Toward Architecture Design for Discrete Event Logistics Systems

The scope and scale of contemporary discrete event logistics systems (DELS), such as parcel logistics hubs, distribution centers, and global manufacturing systems, continues to outpace the traditional industrial engineering approach to facilities and system design, particularly with regard to system architecture. System architecture is fundamental to system design in most engineering disciplines. While not part of the traditional DELS design portfolio, the ingredients are available today to support system engineering architecture design methods and tools for application to DELS design

An Object Oriented and Axiomatic Theory of Warehouse Design

Despite the conceptual simplicity of warehousing, the development of integrated computational tools for warehouse design has remained an elusive goal. In recent years, there has been some progress toward this goal, with a growing body of research addressing topics as diverse as the design process itself, decision support for specific design decisions, warehouse representation, integrating warehouse representation and analysis, and conceptual approaches for developing integrated warehouse design tool chains. Until now, however, there has not been a suitable warehouse design theory that would provide an integrating framework for all these disparate efforts. This paper presents an object-oriented and axiomatic warehouse design theory. Key assumptions about the warehouse to be designed are stated as axioms, with appropriate formalisms. Using the axioms and the associated notation, a formal specification of warehouse requirements can be stated, a formal description for a warehouse design can be given, and methods can be developed for testing the warehouse design against the requirements. Moreover, the axioms provide the foundation for identifying essential warehouse design decisions, and formally stating both the criteria for evaluating those decisions and the constraints limiting those decisions. The paper provides a conceptual and rigorous bridge between the process-oriented research on warehouse design process or workflow, and the mathematically oriented approach to warehouse design reflected in the vast literature on mathematical models and algorithms for specific warehouse design and/or operating decision

The Future of Modeling in Material Handling Systems

Today, when we talk about “modeling” in the context of material handling systems, invariably we are referring to a mathematical or computational model for analyzing some aspect of the system, such as its throughput rate, response time, cost of ownership, required storage capacity, etc. Creating these kinds of models requires considerable knowledge in at least two domains the material handling system domain, and the analysis methodology domain—and considerable skill in the “art of modeling” in order to express the former in the terms of the latter. The results can be somewhat ad hoc—e.g., two different modelers are likely to create two somewhat different simulation models of exactly the same material handling system. In the past, the situation in software development was very similar, with individual programming experts idiosyncratically driving software development. Over the past twenty years, however, computer scientists and software engineers have created a radically different approach to the process of software “modeling” called Model Driven Architecture, or MDA, that is used to create software for standard applications. The thesis of this paper is that MDA can be adapted to the kind of modeling done to support design and operational decision making in material handling systems. The paper describes MDA technologies in the context of material handling system modeling, and explains how adapting this approach to our context will transform the way we do research and the way material handling systems are analyzed and designed in practice

In-plant logistics systems modeling with SysML

Up till now Systems Modeling Language (SysML) has mostly been used to model physical systems of interest. This paper shows how SysML can also be used to represent an abstract model. In this application a mathematical cost model is represented using the SysML plugin for the software MagicDraw. ParaMagic, a plugin in MagicDraw supplementary to SysML, links to Mathematica to solve the model. SysML is a formal language and offers a very intuitive graphical representation. It is therefore a useful medium to create a domain specific language for a field of knowledge. The comprehensiveness of the language, which makes it possible to incorporate specification, analysis, design, verification, and validation of systems, makes it a very valuable tool for collaboration on large projects

Integrating Analysis Into a Warehouse Design Workflow

Supply chain analyses, including those related to material handling systems, are typically purpose-built to answer specific questions and therefore have many different implementations depending on the question, the instance data, and the solver. The purpose-built nature of these models makes it difficult to integrate them into an iterative design workflow. Despite the myriad analysis implementations, the fundamental structure of these systems and their problem domain remains unchanged, suggesting that perhaps analyses could be automatically generated on demand, given an appropriate specification of the particular system to be analyzed. We apply model-based systems engineering (MBSE) methodologies to explore this possibility in the context of functional warehouse design

Toward an Engineering Discipline of Warehouse Design

Warehouses today are complex dynamic engineered systems, incorporating automation, mechanization, equipment, fixtures, computers, networks, products and people, and they can support the flow of tens or hundreds of thousands of different items to enable fulfilling thousands or tens of thousands of orders daily. In that sense, they represent a design challenge that is not terribly different from the design of other complex dynamic engineered systems, such as a modern passenger airplane, an automobile, or a unique building. What is different is that the design of these other complex dynamic engineered systems typically follows some engineering design discipline. Here, we argue for the development of a corresponding engineering discipline of warehouse design

10102 Abstracts Collection -- Grand Challenges for Discrete Event Logistics Systems

From 03/08/2010 to 03/12/2010, the Dagstuhl Seminar 10102 ``Grand Challenges for Discrete Event Logistics Systems\u27\u27 was held in Schloss Dagstuhl~--~Leibniz Center for Informatics. During the seminar, several participants presented their current research, and ongoing work and open problems were discussed. Abstracts of the presentations given during the seminar as well as abstracts of seminar results and ideas are put together in this paper. The first section describes the seminar topics and goals in general. Links to extended abstracts or full papers are provided, if available

10102 Executive Summary -- Grand Challenges for Discrete Event Logistics Systems

In March 2010, the Dagstuhl Seminar 10102 explored the grand challenges confronting research and practice in the domain of discrete event logistics systems. This Executive Summary describes the process of the seminar and discusses the key conclusions regarding grand challenges for research and practice. Abstracts of the presentations given during the seminar are put together in the online proceedings

Enterprise Architecture: Charting the Territory for Academic Research

The concept of Enterprise Architecture (EA) has long been considered as a means to improve system integration and achieve better IT-business alignment by IT professionals. Recently, the subject gained significant visibility by IS academics. In this paper we provide an overview of existing EA research and practice and present key functions and benefits of EA as seen by IT professionals based on the results of the SIM Information Management Practices Survey. We then identify and discuss directions for future research, including the development of EA definition and nomological net, as well as development of theoretical propositions regarding EA business value