Embedding simulation technologies in business processes.

The need to fully integrate simulation as a daily tool has been subject to much attention over the past few years, however little research has previously contributed to this area. This study examines the development of systematic guidelines to enable companies to strategically implement simulation as a mainstream technology within their businesses.An extensive review of the literature was conducted in order to investigate the reasons behind the limited use of simulation and to establish the failure and success factors of companies implementing new technology. The importance of knowledge management in developing simulation technology was also investigated. Additionally, a questionnaire survey was conducted to examine the ways in which simulation technology has been used and developed within different companies. Furthermore, a case study was conducted in order to understand and investigate the processes of implementing simulation in a real organisation.Subsequently, an easy-to-follow framework for enabling companies to embed simulation technologies into their business processes was developed. This framework comprises five key stages, namely: Foundation, Introduction, Infrastructure,Deployment and Embedding. Each stage provides a best practice approach to guide companies in achieving every objective of that stage. Adjustments to the framework were made in the validation and reliability section to reduce any limitations.In creating a relevant and workable framework, this study has contributed significantly to the research gap established within existing simulation integration studies.