Comparison of the TMAL and the TOPSIS methods in selection of locations in order-picking
Comparison of the TMAL and the TOPSIS methods in selection of locations in order-picking

Summary/Abstract: There are two methods of storing products in a warehouse. First, there is a dedicated storage, for which each product can be stored in only one location and one location is dedicated for just one product. There is also a shared storage, in which each location can store any number of various products and each product can be stored in many, sometimes very distant locations. The advantage of the dedicated storage is that it is very simple to manage and the pickers can quite easily remember, where each product is stored. The disadvantage of such system is that the storing space is used much less efficiently. The shared storage uses the storage space much better, but causes that remembering, where each product is stored is impossible. Therefore, if a company utilises the shared storage system, it must use a specialised system of warehouse management. Such system must manage, where to place replenishment orders and from where products should be taken in order to complete the customers’ orders. The article compares the two multiple-criteria decision making techniques that will be used in order to select locations: the Taxonomical Measure of Location’s Attractiveness (TMAL), based on the Composite Measure of Development and the TOPSIS method. The results show that no method can be considered as better in general.

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