US6167380A — System and method for allocating manufactured pro…

Claim 1

Independent Claim 216 words

A system operating on a computer for allowing an organization to allocate manufactured products among sellers, comprising: a seller model stored in a memory of the computer and representing sellers that sell at least one product, the seller model forecasting for at least one product and defining commitment levels for creating at least one forecast request value; at least one supplier model stored in the memory, the supplier model receiving the forecast request value and providing at least one supplier promise value to the seller model, the supplier promise value being based on the forecast request value; and at least one customer model stored in the memory, the customer model providing a customer order value to the seller model and receiving an actual customer promise value; a forecast model for the product that is stored in the memory and maintains an allocation value, a forecast request value, and a supplier promise value, the allocation value representing the sum of promises from different suppliers plus any promises to customers; wherein the system displays allocation data to make product allocation available to the sellers; and wherein the seller model comprises a hierarchy of sellers, the forecast data representing an aggregate of forecasts from members of the hierarchy, the allocation data being distributed as sub-allocation data to the members.

Claim 2

Independent Claim 216 words

A system operating on a computer for allowing an organization to allocate manufactured products among sellers, comprising: a seller model stored in a memory of the computer and representing sellers that sell at least one product, the seller model forecasting for at least one product and defining commitment levels for creating at least one forecast request value; at least one supplier model stored in the memory, the supplier model receiving the forecast request value and providing at least one supplier promise value to the seller model, the supplier promise value being based on the forecast request value; and at least one customer model stored in the memory, the customer model providing a customer order value to the seller model and receiving an actual customer promise value; a forecast model for the product that is stored in the memory and maintains an allocation value, a forecast request value, and a supplier promise value, the allocation value representing the sum of promises from different suppliers plus any promises to customers; wherein the system displays allocation data to make product allocation available to the sellers; and wherein the seller model comprises a hierarchy of sellers, the forecast data representing an aggregate of forecasts from members of the hierarchy, the allocation data being distributed as sub-allocation data to the members.

Claim 3

Dependent Claim 22 words

The system of claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the products are designated as retained product not available for promising.

Claim 4

Dependent Claim 37 words

The system of claim 1, wherein an automatic allocation policy allows the organization to designate forecast entry of a member as a zero-available-to-promise entry to make the available-to-promise product at the member zero for that forecast entry.

Claim 5

Dependent Claim 20 words

The system of claim 1, wherein an automatic allocation policy for distributing the allocation data is a first-come-first-served allocation policy.

Claim 6

Dependent Claim 16 words

The system of claim 1, wherein the automatic allocation policy is a per allocated allocation policy.

Claim 7

Dependent Claim 16 words

The system of claim 1, wherein the automatic allocation policy is a per committed allocation policy.

Claim 8

Dependent Claim 16 words

The system of claim 1, wherein the automatic allocation policy is a member rank allocation policy.

Claim 9

Dependent Claim 16 words

The system of claim 1, wherein the automatic allocation policy is a fixed split allocation policy.

Claim 10

Dependent Claim 117 words

The system of claim 1, further comprising: a plurality of generic product models stored in the memory and each representing a generic product, each generic product model specifying one component of a plurality of possible components; a plurality of specific product models stored in the memory and each representing a specific product, each specific product model specifying all components of the specific product; wherein each component specified by each specific product model is specified by one of the generic product models, each specific product model being related to a subset of the generic product models; and wherein the system provides a customer promise value for a specific product according to a determined available-to-promise of related generic products.

Claim 11

Dependent Claim 41 words

The system of claim 9, wherein the generic product models and specific product models are repeated across at least a portion of a seller hierarchy, there being organization-member relationships between generic products and between specific products in addition to generic-specific relationships.

Claim 12

Dependent Claim 20 words

The system of claim 1, wherein at least a portion of said allocation value is distributed on a first-come-first-served basis.

Claim 13

Dependent Claim 33 words

The system of claim 1, wherein the forecast model has an associated forecast period, and wherein an available-to-promise (ATP) of said forecast data has an associated available-to-promise period shorter than the forecast period.

Claim 14

Dependent Claim 23 words

The system of claim 1, wherein the system is further operable to distribute the allocation data in accordance with an automatic allocation policy.

Claim 15

Dependent Claim 44 words

The system of claim 1, wherein the forecast model adjusts the forecast request value and the supplier promise value in response to the customer order value, the allocation value remaining the same, but the forecast request value and the supplier promise value being reduced.

Claim 16

Independent Claim 215 words

A method operating on a computer for allowing an organization to allocate manufactured products among sellers, comprising: using a seller model stored in a memory of the computer to represent sellers that sell at least one product, the seller model forecasting for at least one product and defining commitment levels for creating at least one forecast request value; using at least one supplier model stored in the memory to receive the forecast request value and to provide at least one supplier promise value to the seller model, the supplier promise value being based on the forecast request value; and using at least one customer model stored in the memory to provide a customer order value to the seller model and to receive an actual customer promise value; using a forecast model for the product that is stored in the memory to maintain an allocation value, a forecast request value, and a supplier promise value, the allocation value representing the sum of promises from different suppliers plus any promises to customers; displaying allocation data to make product allocation available to the sellers; and wherein the seller model comprises a hierarchy of sellers, the forecast data representing an aggregate of forecasts from members of the hierarchy, the allocation data being distributed as sub-allocation data to the members.

Claim 17

Independent Claim 215 words

A method operating on a computer for allowing an organization to allocate manufactured products among sellers, comprising: using a seller model stored in a memory of the computer to represent sellers that sell at least one product, the seller model forecasting for at least one product and defining commitment levels for creating at least one forecast request value; using at least one supplier model stored in the memory to receive the forecast request value and to provide at least one supplier promise value to the seller model, the supplier promise value being based on the forecast request value; and using at least one customer model stored in the memory to provide a customer order value to the seller model and to receive an actual customer promise value; using a forecast model for the product that is stored in the memory to maintain an allocation value, a forecast request value, and a supplier promise value, the allocation value representing the sum of promises from different suppliers plus any promises to customers; displaying allocation data to make product allocation available to the sellers; and wherein the seller model comprises a hierarchy of sellers, the forecast data representing an aggregate of forecasts from members of the hierarchy, the allocation data being distributed as sub-allocation data to the members.

Claim 18

Dependent Claim 22 words

The method of claim 15, wherein at least a portion of the products are designated as retained product not available for promising.

Claim 19

Dependent Claim 42 words

The method of claim 15, wherein the automatic allocation policy for distributing the allocation data allows an organization to designate forecast entry of a member as a zero-available-to-promise entry to make the available-to-promise product at the member zero for that forecast entry.

Claim 20

Dependent Claim 19 words

The method of claim 15, wherein automatic allocation policy for distributing the allocation data is a first-come-first-served allocation policy.

Claim 21

Dependent Claim 21 words

The method of claim 15, wherein an automatic allocation policy for distributing the allocation data is a per allocated allocation policy.

Claim 22

Dependent Claim 21 words

The method of claim 15, wherein an automatic allocation policy for distributing the allocation data is a per committed allocation policy.

Claim 23

Dependent Claim 21 words

The method of claim 15, wherein an automatic allocation policy for distributing the allocation data is a member rank allocation policy.

Claim 24

Dependent Claim 21 words

The method of claim 15, wherein an automatic allocation policy for distributing the allocation data is a fixed split allocation policy.

Claim 25

Dependent Claim 124 words

The method of claim 15, further comprising: using a plurality of generic product models stored in the memory to represent generic products, each generic product model representing a particular generic product and specifying one component of a plurality of possible components; using a plurality of specific product models stored in the memory to represent specific products, each specific product model representing a particular specific product and specifying all components of the specific product; wherein each component specified by each specific product model is specified by one of the generic product models, each specific product model being related to a subset of the generic product models; and providing a customer promise value for a specific product according to a determined available-to-promise of related generic products.

Claim 26

Dependent Claim 41 words

The method of claim 23, wherein the generic product models and specific product models are repeated across at least a portion of a seller hierarchy, there being organization-member relationships between generic products and between specific products in addition to generic-specific relationships.

Claim 27

Dependent Claim 20 words

The method of claim 15, wherein at least a portion of said allocation value is distributed on a first-come-first-served basis.

Claim 28

Dependent Claim 33 words

The method of claim 15, wherein the forecast model has an associated forecast period, and wherein an available-to-promise (ATP) of said forecast data has an associated available-to-promise period shorter than the forecast period.

Claim 29

Dependent Claim 18 words

The method of claim 15, further comprising distributing the allocation data in accordance with an automatic allocation policy.

Claim 30

Dependent Claim 47 words

The method of claim 15, further comprising using the forecast model to adjust the forecast request value and the supplier promise value in response to the customer order value, the allocation value remaining the same, but the forecast request value and the supplier promise value being reduced.

Annuity Stage	Window Opens	Payment Deadline	Surcharge Period Until	Estimated Fee	Status
3.5 Years (Year 4)	2003-12-26	2004-06-26	2004-12-26	$2000.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8)	2007-12-26	2008-06-26	2008-12-26	$3760.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12)	2011-12-26	2012-06-26	2012-12-26	$7700.00	Window Closed / Lapsed

System and method for allocating manufactured products to sellers

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