JP2002109003A - Rationalization supporting system in physical distribution center - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a supporting system for suppressing or dissolving the stock of an inappropriate quantity to be the waste of costs and reducing and minimizing the costs of a physical distribution center from the ordering and arrival to shipping and delivery of merchandise in the physical distribution center. SOLUTION: In the physical distribution center, on the basis of the total costs required for the operation management, the cost per unit volume time of all merchandise storage parts in the center is calculated. A stock cost for each merchandise is obtained by multiplying with average stock time for each merchandise stocked in the physical distribution center and the volume of the storage part occupied by an average stock amount by the unit volume time cost. By simulation based on average total time required from the arrival to storage of each merchandise and the average stock time from the arrival to shipping calculated on the basis of the actual shipping result of each merchandise, the stock cost is minimized. Also, an ordering timing and an ordering quantity for which lead time for not generating merchandise shortage is taken into consideration are predicted and the merchandise is ordered to individual merchandise suppliers on the basis of the predicted values.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a series of logistics operations from ordering, receiving, storing on a shelf, and storing goods in a distribution center to receiving and receiving and shipping goods.
The present invention relates to a support system for rationalizing costs and work efficiency.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As an example, consider all operations in a distribution center mainly operated by manual operations such as cart-type picking operations.
The logistics work dealing with each product flows through work forms such as order receipt of goods, sorting (picking), shipping, assortment inspection, shipping, delivery, and delivery. During that time, product replenishment storage, stocktaking, or inventory There are administrative tasks such as management.

[0003] In each of the above-mentioned operations, work data is created before the work, the data is sorted, and if there is a missing item during the work, the data is created. It performs input for correcting basic data based on XML and performs collation and collation of the input data. The creation, correction, and input of the data of each operation in the above are performed from each worker's terminal (a personal computer or the like) and sent to a management computer or a host computer (not shown). This applies to the following data. Also, since the work result data is the basic data for the next work, if there is a data input error or input delay, the next work start will be delayed, the next work error will be caused, If there is a rough discrepancy between the worker arrangement and the time, a load is generated in each work section, which often leads to a large cost loss. Let us consider each of these tasks in more detail.

First, when an ordered product is received, an inspection is performed to compare the order data with the received product, and the result is input as received product data to a management computer or a host computer that stores basic data.

[0005] When storing the received goods on shelves or tables, the stored goods are checked and their data input by collating the individual goods with their designated storage positions and linking the data. For sorting (picking), inspection is performed at the same time as picking, and data is input at the same time. As for replenishment storage, picking inspection is performed on the commodities to be replenished and their quantity from the replenishment commodities storage unit, and replenishment inspection for replenishment to a designated replenishment destination and data input are performed. In shipping,
The number of shipments and their contents are inspected for each destination, and their data are input. Thus, in the distribution center, inspection and data input at the time of each operation are indispensable for each operation.

[0006] On the other hand, in the case of inventory management, during the period from arrival to shipment, each commodity in the distribution center and its stock quantity become basic data. It is necessary to maintain the timing of ordering goods, the quantity ordered, and the stock quantity, which enable shipping without shortage and minimize dead stock.

On the other hand, with regard to inventory, the latest product data (product name, quantity thereof, etc.) in inventory management should match the product data at the time of stocktaking. In stocktaking, shipping operations and the like are suspended for one day or more, and a large number of workers are mobilized to take a considerable amount of time.

[0008] Under the above-mentioned actual situation of the work at the distribution center, of the customers who request the distribution center to ship products, convenience stores and some supermarkets are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. As a result, shipping orders may be placed at times that were not possible in the past. In the above, it is virtually impossible to respond to a shipping order from a user who is open all year round, or there is no other way but to respond by taking a lazy inventory.

[0009] Summarizing the current state of work in such a distribution center, in each work from ordering goods for inventory to receiving orders from customers, shipping and delivery, there is no coordination for each work group. There is a problem that the handling products are piled up at the work start position in each work consolidation, such as receiving, storing, or shipping, inspection, and destination delivery of the ordered products. ， Shipment yards that take a stand-by take a large space because shipments are concentrated at one time, but when the shipment work is completed, the vast yards become idle, which causes unnecessary costs. ing.

[0010]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention suppresses or eliminates the situation of inadequate quantities of inventory that results in wasteful costs from the inflow of goods to the delivery of goods in the distribution center as described above. The ordering timing and order quantity of each product, which is a requirement for realizing the appropriate inventory amount and reasonable shipping timing, or the rational linking of each work section, realizes the cost reduction and minimum It is an object of the present invention to provide a support system for realizing the system.

[0011]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The purpose of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems, and the configuration of the support system of the present invention is based on all costs required for the operation and management of a distribution center. The cost per unit volume time of each product is calculated, and the inventory cost for each product is obtained by multiplying the storage volume occupied by the average stock time and the average stock amount for each product stocked in this distribution center by the unit volume time cost. Calculated, the average total time required for storage from the arrival of each product, and the simulation based on the average inventory time from arrival to shipment calculated based on the shipping performance of each product, to minimize the inventory cost,
The first feature is to predict the order timing and order quantity in consideration of a lead time that does not cause a shortage, and to order a product to each product supplier based on the predicted value. .

Another configuration of the support system according to the present invention which can solve the above-mentioned problem is that a series of logistics work from ordering and receiving goods to receiving and shipping in a distribution center is performed by (a).
Orders, (b) receiving, (c) storing, (d) receiving orders, (e) picking, (f) shipping, (g) delivery, and (h) replenishing storing are all divided into work categories, and each work For each product of the quantity handled in each of the categories (a) to (h), one worker of average ability performed each work such as verification of product data, inspection, storage, picking, and input of work result data. The estimated work time, or the estimated work time for each worker,
For each operation, a simulation is performed based on the past performance data, and it is formed. The number of products handled in each of the operations in (a) to (h) above from actual product ordering, receiving to shipping, and delivery. Based on the simulated estimated work time, the number of workers and / or the number of workers involved in each work are set and the scheduled work time is set. Is a second feature.

Further, in the support system of the present invention, each work division (a) to (h) handling an appropriate number of commodities occupies an area occupied in a distribution center, and occupies an area occupied by dividing the cost required for building the center. Each work category is based on all costs required for each work, such as the cost of equipment, the cost of equipment to be used, and the labor cost based on the number of workers and / or workers and work time.
Calculate the work cost per unit quantity product (a) to (h),
A simulation based on this unit work cost is performed, and the number of workers and / or workers is set so that the work of each work category (a) to (h) is not duplicated while minimizing the work cost of each work handling actual products. The third feature is that the work time is predicted and scheduled, and the number of workers and / or workers and the work time are set.

[0014]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, an example of an embodiment of the support system of the present invention will be described. From the ordering and receipt of goods at the distribution center to the order receipt and shipping, and the various business costs incidental to these, the costs of purchasing or renting land, building, equipment, etc., which are the basis of operation and management of the center, This business cost is composed of all expenses required for the maintenance and management of the distribution center, including leasing fees for various equipment, maintenance and repair costs, etc., and personnel costs. If it corresponds to the total volume, it can be calculated as the cost per unit volume of the storage unit. Further, if the business cost is made to correspond to, for example, the operating hours / month of the center, in this example, it can be calculated as the cost per unit operating time in a one-month period.

[0015] From this, for each product in stock at the distribution center, the inventory cost of each product can be calculated from the volume of the storage unit occupied by those products and the average stock time. If the time from receiving and storing the product to receiving the product and receiving the product for a long time (long time) increases the inventory cost of the product, the inventory time (period) is preferably shorter. However, if the stock period (time) is short, risks such as frequent work of ordering the goods, receiving and storing the goods, picking and shipping, and occurrence of shortage are likely to occur.

In the present invention, in view of such a point, a simulation is performed on the basis of the past average stock time of each product, for example, in a certain period, and the number of times of receiving and shipping (frequency), and the lead time is taken into consideration. By determining the order timing and the order quantity at which no shortage occurs, and by executing this order form, the operating cost of the distribution center is minimized.

In the distribution center, in order to be able to always respond to shipping orders (orders, shipments) of various kinds of goods with variously different merchandise characteristics received from a plurality of customers at random timing, without any excess or shortage. The merchandise storage unit in the center stores, for all the merchandise in stock at the distribution center, the shipping characteristics or order receiving characteristics and merchandise characteristics of each merchandise, such as seasonal products, large-sized products, boxed products, loose products, and high-quality products. Although it is necessary to secure an appropriate inventory amount according to frequently-shipped products, this can be achieved by performing the above-described simulation.

Therefore, in the above-mentioned distribution center, an order is placed at the appropriate timing in consideration of a lead time for realizing an appropriate stock amount and a stock period of the center to a supplier who supplies a product such as a maker. The operations of ordering, receiving, and storing in the work categories (a) to (c), that is, storing the product in a predetermined storage unit, may be performed.

In the above-mentioned work categories (a) to (c),
First of all, the work data is sorted by supplier before ordering the goods.
If a missing item is found during the operation, missing item data is created, and an order is also made. After the order, the data of the order result is input to a management computer such as a host computer as order data.

Next, when an ordered product is received, an incoming inspection is performed to sequentially compare the order data with the received actual product, and the result data is input. In the storing operation of the received product,
The merchandise data and the storage position data are linked by comparing each product with the designated storage position, and the stored inspection and the link data are input. In this way, the ordered products are stored.

In each of the work categories (a) to (c) from the ordering of the goods to the storage of the goods, the ordering of the goods is made at the ordering timing set in advance by simulation. Each work of receiving inspection and storage is performed with a set work time as a target depending on the number of workers.

On the other hand, when the above-mentioned shelf storage operation is completed, a shipping order from a user or the like in the operation categories (d) and (e) and a picking operation are performed to meet the order. this
In the sorting operations (d) and (e), picking data is formed from the order data before the operation, and these data are input to the computer. Then, a picking operation using a cart or the like and an inspection at the same time as the picking operation are performed, and the data is input. This category (d),
Each of the operations (e) is also performed based on the simulation performed earlier, with the number of workers and / or workers set in consideration of the number of products handled based on the order and the scheduled work time. Note that the storing operation and the picking operation may be performed simultaneously.

When the above picking operation is completed, in principle, replenishment and storage of commodities in the operation category (h) are performed. This replenishment work involves, for example, extracting stock items to be replenished from a stock part of replenished products formed separately from the picking shelf and storing the products in a designated storage position for picking, so that replenishment is performed accurately. The goods to be delivered and their quantity must be replenished to the designated location. In order to verify this, replenishment inspection and input of replenishment data are performed. This work is also performed with the aim of ending within the scheduled work time by setting the number of workers and / or workers to be allocated based on the quantity of goods handled and the time allowed for the work based on a simulation performed in advance.

The goods taken out of the storage unit by the picking operation are shipped after the quantity of the goods to be shipped for each destination in the shipping work and the delivery work in the work categories (f) and (g) and the inspection is performed. Data is input, loaded into trucks of each destination in the reverse order of delivery order, and delivered. This category
In the operations (f) and (g), the number of workers and / or the number of workers are set based on data simulated in advance, and the work is performed so as to be completed within a scheduled time.

As described above, each work in each of the work divisions (a) to (h) performed in the distribution center corresponds to each of the work divisions (a) to (h).
All of the above operations or some of these operations are performed many times a day, so the present invention deals with each of the operations (a) to (h) performed. The number of workers and / or workers involved in each work and the number of workers and / or the number of workers to be worked on by each worker are calculated by simulation based on past performance data for each work. And the work time of each worker and / or the number of workers is predicted, and based on the result of this simulation, there is no overlapping work in each of the work sections (a) to (h), or there is a shortage of workers. Alternatively, the number of workers and / or the number of workers in charge of each work in each of the work categories (a) to (h) is set so that there is no surplus (standby), and each work time is set.

[0026]

According to the method of the present invention described above, the number of workers and / or the number of workers in each of the work categories (a) to (h) is set based on the past performance data, The work time can be appropriately predicted by scheduling, so the work in each of the work categories (a) to (h) conventionally performed in the distribution center is divided into sections that are hardly linked. However, unreasonable phenomena such as human waste and work congestion caused by the inadequate number of workers in each work, or the excessive or insufficient number of workers. Can be eliminated.

Further, in the support system of the present invention, for each operation in each of the work categories (a) to (h) from the ordering of the product to the shipment of the order, the product data such as the number of handled products which is the work result, the work involved The following simulation accuracy can be improved by inputting data such as the number of workers, the number of people, and the work time to the management computer as actual data, and the number of stocks of all products in the distribution center can be constantly calculated for each work. Can be corrected while updating in real time with the progress of the process, the current stock quantity of each product can be captured at any time at any time, and therefore, it is also possible to significantly streamline the inventory work.

As a result, in the logistics center employing the support system of the present invention, it becomes possible to perform each work in the center in a linked manner, so that it is possible to suppress the waste of the labor cost and the work cost and to reduce the operation cost. A significant reduction can be enjoyed.

In addition, since the product data such as the product name and the quantity of the product to be stocked in real time at each work is constantly updated in the management computer, the inventory management can be streamlined.
The stocktaking operation at the end of the term can be promptly dealt with, and therefore, there is an advantage that it is possible to respond to random orders from customers who are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A cost per unit volume time of all merchandise storage units in a distribution center is calculated based on all costs required for operation and management in the distribution center. Multiplying the storage volume occupied by the time and the average inventory amount by the unit volume time cost to obtain an inventory cost for each product,
The simulation based on the average total time required for storing each product from receipt to storage and the average inventory time from receipt to shipment calculated based on the actual shipment results of each product minimizes the inventory cost and causes a shortage. A rationalization support system in a distribution center, wherein an order timing and an order quantity are predicted in consideration of a lead time that is not allowed to be performed, and a product order is placed to each product supplier based on the predicted value. 2. A series of logistics work from ordering and receiving goods to receiving and shipping at a distribution center is performed by (a) ordering,
(B) Receiving, (c) storing, (d) receiving orders, (e) picking, (f)
The shipping, (g) delivery, and (h) replenishment and storage are divided into work categories, and the number of products handled in each of the work categories (a) to (h) is checked for product data collation, inspection, Estimated work time when one worker of average ability performed each work such as storage, picking, and input of work result data, or the estimated work time for each worker, and past actual data for each work Based on the above, the simulation is performed to form the actual product, and in each of the operations in (a) to (h) above, from ordering, receiving to shipping, and delivery of the actual product, the number of products to be handled and the simulated predicted work described above. Based on the time, the number of workers and / or the number of workers involved in each work is set and the scheduled work time is set, so that duplication of each work can be avoided and connection of each work without accumulation is enabled. Toss , Rationalization support system in distribution centers. 3. Each work category that handles an appropriate number of products
The cost per occupied area obtained by dividing the cost required for building the center by the area occupied by (h) in the distribution center, the cost of the equipment used, the labor cost due to the number of workers and / or workers and the work time, etc. Based on all costs required for each work, calculate the work cost per unit quantity product of each work category (a) to (h), handle the actual product by performing a simulation based on this unit work cost Predict and schedule the number of workers and / or the number of workers and the work time so as to minimize the work cost of each work and avoid duplication of the work in each of the work categories (a) to (h). Rationalization support system in a distribution center, characterized by setting work hours.