Electronic marketplace providing service parts inventory planning and management

• US 20010034673A1
• Filed: 02/22/2001
• Published: 10/25/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 02/22/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: JDA Software Group Incorporated (RedPrairie Holding Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: JDA Software Group Incorporated (RedPrairie Holding Incorporated)
• Inventors: Pany, Rajeev V., Natarajan, Prabhu, Bhide, Abhijit A., Yang, Hong M.
• Granted Patent: US 7,881,985 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/28
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06311 Scheduling, planning or task assignment for a person or group
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders

Abstract

Service parts inventory planning and management are provided for one or more entities in a supply chain (12), preferably within the context of an electronic marketplace (14). Status data reflecting substantially current service parts inventory levels at stocking locations within the supply chain (12) is accessed, these inventory levels indicating service parts excesses or needs at one or more stocking locations. A substantially current service parts inventory plan is generated according to the status data, a service parts demand forecast, and a supply chain model, the inventory plan including target stocking levels for service parts at stocking locations. According to the inventory plan, one or more services are initiated to attempt to resolve service parts excesses or needs at stocking locations through interaction with one or more

Claims

1. A system for providing service parts inventory planning and management for one or more entities in a supply chain, comprising:

one or more planner applications collectively operable to;

receive status data reflecting substantially current service parts inventory levels at one or more stocking locations in a supply chain, the inventory levels indicating service parts excesses or needs at one or more of the stocking locations;

access a service parts demand forecast for at least a portion of the supply chain;

access a model of at least a portion of the supply chain; and

generate a substantially current service parts inventory plan according to the status data, the demand forecast, and the model, the inventory plan comprising target stocking levels for service parts at one or more stocking locations in the supply chain; and

a manager application operable to receive the inventory plan and, according to the inventory plan, initiate one or more services in an attempt to resolve at least a portion of the service parts excesses or needs at one or more of the stocking locations through interaction with one or more other entities.

2. The system of

claim 1

, wherein the planner applications are collectively further operable to:

access reverse logistics data comprising a forecast of service parts returns flow into at least a portion of a returns supply chain, an estimate of repairable service parts returns as a percentage of all service parts returns, an estimate of repair times for the repairable service parts returns, and a model of the returns supply chain; and

generate the inventory plan also according to the reverse logistics data.

3. The system of

claim 2

, wherein the planner applications are collectively operable to consider any customer requirements for totally new service parts as opposed to repaired service parts in generating the inventory plan.

4. The system of

claim 1

, wherein the planner applications are collectively operable to schedule a service operation according to the projected availability of one or more service parts necessary in connection with the service operation as reflected in the inventory plan.

5. The system of

claim 4

, wherein scheduling a service operation comprises scheduling service personnel necessary to perform the service operation.

6. The system of

claim 1

, wherein the planner applications are collectively operable to receive status data for all the stocking locations in the supply chain and the inventory plan comprises target stocking levels for all the stocking locations in the supply chain.

7. The system of

claim 1

, wherein the inventory plan further comprises an optimal allocation of service parts to one or more customers to meet target customer service levels.

8. The system of

claim 1

, wherein the planner applications are collectively operable to generate updated inventory plans according to fluctuations in service parts demand and supply within the supply chain and according to target customer service levels.

9. The system of

claim 1

, wherein the inventory plan is accessible to one or more entities associated with the stocking locations at which service parts excesses or needs exist for use in transferring service parts between stocking locations to satisfy the inventory plan.

10. The system of

claim 1

, wherein the manager application is operable to initiate transfer of service parts from a first stocking location with service parts excesses according to the inventory plan to a second stocking location with service parts needs according to the inventory plan.

11. The system of

claim 1

, wherein the manager application is operable to, in response to initiating the service, execute a broker function to resolve at least a portion of the service parts excesses or needs at one or more of the stocking locations, the action selected from the group consisting of:

sell service parts to another entity through a bid/ask exchange;

purchase service parts from another entity through a bid/ask exchange;

sell service parts to another entity in an auction;

purchase service parts from another entity in a reverse auction;

post service parts in an inventory listing service for sale to another entity; and

purchase service parts posted in an inventory listing service by another entity.

12. The system of

claim 1

, wherein the manager application is operable to initiate multiple services to attempt to resolve the service parts excesses or needs, a first service is initiated for a first portion of the service parts excesses or needs, and a second service is initiated for a second portion of the service parts excesses or needs.

13. The system of

claim 1

, further comprising an electronic marketplace that supports the one or more planner applications and the manager application, the initiated service being hosted at the electronic marketplace.

21. The method of

claim 1

, further comprising generating updated inventory plans according to fluctuations in service parts demand and supply within the supply chain and according to target customer service levels.

14. A method of providing service parts inventory planning and management for one or more entities in a supply chain, comprising:

receiving status data reflecting substantially current service parts inventory levels at one or more stocking locations in a supply chain, the inventory levels indicating service parts excesses or needs at one or more of the stocking locations;

accessing a service parts demand forecast for at least a portion of the supply chain;

accessing a model of at least a portion of the supply chain;

generating a substantially current service parts inventory plan according to the status data, the demand forecast, and the model, the inventory plan comprising target stocking levels for service parts at one or more stocking locations in the supply chain; and

according to the inventory plan, initiating one or more services in an attempt to resolve at least a portion of the service parts excesses or needs at one or more of the stocking locations through interaction with one or more other entities.

15. The method of

claim 14

, further comprising:

accessing reverse logistics data comprising a forecast of service parts returns flow into at least a portion of a returns supply chain, an estimate of repairable service parts returns as a percentage of all service parts returns, an estimate of repair times for the repairable service parts returns, and a model of the returns supply chain; and

generating the inventory plan also according to the reverse logistics data.

16. The method of

claim 15

, wherein any customer requirements for totally new service parts as opposed to repaired service parts are considered in generating the inventory plan.

17. The method of

claim 14

, further comprising scheduling a service task according to projected availability of one or more service parts necessary in connection with the service operation as reflected in the inventory plan.

18. The method of

claim 17

, wherein scheduling the service task comprises scheduling service personnel necessary to perform the service task.

19. The method of

claim 14

, further comprising receiving status data for all the stocking locations in the supply chain, the inventory plan comprising target stocking levels for all the stocking locations in the supply chain.

20. The method of

claim 14

, wherein the inventory plan further comprises an optimal allocation of service parts to one or more customers to meet target customer service levels.

22. The method of

claim 14

, further comprising making the inventory plan accessible to one or more entities associated with the stocking locations at which service parts excesses or needs exist for use in transferring service parts between the stocking locations to satisfy the inventory plan.

23. The method of

claim 14

, further comprising initiating transfer of service parts from a first stocking location with service parts excesses according to the inventory plan to a second stocking location with service parts needs according to the inventory plan.

24. The method of

claim 14

, further comprising, in response to initiating the service, executing a broker function to resolve at least a portion of the service parts excesses or needs at one or more of the stocking locations, the action selected from the group consisting of:

sell service parts to another entity through a bid/ask exchange;

purchase service parts from another entity through a bid/ask exchange;

sell service parts to another entity in an auction;

purchase service parts from another entity in a reverse auction;

post service parts in an inventory listing service for sale to another entity; and

purchase service parts posted in an inventory listing service by another entity.

25. The method of

claim 14

, further comprising initiating multiple services to attempt to resolve the service parts excesses or needs, a first service being initiated for a first portion of the service parts excesses or needs, and a second service being initiated for a second portion of the service parts excesses or needs.

26. The method of

claim 14

, wherein the method is performed using hosted applications and services of an electronic marketplace.

27. Software for providing service parts inventory planning and management for one or more entities in a supply chain, the software being embodied in a computer-readable medium and when executed by a computer operable to:

receive status data reflecting substantially current service parts inventory levels at one or more stocking locations in a supply chain, the inventory levels indicating service parts excesses or needs at one or more of the stocking locations;

access a service parts demand forecast for at least a portion of the supply chain;

access a model of at least a portion of the supply chain;

generate a substantially current service parts inventory plan according to the status data, the demand forecast, and the model, the inventory plan comprising target stocking levels for service parts at one or more stocking locations in the supply chain; and

according to the inventory plan, initiate one or more services in an attempt to resolve at least a portion of the service parts excesses or needs at one or more of the stocking locations through interaction with one or more other entities.

28. A system for providing service parts inventory planning and management for one or more entities in a supply chain, comprising:

means for;

receiving status data reflecting substantially current service parts inventory levels at one or more stocking locations in a supply chain, the inventory levels indicating service parts excesses or needs at one or more of the stocking locations;

accessing a service parts demand forecast for at least a portion of the supply chain;

accessing a model of at least a portion of the supply chain; and

generating a substantially current service parts inventory plan according to the status data, the demand forecast, and the model, the inventory plan comprising target stocking levels for service parts at one or more stocking locations in the supply chain; and

means for, according to the inventory plan, initiating one or more services in an attempt to resolve at least a portion of the service parts excesses or needs at one or more of the stocking locations through interaction with one or more other entities.

29. A system for providing service parts inventory planning and management for one or more entities in a supply chain, comprising:

one or more planner applications collectively operable to;

receive status data reflecting substantially current service parts inventory levels at one or more stocking locations in a supply chain, the inventory levels indicating service parts excesses or needs at one or more of the stocking locations;

access a service parts demand forecast for at least a portion of the supply chain;

access a model of at least a portion of the supply chain;

access reverse logistics data comprising a forecast of service parts returns flow into at least a portion of a returns supply chain, an estimate of repairable service parts returns as a percentage of all service parts returns, an estimate of repair times for the repairable service parts returns, and a model of the returns supply chain;

generate a service parts inventory plan according to the status data, the demand forecast, the model, the reverse logistics data, and one or more customer service target levels, the inventory plan comprising target stocking levels for service parts at one or more stocking locations in the supply chain; and

generate updated inventory plans according to fluctuations in service parts demand and supply within the supply chain, consistent with the target customer service levels; and

a manager application operable to receive the inventory plan and, according to the inventory plan, initiate one or more services to attempt to resolve at least a portion of the service parts excesses or needs at one or more of the stocking locations through interaction with one or more other entities.

30. The system of

claim 29

, wherein the planner applications are collectively further operable to schedule a service operation according to the projected availability of one or more service parts necessary in connection with the service operation as reflected in the inventory plan.

31. The system of

claim 29

, wherein the manager application is operable to, in response to initiating the service, execute a broker function to resolve at least a portion of the service parts excesses or needs at one or more of the stocking locations, the action selected from the group consisting of:

sell service parts to another entity through a bid/ask exchange;

purchase service parts from another entity through a bid/ask exchange;

sell service parts to another entity in an auction;

purchase service parts from another entity in a reverse auction;

post service parts in an inventory listing service for sale to another entity; and

purchase service parts posted in an inventory listing service by another entity.

32. A method of providing service parts inventory planning and management for one or more entities in a supply chain, comprising:

receiving status data reflecting substantially current service parts inventory levels at one or more stocking locations within a supply chain, the inventory levels indicating service parts excesses or needs at one or more of the stocking locations;

accessing a service parts demand forecast for at least a portion of the supply chain;

accessing a model of at least a portion of the supply chain;

accessing reverse logistics data comprising a forecast of service parts returns flow into at least a portion of a returns supply chain, an estimate of repairable service parts returns as a percentage of all service parts returns, an estimate of repair times for the repairable service parts returns, and a model of the returns supply chain;

generating a service parts inventory plan according to the status data, the demand forecast, the model, the reverse logistics data, and one or more customer service target levels, the inventory plan comprising target stocking levels for service parts at one or more stocking locations in the supply chain; and

generating updated inventory plans based on fluctuations in service parts demand and supply within the supply chain, consistent with the target customer service levels; and

according to the inventory plan, initiating one or more services in an attempt to resolve at least a portion of the service parts excesses or needs at one or more of the stocking locations through interaction with one or more other entities.

33. The method of

claim 32

, further comprising scheduling a service task according to projected availability of one or more service parts necessary in connection with the service task as reflected in the inventory plan.

34. The method of

claim 32

, further comprising, in response to initiating the service, executing a broker function to resolve at least a portion of the service parts excesses or needs at one or more of the stocking locations, the action selected from the group consisting of:

sell service parts to another entity through a bid/ask exchange;

purchase service parts from another entity through a bid/ask exchange;

sell service parts to another entity in an auction;

purchase service parts from another entity in a reverse auction;

post service parts in an inventory listing service for sale to another entity; and

purchase service parts posted in an inventory listing service by another entity.