Tag Archives: supply chain

ProModel AutoCAD App for Warehouses and Distribution Centers

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Steve Courtney, ProModel Sr. Consultant

I have several years of experience in supply chain and logistics modeling helping clients who have large warehouses and distribution centers.  These models are often very large (thousands or tens of thousands of locations), which can be very time consuming to model.  I’ve found the old adage to be very true: “Necessity is the Mother of Invention”, so I developed a ProModel App that is used from within AutoCAD which enables us to quickly build the graphical portions of the model using OLE automation.  This capability is also very useful when experimenting with several different layouts.

The types of Warehouse / DC modeling questions that can be answered include:

  • Slotting questions – where should my SKUs go?
  • Racking questions – which type of racking is best (flow rack, bin shelving, single pallet deep, double pallet deep, drive-in racking, etc.)?
  • How high should our racking go 5 levels, 7 levels, etc?
  • Which material handling devices are best – narrow aisle, forklifts, single/double/triple pallet jack, reach trucks, side loaders, clamp trucks, electric/propane/natural gas, etc.?
  • Staffing questions – how many of each type and when?

I recently gave a webinar on this topic which you can view here

The requirements for using the app include:

  • Current AutoCAD drawing
  • AutoCAD not AutoCAD Light
  • Know where each location is physically on the drawing
  • Location levels 2-X should be mapped to the level 1 location
  • Build indexed location file in the order you plan to add to the drawing
  • Know which material handling device accesses each location

If you would like to discuss this further, or have other ideas that can help us all improve warehouse and distribution center modeling, please comment below.  Thanks and Happy Modeling!

Thanks, Steve Courtney

 

Teaching Supply Chain Management with ProModel

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profshannonPatrick W. Shannon, Ph.D., is a professor of operations and supply chain management at Boise State University. He taught graduate and undergraduate courses in business statistics, quality management, lean manufacturing and other areas of operations and supply chain management. Professor Shannon developed a curriculum for his supply chain class, using ProModel Simulation which he used for over 10 years.

To provide you some insight into how you can use ProModel in the classroom, Professor Shannon was kind enough to allow us to share the materials he used.

Attached are PDFs of his course materials.

  1. Tri-Star Manufacturing: A Case Study in Lean Implementation
  2. The Tri-Star Simulation Model
  3. Project Requirements and Rules
  4. ProModel Instructions

Dr. Shannon served as dean of the College of Business and Economics from 2008-2014 and has lectured and consulted on statistics, lean manufacturing and quality management, project management, statistical modeling, and demand forecasting for over thirty years. He has co-authored 11 university level textbooks, and he has published numerous articles in such journals as Decision Sciences Journal of Innovative Education, Business Horizons, Transportation Research Record, Interfaces, Journal of Simulation, Journal of Production and Inventory Control, Quality Progress, and Journal of Marketing Research, Quality Management Journal, and The International Journal of Quality and Reliability Management.

He completed his BS and MS at the University of Montana and his Ph.D. in Statistics and Quantitative Methods at the University of Oregon. In 2015 he presented at the National Kidney Registry (NKR) Symposium in New York City. The presentation, authored by Shannon and Phil Fry, professor of operations management, is titled “Kidney Life Years” and describes the research Fry and Shannon have conducted with the NKR. The purpose of the research is to develop a statistical model to identify the donor characteristics that impact the length of time live donor kidney transplant will last.

Click here to view his LinkedIn Profile.

If you are a professor interested in learning more about ProModel’s Academic offerings, please email cbunker@promodel.com for more information.  You may also check out the following: www.promodel.com/industries/academic

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