Improving Picking Productivity by Redesigning Storage Policy Aided by Simulations Tools

Order picking is defined as the process of clustering and scheduling orders, assigning stock on location to order lines, releasing orders to the floor, picking the articles from storage locations and the disposal of the picked articles (De Koster et al. 2007). Picking is the most labourintensive operation in warehouses with manual systems and a very capital-intensive operation in warehouses with automated systems (Tompkins et al. 2010) so it is therefore a key process in warehouse design as it has a significant impact on capital and operating costs. Coyle et al. (2003) state that this activity’s contribution could arise a 65% of total operating costs of a common warehouse.