Logistics and warehousing modelling

Simulation is now well accepted within the manufacturing arena as a valuable technology with which to address a wide range of issues ranging from optimising batch sizes through to gaining an understanding of the impact which new equipment or processes might have on the productivity of the facility. However one area which has been largely ignored, mainly due to the restrictions in the software technology available, is the area of material handling and warehousing.

Tools to allow organisations to effectively model the impact of changes to the material handling system or to examine warehouse storage and loading limitations in conjunction with the manufacturing system have been few and far between as well as requiring significant programming ability in order to generate even the simplest of scenarios. The market in this area is now moving forward and 3D spatially aware tools such as Flexsim which allow the user to generate dynamic models of material handling facilities are now available. These tools open up the ability to investigate all aspects of the logistics process including conveyors, sortation systems and carousels, as well as, automated storage/retrieval equipment and order picking strategies. In each case users can accurately model materials handling facilities, testing equipment performance and operational strategies in a no risk environment.

As an example, take a typical manufacturing system and distribution system. It is possible to model not only the manufacturing process, together with all its disturbances such as equipment failures, changing production schedules and shift patterns, but the delivery of raw materials, the material handling systems, the finished stock storage and all aspects of the warehouse. Thus organisations can now address how changes to the manufacturing process may be constrained through the inability to move processed components or whether the current warehouse facility will cope with any proposed changes. These dynamic models include the machines, queues and conveyoring within the manufacturing system together with elements such as overhead cranes, ASRS and forklift trucks as well as human operators and the warehouse racking itself.

The models can have a huge impact for the organisations who implement them, from influencing the running of the facility through to communicating an understanding of how the company actually operates, thus unleashing enormous potential to examine all aspects of process improvement.

Although the specific benefits gained from developing such models vary according to the applications being tackled, typically they are found to return significant savings in capital expenditure and improvements in customer service or process efficiency. It is also fair to comment that simulation projects open up the potential to explore a wide range of “what if” questions. This ability to be able to effectively predict the knock on effect of ANY change both increases confidence, reduces risk and helps secure genuine business improvement.

For more information contact Saker Solutions at info@sakersolutions.com or call 01527 892296