Consumption-driven forecasting using multi-level heterogeneous input data

• US 10,002,364 B2
• Filed: 06/25/2014
• Issued: 06/19/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 06/25/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Oracle International Corporation (Oracle Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Oracle International Corporation (Oracle Corporation)
• Inventors: Gopinath, Nithin, Saindane, Kiran, Zivelin, Nadav, Feldman, Bart, Liebson, Michael, Goyal, Vikash, Periakaruppan, Nagappan, Arkin, Eytan E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Marcus, Leland
• Assistant Examiner(s): Swartz, Stephen S
• Application Number:
  US14/314,373
• Publication Number:
  US 20150379536A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,455 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0202 Market predictions or forecasting for commercial activities
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0205 Location or geographical consideration

Abstract

A method, system, and computer program product for generating forecasts and replenishment plans. Some embodiments commence upon receiving point-of-sale data, then receiving distribution-level order data in a second data format. The first point-of-sale data comprises an item identifier and a first date or first date range, and the distribution-level order data comprises the item identifier and a second date or second date range. The originators of the order data are determined using address identifiers (e.g., network location identifiers). The received data is combined wherein at least a portion of the point-of-sale data is combined with at least a portion of the distribution-level order data to generate a combined forecast for the item. Further processing includes receiving an inventory model parameter and combining at least a portion of the first point-of-sale consumption data with at least a portion of the distribution-level order data to generate a replenishment plan for the item.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

identifying a computing system having a storage subsystem, the storage subsystem comprising at least one database component having a series of individual records stored on a computer-readable medium;

receiving sales data as one or more individual records in a first data format, the first data format comprising an item identifier, a first address identifier, and a first date or first date range, wherein the sales data is received from a first plurality of sources, and the first address identifier is associated with the one or more individual records in the first data format, the first address identifier comprising at least one of an IP address, a network identifier, or a uniform resource locator;

determining an origin of at least one of the one or more individual records in the first data format using at least the first address identifier;

recording the at least one of the one or more individual records in the first data format in a first entry in a first relational database table using a selected first application programming interface of a first plurality of application programming interfaces, the first application programming interface being selected based on the origin of the at least one of the one or more individual records in the first data format, wherein different application programming interfaces of the first plurality of application programming interfaces are used for processing different formats of the first data format corresponding to the sales data;

receiving distribution data as one or more individual records in a second data format, the second data format comprising the item identifier, a second address identifier, and a second date or second date range, wherein the distribution data is received from a second plurality of sources, the second address identifier associated with the one or more individual records in the second data format, the second address identifiers comprising at least one of the IP address, the network identifier, or the uniform resource locator, wherein the first data format comprises a plurality of data formats, and the second data format comprises a plurality of data formats;

determining the origin of at least one of the one or more individual records in the second data format using at least the second address identifier;

recording the at least one of the one or more individual records in the second data format in a second entry in a second relational database table using a selected second application programming interface of a second plurality of application programming interfaces, the second application programming interface being selected based on the origin of the at least one of the one or more individual records in the second data format, wherein different application programming interfaces of the of the second plurality of application programming interfaces are used for processing different formats of the second data format corresponding to the distribution data, wherein the sales data and the distribution data are in normalized formats to be combined;

combining at least a portion of the sales data with at least a portion of the distribution data to generate a combined portion of data;

generating a combined forecast of demand for at least an item using the combined portion of data;

generating a graphical user interface comprising a selector component and a table structure,

the selector component receives a selection of an option of a first set of options, and the table structure that is displayed depends at least in part on the selection received by the selector component, the table structure having a plurality of columns corresponding to each of a plurality of rows, a first subset of the plurality of columns corresponding to user-defined parameters, a second subset of the plurality of columns corresponding to parameters calculated for the selection, and a third subset of the plurality of columns having a parameter calculated based on at least the user-defined parameters in the first subset of the plurality of columns and the parameters calculated for the selection in the second subset of the plurality of columns; and

generating a replenishment plan for the item based on at least the combined forecast of demand and one or more values displayed in the plurality of columns in a row corresponding to the item, wherein the first set of options comprise different types of safety stock strategy plans.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the sales data in a first data format is received from at least one of, a first brick-and-mortar store, a first kiosk, and a first online store.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the distribution data in a second data format is received from at least one of, a wholesaler, a distributor, and a distribution center.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising formatting the combined forecast into a third data format to generate a reformatted combined forecast comprising an item quantity and a third date or third date range.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the second data format is different from the first data format.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the sales data in a first data format is received from a first entity and the distribution data in a second data format is received from a second entity.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the first entity is different from the second entity.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the combined forecast for at least the item comprises a time range.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the first address identifier comprises a site identifier.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the site identifier comprises at least one of an account number an account type, a site type, a site group, a corresponding IP address, a network identifier, or a URL.

11. A computer program product embodied in a non-transitory computer readable medium, the computer readable medium having stored thereon a sequence of instructions which, when executed by a processor causes the processor to execute a process, the process comprising:

identifying a computing system having a storage subsystem, the storage subsystem comprising at least one database component having a series of individual records stored on a computer-readable medium;

receiving sales data as one or more individual records in a first data format, the first data format comprising an item identifier, a first address identifier, and a first date or first date range, wherein the sales data is received from a first plurality of sources, and the first address identifier is associated with the one or more individual records in the first data format, the first address identifier comprising at least one of an IP address, a network identifier, or a uniform resource locator;

determining an origin of at least one of the one or more individual records in the first data format using at least the first address identifier;

recording the at least one of the one or more individual records in the first data format in a first entry in a first relational database table using a selected first application programming interface of a first plurality of application programming interfaces, the first application programming interface being selected based on the origin of the at least one of the one or more individual records in the first data format, wherein different application programming interfaces of the first plurality of application programming interfaces are used for processing different formats of the first data format corresponding to the sales data;

receiving distribution data as one or more individual records in a second data format, the second data format comprising the item identifier, a second address identifier, and a second date or second date range, wherein the distribution data is received from a second plurality of sources, the second address identifier associated with the one or more individual records in the second data format, the second address identifiers comprising at least one of the IP address, the network identifier, or the uniform resource locator, wherein the first data format comprises a plurality of data formats, and the second data format comprises a plurality of data formats;

determining the origin of at least one of the one or more individual records in the second data format using at least the second address identifier;

recording the at least one of the one or more individual records in the second data format in a second entry in a second relational database table using a selected second application programming interface of a second plurality of application programming interfaces, the second application programming interface being selected based on the origin of the at least one of the one or more individual records in the second data format, wherein different application programming interfaces of the of the second plurality of application programming interfaces are used for processing different formats of the second data format corresponding to the distribution data, wherein the sales data and the distribution data are in normalized formats to be combined;

combining at least a portion of the sales data with at least a portion of the distribution data to generate a combined portion of data;

generating a combined forecast of demand for at least an item using the combined portion of data;

generating a graphical user interface comprising a selector component and a table structure, the selector component receives a selection of an option of a first set of options, and the table structure that is displayed depends at least in part on the selection received by the selector component, the table structure having a plurality of columns corresponding to each of a plurality of rows, a first subset of the plurality of columns corresponding to user-defined parameters, a second subset of the plurality of columns corresponding to parameters calculated for the selection, and a third subset of the plurality of columns having a parameter calculated based on at least the user-defined parameters in the first subset of the plurality of columns and the parameters calculated for the selection in the second subset of the plurality of columns; and

generating a replenishment plan for the item based on at least the combined forecast of demand and one or more values displayed in the plurality of columns in a row corresponding to the item, wherein the first set of options comprise different types of safety stock strategy plans.

12. The computer program product of claim 11, wherein the sales data in a first data format is received from at least one of, a first brick-and-mortar store, a first kiosk, and a first online store.

13. The computer program product of claim 11, wherein the distribution data in a second data format is received from at least one of, a wholesaler, a distributor, and a distribution center.

14. The computer program product of claim 11, further comprising formatting the combined forecast into a third data format to generate a reformatted combined forecast comprising an item quantity and a third date or third date range.

15. The computer program product of claim 11, wherein the second data format is different from the first data format.

16. The computer program product of claim 11, wherein the sales data in a first data format is received from a first entity and the distribution data in a second data format is received from a second entity.

17. The computer program product of claim 16, wherein the first entity is different from the second entity.

18. A system comprising:

a memory for storing instructions; and

a processor which performs the following actions when executing instructions;

identifying a computing system having a storage subsystem, the storage subsystem comprising at least one database component having a series of individual records stored on a computer-readable medium;

receiving sales data as one or more individual records in a first data format, the first data format comprising an item identifier, a first address identifier, and a first date or first date range, wherein the sales data is received from a first plurality of sources, and the first address identifier is associated with the one or more individual records in the first data format, the first address identifier comprising at least one of an IP address, a network identifier, or a uniform resource locator;

determining an origin of at least one of the one or more individual records in the first data format using at least the first address identifier;

recording the at least one of the one or more individual records in the first data format in a first entry in a first relational database table using a selected first application programming interface of a first plurality of application programming interfaces, the first application programming interface being selected based on the origin of the at least one of the one or more individual records in the first data format, wherein different application programming interfaces of the first plurality of application programming interfaces are used for processing different formats of the first data format corresponding to the sales data;

receiving distribution data as one or more individual records in a second data format, the second data format comprising the item identifier, a second address identifier, and a second date or second date range, wherein the distribution data is received from a second plurality of sources, the second address identifier associated with the one or more individual records in the second data format, the second address identifiers comprising at least one of the IP address, the network identifier, or the uniform resource locator, wherein the first data format comprises a plurality of data formats, and the second data format comprises a plurality of data formats;

determining the origin of at least one of the one or more individual records in the second data format using at least the second address identifier;

recording the at least one of the one or more individual records in the second data format in a second entry in a second relational database table using a selected second application programming interface of a second plurality of application programming interfaces, the second application programming interface being selected based on the origin of the at least one of the one or more individual records in the second data format, wherein different application programming interfaces of the of the second plurality of application programming interfaces are used for processing different formats of the second data format corresponding to the distribution data, wherein the sales data and the distribution data are in normalized formats to be combined;

combining at least a portion of the sales data with at least a portion of the distribution data to generate a combined portion of data;

generating a combined forecast of demand for at least an item using the combined portion of data;

generating a graphical user interface comprising a selector component and a table structure, the selector component receives a selection of an option of a first set of options, and the table structure that is displayed depends at least in part on the selection received by the selector component, the table structure having a plurality of columns corresponding to each of a plurality of rows, a first subset of the plurality of columns corresponding to user-defined parameters, a second subset of the plurality of columns corresponding to parameters calculated for the selection, and a third subset of the plurality of columns having a parameter calculated based on at least the user-defined parameters in the first subset of the plurality of columns and the parameters calculated for the selection in the second subset of the plurality of columns; and

generating a replenishment plan for the item based on at least the combined forecast of demand and one or more values displayed in the plurality of columns in a row corresponding to the item, wherein the first set of options comprise different types of safety stock strategy plans.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the sales data in a first data format is received from a first entity and the distribution data in a second data format is received from a second entity.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the first entity is different from the second entity.