Discrete event simulation of multimodal and unimodal transportation in the wood supply chain: a literature review

Abstract

This review systematically analyses and classifies research and review papers focusing on discrete event simulation applied to wood transport, and therefore illustrates the development of the research area from 1997 until 2017. Discrete event simulation allows complex supply chain models to be mapped in a straightforward manner to study supply chain dynamics, test alternative strategies, communicate findings and facilitate understanding of various stakeholders. The presented analyses confirm that discrete event simulation is well-suited for analyzing interconnected wood supply chain transportation issues on an operational and tactical level. Transport is the connective link between interrelated system components of the forest products industry. Therefore, a survey on transport logistics allows to analyze the significance of entire supply chain management considerations to improve the overall performance and not only one part in isolation. Thus far, research focuses mainly on biomass, unimodal truck transport and terminal operations. Common shortcomings identified include rough explanations of simulation models and sparse details provided about the verification and validation processes. Research gaps exist concerning simulations of entire, resilient and multimodal wood supply chains as well as supply and demand risks. Further studies should expand upon the few initial attempts to combine various simulation methods with optimization.

Optimization of economic and environmental factors of the logistic system of enterprise management

“…Formula (1) means that the impact of the advertising campaign on the potential demand is described by the first-order lag model [7,8]. In the absence of advertising, the potential demand for the product is determined only by its price ( ).…”

“…Despite the extensive literature on designing and management of logistic systems (LS) [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11] in the scientific literature shortage of models which would describe all links LS within the limits of uniform system of the equations is felt. General difficulties arise with identification of models.…”

“…Shortage of the information leads to essential errors in the justification of models. Articles [1,2] provide the literary review in the discrete modelling of events describing a difficult supply chain. Models allow to study dynamics of a supply chain, to develop and compare alternative strategy.…”

Improving performance and energy efficiency of biomass supply through machine alteration and organisational redesign

“…Simulation has been compared with other procedures of operations research (OR), but while analytic methods of OR offer algorithms for solving a problem, simulation models are unique and tailored for a specific problem with the aim to find answers to specific questions (Asikainen 1995). A general characteristic of supply chains in biomass sourcing are the complexity and highly dynamic network due to unpredictable simultaneous interactions, which makes it difficult to solve optimally (Kogler & Rauch 2018).…”

“…Asikainen (1995) and Väätäinen (2018) have provided detailed introduction to DES as a study method in this field including for instance simulation structures, components, evaluations and applications. Recently, a literature review on DES concerning multimodal and unimodal transportation in the wood supply chain was presented by Kogler & Rauch (2018). The authors provide comprehensive analyses of articles where DES was applied to wood transport.…”