Method, apparatus and program storage device for providing an advanced material management center

• US 8,423,429 B2
• Filed: 03/31/2005
• Issued: 04/16/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Western Digital Technologies Incorporated (Western Digital Corporation)
• Original Assignee: HGST Netherlands B.V. (Western Digital Corporation)
• Inventors: Aiso, Kenichi
• Primary Examiner(s): Shaawat, Mussa A
• Application Number:
  US11/095,000
• Publication Number:
  US 20060229756A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,938 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 705/28
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders

Abstract

A method, apparatus and program storage device for providing an advanced material management center is disclosed. A segregated delivery delay/component buffer area is maintained at a manufacturing site for holding material before transfer to the manufacturer. The content of the buffer area is owned by the supplier. Materials may be provided to the buffer area by a just-in-time warehouse or by a supplier. The quantity of any particular material at the buffer area is smaller than normally held at the just-in-time warehouse or provided by a supplier and therefore requires much less storage space. However, the buffer area provides quick availability to inventory and allows for improved maintenance and availability of inventory.

Claims

1. An advanced material management center, comprising:

a vendor site just-in-time (VJIT) warehouse disposed at a location proximate to but distinct from a manufacturing site, the VJIT maintaining materials owned by a vendor for provisioning to a manufacturer for production of an end item by the manufacturer;

a buffer area included at a manufacturing site just-in-time (MJIT) warehouse, located at a manufacturing site of a manufacturer, the buffer area holding only vendor-owned units of material transferred from the VJIT in quantities less than an aggregate number of units held by the vendor, the VJIT monitoring a quantity of vendor-owned units of material held by the buffer area and replenishing vendor-owned units of material upon detection by the VJIT of vendor-owned units of material held in the buffer area below a predetermined level;

a manufacturing line inventory warehouse disposed at the manufacturing site proximate to the buffer area, the manufacturing line inventory warehouse receiving vendor-owned units of material from the buffer area when the buffer area receives a parts issue request, ownership of the materials being transferred to the manufacturer after receipt by the manufacturing line inventory warehouse of the vendor-owned units of material from the buffer area;

an inventory database including data identifying the vendor-owned units of materials held in the buffer area at the MJIT warehouse of the manufacturing site; and

a materials management system, coupled to the inventory database, including a processor and memory, the processor issuing the parts issue requests for vendor-owned material needed from the buffer area at the MJIT warehouse during manufacturing of the end item.

2. A method for managing material for a manufacturing line, comprising:

providing a vendor site just-in-time (VJIT) warehouse at a location proximate to but distinct from a manufacturing site of a manufacturer;

maintaining warehouse vendor-owned units of material at the VJIT warehouse for provisioning to a manufacturer for production of an end item by the manufacturer;

providing a manufacturing site just-in-time (MJIT) warehouse at the manufacturing site;

providing a buffer area at the MJIT warehouse for holding only vendor-owned units of material transferred from the VJIT warehouse in quantities less than an aggregate number of vendor-owned units of material held by the VJIT warehouse;

providing a manufacturing line inventory warehouse at the manufacturing site proximate to the buffer area for receiving vendor-owned units of material from the buffer area when the buffer area receives a parts issue request;

providing an inventory database including data identifying the vendor-owned units of materials held in the buffer area at the MJIT warehouse of the manufacturing site;

providing a materials management system, coupled to the inventory database, including a processor for issuing the parts issue requests for the vendor-owned material needed from the buffer area at the MJIT warehouse during manufacturing of the end item and querying the inventory database;

monitoring the quantity of vendor-owned units of material held by the buffer area by querying the inventory database from the VJIT warehouse through the materials management system;

replenishing the vendor-owned units of material in the buffer area when the monitored quantity of vendor-owned units of material held in the buffer area is below a predetermined level; and

transferring ownership, in the materials management system, of the vendor-owned units of material to the manufacturer after receipt of the vendor-owned units of material by the manufacturing line inventory warehouse from the buffer area.

3. A program storage device, comprising:

program instructions executable by a processing device to perform operations for managing material for a manufacturing line, the operations comprising;

providing a vendor site just-in-time (VJIT) warehouse at a location proximate to but distinct from a manufacturing site;

maintaining at the VJIT materials owned by a vendor for provisioning to a manufacturer for production of an end item by the manufacturer;

providing a manufacturing site just-in-time (MJIT) warehouse at a manufacturing site of a manufacturer;

providing a buffer area at a manufacturing site just-in-time (MJIT) warehouse for holding only vendor-owned units of material transferred from the VJIT in quantities less than an aggregate number of units held by the vendor;

monitoring, by the VJIT, a quantity of vendor-owned units of material held by the buffer area;

replenishing vendor-owned units of material upon detection by the VJIT of units of material held in the buffer area below a predetermined level;

providing a manufacturing line inventory warehouse at the manufacturing site proximate to the buffer area for receiving vendor-owned units of material from the buffer area when the buffer area receives a parts issue request;

transferring ownership of the materials transferred to the manufacturer after receipt by the manufacturing line inventory warehouse of the vendor-owned units of material from the buffer area;

providing an inventory database including data identifying the vendor-owned units of materials held in the buffer area at the MJIT warehouse of the manufacturing site; and

providing a materials management system, coupled to the inventory database, including a processor for issuing the parts issue requests for vendor-owned material needed from the buffer area at the MJIT warehouse during manufacturing of the end item.