International Journal of Production Research

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From natural language to simulations: applying

AI to automate simulation modelling of logistics
systems

Ilya Jackson, Maria Jesus Saenz & Dmitry Ivanov

To cite this article: Ilya Jackson, Maria Jesus Saenz & Dmitry Ivanov (2024) From
natural language to simulations: applying AI to automate simulation modelling of
logistics systems, International Journal of Production Research, 62:4, 1434-1457, DOI:
10.1080/00207543.2023.2276811

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/00207543.2023.2276811

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INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PRODUCTION RESEARCH
2024, VOL. 62, NO. 4, 1434–1457
https://doi.org/10.1080/00207543.2023.2276811

From natural language to simulations: applying AI to automate simulation

modelling of logistics systems
Ilya Jacksona , Maria Jesus Saenza and Dmitry Ivanovb
a Center for Transportation & Logistics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA; b Berlin School of Economics and Law,
Berlin, Germany

ABSTRACT ARTICLE HISTORY

Our research strives to examine how simulation models of logistics systems can be produced auto- Received 25 April 2023
matically from verbal descriptions in natural language and how human experts and artificial intelli- Accepted 13 October 2023
gence (AI)-based systems can collaborate in the domain of simulation modelling. We demonstrate KEYWORDS
that a framework constructed upon the refined GPT-3 Codex is capable of generating functionally Generative AI; artificial
valid simulations for queuing and inventory management systems when provided with a verbal intelligence; NLP; simulation;
explanation. As a result, the language model could produce simulation models for inventory and GPT-3; supply chain;
process control. These results, along with the rapid improvement of language models, enable a sig-
nificant simplification of simulation model development. Our study offers guidelines and a design
of a natural language processing-based framework on how to build simulation models of logis-
tics systems automatically, given the verbal description. In generalised terms, our work offers a
technological underpinning of human-AI collaboration for the development of simulation models.

1. Introduction
The rapid progression of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tech-
nologies has been marked by the emergence of tools
such as ChatGPT (OpenAI 2023a), GitHub Copilot
(Github 2023), and DALL-E (OpenAI 2023b). These
tools are representative of advancements in Generative
AI, a specialised branch of Machine Learning (ML) that
focuses on the generation of new content, including
images, music, or video, by discerning patterns from
existing data (Brynjolfsson, Li, and Raymond 2023). A
recent Goldman Sachs report underscores the potential
impact of GAI on the global economy, which posits that
this technology could lead to a 7% increase in global GDP
(Elder 2023).
Our research primarily focuses on GPT (Brown
et al. 2020), a state-of-the-art language model, and the
engine behind ChatGPT (OpenAI 2023a), famous for its
capability to generate coherent and contextually relevant
text over extended passages. Another significant tech-
nology we utilise in this paper is Codex (Zaremba and
Brockman 2021), an advanced model designed to gen-
erate code in multiple programming languages based on
descriptive prompts in natural language.
Within this context, the present study seeks to explore
the application of these AI advancements for simulations
of logistic systems. This section is structured to first
provide a contextual background, elucidating the chal-
lenges and intricacies of modern supply chains. Subse-
quently, the problem statement and objectives are delin-
eated, highlighting the specific challenges and potential
solutions in leveraging AI for simulation modelling in
logistics systems.
1.1. Contextual background
The phenomenon of worldwide interconnectivity and the
intricate nature of modern supply chains are accompa-
nied by a multitude of challenges. Among these chal-
lenges are limited visibility, which poses a barrier to
accurate monitoring and optimisation; unpredictabil-
ity, which necessitates contingency planning and robust
risk management strategies; and the perpetual pressure
originating from consumer-driven markets, emphasis-
ing the critical importance of flexibility and responsive-
ness (Holmström et al. 2019; MacCarthy, Ahmed, and
Demirel 2022). This situation demands that businesses
make essential decisions both rapidly and decisively in
order to maintain their competitive edge. Consequently,
the importance of modelling logistics systems and associ-
ated processes becomes increasingly evident (Jahani, Jain,

CONTACT Ilya Jackson ilyajack@mit.edu Center for Transportation & Logistics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1 Amherst Street, Cambridge,
MA, USA
© 2023 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-
nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon
in any way. The terms on which this article has been published allow the posting of the Accepted Manuscript in a repository by the author(s) or with their consent.

and Ivanov 2023). Quantitative models can be instru-
mental in supporting a range of vital activities, including
forecasting, planning, scenario assessment, and risk esti-
mation. These models help organisations prepare for and
adapt to potential changes in market conditions or indus-
try trends (Rodriguez Garcia et al. 2022). However, the
accentuated complexity of supply chains, combined with
their highly nonlinear behaviour, dimensionality, and
stochasticity, frequently results in analytic intractability.
In addition, traditional analytical models often fall short
in replicating the actual behaviour of logistics systems or
supply chains, limiting their applicability and usefulness.
In contrast, simulation models overcome such con-
straints and provide a comprehensive representation of
a logistics system, encompassing nonlinearity, uncer-
tainty, and complexity. These models can accommodate
a variety of factors, such as demand variability, lead-time
fluctuations, multi-echelon inventory policies, and rare
event occurrences (Fokouop et al. 2023). By accurately
reflecting the intricate nature of supply chains, simulation
models offer more practical insights for decision-makers.
Simulation serves as a dynamic, relatively low-cost exper-
imental platform for conducting numerical experiments
and scenario analysis. This type of testbed environment
allows organisations to examine and evaluate different
strategies and scenarios that could lead to disruptions or
even push a system into extreme conditions. By doing so,
more information is revealed about the system’s struc-
ture, potential bottlenecks, and the limits of its resilience
(Laguna and Marklund. 2018). This enhanced under-
standing of supply chain dynamics can prove invalu-
able when formulating strategies for improving efficiency,
mitigating risks, and ensuring business continuity.
Simulations also play an important role in testing
optimal control algorithms, which can orchestrate sup-
ply chain operations in stochastic environments (Rolf
et al. 2023). By experimenting with various control strate-
gies in a virtual environment, businesses can fine-tune
their processes and identify the most effective approach
for their unique supply chain needs (Phadnis, Sheffi, and
Caplice 2022a). This procedure does not only help to
improve efficiency and reduce costs but also ensures that
supply chains can adapt quickly and effectively to unfore-
seen events and uncertainties (Ivanov et al. 2022). The
simulation-based methodology is particularly valuable in
examining and predicting the impacts of ‘black swan’
events, which are rare and unexpected occurrences with
potentially severe consequences (Taleb 2007). By sim-
ulating these events, businesses can better understand
their potential impacts and develop robust strategies to
address them, thereby minimising their negative effects
on supply chain performance. This proactive approach
to risk management allows businesses to anticipate and
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PRODUCTION RESEARCH 1435
plan for a wide range of scenarios, ensuring that their
supply chains remain resilient in the face of unexpected
challenges (Phadnis, Sheffi, and Caplice 2022b).
In short, simulation modelling serves as a powerful
tool in the design and management of resilient supply
chains, providing businesses with the necessary insights
to navigate uncertain environments and mitigate the
impact of disruptions. By leveraging advanced simula-
tion techniques and integrating them with cutting-edge
technologies, businesses can optimise their supply chain
performance and ensure their ability to withstand even
the most challenging circumstances.
1.2. Problem statement and objectives
Despite its merits, simulation modelling comes with a
number of drawbacks. To begin with, the process of
creating such models is complex and requires techni-
cal expertise, making it difficult for domain specialists
to develop them fully without the assistance of sim-
ulation engineers or other technical experts (Law and
Kelton. 2000). Additionally, these technical professionals
often lack the domain-specific expertise or understand-
ing of the particular system or operation in question.
As a result, domain specialists must first provide a com-
prehensive explanation of the real-world system and the
relationships between all the key components within it
(Leemis and Park 2006). This typically involves a thor-
ough verbal description along with a conceptual model,
which may take the form of a flowchart or dependency
graph. Following this initial explanation, the resource-
intensive development process commences. Technical
experts must then convert the verbal description and
conceptual model into an algorithmic representation
in the form of a functional computer program (Zei-
gler, Muzy, and Kofman. 2019). This procedure necessi-
tates ongoing communication and collaboration between
domain specialists and simulation engineers, which can
considerably extend the project’s timeline and increase
the associated costs. Ultimately, while simulation mod-
elling has its advantages, these challenges in development
and collaboration must be taken into consideration when
embarking on such projects.
Given the challenges presented, our study delves into
the potential of leveraging the latest advancements in
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Natural Language Pro-
cessing (NLP) to craft fully-functional and executable
simulation models for systems pivotal to supply chains.
At this stage, it is imperative to define terms associated
with AI and NLP, as they form the foundation for the pos-
tulated research questions as well as subsequent findings
and discussions. In our study, we adopt an instrumental-
ist perspective on AI (Bostrom 2014) and refrain from
1436 I. JACKSON ET AL.
speculating on AI cognition or its philosophical dimen-
sions. Responding to the feedback on the dated definition
of AI, we turn to a more contemporary and encompass-
ing definition provided by the High-Level Expert Group
(HLEG) on AI, which describes AI as
a software or hardware system that, given a complex goal,
acts in the physical or digital dimension by perceiving
their environment through data acquisition, interpreting
the collected structured or unstructured data, reasoning
on the knowledge, or processing the information derived
from this data and deciding the best actions to take to
achieve the given goal. AI systems can either use sym-
bolic rules or learn a numeric model, and they can also
adapt their behaviour by analysing how the environment
is affected by their previous actions. (Samoili et al. 2020).
This definition, being recent and comprehensive,
remains relevant, even with the advent of Generative AI
technologies such as GPT.
Before delving into specific AI technologies and their
technicality, defining NLP is pertinent. NLP is a spe-
cialised branch of AI that focuses on the interaction
between computers and humans through natural lan-
guage. The ultimate objective of NLP is to read, deci-
pher, and make sense of human languages, encompass-
ing tasks such as sentiment analysis, speech recognition,
machine translation, text generation, and summarisation
(H. Li 2022). Among the forefront of Generative AI tech-
nologies are GPT (Brown et al. 2020), a state-of-the-art
language model, and the engine behind ChatGPT (Ope-
nAI 2023a), renowned for its capability to generate coher-
ent and contextually relevant text over extended passages.
Another significant technology we experiment with in
this paper is Codex (Zaremba and Brockman 2021), an
advanced model designed to generate code in multiple
programming languages based on descriptive prompts,
streamlining the coding process and enhancing software
development efficiency.
A plethora of AI methods have been developed, facil-
itating novel approaches and tools for the transition
from stand-alone models toward intelligent decision-
support systems (Kosasih and Brintrup 2022; T. Nguyen
et al. 2022; Proselkov et al. 2023). The rise of generative
AI, especially, is poised to bring transformative changes
to logistic systems and supply chains. As projected by
experts, this disruptive technology will not only extend
the boundaries of these domains but also reshape the
employment landscape within the sector (Sheffi 2023).
Concrete examples of these shifts are already emerg-
ing. For instance, Walmart is leveraging generative AI to
automate price negotiations with select vendors (Sirtori-
Cortina and Case 2023), while Maersk has signaled its
intention to integrate generative AI extensively into its
operations (Handley 2023). Despite these advancements,
a gap persists in the theoretical readiness of logistic sys-
tems and supply chains for this impending revolution
(Hendriksen 2023). While some researchers are investi-
gating the enhancements digitalisation and AI can bring
to supply chain efficiency (Perano et al. 2023; Saénz,
Revilla, and Borrella 2022), others have highlighted AI’s
role in addressing disruptions, especially in the context of
the COVID-19 pandemic (Nayal et al. 2022).
However, the literature lacks concepts and guide-
lines for designing such decision-support systems based
on human-AI collaboration principles (Vahedi-Nouri
et al. 2023). Besides, we have yet to be aware of research
that studies human-AI collaboration in the context of
simulation modelling (MacCarthy and Ivanov 2022;
Saenz, Revilla, and Simon 2020a). Our study focuses on
the proof of concept that the ‘NLP shortcut’ exists in
principle, and valid simulation models of relatively sim-
ple queuing and inventory control systems can be pro-
duced automatically based on the verbal description (See
Figure 1). Therefore, we postulate the following research
questions.
RQ1: ‘How could simulation models of logistics systems
be produced automatically from verbal descriptions
in natural language?’.
RQ2: ‘How do human experts and AI-based expert sys-
tems successfully collaborate in the domain of sim-
ulation modelling of logistic systems?’.
In the process of devising supply chain applications
that incorporate AI, it is essential to acknowledge the
significance of the collaborative relationship between
machines and humans. The recent research illustrates the
frequent occurrence of projects being executed without
a clear understanding of how AI and humans will work
together as a team. A common pitfall involves the under-
valuation of integrating algorithmic predictive capaci-
ties with the invaluable insights and intuition provided
by human expertise (Saenz, Revilla, and Simon 2020b).
In this regard, our study makes two substantial con-
tributions. First, we offer guidelines and a design of
the NLP-based framework on how to build simulation
models of logistics systems automatically, given the ver-
bal description. Second, and more generally, our work
offers a technological underpinning of human-AI col-
laboration for the development of simulation models.
This paper builds upon and extends our earlier preprint
(Jackson and Saenz 2022) by introducing several major
enhancements and contributions. Specifically, we pos-
tulate a new research question that focuses on the col-
laborative aspects between human experts and AI-based
expert systems in the domain of simulation modelling of

Figure 1. ‘NLP Shortcut’ leverages advanced NLP techniques to bypass labor-intensive tasks like conceptual modelling and coding,
streamlining workflows, and boosting efficiency.
logistic systems. Furthermore, we provide a more accu-
rate and detailed description of the proposed framework,
diving deeper into its architecture and components. This
is coupled with a comprehensive analysis of the frame-
work in the context of Human-AI collaboration, explor-
ing the synergies and potential limitations of such a part-
nership. Additionally, we discuss the broad managerial
implications of leveraging AI in the simulation mod-
elling of logistics systems and provide updated promising
directions for future research. This is based on recent
advancements in natural language generation, includ-
ing ChatGPT (OpenAI 2023c), a cutting-edge language
model that has shown significant potential in various
applications.
The remainder of this paper is organised as follows.
Section 2 reviews some works related to automated code
generation and programming using GPT-3 and expert
systems based on NLP. Section 3 sheds light on back-
ground and methodology, focusing on the state-of-the-
art Transformer-based language models. Experimental
results and analyses are presented in Section 4. Section 5
presents the discussion regarding the GPT-3 Codex capa-
bilities, ongoing trends in NLP, and their potential impli-
cations for developing simulation models. Finally, our
contribution, as well as promising directions for future
research, are summarised in Section 6.
2. Related work
The scope of our research encompasses several pivotal
domains. In this section, we delve into the automated
code generation capabilities of GPT models, the diverse
applications of NLP-based systems, from semantic search
to natural language generation, and the foundational role
of simulation modelling in logistics. Additionally, we
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PRODUCTION RESEARCH 1437
explore the burgeoning realm of human-AI collabora-
tion. In the background and methodology chapter, we
delve into a comprehensive exploration of language mod-
elling, encompassing both the general principles and the
cutting-edge Transformer-based models.
2.1. Simulation modelling in logistics
Simulation modelling has long been a cornerstone in the
field of logistics, offering a powerful tool to replicate,
analyse, and predict the behaviour of complex logistics
systems (Barbati, Bruno, and Genovese 2012; Oliveira,
Lima, and Montevechi 2016). By creating a virtual system
representation, simulation modelling allows stakehold-
ers to test various scenarios, strategies, and interventions
without the risks and costs associated with real-world
experimentation.
For example, a study by Van Der Vorst, Tromp, and
van der Zee (2009) highlights the complexities of food
supply chains, where traditional simulation models often
overlook the influence of chain design on product qual-
ity. To address this challenge, the authors introduced a
discrete-event simulation environment that seamlessly
integrates food quality change models and sustainabil-
ity indicators, offering a more holistic approach to supply
chain redesign decisions. Another research conducted by
Sarraj et al. (2014) underscores the fragmentation and
inefficiencies in current logistic networks, particularly
in transportation and storage. They propose a transfor-
mative approach based on the Physical Internet con-
cept, where goods are transported in modular containers
to enhance interconnectivity in open networks. Using
real-world data from the fast-moving consumer goods
sector in France, their simulations demonstrated the
potential benefits of this approach, showing significant
1438 I. JACKSON ET AL.
improvements in efficiency indicators like CO2 emis-
sions, costs, and delivery times.
A study by Wang et al. (2014) delves into the complexi-
ties of designing logistics distribution systems for assem-
bly lines constrained by factors like vehicle choices and
movement paths. Recognizing the challenges of math-
ematical optimisation for such systems, they employed
a simulation-based approach combined with a heuris-
tic algorithm. This method addressed real-world com-
plications at the factory site and introduced a dynamic
vehicle dispatching strategy that adjusts control and deci-
sion parameters during the simulation. Research by Cai
et al. (2023) introduces a novel real-time scheduling
model for dynamic job shops with logistics consider-
ations. Their approach optimises task preparation and
incorporates a real-time information update mechanism
for enhanced schedule robustness. Simulations, account-
ing for variables like random orders and equipment fail-
ures, showed their method surpassed traditional models,
especially in job shops with significant transportation
time.
The aforementioned simulation capabilities are partic-
ularly crucial in logistics, where small changes can lead
to significant ripple effects throughout a supply chain
(Dolgui, Ivanov, and Sokolov 2018). However, traditional
simulation modelling approaches often face challenges
regarding scalability, adaptability, and the ability to inte-
grate new data or scenarios quickly (Ivanov 2017). It
is within this context that we turn our attention to the
potential synergies between modern technologies, specif-
ically NLP and AI, and their capacity to redefine the
landscape of simulation modelling in logistics.
2.2. NLP-based systems
Another stream of related research incorporated decision-
support and expert systems based on NLP. Because
of rapid digitalisation and unprecedented opportu-
nities for harvesting and storing textual data NLP
has recently experienced substantial breakthroughs in
machine translation, pattern matching, sentiment anal-
ysis, and speech recognition. These breakthroughs have
not only improved people’s daily lives but also notably
revolutionised decision-support and expert systems
(Kang et al. 2020). Figure 2 provides a classification
scheme for the most relevant publications in the con-
text of our study. A recent systematic review sheds light
on the diversity of NLP applications in management and
business (Kang et al. 2020).
NLP includes two primary research directions: Nat-
ural Language Understanding (NLU) and Natural Lan-
guage Generation (NLG). The primary role of NLU
is to comprehend the natural language by mining
Figure 2. Classification scheme of the relevant publications.
text documents and extracting valuable information for
downstream tasks. In contrast, NLG focuses on the pro-
duction of text in natural language, which is comprehen-
sive for humans (Ji et al. 2023). It is essential to high-
light that GPT-3, along with the other state-of-the-art
language models, is capable of both.
2.2.1. Semantic search
Semantic search is a searching technique in which a
search query aims to not only find and extract relevant
keywords but to determine the searcher’s intent and the
contextual meaning of the words (Guha, McCool, and
Miller 2003).
Notable examples include Habernal and Konopík
(2013), who presented the NLP system for a semantic web
search. The developed system is end-to-end in the sense
that it includes preprocessing, semantic analysis, seman-
tic interpretation, and executing a sequence of queries to
retrieve the results. The system demonstrated solid NLU
capabilities with written texts in Czech and English across
the domain of public transportation. Sangers et al. (2013)
proposed an NLP-based search engine for finding seman-
tic Web services. The framework based on this search
engine was capable of matching relevant keywords gath-
ered from Web service descriptions and the user query.
Lupiani-Ruiz et al. (2011) presented a semantic search
engine for financial news. The search engine was com-
bined with an ontology population tool to assist in keep-
ing the financial ontology up-to-date. Besides, the expert
system was equipped with a module for crawling the Web
and annotating financial news according to the financial
ontology.
2.2.2. Text classification and sentiment analysis
Text classification is the NLP task of assigning a label or
class to a given fragment of text. The most common use

case of text classification includes sentiment analysis, an
NLP technique that focuses on the analysis of people’s
opinions, sentiments, appraisals, attitudes, and intents
expressed in written text. Sentiment analysis is increas-
ingly important in business and society and is often per-
formed on textual data to assist businesses in monitoring
product sentiment and understanding customer opinion
(B. Liu 2012).
Notable examples include Pröllochs, Feuerriegel, and
Neumann (2016), who designed a decision support sys-
tem equipped with NLP for financial news sentiment
analysis. The system incorporated reinforcement learn-
ing, hidden Markov models, conditional random fields,
and rule-based methods and could achieve a substantial
improvement in the correlation between sentiment and
stock return. Zinovyeva, Härdle, and Lessmann (2020)
proposed an expert system to automate content mon-
itoring and antisocial behaviour detection. The system
incorporated advanced NLP techniques, including bidi-
rectional encoding, attention mechanisms, hierarchical
text representations, and Transformer-based language
models. Abbasi-Moud, Vahdat-Nejad, and Sadri (2021)
developed a tourism recommendation system capable of
extracting users’ preferences to provide personalised rec-
ommendations. The system analyses semantically clus-
tered and sentimentally analysed user reviews to detect
a tourist’s preferences and suggest the most matching
options.
X. Liu, Lee, and Srinivasan (2019) employed a com-
bination of NLP methodologies, such as Word2Vec and
n-gram, to monitor individual-level purchasing activities
on an e-commerce platform, enabling them to categorise
customers according to their anticipated recovery ser-
vice expectations. In a similar vein, P. Li and Mao (2019)
introduced a knowledge-centric convolutional neural
network designed to extract and classify causal rela-
tionships in the form of product-producer, employer-
employee, cause-effect, and message-topic connections.
Their proposed expert system encompasses both human
involvement for capturing linguistic cues indicative of
causal relationships, as well as a data-driven component
that possesses the capacity to learn additional significant
features from the available data. Moreover, Kim, Park,
and Suh (2020) presented a framework that harnesses
the power of both NLP and computer vision techniques
to facilitate the explanation and visualisation of convolu-
tional neural networks specifically in the context of text
classification. This integration of methodologies high-
lights the potential for interdisciplinary approaches to
enhance our understanding and application of AI within
various domains.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PRODUCTION RESEARCH 1439
2.2.3. Natural language generation
NLG can be defined as the subfield of NLP concerned
with constructing computer systems capable of produc-
ing understandable texts in English or other languages
from some underlying representation of information.
Notable examples include Wulf and Bertsch (2017), who
incorporated NLG techniques into a decision support
system to enhance the understanding and traceabil-
ity of multi-criteria decision-making. The study con-
cludes with the statement that the NLG approach is
especially beneficial for complex interpretational tasks.
Lee (2018) proposed the deep learning-based encoder-
decoder model for clinical decision support. The model
was capable of generating synthetic electronic health
records that appear to preserve accurate epidemiologi-
cal information. García-Méndez et al. (2019) developed
an NLG system for the automatic generation of admin-
istrative reports. The system could generate complete,
coherent, and correctly spelled sentences.
2.2.4. Natural language processing in logistics and
supply chain management
The transformative potential of NLP has begun to man-
ifest across various sectors, with logistics and supply
chain management standing out as notable beneficia-
ries. Within the realm of NLP, NLU and NLG have
found distinct applications, addressing unique chal-
lenges and opportunities in the logistics domain (Dutta
2023).
Early adopters have already showcased the tangible
benefits of integrating these technologies into their oper-
ations. Walmart, a global retail behemoth, is pioneering
the use of NLG to automate intricate price negotiations
with certain vendors, underscoring the efficiency and
scalability offered by such advancements (Sirtori-Cortina
and Case 2023; Van Hoek et al. 2022). Similarly, Maersk,
a global leader in shipping, has indicated a strategic
shift towards embedding generative AI, a subset of NLG,
into its core operations, hinting at the transformative
potential of these technologies (Handley 2023). Besides,
Maersk is providing $20 million in funding to California-
based startup Pactum, which offers AI-powered soft-
ware that helps companies automate supplier negotia-
tions (Murray 2022). It is also worth mentioning that the
officials from Unilever are discussing the potential part-
nership with Scoutbee to leverage big data and NLP to
solve supply chain challenges and create new opportuni-
ties for digital procurement (Shein 2022). As these indus-
try giants set the pace, the academic literature is catching
up, delving deeper into the nuances and broader appli-
cations of NLP in logistics, supply chain management,
1440 I. JACKSON ET AL.
as well as Human-AI collaboration in a broader sense
(Saenz, Revilla, and Simon 2020a).
Despite the recent surge of interest in generative AI
from industry giants, applying NLP in logistics and sup-
ply chains is not solely a corporate phenomenon. The
academic landscape has also been actively exploring and
documenting the nuances of these technologies, provid-
ing a rich tapestry of insights and methodologies tailored
to this domain. For example, Wichmann et al. (2020)
introduced a method using Deep Learning to enhance
supply chain visibility by extracting buyer-supplier rela-
tions from text. Their approach, combining NLP and
Deep Learning, allows companies to generate, verify, and
augment supply chain maps. A. Nguyen et al. (2023)
highlighted the challenges of unplanned events like epi-
demics or natural disasters on supply chain stability and
demand volatility. They emphasised the potential of NLP
in extracting insights from unstructured data, such as
news content, during these disruptions. Their research
utilised a deep-learning-based sentiment analysis model
to process medicine-related news in combination with
structured demand data to improve demand forecasting
during crises, as demonstrated in two disruptive events in
France. The results underscored the efficacy of sentiment
analysis in refining demand forecasting accuracy.
Makridis, Mavrepis, and Kyriazis (2023), on the other
hand, explored the potential of integrating open data,
such as weather or transportation information, with
industry-specific data to enhance decision-making in the
food industry, especially concerning food recalls. They
emphasised the value of real-time data analysis to identify
potentially unsafe products. The study introduced a deep
learning method that combined NLP and time-series
forecasting to assess risks associated with different food
product categories and potential recalls. Additionally, a
reinforcement learning technique was proposed to pre-
dict future recalls based on historical data, offering valu-
able insights for timely recall actions. The effectiveness
of these approaches was validated through a real-world
scenario, demonstrating promising results in enhancing
food safety and recall predictions.
2.2.5. Automated code generation using GPT models
The subject of automatically generating code through the
application of language models has recently piqued the
interest of researchers in the field (Clement et al. 2020).
Following the initiation of the GPT-3 Codex private beta
program on August 10, 2021, scholars have begun to
investigate the language model’s potential, with numer-
ous findings published as preprints. Some noteworthy
examples include the work of Hocky and White (2021),
who delved into the GPT-3 Codex’s capacity to tackle
elementary computational chemistry issues. In a simi-
lar vein, Drori and Verma (2021) employed the GPT-3
Codex to accurately solve problems from MIT’s Lin-
ear Algebra course and Columbia University’s Compu-
tational Linear Algebra course. Furthermore, Shporer
et al. (2022) successfully integrated the GPT-3 Codex
with graph neural networks to address computational
challenges in the Introduction to Astronomy course.
Trummer (2022) demonstrated the potential to finetune
GPT-3 Codex for translating user-supplied instructions
and database property descriptions into SQL queries.
In summary, these initial explorations highlight a pre-
vailing trend among domain experts, devising innovative
methods to adapt and apply the GPT-3 Codex to their
specific areas of expertise. However, to the best of our
knowledge and as supported by our literature review, a
significant research gap emerges: there have been no doc-
umented applications or studies that harness the GPT-
3 Codex for simulation modelling, specifically in the
domain of logistics. This absence of research in apply-
ing GPT-3 Codex to logistics simulation modelling is
the primary focus of our study. Aligned with this iden-
tified gap, our research endeavors to harness the GPT-3
Codex to create simulation models tailored for logis-
tics systems. Reviewing existing works reveals that while
expert and decision support systems increasingly lever-
age advanced NLP algorithms for various tasks, the spe-
cific application to logistics simulation still needs to be
explored.
2.3. Human-AI collaboration
NLP-based AI systems have the potential to revolu-
tionise various industries and enhance human produc-
tivity. However, realising the full potential requires a
proper implementation strategy considering the teaming
capabilities between humans and machines. The recent
research outlines four key capabilities that need to be
taken into account: interoperability, authority balance,
transparency, and mutual learning (Saenz, Revilla, and
Simon 2020b). These capabilities should be incorporated
into project designs according to the high-level strat-
egy and environment in which the AI-human team will
operate.
(1) With regard to interoperability, it is crucial to estab-
lish how humans and machines will exchange infor-
mation to meet the goals of the process. The AI
system should define the roles of both parties in
these interactions.
(2) With regard to authority balance, it is essential to
decide whether humans or machines have final con-
trol depending on the level of risk involved. In

high-risk situations, immediate responses might be
required, necessitating a clear allocation of authority.
(3) With regard to transparency, it is vital to build trust
between humans and algorithms and establish trans-
parent decision-making.
(4) With regard to mutual learning, humans and
machines should be able to learn from one another
through two-way feedback loops.
As highlighted by Lindebaum, Vesa, and Den Hond
(2020), companies try to implement AI without clearly
understanding how the technology will interface with
people. In order to prevent this pitfall, we suggest the dif-
ferent combinations of the abovementioned capabilities
be embedded in the design of projects, depending on the
high-level strategy and type of environment in which the
AI/human team will perform. In addition to that, differ-
ent decision-making scenarios call for different teaming
capabilities (Saenz, Revilla, and Simon 2020a).
As a result, the full potential of AI can be unlocked
only if organisations carefully consider the teaming capa-
bilities between humans and machines. By tailoring the
integration of interoperability, authority balance, trans-
parency, and mutual learning to the specific context and
environment, companies can create more effective AI-
human teams and harness the power of AI to drive
innovation and productivity.
2.4. Conclusion
Summarizing, we can observe that expert and decision
support systems take advantage of the state-of-the-art
NLP algorithms to apply such downstream NLP tasks
as semantic search, natural language generation, text
classification, and sentiment analysis to domain-specific
problems.
This fact is well-aligned with the general ten-
dencies in contemporary AI approaches. Contempo-
rary AI approaches, including deep learning, reinforce-
ment learning, federated learning, neural networks,
and visual and interactive intelligence, play increasingly
visible roles in logistics and supply chains (Kosasih
and Brintrup 2022; LeCun, Bengio, and Hinton 2015;
Rolf et al. 2023). They replicate human-defined deci-
sion rules and create new knowledge through training
(Fügener et al. 2022). Most importantly, modern tech-
nologies allow the development of human-AI collabora-
tion (Saenz, Revilla, and Simon 2020a). In this setting,
new approaches based on human-in-the-loop AI (Zan-
zotto 2019) have the potential to transform the traditional
understanding of simulation in supply chains and logis-
tics. However, only tailoring human-AI teaming capabili-
ties to the specific context and environment leads to more
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PRODUCTION RESEARCH 1441
effective AI-human teams and harnesses the power of AI
to enhance productivity.
3. Background and methodology
In the recent past, leading technical methodologies
posited that NLP systems should concentrate on a limited
array of tasks in order to excel (Cambria and White 2014).
However, this perspective underwent a transformation
with the emergence of a groundbreaking deep learn-
ing architecture known as the Transformer (Vaswani
et al. 2017). GPT-3, a prominent instance of Transformer-
based NLP systems, has garnered considerable attention
and serves as the central subject of our investigation. This
shift in focus demonstrates how advances in AI can rede-
fine the approach to solving complex language-related
problems and broaden the potential applications of NLP
systems.
3.1. Language model
Language models serve as the foundation for modern
NLP approaches. It is possible to postulate language
modelling within the context of a purely unsupervised
learning environment (Radford et al. 2018). At first,
this assumption might seem overly ambitious, particu-
larly when considering the rich, inventive, and elegant
natural language works crafted by renowned masters
such as William Shakespeare, Barbara Cartland, Brothers
Grimm, and Leo Tolstoy. However, due to the pace and
demands of communication, the vast majority of human
expressions tend to be considerably simpler, repetitive,
often self-similar, and consequently, much more pre-
dictable. Programming languages exhibit even greater
regularity and structure. Hindle et al. (2016) showed
that repetitive patterns emerge at lexical, syntactic, and
semantic levels within code corpora.
At this juncture, it is crucial to define the term ‘cor-
pora’, as it holds significant importance in both NLP
and linguistics as a whole. Corpora can be characterised
as a collection of linguistic data composed of struc-
tured, processed, and digitally stored texts (Wołk and
Marasek 2014). From a formal standpoint, the learning
objective is simplified to estimating the distribution from
corpora, given a set of training examples (x1 , x2 , . . . , xn ),
where each example represents a sequence of symbols
with variable length (s1 , s2 , . . . , sn ). This understanding
of language modelling and corpora serves as a critical
component in the development and implementation of
NLP systems, enabling researchers and practitioners to
better analyse and process natural language data.
Since both natural and programming languages are
ordered sequentially, the joint probabilities over symbols
1442 I. JACKSON ET AL.
(or tokens) can be factorised as the product of conditional
probabilities:

n
p(x) = p(sn |s1 , s2 , . . . , sn−1 )
i=1
This assumption allows one to perform tractable sam-
pling and estimation of p(x) and other conditional proba-
bilities of the form p(sn−k , . . . , sn |s1 , . . . , sn−k−1 ) (Bengio
et al. 2003).
To conclude, language models are statistical mod-
els that estimate the probability of a given sequence of
tokens, for example, words or code-specific syntax, to
appear in the text with respect to the context.
3.2. Transformer
There have been significant improvements in the per-
formance of language models based on conditional
probabilities of the form (See Equation (1)). The most
notable advances can be attributed to self-attention archi-
tectures like the Transformer (Vaswani et al. 2017).
Encoder-decoder structure constitutes a core behind
the Transformer’s architecture. The role of the encoder
is to map an input sequence of symbol represen-
tations (x1 , x2 , . . . , xn ) to a sequence of representa-
tions (z1 , z2 , . . . , zn ). The decoder produces an output
Figure 3. Transformer’s architecture: Multi-Head Attention uses concurrent attention layers to amplify processing. The illustration is
based and adapted from Vaswani et al. (2017) and Alammar (2018).
(y1 , y2 , . . . , yn ) given (z1 , z2 , . . . , zn ) as an input. This
process is autoregressive in the sense that the previ-
ously generated symbols are used as additional input
(Graves 2014). Both encoder and decoder use stacked
(1)
self-attention mechanisms as well as fully connected lay-
ers (See Figure 3).
The encoder is composed of a series of N identi-
cal layers, each containing two sublayers. The first sub-
layer incorporates a multi-head self-attention mecha-
nism, while the second sublayer features a position-wise,
fully connected feed-forward network, reminiscent of
multilayer perceptron architectures. To enable residual
connections, all sub-layers and embedding layers pro-
duce outputs of the same dimension, dmodel . Similarly,
the decoder is structured with a stack of N identical lay-
ers. A self-attention function is designed to map a query
and its associated key-value pairs to an output, with the
query, keys, values, and output all represented as vectors.
The output is calculated as a weighted sum, where the
weights corresponding to the respective values are deter-
mined using a feed-forward artificial neural network. The
scaled dot-product attention serves as a crucial element
within the self-attention mechanism. To enhance compu-
tational efficiency, the attention function is executed on a
collection of queries simultaneously. Inputs consisting of
queries and keys with dimension dk , as well as values with
dimension dv , are consolidated into matrices Q, K, and V

. This approach not only streamlines the process but also
allows for more effective handling of complex language
modelling tasks within the Transformer architecture.
 
QK T
Attention(Q, K, V) = softmax √ (2)
dk
The Q, K, and V matrices are linearly projected h times
to dk , and dv dimensions, respectively. After that, the
self-attention function is performed on each of these pro-
jections, resulting in dv -dimensional output vector. As a
result, multi-head attention allows the model to access
information from different representation subspaces at
different positions.
MultiHead(Q, K, V) = Concat(head1 , . . . , headh )W O
(3)
where headi = Attention(QWiQ , KWiK , VWiV ) with para-
meter matrices WiQ ∈ Rdmodel ×dk , WiK ∈ Rdmodel ×dk ,
WiV ∈ Rdmodel ×dv and W O ∈ Rhdv ×dmodel (Vaswani et al.
2017). Besides the sub-layers, each of the layers in both
encoder and decoder contains a fully connected feed-
forward network that can be represented as a composite
function FFN(.). FFN(.) is equipped with Rectified Lin-
ear Unit (ReLU) activation function and includes two
linear transformations.
FFN(x) = max(0, xW1 + b1 )W2 + b2 (4)
The Transformer takes advantage of the learned embed-
dings to convert the input and output tokens to vectors of
Figure 4. The dimensions of GPT-3 models exhibit a rapid expansion in aspects such as layer count, parameter quantity, volume of
training data, and the breadth of the contextual window.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PRODUCTION RESEARCH 1443
the dimension dmodel , which is basically the embedding
size. Besides, the regular learned linear transformation
and softmax(.) activation function convert the decoder
output to estimated probabilities of the next token to
appear in the sequence.
3.3. GPT family and codex
Following the introduction of the transformer language
model, the NLP community swiftly embraced the large-
scale statistical brute-force methodology. Consequently,
there has been a significant growth in the size of language
models (See Figure 4). The progression can be observed
from GPT-1, which had 100 million parameters and
utilised 1.1 GB of training data, to GPT-2, which featured
1.5 billion parameters and relied on 40 GB of training
data (Radford et al. 2018). This trend culminated in GPT-
3, which boasts an impressive 175 billion parameters and
leverages more than 570 GB of training data (Brown
et al. 2020). This exponential increase in scale show-
cases the rapid advancements within the NLP domain
and highlights the potential for even more sophisticated
language understanding and generation capabilities in
future models. For example, it’s worth mentioning that
the GPT-3 model is eclipsed by the substantial but unfor-
tunately undisclosed size of GPT-4, which powers Chat-
GPT (OpenAI 2023c).
During unsupervised pretraining on the immense
text corpora, language models acquire a plethora of
non-trivial pattern recognition abilities and, as a result,
develop an incredibly diverse skill set, including reading
1444 I. JACKSON ET AL.
comprehension, textual entailment, question answering,
grammar correction, and text auto-completion.
The remarkable growth in the scale of language mod-
elling has substantially invigorated interest in the age-
old challenge of automating computer code generation
and program synthesis. Initial experiments with GPT-3
indicated its potential to generate simple executable com-
puter programs in Python (Brown et al. 2020). Follow-
ing the early accomplishments of language models such
as CodeBERT (Feng et al. 2020) and PyMT5 (Clement
et al. 2020), the OpenAI team conjectured that it might
be feasible to fine-tune GPT on code sourced from
GitHub, with the aim of generating functionally accurate
code bodies based on natural language document strings
(Chen et al. 2021). The OpenAI team proceeded to fine-
tune several GPT models on code, with the largest one,
Codex, encompassing over 12 billion parameters and
an expanded token window of 4,096 tokens (Zaremba
and Brockman 2021). Training data were obtained from
54 million public GitHub repositories, comprising 179
GB of distinct Python files, each under 1 MB in size.
To evaluate the performance of the resulting model,
a novel HumanEval dataset was introduced, consist-
ing of 164 hand-written programming problems. Con-
sequently, Codex demonstrated notable proficiency and
the capacity to solve a majority of the challenges pre-
sented in the HumanEval dataset, highlighting the poten-
tial for further advancements in automated code gener-
ation and program synthesis using large-scale language
models.
4. Experiments
The organisation of this chapter proceeds as follows.
Initially, we introduce the OpenAI API, providing an
overview of its features and capabilities. Subsequently,
we present a framework that leverages the OpenAI API
to address the challenges at hand. Finally, we apply
the proposed framework to generate simulation models
for inventory and queuing systems, using English lan-
guage descriptions as input. The choice of English is
based on GPT-3’s superior proficiency in the language
(Brown et al. 2020), as well as its widespread use as
the international language of engineering and science,
which ensures accessibility for the majority of potential
Figure 5. OpenAI API provides the straightforward text-in-text-out interface, accommodating a broad spectrum of transformer-based
language models for diverse applications.
users. Similarly, Python is selected as the programming
language for this endeavor, given that GPT-3 Codex
demonstrates the highest level of proficiency in Python
3 (Chen et al. 2021). This approach aims to capitalise on
the strengths of both the language model and the pro-
gramming language to efficiently address the problem
domain.
4.1. OpenAI API
The OpenAI API provides access to an extensive array
of transformer-based language models, also referred to
as engines. In our proposed framework, we utilise the
Davinci-codex engine, as it offers the largest token win-
dow of 4,096 tokens and demonstrates the highest pro-
ficiency in translating natural language to code and vice
versa (Brockman, Murati, and Welinder 2021). The Ope-
nAI API is a versatile interface that employs human-
readable text for both input and output. The input text
is known as a prompt, while the generated text is termed
completion. GPT-3 models use prompts as a foundation
to identify the task at hand and produce a text completion
that aligns with the underlying structure, logic, context,
or pattern (See Figure 5).
Prompts are akin to programming using English in the
sense that a user has to know exactly what he or she is try-
ing to accomplish, but rather than writing code, one can
use words and plain text. Although any text can serve as
a prompt, crafting effective prompts is essential for har-
nessing GPT-3’s full potential. While prompt engineering
is still an emerging field, several established practices
have already been developed (Hocky and White 2021;
Reynolds and McDonell 2021; Zhao et al. 2021). One
such practice, implemented in our study, involves sep-
arating the context, instructions (specific tasks to per-
form), and pattern to continue. Broadly speaking, the
pattern refers to the sequence of words to be contin-
ued. Figure 6 illustrates how GPT-3 completes Rene
Descartes’s ‘first principle,’ namely, ‘I think, therefore I
am.’ given the beginning of the sentence and context as
the prompt (Descartes 1990).
The OpenAI API can be accessed via Python bindings,
offering a convenient interface for conducting experi-
ments and building upon the existing framework (See
Figure 7).

Figure 6. Upon receiving the initial portion of a sentence and its
context as a prompt, the language model effectively completes
the sentence by generating a coherent and contextually relevant
continuation.
4.2. Experiment design
The quality of completions is heavily influenced by the
prompt construction, context provision, and precise task
delineation. To fully harness the capabilities of GPT-
3, it is vital to create well-crafted prompts. At present,
prompt engineering primarily relies on a trial-and-error
approach. However, adherence to several key principles
can greatly expedite this process. Firstly, experimenting
with various phrasings of the same prompt can be ben-
eficial, as these may seem similar to humans but not
to the language model. This is because the model may
have learned that such variations in phrasing are actually
employed in distinct contexts and for unique purposes.
Moreover, supplying the model with ample context is
essential. Apart from prompt engineering, fine-tuning
hyperparameters is a critical component of any cutting-
edge machine learning method, including GPT-3.
To partially automate experimentation, we have devel-
oped a high-level framework that works in conjunction
with the OpenAI API. This framework aims to address
the primary research question and ascertain the language
model’s ability to convert a verbal system description into
a functional Python simulation (See Figure 8).
The framework consists of nine components (a–i).
The description of the inventory and queuing systems
Figure 7. Pythonic interface to OpenAI API.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PRODUCTION RESEARCH 1445
in English is used as an input to which context and task
description are appended using the concatenation oper-
ator (a). The language model uses the intermediate result
as a prompt (b). After that, the parameters of the language
model are adjusted in such a way (c) that the language
model (d) produces executable Python code that corre-
sponds to the simulation model of the specified logistics
system (e). Python is chosen for two main reasons. Firstly,
according to Chen et al. (2021) GPT-3 Codex is the most
proficient in Python 3. Secondly, the Python program-
ming language is distinguished by the dynamic execution
(f). Namely, the ‘exec’ and ‘eval’ methods can execute
code obtained during a program’s run. The proposed
framework uses the ‘eval’ method that parses the string,
evaluates it as a Python expression, and compiles it into
bytecode. Bytecode is a low-level platform-independent
set of instructions for the Python Virtual Machine, where
the expression is run, and the value of the expression is
finally returned (g). After that, the validity of the gen-
erated source code and the generated output is verified
by a human expert (h). It is essential to highlight that
the human expert is responsible for providing the text
input corresponding to the description of the inventory
and queuing systems (a), as well as validating the out-
puts (e,f,g). If the outputs are incorrect, the human expert
has the authority to adjust the input, giving rise to a
human-AI feedback loop (i).
In our framework, we opted for the ‘eval’ method over
the ‘exec’ method for executing the dynamically gener-
ated Python code. The primary reason for this choice
is the nature of the two methods. While both ‘exec’
and ‘eval’ can dynamically execute Python code, ‘eval’
is designed to evaluate a single expression and return its
value (Lutz 2013), making it more suitable for our frame-
work, where we aim to obtain specific outcomes from the
generated code. On the other hand, ‘exec’ is designed to
execute statements, which may not necessarily return a
value. Given our focus on evaluating the results of the
1446 I. JACKSON ET AL.

Figure 8. The proposed framework generates and executes the simulation model by utilising its description in English.

generated simulation models, the ‘eval’ method provides 4.3. Results

a more direct and efficient approach.
The experiments were conducted in a reproducible man-
There are two major ways how this principle can
ner and the source code is available in the GitHub repos-
be implemented in expert systems. First, such pivot
itory.1
steps as code generation, execution, and production
During the experiments with prompt engineering and
of the visual output can be performed within a sin-
hyperparameters tuning two efficient approaches were
gle runtime and verified by an expert after that. Sec-
discovered. According to the first approach, the lan-
ond, they can be implemented sequentially such that the
guage model produces a simulation of a single-product
next step is performed only after the expert’s approval.
inventory-control system given the domain context,
The following experiments have been conducted fol-
detailed description of the process, and a list of variables
lowing the first way. The second way is more suit-
with the corresponding values.
able for ‘human-in-the-loop’ style expert systems. Since
Figure 9 shows that the mentioned instructions are
the general capabilities to generate valid Python code
enough to produce a valid executable simulation model
were demonstrated by the original OpenAI paper (Chen
and visualise the inventory dynamics. GPT-3 Codex
et al. 2021), our study focused exclusively on simula-
starts with importing Python libraries for random num-
tion models of inventory and queuing systems written
ber generation to model stochasticity and data visuali-
in Python. The GPT-based framework has been fine-
sation to visualise inventory dynamics at the end. After
tuned in order to produce valid executable Python code
that, all the necessary variables and data structures are
based on the descriptions of a single-server queuing sys-
defined. It is worth mentioning that GPT-3 Codex names
tem and single-product inventory-control system. It is
variables in a meaningful way, preserving the domain-
essential to highlight that unlike in classic NLP problems,
specific context and keeping the code human-readable.
such metrics as perplexity and BLEU score (Papineni
After that, the logic behind inventory control is cor-
et al. 2001) can not evaluate the validity of code gener-
rectly implemented. First, random demand under uni-
ation and program synthesis. Besides, it is impossible to
form distribution is generated, simulating the market
rely on automated testing since simulation models under
uncertainty. Second, the replenishment of the previously
consideration are dynamic, iterative systems. Therefore,
ordered batch is performed, increasing the current inven-
the logic behind the code structure is as important as
tory level by the order quantity. Third, demand is satis-
the simulation output. In this regard, all the test prob-
fied if there is sufficient inventory on hand. These core
lems have been verified manually by the authors of this
steps are executed in the loop such that each iteration
paper.

Figure 9. Given English instructions, GPT-3 Codex imports Python libraries, sets variables, applies simulation logic in a for loop, and
visually represents inventory dynamics.
corresponds to a day. The algorithm keeps track of the
variables’ changes in order to plot the dynamics at the
end. The resulting figure is human-readable and contains
both grid and legend. It is worth mentioning that GPT-3
Codex decided to display the replenishment days on the
figure, which had not been mentioned in the original task
but was quite helpful from a data-visualisation point of
view. This decision could be explained by the fact that
GPT-3 Codex was trained on a substantial part of GitHub
that contained code samples of simulation models of sim-
ilar inventory control systems. Therefore, the language
model understands that human experts tend to visualise
replenishment days when developing such simulations.
However, there is an alternative approach. Instead of a
detailed task description, the language model can use the
short one-sentence specification of the inventory man-
agement context and the list of variables and data struc-
tures to utilise in the code. Since variables are named
in a meaningful way with regard to the domain con-
text, GPT-3 Codex can use them in the code correctly.
For example, given such variables as xlabel = ’time’ and
ylabel = ’inventory’ GPT-3 Codex decides to plot inven-
tory levels against time at the end of a simulation run
without being explicitly asked to do so. That is where the
true power of proficiency in both Python and English is
revealed. Unlike in the previous example, the language
model implemented the simulation using a while loop,
which is functionally equivalent. Besides, since GPT-3
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PRODUCTION RESEARCH 1447
was not asked to plot the dynamics in a specific way,
the resulting figure lacks the grid and legend. Never-
theless, the figure is human-readable, and the dynamic
pattern typical for inventory levels is recognisable (See
Figure 10).
The discovery of the alternative approach was crucial
for generating the prompt that entails the valid simula-
tion of the single-server queuing system. The framework
could not generate the correct simulation given only the
description of the queuing system. As a result, the valid
simulation model was obtained by combining the ele-
ments of both approaches. Namely, the language model
received the detailed task description as well as the vari-
ables to utilise. Besides that, it was necessary to provide
a model with an example on how to handle the arrival of
customers to the system. Eventually, GPT-3 Codex could
implement the simulation logic by executing the arrival
and departure events within the while loop. The simula-
tion schedules the timing of next arrival and departure,
either adding or removing a customer from the system
depending on which event happens first (See Figure 11).
This principle is well-known as Discrete Event Simula-
tion (Law and Kelton. 2000). This discovery could also
be explained by the fact that GPT-3 Codex was trained
on a substantial part of GitHub that contained code sam-
ples of various simulation models, and some of them were
implemented according to the Discrete Event Simulation
paradigm.
1448 I. JACKSON ET AL.
Figure 10. From a brief inventory management description and provided variables, GPT-3 Codex accurately executes the corresponding
simulation.
Summarizing, we can come to the conclusion that
GPT-3 Codex is proficient in Python as well as in English
and as a result is capable of grasping both the core prin-
ciples behind the simulations of logistic systems and
the domain-specific context. Additionally, the framework
built on top of the finetuned language model can provide
the ‘NLP shortcut’ for simulation modelling. Specifically,
the framework can produce simple but functionally valid
simulations of queuing and inventory control systems
given the verbal description in English.
5. Discussion
5.1. NLP for simulation modelling
GPT-3 Codex has displayed remarkable expertise in
Python, along with a comprehensive understanding
of logistics systems and domain-specific vocabulary.
In addition, the language model is capable of gen-
erating functionally accurate simulations of queuing
and inventory control systems based on English tex-
tual descriptions. At the moment, frameworks built on
language models like GPT-3 are constrained to relatively
straightforward, toy-like problems. These limitations are
attributable to factors such as the number of model
parameters, the volume and quality of training datasets,
and the context window size. Nonetheless, given the rapid
advancements in the NLP field, it is expected that increas-
ingly complex problems can be addressed in the near
future.
While GPT-3 is the primary language model utilised
in our study, there have been developments in the field
that further push the boundaries. DeepMind created a
280 billion parameter transformer language model called
Gopher (Borgeaud et al. 2021), trained on a dataset
that encompasses 2.35 billion documents or roughly
10.5 TB of text (Rae et al. 2021). Additionally, Google
Brain introduced the Switch Transformer architecture,
which features nearly 1.6 trillion (1571 billion) param-
eters and is trained on a 750 GB dataset (Fedus, Zoph,
and Shazeer 2021). Consequently, we anticipate that, over
time, the size and complexity of simulations that frame-
works designed according to the principles proposed in
this paper can produce will markedly increase.

Figure 11. Given a detailed task, selected variables, and examples, GPT-3 Codex accurately models a single-server queuing system.
The impressive rate of scaling and adoption is also
worth highlighting. For instance, as of March 25, 2021
(less than nine months after the launch of GPT-3),
the OpenAI team reported that the model generates
more than 4.5 billion words per day, and the number
of applications leveraging GPT-3 had already exceeded
300 (Zaremba and Brockman 2021). Given these trends,
OpenAI’s futuristic goal of developing artificial gen-
eral intelligence – ‘highly autonomous systems capable
of outperforming humans in most economically valu-
able work’ – appears more feasible than ever (OpenAI
2018). While acknowledging the potential negative con-
sequences of automation in general and code generation
specifically (Acemoglu and Restrepo 2019; Schwab 2016;
Smith and Fressoli 2021), it is important to stress that
simulation engineers do not exclusively write code. Other
vital tasks include consulting with stakeholders, creat-
ing specifications, and documenting existing simulation
models. Tools developed based on the proposed concept
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PRODUCTION RESEARCH 1449
can potentially eliminate the monotony of programming,
allowing simulation engineers and domain scientists to
concentrate on higher-level problem-solving and com-
prehensive thinking. Historically, technological advance-
ments and improved tools have not diminished the need
for engineers and scientists; instead, they have broadened
the complexity, scale, and scope of challenges that can be
addressed by an individual expert or research team.
As highlighted in our study, one of the pivotal advan-
tages of automating the development of simulation
models is the potential reduction in time, resources,
and human error. Traditional simulation approaches,
such as agent-based simulations, often require intricate
design, extensive calibration, and rigorous validation.
These processes, while essential, are time-consuming
and prone to human errors, especially when modelling
complex supply chain systems. For instance, in agent-
based simulations, the behaviour of individual agents
must be meticulously defined, and any oversight can lead
1450 I. JACKSON ET AL.
to significant discrepancies in the simulation outcome
(Kiesling et al. 2012). Our approach, leveraging the capa-
bilities of GPT-3 Codex, offers a more streamlined pro-
cess. Interpreting and translating English textual descrip-
tions into functionally accurate simulations minimises
the room for manual error. Moreover, the adaptability
of this method allows for quick iterations and modi-
fications, surpassing the rigidity often associated with
traditional simulation methods.
Besides, it is essential to highlight that simulation is a
core component of Digital Twins, which are virtual repli-
cas of physical systems or processes that allow for real-
time monitoring and analysis (Tozanli and Saénz 2022b).
By integrating simulation models with Digital Twins,
businesses can gain valuable insights into their supply
chain operations, identify potential issues before they
become critical, and rapidly test and implement changes
to optimise performance. As a result, the combination of
simulation modelling and Digital Twins enables a more
comprehensive understanding of supply chain dynam-
ics, empowering businesses to make informed decisions
and drive continuous improvement in their operations
(Ivanov et al. 2019). However, even though simulation
models are an essential part of Digital Twins, they are
not the same. The research community has a consen-
sus that Digital Twins require a flow of real-time data,
which our study does not consider in the following exper-
iments. To be more specific, modelling in digital twins is
based on collecting real-time data on current conditions
through digital technology and processing this data using
simulation and AI to facilitate the evaluation of decision
alternatives and enable real-time decision-making (Bur-
gos and Ivanov 2021; Cui, Li, and Zhang 2022; Elmach-
toub and Grigas 2022; Fu et al. 2022; Rožanec et al. 2022;
Sun et al. 2022; G. Zhang, MacCarthy, and Ivanov 2022;
Z. Zhang et al. 2022).
5.2. Human-AI collaboration and decision-making
mechanics
The elements of the proposed framework (See Figure 8)
can be viewed through the lens of human-AI teaming
capabilities, including interoperability, authority balance,
transparency, and mutual learning.
(1) Interoperability is a key aspect of the proposed
framework, as it focuses on the seamless exchange of
information between humans and the AI language
model. The human expert (h) provides a textual
description of the inventory and queuing systems
(a), which is then processed by the AI to generate
executable Python code (b,d) according to the fine-
tuned configurations (c). This process exemplifies a
clear division of roles and responsibilities, with the
human expert responsible for input and validation
and the AI system responsible for transforming the
text into a functional simulation model.
(2) The framework also addresses authority balance by
placing the human expert in control of the verifi-
cation process of the elements (e,f,g). The expert is
responsible for validating the generated code and
output, ensuring that any potential risks or errors are
mitigated. By providing the expert with the power
to adjust the input, the framework acknowledges the
necessity of human intervention in cases where the
AI system might produce incorrect outputs.
(3) Transparency is achieved in the framework by estab-
lishing a clear understanding of the roles and respon-
sibilities of both the human expert and the AI sys-
tem. While the AI system is tasked with converting
the provided text into executable code, the human
expert is accountable for input provision and result
validation. This clarity in decision-making helps
build trust and ensures that both parties have well-
defined roles in the overall process.
(4) A crucial feature of the framework is the devel-
opment of the teaming capability of explainability,
illustrated through the human-AI feedback loop (i).
This dynamic allows for a two-way learning process.
The human expert, equipped with the authority to
modify inputs for erroneous outputs, provides the AI
system with opportunities to learn and adapt. Con-
versely, the AI system’s feedback and performance
offer insights to the human expert, enabling them
to fine-tune their inputs and better comprehend the
model’s strengths and boundaries.
6. Conclusion, managerial implications, and
future research
This section concludes the research, provides managerial
implications, and outlines promising directions for future
research.
6.1. Conclusion
In this study, we have delved into two significant research
questions at the intersection of AI and simulation mod-
elling of logistics systems. The first research question
investigates the possibility of automatically generating
simulation models of logistics systems based on their ver-
bal descriptions in natural language. The second research
question focuses on the collaborative aspects between
human experts and AI-based expert systems within the
realm of simulation modelling of logistic systems.

6.1.1. Research question 1: how could simulation
models of logistics systems be produced automatically
from verbal descriptions in natural language?
Our research successfully employs NLP to partially auto-
mate the development of simulation models, with a
focus on queuing and inventory control systems. We
have showcased that GPT-3 Codex exhibits proficiency
in both Python and English, enabling it to comprehend
the fundamental principles underlying logistic system
simulations and the specific domain context. Further-
more, the framework developed on top of the fine-tuned
language model offers an ‘NLP shortcut’ for simulation
modelling. Specifically, this framework can generate sim-
ple yet functionally accurate simulations of queuing and
inventory control systems based on verbal descriptions in
English.
The results achieved, in conjunction with the swift
advancements in language models, pave the way for
considerably streamlining the process involved in the
development of simulation models. As the capabili-
ties of language models continue to expand, we can
expect to see further enhancements in the effective-
ness and efficiency of simulation modelling workflows.
This progress has the potential to reduce the time and
effort required by domain experts and engineers, allow-
ing them to focus on more complex aspects of their
work and ultimately fostering innovation within the
field.
6.1.2. Research question 2: how do human experts
and AI-based expert systems successfully collaborate
in the domain of simulation modelling of logistic
systems?
The proposed framework demonstrates a strong align-
ment with human-AI teaming capabilities. By focusing
on interoperability, authority balance, transparency, and
mutual learning, this framework ensures a collabora-
tive and efficient process that leverages the strengths
of both humans and AI to achieve the desired out-
comes. The incorporation of these capabilities promotes
a synergistic relationship between the human expert and
the AI system, enabling them to work together effec-
tively and deliver results that surpass the capabilities
of either party working in isolation. To be more spe-
cific, the human expert provides a textual description of
the inventory and queuing systems, which is then pro-
cessed by the AI to generate executable Python code.
This process exemplifies a clear division of roles and
responsibilities, with the human expert responsible for
input and validation, and the AI system responsible
for transforming the text into a functional simulation
model.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PRODUCTION RESEARCH 1451
The framework also addresses authority balance by
placing the human expert in control of the verification
process. This fact fosters a harmonious working rela-
tionship between human and AI, preventing overreliance
on the AI system and promoting the human expert’s
engagement and accountability. While the AI system
is tasked with converting the provided text into exe-
cutable code, the human expert is accountable for input
provision and result validation. This clarity in decision-
making helps build trust and ensures that both parties
have well-defined roles in the overall process. At the same
time, the continuous process of learning and adapta-
tion allows both parties to evolve together, resulting in
a more effective and robust system over time. Further-
more, mutual learning encourages a culture of collabo-
ration and knowledge sharing, which can lead to new
insights and ideas that ultimately enhance the overall
performance of the human-AI team.
6.2. Managerial implications
The presented study highlights the potential of NLP tech-
nology, specifically the GPT-3 Codex, to automate the
development of simulation models for systems that are
critical to logistics operations. As a result of these find-
ings, there are several important managerial implications
to consider.
First, the automation potential promises efficiency
gains (Elder 2023). However, it’s essential to note that
while automation can streamline processes, it doesn’t
entirely eliminate the possibility of errors (Brynjolfsson,
Li, and Raymond 2023). Both human and AI-driven
processes have their unique challenges. For instance,
while the GPT-3 Codex can automate specific tasks, the
final validation by human experts remains crucial. This
dual-check system, combining AI efficiency with human
expertise, can mitigate risks associated with both human
and AI errors.
Second, while introducing NLP technologies can lead
to long-term efficiency and potential cost savings, the ini-
tial investment might be substantial (Baily, Brynjolfsson,
and Korinek 2023). Managers need to weigh the imme-
diate costs against the long-term benefits. Factors such
as training expenses, the potential resistance from tra-
ditionalists within the organisation, and the integration
challenges should be considered.
Incorporating AI into logistics is not only about cost
savings. While enhanced communication, superior usage
of expert knowledge, and enhanced decision-making
offer intangible benefits that can carve out a competitive
edge (Sheffi 2023), there are other pivotal considerations.
The need for continuous updates with data, the need to
1452 I. JACKSON ET AL.
scale up, and the contextualisation of AI are not without
challenges. These efforts demand significant resources,
which can potentially offset the efficiency of AI applica-
tions. However, these investments also pave the way for
extending the benefits to other logistics processes. It’s a
delicate balance of trade-offs. Moreover, in the face of
the ever-evolving scenarios of logistics networks (Dol-
gui et al. 2023; Phadnis, Sheffi, and Caplice 2022a), AI
stands as a powerful tool. It not only bridges the com-
munication between technical and non-technical staff,
fostering collaboration, but also equips businesses with
the capability to anticipate the repercussions of deploying
new logistics scenarios, ensuring they remain agile and
adaptive.
Last, while the rapid advancements in NLP technol-
ogy, as seen with the GPT Codex, offer immense poten-
tial, staying updated with these advancements is cru-
cial. As industry giants like Walmart (Handley 2023)
and Maersk (Sirtori-Cortina and Case 2023) have shown,
early adoption and integration of these technologies can
position companies as industry leaders. However, man-
agers should be cautious and ensure that their decisions
are data-driven, considering both the potential benefits
and challenges.
To conclude, applying NLP in logistics offers a blend
of challenges and opportunities. While the potential ben-
efits are significant, a balanced approach that would con-
sider both the technological and human aspects is crucial
for success.
6.3. Future research
While the work on this paper is ongoing, a new gener-
ation of language models is upcoming. GPT-4 contin-
ues the trend of increasing the number of parameters
in the model as well as the window size (the ability to
process more text as input). Additionally, GPT-4 is capa-
ble of processing images as well as text inputs, which
increases the range of potential applications, including
ones related to logistics and supply chain management
(OpenAI 2023c). Additionally, the latest developments
in the field, including RETRO Transformer by Deep-
Mind (Borgeaud et al. 2021) and WebGPT by OpenAI
(Nakano et al. 2021), successfully demonstrated that the
performance close to GPT-3 can be achieved by signifi-
cantly smaller language models by augmenting them with
a way to search and query for information. Adapting
the proposed framework to the new generation of lan-
guage models can be considered a promising direction
for future research.
Additionally, our study can also be extended in
multiple conceptual directions. First, the findings of
our study can be incorporated into the new sup-
ply chain paradigms, including supply chain viabil-
ity (Ivanov 2022), intertwined supply networks (Ivanov
et al. 2023), cloud supply chains (Ivanov, Dolgui, and
Sokolov 2022), reconfigurable supply chains (Ivanov and
Keskin 2023), and Industry 5.0 (Ivanov 2023). Second,
cognitive and knowledge-based components require fur-
ther examination, especially in the field of human-AI
collaboration (Saenz, Revilla, and Simon 2020a, 2020b).
Third, the emergence of the metaverse and its impli-
cations on Supply Chain and Operations Management
must be considered. As the metaverse and Web 3.0
forge a new digital realm, they mirror and influence
the behaviours and processes of tangible entities (Dolgui
and Ivanov 2023). The combination of these technologies
with Generative AI is clearly worth investigating.
Last, simulation is a core component of Digital Twins,
which are virtual replicas of physical systems or pro-
cesses that allow for real-time monitoring and analysis
(Tozanli and Saénz 2022a, 2022b). By integrating sim-
ulation models with Digital Twins, businesses can gain
valuable insights into their supply chain operations, iden-
tify potential issues before they become critical, and
rapidly test and implement changes to optimise perfor-
mance (Ivanov 2023a). As a result, the combination of
simulation modelling and Digital Twins enables a more
comprehensive understanding of supply chain dynam-
ics (Ivanov 2023b), empowering businesses to make
informed decisions and drive continuous improvement
in their operations (Ivanov et al. 2019). Therefore, we
postulate automatic model integration in Digital Twins
as a promising direction for future research.
Note
1. https://github.com/Jackil1993/GPT3_SCM.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Notes on contributors
Dr. Ilya Jackson is a Postdoctoral Asso-
ciate at MIT Center for Transportation
& Logistics. He earned his Ph.D. in Civil
Engineering and Transportation from the
Transport and Telecommunication Insti-
tute, where he spent one year as an
assistant professor shortly after that. The
main ideas of his Ph.D. thesis have been
summarised in the paper ’Neuroevolutionary approach to
metamodel-based optimisation in production and logistics’,
which received the Young Researcher Award in 2020. Dr. Ilya
Jackson currently focuses on Machine Learning and AI for
Supply Chain Management.

Dr. Maria Jesus Saenz is the Director of
the Digital Supply Chain Transformation
Lab at the MIT Center for Transporta-
tion and Logistics. The primary research
examines new collaborative paradigms
that arise while implementing new dig-
ital technologies in supply chains. Our
research domains are multidimensional
collaboration, digital supply chain capabilities and AI in supply
chains. Dr. Saenz also serves as the Executive Director of the
MIT Supply Chain Management Master Program. With more
than 25 years of experience, Dr. Saenz has also led various inter-
national research projects for the European Commission, as
well as for companies such as Maersk, Coca-Cola Femsa, Mon-
delez, P&G, Carrefour, Dell, J&J and DHL. She has received
17 awards and is co-author of more than 100 publications,
including Harvard Business Review, WSJ, MIT Sloan Manage-
ment Review, Forbes, Financial Times Press or Supply Chain
Management Review.
Dmitry Ivanov is a professor of sup-
ply chain and operations management
at Berlin School of Economics and Law.
He serves at the school as an Academic
director of M.A. Global Supply Chain
and Operations Management and B.Sc.
International Sustainability Management
as well as a Deputy Director of Institute
for Logistics. His publication list includes around 400 publi-
cations, including over 140 papers in international academic
journals and leading textbooks Global Supply Chain and Opera-
tions Management and Introduction to Supply Chain Resilience.
His main research interests and results span resilience, viabil-
ity and ripple effect in supply chains, risk analytics, and digital
twins. Author of the Viable Supply Chain Model and founder
of the ripple effect research in supply chains. Recipient of IISE
Transactions Best Paper Award 2021, Best Paper and Most
Cited Paper Awards of IJPR (2018,2019, 2020, 2021), OMEGA
Best Paper Award 2022, Clarivate Highly Cited Researcher
Award (2021, 2022). He co-edits IJISM and is an associate edi-
tor of the IJPR and OMEGA. He is Chairman of IFAC CC 5
‘Cyber-Physical Manufacturing Enterprise’.
Data availability statement
The authors confirm that the data supporting the findings of
this study are available. The experiments were conducted in
a reproducible manner and the source code is available in the
GitHub repository https://github.com/Jackil1993/GPT3_SCM.
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