Automated order picking systems and the links between design and performance: a systematic literature review

Abstract

With new market developments and e-commerce, there is an increased use of and interest in automation for order picking. This paper presents a systematic review and content analysis of the literature. It has the purpose of understanding the relevant performance aspects for automated, or partly automated, OPSs and identifying the studied links between design and performance, i.e. identifying which combinations of design aspects and performance aspects have been studied in previous research. For this purpose, 74 papers were selected and reviewed. From the review, it is clear that there has been an increased number of papers dealing with the performance of automated, or partly automated, OPSs in recent years. Moreover, there are differences between the different OPS types, but, overall, the performance categories of throughput, lead time, and operational efficiency have received the most attention in the literature. The paper identifies links between design and performance that have been studied, as well as links that appear to be under-researched. For academics, this paper synthesises the current knowledge on the performance of automation in OPSs and identifies opportunities for future research. For practitioners, the paper provides knowledge that can support the decision-making process of automation in OPSs.