Unit-load warehouses are used to store items---typically pallets---that can be stowed or retrieved in a single trip. In the traditional, ubiquitous design, storage racks are arranged to create parallel picking aisles, which force workers to travel rectilinear distances to picking locations. We consider the problem of arranging aisles in new ways to reduce the cost of travel within these warehouses. Our models produce alternative designs with slightly-curved, diagonal cross aisles, and with picking aisles that are not parallel. Our "fishbone design" promises to reduce distances that workers travel by more than 20 percent for warehouses of reasonable size. We conclude with a discussion of an ongoing implementation at a U.S. floor coverings manufacturer.

Kevin Gue is Associate Professor in the Department of Industrial & Systems Engineering at Auburn University. Previously, he was Associate Professor in the Graduate School of Business & Public Policy at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, CA. He graduated with distinction from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1985 with a Bachelor's Degree (Mathematics), then served as an officer in the submarine community until 1990. From there, he attended the Georgia Institute of Technology, where he received his Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering from the School of Industrial & Systems Engineering in 1995, under the supervision of Dr. John Bartholdi. Dr. Gue has been on the faculty at Auburn since 2004.

Dr. Gue's research interests include logistics modeling and optimization, with applications in distribution, warehousing, and material handling. He is currently investigating problems in warehouse design and order fulfillment systems. He has published articles in journals such as Operations Research, Transportation Science, and IIE Transactions. Dr. Gue is currently President of the College-Industry Council on Material Handling Education.