Methods and systems for employing dynamic risk-based scheduling to optimize and integrate production with a supply chain
First Claim
1. A computer-implemented method for tracking production in a given product flow against demand associated with a plurality of orders in the flow, said method comprising the steps of:
- determining a probability of shortage for the demand associated with at least one of the plurality of orders;
determining expected inventory-days for at least one of the plurality of orders in the flow; and
generating output showing the probability of shortage associated with at least one of the plurality of orders and the expected inventory-days for the at least one of the plurality of orders.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A production and inventory control for a manufacturing facility is provided that facilitates and coordinates improved planning and execution of such facility in a supply chain with a focus on providing an improved and robust planning, production and inventory control, even in the presence of uncertainty. This may include Optimal Planning that can balance the need for low inventory, low cost (i.e., high utilization of equipment and labor), and efficient on-time delivery. The result of such planning is not a schedule per se but a set of parameters that form a dynamic policy that generates an evolving schedule as conditions (demand, production) materialize. An Optimal Execution applies the dynamic policy resulting in a manufacturing system that is robust enough to accommodate moderate changes in demand and/or capacity without the need to reschedule. Optimal Execution may also involve a “Capacity Trigger” that detects when the assumptions regarding demand and capacity used to determine the dynamic policy are no longer valid. The Capacity Trigger also may provide a Trigger Signal to the planner indicating the need for either more or less capacity.
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Citations
32 Claims
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1. A computer-implemented method for tracking production in a given product flow against demand associated with a plurality of orders in the flow, said method comprising the steps of:
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determining a probability of shortage for the demand associated with at least one of the plurality of orders;
determining expected inventory-days for at least one of the plurality of orders in the flow; and
generating output showing the probability of shortage associated with at least one of the plurality of orders and the expected inventory-days for the at least one of the plurality of orders. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16)
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10. A computer-implemented method to signal insufficient or overabundance of capacity for a given flow operating under a given demand, said method comprising the steps of:
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determining the total expected inventory-days and overall probability of shortage for a specified trigger;
detecting when insufficient capacity is present and generating a first electronic signal based on the specified trigger;
detecting when an overabundance of capacity is present and generating a second electronic signal based on the specified trigger; and
altering capacity in a production process according to the first or second electronic signal.
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14. A system for tracking production in a given product flow against demand associated with a plurality of orders in the flow, said system comprising:
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means for determining a probability distribution of finish times for all orders in the flow;
means for determining a probability distribution of associated demand time for at least one of the plurality of orders in the flow;
means for determining the probability of shortage for the at least one associated demand based at least in part on both probability distributions; and
means for displaying a graph showing the overall probability of shortage for the at least one associated demand versus a specified parameter.
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17. A computer program product comprising a computer usable medium having readable program code embodied in the medium, the computer program product including at least one component to cause or perform execution of the following steps:
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determining a probability of shortage for the demand associated with each of the plurality of orders;
determining expected inventory-days for each of the plurality of orders in the flow; and
generating output showing the probability of shortage associated with at least one of the plurality of orders and the expected inventory-days for the at least one of the plurality of orders. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. A system for applying a dynamic policy to a production control system, said system comprising:
a dynamic risk-based scheduling (DRS) system interoperably communicable with at least one of an enterprise resources planning (ERP) system, a manufacturing execution system (MES), and a generic manufacturing data base, wherein the DRS system includes;
a optimal planning module that generates a dynamic policy comprising parameters for balancing inventory levels, utilization of equipment and labor, and on-time delivery, and the parameters used for generating an evolving schedule as changes in demand and production capacity arise; and
an execution module that applies the dynamic policy to accommodate changes in demand or capacity without rescheduling. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32)
Specification