A Polling-Based Dynamic Order-Picking System considering Priority Orders

Abstract

Nowadays, how to offer extremely fast response to customer orders has become a major challenge for warehouse management, especially in e-commerce. Due to the time urgency aspect of some "VIP"orders that need priority processing, one of the most important issues for logistics distribution centres is how to improve the VIP order-picking priority without reducing the common order-picking efficiency. With this consideration, this article put forward a new priority polling model to describe and analyse this problem. We divide orders into priority and common categories according to their time urgency. A mathematical model is established for such a system by applying polling theory, a probability generating function, and an embedded Markov chain. Numerical analysis shows that this priority polling-based picking system can improve the picking efficiency and is well suited to practical operations.