JP2006264812A - Shelf arrangement system and method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a shelf arrangement system having functions capable of achieving effective use of a storing place by creating an empty space on a shelf without regard to arrangement of the shelf during normal storing/retrieving of warehouse stock and of acquiring the stock situation during picking movement in the state that articles are taken out from the shelf and placed on a conveying cart. <P>SOLUTION: This shelf arrangement system comprises a shelf arrangement means 100 for arranging and managing the warehouse shelf, a receiving means 200 for managing shipment receiving information, and a work station 300 installed on the conveying cart 350 for performing putting in/out. The shelf arrangement means 100, the receiving means 200 and the work station 300 exchange information via a communication network 500 such as the Internet. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a shelf arrangement system and a shelf arrangement method.

  An example of a conventional inventory management system is described in Patent Document 1.

  This conventional inventory management system has a plurality of shelves having a plurality of stages, and has a shelf device in which articles are accommodated in arbitrary stages of arbitrary shelves. Also, storage position data storage means for storing the code for each article and the storage position data for defining the shelf stage in which the article is stored, and the shelf at the time of arrival, shipment, shelf arrangement, etc. A storage position data updating means for updating the storage content of the storage position data storage means when the storage state of the article in the apparatus is changed; and a storage position data storage means when the storage position data of a certain article is requested. And a storage position data search means for accessing and providing storage position data of the article.

  According to the above configuration, the worker can store the article in an arbitrary stage of an arbitrary shelf at the time of arrival, etc., and the workability at the time of the storage can be improved. Since it can be accommodated in the position, the accommodation space can also be used efficiently. Furthermore, by having the accommodation position data storage means, the accommodation position data update means, and the accommodation position data search means, the position can be managed even if the article is accommodated at an arbitrary position. Can easily take out the article.

JP 2001-171810 A ([0008] to [0009])

  The above-described conventional inventory management system can store articles at any position on any stage in any shelf, and takes out articles at any position as required by managing the position. Can do.

  However, in this conventional inventory management system, since the articles taken out of the shelves are on the transport cart, that is, the articles in the state of picking movement are not taken into consideration, further storage requests for articles during this picking movement are taken. However, there is a possibility that the article being picked and moved may be accommodated in a position where the article is to be accommodated and the requested article cannot be accommodated.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a shelf rearranging system and a shelf rearranging method in consideration of articles in a state of picking movement.

  The shelf organizing system of the present invention is a shelf organizing means for organizing and managing warehouse shelves, an accepting means for managing shipment acceptance information, and a transport cart for transporting articles that are received or delivered from the warehouse shelves. The shelf organizing means considers the article in a state where the article taken out from the warehouse shelf is on the transport cart, that is, in a state of picking movement, as an inventory. The warehouse shelf is organized and managed.

  Further, in the shelf arrangement system of the present invention, the shelf arrangement means includes an entry / exit processing unit and an article inventory DB (database), and the entry / exit processing unit includes information on the goods received and work of the transport cart. Information on the item that is picking and moving, which is medium stock, is registered in the item inventory DB, and when the item is issued, an instruction to issue the item is issued to the portable terminal of the transport cart, and the item inventory DB is updated. It has the function to perform.

Furthermore, in the shelf arrangement system of the present invention, the shelf arrangement unit further includes a shelf arrangement processing unit,
In response to a request from the accepting means or the work terminal, the shelf arrangement processing unit, as an empty space for receiving the article, first when the main shelf, then the shelf empty space of the main shelf is gone It has a function of providing information on shelf positions in the order of sub shelves, which are the storage locations.

  Furthermore, the shelf arrangement method according to the present invention is the operation of the transport cart for transporting the information received from the warehouse shelf and the goods received from or delivered to the warehouse shelf when the article is received from the warehouse shelf. An entry step of registering information on the article being picked and moving that is a medium inventory in the article inventory DB, and issuing an article delivery instruction to the portable terminal of the transport cart at the time of delivery of the article to the warehouse shelf, And a delivery step of updating the article inventory DB.

  According to the present invention, since the shelf is taken into consideration in the state where the article taken out from the shelf is on the transport cart, that is, the article in the state of picking movement, even when a request for accommodation of the article comes during the picking movement It does not occur that an article that is being picked and moved is accommodated at a position where the article is to be accommodated and the requested article cannot be accommodated.

  Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 showing the configuration of an embodiment of the present invention, the shelf organizing system of this embodiment includes a shelf organizing means 100 for organizing and managing warehouse shelves, and a reception for managing shipment acceptance information. It comprises a means 200 and a work terminal 300 installed in a transport cart 350 for carrying in / out, and these exchange information via a communication network 500 such as the Internet.

  The shelf organizing unit 100 is a data processing device including an entry / exit processing unit 101, a shelf organizing processing unit 102, and an article inventory DB (database) 401.

  The entry / exit processing unit 101 registers information (article name−shelf position−number of receipts) at the time of receipt in the article inventory DB 401. The picking / moving stock, which is the working stock of the transport cart 350, is also registered, and an instruction can be issued to the portable terminal 301 of the transport cart 350, for example, when an emergency delivery occurs. In the case of delivery, the contents of the goods inventory DB 401 are updated / deleted.

  The shelf arrangement processing unit 102 provides shelf position data in the order of the main shelf B and the sub shelf D in response to a request from the mobile terminal 301 or the receiving unit 200. The main shelf B is a place where the goods are initially received, and after the present processing process, the main shelf B is mainly a place with a lot of shelf stock. The sub shelf D is a place where the main shelf B has no empty space and is stored in another shelf. In order to create an empty space for warehouse shelves at the time of delivery, if multiple shelves are provided per product name, exit from a few shelves by referring to the number of stocks placed on main shelf B and sub shelf D in the article inventory DB 401 information. The portable terminal 301 is instructed to do so. As a result of this work, it is possible to reduce the number of shelves and waste of the space area of the product names to be overlaid. If the main shelf B is out of stock, the sub-shelf D where the shelf stock is large is promoted to the main shelf B.

  The accepting unit 200 is a data processing device that includes an emergency processing unit 201, a delivery date management processing unit 202, and an acceptance information DB 402.

  The emergency processing unit 201 is a reception means for an emergency customer for receiving the same day reception, and receives reception information (user information, delivery date, delivery destination, product name, quantity) from the work terminal 300. Since the inventory in the transport cart 350 can also be searched from the goods inventory DB 401, during transfer before warehousing, the dispatch can be changed after picking (the goods are taken out from the shelves and placed on the transport cart), and the customer can be handled with high urgency. .

  The delivery date management processing unit 202 is a waiting-for-shipment reception unit that manages delivery date at a later date, and stores reception information (user information, delivery date, delivery destination, product name, quantity) in the reception information DB 402. Input to the reception information DB 402 is performed from the portable terminal 301 and the reception terminal 302. The delivery information transmission to the portable terminal 301 is delivered collectively for each customer.

  The work terminal 300 is installed in the transport cart 350 and includes a mobile terminal 301 and a reception terminal 302.

  The portable terminal 301 acts as a set with the transport cart 350, reads information such as product names, shelves, and quantities at the time of entering and leaving, and transmits the information to the shelf organizing unit 100. A picking instruction is received from the shelf arrangement processing unit 102. Although the portable terminal 301 is used as a dedicated entry / exit terminal, the setting can be changed as the entry / exit terminal at any time, so that it is possible to switch to a heavy work at any time.

  The reception terminal 302 is a terminal exclusively for reception personnel who registers shipping information at a later date.

  The article inventory DB 401 is a DB that grasps the inventory status in the warehouse, and manages the inventory number of the shelf or the transport cart 350. Inventory information (item name—shelf position and transport cart—stock quantity) is one record of data.

  The reception information DB 402 manages shipment waiting reception information (user information, delivery destination, delivery date, product name, quantity) for which delivery information is managed at a later date.

  The operation of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

  When the same goods cannot be received on the same shelf due to lack of warehouse space at the time of goods receipt, goods are received on another shelf. When such an operation is repeated, there is a possibility that another shelf will increase. In order to improve this, the operation of the embodiment of the present invention that increases the vacant warehouse space by grasping the number of each shelf stock by the shelf organizing system and shipping from a place with a small number of shelf stock will be described below.

  Each of the warehousing work, the warehousing work, and the shelf arranging work will be described in detail.

★ Warehouse operation The warehouse operator switches the transport cart 350 to a dedicated storage terminal, reads information from the mobile terminal 301 and loads the information into the transport cart 350, and transports it to the shelf arrangement processing unit 102 (transport cart packing box) -Product name-Quantity).

  The warehousing worker enters the shelf position designated by the shelf arrangement processing unit 102 with a large amount of shelf inventory, and sends the completion information A (entered shelf-item name-quantity) to the warehousing / disposal processing unit 101 using the portable terminal 301.

  If there is no empty space on the designated shelf according to the judgment of the warehousing worker, the warehousing worker inquires of the shelf arrangement processing unit 102 and receives an instruction of the sub shelf placement location.

  When it is not possible to enter the shelf designated by the shelf arrangement processing unit 102, or when entering into an empty space different from the instruction as determined by the warehousing worker, the completion information A is sent to the entry / exit processing unit 101 by the portable terminal 301.

★ Shipping operation The shipping operator installs a packing box in the transport cart 350 and switches the transport cart 350 to a dedicated terminal for shipping.

  The delivery information (user information-delivery date-delivery destination-product name-quantity) is received from the accepting means 200, and delivered in a packing box for each customer delivery unit.

  The picking-out operator reads information with the portable terminal 301 after the picking-out of picked-up goods, and transmits the information during conveyance to the shelf arrangement processing unit 102.

  After all picking is completed, the delivery operator takes the shipment waiting buffer shelf (the shelf for sending the picking finished packing box to the shipping process) and carries the completion information B (shipping waiting buffer shelf-packing box). The data is sent to the loading / unloading processing unit 101 at the terminal 301.

  When the packing box of the transport cart 350 is filled with multiple picking, the shipping operator takes it to the buffer shelf waiting for shipment as a temporary storage location, puts a nameplate with partial payment on the picked packing box, Continue to work with the packaging box. Repeat until all customer deliveries are available.

★ Shelves arrangement work The shelves arrangement work is an operation for creating an empty space in a warehouse by integrating divided shelves.

  The shipping operator installs a packing box and switches the transport cart 350 to a dedicated shipping terminal (if there is no shipping information, shelves are automatically arranged).

  The shelf arrangement information (movement destination shelf-item name) is received from the accepting means 200, and the vacant worker confirms the empty space of the shelf as the movement destination instructed.

  When there is an empty space, the shipping operator places the nameplate of the movement reservation on the empty space on the shelf, and transmits the movable information to the emergency processing unit 201.

  When there is no empty space, the immobility information is transmitted to the emergency processing unit 201 to refer to the next information, and the next shelf arrangement information is received.

  When movement is possible, the shelf organizing unit 100 adds the inventory information of the shelves with a small number of shelves with reference to the article inventory DB 401 and moves the information to the transport cart 350 (movement target shelf-movement target shelf item name-movement target shelf quantity). Send.

  The unloading operator reads the information on the item to be moved from the instructed shelf with the mobile terminal 301, loads the information on the transport cart 350, and transmits the in-transport information to the shelf rearrangement processing unit 102.

  The unloading operator takes the reserved nameplate by carrying it to the moving destination shelf, then lowers the moving item and sends the completion information B to the loading / unloading processing unit 101 using the portable terminal 301.

  This will be described more specifically based on the flowchart of FIG.

★ Outgoing work flow (shelf arrangement work by branching)
A packaging box is set in the transport cart 350, and the portable terminal 301 reads the cart number and the packaging box number (A1).

  A work to be taken out is selected from the portable terminal 301 and an instruction from the receiving means 200 is waited (A2).

  Information of a plurality of product names of one shipping destination is transmitted from the shipping queue to the shelf arrangement means 100 (A3).

  If there is no shipment information, the shelf arrangement information is sent to the shelf arrangement unit 100 (to A10).

  For each item name, the item inventory DB 401 is referred to, information with a small number of shelf inventory is added, and a delivery instruction is given to the transport cart 350 (a picking route is also set) (A4).

  Repeat the picking process for the item name item. The necessary number of picked-up items from the shelf are picked and transmitted to the article inventory DB 401 (A5).

  When the packing box is full, it is carried to a buffer shelf waiting for shipment (A6), the packing box is unloaded from the cart, and a nameplate with partial payment is attached (A1 to A5).

  When all picking is completed and the packages are ready on the shipping buffer shelf, the shipping operation is completed (A7). If there is a nameplate with partial payment, remove it.

  The shelf organizing unit 100 refers to the item inventory DB 401 and extracts product name information of information with a small shelf inventory and tries to move to a shelf with a large inventory. Information on the destination shelf and product name is sent to the cart (A10).

  It is visually checked whether there is an empty space at the designated shelf position (A11).

  If there is an empty space, a nameplate of the movement reservation is placed in the empty space, and information indicating that movement is possible is given to the shelf organizing means 100 (A12) (to A14).

  When there is no empty space, the next shelf rearrangement information is inquired (A13) (to A10).

  The shelf organizing unit 100 refers to the article inventory DB 401 and instructs the transport cart 350 to move information with a small number of movement target shelf stocks (A14).

  A moving product is pulled out from the picking shelf and picked is transmitted to the shelf organizing means 100 (A15) (to B5).

★ Flow of warehousing work A packing box is set in the transport cart 350 and the portable terminal 301 reads the cart number and the packing box number (B1).

  The product waiting for receipt is read by the portable terminal 301 and placed in a packing box. When the goods received are loaded on the transport cart 350, they are transmitted to the shelf organizing means 100 to receive an instruction (B2).

  The shelf arrangement unit 100 sends the inventory information of the cart number, the item name, and the number of goods received to the article inventory DB 401. For each product name, information on the shelf position with a large shelf inventory is transmitted to the portable terminal cart (B3).

  When there is no empty shelf position, the shelf position information of the sub shelf is transmitted to the portable terminal cart (B4) (to B3).

  When there is a vacancy in the shelf position or when it is desired to place it freely, the shelf position information of the warehousing shelf is transmitted to the portable terminal cart (B5).

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of one embodiment of this invention. It is a figure explaining the detail of the component of this embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the operation | movement in this embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Shelf arrangement means 101 Entry / exit processing section 102 Shelf arrangement processing section 200 Reception means 201 Emergency processing section 202 Delivery date management processing section 300 Work terminal 301 Portable terminal 302 Reception terminal 401 Article inventory DB
402 Reception information DB
500 communication network

Claims (4)

From a shelf organizing means for organizing and managing warehouse shelves, an accepting means for managing shipment acceptance information, and a work terminal installed in a transport cart for transporting articles to or from the warehouse shelves The shelf arrangement means manages the warehouse shelves in consideration of the articles in the state where the articles taken out from the warehouse shelves are on the transport cart, that is, in the state of picking movement, as inventory. Shelf arrangement system characterized by that. The shelf organizing means includes an entry / exit processing unit and an article inventory DB (database),
The loading / unloading processing unit registers information on the goods received and information on the goods being picked and moved, which is a working stock of the transport cart, in the goods stock DB, and when the goods are unloaded, The shelf arrangement system according to claim 1, wherein the shelf arrangement system has a function of issuing a delivery instruction of the article to a portable terminal and updating the article inventory DB. The shelf arrangement means further includes a shelf arrangement processing unit,
In response to a request from the accepting means or the work terminal, the shelf arrangement processing unit, as an empty space for receiving the article, first when the main shelf, then the shelf empty space of the main shelf is gone The shelf arrangement system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the shelf arrangement system has a function of providing information on shelf positions in the order of sub shelves that are places where goods are received. Information on the goods received in the warehouse shelf when the goods are received on the warehouse shelf, and the goods being picked and moved that are the working inventory of the transport cart for transporting the goods received or delivered to the warehouse shelf A warehousing step of registering the information in the goods inventory DB;
A delivery step of issuing a delivery instruction of the product to the portable terminal of the transport cart when the delivery of the product to the warehouse shelf, and updating the product inventory DB;
Shelf arrangement method characterized by including.

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