Systems and methods for automated parallelization of transport load builder

• US 8,423,391 B2
• Filed: 07/28/2005
• Issued: 04/16/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 07/28/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SAP SE
• Original Assignee: SAP AG (SAP SE)
• Inventors: Hessedenz, Hans-Juergen
• Primary Examiner(s): Sterrett, Jonathan G
• Assistant Examiner(s): DELICH, STEPHANIE ZAGARELLA
• Application Number:
  US11/191,026
• Publication Number:
  US 20070027573A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,819 Days
• Field of Search: 705/7.11, 705/7.12, 705/28, 709/102, 709/100, 709/202, 701/201
• US Class Current: 705/7.12
• 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 10/08 Logistics, e.g. warehousing, loading or distribution; Inventory or stock management

Abstract

Systems and methods are provided for creating a transport load for one or more stock transfers. In one exemplary embodiment, the systems and methods may include providing a parallel processing profile to be associated with the distribution plan. The method may also include building one or more packages of one or more transportation lanes, wherein building one or more packages comprises providing a lanes table of the one or more transportation lanes. The lanes table may comprise information associated with each of the one or more transportation lanes. The method may further include selecting the one or more transportation lanes for each package based on the information and the parallel processing profile, and generating the transport load for each package.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for creating a transport load for one or more transfers of goods within a supply chain, the method comprising:

accessing a parallel processing profile associated with a distribution plan of the supply chain, the distribution plan comprising a plurality of transport load processes executed in parallel, and the parallel processing profile specifying a maximum number of transportation lanes for the transport load processes;

generating, using a processor, lane data associated with transportation lanes of the supply chain, wherein the generating step comprises;

preparing a lanes table for a plurality of transportation lanes, the transportation lanes representing geographic routes between source locations and corresponding destination locations within the supply chain, the lanes table comprising the source locations, the destination locations, and sequence numbers that prioritize the plurality of transportation lanes;

receiving, from a planning computer, a source location within the supply chain;

selecting, from the lanes table, one or more of the transportation lanes for the lane data based on at least the received source location;

filtering the selected transportation lanes based on at least the maximum number of transportation lanes specified by the parallel processing profile; and

storing, in a storage medium, source locations, destination locations, and sequence numbers of the filtered transportation lanes to generate the lane data; and

generating, using the processor, the transport loads based on the lane data associated with the selected transportation lanes by executing the transport load processes in parallel according to the parallel processing profile associated with the distribution plan.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

defining the parallel processing profile associated with the distribution plan, wherein defining the parallel processing profile comprises;

defining a profile name to be associated with the profile;

setting a transport load application to be associated with the profile;

setting a maximum number of the transport load processes to be associated with the transport load application; and

setting the maximum number of transportation lanes to be grouped in the lane data.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

determining whether the parallel processing profile is defined prior to generating the transport loads, wherein the determining comprises;

determining whether the profile name is specified by a user of the application.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the step of generating the lane data further comprises:

setting a remaining number of transportation lanes equal to the maximum number of transportation lanes specified by the parallel processing profile.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the step of generating the lane data further comprises:

determining whether the selected transportation lanes exceed the remaining number of transportation lanes.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the filtering step comprises:

adding the selected transportation lanes to the lane data when the selected transportation lanes do not exceed the remaining number of transportation lanes;

deleting the selected transportation lanes from the lanes table; and

setting the remaining number of transportation lanes to equal the remaining number of transportation lanes less the number of selected transportation lanes added to the lane data.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the filtering comprises:

adding the selected transportation lanes to the lane data when the selected transportation lanes exceed the remaining number of transportation lanes, and when the selected transportation lanes do not exceed the maximum number of transportation lanes; and

setting the remaining number of transportation lanes equal to the maximum number of transportation lanes.

8. The method of claim 5, wherein the filtering comprises:

adding a number of the selected transportation lanes equaling the remaining number of transportation lanes to the lane data when the selected transportation lanes exceed the remaining number of transportation lanes and the maximum number of transportation lanes;

determining a surplus of transportation lanes, wherein the surplus comprises a number of the selected transportation lanes that exceed the remaining number of transportation lanes;

adding the surplus of transportation lanes to a buffer table; and

deleting the selected transportation lanes from the lanes table.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

determining whether the sequence number of the selected transportation lanes has changed.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

starting a distribution plan process for the transport loads if the sequence number has not changed; and

setting the remaining number of transportation lanes to the maximum number of transportation lanes.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

determining whether the lanes table includes an additional source location; and

moving the transportation lanes from the buffer table to the lanes table based on the determination of whether the lanes table includes the additional source location.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

selecting the additional source location in the lanes table when the distribution process for the transport loads is completed.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining the sequence numbers for the selected transportation lanes.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the step of determining the sequence numbers for the selected transportation lanes comprises:

assigning a value of one to a current sequence number of the selected transportation lanes;

building a second lanes table, wherein the second lanes table identifies the source location and destination location of the plurality of transportation lanes of the supply chain;

identifying one or more transportation lanes from the second lanes table associated with a source location which is not a destination location of another transportation lane;

assigning the current sequence number to the identified transportation lanes;

removing the identified transportation lanes from the second lanes table; and

increasing the value of the current sequence number by one.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the step of assigning the current sequence number to the identified transportation lanes comprises:

assigning the identified transportation lanes the current sequence number until no more transportation lanes exist in the second lanes table.

16. A distribution system for creating a transport load for one or more transfers of goods in a supply chain, the system comprising:

a processor; and

a memory,

wherein the processor and the memory are configured to perform a method comprising;

accessing a parallel processing profile associated with a distribution plan of the supply chain, the distribution plan comprising a plurality of transport load processes executed in parallel, and the parallel processing profile specifying a maximum number of transportation lanes for the transport load processes;

generating lane data associated with transportation lanes of the supply chain, wherein the generating step comprises;

preparing a lanes table for a plurality of transportation lanes, the transportation lanes representing geographic routes between source locations and corresponding destination locations within the supply chain, the lanes table comprising the source locations, the destination locations, and sequence numbers that prioritize the plurality of transportation lanes;

receiving, from a planning computer, a source location within the supply chain;

selecting, from the lanes table, one or more of the transportation lanes for the lane data based on at least the received source location;

filtering the selected transportation lanes based on at least the maximum number of transportation lanes specified by the parallel processing profile; and

storing, in a storage medium, source locations, destination locations, and sequence numbers of the filtered transportation lanes to generate the lane data; and

generating transport loads based on the lane data associated with the selected transportation lanes by executing the transport load processes in parallel according to the parallel processing profile associated with the distribution plan.

17. The distribution system according to claim 16, the method further comprising:

defining the parallel processing profile associated with the distribution plan, wherein defining the parallel processing profile comprises;

defining a profile name to be associated with the profile;

setting a transport load application to be associated with the profile;

setting a maximum number of the transport load processes to be associated with the transport load application; and

setting the maximum number of transportation lanes to be grouped in the lane data.

18. The distribution system according to claim 17, the method further comprising:

determining whether the parallel processing profile is defined prior to generating the transport loads, wherein the determining comprises;

determining whether the profile name is specified by a user of the application.

19. The distribution system according to claim 17, wherein the step of generating the lane data further comprises:

setting a remaining number of transportation lanes of the lane data equal to the maximum number of transportation lanes specified by the parallel processing profile.

20. The distribution system according to claim 19, the step of generating the lane data further comprises:

determining whether the selected transportation lanes exceed the remaining number of transportation lanes.

21. The distribution system according to claim 20, wherein the filtering comprises:

adding the selected transportation lanes to the lane data when the selected transportation lanes do not exceed the remaining number of transportation lanes;

deleting the selected transportation lanes from the lanes table; and

setting the remaining number of transportation lanes to equal the remaining number of transportation lanes less the number of selected transportation lanes added to the lane data.

22. The distribution system according to claim 20, wherein the filtering step further comprises:

adding the selected transportation lanes to the lane data when the selected transportation lanes exceed the remaining number of transportation lanes, and when the selected transportation lanes do not exceed the maximum number of transportation lanes; and

setting the remaining number of transportation lanes equal to the maximum number of transportation lanes.

23. The distribution system according to claim 20, wherein the filtering comprises:

adding a number of the selected transportation lanes equaling the remaining number of transportation lanes to the lane data when the selected transportation lanes exceed the remaining number of transportation lanes and the maximum number of transportation lanes;

determining a surplus of transportation lanes, wherein the surplus comprises a number of the selected transportation lanes that exceed the remaining number of transportation lanes;

adding the surplus of transportation lanes to a buffer table; and

deleting the selected transportation lanes from the lanes table.

24. The distribution system according to claim 23, the method further comprising:

determining whether the sequence number of the selected transportation lanes has changed.

25. The distribution system according to claim 24, the method further comprising:

starting a distribution plan process for the transport loads if the sequence number has not changed; and

setting the remaining number of transportation lanes to the maximum number of transportation lanes.

26. The distribution system according to claim 25, the method further comprising:

determining whether the lanes table includes an additional source location; and

moving the transportation lanes from the buffer table to the lanes table based on the determination of whether the lanes table includes the additional source location.

27. The distribution system according to claim 26, the method further comprising:

selecting the additional source location in the lanes table when the distribution process for the transport loads is completed.

28. The distribution system according to claim 16, the method further comprising:

determining the sequence numbers for the selected transportation lanes.

29. The distribution system according to claim 28, wherein the step of determining the sequence numbers for the selected transportation lanes comprises:

assigning a value of one to a current sequence number of the selected transportation lanes;

building a second lanes table, wherein the second lanes table identifies the source location and destination location of the plurality of transportation lanes of the supply chain;

identifying one or more transportation lanes from the second lanes table associated with a source location which is not a destination location of another transportation lane;

assigning the current sequence number to the identified transportation lanes;

removing the identified transportation lanes from the second lanes table; and

increasing the value of the current sequence number by one.

30. The distribution system according to claim 29, wherein the step of assigning the current sequence number to the identified transportation lanes comprises:

assigning the identified transportation lanes the current sequence number until no more transportation lanes exist in the second lanes table.

31. A tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium containing a set of instructions which, when executed, perform a method for creating a transport load for one or more stock transfers of goods in a supply chain, the method comprising:

accessing a parallel processing profile associated with a distribution plan of the supply chain, the distribution plan comprising a plurality of transport load processes executed in parallel, and the parallel processing profile specifying a maximum number of transportation lanes for the transport load processes;

generating, using a processor, lane data associated with transportation lanes of the supply chain, wherein the generating step comprises;

preparing a lanes table for a plurality of transportation lanes, the transportation lanes representing geographic routes between source locations and corresponding destination locations within the supply chain, the lanes table comprising the source locations, the destination locations, and sequence numbers that prioritize the plurality of transportation lanes;

receiving, from a planning computer, a source location within the supply chain;

selecting, from the lanes table, one or more of the transportation lanes for the lane data based on at least the received source location;

filtering the selected transportation lanes based on at least the maximum number of transportation lanes specified by the parallel processing profile; and

storing, in a storage medium, source locations, destination locations, and sequence numbers of the filtered transportation lanes to generate the lane data; and

generating, using the processor, transport loads based on the lane data associated with the selected transportation lanes by executing the transport load processes in parallel according to the parallel processing profile associated with the distribution plan.

32. The tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 31, further comprising:

defining the parallel processing profile associated with the distribution plan, wherein defining the parallel processing profile comprises;

defining a profile name to be associated with the profile;

setting a transport load application to be associated with the profile;

setting a maximum number of the transport load processes to be associated with the transport load application; and

setting the maximum number of transportation lanes to be grouped in the lane data.

33. The tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 32, further comprising:

determining whether the parallel processing profile is defined prior to generating the transport loads, wherein the determining comprises;

determining whether the profile name is specified by a user of the application.

34. The tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 32, wherein the step of generating the lane data further comprises:

setting a remaining number of transportation lanes of the lane data equal to the maximum number of transportation lanes specified in the parallel processing profile.

35. The tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 34, wherein the step of generating the lane data further comprises:

determining whether the selected transportation lanes exceed the remaining number of transportation lanes.

36. The tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 35, wherein the filtering step comprises:

adding the selected transportation lanes to the lane data when the selected transportation lanes do not exceed the remaining number of transportation lanes;

deleting the selected transportation lanes from the lanes table; and

setting the remaining number of transportation lanes to equal the remaining number of transportation lanes less the number of selected transportation lanes added to the lane data.

37. The tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 35, wherein the filtering step comprises:

adding the selected transportation lanes to the lane data when the selected transportation lanes exceed the remaining number of transportation lanes, and when the selected transportation lanes do not exceed the maximum number of transportation lanes; and

setting the remaining number of transportation lanes equal to the maximum number of transportation lanes.

38. The tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 35, wherein the filtering comprises:

adding a number of the selected transportation lanes equaling the remaining number of transportation lanes to the lane data when the selected transportation exceed the remaining number of transportation lanes and the maximum number of transportation lanes;

determining a surplus of transportation lanes, wherein the surplus comprises a number of the selected transportation lanes that exceed the remaining number of transportation lanes;

adding the surplus of transportation lanes to a buffer table; and

deleting the selected transportation lanes from the lanes table.

39. The tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 38, further comprising:

determining whether the sequence number of the selected transportation lanes has changed.

40. The tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 39, further comprising:

starting a distribution plan process for the transport loads if the sequence number has not changed; and

setting the remaining number of transportation lanes to the maximum number of transportation lanes.

41. The tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 40, further comprising:

determining whether the lanes table includes an additional source location; and

moving the transportation lanes from the buffer table to the lanes table based on the determination of whether the lanes table includes the additional source location.

42. The tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 41, further comprising:

selecting the additional source location in the lanes table when the distribution process for the transport loads is completed.

43. The tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 31, further comprising:

determining the sequence numbers for the selected transportation lanes.

44. The tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 43, wherein determining the sequence number for each transportation lane further comprises:

assigning a value of one to a current sequence number of the selected transportation lanes;

building a second lanes table, wherein the second lanes table identifies the source location and destination location of the plurality of transportation lanes of the supply chain;

identifying one or more transportation lanes from the second lanes table associated with a source location which is not a destination location of another transportation lane;

assigning the current sequence number to the identified transportation lanes;

removing the identified transportation lanes from the second lanes table; and

increasing the value of the current sequence number by one.

45. The tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 44, wherein the step of assigning the current sequence number to the identified transportation lanes comprises:

assigning the identified transportation lanes the current sequence number until no more transportation lanes exist in the second lanes table.