Automated identification of anomalous conditions in supply chain processes

• US 7,250,858 B2
• Filed: 09/03/2004
• Issued: 07/31/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 09/05/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sensitech Incorporated (Carrier Global Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Sensitech Incorporated (Carrier Global Corporation)
• Inventors: Schmidtberg, Rupert A., Leshuk, Jeffrey Allen
• Primary Examiner(s): Jeanty; Romain
• Application Number:
  US10/934,135
• Publication Number:
  US 20050055254A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,061 Days
• Field of Search: 705/7, 705/8, 705/28, 340/539.13
• US Class Current: 340/539.13
• CPC Class Codes: G01K 2215/00 Details concerning sensor power supply
• 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 10/0639 Performance analysis of employees; Performance analysis of enterprise or organisation operations
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/08 Logistics, e.g. warehousing, loading or distribution; Inventory or stock management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/083 Shipping
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0833 Tracking
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/00 Alarm systems in which the location of the alarm condition is signalled to a central station, e.g. fire or police telegraphic systems

Abstract

A product supply chain may be viewed not just as a series of discrete, unrelated shipment transactions, but as a “process” (or pipeline) that can be subject to statistical process control. The present invention is directed to novel systems and methods for collecting data concerning one or more aspects of a supply chain, for performing statistical analysis on the collected data to facilitate the identification of anomalies or inefficiencies in the process, and for communicating the results of such statistical analysis to those responsible for the supply chain so that remedial measures may be taken, if appropriate. Among other things, a method for analyzing a supply chain process is disclosed that involves automatically determining whether a plurality of data points, each representing at least one determined value of at least one monitored aspect of a supply chain, match a pattern indicative of an anomalous condition in the supply chain process.

Claims

1. A method for analyzing a supply chain process, comprising steps of:

(a) storing first data reflecting at least one determined value of at least one monitored aspect of a first shipment of at least one first item in the supply chain process, and storing second data reflecting at least one determined value of at least one monitored aspect of a second shipment of at least one second item in the supply chain process;

(b) transmitting the first data, at least in part using radio frequency (RF) signals, to memory accessible to at least one processor as the at least one first item is transported from a shipping location to a receiving location as part of the supply chain process, and transmitting the second data, at least in part using RF signals, to the memory accessible to the at least one processor as the at least one second item is transported from a shipping location to a receiving location as part of the supply chain process; and

(c) using the at least one processor, automatically analyzing data points, each data point based on at least both of the first data relating to the first shipment and the second data relating to the second shipment, to determine whether a plurality of the data points match a pattern indicative of an anomalous condition in the supply chain process.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising a step of:

(d) in response to determining that a plurality of data points match a pattern indicative of an anomalous condition in the supply chain process, automatically transmitting a notification of an identified anomaly to at least one person responsible for the supply chain process.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the step (c) further comprises automatically analyzing one or more process control charts generated periodically or in response to the occurrence of certain events to identify one or more patterns in the charts that are indicative of anomalies in the supply chain process.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the step (c) further comprises automatically generating one or more process control charts using data representing at least one determined value of the at least one monitored aspect of each of the first and second shipments in the supply chain.

5. A system for analyzing a supply chain process, comprising:

a first sensor configured to store first data reflecting determined values of at least one monitored aspect of a first shipment of at least one first item;

a second sensor configured to store second data reflecting determined values of at least one monitored aspect of a second shipment of at least one second item;

at least one radio frequency (RE) unit, wherein the RE unit receives the data as RF signals from the sensor and transmit the data; and

at least one processor that stores the first and second data transmitted from the RF unit, in memory accessible to the at least one processor, as each of the at least one first item and the at least one second item is transported from a shipping location to a receiving location as part of the supply chain process, wherein the at least one processor automatically analyzes data points, each data point based on at least both of the first data relating to the first shipment the second data relating to the second shipments to determine whether a plurality of the data points match a pattern indicative of an anomalous condition in the supply chain process, and wherein the memory is disposed at a remote location relative to the RE unit.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the at least one processor, in response to determining that a plurality of data points match a pattern indicative of an anomalous condition in the supply chain process, automatically transmits a notification of an identified anomaly to at least one person responsible for the supply chain process.

7. The system of claim 5, wherein the at least one processor automatically analyzes one or more process control charts generated periodically or in response to the occurrence of certain events to identify one or more patterns in the charts that are indicative of anomalies in the supply chain process.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the at least one processor automatically generates the one or more process control charts using data representing at least one determined value of the at least one monitored aspect of each of the first and second shipments in the supply chain.

9. A computer-readable medium for use with at least one processor included in a system including at least one memory having stored therein first and second data, the first data representing at least one determined value of at least one monitored aspect of a first shipment of at least one first item in a supply chain process and the second data representing at least one determined value of at least one monitored aspect of a second shipment of at least one second item in the supply chain process, the computer-readable medium having a plurality of instructions stored thereon which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform steps of:

(a) storing the first data in the at least one memory as at least one first item is transported from a shipping location to a receiving location as part of the supply chain process, wherein the first data is received from a first sensor associated with the at least one first item, storing the second data in the at least one memory as at least one second item is transported from a shipping location to a receiving location as part of the supply chain process, wherein the second data is received from a second sensor associated with the at least one second item, and wherein the stored first and second data is received from at least one radio frequency (RF) unit that receives RF signals from the first and second sensors; and

(b) automatically analyzing a plurality of data points, each data point based on at least both of the first data relating to the first shipment and the second data relating to the second shipments to determine whether the plurality of data points match a pattern indicative of an anomalous condition in the supply chain process.

10. The computer-readable medium of claim 9, having additional instructions stored thereon which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform the further step of:

(c) in response to determining that a plurality of data points match a pattern indicative of an anomalous condition in the supply chain process, automatically transmitting a notification of an identified anomaly to at least one person responsible for the supply chain process.

11. The computer-readable medium of claim 9, wherein the step (b) further comprises automatically analyzing one or more process control charts generated periodically or in response to the occurrence of certain events to identify one or more patterns in the charts that are indicative of anomalies in the supply chain process.

12. The computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein the step (b) further comprises automatically generating the one or more process control charts using data representing at least one determined value of the at least one monitored aspect of each of the first and second shipments in the supply chain.

13. A method for analyzing a supply chain process, comprising steps of:

(a) storing first data in a first sensor, the first data reflecting determined values of at least one monitored aspect of a first shipment of at least one first item, and storing second data in a second sensor, the second data reflecting determined values of at least one monitored aspect of a second shipment of at least one second item;

(b) transmitting the first data to memory accessible to at least one processor as the at least one first item is transported from a shipping location to a receiving location as part of the supply chain process, and transmitting the second data to the memory accessible to the at least one processor as the at least one second item is transported from a shipping location to a receiving location as part of the supply chain process, wherein the first and second data transmitted to the memory is received from at least one radio frequency (RF) unit adapted to receive RF signals from the first and second sensors; and

(c) using the at least one processor, automatically analyzing data points, each data point based on at least both of the first data relating to the first shipment and the second data relating to the second shipment, to determine whether any of a plurality of the data points falls without statistical process control limits for the supply chain process.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising a step of:

(d) in response to determining that at least one data point falls without statistical process control limits for the supply chain process, automatically transmitting a notification of an identified anomaly to at least one person responsible for the supply chain process.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the step (c) further comprises automatically analyzing one or more process control charts generated periodically or in response to the occurrence of certain events to identify any data points falling without the process control limits of the chart.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the step (c) further comprises automatically generating one or more process control charts using data representing at least one determined value of the at least one monitored aspect of each of the first and second shipments in the supply chain.

17. A system for analyzing a supply chain process, comprising:

a first sensor to store first data reflecting determined values of at least one monitored aspect of a first shipment of at least one first item;

a second sensor to store second data reflecting determined values of at least one monitored aspect of a second shipment of at least one second item;

at least one radio frequency (RF) unit, wherein the RF unit is adapted to receive the data as RF signals from the sensor and transmit the data; and

at least one processor to store the first and second data transmitted from the RF unit, in memory accessible to the at least one processor, as each of the at least one first item and the at least one second item is transported from a shipping location to a receiving location as part of the supply chain process, wherein the at least one processor automatically analyzes data points, each data point based on at least both of the first data relating to the first shipment and the second data relating to the second shipment to determine whether any of a plurality of the data points falls without statistical process control limits for the supply chain process, and wherein the memory is disposed at a remote location relative to the RF unit.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the at least one processor, in response to determining that at least one data point falls without statistical process control limits for the supply chain process, automatically transmits a notification of an identified anomaly to at least one person responsible for the supply chain process.

19. The system of claim 17, wherein the at least one processor automatically analyzes one or more process control charts generated periodically or in response to the occurrence of certain events to identify any data points falling without the process control limits of the chart.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the at least one processor automatically generates the one or more process control charts using data representing at least one determined value of the at least one monitored aspect of each of the first and second shipments in the supply chain.

21. A computer-readable medium for use with at least one processor included in a system including at least one memory having stored therein first and second data, with each data point representing at least one determined value of at least one monitored aspect of a supply chain process, the computer-readable medium having a plurality of instructions stored thereon which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform steps of:

(a) storing the first data in the at least one memory during a first shipment as at least one first item is transported from a shipping location to a receiving location as part of the supply chain process, wherein the first data is received from a first sensor associated with the at least one first item;

(b) storing the second data in the at least one memory during a second shipment as at least one second item is transported from a shipping location to a receiving location as part of the supply chain process, wherein the second data is received from a second sensor associated with the at least one second item;

wherein the stored first and second data is received from at least one radio frequency (RF) unit that receives RF signals from the first and second sensors; and

(c) automatically analyzing a plurality of data points, each data point based on at least both of the first data relating to the first shipment and the second data relating to the second shipment, to determine whether any of the plurality of data points falls without statistical process control limits for the supply chain process.

22. The computer-readable medium of claim 21, having additional instructions stored thereon which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform the further step of:

(d) in response to determining that at least one data point falls without statistical process control limits for the supply chain process, automatically transmitting a notification of an identified anomaly to at least one person responsible for the supply chain process.

23. The computer-readable medium of claim 21, wherein the step (c) further comprises automatically analyzing one or more process control charts generated periodically or in response to the occurrence of certain events to identify any data points falling without the process control limits of the chart.

24. The computer-readable medium of claim 23, wherein the step (c) further comprises automatically generating the one or more process control charts using data representing at least one determined value of the at least one monitored aspect of each of the first and second shipments in the supply chain.