Simulating and Evaluating Internal Logistics Strategies for Suppliers in Just-in-Sequence Supply Systems in the Automotive Industry

The reliability of just-in-sequence supply systems depends to a large extent on the efficiency of a supplier’s internal logistics distribution system. Thus, improving the logistics efficiency is a major objective for many suppliers in the automotive industry. In this paper, a discrete-event simulation model is developed to evaluate the operational implications of different logistics strategies in just-in-sequence supply systems. Building upon the case of a major automotive supplier from Germany, the implications of various transportation resources and routing approaches are investigated and analyzed when it comes to the supply of components from an internal warehouse to the assembly lines. Experimental results show that the combined, load-carrier-specific use of forklifts, pallet trucks and tugger trains holds a high potential to achieve more efficient supply operations and meet different operational performance criteria such as downsizing the vehicle fleet, improving supply reliability and punctuality at the assembly lines, or minimizing warehouse traffic.