Automated Distribution Center Palletization Simulation for Leading Pet Supply Company

Design Conveyor Systems (DCS) was contracted to design an automated palletization subsystem inside a new state of the art distribution center for a leading pet supply company.  DCS partnered with MOSIMTEC to develop a simulation of the palletization subsystem to ensure the system can perform at its contracted levels.  The simulation model helped test the throughput of the design and identify potential weaknesses in the operational policies. 

Pallets arrive from manufacturers with single SKU bags of dog food, cat food, cat litter, and other bagged products.  Since stores rarely need an entire single-SKU pallet, the automated subsystem builds multi-SKU pallets to ship to stores.  The subsystem is a completely automated grid with eight independent zones, each zone with a dedicated overhead crane.  Up to 60 manufacturer pallets are placed in each zone for the gantry crane to build mixed-SKU store pallets.  All pallet moves within the grid are executed by Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs).  Completed store pallets are plastic wrapped, labeled, and brought to an outgoing cell.

The flexible AnyLogic model allowed DCS to change grid configuration, SKU definitions, pallet assignment locations, movement speeds, and AMR counts.  Examples of questions answered by the engagement included time to complete daily work, number of AMRs needed, system bottlenecks, impact of failures, and impact of staff break times.  The model analysis identified a potential imbalance of the eight zones driven by manufacturer SKU to zone assignments.  The analysis also suggested the number of planned AMRs may be reduced without compromising throughput.

Geoffrey Skipton (geoffrey.skipton@mosimtec.com) is a professional consultant with over twenty (20) years of experience in simulation modeling, software engineering, and IT solutions. Mr. Skipton has consulted with and provided solutions for over a dozen companies in healthcare, supply chain, entertainment, quick service restaurants, manufacturing, rail, and government. Mr. Skipton also held positions as a Senior Software Engineer & Group Leader in commercial software for five (5) years and a Senior IT Professional Developer for two (2) years.

Prior to joining MOSIMTEC, he was a Senior Programmer/Analyst at The Boeing Company.  At Boeing, Mr. Skipton was solely responsible for the availability, upgrades, and enhancements to several internal websites.  He was also a senior simulation consultant for TranSystems for 9 years followed by a dedicated contract simulation consultant for McDonald’s for 3.5 years.  Before starting his career with simulation, he was a Senior Software Developer at Firstlogic (now part of SAP) for 5 years.

Mr. Skipton holds a Bachelor of Information Systems from Austin Peay State University, in addition to studies towards a Master of Computer Science at Middle Tennessee State University.