The search for operational excellence includes both a thorough understanding of the nature of the manufacturing operations and a choice of the right production and inventory control system for the environment in which it will operate. Understanding the nature of manufacturing operations can be facilitated by simulating the manufacturing system, so that the interrelationships among parameters can be studied. Production and inventory control systems can be simulated together with the physical manufacturing environment in order to enhance the understanding of the behaviour of a particular control system and also to facilitate the selection of control systems for the manufacturing system under study. In this paper we report on the design and learning effects of using simulation for investigating the behaviour and impact of different production and inventory control systems in a manufacturing system. We discuss the structure and simulation perspectives of production and inventory control systems. We provide a review of the benefits of using simulation for learning the manufacturing environment, and the related testing of alternative control systems.