Model Based Systems Engineering and Warehouse Design

Abstract

This paper reports on the results of an ongoing collaboration between the Fraunhofer IML and the Georgia Institute of Technology to develop engineering methods and tools to support warehouse design. The effort has adapted methods and tools from the broader systems engineering discipline, and has exploited the legacy of warehousing research at both institutions. Using OMG SysML™, formal semantics are being defined for describing primitive warehouse functions, warehouse systems, and the resources for implementing systems; this allows formal documentation of all phases of warehouse design. Moreover, these warehouse models can be linked directly to a variety of analyses, as well as legacy domain knowledge, to support warehouse design decisions. The theoretical and technical prerequisites for true computer aided warehouse design are in place, and provide insights into how the design of larger logistics systems might be similarly supported.