Push planning for unserviceable parts to facilitate repair planning in a repair network

• US 7,277,862 B1
• Filed: 08/19/2002
• Issued: 10/02/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 08/19/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Blue Yonder Group, Inc. (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: i2 Technologies US Incorporated (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Burkhardt, Thomas, Rammohan, Deepak, Adgaonkar, Amol B., Som, Pradip
• Primary Examiner(s): Hafiz; Tariq R.
• Assistant Examiner(s): KARMELEK, ALISON L
• Application Number:
  US10/223,925
• Time in Patent Office: 1,870 Days
• Field of Search: 705/8, 703/2, 703/13
• US Class Current: 705/7.25
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06315 Needs-based resource requirements planning or analysis

Abstract

In one embodiment, a method for repair planning for a location in a repair network includes modeling: (1) an uninspected buffer for parts received but not yet inspected at the location; (2) a first buffer for parts inspected at the location and repairable at the location; (3) a second buffer for parts inspected at the location and not repairable at the location; (4) a third buffer for parts inspected at the location and not repairable at any location in the repair network; and (5) a fourth buffer for parts inspected at the location and serviceable without repair. The parts in the uninspected buffer are assigned to the first, second, third, and fourth buffers at corresponding rates according to an inspection operation. One or more operation plans are generated to push parts out of the uninspected buffer to the first, second, third, and fourth buffers according to the corresponding rates, a part pushed out being available within the first, second, third, or fourth buffer only after a predetermined disposition time has elapsed. An operation plan is generated to push parts out of the second buffer to one or more upstream locations, a part pushed out being available at an upstream location only after a predetermined move lead time has elapsed. For each part pushed out of the uninspected buffer to the first or second buffer, the earliest time at which repair can begin for the part is estimated, this earliest repair time determining the earliest time at which, after the part has been repaired to make it serviceable, the part can be available to satisfy a demand at the location.

Claims

1. A system for repair planning for a repair location in a repair network, comprising multiple components collectively operable to:

model an uninspected buffer for unserviceable parts received at the repair location but not yet inspected at the repair location;

model a first buffer for unserviceable parts inspected at the repair location and determined to be repairable at the repair location, the unserviceable parts within the uninspected buffer being assigned to the first buffer at a first rate according to an inspection operation at the repair location;

model a second buffer for unserviceable parts inspected at the repair location and determined not to be repairable at the repair location, the unserviceable parts within the uninspected buffer being assigned to the second buffer at a second rate according to the inspection operation at the repair location;

model a third buffer for unserviceable parts inspected at the repair location and determined not to be repairable at any repair location in the repair network, the unserviceable parts within the uninspected buffer being assigned to the third buffer at a third rate according to the inspection operation at the repair location;

model a fourth buffer for unserviceable parts inspected at the repair location and determined to be serviceable without repair, the unserviceable parts within the uninspected buffer being assigned to the fourth buffer at a fourth rate according to the inspection operation at the repair location;

generate one or more operation plans for the inspection operation to push unserviceable parts out of the uninspected buffer to the first, second, third, and fourth buffers according to the first, second, third, and fourth rates, respectively, the inspection operation having a predetermined disposition time, an unserviceable part that is pushed out of the uninspected buffer being available within the first, second, third, or fourth buffer only after the predetermined disposition time for the inspection operation has elapsed;

generate an operation plan for each of one or more sourcing operations to push unserviceable parts out of the second buffer to one or more upstream repair locations, each upstream repair location being associated with a sourcing operation having a predetermined move lead time, an unserviceable part that is pushed out of the second buffer being available at an upstream repair location only after the predetermined move lead time for the associated sourcing operation has elapsed; and

for each unserviceable part pushed out of the uninspected buffer to the first or second buffer, estimate the earliest time at which a repair operation can begin for the unserviceable part at the repair location or an upstream repair location, this earliest repair time determining the earliest time at which, after the unserviceable part has been repaired to make it serviceable, the serviceable part can be available to satisfy a demand at the repair location.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein:

the repair network comprises a multi-level repair network, each level in the repair network comprising one or more repair locations at which unserviceable parts may be repaired; and

the one or more components are collectively operable to, for each repair location in the repair network;

model the uninspected, first, second, third, and fourth buffers;

generate one or more operation plans for the inspection operation;

generate an operation plan for each sourcing operation; and

for each unserviceable part pushed out of the uninspected buffer to the first or second buffer, estimate the earliest repair time.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the modeling, generating, generating, and estimating are performed for each of a plurality of times within a planning horizon.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the inspection operation encompasses an inspection sub-operation for each of the first, second, third, and fourth buffers, each inspection sub-operation having a predetermined disposition time.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the disposition time for each inspection sub-operation comprises one or more full days.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein each of the first, second, third, and fourth rates is determined according to historical data reflecting actual inspections performed on actual unserviceable parts at the repair location.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the second rate comprises a sub-rate for each upstream repair location to which unserviceable parts may be pushed from the second buffer, the second rate equaling the sum of the sub-rates for all upstream repair locations to which unserviceable parts may be pushed from the second buffer.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more components are collectively operable to access a forecasted demand for unserviceable parts at the repair location to estimate:

a quantity of unserviceable parts that will be received at the repair location for placement in the uninspected buffer; and

based on application of the first, second, third, and fourth rates to the received quantity, quantities of unserviceable parts that will be pushed out of the uninspected buffer to the first, second, third, and fourth buffers, respectively.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the one or more components are collectively operable to:

access a forecasted demand for serviceable parts at the repair location; and

apply a yield rate to the forecasted demand for serviceable parts at the repair location to estimate forecasted returns of unserviceable parts at the repair location.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more components are collectively operable to:

override or increment the first rate according to one or more confirmed repair orders, each confirmed repair order specifying a quantity of unserviceable parts to be pushed out of the uninspected buffer to the first buffer at a specified time; and

override or increment the second rate according to one or more confirmed move orders, each confirmed move order specifying a quantity of unserviceable parts to be pushed out of the uninspected buffer to the second buffer at a specified time.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein generating one or more operation plans for the inspection operation comprises:

sorting unserviceable parts in the uninspected buffer for which the inspection operation is in-progress according to the time at which the inspection operation will complete with respect to these unserviceable parts, unserviceable parts for which the inspection operation will complete earlier being ordered before unserviceable parts for which the inspection operation will complete later;

generating one or more operation plans for the inspection operation to produce unserviceable parts into the first, second, third, and fourth buffers according to the first, second, third, and fourth rates, respectively;

traversing a buffer profile of the uninspected buffer to identify and account for each inventory increase and decrease reflected in the buffer profile;

for each future time for which the buffer profile of the uninspected buffer indicates an inventory increase;

estimating a quantity of unserviceable parts that can be pushed out of the uninspected buffer to one or more of the first, second, third, and fourth buffers without leaving an insufficient quantity of unserviceable parts in the uninspected buffer for an inspection operation already approved for a specified quantity of unserviceable parts at a specified future time to occur; and

generating one or more operation plans for the inspection operation to consume unserviceable parts from the uninspected buffer and produce unserviceable parts into the first, second, third, and fourth buffers according to the first, second, third, and fourth rates, respectively; and

for each future time for which the buffer profile of the uninspected buffer indicates an inventory decrease as a result of an inspection operation already approved for a specified quantity of unserviceable parts at a specified future time, generating one or more operation plans for the inspection operation to produce unserviceable parts into the first, second, third, and fourth buffers according to the first, second, third, and fourth rates, respectively.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein generating one or more operation plans for the inspection operation comprises:

generating one or more raw operation plans for the inspection operation, the one or more raw operation plans specifying quantities of unserviceable parts to be pushed out of the uninspected buffer to the first, second, third, and fourth buffers, a raw operation plan possibly specifying a non-integral quantity of unserviceable parts to be pushed out of the uninspected buffer to one or more of the first, second, third, and fourth buffers based on application of the first, second, third, and fourth rates, respectively, to an estimated quantity of unserviceable parts within the uninspected buffer;

applying rounding logic to the quantities of unserviceable parts to be pushed out of the uninspected buffer to the first, second, third, and fourth buffers according to the one or more raw operation plans; and

according to application of the rounding logic, generating one or more final operation plans for the inspection operation specifying only integral quantities of unserviceable parts to be pushed out of the uninspected buffer to the first, second, third, and fourth buffers.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein the operation plan for each sourcing operation reflects a move order for initiating shipment of one or more unserviceable parts from the repair location to the associated upstream repair location.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the move order specifies a reverse Bill of Distribution (BOD).

15. The system of claim 1, wherein the move lead time for each sourcing operation comprises one or more full days.

16. The system of claim 1, wherein generating an operation plan for each of one or more sourcing operations comprises:

traversing the repair locations in the repair network level by level, starting with one or more repair locations within a most downstream level and traversing upstream;

for each repair location, for each future time for which a buffer profile of the second buffer indicates an inventory increase;

estimating a quantity of unserviceable parts that can be pushed out of the second buffer to each of one or more upstream repair locations without leaving an insufficient quantity of unserviceable parts in the second buffer for a move operation already approved for a specified quantity of unserviceable parts at a specified future time to occur; and

generating an operation for each sourcing operation according to the estimated quantity to consume unserviceable parts from the second buffer and produce unserviceable parts into one or more destination buffers at the associated upstream repair location; and

for each time for which the buffer profile of the second buffer indicates an inventory decrease as a result of a move operation already approved for a specified quantity of unserviceable parts at a specified future time, generating an operation plan for each sourcing operation to produce unserviceable parts into one or more destination buffers at the associated upstream repair location.

17. The system of claim 1, wherein generating an operation plan for each of one or more sourcing operations comprises:

generating a raw operation plan for each sourcing operation, the raw operation plan possibly specifying a non-integral quantity of unserviceable parts to be pushed out of the second buffer to the associated upstream repair location;

applying rounding logic to the quantities of unserviceable parts to be pushed out of the second buffer according to the raw operation plans; and

according to application of the rounding logic, generating a final operation plan for each sourcing operation specifying an integral quantity of unserviceable parts to be pushed out of the second buffer to the associated upstream repair location.

18. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more components are collectively operable to:

model for the repair location;

an unserviceable parts buffer for unserviceable parts encompassing the uninspected buffer, the first buffer, and the second buffer; and

a serviceable parts buffer for serviceable parts encompassing the fourth buffer and a good parts buffer for serviceable parts available to be put to service to help satisfy a demand; and

track time-varying inventories of unserviceable parts in the unserviceable parts buffer and serviceable parts in the serviceable parts buffer, the unserviceable parts inventory being tracked separately from the serviceable parts inventory.

19. The system of claim 1, wherein the system comprises a replenishment planning engine of a service parts planning system.

20. A method for repair planning for a repair location in a repair network, comprising:

modeling an uninspected buffer for unserviceable parts received at the repair location but not yet inspected at the repair location;

modeling a first buffer for unserviceable parts inspected at the repair location and determined to be repairable at the repair location, the unserviceable parts within the uninspected buffer being assigned to the first buffer at a first rate according to an inspection operation at the repair location;

modeling a second buffer for unserviceable parts inspected at the repair location and determined not to be repairable at the repair location, the unserviceable parts within the uninspected buffer being assigned to the second buffer at a second rate according to the inspection operation at the repair location;

modeling a third buffer for unserviceable parts inspected at the repair location and determined not to be repairable at any repair location in the repair network, the unserviceable parts within the uninspected buffer being assigned to the third buffer at a third rate according to the inspection operation at the repair location;

modeling a fourth buffer for unserviceable parts inspected at the repair location and determined to be serviceable without repair, the unserviceable parts within the uninspected buffer being assigned to the fourth buffer at a fourth rate according to the inspection operation at the repair location;

generating one or more operation plans for the inspection operation to push unserviceable parts out of the uninspected buffer to the first, second, third, and fourth buffers according to the first, second, third, and fourth rates, respectively, the inspection operation having a predetermined disposition time, an unserviceable part that is pushed out of the uninspected buffer being available within the first, second, third, or fourth buffer only after the predetermined disposition time for the inspection operation has elapsed;

generating an operation plan for each of one or more sourcing operations to push unserviceable parts out of the second buffer to one or more upstream repair locations, each upstream repair location being associated with a sourcing operation having a predetermined move lead time, an unserviceable part that is pushed out of the second buffer being available at an upstream repair location only after the predetermined move lead time for the associated sourcing operation has elapsed; and

for each unserviceable part pushed out of the uninspected buffer to the first or second buffer, estimating the earliest time at which a repair operation can begin for the unserviceable part at the repair location or an upstream repair location, this earliest repair time determining the earliest time at which, after the unserviceable part has been repaired to make it serviceable, the serviceable part can be available to satisfy a demand at the repair location.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein:

the repair network comprises a multi-level repair network, each level in the repair network comprising one or more repair locations at which unserviceable parts may be repaired; and

the method further comprises, for each repair location in the repair network;

modeling the uninspected, first, second, third, and fourth buffers;

generating one or more operation plans for the inspection operation;

generating an operation plan for each sourcing operation; and

for each unserviceable part pushed out of the uninspected buffer to the first or second buffer, estimating the earliest repair time.

22. The method of claim 20, wherein the modeling, generating, generating, and estimating are performed for each of a plurality of times within a planning horizon.

23. The method of claim 20, wherein the inspection operation encompasses an inspection sub-operation for each of the first, second, third, and fourth buffers, each inspection sub-operation having a predetermined disposition time.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the disposition time for each inspection sub-operation comprises one or more full days.

25. The method of claim 20, wherein each of the first, second, third, and fourth rates is determined according to historical data reflecting actual inspections performed on actual unserviceable parts at the repair location.

26. The method of claim 20, wherein the second rate comprises a sub-rate for each upstream repair location to which unserviceable parts may be pushed from the second buffer, the second rate equaling the sum of the sub-rates for all upstream repair locations to which unserviceable parts may be pushed from the second buffer.

27. The method of claim 20, further comprising accessing a forecasted demand for unserviceable parts at the repair location to estimate:

a quantity of unserviceable parts that will be received at the repair location for placement in the uninspected buffer; and

based on application of the first, second, third, and fourth rates to the received quantity, quantities of unserviceable parts that will be pushed out of the uninspected buffer to the first, second, third, and fourth buffers, respectively.

28. The method of claim 27, further comprising:

accessing a forecasted demand for serviceable parts at the repair location; and

applying a yield rate to the forecasted demand for serviceable parts at the repair location to estimate forecasted returns of unserviceable parts at the repair location.

29. The method of claim 20, further comprising:

overriding or incrementing the first rate according to one or more confirmed repair orders, each confirmed repair order specifying a quantity of unserviceable parts to be pushed out of the uninspected buffer to the first buffer at a specified time; and

overriding or incrementing the second rate according to one or more confirmed move orders, each confirmed move order specifying a quantity of unserviceable parts to be pushed out of the uninspected buffer to the second buffer at a specified time.

30. The method of claim 20, wherein generating one or more operation plans for the inspection operation comprises:

sorting unserviceable parts in the uninspected buffer for which the inspection operation is in-progress according to the time at which the inspection operation will complete with respect to these unserviceable parts, unserviceable parts for which the inspection operation will complete earlier being ordered before unserviceable parts for which the inspection operation will complete later;

generating one or more operation plans for the inspection operation to produce unserviceable parts into the first, second, third, and fourth buffers according to the first, second, third, and fourth rates, respectively;

traversing a buffer profile of the uninspected buffer to identify and account for each inventory increase and decrease reflected in the buffer profile;

for each future time for which the buffer profile of the uninspected buffer indicates an inventory increase;

estimating a quantity of unserviceable parts that can be pushed out of the uninspected buffer to one or more of the first, second, third, and fourth buffers without leaving an insufficient quantity of unserviceable parts in the uninspected buffer for an inspection operation already approved for a specified quantity of unserviceable parts at a specified future time to occur; and

generating one or more operation plans for the inspection operation to consume unserviceable parts from the uninspected buffer and produce unserviceable parts into the first, second, third, and fourth buffers according to the first, second, third, and fourth rates, respectively; and

for each future time for which the buffer profile of the uninspected buffer indicates an inventory decrease as a result of an inspection operation already approved for a specified quantity of unserviceable parts at a specified future time, generating one or more operation plans for the inspection operation to produce unserviceable parts into the first, second, third, and fourth buffers according to the first, second, third, and fourth rates, respectively.

31. The method of claim 20, wherein generating one or more operation plans for the inspection operation comprises:

generating one or more raw operation plans for the inspection operation, the one or more raw operation plans specifying quantities of unserviceable parts to be pushed out of the uninspected buffer to the first, second, third, and fourth buffers, a raw operation plan possibly specifying a non-integral quantity of unserviceable parts to be pushed out of the uninspected buffer to one or more of the first, second, third, and fourth buffers based on application of the first, second, third, and fourth rates, respectively, to an estimated quantity of unserviceable parts within the uninspected buffer;

applying rounding logic to the quantities of unserviceable parts to be pushed out of the uninspected buffer to the first, second, third, and fourth buffers according to the one or more raw operation plans; and

according to application of the rounding logic, generating one or more final operation plans for the inspection operation specifying only integral quantities of unserviceable parts to be pushed out of the uninspected buffer to the first, second, third, and fourth buffers.

32. The method of claim 20, wherein the operation plan for each sourcing operation reflects a move order for initiating shipment of one or more unserviceable parts from the repair location to the associated upstream repair location.

33. The method of claim 32, wherein the move order specifies a reverse Bill of Distribution (BOD).

34. The method of claim 20, wherein the move lead time for each sourcing operation comprises one or more full days.

35. The method of claim 20, wherein generating an operation plan for each of one or more sourcing operations comprises:

traversing the repair locations in the repair network level by level, starting with one or more repair locations within a most downstream level and traversing upstream;

for each repair location, for each future time for which a buffer profile of the second buffer indicates an inventory increase;

estimating a quantity of unserviceable parts that can be pushed out of the second buffer to each of one or more upstream repair locations without leaving an insufficient quantity of unserviceable parts in the second buffer for a move operation already approved for a specified quantity of unserviceable parts at a specified future time to occur; and

generating an operation for each sourcing operation according to the estimated quantity to consume unserviceable parts from the second buffer and produce unserviceable parts into one or more destination buffers at the associated upstream repair location; and

for each time for which the buffer profile of the second buffer indicates an inventory decrease as a result of a move operation already approved for a specified quantity of unserviceable parts at a specified future time, generating an operation plan for each sourcing operation to produce unserviceable parts into one or more destination buffers at the associated upstream repair location.

36. The method of claim 20, wherein generating an operation plan for each of one or more sourcing operations comprises:

generating a raw operation plan for each sourcing operation, the raw operation plan possibly specifying a non-integral quantity of unserviceable parts to be pushed out of the second buffer to the associated upstream repair location;

applying rounding logic to the quantities of unserviceable parts to be pushed out of the second buffer according to the raw operation plans; and

according to application of the rounding logic, generating a final operation plan for each sourcing operation specifying an integral quantity of unserviceable parts to be pushed out of the second buffer to the associated upstream repair location.

37. The method of claim 20, further comprising:

modeling for the repair location;

an unserviceable parts buffer for unserviceable parts encompassing the uninspected buffer, the first buffer, and the second buffer; and

a serviceable parts buffer for serviceable parts encompassing the fourth buffer and a good parts buffer for serviceable parts available to be put to service to help satisfy a demand; and

tracking time-varying inventories of unserviceable parts in the unserviceable parts buffer and serviceable parts in the serviceable parts buffer, the unserviceable parts inventory being tracked separately from the serviceable parts inventory.

38. The method of claim 20, wherein the method is performed using a replenishment planning engine of a service parts planning system.

39. Software for repair planning for a repair location in a repair network, the software embodied in a computer-readable medium and when executed operable to:

model an uninspected buffer for unserviceable parts received at the repair location but not yet inspected at the repair location;

model a first buffer for unserviceable parts inspected at the repair location and determined to be repairable at the repair location, the unserviceable parts within the uninspected buffer being assigned to the first buffer at a first rate according to an inspection operation at the repair location;

model a second buffer for unserviceable parts inspected at the repair location and determined not to be repairable at the repair location, the unserviceable parts within the uninspected buffer being assigned to the second buffer at a second rate according to the inspection operation at the repair location;

model a third buffer for unserviceable parts inspected at the repair location and determined not to be repairable at any repair location in the repair network, the unserviceable parts within the uninspected buffer being assigned to the third buffer at a third rate according to the inspection operation at the repair location;

model a fourth buffer for unserviceable parts inspected at the repair location and determined to be serviceable without repair, the unserviceable parts within the uninspected buffer being assigned to the fourth buffer at a fourth rate according to the inspection operation at the repair location;

generate one or more operation plans for the inspection operation to push unserviceable parts out of the uninspected buffer to the first, second, third, and fourth buffers according to the first, second, third, and fourth rates, respectively, the inspection operation having a predetermined disposition time, an unserviceable part that is pushed out of the uninspected buffer being available within the first, second, third, or fourth buffer only after the predetermined disposition time for the inspection operation has elapsed;

generate an operation plan for each of one or more sourcing operations to push unserviceable parts out of the second buffer to one or more upstream repair locations, each upstream repair location being associated with a sourcing operation having a predetermined move lead time, an unserviceable part that is pushed out of the second buffer being available at an upstream repair location only after the predetermined move lead time for the associated sourcing operation has elapsed; and

for each unserviceable part pushed out of the uninspected buffer to the first or second buffer, estimate the earliest time at which a repair operation can begin for the unserviceable part at the repair location or an upstream repair location, this earliest repair time determining the earliest time at which, after the unserviceable part has been repaired to make it serviceable, the serviceable part can be available to satisfy a demand at the repair location.

40. The software of claim 39, wherein:

the repair network comprises a multi-level repair network, each level in the repair network comprising one or more repair locations at which unserviceable parts may be repaired; and

the one or more components are collectively operable to, for each repair location in the repair network;

model the uninspected, first, second, third, and fourth buffers;

generate one or more operation plans for the inspection operation;

generate an operation plan for each sourcing operation; and

for each unserviceable part pushed out of the uninspected buffer to the first or second buffer, estimate the earliest repair time.

41. The software of claim 39, wherein the modeling, generating, generating, and estimating are performed for each of a plurality of times within a planning horizon.

42. The software of claim 39, wherein the inspection operation encompasses an inspection sub-operation for each of the first, second, third, and fourth buffers, each inspection sub-operation having a predetermined disposition time.

43. The software of claim 42, wherein the disposition time for each inspection sub-operation comprises one or more full days.

44. The software of claim 39, wherein each of the first, second, third, and fourth rates is determined according to historical data reflecting actual inspections performed on actual unserviceable parts at the repair location.

45. The software of claim 39, wherein the second rate comprises a sub-rate for each upstream repair location to which unserviceable parts may be pushed from the second buffer, the second rate equaling the sum of the sub-rates for all upstream repair locations to which unserviceable parts may be pushed from the second buffer.

46. The software of claim 39, operable to access a forecasted demand for unserviceable parts at the repair location to estimate:

a quantity of unserviceable parts that will be received at the repair location for placement in the uninspected buffer; and

based on application of the first, second, third, and fourth rates to the received quantity, quantities of unserviceable parts that will be pushed out of the uninspected buffer to the first, second, third, and fourth buffers, respectively.

47. The software of claim 46, operable to:

access a forecasted demand for serviceable parts at the repair location; and

apply a yield rate to the forecasted demand for serviceable parts at the repair location to estimate forecasted returns of unserviceable parts at the repair location.

48. The software of claim 39, operable to:

override or increment the first rate according to one or more confirmed repair orders, each confirmed repair order specifying a quantity of unserviceable parts to be pushed out of the uninspected buffer to the first buffer at a specified time; and

override or increment the second rate according to one or more confirmed move orders, each confirmed move order specifying a quantity of unserviceable parts to be pushed out of the uninspected buffer to the second buffer at a specified time.

49. The software of claim 39, wherein generating one or more operation plans for the inspection operation comprises:

sorting unserviceable parts in the uninspected buffer for which the inspection operation is in-progress according to the time at which the inspection operation will complete with respect to these unserviceable parts, unserviceable parts for which the inspection operation will complete earlier being ordered before unserviceable parts for which the inspection operation will complete later;

generating one or more operation plans for the inspection operation to produce unserviceable parts into the first, second, third, and fourth buffers according to the first, second, third, and fourth rates, respectively;

traversing a buffer profile of the uninspected buffer to identify and account for each inventory increase and decrease reflected in the buffer profile;

for each future time for which the buffer profile of the uninspected buffer indicates an inventory increase;

estimating a quantity of unserviceable parts that can be pushed out of the uninspected buffer to one or more of the first, second, third, and fourth buffers without leaving an insufficient quantity of unserviceable parts in the uninspected buffer for an inspection operation already approved for a specified quantity of unserviceable parts at a specified future time to occur; and

generating one or more operation plans for the inspection operation to consume unserviceable parts from the uninspected buffer and produce unserviceable parts into the first, second, third, and fourth buffers according to the first, second, third, and fourth rates, respectively; and

for each future time for which the buffer profile of the uninspected buffer indicates an inventory decrease as a result of an inspection operation already approved for a specified quantity of unserviceable parts at a specified future time, generating one or more operation plans for the inspection operation to produce unserviceable parts into the first, second, third, and fourth buffers according to the first, second, third, and fourth rates, respectively.

50. The software of claim 39, wherein generating one or more operation plans for the inspection operation comprises:

generating one or more raw operation plans for the inspection operation, the one or more raw operation plans specifying quantities of unserviceable parts to be pushed out of the uninspected buffer to the first, second, third, and fourth buffers, a raw operation plan possibly specifying a non-integral quantity of unserviceable parts to be pushed out of the uninspected buffer to one or more of the first, second, third, and fourth buffers based on application of the first, second, third, and fourth rates, respectively, to an estimated quantity of unserviceable parts within the uninspected buffer;

applying rounding logic to the quantities of unserviceable parts to be pushed out of the uninspected buffer to the first, second, third, and fourth buffers according to the one or more raw operation plans; and

according to application of the rounding logic, generating one or more final operation plans for the inspection operation specifying only integral quantities of unserviceable parts to be pushed out of the uninspected buffer to the first, second, third, and fourth buffers.

51. The software of claim 39, wherein the operation plan for each sourcing operation reflects a move order for initiating shipment of one or more unserviceable parts from the repair location to the associated upstream repair location.

52. The software of claim 51, wherein the move order specifies a reverse Bill of Distribution (BOD).

53. The software of claim 39, wherein the move lead time for each sourcing operation comprises one or more full days.

54. The software of claim 39, wherein generating an operation plan for each of one or more sourcing operations comprises:

traversing the repair locations in the repair network level by level, starting with one or more repair locations within a most downstream level and traversing upstream;

for each repair location, for each future time for which a buffer profile of the second buffer indicates an inventory increase;

estimating a quantity of unserviceable parts that can be pushed out of the second buffer to each of one or more upstream repair locations without leaving an insufficient quantity of unserviceable parts in the second buffer for a move operation already approved for a specified quantity of unserviceable parts at a specified future time to occur; and

generating an operation for each sourcing operation according to the estimated quantity to consume unserviceable parts from the second buffer and produce unserviceable parts into one or more destination buffers at the associated upstream repair location; and

for each time for which the buffer profile of the second buffer indicates an inventory decrease as a result of a move operation already approved for a specified quantity of unserviceable parts at a specified future time, generating an operation plan for each sourcing operation to produce unserviceable parts into one or more destination buffers at the associated upstream repair location.

55. The software of claim 39, wherein generating an operation plan for each of one or more sourcing operations comprises:

generating a raw operation plan for each sourcing operation, the raw operation plan possibly specifying a non-integral quantity of unserviceable parts to be pushed out of the second buffer to the associated upstream repair location;

applying rounding logic to the quantities of unserviceable parts to be pushed out of the second buffer according to the raw operation plans; and

according to application of the rounding logic, generating a final operation plan for each sourcing operation specifying an integral quantity of unserviceable parts to be pushed out of the second buffer to the associated upstream repair location.

56. The software of claim 39, wherein the one or more components are collectively operable to:

model for the repair location;

an unserviceable parts buffer for unserviceable parts encompassing the uninspected buffer, the first buffer, and the second buffer; and

a serviceable parts buffer for serviceable parts encompassing the fourth buffer and a good parts buffer for serviceable parts available to be put to service to help satisfy a demand; and

track time-varying inventories of unserviceable parts in the unserviceable parts buffer and serviceable parts in the serviceable parts buffer, the unserviceable parts inventory being tracked separately from the serviceable parts inventory.

57. The software of claim 39, comprising a replenishment planning engine of a service parts planning system.

58. A system for repair planning comprising multiple components collectively operable to:

for each of a plurality of repair locations in a multi-level repair network, each level comprising one or more repair locations at which unserviceable parts may be repaired, model;

an uninspected buffer for unserviceable parts received at the repair location but not yet inspected at the repair location;

a first buffer for unserviceable parts inspected at the repair location and determined to be repairable at the repair location, the unserviceable parts within the uninspected buffer being assigned to the first buffer at a first rate according to a first inspection sub-operation at the repair location;

a second buffer for unserviceable parts inspected at the repair location and determined not to be repairable at the repair location, the unserviceable parts within the uninspected buffer being assigned to the second buffer at a second rate according to a second inspection sub-operation at the repair location;

a third buffer for unserviceable parts inspected at the repair location and determined not to be repairable at any repair location in the repair network, the unserviceable parts within the uninspected buffer being assigned to the third buffer at a third rate according to a third inspection sub-operation at the repair location;

a fourth buffer for unserviceable parts inspected at the repair location and determined to be serviceable without repair, the unserviceable parts within the uninspected buffer being assigned to the fourth buffer at a fourth rate according to a fourth inspection sub-operation at the repair location;

an unserviceable parts buffer for unserviceable parts encompassing the uninspected buffer, the first buffer, and the second buffer; and

a serviceable parts buffer for serviceable parts encompassing the fourth buffer and a good parts buffer for serviceable parts available to be put to service to help satisfy a demand;

for each of the plurality of repair locations, generate operation plans for the inspection sub-operations to push unserviceable parts out of the uninspected buffer to the first, second, third, and fourth buffers according to the first, second, third, and fourth rates, respectively, each inspection sub-operation having a predetermined disposition time, an unserviceable part that is pushed out of the uninspected buffer being available within the first, second, third, or fourth buffer only after the predetermined disposition time for the associated inspection sub-operation has elapsed;

for each of the plurality of repair locations, generate an operation plan for each of one or more sourcing operations to push unserviceable parts out of the second buffer to one or more upstream repair locations, each upstream repair location being associated with a sourcing operation having a predetermined move lead time, an unserviceable part that is pushed out of the second buffer being available at an upstream repair location only after the predetermined move lead time for the associated sourcing operation has elapsed;

for a particular repair location, for each unserviceable part pushed out of the uninspected buffer to the first or second buffer, estimate the earliest time at which a repair operation can begin for the unserviceable part at the particular repair location or an upstream repair location, this earliest repair time determining the earliest time at which, after the unserviceable part has been repaired to make it serviceable, the serviceable part can be available to satisfy a demand at the particular repair location;

perform the modeling, generating, generating, and estimating being performed for each of a plurality of times within a planning horizon; and

for each of a plurality of repair locations, track time-varying inventories of unserviceable parts in the unserviceable parts buffer and serviceable parts in the serviceable parts buffer, the unserviceable parts inventory being tracked separately from the serviceable parts inventory.