Management of decentralized production and centralized material distribution

• US 20030126043A1
• Filed: 01/03/2002
• Published: 07/03/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 12/24/2001
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Inventec Corporation
• Original Assignee: Inventec Corporation
• Inventors: Liao, Yi-Ming, Chen, Cheng-Ju, Lee, Yun-Chi
• Application Number:
  US10/033,986
• Publication Number:
  US 20030126043A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/28
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders

Abstract

A method for managing decentralized production and centralized materials distribution aims at resolving the problems of manually distributing materials by the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) server in the manufacturing industry. By using a Configure to Order (CTO) concept to transmit data on the network, the invention combines bills of material (BOM) to process centralized management and distribution of materials to reduce time needed in material delivery and enhance efficiency of production for factories.

Claims

1. A management method for decentralized productions and centralized materials distribution relates to a method that employs to proceed the operation of materials distribution to pre-defined facilities for productions through an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) server of an enterprise end on the material management system in the manufacturing industry. The Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) server is linked to an information intermediary through a network backbone for transferring updated information to a supplier end to complete timely material delivery. The disclosed method at least includes the following steps:

Receiving at least one bill of material (BOM) through the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) server;

Integrating the bill of material (BOM) through the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) server;

Distributing materials to specified facilities through the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) server;

Purchasing materials through the material requirements planning server;

Transferring data to the supplier through a specified data transmission format and method; and

Delivering materials as contracted by the supplier.

2. The invention as recited in claim 1, wherein the specified facilities are categorized based on production requirements of different product prototypes to execute work orders received by the enterprise end.

3. The invention as recited in claim 1, wherein a network backbone is to link up the enterprise end, the suppliers and the information intermediary to proceed data transmission.

4. The invention as recited in claim 1, wherein the steps of integrating the bill of material (BOM) through the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) server relate to a method of exploding bills of material (BOM), which method further includes the following steps,

Exploding all bills of material (BOM) of respective prototypes,

Stratifying all the bills of material (BOM), according to assemble features of respective prototypes.

Combining and exploding components or parts at each level from all integrated bills of material (BOM).

5. The invention as recited in claim 1, wherein the operation of distributing materials to specified facilities will be processed after at least one bill of material (BOM) is analyzed and categorized by the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) server.

6. The invention as recited in claim 5, wherein specified facilities at least comprise:

a specific materials facility, a common materials facility, and a obsolescent stock facility.

7. The invention as recited in claim 6, wherein the specific materials facility is to utilize particular materials for productions, and is manufacturing corresponding specified components or parts needed

8. The invention as recited in claim 7, wherein the specific materials relate to particular components or parts needed for respective prototypes, among which there are no components and parts overlapped in common.

9. The invention as recited in claim 6, wherein the common materials facility is to manage general materials for distributions and deliver common components or parts to required factories/manufactories.

10. The invention as recited in claim 9, wherein the common materials relate to general components or parts needed at least for two prototypes and above, and are evaluated by pre-set column through the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) server.

11. The invention as recited in claim 6, wherein the obsolescent stock facility is to manage materials of out-of-date, and to centrally process claim to a buyer who had placed the order.

12. The invention as recited in claim 11, wherein those obsolescent stocks relate to materials at the expiry of the life cycle, and are disposed of according to the enterprise rules.

13. The invention as recited in claim 1, wherein a specified data transmission format and method further includes the following steps,

establishing a data on an enterprise end;

transferring the data to an information intermediary through a network backbone by the enterprise end;

transferring the data to a destination through a global information network by the information intermediary; and

receiving/sending information at the destination by using a browser from the supplier.

14. The invention as recited in claim 1, wherein the step that the enterprise end transfers data to the information intermediary further transfers data format through a data transfer split.

15. The invention as recited in claim 1, wherein the data transfer split is utilizing the configure to order (CTO) concept to complete data transmission on the network with customized fields and formats established based on different requirements of suppliers.

16. The invention as recited in claim 13, wherein the destination end relates to a platform provided by the information intermediary to store data from the supplier end and from the enterprise end.

17. The invention as recited in claim 1, wherein the material requirements planning server is provided by Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) server to determine capability of product orders by a buyer/client, and place purchase order to the supplier based on determined capability for purchasing.