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This paper presents an evaluation of the usability, functionality, and usefulness of the Warehouse Error Prevention (WEP) tool that consists of seven modules. The WEP tool is framed in a simple yes/no form, which can be used to identify human factors related to sources of pick errors in a warehouse. Thirty-three participants in 27 organisations from three different countries participated in a trial application and evaluation of the tool. The evaluation included a survey study and semi-structured interviews. Survey results show that participants agreed on the usability and functionality of the WEP tool. In the interviews, participants generally reported the WEP tool as being both accurate and functional with the potential to support engineers, ergonomists, and warehouse managers to improve order picking quality. Further quantitative field testing of the WEP tool's potential to identify costly warehouse errors is needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper deals with the problem of optimising the network of a Third-Party Logistics (3PL) company, placing emphasis on the distinct characteristics of the 3PL environment. The goal is to minimise the warehousing and distribution costs for both forward and reverse product flows. A new Mixed Integer Linear Program (MILP) model is proposed to address this interesting problem. The related decisions include: selection of (a) warehouse(s) and the related product inventory quantities, (b) product unit loads transported, (c) truck combinations employed to perform the corresponding forward and reverse trips. The model was applied in a case study of a 3PL company to optimise part of its forward supply chain that comprises three warehouses, 23 suppliers and 53 customers. The results obtained were very encouraging, since overall warehousing and distribution costs were lowered by 10.8%. Sensitivity analysis indicated that additional savings may result from optimising warehousing capacities. The main contributions of this work are the inclusiveness of key aspects of the 3PL environment in the proposed model, as well as placing emphasis on warehousing costs and on management of truck capacities. A secondary contribution is the validation of the model's value through a comprehensive case study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Warehouse operations have been significantly improved because of the rapid advancement of cyber-physical system technologies, preparing for Work-of-the-Future. The challenge, however, is how to design a collaborative system to deliver optimal performance by multiple agents who are highly distributed but interconnected and operate with technologies that provide massive amounts of real-time data. To address the challenge, in this article, the Cyber Collaborative Protocol for Dual-Cycle Task in Future Warehouse is developed to minimise total operation cost and time. The problem is addressed in two phases; the Global and Local phases. The global phase has higher computational power, maintaining a mathematical model, while the local phase has limited computational power and time, utilising heuristics to deliver the outcome. Computer experiments are utilised for validating the designed protocol compared with other alternatives. The results show that, in all given scenarios, the newly designed protocol outperforms alternatives with statistical significance. The original contribution of this research is the design and control of Cyber Collaborative Warehouse operations with a new focus on collaborative multi-agent interactions. In addition, a major implication is that future warehouses can benefit competitively by operating with Task Administration Protocols such as the new Cyber Collaborative Protocol for Dual-Cycle Task in Future Warehouse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The existing research on the prevalence and impact of boredom in prison is extensive. The passing of time and its unique meaning in a prison context has been documented. Missing from the research is an analysis of the ways in which "warehouse" prisons do not prioritize meaningful activity, even when there is agreement between correctional staff and incarcerated individuals about the negative impacts of idle time in prison. Based upon research in a Vermont men's prison, we use data involving incarcerated individuals and correctional staff, including focus groups and interviews, surveys, and qualitative feedback on the meaning of the survey results. Synthesizing these various data forms, this article focuses on the relationship between incarcerated persons' perceptions of how they are able to spend their time in the facility, how prepared they feel for release, lack of opportunities to earn money, and the impacts on their wellbeing. "Warehousing," as it is known in prison terms, contributes to the sense of hopelessness that incarcerated people feel, and acknowledgment by staff that the prison function is incapacitation. As this project is aimed at improving prison climate, addressing idle time in prison emerged as a high priority. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Serious games and game-based learning are widely used in education. Gaming in logistics education relies on serious gaming with no or less consideration on enjoyment. Intervention: This study examines in a first step whether and if so, how (serious) games are used as part of logistics majors' curricula at German universities. Based on the findings, an entertainment game about warehousing is developed and validated. Methods: Warehousing is an application-based discipline in which the operation of different picking techniques has an impact on the order picking. To help students understand the impact of such techniques, the 2D game WareMover was developed. The open-access game combines education and entertainment with different gamification objects and can be played in singleplayer or multiplayer mode. In this competitive 2D game, the objective is to pick orders by navigating around the warehouse towards the right shelf and to click on the correct storage compartment. The player has to achieve the highest score, which is determined by the fastest and least erroneous delivery. Four different picking techniques can be used in two game modes. Results: The results of a 14-player game session are presented. All players played both game variants with all picking techniques and completed a questionnaire. The players rated the game as user-friendly, entertaining, didactically useful, suitable for teaching and education, and engaging. In addition, the majority of players would play the game again and recommend it to others. Conclusion: The open-source game WareMover can contribute to studies in the field of warehousing by teaching students about picking techniques and the differences between these techniques. The novel game approach of interpreting a serious game as an entertainment game can increase the enjoyment and motivation of the players. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

NH 3 is a carbon-free fuel with good storage and transport characteristics. Applying Moderate or Intense Low-oxygen Dilution (MILD) combustion to NH 3 /syngas blended fuel is expected to achieve clean and low-carbon combustion. This work explores the impacts of changing the NH 3 /syngas ratio and O 2 content in co-flow on the combustion characteristics and the NO x formation and transformation mechanisms. As the proportion of NH 3 increases, the flame is gradually lifted, while the rise of H 2 in syngas reduces the lifted height. As the O 2 proportion is increased to 15%, almost the entire computational domain is transformed from MILD to high-temperature combustion when the ratio of NH 3 to syngas is 3:7. NH that is derived from the decomposition of NH 3 participates more actively in the consumption process of NO and N 2 O. N radicals are more likely to generate N 2 when O 2 content in hot co-flow increases. [Display omitted] • Higher NH 3 ratio results in a shorter flame length and higher flame lifted-height. • The MILD combustion boundary of NH 3 /syngas mixed fuel is depicted. • The increase in syngas promotes the consumption of NH 3. • Detailed NH 3 conversion routes of NH 3 /syngas in JHC burner are explored. • Patterns of NO formation routes with the rise of NH 3 and O 2 ratio are revealed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Storage is a key task of a logistics enterprise. Effective storage processes can increase the efficiency of enterprise logistics processes and positively affect logistics costs. Therefore, it is very important to deal with selecting storage locations within the enterprise area. The present paper deals with the optimal in-house storage location. The research was realized through a Czech Republic brewing company case study which aimed to find and select the best in-house storage location. The decision-making methods chosen for this solution were the additive ratio assessment method and the combined compromised solution method. While these methods are rarely used for this kind of solution-making, they helped to find the best location for reasonable storage in the research enterprise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Experimental investigations into acoustic cavitation and ultrasound-assited emulsification process between highly viscous liquids were systematically conducted in a laboratory-built ultrasonic microreactor. Under ultrasound irradiation, four cavitation modes were observed simultaneously in soybean oil, including volume, shape, transient collapse and cavitation clouds. Influenced by the intense oscillation of cavitation bubbles, emulsification between viscous liquids was initiated through a dispersion and migration mode. The effects of varying parameters, such as input power, residence time, channel size, HLB value, surfactant concentration and volume ratio between aqueous and oil phase, on the size and polydispersity of prepared emulsion were investigated using water-soybean oil two-phase system as a model. The emulsion size was reduced to 75.60 nm through optimization of experimental parameters. Based on these findings, the ultrasonic microreactor was successfully employed in the preparation of Vitamin E-enriched nano-emulsions. A fine emulsion with low average size (47.69 nm) and good storage stability (60 days) was prepared within 2 min, further indicating the potential application of ultrasonic microreactor in the beverage and pharmaceutical industries. Article Highlights: Emulsification between viscous liquids was realized through a dispersion and migration mode. Effects of varying parameters on size and polydispersity of prepared emulsion were investigated. Vitamin E-enriched nano-emulsion with low average size and good storage stability was prepared within 2 min. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite ongoing automation efforts, most warehouses are still manually operated using a person-to-parts collection strategy. This process of collecting items of customer orders from different storage locations accounts for the majority of the operating costs of the warehouse. Hence, optimizing picker routes is an important instrument to reduce labor costs. We examine the scattered-storage variant of the single picker routing problem in a one-block parallel-aisle warehouse. With scattered storage, an article can be stored at several storage locations within the warehouse, whereas with classic storage, each article has a unique storage location. We use our recently published network-flow model with covering constraints that is based on an extension of the state space of the dynamic-programming formulation by Ratliff and Rosenthal. With modifications in the state graph, this model serves for both exact and all established heuristic routing methods for picker routing. The latter include traversal, return, largest gap, midpoint, and composite. We show that these routing policies can also be implemented through adaptations in the state space. Extensive computational studies highlight a comparison of the different routing and storage policies (in particular class-based storage policies) in the scattered storage context. Analyses demonstrate which combinations of policies are advantageous for the given warehouse layout. For class-based storage policies, we emphasize how the scattering of articles of different classes should be performed: scattering of C-articles is advantageous with reductions of up to 25%. In contrast, when articles are uniformly distributed, A-articles should be scattered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We proposed here a non-destructive technology for pre-sorting eggs into subclasses characterized by a specifical acceptable shelf life and quality requirements. Egg characteristics were identified suiting a predictive model for controlling storage periods. Accordingly, the relationships of egg parameters were assessed, with weight loss (ΔW) during storage being the best indicator of changes in egg contents variables. Using changes in ΔW, we established three indicators with the maximum effect on fast egg drying and shrinkage. These included egg weight (W), egg volume-to-surface area ratio, and air cell diameter. The relationship formulae were derived to estimate the ΔW value accurately. This approach enables to judge regarding the potential of each particular egg subclass for its acceptable weight shrinkage and assign an optimal storage period for it. The proposed non-invasive analytical method can be implemented in industrial conditions for both table and hatching eggs with the available set of automated technological equipment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents exact derivations of the first two moments of the total order picking time in a warehouse for three routing heuristics, under the assumption of random storage. The analysis is done for general order size distributions and provides exact closed expressions in terms of the probability generating function of the order size distribution. We also indicate how the methods and insights in this paper extend to different storage policies and multi-block warehouses. The exact results derived in this paper are used to investigate effects of routing heuristics, order size distributions and layouts on warehouse efficiency. As illustration, we model the warehouse as a queueing system. By using approximations of the average order-lead time in terms of the first two moments of the order picking time, we are able to find optimal warehouse layouts and batch pick sizes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Warehouses are key elements of supply chain networks, and great attention is paid to increase their efficiency. Highly volatile space requirements are enablers of innovative resource sharing concepts, where warehouse capacities are traded on online platforms. In this context, our paper introduces the on-demand warehousing problem from the perspective of platform providers. The objective prioritises demand-supply matching with maximisation of the number of transactions. If there is a tie, the secondary objective maximises the number of suppliers matched with at least one customer and the number of customers that have matches within a specific threshold with respect to the minimum achievable cost. Besides the mathematical integer programming formulation, a myopic list-based heuristic and an efficient matheuristic approach are presented and benchmarked against the performance of a commercial optimisation solver. The impact of several parameters on the platform's objective is analysed. A particularly relevant finding is that the pricing flexibility on the demand side does not necessarily imply higher payments to the supply side. All data instances are made available publicly to encourage more researchers to work on this timely and challenging topic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a product of modern development, logistics plays a significant role in economic growth with its advantages of integrated management, unified operations, and speed. With the rapid advancement of technology and economy, traditional manual storage and retrieval methods can no longer meet industry demands. Achieving efficient storage and retrieval of goods on densely packed, symmetrically shaped logistics shelves has become a critical issue that needs urgent resolution. The brain storm optimization (BSO) algorithm, introduced in 2010, has found extensive applications across various fields. This paper presents a modified BSO algorithm (MBSO) aimed at addressing the scheduling challenges of double-end automated storage and retrieval systems (DE-AS/RSs). Traditional AS/RSs suffer from slow scheduling efficiency and the current heuristic algorithms exhibit low accuracy. To overcome these limitations, we propose a new scheduling strategy for the stacker to select I/O stations in DE-AS/RSs. The MBSO incorporates two key enhancements to the basic BSO algorithm. First, it employs an objective space clustering method in place of the standard k-means clustering to achieve more accurate solutions for AS/RS scheduling problems. Second, it utilizes a mutation operation based on a greedy strategy and an improved crossover operation for updating individuals. Extensive comparisons were made between the well-known heuristic algorithms NIGA and BSO in several specific enterprise warehouse scenarios. The experimental results show that the MBSO has significant accuracy, optimization speed, and robustness in solving scheduling of AS/RSs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For companies involved in the supply chain, proper warehousing management is crucial. Warehouse layout arrangement and operation play a critical role in a company's ability to maintain and improve its competitiveness. Reducing costs and increasing efficiency are two of the most crucial warehousing goals. Deciding on the best warehouse layout is a remarkable optimization problem. This paper uses an optimization method to set bin allocations within an automated warehouse with particular characteristics. The warehouse's initial layout and the automated platforms limit the search and define the time required to move goods within the warehouse. With the help of historical data and the definition of the time needed to move goods, a mathematical model of warehouse operation was created. An optimization procedure based on the well-known Variable Neighbourhood Search algorithm is defined and applied to the problem. Experimental results demonstrate increments in the efficiency of warehousing operations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objectives of the study are to examine the logistics activities of Thai cut flower orchid exporters to Vietnam and evaluate their logistics performance across nine logistical operations in three dimensions: cost, time, and reliability. Identifying issues in improving the logistics efficiency of exporters is the key to gaining a competitive edge in exporting. Thai orchid exporters to Vietnam were interviewed in Bangkok, Nakhon Pathom, and Samut Sakhon provinces, Thailand’s main orchid production regions, using semi-structured interviews with open-ended questions. Quantitative and logistics management data were collected using the Agricultural Logistics Performance Index (ALPI), which evaluated nine logistics activities in three dimensions. Qualitative data were obtained from conceptual framework inquiries. Inductive analysis was used to study qualitative data, whereas percentages and averages were used to analyse quantitative data. According to the report, exporters performed six logistics tasks but ignored demand forecasting. Furthermore, site selection, warehousing and storage, and reverse logistics were absent. Exporter logistics performance averaged 94.98, with purchasing and procurement performing best at 98.05. Transportation, with an average performance of 90.84, needed the most optimisation. Exporters had the highest logistical reliability at 99.14, followed by cost and time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to reduce the release of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), it is of great practical significance to develop water-based self-polishing antifouling coatings instead of traditional acrylic self-polishing antifouling coatings. However, when preparing film forming matrix resin emulsions for water-based antifouling coatings, the use of emulsifiers in large amounts causes filmforming defects and poor adhesion. Herein, soap-free emulsion polymerization is utilized to prepare resin emulsions by copolymerization of hydrophilic monomers, lipophilic monomers and polymerizable hydrophilic ionic monomers. The hydrophilic structure can give the water-based polymer selfemulsification function to maintain the stability of the emulsion and can promote the fusion between the latex particles by forming hydrogen bonds and coordination bonds, and its connection with the pigments and fillers in the coating can also promote the excellent film formation of the coating. The experimental results show that the water-based self-polishing antifouling resin emulsion has good storage stability and compatibility with the pigments and fillers. The coatings formulated using this emulsion as the film-forming matrix firmly adhered to substrates and displayed satisfactory antifouling performance even after being exposed to a real sea environment for 18 months. This study presents a simple approach for the development of water-based resin emulsion with good storage stability and good water-based self-polishing marine antifouling coatings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Online retailing challenges the traditional male coding of warehousing. Based upon an ethnographic study at two Swedish online retail warehouses, this article seeks to understand why certain warehouses are numerically dominated by women. Employees express that men are less focused and more careless and easily bored than women, and hence not desirable for the goods‐handling work. The warehouses extend to hard‐working women driven by the shame of doing wrong, which reflect their orientation of bodies in the direction of enhancing production and profit. Workers attribute the positive social atmosphere at the warehouses to the numerical dominance of women and the small size of the workplaces. At the one hand, the constructed sameness of (women) workers through hard work and jargon contribute to a collective identity that strengthens them. At the other hand, the binary gendering of work and workers also contribute to making the ware houses into ‘straight spaces’ (Ahmed, 2006). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When solving problems related to capital investments in the company, it is necessary to work out the problem in detail and take into account as many influential parameters as possible in order to make the optimal decision. One such problem is the selection of the main warehouse location for the needs of a given company with dispersed centers. Multi-criteria decision-making methods can be applied to successfully solve such complex problems. In this paper, the EDAS method will be applied to achieve the optimal selection of the location of the main warehouse in a company with several dispersed centers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Featured Application: An autonomous mobile robot (AMR) is a self-navigating vehicle capable of executing specific tasks such as transportation and cruising. As a crucial component of the logistics system in Industry 4.0 and smart factories, AMRs leverage sensors, including cameras, to gather information about their external environment and chart navigational paths. Their applications are diverse, spanning across warehousing, manufacturing, healthcare, hazardous locations, and specialized industries. Road recognition, a key feature of AMRs, employs technologies like semantic segmentation to extract high-level scene information, including object locations and semantic data from images. This technology can be integrated with Visual Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM), enhancing the AMR's ability to navigate complex environments. This integration is pivotal in enabling AMRs to successfully complete their navigation tasks. The rapid development and application of AMRs is important for Industry 4.0 and smart logistics. For large-scale dynamic flat warehouses, vision-based road recognition amidst complex obstacles is paramount for improving navigation efficiency and flexibility, while avoiding frequent manual settings. However, current mainstream road recognition methods face significant challenges of unsatisfactory accuracy and efficiency, as well as the lack of a large-scale high-quality dataset. To address this, this paper introduces IndoorPathNet, a transfer-learning-based Bird's Eye View (BEV) indoor path segmentation network that furnishes directional guidance to AMRs through real-time segmented indoor pathway maps. IndoorPathNet employs a lightweight U-shaped architecture integrated with spatial self-attention mechanisms to augment the speed and accuracy of indoor pathway segmentation. Moreover, it surmounts the challenge of training posed by the scarcity of publicly available semantic datasets for warehouses through the strategic employment of transfer learning. Comparative experiments conducted between IndoorPathNet and four other lightweight models on the Urban Aerial Vehicle Image Dataset (UAVID) yielded a maximum Intersection Over Union (IOU) of 82.2%. On the Warehouse Indoor Path Dataset, the maximum IOU attained was 98.4% while achieving a processing speed of 9.81 frames per second (FPS) with a 1024 × 1024 input on a single 3060 GPU. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article deals with the application of cluster analysis in modeling in-house processes, specifically supply processes. An algorithm is designed on the theoretical basis of cluster analysis and according to the analysis of the supply processes in selected industrial companies. Specifically, the algorithm is based on the hierarchical methods of cluster analysis, and the selected hierarchical clustering method is applicable in modeling storage systems under various production conditions in industrial companies. The methodology of clustering regarding the supply processes is subsequently experimentally verified. Based on the results of the cluster analysis, a system of organization was proposed for the analyzed warehouse in the form of 2D and 3D layout models of the warehouse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aiming at the problems of multi-AGV (automated guided vehicle) path planning in intelligent warehouse, such as poor real-time performance, weak obstacle recognition ability, multi-AGV collision, deadlock and congestion, a collaborative control method for intelligent warehouse traffic signals control and multi-AGV path planning is proposed. Traffic signals and multi-AGV path planning are regarded as a whole in this method. A collaborative control framework for traffic signals and multi-AGV path planning is designed. The LS-A3C (long short-asynchronous advantage actor-critic) algorithm and Bi-LSTM-CBAM (bi-long short-term memory-convolutional block attention module) algorithm are proposed as the core algorithm of the framework. The long-term and short-term information of traffic signals are encoded in LS-A3C algorithm, which uses a long short-term encoder and attention mechanism. They are represented by learning cell features. The A3C framework is used to calculate the Q value of the cell and the control strategy. The traffic signals time adapting to AGV flow is adjusted to solve the problems of multi-AGV collision, deadlock and congestion. The output result is spliced by calculating the state characteristics of the present moment and the leading moment in Bi-LSTM-CBAM algorithm to solve the problem of gradient disappearance and explosion in neural network effectively and improve real-time AGV path planning. The attention mechanism module CBAM is introduced. Weights are assigned based on how important the input is in order to strengthen the AGV's ability to identify obstacles. Finally, simulation experiments are carried out on Sumo and Gazebo joint simulation platform. The experimental results show that the collaborative control method significantly reduces the AGV collision, deadlock and congestion, significantly improves the obstacle recognition ability, and greatly enhances the real-time path planning. The purpose of improving the AGV operation efficiency is achieved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are many reasons for experiencing supply chain disruptions. The reasons could be miscommunication between the factory and the warehouse, miscommunication between the warehouse and the stores, or miscommunication between the stores and the customers. We investigated these possible disruptions throughout this paper with the help of a questionnaire. We further investigated the effect of various problems that may occur with the company stock which resulted in supply chain disruptions. There have been many papers written about the effect of the disruptions regarding these problems. With the goal of finding out the tactical approach from the company affects the value of the stock, we investigated this further. Additionally, this paper examined the nature of the tactical standings of the company and the effects on supply chain disruptions and the position of the company stock. Based on the responses to the questionnaire, we found how the tactical elements affect the supply chain disruptions. We also showed the effect of the supply chain disruptions on the company stock. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to assess on use of synchronized logistics drivers towards optimized supply chain operations by using Tanzania among the developing country as a case study. On methodology, the study employed descriptive survey design and population of the study involved registered logistics service providers in Tanzania whose list were obtained from Tanzania Revenue Authority’s data base. Quantitative data from 126 respondents were analyzed by using descriptive analysis presented in form of frequency and percentages and also the relationships between synchronized logistics drivers and optimized supply chain operations were tested by using correlation analysis. The results indicate that majority of respondents agreed on the role of synchronized logistics drivers towards optimization in supply chain operations whereby after testing the results by using regression model the information system variable was found significant among the three tested variables (p = 0.002). The study concluded that synchronized information systems play significant role in achieving optimized supply chain operations thus the study implication on practice and social is that synchronization of logistics drivers will enhance optimization in supply chain operations. On originality, most of the past reviewed studies have concentrated on the aspect of synchro modality which is one component of logistics driver (modes of transport); this study establishes a new foundation by studying synchronization in the inclusion of more logistic drivers in supply chain operations (information, transport and warehousing). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A large global pharmaceutical manufacturer has a fully automated warehouse in their facilities. This warehouse is divided into two sections: fast-moving materials and slow-moving materials. In the context of the fully automated warehouse, a reduction of material movements translates into financial savings since it will decrease energy consumption and lower wear and tear on the equipment. To achieve these benefits, we propose a new approach that redefines the material categories and their placement within the warehouse. The strategy proposed is to forecast the movements and materials, and then to optimize the storage of materials within the warehouse. By doing so, we aim to streamline warehouse operations, improving efficiency and cost-effectiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate the integration of several additional efficient techniques that improve a solution method for the lifelong multiagent pickup-and-delivery (MAPD) problem to reduce the redundancy in the concurrent task execution and space usage of a warehouse map. The lifelong MAPD problem is an extended class of iterative multiagent pathfinding problems where a set of shortest collision-free travel paths of multiple agents is iteratively planned. This problem models a system in automated warehouses with robot-carrier agents that are allocated to pickup-and-delivery tasks generated on demand. In the task allocation to agents, several solution methods for lifelong MAPD problems consider the endpoints of the agents' travel paths to avoid the deadlock situations among the paths due to the conflict of the endpoints. Since redundancies are found in the problem settings themselves and the concurrency of allocated tasks, several additional techniques have been proposed to reduce them in solution methods. However, there should be opportunities to investigate the integration of additional techniques with improvements for more practical solution methods. As analysis and an improved understanding of the additional solution techniques based on endpoints, we incrementally integrate the techniques and experimentally investigate their contributions to the quality of task allocation and the paths of the agents. Our result reveals significant complementary effects of the additionally integrated techniques and trade-offs among them in several different problem settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Warehousing demand prediction is an essential part of the supply chain, providing a fundamental basis for product manufacturing, replenishment, warehouse planning, etc. Existing forecasting methods cannot produce accurate forecasts since warehouse demand is affected by external factors such as holidays and seasons. Some aspects, such as consumer psychology and producer reputation, are challenging to quantify. The data can fluctuate widely or do not show obvious trend cycles. We introduce a new model for warehouse demand prediction called MAGRU, which stands for Multi-layer Attention with GRU. In the model, firstly, we perform the embedding operation on the input sequence to quantify the external influences; after that, we implement an encoder using GRU and the attention mechanism. The hidden state of GRU captures essential time series. In the decoder, we use attention again to select the key hidden states among all-time slices as the data to be fed into the GRU network. Experimental results show that this model has higher accuracy than RNN, LSTM, GRU, Prophet, XGboost, and DARNN. Using mean absolute error (MAE) and symmetric mean absolute percentage error(SMAPE) to evaluate the experimental results, MAGRU's MAE, RMSE, and SMAPE decreased by 7.65%, 10.03%, and 8.87% over GRU-LSTM, the current best model for solving this type of problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The progression of the industry, alongside the continuous enhancement of operational efficiency and the reduction of production costs, are paving the way for novel solutions in the realm of storage and transportation systems. The incorporation of new technologies and solutions, such as mobile robots, has culminated in the establishment of Smart Warehouses. It facilitates the reduction of non-value adding activities for companies. One of the methods of improving the efficiency of such systems is the more effective use of autonomous mobile robots. The article presented an inventive concept of an autonomous mobile robot capable of undertaking transport tasks both on the shop floor and within high-bay warehouses. The new concept of the drive mechanism enables it to navigate on surfaces and move along rail guides. By using an elevator, the robot can be lifted to higher levels within the warehouse. The well-conceived structural solution of the robot allows the elevator placement anywhere within the warehouse, eliminating the need for constructing a pit. The use of a mobile robot with the proposed structure will enable the execution of transport tasks without necessitating reloading. Such an approach has the potential to increase efficiency and reduce the costs of storage processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As E-Commerce develop, customers' tight delivery requirements are driving warehouses to operate more efficiently. This paper studies two types of class-based storage policies for a multi-dock unit-load warehouse: the within-aisle policy and the across-aisle policy. The aim is to determine the optimal class boundary and explore the dominance situation (i.e. which policy performs better in which situation). We first develop an expected response distance model for each policy based on a general layout of multiple docks. Then, closed-form optimal first zone boundary and warehouse dimension are given for the across-aisle policy. For within-aisle policy, an efficient algorithm is developed (based on the proved unimodality property) for obtaining its optimal first zone boundary. Besides, each policy's dominance situation is analysed for two typical situations. Numerical results show that both policies can bring up to 60% performance improvement compared with the random storage policy. Impacts of docks layout and warehouse dimensions on each policy's dominance situations are illustrated. It shows that the across-aisle policy performs better in the situation where the docks' and wall's centrelines are adjacent, and in the situation where the warehouse is narrow and deep. Managerial insights on policy selection and dock layout design are presented for warehouse managers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accident scenarios leading to full or partial fire engulfment represent a serious threat to tanks used for the transportation and storage of dangerous goods. The present study focuses on the impact of partial engulfing fire scenarios on an LPG tank. An experimentally validated CFD modeling approach was further developed and applied to perform a parametric study by varying the exposure mode and the filling degree. The results of the simulations show that both these factors have a strong influence on the pressurization rate, the energy accumulation, and the high-temperature mechanical weakening of the tank structure. Fire scenarios where the flame zone is at the top or at the end of the tank are particularly critical when the liquid filling degree is low or medium. Liquid thermal stratification is evident in all the case studies analyzed and, in most of them, it strongly affects the vessel pressurization curve. The comparison to the results obtained using a lumped model showed that this provides non-conservative pressurization results for high filling levels (80%). The results show that a validated CFD approach can be used as a virtual workbench to support tank design within a digital twinning approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At present, technological systems lack a secure and transparent method for tracking goods and preventing theft in e-commerce, leading to trust issues and data vulnerabilities. There is a pressing need for a comprehensive solution that integrates Ethereum blockchain, IPFS, and advanced cryptographic techniques to address these challenges and enhance the security and transparency of transactions. This research paper presents a robust system that harnesses the Ethereum blockchain, IPFS (Interplanetary File System), and advanced cryptographic algorithms to create a secure, decentralized approach for tracking goods and preventing theft incidents. Unique identifiers and related information will be sent to the mail of the customer and same should entered by the customer for successful transaction. By assigning unique identifiers to purchased products and employing cryptographic techniques to encrypt sensitive data, our system ensures both user privacy and the creation of an immutable transaction ledger. Users can efficiently manage their purchased goods, block stolen items, and communicate with sellers through an intuitive interface. Additionally, the system provides sellers with a comprehensive transaction history, enhancing accountability and transparency within the supply chain. Through this research, we demonstrate the effectiveness of our blockchain based anti-theft measures, underpinned by Ethereum, IPFS, and cutting-edge cryptographic algorithms, in fostering secure, trustless transactions. This work highlights the transformative potential of blockchain technology and decentralized protocols in revolutionizing security and transparency across diverse sectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Warehousing plays a pivotal role in ensuring the smooth flow of materials and spare parts to support production processes. The efficiency and reliability of warehouse operations significantly impact overall company operations, enhancing their reliability, effectiveness, and efficiency. Achieving optimal performance relies on various interconnected factors, with one crucial aspect being the enhancement of warehouse performance. Employing methodologies such as Analytical Hierarchical Process (AHP), Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), and Standard Normalization (S-NORM) aids in data processing and evaluation. For instance, PT XYZ Café Indonesia's warehouse in Jakarta utilizes 25 KPIs, divided into categories like Receiving, Putaway, Storage, Order Picking, and Shipping, each containing 5 KPIs. Analysis reveals 10 KPIs in the green category, signaling satisfactory performance, while 11 fall into the yellow category, indicating areas for improvement, and 4 are in the red category, signifying critical areas requiring immediate attention. Utilizing the S-Norm De Boer method for performance evaluation, the Jakarta warehouse achieves a performance index of 93.20335, meeting expected performance levels. However, there's a need for targeted improvements in KPIs categorized as yellow or red to enhance overall warehouse efficiency and effectiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the study is analyzed the process of producing the wiring of the engine of a vehicle, the operations performed in the production sections of the company: materials warehouse, cable cutting, pre -confection, installation and identification of the post with the activity that has the highest time of achievement in the line. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many online retailers apply scattered (or mixed-shelves) storage in the picking areas of their warehouses. Instead of keeping unit loads together, individual pieces of stock keeping units (SKUs) are stored on various shelves throughout the warehouse. This storage strategy increases the probability that—whatever it is that customers order jointly—somewhere in the warehouse these products will be located in close proximity. Hence, a picker can retrieve them without excessive unproductive walking. The price for this advantage on the picking side, however, is additional effort for the replenishment workers (also denoted as stowers) when restocking the shelves. Instead of moving only a single homogeneous unit load toward an SKU's designated storage position, each stower has to travel along multiple open shelf spaces until all products on the cart are stored on shelves. The resulting stower routing problem is equivalent to the well-known prize collecting traveling salesman problem (PCTSP). While the PCTSP for general graphs is known to be strongly NP -hard, we show that in a warehousing environment, where all open storage positions are located along parallel aisles, it is only binary NP -hard. The special parallel-aisle structure allows us to derive an exact solution algorithm with pseudo-polynomial runtime, which solves even instances with hundreds of open storage positions to proven optimality in just a few seconds. Our computational tests show that the performance gains of an optimized stowing process over the status quo, where stowers operate without decision support, are significant. Especially, when the fill level of a warehouse is high, directing stowers on optimized routes promises huge improvements. History: Accepted by Andrea Lodi, Area Editor for Design & Analysis of Algorithms – Discrete. Funding: This work was supported by the German Science Foundation/Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) by the grant "Routing of human and automated order pickers in modern warehouses" (BO 3148/14-1 and BO 1972/2-1). Supplemental Material: The e-companion is available at https://doi.org/10.1287/ijoc.2022.0173. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Eyeing superior operational performance, transportation, and warehousing management, researchers have turned their much‐needed attention to autonomous and IoT‐driven intralogistics systems. Despite its potential, a systematic evaluation of its overall business needs and the criteria for its success at each stage of adoption is missing in the literature. Using the business analysis framework, augmented by the technology adoption model, this study seeks to provide the business context for adopting autonomous and IoT‐driven intralogistics by identifying business requirements and critical success factors for such systems. We thematically analyze 85 recent research articles on autonomous and IoT‐driven intralogistics systems to identify business requirements that are linked to the mission of maximizing operational profit for the warehousing and storage industry. Then, using the identified business requirements as a base, we thematically analyze those 85 research articles again to identify critical success factors at different stages of technology adoption, namely information, analysis, acquisition, and utilization. We use the findings to develop propositions for future researchers. These findings provide a foundation for developing empirical, descriptive, and normative research on adopting and managing these systems for the warehousing and storage industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Smart warehouses require software-based decision-making tools to manage the receiving, storing, and picking of products. A major challenge in achieving efficient operations is deciding where to store products associated with incoming orders. The storage location assignment problem (SLAP) is more complex in large-size warehouses due to several functional objectives and numerous possible shelving solutions. This paper introduces an artificial intelligence algorithm that seeks to find an acceptable solution to SLAP with presented linear and nonlinear objective functions. The near-optimal technique exploits basin-hopping and simulated-annealing algorithms to find a solution when considering four functional objectives including worker safety, which has not been optimized using similar approaches. The algorithm is experimentally evaluated, and results demonstrate that reasonablely achieved solutions are comparable to those obtained by well-known existing solvers. Furthermore, the problem could be solved with non-linear objectives which is beyond the commercial solvers' like SCIP capability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to explore the effects of house warehouse storage on fungal community diversity of imported soybean, Illumina MiSeq high-throughput sequencing was employed to analyze the fungal community structure and diversity of newly harvested imported high oil soybean for 3 months with periodic sampling for moisture determination. The result demonstrated that the fungal communities in different storage periods in the high oil soybean belonged to 4 phyla, 9 classes, 14 orders, 15 families, 21 genera and 19 species in accordance with the 97% sequence similarity level. The four dominant phyla of soybean in different storage periods were Ascomycota, Basidiomycota, Mortierellomyco and Mucoromycota. At the species level, classification statistical analysis showed that the 10 strains with relatively high abundance presented an increasing trend with the extension of storage time (C47>B47>A47). In addition, quarantine pathogenic fungus gibberella were found. Through the analysis of Ven map and Beta diversity, it was found that the fungal community structure of soybean samples in the first two storage periods was relatively similar. The fungal community structure of soybean samples in the third storage period was significantly different from that in the first two storage periods with the storage of house warehouse. It could be concluded that the fungal community diversity of soybean samples in the third storage period not only increased significantly, but also experienced obvious succession of fungal community structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines how start-up companies in the transportation and warehousing sector can be encouraged by institutions from a macroeconomic perspective. The assumption is that startups are more likely to be successful in countries with higher quality institutional systems. In this article, the statistical data of the EU member states are compared using comparative analytical methods, followed by tests using econometric models to evaluate the results. On the one hand, the World Governance Indicator, Human Development Index, and International Property Rights Index of the examined European countries, and on the other hand Hit Horizon and EU startup industry databases are used to answer the puzzle. The assumption is that institutions play an important role in the success of start-up companies in the transportation and warehousing sectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study aims to present the results of paper compression under an axial load. Different heights of samples subjected to compression were taken into account. The main goal of the analysis was to determine experimentally the maximum compression load. In addition, numerical models based on the finite element method (FEM) were validated to refer to empirical results. The performed numerical simulations were founded on Green–Lagrangian nonlinear equations for large displacements and strains. The progressive failure of the compressed orthotropic material after exceeding maximum stresses was based on Hill's anisotropy theory. Nonlinear calculations were conducted by using a typical Newton–Raphson algorithm for achieving a sequence convergence. The accuracy of the developed model was confirmed experimentally in compression tests. The technique of analysing the shape of the compressed paper sample on the basis of images recorded during the measurement was used. The obtained test results are directly applicable in practice, especially in the calculation of the mechanical properties of corrugated cardboard and in determining the load capacity of cardboard packaging. Knowing the maximum compressive stress that packaging paper can withstand allows packaging to be properly designed and its strength assessed in the context of the transport and storage of goods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the development of the modern warehouse real estate market in Poland (from 2004 to 2022). The reference area is the European market. Against its background, Poland has become a fast-growing bank next to Germany and the fifth largest in terms of modern warehouse space. This happened despite the unstable and unpredictable macroeconomic and political situation in recent years, as well as the dangerous epidemic effects, e.g. connecting supply chains. The article is an attempt to find the sources of success of this Polish phenomenon, the search for a specific spatial configuration of the market and short- and long-term perspectives for the development of the warehouse market in Poland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Licensed warehouse system is a system that aims to store agricultural products in healthy conditions and facilitate trade. It offers producers the opportunity to sell their quality products at better prices. It has a versatile construction that allows to supply with the desired quality product at any time for industrial. The licensed storage system, which is becoming increasingly widespread in Turkey, is very important for agricultural markets. The purpose of this study is to determine attitudes and behavior of producers on the licensed storage system. This study of cover the cereals producers in Yerköy district of Yozgat province by means of 2021-2022 production periods. For this purpose, a survey of 76 sample the producers were conducted using the Proportional Distribution Method. According to the findings, 55.3% of cereals producers prefer licensed warehouses. 51.4% of the cereals produced, 18.13 tons of average wheat and 3.15 tons of average barley were found to be stored in licensed warehouses. It has been determined that factors such as the possibility of paying in advance, the proximity of warehouses, and the possibility of high prices sales are effective in producers' preference for licensed warehouses. In addition, there are producers who use their own warehouse (19.4%) in the production of cereals. It has been determined that these producers do not store for commercial purposes, but evaluate their products for animal feed use. The study also found that the amount of cereals not stored is high (29.2%). This situation is related to the direct sales of the producers in order to meet the need for cash due to the loss of yield, excessive increase in product prices and increasing costs in recent years. As a result of the research, it was observed that producers have sufficient information about licensed warehouses and find licensed storage useful. In a addition, It has been determined that 40.5% of producers using licensed warehouses will not leave products in warehouses if government grants are removed. In this respect, the licensed warehouse system may be said to require incentive and support policies to be developed in the short and medium for include producers in the system and to gain a functional structure of the system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study presents the development of an upgrading program for a supermarket-type warehouse that supports the supply of goods in a manufacturing company located in northwestern Mexico. The tool Kanban is applied to achieve and improve the redistribution, reorganization, and identification of replenishment points for the production process. A five-step methodology is followed and 70 materials are selected to update their storage and inventory levels on the warehouse management system. The results show an increase of 33.53% on overall delivery metric compliance and a 5.49% increment on supermarket maximization. It is concluded that upgrading the warehouse management system improves the efficiency of materials supply since it increments successful on-time delivery objetives and since it increments the supermarket's share on supply. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]