Improvement of operations of picking and dispatch for a business in the mattress industry, supported by discrete simulation

Abstract

Warehouse management and operations of picking and dispatch in the supply chain and logistics are key factors for operational efficiency and client satisfaction. For this reason, the present article aims to develop a discrete simulation model that supports the analysis and evaluation of improvement alternatives for these operations. This model is for a medium size business in the mattress business in the city of Medellin. The business could reduce the permanency time of a mattress in the system from 4.12 h to 3.7 h and the number of mattresses attended would rise from 102 to 110 units with a confidence level of 95%. This is done via the implementation and analysis of the results of a discrete simulation model of the operations under consideration. The model allowed the mattress company to evaluate different alternatives that not only allowed analysis to improve efficiency, but also to focus on client satisfaction in warehouse management.