Order batching per zone

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Marian Cretu asked Aug 31, '19 tannerp answered Sep 12, '19

Order batching per zone

Can anyone help with an idea on how to batch orders to a specific zone ?

I have a simple rack configuration with a conveyor in the middle used for taking out the totes that a worker is picking. I have four zones with 1 worker each.

Because it is a simple rack configuration there is not much left to optimize in terms of travel distance.

I have a table that contains all the stock in the racks : sku, bay, level,slot,qty.

How can I batch the orders taking into consideration that a worker starts with 2 big totes in which he can fit 20 items in total ?

Orders can be picked from different zones but it would be great if they will be picked from the same zone

Has anyone done something similar ?

Thank you.

Regards,

Software Version:

FlexSim 19.1.1

order batching

order-batching.jpg (152.5 KiB)

Answer 1 · 2019-09-03T21:38:35Z

tannerp answered Sep 3, '19

Could you upload the model you're working on? If you upload a model, you'll find that people will be able to give more accurate answers. If you don't have a model yet, maybe you can try building one on a small scale and post that. Otherwise, it's difficult for forum members to create models from scratch that accurately represent what you would like to do.

That said, here's an example that uses Process Flow to pick orders and then deliver them in batches of 20 to the conveyor. You can use lists to organize your items by zone. I think that makes the most sense based on your model description.

In this model, there are items that arrive in Zone1 and Zone2 racks, which are then pushed to an ItemList. The tokens in Process Flow have an assigned operator, queue, and list partition that they use to interact with the model. The token will go through and decide how many items to collect and deliver to the conveyor.

Maybe this gives you an idea of how to get started using Process Flow to manage orders. Again, because we don't have access to your layout, SKUs, arrivals, etc., it's difficult to produce a great answer.

rack-zones.fsm

rack-zones.fsm (48.5 KiB)

zones-rack.png (314.6 KiB)

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