Methods, systems, and computer integrated program products for supply chain management

A computer implemented method for managing a supply chain process to maintain equipment, said method comprising:

• providing a business rule configuration (BRC) module that provides access to the capabilities of a plurality of inventory management, supply chain management, and equipment maintenance applications;
• utilizing the BRC module to identify and capture data that is relevant to a set of equipment maintenance requirements;
• applying the identified and captured data to the plurality of applications;
• and
• receiving, from the BRC, a solution to the equipment maintenance requirements, based on an integration of the capabilities of the plurality of applications.

A method for integrating a supply chain management business to facilitate equipment maintenance comprising:

• a) establishing a system capable of linking to a plurality of systems for retrieving and providing information;
• b) monitoring customer requirement data to identify equipment maintenance needs;
• c) capturing identified customer requirement data;
• d) preparing customer requirement data for use by at least one solver;
• e) contacting at least one of a plurality of systems in response to identified requirement;
• f) forecasting equipment maintenance demand based on prepared customer requirement data using a user identified forecasting method;
• g) analyzing requirement data;
• and
• h) recommending inventory adjustment based on forecasted maintenance demand.

The method of claim 30 further comprising integrating at least two of:

• a database application;
• a data cleaning application;
• a graphical user interface (GUI) application;
• a distribution network optimization application;
• a statistical demand forecasting application;
• a strategic, global, or long term inventory optimization application;
• a supply chain simulation;
• an estimating or accounting application;
• a sourcing optimization application;
• a transportation optimization application;
• a tactical, part-at-a-time, or day-to-day asset management application;
• a web portal;
• a warehouse inventory management application;
• a procurement application;
• a database reporting application;
• a workflow manager application;
• or a data set relevant to equipment maintenance requirements of the customer.

A method for maintaining operability of equipment, said method comprising the steps of:

• determining that a component of the equipment requires replacement;
• and
• replacing the component, the component being obtained from an inventory, the inventory being generated based on:
• a demand forecast;
• an optimization, based on the demand forecast, to determine which components are to be stored in the inventory;
• and
• a risk assessment based on the optimization, the risk assessment including varying operation conditions for the equipment.