4.2. An optimal assignment policy for a picking line
Bynzer & Johansson (1995) described a pick-and-pass system
with multiple pickers in it. In such a system, an important issue
is to balance the workloads among all pickers. Similar to a manufacturing
flow line, imbalance can cause serious deterioration of
order throughput time.
In addition, the zone sizes, or the number of bins, in a picking
line could be fixed (equal-sized) or varied (unequal-sized). The
algorithm for a picking line with unequal-sized zones could be stated
as follows: