Flexible material handling systems (FMHS) have been widely used to enhance productivity involved with product proliferation, and thus far, only fixed-track material handling systems such as Eton systems in the apparel industry are commonly used. This paper explores the potential advantages of a FMHS using free-ranging automated-guided vehicles with a local positioning system for the apparel industry. First, the free-ranging FMHS (FRMHS) for the apparel industry has been designed. Then, through Monte Carlo simulation and analytical models, the performance in terms of manufacturing system effectiveness, workstation utilization, and the total transportation distance of the FRMHS are compared with those of the fixed-track system. Based on our analysis, the current proposed FRMHS can have significant advantages over the fixed-track system.
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