Introducing combi-stations in robotic mobile fulfilment systems: A queueing-theory-based efficiency analysis

Description

In the era of digital commerce, the surge in online shopping and the expectation for rapid delivery have placed unprecedented demands on warehouse operations. The traditional method of order fulfilment, where human order pickers traverse large storage areas to pick items, has become a bottleneck, consuming valuable time and resources. Robotic Mobile Fulfilment Systems (RMFS) offer a solution by using robots to transport storage racks directly to human-operated picking stations, eliminating the need for pickers to travel.
We present a new type of station, called combi-station, that enables both item picking and replenishment, as opposed to traditional separate stations. To analyse the efficiency of using combi-stations, we model the RMFS as a semi-open queueing network and apply approximation methods.

Period	5 Sept 2024
Event title	International Conference on Operations Research 2024
Event type	Conference
Location	Munich, GermanyShow on map
Degree of Recognition	International