Demand Planning for Configurable Products via Characteristic Segmentation

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional demand planning systems are inefficient in handling configurable products, as they can only plan characteristics for these products and not for configured finished products or assemblies, and fail to generate configured orders for production processes, and do not account for configured sales orders in forecasts.

Innovation Solution

A method and system for planning demand in a managed supply chain that stores data on possible combinations of product characteristics independently, allowing for the conversion of demand planning for configurable products into actual combinations, reducing data volume and enabling efficient processing and storage, and allowing configured products to be planned without storing all combinations, with a demand planner that selects subsets of characteristics and determines characteristic combinations for efficient data handling.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If all combinations of product characteristics are stored independently to enable planning for configured products, then the capability to plan configured products is improved, but the data volume and processing complexity increase significantly

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecapability to plan configured productsVSAvoiddata volume

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSQuantity of substance

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the characteristic data into two distinct categories: product independent characteristics (stored independently) and product dependent characteristics (stored dependently with respect to product independent characteristics). This segmentation allows the system to store only necessary characteristic combinations rather than all possible combinations, reducing data volume while maintaining the capability to plan configured products.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The patent implements a nested data structure where product dependent characteristics are stored dependently with respect to product independent characteristics. This nesting approach allows the system to store characteristic data in a hierarchical manner, where inner characteristics are stored only when needed given the outer characteristics, thereby reducing overall data volume while preserving planning capabilities.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #7Nested doll (Nesting)

2Productivity

If conventional demand planning stores only primary attribute combinations, then data processing volume is reduced, but the system cannot generate configured orders for production processes

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedata processing efficiencyVSAvoidability to generate configured orders

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSEase of manufacture

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces dynamic data storage where product dependent characteristics are stored dependently with respect to product independent characteristics. This dynamic approach allows the system to retrieve and process only the necessary characteristic combinations when generating configured orders, maintaining processing efficiency while enabling the generation of configured orders for production processes.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

3Adaptability or versatility

If conventional demand planning uses characteristic-based forecasting, then planning for configurable products is enabled, but configured sales orders do not take into account configured forecasts

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveplanning for configurable productsVSAvoidalignment between forecasts and sales orders

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The patent creates a universal data storage structure where both product independent and product dependent characteristics are stored in a unified dependent manner. This universal structure enables the system to handle both configurable product planning and configured sales order alignment using the same data storage approach, ensuring that configured sales orders can properly reference and align with configured forecasts.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Data Source

PatentUS8027860B2Systems and methods for planning demand for configurable products

Publication Date: 2011.09.27 SAP SE

AI summary

Systems and methods are disclosed for planning demand of a product, such as a configurable product. In one embodiment, a method is provided for planning demand for a configurable product in a managed supply chain. The method may comprise the steps of storing data relating to the possible combinations of characteristics defining configurable products, wherein product dependent characteristic data and product independent characteristic data are stored dependently with respect to one another, and converting a planning demand for a configurable product into a planning demand for an actual combination of characteristics defining a configured product.