US Patent No: 5,287,267

Number of patents in Portfolio can not be more than 2000

Methods for parts procurement quantity determination where demand is uncertain for the product in which the parts are used

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ATTORNEY / AGENT: (SPONSORED)
 

Importance

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Abstract

Methods are described for predicting parts procurement requirements for products over a plurality of time periods, with certain of the parts being common to a plurality of products. The actual demand for the products is unknown, but the method assures that a specified service level is met for all products and minimizes expected excess part inventories. The methods are provided with inputs which, among others, includes lists of parts for each product, prices for the parts, and demand forecasts for each product in each time period, each forecast in the form of a mean and standard deviation. The description of the problem includes an objective function of minimizing expected excess inventory while satisfying the constraint that a specified service level be achieved. The problem is transformed into an unconstrained problem through the use of a Lagrange multiplier. The solution is achieved by performing a one parametric search on the value of the multiplier. The solution may achieve higher service levels than specified. Additional methods are described for improving the procurement decisions to more closely meet the service requirement.

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First Claim

Related Publications

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Patent Owner(s)

Patent OwnerAddressTotal Patents
INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATIONARMONK, NY68180

International Classification(s)

  • [Classification Symbol]
  • [Patents Count]

Inventor(s)

Inventor Name Address # of filed Patents Total Citations
Jayaraman, Rangarajan Hopewell Junction, NY 1 96
Roundy, Robin Ithaca, NY 1 96
Srinivasan, Ramesh Billerica, MA 39 564

Cited Art

Patent Info (Count) # Cites Year
 
INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION (2)
4,887,206 Automated system for estimating impact on inventory cost due to an engineering change to a component 58 1987
4,887,207 Automated system for evaluating the sensitivity of inventory costs due to fluctuations in customer demand 79 1987
 
AMERICAN BUSINESS COMPUTERS CORPORATION (1)
4,459,663 Data processing machine and method of allocating inventory stock for generating work orders for producing manufactured components 111 1981
 
ANALOG DEVICES, INC. (1)
4,646,238 Material requirements planning system and procedures for use in process industries 70 1984
 
CASIO COMPUTER CO., LTD. (1)
4,924,385 Method of detecting types of parts constituting a larger group of parts 22 1988
 
HITACHI, LTD. (1)
5,128,861 Inventory control method and system 140 1989
 
OTHER [CHECK PATENT PROFILE FOR ASSIGNMENT INFORMATION] (1)
4,920,488 Physical inventory system 48 1989

Patent Citation Ranking

Forward Cites

Patent Info (Count) # Cites Year
 
INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION (17)
5,946,662 Method for providing inventory optimization 160 1996
6,006,192 Method for production planning in an uncertain demand environment 54 1997
5,970,465 Method for part procurement in a production system with constrained resources 58 1997
6,324,522 Electronic information network for inventory control and transfer 190 1998
6,970,841 Large inventory-service optimization in configure-to-order systems 14 2000
7,149,739 System and method for performing ratio planning 3 2001
7,373,371 Method, system, and storage medium for facilitating excess inventory utilization in a manufacturing environment 4 2002
7,389,248 System, method, and program product for selecting a lower cost supplier based on total cost and forecasted demand 1 2002
7,548,871 Simulation of business transformation outsourcing 1 2003
7,548,872 Simulation of business transformation outsourcing of sourcing, procurement and payables 2 2003
6,931,347 Safety stock determination 8 2003
7,840,449 Total inventory management 1 2004
8,386,342 Method, system, and computer program product for performing inventory management 0 2005
8,055,522 Method, system, and storage medium for facilitating excess inventory utilization in a manufacturing environment 0 2008
8,055,520 System and program product for selecting a lower cost supplier based on total cost and forecasted demand 0 2008
8,275,677 Resolving demand and supply imbalances 0 2009
8,214,268 Resolving demand and supply imbalances 0 2009
 
EBAY INC. (16)
7,437,304 System and method for project preparing a procurement and accounts payable system 16 1999
6,738,746 System and method for ongoing supporting a procurement and accounts payable system 7 1999
6,714,915 System and method for project designing and developing a procurement and accounts payable system 20 1999
6,687,677 System and method for deploying a procurement and accounts payable system 15 1999
6,684,191 System and method for assessing a procurement and accounts payable system 17 1999
7,143,053 System and method for ongoing supporting a procurement and accounts payable system 1 2003
7,110,957 System and method for assessing a procurement and accounts payable system 4 2003
7,149,699 System and method for project designing and developing a procurement and accounts payable system 11 2004
7,403,903 System and method for ongoing supporting a procurement and accounts payable system 1 2006
7,398,222 System and method for assessing a procurement and accounts payable system 0 2006
7,668,742 System and method for ongoing supporting a procurement and accounts payable system 0 2008
7,702,533 System and method for assessing a procurement and accounts payable system 10 2008
7,664,666 System and method for ongoing supporting a procurement and accounts payable system 0 2008
8,010,395 Program storage device for project preparing a procurement and accounts payable system 0 2008
7,957,995 Method for project preparing a procurement and accounts payable system 0 2008
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JDA SOFTWARE GROUP, INC (15)
6,266,655 Computer-implemented value management tool for an asset intensive manufacturer 28 1999
7,881,985 Electronic marketplace providing service parts inventory planning and management 1 2001
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7,937,280 Planning and scheduling of maintenance, repair, and overhaul services 1 2001
8,117,059 Pull planning for serviceable parts to facilitate on-demand repair planning 0 2002
7,620,561 On-demand repair planning 2 2002
7,277,862 Push planning for unserviceable parts to facilitate repair planning in a repair network 2 2002
7,711,593 Pull planning for unserviceable parts in connection with on-demand repair planning 0 2003
8,090,630 Planning a supply of items to a first location associated with a supply chain from one or more second locations associated with the supply chain 1 2004
7,848,946 Sales history decomposition 2 2005
7,562,812 Redistribution of parts in a distribution network 2 2007
7,580,825 Redistribution of parts in a distribution network 1 2007
7,552,095 Computer-implemented product valuation tool 7 2007
7,856,371 Pull planning for unserviceable parts in connection with on-demand repair planning 0 2008
7,886,960 Redistribution of parts in a distribution network 1 2009
 
HEWLETT-PACKARD DEVELOPMENT COMPANY, L.P. (5)
7,249,068 Spot market-based inventory planning 14 2000
7,707,058 Predicting parts needed for an onsite repair using expected waste derived from repair history 1 2001
7,747,339 Managing procurement risk 1 2002
7,590,937 Graphical user interface for procurement risk management system 15 2002
7,747,500 Managing and evaluating procurement risk 8 2004
 
AS IP HOLDCO, LLC (4)
6,415,194 Method and system for providing sufficient availability of manufacturing resources to meet unanticipated demand 9 1999
6,415,195 Method and system for providing sufficient availability of manufacturing resources to meet unanticipated demand 26 1999
6,397,118 Method and system for providing sufficient availability of manufacturing resources to meet unanticipated demand 6 1999
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WALKER DIGITAL, LLC (4)
7,546,277 Method and apparatus for dynamically managing vending machine inventory prices 4 1997
7,885,726 Vending machine system and method for encouraging the purchase of profitable items 0 2006
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GE MEDICAL SYSTEMS INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES, INC. (3)
6,014,633 Method for the analysis and standardization of bills of resources 40 1997
5,995,937 Modular health-care information management system utilizing reusable software objects 56 1997
6,754,883 Modular analysis and standardization system 19 2000
 
SAP AG (3)
8,355,939 Managing supply and demand for a ware 0 2007
8,155,772 Method and system for integrating a restriction object with a material object 0 2008
8,190,465 Make-to-specification process and data model 0 2008
 
12 TECHNOLOGIES US, INC. (2)
5,845,258 Strategy driven planning system and method of operation 50 1995
8,249,952 Incorporating a repair vendor into repair planning for a supply chain 0 2004
 
BANK OF AMERICA CORPORATION (2)
7,319,986 Dynamic payment cards and related management systems and associated methods 15 2001
7,895,119 Method and system for pushing credit payments as buyer initiated transactions 2 2004
 
DELUXE CORPORATION (2)
7,216,092 Intelligent personalization system and method 42 2000
7,016,865 Personalization format converter system and method 16 2000
 
JDA SOFTWARE GROUP (2)
7,668,761 System and method for ensuring order fulfillment 38 2001
7,080,026 Supply chain demand forecasting and planning 77 2001
 
SIGNALDEMAND, INC. (2)
7,908,164 Spot market profit optimization system 0 2005
7,921,030 Profit optimization system for supply chains with limited parts availability 3 2006
 
SQUARE D COMPANY (2)
6,009,406 Methodology and computer-based tools for re-engineering a custom-engineered product line 72 1997
6,003,012 Methodology and computer-based tools for design, production and sales of customized switchboards 31 1997
 
STAFANPOLUS KG, LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY (2)
5,459,656 Business demand projection system and method 81 1993
5,712,985 System and method for estimating business demand based on business influences 176 1995
 
W.W. GRAINGER, INC. (2)
7,313,534 System and method for predictive maintenance and service parts fulfillment in a supply chain 17 2001
7,212,976 Method for selecting a fulfillment plan for moving an item within an integrated supply chain 32 2001
 
AMERICAN EXPRESS TRAVEL RELATED SERVICES COMPANY, INC. (1)
7,617,153 Global procurement bypass shutdown process and method 0 2002
 
AT&T INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY I, L.P. (1)
7,552,065 Forecasting tool for predicting future demand for parts / materials / equipment 3 2000
 
AT&T WIRELESS SERVICES, INC. (1)
5,884,300 Inventory pipeline management system 61 1997
 
BRITISH TELECOMMUNICATIONS PUBLIC LIMITED COMPANY (1)
6,529,877 Equipment allocation system 21 1998
 
CLEAR CHANNEL MANAGEMENT SERVICES, INC. (1)
7,689,590 Integrated inventory management system for media advertising 2 2004
 
FACTORY PHYSICS, INC. (1)
7,941,236 Methods and systems for employing dynamic risk-based scheduling to optimize and integrate production with a supply chain 13 2007
 
FUJITSU LIMITED (1)
5,469,498 Post-delivery support system for private branch exchanges 19 1994
 
GOOGLE INC. (1)
7,231,361 Method, system, and storage medium for utilizing excess and surplus inventory 7 2002
 
KABUSHIKI KAISHA TOSHIBA (1)
7,363,255 Apparatus unit replacement assisting method and system 0 2003
 
MSD OSS B.V. (1)
7,685,015 Optimized deployment of parts in a supply chain network 2 2008
 
SIEMENS ENTERPRISE COMMUNICATIONS, INC. (1)
5,699,259 Inventory control procedure 35 1995
 
W.W. GRAINGER (1)
7,324,966 Method for fulfilling an order in an integrated supply chain management system 51 2001
 
OTHER [CHECK PATENT PROFILE FOR ASSIGNMENT INFORMATION] (1)
5,991,732 Strategical-tactical logistic system 45 1995