Order Picking Optimization in Carousels Storage System

Abstract EN

This paper addresses the order picking problem in a material handling system consisting of multiple carousels and one picker.

Carousels are rotatable closed-loop storage systems for small items, where items are stored in bins along the loop.

An order at carousels consists of n different items stored there.

The objective is to find an optimal picking sequence to minimizing the total order picking time.

After proving the problem to be strongly NP-hard and deriving two characteristics, we develop a dynamic programming algorithm (DPA) for a special case (two-carousel storage system) and an improved nearest items heuristics (INIH) for the general problem.

Experimental results verify that the solutions are quickly and steadily achieved and show their better performance.