Classifications

• • G—PHYSICS
  • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
  • G06Q—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • G06Q10/00—Administration; Management
  • G06Q10/06—Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling

Definitions

• the present invention generally relates to electronic data processing and to computerized systems and methods for executing planning services. More particularly, the present invention relates to systems and methods for executing planning services in an advanced planning environment.
• EPR enterprise resource planning
• SCM supply chain management
• CRM customer relationship management
• WM warehouse management
• PLM product lifecycle management
• the advanced planning manager may comprise programmable instructions for causing a processor to perform the following steps: reading a planning profile, the planning profile including at least one process block with a list of the planning services to be executed; accessing the objects stored in the database based on a selection profile of the at least one process block, the selection profile comprising selection criteria for specifying which of the objects stored in the database are required for processing the at least one process block; and executing each planning service in accordance with the list of planning services and the objects accessed from the database.
• a system for executing a plurality of planning services using one or more objects stored in a database.
• the system may comprise means for accessing a planning profile, the planning profile including a plurality of process blocks, each of the process blocks containing a list of the planning services to be executed, and means for processing each process block in the planning profile.
• the processing means may include means for reading a selection profile of the process block, the selection profile comprising selection criteria for specifying which of the objects stored in the database are required for processing the process block, means for accessing the objects stored in the database based on the selection criteria of the selection profile, and means for executing each planning service in accordance with the list of planning services and the objects accessed from the database for the process block.
• a computer program product comprises a computer readable medium with instructions for causing a processor to perform a method for executing services using one or more objects stored in a database.
• the method may comprise accessing a planning profile that comprises at least one process block with a list of services to be executed, and reading a selection profile of the at least one process block of the planning profile, the selection profile comprising selection criteria for specifying which of the objects stored in the database are required for processing the at least one process block.
• the method may include accessing the objects stored in the database based on the selection criteria of the selection profile, and executing each service in accordance with the list of services and the objects accessed from the database.
• the advanced planning manager may comprise programmable instructions for causing a processor to perform the following steps: reading a planning profile with at least one process block, the at least one process block including a list of planning services to be executed and a selection profile, the selection profile including selection criteria for specifying which of the objects stored in the database are required for processing the at least one process block; providing a data manager for each object to be processed in connection with the at least one process block; and executing each planning service in accordance with the list of planning services and the objects specified by the selection criteria, whereby each data manager controls the access of data to and from the database during the execution of the planning services.
• FIG. 2 is a block diagram of another exemplary planning environment, consistent with an embodiment of the present invention.
• FIG. 1 an exemplary environment for implementing embodiments of the invention will be described.
• an advanced planning environment is shown that comprises a plurality of services 130-A to 130-N and a database 120.
• Advanced planning service and data manager 100 is also provided for managing data and the execution of services, consistent with the teachings of the invention.
• Advanced planning manager 100 and the components of FIG. 1 may be implemented through any suitable combination of hardware, software and/or firmware. Further, the features of FIG. 1 and related to embodiments of the invention may be implemented into or with commercially available system environments and/or components. By way of example, the advanced planning
• Advanced planning service and data manager 100 may also provide data management during the execution of services.
• Data management may include the control of access and storage of data to and from database 120.
• database 120 may be adapted to store large quantities of data of various types (e.g., master data, transactional data, etc.).
• Advanced planning service and data manager 100 may buffer and/or control the buffering of data from database 120 during the execution of services 130-A to 130-N.
• each data object stored in database 120 may have its own data manager.
• the services may read and write data through an interface for each data manager. Further, each data manager may provide buffering and save modified data to database 120. Such data management can reduce the frequency or number of database accesses and, thus, improve processing time.
• advanced planning manager 100 may be configured as an object-orientated programming (OOP) implementation running on a computing based platform. Interfaces may be provided for communication between the advanced planning manager 100 and services 130-A to 130-N. Furthermore, services 130-A to 130-N may be embodied as software-based modules or applications. The service modules may reside on the same or a different computing- based platform supporting the advanced planning manager 100. In the later case, a network environment may be provided to support communication between the various platforms and, thus, between the advanced planning manager 100 and services 130-A to 130-N. For this purpose, various types of networks may be used, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN). Such networking environments are commonplace in offices, enterprise-wide computer networks, intranets, and the Internet, and are known by those skilled in the art.
• LAN local area network
• WAN wide area network
• service shell 136 for Service 1 is illustrated as implementing the service interface method for one or more interfaces 1 12-A to 1 12-N.
• advanced planning manager 100 may include a plurality of interfaces, which may implemented as OOP classes. These interfaces may include a plurality of interfaces 1 12-A to 1 12-N for communicating with the services and a plurality of interfaces 1 14A-1 14N for handling data for each planning object.
• a data manager may also be provided for each planning object or data type. An exemplary class diagram for implementing a data manager is described below with reference to FIG. 1 1.
• FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary planning profile, consistent with an embodiment of the invention.
• Planning profiles such as that illustrated in FIG. 3, may be defined by a user to create job chains and to execute one or more services. Planning profiles can be set-up once and stored in database 120 or other memory or storage device(s). Planning profiles may be used by advanced planning manager 100 for executing pre-set sequences of planning services. When needed, planning profiles may be modified or updated by the user to improve performance or adjust planning calculations or steps.
• a planning profile may comprise one or more process blocks.
• a user may decide what process blocks to include and how many process blocks to arrange within each planning profile.
• the user may also define the sequence of the process blocks and what services to include in the list of services for each process block.
• two process blocks are shown (Process Block 1 and Process Block 2).
• the first process block (Process Block 1 ) includes three services (service 1 , service 2, and storage service) and the second process block (Process Block 2) includes four services (service 3, service 4, service 5, and storage service). Between process blocks, some of the services may be common (e.g., the storage service). Further, the execution of certain services may be automated.
• each process block may define a list of services and corresponding service profiles.
• a list of services may include one or more services.
• the first process block (Process Block 1 ) in FIG. 3 includes a list of services comprising thee services (service 1 , service 2, and storage service).
• the list of services within each block may involve or require the same planning objects.
• the services of the first process block may involve one set or type of data objects, whereas the list of services for the second process block may involve another set or type of data objects.
• a service profile may be defined for a service within the list of services.
• the service profile may define service-dependent data for executing the service (e.g., time series, model, planning horizon, etc.).
• each process block may include a set of parameters defined by a user that apply to the entire process block. Such parameters may be used for controlling, for example, the method of building packages for the planning objects, the size of such packages, and/or the method of processing such packages (e.g., parallel or serial processing). Such parameters and other settings may be saved as process profile data for each process block.
• Each process block may also include a process profile.
• a process profile the user may define a set of parameters or criteria for controlling how the advanced planning manager processes a process block.
• Such parameters may define the method of building packages for the planning objects, the size of such packages (e.g., minimum or maximum), and/or the method of processing such packages (e.g., serial or parallel processing).
• Various methods may be provided for building packages. By way of non-limiting examples, one or more of the following methods may be defined for building packages:
• other parameters may be defined by a user for each process block.
• information to define version(s) may be provided for a process block.
• a user may define version information, including the version of the planning objects or data, such as for the source (active, inactive, etc.) and/or the results (actual, simulation, etc.).
• a user-defined trigger group profile may be included with each process block.
• the trigger group profile may identify a trigger group with one or more triggers for filtering or limiting the number of planning objects to be executed by the advanced planning manager, and/or other trigger related- parameters). Such triggers may be useful to eliminate unnecessary or redundant processing.
• the use of triggers is made optional. The use of triggers and trigger groups is further described below with reference to the exemplary embodiments of FIGS. 8 and 9.
• a planning profile may define the sequence of services, the selection of planning objects to be executed, and additional parameters on how to process the planning run.
• a planning profile may comprise one or more process blocks. Each process block may include a selection profile, a process profile and a list of services.
• the selection profile may define the planning objects to be executed by the services assigned to the list of services.
• Planning objects may be divided into packages according to the settings in the planning profile. Different methods to create or build packages may be selected or defined by a user for managing interdependencies between planning objects. Furthermore, the packages may be executed according to the settings in the process block.
• the planning profile comprises a number of process blocks (Process Block 1 , Process Block 2, Process Block 3, and Process Block 4).
• the selection and sequence of the process blocks may be defined by the user.
• the order of the process blocks and/or the list of services in each process block may be important (e.g., to keep consistent with a predetermined process flow). In other cases, the order of process blocks and/or selection of services may not be as important.
• control over what services are listed in each process block and the order of the process blocks, such as that described above, may be completely within the domain of the user.
• a user interface such as a GUI
• an application or program may be provided to assist a user in defining the services for each process block and the order of the process blocks in a planning profile.
• Process Block 3 includes a forecast service profile sporadic for the listed forecast service.
• the forecast service profile sporadic in comparison to the forecast service profile seasonal, may identify a different source of data, such as a different type of time series data. Further, the forecast service for Process Block 3 may cause calculations to be performed for selected sporadic parts (identified by the selection profile) using the identified time series data from the database.
• the forecast model used for the forecast service may be based on a model that is capable of computing forecasts for parts that have a sporadic demand.
• the selection profile identifies all parts (i.e., seasonal, constant and sporadic parts) and includes a safety stock service for calculating safety stock quantities.
• the safety stock quantities may be calculated for all parts based on, for example, the forecasts determined for the seasonal, constant and sporadic parts. For this reason, as explained above, Process Block 4 is defined by the user to follow Process Blocks 1 -3 in the planning profile.
• a service profile may not be needed and the field can be left blank in the process block.
• a user may define the method or approach to be used for building packages and/or the method of processing such packages for the listed services of Process Block 4. Thus, a user may define that the packages be processed sequentially (see, e.g., FIG. 5A) or in parallel (see, e.g., FIG. 5B).
• a trigger profile may be read by advanced planning manager 100 when checking other profile and parameter information for each process block, such as the selection profile.
• advanced planning manager 100 may read a trigger group profile and determine the status of the triggers when carrying out step S.408 for a process block. By checking the status of the trigger(s) identified in the trigger profile, the amount of objects or data for the selection may be determined.
• trigger profiles may be defined for a process block.
• a trigger group profile may be implemented and defined for each process block.
• the trigger group profile may define a trigger group consisting of one or more triggers.
• a trigger may be assigned to one or more services, and assigned to one or more object types (such as location product and product).
• object types such as location product and product.
• each trigger group may be identified by an identification (ID) or name.
• each trigger may be identified by an ID or name (see the examples of FIG. 8 described below).
• each trigger group may contain one or more different triggers.
• a trigger group can be treated as a unit like a trigger and may be assigned to a service.
• a trigger group may be deemed to be set (i.e., active) if at least one trigger of the trigger group is set.
• the triggers may be assigned to one or more different services, such as Forecast and Safety Stock. Further, the triggers may be grouped into trigger groups and assigned to services. As shown in FIG. 9, TriggerGroupi includes triggers MAN_TRIG and MD and TriggerGroup2 includes triggers New Product and BADI. Further, the services may be assigned to selection objects or types (e.g., Location Product). In the example of FIG.
• FIGS. 10B and 10C illustrate exemplary interfaces for permitting a user to make trigger assignments to a trigger group.
• Triggers may be assigned by trigger name or ID. Further, as disclosed herein, triggers may be predefined and stored as part of a library and/or they may be customized or individually defined by a user. In the example of FIG. 10B, two triggers (Manual_Trigger and Master_Data_Changed) are assigned to Trigger Group 1. In contrast, in the example of FIG. 10C, two other triggers (BADI_Trigger and Warehouse_Restriction) are assigned to Trigger Group 2.

Applications Claiming Priority (4)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=36060392

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (2)

• 2005
  • 2005-09-12 EP EP05784654A patent/EP1800256A1/fr not_active Ceased
  • 2005-09-12 WO PCT/EP2005/054533 patent/WO2006030005A2/fr active Application Filing

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