Model Support for New Warehouse Concept Development

Models can be used to make insights and expectations explicit in the development of new warehouse concepts. In early phases of development, models with large simplifications and assumptions can provide relevant input for taking design decisions in an economic way. This claim is illustrated in the context of developing the automated case picking concept in Vanderlande. Two critical system aspects are modelled within days while the results were instrumental in providing directions for the development team. Essential ingredients for the success of such an approach are the focus on sensitivity analysis rather than absolute figures and the credibility of the simplifications made in modelling.