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Defining the Operations of the supply chain is the second step in configuring a Scenario, after defining the Forecast.

Operations can be one of two kinds.

Any Location Types and Flow Types that you declared as Supply in the Forecast will appear here with a green Supply Location Type badge. Similarly, Location Types and Flow Types declared as Demand in the Forecast feature a blue Demand Location Type badge.

Operations tell SimPath the rules to connect this supply to the demand using the intermediate Location Types and Flow Types available. For example, consider the supply chain below.

In this example, Supplier has been defined as a Supply Location Type in the Forecast. Retailer and Treated Goods Retailer are also configured as Demand Location Types. We will need to define Operations for the Factory, Distribution Centre and Treatment Centre Location Types, as well as associated Flow Types. 

Factories in this example receive Materials from Suppliers and create Products. Define a Transformation by clicking on the Edit button in the Transforms section of the Factory card. The Assign Transforms window will appear. Click on Add Transform, and then Add Input. Select the input Materials from the Flow Type menu. Then click on Add Output button and select Products from the drop down. 

Notice the percentage panels next to the Flow Types. SimPath enables you to define more complex operations where there can be multiple outputs in different proportions. For now click on Save and close the window. 

Next up are the Treatment Centres. In this example, they take Products as input and output Treated Products. You can define this Transformation as we did for Factories, selecting Products as the input Flow Type and Treated Products as the output in the Assign Transforms window for Treatment Centres.

Finally, to configure Distribution Centres in this supply chain, we define a Transform that takes Products as input and outputs Packaged Products.

To define a Transfer, click on the Edit button of the Transfer section of the Location Type card. The list of Flow Types appears where you can specify which Flow Types can be transferred by the Location Type you're working on. For example, we could have our Distribution Centres transfer any Packaged Products that arrive.

Remember you can define as many Operations as you need, and the same Operation can take place at more than one Location Type. Features such as the Clone button make it easy to capture the internal processes of your supply chain. 

When you are ready click on the Save button to save your Operations. This will return you to the Scenarios list, where you will be able to visualise the Operations you have just defined. 

Now we have learned how to configure the Operations in our Scenario, and we’re ready for the next step, the Costs.