A continuous estimation of distribution algorithm for the online order-batching problem

• Published in: International journal of advanced manufacturing technology Vol. 79; no. 1-4; pp. 569 - 588
• Main Authors: Pérez-Rodríguez, Ricardo, Hernández-Aguirre, Arturo, Jöns, S.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Springer London 01-07-2015; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Algorithms; CAE) and Design; Completion time; Computer-Aided Engineering (CAD; Customers; Engineering; Industrial and Production Engineering; Mechanical Engineering; Media Management; Order picking; Original Article; Turnover; Warehouses; Online optimization; Order picking; Warehouse management; Order batching; Estimation of distribution algorithm
• ISSN: 0268-3768; 1433-3015
• DOI: 10.1007/s00170-015-6835-6

In manual order-picking systems such as picker-to-parts, order pickers walk through a warehouse in order to pick up articles required by customers. Order batching consists of combining these customer orders into picking orders. In online batching, customer orders arrive throughout the scheduling. This paper considers an online order-batching problem in which the turnover time of all customer orders has to be minimized, i.e., the time period between the arrival time of the customer order and its completion time. A continuous estimation of distribution algorithm-based approach is proposed and developed to solve the problem and implement the solution. Using this approach, the warehouse performance can be noticeably improved with a substantial reduction in the average turnover time of a set of customer orders.