Adaptive network-centric online autonomic supply chain management system

• US 20050154653A1
• Filed: 01/10/2004
• Published: 07/14/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 01/10/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kenneth Jongebloed
• Original Assignee: Kenneth Jongebloed Inc.
• Inventors: Jongebloed, Kenneth William
• Granted Patent: US 7,225,981 B2
• 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

Provided is an agile, adaptive, globally deployable online network-centric autonomic supply chain management system that when triggered by a predictive/diagnostic condition management system, without user-maintainer intervention, autonomously authorizes a complete requisitioning cycle of supply chain assets to warfighters with unprecedented criticality of speed. A requisitioning cycle is comprised of: (1) asset issue authorization to a vehicle/requester (2) retrograde [return] of repairable to depot and (3) replenishment [resupply] of drawn inventory. It also autonomically provides global total asset visibility of the asset(s) of interest and a tempo surge-priority ranking with a calm-down functions. The system operates in either default autonomic mode or a user activated semi-autonomic mode. In either mode of operation a requisition cycle is accomplished autonomically by selection of the most affordable transportation that ensures delivery of an asset to a user in accordance with contractually specified time-definite delivery standards. The system'"'"'s material delivery performance effectiveness percentage rate is archived for billing purposes and monitoring system performance metrics. The system almost eliminates SCM administration personpower requirements. It accelerates the entire logistics supply pipeline, resulting in:—higher annual inventory turn-rates thus permitting inventory levels to be reduced and smaller wartime pack up kits thereby lowering lifetime total operating costs. Smaller pack up kits reduces the logistics footprint and thus the number of cargo aircraft required to deploy a unit.

Claims

I. I. a default autonomic mode of operation whereby upon receipt of a component'"'"'s diagnostic condition management system failure code it autonomically triggers supply chain management operation;

Ia. Ia. provides delivery authorization of requisitioned asset, including customs papers if required, to user and supply persons in accordance with a contractually specified time-definite delivery standards dependent upon—

global location, asset weight and volume, vehicle issue failure priority code, and in compliance with a specified material delivery performance effectiveness percentage rate, at the most affordable transportation cost, including a text display to user and supply persons of part number, commercial and government entity code, date of scheduled delivery, site from which it is being shipped from, a tracking number of the delivery service;

Ib. Ib. provides retrograde authorization of repairable asset back to a best value repair source at a routine issue priority and at the most affordable transportation cost, including a text display to user and supply persons of part number, commercial and government entity code, date of scheduled delivery, site from which it is being shipped from and tracking number of the delivery service;

Ic. Ic. provides replenishment authorization of asset into inventory storage from site which drawn from at a routine issue priority and at the most affordable transportation cost, including a text display to user and supply persons of part number, commercial and government entity code, date of scheduled delivery, site from which it is being shipped from and tracking number of delivery service;

Id. Id. a means of selecting asset mode of transportation from a commercial or government transportation system or combination thereof, at the minimum cost that meets asset time-definite delivery standard and security classification requirements;

Ie. Ie. upon notification to the user that the asset is available in inventory a text display of part number, five digit commercial and/or government entity code, software revision load, date of scheduled delivery, site from which it is available, tracking numbers of delivery service, and a graphic display of the asset that is obtained from the electronic technical manual is presented to the user and supply personnel terminals with a variable delay of up to five minutes allowing time for a help request, the graphic display of the asset may be clicked on to enlarge for ease of viewing;

If. If. user and help desk person are alerted aurally and or visually to an asset delivery date that is non-compliant with time-definite delivery standards;

Ig. Ig. an autonomic action may be overridden by an authorized higher level user and or help desk person upon request;

Ih. Ih. user actions may be monitored by a help desk person;

II. II. provides global total asset visibility of asset comprised of location, quantity, movement and asset condition status, via a configuration management database, logistics management database and electronic technical manual at in-place storage or while in transit including:

continuous visibility via global position satellite locator or general mobile radio service, or way-point in-transit visibility via a radio frequency identification network, but excluding those installed in a vehicle or in a wartime pack up kit;

III. III. a means of quantitative surge ranking prioritization of a vehicle that provides for an autonomic tempo-surge and calm-down functions based upon mission priority;

IIIa. IIIa. a super-surge priority ranking capability whereby an assigned presidential force activity designator of one for a special mission operation vehicle overrides most the affordable transportation search and provides the fastest delivery at any cost, asset is delivered regardless of surge-period day, and further performs a search of other vehicles and non-deployed wartime pack up kits for the asset after a normal inventory search has been accomplished unsuccessfully;

IV. IV. autonomic supply chain management system software modules are embedded within a distributed secure information system, thus being globally deployable;

V. V. a records/tools module database that provides historical performance data and supply chain management tools for planning and management;

VI. VI. a semi-autonomic mode of operation whereby a user-maintainer initiates autonomic supply chain management operation and it performs functions described in claims Ia through V, modified by the differences described in claims VIa and VIb;

VIa. VIa. in semi-autonomic mode upon the systems receipt of a component'"'"'s predictive failure code it provides a total asset visibility display without authorizing delivery of the asset;

VIb. VIb. in semi-autonomic mode at user initiation to order the issue of an asset as a result of a predictive component failure code, troubleshooting or inspection, it autonomically provides asset delivery authorization to the user at a user assigned issue failure priority code in compliance with a contractually specified time-definite delivery standards, at the contractually specified material delivery performance effectiveness percentage rate and at the most affordable transportation cost, and further authorizes retrograde of repairable to a best value repair source and replenishment of stock without regard to time-definite delivery standards at a routine issue priority and the most affordable transportation cost.