Automated Buffer Storage with AMR Fleets: New Publication in the International Journal of Production Research

In modern, space-constrained production environments, dense floor storage presents a major challenge for intralogistics. As part of the "FlexTools" research project, Max Disselnmeyer, Thomas Bömer, Laura Dörr, Bastian Amberg, and Anne Meyer have published a novel solution approach titled “The multi-AMR buffer storage, retrieval, and reshuffling problem: a mathematical model and hierarchical heuristic” in the International Journal of Production Research. The paper addresses the Buffer Storage, Retrieval, and Reshuffling Problem (BSRRP) and demonstrates how fleets of autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) can efficiently coordinate dynamic storage, retrieval, and reshuffling operations.

Alongside an exact mathematical model for establishing optimal benchmark baselines, the authors introduce a hierarchical heuristic. This approach combines an $A^*$ search for task-level sequence planning with Constraint Programming for time-efficient fleet coordination. In extensive computational experiments, the method achieved massive computation time reductions while maintaining high solution quality. Furthermore, the paper derives practical managerial insights—such as a critical 90% stability threshold for storage capacity, beyond which the lack of reshuffling space leads to system brittleness.

The paper is published Open Access; additionally, the source code and benchmark datasets are publicly available on GitHub and Zenodo.

The full publication is available here: https://doi.org/10.1080/00207543.2026.2702050