Facoltà: Ingegneria Gestionale - classe LM-31
Collocazione: 21828
Autore: Bianco Daniela
Data: 24/10/2023
Titolo: Exploratory study on automated materials handling systems
Relatore: Dallari Fabrizio
Autorizzazione per la consultazione: SI
Le tesi si possono consultare unicamente in sede
The following paper aims to present the research project from LIUC – Università Carlo Cattaneo regarding automated materials handling systems, with a focus on order picking systems, in collaboration with the Logistica magazine published by Tecniche Nuove. The research, which began in March 2023, was created to investigate what alternative technologies for the automation of material handling activities are on the market, their current degree of deployment and potential market, as well as the characteristics to consider in order to define which solution is the best match for a given industrial context. In addition to the involvement of leading automation vendors, the research allowed for interviews with numerous logistics managers to understand on the basis of which criteria they chose automated picking technologies, or which innovative solutions were closest to their needs. The following research was made possible through collaboration with Logistica magazine, which allowed us to connect with automation technology providers and launch the online survey to all companies that are readers of the magazine. The results of this research will be published in a thematic dossier in the October 2023 issue of the magazine. The following paper is structured into 8 chapters. Chapter 1 shows the role of the warehouse and all the logistical processes that take place within it by analyzing the trends of the recent years and the difficulties and opportunities that result from good warehouse management. Chapter 2 identifies the issues and gaps in the field that led to the development of this research by specifying its objectives and research questions to be investigated. Chapter 3 introduces the methodology applied during the course of the research. Chapter 4 presents the literature review conducted and then the historical development of classifications of automated materials handling systems from the 1990s to the present day. Chapter 5 presents the framework of the new classification and a detailed technical description of the categorized technologies summarizing the work of the interviews with various suppliers. Chapter 6 presents the concept map for optimal applicability in practical industrial systems through the configurator and comparative graph. Chapter 7 presents the results of the analysis of the online survey responses starting with the composition of the sample and then showing the statistics generated by the analysis. Chapter 8 sets out a summary of the results obtained, the findings made, and the theoretical and managerial implications and contributions of the research. Finally, reflections on the limitations of the research and possible future developments are also set forth.
