Design of a reference architecture for developing smart warehouses in industry 4.0

Maarten Van Geest,Bedir Tekinerdogan,Cagatay Catal

doi:10.1016/j.compind.2020.103343

Maarten Van Geest, Bedir Tekinerdogan + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compind.2020.103343

Copy DOI

Abstract

Smart warehousing aims at increasing the overall service quality, productivity, and efficiency while minimizing the costs and failures. For designing the reference architecture, we apply a domain-driven architecture design approach and use the architecture design knowledge as presented in the software architecture design literature. We first provide the results of a thorough domain analysis process to smart warehouses to identify the key concerns that shape the architecture of smart warehouses. The domain model is presented using feature diagrams that show the common and variant features of smart warehouses. The domain analysis process is followed by the architecture design process, whereby we have used architecture viewpoints for modeling the reference architecture. Different businesses require different kinds of smart warehouses. Therefore, we present the generic business process model for both traditional warehouses and smart warehouses. The business modeling process is followed by the architecture design process, whereby we have used architecture viewpoints for modeling the reference architecture. Once the reference architecture is designed, a case study has been used to evaluate the proposed reference architecture. The case study has been conducted at a large warehouse in the food industry and illustrates the overall design method and presents the lessons learned.

Highlights

A warehouse is a building for storing goods for commercial purposes
For supporting the architecture design, first, a thorough domain analysis has been applied, which resulted in a domain model for representing the family of various warehouses
The domain model has been presented as a feature diagram that covers a comprehensive set of common and variant features of warehouses

Summary

Introduction

A warehouse is a building for storing goods for commercial purposes. Warehouses play an important role in the food supply chain and are used by different stakeholders, including manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, and transport businesses.Warehouses are important elements of the logistics industry because their operational efficiency determines the operational efficiency of the logistics (Hong-Ying, 2009). A warehouse is a building for storing goods for commercial purposes. Warehouses play an important role in the food supply chain and are used by different stakeholders, including manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, and transport businesses. Warehouses are important elements of the logistics industry because their operational efficiency determines the operational efficiency of the logistics (Hong-Ying, 2009). A warehouse business consists of three parts: the goods entering management, the goods storage management, and the goods distributing management (Yongsheng and Wenling, 2004). Traditional warehouses have several drawbacks such as inefficient space management, damaged material, inefficient operations, over-handling material, and inefficient material handling equipment (e.g., unused expensive forklifts) (Kamali, 2019). Traditional warehouses are warehouses that do not operate efficiently and perform many manual tasks that cause inefficiencies (Kamali, 2019)

Objectives

Methods

Findings

Discussion

Conclusion