System and method for determining a promise date for a demand in a business environment
First Claim
1. A system for calculating respective promise dates for two or more demands produced for an item based on a supply structure for fulfilling the demands, the system comprising:
- one or more data storage means for storing data information related to distribution and supply chain operation; and
a processor operatively coupled to the one or more data storage means;
the one or more data storage means further comprising statements and instructions for implementation by the processor to calculate the respective promise dates for the two or more demands by;
(a) associating an assigned priority value to each of the demands produced for the item;
(b) for each supply in the supply structure, determining a plan date, based on an existing and planned supply in the supply structure, from a highest level to a lowest level in the supply structure until plan dates have been determined for all supplies in the supply structure for the two or more demands;
(c) determining available dates for the item based on an availability of each supply in the supply structure, wherein the available dates are determined based on the following steps;
(c1) sorting a supply list by supply availability;
(c2) sorting a demand list by plan date;
(c3) determining when a last available supply on the sorted supply list fulfills a last planned demand on the sorted demand list by its plan date;
(c4) for the last planned demand fulfilled by its plan date, allocating the last available supply to the last planned demand based on its plan date;
(c5) for the last planned demand not fulfilled by its plan date, allocating the last available supply to an unfulfilled demand having a lowest assigned priority value;
(c6) recording the allocation in steps (c4) and (c5) in an allocation record;
(c7) repeating steps (c3) to (c6) successively for each supply on the sorted supply list until lowest level available dates are determined for the lowest level of the supply structure; and
(c8) propagating the lowest level available dates to a next level in the supply structure, repeating steps (c1) to (c7) to provide next level available dates;
wherein steps (c1) through (c8) are executed for each supply in the supply structure successively from the lowest level to the highest level in the supply structure; and
(d) generating the respective promise dates for the demands based on the available dates determined in step (c), whereby the respective promise dates are committed to the demands produced for the item.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention provides a method and a system for determining a promise date for a demand whose supply depends on constraints in a business environment. According to the present invention, information related to the business environment is stored within a data storage means. The present invention provides a processor coupled to the data storage means from which it requests and retrieves data. The processor also determines a plan date for each supply in the supply structure. The plan date is determined, from a highest level to a lowest level in the supply structure, based on existing and planned supply in the supply structure. After determining a plan date, the processor determines an available date for each supply in the supply structure. The available date is determined, from the lowest level to the highest level in the supply structure, based on the availability of each supply in the supply structure, and the plan date determined for each supply. Finally, the processor generates a promise date for the demand for the item based on each available date determined for a corresponding supply in the supply structure. The present invention advantageously generates promise dates based on information available in real-time on both the supply structure and the capacity constraints for a given item.
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Citations
16 Claims
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1. A system for calculating respective promise dates for two or more demands produced for an item based on a supply structure for fulfilling the demands, the system comprising:
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one or more data storage means for storing data information related to distribution and supply chain operation; and a processor operatively coupled to the one or more data storage means; the one or more data storage means further comprising statements and instructions for implementation by the processor to calculate the respective promise dates for the two or more demands by; (a) associating an assigned priority value to each of the demands produced for the item; (b) for each supply in the supply structure, determining a plan date, based on an existing and planned supply in the supply structure, from a highest level to a lowest level in the supply structure until plan dates have been determined for all supplies in the supply structure for the two or more demands; (c) determining available dates for the item based on an availability of each supply in the supply structure, wherein the available dates are determined based on the following steps; (c1) sorting a supply list by supply availability; (c2) sorting a demand list by plan date; (c3) determining when a last available supply on the sorted supply list fulfills a last planned demand on the sorted demand list by its plan date; (c4) for the last planned demand fulfilled by its plan date, allocating the last available supply to the last planned demand based on its plan date; (c5) for the last planned demand not fulfilled by its plan date, allocating the last available supply to an unfulfilled demand having a lowest assigned priority value; (c6) recording the allocation in steps (c4) and (c5) in an allocation record; (c7) repeating steps (c3) to (c6) successively for each supply on the sorted supply list until lowest level available dates are determined for the lowest level of the supply structure; and (c8) propagating the lowest level available dates to a next level in the supply structure, repeating steps (c1) to (c7) to provide next level available dates; wherein steps (c1) through (c8) are executed for each supply in the supply structure successively from the lowest level to the highest level in the supply structure; and (d) generating the respective promise dates for the demands based on the available dates determined in step (c), whereby the respective promise dates are committed to the demands produced for the item. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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Specification