simulation - How to create specific warehouse order picking strategy in anylogic

Question

I am currently working on a generalized warehouse model containing all processes that take place in warehouse operations. I just started to work with anylogic and I can not figure out how to implement order picking strategies. My current model is able to receive truckloads containing pallets, the pallets are checked, booked and stored in a racking system. For the outbound processes of picking, packing, shipping I created an order containing a single pallet that moves through all the processes. However, a picking process of only single pallets is not really representative of warehouse operations. Therefore, I want to know if it is possible to implement order picking strategies such as batch picking, wave picking, discrete picking, amongst others. I hope someone can help me out.

Kind regards, Stefan

question from:https://stackoverflow.com/questions/65598408/how-to-create-specific-warehouse-order-picking-strategy-in-anylogic

Answer 1

what is packaged inside standard Anylogic is just a possibility to easily simulate full pallet moves(receive, putaway,picking, shipping) without a lot of programming. To do that you will just use existing AL objects: RackStore, RackPick, maybe some MoveTo, Queue, etc. But if you go beyond that and want to build some realistic warehouse with processing on a lower level of packing structure (pieces, and maybe even some more - layers, blisters, etc) that will require quite some coding. Depending on your chosen abstraction level you may even want to code everything exactly as its coded in your WMS in extreme case. Or maybe you simplify something but still its quite a modelling task for every new process (Pickwave, Disc Picking, etc) you want to implement. So the answer to your question - yes, its possible but beware of high effort.