the research on warehouse design, performance evaluation, practical case studies, and computational support tools. This and an earlier survey on warehouse ...operation provide a comprehensive review of existing academic research results in the framework of a systematic classification. Each research area within this framework is discussed, including the identification of the limits of previous research and of potential future research directions.
Warehouse management is becoming an increasingly important task and responsibility for employers whose goal is to maximize the profitability of the whole business. In this paper, a comparative ...analysis of warehouse processes was made on selected case studies of three companies by the methodology that is divided into several phases: the current state of the warehouse system was analyzed, proposal for optimization according to detected bottlenecks was made, and finally the success control of the introduced optimization proposals. The purpose of the comparative analysis is to show differences and similarities in bottlenecks and process times between warehouses. The paper's goals: the identification and optimization of critical factors that affect the warehouse processes' execution quality and speed in practice, and to prove that by combining simple methods and tools without complex algorithms, a significant level of warehouse processes optimization can be achieved, thus increasing efficiency. Limitations of research are: the research is conducted in only three warehouses, the warehouses store similar types of goods, while the different warehouse types inclusion would certainly give a more detailed overview of the factors; the research was not conducted at the same time in warehouses, but iteratively over a year, the problem of seasonality may also affect the collected data; and there is a possibility of subjectivity during the field measurement because it was divided among the members of the measurement team. During the field measurement and data analysis, factors that lengthen the duration of the process were observed so for the purpose of business improvement certain optimization proposals are given.
A warehouse covers a wide spectrum of operations for the distribution of goods in a supply chain network. The advancement of technology and the changing global business environment have compelled the ...transformation of a warehouse. The present study attempts to revisit the warehouse transformation from 1990 to 2019 through an evolutionary lens. A systematic literature review is conducted to answer a few basic research questions: what were the issues that warehouses faced during the time period, and how did the academic world approach it? And what would be the research agenda for the warehousing in the era of Industry 4.0? The analysis of the literature shows that warehousing research has changed from a traditional storeroom to a more automated and integrated warehousing system characterised by better efficiency and effectiveness. This study contributes to the development of warehousing research by discussing the development trends, addressing the research gaps, and recommending future research directions. The study also reflects the dominance of developed countries in warehousing research and alludes to more opportunities for practitioners and academicians in developing countries. Based on the decade-wise analysis of literature, an evolutionary framework for warehouse research is proposed which is expected to ensure the supply chain resilience proactively.
Warehouse operations need to change due to the increasing complexity and variety of customer orders. The demand for real-time data and contextual information is requried because of the highly ...customised orders, which tend to be of small batch size but with high variety. Since the orders frequently change according to customer requirements, the synchronisation of purchase orders to support production to ensure on-time order fulfilment is of high importance. However, the inefficient and inaccurate order picking process has adverse effects on the order fulfilment. The objective of this paper is to propose an Internet of things (IoT)-based warehouse management system with an advanced data analytical approach using computational intelligence techniques to enable smart logistics for Industry 4.0. Based on the data collected from a case company, the proposed IoT-based WMS shows that the warehouse productivity, picking accuracy and efficiency can be improved and it is robust to order variability.
Warehouse operations are vital for the success of a supply chain. This paper explores fit among warehouse management structure and the context in which the warehouse operates as an important driver ...of warehouse performance. Warehouse management structure has been operationalised as the extensiveness by which warehouse operations are planned and controlled, and the complexity of the decision rules used for optimisation of the operations. Warehouse performance is measured using data envelopment analysis (DEA). Hypotheses are developed and tested in a survey study among 111 distribution warehouses in the Netherlands and Belgium. Our results show that indeed warehouse management structure should be adapted to context. In order to obtain high warehouse performance more complex warehouse tasks require more and more complex decision rules, and warehouses with more unpredictable demand require fewer tactical plans. These results can help warehouse managers to structure their warehouse management contingent on the context in which the warehouse operates.
Robotic handling systems are increasingly applied in distribution centers. They require little space, provide flexibility in managing varying demand requirements, and are able to work 24/7. This ...makes them particularly fit for e-commerce operations. This paper reviews new categories of automated and robotic handling systems, such as shuttle-based storage and retrieval systems, shuttle-based compact storage systems, and robotic mobile fulfillment systems. For each system, we categorize the literature in three groups: system analysis, design optimization, and operations planning and control. Our focus is to identify the research issue and operations research modeling methodology adopted to analyze the problem. We find that many new robotic systems and applications have hardly been studied in academic literature, despite their increasing use in practice. Because of unique system features (such as autonomous control, flexible layout, networked and dynamic operation), new models and methods are needed to address the design and operational control challenges for such systems, in particular, for the integration of subsystems. Integrated robotic warehouse systems will form the next category of warehouses. All vital warehouse design, planning, and control logic, such as methods to design layout, storage and order-picking system selection, storage slotting, order batching, picker routing, and picker to order assignment, will have to be revisited for new robotized warehouses.
We consider a problem faced by international aid organizations after the occurrence of a natural disaster. A supply system with intermediate warehouses has to be established to provide affected ...people with relief goods. A three-objective optimization model with a medium-term economic, a short-term economic, and a humanitarian objective function is used. We apply the epsilon constraint method to determine the Pareto frontier. To solve the single-objective constrained optimization problem, we propose an exact solution method as well as a “math-heuristic” technique building on a MILP formulation with a heuristically generated constraint pool. As a subproblem, the multiple-depot, multiple-trip capacitated team orienteering problem is solved. We present a MIP formulation and a VNS procedure for this problem. Synthetically generated instances and a real-world illustration case are used for our computational studies. The results of the math-heuristic technique are compared to those obtained from an application of the NSGA-II metaheuristic and, where possible, to those of the exact solution approach.
PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to propose a maturity model to improve warehouse performance.Design/methodology/approachThis paper will follow De Bruin et al’s (2005) suggested six relevant ...phases: scope, design, populate, test, deploy and maintain in developing the proposed maturity model. This study concentrates on the first five phases.FindingsThe proposed warehouse maturity model can be used as descriptive, benchmarking and a prescriptive with a road map for improvement.Practical implicationsThe warehouse maturity model was proposed to let warehouse managers evaluate their practices and assess them by maturity level. Then, the proposed warehouse maturity model can be utilized to develop a set of plans for conducting projects to improve the warehouse practices, techniques and tools.Originality/valueThe proposed warehouse maturity model contributes to fill the shortages of maturity model addressing the warehouse environment. In particular, it provides a useful tool to establish the overall maturity level of a warehouse system. The proposed maturity model supports strategic decisions oriented toward improvement capabilities of the warehouse and to compete based on service level provided.
As the supply chains get more complex, the variety of indicators and tools to measure warehouse performance has also increased. Furthermore, the metrics that are used for performance evaluation are ...assessed in different manners and hence there is not clear definition for some of these metrics. To address these issues, this literature review focuses on operational warehouse performance measurement, for which the warehouse managers need to carry out periodic analysis. Using the content analysis method, performance indicators are acquired from selected papers and are classified according to time, cost, quality and productivity dimensions. The contributions of this literature review are as follows: we present a synthesis of the literature on operational warehouse performance, we provide the definitions for the performance indicators and a framework to demonstrate their boundaries and, finally, based on the literature analysis, we also provide some discussions on current trends in warehouses and propose future research directions on warehouse performance evaluation.
In a supply chain's order fulfilment process, it is often the warehouse that plays a central role in making the right product available to the right customer at the right time. This paper aims to ...improve warehouse performance by deriving an effective design method for the simultaneous determination of warehouse layout and the warehouse's control policies. The authors consider layout variables for the warehouse such as the number of primary aisles utilised, the number of cross-aisles and the aisle length under several different design philosophies. Concurrently, control policies such as storage policies and routing are considered. Simulation is utilised to determine the performance of the various resulting scenarios. A screening and selection procedure is employed to reduce the required number of replications while achieving a predetermined precision in identifying the best configuration. The approach is applied for an industrial partner in this research and the results of experimentation are compared to a baseline scenario which describes a proposed new facility in the Netherlands. The results reveal a large potential for performance improvement.
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