Analysis and improvement of enterprise logistics processes using simulation-based methodologies

Logistics processes exist, directly or indirectly, in every business operation. More than ever before, the complexities of logistics operations are increasing, as they are impacted by changes in technology, business globalization, nature of workforce, and by political and environmental factors. As these logistics processes become more complex, they, in turn, become more difficult to analyze and modify towards the goal of achieving an optimum enterprise logistics operation. Many enterprise modeling tools are available today to assist in the analysis and determination of logistics processes. Although great strides have been made to support supply chain modeling and logistics network optimization, there still is a need for integrated logistics process modeling. Few models exist that provide a complete end-to-end analysis and decision-support capability of a logistics enterprise. This paper provides an overview of a generic modeling and simulation-based capability, called the Enterprise Logistics Model (ELM), that supports the analysis of enterprise-level logistics processes. The ELM assists in the iterative process of identifying and analyzing requirements for new logistics systems and also for the transformation of existing (legacy) ones. The main goals are to ensure that the logistics system will perform as intended, optimize the processes, estimate cost and durations, and influence the design for supportability and affordability. The ELM is also intended to assist in the phased transformation of legacy logistics systems and provide supporting economic justification for the changes. The approach considers the dynamic nature of interacting components of logistics operations rather than the traditional supply and demand chain flow. The ultimate goal is to reduce life cycle cost (LCC) and risk prior to logistics operation at any design or implementation stage.