Analysis of Innovative automated warehouses through discrete event simulation

Analysis of Innovative automated warehouses through discrete event simulation. Order picking (OP) is the most costly and resource-consuming action in warehouses. Some scholars argue that OP could employ up to 55% of overheads in a warehouse for firms handling large volumes of items that are shipped frequently. It is becoming increasingly challenging for order picking systems designers because of increases in labor costs, limited space, and increasingly frequent small orders with short delivery times. Consequently, considerable effort is devoted to developing new, innovative picking solutions that reduce operation costs, increase productivity, optimize space utilization, and improve customer service levels. This project aims to provide a new solution for order picking and innovative ideas about evaluating and comparing different autonomous vehicle storage and retrieval systems (AVS/RS) through a simulation study of the systems operation in an automated warehouse. Eurofork, an Italian company that makes handling equipment, proposed the project. After several years of hard work, Eurofork has become a reference in the logistic automation field because of its ability to make high-quality machinery. The first step in developing this study was to carry out an analysis of theoretical background regarding the warehouse process, focusing on the order picking process, classification of the order picking systems and automated systems. Further referenced in the literature were studies concerning automated storage and retrieval systems (ASRS) modelling and simulation, also the topics on research done on Robotic picking performance in comparison to different sorts in development, and the demand for mixed pallets and problems building them.