Comparison of three automated stacking alternatives by means of simulation

Container terminals are struggling with ever-increasing volumes, and are therefore searching for solutions to increase throughput capacity without expanding their physical footprint. They are also looking for cost-efficient solutions, leading to the application of semi-automated high density stacking systems for container storage. However, when selecting such a system, it needs to be determined what the best configuration for that particular terminal is, and secondly: how to make such a system productive? So far, we have seen various applications in practice that are quite different. How come? In this paper, we compare three different automated container storage concepts on their efficiency in terms of productivity, flexibility, area utilization, and cost to come to a verdict: what are the best automated high-density concept yet existing? Furthermore, we define the conditions under which a certain concept has to be preferred over another one