Applying RFID to picking operation in warehouses

Abstract

In the past decades, warehouse management system has been generally considered as a bottleneck in the whole organization of business. According to the literature, the cost of order picking activity is the major expense of operating in a typical warehouse due to the introduction of new operating programs such as Just-In-Time, cycle time reduction and quick response. For these reasons, we propose a simulated RFID-based order picking system to improve efficiency of operating in the warehouse, especially deal with the important rush orders. Furthermore, a location sensing prototype system with the application of RFID and back-propagation algorithm for locating objects is also presented in this research. The main advantage of applying RFID sensing system is to enhance efficiency of operating via novel dispatching way based on instantaneous message advised from optimize route when the real-time information for a picker is received. © Springer-Verlag London Limited 2009.