Reengineering and simulation of an RFID manufacturing system

We present a discrete event simulation model reproducing the adoption of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology for the optimal management of common logistics processes of a Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) warehouse. In this study, simulation is exploited as a powerful tool to reproduce both the reengineered RFID logistics processes and the flows of Electronic Product Code (EPC) data generated by such processes. Due to the newness of RFID adoption in the logistics context and to the lack of real case applications that can be examined, we believe that the model developed can be very useful both to understand the practical implications of the technology applied in such field, and to provide a "proof of concept" to substantiate the adoption of RFID in the FMCG industry. Moreover, through the simulation tool, we also address the issue of how the flows of EPC data (Matrix) generated by RFID technology can be exploited to provide value-added information for optimally managing the logistics processes.