Order appropriation support device and order appropriation support method

Abstract

To provide an order appropriation support device and an order appropriation support method that can efficiently perform operations of associating a received order even if the received order is difficult to make association with an actual article.SOLUTION: In an order appropriation support system 1, an order appropriation support device supporting operations of associating a received order with an actual article under manufacture, calculates a first evaluation index indicating the degree of difficulty in association for every non-associated received order, sorts the non-associated received orders according to the magnitude of the calculated first evaluation indices, displays information on the non-associated received order in the sorted order, calculates a second evaluation index indicating the degree of difficulty in association of a target received order that is the non-associated received order selected by a user with an associating candidate, displays information on the associating candidate for the target received order, and a characteristic chart related to the difficulty in associating the target received order with the associating candidate, in the order of the magnitude of the calculated second evaluation indices, and causes the user to select an associating pair of the target received order and the associating candidate.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an order fulfillment support device and an order fulfillment support method that support the task of linking a sales order to an actual product in the process of being manufactured. [Background technology]

[0002] In the manufacturing industry, multiple sales orders are often combined into a single finished or semi-finished product and processed in a process. For example, the steel manufacturing process includes processes such as steelmaking, hot rolling, cold rolling, and plating. To minimize excess inventory, these steel manufacturing processes employ a made-to-order production system, where products are produced in response to sales orders. Multiple sales orders are often linked to semi-finished products manufactured in intermediate processes such as hot rolling. Sales orders specify product specifications, such as width, outer diameter, weight, thickness, material, and strength. Sales orders are linked to finished and semi-finished products (hereinafter referred to as "actual products") in the process of manufacturing to ensure that these specifications are met. Actual products are manufactured according to the manufacturing conditions (also known as manufacturing specifications) for each process that correspond to the required specifications of the sales order. Large sales orders may be split into multiple sales orders and linked to multiple actual products.

[0003] However, when a product is linked to a sales order, a surplus portion may be generated. If the weight of the surplus portion is smaller than the unit weight (weight per product) of any sales order's required specifications and therefore the product cannot be allocated to the sales order, the surplus portion is reused as raw material. On the other hand, if the weight of the surplus portion is large, the surplus portion is cut out and treated as an unlinked product. It is then stored as inventory in a product storage area or warehouse until a sales order that can be linked arrives. In operations, sales orders are linked to minimize such inventory. However, when linking multiple sales orders to a single product, the desired combination must be selected from many combinations of sales orders while checking whether they satisfy numerous conditions. This requires extremely complex considerations, making it difficult to perform the linking process efficiently.

[0004] Against this background, technologies have been proposed to support the linking of sales orders. For example, Patent Document 1 describes a technology that enables efficient linking of sales orders by grouping similar sales orders and allocating sales orders to actual products in order of delivery date. In actual production management systems, such methods are often executed by a computer to automatically link sales orders to actual products. Patent Document 2 also describes a technology that reassigns sales orders linked to a target product when a product becomes obsolete (a situation in which the originally planned specifications are no longer met, such as when the specified strength is not achieved or the product is smaller than the required size). Patent Document 2 also describes an example of linking sales orders by referencing information on semi-finished products in the middle of production. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-178572 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 9-167180 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] In recent years, steel manufacturing processes have been shifting to operations oriented toward small-lot production of high-value-added products, and as a result, the required specifications (dimensions) of the product size (unit weight, which is the weight of one product) specified in sales orders are becoming smaller. When the required product size specifications are small, large-sized actual products are manufactured in upstream processes using mass production equipment at steelworks. This often leads to situations where sales orders are linked to only a portion of the actual product, and as the process progresses, other sales orders are gradually linked to the surplus portion.

[0007] In operations oriented toward small-lot production, the more upstream the process, the more orders that can be linked to actual products (for example, slabs for steelmaking). As the process progresses, the number of orders that can be linked to actual products that have been manufactured according to the manufacturing conditions of each process tends to become limited. As a result, surplus orders that cannot be linked to actual products tend to become inventory, leading to product storage space being congested in downstream processes. When product storage space becomes congested, it becomes difficult to efficiently carry out logistics within the factory.

[0008] Furthermore, the stringency of linking requirements varies depending on the type of order and actual product. For example, in the case of order orders that are regularly and repeatedly placed, there are many inventory items manufactured based on the required specifications, making linking the two relatively easy. In contrast, in the case of order orders for small-lot production, the same order is placed less frequently and there are fewer inventory items manufactured based on the required specifications, making linking the two often difficult. Therefore, in order to prevent actual products from remaining in inventory for a long period of time, it is necessary to take into account the characteristics of order orders (the difficulty of linking) and to link (allocate) order orders that are difficult to link to actual products to actual products as early as possible in the upstream process. However, the techniques described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 do not take into account the above-mentioned operations. Therefore, there is a need for a method of linking order orders that takes into account the above-mentioned operations.

[0009] The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and its purpose is to provide an order fulfillment support device and an order fulfillment support method that can efficiently perform the linking work of order fulfillment orders, even for order fulfillment orders that are difficult to link to actual products. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] The order fulfillment support device according to the present invention is an order fulfillment support device that supports the linking of sales orders to actual products in the process of production, and includes a database that stores information about the actual products, information about the sales orders, and information about the linking between the actual products and the sales orders, a first extraction unit that extracts from the database information about unlinked sales orders, which are sales orders that are not linked to actual products, a second extraction unit that extracts from the database information about linkable actual products, which are actual products whose portions not linked to sales orders have a weight equal to or greater than a predetermined value, a sorting unit that uses the information extracted by the first extraction unit to calculate a first evaluation index for each unlinked sales order that indicates the degree of difficulty of linking, and sorts the unlinked sales orders according to the magnitude of the calculated first evaluation index, and a data processing unit that processes the data sorted by the sorting unit. a display operation unit that displays information about the unlinked order orders in the order sorted by the sorting unit, calculates a second evaluation index indicating the degree of difficulty of linking the target order order, which is an unlinked order order selected by the user, to the linking candidates, and displays information about the linking candidates for the target order and a characteristic chart indicating the difficulty of linking the target order to the linking candidates in order of the magnitude of the calculated second evaluation index, and allows the user to select a linking set between the target order and the linking candidates; and a data update unit that generates information about the linking of the order order to the actual item in accordance with the linking set selected by the display operation unit, and updates the database using the generated information.

[0011] The sorting unit may group the unlinked order and other order orders of the same type into a first group, and calculate the first evaluation index based on past linking performance of the order orders in the first group.

[0012] The sorting unit may increase the first evaluation index as the period required for the ratio of the number of order orders linked to actual products among the order orders in the first group to reach a predetermined ratio increases.

[0013] The display operation unit may group order orders of the same type as the target order into a second group, and calculate the second evaluation index based on past linking performance of actual products of the same type as the linking candidates for the order orders in the second group.

[0014] The display operation unit calculates the period required for a predetermined percentage of the unlinked weight of the customer orders in the second group to be linked, and the longer the period, the larger the second evaluation index.

[0015] The display operation unit may calculate the ratio of weights linked to a specified processing step among the linked weights of the customer orders in the second group, and the higher this ratio, the larger the second evaluation index may be.

[0016] The generation unit may generate as the linking candidate an actual product that has not been extracted by the second extraction unit and has an index indicating the difficulty of linking an already linked order order that is below a predetermined value.

[0017] The display operation unit may display, as the characteristic chart, a transition in the linking ratio of the order to the actual product of the same type as the actual product constituting the selected linking set, for each passing process.

[0018] The display operation unit may display, as the characteristic chart, the inventory influence amount for each passing process in a state where order orders for actual products of the same type as the actual products that make up the selected linking set are not linked.

[0019] The display operation unit may display, as the characteristic chart, the number of times that orders of the same type as the target order have been received within a set period.

[0020] The display operation unit may display, as the characteristic chart, the quantity of actual products of the same type as the actual products that constitute the selected linked set that have been manufactured in the past within a set period.

[0021] The order fulfillment support method according to the present invention is an order fulfillment support method that supports the task of linking a sales order to an actual product in the middle of production, and includes a first extraction step of extracting information about unlinked sales orders, which are sales orders that are not linked to an actual product, from a database that stores information about the actual product, information about the sales order, and information about the linking between the actual product and the sales order; a second extraction step of extracting information about linkable actual products, which are actual products whose portions that are not linked to sales orders have a weight equal to or greater than a predetermined value, from the database; a sorting step of calculating a first evaluation index that indicates the degree of difficulty of linking for each unlinked sales order using the information extracted in the first extraction step, and sorting the unlinked sales orders according to the magnitude of the calculated first evaluation index; and a display operation step of displaying information about the unlinked customer order in the order sorted in the sorting step, calculating a second evaluation index indicating the degree of difficulty of linking the target customer order, which is an unlinked customer order selected by the user, to the linking candidate, and displaying information about the linking candidate for the target customer order and a characteristic chart indicating the difficulty of linking the target customer order to the linking candidate in order of the magnitude of the calculated second evaluation index, and allowing the user to select a linking set between the target customer order and the linking candidate; and a data update step of generating information about the linking of the customer order to the actual item in accordance with the linking set selected in the display operation step, and updating the database using the generated information. [Effects of the Invention]

[0022] According to the order fulfillment support device and the order fulfillment support method of the present invention, even for orders that are difficult to link to actual products, linking of the order can be performed efficiently. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0023] [Figure 1]FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an order fulfillment system according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the flow of the steel manufacturing process. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the flow of an order fulfillment support process according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a method for calculating the second evaluation index. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining an example of a method for calculating the second evaluation index. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a characteristic chart. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a characteristic chart. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a characteristic chart. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a characteristic chart. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0024] An order fulfillment support system according to one embodiment of the present invention and its operation will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[0025] 〔composition〕 First, the configuration of an order fulfillment support system according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0026] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an order fulfillment system according to one embodiment of the present invention. The order fulfillment support system 1 shown in FIG. 1 supports the task of linking sales orders to finished and semi-finished products (hereinafter referred to as actual products) produced in a steel manufacturing process, and includes an order fulfillment support device 2 and an order bulk fulfillment device 3. The order fulfillment support device 2 supports the task of manually linking sales orders to actual products (manual fulfillment task). The order bulk fulfillment device 3 uses publicly known technology, such as that described in Patent Document 1, to collectively link multiple sales orders to multiple actual products. In this order fulfillment support system 1, the order fulfillment support device 2 first supports the task of linking sales orders and actual products (manual fulfillment task) for which it is difficult to find matching targets. The order bulk fulfillment device 3 then performs the rest of the linking task for sales orders and actual products. This allows optimal linking results to be obtained for all sales orders and actual products. In the following description, the steel manufacturing process will be described as including a steelmaking process, a hot rolling process, a cold rolling process, and a plating process, as shown in FIG.

[0027] Returning to Figure 1, an order fulfillment support system 1, which is one embodiment of the present invention, comprises an order fulfillment support device 2, an order batch fulfillment device 3, a database 4, and a display / input device 5. The order fulfillment support device 2 and the order batch fulfillment device 3 are configured using information processing devices such as personal computers. The order fulfillment support device 2 functions as an unlinked sales order information extraction unit 2a, a linkable actual item information extraction unit 2b, a sales order sorting unit 2c, a linking candidate generation unit 2d, a display operation unit 2e, and a data update unit 2f, as a result of a processing unit such as a CPU within the information processing device executing a computer program. The functions of each of these units will be described below.

[0028] The database 4 is configured with a non-volatile storage device, and is connected to the order fulfillment support device 2 and the order batch fulfillment device 3. The database 4 stores information about actual products, information about sales orders, and information about the linkage between sales orders and actual products. The database 4 also includes a manufacturing information database (DB) 4a and a sales order information DB 4b. The manufacturing information DB 4a stores information about past production results and production plans for actual products. The sales order information DB 4b stores information relating to sales orders and actual products.

[0029] The display and input device 5 is composed of a display device such as a liquid crystal display and input devices such as a keyboard and a mouse pointer, and is connected to the order fulfillment support device 2 and the order batch fulfillment device 3. The display and input device 5 displays and outputs information output from the order fulfillment support device 2 and the order batch fulfillment device 3, and inputs operation input information from the operator to the order fulfillment support device 2 and the order batch fulfillment device 3.

[0030] In the order fulfillment support system 1 having such a configuration, the order fulfillment support device 2 executes the order fulfillment support process described below to support the work of manually linking a sales order to an actual product. Below, the operation of the order fulfillment support device 2 when executing the order fulfillment support process will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in Figure 3.

[0031] [Order fulfillment support processing] Fig. 3 is a flowchart showing the flow of the order fulfillment support process according to one embodiment of the present invention. The order fulfillment support process shown in Fig. 3 starts when an execution command for the order fulfillment support process is input to the order fulfillment support device 2 via the display / input device 5, and the order fulfillment support process proceeds to step S1.

[0032] In the process of step S1, the unlinked order information extraction unit 2a extracts information (unlinked order information) related to unlinked order orders, which are order orders that are not linked to actual products, from the order information DB 4b. Here, an example of items included in the unlinked order information is shown below.

[0033] Sales order number Required product specifications: product thickness, product width, total product weight (also called order weight), unit weight (weight per coil) and its tolerance range, product type · Product process information: Processing process and (processed) process information Linked product information: product number, linked weight, remaining weight

[0034] In the unlinked sales order information, the sales order number is a unique identification number assigned to each sales order, and the required product specifications indicate the specified product size (coil product thickness, product width, total product weight, and unit weight) and product type (catalog number corresponding to processing specifications such as hot-rolled steel sheet, cold-rolled steel sheet, electro-galvanized steel sheet, hot-dip galvanized steel sheet, thin specialty steel sheet, etc.). If the product size changes when processed in multiple processes, the product size for each process may be specified. Also, if the total product weight is so large that it cannot be manufactured in a single coil, the product will be manufactured in multiple coils. In this case, the weight of each coil is called the "unit weight."

[0035] Each product size has a specified allowable range (tolerance). The passing process information shows a list of the processing processes (hot rolling, cold rolling, plating, etc.) required to manufacture a product that meets the customer order, and the order in which they are to be carried out. For records of customer orders for which production has already begun (customer order information), information on the completion date and time of each process that has already been carried out is also stored. Furthermore, the linked product information stores the number of the actual product that has already been linked to this customer order and its linked weight (linked weight). However, even if linked product information is stored, this does not necessarily mean that the linking of all weights relative to the total product weight of the required specifications for the customer order has been completed.

[0036] If the pegged weight does not reach the total product weight even when the total weight of the pegged products is added up, it is necessary to peg the actual products further. The weight of the sales order for which pegging has not yet been completed is stored as the remaining weight (i.e., the weight obtained by subtracting the pegged weight from the total product weight). In the processing of step S1, the unpegged sales order information extraction unit 2a extracts, from the sales order information DB 4b, information on sales orders whose remaining weight is not zero as unpegged sales order information. This completes the processing of step S1, and the order fulfillment support processing proceeds to the processing of step S2.

[0037] In the process of step S2, the linkable actual item information extraction unit 2b extracts information (linkable actual item information) on linkable actual items, which are actual items whose weight of the unlinked portion of the order is equal to or exceeds a predetermined reference value, from the manufacturing information DB 4a. An example of items included in the linkable actual item information is shown below.

[0038] Product number Manufacturing specifications: product thickness, product width, unit weight, variety · Passed process information: Processing completed process, date and time information of passing through the process, scheduled passing process - Pegged order information: Sales order number, pegged weight, unpegged weight

[0039] In the linkable actual product information, the actual product number indicates a unique identification number assigned to each coil, and the manufacturing specifications indicate the size (product thickness, product width, unit weight) and type (steel grade, manufacturing processing specifications corresponding to the product type) of the coil to be manufactured. The passing process information stores the processes that have been passed so far (processing completed processes), the date and time information for passing through each process, and a list of processes that are currently planned to be passed through (scheduled processes) as planned in the production schedule. The pegged order information stores the order number of the coil already pegged to the coil, the pegged weight (pegged weight), and the weight of the portion of the coil that has not yet been pegged as the unpegged weight. In step S2, the linkable actual product information extraction unit 2b extracts information about actual products (i.e., actual products that can be linked to further order orders) whose unpegged weight is greater than the predetermined standard value of "the minimum coil weight that can be produced due to equipment constraints, etc. + the expected loss weight (the weight of the portion that will not be produced as scrap or defective material)." This completes the process of step S2, and the order fulfillment support process proceeds to the process of step S3.

[0040] In step S3, the order sorting unit 2c calculates a first evaluation index J1, which indicates the degree of difficulty in linking actual products, for each unlinked order order extracted in step S1. The order sorting unit 2c then sorts the unlinked order orders in order of difficulty in linking actual products based on the calculated first evaluation index J1. The more difficult it is to link an actual product, the greater the value of the first evaluation index J1. Unlinked order orders with larger first evaluation index J1 values ​​are arranged earlier. By sorting the unlinked order orders in order of the largest first evaluation index J1 value and displaying the unlinked order orders in order of difficulty in linking them to actual products (the "Order Order List" on the display screen 10 shown in FIG. 10) to the allocation worker, manual allocation (linking) of order orders that are difficult to link to actual products can be facilitated. An example of a method for calculating the first evaluation index J1 is shown below.

[0041] In this example, unlinked order orders and order orders of the same type are grouped into a first group, and a first evaluation index J1 is calculated based on the past linking performance of the order orders in the first group. One example of past linking performance is the period T required for the ratio of order orders linked to actual items among the order orders in the first group to reach a predetermined ratio. The order sorting unit 2c increases the first evaluation index J1 because the longer the period T, the longer it tends to take to link order orders to actual items. In this case, for example, the first evaluation index J1 is given as a function J1(T1, T2, T3) with T1, T2, and T3 as arguments.

[0042] The above arguments T1, T2, and T3 are obtained by statistically processing the past performance information of sales orders of the same type as the target unlinked sales order. In other words, arguments T1, T2, and T3 are obtained by calculating the period required for the number of sales orders of the same type linked to actual items to reach a specified percentage (β1%, β2%, and β3%) as the number of days elapsed from the completion date of the reference process. Sales orders of the same type refer to sales orders with the same or similar required specifications and in which the same process is used to process the passing process information. Whether the required specifications are similar or not can be determined by determining whether the required specifications to be evaluated are within a predetermined range of similarity. Specific examples of arguments T1, T2, and T3 are shown below.

[0043] - The number of days that have passed since the completion date of the standard process (e.g., hot rolling process) until β1% of the same type of order is linked: T1 - The number of days that have passed since the completion date of the standard process (e.g., hot rolling process) until β2% of the same type of order is linked: T2 - The number of days that have passed since the completion date of the standard process (e.g., hot rolling process) until β3% of the same type of order is linked: T3

[0044] The above ratios β1, β2, and β3 may be set to values ​​such as 25, 50, and 75. It can be interpreted that the larger the arguments T1, T2, and T3, which represent the number of days elapsed, the more difficult it is to link them to a sales order. For this reason, the first evaluation index J1 may be set to be an increasing function of the arguments T1, T2, and T3. Note that the processing of step S3 may be executed after the processing of step S1 is completed and before the processing of step S2 is executed. This completes the processing of step S3, and the order fulfillment support processing proceeds to the processing of step S4.

[0045] In the processing of step S4, the pegging candidate generation unit 2d extracts information about actual items that can be pegged to each unpegged customer order sorted in the processing of step S3 from the peggable actual items extracted in the processing of step S2. Then, the pegging candidate generation unit 2d generates information (pegging candidate information) about pegging candidates that are actual items that can be pegged to each unpegged customer order. Whether or not an actual item is a pegging candidate can be determined, for example, by determining whether or not the actual item satisfies the following conditions (1) and (2). This completes the processing of step S4, and the order fulfillment support processing proceeds to the processing of step S5.

[0046] (1) Whether the manufacturing specifications of the actual product can meet the required specifications of the unpegged order (whether the actual product's product size (product thickness, product width) is within the tolerance range specified in the unpegged order, and whether the actual product's type is compatible with the product type of the unpegged order, etc.) (2) Unit weight of unpegged order < unpegged weight of actual item

[0047] In the processing of step S5, first, the display operation unit 2e displays the unlinked customer order information in the order sorted in the processing of step S3 ("Customer Order List" on the display screen 10 shown in Fig. 10). Next, when the user operates the display / input device 5 to select any unlinked customer order from the displayed unlinked customer order, the display operation unit 2e calculates a second evaluation index J2 indicating the degree of difficulty in linking the selected unlinked customer order (target customer order) to the linking candidate extracted in the processing of step S4.

[0048] The display operation unit 2e then sorts the pegging candidates in order of difficulty in pegging them to the target customer order based on the calculated second evaluation index J2, and displays the sorted pegging candidates ("Pegged Product List" on the display screen 10 shown in FIG. 10). This process allows the allocation worker to see the actual products that can be pegged (allocated) to the customer order specified by the allocation worker, sorted in descending order of the second evaluation index J2. This facilitates the manual allocation (pegging) of actual products that are difficult to peg to the customer order.

[0049] Furthermore, when the user selects a pegging candidate from the [Pegged Product List] on the display screen 10 shown in FIG. 10, the display operation unit 2e displays a characteristic chart indicating the difficulty of pegging the selected pegging candidate to the target order. The characteristic chart is a graphical representation of statistical information that serves as a basis for determining whether to allocate (peg) actual products to the target order. The characteristic chart is obtained by statistically processing past pegging performance information for actual products grouped as the same type as the pegging candidate for order orders grouped as the same type (same specifications) as the target order. This processing displays a characteristic chart (e.g., the transition of the pegged ratio for each process passed by the order order) indicating the difficulty of pegging the actual product specified by the allocation worker to the order order specified by the allocation worker based on past allocation performance, thereby supporting the allocation worker in making appropriate decisions about manual allocation (pegging) work. An example of a method for calculating the second evaluation index J2 is shown below.

[0050] In this example, the display operation unit 2e first groups, as a second group, order orders of the same type as the target order selected by the user from the [Order Order List] on the display screen 10 shown in Fig. 10. Then, the display operation unit 2e evaluates the difficulty of linking based on past linking (allocation) performance for the order orders of the second group of actual products of the same type as the linking candidates extracted in the processing of step S4, and sets this as the second evaluation index J2. The following is an example of past linking performance.

[0051] The period X1 required for pegging the order orders grouped in the second group with the actual products grouped in the same type as the pegging candidates extracted in the processing of step S4, and for a predetermined percentage (γ%) of the unpegged weight after the predetermined processing process to be pegged. The ratio (pegging ratio) X2 of the weight pegged in a specified processing step among the weights of the order orders in the second group that are pegged after a specified processing step to the actual products that are grouped in the same type as the pegging candidates extracted in the processing of step S4

[0052] The display operation unit 2e increases the value of the second evaluation index J2 because the longer the period X1, the longer the time required to link actual products to customer orders selected from the [Customer Order List] after a predetermined processing step (the more difficult the linking process). This facilitates the linking process (manual allocation process) of actual products to customer orders, which tend to be difficult to link. Furthermore, the higher the linking ratio X2, the easier it is to link actual products to customer orders selected from the [Customer Order List] after a predetermined processing step and before the next processing step. On the other hand, in downstream processes after the predetermined processing step, linking actual products to the corresponding customer orders tends to be relatively difficult. Therefore, the higher the linking ratio X2, the larger the value of the second evaluation index J2, so as to facilitate the manual allocation process (linking) of actual products before sending the actual products to downstream processes. This process facilitates the linking of customer orders to actual products as early as possible in upstream processes.

[0053] Below, we will explain an example where the predetermined processing step is the "hot rolling step" and the second evaluation index J2 is a function J2(X1, X2) with X1 and X2 as arguments. First, we will explain how to obtain the arguments X1 and X2 using Figures 4 and 5. Figure 4 shows collected performance data on order orders that are linked to pegging candidates and actual items in the same group as the unpegged order (target order order) that is the target of calculation of the second evaluation index J2 and order orders in the same group (order orders grouped in the second group), and plots the following values ​​on the vertical and horizontal axes:

[0054] Horizontal axis: Number of days since the completion of the hot rolling process (the process that was completed immediately before) Vertical axis: The ratio (pegging ratio) of the accumulated weight of the pegged weight (pegged order information included in the peggable product information) to the total product weight (order weight) of the second group's sales orders

[0055] The homogeneous groups of order orders and actual products are generated by grouping items with similar specifications into the same group, and are grouped based on the following criteria:

[0056] · Order: Classification by product size tolerance range, classification by product type group range · Actual products: Categorised by product size range, categorised by product type

[0057] In Figure 4, "hot rolling," "cold rolling," and "plating" are written, which indicate the percentage of the cumulative weight of the portion that is linked to a sales order immediately after each process (hot rolling, cold rolling, plating) and before processing in the next process for each number of days that has passed. In this example, the actual product is the product that is placed in the coil storage area immediately after the hot rolling process, and seven days have passed since the hot rolling process was completed for the actual product (however, the sales orders collected to create this graph do not necessarily have to be limited to actual products that are linked when they are in the coil storage area immediately after the hot rolling process).

[0058] In this example, the display operation unit 2e first finds the position on the horizontal axis where seven days have elapsed since the completion of the hot rolling process, and acquires the value on the vertical axis at that point (the total value of the linking ratios for all of the hot rolling process, cold rolling process, and plating process) (hereinafter, this value will be referred to as Y1). Next, the display operation unit 2e subtracts the value Y1 from the maximum linking ratio of 100% to calculate a predetermined percentage γ% (constant, 75% in this example) of 100-Y1, and then adds the value Y1 to this value to calculate a value Y2 (=γ / 100×(100-Y1)+Y1). The display operation unit 2e then acquires the number of days at which the vertical axis reaches the value Y2 (18 days in this example), and acquires the value X1, which is the difference between this value and the number of days (7 days) that have elapsed since the completion of the hot rolling process, that is, 11 days (=18 days-7 days).

[0059] The graph shown in Figure 5 is obtained in the same manner as the graph shown in Figure 4. Let Y2 be the maximum value of the pegging ratio for the hot rolling process. Let X2 be the ratio (= (Y2 - Y1) / (100 - Y1)) of the value Y2 - Y1 obtained by subtracting the pegging ratio Y1 seven days after the completion of the hot rolling process from this maximum value Y2 (= the pegging ratio (B) of the portion pegged to the actual product before processing in the cold rolling process after seven days after the completion of the hot rolling process) to the value 100 - Y1 (= the pegging ratio (A) of the portion pegged to the hot rolling process, cold rolling process, and plating process after seven days after the completion of the hot rolling process). The value X1 indicates the period (number of days) required for a predetermined ratio γ% of the unpegged weight (total) of the order orders grouped in the second group at the current time (after seven days have passed since the completion of the hot rolling process) to be pegged (allocated). In contrast, the value X2 indicates the proportion of the weight pegged in the hot rolling process out of the weight pegged in the hot rolling process, cold rolling process, and plating process from the present time onwards. If the value X1 is small, it is considered that even if a pegging candidate is not currently pegged to the target order, there is a high possibility that pegging will be performed in the near future, so the value of the second evaluation index J2 is set to be small.

[0060] Furthermore, if the value of X1 is large, this means that if pegging is not performed this time (seven days after the completion of the hot rolling process), the next opportunity for pegging will be later. Therefore, pegging is more difficult, and the value of the second evaluation index J2 is set to a large value. However, if both values ​​X1 and X2 are large, it is considered that if pegging is not performed in the hot rolling process, there will be fewer opportunities for pegging in subsequent processes (cold rolling and plating processes). Therefore, it can be interpreted that if pegging is not performed in this process (after the hot rolling process) before the actual product is processed in the next process (cold rolling and plating), future pegging will be difficult. In this case, the value of the second evaluation index J2 is set to a larger value. The second evaluation index J2 may be a linear or nonlinear function of the arguments X1 and X2, or its value may be determined by a conditional expression such as an if-then statement.

[0061] Examples of various characteristic charts displayed in the processing of step S5 are shown in Figures 6 to 9. Figure 6 is a characteristic chart showing the transition of the pegging ratio used to calculate the first evaluation index J1 and the second evaluation index J2 for each passing process. It is also possible to display the information used to calculate the first evaluation index J1 and the second evaluation index J2 on this characteristic chart. Figure 7 is a graph showing the unpegged inventory impact amount obtained by collecting performance information for actual items of the same type as the target actual item. The unpegged inventory impact amount can be obtained by calculating the sum of the values ​​of the following formula for each actual item.

[0062] "Weight of actual item" x "Number of days the actual item was left unpaired after each process"

[0063] Generally, average inventory is calculated as the daily average value of "product weight (or number of products)" x "number of days stored in the storage yard," but the above formula calculates the inventory amount in an unpegged state. In the example shown in Figure 7, a two-tiered bar graph shows the inventory impact amount (in an unpegged state) for products that are pegged after each process is completed and for products that are not pegged and have undergone the next process. For example, if the unpegged inventory impact amount in the next process is extremely high (the cold rolling process in the example of Figure 7), this can be interpreted as meaning that there is a possibility of long-term inventory if pegging is not performed in the current process (the hot rolling process in the example of Figure 7). When there is limited storage space, this graph is effective as a reference for deciding which products to peg.

[0064] Figure 8 is a characteristic chart showing the frequency of orders of the same type as the target order, and Figure 9 is a characteristic chart showing the production weight of the target actual product and the same type of actual product within a set period. Each characteristic chart makes it possible to understand the weight of the target order and the target actual product to be produced, which is an important factor in determining whether or not pegging should be performed. This completes the processing of step S5, and the order fulfillment support processing proceeds to step S6.

[0065] In the processing of step S6, the user operates the display / input device 5 to determine and input the sales order and actual product that should currently be linked. The data update unit 2f then updates the manufacturing information DB4a and sales order information DB4b based on the input information. Note that in the processing of step S6, the display operation unit 2e may also prompt the user to exchange sales orders by displaying information about actual products to which no more sales orders can be allocated because the unlinked portion is small. This completes the processing of step S6, and the series of order fulfillment support processes ends.

[0066] As is clear from the above explanation, the order allocation support process, which is one embodiment of the present invention, sorts order orders in descending order of the first evaluation index J1, which indicates the degree of difficulty of linking, and can present the order orders to the allocation worker in order of the difficulty of linking them to actual products, thereby facilitating the linking work for order orders that are difficult to link to actual products.Furthermore, actual products that can be linked to order orders specified by the allocation worker can be presented to the allocation worker in descending order of the second evaluation index J2, which indicates the degree of difficulty of linking, thereby facilitating the linking work for actual products that are difficult to link to order orders.

[0067] Furthermore, since the first evaluation index J1 is determined from the period X1 required for linking and the ratio X2 of the number of order orders to which actual products after a predetermined processing step has been completed are linked until the next processing step, it is possible to promote the linking of actual products, which tend to be difficult, to order orders, and to encourage the linking of order orders to actual products as early in the process as possible. Furthermore, a characteristics chart showing the characteristics of the difficulty of linking actual products specified by the allocation worker to order orders specified by the allocation worker is displayed to the allocation worker based on past allocation records, thereby supporting the allocation worker in making appropriate decisions about the linking work.

[0068] In addition, when fulfilling customer orders, the system visualizes customer orders and actual products that are difficult to link so that the fulfillment person can understand them, allowing for appropriate fulfillment of customer orders in upstream processes and reducing long-term excess inventory in downstream processes. As a result, the reduction in inventory levels eases constraints on transportation work within the factory, making it possible to create and execute more efficient product transportation plans.

[0069] In the above embodiment, the linkable actual product information extraction unit 2b extracts actual products whose unlinked portions of customer orders have a weight equal to or greater than a predetermined reference value, thereby assisting the user in linking the actual product to the unlinked customer order. However, if the actual product is already linked to another customer order that is easy to link, the linking to that customer order may be severed and the product may be relinked to a customer order for small-lot production, which may be difficult to link. In other words, the linking candidate generation unit 2d may also select actual products that have not been extracted by the linkable actual product information extraction unit 2b and for which an index (second evaluation index J2) indicating the difficulty of linking to an already linked customer order is equal to or less than a predetermined value as linking candidates for the unlinked customer order, and prompt the user to change the linked customer order via the display operation unit 2e.

[0070] Although the present invention has been described above as an embodiment, the present invention is not limited to the descriptions and drawings that form part of the disclosure of the present invention. In other words, other embodiments, examples, and operational techniques that can be made by those skilled in the art based on the present invention are all included in the scope of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0071] 1. Order fulfillment support system 2. Order fulfillment support device 2a Unpegged Sales Order Information Extraction Unit 2b Linkable product information extraction section 2c Order Sorting Department 2d Linking candidate generation unit 2e Display operation section 2f Data Update Section 3. Bulk order fulfillment device 4 Database 4a Manufacturing Information Database (Manufacturing Information DB) 4b Order Information Database (Order Information DB) 5 Display and input devices 10 Display screen

Claims

1. An order fulfillment support device that supports the task of linking a sales order to an actual product in the middle of production, a database storing information about the actual product, information about the order, and information about the link between the actual product and the order; a first extraction unit that extracts information about unlinked customer orders, which are customer orders that are not linked to an actual product, from the database; a second extraction unit that extracts, from the database, information on linkable actual items, which are actual items whose portions not linked to a sales order have a weight equal to or greater than a predetermined value; a sorting unit that uses the information extracted by the first extraction unit to calculate a first evaluation index indicating the degree of difficulty of linking for each unlinked order, and sorts the unlinked order orders according to the magnitude of the calculated first evaluation index; a generation unit that generates pegging candidates, which are actual items that can be pegged to the unpegged order orders sorted by the sort unit; a display operation unit that displays information about the unlinked customer order in the order sorted by the sort unit, calculates a second evaluation index indicating the degree of difficulty in linking the target customer order, which is the unlinked customer order selected by the user, to the linking candidates, displays information about the linking candidates for the target customer order and a characteristic chart relating to the difficulty of linking the target customer order to the linking candidates in order of the magnitude of the calculated second evaluation index, and allows the user to select a linking combination between the target customer order and the linking candidate; a data update unit that generates information relating to the linking of the order to the actual product in accordance with the linking set selected on the display operation unit, and updates the database using the generated information; An order fulfillment support device comprising:

2. 2. The order fulfillment support device according to claim 1, wherein the sorting unit groups customer order orders of the same type as the unlinked customer order into a first group, and calculates the first evaluation index based on past linking performance of the customer order orders in the first group.

3. 3. The order fulfillment support device according to claim 2, wherein the sorting unit increases the first evaluation index the longer it takes for the ratio of the number of customer orders linked to actual products in the customer orders in the first group to reach a predetermined ratio.

4. 2. The order fulfillment support device according to claim 1, wherein the display operation unit groups order orders of the same type as the target order into a second group, and calculates the second evaluation index based on past pegging performance of actual products of the same type as the pegging candidates for the order orders in the second group.

5. 5. The order fulfillment support device according to claim 4, wherein the display operation unit calculates the period required for a predetermined percentage of the unlinked weight of the sales orders in the second group to be linked, and the longer the period, the larger the second evaluation index is set.

6. The order fulfillment support device according to claim 4 or claim 5, wherein the display operation unit calculates a ratio of weights linked in a specified processing step to the linked weights of the customer orders in the second group, and the higher the ratio, the larger the second evaluation index is made.

7. 2. The order fulfillment support device according to claim 1, wherein the generation unit generates as the linking candidate actual items that have not been extracted by the second extraction unit and for which an index indicating the difficulty of linking an already linked sales order is equal to or less than a predetermined value.

8. 2. The order fulfillment support device according to claim 1, wherein the display operation unit displays, as the characteristic chart, a change in the pegging ratio of sales orders for actual products of the same type as the actual products that constitute the selected pegging set, for each passing process.

9. 2. The order fulfillment support device according to claim 1, wherein the display operation unit displays, as the characteristic chart, an inventory impact amount for each passing process for actual products of the same type as the actual products that constitute the selected linking set, in a state where no order orders are linked.

10. 2. The order fulfillment support device according to claim 1, wherein the display operation unit displays, as the characteristic chart, the number of times that order orders of the same type as the target order have been received within a set period.

11. The order fulfillment support device according to claim 1 , wherein the display operation unit displays, as the characteristic chart, the quantity of actual products of the same type as the actual products that constitute the selected linking set that have been manufactured in the past within a set period.

12. An order fulfillment support method that supports the task of linking a sales order to an actual product in the middle of production, comprising: a first extraction step of extracting information about unlinked customer orders, which are customer orders not linked to actual products, from a database that stores information about the actual products, information about the customer orders, and information about linkages between the actual products and the customer orders; a second extraction step of extracting from the database information on linkable actual products, which are actual products whose portions not linked to sales orders have a weight equal to or greater than a predetermined value; a sorting step of calculating a first evaluation index indicating the degree of difficulty of linking for each unlinked order using the information extracted in the first extraction step, and sorting the unlinked order orders according to the magnitude of the calculated first evaluation index; a generating step of generating pegging candidates, which are actual products that can be pegged to the unpegged order orders sorted in the sorting step; a display operation step of displaying information about the unlinked customer order in the order sorted in the sorting step, calculating a second evaluation index indicating the degree of difficulty in linking the target customer order, which is the unlinked customer order selected by the user, to the pegging candidates, displaying information about the pegging candidates for the target customer order and a characteristic chart relating to the difficulty of linking the target customer order to the pegging candidates in order of the magnitude of the calculated second evaluation index, and allowing the user to select a pair of pegging between the target customer order and the pegging candidates; a data updating step of generating information relating to the linking of the order to the actual product in accordance with the linking set selected in the display operation step, and updating the database using the generated information; An order fulfillment support method, including:

Images