Walmart Canada Breakpack Simulation

Simulating an Automated Breakpack System in a Walmart Distribution Center

This case study focuses on the simulation of a soon-to-be implemented automation system within a Walmart Canada distribution center.  Many SKUs cannot be sent to retail stores in full case quantities, as they are slow movers and would require individual stores to carry excessive inventory.  Breakpack is the processes of breaking cases down to individual eaches, a term used in distribution centers to mean individual pieces, and combining them into mixed SKU cartons.  Automating breakpack offers significant labor and quality savings, but also a high degree of complexity.  SKUs should be grouped to minimize labor during the store put-away process, while also attempting to minimize labor and transportation cost for the DC and overall supply chain.  This presentation will review the simulation model used to help the retailer understand the SKU profile that should be used for breakpack automation, understand the best way to schedule the decanting operation, and understand the store friendliness of cartons generated by the system.

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MOSIMTEC’s core focus is assisting clients make better decisions through application of decision support tools. Our team has extensive experience working with leading computer simulation software and solving complex issues for clients across various industries.