Automated Storage Container Selection for Unavailable Items
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Solution Overview
Problem
Automated storage and retrieval systems face delays and reduced customer satisfaction due to unplanned item unavailability, where known solutions either partially fulfill orders or cause significant delays in retrieving substitute items.
Innovation Solution
A method in the automated storage and retrieval system that identifies a subset of bins storing the item or substitute items, evaluates parameter values such as delivery time and location, and selects the most appropriate bin to maintain system throughput and customer preference.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If another container storing the item is retrieved from deep within the grid, then the item availability is restored, but the order processing time increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by proactively identifying and retrieving substitute items before the original item is needed. When item unavailability is detected, the control system immediately identifies suitable substitute items and retrieves their containers in advance, rather than waiting until the packing station experiences the delay. This preliminary retrieval action prevents the time loss from occurring in the first place.
Solution Approach 2:
The control system acts as an intermediary between the item unavailability problem and the order fulfillment process. It identifies substitute items as intermediate solutions that can bridge the gap between the unavailable original item and the customer's order requirements. The substitute items serve as mediators that allow order processing to continue without significant delays.
2Productivity
If a separate substitute-picking process is planned at a later date, then system throughput is maintained, but the order fulfillment is significantly delayed
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of planning substitute retrieval at a later date, the system performs preliminary action by immediately identifying and retrieving substitute items when unavailability is detected. The control system proactively initiates the substitute-picking process before the order reaches the packing station, ensuring that substitute items are ready in advance rather than causing delays later.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts the order fulfillment process by introducing flexible substitute item selection. When the original item is unavailable, the control system dynamically identifies alternative items from the inventory and retrieves them, allowing the system to adapt to unavailability conditions without rigidly following the original retrieval schedule. This dynamic substitution maintains both throughput and fulfillment timing.
3Ease of operation
If the item is omitted from the order, then order processing is simplified, but customer satisfaction decreases due to partial fulfillment
Solution Approach 1:
The control system introduces substitute items as intermediaries between the unavailable original item and the customer's order requirements. Instead of simply omitting the item, the system identifies and retrieves substitute items that can fulfill the customer's order, maintaining complete fulfillment while simplifying the processing by automating the substitution decision-making process.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the parameter of item selection by transitioning from retrieving only the original ordered item to retrieving substitute items when the original is unavailable. The control system modifies the retrieval parameters to include alternative items based on predefined substitution criteria, allowing the system to maintain customer satisfaction while simplifying order processing through automated parameter adjustment.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3A~3B
AI summary
The disclosure relates to automated storage and retrieval system comprising: a plurality of storage locations, each of the plurality of storage locations being configured to store a respective one of a plurality of storage containers, each of the plurality of storage containers being configured to store one or more items; one or more robotic container-handling vehicles configured to deliver storage containers from the plurality of storage locations to a packing station; and a control system configured to: receive an order for one or more items stored in one or more of the plurality of storage containers; identify a first subset of storage containers from the plurality of storage containers, wherein each of the first subset of storage containers stores one of the one or more items in the order; determine that an item in a storage container of the first subset of storage containers is unavailable; identify a second subset of storage containers from the plurality of storage containers, wherein each of the second subset of storage containers stores the item or a substitute item for the item; determine, for each of the second subset of storage containers, one or more parameter values associated with the storage container; select a storage container from the second subset of storage containers based on the parameter values associated with the second subset of storage containers; and order a robotic container-handling vehicle of the one or more robotic container-handling vehicles to retrieve the selected storage container.