System and method for supplying material
AssigneeCaterpillar Inc.
InventorsGregory R. Scotti, Terry R. Parker, Vernon L. Carey, Rhett Barnes
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A system and method manage material supply for an assembly area or process. The system and method are adapted to supply or request material in response to actual demand for the material.
Claims65
A method of managing material supplied to an assembly process, comprising the steps of:
- establishing an actual demand for the material;
- generating a replenishment signal in response to the actual demand;
- and,
- supplying the material in response to the replenishment signal.
A method of managing material supplied to an assembly process, comprising the steps of:
- providing information associated with assembly demand of the material;
- establishing an actual demand for the material based on the information;
- establishing an event in the assembly process in response to the actual demand;
- generating a replenishment signal in response to occurrence of the event;
- and,
- supplying the material in response to the replenishment signal.
A method of managing material supplied to an assembly process, the assembly process being adapted to produce a plurality of items and being divided into a plurality of stages, and wherein each item is represented by an order, comprising the steps of:
- monitoring a stage of at least one of the orders;
- establishing an event associated with the assembly process in response to actual demand for the material;
- generating a replenishment signal in response to occurrence of the event;
- and,
- supplying the material in response to the replenishment signal.
A method of managing material supplied to an assembly process, wherein the assembly process is adapted to produce a plurality of items, the assembly process being divided into a plurality of stages, and each item is represented by an order, wherein the material includes a part to be delivered by a supplier, and wherein the method includes the steps of:
- establishing an event associated with the assembly process;
- generating a replenishment signal for the part, wherein the part is required at a later stage;
- and,
- supplying the part in response to the replenishment signal.
A method of managing material supplied to an assembly process, wherein the assembly process is adapted to produce a plurality of items, the assembly process being divided into a plurality of stages, each item being represented by an order, wherein the material includes a part to be delivered by a supplier, comprising the steps of:
- establishing an event associated with the assembly process;
- generating a replenishment signal for the part in response to occurrence of the event, wherein the part is required at an another stage for a second order;
- and,
- supplying the part in response to the replenishment signal.
A method of managing material supplied to an assembly process, comprising the steps of:
- dynamically determining a demand rate based on an actual demand for the material;
- determining an order point based on the dynamically determined demand rate;
- generating a replenishment signal when an amount of the material in process is less than the order point;
- and,
- supplying the material in response to the replenishment signal.
An apparatus, comprising:
- an assembly area for receiving material and producing items using an assembly process;
- and,
- a computer system coupled to the assembly area, the computer system being adapted to establishing an actual demand for the material and to generate a replenishment signal in response to the actual demand.
A method of managing material supplied to an assembly process, comprising the steps of:
- establishing an actual demand for the material;
- generating a replenishment signal in response to the actual demand;
- and,
- requesting the material in response to the replenishment signal.
A method of managing material supplied to an assembly process, comprising the steps of:
- establishing an actual demand for the material;
- generating a replenishment signal in response to the actual demand;
- and,
- receiving the material in response to the replenishment signal.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.