Simulation Improves Service and Operations at a Franchise Resale Store

Abstract

In the early years of the lengthening history of usage of discrete-event system simulation, its primary domain of application was manufacturing and assembly operations; indeed, the automotive industry was one of its early adopters.. In the las few years, the range of application of this valuable industrial-engineering analytics tool has greatly expanded to include delivery of health care services (e.g., hospitals, clinics, pharmacies), improvement of supply chains via application to warehousing and transport operations, government services such as airports and mass transit networks, and the consumer sector (hotels, retail stores, and delivery of services such as grooming and hair care). The project described in this paper is an application of discrete- event process simulation to a resale retail store (one of a franchise) which buys and resells gently used children’s clothing, toys, books, equipment, and furniture. The project successfully addressed challenges faced by the store management; these challenges comprise long queues (especially for resale), misallocation of resources, and consequent dissatisfaction of store employees, customers seeking to buy from the store or sell items no longer needed to the store.