FlexSim – for Warehouses

During the course “Space Optimization and Efficiency of Warehouse Activities”, one of the important issues that we discuss with the participants is the warehouse map. Based on this map, the use of space is then calculated, and we may find out what can be improved and what can be removed from the warehouse.

Many times, however, we ask participants how they would draw a perfect warehouse for their work. The answer received is, too often: "It depends."

A perfect warehouse would mean: enough space, depending on the type of materials used; clear routes, preferably without too many intersections; sufficient resources in people and equipment; knowing the volume peaks and taking them into account in advance; planning the entrances and exits of the warehouse so that we can do, according to the company's procedures and legal requirements: unloading, reception, storage, picking, loading.

A perfect warehouse is a warehouse that has gone through everything, good and bad - and within which the right routes and storage spaces fulfill their role correctly, with plans that the employees follow, with procedures and work instructions that are followed and constantly improved. Therefore, a warehouse can be characterized as perfect after a long time of work and after many experiences, good and bad - as I said earlier.

But now we have another possibility: It can be a warehouse designed and tested for various scenarios and situations. A warehouse that is designed in the FlexSim application, for example.

FlexSim is a software for designing and 3D simulation of warehouses and flows in general (of materials or people) that has many options which are necessary for a good functionality:

• Objects - customizable people and equipment
• Spaces and routes with rules of movement and loading
• Scenarios that are defined to measure the efficiency of allocated distances, spaces and resources
• Real-time 3D visualization of the movements of operators and equipment (even robots and AGV), for tracking material flows and identifying blocking points
• Increasing the simulation speed, with predictable or random events, in order to be able to estimate results over a practically infinite period of time.

Contact us to find out more details about this tool and to receive the necessary advice in establishing together the needs of your company in process simulations but especially to find the optimal solutions to the problems in your material flows.