Strategic planning and optimization system

• US 7,020,617 B2
• Filed: 05/12/2004
• Issued: 03/28/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 05/21/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: SAP AG (SAP SE)
• Original Assignee: Khimetrics, Inc. (SAP SE)
• Inventors: Ouimet, Kenneth J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Jeanty, Romain
• Application Number:
  US10/844,922
• Publication Number:
  US 20040210543A1
• Time in Patent Office: 685 Days
• Field of Search: 705 5- 7
• US Class Current: 705/7.36
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/02 Reservations, e.g. for tickets, services or events
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/025 Coordination of plural reservations, e.g. plural trip segments, transportation combined with accommodation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/04 Forecasting or optimisation specially adapted for administrative or management purposes, e.g. linear programming or "cutting stock problem" market predictions or forecasting for commercial activities G06Q30/0202
• 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 10/0637 Strategic management or analysis, e.g. setting a goal or target of an organisation; Planning actions based on goals; Analysis or evaluation of effectiveness of goals
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06375 Prediction of business process outcome or impact based on a proposed change
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0283 Price estimation or determination

Abstract

A computer-based method for characterizing relationships between a primary goal and an auxiliary goal in an enterprise planning model includes representing the primary goal by a primary objective function, the primary objective function being dependent upon a set of operational variables. The objective function is resolved to yield a plurality of sets of operational decisions. A plurality of auxiliary goal values associated with a plurality of primary goal values in response to said plurality of sets of operational decisions is presented in a data structure. The computer-based method allows the analysis of the costs and benefits of the auxiliary goal imposed upon the primary goal.

Claims

1. A computer program residing in memory and executable by a processor, said computer program being configured to characterize relationships between a primary goal and an auxiliary goal to optimize a primary objective function to yield one of a plurality of sets of operational decisions, said computer program instructing said processor to perform operations comprising:

representing said primary goal by said primary objective function, said primary objective function being dependent upon a set of operational variables;

resolving said objective function to yield a plurality of sets of operational decisions;

presenting, in a data structure, a plurality of auxiliary goal values associated with a plurality of primary goal values in response to said plurality of sets of operational decisions;

selecting a subset of said relationships, each of said relationships including one of said plurality of auxiliary goal values associated with one of said plurality of primary goal values; and

for each of said subset of said relationships, optimizing said objective function to yield said one of said plurality of sets of operational decisions.

2. A computer program as claimed in claim 1 wherein said computer program instructs said processor to perform a further operation comprising visually displaying said data structure as a table.

3. A computer program as claimed in claim 1 wherein said computer program instructs said processor to perform a further operation comprising graphically presenting said plurality of primary goal values versus said plurality of auxiliary goal values.

4. A computer program as claimed in claim 3 wherein said graphically presenting operation establishes a discrete entity for an association between one of said plurality of primary goal values and one of said plurality of auxiliary goal values in a graph.

9. A computer program as claimed in claim 1 wherein said computer program instructs said processor to repeatedly resolve said objective function to yield said plurality of sets of operational decisions.

10. A computer program as claimed in claim 1 wherein said computer program instructs said processor to perform a further operation of said presenting operation comprising repeatedly associating one of said plurality of auxiliary goal values with one of said plurality of primary goal values in said data structure to yield said relationships.

5. A computer program residing in memory and executable by a processor, said computer program being configured to characterize relationships between a primary goal and an auxiliary goal to resolve an effective objective function to yield a plurality of sets of operational decisions, said computer program instructing said processor to perform operations comprising:

representing said primary goal by a primary objective function, said primary objective function being dependent upon a set of operational variables;

constructing said effective objective function by combining said primary objective function and an auxiliary function representing said auxiliary goal, said auxiliary function being dependent upon a subset of said set of operational variables;

for said subset of said set of operational variables, resolving said effective objective function to yield said plurality of sets of operational decisions; and

presenting, in a data structure, a plurality of auxiliary goal values associated with a plurality of primary goal values in response to said plurality of sets of operational decisions.

6. A computer program as claimed in claim 5 wherein:

said computer program instructs said processor to perform a further operation of said constructing activity that includes applying a weighting factor to said auxiliary function to form a weighted auxiliary function in said objective effective function; and

said resolving operation is performed for each of a plurality of weighting values for said weighting factor to yield said plurality of sets of operational decisions.

7. A computer program as claimed in claim 6 wherein said computer program instructs said processor to perform a further operation of said presenting operation of correlating, in said data structure, each of said plurality of weighting values for said weighting factor with associated ones of said plurality of auxiliary goal values and said plurality of primary goal values.

8. A computer program as claimed in claim 5 wherein said auxiliary goal is a price image, and said plurality of auxiliary goal values is a plurality of price image values in response to said plurality of sets of operational decisions.

11. A computer program residing in memory and executable by a processor, said computer program being configured to characterize relationships between a primary goal and an auxiliary goal to resolve a primary objective function to yield a plurality of sets of operational decisions, said computer program instructing said processor to perform operations:

representing said primary goal by said primary objective function, said primary objective function being dependent upon a set of operational variables;

resolving said objective function to yield said plurality of sets of operational decisions;

presenting, in a data structure, a plurality of auxiliary goal values associated with a plurality of primary goal values in response to said plurality of sets of operational decisions;

for each of said plurality of sets of operational decisions, determining one of said plurality of primary goal values and one of said plurality of auxiliary goal values that form one of said relationships; and

storing said each of said plurality of sets of operational decisions in connection with said one of said relationships.

12. A computer program residing in memory and executable by a processor, said computer program being configured for enterprise planning utilizing an enterprise planning model to resolve an effective objective function to yield a plurality of sets of operational decisions, said computer program instructing said processor to perform operations comprising:

representing a primary goal of an enterprise by a primary objective function utilizing said enterprise planning model, said primary objective function being dependent upon a set of operational variables;

constructing said effective objective function by combining said primary objective function and an auxiliary function representing an auxiliary goal, said auxiliary function being dependent upon a subset of said set of operational variables;

for said subset of said set of operational variables, repeatedly resolving said effective objective function to yield said plurality of sets of operational decisions for said enterprise;

establishing discrete entities in a data structure, each of said discrete entities characterizing a relationship between one of a plurality of primary goal values and one of a plurality of auxiliary goal values determined in response to one of said sets of operational decisions;

receiving a user input identifying one of said discrete entities in said data structure; and

providing one of said plurality of sets of operational decisions corresponding to said one of said discrete entities.

13. A computer program as claimed in claim 12 wherein said computer program instructs said processor to perform a further operation of visually displaying said data structure as a table.

14. A computer program as claimed in claim 12 wherein said computer program instructs said processor to perform a further operation of graphically presenting said each of said discrete entities as said one of said plurality of primary goal values versus said one of said plurality of auxiliary goal values.

15. A computer program as claimed in claim 12 wherein said user input is at least one of said plurality of auxiliary goal values that said user wishes said enterprise to achieve.

16. A computer program as claimed in claim 12 wherein said computer program instructs said processor to perform a further operation of said providing operation comprising optimizing said effective objective function to yield said one of said plurality of sets of operational decisions.

17. A computer program as claimed in claim 12 wherein:

said computer program instructs said processor to perform a further operation comprising storing said plurality of sets of operational decisions in connection with said discrete entities; and

said computer program instructs said processor to perform a further operation of said providing operation comprising accessing said one of said plurality of sets of operational decisions in response to said one of said discrete entities.