• Building a Proactive Analysis Environment with Dynamic Simulation - Visualize, Replay, Forecast

    by
    Hosni
    Published on 04-15-2011 12:03 PM
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    CreateASoft, Inc.
    The Process Improvement Company

    Building a Proactive Analysis Environment
    Visualize, Replay, Forecast

    Hosni Adra
    Process Improvement Manager/Partner


    © 2011 Material Handling Industry®. Copyright claimed as to audiovisual works of seminar sessions and sound recordings of seminar sessions. All rights reserved.
    Agenda
    •  Supply chain challenges
      • • DC operations, distribution channels, external factors.
      • • Efficiency Impact.
    •  Current technologies
      • • Tracking, Simulation, WMS, Voice,…
    •  Dynamic analysis
      • • Leveraging dynamic simulation and tracking for improved efficiency.
    •  Benefits
      • • Proactive analysis and forecasting.

    Challenges DC Operations
    •  DC scheduling of picking and replenishment.
    •  Effect of Put-away on the DC.
    •  Slotting, and DC variability.
    •  Resource scheduling and allocation.
    •  Capacity planning and DC limitations.
    •  Material handling equipment utilization.
    •  DC Inventory cost and perishable items.
     
    Challenges Distribution channels
    •  Shipping routes and transportation modes.
    •  Cost control and reduction.
    •  Maintaining Freshness throughout the supply chain.
    •  System variability and On-time delivery.
    •  DC Locations and network optimization.
    •  Visibility and tracking.
     
    External Factors
    •  Product variations and seasonality.

    •  Transportation Costs.

    •  Unforeseen delays due to weather/other factors.

    •  Product expiration, customer requirements, …
     
    Simcad Pro role in the transition to Lean Manufacturing
    •  The dynamic value stream provides an efficient tool to validate existing or proposed design based on different product mixes.

    •  Kanban events and buffer sizes can be dynamically computed from the value stream.

    •  Efficient reporting to generate best path, lean efficiencies, and OEE values.
    Measuring Improvements
    •  Efficiency is the key measure for Operational Quality. An efficient organization indicates that
      • 1. Processes interact effectively.
      • 2. Communication is well defined.
      • 3. Customers enjoy a positive experience.
      • 4. Picking/Receiving/Put away/Replenishment are coherent.
      • 5. High profitability.
    •  Lean Concepts applications
      • • Lean Concepts normally measure process level efficiency with minimal impact on global efficiency.
      • • Improving efficiency in one area should not impact negatively the overall measure, and any change effect should be analyzed throughout the process sequence.

    Existing Technologies
    Technology Overview
    Tracking Systems RFID/Bar Code/GPS
    Technology with limitations Accuracy at a price
    WMS/Voice Effective whenproperly utilized.
    Featurerich environment.
    Slotting Tools Effectivefor static analysis
    Does not include congestion and time based analysis.
    Static Simulation Tools Excel/Static code heavytools
    Reserved to the few who can code The Experts
    Scheduling Tools Effectivewhen used with a WMS.
    Limited audience, lacks visualization.
    Simulation Benefits
    •  Simulation is an asset to any organization provided that
      • • Data and models are valid.
      • • Tools are easy to learn by the “Non-Expert”.
    •  In the DC, Simulation is effective in
      • • Improving overall DC efficiency.
      • • Better understanding of material flow and process interaction.
      • • Capacity Planning.
      • • Resource requirements, slotting, visualization, …
    Solution Requirements
    •  Must be able to Visualize and Analyze the current operation.
      • • Analysis is used to identify areas of maximum impact (best ROI).
      • • Distribution based analysis suffers from large approximation.
        • ° Provides a global direction and not actual improvement.
      • • Real Data provides accurate representation, with variability implemented as a distribution.
    •  Human Capital — Leverage available talent, gain buy-in.
     
    Dynamic Simulation
    • Interactive On-the-Fly model changes.
      • • Input/Output constraints can be modified at any time during the simulation.

    •  Minimal or No coding requirements.

    •  Connectivity to external systems.
      • • Models update based on external factors.
     
    Dynamic Simulation
    View full the presentation
     
    Dynamic Simulation Examples
    •  Improved slotting.
      • • Problem:
        • ° Capacity planning for the next 5 years.
      • • Solution
        • ° No additional “building space” required.
        • ° Requires Re-Slotting of 15 locations in the DC.
      • • A 20% efficiency improvement by re-slotting the DC
      • • Method
        • ° Optimized pick path to eliminate congestions.
        • ° Optimize Replenishment and Put-Away schedules.
        • ° Re-slot the DC based on the dynamic behavior of the DC.
     
    Dynamic Simulation Examples (2)
    •  Improve DC layout
      • • Problem: “The Company Standard” DC layout was implemented.
      • • Solution
        • ° New DC Layout
        • ° Improved conveyor flow
    •  Overall savings — $300K/Year
    •  Method
      • • No additional building space required.
        • ° Dynamic optimization and analysis of the interaction among DC operations.
    Live Data and Dynamic Simulation
    View full the presentation
    Live Tracking/Virtual Camera
    •  Connectivity to WMS/Voice or other tracking systems.

    •  Update rates are adjusted to system requirements.

    •  Any changes on the floor are reflected on the desktop.

    •  Hover or Click feedback connectivity required for maximum effectiveness.

    •  Applications
      • • YMS, DC, Supply Chain …
       
    Replay W/Analysis
    •  By recording events, Dynamic Simulation can replay any data point.
      • • Replay is based on time.
      • • Fast forward/Rewind — DVR like controls.

    •  Eliminate the need to collect data for analysis
      • • “Switch to Simulation” at any point during replay.
      • • Data collected dynamically from the set and used in the simulation analysis.
    Dynamic Forecasting
    View full presentation
       
    Additional benefits
    •  Web enabled dashboards and animation
      • • Dashboards defined per area based on live data
      • • Animation based on replay or current state.

    •  Alerts
      • • Trucks delayed, replenishment needed, …
      • • Rules determine when and who gets the alerts.
    Summary
    •  By Proactively managing the operation, you can
      • • Reduce operation cost.
      • • Increase efficiency throughout the organization.
      • • Maximize utilization.
      • • Provide better capacity planning.
      • • Visualization/Replay/Traceability.
    •  Think Ahead — Stay Ahead
      • • Using enabling technology to reduce cost, improve efficiency and maximize utilization.