A system includes an article supply location, wherein the article supply location includes a plurality of articles to be sorted, first and second transport vehicles, each having a first position in which an article is stowed about the vehicle and a second position in which the article is deposited into a proximal container. And a control system. The control system is configured to receive an order for a plurality of disparate articles, determine one destination container of a plurality of destination containers to direct the transport vehicle to deposit a selected article, direct the first transport vehicle to transport a selected article to the destination container and deposit the article by manipulation of the first transport vehicle from the first position to the second position for deposit of the selected article in the destination container.

This disclosure is directed to automated warehouse facilities that are configured to assemble mixed pallets. The warehouse facilities can include one or more layer handling devices that are configured to remove layers from pallets in a delayering operational mode, and to add layers to pallets in a palletizing operation mode. The warehouse facilities also may include one or more item retrieval devices that are configured to retrieve individual items from storage racks. The warehouse facilities can include other automated devices as well.

Described in detail herein are object storage and retrieval systems and methods. A storage receptacle can be configured to receive an input from an electronic device including a decoded identifier from a unique optical machine-readable element associated with one or more physical objects, via an input device, and cause the one or more physical objects to be available via at least one opening of the storage receptacle.

This disclosure is directed to automated warehouse facilities that are configured to assemble mixed pallets. The warehouse facilities can include one or more layer handling devices that are configured to remove layers from pallets in a delayering operational mode, and to add layers to pallets in a palletizing operation mode. The warehouse facilities also may include one or more item retrieval devices that are configured to retrieve individual items from storage racks. The warehouse facilities can include other automated devices as well.

An order fulfillment system controller receives orders for different objects, generates a number of batched tasks that is less than the number of received orders, and determines a set of the orders with a total distance between them that is greater than a total distance between other sets of the orders. The controller allocates a different order from the set of order to a different batched task, and allocates each unallocated order to a selected batched task based on the distance between objects of the unallocated order and objects previously allocated to the selected batched task being less than the distance between objects of the unallocated order and objects previously allocated to other batched tasks. The controller controls different agents according to the allocation of different subsets of orders to different batched tasks.

A material box storage and sorting system includes a material box storage module, a batch-of-orders sorting module, an order box goods collection cache module, an order box allocation module and a warehouse management module. The material box storage module is configured to store material boxes, and the material boxes are configured to store goods. The batch-of-orders sorting module is configured to perform parallel sorting of a batch of orders, so as to pick up goods from the material boxes into order boxes. The order box goods collection cache module is configured to cache and transfer the order boxes. The order box allocation module is configured to receive the order boxes cached and transferred by the order box goods collection cache module and to allocate the order boxes according to information of the user orders, so as to complete goods sorting for the batch of orders.

Provided is a relay goods picking system, the system includes: a plurality of carrying robots, a manual picking area, auxiliary pickup tools for manual goods picking which store goods for manual picking, a robot picking inventory container area provided with a plurality of inventory containers used for storing goods and being carried by the plurality of carrying robots, operating positions and a control system capable of communicating with the plurality of carrying robots and manual picking persons. For a mixed order which involves both goods in the manual picking area and goods in the robot picking rack area, under control of the control system, a person-to-goods picking mode and a goods-to-person picking mode are used to complete the goods picking.

The invention relates to a method for picking order goods which are allocated to an order comprising a plurality of shipping containers. In the method, order goods allocated to the order are removed from a store (2), transported into a dynamic buffer (5, 5a, 5b) and stored there temporarily. The dynamic buffer (5, 5a, 5b) comprises an infeed line (6), an outfeed line (7), a plurality of buffer lanes (8) arranged between the infeed line (6) and the outfeed line (7), and at least one return lane (9) arranged therebetween. If a portion of the order goods available in the dynamic buffer (5, 5a, 5b) is sufficient to fill a predefinable number of shipping containers and is ready for packing, this portion of the order goods ready for packing is discharged from the dynamic buffer (5, 5a, 5b), transported to a picking workstation (10) and transferred, there, into the predefined number of shipping containers. The predefined number of shipping containers is smaller here than the total number of shipping container necessary to fulfill the order. The invention also relates to a goods storage system (1a . . . 1g) for carrying out said method.

A computerized system and method use optimization after aggregation of orders over a Batch Window period of time to increase Pick Performance in the Fulfillment Center Automation (FCA) system that automates taking the picker to the goods; or an Automated Warehouse System (AWS) that automates the presentation of goods to a stationary picker. Batch Optimization improves pick performance for the FCA or AWS; using a closed-form algorithm, combinatorial optimization, or OOP to perform Batch Optimization, adapting to Picker Performance by automatically shifting certain orders to different aisles while stocking the same SKU items in multiple aisles. Programmable Capacity is optionally provided to allow the Fulfillment Center to easily adapt to varying order loads. Some embodiments selectively place orders into selected batches to maximize multi-picks of identical-SKU items at one time and maximize chain-picks of different-SKU items in sequential picks at one pick window.

Provided is a relay goods picking system, the system includes: a plurality of carrying robots, a manual picking rack area, auxiliary pickup tools for manual goods picking which store goods for manual picking, a robot picking rack area provided with a plurality of racks used for storing goods and being carried by the plurality of carrying robots, operating positions and a control system capable of communicating with the plurality of carrying robots and manual picking persons. For a mixed order which involves both goods in the manual picking rack area and goods in the robot picking rack area, under control of the control system, a person-to-goods picking mode and a goods-to-person picking mode are used in series to complete the goods picking in a relay manner.