Multiple order pick sequencing in a carousel system: A solvable case of the rural postman problem

The author considers the problem of sequencing picks in a set of orders on a single carousel. First he considers the situation in which the sequence of the orders is given. For this problem he presents an efficient dynamic programming algorithm. Second, he considers the problem without a given order sequence. He simplifies this problem to a Rural Postman Problem on a circle and solves this problem to optimality. Finally, he shows that the solution of the Rural Postman Problem requires at most 1.5 revolutions more than a lower bound of an optimum solution to the original problem.