Computers in Industry 118 (2020) 103220

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Computers in Industry
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/compind

Cyber physical system-enabled synchronization mechanism for

pick-and-sort ecommerce order fulfilment
Xiang T.R. Kong a , Xuan Yang b , K.L. Peng b , Clyde Zhengdao Li c,∗
a
Collaborative Research Centre for Supply Chain Innovation, Department of Transportation Economy and Logistics Management, College of Economics,
Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, PR China
b
HKU-ZIRI Lab for Physical Internet, Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, PR China
c
College of Civil and Transportation Engineering, Shenzhen University, PR China

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: This research has aimed itself at capitalizing the benefits of CPS-enabled visibility and traceability tech-
Received 24 November 2019 nology for adaptive synchronization of pick-and-sort ecommerce order fulfilment. With assistance of
Received in revised form 31 January 2020 IoT systems, the involved men, materials, and machines are turned into smart objects, deploying in
Accepted 27 February 2020
the real-time environment. According to the real-time data collected from working stages, an adap-
Available online 23 March 2020
tive synchronization mechanism with associated HGA-VNS algorithm is proposed to balance the picking
simultaneity and sorting punctuality. Picking simultaneity attempts to make the items of a pick wave to
Keywords:
be picked by several pickers in their particular working zone simultaneously and finished in a same time
Pick-and-sort ecommerce order fulfilment
Cyber physical system
window, so that the subsequent sorting process could be started as early as possible. Sortation punctu-
Synchronization mechanism ality aims to ensure that the due date of an individual order is satisfied. The presented method is verified
Case study and evaluated via a case study. Trade-off analysis and sensitivity analysis are also examined with several
key findings, considering varied order fulfilment scenarios such as slack / busy season, zoning effects,
and item assignment policy.
© 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
Ecommerce logistics has an impressive development through-
out last decades, which raised new challenges to warehousing
management. Different from the single product warehousing,
ecommerce warehousing is much more complex since it has to
deal with a large variety of products, high demands uncertainty
and tight fulfilment time (Boysen et al., 2019a). Ricker and Kalakota
(1999) have claimed that the new trend of competition for ecom-
merce business is e-Supply chain vs e-Supply chain, stressing that
the integration of processes is the key to order fulfilment. Simi-
larly, the warehousing should focus on internal process integration
by synchronizing the “touch points”, which might cause inefficient
movement of goods, redundant processes, and excess inventory.
Current studies have found that approximately 50 % of the total
operation cost was caused by order picking, and around 80 % of
order picking activities are manually operated (Chen et al., 2015a,b,
Jiang et al. 2018). Several order picking policies have been proposed
and applied in practice, such as single order picking, batch picking,
∗ Corresponding author.
E-mail address: clyde.zhengdao.li@szu.edu.cn (C.Z. Li).
zone picking and wave picking (Hsu et al. 2005). It is also clas-
sified by whether the sorting should be integrated with picking,
namely sort-while-pick and pick-and-sort (De Koster et al. 2007,
Gu et al. 2010). This paper will study the synchronization mecha-
nism of zone-based, batched and parallel pick-and-sort operation,
which has been widely used in ecommerce order fulfilment due to
the advantage of volume picking (Boysen et al. 2019a).
Many of the studies has been investigating on the optimization
method of batching, sequencing, routing and sorting in order pick-
ing realm, but most of them focus on single optimization problem
individually (Van Gils et al. 2018a). For instance, the relevant order
batching studies only focus on the order picking process which aims
at minimizing the total picking time of all orders by grouping orders
into batches. Although a few articles have begun to discuss the inte-
grated order picking problem (Chen et al., 2015a,b, Scholz et al.
2017, Ardjmand et al. 2018), almost all of these literatures are con-
centrated on the sequenced zone order picking or sequenced batch
picking. Few studies exist to explore the integrated order pick-
ing problem from synchronization perspective, including batching,
sequencing, assignment and sorting processes.
The studied picking area consists of a set of many parallel aisles
with storage racks on both the sides. These aisles are divided into
several zones that the pickers are only required to pick the items in

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compind.2020.103220
0166-3615/© 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
2 X.T.R. Kong, X. Yang, K.L. Peng et al. / Computers in Industry 118 (2020) 103220
the particular aisles in one zone. Noticeably, one stock keeping unit
(SKU) will be simply assigned to one particular zone only. Routing
policy is an important factor influencing the picking performance
(e.g., saved traveling time and searching time) and is highly empha-
sized on sequenced zone picking; however, this paper assume that
the picker would follow strict S-shape traveling policy that traverse
all aisles in his/her zone. The items in the batch have to be sorted by
orders after picking process and buffering areas are also necessary.
When the last picker finishes his job, the whole batch of orders
will enter into the automated sortation system. Each batch will
enter only one idle sortation station. Moreover, assuming that the
customer orders are given in waves, which will be firstly grouped
into a number of batches. These batches will be further sequenced
based on predetermined rules. Several typical problems exist in
such an environment as follows, which will significantly influence
the system synchronization performance:
(1) Last generation of ICT architecture and solution: the existing
system architecture is centralized without sufficient flexibility
to dynamic and unexpected disturbances. Although the ware-
house management system, handheld (RFID/barcode) devices
and automation equipment have been applied, the gap between
planning & scheduling level and execution level still exists. The
front-line field information is delayed and even missing some-
times due to the usage of heterogeneous and non-interoperable
systems.
(2) Unsynchronized resource scheduling and order fulfilment
process: the unsynchronized picking and sorting may confine
the utilization of space in a warehouse where the buffer for
holding products is limited. The first arrived items may take
up the limited space waiting for the later arrived pieces in the
buffer before entering into the order sortation. Many customer
orders are thus delayed in shipment delivery. The unsynchro-
nized process also stagnates the jobs of next order batch to
be released. There is still a high possibility of blockage in the
buffer areas resulting the stagnation of the picking process or
no batch in the buffer areas resulting the idleness of the sort-
ing process. How to improve the utilization ratio of spaces
and resources is becoming even more challenging when the
demand is unknown.
(3) Uneven workload assignment and interacted time depen-
dence: the workload of pickers of each zone is rarely balanced
in parallel pick-and-sort picking, and thus the completion time
of each zone picking could be different. The workload for pick-
ing stage and sortation stage is also uneven. In the relationship
of time, order sorting process is followed by order picking pro-
cess. The starting time of an order sortation is the completion
time of the last finished job in order picking. The picking time of
a batch is determined by the picking path formed by the SKUs in
the batch. While the sorting time of a batch is determined by the
number of orders and items in the batch. Thus, the picking time
and sorting time of the same batch are different. Furthermore,
the composition of different batches is different in the aspects
of the number of orders, the type of SKUs and the corresponding
demanded quantity. The volume and storage location of SKUs
are also different (Jiang et al. 2018).
An innovative next-generation solution with associated driving
mechanisms is urgently needed for the upgrade and transformation
of parallel pick-and-sort ecommerce order operation. Cyber phys-
ical systems (CPS) are physical assets and its digital replica whose
operations are monitored, coordinated, controlled and integrated
by a computing and communication core (Rajkumar et al. 2010).
CPS will transform how we interact with the physical world around
us, while connecting the physical and cyber spaces to reach the
goals of self-X (self-perception, self-learning, self-configuration,
self-control, etc.) so that flexibility and autonomy is thus achieved
(Tao and Zhang 2017). Internet of things (IoT) can be seen as a
bottom-up vision, an enabling technology, which can be used to
create a cyber physical system (Wang et al. 2015). Using CPS,
real-time order details, location information of SKUs, order pro-
cessing situations can be monitored. The studied pick-and-sort
ecommerce system and its companion keep synchronism with each
other for dual optimization. Unfortunately, most CPS literatures and
applications are focused in manufacturing realm. Until now, little
research effort has been made in ecommerce logistics area using
CPS technologies, not to mention the related operational optimiza-
tion framework and mechanism.
This paper is proposing a CPS-enabled synchronization mech-
anism for two-stage pick-and-sort ecommerce order fulfilment
system, taking both picking simultaneity and sorting punctuality
into account. Several research questions are put forward:
(1) How to create a CPS-enabled pick-and-sort ecommerce order
fulfilment system? What kinds of special characteristics exist?
(2) How to design a synchronization mechanism of CPS-enabled
pick-and-sort ecommerce order fulfilment system, considering
integrated policies such as batching, sequencing, assignment
and buffering?
(3) What are the performance trade-offs between picking simul-
taneity and sorting punctuality? Which key factors will impact
the total system performance and what levels?
The rest of the paper is organized as follows. Related works
are reviewed in Section 2. In section 3, we create a CPS-enabled
smart pick-and-sort ecommerce order fulfilment system. Section 4
defines the proposed problem, formulates the model and presents
solution approach. The proposed mechanism is verified and evalu-
ated using a case study in Section 5. The paper is summarized with
some concluding remarks in Section 6.
2. Literature review
The related literature can be concluded into three dimensions:
(1) order picking planning; (2) synchronization mechanism; and
(3) industrial cyber physical systems.
2.1. Order picking planning
The rapid development of logistics models and supporting tech-
niques have changed the ecommerce industry greatly (Yu et al.,
2016, Giannikas et al. 2019). Several advanced picking and sorta-
tion systems with relevant literature for ecommerce warehousing
were discussed by Boysen et al. (2019a, 2019b). Ecommerce ware-
houses typically have the following requirements: small orders,
large assortments, tight delivery schedule and varying workloads.
Among all the functions in the ecommerce warehousing, the cost of
order picking is the highest (Yu and De Koster 2009). According to
Gu et al. (2007), order picking process has been divided into three
subsequent steps: batching, routing and sequencing, and sorting.
Cergibozan and Tasan (2019) revealed recent developments and
particular trends for the order batching problem in order picking
process. Most of the studies were looking at the order picking and
batching problems, while only a few literatures concerned about
sorting problems. Parikh and Meller (2008) proposed a cost model
for comparison between a batch picking and a zone picking strategy
with sortation and they claimed that the synchronized zone picking
is more cost-effective for the large throughput system. Thus, this
article focuses on examining synchronized zone picking. Van Gils
et al. (2018a) investigated combinations of multiple order picking
planning problems. A survey and classification of the scientific liter-
 X.T.R. Kong, X. Yang, K.L. Peng et al. / Computers in Industry 118 (2020) 103220
ature about combinations of tactical and operational order picking
planning problems in picker-to-parts systems is presented with
the aim of determining how planning problems are related. Van
Gils et al. (2018b) analyzed and statistically proved the relations
among storage, batching, zoning, and routing by a full factorial
ANOVA. However, the above studied system performance measure
was only focused on makespan minimization, while ignoring the
synchronization performance trade-off between picking and sort-
ing stages. Thus, this study will explicitly consider the impact of
combined polices on total synchronization performance of pick-
and-sort ecommerce order fulfilment.
2.2. Synchronization mechanism
Synchronization was investigated much earlier in production
industry than logistics industry. The term ‘synchronization’ in
manufacturing refers to the provision of the right components
to the subsequent production steps at the right moment in time.
Tamura et al. (1998) developed an efficient two-stage algorithm
to solve a large-scale multi-objective synchronization problem
in steel sheets production. The heuristic algorithm is a blend
of human knowhow and mathematical analytics, which con-
tributes to better-designed schedules and drastic time reduction.
Li et al. (2005) studied the problem of synchronizing air trans-
portation and assembly manufacturing to achieve accurate delivery
with minimized cost in a consumer electronics supply chain. The
synchronization problem is decomposed and formulated as two
sub-problems, i.e. a multi-destination air transportation alloca-
tion problem and an assembly-scheduling problem. Chen et al.
(2015a,b) studied synchronized scheduling problem of production
simultaneity and shipment punctuality in a two-stage assembly
flow-shop system. Production simultaneity seeks to ensure all
products belonging to a same customer order are simultaneously
completed. Shipment punctuality attempts to satisfy orders’ indi-
vidual shipment due dates. Chankov et al. (2016) was developing
synchronization measures for manufacturing systems, applying
these measures to real-world production feedback data and utiliz-
ing them to test the assumption about synchronization’s beneficial
effect on logistics performance. In logistics warehousing field,
Luo et al. (2019) reengineered the fulfillment process of produc-
tion and warehousing in manufacturing enterprises to improve
efficiency in handling online-offline integrated orders. A two-
stage synchronized production-warehouse decision mechanism is
proposed based on the postponement strategy. Gagliardi et al.
(2008) proposed and analyzed synchronized product allocation and
replenishment strategies for a distribution center that uses a pick-
to-belt system for order fulfilment. The results show that right
location and replenishment methods can significantly reduce the
number of stockouts in the picking area. A RFID-enabled real-time
synchronized zone order picking system is proposed for balanc-
ing pickers’ workload (Wang et al. 2013). Until now, few studies
examine synchronization’s beneficial effect on synchronized pick-
and-sort order fulfilment system.
2.3. Industrial cyber physical system
CPS is an emerging approach, combining the physical entity with
high-fidelity virtual counterpart and the two parts company with
each other during the lifecycle. The digital representation provides
both the elements and the dynamics of how an IoT device operates
(Glaessgen and Stargel 2012). Based on four European innovation
projects over the last decade, Leitão et al. (2016) presented an
overview of key aspects of industrial CPS as well as challenges for
their implementation in industrial automation environment. Alam
and Saddik (2017) presented a digital twin architecture reference
model for the cloud-based CPS and analytically described the key
3
properties. Much literature has been devoted to cyber physical pro-
duction systems (CPPS). Lee et al. (2015) proposed a unified 5-level
architecture as a guideline for implementation of CPPS. Expecta-
tions towards research in the implementation of CPPS are outlined
and some case studies are introduced by Monostori et al. (2016).
Tao and Zhang (2017) proposed the concept of digital twin shop-
floor to converge the manufacturing physical world and the virtual
world with four key components, including physical shop floor, vir-
tual shop floor, shop floor service system and shop floor digital twin
data. For logistics and supply chain realms, the emergence of the
IoT and CPS requires technological changes such as high supply
chain visibility and integrity control in logistic domain (DHL Trend
Research). Barreto et al. (2017) discussed the main implications and
what are the basis of an efficient Logistics 4.0, where cyber phys-
ical systems are used to carry out activities, with reduced human
involvement. Song et al. (2019) firstly analyzes the main enablers
underlying the development of smart ecommerce systems in terms
of IoT, social media, mobile internet, big data analytics and cloud
computing. Baruffaldi et al. (2019) firstly proposed a digital twin
of a WMS that exploits optimization and simulation techniques to
quantify the impacts of the information availability on the ware-
housing performance. CPS also enables new types of interactions
between operators and machines, interactions that will transform
the industrial workforce and will have significant implications for
the nature of work, in order to accommodate the ever-increasing
variability of ecommerce logistics (McFarlane et al. 2016, Fantini
et al. 2018). A paradigm shift is thus generated from independent
automated and human activities towards a human-cyber-physical-
system, characterized by the cooperation of machines with humans
in work systems and designed not to replace the skills and abilities
of humans, but rather to co-exist with and assist humans in being
more efficient and effective (Romero et al. 2016, Kong et al. 2019).
Most of the related literature is still qualitative and presented con-
ceptually. Based on industrial CPS technologies, this paper is among
the first to explore synchronized optimization mechanism that
quantitively foresees the key impacts on pick-and-sort ecommerce
order fulfilment.
3. Creation of CPS-enabled ecommerce order fulfilment
Fig. 1 shows a created CPS-enabled real-time ubiquitous
environment, where several IoT devices have been used. CPS tech-
nologies drive the traditional two-stage pick-and-sort operations
into cyber-physical ecommerce order fulfilment system with real-
time data collection, convergence and analytics. Relying on such
a smart order fulfilment environment, the advanced process syn-
chronization mechanism can be designed between picking and
sorting stages. IoT devices are systematically deployed as follows:
• IoT-enabled smart shelf – picking lighter is deployed in each stor-
age location of shelf/rack in warehouse. Intelligent monitors are
also deployed on each row of shelves, displaying real-time inven-
tory and operation status.
• IoT-enabled smart picking cart/trolley – similarly, picking lighter
and intelligent monitor are deployed in each picking cart. More
specially, each cart is equipped with RFID reader on the bottom.
• IoT-enabled smart operators – each worker has an industrial
wearable device such as smart ring and smart watch for identify-
ing individuals and their work as well as real-time data scanning.
Each logistics operator carries such mobile device due to its
frequent delivery movements with hand-free advantages. More-
over, industrial wearable devices can well communicate with
other smart equipment/systems via Bluetooth and Wi-Fi.
• UHF RFID tags are deployed on buffering areas or other key loca-
tions. Once tagged, the storage location is converted into smart
4 X.T.R. Kong, X. Yang, K.L. Peng et al. / Computers in Industry 118 (2020) 103220
Fig. 1. A CPS-enabled real-time ubiquitous ecommerce order fulfilment environment.
location which carries data collection capabilities throughout the
whole ecommerce order fulfillment cycle.
• Smart circular automated sorting system integrates weighting,
dimensioning, scanning, sortation, movement, and packaging in
a non-stop mode, which can sort around 10,000 orders/hour.
• Other key IoT technologies-wireless network devices like Wi-Fi or
Bluetooth are deployed at proper positions to ensure the signal
coverage so that these smart equipment and systems can real-
timely capture the order fulfillment data and transfer them to an
upper-level enterprise system.
After the deployment of IoT devices and communication
network in two-stage working sites, a CPS-enabled real-time ubiq-
uitous environment is created. The reengineered and rationalized
order fulfilment operations are elaborated as follows:
(1) Many customer orders will be released in a wave, and the pick-
ing and sortation plan will be scheduled to fulfill the customer
requirements every day. Each customer order is composed of
many SKUs, where each SKU is placed on the specific and
known storage location in the ecommerce warehouse. All order
and SKU location information will be digitalized, analyzed and
shared by CPS system in cyber layer.
(2) The orders with the similar storage locations are almost pro-
cessed together as a batch. A batch can contain one or more
orders. The customer orders must be completed by the certain
due dates and the tardiness is a critical performance. The pick-
ing sequence of the given batches should be also scheduled to
meet the order due date. Integrated decisions of order batching,
sequencing and routing are conducted by CPS system in cyber
layer based on real-time data.
(3) Based on the integrated and optimal cyber-layer decisions,
real-time executions will be carried out in physical layer of
ecommerce warehouse. A job with top priority will be released
to operators from the job pool. In the picking stages, the oper-
ation begins with the pickers starting to pick the batches
assigned to them. They will follow the real-time job and rout-
ing information in each zone to retrieve SKUs from the specified
smart aisle and shelf. All SKUs are bound by a barcode and each
storage location of shelf is attached with picking lighter. Pick-
ers can use industrial wearables to sense the barcodes and the
picking jobs are automatically confirmed. If wrong codes are
sensed, an alarm will be given. Each picker will carry a smart
picking cart to load the assigned order batch. Each picking cart
has limited loading capacity and each cart space will only store
the same type of SKUs.
(4) Once the batches are picked, pickers move them to a buffer
in the sortation stage. The picking jobs in multi-zone should
be synchronized to achieve optimum workload balance. The
capacity of buffering area is limited, and each space is attached
with RFID tag. Smart picking cart can finish the automatic loca-
tion binding by reading these tags on the floor.
(5) In the next stage, the available sorting station will process
and gather SKUs to form customer orders through automated
weighting, dimensioning, data capturing and packaging.
4. Problem description and mathematical formulation
4.1. Problem description
This paper regards the studied problem as a two-stage
pick-and-sort order synchronization problem integrating storage
assignment, zoning, as well as order batching and sequencing deci-
sions. A picking system is consisting of a set of parallel aisles (A)
with storage racks on both the sides. Giving the zoning policy,
these aisles and racks are divided into several consecutive zones
(Z). Assuming that the total types of SKU (I) are already known,
and each SKU might have a different demand pattern. The item
assignment policy conforms that a particular SKU is allocated to
only one storage position in one rack. Each SKU cannot be retrieved
in another zone. Notice that pickers are also matched with zones,
which means a picker would only travel and retrieve items in one
particular zone. This zoning policy aims to save the traveling time
of pickers and increase the picking rate. Since pickers only work
in their zones, the impact of routing policies is limited and would
not consider in this study. We adopt the S-shape routing strat-
egy, which is a heuristic method widely applied in literature while
providing non-confusing picking paths in practice. Thus, the con-
suming time in picking process is relevant to the workload of each
batching orders.
 X.T.R. Kong, X. Yang, K.L. Peng et al. / Computers in Industry 118 (2020) 103220 5

A set of parallel circular automated sorting systems are used in • The SKUs replenishment will not influence the operation of pick-
the second stage, which consists of one (or several if needed) sorter ing and sorting;
and equipment such as IoT scanners, weighting and dimensioning • The quantity of SKUs in the smart racks/shelves is always suffi-
machines, packaging cartons and so on. When the picking of a batch cient.
orders in each picking zone is finished, all the items required are
entering the buffering area and waiting for sorting. Whenever there 4.3. Notations
is an idle sorting station, a waiting order batch in the buffer area will
enter, which complies with the first-come-first-served rule. After Sets:    
sorting, all the orders in this batch is regarded as fulfilled. O: set of orders, where O = 1,2,3,. . ., No ; O = No
This synchronization problem includes storage assignment,    
B: set of batches, where B = 1,2,3,. . .NB ; B = NB
batching, sequencing, real-time execution as follows:
 L: locations   of the sequence of batches, where L =
1,2,3,. . ., NL ; L = NL
• Storage assignment: the SKUs has a demand pattern and clas-
I: set of SKUs, where I = {1,2,3,. . ., NI }; |I| = NI
sified as fast-moving items and slow-moving items. If all SKUs Z: set of zones, where Z = {1, 2, 3, . . ., NZ }; |Z| = NZ
are assigned randomly, some pickers might have heavier work- Index:
load in his/her zone due to highly demanding SKUs. Therefore, a o: order index, {o ∈ O};
reasonable assignment among SKUs is worth considering. b: batch index, {b ∈ B};
• Batching: A customer order is composed of one or many SKUs
i: item index, {i ∈ I};
with corresponding quantities and due dates. Assuming daily l: batch sequence index, {l ∈ L};
orders (O) are provided. These orders will be grouped into several z: zone index, {z ∈ Z};
batches (B) according to the batching rules such as balancing the Parameters:
workload in each zone, or fulfilling the most urgent orders and NO : number of orders per day;
etc. Batching decision will directly influence the picking work- NB : number of total batches;
load in each zone. Imbalanced workload would cause idle time to NL : number of total locations in a sequence;
pickers in other zones and hence reduce the picking rate. NI : number of total types of SKUs in the warehouse;
• Sequencing: After batching, the batched orders will be further
NZ : number of total zones in the warehouse;
sequenced (L) and then released to zone pickers. It is held that Cunit : capacity of cart;
a batch of order should not be released until the former batch is Noi : the number of SKU i in order o;
completely finished. This decision poses impact on the tardiness Rb : set of orders in batch b;
of each individual customer order. Nbz : the number of SKUs in zone z of batch b;
• Real-time execution: All sequenced batch orders will be formed
D: length of aisle;
in a job pool. Every available picker can obtain new appearing jobs A: the number of aisles in a zone;
in this open pool dynamically. Pickers will work simultaneously W: center-to-center distance between two aisles;
across zones to extract the required items, carrying smart picking SPTb : starting time of picking batch b;
carts. Each picking cart has limited capacity, which is a constraint FPTb : finishing time of picking batch b;
to batching policy. In sortation stage, several buffering locations SSTb : starting time of sorting batch b;
will be frozen for a certain number of ready carts. The circular FSTb : finishing time of sorting batch b;
automated sorting system is working ceaselessly. TT: the traveling time in a zone;
PTbz : the picking time in zone z of batch b;
The presented model aims to balance the two-stage objectives, Vt : the velocity of traveling of pickers;
namely picking simultaneity and sorting punctuality respectively. Vp : the velocity of picking of pickers;
The objective of the first stage is to minimize the waiting duration TPTbz : the total picking time of batch b in zone z;
(WT) of total batch picking, by measuring the starting and finishing TSTb : the total service time of batch b;
time of picking a batch order in each zone. The objective of the WDb : waiting duration of batch b;
second stage is to minimize the mean earliness (Eo ) and tardiness Nb : the total number of SKUs of batch b;
(To ) of each customer order. Vs : sorting velocity of sorters;
STb : the sorting time of batch b;
4.2. Assumptions BCTb : the completion time of batch b;
Do : due date of order o;
The assumptions used to formulate the mathematical model are Eo : earliness of order o;
summarized as follows: To: tardiness of order o;
Fp : the picking simultaneity;
• There is only one picker in each zone; Fs : the sorting punctuality;
• The routing policy of pickers is strictly S-shape routing, ensuring Decision variables:
that pickers would travel through all the SKUs in his/her zone; Xob : 1 if order o is in batch b; 0 otherwise;
• Orders will not be released to pickers until previous batch of job Sbl : 1 if batch b is scheduled in the lth location in the sequence;
has been finished completely; 0 otherwise;
• The finished batches in picking process enter the buffer area and Yiz : 1 if SKU i is stored in zone z; 0 otherwise;
then enter the sorting station, the buffering time will not be cal-
culated; 4.4. Model formulation
• Orders are not released if there is no extra space in the buffering
area to avoid congestions; Objective function:
• Rule of allocation in the sortation stage is first-come-first-served;
• The demand pattern of the SKUs follows the Pareto principle, Min(wpFp + wsFs)
which means a few SKUs account for large portion of demand;
6 X.T.R. Kong, X. Yang, K.L. Peng et al. / Computers in Industry 118 (2020) 103220

Subject to:

Xob = 1, ∀o ∈ O; (1)
b∈B

Sbl = 1, ∀l ∈ L; (2)
b∈B

Sbl = 1, ∀b ∈ B; (3)
l∈L

Yiz = 1, ∀i ∈ I; (4)
z∈Z

Xob Noi ≤ Cunit ; (5)
o∈O b∈B

Rb = {o|Xob = 1}, ∀b ∈ B; (6)


Nbz = Noi , ∀b ∈ B, z ∈ Z; (7)
o ∈ O,Yiz =1

TT = [(A − 1)W + AD]/Vt ; (8)

PTbz = Nbz /Vp , ∀b ∈ B, z ∈ Z; (9)

TPTbz = TT + PTbz , ∀b ∈ B, z ∈ Z; (10) Fig. 2. The general process of HGA-VNS.

TSTb = Max (TPTbz ), ; (11)

b ∈ B,z ∈ Z
time in the latest finished zone. Constraints (12) and (13) defines
SPTb+1 = TSTb , ∀b ∈ B; (12) the starting and finishing time of batch picking. Constraint (14)
indicates the waiting duration of a batch picking. Constraint (15)
FPTb = SPTb + TSTb , ∀b ∈ B; (13) is the definition of picking simultaneity. Constraints (16) and (17)
WDb = Max(TSTb ) − Min(TPTb ), b ∈ B; (14) defines the sorting time which is positive proportional to number
 of items. Constraints (18) and (19) indicate the starting and finish-
Fp = (WDb )/NB ; (15) ing time of order sortation. Constraints (20), (21) and (22) measure
b∈B the mean earliness and tardiness. Constraints (23) and (24) are the
 non-negative constraints. Constraint (25) defines the relationship
Nb = Noi , ∀b ∈ B; (16) between starting time and finishing time of the first picking batch.
o ∈ Rb

STb = Nb /Vs , ∀b ∈ B; (17) 4.5. Solution framework

SSTb+1 = Max(FPTb+1 , FSTb ); (18) The overall solution framework is presented based on an iter-
b∈B
ative procedure which ensures consistent and optimal results. We
FSTb = SSTb + STb , ∀b ∈ B; (19) solve the proposed model by adopting a hybrid meta-heuristic
Eo = Max (o, Do − FSTb ); (20) algorithm HGA-VNS which integrates genetic algorithm (GA) with
o ∈ Rb ,b ∈ B variable neighborhood search (VNS) to multiply offspring indi-
viduals. It has been successfully used in large-scale optimization
To = Max (o, FSTb − Do ); (21)
o ∈ Rb ,b ∈ B problems (Mitchell 1998, Ko et al. 2006), and the general process
 of HGA-VNS is shown in Fig. 2.
Fs = (Eo + To)/|Rb |; (22)
o ∈ Rb (1) Initialization
No , NB , NL , NI , NZ , D, A, W, Vt , Vs ≥ 0; (23)
• Layout configuration: The picking area is set to be a rectangular
SPT1 = 0; (24) shape, which functions better than a square one (Bassan et al.
1980). The aisles and related shelves are apportioned into zones.
SST1 = FPT1 ; (25)
Since the routing policy is strict S-shape travelling, a zone is set
Objective function represents the balanced weighted picking with three aisles and the racks/shelves are fixed on both the
simultaneity and sorting punctuality. Constraint (1) indicates that sides. Since the zones of the picking area are supposed to have
each order could only be grouped in one batch. Constraints (2) and an equal workload, it is significant to make each zone store an
(3) indicates that a batch at most is assigned to one particular posi- expected equal proportion of demand (Petersen, 2000). For this
tion in the sequence. Constraint (4) matches the SKUs with zones. requirement, SKUs are classified by demand frequency, and all
Constraint (5) ensures that the maximum capacity of picking cart high-demand SKUs are assigned to zones averagely. The picking
cannot be exceeded. Constraints (6), (7) and (16) represent the set and sorting velocity are also given by default.
of orders in batch b, the total numbers of items in each zone of • Chromosome encoding: Chromosome of the candidate solutions
this batch and the sum of this batch respectively. Constraints (8) is encoded. A chromosome represents each solution in the ini-
and (9) defines the traveling time and the picking time of picking tial solution set of solutions. The problem in the picking stage
process in a zone. Constraint (10) records the picking time in each involves two decision problems, batching and sequencing. Hence,
zone when picking an order batch. Constraint (11) represents the a set consists of multiple subset is adopted to represent the chro-
 X.T.R. Kong, X. Yang, K.L. Peng et al. / Computers in Industry 118 (2020) 103220
mosome structure. For example, the set of {[O3, O5, O1], [O2,
O4, O7], [O6, O8], [O9, O10]} illustrates a 10-order chromosome
structure. Each subset represents a batch, and the order of the
subset represents the sequence of batch picking.
(2) Demand generation
There are four elements in creating the demand matrix
(Petersen, 2000): daily volume of orders, order size, the SKUs in the
order and the quantity of SKUs. According to Chen et al. (2015a,b),
the daily volume of orders is set into two different scenarios: peak
season and off season. Four deterministic levels are set in each
scenario. The other three properties of demand matrix further dif-
ferentiate customer orders. The following sub-steps describes the
procedures in generating the demand matrix.
• Sub-step 1: Generate the demand frequency vertex. The length
of the vertex is equal to the number of all SKUs in the warehouse.
The summation of demand frequency vertex equals to 1. More
importantly, the bigger the numerical value in the vertex, the
higher the SKU is demanded. Finally, the distribution of the ele-
ments in the vertex is based on Pareto principle, for example, 20
% of the elements in the vertex sum up to approximately 0.8.
• Sub-step 2: Generate the demand matrix. Assuming the total
quantity of required SKUs of all customer orders is deterministic.
Every single order is a vertex with length of the size of frequency
vertex. The quantity of the required SKU type is a random num-
ber ranging from 1 to 4 generated with the probability of demand
frequency.
(1) Batching and sequencing
After order demands have been generated, it is required to
find the best synchronization solution of picking and sorting. The
optimal order batching and sequencing mechanism is critical, to
minimize total waiting duration in picking process and total tar-
diness in sorting process. The following sub-steps describes the
procedures in generating the batching and sequencing plans.
• Sub-step 1: Population generation. Given the number of orders,
it is easy to generate a population of solution by means of permu-
tation and combination. Taking a demand matrix of four orders
as an example, there are 24 different ways of sequencing if it is
grouped in 4 batches, and 14 kinds of batching and sequencing
when there are two batches in a solution. A population of 100
solutions is generated at this step.
• Sub-step 2: Consider the capacity limit. It is important to limit the
quantity of SKUs required in each order batch considering picking
cart capacity constraint. Otherwise, the pickers have to travel the
aisles again to pick the exceeding requirements, which is a huge
deterioration of picking operation.
(1) Fitness function evaluation
Set the generation zero and evaluate the fitness function of
each chromosome in a population. The fewer fit chromosomes
are replaced with better children. The fitness function is paral-
lel to the synchronization objectives for each batch of customer
order using the population in above step, subjecting to the given
processes constrains, assumptions and weight trade-offs. In the
proposed algorithm, fitness value of each individual is measured
by 1/ Min(wpFp + wsFs). Roulette wheel selection is applied to
select chromosomes. Thus, the fitness value of an individual directly
determines the probability of that individual being chosen.
7
Fig. 3. Illustrations of IPOX crossover and IOM mutation.
(5) Reproduction
The chromosome evolves through a crossover operator and a
mutation operator to produce offspring as follows, improving on
the current set of solutions.
• IPOX crossover operator: Considering the complexity of the
chromosome structure in this problem, a competent crossover
operator is applied to produce the offspring on the basis of
Precedence Operation Crossover (IPOX). Compared with other
crossover operators, this operator has a higher efficiency,
retains the excellent characteristics of the parents, and reduces
the destruction of genetic operators. At the same time, the
operator effectively solves the premature convergence of tradi-
tional genetic algorithms in solving combinatorial optimization
problems and speeds up the convergence of our algorithm sig-
nificantly (Zhang et al., 2004). According to this method, Parent
1 and Parent 2 are two-parent chromosomes, Child 1 and Child
2 are the offspring produced by the two parents after crossover.
Child 1 will inherit the partial batching scheme of Parent 1 and
inherit the processing sequence of the remaining orders in Parent
2 without wasting the picking capacity of the zone. Child 2 will
inherit the partial batching scheme of Parent 2 and inherit the
processing sequence of the remaining orders in Parent 1 with-
out wasting the picking capacity. An example of IPOX crossover
is illustrated in Fig. 3(a).
• IOM mutation operator: The mutation process is to swap the
location of the order in two different batches to generate new
individuals. An example of IOM crossover is illustrated in Fig. 3(b).
• Elite-based VNS: After crossover and mutation operation, the
elite individual with the best fitness value in generation could
be selected. To further improve the algorithm, three different
operators are used to generate neighborhood structure for local
searching: inverse operator, exchange operator and swap oper-
ator. These three operators can maximize the scope of domain
search. Inverse operation explores the effect of the different solu-
tion in the way of overall reversal. Exchange operation targets the
sequence of individual genes and searches for solutions from a
relatively local range. Swap operation further broadens the algo-
rithm’s search scope by swapping different gene blocks.
Inverse operation: As illustrated in Fig. 4, the inverse operation
is to inverse the sequence of batch.
Exchange operation: the exchange operation involves the follow-
ing steps: (a) Randomly choose x orders in different batches, where
2 ≤ x ≤ n, n is the total number of batches in one individual; (b)
8 X.T.R. Kong, X. Yang, K.L. Peng et al. / Computers in Industry 118 (2020) 103220
Fig. 4. An illustration of swap operation.
Rearrange the orders of the selected without exceeding the picking
capacity of zone.
Swap operation: These solutions are produced by a swap oper-
ation as follows: (a) Randomly select two batches b1 and b2, (b)
Swap the location of the two batches. Fig. 4 presents an example of
the swap operation where b1 = 1 and b1 = 4.
5. Case study
This section gives a case study of the proposed solution in
a cross-border ecommerce warehouse in Hong Kong. Our col-
laborating company now still adopts conventional order picking
techniques (picking by order) without zoning, batching and syn-
chronization. We thus apply the presented solution into its real-life
sites to realize advanced operational efficiency and flexibility. The
CPS-enabled smart order fulfilment deployment is introduced in
the first subsection. The second one will illustrate the mechanism
in several numerical cases with key managerial insights. The feed-
back and evaluation from the end users will be highlighted in the
third subsection.
5.1. CPS-enabled smart order fulfilment deployment
Fig. 5 shows the smart ecommerce order fulfilment ware-
house, which is deployed in the collaborating company using the
cutting-edge IoT technologies (Kong et al. 2020). The detailed con-
figurations of smart components, deployment location, key users
and real time decisions are summarized in Table 1.
• Smart CPS hardware deployment – industrial wearable devices
such as SmartGlove and SmartGlass have been deployed and
used in order picking and order sortation stages. Operators will
wear wearable terminals and carry an IoT-enabled picking cart
during order picking to execute the assigned tasks. Operators
only needs to follow digital routing guidance to visit prescribed
aisles and storage locations to pick SKUs in right quantity and
put them into the right location of smart cart. Each smart cart is
equipped with RFID tags and smart interactive screen. The pick-
ing rules are determined backend and sort-after-pick is suitable
for this case company. In order sortation stage, automated sort-
ing machines have been employed to sort, weight and package all
SKUs that belonging to same order. Buffering areas are deployed
with RFID devices to automatically read arriving/departing carts
that equipped with RFID tags to assist quick retrieving.
• Smart CPS software deployment – the presented synchronization
model has been incorporated in a software system for optimiz-
ing zone-based parallel order picking and sortation. Planner will
first import and select the orders for synchronization. The chosen
orders are clustered into a group with detailed order informa-
tion such as priority and due dates. Orders are further divided
into jobs based on synchronization mechanism automatically. A
job is a batch of orders in the same picking wave that will be
assigned to the same picking cart in the same picking zone. An
order may contain jobs from different carts across multiple zones.
The proposed synchronization mechanism will ensure pickers
in different areas of the warehouse work on the same order at
the same time while considering balanced workloads. All jobs
are digitalized in a job pool and sent to frontline pickers or a
working group with optimized routing information. Finally, oper-
ators transfer the synchronized SKUs to sortation area for further
processing. The cartons are then consolidated and/or re-packed.
The task and inventory status will be real-timely transmitted to
upper-level enterprise system for monitoring. To manage multi-
ple heterogeneous assets, a smart gateway called iCoordinator is
also deployed.
5.2. Mechanism verification and evaluation
A verification of the proposed algorithm will be conducted by
comparison with the due-date first algorithm. Key parameters
would be maintained, such as 4 zones and 2 sorting stations. The
capacity of a picking cart is also kept by 10. Four types of order
quantity are utilized. Afterwards, the mechanism evaluation will
be carried out in two main directions as filed practitioner required,
including the trade-off analysis, and sensitivity analysis of zoning
and item assigning policies. There are 11 sets of weight combina-
tions in the experiment. The zoning and item assignment policy
is concerning with the impact of item locations on picking effi-
ciency. In the experiment, the total SKUs are spread out through the
zones according to two assignment plans, which assign the items
to balance or imbalance the workload in each zone. Three different
number of zones are applied in this experiment.
5.2.1. Total tardiness comparison under synchronized method
and due-date first method
“Due-date first” method was once used in our collaborating
company due to its straightforward characteristics and relatively
low order volume previously (around 400–600 orders per day).
“Due-date first” means the order with earlier due date requirement
will be picked and sorted in the earlier batch. However, with the
increasing order quantity and variety, such method is no longer
sustainable. Under the proposed model, orders will be batched and
sequenced to minimize the waiting duration and tardiness, while
the “due-date first” method only prioritizes the orders according
to their due dates. We use the total tardiness as the key crite-
ria for comparison. As shown in Fig. 6, the proposed mechanism
has better performance than “due-date first”, which verifies that
the synchronization policies would improve the order fulfillment
operations.
5.2.2. Trade-off analysis of picking simultaneity and sorting
punctuality under peak and off-peak seasons
Performance trade-offs between picking simultaneity and sort-
ing punctuality is one of top concerns of practitioners due to
the pursuit of best balancing point of pick-and-sort system under
dynamic demand variations (e.g. double eleven festival). We thus
collect 8-level order volume from collaborating company while set-
ting 11 wt combinations. A weight combination could be described
as (wp , ws ) where wp is the weight of minimizing waiting during
picking process and ws is the weight of minimizing order tardiness
 X.T.R. Kong, X. Yang, K.L. Peng et al. / Computers in Industry 118 (2020) 103220 9

Fig. 5. CPS-enabled solution deployment and implementation.

Fig. 6. Comparison study among different order quantities. Fig. 7. Normalized Fp on different weight combinations.

in sorting process. Here, we use the picking simultaneity (Fp ), sort-

ing punctuality (Fs ) and their sum (SUM) as the criteria to measure
the performance. The purpose of this analysis is to figure out the
best weight combination which contributes to the minimized sum
of Fp and Fs . The results are summarized in Table 2.
Figs. 7–9 demonstrate the results of Fp , Fs and SUM respectively.
In each figure, four-level order volumes are selected for illustration,
the X-coordinate stands for the related weight combinations, and
the Y-coordinate means the normalized value of performance cri-
teria. Observing the Fig. 7, Fp goes up as the picking weight wp goes
down. This means the waiting duration in picking process deteri-
orates as the weight of picking simultaneity decreases. There is a
jump in off-peak season at weight combination (0.9, 0.1), reaching
to the bottom. However, the peak season shows a steady increase Fig. 8. Normalized Fs on different weight combinations.
throughout the all weight combinations.
10 X.T.R. Kong, X. Yang, K.L. Peng et al. / Computers in Industry 118 (2020) 103220

Table 1
Smart CPS hardware and software configurations.

Smart CPS components Deployment locations Key users Real-time data and decision

Tagged SKU / item with 1D code Attached on each piece of SKUs

Workers in picking
stage • SKU ID
• Brand name and spec
• Due date

Tagged shelf / rack storage with 2D Attached on shelf / rack in picking

code zones
• Location ID
• Location Number

Tagged picking cart with RFID tags Smart picking cart

• Cart ID
• SKU on cart & time stamp

Industrial wearable for pickers Pickers / workers

with AutoID identification
capacity • SKU-location binding
• SKU-cart binding
• SKU-buffer binding

RFID reader for picking carts at Buffering locations Workers in sorting

buffering area stage
• Number of picking carts
• Sequence of picking carts
• Location of picking carts

Smart weighting and dimensioning Sorting station

device
• Weight of order
• Dimension of order

Smart terminal device picking cart / picker / shelf / sorting Workers in two stages
station
• Picking jobs
• Sorting jobs
• Retrieving jobs

Smart gateway and In warehouse onsite Supervisor/managers

synchronization system
• Picking simultaneity decision
• Sorting punctuality decision

As seen from the Fig. 8, the tendency of Fs shares the same pat-
tern of Fp . Fs goes down as sorting weight ws goes up, which means
the increase of sorting punctuality could bring the improvement
to the sortation performance. Specially, when the sorting weight
ranges from 0 to 0.2, the improvement occurs most significantly.
The changing slope becomes slower when ws grows beyond 0.3.
The value of normalized Fs stays stable when weight combination
ranging from (0.7, 0.3) to (0, 1).
In Fig. 9, we can observe that the changing slope also decreases
slower after (0.8, 0.2), and the normalized value stays stable. The
difference from (0.8, 0.2) to (0, 1) is also very small. The man-
ager is suggested to choose a reasonable combination from this
range based on varied order fulfillment requirements and objec-
tives. Either picking stage or sorting stage can be also self-adapted
for optimum via fine tuning the weight combinations. It is supposed Fig. 9. Normalized SUM of Fp and Fs on different weight combinations.
that when the system parameters change, such as number of zones
or item assignment, the rational range of weight combination might
also change accordingly. workloads in a certain one picking batch or wave, which may
increase the total throughput time in this zone and cause idle time
in other zones. Sorting process delay thus might occur. To exam-
5.2.3. The impact of zoning and item assignment on ine synchronization performance under this scenario, we collect
synchronization performance key data (e.g., SKU list, demand frequency and etc.) from case com-
According to Pareto principle, the SKUs with high demand fre- pany and focus on the impact of workload balance across different
quency are called fast-moving items. If most of the fast-moving number of zones on synchronization. Fig. 10 illustrates 12 SKUs
items are stored in one zone, pickers would apparently have more assignment in the storage shelves across 3-zone, 4-zone and 5-
 X.T.R. Kong, X. Yang, K.L. Peng et al. / Computers in Industry 118 (2020) 103220 11

Table 2
Weights trade-off under (off)peak seasons.

Off-peak Season Peak Season

wp , ws Criteria
O-10 O-15 O-20 O-25 O-30 O-35 O-40 O-45

Fp 6.5 5.6 4.5 6.5 7.44 8.56 7.56 7

1-0 Fs 16.2 40.3 59.28 56.52 58.5 63.23 83.39 120.92
Sum 22.7 45.9 63.78 63.02 65.94 71.78 90.94 127.92
Fp 5.7 4.5 4.75 7.056 8 8.22 8.94 9.11
0.9-0.1 Fs 14.55 37.9 57.98 42.18 44.52 50.97 64.62 78.49
Sum 20.25 42.4 62.73 49.24 52.52 59.19 73.57 87.6
Fp 6.2 7.2 8.8 8.33 8.5 10.11 9.5 11.83
0.8-0.2 Fs 11.9 22.3 29.2 34.54 40.12 45.29 57.44 68.46
Sum 18.1 29.5 38 42.87 48.62 55.4 66.94 80.29
Fp 6.6 7 8.5 8.56 8.56 9.44 10.5 12.13
0.7-0.3 Fs 12.5 21.5 29.18 37 35.95 43.66 55.53 62.12
Sum 19.1 28.5 37.68 45.56 44.51 53.10 66.03 74.25
Fp 6.5 8.1 9.3 8.06 8.89 9.5 10.94 11.22
0.6-0.4 Fs 12.05 19 27.9 36.98 38.23 42.24 52.98 64.58
Sum 18.55 27.1 37.2 45.04 47.12 51.74 63.92 75.8
Fp 6.3 8.3 9.9 8.28 8.5 10.11 10.83 12.13
0.5-0.5 Fs 10.3 18.27 29.8 35.28 35.67 46.04 54.06 60.69
Sum 16.6 26.57 39.7 43.56 44.17 56.15 64.9 72.81
Fp 7 7.8 9.4 8.17 8.44 9.72 11.17 11.89
0.4-0.6 Fs 10 20.73 28.5 35.32 34.95 45.36 51.24 61.96
Sum 17 28.53 37.9 43.49 43.39 55.08 62.4 73.84
Fp 6.7 8.1 9.6 8.28 8.67 9.61 10.72 11.83
0.3-0.7 Fs 11.2 16.07 31.7 33.68 36.6 42.2 51.85 64.07
Sum 17.9 24.17 41.3 41.96 45.27 51.81 62.57 75.9
Fp 6.4 7.7 9 7.61 9.06 9.56 10.72 11.75
0.2-0.8 Fs 9.8 20 30.63 36.06 33.53 43.41 50.69 61.33
Sum 16.2 27.7 39.63 43.67 42.6 52.97 61.41 73.08
Fp 6.3 8 8.6 8.38 8.78 9.39 12.06 11.94
0.1-0.9 Fs 11.25 19.43 30.4 33.9 33.3 41.24 52.05 66.59
Sum 17.55 27.43 39 42.28 42.08 50.63 64.11 78.53
Fp 6.63 7.8 9.4 8.06 9.25 9.28 11 11.44
0-1 Fs 9.35 18.2 29.33 38.5 39.27 45.59 53.3 56.88
Sum 15.98 26 38.73 46.56 48.52 54.86 64.3 68.32

Fig. 10. SKUs assignment in the storage shelves.

zone respectively, where the dark box represents the SKU with high
demand frequency and white one stands for slow-moving items.
An equal total demand frequency in each zone is considered in
the scenario of balanced workload. In contrast, SKUs are randomly
assigned in the imbalanced workload scenario.
The results are summarized in Table 3. When decreasing the
number of zones, the total value of objective function will slightly
increase as we expected. Because the less the zones, the more SKUs
assigned to one zone, hence increasing the workload of picker.
However, under the balanced workload scenario, the workload
increases equally in each zone, while the difference among imbal-
anced case is relatively more apparent. Although increasing the
number of zones helps in reducing and balancing the workload,
it also raises the extra cost of more pickers and longer traveling
distances. Even if the trade-off between efficiency and cost is not
covered in this study, it gives the manager the insight of zoning
impacts. Besides, in the imbalanced case, as the order quantity
becomes larger, the objective value deteriorates faster. On the con-
trary, it stays steady under the balanced environment.
5.2.4. User feedback and implementation issues
The mechanism has been continuously tested in the pilot sites
for a month and feedback was collected. CPS-driven synchroniza-
tion mechanism plays significant roles in the solution from the
12 X.T.R. Kong, X. Yang, K.L. Peng et al. / Computers in Industry 118 (2020) 103220

Table 3
Results of varied zoning and SKU assignment.

Order quantity = 10 Order quantity = 20 Order quantity = 30

SKU-Zone Criteria Balanced Imbalanced Balanced Imbalanced Balanced Imbalanced

Sum 8.41 10.45 17.22 22.36 26.83 34.16

(12-5) Fp 6.36 7.5 7.79 10.57 8.78 11.94
Fs 10.45 13.4 26.65 34.15 44.88 56.38
Sum 8.8 12.9 19.26 24.6 29.46 38.65
(12-4) Fp 6.8 9.2 8.93 11.86 10.28 14.22
Fs 10.8 16.6 29.6 37.35 48.63 63.08
Sum 11.03 20.2 22.86 32.72 34.28 55.99
(12-3) Fp 7.2 13.5 10.64 15.57 12.11 19.61
Fs 14.85 26.9 35.08 49.88 56.45 92.37

following two dimensions. On one hand, all information such as
machine status, job progress, picker availability and material loca-
tion are deterministic when warehousing activities carry out within
the smart environment, which largely simplifies optimization pro-
cedure of a dynamic operating system. On the other hand, the
system achieves a real-time synchronization to balance the picking
simultaneity and sortation punctuality along with weights trade-
offs; and meanwhile, robust to resist changes like emergency orders
without profound alterations. Positive ratings have been also gen-
erally reported from both frontline operators and management.
In terms of operational level, the proposed method eliminates
the manual data collections, such as processing sequence checking
on paper-based schedule. These manual operations are time con-
suming and non-value adding. In addition, operation errors have
been largely reduced. For instance, the order progress synchro-
nization among stages were previously prone to errors because
of manual calculation and paper-based information transmission.
Through the developed smart CPS system, order progress infor-
mation and resource composition can be collected automatically.
Furthermore, the smart system enables auto-alarm when some
improper operations are detected.
In terms of managerial level, the proposed solution pro-
vides adaptive, real-time visibility and traceability. Primitive data
captured by IoT devices is combined with the appropriate syn-
chronization logics of each working stage to form meaningful
information that is “what you see is what you do; what you do is
what you see”. Visibilities of correlated operating sites are linked,
and each working stage can achieve system-level synchroniza-
tion. Both stage supervisor and warehouse manager could take
advantage of their necessary visibilities to facilitate their decision-
makings.
During the system implementation, some technology-neutral
challenges have emerged from both managers and frontline oper-
ators. In the viewpoint of frontline operators, the major concern
is the change of their working habits. Order pickers insisted upon
their usual ways of doing their jobs because they have been accus-
tomed to them. This problem is predictable and should be carefully
considered in the system process design and user interface (UI)
design, for example, the information shown on the screen should
be as less as possible. In the viewpoint of managers, they always
need to reserve the right to modify the results. It is because the
ecommerce order fulfillment environment is dynamic. There are
always some special cases that cannot be handled by fully auto-
matic synchronization program and manual (re)adjustment is still
needed. Therefore, the system provided a manual edit function to
allow the manager to modify system generated scheduling results.
6. Conclusions
To keep up with increasing demand from ecommerce channels
and meet the expectations of consumers, organizations will need
to invest in their warehouses and increase the implementation of
advanced logistics processes. New technologies such as augmented
reality, advanced robotics and smart wearables, are the key to
ensuring the competitiveness of the company and satisfaction of
the customer. However, until now, the related practices and litera-
ture were only focused on operational time and costs minimization,
while ignoring the synchronization performance trade-offs. This
paper explicitly considers a two-stage pick-and-sort ecommerce
order synchronization problem, taking both picking simultaneity
and sorting punctuality into account. It also incorporates storage
assignment, zoning, as well as order batching and sequencing deci-
sions.
Several contributions and findings of this study are summarized
as follows:
• A CPS-enabled pick-and-sort ecommerce fulfilment environment
is created, where several IoT devices have been used. Real-time
order details, location information of SKUs, order processing sit-
uations can be obtained;
• An adaptive synchronized mechanism with associated HGA-VNS
algorithm is proposed to balance the picking simultaneity and
sorting punctuality based on real-time data collected from CPS-
enabled ecommerce fulfilment environment;
• Trade-off analysis and sensitivity analysis are examined through
a real case study, including 1) a golden interval of weight com-
binations has been found so that warehouse managers could
fine tune parameters based on specific requirements while bal-
ancing the trade-off between picking simultaneity and sorting
punctuality; 2) weighting more on sorting punctuality will have
a significant improvement on total performance of warehouse;
and 3) picking simultaneity is influenced by the zone configura-
tions and the workload imbalance, as well as the order volume in
(off)peak seasons.
Research limitations also remain in this study. First, the pro-
posed pick-and-sort ecommerce order fulfilment system does not
indicate the maximum volume that could be handled error free,
even if the CPS technologies are adopted. Some technology-neutral
implementation challenges such as system scalability and user-
friendly issues should be further discussed. Second, in addition
to DDF mechanism, the quantitative comparison between the
proposed mechanism and other mechanisms needs an in-depth
investigation. Third, the buffer size and buffering time will be con-
sidered in future to determine more accurate system earliness and
tardiness.
Future works could be extended in three aspects. First, the
model assumptions should be further relaxed to take the real-
world dynamic uncertainties into account, such as the warehousing
congestion. Re-synchronization scheme might be designed and
incorporated in the existing mechanism. Second, human cyber
physical system (HCPS) architecture should be designed, and
integrated with the presented synchronization method, to explic-
itly highlight the human-oriented smart warehousing operations.
 X.T.R. Kong, X. Yang, K.L. Peng et al. / Computers in Industry 118 (2020) 103220
Third, the concept of progress Kanban is needed as a coordina-
tion mechanism between the two stages and among related jobs
if the proposed model is used practically in the CPS-enabled smart
ecommerce order fulfillment environment.
Declaration of Competing Interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing finan-
cial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to
influence the work reported in this paper.
Acknowledgments
This research is supported by the HKSAR ITC / LSCM R&D
Center through the Innovation and Innovation and Technology
Support Program (Project Reference: ITP/079/16LP), the National
Natural Science Foundation of China under grant 71801154 &
71801159, and Science Foundation for Youth Scholars of Shen-
zhen University under grant 2019070 & 189692 & 2018025, the
Humanities and Social Sciences Foundation of the Ministry of
Education of China (Grant No. 18YJCZH090), the Natural Sci-
ence Foundation of Guangdong Province of China (Grant No.
2018A030310534). Acknowledgments are also given to Tigers (HK)
Co. Ltd. for supporting the related technologies and mechanisms
deployment.
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