Study of an innovative method based on complementarity between ARIZ, lean management and discrete event simulation for solving warehousing problems

Abstract Warehousing challenges require not only effective management but also a new innovative strategy that can significantly improve warehouse efficiency. This study presents an innovative method for solving warehouse problems and achieving low-cost warehousing, based on complementarities between ARIZ (Algorithm for Inventive Problem Solving), lean warehousing approach and discrete event simulation. In the proposed model, the lean warehousing is first used to understand and analyze problems in order to propose solutions that improve warehouse system efficiency. Then, a model of the improved system is developed and analyzed in a predictive simulation software (Witness 1 ), to evaluate its performance. The discrete event simulation allows for experiments on the system to be created and analyzed. Thus, an experimental design was developed to establish the cause-and-effect relationships between the parameters of the system in order to formulate a generalized system of contradictions. And finally, ARIZ is used to address related contradictions for searching for an innovative solution, which must be subsequently implemented and evaluated in the discrete event simulation. The applicability of the proposed method is demonstrated through a case study, involving an automotive company specialized in the manufacturing of electronic modules that wants to reduce raw material warehousing costs. Generally, the aim of the proposed method, which combined lean management, discrete event simulation and the ARIZ algorithm, is to be able to propose solutions that go beyond the limits of continuous improvement and optimization methods. Such an approach enables to propose a kind of continuum between traditional multi-objectives methods and inventive ones.