Capacity Availability Check for Make-to-Order Ware
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Solution Overview
Problem
In make-to-order environments, existing supply chain management systems face challenges in efficiently checking availability, as they often rely on capacity availability checks rather than product availability, leading to frequent changes in production plans with each new demand, and lack a straightforward method to separate confirmation processes from detailed production planning.
Innovation Solution
A computer-implemented method that determines capacity supply and demand information over a time interval, allowing for the identification of unused capacity and separating demand confirmation from production planning, enabling a fast and simple capacity availability check similar to product availability checks.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If capacity availability check is performed for each new demand in make-to-order environments, then demand confirmation accuracy is improved, but production plan complexity increases due to frequent changes
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the capacity availability check into discrete time intervals (buckets) and separates confirmation processes from detailed production planning. By dividing the time horizon into manageable intervals and handling confirmations at the interval level rather than individual demand level, the system maintains accuracy while reducing plan complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary layer between demand receipt and production planning by using capacity supply/demand information as a mediator. This intermediary mechanism allows demand confirmation to be performed without directly triggering production plan changes, thus reducing complexity while maintaining reliability.
2Loss of information
If direct association of new demands with planned production orders is implemented, then demand traceability is improved, but operational efficiency decreases due to frequent production plan changes
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the demand confirmation function from the detailed production planning process. By separating these two functions, the system can maintain demand traceability through capacity information without requiring frequent changes to the detailed production plan, thus improving operational efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary capacity availability checks before detailed production planning. By pre-calculating capacity supply and demand information, the system establishes demand traceability in advance without requiring subsequent plan adjustments, thereby improving operational efficiency.
3Manufacturing precision
If detailed production planning is performed for each demand, then production scheduling precision is improved, but processing time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments production planning into time intervals and handles only the necessary planning actions for each interval rather than re-planning the entire schedule for every demand. This segmentation maintains scheduling precision for affected periods while significantly reducing overall processing time.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs partial production planning by focusing only on the specific time intervals and resources affected by new demands, rather than conducting full detailed planning for all demands. This partial action approach maintains necessary scheduling precision while reducing processing time.
Data Source
AI summary
Computer-implemented methods, and associated computer program products and systems, for checking availability of a ware in a time interval, a resource to produce the ware being associated with the ware. The computer-implemented method can include obtaining capacity supply information comprising a capacity supply for each date of the time interval and capacity demand information comprising a capacity demand for each date of the time interval. The first date of the time interval is set to a later date, there is determined for each date from the first date to the later date whether capacity supply is unused. If capacity supply is unused, the method includes eliminating the specific amount from the capacity supply information. In response to demand information representing a demand having a requested date, availability of the resource on the requested date is determined using the capacity supply information and the capacity demand information.