Simulation of Finished Goods Warehouse – Towards a Detailed Factory Simulation

Författare

Marcus Sandström
Daniel Zulumovski
Carl-Magnus Bertilsson
Daniel Hellström

Summary, in English

Customers of the packaging material industry are demanding shorter and more customized orders for each year. In many cases, the production has adapted to the new market demands. However, some finished goods warehouses are still adapted to the larger order sizes following a build-to-stock policy. In finished goods warehouses a shorter order sizes create problems, such as an increased amount of handling due to mixed orders. This paper presents a simulation model of a finished goods warehouse at a packaging material factory in Arganda, Spain. The model is used to perform different experiments that analyze potential improvements of the layout and the warehousing activities. The main advantage of using a simulation is that experiments with different scenarios of the layout and warehousing activities can be performed without affecting the performance of daily operations. Five scenarios were carried out to understand the potential behavior and performance of the warehouse. Two scenarios resulted in performance improvements as well as the reduction of the total cost. The overall best scenario included an additional loading dock for shipments. With this scenario, more goods can be loaded at the same time, resulting in lower inventory levels. Lower inventory levels in turn reduce the mixing of orders in the storage zones. Mixing of orders is directly correlated with double handling. Therefore, double handling is also reduced. For Tetra Pak, the investigation has contributed to an improved understanding of how customized orders affect the warehouse. This simulation model of the finished goods warehouse is also a step towards a detailed factory simulation where the relevant parts of the factory are simulated. The factory model will be a major asset for efficient planning of shorter production orders.

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