A Perspective on Two Decades of Rapid Modeling It is an honor for me to be asked to write a foreword to the Proceedings of the 1st Rapid Modeling Conference. In 1987, when I coined the term “Rapid Modeling” to denote queuing modeling of manufacturing systems, I never imagined that two decades later there would be an international conference devoted to this topic! I am delighted to see that there will be around 40 presentations at the conference by leading researchers from aroundthe world, and about half of these presentationsare represented by written papers published in this book. I congratulate the conference organizers and program committee on the success of their efforts to hold the ?rst ever conference on Rapid Modeling. Attendees at this conferencemight?nd it interesting to learn about the history of the term Rapid Modeling in the context it is used here. During the fall of 1986 I was invited to a meeting at the Headquarters of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME) in Dearborn, Michigan. By that time I had successfully demonstrated s- eral industry applications of queuing network models at leading manufacturers in the USA. Although in principle the use of queuing networks to model manufact- ing systems was well known in the OR/MS community and many papers had been published,the actual use of suchmodelsby manufacturingprofessionalswas almost nonexistent.

Table of Contents:
Theory Pieces and Review.- Managerial Decision Making and Lead Times: The Impact of Cognitive Illusions.- Queueing Networks Modeling Software for Manufacturing.- A Review of Decomposition Methods for Open Queueing Networks.- Modelling and Simulation.- Parsimonious Modeling and Forecasting of Time Series drifted by Autoregressive Noise.- Forecast of the Traffic and Performance Evaluation of the BMT Container Terminal (Bejaia’s Harbor).- A Dynamic Forecasting and Inventory Management Evaluation Approach.- Performance Evaluation of Process Strategies Focussing on Lead Time Reduction Illustrated with an Existing Polymer Supply Chain.- A Framework for Economic and Environmental Sustainability and Resilience of Supply Chains.- An Integrative Approach To Inventory Control.- Rapid Modeling of Express Line Systems for Improving Waiting Processes.- Integrating Kanban Control with Advance Demand Information: Insights from an Analytical Model.- Rapid Modelling in Manufacturing System Design Using Domain Specific Simulators.- The Best of Both Worlds - Integrated Application of Analytic Methods and Simulation in Supply Chain Management.- Rapid Modeling In A Lean Context.- Case Study and Action Research.- The Impact of Lean Management on Business Level Performance and Competitiveness.- Reducing Service Process Lead-Time Through Inter-Organisational Process Coordination.- Is There a Relationship Between VC Firm Business Process Flow Management and Investment Decisions?.- What Causes Prolonged Lead-Times in Courts of Law?.- Logistics Clusters - How Regional Value Chains Speed Up Global Supply Chains.- Survey and Longitudinal Research.- Measuring the Effects of Improvements in Operations Management.- Managing Demand Through the Enablers of Flexibility: The Impact of Forecasting andProcess Flow Management.- Threats of Sourcing Locally Without a Strategic Approach: Impacts on Lead Time Performances.- Improving Lead Times Through Collaboration With Supply Chain Partners: Evidence From Australian Manufacturing Firms.