Bot-In-Time Delivery for Robotic Mobile Fulfillment Systems

This paper studies a robotic mobile fulfillment system (RMFS) featured by robots transporting movables shelves to order pickers. The RMFS can increase productivity, reduce costs, increase order picking accuracy, and improve operational flexibility. We build queue network models to describe the RMFS...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:IEEE transactions on engineering management 2017-02, Vol.64 (1), p.83-93
Main Authors: Yuan, Zhe, Gong, Yeming Yale
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Algorithm design and analysis
Analytical models
Computer Science
Cost reduction
Distribution center
facility design
Mobile communication
mobile fulfillment system
Operations Research
Order picking
Order processing
Productivity
Protocol (computers)
queue networks
Queues
Robot kinematics
robotic warehouse
Robots
speedy delivery
Studies
Throughput
warehouse management
Warehousing
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Summary:This paper studies a robotic mobile fulfillment system (RMFS) featured by robots transporting movables shelves to order pickers. The RMFS can increase productivity, reduce costs, increase order picking accuracy, and improve operational flexibility. We build queue network models to describe the RMFS with two protocols in sharing robots for pickers, propose the corresponding algorithms, conduct numerical analyses, and evaluate the performance of the RMFS by calculating the throughput time. We then calculate the optimal number and the velocity of robots, and provide the effective design rules for the RMFS.
ISSN:0018-9391
1558-0040
DOI:10.1109/TEM.2016.2634540