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The data were collected through questionnaires, observations, and interviews with stakeholders. A simulation software was employed to analyze truck activity at loading stations at the factory. Multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) tools, AHP and TOPSIS, addressed five primary criteria and nine sub-criteria to assist in identifying, evaluating, and ranking feasible solutions. The study suggested different utilization of the various factory loading platforms at different times of the day. The findings from this study emphasize the importance of simulation-based approaches supplemented with decision-making processes to improve efficiency in sugar manufacturing facilities that may have broader applications in the factories of other industries. The study highlights remarkable improvements in operational efficiency, as seen in Alternative 4 substantial 27.9% enhancement, resulting in cost savings and time efficiency. By implementing these findings, factories can enhance their truck flow management system, reduce waiting times, increase capacity utilization, optimize resource allocation, and improve overall efficiency.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/axioms12100975","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,10,17]],"date-time":"2023-10-17T08:25:09Z","timestamp":1697531109000},"page":"975","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":6,"title":["Optimizing Sugar Manufacturing: A Hybrid Simulation-Based Approach and MCDM for Efficient Decision Making"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"12","author":[{"given":"Salahuddin","family":"Iskanderani","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Industrial Engineering, College of Engineering, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 80204, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2586-7028","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Omer","family":"Bafail","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Industrial Engineering, College of Engineering, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 80204, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8029-6160","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mohammed","family":"Alamoudi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Industrial Engineering, College of Engineering, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 80204, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,10,17]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"108398","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cie.2022.108398","article-title":"Economic assessment of a serial production system with random imperfection and shortages: A step towards sustainability","volume":"171","author":"Tayyab","year":"2022","journal-title":"Comput. 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