Placing boxes on shelves: A case study

This case study paper describes work undertaken for a major UK high street retailer, developing a system for the effective design of stockroom layouts so as to minimise the space used when placing boxes on shelves. The heuristics developed for placing boxes on shelves are described. We also briefly describe a number of complicating factors that had to be considered in arriving at a feasible stockroom layout. In order to provide a reference for future workers, example test problems are solved and made publicly available. We discuss the operation of the entire stockroom layout system and the experience of the company with the system, which is now in routine use.