Patent Document ID: 8321305
Application ID: 12210482
Patent Flag: 1

Claim One:
1. An apparatus comprising: at least one processor; a memory coupled to the at least one processor; and an inventory planning mechanism residing in the memory and executed by the at least one processor, the inventory mechanism adapted to: determine a use requirement of at least one common component and at least one unique component in a plurality of product models; receive a sales forecast and an expected forecast for each of the plurality of product models that use the common component; compute, for each of the at least one common components, a first total feature requirement based on the sales forecast and the determined use requirement of the at least one common component; compute, for each of the at least one common components, a second total feature requirement based on the expected forecast and the determined use requirement of the at least one common component; compute a commonality factor for each of the at least one common components; compute a delta demand for the at least one common components based on a difference of the first total feature requirement and the second total feature requirement; compute a demand correction factor for each of the at least one common components by multiplying the commonality factor by the delta demand; and compute demand requirements for each of the at least one common components by subtracting the demand correction factor from the second total feature requirement.