A literature review on the order picking process in warehouses is presented for delineating the trends in time of research topics in this field. A total of 269 journal papers published between 2007 and 2022 were retrieved from Scopus. After a methodological classification, descriptive analyses were performed on authors, journals, subject area and top publishing countries. Bibliometric tools were used to map the topics covered by the reviewed studies, categorise them and determine possible relationships. Papers’ contents were evaluated in terms of eight categories, including five typical issues of order picking systems, plus three aspects dealing with the characteristics of the application. Insights about the extent to which these aspects have been covered in the literature are derived; relationships between the various aspects of the picking process are also delineated. Suggestions for future research activities are finally deducted, offering researchers and practitioners strong bases for works on order picking systems.

The paper shows how to leverage RFID technology in fresh fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry, and, in particular, to optimally manage stock levels on shelves, shelves replenishment, and shrinkage prevention for fresh perishable products. We deployed a pilot project on a FMCG retail supply chain, encompassing a distribution centre and two stores of a major Italian retailer. About 60 products have been RFID tagged at case level. We real time tracked cases of products for 4 months, through the distribution chain all the way to the stores, where the RFID deployment made it possible to punctually monitor shelves stock levels, backroom stock levels and product shrinkage. We demonstrate that the out of stock (OOS) problem is just one piece of a broader picture, that is shelves stock optimization. The higher the stock level on the shelves, the lower the need for shelf replenishment, and thus the likelihood of an OOS. However, the capital holding costs and the risk for product shrinkage increase. The latter issue is particularly relevant for fresh perishable products. This pilot demonstrates that a retailer could reduce OOS, shrinkage and capital holding costs all together, by means of efficient RFID data management. Potential savings for fresh products account approx 1.7% of sale turnover. This study is the first pilot project which assesses the impact of RFID technology on the supply chain of fresh perishable products; a full roll-out of the project is being planned for the next future.

This paper presents the technical development and subsequent testing of a Real-Time Locating System based on Ultra-Wideband signals, with the aim to appraise its potential implementation in a real industrial case. The system relies on a commercial Radio Indoor Positioning System, called Qorvo MDEK1001, which makes use of UWB RF technology to determine the position of RF-tags placed on an item of interest, which in turn is located in an area covered by specific fixed antennas (anchors). Testing sessions were carried out both in an Italian laboratory and in a real industrial environment, to determine the best configurations according to some selected performance indicators. The results support the adoption of the proposed solution in industrial environments to track assets and work in progress. Moreover, most importantly, the solution developed is cheap in nature: indeed, normally tracking solutions involve a huge investment, quite often not affordable above all by small-, medium- and micro-sized enterprises. The proposed low-cost solution instead, as demonstrated by the economic assessment completing the work, justifies the feasibility of the investment. Hence, results of this paper ultimately constitute a guidance for those practitioners who intend to adopt a similar system in their business.

The objective of this paper is to point out how Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology can be used to improve the First In First Out (FIFO) policy of fresh products warehouses in the large-scale retail channel. The relatively short shelf life of fresh products forces to maintain a punctual control of the rotation of cases in the warehouse. The implementation of an RFID system enables to real time monitor the supply chain processes an item is subject to; in particular, the present work focuses on the process of shelf replenishment, by moving cases from the backroom to the shop floor. By means of an accurate monitoring of this process, the errors caused by noncompliance with the FIFO policy were pointed out, and the economic savings resulting from the use of RFID technology in that context were evaluated. Results show that the deployment of RFID technology has potential to help manage the FIFO policy of fresh products, thus generating interesting savings for the food supply chain.

The purpose of this paper is to assess the environmental performance and burdens of radio frequency identification (RFID) technology. The RFID application involves additional environmental impacts to the life cycle of the product to which it is applied. Environmental burdens are caused, for instance, by the emissions and energy requirements that occur during the tag production, transportation and disposal. At the same time, when RFID technology is applied to tag fresh food products, some environmental benefits can be achieved. As an example, food waste can be reduced by optimizing the supply chain processes; therefore, the related environmental impacts can be avoided. The environmental sustainability of the RFID technology is evaluated through the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology, considering its application to a fresh product, namely fresh milk. The assessment was made exploiting the midpoint indicators recommended in the International Reference Life Cycle Data System (ILCD) Handbook, edited by the Joint Research Centre of European Commission. Results show that the RFID application reduces the environmental impacts in all the categories considered, and that, overall, the environmental benefits resulting from the food waste reduction significantly overcome the tag impacts (more than 5 times). Given the lack of studies focusing on the environmental impact of RFID technology, this work might represent an important addition to the literature.