Evaluating Supply Chains with Stochastic Models

Abstract

The global competition between companies and the requisition of high service levels for customers, led them to invest in the supply chain management. The outbound logistics deals with the transportation and storage of finished goods from the end of the manufacturing to the customers. It is one of the most complex and expensive logistical activity and is decisive for the Quality of Service (QoS). This paper proposes the use of pre-defined Petri nets components to model and evaluate this activity. The model that represents an outbound logistics scenario is obtained with a bottom-up approach, guaranteeing some expected Petri nets properties. In the end of this paper, it is presented a case study conducted in a Brazilian meat processing industry.