Design of SMARTER multi-criteria model to improve the productivity of the Order-picking process: computational simulation

Abstract

This paper examines the current situation of the order preparation process in the low-turnover area of a cosmetics company, where the existence of long travel times for the search and selection of products is verified. Therefore, the design and computational validation of a multicriteria model is reported to increase the productivity of the order preparation process in the lowturnover area. The methodology used consisted of collecting information about the products that are stored during a commercial cycle, said information was analyzed and subjected to different mathematical calculations, resulting in a new distribution of locations which affects the travel times within the preparation process of orders. Subsequently, a computational validation of this multi-criteria model was carried out using the Arena simulation software, in which all the possible variants that could realistically represent the order preparation process in the low-turnover area were considered. Finally, the results obtained were analyzed and compared, concluding that productivity increased by 19% with the use of this multi-criteria model without generating additional costs for the company.