Patent ID: 7493184

Claim:
A computing system for providing an optimal allocation of available to promise components in a supply chain having a demand entity and a plurality of supply entities forming multiple supplier tiers, the computing system comprising: a process controller operably coupled to a demand entity data base and a message server; the process controller also being operably coupled via a network to a plurality of supply entity process servers, supply entity databases, and supply entity message clients; and a solver product responsive to material supply information, product supply rules, and supply priorities, including: a demand entity intelligent agent; a plurality of supply entity intelligent agents; means for generating an aggregate demand request including priority information and requested delivery date information for components to be supplied to the demand entity by one or more of the plurality of supply entities; means for propagating the demand request throughout the supply chain, so that the plurality of supply entity intelligent agents each associated with one of the plurality of supply entities is informed of the demand request for components supplied by that supply chain entity; means for generating and communicating to the process controller an evaluation of available to promise supply capability from the plurality of supply entity intelligent agents; and means for generating an allocation of available to promise components which is optimal from the perspective of the demand entity, wherein the means for generating an allocation of available to promise components includes means for generating a sequence of demand problems, each demand problem being evaluated end to end through the supply chain, resulting in a series of squared set solutions.