Case studies
Simulation case studies
Twenty projects in manufacturing, supply chain, logistics and resource management. Each one started with a decision someone had to make, and a model that showed what would happen.
Many were built in ExtendSim and have since been rebuilt in ReliaSim. See the ReliaSim case studies and our shared heritage.
Prefer to walk through it?
The self-guided tour sorts our work into the same four areas, with the strategic questions each kind of model answers, model screens, plots and the cases below.
Trusted by 300+ organizations since the early 1990s
Manufacturing
Line and plant capacity, bottlenecks and scheduling. More on production line simulation and packaging lines.
Olive plant capacity: 15% more throughput
Finding the real bottlenecks in an olive plant, and 15% more throughput from scheduling.
15% throughput improvement
Chemical bagging lines: capacity vs. overtime
Weighing new bagging lines against overtime, and finding low-capital room to grow.
Soap plant consolidation: a $4M retrofit avoided
Folding several plants and 300+ products into one, and catching a $4M problem first.
$4M retrofit avoided
Brewpub expansion: the tanks set the limit
Adding kegging and bottling, and finding the real limit was the tanks, not the new lines.
Cereal grit storage: sizing a new decoupling step
Sizing a patented grit storage step so cereal makers could see its value in their own plant.
19.8% more production at peak
Coffee plant scheduling: a bottleneck that moves
A process change broke the schedule. The model showed why, and tested a new way to schedule.
Sizing in-process storage when reblend moves
Storage needs that moved with the schedule, and a model reused at a dozen similar factories.
12 similar factories reused the modelSupply chain
Inventory, run lengths and where to hold stock. More on supply chain simulation.
General Mills: six months of supply chain in minutes
Six months of supply chain in minutes, and results in as little as 15 minutes.
15 min to results once the model was built
Where to hold cycle stock: plants or DCs
Plants or distribution centers? Testing where cycle stock should sit, item by item.
Packing at the DC: inventory vs. bulk stock
Should packaging move to the distribution centers? The answer, product by product.
Electronics life cycle: capacity vs. peak demand
How much capacity to commit before demand is known, with overseas lead times.
Logistics
Rail, sea and warehouse networks, and the apps that run them. More on custom applications.
VINLogic: $21.7M saved in vehicle distribution
Forecasting a 2.5M-vehicle rail network: $21.7M saved and transit time cut 19%.
$21.7M inventory carrying costs saved
Robotic warehouse design: 94% productivity gain
Testing layouts and task rules for a robotic warehouse before it was built.
94% productivity improvement
TLoaDS: resupplying Marine units from the sea
Can a force ashore be sustained from ships at sea? A model of the whole supply chain.
Resource management
People, equipment and facilities over years or decades, for government and industry.
Radioactive waste: 25 sites, 35 years, one model
Planning transport and storage to clear radioactive waste from 25 sites over 35 years.
Nuclear weapons rehab: 25 years of resource needs
A database-driven model of Y-12's rehab work, used to plan resources over 25 years.
Delta IV launch prep: proving the launch window
Would the planned assembly sequence hit 80% of launch windows? The model said yes.
Service contract bids: estimating maintenance crews
Predicting service response, labor use and cost before bidding a maintenance contract.
Wireless network: channels, routing and blocked calls
How call patterns, layout and channels drive blocked calls in a new cellular network.
Project networks: tasks competing for resources
Modeling task precedence and shared resources across many projects at once.
Tell us your problem
What would happen if you changed it?
Describe the decision in front of you. We'll tell you whether a model can answer it, and what it would take.
- A straight answer on whether simulation is the right tool
- Which tool fits, even if it isn't one we use every day
- A rough scope and timeline, before any commitment