The Definitive Guide to Inventory Management: Principles and Strategies for the Efficient Flow of Inventory across the Supply Chain

5. Discrete Event Simulation of Inventory Processes

Many inventory processes are difficult or impossible to model mathematically and statistically without the use of a computer. Discrete event simulation is an easy way to model these inventory processes. Discrete event simulation is an academic discipline per se with a lot of depth and breadth, and many different software packages can be used to implement discrete event simulation. In this chapter we do not go in depth on the theory and intricacies of discrete event simulation nor the software packages to implement them. Rather, we explain how to set up a discrete event simulation of an inventory process in Microsoft Excel¹ and explain how modify it, analyze it, and interpret the results. Discrete ...