This article proposes and analyzes different space
allocation and stock replenishment procedures for a
distribution center using a pick-to-belt system for order
fulfillment. In order to reduce stockouts in the fast pick
area, which lead to picker downtime and increased truck
loading time and terminal costs, replenishment operations
must be carefully managed. In an effort to improve
efficiency, we developed a number of allocation and
replenishment heuristics. These heuristics were compared
with the actual practices of a high-throughput distribution
center, handling more than 12 million cases annually.
Our experiments conducted with 8 weeks of real data
show that the proposed allocation and replenishment
methods could drastically reduce the number of stockouts
from 486 to 107. Such an improvement could allow the
warehousing department of our industrial partner to
attain its annual 2% improvement go