Variant Demand Object Generation from Parts Lists
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Solution Overview
Problem
In the supply chain management, suppliers face challenges in determining product variants from parts lists received from manufacturers, leading to inefficient manufacturing and delivery scheduling, especially when multiple product variants are involved.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that receive a product parts list, update a bill of material with the parts and selection conditions, determine the characteristic and characteristic values of the parts, and generate a variant demand object to identify and calculate demand on product variants, enabling efficient production planning and scheduling.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If manual determination of product variants is used, then flexibility in handling diverse orders is maintained, but time consumption and inefficiency increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the manual mechanical process of determining product variants with an automated computer-based system. The system automatically receives parts lists, queries the bill of material database, determines product variants, and generates production plans, eliminating the need for manual intervention and significantly improving processing efficiency while reducing time consumption.
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables self-service by automatically processing orders without manual intervention. The automated system receives parts lists, independently queries the bill of material, determines product variants, and generates production plans, allowing the system to serve itself and eliminating dependency on manual operations.
2Productivity
If product-based planning is implemented, then manufacturing efficiency improves, but the complexity of transforming parts lists to product lists increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a bill of material database as an intermediary between parts lists and product-based planning. The database stores predefined relationships between parts and product variants, allowing the system to automatically transform parts lists into product plans by querying the intermediary database, thereby managing complexity through structured data organization.
Solution Approach 2:
The system segments the complex transformation process into distinct modular steps: receiving parts lists, querying the bill of material database, determining product variants, and generating production plans. This segmentation allows each step to be handled independently and systematically, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining efficiency.
3Reliability
If accurate product variant determination is achieved, then delivery schedule reliability improves, but manual processing requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual variant determination with an automated computer-based system that ensures accurate product variant identification. The automated system consistently applies the bill of material relationships to determine variants, eliminating human error and improving delivery schedule reliability while maximizing automation.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback mechanisms by automatically verifying product variant determinations against the bill of material database. The automated validation ensures that determined variants accurately reflect the ordered parts, providing continuous feedback to maintain high reliability in delivery schedules.
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed is a method and system for receiving a product parts list containing parts for creating a product variant of a product and updating a bill of material with the parts and a selection condition to identify a part of the product variant. The method includes determining a characteristic and a characteristic value of the parts of the product variant and generating a variant demand object for the product variant.