B. Overview of Available Software [AB]

Logistics systems are becoming increasingly complex and inter-related. Simulation is the only technology available to allow companies to examine their logical decisions and logistics systems more productively. Simulation becomes necessary when one is designing a new facility or system, adding new equipment or retrofitting an existing facility. It is also used to support intuition and experience in decision making. Simulation can be carried out using any one of the software’s available in today’s market. With the various software available today for simulation today it is imperative that we chose the correct software. Here is a list of available simulation software:

• 20-sim: 20-sim (Controllab products) is a relatively new software used for blocks modeling system for continuous systems. 20-sim is a modeling and simulation program that runs under Windows. With 20-sim one can simulate the behavior of dynamic systems, such as electrical, mechanical and hydraulic systems or any combination of these systems [5].

• Arena: This software is used to simulate service, manufacturing, transformation, and logistics, supply chain and other systems [5].

• Automod: This software provides true to scale 3-D virtual reality animation, making simulation models easy to understand. It provides advanced features to allow users to simulate complex movement, such as kinematics and velocity of equipment such as robots, machine tools, transfer lines, special machinery and more. Automod provides the user with a set of expert-based material handling systems that have been developed with real-world experience in industrial automation. These include conveyors, power & free, asrs (automated storage and retrieval system) and bridge crane.

• Awesim: Awesim provides a simulation engine focused on the production of model animations. Animations can be built graphically and the user can specify controls to build interactive simulations.

• EASY5: EASY5 developed by Boeing Inc., is a software used to model and simulate dynamic systems containing hydraulic, pneumatic, mechanical, thermal, electrical and digital sub-systems. A complete set of control system modeling, analysis and design features is included [5].

• Idef: This is a process mapping software, which provides easy way to capture flows and present them as flows diagrams. These can present more information than traditional flow charts. Process described, constraints affecting other processes, the role of people and other resource that are involved in the process can all be incorporated.

• Intrax: This software can support numerous management decisions regarding the actual process being modeled and simulated. It can be used to perform strategic (reality checks on strategic vision, synchronous value chain vision), process improvement (sequence improvements, test productivity improvements, reduce cycle times), synchronous value chain (dynamic visualization, establish current constraints) and day-to-day operations (compare operational alternatives, test the impact of short-term changes).

• Manufacturing engineering: This software performs discrete simulations to resolve manufacturing problems and design manufacturing solutions. It predicts throughput, staffing and other performance measures in a broad range of applications.

• Matlab: This is an integrated technical computing environment that combines numeric computation, advanced graphics and visualization, and a high level programming language. Simulink is an interactive tool for modeling, simulating and analyzing dynamic systems. It allows to build graphical block diagrams, simulate dynamic systems, evaluate system performance and refine designs [5].

• Modsim: This software can be used to simulate transportation models like port simulation model, railroad network simulation and aircraft/air traffic management model. It is also used for manufacturing simulation.

• Promodel: This software is a simulation-based software for evaluating, planning or re-designing manufacturing, warehousing and logistics systems. Typical applications include implementation of lean manufacturing, cycle-time reduction, equipment investment decisions, throughput & capacity analysis, identifying and minimizing bottlenecks and resource allocation.

• Prosolvia: This software brings reality to virtual manufacturing. It allows the user to view the product in a variety of views and situations. End user interaction and functional testing in the early concept stages of the product development process means that important design and manufacturing decisions can be made much earlier in the process. For the manufacturing process, staffing training for assembly and maintenance can be developed much earlier in the pre-production process.

• Quest: This software provides the user with a graphics and visual analysis capability. It enables accurate modeling of conveyors, buffers, docks, asrs, etc.

• SDI supply chain: This software provides a tool for studying the impact of changing demand, logistics decisions and production policies on key system performance measures. It is used to model the dynamics of a complete supply chain from source to user, along the entire plan, source, and make and deliver process. It allows users to design, analyze and study areas such as supply chain capacity issues, bottleneck identification, logistics deployments, resource deployments, system velocities and reliability. It also models the network of suppliers, warehouses and shipping channels, which provides materials to a production plant. Supply chain performance is measured in terms of total product cost, cash-in-system, time-in-system and reliability.

• Simba: Lanner’s Simulation base application software enables the rapid development and component build of simulation embedded operational planning and scheduling applications for supply chains.

• Simplorer: A simulator for industrial design, research projects and teaching purposes. External code can be embedded. Has its own language. Allows for hierarchical structures.

• Witness (SDX): This software offers discrete event simulation. This software has various facilities, which enable easy simulation of automotive manufacturing. Cycle times, breakdown modes and timings, setup modes and timings, buffer capacities, buffer dwell times, machine type etc. can be easily brought out as output together with routing information. It also includes material flow optimization. Effective material flow planning minimizes the high cost of moving materials and products from one machine to another [5].

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