Rack management system and rack management method

A rack management method that is executed by a rack management system having a processor and a storage unit coupled to the processor,

• wherein the storage unit stores information indicating positions of at least two areas each including a plurality of sections included in a location in which storage racks that store articles can be arranged,
• wherein one of said storage racks can be arranged in each of the plurality of sections,
• wherein at least one of the plurality of sections is surrounded by other adjacent said sections without an aisle to convey the storage racks therebetween, and
• wherein the rack management method comprises:
• classifying, via the processor, the plurality of sections in a first area of the at least two areas into a plurality of sections assigned ranks indicating a degree of efficiency of an operation to convey the storage racks placed therein to a predetermined working area and one or more empty sections into which, if there is a need to move one or more other storage racks in order to convey a storage rack placed in a given sections, the predetermined working area being one of the at least two areas;
• classifying, in the working area of the at least two areas, one or more empty sections;
• classifying the storage racks into a plurality of ranks corresponding to the assigned ranks of the plurality of sections in the first area;
• determining an optimal layout of the first area based on the plurality of ranks;
• determining an amount of time required to move one or more other storage racks to the optimal layout;
• on a condition that the amount of time required is less than an idle time, move the one or more other storage racks to at least one of the first area, the one or more empty areas, and the working area based on the optimal layout, and
• on a condition that the amount of the time required is greater than the idle time, move a portion of the one or more racks that are being delivered within a predetermined amount of time from the working area to the one or more empty areas and move a remaining portion of the one or more racks that are not being delivered within the predetermined amount of time to the first area;
• and
• outputting, via the processor, results of the classifications and the optimal layout.