AGV relay order picking method for eliminating order consolidation in warehouse

Le résumé fourni par la source

Goods To Person (GTP) type material handling systems, such as Automated Storage and Retrieval Systems (ASRS), and shelf transfer Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs), are automation technologies that reduce workers walking time in warehouse picking operations by bringing items to the picker automatically, while also improving storage efficiency by reducing the number of aisles where pickers walk. However, there are two challenges in further improving picking efficiency using GTP. The first challenge is that the appropriate type of storage equipment differs depending on the shipping patterns of each item. If high shipping frequency items are stored in the ASRS, the number of retrieval times from the ASRS increases. It is necessary to use multiple types of storage equipment in combination. The second challenge is that order consolidation is required when multiple types of storage equipment are used together. In this study, we propose a relay-based order picking method that integrates AGVs with GTP type storage. In our method, AGVs loaded with shipping boxes visit multiple picking areas, such as the ASRS picking area and the flow rack picking area, where pickers put items from GTP-supplied stock boxes to the corresponding shipping boxes. This approach enables multiple types of GTP equipment to be used in combination without the need for consolidation work. To apply our method effectively, it is necessary to optimize order allocation to AGVs, item retrieval operations from GTP, and AGV routing. We develop a control method that coordinates these planning tasks. Through simulation experiments, we show that our method improves throughput by 46% compared to a baseline method and achieves 71% of the ideal throughput.

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