Many logistics operations recognize the need to increase efficiency in order to keep up with exploding e-commerce, tighter standards from customers and increasing consumer expectations. Yet many hold back from essential upgrades, demand more from equipment, and make inefficient resource choices due to fear of making the wrong decisions.
When your performance is on the line, warehouse simulation and emulation can offer significant competitive advantages — both before and after go-live — that reduce your risk, increase accuracy, minimize delays, and maximize your efficiency. While these capabilities are often available when commissioning a new project or working with an outside consulting service, they’ve historically been out of reach for operations that want to run independent simulations of their own.
Introducing Momentum eSim from Honeywell Intelligrated
Momentum eSim, available as an add-on to the Momentum warehouse execution system (WES), is a simulation and emulation tool that creates a digital replica of your automated material handling equipment (MHE) and software. This powerful resource provides you with an end-to-end, integrated view of your distribution center (DC), the ability to run multiple “what-if” scenarios, plus ongoing predictive analyses of your systems and labor. In addition to proactively monitoring your operation and potentially detecting problems before they cause costly downtime, eSim provides valuable insights about how your DC is functioning and actionable suggestions for improvement.
By combining the benefits of both simulation (digitally approximating the behavior and performance of systems) and emulation (using machine control code or other software to control digital replicas of physical equipment) technology, eSim enables you to achieve higher productivity goals, decrease waste, and meet the challenges of the future. Users of eSim can expect to achieve beneficial results like these:
- 2 to 3% less overstaffing
- 3 to 5% reduction in unplanned downtime
- 10% higher training efficiency
You’ll also get robust visualization tools, dashboards and reporting capabilities that simplify the process of aligning stakeholders on proposed solutions while supporting future enhancements and enabling ongoing training for existing employees and new hires.
Reduce Risk and Minimize Delays
With Momentum eSim, you’ll have a clear understanding of how systems will work — and what quantifiable performance improvements they will deliver — before you begin any physical installation. Working out the details in a virtual environment minimizes last-minute bugs, enabling on-time project deliveries and successful deployments through software validation, integration testing and commissioning.
Fully tested communications, integrations and messaging for MC4, PLC, ICW and WES ensure seamless communication between software and hardware, plus end-to-end software integration. The same tools streamline upgrades or modifications with minimal downtime.
Drive Ongoing Productivity and Efficiency Improvements
Honeywell Intelligrated provides your team with the training and support you need to use eSim to its full potential. By enabling you to run independent simulations of your own, eSim delivers ongoing benefits:
- The ability to compare and evaluate multiple “what-if” scenarios and derive higher efficiencies when facing challenges like these:
- Peak season volume variability
- Changes in demand patterns and product mixes
- Your operation’s ability to handle extra capacity
- Staffing levels
- Disruptions and breakdowns
- A real-time understanding of how your DC operation is functioning, enabling you to identify congestion areas, create proactive correction plans, and optimize resource planning
- Interactive training tools that speed the onboarding of new hires
- Pressure testing of systems without risking costly operational breakdowns
- Tools for designing better warehouse workflows, system modifications, retrofits or enhancements, which allow you to see the full repercussions of proposed changes before implementation
