Method and system for providing sufficient availability of manufacturing resources to meet unanticipated demand

• US 6,415,194 B1
• Filed: 04/02/1999
• Issued: 07/02/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 04/02/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: AS IP Holdco, LLC
• Original Assignee: American Standard Inc. (Trane Technologies plc)
• Inventors: Gleditsch, David B., James, Sharon A., Colon, Victor A., Bonalumi, Roberto E., Kulback, Barry L., Schrijnemakers, Guillaume J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Grant, William
• Assistant Examiner(s): FRANK, ELLIOT L
• Application Number:
  US09/285,286
• Time in Patent Office: 1,187 Days
• Field of Search: 700/95-97, 700/99-104, 705/8, 705/10, 705/7, 705/9
• US Class Current: 700/99
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling

Abstract

A system and method of scheduling demand for a manufacturing resource in response to a customer order for a product is provided. The system and method includes means for tracking scheduled finished goods orders, existing finished goods inventory, past due finished goods orders, unallocated customer orders and marketing orders, and the manufacturing lead time for the product, among other manufacturing process parameters. The customer order amount and the date requested for the order are entered, and depending on whether the date requested is inside, equal to or outside the manufacturing lead time, manufacturing resources are consumed from one or more of the scheduled finished goods orders, existing finished goods inventory, available to promise amounts, past due finished goods orders, unallocated customer orders, marketing orders, and high flex amounts.

Claims

1. A method of scheduling demand for a manufacturing resource in response to a customer order for a product in a manufacturing plan including a lead time for manufacturing said product, at least one flex fence period outside said lead time and at least one updateable available resource amount associated with one of scheduled finished goods orders, finished goods inventory, available to promise resources, past due finished goods orders, unallocated customer orders, marketing orders, high flex resources and low flex resources, said method comprising the steps of:

a) inputting a customer order for a product indicative of a demand for a manufacturing resource;

b) inputting a requested completion date to manufacture said customer order;

c) retrieving a lead time for manufacturing said product and a current available resource amount for at least one of scheduled finished goods orders, finished goods inventory, available to promise resources, past due finished goods orders, unallocated customer orders, marketing orders, high flex resources and low flex resources from a manufacturing plan;

d) determining whether said requested completion date is one of inside, equal to and outside said lead time;

e) retrieving an updateable available resource amount associated with an available to promise family of available to promise resources shared in common with a related product;

f) if said requested completion date is one of inside and equal to said lead time, consuming said demand for said manufacturing resource from said available resource amount for said scheduled finished goods orders, said finished goods inventory, said past due finished goods orders, said unallocated customer orders and said marketing orders until said demand for said manufacturing resource is scheduled;

g) if said requested completion date is outside said lead time, consuming said demand for said manufacturing resource from said available resource amount for said scheduled finished goods orders, said finished goods inventory, said available to promise resources for said product, said available to promise resources shared in common with said related product in said available to promise family, said past due finished goods orders, said unallocated customer orders, said marketing orders and said high flex resources until said demand for said manufacturing resource is scheduled; and

h) updating each said available resource amount in said manufacturing plan and said available to promise family from which said demand is consumed.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein said manufacturing plan further includes an average daily rate of orders, a forecast amount of orders and a historical amount of orders;

and further comprising the steps of retrieving an average daily rate of orders over said lead time, a forecast amount of orders over said flex fence period and a historical amount of orders from said manufacturing plan, and determining said high flex resources and said low flex resources over said flex fence period based on a compound daily rate number including weighted components from at least one of said average daily rate of orders, said forecast amount of orders and said historical amount of orders.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein said manufacturing plan further includes a smoothing time left fence number of days before said requested completion date;

and further comprising the steps of retrieving a smoothing time left fence for said product, and if said requested completion date is outside said lead time, limiting said step of consuming said demand for said manufacturing resource to said smoothing time left fence.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein said manufacturing plan further includes an updateable available resource amount associated with a generic finished goods family of scheduled finished goods orders shared in common with a related product while said product and said related product are undifferentiated;

and further comprising the steps of retrieving a current available resource amount for a generic finished goods family for said product, and if said requested completion date is one of inside and equal to said lead time, consuming said demand for said manufacturing resource from said scheduled finished goods orders shared in common with said related product in said generic finished goods family.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein said manufacturing plan further includes a maximum target for said finished goods inventory;

and further comprising the steps of retrieving a maximum target for said finished goods inventory for said product, and consuming said demand for said manufacturing resource from at least one of said scheduled finished goods orders that, when added to said finished goods inventory, would exceed said maximum target, and said finished goods inventory that exceed said maximum target.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein said manufacturing plan further includes a minimum target for said finished goods inventory;

and further comprising the steps of retrieving a minimum target for said finished goods inventory for said product and consuming said demand for said manufacturing resource from said finished goods inventory that exceed said minimum target.

7. A system for scheduling demand for a manufacturing resource in response to a customer order for a product in a manufacturing plan including a lead time for manufacturing said product, at least one flex fence period outside said lead time and at least one updateable available resource amount associated with one of scheduled finished goods orders, finished goods inventory, available to promise resources, past due finished goods orders, unallocated customer orders, marketing orders, high flex resources and low flex resources, said system comprising:

a) an input device for inputting a customer order for a product indicative of a demand for a manufacturing resource;

b) means for inputting a requested completion date to manufacture said customer order;

c) a database for storing a lead time for manufacturing said product and a current available resource amount for at least one of scheduled finished goods orders, finished goods inventory, available to promise resources, past due finished goods orders, unallocated customer orders, marketing orders, high flex resources and low flex resources from a manufacturing plan;

d) means for determining whether said requested completion date is one of inside, equal to and outside said lead time;

e) an updateable available resource amount associated with an available to promise family of available to promise resources shared in common with a related product;

f) means for consuming said demand for said manufacturing resource from said available resource amount for said scheduled finished goods orders, said finished goods inventory, said past due finished goods orders, said unallocated customer orders and said marketing orders until said demand for said manufacturing resource is scheduled when said requested completion date is one of inside and equal to said lead time;

g) means for consuming said demand for said manufacturing resource from said available resource amount for said scheduled finished goods orders, said finished goods inventory, said available to promise resources, said available to promise resources shared in common with said related product in said available to promise family, said past due finished goods orders, said unallocated customer orders, said marketing orders and said high flex resources until said demand for said manufacturing resource is scheduled when said requested completion date is outside said lead time; and

h) means for updating each said available resource amount in said manufacturing plan and said available to promise family from which said demand is consumed.

8. The system of claim 7 wherein said manufacturing plan further includes an average daily rate of orders, a forecast amount of orders and a historical amount of orders;

and further comprising means for retrieving an average daily rate of orders over said lead time, a forecast amount of orders over said flex fence period and a historical amount of orders from said manufacturing plan, and means for determining said high flex resources and said low flex resources over said flex fence period based on a compound daily rate number including weighted components from at least one of said average daily rate of orders, said forecast amount of orders and said historical amount of orders.

9. The system of claim 7 wherein said manufacturing plan further includes a smoothing time left fence number of days before said requested completion date;

and further comprising means for retrieving a smoothing time left fence for said product, and means for limiting said step of consuming said demand for said manufacturing resource to said smoothing time left fence when said requested completion date is outside said lead time.

10. The system of claim 7 wherein said manufacturing plan further includes an updateable available resource amount associated with a generic finished goods family of scheduled finished goods orders shared in common with a related product while said product and said related product are undifferentiated;

and further comprising means for retrieving a current available resource amount for a generic finished goods family for said product, and means for consuming said demand for said manufacturing resource from said scheduled finished goods orders shared in common with said related product in said generic finished goods family when said requested completion date is one of inside and equal to said lead time.

11. The system of claim 7 wherein said manufacturing plan further includes a maximum target for said finished goods inventory;

and further comprising means for retrieving a maximum target for said finished goods inventory for said product, and means for consuming said demand for said manufacturing resource from at least one of said scheduled finished goods orders that, when added to said finished goods inventory, would exceed said maximum target, and said finished goods inventory that exceed said maximum target.

12. The system of claim 11 wherein said manufacturing plan further includes a minimum target for said finished goods inventory;

and further comprising the steps of retrieving a minimum target for said finished goods inventory for said product and consuming said demand for said manufacturing resource from said finished goods inventory that exceed said minimum target.