A survey of simulation techniques in commerce and defence

Despite the developments in Modelling and Simulation (M&S) tools and techniques over the past years, there has been a gap in the M&S research and practice in healthcare on developing a toolkit to assist the modellers and simulation practitioners with selecting an appropriate set of techniques. This study is a preliminary step towards this goal. This paper presents some results from a systematic literature survey on applications of M&S in the commerce and defence domains that could inspire some improvements in the healthcare. Interim results show that in the commercial sector Discrete-Event Simulation (DES) has been the most widely used technique with System Dynamics (SD) in second place. However in the defence sector, SD has gained relatively more attention. SD has been found quite useful for qualitative and soft factors analysis. From both the surveys it becomes clear that there is a growing trend towards using hybrid M&S approaches

Rational bidding using reinforcement learning: an application in automated resource allocation

The application of autonomous agents by the provisioning and usage of computational resources is an attractive research field. Various methods and technologies in the area of artificial intelligence, statistics and economics are playing together to achieve i) autonomic resource provisioning and usage of computational resources, to invent ii) competitive bidding strategies for widely used market mechanisms and to iii) incentivize consumers and providers to use such market-based systems. The contributions of the paper are threefold. First, we present a framework for supporting consumers and providers in technical and economic preference elicitation and the generation of bids. Secondly, we introduce a consumer-side reinforcement learning bidding strategy which enables rational behavior by the generation and selection of bids. Thirdly, we evaluate and compare this bidding strategy against a truth-telling bidding strategy for two kinds of market mechanisms – one centralized and one decentralized

Q-Strategy: A Bidding Strategy for Market-Based Allocation of Grid Services

The application of autonomous agents by the provisioning and usage of computational services is an attractive research field. Various methods and technologies in the area of artificial intelligence, statistics and economics are playing together to achieve i) autonomic service provisioning and usage of Grid services, to invent ii) competitive bidding strategies for widely used market mechanisms and to iii) incentivize consumers and providers to use such market-based systems. The contributions of the paper are threefold. First, we present a bidding agent framework for implementing artificial bidding agents, supporting consumers and providers in technical and economic preference elicitation as well as automated bid generation by the requesting and provisioning of Grid services. Secondly, we introduce a novel consumer-side bidding strategy, which enables a goal-oriented and strategic behavior by the generation and submission of consumer service requests and selection of provider offers. Thirdly, we evaluate and compare the Q-strategy, implemented within the presented framework, against the Truth-Telling bidding strategy in three mechanisms – a centralized CDA, a decentralized on-line machine scheduling and a FIFO-scheduling mechanisms

Using simulation gaming to validate a mathematical modeling platform for resource allocation in disasters

The extraordinary conditions of a disaster require the mobilisation of all available resources, inducing the rush of humanitarian partners into the affected area This phenomenon called the proliferation of actors, causes serious problems during the disaster response phase including the oversupply, duplicated efforts, lack of planning In an attempt to reduce the partner proliferation problem a framework called PREDIS (PREdictive model for DISaster response partner selection) is put forward to configure the humanitarian network within early hours after disaster strike when the information is scarce To verify this model a simulation game is designed using two sets of real decision makers (experts and non-experts) in the disaster Haiyan scenario The result shows that using the PREDIS framework 100% of the experts could make the same decisions less than six hours comparing to 72 hours Also between 71% and 86% of the times experts and non-experts decide similarly using the PREDIS framewor

Modelling an End to End Supply Chain system Using Simulation

Within the current uncertain environment industries are predominantly faced with various challenges resulting in greater need for skilled management and adequate technique as well as tools to manage Supply Chains (SC) efficiently. Derived from this observation is the need to develop a generic/reusable modelling framework that would allow firms to analyse their operational performance over time (Mackulak and Lawrence 1998, Beamon and Chen 2001, Petrovic 2001, Lau et al. 2008, Khilwani et al. 2011, Cigollini et al. 2014). However for this to be effectively managed the simulation modelling efforts should be directed towards identifying the scope of the SC and the key processes performed between players. Purpose: The research attempts to analyse trends in the field of supply chain modelling using simulation and provide directions for future research by reviewing existing Operations Research/Operations Management (OR/OM) literature. Structural and operational complexities as well as different business processes within various industries are often limiting factors during modelling efforts. Successively, this calls for the end to end (E2E) SC modelling framework where the generic processes, related policies and techniques could be captured and supported by the powerful capabilities of simulation. Research Approach: Following Mitroff’s (1974) scientific inquiry model and Sargent (2011) this research will adopt simulation methodology and focus on systematic literature review in order to establish generic OR processes and differentiate them from those which are specific to certain industries. The aim of the research is provide a clear and informed overview of the existing literature in the area of supply chain simulation. Therefore through a profound examination of the selected studies a conceptual model will be design based on the selection of the most commonly used SC Processes and simulation techniques used within those processes. The description of individual elements that make up SC processes (Hermann and Pundoor 2006) will be defined using building blocks, which are also known as Process Categories. Findings and Originality: This paper presents an E2E SC simulation conceptual model realised through means of systematic literature review. Practitioners have adopted the term E2E SC while this is not extensively featured within academic literature. The existing SC studies lack generality in regards to capturing the entire SC within one methodological framework, which this study aims to address. Research Impact: A systematic review of the supply chain and simulation literature takes an integrated and holistic assessment of an E2E SC, from market-demand scenarios through order management and planning processes, and on to manufacturing and physical distribution. Thus by providing significant advances in understanding of the theory, methods used and applicability of supply chain simulation, this paper will further develop a body of knowledge within this subject area. Practical Impact: The paper will empower practitioners’ knowledge and understanding of the supply chain processes characteristics that can be modelled using simulation. Moreover it will facilitate a selection of specific data required for the simulation in accordance to the individual needs of the industry

Insights on Multi-Agent Systems Applications for Supply Chain Management

In this paper, we review relevant literature on the development of multi-agent systems applications for supply chain management. We give a general picture of the state of the art, showing the main applications developed using this novel methodology for analyzing diverse problems in industry. We also analyze generic frameworks for supply chain modelling, showing their main characteristics. We discuss the main topics addressed with this technique and the degree of development of the contributions.Universidad de Sevilla V PPIT-USPiano della Ricerca Dipartimentale 2016-2018 of DICAR-UniC