System and Method for Allocating Manufactured Products to Sellers Using Profitable Order Promising

• US 20080275795A1
• Filed: 04/24/2008
• Published: 11/06/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 05/01/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Blue Yonder Group, Inc. (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: JDA Software Group Incorporated (RedPrairie Holding Incorporated)
• Inventors: Murugan, Arvindh
• Granted Patent: US 8,352,336 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/28
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06315 Needs-based resource requirements planning or analysis
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/08 Auctions

Abstract

A system and method is disclosed for allocating products to one or more sellers. The system includes a database operable to store data associated with one or more enterprises. The system further includes an order promising system coupled with the database and operable to model the flow of the products through the one or more enterprises and allocate resources to the one or more sellers based on the modeled flow of the products.

Claims

1. A system for allocating products to one or more sellers, comprising:

a database operable to store data associated with one or more enterprises;

an order promising system coupled with the database and operable to;

model the flow of the products through the one or more enterprises; and

allocate resources to the one or more sellers based on the modeled flow of the products.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the order promising system is further operable to provide a seller hierarchy model for representing the one or more sellers.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the order promising system is further operable to store the seller hierarchy model in the database.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the seller hierarchy model represents a different hierarchy of sellers for each of the products.

5. The system of claim 3, wherein the one or more enterprises provide allocations to any level of the seller hierarchy model.

6. The system of claim 3, wherein the order promising system is further operable to categorize the seller hierarchy model into one or more seller tiers.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the order promising system is further operable to prioritize the one or more sellers and wherein a seller with a higher prioritization may receive allocations from the one or more enterprises prior to a seller with a lower prioritization.

8. The system of claim 1, further comprising a profitable order promising interface, the profitable order promising interface capable of providing a visual representation of a rule based workflow associated with the order promising system.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the profitable order promising interface comprises:

a visual representation of a plurality of available-to-promise bucket elements, wherein the available-to-promise bucket elements provide an available supply of one or more products associated with the one or more enterprises; and

a visual representation of a plurality of allocation elements, wherein the allocation elements provide the allocation of the available supply of the one or more products associated with the one or more enterprises.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the available-to-promise bucket elements comprises elements selected from the group consisting of:

a finished product manufactured;

a finished product in-process;

a finished product total;

an intermediate product manufactured;

an intermediate product in-process;

an intermediate product total;

a resource; and

raw materials.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein the allocation elements comprises elements selected from the group consisting of:

a total supply of a resource;

a top seller total;

a top seller retained;

a top seller local pool;

a sub-seller total;

a sub-seller retained; and

a sub-seller local pool.

12. The system of claim 9, wherein the plurality of allocation elements comprises a nested structure, the nested structure comprises one or more parameters coupled with a quantity of allocation of resources.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the order promising system is further operable to adjust the one or more parameters after an initial parameter is determined by the order promising system.

14. The system of claim 1, wherein the order promising system is further operable to:

receive a demand associated with the one or more sellers for a product;

allocate resources that are available-to-promise for the product, based on the modeled flow of the products;

if the demand is not fulfilled, allocate resources that are residing in a local pool, associated with the one or more sellers, based on one or more parameters coupled with quantity of allocation of resources in the local pool.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the order promising system is further operable to:

generate one or more reports to identify the status of the allocations of the received demand; and

communicate the one or more reports to the one or more sellers.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the order promising system is further operable to:

If the demand is not fulfilled, enable one or more workflows to launch one or more resolution procedures in order to resolve the unfilled demand.

17. The system of claim 1, wherein the order promising system is further operable to:

receive a customer demand associated with the one or more sellers;

determine the priority of the one or more sellers associated with the received customer demand;

if the one or more sellers associated with the received customer order, is at a prioritization to consume the allocations, promise the allocations to the seller associated with the received customer order; and

if the one or more sellers associated with the received customer order, is not at a prioritization to consume the allocations, perform one of the following;

release the allocations to the one or more sellers associated with the received customer order;

hold the allocations as un-promised allocations; and

borrow the allocations from a seller with a lower price for the allocations and promise the allocations to the one or more sellers associated with the received customer order, who is offering to pay a premium for the allocation.

18. A method for allocating products to one or more sellers, comprising:

modeling the flow of the products through one or more enterprises; and

allocating resources to the one or more sellers based on the modeled flow of the products.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

providing a seller hierarchy model for representing the one or more sellers.

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising:

storing the seller hierarchy model in a database.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the seller hierarchy model represents a different hierarchy of sellers for each of the products.

22. The method of claim 20, further comprising:

providing allocations to any level of the seller hierarchy model.

23. The method of claim 20, further comprising:

categorizing the seller hierarchy model into one or more seller tiers.

24. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

prioritizing the one or more sellers and wherein a seller with a higher prioritization may receive allocations from the one or more enterprises prior to a seller with a lower prioritization.

25. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

providing a profitable order promising interface, the profitable order promising interface capable of providing a visual representation of a rule based workflow.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein the profitable order promising interface comprises:

a visual representation of a plurality of available-to-promise bucket elements, wherein the available-to-promise bucket elements provide an available supply of one or more products associated with the one or more enterprises; and

a visual representation of a plurality of allocation elements, wherein the allocation elements provide the allocation of the available supply of the one or more products associated with the one or more enterprises.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein the plurality of allocation elements comprises a nested structure, the nested structure comprises one or more parameters coupled with a quantity of allocation of resources.

28. The method of claim 27, further comprising:

adjusting the one or more parameters after an initial parameter is determined by the order promising system.

29. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

receiving a demand associated with the one or more sellers for a product;

allocating resources that are available-to-promise for the product, based on the modeled flow of the products;

if the demand is not fulfilled, allocating resources that are residing in a local pool, associated with the one or more sellers, based on one or more parameters coupled with quantity of allocation of resources in the local pool.

30. The method of claim 29, further comprising:

generating one or more reports to identify the status of the allocations of the received demand; and

communicating the one or more reports to the one or more sellers.

31. The method of claim 30, further comprising:

If the demand is not fulfilled, enabling one or more workflows to launch one or more resolution procedures in order to resolve the unfilled demand.

32. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

receiving a customer demand associated with the one or more sellers;

determining the priority of the one or more sellers associated with the received customer demand;

if the one or more sellers associated with the received customer order, is at a prioritization to consume the allocations, promising the allocations to the seller associated with the received customer order; and

if the one or more sellers associated with the received customer order, is not at a prioritization to consume the allocations, performing one of the following;

release the allocations to the one or more sellers associated with the received customer order;

hold the allocations as un-promised allocations; and

borrow the allocations from a seller with a lower price for the allocations and promise the allocations to the one or more sellers associated with the received customer order, who is offering to pay a premium for the allocation.

33. Software for allocating products to one or more sellers, the software embodied in a computer-readable media and when executed operable to:

model the flow of the products through one or more enterprises; and

allocate resources to the one or more sellers based on the modeled flow of the products.

34. The software of claim 33, further operable to:

provide a seller hierarchy model for representing the one or more sellers.

35. The software of claim 34, further operable to:

store the seller hierarchy model in a database.

36. The software of claim 35, wherein the seller hierarchy model represents a different hierarchy of sellers for each of the products.

37. The software of claim 35, further operable to:

provide allocations to any level of the seller hierarchy model.

38. The software of claim 35, further operable to:

categorize the seller hierarchy model into one or more seller tiers.

39. The software of claim 33, further operable to:

prioritize the one or more sellers and wherein a seller with a higher prioritization may receive allocations from the one or more enterprises prior to a seller with a lower prioritization.

40. The software of claim 33, further operable to:

provide a profitable order promising interface, the profitable order promising interface capable of providing a visual representation of a rule based workflow.

41. The software of claim 40, wherein the profitable order promising interface comprises:

a visual representation of a plurality of available-to-promise bucket elements, wherein the available-to-promise bucket elements provide an available supply of one or more products associated with the one or more enterprises; and

a visual representation of a plurality of allocation elements, wherein the allocation elements provide the allocation of the available supply of the one or more products associated with the one or more enterprises.

42. The software of claim 41, wherein the plurality of allocation elements comprises a nested structure, the nested structure comprises one or more parameters coupled with a quantity of allocation of resources.

43. The software of claim 42, further operable to:

adjust the one or more parameters after an initial parameter is determined by the order promising system.

44. The software of claim 33, further operable to:

receive a demand associated with the one or more sellers for a product;

allocate resources that are available-to-promise for the product, based on the modeled flow of the products;

if the demand is not fulfilled, allocate resources that are residing in a local pool, associated with the one or more sellers, based on one or more parameters coupled with quantity of allocation of resources in the local pool.

45. The software of claim 44, wherein the order promising system is further operable to:

generate one or more reports to identify the status of the allocations of the received demand; and

communicate the one or more reports to the one or more sellers.

46. The software of claim 45, wherein the order promising system is further operable to:

If the demand is not fulfilled, enable one or more workflows to launch one or more resolution procedures in order to resolve the unfilled demand.

47. The software of claim 33, further operable to:

receive a customer demand associated with the one or more sellers;

determine the priority of the one or more sellers associated with the received customer demand;

if the one or more sellers associated with the received customer order, is at a prioritization to consume the allocations, promise the allocations to the seller associated with the received customer order; and

if the one or more sellers associated with the received customer order, is not at a prioritization to consume the allocations, perform one of the following;

release the allocations to the one or more sellers associated with the received customer order;

hold the allocations as un-promised allocations; and

borrow the allocations from a seller with a lower price for the allocations and promise the allocations to the one or more sellers associated with the received customer order, who is offering to pay a premium for the allocation.