Our Online User Groups are a great opportunity to share ideas, learn, and connect with other users and the SIMUL8 team.
For our February Online User Group we were delighted to be joined by SIMUL8 expert, Jim Holtman from Kroger - a SIMUL8 user of 20 years, and Matthew Hobson-Rohrer and Glenn Holburn from the SIMUL8 team.
During this presentation Jim Holtman from Kroger talks us through how various processes are simulated using SIMUL8 at The Kroger Co, including the check out areas, distribution centers and the loading/delivery areas. The presentation also includes a demonstration of one simulation that was developed to help people understand how some of Kroger's operations work.
2. The Kroger Co.
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Largest traditional grocery retailer in the United States
343,000 associates
2424 stores
1169 supermarket fuel centers
786 convenience stores
328 fine jewelry stores
Kroger is the fifth-largest pharmacy operator in the United States (when
counting the number of locations), and in 2012 Kroger pharmacists:
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40 manufacturing plants
34 distribution centers
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Filled over 162 million prescriptions
Retail value of approximately $8 billion.
Traveled 300M miles in 2010
Loyalty cards
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Created partnership in May 2003 with a firm called dunnhumby
Partnership called dunnhumbyUSA
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3. Use of SIMUL8
• Kroger wants to model before building a
solution.
• Been using SIMUL8 since 2006
– “Front-end” (cashier utilization)
– Manufacturing (dairy plant)
– Loading docks (putting pallets on trucks)
– Picking products in a warehouse
– Tool for training
4. Front-End at a Store
• Model the type of cashier lane
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Regular
Express
SCO (self checkout)
“Scan Tunnel”
(http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/blog/2011/08/testingout-krogers-new-tunnel-scanner.html?page=all)
• Vary customer load/arrival rates
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By 15 minute intervals
Size of basket
Type of payment
Number of coupons
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6. QueVision
• Reduces customer wait time to 30 seconds
– http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/201305/what-does-military-camera-have-do-groceryshopping?dom=PSC&loc=recent&lnk=1&con=rea
d-full-story
– Use of this technology driven from observing the
output from the SIMUL8 model if we could be
proactive in opening up lanes based on predicted
customer arrival rate.
8. Use in Training Courses
• I teach several courses at Kroger. One
of them is “Working the Numbers” to
show the importance to developers of
understanding the numbers associated
with their applications.
• Knowing how queuing affects the
throughput/response times is illustrated
with several SIMUL8 models.