SYSTEM, METHOD, AND COMPUTER PROGRAM FOR MANUFACTURING ESTIMATION PRODUCTION ASSEMBLY AND INVENTORY MANAGEMENT

• US 20110251865A1
• Filed: 03/09/2009
• Published: 10/13/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 11/28/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nulogy Corporation
• Original Assignee: Nulogy Corporation
• Inventors: Wong, Kevin, Kwan, Bryce, Zaver, Shehzad, Kirby, Sean, Tham, Jason, Wong, Alfred Kuo Hui, Bailey, Ian, Ho, James Michiya, Yuen, Jason
• Granted Patent: US 8,825,534 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/7.11
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/063 Operations research, analysis or management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06315 Needs-based resource requirements planning or analysis
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders

Abstract

The present invention relates to novel systems and methods for manufacturing estimation, production assembly and inventory management. In an embodiment, a system is provided to create and respond to RFPs, perform capacity planning for an eventual production line, efficiently implement the production line in software, and track detailed warehouse data, including transaction data. Such tracking may allow process improvement, report generation, and market research analysis. In an embodiment, one or more systems may be used to implement one or more aspects of the present invention.

Claims

1. A system for request for proposal (RFP) processing comprising:

a system provider, the system provider including (i) a customer module configured to create a RFP and provide it to one or more assemblers, and (ii) an assembler module configured to create a request for proposal response (RFPR) and provide it to a customer.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the customer module and the assembler module communicate with the one or more assemblers and the customer over a communication network.

3. The system of claim 2 wherein the customer module is configured to create a RFP via one or more user inputs from a customer and the assembler module is configured to create a RFPR via one or more user inputs from an assembler.

4. The system of claim 3 wherein (i) the customer module further comprises one or more RFP templates that can be selected by a customer via one or more inputs, and (ii) the assembler module further comprises one or more RFPR templates that can be selected by a customer via one or more inputs.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein the RFP is provided automatically when it is created and the RFPR is provided automatically when it is created.

6. A method for enabling a customer to create a request for proposal (RFP) and enabling a contractor to respond to the RFP with a RFP response (RFPR), the method comprising:

facilitating preparation of a RFP by a customer;

enabling the customer to submit the RFP;

disseminating the RFP to one or more contractors;

facilitating creation of a RFPR by each contractor;

enabling each contractor to finalize the RFPR; and

providing the one or more RFPRs to the customer.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein the facilitating, submitting, disseminating, finalizing, and providing are performed via user interactions with a system provider.

8. The method of claim 6 wherein the system provider is accessed and interacted with over a communication network.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein facilitating further includes selecting a RFP template and allowing further includes selecting a RFPR template.

10. The method of claim 7 wherein the disseminating is performed automatically by the system provider after submitting and providing is performed automatically by the system provider after finalizing.

11. A warehouse system for obtaining transaction data relating to one or more finished goods, the warehouse system comprising:

a receiving terminal configured to capture transaction data related to receiving of at least one component good, each component good including one or more sub-components;

at least one warehouse terminal configured to capture transaction data related to storing or moving of at least one component good;

a shipping terminal configured to capture transaction data related to shipping one or more finished goods or one or more sub-components;

wherein at least one of the receiving terminal, the at least one warehouse terminal and the shipping terminal are configured to be in communication with a system provider that is configured to obtain and maintain transaction data.

12. The system of claim 11 wherein the system provider is configured to enable one or more monitoring terminals to view at least a subset of the transaction data.

13. The system of claim 11 further comprising a work-in-progress (WIP) terminal configured to capture transaction data related to using one or more sub-components to assemble one or more finished goods.

14. The system of claim 11 wherein the system provider communicates with at least one of the receiving terminal, the at least one warehouse terminal, the shipping terminal and the WIP terminal, over at least one communication network.

15. The system of claim 14 wherein the WIP terminal is configured to capture transaction data relating to labor.

16. The system of claim 11 further comprising a machine terminal configured to capture transaction data related to moving sub-components.

17. A method for clean transaction data relating to one or more finished goods, the method comprising:

receiving at least one component good, each component good including one or more sub-components;

capturing transaction data related to the receiving of each component good;

storing each component good;

capturing transaction data related to the storing of each component good;

shipping one or more finished goods or one or more sub-components;

capturing transaction data related to the shipping of each finished good or each sub-component; and

obtaining and maintaining the transaction data.

18. The method of claim 17 further comprising moving one or more sub-components and capturing transaction data related thereto.

19. The method of claim 18 further comprising assembling one or more finished goods from one or more sub-components and capturing transaction data related thereto.

20. A system for inventory management and capacity planning comprising:

a system provider configured to receive one or more assembler inputs and one or more customer inputs, further comprising an inventory management module for capturing inventory data, a production module for performing capacity planning and managing production and data stores for storing inventory data.

21. The system of claim 20 wherein the system provider is configured to operate as a Software as a Service (SaaS).

22. The system of claim 20 wherein the inventory management module is configured to receive one or more warehouse inputs from one or more warehouse systems.

23. The system of claim 22 wherein the inventory system inputs include at least one of user inputs and machine inputs.

24. The system of claim 23 wherein the inventory data comprises transaction data.

25. The system of claim 24 wherein the inventory management module is configured to allow monitoring of the inventory data in real-time.

26. The system of claim 25 wherein the inventory management module is configured to enable making changes, or requesting changes, to one or more production lines.

27. The system of claim 20 wherein the production module is configured to receive one or more assembler inputs and create one or more production lines.

28. The system of claim 27 wherein the production module is configured to receive one or more requirements and one or more resource inputs to create one or more scenarios for the one or more production lines.

29. The system of claim 28 wherein the production module is configured to determine whether, for at least one or the one or more scenarios, at least one of the one or more requirements for the production line can be met based on at least one of the one or more resource inputs.

30. The system of claim 29 wherein determining occurs in real-time.

31. The system of claim 30 wherein the production module is configured to allow monitoring of the production line and making changes, or requesting changes, thereto.

32. The system of claim 20 wherein the system provider further comprises an request for proposal response (RFPR) module for creating a RFPR.

33. The system of claim 32 wherein the RFPR module receives assembler inputs to create the RFPR.

34. The system of claim 33 wherein the production module is configured to receive one or more assembler inputs and converts the RFPR into a production line.