Warehouse Optimization

[NATASHA.DEGUNTEN]

[ FlexSim 18.1.2 ]

Hi,

I was looking at making a model in which I have the number of input product (and associated sizes) per hour into a warehouse space (and it's dimension), and the number of output product (and associated sizes) and was wondering if I could use Flexsim to understand the best optimization spacing use of the warehouse.

If this is something I could do, if I could get some pointers on how to go about this, it would be much appreciated!

Thanks!

Natasha

[benjamin_w2 · Accepted solution]

Hi @Natasha DG,

Yes, you can use FlexSim to understand the optimization spacing in this scenario. There are a few different ways that you could do this:

If you are modeling a simple warehouse, then you might be able to get away with using the default statistics and modifying your model based on the output. Here is a simple warehouse model that uses this functionality. You can read more about it here:

https://docs.flexsim.com/en/20.1/GettingData/StandardDataGathering/KeyConceptsDashboards/

If you can define an objective function, then you can use FlexSim's optimizer. This uses a genetic algorithm to try to optimize your function. You can read more about that here:

https://docs.flexsim.com/en/19.0/Tutorials/AdditionalTools/Tutorial4Experimenter/4-2Optimizer/

If you can upgrade to the latest version of flexsim, there are some additional warehousing tools that may help you in your project. This includes an addressing scheme with SQL slot and item lookup. You can read more about that here:

https://docs.flexsim.com/en/20.1/Reference/Tools/StorageSystem/

For your next step, you need to nail down exactly what you are optimizing and what FlexSim object will simulate your situation best. Once you have these defined, you can use some of the above methods to optimize your warehouse.

[NATASHA.DEGUNTEN]

Thanks @Benjamin W2 ! This is a great starting point. Appreciate it.