Human-Centred Decision Support System for Improved Picking-by-Line Warehouse Operations

Warehouses and distribution centres play a key role in any Supply Chain, particularly in the retail sector, where a network of stores needs to be replenished in a highly dynamic and increasingly uncertain context. In this regard, companies need to improve their intralogistics systems daily to ensure long-term competitiveness and sustainable growth. This is especially true in picking-by-line systems where many time-consuming and manual tasks are usually involved. This study introduces a new decision support tool based on simulation methods to aid the decision-making process in a picking-by-Line system, aimed to improve the overall picking operations efficiency, through human-centric perspective. A Discrete-Event-Simulation model is proposed to assess a set of parameters under several scenarios, driving a more informed decision-making process towards cost-effective strategies. The proposed approach was validated through an empirical case study showing its effectiveness in assisting operational planning decisions related to capacity and resource allocation. The system demonstrates promising versatility for application across varied warehouse environments.