Multi-stage sorting process with batch sequencing

A multi-stage sorting process, the method comprising:

• providing a multitude of storage containers, a container store for temporarily storing the storage containers, and a multitude of storage positions for a placement of respective storage containers at said container store;
• before a first sorting pass, placing storage containers with unsorted sorting items in any desired storage positions of an empty store;
• determining storage areas for each sorting pass according to location and size, the storage areas generally having their arrangement directions orthogonal to one another;
• arbitrarily distributing the containers within a storage area;
• sorting the sorting items in a plurality of sorting passes and, in each sorting pass, retrieving generally one container from each storage area as part of a batch group, where retrieving positions are either randomly distributed over all storage areas or sequentially along the arrangement direction of the storage areas, with a retrieval sequence which can be arbitrary in a first sorting pass, and which is conditioned by a sorting algorithm in subsequent sorting passes;
• storing the containers with an increased degree of sorting of the sorting items in the containers after each sorting pass, where storing positions are empty positions generated by the retrieval or storage positions with empty containers corresponding to one of the retrieval positions, and a storing sequence is on a process-contingent random basis corresponding to an emptying of sorting end points;
• and
• repeating the retrieving and storing of container steps for as many batch groups as are required for the processing of a total volume of sorting items in the respective sorting pass.