The Material Handling Blog

"The representation of the behaviour or characteristics of one system through the use of another system, especially a computer program designed for the purpose."

That's the dictionary defintion of simulation, but how does it relate to logistics and materials handling? Since modern logistics began, managers have been looking for ways to accurately predict the effects of changes to a materials handling operation. Will moving a certain type of item to a different rack produce more efficient results, or just create new problems? With experience it's possible to make good predictions, but the complexity of a materials handling operation means it's very difficult to have a lot of confidence in them.

When planning a new warehouse, or thinking about making changes to an existing one, it's possible to use some basic figures about the operation to make an analysis of how effective the solution will be.

Figures like the trucks' speed, the rack heights in the warehouse and rough travel distances can give you an estimation of how the operation will look. However, this result will only ever be a fairly approximate estimation - and there's a good chance it could be missing crucial details that lead you to the wrong conclusions.

Building a solid and efficient materials handling operation doesn't start with buying a truck — instead, the process should always begin with a careful analysis of your needs and current operation, so you can see what is being done right, and what needs to change. 

Logistics simulation can help you achieve this, whether you're planning an entirely new warehouse, or just want to improve your current one. In this guide, we've collected some of the main benefits of simulation.