Cloud-based supply chain simulation and logistics simulation for a winning strategy.

Improve supply chain strategy execution

The aviation and, more recently medical industries have been early adopters of simulation as an enterprise process – they know too well that the consequences of poor decision making can be fatal to individuals. Poorly executed initiatives in supply chain and logistics may not have such fatal results, but they can cause businesses to be materially wounded.

After all, making a good strategy work well is much harder than developing it. One only has to look at the myriad examples of supply chain initiatives and related IT projects that fall short of expectations, or fail outright. Operational Cloning's cloud-based, supply chain and logistics simulations offer risk-free learning by experience. You can use it to test new strategies and to change behaviour that affects a strategic initiative.

OperationalCloning^TM gives businesses and their people power to experience a changed environment and see the results without risk. It aligns people within an organisation by providing them with the context and practical know-how to contribute to an initiative's success.

OperationalCloning^TM improves supply chain change management and risk management by creating virtual copies, or clones, of your supply chain that help you design, experiment with and communicate change before it is implemented. As a self-serve process, you stay in control at all times. Alternatively we can structure it as a supply chain consulting or logistics consulting service.

OperationalCloning^TM builds a strong bridge between the changes you design and their ultimate implemention. It creates a single, integrated supply chain simulation and logistics simulation of your global purchasing, distribution and transportation plans.

Reduce the uncertainty inherent in you supply chain strategy and distribution strategy

Your supply chain strategy and distribution strategy is by definition uncertain and incomplete. OperationalCloning^TM offers a competitive advantage. It quickly reduces the uncertainty inherent in supply chain decisions by allowing you to test the decisions through simulation. It is a cloud-based supply chain simulation and logistics simulation service, that you can use for specific projects or as an enterprise process. It works for supply network, distribution network and distribution center design, planning and simulation.

A supply chain simulation and logistics simulation that gives you a clear view on cost trade-offs

An OC supply chain simulation and logistics simulation gives you a clear view of inventory costs, internal logistics costs, 3PL costs and international and domestic inbound and outbound transport costs and how these measurements vary by change scenario. Performance measures can be analysed as Motion Charts, network visualisation or warehouse 3D visualisation.

Experiment with supply network, distribution network and distribution center design

An OC supply chain simulation and logistics simulation helps you to examine the impact of change by experimenting with:

Supply network design

Distribution network design

Distribution center design

varying points of supply

product stocking strategies

inbound transportation variations (transportation lanes, inbound transport costs, lead-times and modes)

multi-level supply approaches

safety stock levels

purchasing frequencies

centralisation versus regionalisation

demand forecast variations

shipment consolidation, scheduling and carrier service selection

the flexibility of the network design

capacity constraints

channel and order profile variations

outsourcing versus insourcing

physical layouts

storage systems and material handling equipment

zoning, location sequencing and travel flow (routing)

storage and putaway strategies and policies

product slotting

replenishment and picking strategies and policies

technology choices such as pick-to-light, voice-directed and RF directed operations

We introduced the concept of organisational supply chain DNA – a powerful lever to experiment with change. Organisational supply chain DNA allows you to work with a summary description of your supply chain where change scenarios can be easily and quickly translated into DNA versions. OC then explodes the DNA versions into a supply chain simulation and logistics simulation (clone) that fully mirror the complexities of your reality.

A DNA version contains all the information OC requires to build and run a supply chain simulation and logistics simulation. Every behaviour exhibited by OC is either influenced by the data in the DNA workbook or hardwired as default behaviour. To ensure that limited effort is required to be able to use the tool, we designed OC using concepts that are commonly used across many supply chain operations. The DNA concepts create a vocabulary with which you can describe your actual as well as planned change scenarios. Understanding this vocabulary allows you to be effective with the OC supply chain simulation and logistics simulation tool. The 155 DNA concepts is all you need to describe your current state and planned change.

Knowing what to do with a reasonable degree of certainty and timeliness is only one part of a successful supply chain strategy and distribution strategy. Strategy is social. You have to get your organization to share the vision or idea in order to act on it. They have to see it as you see it. This transmission challenge is intensified by organisational biases across other parts of the business and the need to integrate individual perspectives.

An OC supply chain simulation and logistics simulation creates a vivid representation of a future state providing an effective way to transmit your strategy to individuals and to the parts of the organisation that will be affected. It is a powerful tool that allows real-life, real-time change management, risk management and learning to happen before the change happens.

Improve supply chain strategy execution

Reduce the uncertainty inherent in you supply chain strategy and distribution strategy

A supply chain simulation and logistics simulation that gives you a clear view on cost trade-offs

Experiment with supply network, distribution network and distribution center design

Elephants in the clouds – an affirming but cautionary tale

How I cloned Dell’s finished goods supply chain in under 48 hours