So how do you improve with the pressures of daily fulfillment, a complex situation, no clear answers from existing data, and the need to not make changes that might actually further reduce performance?

Ingram partnered with consultants TranSystems to build a simulation tool that model different wave types, volumes, pick type, cost and throughput, and a variety of other factors to better understand what was really happening and to better predict the effect of order release and wave planning changes. The tool is used to both analyze overall operations, as well as to help wave planners understand on a wave by wave basis the expected throughput and cost of waves they are considering. Read more

Automation Associates, Inc. (AAI), a provider of simulation solutions for the global supply chain, announced that Fresh Direct, LLC has selected AAI's simulation modeling software and services to help build and improve operations efficiency within its 300,000 square foot facility in Long Island City, New York. Fresh Direct will utilize simulation modeling to analyze and update its order fulfillment system. Read more

Online grocer Fresh Direct, LLC, is deploying simulation modeling software and services to help build and improve operations efficiency within its 300,000 sq. ft. facility here. Read more

Computer simulation technology for facilities design and workflow analysis, now easier to use and less expensive than in the past, has the potential to attract a wider base of followers among foodservice companies, some operators and vendors say. Read more (login required)

Buying a car is essentially making an investment, and anyone in the market for an automobile knows the importance of taking it for a test drive. Some problems just can’t be seen from the dealership parking lot or the manufacturer’s manual. It’s only when you put the pedal to the metal and hear the engine scream for mercy that you know something is wrong. Read more

Automation Associates, Inc. (AAI), a leading provider of simulation solutions for the global supply chain, announced today that Starbucks Coffee Company (Nasdaq: SBUX) has licensed its Restaurant Modeling Studio(tm) (RMS) simulation software to help measure and validate the impact of strategic operations decisions. Read more

For Starbucks devotees, a scene that played recently on a computer screen at the Solana Beach office of Automation Associates could be considered a horror flick. Read more

Michael McEachern had a problem. St. Vincent's Hospital's emergency department was overflowing with patients, and the numbers were growing by the day. To relieve the congestion, the Birmingham, Ala., hospital where McEachern is chief operating officer was planning to build a new ED to boost capacity from its current 26,000 annual visits to 40,000 or more. Read more

With a projected doubling of growth in Pacific Rim trade over the next five years, the Port of Tacoma faces challenges to accommodating market demand and the needs of new customers. Seventy percent of Tacoma's international import cargo heads east on one of the Port's two mainline railroads - Burlington Northern Santa Fe and Union Pacific - making rail an even more important part of the Northwest's intermodal gateway. To determine how much staging track will be needed, how it should be configured, and where and when it should be built, the Port launched a comprehensive study into the expansion of its rail network. AAI's Transportation Modeling Studio (TMS) was used to develop a system-wide computer model that simulated rail alternatives and modeled growth solutions.

To learn more about the study, download the article in Pacific Gateway, the Port of Tacoma's quarterly publication.
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