i An update to this article is included at the end

Journal of Cleaner Production 388 (2023) 135998

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Journal of Cleaner Production

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jclepro

Research on design and optimization of green warehouse system based on

case analysis
Qiang Ren, Yaoyao Ku, Yiqing Wang, Peng Wu *
Business School, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610065, China

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Handling Editor: Cecilia Maria Villas Bôas de Climate warming is a common concern around the world. Achieving carbon reduction within the warehouse is a
Almeida problem that needs to be addressed in the layout of the green warehouse. This paper builds a soft path model to
study the impact of the improved systematic layout planning method on carbon reduction in warehouses from a
Keywords: low carbon economy perspective. This paper considers two main warehouse layout factors: logistic and non­
Soft path solution
logistic factors. A dual-objective warehouse optimization model is designed by quantifying the relationship
Carbon footprint
between logistic and nonlogistic factors, and the heuristic algorithm is used for simulation optimization. Finally,
Layout optimization
Green warehouse the functional warehouse area is comprehensively evaluated using fuzzy constraint theory. The results show that
Fuzzy constraint theory the established soft path solution optimizes and improves logistics activities such as internal warehouse layout,
material handling strategy, and warehouse management by comparing with the traditional layout method. The
efficiency of warehouse operation, warehouse space utilization, and energy are improved. The goal of reducing
carbon footprints from the warehouse is thus achieved. It is demonstrated that the soft path solution can
minimize warehouse carbon emissions and generate positive synergy in terms of environmental impact. This
study enriches green warehouse layout design procedures and provides a facility optimization technique with the
potential to minimize warehouse carbon emissions, which can help planners combine other green warehouse
management tools to optimize operations and reduce carbon in daily practice.

1. Introduction of transporting goods and provides a more rational layout of warehouse

space. It has become essential to a sustainable supply chain (Amemba
Warehouse operation and management are an essential part of sup­ et al., 2013; Bartolini et al., 2019). Today, the energy consumption of
ply chain management, and the issue of warehouse layout is the key to modern warehouses is an important issue that has not received much
warehouse operation. A reasonable warehouse layout can improve the attention in the scientific community (Baltrėnaitė-Gedienė et al., 2020).
procurement efficiency of enterprises, reduce inventory levels, prevent Several studies have shown that warehousing activities are a significant
delayed delivery, and help enterprises enhance their competitiveness. contributor to greenhouse gas emissions in the supply chain, with the
An inefficient logistics operation mode will result in more energy con­ logistics and transportation activities accounting for approximately 13%
sumption and waste. With the increasing global warming problem, of total global carbon emissions and warehousing activities accounting
achieving a win-win situation with economic development and ecolog­ for approximately 11% of total greenhouse gas emissions generated by
ical and environmental protection has become a proposition that needs the global logistics industry (Kaur and Singh, 2017; Mahalakshmi et al.,
to be solved. Therefore, companies need to explore the impact of supply 2019; World-Economic-Forum, 2016). These figures attest to the
chain activities on greenhouse gas emissions and the environment to importance of greenhouse gas emissions caused by logistics facilities.
achieve sustainable business development (Plambeck, 2012). Amongst This shows that many scholars and practitioners are beginning to focus
other things, green warehouse management plays an essential role in on green and sustainable warehousing (Bartolini et al., 2019; Hasan
developing low-carbon and efficient supply chains (Agyabeng-Mensah et al., 2021). An increasing number of research results on green ware­
et al., 2020; Wahab et al., 2018). houses have emerged, such as reducing the carbon footprint of ware­
As an environmentally friendly type of storage, the green warehouse houses by improving management models (Tavana et al., 2021; Tiwari
minimizes environmental pollution, energy consumption, and the cost et al., 2018), technology and equipment (Lewczuk et al., 2021), and

* Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: [email protected] (Q. Ren), [email protected] (Y. Ku), [email protected] (Y. Wang), [email protected] (P. Wu).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2023.135998
Received 30 July 2022; Received in revised form 30 December 2022; Accepted 9 January 2023
Available online 12 January 2023
0959-6526/© 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Q. Ren et al. Journal of Cleaner Production 388 (2023) 135998

exploring the critical impact of inventory management on focuses on the objective function and model-solving process based on
warehouse-related greenhouse gas emissions (Ali et al., 2022). In the improved SLP method. Section 4 uses the SLP method to obtain a
particular, the use of green technologies such as automation, robots, and preliminary layout plan through a case study, then uses the constructed
intelligent systems in warehousing operations has made an excellent optimization model to optimize the analysis and evaluation of the pre­
contribution to the cleanness and greenness of the warehouse environ­ liminary plan to obtain the best scheme. Section 5 presents this study’s
ment, which further shows that warehouse operations can lead to carbon conclusions and management insights and discusses its limitations.
dioxide emissions (Utama et al., 2020). It is essential to improve the CO2
emissions of warehouse operations by investing in electrical equipment 2. Literature review
and increasing the automation of warehouse operations. However, there
is little discussion on warehouse activities’ environmental impact, such This paper focuses on two streams of literature on green warehouse
as layout optimization, material handling equipment and strategies, and development and warehouse layout optimization methods. We discuss
warehouse management (Chen et al., 2016; Wang et al., 2014). There­ how soft path solutions can have an impact on the environment. The
fore, this paper is focused on the relationship between warehouse in­ preliminary literature review is presented in Table 1.
ternal logistics activities and carbon emissions. It will help managers
plan warehouse layout and internal logistics activities in a more green 2.1. The development of a green warehouse
and reasonable way. At the same time, it is essential for the warehouse to
achieve sustainable development and reduce warehouse carbon Green warehouse as a management concept for integrating and
emissions. implementing environmentally friendly operations. The main goal is to
There are many methods for green warehouse layout, including minimize the warehouse’s greenhouse gas emissions and energy
commonly used mathematical models (Ardjmand et al., 2018; Yang resource consumption’s environmental impact (Bartolini et al., 2019).
et al., 2022), systematic layout planning (abbreviated SLP) (Wiyaratn The importance of sustainable green warehousing to reduce greenhouse
and Watanapa, 2010), algorithm optimization (Hu and Chuang, 2022), gas emissions in the supply chain is becoming increasingly evident as an
and simulation optimization (Arnaout et al., 2017; Derhami et al., increasing number of countries implement carbon-neutral policies.
2020). The SLP method has practical solid application value in compact Therefore, more researchers have focused on this area (Ali et al., 2022;
and standardized system design. However, the traditional SLP method is Mashud et al., 2021). Several scholars have explored ways to reduce
a static layout method with poor quantification capability and accuracy, carbon emissions in warehouses from the perspectives of warehouse
which is easily influenced by the subjective factors of engineers, architecture, space, lighting, and heating facilities and studied the
resulting in different results in the layout process. In addition, the impact of the interaction between warehouse inventory and warehouse
traditional SLP method lacks flow analysis and the nonlogistics rela­ management on the environment (Fichtinger et al., 2015; Füchtenhans
tionship analysis of people or objects during the layout process, which et al., 2021). For example, Onat et al. (2014) assessed the carbon foot­
reduces the efficiency of the warehouse. Therefore, this paper attempts print of buildings throughout their life cycle of construction, use, and
to improve the SLP method by constructing an optimization model that demolition by studying the carbon footprint of residential and com­
minimizes the material handling cost of functional areas with logistics mercial buildings in the United States. Ries et al. (2017) summarized the
relationships and maximizes the sum of the integrated closeness of the influencing factors related to the carbon emissions of United States
functional regions with nonlogistics connections and uses it to quantify warehouses and found that lighting, heating, air conditioning, and other
the functional area layout problem instead of the traditional manual equipment contribute to considerable CO2 emissions. By analyzing these
adjustment method. Since genetic algorithms have proven to have good factors, the carbon footprint of warehouse operations was systematically
performance in warehouse layout optimization problems (Hu and assessed. Similarly, Füchtenhans et al. (2021) used a simulation model
Chuang, 2022), In the evaluation stage of the scheme, we add the flow to evaluate the impact of an intelligent lighting system on reducing
analysis (mainly refers to the study of physical flow) to adjust and energy consumption and improving the warehouse environment. Cook
improve the optimized scheme, to get the best scheme. Therefore, this and Sproul (2011) researched warehouses in Australia and found that
paper establishes a soft path model for warehouse layout optimization greenhouse gas emissions could be effectively reduced by modifying the
by combining mathematical modeling and kinetic analysis on the building design and size of the warehouse space. The British Warehouse
traditional SLP method. Association reported in a study that 65% of the energy in a warehouse is
In summary, this paper constructs a soft path solution for green used for lighting, followed by 12% for heating, thus finding that lighting
warehouse layout optimization by combining traditional SLP methods produces a large amount of CO2 (Fichtinger et al., 2015). Perotti et al.
with mathematical models and kinetic analysis to explore warehouse (2022) construct a structured model for quantifying the greenhouse
layout planning and management in a low-carbon economy and help the gases consumed and generated by warehouses and thus conducts an
warehousing industry achieve its carbon neutrality goal. Therefore, this environmental assessment of logistics sites. This study promotes
paper investigates how the SLP approach affects the warehouse’s in­ research in the field of green warehouses and also provides strong
ternal activities and, thus, the warehouse’s carbon footprint. This paper support for the quantitative analysis of warehouse carbon emissions.
aims to answer the following questions. In addition to studying the external carbon emissions of warehouses,
it is equally important to consider the carbon footprint of warehouses
(1) What improvements have been made to the traditional SLP when designing and optimizing warehouse layouts. Because of the en­
approach, and how have these improvements been designed and ergy consumption and waste caused by internal logistics factors in
optimized for a green warehouse layout? warehouses, some scholars designed simulation experiments to reduce
(2) What is the connection between the activities within the ware­ the time and cost of the order selection process, as well as the storage
house and carbon reduction in the warehouse? and distribution policies of warehouses, to study the energy problems in
(3) What is the impact of warehouse layout optimization on carbon warehouses (Burinskiene et al., 2018; Li et al., 2020). Some scholars also
emission reduction, and why is it essential for green warehouses evaluate the carbon footprint of warehouse logistics activities by
to achieve low carbon emissions? comparing different types of materials and equipment (Boenzi et al.,
(4) What role do soft path solutions play in environmental impact, 2017; Facchini et al., 2016). Similarly, research has shown that in­
especially regarding warehouse carbon reduction? ventory management is crucial in warehouse-related greenhouse gas
emissions to reduce the environmental impact by improving the effi­
This paper is organized as follows. Section 2 presents a literature ciency of inventory management and warehousing processes (Arıkan
review of green warehouse layout optimization methods. Section 3 et al., 2014). Meanwhile, Lewczuk et al. (2021) found that the carbon

2
Q. Ren et al. Journal of Cleaner Production 388 (2023) 135998

Table 1
Literature review: Main contributions examined.
Authors External factors Internal activities Major Research

Architecture space lighting heating logistics Warehouse Inventory

facilities activities layout management

Fichtinger et al. ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ This paper developed a warehouse carbon emission

(2015) assessment model to analyze the environmental impact
of warehousing and material handling activities.
Arıkan et al. ✓ ✓ Simulations based on empirical data then investigated
(2014) the relationship between uncertainty and the economic
and environmental performance of the supply chain.
Füchtenhans ✓ Intelligent lighting systems can reduce warehouse
et al. (2021) energy consumption and thus minimize warehouse
carbon emissions.
Onat et al. ✓ A study of the carbon footprint of U.S. buildings using a
(2014) life-cycle approach.
Ries et al. ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ A systematic review of the latest advances in green
(2017) warehousing and a discussion of the environmental
impact of warehouse operations.
Cook and Sproul ✓ ✓ ✓ Analysis of energy consumption in retail warehouse
(2011) buildings.
Perotti et al. ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ The warehouse’s energy consumption and
(2022) environmental performance were quantitatively
assessed by building a structured model.
Li et al. (2020) ✓ ✓ ✓ New storage strategies are proposed to solve the energy
consumption problem during warehouse operations.
Facchini et al. ✓ ✓ An environmental assessment model was developed to
(2016) study how trams can reduce the carbon footprint of
material handling equipment.
Ene et al. (2016) ✓ ✓ Genetic algorithm based on order picking optimization
for evaluating energy consumption in warehouse
operations.
Liu et al. (2021) ✓ ✓ An energy consumption calculation model was
developed to estimate the warehouse’s energy
consumption caused by shuttles.
Carli et al. ✓ ✓ Building an optimization model improved the impact of
(2020) material handling activities on the warehouse
environment.

Warehouse logistics activities: inbound, storage, picking, distribution, and other warehouse processes and material handling equipment and other activities.

footprint depends on the inventory turnover of goods in the warehouse. efficiency of warehouse operations and reduce handling time. For these
Improving logistics activities in the warehouse can improve the envi­ reasons, the layout of functional warehouse areas, storage strategies,
ronment and sustainability of the supply chain. Therefore, it can be seen handling routes, and order-picking processes have received considerable
that the internal movements of the warehouse also generate carbon attention in the warehouse layout literature. However, the traditional
emissions, and the generation of carbon dioxide emissions in ware­ SLP method has limitations such as significant errors, lack of flexibility,
houses can be reduced by improving the interior layout and logistics and neglect of material flow analysis to adjust the scheme (Wang and Mi,
activities of warehouses. Therefore, warehouse layout optimization and 2010). When using the SLP method for warehouse layout optimization
design are critical to reducing the carbon footprint of warehouses and research, the traditional SLP method is a static layout method with poor
developing a low-carbon supply chain. quantification capability and accuracy that is easily disturbed by human
factors. In this regard, Luo et al. (2019) improved the SLP method by
constructing a multiobjective planning model for logistics parks’ func­
2.2. Warehouse layout optimization methods tional areas and verified the method’s feasibility using genetic algo­
rithms. The same improved method was also applied to optimize the
As a typical method of warehouse layout optimization, the SLP passenger ship cabin layout, and good results were achieved (Li et al.,
method is often used to improve the layout and logistics activities within 2021; Su et al., 2020).
the warehouse. Among the literature on warehouse layout optimization From the literature review, it can also be seen that research on green
methods, the literature on the SLP approach dates to the 1960s, when warehouses has focused on warehouse-building attributes and equip­
the SLP approach was first applied to corporate facilities by Muther in ment. However, research on the pathways and strategies by which in­
1961 (Ali Naqvi et al., 2016; Foulds, 1983). Since the SLP method is ternal warehouse activities (e.g., warehouse layout, logistics activities,
highly logical and a practical arrangement technique, it has been widely and warehouse management) affect carbon emissions has not been
used in facility layouts. Factory layout optimization (Gao et al., 2022), considered in detail. And there is a lack of reasonable and standardized
hospitals (Lin et al., 2015), cabin placement (Su et al., 2020), and lo­ methods to optimize the environmental impact of activities in the
gistics workshop facilities (Hu and Chuang, 2022) have achieved good warehouse. Therefore, this paper proposes a soft path solution to the
benefits and results. Regarding warehouse layout optimization, Hu and green warehouse layout optimization problem. Further discussion and
Chuang (2022) use the SLP method combined with genetic algorithms to evaluation of how the solution improves and optimizes the internal
optimize the layout of an e-commerce warehouse. The results show that activities of the warehouse to achieve carbon reduction in the ware­
the method can reduce the company’s material handling costs and house. This paper not only enriches the literature research on green
improve picking efficiency. Thus, the SLP method has developed as one warehouse layout optimization. At the same time, it also helps promote
of the classic paths in facility planning as a primary procedure model. enterprises to rationally plan the layout of warehouses and internal lo­
The literature on warehouse design and optimization is extensive. Much gistics activities and further promote the sustainable operation of green
of the research in this area is motivated by the need to improve the

3
Q. Ren et al. Journal of Cleaner Production 388 (2023) 135998

warehouses. This paper has the following contributions. According to the actual needs of enterprises, it will be divided into n
areas of the warehouse, each area as a functional area. The space
(1) This paper uses an improved SLP approach to optimize the occupied by each functional area ai is represented by Si . Each functional
environmental impact of internal warehouse activities (e.g., area can be placed in any part of the warehouse, and all the functional
material handling strategies, functional area layout, personnel, area layout programs can be obtained. Consider all scenarios as an R-set.
and machine movements). It discusses how the improved SLP This paper is based on the actual situation of the warehouse. The
approach can reduce warehouse carbon emissions, which will warehouse is viewed as a giant coordinate plane, and the lower-left
contribute to the continued development of green warehousing. corner of the warehouse boundary intersection is the origin of the Car­
In this paper, we optimize and improve the logistics activities tesian coordinate system. The sides of each functional area are parallel
within the warehouse by establishing soft path solutions to to the X and Y axes. The warehouse goods are right-angle handling
reduce carbon emissions. This study enriches the literature on routes. According to the warehouse layout optimization problem
carbon emission reduction within warehouses and provides a description and related assumptions, the meanings of the variables and
perspective on warehouse carbon reduction in the supply chain. parameters in the model are further clarified. For each parameter, see
(2) A soft path model for warehouse layout optimization was Table 2.
developed using a dual-objective optimization model instead of
tedious manual adjustments to the traditional SLP method and
incorporated a dynamic line analysis. The feasibility of the 3.2. Objective function
method is verified by combining it with case studies. The ware­
house design procedure is enriched. First, in the objective function dominated by logistics relationships,
this study assumes that the warehouse has n functional areas, and X
3. Model formulation denotes one of all feasible solutions for the layout of the functional areas
of the warehouse. The following is shown below.
3.1. Framework and notations ⎡ ⎤
f11 (x) f12 (x) ⋯ f1n (x)
⎢ f21 (x) f22 (x) ⋯ f2n (x) ⎥
This paper constructs a soft path model for warehouse layout opti­ f (x) = ⎢
⎣ ⋮
⎥ (1)
⋮ ⋯ ⋮ ⎦
mization with minimal material handling cost (Z1 ) between functional fn1 (x) fn2 (x) ⋯ fnn (x)
areas dominated by logistics relationships and maximum integrated
interrelationships (Z2 ) between functional areas dominated by non­ ⎡
d11 (x) d12 (x) ⋯ d1n (x)
⎤
logistics relationships in the existing research (Erik and Kuvvetli, 2021; ⎢ d21 (x) d22 (x) ⋯ d2n (x) ⎥
Harmonosky and Tothero, 2007; Hu and Chuang, 2022; Li et al., 2019).
⎢
d(x) = ⎣ ⎥ (2)
⋮ ⋮ ⋯ ⋮ ⎦
The program diagram of the SLP method is shown in Fig. 1. dn1 (x) dn2 (x) ⋯ dnn (x)
Suppose the warehouse layout is rectangular and has an area S.
Eq. (1) represents the set of flows under all X schemes. Eq. (2)

Fig. 1. Comparison of the general procedure diagram of the SLP method, the conventional SLP method flow chart indicated by (a), and the improved SLP method
flow chart shown by (b).

4
Q. Ren et al. Journal of Cleaner Production 388 (2023) 135998

Table 2
⃒ ⃒ [ ( )]
Description of sets and parameters. ⃒yi − yj ⃒ ≥ 1 wi Pi + li (1 − Pi ) + wj Pi + lj 1 − Pj + Qij (7)
2
parameters Description
⃒ ⃒ [ ( )]
I, j Number of the functional area(ⅈ; j = 1, 2, 3⋯¸n) ⃒yi − yj ⃒ ≥ 1 wi Pi + li (1 − Pi ) + wj Pi + lj 1 − Pj + Qij (8)
xi , yi The center coordinates the functional area ai 2
xj , yj The center coordinates the functional area aj
ai , aj Functional Area 1 1
[li Pi + wi (1 − Pi )] ≤ xi ≤ L − [li Pi + wi (1 − Pi )] (9)
l i , wi The length and width of the functional area ai 2 2
Z1 The sum of logistics and transportation costs between functional areas
Z2 The sum of comprehensive correlation relationships between 1 1
functional areas [wi Pi + li (1 − Pi )] ≤ yi ≤ W − [wi Pi + li (1 − Pi )] (10)
2 2
Qij Minimum distance from the functional area to the boundary. Where i, j
represents the number of the functional regions, i∕=j. ( )
1 1 1 1
D Represents a fixed area arranged in the functional warehouse area xi − li , xi + li , yi − wi , yi + wi ∈∕ D ⅈ = 1，2，3…，n (11)
fij The logistics flow matrix between functional area ai and functional 2 2 2 2
area aj
dij The distance matrix between the functional area ai and functional area xi + li ≤ L; yi + wi ≤ W (12)
aj
c The logistics and transportation cost per unit distance where: Eq. (6) represents the total area of the functional warehouse area
L The total length of the layout area, corresponding to the X-axis
is less than that of the planned area. Eq.s (7) and (8) describe the
W The total width of the layout area, corresponding to the Y-axis
dmax The maximum distance between the length and width of the functional areas that cannot overlap in the X and Y directions. Eq.s (9)
warehouse and (10) are used as functional area boundary constraints to ensure that
Kij The correlation factor of closeness and distance under the influence of each functional area of the warehouse cannot exceed the planned area.
non-logistic factors. Where i, j represents the number of functional And Eq. (11) is used as a fixed constraint to ensure that other arrange­
areas, i∕
=j.
m Non-logistics influence factor number (m = 1, 2, 3⋯, n)
ments are not considered in the designated area.
φm Weights of non-logistics influence m Second, in the objective function dominated by the nonlogistics
gⅈjm The single correlation degree between functional area ai and relationship, this study fully considers the influence of the nonlogistics
functional area aj under non-logistics influencing factor m relationship of the functional area on the warehouse layout. It focuses on
β1 , β2 The normalization factor of the objective function
the analysis of the material flow line. Since the functional area non­
P The penalty value for violation of the constraint Eq. (12)
λx The number of functional regions in the chromosome does not
logistics relationship lacks quantitative analysis and calculation, this
correspond to Eq. (12) paper establishes an evaluation system by analyzing the influence fac­
A The maximum adjacency degree of the functional area ai and tors in the nonlogistics relationship and assigning reasonable values
functional area aj according to the degree of influence of the influence factors on the
nonlogistics relationship. The steps are as follows.
⃒
represents the set of distances under all X schemes, where dij = ⃒xi −
⃒ ⃒ ⃒ ⃒ Step 1: Based on the previous literature and the actual situation of
⃒
xj ⃒ + ⃒yi − yj ⃒. According to Eq. (1) and Eq. (2), the expression of the the warehouse, this paper determines eight factors that affect the
logistics handling cost under the X scenario can be further obtained. nonlogistics relationship of the warehouse (Lee et al., 2003; Li, H.
et al., 2021; Singh and Singh, 2009). And assign reasonable values to
n ∑
∑ n
Z1 = c f (x)d(x) (3) these influencing factors to determine their weights. as shown in
i=1 j=1 Table 3. The sum of the weights of all factors in the table is 1.
Step 2: The nonlogistics relationship between functional areas is
Eq. (3) represents the material handling costs between the functional
divided according to the level of closeness. Relevant experts and
areas of the warehouse with the primary logistics relationship. When Z1
industry staff score different influencing factors to obtain the cor­
is the smallest, the arrangement scheme of X is the best scheme,
relation scale of each nonlogistics relationship, as shown in Appendix
expressed by C(Z1 ). Therefore, the first objective function of this model
Table A1.
can be obtained as in Eq. (4).
Step 3: The correlation degree Gij of interrelationships under the
{ }
∑n ∑ n influence of nonlogistic factors is calculated based on the results of
C(Z1 ) = c f (x)d(x) (4) the above two steps. Furthermore, the correlation with G(x) is
i=1 j=1
calculated for the influencing factors of nonlogistics relationships
In addition, there are usually two placement methods in the layout of between functional warehouse areas.
functional warehouse areas: upright and horizontal. Based on this, this
Gij = φ1 ⋅g1ij + φ2 ⋅g2ij + ⋯ + φm ⋅gmij (13)
article sets a 0–1 variable to indicate the placement of the functional
area. At the same time, it is assumed that the length and width of the
functional area remain unchanged when arranged horizontally, and the
height and width are interchanged when placed vertically.
Table 3
{
0, the functional area is erected Nonlogistics influencing factors and weights.
Pi = (5)
1, the functional area is laid out horizontally Number Nonlogistics influencing factors Weight

Eq. (5) represents the two arrangements of the functional warehouse 1 Continuity of workflow φ1
area. For the sake of calculation, this paper assumes that all functional 2 Similarity of stored items φ2
3 Similarity of operating conditions between functional areas
areas are erected during the model solution process, that is, Pi = 0. The
φ3
4 Order similarity φ4
constraints of the model are as follows: 5 Similarity of used equipment φ5
6 Frequency and urgency of services φ6
∑
n
Si ≤ S (6) 7 Convenience in supervision and management φ7
i=1 8 Inflammable, explosive, noise, and other external φ8
environmental factors such as warehouses
φ1 + φ2 + φ3 + φ4 + φ5 + φ6 + φ7 + φ8 = 1

5
Q. Ren et al. Journal of Cleaner Production 388 (2023) 135998

⎡ ⎤
G11 (x) G12 (x) ⋯ G1n (x) n ∑
∑ n ∑
n ∑
n
⎢ G21 (x) [ ]
G21 (x) ⋯ G2n (x) ⎥
⎢
G(x) = ⎣ ⎥ (14) min Z3 = β1 Z1 + β2 Z2 = β1 c f (x)d(x) + β2 A − Kij Gij (x)
⋮ ⋮ ⋯ ⋮ ⎦ i=1 j=1 i=1 j=1
Gn1 (x) Gn1 (x) ⋯ Gnn (x) + λx P
Eq. (13) represents the correlation of interrelationships under the (20)
influence of nonlogistics factors. Eq. (14) represents the correlation of
Eq. (18) represents the single objective function after processing. Eq.
nonlogistics relationship influence factors between functional ware­
(19) represents the penalty function. This paper assumes that β1 : β2 =
house areas.
1:1. Eq. (20) represents the final objective function obtained by
conversion.
Step 4: According to the relationship between distance and closeness
between functional areas, it was found that the further the distance
between two functional areas, the lower the correspondence be­ 3.3. Model solution
tween functional areas, and the smaller the Kij value. The closer the
distance between two functional areas is, the higher the closeness Heuristic algorithms often solve facility layout optimization prob­
between functional areas, and the larger the Kij value (Lee et al., lems (Liu et al., 2020; Zhu et al., 2018). Facing the problem of uncer­
2003), where [0, dmax] was divided into six subregions, and the tainty in the facility planning and design process, a study related to
inter-functional area was judged according to Kij relevance. The dynamic stochastic facility layout was conducted (Tayal et al., 2017).
details are shown in Table 4. Some scholars use genetic algorithms (Li et al., 2019) or ant colony al­
Step 5: Based on the definition of the association factor Kij in Table 4, gorithms (Arnaout et al., 2017). to research facility planning and layout
the total value of association degree H(x). It is calculated for each optimization by establishing multiobjective functions. The genetic al­
functional area. An objective function is built with the theme of non- gorithm is not dependent on the specific domain of the problem and has
logistic relations. strong robustness to the type of the problem (Ene et al., 2016; Katoch
∑
n ∑
n et al., 2021). Therefore, this paper uses the genetic algorithm to solve
H(x) = Kij Gij (x) (15) the model. The algorithm flow of the genetic algorithm is designed as
i j
shown in Fig. 2.
The procedure of the genetic algorithm is as follows.
n ∑
∑ n
C(Z2 ) = max Kij Gij (x) (16)
i j

Eq. (15) represents the total value of correlations between functional

areas. When the value of H(x) is more prominent, it indicates that the
layout is more reasonable. Eq. (16) represents the objective function
under the nonlogistics relationship.
In summary, two objective functions for warehouse layout optimi­
zation are constructed in this paper, as shown in Eq. (17).
⎧ { }
∑n ∑ n
⎪
⎪ C(Z1 ) = c f (x)d(x)
⎪
⎨
(17)
i=1 j=1
⎪
⎪ ∑n ∑ n
⎪
⎩ C(Z2 ) = max Kij Gij (x)
i j

Since using the same constraint objective function to find the

maximum and minimum values will conflict, the objective function
needs to be processed to convert the dual objective function into a single
objective function that is easy to solve. Then the objective function is
normalized.
n ∑
∑ n ∑
n ∑
n
[ ]
min Z3 = β1 Z1 + β2 Z2 = β1 c f (x)d(x) + β2 A − Kij Gij (x)
i=1 j=1 i=1 j=1

(18)

ρ(x) = λx P (19)

Table 4
Definition of related factors of functional area.
The distance range between functional areas Corresponding degree of correlation
(dij ) (Kij )

0 < dij ≤ dmax/6 1.0

dmax/6 < dij ≤ dmax/3 0.8
dmax/3 < dij ≤ dmax/2 0.6
dmax/2 < dij ≤ 2dmax/3 0.4
2dmax/3 < dij ≤ 5dmax/6 0.2
5d max/6 < dij ≤ dmax 0
Fig. 2. Genetic algorithm calculation process.

6
Q. Ren et al. Journal of Cleaner Production 388 (2023) 135998

Step 1: Chromosome coding. This paper uses a combination of of the functional areas, the functional areas of the warehouse are
symbolic coding and binary coding to encode the chromosomes, and numbered in this paper, as shown in Appendix Table A2.
each chromosome represents a facility arrangement scheme in the The material handling procedure in the warehouse is as follows. The
genetic algorithm. To facilitate the calculation and analysis, the supplier delivers the goods to the warehouse according to the super­
order of the functional areas of the warehouse arrangement in this market order requirements. First, the vehicle is parked in the inbound
paper adopts the principle of sequential performance from left to area, and the goods are unloaded. The goods are checked and inspected
right and from bottom to top. The functional areas that peers cannot according to the order in the goods handling area, and if the goods are
arrange are arranged in the next row. not tested, they are sent directly to the reverse logistics area. Next, the
Step 2: Parameters and initial populations. The size of each popu­ qualified products are sorted according to the characteristics of the
lation N, initial population size pop− size, crossover probability Pc , goods and loaded into designated containers (such as pallets). Finally,
mutation probability Pm , maximum iteration max− gen, and a ran­ the goods are placed in the corresponding storage and management
domized approach was used to generate the initial populations. area. When each supermarket sends an order demand, the warehouse
Step 3: Fitness function. In this paper, the minimization problem is sorts the goods according to the whole truck order principle and the
used. Therefore, the fitness function of the chromosome is obtained urgent order priority principle. If found, unqualified goods are put into
by combining Eq. (20) as follows. the reverse logistics area, and qualified goods are sent to the outgoing
warehouse area for loading and distribution. The logistics flow analysis
1
Fitness− F = n ∑
∑ n ∑ n [
n ∑ ] (21) among the internal functional areas of the warehouse is shown in Fig. 3.
β1 c f (x)d(x) + β2 A − Kij Gij (x) + λx P
4.2. Experimental results
i=1 j=1 i=1 j=1

Eq. (21) represents the fitness function.

4.2.1. Analysis of the close relationships among warehouse function areas
Step 4: Selection. This paper uses the roulette selection method to This paper uses the SLP method to analyze the close relationships
select individuals according to superiority and inferiority. If the among this warehouse’s functional areas, including functional area lo­
termination condition is satisfied, the optimal solution is obtained, gistics relationship analysis and functional area nonlogistics relationship
and the resolution of this algorithm is finished. If the termination analysis. First, we analyze the functional area logistics relationships of
condition is not met, the algorithm goes to the next step, as shown in this warehouse. The essential need is to calculate the functional area
Eq. (22). logistics intensity, which can be expressed in terms of the material flow
magnitude. The logistics intensity can be divided into five levels ac­
Fitness− Fi
Pi = (22) cording to the importance of the material flow between functional areas.
∑
M
Fi Therefore, we can calculate the logistics intensity summary table, as
i
shown in Appendix Table A3.
Eq. (22) represents the probability of being selected for an inheri­ Since the main functional area of the warehouse has a logistics
tance to the next generation, where M represents the population size and relationship with the auxiliary functional area, the material flow is less,
i the individual. so the logistics intensity level of the main functional area is set as U. All
other logistics relationships without descriptions are set as U. Therefore,
Step 5: Crossover. The chromosomes that can be crossed are selected we can draw the warehouse functional area logistics relationship-related
according to specific crossover probabilities and crossover methods, diagram, as shown in Fig. 4 (a).
and the chromosomes are allowed to match and cross over to obtain Second, the nonlogistics relationships between the functional areas
new individuals. of the warehouse, such as frequent walking between employees, infor­
Step 6: Variation. The chromosome to be mutated is selected ac­ mation transfer, interpersonal communication, and other activities, and
cording to a specific mutation probability and mutation model for people and equipment shuttling in the equipment area, storage area,
the mutation operation, and a new individual is obtained. office area, and other areas of nonlogistics ties also have an impact on
Step 7: Stop. The change in the objective function determines the optimization of the warehouse layout. The connections among them
whether the genetic inheritance is over. If the curve gradually con­ cannot be ignored. Since the nonlogistics relationship assessment
verges, it reaches the optimum and stops the search work of the indices and interrelationships cannot be calculated quantitatively, the
genetic algorithm. Otherwise, it continues to return to Step 2 for degree of closeness of the nonlogistics relationships among functional
recalculation. Finally, MATLAB software is used to optimize the areas can be determined only qualitatively by giving assessment reasons,
solution. which have been described in detail in the previous Table 4 and Ap­
pendix Table A1. Combined with the actual situation of the warehouse,
4. Numerical experiments further analysis of the nonlogistics relevance of the functional areas of
the warehouse is shown in Appendix A4. The level of the unimportant
In this section, case studies are used to verify the validity of the interrelationships between functional areas can be represented by U,
proposed model and algorithm. Section 4.1 describes a real case. Section which is not listed in this paper. Therefore, we can draw a correlation
4.2 discusses the results obtained using the traditional SLP approach. diagram of the nonlogistics relationships of the functional areas of the
Section 4.3 uses a genetic algorithm to solve the optimization model warehouse, as shown in Fig. 4 (b).
developed in the previous section, and we compare the original plan Finally, the comprehensive interrelationship analysis of the func­
with the optimized plan. tional area of the warehouse is obtained by the logistics relationship and
nonlogistics relationship by a certain ratio. This paper assumes that the
logistics and nonlogistics relationship are equally important, so it is 1:1.
4.1. Test case Thus, the comprehensive relationship correlation table of the functional
area of the warehouse can be calculated, as shown in Appendix A5.
A real case validates the proposed model and algorithm in this sub­ Therefore, we can draw a correlation diagram of the integrated inter­
section. This paper takes a retail warehouse as the object of study. The relationship of the functional areas of the warehouse, as shown in Fig. 4
warehouse size is 75 m × 20 m, and the warehouse is a one-story (c).
structure that can be divided into 11 main functional areas (The data
comes from enterprise research). To facilitate the analysis of the layout

7
Q. Ren et al. Journal of Cleaner Production 388 (2023) 135998

Fig. 3. The whole process of internal logistics of the warehouse.

- - - -

Fig. 4. Warehouse functional area correlation diagram, (a) indicates logistics interrelationship diagram, (b) indicates non-logistics interrelationship diagram and (c)
indicates comprehensive interrelationship diagram obtained from logistics interrelationship and non-logistics interrelationship.

4.2.2. Functional area location and spatial relationship map Fig. 7.

After determining the comprehensive interrelationships of the According to Fig. 7, the function curve tends to stabilize when the
functional areas of the warehouse, we use the relationship table method number of iterations of the genetic algorithm is the 136th generation, so
to obtain further the preliminary location of the warehouse correlation the optimal solution can be considered to be reached. The optimal re­
map and warehouse functional area relationship checklist (The data sults of the functional area of the warehouse are shown in Table A7 in
comes from enterprise research), as shown in Appendix A6. This allows the Annex. As a result, we can obtain the floor plan of the optimized
obtaining the initial arrangement scheme of the warehouse without scheme. To facilitate comparative analysis, we simplified the original
area. It is shown in Fig. 5. system and optimization schedule obtained by using the optimization
Therefore, without considering the area of the aisles required for model of the warehouse, as shown in Fig. 8.
handling goods and the flow of personnel, the preliminary layout design As shown in Fig. 8, comparing the original scheme with the opti­
is obtained in combination with the area of the functional areas inside mization scheme reveals significant changes. First, the optimization
the warehouse, as shown in Fig. 6. scheme uses a U-shaped material flow line layout instead of the original
scheme’s L-shaped material flow line layout. It sets the warehouse’s
4.3. Optimization results and evaluation outbound and inbound storage on the same side. Second, the optimi­
zation scheme changes the location of the functional areas of the
In this paper, the model is solved and optimized using MATLAB warehouse according to the characteristics and attributes of the goods
software. The parameters of the genetic algorithm in this paper are similar or close to the correlation of goods set close, such as the food and
shown in Table 5. The iteration diagram of the run results is shown in beverage storage area (Number 4) and fresh vegetable storage area

8
Q. Ren et al. Journal of Cleaner Production 388 (2023) 135998

often used to solve facility layout problems (Gai and Ji, 2019; Lin et al.,
2015). For example, fuzzy constraint theory can be combined with SLP
to design and optimize the layout of hospital operating room facilities.
This paper compares the difference between the original solution and
the optimization method solution. We use fuzzy constraint theory to
evaluate and analyze warehouse functional area layout schemes quan­
titatively. In addition, to more scientifically and rationally design and
optimize the warehouse’s layout, warehouse managers hope that the
warehouse has high operational efficiency and high space utilization
and is easy to manage and promote. Therefore, a comprehensive eval­
uation of the program was conducted by setting up five aspects of
warehouse operation efficiency: warehouse space utilization, storage
efficiency, warehouse environment, labor satisfaction, and the suit­
ability and compatibility of the layout. We adopt expert consultation
combined with a questionnaire survey and other methods to score the
group in the form of a questionnaire survey. The group mainly comprises
front-line employees with warehouse management experience and ex­
perts in operations management. The evaluation factors were first
Fig. 5. No area initial arrangement scheme.
graded, as shown in Table 6.
Regarding warehouse operation efficiency, the optimization pro­
gram material flow line uses a U-shaped arrangement. The inbound and
outbound areas are set on the same side. In contrast, the strong rela­
tionship between the storage area close to the account (such as the
handling area and picking area), so the optimization program rating for
“E” grade, the original program material flow line for L-shaped
arrangement, the warehouse operation efficiency is low, so for “I”
grade.
From the consideration of warehouse space utilization, the optimi­
zation program fully considers the nonlogistics factors inside the ware­
house, emphasizes the flexibility of arrangements between functional
areas, the internal operating environment of the warehouse, and the
safety of personnel and facilities, and adjusts the functional areas to
make full use of the interior space of the warehouse. Therefore, the
rating is “E”. The original program did not make reasonable use of the
internal space of the warehouse at the beginning of the design, resulting
in more idleness, so it is an “I” grade.
From the energy efficiency consideration, the optimization scheme is
readjusted according to the commodity characteristics and attributes,
and the proximity or closely related aspect is arranged to reduce the
Fig. 6. Preliminary layout of the functional areas of the warehouse based on order pick-up time and the carbon footprint generated by the operation
the SLP method. activities (Accorsi et al., 2017; Tiwari et al., 2018), so the optimization
scheme is grade “I” and the original scheme is grade “O”.
From the consideration of the warehouse environment and employee
Table 5 satisfaction, the optimization scheme adopts a U-shaped material flow
Genetic algorithm environment parameters. line, which emphasizes the distinction between humans and logistics,
Parameters Values reduces unnecessary cross-collision in the process of warehouse opera­
Initial population size pop− size 100 tion, and improves the working environment of the office and ware­
Crossover probability Pc 0.8 house, so it is an “E” grade. Nevertheless, the original scheme easily
Mutation probability Pm 0.05 produces a cross, an “I” grade.
Maximum number of iterations max− gen 200
Considering the applicability and compatibility of the layout, both
Larger penalty value p 500
Weighting value β1 0.5
schemes reserve enough space for alteration or another backup, so it is
Weighting value β2 0.5 an “E” grade. These results are shown in Fig. 9.
Length L 75 As shown in the results in Fig. 9, the optimization scheme has
Width W 20 significantly improved warehouse operation efficiency, space utiliza­
Logistics handling costs c 1
tion, energy efficiency, warehouse environment, and labor satisfaction
compared with the original scheme. Therefore, we consider the opti­
(Number 6), the handling area (Number 2) and reverse logistics area mization scheme superior to the original solution.
(Number 8), the picking area (Number 7) and equipment area (Number
9), the picking place (Number 7) and outbound area (Number 10), and 5. Discussion
the operation area (Number 2) and inbound area (Number 1). Finally,
the optimization scheme arranges the functional areas with high mate­ In this work, we found some valuable conclusions using fuzzy deci­
rial flow near the outbound (Number 10) and inbound (Number 1) sion theory to compare two scenarios. It is worth discussing these
storage areas, such as the operation area (Number 2), picking area exciting facts revealed by the results of the optimization scheme, which
(Number 7), equipment area (Number 9) and office (Number 11). is better than the original scheme.
Evaluation of facility layout options using fuzzy constraint theory is This is reflected in the optimization scheme based on the optimiza­
tion model performing better than the original scheme regarding

9
Q. Ren et al. Journal of Cleaner Production 388 (2023) 135998

Fig. 7. Genetic algorithm running iteration diagram.

Fig. 8. Comparison chart between the original scheme and optimization scheme. (a) presents the plan of the original system and (b) shows the goal of the optimized
method obtained using a genetic algorithm.

Table 6
Evaluation levels and scores.
Grade Meaning Grade score Weighted value

A Close to perfection 4 0.4

E Especially good 3 0.2
I Achieving key results 2 0.2
O Average effect 1 0.1
U Poor results 0 0.1

warehouse operational efficiency, warehouse space utilization, ware­

house environment, and labor satisfaction. Using a U-shaped material
flow line layout is more sustainable and convenient than an L-shaped
one under the objective function of minimum cost. This is because the
design of the warehouse personnel, equipment, and materials, can be
centralized arrangements, with unified coordination of operations, Fig. 9. Comparison of the evaluation of the original scheme and the opti­
reducing the warehouse waste due to the same time in and out of the mized scheme.
goods brought about by the dispersion of personnel and equipment
operations, to improve the efficiency of warehouse operations.
analysis to adjust the feedback opinions to the new plan for dynamic
In addition, studies have shown that arranging items that are simi­
modification and improvement by this principle. This increases the
larly or closely related according to their characteristics and attributes
flexibility of warehouse planning, reduces the probability of collisions
close to each other can facilitate staff picking up goods and reduce order
between personnel and equipment during operations, and makes
picking time and the carbon footprint generated by operational activ­
changes promptly according to warehouse development needs. We
ities (Bartolini et al., 2019; Dukic et al., 2010). We use material flow line

10
Q. Ren et al. Journal of Cleaner Production 388 (2023) 135998

found that the flow of goods in the larger functional areas is arranged in efficiency and cost of the green warehouse. The established soft path
the outgoing and incoming storage areas around the location (see solution is applied to supply chain sustainability from a low-carbon
Fig. 8). This layout avoids goods being far from the outgoing and economy perspective.
incoming storage caused by inappropriate handling, easy-to-cross This paper developed a soft path solution based on the traditional
routes, and other problems that occur, effectively improving the turn­ warehouse layout optimization method. The solution replaces the con­
over rate of warehouse operations. At the same time, some studies have ventional cumbersome manual adjustment by establishing a dual-
found that long-distance transportation is the highest carbon-emitting objective optimization model and setting constraints to overcome the
aspect of activities within the warehouse, but by reducing the trans­ errors and uncertainties that individual subjective factors may cause. It
portation distance, energy consumption can be reduced, which in turn also incorporates material flow line analysis to provide dynamic feed­
affects warehouse carbon emissions (Das et al., 2021; Tiwari et al., back and adjustment to the optimization plan, which improves the
2018). It can be seen that the improvement of warehouse operation flexibility of warehouse layout planning. Combined with the case study,
activities can reduce the carbon footprint of the warehouse (Accorsi a retail enterprise warehouse was studied for layout optimization.
et al., 2017; Bartolini et al., 2019). We believe the optimization scheme Finally, it was confirmed that the soft path solution could improve the
is better than the original scheme. At the same time, efficient warehouse internal layout problem of the warehouse. From the perspective of a
operation efficiency has a positive effect on reducing CO2 emissions and low-carbon economy, the theoretical potential of the SLP approach in
building a green warehouse. reducing carbon emissions generated during warehouse layout and
This paper proposes a soft path solution for green warehouse layout operation is investigated, and through improving and optimizing the
optimization according to SLP. The preliminary scheme is optimized by internal design and management strategies of the warehouse, the goal of
constructing a dual-objective optimization model to minimize material warehouse carbon reduction is thereby achieved.
handling costs for functional areas with logistic relationships and The soft path solution not only optimizes the warehouse facilities but
maximize integrated interrelationships for functional areas with non­ also has a positive synergistic effect on the carbon emission reduction of
logistic connections. The optimized scheme is continuously modified by the warehouse. It provides a new research perspective for the rational
combining the material flow line layout. Finally, the layout scheme is planning of warehouse layout for enterprises under the carbon
evaluated by using fuzzy constraint theory. The method is applied to a neutrality goal to achieve the green warehouse goal. This study not only
specific example. An example verifies the feasibility of this warehouse enriches the literature research on green warehouses but also has
layout optimization model and algorithm. The results show that: the particular management significance. It can help managers weigh
number of iterations is approximately the 136th generation, the objec­ possible conflicts between cost and environment during warehouse
tive function tends to stabilize, the best chromosome is obtained, and management, improve procurement efficiency in supply chain man­
then the optimized layout scheme is obtained. Using fuzzy decision agement, reduce inventory levels, control overall procurement costs,
theory to compare and analyze the scheme, it is found that the optimized and help enhance corporate competitiveness. And further, promote the
warehouse scheme is better than the original scheme, specifically in the development of a low-carbon supply chain. However, this paper also has
warehouse operation efficiency and utilization rate is improved, and the some limitations, such as building a functional model with too many
logistics cost are reduced. assumptions, which leads to an overly idealized model, not considering
SLP is often used to rationalize the workplace in a plant by locating the influence of the access road on the layout. This paper has no further
two areas of high frequency and close logical relationship. However, due analysis on how to measure warehouse carbon emissions and the specific
to the limitations of traditional SLP (Wang and Mi, 2010), it is found that carbon emissions. Coupled with space limitations, material flow analysis
the optimization scheme obtained by using a mathematical model and is not covered in detail, which is one of the limitations of this paper. In
material flow-line analysis and introducing fuzzy constraint theory to addition, the level of warehouse automation, green I.T., and electrical
evaluate the facility layout scheme is more reasonable. It reduces the equipment investment that affects warehouse carbon emissions also
influence of human subjective factors on the experiment and the needs further study.
possible errors in the results. Numerical experiments demonstrate the
effectiveness of the warehouse optimization model and algorithm pro­ Credit authorship contribution statement
posed in this paper. In addition, the design and optimization of green
warehouse layouts in China’s retail industry are essential for exploring Peng Wu carried out the conception and design of this study, Yaoyao
the planning and management of warehouse layouts in a low-carbon Ku and Yiqing Wang carried out the material preparation and data
economy and helping the warehouse industry achieve its carbon processing, and the draft of the paper was written by Qiang Ren. Peng
neutrality target. Wu was responsible for providing financial support and revisions. All
authors carefully revised and commented on the manuscript. All authors
6. Conclusion read and approved the final manuscript.

From the perspective of a low-carbon economy, the environmental

impact analysis of warehouse internal activities is of great significance Declaration of competing interest
to the realization of a green and sustainable supply chain. However, the
literature review found that the existing research lacks research on how The authors declare that they have no known competing financial
the internal activities of green warehouses (such as warehouse layout, interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence
material handling equipment, processes, and warehouse management) the work reported in this paper.
affect the pathways and strategies of carbon emissions. And there is a
lack of reasonable and standardized methods to optimize the environ­ Data availability
mental impact of activities inside warehouses. Therefore, this paper
proposes a soft path solution for the green warehouse layout optimiza­ Data will be made available on request.
tion problem with dynamic characteristics and qualitative and structural
decision variables. It is further discussed and evaluated how this solu­ Acknowledgment
tion can improve and optimize the internal activities of the warehouse
and thus achieve carbon reduction in the warehouse. The model con­ We appreciate the publication of this article by the funding support
siders the logistical factors within the warehouse, nonlogistical re­ from the National Natural Science Foundation of China in China, No.
lationships, and the impact of material flow during operations on the 71871151.

11
Q. Ren et al. Journal of Cleaner Production 388 (2023) 135998

Appendix
Table A1
Non-logistics hierarchical relationships and quantitative values

Non-logistic relationship influencing factors relevance Assignment

Very close degree (A) 4

The high degree of closeness (E) 3
Low degree of closeness (I) 2
Shallow degree of closeness (O) 1
The degree of closeness does not matter (U) 0
The closeness needs to be far away (X) − 1

Table A2
Warehouse functional area number

Number Functional Area Number Functional Area

1 Inbound area 7 Picking area

2 operation area 8 Reverse logistics area
3 Daily necessities storage area 9 Equipment area
4 Food and beverage storage area 10 Outbound area
5 Household appliances storage area 11 Office
6 Fresh vegetable storage area

Table A3
Logistics intensity summary table

Number From To Logistics intensity Grade Proportion

1 1 2 2901 A 27.12%
2 1 8 15 O 0.14%
3 2 3 837 E 7.83%
4 2 4 1620 E 15.15%
5 2 5 211 I 2.00%
6 2 6 304 I 2.84%
7 2 7 88 O 0.82%
8 2 8 32 O 0.30%
9 2 10 60 O 0.56%
10 3 7 726 I 6.79%
11 4 7 1098 E 10.27%
12 5 7 188 O 1.76%
13 6 7 296 I 2.77%
14 7 8 12 O 0.11%
15 7 10 2308 A 21.58%

Table A4
Warehouse functional area non-logistics relationship analysis table

Strength level Inter-functional links Closeness factor

A 1–2 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
1–9
1–11
7–10
9–10
9–11
E 2–3 3, 4, 7
2–4
2–5
2–6
2–11
3–4
3–5
3–6
4–5
4–6
5–6
3–9
(continued on next page)

12
Q. Ren et al. Journal of Cleaner Production 388 (2023) 135998

Table A4 (continued )
Strength level Inter-functional links Closeness factor

4–9
5–9
6–9
I 2–9 1, 5
2–10
3–10
3–11
4–10
4–11
5–10
5–11
6–10
6–11
8–9
O 7–11 1, 7

Table A5
Comprehensive relationship analysis table of functional warehouse areas

Number The logarithm of functional area operations Closeness level Integrated Relationships

Logistics relationship weighted value Non-logistics relationship weighting

Grade Score Grade Score Grade Score

1 1–2 A 4 A 4 8 A
2 1–3 U 0 U O 0 U
3 1–4 U O U 0 0 U
4 1–5 U 0 U 0 0 U
5 1–6 U 0 U 0 0 U
6 1–7 U 0 U 0 0 U
7 1–8 O 1 O 1 2 O
8 1–9 U 0 A 4 4 I
9 1–10 U 0 U 0 0 U
10 1–11 U 0 A 4 4 I
11 2–3 E 3 E 3 6 E
12 2–4 E 3 E 3 6 E
13 2–5 I 2 E 3 5 E
14 2–6 I 2 E 3 5 E
15 2–7 O 1 U 0 1 O
16 2–8 O 1 O 1 2 O
17 2–9 U 0 I 2 2 O
18 2–10 O 1 I 2 3 I
19 2–11 U 0 U 0 0 U
20 3–4 U 0 U 0 0 U
21 3–5 U 0 E 3 3 I
22 3–6 U 0 E 3 3 I
23 3–7 I 1 E 3 4 I
24 3–8 U 0 U 0 0 U
25 3–9 U 0 E 3 3 I
26 3–10 U 0 I 2 2 O
27 3–11 U 0 I 2 2 O
28 4–5 U 0 E 3 3 I
29 4–6 U 0 E 3 3 I
30 4–7 E 3 U 0 3 I
31 4–8 U 0 U 0 0 O
32 4–9 U 0 E 3 3 I
33 4–10 U 0 I 2 2 O
34 4–11 U 0 I 2 2 O
35 5–6 U 0 E 3 3 I
36 5–7 O 1 U 0 1 O
37 5–8 U 0 U 0 0 U
38 5–9 U 0 E 3 3 I
39 5–10 U 0 I 2 2 O
40 5–11 U 0 I 2 2 O
41 6–7 I 2 U 0 2 O
42 6–8 U 0 U 0 0 U
43 6–9 U 0 E 3 3 I
44 6–10 U 0 I 2 2 O
45 6–11 U 0 I 2 2 O
46 7–8 O 2 U 0 2 O
47 7–9 U 0 U 0 0 U
48 7–10 A 4 A 4 8 A
49 7–11 U 0 O 1 1 O
(continued on next page)

13
Q. Ren et al. Journal of Cleaner Production 388 (2023) 135998

Table A5 (continued )
Number The logarithm of functional area operations Closeness level Integrated Relationships

Logistics relationship weighted value Non-logistics relationship weighting

Grade Score Grade Score Grade Score

50 8–9 U 0 I 2 2 O
51 8–10 U 0 O 1 1 O
52 8–11 U 0 O 1 1 O
53 9–10 U 0 A 4 4 I
54 9–11 U 0 A 4 4 I
55 10–11 U 0 U 0 0 U

Table A6
Functional area relationship checklist

Number Department Proximity

A E I O U

1 Inbound area 2 9、11 8 3、4、5、6、7、10

2 operation area 1 3、4、5、6 10 7、8、9 11
3 Daily necessities storage area 2 5、6、7、9 10、11 1、4、8
4 Food and beverage storage area 2 5、6、7、9 8、10、11 1、3
5 Household appliances storage area 2 3、4、6、9 7、10、11 1、8
6 Fresh vegetable storage area 2 3、4、5、9 7、10、11 1、8
7 Picking area 10 3、4 2、5、6、8、11 1、9
8 Reverse logistics area 10、11 1、4、7、9、10、11 3、5、6
9 Equipment area 1、3、4、5、6 2、8 7
10 Outbound storage area 7 2、9 3、4、5、6、8 11
11 Office 1、9 3、4、5、6、7、8 2、10

Table A7
Optimal results for functional areas (unit: m)

Functional Area X Y

1. Inbound area 9 6
2. operation area 8.5 19
3. Daily necessities storage area 17.5 48
4. Food and beverage storage area 8 48
5. Household appliances storage area 3 48.5
6. Fresh vegetable storage area 12.5 48
7. Picking area 14.5 19
8. Reverse logistics area 2.5 19
9. Equipment area 18.5 19
10. Outbound storage area 15.5 6
11. Office 3 6

Linear, also known as type I, means that the import and export of the warehouse are located at both ends of the warehouse. This type of material
flow line is more suitable for small logistics systems. Because the import and export are located at both ends of the warehouse, no matter how much the
goods must pass through the warehouse (See Fig. A8).

Fig. A8. Linear

Double linear type and linear type of material flow line analysis are closer, the same in and out of the warehouse distribution at both ends. The
linear type differs from the double linear type due to goods (full container or bulk) or other operational processes and the need to use two moving lines
for analysis (See Fig. A9).

14
Q. Ren et al. Journal of Cleaner Production 388 (2023) 135998

Fig. A9. Double linear

U-type material flow line refers to the warehouse import and export of the two ports located on the same side of the warehouse, that is, the type of
warehouse import and export concentrated together; on the one hand, this arrangement can effectively use the warehouse peripheral space; on the
other hand, you can also focus all the resources. This type of material flow line is suitable for goods storage time is the short and centralized dis­
tribution of the warehouse; different goods storage cycle length is not the same, so according to the characteristics of the goods can be stored in other
areas far from the warehouse import and export, can shorten the handling time and distance, and thus improve the efficiency of warehouse operations
(See Fig. A10).

Fig. A10. Type U

L-type material flow line means that the two ports of the warehouse, import, and export, are located on the adjacent sides of the warehouse. This
material flow line will store the goods in different areas according to the goods’ logistics time length. Goods with short logistics time need to be held in
the L-type flow range, and goods with long logistics time will be stored outside the L-type flow range, so it is suitable for warehouses with fast
processing and cross operations (See Fig. A11).

Fig. A11. Type L

S-type material flow line refers to the warehouse import and export of the two ports located on both sides of the warehouse; the material flow line
and linear material flow line are more similar and more suitable for the operation of equipment by type of layout of the warehouse, that is, the design
of the machine group, the equipment will be classified and placed, so the material flow line presents S-type (See Fig. A12).

Fig. A12. Type S

Concentration type material flow line refers to the warehouse import and export of the two ports located on both sides of the warehouse, but
because this type of material flow line will be classified according to the characteristics of the goods stored, and the material flow line as much as
possible concentrated in a larger area of the warehouse, which can shorten the handling time and thus improve the warehouse turnover rate (See
Fig. A13).

Fig. A13. Concentration type

References Agyabeng-Mensah, Y., Ahenkorah, E., Afum, E., Dacosta, E., Tian, Z., 2020. Green
warehousing, logistics optimization, social values and ethics and economic
performance: the role of supply chain sustainability. Int. J. Logist. Manag. 31 (3),
Accorsi, R., Bortolini, M., Gamberi, M., Manzini, R., Pilati, F., 2017. Multi-objective
549–574.
warehouse building design to optimize the cycle time, total cost, and carbon
footprint. Int. J. Adv. Manuf. Technol. 92 (1–4), 839–854.

15
Q. Ren et al. Journal of Cleaner Production 388 (2023) 135998

Ali, S.S., Kaur, R., Khan, S., 2022. Evaluating sustainability initiatives in warehouse for Lewczuk, K., Kłodawski, M., Gepner, P., 2021. Energy consumption in a distributional
measuring sustainability performance: an emerging economy perspective. Ann. warehouse: a practical case study for different warehouse technologies. Energies 14
Oper. Res. 1–40. (9), 2709.
Ali Naqvi, S.A., Fahad, M., Atir, M., Zubair, M., Shehzad, M.M., 2016. Productivity Li, H., Hou, Y., Chen, W., Yu, T., Hu, Y., Xiong, Y., 2021a. Optimal design of a ship
improvement of a manufacturing facility using systematic layout planning. Cogent multitasking cabin layout based on the interval optimization method. J. Mar. Sci.
Eng. 3 (1), 1207296. Appl. 20 (4), 723–734.
Amemba, C.S., Nyaboke, P.G., Osoro, A., Mburu, N., 2013. Elements of green supply Li, H., Wang, Y., Fan, F., Yu, H., Chu, J., 2021b. Sustainable plant layout design for end of
chain management. Eur. J. Bus. Manag. 5 (12), 51–61. life vehicle recycling and disassembly industry based on SLP method, a typical case
Ardjmand, E., Shakeri, H., Singh, M., Bajgiran, O.S., 2018. Minimizing order picking in China. IEEE Access 9, 81913–81925.
makespan with multiple pickers in a wave picking warehouse. Int. J. Prod. Econ. Li, J., Guo, H., Zhang, S., Wu, X., Shi, L., 2019. Optimum design of ship cabin equipment
206, 169–183. layout based on SLP method and genetic algorithm. Math. Probl. Eng. 2019, 1–14.
Arıkan, E., Fichtinger, J., Ries, J.M., 2014. Impact of transportation lead-time variability Li, X., Hua, G., Huang, A., Sheu, J.-B., Cheng, T., Huang, F., 2020. Storage assignment
on the economic and environmental performance of inventory systems. Int. J. Prod. policy with awareness of energy consumption in the Kiva mobile fulfilment system.
Econ. 157, 279–288. Transport. Res. E Logist. Transport. Rev. 144, 102158.
Arnaout, J.-P., ElKhoury, C., Karayaz, G., 2017. Solving the multiple level warehouse Lin, Q.-L., Liu, H.-C., Wang, D.-J., Liu, L., 2015. Integrating systematic layout planning
layout problem using ant colony optimization. Oper. Res. 20 (1), 473–490. with fuzzy constraint theory to design and optimize the facility layout for operating
Baltrėnaitė-Gedienė, E., Minashkina, D., Happonen, A., Iticescu, C., 2020. Decarbonizing theatre in hospitals. J. Intell. Manuf. 26 (1), 87–95.
warehousing activities through digitalization and automatization with WMS Liu, J., Liu, J., Yan, X., Peng, B., 2020. A heuristic algorithm combining Pareto
integration for sustainability supporting operations. E3S Web of Conferences 158. optimization and niche technology for multi-objective unequal area facility layout
Bartolini, M., Bottani, E., Grosse, E.H., 2019. Green warehousing: systematic literature problem. Eng. Appl. Artif. Intell. 89, 103453.
review and bibliometric analysis. J. Clean. Prod. 226, 242–258. Liu, Z., Wang, Y., Jin, M., Wu, H., Dong, W., 2021. Energy consumption model for
Boenzi, F., Digiesi, S., Facchini, F., Mummmolo, G., 2017. Electric and LPG forklifts GHG shuttle-based storage and retrieval systems. J. Clean. Prod. 282, 124480.
assessment in material handling activities in actual operational conditions. In: 2017 Luo, Q., Zhu, J., Jia, H., Xu, Y., 2019. A two-stage layout method for functional areas in
IEEE International Conference on Service Operations and Logistics, and Informatics logistics park. Adv. Mech. Eng. 11 (3), 1687814019829954.
(SOLI). IEEE, pp. 127–132. Mahalakshmi, S., Arokiasamy, A., Ahamed, J.F.A., 2019. Productivity improvement of an
Burinskiene, A., Lorenc, A., Lerher, T., 2018. A simulation study for the sustainability eco friendly warehouse using multi objective optimal robot trajectory planning.
and reduction of waste in warehouse logistics. Int. J. Simulat. Model. 17 (3), ijpqm 27 (3), 305–328.
485–497. Mashud, A.H.M., Pervin, M., Mishra, U., Daryanto, Y., Tseng, M.-L., Lim, M.K., 2021.
Carli, R., Digiesi, S., Dotoli, M., Facchini, F., 2020. A control strategy for smart energy A sustainable inventory model with controllable carbon emissions in green-
charging of warehouse material handling equipment. Procedia Manuf. 42, 503–510. warehouse farms. J. Clean. Prod. 298, 126777.
Chen, X., Wang, X., Kumar, V., Kumar, N., 2016. Low carbon warehouse management Onat, N.C., Kucukvar, M., Tatari, O., 2014. Scope-based carbon footprint analysis of U.S.
under cap-and-trade policy. J. Clean. Prod. 139, 894–904. residential and commercial buildings: an input–output hybrid life cycle assessment
Cook, P., Sproul, A., 2011. Towards low-energy retail warehouse building. Architect. Sci. approach. Build. Environ. 72, 53–62.
Rev. 54 (3), 206–214. Perotti, S., Prataviera, L.B., Melacini, M., 2022. Assessing the environmental impact of
Das, S.K., Pervin, M., Roy, S.K., Weber, G.W., 2021. Multi-objective solid transportation- logistics sites through CO2eq footprint computation. Bus. Strat. Environ. 31 (4),
location problem with variable carbon emission in inventory management: a hybrid 1679–1694.
approach. Ann. Oper. Res. 1–27. Plambeck, E.L., 2012. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions through operations and supply
Derhami, S., Smith, J.S., Gue, K.R., 2020. A simulation-based optimization approach to chain management. Energy Econ. 34, S64–S74.
design optimal layouts for block stacking warehouses. Int. J. Prod. Econ. 223, Ries, J.M., Grosse, E.H., Fichtinger, J., 2017. Environmental impact of warehousing: a
107525. scenario analysis for the United States. Int. J. Prod. Res. 55 (21), 6485–6499.
Dukic, G., Cesnik, V., Opetuk, T., 2010. Order-picking methods and technologies for Singh, S.P., Singh, V.K., 2009. An improved heuristic approach for multi-objective
greener warehousing. Strojarstvo 52 (1), 23–31. facility layout problem. Int. J. Prod. Res. 48 (4), 1171–1194.
Ene, S., Küçükoğlu, İ., Aksoy, A., Öztürk, N., 2016. A genetic algorithm for minimizing Su, S., Zheng, Y., Xu, J., Wang, T., 2020. Cabin placement layout optimisation based on
energy consumption in warehouses. Energy 114, 973–980. systematic layout planning and genetic algorithm. Polish Marit. Res. 27, 162–172.
Erik, A., Kuvvetli, Y., 2021. Integration of material handling devices assignment and Tavana, M., Tohidi, H., Alimohammadi, M., Lesansalmasi, R., 2021. A location-
facility layout problems. J. Manuf. Syst. 58, 59–74. inventory-routing model for green supply chains with low-carbon emissions under
Facchini, F., Mummolo, G., Mossa, G., Digiesi, S., Boenzi, F., Verriello, R., 2016. uncertainty. Environ. Sci. Pollut. Res. 28 (36), 50636–50648.
Minimizing the carbon footprint of material handling equipment: comparison of Tayal, A., Gunasekaran, A., Singh, S.P., Dubey, R., Papadopoulos, T., 2017. Formulating
electric and LPG forklifts. J. Ind. Eng. Manag. 9 (5), 1035–1046. and solving sustainable stochastic dynamic facility layout problem: a key to
Fichtinger, J., Ries, J.M., Grosse, E.H., Baker, P., 2015. Assessing the environmental sustainable operations. Ann. Oper. Res. 253 (1), 621–655.
impact of integrated inventory and warehouse management. Int. J. Prod. Econ. 170, Tiwari, S., Daryanto, Y., Wee, H.M., 2018. Sustainable inventory management with
717–729. deteriorating and imperfect quality items considering carbon emission. J. Clean.
Foulds, L.R., 1983. Techniques for Facilities Layout: Deciding which Pairs of Activities Prod. 192, 281–292.
Should be Adjacent. Manage Sci. 29 (12), 1414–1426. Utama, D.M., Widodo, D.S., Ibrahim, M.F., Hidayat, K., Dewi, S.K., 2020. The sustainable
Füchtenhans, M., Glock, C.H., Grosse, E.H., Zanoni, S., 2021. Using smart lighting economic order quantity model: a model consider transportation, warehouse,
systems to reduce energy costs in warehouses: a simulation study. Int. J. Logist. Res. emission carbon costs, and capacity limits. J. Phys. Conf. 1569.
Appl. 1–19. Wahab, S.N., Sayuti, N.M., Talib, M., 2018. Antecedents of green warehousing: a
Gai, L., Ji, J., 2019. An integrated method to solve the healthcare facility layout problem theoretical framework and future direction. Int. J. Supply Chain Manag. 7 (6),
under area constraints. J. Combin. Optim. 37 (1), 95–113. 382–388.
Gao, G., Feng, Y., Zhang, Z., Wang, S., Yang, Z., 2022. Integrating SLP with simulation to Wang, J., Li, Y.F., Hua, G., 2014. Research on Problems of Logistics Park Layout
design and evaluate facility layout for industrial head lettuce production. Ann. Oper. Optimization Based on Low-Carbon Concept. Trans Tech Publ, pp. 1654–1659.
Res. 1–32. Wang, Y.-q., Mi, Z.-w., 2010. Method of systematic layout planning improved by genetic
Harmonosky, C.M., Tothero, G.K., 2007. A multi-factor plant layout methodology. Int. J. algorithm and its application in facility layout. Comput. Eng. Appl. (China) 46 (5),
Prod. Res. 30 (8), 1773–1789. 211–213.
Hasan, M.R., Roy, T.C., Daryanto, Y., Wee, H.-M., 2021. Optimizing inventory level and Wiyaratn, W., Watanapa, A., 2010. Improvement plant layout using systematic layout
technology investment under a carbon tax, cap-and-trade and strict carbon limit planning (SLP) for increased productivity. International Journal of Industrial and
regulations. Sustain. Prod. Consum. 25, 604–621. Manufacturing Engineering 4 (12), 1382–1386.
Hu, X., Chuang, Y.-F., 2022. E-commerce warehouse layout optimization: systematic World-Economic-Forum, 2016. In: World Economic Forum White Paper. Digital
layout planning using a genetic algorithm. Electron. Commer. Res. 1–18. Transformation of Industries: in Collaboration with Accenture. World Economic
Katoch, S., Chauhan, S.S., Kumar, V., 2021. A review on genetic algorithm: past, present, Forum.
and future. Multimed. Tool. Appl. 80 (5), 8091–8126. Yang, M.-F., Shih, P.-H., Pan, J.C.-H., Li, M.-C., 2022. The optimal layout design for
Kaur, H., Singh, S.P., 2017. Modeling low carbon procurement and logistics in supply minimizing operating costs in a picker-to-part warehousing system. Int. J. Adv.
chain: a key towards sustainable production. Sustain. Prod. Consum. 11, 5–17. Manuf. Technol. 118 (7), 2523–2537.
Lee, K.-Y., Han, S.-N., Roh, M.-I., 2003. An improved genetic algorithm for facility layout Zhu, T., Balakrishnan, J., Cheng, C.H., 2018. Recent advances in dynamic facility layout
problems having inner structure walls and passages. Comput. Oper. Res. 30 (1), research. INFOR Inf. Syst. Oper. Res. 56 (4), 428–456.
117–138.

16
 Update
Journal of Cleaner Production
Volume 409, Issue , 10 July 2023, Page

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2023.137240
 Journal of Cleaner Production 409 (2023) 137240

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Journal of Cleaner Production

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jclepro

Corrigendum to “Research on design and optimization of green warehouse

system based on case analysis” [J. Clean. Prod. 388 (2023) 135998]
Qiang Ren, Yaoyao Ku, Yiqing Wang, Peng Wu *
Business School, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610065, China

In the original paper version, one reference was cited in error. Spe­ 2020. Decarbonizing warehousing activities through digitalization and
cifically, I have mistakenly referenced two authors who are not the automatization with WMS integration for sustainability supporting op­
actual authors of the cited article. I am deeply sorry for this oversight, erations. E3S Web of Conferences 158.
and I have taken the necessary steps to correct the error by finding the
correct reference and updating my citations accordingly to ensure the ● Correct literature:
accuracy of my paper. I can assure you that this change in relations will
not affect the integrity and correctness of the article. The details are as (Minashkina and Happonen, 2020)
follows: Minashkina, D., Happonen, A., 2020. Decarbonizing warehousing
activities through digitalization and automatization with WMS inte­
● Incorrect literature: gration for sustainability supporting operations, E3S Web of Confer­
ences. EDP Sciences, p. 03002.
(Baltrėnaitė-Gedienė et al., 2020). The authors would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused.
Baltrėnaitė-Gedienė, E., Minashkina, D., Happonen, A., Iticescu, C.,

DOI of original article: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2023.135998.

* Corresponding author. Business School, Department of Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610065, PR China.
E-mail address: [email protected] (P. Wu).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2023.137240

Available online 24 April 2023

0959-6526/© 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.