Warehouse management system based on pick velocity

• US 8,407,108 B2
• Filed: 09/24/2007
• Issued: 03/26/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 09/24/2007
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Foltz, Christopher T., Ramakrishnan, Sreekanth
• Primary Examiner(s): Zeender, Ryan
• Assistant Examiner(s): Amsdell, Dana
• Application Number:
  US11/859,904
• Publication Number:
  US 20090082902A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,010 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 705/26.9
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders

Abstract

A method and system are disclosed for determining the locations of parts in a warehouse. The method comprises the step of generating for each part an associated designator having first and second components, including the steps of, for each of the parts, (i) determining the first component of the associated designator based on physical dimensions of the part, and (ii) determining the second component of the associated designator based on a pick velocity of the part. These designators are used to identify locations in the warehouse for the parts. In a preferred embodiment, the first components of the designators are used to determine the distances of the identified locations for the parts from an entrance/exit of the warehouse, and the second components of the designators are used to determine the heights of the identified locations for the parts in the warehouse.

Claims

1. A method of assigning locations at which to store parts in a warehouse, comprising the steps of:

generating for each part an associated designator having two components, including the steps of;

for each of the parts,

i) determining one of the components of the associated designator based on physical dimensions of the part, and

ii) determining a second of the components of the associated designator based on a pick velocity of the part; and

using one or more hardware processing units, executing a storage location program, to use the designator for each of the parts to assign a location at which to store said each part in the warehouse;

wherein the warehouse has an entrance/exit, and the using step includes the steps of;

using the one of the components of the designators to determine vertical distances of the assigned locations for the parts in the warehouse, and using the second of the components of the designators to determine the distances of the assigned locations for the parts from said entrance/exit, and

wherein the step of determining the first component of the designator associated with each part includes the step of determining said first component based on the physical density of said each part; and

wherein some of the parts are used for both fabrication kits and fulfillment kits; and

the pick velocity for each of said some of the parts is based on a first portion of said each part that is used for the fabrication kits and a second portion of said each part that is used for the fulfillment kits.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the pick velocity of each part is based on a daily going rate for said each part.

3. A method according to claim 2, wherein the pick velocity of each part is determined by dividing the daily going rate for the part by a given quantity.

4. A method according to claim 3, wherein said given quantity is based on a defined pick kit size for the part.

5. A method according to claim 1, comprising the further step of assigning a space allocation for each part based on a defined peak supply of said each part.

6. A method according to claim 5, wherein said parts include untested supply parts, and the assigning step includes the step of assigning the space allocation for each of the untested supply parts based on a peak quantity of said each untested supply part expected to be in the warehouse during a given period.

7. A method according to claim 5, wherein said parts include tested supply parts, and the assigning step includes the step of assigning the space allocation for each of the tested supply parts based on a peak point of supply for said each tested supply part during a given period.

8. The method according to claim 1, further comprising scrapping the parts having specified associated designators.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein:

the pick velocity of each part is determined by dividing a daily going rate for the part by a given value;

said given value is based on a defined number of days; and

the method further comprises assigning a space allocation for each part.

10. A system for assigning locations at which to store parts in a warehouse, comprising:

a processor generating for each part an associated designator having two components by determining for each of the parts, (i) one of the components of the associated designator based on physical dimensions of the part, and (ii) determining a second of the components of the associated designator based on a pick velocity of the part; and

the processor, executing a storage location program, to use the designator for each of the parts to assign a location at which to store said each part in the warehouse; and

wherein;

the warehouse has an entrance/exit, and the processor uses the one of the components of the designators to determine vertical distances of the assigned locations for the parts in the warehouse, and uses the second of the components of the designators to determine the distances of the identified locations for the parts from said entrance/exit;

the pick velocity of each part is determined by dividing a daily going rate for the part by a given quantity; and

the first component of the designator associated with each part is determined based on the physical density of said each part.

11. A system according to claim 10, wherein the processor assigns a space allocation for each part based on a defined peak supply of said each part.

12. A system according to claim 11, wherein said parts include untested supply parts and tested supply parts, and wherein:

the processor assigns the space allocation for each of the untested supply parts based on a peak quantity of said each untested supply part expected to be in the warehouse during a given period; and

the processor assigns the space allocation for each of the tested supply parts based on a peak point of supply for said each tested supply part during a selected period.

13. A computer program product for assigning the locations at which to store parts in a warehouse, comprising:

a storage device readable by a processing circuit and storing tangible instructions for execution by the processing circuit for performing a method comprising;

generating for each part an associated designator having two components, including the steps of;

for each of the parts,

i) determining one of the componenets of the associated designator based on physical dimensions of the part, and

ii) determining a second of the components of the associated designator based on a pick velocity of the part; and

using the designator for each of the parts to assign a location at which to store said each part in the warehouse for the parts, and wherein;

the warehouse has an entrance/exit, and the using step includes the steps of;

using the one of the components of the designators to determine vertical distances of the assigned locations for the parts in the warehouse, and using the second of the components of the designators to determine the distances of the identified locations for the parts from said entrance/exit, and

the pick velocity of each part is determined by dividing the daily going rate for the part by a given quantity, and the first component of the designator associated with each part is determined based on the physical density of said each part.

14. A computer program product according to claim 13, wherein said method further comprises the step of assigning a space allocation for each part based on a defined peak supply of said each part.

15. A computer program product according to claim 14, wherein said parts include untested supply parts and tested supply parts, and the assigning step includes the steps of:

assigning the space allocation for each of the untested supply parts based on a peak quantity of said each untested supply part expected to be in the warehouse during a given period; and

assigning the space allocation for each of the tested supply parts based on a peak point of supply for said each tested supply part during a given period.