WSC 2003 Final Abstracts

Supply Chain Simulation and Analysis with SimFlex™
Edward J. Williams and Ali Gunal (Production Modeling Corporation)

Abstract:
As businesses and industries become steadily more global in their operational scope, and more intensely competitive, achievement of a lean, efficient, reliable supply chain increases in both importance and complexity. Recent research comprises many ideas to help engineers and managers construct and maintain such a supply chain. Additionally, numerous software vendors have endeavored to develop software packages specifically adapted to the modeling and analysis of supply chains. To earn regular value-added use within a business, such a package must offer high analytical power, ease of learning and use, and ability to interface with databases and spreadsheets for convenient import of data and export of results. This paper presents an overview and brief tutorial of SimFlex™, a supply-chain simulation software package offering these virtues.

Benefits of Using a Supply Chain Simulation Tool to Study Inventory Allocation
Andrew J. Siprelle, David J. Parsons, and Robin J. Clark (Simulation Dynamics)

Abstract:
Using Simulation Dynamic’s Supply Chain Builder, a supply chain tool has been developed to study alternative inventory allocations in a network. The supply chain being modeled is a nationwide food production and distribution network. The company produces thousands of product lines and is studying the best strategies for allocating production to distribution centers to avoid overproduction and cross shipments of product. This paper describes the data needs and logic of this simulation tool along with its effectiveness in comparing strategies for locating SKU inventory in a supply chain.