PRODUCTION SYSTEM CARRIER CAPACITY PREDICTION PROCESS AND TOOL

• US 20120323638A1
• Filed: 06/18/2011
• Published: 12/20/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 06/18/2011
• Status: Active Application

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Knipfer, Ivory Wellman, Zemke, Matthew H., Meier, Carl Craig, Petersilka, Dale William
• Application Number:
  US13/163,673
• Publication Number:
  US 20120323638A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/7.37
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/083 Shipping

Abstract

A production system includes an information handling system (IHS) having a carrier capacity prediction tool that receives a customer order that may include packaging and carrier requirements. The carrier capacity prediction tool partitions the customer order into work units. The carrier capacity tool determines work unit carrier capacity requirements from historical data that a volumetric weight database stores. If the volumetric weight database does not include sufficient historical information to determine carrier capacity requirements, the carrier capacity tool predicts carrier capacity requirements from best fit or actual packaging data during final packaging of customer goods for shipment. The carrier capacity tool sums all work unit packaging and volumetric weight data for each customer order to generate an aggregate of the total carrier capacity needs for a particular time period for production system shipping.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

receiving, by a carrier capacity prediction tool, a first order for configurable customer goods at a first order time;

determining at approximately the first order time, by the carrier capacity prediction tool, if the first order exhibits a first complexity level for which the carrier capacity prediction tool already includes sufficient order characteristic information and sufficient packaging history information to make a carrier capacity prediction for the configurable customer goods corresponding to the first order, and otherwise determining that the first order exhibits a second complexity level for which the carrier capacity prediction tool does not already have sufficient packaging history information and sufficient order characteristic information to make a carrier capacity prediction;

predicting at approximately the first order time, by the carrier capacity prediction tool, the carrier capacity in response to the determining that the first order exhibits the first complexity level; and

determining at time of packaging of the configurable customer goods, by the carrier capacity prediction tool, the carrier capacity in response to the determining that the first order exhibits the second complexity level.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

partitioning at approximately the first order time, by the carrier capacity tool, the first order into a plurality of work units;

testing at approximately the first order time, by the carrier capacity prediction tool, the work units of the plurality of work units to determine respective complexity levels of the work units, each work unit exhibiting one of the first and second complexity levels;

predicting at approximately the first order time, by the carrier capacity prediction tool, respective carrier capacities for those work units of the plurality of units that exhibit the first complexity level; and

determining at time of packaging of the configurable customer goods, by the carrier capacity prediction tool, the respective carrier capacities of those work units of the plurality of work units that exhibit the second complexity level.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

summing, by the carrier capacity prediction tool, the respective carrier capacities of the work units that exhibit the first complexity level with the respective carrier capacities of the work units that exhibit the second complexity level to determine the total carrier capacity required for the first order.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

storing at the time of packaging, by the carrier capacity prediction tool, respective carrier capacities for work units that exhibit the second complexity level so that the carrier capacity tool learns the carrier capacities of work units not previously encountered by the carrier capacity tool before the first order time.

5. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

receiving, by the carrier capacity prediction tool, a second order for configurable customer goods at a second order time;

partitioning at approximately the second order time, by the carrier capacity tool, the second order into a plurality of work units;

determining, by the carrier capacity prediction tool, the respective carrier capacities of the work units associated with the second order; and

combining, by the carrier capacity prediction tool, carrier capacities associated with the work units of the first and second orders to determine a total carrier capacity for the first and second orders.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

combining, by the carrier capacity prediction tool, carrier capacities associated with the work units of the first and second orders and other orders processed by the carrier capacity tool over a predetermined time period to determine total carrier capacity needed to transport the first, second and other orders.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining at approximately the first order time and the predicting at approximately the first order time occur in real time.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

storing, by the carrier capacity prediction tool, respective carrier capacities of work units in a volumetric weight database.

9. An information handling system (IHS), comprising:

a processor;

a memory coupled to the processor, the memory being configured with a carrier capacity prediction tool to;

receive a first order for configurable customer goods at a first order time;

determine at approximately the first order time if the first order exhibits a first complexity level for which the carrier capacity prediction tool already includes sufficient order characteristic information and sufficient packaging history information to make a carrier capacity prediction for the configurable customer goods corresponding to the first order, and otherwise determine that the first order exhibits a second complexity level for which the carrier capacity prediction tool does not already have sufficient packaging history information and sufficient order characteristic information to make a carrier capacity prediction;

predict at approximately the first order time the carrier capacity in response to determining that the first order exhibits the first complexity level; and

determine at time of packaging of the configurable customer goods the carrier capacity in response to determining that the first order exhibits the second complexity level.

10. The IHS of claim 9, wherein the memory is further configured to:

partition at approximately the first order time, by the carrier capacity tool, the first order into a plurality of work units;

test at approximately the first order time the work units of the plurality of work units to determine respective complexity levels of the work units, each work unit exhibiting one of the first and second complexity levels;

predict at approximately the first order time respective carrier capacities for those work units of the plurality of units that exhibit the first complexity level; and

determine at time of packaging of the configurable customer goods the respective carrier capacities of those work units of the plurality of work units that exhibit the second complexity level.

11. The IHS of claim 10, wherein the memory is further configured to:

sum the respective carrier capacities of the work units that exhibit the first complexity level with the respective carrier capacities of the work units that exhibit the second complexity level to determine the total carrier capacity required for the first order.

12. The IHS of claim 9, wherein the memory is further configured to:

store respective carrier capacities for work units that exhibit the second complexity level so that the carrier capacity tool learns the carrier capacities of work units not previously encountered by the carrier capacity tool before the first order time.

13. The IHS of claim 10, wherein the memory is further configured to:

receive a second order for configurable customer goods at a second order time;

partition at approximately the second order time the second order into a plurality of work units;

determine the respective carrier capacities of the work units associated with the second order; and

combine the carrier capacities associated with the work units of the first and second orders to determine a total carrier capacity for the first and second orders.

14. The IHS of claim 13, wherein the memory is further configured to:

combine carrier capacities associated with the work units of the first and second orders and other orders processed by the carrier capacity tool over a predetermined time period to determine total carrier capacity needed to transport the first, second and other orders.

15. The IHS of claim 9, wherein carrier capacity prediction tool determines in real time if the first order exhibits the first complexity level and wherein the carrier capacity prediction tool predicts in real time the carrier capacity in response to determining that the first order exhibits the first complexity level.

16. The IHS of claim 9, further comprising a volumetric database in which the carrier capacity prediction tool stores respective carrier capacities of work units.

18. The carrier capacity prediction tool computer program product of claim 16, further comprising:

fifth instructions that partition at approximately the first order time the first order into a plurality of work units;

sixth instructions that test at approximately the first order time the work units of the plurality of work units to determine respective complexity levels of the work units, each work unit exhibiting one of the first and second complexity levels;

seventh instructions that predict at approximately the first order time respective carrier capacities for those work units of the plurality of units that exhibit the first complexity level; and

eighth instructions that determine at time of packaging of the configurable customer goods the respective carrier capacities of those work units of the plurality of work units that exhibit the second complexity level.

19. The carrier capacity prediction tool computer program product of claim 18, further comprising:

ninth instructions that sum the respective carrier capacities of the work units that exhibit the first complexity level with the respective carrier capacities of the work units that exhibit the second complexity level to determine the total carrier capacity required for the first order.

17. A carrier capacity prediction tool computer program product, comprising:

a non-transitory computer readable storage medium;

first instructions that receive a first order for configurable customer goods at a first order time;

second instructions that determine at approximately the first order time if the first order exhibits a first complexity level for which the carrier capacity prediction tool computer program product already includes sufficient order characteristic information and sufficient packaging history information to make a carrier capacity prediction for the configurable customer goods corresponding to the first order, and that otherwise determine that the first order exhibits a second complexity level for which the carrier capacity prediction tool computer program product, does not already have sufficient packaging history information and sufficient order characteristic information to make a carrier capacity prediction;

third instructions that predict at approximately the first order time the carrier capacity in response to determining that the first order exhibits the first complexity level;

fourth instructions that determine at time of packaging of the configurable customer goods the carrier capacity in response to determining that the first order exhibits the second complexity level;

wherein the first, second, third and fourth program instructions are stored on the non-transitory computer readable storage medium.

20. The carrier capacity prediction tool computer program product of claim 17, further comprising:

tenth instructions that store respective carrier capacities for work units that exhibit the second complexity level so that the carrier capacity prediction tool computer program product learns the carrier capacities of work units not previously encountered by the carrier capacity prediction tool computer program product before the first order time.