Density-order index rule for stock location in a distribution warehouse

This paper deals with the problem of space allocation of items within a warehouse. Recognizing the importance of weights associated with material handling, mathematical models are developed for two cases, out-and-back selection and storage retrieval interleaving. It is proved that the density order index rule we proposed generates an optimal solution for the first model. An example problem solved with the pairwise interchange method indicates that the rule is also fairly efficient for the second model. The proposed rule is compared with other assignment rules of warehouse space such as COI rule, space and popularity.