Warehouse Storage Assignment For Surface Mount Components Using An Improved Genetic Algorithm

The assembly process of surface-mount device (SMD) usually requires over hundreds of types of surface-mount components (SMC). A set of SMCs should be picked in the warehouse to be supplied to the production line. We define a storage location assignment problem for SMC considering a periodic production plan to improve the efficiency of the SMC-picking operation. We propose a solution approach based on Genetic Algorithm (GA) to solve a reduced problem that finds the optimal allocation sequence of each type of SMC. We generate the initial population based on the characteristics of the SMCs, such as the production plan and the bill of material (BOM). A simulation model based on AutoMod is used to compare the performances of the proposed algorithm and some practical legacy methods with the empirical data. The simulation results demonstrate that the proposed algorithm is feasible and efficient in terms of picking distance.