Management Consulting
Material Flow Simulation: Optimize production systems risk-free with scenario analyses
A material flow simulation enables manufacturing companies to digitally map and simulate production and logistics processes as early as the planning phase – without needing to set up the actual system in advance.
With a digital model structure, you can test scenarios and “what-if” situations without risk, identify possible design potentials at an early stage, and implement them before building anything at all.
The impact of different factors on the overall system can be tested safely—even in transitional areas—without risk. This approach saves time, resources, and costs. More importantly, digital modeling lays the foundation for the digital twin and is a key building block of the Industrial Metaverse.
What is a material flow simulation?
Material flow simulation is a tool that can be used to map and simulate dynamic processes within logistics and production systems. To achieve this, the system is digitally replicated, allowing different scenarios and adjustments to be tested without interrupting ongoing operations.
Even for systems still under construction, combining material flow simulation with factory data models (e.g., BIM) is highly valuable. It allows new control strategies, process optimizations (such as assembly planning), facility layouts, and production programs to be tested risk-free before moving into real planning. Simulations also make it possible to evaluate different scenarios using data-driven insights.
Material flow optimization – an economical solution
A simulation study provides a holistic view of all relevant processes, helping you understand complex relationships in your production or logistics chain and identify concrete opportunities for optimization.
For companies with multiple sites or production lines, simulation reveals how different processes interact and how changes at one location impact performance at another.
By running experiments, process interdependencies become visually clear with minimal effort. Simulation uncovers fundamental mechanisms in production and delivers valuable forecasts—such as plant and machine utilization, potential bottlenecks, and disruptive factors. These insights support well-founded investment decisions.
Do you want to optimize your logistics and production systems?
Schedule a nonbinding consultation to discover how a material flow simulation tailored to your specific needs can optimize your processes. Our team is ready to support you and develop the right solution for your business.
These are the advantages of a material flow simulation for your company
The use of material flow simulation brings numerous advantages for companies, which come into play in different areas of factory planning, logistics planning and production planning:
- Transparency: Digital modeling makes all movements and processes within a system visible—including work steps, material flow, capacity utilization, and resource allocation. This transparency helps identify weak points and reduce costs.
- Planning reliability: A simulation model allows you to validate planning stages, test scenarios, and verify assumptions about production capacities and logistics requirements. In the automotive sector, for example, material flow simulation is often required as a preliminary step for virtual commissioning and emulation testing.
- Risk minimization: With a simulation study, you can identify disruptions and bottlenecks in planning at an early stage. This reduces the risk of system disruptions and costly system integrations.
- Scenario analysis: Material flow simulation enables you to test different scenarios and evaluate alternatives. The results provide a reliable basis for optimizing business decisions without risk.
- Cost reduction: Precise planning and optimization allow you to make investment decisions based on reliable data. This improves resource efficiency, reduces costs in production and logistics, and enhances overall production performance.
- Flexibility: A simulation model enables you to respond more effectively to unforeseen events. This is particularly valuable in industries where external factors such as market fluctuations or unexpected supply bottlenecks can impact production.
When does it make sense to use a material flow simulation?
Effective process optimization requires a dynamic approach and the ability to represent complex systems in real time. Material flow simulation is therefore valuable for nearly any internal or external company process and is widely used in factory planning, logistics, and production across industries.
Areas of application for simulation models
Simulations in factory planning
In factory planning, material flow simulation helps optimize production layouts and conveyor systems, test alternative configurations, and determine the arrangement of machines and workstations that deliver the best results.
Using material flow simulation in factory planning can
- Reduce throughput times
- Increase production output
- Ensure the efficiency of the planned system
Material flow simulation in logistics planning
Simulation enables detailed analysis and optimization of material flow in logistics systems. For example, automated guided vehicles (AGVs) can be tested to ensure efficient operation and accurate task performance. Additionally, warehousing needs and transport routes can be estimated more precisely, providing a significant advantage in optimizing logistics chains.
A simulation model in logistics planning can
- Make the material flow traceable
- Optimize the use of driverless systems
- Identify requirements for warehousing and transport routes
- Optimize supply chains
Simulations in production planning
In production system planning, a simulation model helps improve the production process by identifying bottlenecks early and testing scenarios to optimize production capacity. Dynamic simulation can also analyze how different programs and utilization levels affect the overall system.
The use of a material flow simulation in production planning can
- Reveal bottlenecks early on
- Identify capacity optimization scenarios
- Analyze the impact of programs
- Make utilization levels and their effects comprehensible
In times of global supply chain bottlenecks, you can use a simulation study to economically adapt your operations and ensure your company's success even in difficult times.
How does Ingenics Consulting support you in the implementation of your simulation?
As an expert in transformation and digitalization, we offer you comprehensive advice and support before, during, and after a material flow simulation. Our experts support you in all project phases:
- Model setup: We create customized simulation models that are specifically tailored to your organization's needs and requirements. This is carried out using both bottom-up and top-down approaches, depending on the objectives of your project. It also allows the model structure to be enhanced with additional details. (planning in modules).
- Data collection and analysis: To make the simulation as realistic as possible, we conduct a thorough analysis of your data. This includes aggregating and validating the database and creating reliable, comprehensive data models that are integrated into the simulated system.
- Implementation of the simulation experiments: Once all data is collected and evaluated, it is integrated into the simulation system. We then use simulation software to run experiments that thoroughly test the planned system. By examining different process parameters, we can clearly see their impact on the overall system and identify potential weak points and disruptive factors.
- Interpretation of the results and solutions: We present the simulation results as statistics, diagrams, and reports to give you a clear overview of your data. We also support you in deriving actionable solutions that optimize your processes and drive your company’s success.
