Inventory control system and method in recycle-oriented society

• US 7,624,043 B2
• Filed: 01/30/2004
• Issued: 11/24/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 04/28/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Sasaki, Hideyuki, Uozaki, Masayasu, Kumamoto, Kunio, Hiroshige, Yuzo, Sakuma, Toshiyuki, Enomoto, Mitsuhiro
• Primary Examiner(s): Zeender; F.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Champagne; Luna
• Application Number:
  US10/769,311
• Publication Number:
  US 20040254841A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,125 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 705/22
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0631 Resource planning, allocation, distributing or scheduling for enterprises or organisations
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0875 Itemisation or classification of parts, supplies or services, e.g. bill of materials
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/30 Administration of product recycling or disposal
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/203 Inventory monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: Y02W 90/00 Enabling technologies or technologies with a potential or indirect contribution to greenhouse gas [GHG] emissions mitigation
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49815 Disassembling

Abstract

In a physical distribution model of the circulation type, synchronization is established between a reuse plan and a delivery/fabrication plan to thereby reasonably reduce the excess and deficiency of inventory articles at a confluence point of regenerated reusable articles and newly delivered component parts. With regard to newly delivered lower-level items, predict a variation or fluctuation of stock quantity based on at least a delivery schedule of them and a present stock amount along with usage plans in manufacturing processes. As for lower-level items of regenerated articles, predict a delivery due date and an expected number of such regenerated lower-level items based on at least a stock quantity of recovered items collected for reuse purposes and a lead time for taking regenerated lower-level items out of the collected items, thereby controlling, based on the both prediction results, the stock quantity of the lower-level items in manufacturing processes.

Claims

1. An inventory control system for controlling a stock quantity of lower-level items used to produce items in production processes thereof, said system comprising:

a first database configured to register as configuration information of items to be handled by the system an item tree code set comprising at least upper-level items, lower-level items and a number of the lower-level items with respect to the upper-level items, by linking via a network a plurality of information processing machines and a total management information processing machine constituted from any one of the information processing machines and a separate information processing machine, wherein the information processing machines are provided at one of an upper-level item recovery point for collecting used items from a market, a regeneration point for disassembly/regeneration of lower-level items from collected upper-level items, an upper-level item production point for producing new upper-level items, and a lower-level item production point for producing new lower-level items;

a second database configured to register lead times for moving between the points and the size of a lot per item between the points;

a third database configured to register an input item, an output item and a procession lead time in a regeneration process of the regeneration point;

a forth database configured to register a stock capacity per item, a stock lower limit amount for alarm generation and an inventory data including data of at least an item name, a stock quantity and a unit;

means for updating stock data stored in the fourth database of each point in the information processing machine provided at each point at a time of completion of collection of used items from the market, at a time of receipt of delivery of an item, or at a time of carry-out of an item to another point;

means for preparing a delivery schedule of a regenerated lower-level item in a cyclic manner based on a lower-level item regeneration processing situation, the inventory data of each of the points and data in the second and third databases in the information processing machine of the regeneration point, and for reporting the delivery schedule to the total management information processing machine;

means for preparing a delivery schedule of a produced lower-level item in a cyclic manner based on a lower-level item manufacturing situation, the inventory data of each of the points and data of the second database in the information processing machine of the lower-level item manufacturing point, and for reporting the delivery schedule to the total management information processing machine;

means for performing stock prediction of the upper-level item production point based on consumption prediction data of the lower-level item as prepared cyclicly in accordance with stock data of the upper-level item production point, delivery schedule data of the regenerated lower-level item, delivery schedule data of the produced lower-level item and fabrication planning;

means for receiving from the lower-level item regeneration point a report indicating whether a newly deliverable regenerated lower-level item is present or absent along with a delivery schedule thereof and for updating stock prediction information of the newly deliverable registered lower-level item of the upper-level item production point when it is determined that the lower-level item is acceptable based on a result of the stock prediction and the stock capacity;

means for receiving from said upper-level item recovery point a report indicating whether a deliverable lower-level item which is expansion-processed according to the item tree code registered in the first database from a collected good is present or absent following the processing for updating the stock prediction information, for updating stock prediction information of the lower-level item which is expansion-processed from a newly deliverable collected good when the lower-level item is judged to be acceptable based on the stock prediction result and the stock capacity and for disclosing the stock prediction information to the other information processing machines;

means for receiving the report of the delivery schedule, and for issuing to the upper-level item recovery point an instruction to transfer management of the collected good containing the lower-level item that was judged to be acceptable to the lower-level item regeneration point;

means for issuing a delivery instruction to an information processing machine which manages a production point of an item having a stock prediction that is less than a lower limit of a stock amount; and

means for receiving delivery schedule information of the lower-level item reported by the information processing machine which manages a production point of the lower-level item after the delivery instruction to the information processing machine which manages the production point of the lower-level item, for updating the stock prediction information of the item and for disclosing the stock prediction information to the other information processing machines.

2. An inventory control method for controlling a stock quantity of lower-level items used to produce items in production processes thereof, the method used with a system configuration operative to link via a network a plurality of information processing machines and a total management information processing machine constituted from any one of the information processing machines or a separate information processing machine, the information processing machines being respectively provided at an upper-level item recovery point for collecting used items from a market, a regeneration point for disassembly/regeneration of lower-level items from collected upper-level items, an upper-level item production point for producing new upper-level items, and a lower-level item production point for producing new lower-level items, said method comprising:

generating, in the information processing machines provided at the upper-level item production point and the upper-level item recovery point, a database arranged to register as configuration information of items to be handled by the system an item tree code set comprising at least upper-level items, lower-level items and a number of the lower-level items with respect to the upper-level items;

generating a stock database in the information processing machine provided at each point;

causing the information processing machine provided at each point to update the stock database of each point at a time of completion of collection of used items from the market, at a time of receipt of delivery of an item, or at a time of carry-out of an item to another point;

causing the information processing machine provided at the regeneration point to prepare a delivery schedule of a regenerated lower-level item in a cyclic manner or based on a lower-level item regeneration processing situation, and report the delivery schedule of the regenerated lower-level item to the total management information processing machine;

causing the information processing machine provided at the low-level item production point to prepare a delivery schedule of a produced lower-level item in a cyclic manner or based on a lower-level item manufacturing situation, and report the delivery schedule of the produced lower-level item to the total management information processing machine;

causing any one of the information processing machine provided at the upper-level item production point and the total management information processing machine to perform stock prediction of the upper-level item production point based on consumption prediction data as prepared cyclicly in accordance with stock data of the upper-level item production point, delivery schedule data of the regenerated lower-level item, delivery schedule data of the produced lower-level item, and production planning;

causing any one of the information processing machine provided at the upper-level item production point and the total management information processing machine to receive from the lower-level item regeneration point a report indicating whether a newly deliverable regenerated lower-level item is present or absent along with a delivery schedule thereof and update stock prediction information of the newly deliverable regenerated lower-level item when it is judged that the newly deliverable regenerated lower-level item is acceptable based on a result of the updated stock prediction information and a stock capacity;

causing any one of the information processing machine provided at the upper-level item production point and the total management information processing machine to receive from the upper-level item recovery point a report indicating whether a lower-level item which is expansion-processed from a newly deliverable collected good is present or absent along with a delivery schedule thereof and update stock prediction information of the expansion-processed lower-level item when the expansion-processed lower-level item is judged to be acceptable based on the result of the updated stock prediction information and the stock capacity;

causing any one of the information processing machine provided at the upper-level item production point and the total management information processing machine to receive the report of the delivery schedule and issue to the information processing machine provided at the upper-level item recovery point an instruction to transfer management of the collected good containing the lower-level item that was judged to be acceptable to the lower-level item regeneration point; and

causing any one of the information processing machine provided at the upper-level item production point and the total management information processing machine to issue, when an item has a stock prediction that is less than a lower limit of a stock amount, a delivery instruction to an information processing machine which manages a production point of the item that has the stock prediction that is less than a lower limit of a stock amount.