Modeling and Simulation of Supply Chain Management Based on DEVS and CORBA Framework 1

ABSTRACT :The fast emerging electronic commerce and dynamicallychanging business environments are placing strongrequirements on supply chain analysis modeling andsimulation tools. Ability to model the dynamics ofsupply chain activities effectively and implementsimulation on networked and distributed computingenvironment with extensibility will be among the mostimportant capabilities of such tools. This paper describesthe design and implementation of a supply chainmodeling and simulation environment based on DEVSframework running in CORBA run time infrastructure atIBM Research. The supply chain modeling andsimulation software tool helps companies make strategicbusiness decisions about the design and operation of itssupply chain. The design requirements include scalableand efficient model execution and support for flexiblefuture extensibility based on an open industry standard. 1. Introduction The IBM Supply Chain Analyzer (SCA) [1] is amodeling and simulation software tool that can helpcompanies make strategic business decisions about thedesign and operation of its supply chain. The supplychain simulation evaluates all the components andvariables in a supply chain and helps companiesdetermine which strategies will provide the most flexibleand profitable operating environment. The SCA, with acombination of simulation and optimization functions, isdesigned to model and analyze supply chain issues suchas site location, replenishment policies, manufacturingpolicies, transportation policies, inventory levels, leadtimes, and customer. The SCA has been successfullyimplemented to provide competitive edges to its clientsranging from food industries to computer manufacturingcompanies in recent years.Although the current SCA provides advantageous supplychain modeling and optimization capabilities, it is notimplemented for parallel execution in distributedcomputing environments. It runs on a single platform(Windows NT) and is built upon SIMPROCESS [3], ageneral purpose business process simulator which is aproduct of CACI Products Company. SCA preserves allSIMPROCESS capabilities while offering additionalsupply chain functionality. However, this dependencyleads to a drawback since it is difficult to modify thedeployment of the SCA tool and it is not based on anopen industry standard.Thus the requirements for a next-generation supply chainmodeling and simulation environment should includescalable and efficient model execution and support forflexible future extensibility based on an open industrystandard. An attractive combination to meet theserequirements is the DEVS modeling and simulationframework in conjunction with the CORBA middleware.The DEVS (Discrete Event System Specification)formalism offers a sound, formal, open modeling andsimulation framework based on generic dynamic systemsconcepts. DEVS has a well-defined approach tocoupling of components, supports hierarchical, modularmodel construction, and associated repository reuse.DEVS has also been implemented as highly portableC++/Java based environment executable in bothsequential, parallel and heterogeneously distributedplatforms [7]. CORBA (Common Object Request BrokerArchitecture) is an open standard promulgated by theObject Management Group (OMG), a consortium of over700 companies[8]. CORBA is rapidly gaining acceptancedue to a thriving middleware market consisting ofbusinesses enthusiastically adopting the technology andvendors providing maturing products to support it.DEVS/CORBA[2] refers to conceptual realization of a