US 7,058,587 B1Granted

System and method for allocating the supply of critical material components and manufacturing capacity

AssigneeManugistics, Inc.

InventorMartin Horne

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Abstract

The present invention allocates the supply of critical components and manufacturing capacity by optimizing critical material planning decisions and dynamically allocating constrained materials using advanced substitution logic that considers alternate suppliers and supports product life cycle from design through end-of-life. The present invention may utilize unique synchronized allocations and matched sets logic. The synchronized allocations ensure that all materials necessary for production are available in the appropriate time-phased allocation before beginning production to minimize wasted production capacity and materials. The supply system may include various combination of components, including a Supply Planner, a Resource Optimizer, a Constraint Based Master Planner, a Product Change Analyzer, a Comparer, a Resource Requirements Planner, a Finite Resource Planner, a Customer Promiser, and an Interactive Master Scheduler. Another embodiment of the supply system includes a tool that allows users to define products using engineering specifications.

Claims25

Dependent claims

A system for producing an optimal supply play for allocating a supply of a component, the system comprising:

a) a computerized database containing electronically readable information related to said component, said information describing the supply and changes to the supply;
b) a computerized supply planner that automatically produces a plurality of proposed supply plans for said component using synchronized allocation with the component information in the database, wherein each of said proposed supply plans has associated supply plan values comprising:
αi representing a revenue associated with a demand i,
βi representing a margin associated with said demand i,
cj representing a standard cost of an item j,
ujkt representing a quantity of consumed inventory,
tjk representing a quantity of issued inventory,
Ijt representing an inventory of an item j at end of a time period t,
M representing a number of independent demands, and
T representing a number of time periods;
c) data input means for accepting user input, wherein said supply planner uses said user input to define user preference values comprising
ωCS, ωR, ωM, and ωI representing weightings for customer service, revenue, margin, and inventory for said component,
γCS, γR, γM, and γI representing scaling factors for customer service, revenue, margin, and inventory for said component, and
δit representing a scaling factor to give preference for shipping orders on-time versus shipping late or early,
wherein said supply planner evaluates the plurality of proposed supply chain plans using the associated supply plan values and the user preference values through an objective function comprising:
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where xit is a binary variable;
e) wherein said supply planner selects the optimal supply plan from the proposed plurality of proposed supply chain plans, wherein said optimal supply plan maximizes the objective function.

161 more elements

A method for allocating a supply of a component, the method comprising the steps of:

a) providing a computer to a user;
b) said computer forming a component database, said component database containing electronically readable information related to said component, said information describing a supply of said component and changes to the component supply;
c) said computer producing a plurality of proposed supply plans for said component using synchronized allocation said computer using synchronized allocation with the information in the component database, wherein each of said proposed supply plans has associated supply plan values comprising:
αi representing a revenue associated with a demand i,
βi representing a margin associated with said demand i,
cj representing a standard cost of an item j,
ujkt representing a quantity of consumed inventory,
tjk representing a quantity of issued inventory,
Ijt representing an inventory of an item j at end of a time period t,
M representing a number of independent demands, and
T representing a number of time periods;
d) said computer accepting user input and using said user input to define user preference values comprising
ωCS, ωR, ωM, and ωI representing weightings for customer service, revenue, margin, and inventory for said component,
γCS, γR, γM, and γI representing scaling factors for customer service, revenue, margin, and inventory for said component, and
δit representing a scaling factor to give preference for shipping orders on-time versus shipping late or early,
e) said computer evaluating the plurality of proposed supply chain plans using the associated supply plan values and the user preference values through an objective function comprising:
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cs
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where xit is a binary variable;
f) said computer selecting the optimal supply plan from the proposed plurality of proposed supply chain plans, wherein said optimal supply plan maximizes the objective function;
and
g) said computer allocating said computer using said supply plan.

164 more elements

A program storage device readable by a machine, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by a machine to perform method for selecting an optimal supply allocation plan for a component, said method comprising the steps of:

a) forming an electronically readable component database containing information related to a supply of the component, said information describing the supply and changes to the supply;
b) using synchronized allocation and matched sets logic with the information in the component database to produce a plurality of proposed supply plans for said component, wherein each of said proposed supply plans has associated supply plan values comprising:
ai representing a revenue associated with a demand i,
βi representing a margin associated with said demand i,
cj representing a standard cost of an item j,
ujkt representing a quantity of consumed inventory,
tjk representing a quantity of issued inventory,
Ijt representing an inventory of an item j at end of a time period t,
M representing a number of independent demands, and
T representing a number of time periods;
c) accepting user input and using said user input to define user preference values comprising
ωCS, ωR, ωM, and ωI representing weightings for customer service, revenue margin, and inventory for said component,
γCS, γR, γM, and γI representing scaling factors for customer service, revenue, margin, and inventory for said component, and
δit representing a scaling factor to give preference for shipping orders on-time versus shipping late or early,
d) evaluating the plurality of proposed supply chain plans using the associated supply plan values and the user preference values through an objective function comprising:
[
ω
cs
⁢
γ
cs
⁢
∑
i
=
1
M
⁢
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∑
t
=
1
T
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δ
it
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+
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]
,
where xit is a binary variable, and
e) selecting the optimal supply plan from the proposed plurality of proposed supply chain plans, wherein the optimal supply plan maximizes the objective function.

162 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 10/057,983Filed 29 Jan 2002 · us provisional application
Priority: 29 Jan 2001
Granted: 6 Jun 2006
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification7 codes

G06Q 50/04
Information and communication technology [ICT] specially adapted for implementation of business processes of specific business sectors, e.g.…:…
G06Q 10/06
Administration; Management: resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation…
G06Q 10/06312
Resource planning, allocation, distributing or scheduling for enterprises or organisations: adjustment or analysis of established resource…
G06Q 10/06375
Strategic management or analysis, e.g. setting a goal or target of an organisation; Planning actions based on goals; Analysis or evaluation of…:…