KEYNOTE SPEAKER

Optimization Through Simulation in the Logistic Field

Prof. Miquel Angel Piera
Autonomous University of Barcelona, Spain

Abstract

New transport and production resources support high flexibility, resulting in a wide range of options in the planning stage. By increasing flexibility, not only are the number of the decision variables and their domain increased, but the system cause-effect time relationships are as well, which complicates the decision-making activities. In fact, flexibility can lead to benefits but can also lead to earliness/tardiness in the distribution operations. The difference between obtaining benefits or losses may depend on the decision-making activity.
Nowadays, due to high competition in the global market, most industries are facing new challenges of capacity and efficiency, where strategic aspects should be considered when automating the tactical decisions, integrating the routing, scheduling and planning decisions together with the logistics aspects. The process of planning the efficient, cost effective flow of products considering not only infrastructure capacity constraints but also costs and delivery quality factors is nowadays considered a complex problem to be solved. New technologies and infrastructure equipment support high flexibility resulting in a wide range of options in the planning stage.
In this talk a modelling approach that supports operational, strategic and tactical decisions by analyzing the cause-effect relationship of any decision represented in a simulation model will be introduced. Numerical examples and applications will be given to illustrate the methods.
Some questions that will be addressed during the talk are:

• Flexibility: when is it needed? How to avoid non-productive operations?
• How to tackle complexity using Simulation Models as DSS to optimize strategic, tactical and operation decisions.
• The use of AI search methods to improve structured knowledge represented in Simulation Models.

Biography of the Keynote Speaker

Dr. Miguel Angel Piera is an associate professor at the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB), Spain. He is a member of the European project “LSCM – A European Joint Master Programme on Logistics and Supply Chain Management”, funded by the European Commission. He is also head of the Aeronautical Management degree at UAB, and has been a delegate for aeronautical activities with universities in the United States and Ukraine.
In addition, Dr. Piera has participated in numerous industrial research projects funded by private industry. He is the author of eight books, and over 70 papers in international journals and conference proceedings. He has also been a member of several editorial boards, including those of the International Journal of Simulation and Process Modelling (2005-2007), Transactions of the Society for Modelling and Simulation International (2004-2006). He has been a program committee member for over 30 international conferences and general chair for several conferences as well.