Performance Characteristics of Robotic Mobile Fulfilment Systems in Order Picking Applications

This paper addresses the application of automation in warehouse order picking. Specifically, the paper deals with Robotic Mobile Fulfilment Systems (RMFSs). Existing literature has indicated that RMFSs can bring benefits in several performance areas, but research that deals with these benefits in detail is scarce. The purpose of the paper is to identify the performance characteristics of RMFSs and the relations between these performance characteristics and the design of the RMFSs as well as the context in which they are applied. The paper includes a review of existing literature on RMFSs and presents a case study from an application of an RMFS in the order picking of consumer goods in an e-commerce setting