Controlador TL494

Chapter 6 describes what changes to the current warehouse layout and operations should be made, in order to make every described solution work. This part of the research will also be taken into account in the quantification of fitness of all technique, which will be explained in chapter 8.

Checked orders can be packed and eventually be distributed to the

customer. The batch of sorted

orders needs to be checked by another warehouse employee. Order is placed in a

batch with several other orders.

Warehouse employee processes batch of orders according to sort-while-pick.

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7 The application of batch picking within the research environment

Applying batch picking might involve several rigorous adjustments within the warehouse activities of the company. Also, the current conditions in the warehouse should be considered. The management team of the company, however, wishes to implement this strategy for the order picking activities. Therefore, the main implications and limitations for implementing batch picking within the research environment will be discussed in this chapter.

Number of orders collected within one batch.

The savings algorithm (see section 4.1) implies that it will be advantageous to collect all outstanding orders in one batch. However, this is of course not the case in practice. For both pick-and-sort and sort-while-pick batch picking, the number of possible orders for each batch depends on the following factors:

- If batch picking will be implemented, a pick device will be used as well. Obviously, this pick device has a maximum capacity. The accumulated order lines of the orders within a batch must not exceed the capacity of the pick device.

- There must be a considerable advantage in time, according to the savings algorithm, for the batch to be collected compared to individual order picking. If adding one other order does not contribute to the overall savings, it is better to add that specific order up to another batch.

Rearrangement of activities within the order picking process.

Implementing a batch picking strategy involves some rearrangement of activities as well. When applying a pick-and-sort batch picking strategy, the overall pick-rate within the warehouse will increase. However, after these batch of orders is collected, these increased rate of orders needs to be sorted. In the current research environment, there is one warehouse employee who checks the picked orders according to the packing list. There will occur a new series of activities when the pick-and-sort batch picking strategy will be implemented. After the order is confirmed at the company, the activities within the pick-and-sort batch picking strategy will be as depicted below.

Because the arrival rate of orders increases at the employee which checks all the orders, it might be useful to assign two or maybe even three warehouse employees to sort and check all the orders. Because the pick rate per warehouse employee will increase (because of the batch picking), it will be possible to shift one or two order pickers to the sort-and-check station.

When applying a sort-while-pick batch picking strategy, the pick-rate will not increase as rigorous as discussed above. However, there will be a slight rearrangement of activities within the order picking process when this type of batch picking will be implemented. The series of activities is depicted below.

Sorted and checked orders can be packed and eventually be distributed to the customer.

The batch needs to be sorted and checked by another warehouse employee.

Order is placed in a batch with several other orders.

Warehouse employee processes batch of orders according to pick-and-sort.

Checked orders can be packed and eventually be distributed to the

customer. The batch of sorted

orders needs to be checked by another warehouse employee. Order is placed in a

batch with several other orders.

Warehouse employee processes batch of orders according to sort-while-pick.

38 In the sort-while-pick batch picking strategy, the layout from the picking cart plays a role as well. There occurs a risk that the picked components do shuffle when they are placed in the picking cart. Therefore, the position of the employee who checks the picked orders should be preserved.

Configuration with existing technologies related to order picking.

For both batch picking strategies, the optimal composition should be determined before the warehouse employee can start collecting the components. A decision needs to be made between the strategies which are discussed in section 4.1.1. When eventually the seed- or the savings algorithm will be implemented, the existing technologies related to order picking should be considered. Because each incoming order at the company is different, the eventual batch picking system should also be able to distinguish the best batch composition on a real-time basis. The software for the determination of the optimal next batch should therefore be able to be configurated to the existing technologies in the warehouse.

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8 Selecting the eventual solution

This chapter provides insight in how the eventual decision on the possible solutions is made. First, all the main pros and cons of the possible solutions will be shortly discussed. These pros and cons consist of all elements which are not captured in the main criteria and preferences, but which do have and influence on the implementation. Eventually, a table with all the main criteria and preferences and the possible solutions is drawn up, in order to quantify which solution is the best. Also, the vision of the management team on these solutions is requested.