Trial

Simulator

IBM Sterling Fulfillment Optimizer with Watson Simulator is an add-on feature that you can use to simulate alternative fulfillment scenarios for the SKUs and time periods that you specify.

Simulator helps you determine the configurations to set for optimization models and sourcing configurations so that you can maximize network value and reduce total cost. This feature relies on historical data to generate the outcomes of a particular scenario so that you can determine how the configurations would affect your fulfillment operations. Some examples that you can simulate include:
  • Shutting off fulfillment from certain stores
  • Shutting off expedited shipping from certain stores
  • Reducing or increasing processing capacity at certain stores
  • Reducing the total duration of an SLA for certain regions of your network
  • Adding incremental replenishment for certain products
  • Modifying your fulfillment optimization settings

The two main concepts that are associated with Simulator are events and scenarios. The first step is to create an event where you select a time period and the SKUs for the simulation. Next, you create a scenario for the event. A scenario is a set of business configurations that are required to simulate the event period that you specified.

A general simulation procedure involves the following steps:
  1. Create an event.
  2. Create a baseline scenario for the event and run it.
  3. Create another scenario for the event, this time with modifications to some of the parameters, and run it.
  4. Compare the results of the two scenarios to make an informed decision based on whether the parameter change had a positive or negative effect on overall business KPIs.