THE USE OF SIMULATION TECHNIQUES AND MANAGEMENT TOOLS TO OPTIMIZE THE LOGISTICS PROCESS

Background: The article discusses the problem of modeling and simulation of the production process, as well as accompanying intralogistics processes in the automotive industry, which are characterized by advanced production standards and high product quality. The analyzed processes concern a Flexible Manufacturing System (FMS) for manufacturing a family of gear wheels and a distribution center that operates in a cross-docking regime. The goal of the research is to create a methodology of modeling and simulation of production and intralogistics processes with the help of a digital twin, which aims to integrate the design of production and logistics systems, considering factors such as manipulation and transportation of each product. Therefore, the article emphasizes the optimization of intralogistics processes. Methods: The proposed methodology is based on the Value Stream Mapping (VSM) method, which is used for identifying critical components of the production system being analyzed. The first step involves creating a VSM of the current state of the production system, which can be utilized to model key research areas, such as current planning, scheduling, manufacturing, and intralogistics. Analyzing the map and related models leads to the development of a future state map, used to create improved models of the system. Subsequently, the models are integrated into a digital twin with the use of the Flexsim program. Results: The results of simulation experiments confirm that the introduction of a FMS with AGV transport allows improvement in the intralogistics system, reduces the production cycle of a planned order package from two days to one day, and improves the distribution process with the use of pallets and short transportation batches, which enables 64 shipments during one shift. The experiments also confirm the stability of the model for different numbers of AGVs and a random inflow of orders. Conclusions: The proposed methodology of creating a digital twin makes it possible to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed improvements and to verify production plans. The advantage of the applied simulations and analyses is the significant reduction in the amount of time spent searching for optimal solutions and storage capacities.