Design and simulation of a steel supply chain: the case of Ferrania plant in Bormida valley

This paper regards the analysis of the development of a logistics and transportation network concerning a steel plant. The main goal is to search for the best scenario that allows to supply the plant and to distribute all the finished products to final customers in the most efficient way. To this aim, a proper simulation model has been developed and implemented utilizing Logistics Re Designer (Lo. R. D.) software tool. More specifically, three different transportation networks have been created: two “single” modal choice scenarios - by road or by rail – and an “intermodal” one. Another system variable regards the production capacity of the steel plant: three different types of capacity have been considered; so in total nine scenarios have been taken into consideration. The results obtained indicate that the intermodal solution is the most suitable to be adopted both in terms of total time – and consequently costs - and resources required to perform all the necessary operations. Future research will focus on the improvement of the solution found and on the development of an economical analysis.