Using a force-based paradigm for managing operational fulfillment

An apparatus, comprising:

• a processor,
• a computer-readable storage medium coupled to the processor;
• and
• logic, stored on the computer-readable storage medium and executed on the processor, for:
• defining a fulfillment path solution (FPS) comprising a plurality of items undergoing an operational fulfillment process (OFP);
• wherein the FPS is associated with a plurality of milestones to be fulfilled by the plurality of items as the items travel the OFP;
• and
• wherein each milestone of the plurality of milestones exerts a resistive force on each item of the plurality of items;
• calculating a plurality of sums, each sum corresponding to a particular item and each sum as total of all resistive forces exerted on the corresponding item by each of the milestones;
• the calculating of each resistive force, comprising:
• setting an initial resistive force, with respect to each item, based upon a difference between a deadline associated with the milestone and the item, wherein an item with a deadline closer to the current time is set to a higher resistive force than an item with a deadline farther from the current time;
• and
• increasing each resistive force on each item as a corresponding deadline approaches each item;
• wherein a higher sum corresponding to a first item and a lower sum corresponding to a second item indicates a need for more immediate attention to the first item than the second item;
• and
• transmitting a notification event based upon the plurality of sums and corresponding items to indicate which items require more immediate attention.

A computer programming product, comprising:

• a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium;
• and
• logic, stored on the computer-readable storage medium for execution on a processor, for:
• defining a fulfillment path solution (FPS) comprising a plurality of items undergoing an operational fulfillment process (OFP);
• wherein the FPS is associated with a plurality of milestones to be fulfilled by the plurality of items as the items travel the OFP;
• and
• wherein each milestone of the plurality of milestones exerts a resistive force on each item of the plurality of items;
• calculating a plurality of sums, each sum corresponding to a particular item and each sum a total of all resistive forces exerted on the corresponding item by each of the milestones;
• the calculating of each resistive force, comprising:
• setting an initial resistive force, with respect to each item, based upon a difference between a deadline associated with the milestone and the item, wherein an item with a deadline closer to the current time is set to a higher resistive force than an item with a deadline further from the current time;
• and
• increasing each resistive force on each item as a corresponding deadline approaches each item;
• wherein a higher sum corresponding to a first item and a lower sum corresponding to a second item indicates a need for more immediate attention to the first item than the second item;
• and
• transmitting a notification event based upon the plurality of sums and corresponding items to indicate which items require more immediate attention.

An operational process server, comprising:

• a processor,
• a computer-readable storage medium coupled to the processor;
• and
• logic, stored on the computer-readable storage medium and executed on the processor, for:
• defining a fulfillment path solution (FPS) comprising a plurality of items undergoing an operational fulfillment process (OFP);
• wherein the FPS is associated with a plurality of milestones to be fulfilled by the plurality of items as the items travel the OFP;
• and
• wherein each milestone of the plurality of milestones exerts a resistive force on each item of the plurality of items;
• calculating a plurality of sums, each sum corresponding to a particular item and each sum a total of all resistive forces exerted on the corresponding item by each of the milestones;
• the calculating of each resistive force, comprising:
• setting an initial resistive force, with respect to each item, based upon a difference between a deadline associated with the milestone and the item, wherein an item with a deadline closer to the current time is set to a higher resistive three than an item with a deadline farther from the current time;
• and
• increasing each resistive force on each item as a corresponding deadline approaches each item;
• wherein a higher sum corresponding to a first item and a lower sum corresponding to a second item indicates a need for more immediate attention to the first item than the second item;
• and
• transmitting a notification event based upon the plurality of sums and corresponding items to indicate which items require more immediate attention.