Method and system for order picking

Abstract

The invention relates to a system and method for picking orders (O1, O2, O3, O4, O5) which comprises a calculation step for determining an optimised order for picking the orders and a step of picking the orders using the results of the calculation step. The calculation step comprises: - consulting a list of orders (O1, O2, O3, O4, O5) pending picking; - verifying the availability of one or more empty locations (3) at the order-picking station (Z2); - selecting the next order (O1, O2, O3, O4, O5) to be placed in each available location (3) at the order-picking station (Z2); - taking out containers (2) comprising products (A, B, C) of a priority order (O5) corresponding to the order having the fewest different products; and - when the priority order is complete, it is discharged to a delivery zone (Z3).

Description

[0001] DESCRIPTION

[0002] TITLE: ORDER PREPARATION PROCESS AND SYSTEM

[0003] Technical field of the invention

[0004] The invention relates to the field of logistics platforms for large and medium-sized distribution and relates to a method and system for preparing orders.

[0005] State of the art

[0006] Logistics platforms act as intermediaries between suppliers and points of sale. Typically, suppliers transport their products to these platforms, where they are received and processed for storage. Points of sale then send their supply requests to these platforms. For each order, the requested products are taken from the storage area to a picking area. In the picking area, pickers or robots are used to place the products into shipping containers, which will then be transported to their destination.

[0007] Order picking is one of the most important and expensive activities in a logistics platform, with its cost accounting for more than half of a warehouse's total cost. This task therefore needs to be optimized to make order picking more efficient and less expensive.

[0008] The objective of the invention is therefore to propose a system and a method for preparing orders making it possible to respond to the above problem. Summary of the invention

[0009] To this end, the invention relates, according to a first aspect, to a method for preparing a set of orders using an order preparation system comprising:

[0010] - a product storage area in which products are placed in storage containers, each storage container comprising a single type of product,

[0011] - an order preparation station comprising one or more locations for order containers, in each location, products of an order are transferred (for example by a robot or by an operator) into an order container from one or more storage container(s),

[0012] - means of transport for moving storage containers between the storage area and the order preparation station, and

[0013] - computer control means, the method being implemented by the computer control means and comprising a first calculation step and a second order preparation step by applying the results of the first step, in the first step, the computer control means determine an optimized order of order preparation and an optimized order of product transfer between the storage area (for example an AMR moves a container comprising a type of product) and the order preparation station by executing the following sub-steps:

[0014] (a) a consultation of the list of orders awaiting preparation,

[0015] (b) a check of the presence of at least one order at the order preparation station,

[0016] (c) a check of the availability of location(s) at the order preparation station, (d) a selection of an order awaiting preparation to be placed in an available location, the selected order being the best correlated with the orders currently being prepared, this step being repeated successively for each location available at the order preparation station,

[0017] (e) when each preparation location is occupied by an order to be prepared or there are no more orders awaiting preparation:

[0018] - selection from among said orders at the preparation station, of a priority order to be prepared corresponding to the order requiring the fewest different products,

[0019] - selection of an order of storage containers comprising products from said priority order, to be removed one by one from the storage area to transfer them to the order preparation station, each storage container comprising a product being intended to serve all orders being prepared requiring said product before being returned to stock,

[0020] (f) when said priority order no longer requires products, it is considered to be complete and evacuated to free up a location at the order preparation station, sub-steps (a) to (f) being repeated until an order is obtained to prepare all the orders on the list and an order to transfer the products between the storage area and the order preparation station.

[0021] In the second stage, the computer control means control the product storage area, the order preparation station and the transport means for preparing the orders according to the preparation order and the order of transfer of the products between the storage area and the order preparation station, resulting from the calculation of the first stage.

[0022] The correlation mentioned in step (d) means that the order chosen is the one that best shares demand with the orders currently being prepared. In other words, the order that has the most products in common with the orders that are already being prepared at the order preparation station.

[0023] The method according to the invention makes it possible to optimize the order in which orders are prepared as well as the order in which products are moved from stock to the preparation station and returned to stock if the container still contains products. In this way, the back-and-forth movements of storage containers between stock and the preparation station are reduced and orders are processed quickly.

[0024] For example, by serving the order requiring the fewest different products, we can quickly free up a space in the order preparation station to send a new order, thus taking advantage of the next containers transferred from the storage area to the order preparation station to serve an additional order. This reduces the number of trips back and forth to the stockroom.

[0025] The calculation step may be, for example, a simulation step in which the preparation of orders is simulated before the actual preparation in order to determine an optimum order of preparation of orders and an optimum order of movement of products between the storage area and the order preparation station.

[0026] Optionally, if during verification, no order is present in the preparation locations, an order to be placed is randomly chosen from the list of orders awaiting preparation.

[0027] Advantageously, in sub-step (e):

[0028] - for each product in the priority order, a demand score is calculated based on the orders awaiting preparation,

[0029] - selecting to transfer last from the storage area to the order preparation station, the storage container of a product having a highest score, - selecting an order comprising said last product to be the next order to be sent to the preparation station after step (f), and

[0030] - the storage container containing the said last product is kept at the preparation station to serve the said next order before being returned to stock.

[0031] The product to be released last will be used for the next order and therefore further reduce trips to the stock.

[0032] Advantageously, the demand for orders is represented by a matrix noted with qij= 1 if the order / requests product j, otherwise q / = 0, the score for a product j (for example j = product B) is given by the following formula:

[0033] The invention further relates to a computer program comprising instructions which, when the program is executed by a computer, cause the latter to execute steps a) to f) of the order preparation method.

[0034] It also relates to a computer-readable medium on which the above computer program is recorded.

[0035] The invention further relates to an order preparation system comprising:

[0036] - a product storage area in which products are placed in storage containers, each storage container comprising a single type of product,

[0037] - an order preparation station comprising one or more locations for order containers, in each location, products of an order are likely to be transferred into the order container from one or more storage container(s),

[0038] - means of transport configured to move storage containers between the storage area and the order preparation station,

[0039] - a computer control means configured to carry out the steps of one of the above methods.

[0040] Advantageously, the means of transport may include an Autonomous Mobile Robot (AMR), an Automatically Guided Vehicle (AGV) or a conveyor.

[0041] Such means make it possible to automate and streamline the movement of storage containers and orders.

[0042] Advantageously, the order preparation station may include a robot equipped with a gripper for transferring one or more products at a time from a storage container to an order container. The gripper may be configured to pick up entire layers or individual products. This automates palletizing.

[0043] Brief description of the figures

[0044] Other features and advantages of the invention will appear in the description below in relation to the attached drawing:

[0045] [Fig.1] Figure 1 which represents an example of an order preparation system according to the invention.

[0046] This example is given as a non-limiting example.

[0047] Detailed description

[0048] Figure 1 shows an example of an order preparation system according to the invention. The system 1 comprises a product storage area Z1 in which products A, B, C are placed in storage containers 2. In the example, each storage container 2 comprises a single type of products A, B, C. The storage containers are, for example, pallets. For example, the area Z1 comprises, on each level, containers filled with a single type of products A, B, C.

[0049] The system also includes a second zone Z2 called the order preparation station. This zone Z2 includes 3 locations for 4 order containers, the locations are intended to receive 4 empty order containers to allow order preparation.

[0050] Furthermore, the order preparation station may comprise an order preparer or a robot 5 as illustrated in the example. The robot 5 may be equipped with a gripper to transfer one or more products A, B, C at a time from a storage container 2 to the order containers 4. The palletization may be, for example, by layers of products.

[0051] The system also includes a third zone Z3 called the delivery zone which can, for example, receive delivery trucks 7 which receive finished orders 6 to deliver them to customers.

[0052] The system 1 further comprises transport means 9 for moving the storage containers 2 between the storage area Z1 and the order preparation station Z2. The transport means 9 may, for example, comprise one or more Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs), an Automated Guided Vehicle (AGV) or a conveyor. Similar transport means may also be provided between the order preparation station Z2 and the delivery area Z3.

[0053] The system also includes a computer control means to monitor the order preparation process.

[0054] The method of preparing a set of orders Oi, O2, O3, O4, Os using this system involves two steps: - A calculation step, in which a set of sub-steps are executed to obtain an optimized order of order preparation and an optimized order of movement of the product containers between the storage area and the order preparation station, the movement being for example by the use of AMRs.

[0055] - A second stage of preparation of orders 01, 02, 03, 04, 05 by applying the results of the first stage.

[0056] Calculation step

[0057] The calculation step includes the following sub-steps:

[0058] (a): a consultation of a list of orders Oi, O2, O3, O4, Os awaiting preparation. Each of the orders being composed of one or more products A, B, C, and each product being able to be requested according to a certain quantity, for example in list 8 the order Os requests only the product B with a quantity of 2, while the order O3 requests the products A, B, C with respectively as quantities 6, 3 and 1.

[0059] (b): a check of the presence of at least one order O1, O2, O3, O4, Os at the preparation station Z2, i.e. that at least one of the locations 3 is occupied by an order when consulting the list of orders awaiting preparation,

[0060] If no order is present, the first order can be chosen randomly or according to other strategies.

[0061] (c): a check of the availability of location(s) 3 at the order preparation station Z2 is carried out, if all locations 3 are occupied, it will not be necessary to send a new order to be prepared, if a location is free a decision can be taken by the computer program to send a new order from the waiting list according to the next step,

[0062] (d): a successive selection of orders awaiting preparation O1, O2, O3, O4, Os to be placed in each location 3 available at the preparation station Z2. The order selected to be placed is the one which includes the most products in common with the order(s) already present at the preparation station. For example, if there are two orders remaining which request respectively products A, B, C and A, C, the program will favor an order which requests either product A alone, or product C alone or both products A and C.

[0063] (e): when the locations are all occupied in the order preparation station, for example in the illustrated case three orders present Os, Oi and O3, the containers 2 each comprising a single type of product A, B, C are transferred from the storage area one by one to prepare the orders which are present in the preparation station.

[0064] The order in which the storage containers are transferred from the storage area to the preparation station is chosen to free up a location as soon as possible. To do this, the program compares the orders placed at preparation station Z2 and selects the one that requires the fewest different products and designates it as the order to be processed first, because it is the one that will quickly free up a location 3. For example, among the orders Os, O1 and O3, present in locations 3, the priority order is Os because it corresponds to the order with the fewest different products. Indeed, Os only requests product B.

[0065] Once the priority order is designated, the containers of the products requested by this order are transferred from the storage area one by one. Each storage container 2 comprising a single type of product A, B, C moved to the order preparation station, serves all the orders requesting this product before being returned to stock. For example, a container of product B is taken from stock to serve orders Os, O1 and O3 before returning to the storage area Z1. Thus, with product B, the three orders are served and the location of the priority order Os which only requires this product is quickly freed, which allows the program to place a new order at the order preparation station following steps (c) and (d). Step (e) may further include optional sub-steps in which:

[0066] - for each product B of the priority order Os a demand score is calculated by the orders pending preparation Z2, that is to say, for each product requested by the priority order, the program looks in the pending orders if they also request this product, for example if order O5 is the priority order, then the score for the demand of product B in the remaining orders in the waiting list is calculated,

[0067] - Storage container 2 of a product with the highest score is selected to be transferred last from the storage area,

[0068] - An order including the said last product is selected to be the next order to be sent to the preparation station Z2 after step (f), and

[0069] - the storage container 2 containing the said last product is kept at the preparation station to serve the said next order before being returned to stock.

[0070] Advantageously, we can represent the demand for orders by a matrix noted:

[0071] The number n being the number of orders waiting to be placed at the order preparation station, m being the total number of different products.

[0072] In this case, Qi,j= 1 if the order requests product j, otherwise Qi,j= 0.

[0073] The score can be given by the following formula: (f): When priority order 05 no longer requires products, it is considered complete and evacuated to free up space at the order preparation station.

[0074] Sub-steps (a) to (f) are repeated until an optimized order of preparation of all orders Oi, O2, O3, O4, Os of the list and an optimized order of transfer of products A, B, C between the storage area and the order preparation station are obtained.

[0075] Order preparation stage

[0076] In the second stage, the computer control means control the product storage area Z1, the order preparation station Z2 as well as the transport means 9, for example AMRs for preparing orders O1, O2, O3, O4, O5.

[0077] Order preparation is carried out according to the preparation order and the transfer order of products A, B, C between the storage area and the order preparation station, resulting from the calculation of the calculation step.

[0078] This makes order picking more efficient and optimizes the number of AMRs needed to move storage containers.

Claims

CLAIMS 1. Method for preparing a set of orders (Oi, O2, O3, O4, Os) using an order preparation system (1) comprising: - a product storage area (Z1) in which products (A, B, C) are placed in storage containers (2), each storage container (2) comprising a single type of product (A, B, C), - an order preparation station (Z2) comprising one or more locations (3) for placing order containers (4), in each location, products (A, B, C) requested by an order are transferred into an order container (4) from one or more storage container(s) (2), - transport means (9) for moving storage containers (2) between the storage area (Z1) and the order preparation station (Z2), and - computer control means, the method being implemented by the computer control means and comprising a first calculation step and a second step of preparing the orders (O1, O2, O3, C, Os) by applying the results of the first step, in the first step, the computer control means determine an optimized order of preparing the orders (O1, O2, O3, O4, Os) and an optimized order of transferring the products (A, B, C) between the storage area and the order preparation station by executing the following sub-steps: (a) a consultation of the list of orders (O1, O2, O3, O4, Os) awaiting preparation, (b) a check of the presence of at least one order (O1, O2, O3, O4, Os) at the order preparation station (Z2), (c) a check of the availability of location(s) (3) at the order preparation station (Z2), (d) a selection of an order (Oi, O2, O3, C, Os) awaiting preparation to be placed in an available location (3), the selected order being the best correlated with the orders currently being prepared, this step being repeated successively for each location available at the order preparation station, (e) when each preparation location is occupied by an order (O1, O2, O3, O4, Os) to be prepared or there are no more orders awaiting preparation: - selection from among said orders at the preparation station, of a priority order (Os) to be prepared corresponding to the order requiring the fewest different products, - choosing an order of storage containers (2) comprising products (A, B, C) requested by said priority order, to be removed one by one from the storage area to transfer them to the order preparation station, each storage container (2) comprising a single type of product (A, B, C) being intended to serve all orders being prepared requiring said product (A, B, C) before being returned to stock, (f) when said priority order (05) no longer requires products, it is considered to be complete and evacuated to free up a location at the order preparation station, sub-steps (a) to (f) being repeated until an order is obtained for preparing all the orders (O1, O2, O3, O4, Os) of the list and an order for transferring the products (A, B, C) between the storage area and the order preparation station, in the second step the computer control means control the product storage area (Z1), the order preparation station (Z2) as well as the transport means (9) to prepare the orders (O1, O2, O3, O4, Os) according to the preparation order and the order for transferring the products (A, B, C) between the storage area and the order preparation station, resulting from the calculation of the first step.

2. Method according to claim 1, wherein in sub-step (e): - for each product (B) of the priority order (Os) a demand score is calculated by the orders awaiting preparation (Z2), - the storage container (2) of a product with the highest score is selected to be transferred last from the storage area, - an order comprising said last product is selected to be the next order to be sent to the preparation station (Z2) after step (f), and - the storage container (2) containing the said last product is kept at the preparation station to serve the said next order before being returned to stock.

3. Method according to claim 2 in which the demand for the products in the list of orders is represented by a matrix noted with qij= 1 if the order / requests product j, otherwise q / = 0, the score is given by the following formula:

4. Computer program comprising instructions which, when the program is executed by a computer, cause the latter to execute steps a) to f) of the order preparation method according to one of the preceding claims.

5. Computer-readable medium, on which the computer program according to the preceding claim is recorded.

6. System (1) for preparing orders comprising: - a storage area (Z1) for products (A, B, C) in which products are placed in storage containers (2), each storage container comprising a single type of products (A, B, C), - an order preparation station (Z2) comprising one or more locations (3) for order containers (4), in each location (3), products (A, B, C) of an order (Oi, O2, O3, O4, Os) are capable of being transferred into the order container (4) from one or more storage containers (2), - transport means (9) configured to move the storage containers (2) between the storage area (Z1) and the order preparation station (Z2), and - a computer control means configured to execute the steps of the order preparation method according to one of claims 1 to 3.

7. Order preparation system according to the preceding claim in which the transport means (9) comprise an Autonomous Mobile Robot (AMR), an Automatically Guided Vehicle (AGV) or a conveyor.

8. Order preparation system according to one of claims 6 or 7 in which the order preparation station comprises a robot (5) equipped with a gripper for transferring one or more products at a time from a storage container (2) to an order container (4).

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