Now there is a greater need for simulation than ever

Filed in archive Point of view on June 14, 2007

Eric Joiner of Freight Dawg provided a nice comment for my previous post "Can simulation benefit supply chain organizations?" which I brought here without any change:

To my mind there is now a greater need for simulation than ever. Im not talking about the ergonomic conference room simulation conducted by supply chain engineers prior to an implementation.

Today, with long supply chains, and increased security risks, I think some more military style simulations that test the "what if" factor should be employed. I think 3PL's should make this a fundamental lynchpin of their service offerrings.

Quarterly business reviews are great, but the thought leadership comes when you look at what would happen if your warehouse in the US Gulf Coast got wiped out by a hurricane...and your business happens to be a DIY store. Double impact on consumers etc.

Also associations should run similar scenarios. During Katrina, RILA and other associations helped each other immensely in assisting other member employees even if they worked for competitors.

We have the computing power. Scenario simulation is a key to disaster response and opportunity leverage that may come from disasters.

I agree with Eric. In an environment which is uncertain, the winners are the ones who can better execute in the case of unexpected events. Simulation can be a great skill in such cases.