The design of a Just in Time delivery system to optimise the build-up process of trade shows

Abstract

RAI Amsterdam is the largest exhibition and conference centres in the Netherlands and host of various national and international trade shows, exhibitions, and congresses that visit Amsterdam. When a trade show is built, hundreds of stand builders work on their individual stands within their assigned floor space. In the exhibition halls, with more than 50 to 100 stands per hall, a challenge occurs—building a trade show with different stand builders, each working on their own stand, with their own design and their own schedule. During the build-up freight trucks, carrying the stand materials are parked outside the venue halls waiting to unload the materials. The problem RAI Amsterdam has is that RAI Amsterdam has limited space available for trucks to park and unload. The space is not sufficient to allow all the trucks to park at the same time. As a result, the trucks that are waiting to enter the parking space at the RAI cause traffic accumulation and obstruct roads into Amsterdam. Instead RAI being a valued part of Amsterdam, it is seen as a burden on the city. Therefore the goal of this project is to determine methods to reduce the volume of freight traffic during the build-up of trade shows at RAI Amsterdam. The solution to this problem was found in the principles of Lean manufacturing. Lean is about removing waste throughout the manufacturing process. One type of the waste is inventory. To improve the logistics of the build-up is to unburden the logistical situation outside the halls is by organising what is happing insides. By removing the materials that are stored around trade shows stand during the build-up, has impact on the volume of trucks that bring the materials. By removing the materials and only give the stand builders the materials they need at the moment they need is known in the world of logistics as Just in Time delivery. With insights gathered from interview with various stakeholders, modelling the current build-up process, case studies and organising a co-creation session in which participant played a game in where they simulated the current and new build-up process, an automated Just in Time delivery system was created. By making use of a hub (owned by logistics service company DB Schenker), between the storage facilities of stand builders and RAI Amsterdam, the materials can be brought to the hub and only when necessary shipped to the venue halls of RAI Amsterdam. The hub contains a distribution centre that receives, store, manage and ship materials when they are necessary. The result of the system is that the volume of trucks currently at the RAI are moved to the hub and from the hub only the freight trucks drive to RAI Amsterdam that carry the materials that are necessary at that moment in time.