Simulation software has long been used by systems integrators as a cost-effective way to model new materials handling processes before spending money on new equipment. And that is still the primary application for simulation.

"Materials handling solutions are more complex than ever, which makes it harder to envision how they're going to work," says Rick Herlacher, planning manager for supply chain solutions, Siemens Logistics and Assembly Systems (877-725-7500). "When a customer is spending upwards of $50 million for a solution, they want to be sure that it's going to work."

But fans of simulation software are finding new uses for this tool.

"Five years ago, simulation was used to visualize the bottlenecks in a new materials handling solution," says Jay Stacey, business development manager, Brooks Automation (978-262-2600). Today's it's a planning and decision support tool. Simulation is being used to re-optimize a production schedule after a piece of equipment goes down and to determine the number of pickers needed after signing a new customer."

In fact, simulation delivers value in four important ways, says Vivek Bapat, director of simulation marketing, Rockwell Automation (724-873-5476).

The first is cost-avoidance. "Users not only visualize and model materials handling systems, but they also ask whether they actually need new equipment or additional labor," says Bapat.

Simulation also allows a user to optimize the performance of an existing operation without adding new labor or equipment. "There's a lot of interest in using simulation around retrofits," says Herlacher. "A user can take full advantage of assets they've already paid for."

A third is that simulation can uncover value in a system that a company may not have realized was there in the first place. "Simulation can not only help you identify the bottlenecks, but it can also identify ways the system is underutilized," says Bapat.

Finally, simulation can be used to define new manufacturing or distribution processes to meet increased customer service requirements.

One reason simulation is so successful is that companies must define and measure the processes to be simulated, something they may not have done in the past.

"Simulation forces you to take a step back and look at your process flow in a way you may not have done before," says Jared LeBaron, principal engineer, simulations, HK Systems (800-457-9783). "A lot of the benefit we see comes from asking them questions to define assumptions they haven't really thought out."

LeBaron, for instance, worked on a project for a company planning to add a mini-load automated storage and retrieval system to buffer raw materials on the plant floor.

"On paper, this looked like the way to go," says LeBaron. "But when we collected data to use for the simulation, we turned up more replenishment activities than we expected. Those activities created congestion that hampered operations. Without simulation, we could have thrown a million bucks at a system that would have been a counterproductive move."

As a result, the user addressed operational issues around the scheduling, buffering and releasing of materials in a more productive way rather than adding new equipment.

Those are the kinds of benefits that simulation has traditionally turned up. But as the software has become more accepted, operators have started to apply it to solve new problems.

In part, that's because the tools are easier to use. "Simulation has caught up with the pace of business," says Kevin Hume, director of consulting services, ESYNC (419-842-2210). "Simulations that used to take a month can now be turned around in minutes on a laptop."

That's because the information needed to get good results from simulation is easier to access. "Today, you can download a year's worth of data at a discrete level of detail onto a zip drive," Hume explains. That allows you to become more creative and focused on how you can apply the technology."

"Today's systems will allow you to repeat different scenarios very quickly," adds Siemens' Herlacher. "You can take an existing system designed to do one thing, and then throw something at it that it wasn't designed to do, like run two shifts instead of one, and ask 'what if?'"

While Hume recently used simulation to validate a new materials handling system, he also used the software when he was interviewing for a new operations manager to run the facility. "We were able to play with the data and run 'what-if' scenarios, then ask the candidates how they'd handle those situations," says Hume. "It was a tool that allowed us to see very quickly whether a manager picked up on things."

The next step for simulation is to tie operational processes to information technology solutions. "One of the things we're looking at now is how to merge facility design expertise with our information systems integration," notes Hume. "That will allow us to answer questions like whether it's more cost-effective to change my operations to work with a baseline warehouse management package. Or, does it make more sense to pay for modifications and customize the software around current processes?"

With simulation, a user can take real data from a year's worth of very different order profiles and have confidence that the system they choose is the best solution from the available options.