Using System Dynamics Modeling to Develop a Strategy for Steel Industry's Supply Chain in Iran

Steel industry management always needs strategic decisions for planning new capacities with high technologies. In recent years we feel this need more than always, because of important roles which China and other countries play. One of the managing tools for making effective decisions is System Dynamics and system thinking methods. This methodology can simulate different supply chains and by that we can see the results of our simulation immediately. In this research we try to simulate Iran steel industry supply chain, accordingly at first the main variables defining this system to considerable extent are identified and realized, then their relations are codified according to casual loop diagrams, then its technical structure is completed through design of the main model according to stock- flow diagram and assimilated in the VENSIM software. Through execution of model and analysis of its results we recognize some effective parameters which their changes can influence over profit of steel industry. At last we identified more effective and more principal indexes. Therefore any strategy and solution can be tested and assessed with this model, although detailed study and expanding of the model is suggested, and variables which exist in real world can be added to model.