THE EFFICIENCY OF PRODUCTS CLASSIFICATION METHODS AND CLASSIFICATION CRITERIA

Introduction: It is shown in this paper, presented selected aspects of the impact that the distribution of products in a warehouse has on the picking of orders. This problem is particularly important for medium and large warehouses characterized by considerable rotation of goods. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of the method of classification of products that were used, on the efficiency of the order picking process.

Method: For each classification method, two cases of picking products were considered, one including the impact of the fact that the products can be piled, and the other, that they cannot be piled. Simulation studies were preceded by a sensitivity analysis in order to determine the impact of the criteria on the effectiveness of each of the methods.

Results: The best results were obtained after applying the product distribution in the warehouse on the basis of: COI Index or ABC analysis according to the number of units sold. It can be concluded that for large warehouses and for products with low susceptibility to stacking, the method based on COI Index proves to be the most effective.

Conclusions: If susceptibility to stacking is irrelevant in the products picking process, for average-size and large-size warehouses it is important to distribute products on the basis of COI Index. This method allows obtaining better results than in the case of free storage places by an average of 28.72%. For products with low susceptibility to stacking, applying COI Index also proves to be the most effective.