Patent ID: 7373212
Filing Date: 2008-05-13
Classification: G06Q

Abstract:
1. A computer-implemented method for determining material flows of a product in a production environment, the method comprising: accessing requirement orders describing demanded quantities of the product including a date when the product is demanded and receipt orders describing planned available quantities of the product including a date when the quantities are available; classifying the requirement orders into priority classes which represent a priority of the requirement orders; classifying the receipt orders into feasibility classes which represent a likelihood of the receipt orders to be executable as planned; identifying a requirement order from a highest priority non-empty class, the highest priority non-empty class having the a higher priority than any other feasibility class with at least one requirement order; identifying a receipt order from a highest feasibility non-empty class, the highest feasibility non-empty class having a higher feasibility than any other feasibility class with at least one receipt order, and wherein identifying a receipt order further comprises using time selection criteria of at least one of a) the date of the receipt order is within a specified range of the date of the identified requirement order; b) the date of the receipt order is prior to the date of the identified requirement order and as close as possible to the date of the identified requirement order; and c) the date of the receipt order has a date which is later than the date of the identified requirement order and as close as possible to the date of the identified requirement order; and creating a pegging linkage between the identified requirement order and the identified receipt order, wherein the pegging linkage represents a material flow of the product from an origin quantity represented by the identified receipt order to a destination quantity represented by the identified requirement order.