G2P Micro-Fulfillment Center for Online Grocery Automation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Supermarket operators face challenges in providing profitable online grocery services due to high labor costs associated with in-store picking, inventory management issues, and customer satisfaction problems caused by out-of-stocks and aisle congestion in self-service stores.
Innovation Solution
Implementing an automated goods-to-person (G2P) system within existing self-service stores, which includes a micro-fulfillment center for storing and retrieving products using mobile robots and centralized control systems to manage inventory and order fulfillment, reducing labor costs and improving inventory accuracy.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If an automated G2P system is installed in a store, then labor costs for picking and handling orders are reduced, but physical space is required for the system's inventory cache
Solution Approach 1:
The patent utilizes vertical space by implementing multi-level shelving units and stacking totes within the G2P system. The automated picking system operates across multiple vertical levels, transforming the traditional horizontal warehouse layout into a vertical compact structure that fits within store footprint constraints.
Solution Approach 2:
The G2P system employs nested storage configurations where smaller totes containing individual products are placed within larger storage containers or shelving units. This nesting approach maximizes the use of available space by efficiently organizing inventory at multiple hierarchical levels within the limited cache area.
2Area of stationary object
If the G2P system uses a limited inventory cache, then space requirements are reduced, but the assortment available to online customers is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements dynamic inventory allocation where the G2P cache stock is continuously replenished from the store's main inventory based on real-time online order demand. This dynamic approach allows a small physical cache to support a large virtual assortment by rapidly exchanging items between the cache and main store inventory as orders are processed.
Solution Approach 2:
The system pre-positions frequently ordered items in the G2P cache inventory before online orders are placed. By anticipating demand patterns and pre-stocking the cache with high-velocity SKUs, the system ensures that the limited cache space is optimally utilized to fulfill the broader online assortment without requiring physical storage of all possible products.
3Productivity
If pickers operate on the store floor, then order picking can be performed, but aisle congestion increases and customer experience degrades
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the order picking operation from the customer-facing store floor environment and relocates it to a dedicated G2P fulfillment area. This separation removes pickers and their equipment from customer aisles, eliminating the harmful congestion effect while maintaining efficient order picking through the automated goods-to-person system in the isolated fulfillment zone.
4Ease of manufacture
If in-store picking is used for online orders, then existing store infrastructure is utilized, but labor costs for picking and handling are high
Solution Approach 1:
The G2P system implements self-service automation where robotic pickers and automated conveyors perform the order picking and consolidation tasks without human intervention. The system automatically receives electronic order data, retrieves products from the cache, assembles orders, and prepares them for fulfillment, eliminating the need for human pickers and significantly reducing labor costs while utilizing the existing store's infrastructure.
Data Source
AI summary
A store includes a self-service area where shoppers select goods from shelves, and an automated goods-to-person (G2P) area where stored goods are transported by mobile robots to a picking workstation or automated fulfillment of online orders. In one example, fresh order-line goods may be batch picked from the self-service area and transferred to the G2P area for automated fulfillment of orders for the fresh order-line goods. Fresh order-line goods may for example include meats, produce and other fresh foods packaged in the store deli or butcher which require some secondary operation before they can picked into a finished order.