Waveless picking : managing the system and making the case for adoption and change

Wave-based picking systems have been used as the standard for warehouse order fulfillment for many years. Waveless picking has emerged in recent years as an alternative pick scheduling system, with proponents touting the productivity and throughput gains within such a system. This paper analyzes in more depth the differences between these two types of systems, and offers insight into the comparative advantages and disadvantages of each. While a select few pieces of literature perform some analyses of wave vs. waveless picking, this paper uses a case-study of a waveless picking system in an Amazon.com fulfillment center as a model for how to manage a waveless system once it has been adopted. Optimization methods for decreasing chute-dwell time and increasing throughput by utilizing tote prioritization are also performed using discrete-simulation modeling. The analysis concludes that managing waveless picking warehouse flow by controlling the allowable quantity of partially picked orders to match downstream chute capacity can lead to reduced control over cycle times and customer experience. Suggestions are also made on possible future research for how to optimally implement a cycle-time controlled system.

Department dc:contributor.department

Leaders for Global Operations Program at MIT

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2010

Author dc:creator

• Bishop, G. Todd (Gordon Todd)

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Jérémie Gallien and David Simchi-Levi.

• Engineering Systems Division.
• Sloan School of Management.
• Leaders for Global Operations Program.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/63083

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/63083