Aware location system and method

• US 20070162423A1
• Filed: 12/30/2005
• Published: 07/12/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 12/30/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: SAP AG (SAP SE)
• Original Assignee: SAP AG (SAP SE)
• Inventors: Holzman, Ziv, Heitner, Ami, Alfandary, Shai, Libfeld, Zahi
• Application Number:
  US11/322,478
• Publication Number:
  US 20070162423A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/08 Logistics, e.g. warehousing, loading or distribution; Inventory or stock management

Abstract

A computer program product tangibly embodied in an information carrier is described. The computer program product includes instructions that, when executed, perform operations for taking actions on stock in a logistic environment system. The operations include receiving event information at one or more storage location database objects that each represents a specified storage location for stock in a logistic environment. The storage location database object has associated with it a rule and predefined requirements that are to be maintained for the specified storage location. The operations also include determining if the received event information impacts upon a condition created by the requirements such that the condition will not be maintained, and if so initiating an action, using the rule, to be taken on the storage location associated with the storage location database object so as to maintain the condition.

Claims

1. A computer program product tangibly embodied in an information carrier, the computer program product including instructions that, when executed, perform operations for taking actions on stock in a logistic environment system, the operations comprising:

receiving event information at one or more storage location database objects that each represent a specified storage location for stock in a logistic environment, wherein a storage location database object has associated with it a rule and predefined requirements that are to be maintained for the specified storage location;

determining if the received event information impacts upon a condition created by the requirements such that the condition will not be maintained; and

if so

initiating an action, using the rule, to be taken on the storage location associated with the storage location database object so as to maintain the condition.

2. The computer program of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise defining or modifying the requirements by a user.

3. The computer program of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise defining or modifying the action by a user.

4. The computer program of claim 1, wherein the storage location represented by the storage location database object includes logical groupings of other locations.

5. The computer program of claim 1, wherein the storage location represented by the storage location database object includes a resource that transports stock.

6. The computer program of claim 1, wherein the storage location represented by storage location database object includes a device that processes stock.

7. The computer program of claim 1, wherein the rule is associated with more than one of the storage location database objects that share common storage behaviors.

8. The computer program of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprises determining how to manipulate the stock in the storage location based on attributes of the stock.

9. The computer program of claim 1, wherein the event information includes a request to store stock at or retrieve stock from the storage location.

10. The computer program of claim 9, wherein the action includes transmitting selection information that indicates the storage location should be selected for storage or retrieval of the stock.

11. The computer program of claim 1, the operations further comprise assigning a priority to the action that indicates an order in which to complete the action relative to other requested actions.

12. The computer program of claim 1, wherein the action includes a request to remove stock from a storage location.

13. The computer program of claim 12, wherein the requirements include a cleanup threshold that indicates the maximum amount of stock that should be in the storage location.

14. The computer program of claim 1, wherein the action includes a request to add stock to a storage location.

15. The computer program of claim 14, wherein the event information includes information based on an event selected from a group consisting of a future or current movement of stock from the location event, a future or current movement of stock to the location event, an inventory report event, a timer event that indicates a time period has elapsed, and a product expiration date event.

16. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the requirements include constraints decomposed from a global maximizing function that takes into account the requirements of multiple storage locations in the logistic environment.

17. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the requirements are accessed by a separate storage control object which is dependent upon the storage location database object.

18. The computer program product of claim 17, wherein the action is initiated by the storage control object.

19. A logistic environment system for taking actions on stock, comprising:

storage location database objects that represent different storage locations to place stock in a logistic environment, wherein the storage location database objects are adapted to receive event information associated with stock;

at least one predefined requirement associated with the storage location database objects, wherein the requirement creates a condition to be maintained for a represented storage location; and

a set of rules that include at least one rule that determines whether the received event information impacts upon the condition such that the condition will not be maintained and initiates an action to be taken on the storage locations associated with the storage location database objects so as to maintain the condition.

20. A method for taking actions on stock in a logistic environment system, comprising:

receiving event information at one or more storage location database objects that each represent a specified storage location for stock in a logistic environment, wherein a storage location database object has associated with it a rule and predefined requirements that are to be maintained for the specified storage location;

determining if the received event information impacts upon a condition created by the requirements such that the condition will not be maintained; and

if so

initiating an action, using the rule, to be taken on the storage location associated with the storage location database object so as to maintain the condition.