U.S. patent application number 14/166586 was filed with the patent office on 2014-05-22 for internal material system for facilitating material and asset movement within organizational infrastructures.
This patent application is currently assigned to TSN LLC. The applicant listed for this patent is Robert Glustrom, Richard Schafer. Invention is credited to Robert Glustrom, Richard Schafer.
Application Number | 20140143100 14/166586 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 50032846 |
Filed Date | 2014-05-22 |
United States Patent
Application |
20140143100 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Glustrom; Robert ; et
al. |
May 22, 2014 |
INTERNAL MATERIAL SYSTEM FOR FACILITATING MATERIAL AND ASSET
MOVEMENT WITHIN ORGANIZATIONAL INFRASTRUCTURES
Abstract
Utilities that allow organizations to implement "best practices"
life-cycle management, asset disposition and asset tracking with
enhanced visibility and accountability. In one aspect, a utility
for use with managing inventory within the infrastructure of a
technology service provider includes receiving a first bill of
materials (BOM) from a first physical location, accessing an asset
inventory listing for the technology service provider, first
allocating assets in the asset inventory listing associated with
the first physical location to the quantity of the first requested
part of the first line item, and second allocating assets in the
asset inventory listing associated with one or more additional
physical locations within the first market to the quantity of the
first requested part responsive to the first using failing to
result in fulfillment of the quantity of the first requested part
of the first line item.
Inventors: |
Glustrom; Robert; (Atlanta,
GA) ; Schafer; Richard; (Sachse, TX) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Glustrom; Robert
Schafer; Richard |
Atlanta
Sachse |
GA
TX |
US
US |
|
|
Assignee: |
TSN LLC
Atlanta
GA
|
Family ID: |
50032846 |
Appl. No.: |
14/166586 |
Filed: |
January 28, 2014 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
13252086 |
Oct 3, 2011 |
8650101 |
|
|
14166586 |
|
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Current U.S.
Class: |
705/28 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06Q 10/087
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
705/28 |
International
Class: |
G06Q 10/08 20060101
G06Q010/08 |
Claims
1-21. (canceled)
22. A method for use with managing inventory within the
infrastructure of a technology service provider, the method
comprising: providing a database comprising an asset inventory
listing for the technology service provider, the asset inventory
listing comprising a plurality of line items respectively
representing a plurality of parts available for consumption by a
respective plurality of physical locations within the
infrastructure; receiving, at a processing engine, a request to
post a first quantity of parts of a first line item of a physical
location of the asset inventory listing into a material available
(MA) status, wherein the MA status indicates that the first
quantity of parts is to be available for consumption by projects
associated with other physical locations in the infrastructure;
assigning, using the processing engine, a second quantity of parts
of the first line item into MA status in the database; and sending,
from the processing engine in response to expiration of a first
predetermined period of time, a message requiring election of
continued MA status of the second quantity of parts or a return to
a non-MA status.
23. The method of claim 22, wherein the second quantity of parts
equals the first quantity of parts.
24. The method of claim 22, wherein the second quantity of parts is
different than the first quantity of parts.
25. The method of claim 24, wherein the second quantity of parts is
less than the first quantity of parts.
26. The method of claim 22, further comprising before the
assigning: approving assignment of the second quantity of parts
into the MA status.
27. The method of claim 22, further comprising: receiving, in
response to the sending, an election to continue MA status of the
second quantity of parts; continuing MA status of the second
quantity of parts; and sending, from the processing engine in
response to expiration of the first predetermined period of time, a
message requiring election of continued MA status of the second
quantity of parts or a return to a non-MA status.
28. The method of claim 22, further comprising: assigning the
second quantity of parts into a non-MA status upon expiration of a
second predetermined period of time in which the election has yet
to be received at the processing engine.
29. A method for use with managing inventory within the
infrastructure of a technology service provider, the method
comprising: receiving, at a processing engine, asset data
corresponding to movement of assets from a first physical location
to a second physical location within the infrastructure, wherein
the asset data includes: shipped asset data corresponding to assets
reported to have been shipped from the first physical location to
the second physical location; received asset data corresponding to
assets reported to have been received at the second physical
location from the first physical location; and status data
comprising a first status of the assets within the infrastructure;
determining, using the processing engine, whether any discrepancies
exist between the shipped and received asset data; and responsive
to at least one discrepancy existing during the determining,
disallowing modification of the status data from the first status
to at least one second status until the at least one discrepancy is
reconciled.
30. The method of claim 29, wherein the shipped asset data includes
a quantity of the assets reported to have been shipped from the
first physical location to the second physical location, wherein
the received asset data includes a quantity of the assets reported
to have been received at the second physical location from the
first physical location, and wherein the at least one discrepancy
comprises a difference between the shipped asset data quantity and
the received asset data quantity.
31. The method of claim 29, wherein the shipped asset data includes
at least one part number representing the assets reported to have
been shipped from the first physical location to the second
physical location, wherein the received asset data includes at
least one part number representing the assets reported to have been
received at the second physical location from the first physical
location, and wherein the at least one discrepancy comprises a
difference between the at least one shipped asset data part number
and the at least one received asset data part number
32. The method of claim 29, further comprising: receiving, at the
processing engine, updated shipped and received asset data;
determining, using the processing engine, whether any discrepancies
exist between the shipped and received asset data, the shipped and
received asset data including the updated shipped and received
asset data; and responsive to the determining failing to detect the
existence of any discrepancies between the shipped and received
asset data, allowing modification of the status data from the first
status to the at least one second status.
33. The method of claim 29, wherein the first status comprises an
in-transit status, and wherein the at least one second status
comprises a received status.
34. A method for use with managing inventory within the
infrastructure of a technology service provider, the method
comprising: first receiving, at a processing engine as part of at
least a first process, first asset data identifying at least one
part to be used within the infrastructure, wherein the first asset
data comprises at least one part identifier and at least one
manufacturer identifier; accessing a database that includes a
plurality of part and manufacturer identifiers corresponding to
parts used within the infrastructure; locating the part and
manufacturer identifiers of the first asset data in the database;
determining, using the processing engine, that at least one of the
part and manufacturer identifiers is an alias part or manufacturer
identifier of a first master part identifier or a first
manufacturer identifier in the database; and replacing, in the
first process, the at least one alias part or manufacturer
identifier with the first master part identifier or first master
manufacturer identifier.
35. The method of claim 34, further comprising: second receiving,
at the processing engine as part of at least a second process,
second asset data identifying at least one part to be used within
the infrastructure, wherein the second asset data comprises at
least one part identifier and at least one manufacturer identifier;
accessing the database; locating the part and manufacturer
identifiers of the second asset data in the database; determining,
using the processing engine, that at least one of the part and
manufacturer identifiers is an alias part or manufacturer
identifier of the first master part identifier or first master
manufacturer identifier in the database; and replacing, in the
second process, the at least one alias part or manufacturer
identifier with the first master part identifier or first master
manufacturer identifier, wherein the first and second processes
correspond to use of the same exact part within the
infrastructure.
36. The method of claim 34, wherein the part identifier comprises
an internal code, and HECI code or a CLEI code.
37. The method of claim 34, wherein the at least one first process
comprises at least one of a movement of a quantity of the at least
one part between first and second infrastructure locations, a
movement of a quantity of the at least one part between an
infrastructure location and a location outside of the
infrastructure location, a movement of a quantity of the at least
one part between first and second locations outside of the
infrastructure, a search of a database of infrastructure assets for
fulfilling BOM line items, and a loading of part and/or
manufacturer identifiers into a database of customer part
information.
38. The method of claim 34, wherein the at least one part
identifier corresponds to a kit of parts.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application
Ser. No. 13/252,086, entitled, "INTERNAL MATERIAL SYSTEM FOR
FACILITATING MATERIAL AND ASSET MOVEMENT WITHIN ORGANIZATIONAL
INFRASTRUCTURES," and filed on Oct. 3, 2011, the entire contents of
which are incorporated herein as is set forth in full.
BACKGROUND
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The present invention generally relates to asset management
and, more particularly to systems, methods and other utilities that
facilitate the movement of assets within an organization's
infrastructure for use in providing life-cycle management, asset
disposition and asset tracking with enhanced accountability.
[0004] 2. Relevant Background
[0005] Many companies in a wide variety of industries monitor the
use and disposition of assets of the companies for numerous
in-house or internal purposes. That is, as opposed to the
management of inventory or supply that is to be utilized to build a
number of products for sale to end-users, companies are often
concerned with the tracking of assets to be used within an
infrastructure of the companies. For instance, in the case of
technology service providers (e.g., mobile communications
providers, wire-line communication providers, installation and
engineering providers, etc.), there is often emphasis on monitoring
the use of warehouse and spares inventory that include parts and
equipment such as antennas, switches, routers, multiplexors, cross
connect panels, plug-ins, and the like.
SUMMARY
[0006] Existing products available to organizations for asset
management leave much room for improvement in relation to more
effectively managing such assets to the benefit of organizations.
In this regard, disclosed herein are a number of systems, methods
and the like (i.e., "utilities") that allow technology service
providers to implement "best practices" life-cycle management,
asset disposition and asset tracking with enhanced visibility and
accountability. The disclosed utilities may allow users to realize
increased returns on investment (ROI), extension of product
lifecycles, and reduction of equipment costs and write-downs by way
of improvement of spares management and forecasting and enhanced
inventory control (e.g., through movement of assets to where they
are needed within the organization's infrastructure, real-time
tracking and visibility of asset movement, and the like).
[0007] In one aspect, a utility for use with managing inventory
within the infrastructure of a technology service provider is
provided. The utility includes receiving, at a processing engine
(e.g., a processor of a server), at least a first bill of materials
(BOM) that includes at least a first line item. The first line item
represents a quantity of at least a first part requested for at
least one project that is associated with a first physical location
within a first market of the infrastructure. The utility also
includes accessing in a database, using the processing engine, an
asset inventory listing for the technology service provider; first
using the processing engine to allocate, in the database, any
assets in the asset inventory listing associated with the first
physical location to the quantity of the first requested part of
the first line item; and second using the processing engine to
allocate, in the database, any assets in the asset inventory
listing associated with one or more additional physical locations
within the first market to the quantity of the first requested part
responsive to the first using failing to result in fulfillment of
the quantity of the first requested part of the first line
item.
[0008] That is, the utility first considers "on-hand" inventory
available at or near the originating point of the BOM request
(i.e., within a warehouse at first physical location at or near the
project for which the BOM is requested) for fulfilling requested
part quantities. Therefore, in the case that the requested part
quantity cannot be fulfilled by the on-hand inventory, the utility
then considers inventory at other physical locations within a
market of the first physical location (e.g., materials that have
been flagged as being available for consumption by BOMs associated
with other physical locations). In the event that on-hand inventory
and other inventory within the first market fail to fulfill the
requested part quantity, some variations of the utility contemplate
allocating assets associated with physical locations of a second
market (where the first and second markets are disposed within a
first region of the providers infrastructure) to the requested part
quantity and/or allocating assets associated with a second region
of the infrastructure to the requested part quantity.
[0009] In this regard, this utility allows for BOMs to be fulfilled
substantially automatically by way of one or more expanding
concentric searches of a provider's complete inventory; doing so
serves to limit the long, time-consuming searches of various
databases performed by existing searching products and the
accompanying errors. More specifically, the disclosed concentric
searching may be with respect to each technology service provider's
infrastructure, where the infrastructure is hierarchically
organized into locations, markets, regions, and the like (e.g.,
where each market includes one or more locations, each region
includes one or more markets, and the like). Furthermore, as
provider infrastructures may be appropriately organized to satisfy
various accounting and budgeting constraints, the hierarchically
organized infrastructure need not necessarily be geographically
organized.
[0010] For instance, while a location that is only an hour's drive
from the originating location may be able to supply a requested
part quantity immediately, the location may be in a different
region than the originating location and result in additional
accounting and approval processes that may essentially nullify any
benefit owing to the close location of the part(s). As another
example, a different location that is two hours away within the
same region as the originating location could also be shipped
immediately but without the hassle of accounting or approvals (due
to being in the same region as the originating location). Thus, the
utility allows provider managers and other administrators to
customize the provider's infrastructure in any desired manner for
use in the efficient movement of assets between infrastructure
locations.
[0011] In another aspect, a utility is disclosed for use with
managing inventory within the infrastructure of a technology
service provider that includes providing a database including a
prioritized listing of bills of material (BOMs), where each BOM
includes a plurality of line items, and where each line item
represents a quantity of a part requested for at least one project
within the infrastructure. The utility also includes determining,
using a processing engine, an estimated issue date (EID) for asset
quantities of the infrastructure (e.g., asset quantities that are
considered to be "excess" within the infrastructure) that match
each line item of each BOM, where the EID represents the soonest
that the infrastructure asset quantities can fulfill the quantity
of parts of the line item; and assigning infrastructure asset
quantities having sooner EIDs to line items of BOMs in the
prioritized listing of BOMs that have higher priorities than other
BOMs. In this regard, the utility can advantageously assign
infrastructure assets with the soonest EIDs to the highest priority
BOMs.
[0012] In one arrangement, the utility may include positioning one
BOM above another BOM in the prioritized listing of BOMs (e.g.,
reprioritizing the BOMs); and then assigning, in response to the
positioning, infrastructure asset quantities of a common part to
line items of BOMs in the prioritized listing of BOMs that have
higher priorities than other BOMs (e.g., "reshuffling"
infrastructure asset quantities). After the assigning, an
infrastructure asset quantity allocated to a common part line item
of the one BOM has a sooner EID than does an infrastructure asset
quantity allocated to a common part line item of the other BOM
(where the EIDs of the infrastructure asset quantities may have
been vice versa before the BOM reprioritization). These steps
advantageously allow higher priority BOMs to essentially utilize
infrastructure assets that have already been ordered for other BOMs
(i.e., robbing Peter to pay Paul) which may result in faster BOM
line item fulfillment (e.g., as compared to having to newly order
assets or parts for a BOM line item). In another arrangement, one
or more infrastructure asset quantities can be locked or bound to a
particular BOM line item which prevents the locked quantity from
being "reshuffled".
[0013] In another aspect, a method for use with managing inventory
within the infrastructure of a technology service provider includes
providing a database including an asset inventory listing for the
technology service provider, the asset inventory listing comprising
a plurality of line items respectively representing a plurality of
parts available for consumption by a respective plurality of
physical locations within the infrastructure; receiving, at a
processing engine, a request to post a first quantity of parts of a
first line item of a physical location of the asset inventory
listing into a material available (MA) status, where the MA status
indicates that the first quantity of parts is to be available for
consumption by projects associated with other physical locations in
the infrastructure; assigning, using the processing engine, a
second quantity of parts of the first line item into MA status in
the database; and sending, from the processing engine in response
to expiration of a first predetermined period of time, a message
requiring election of continued MA status of the second quantity of
parts or a return to a non-MA status.
[0014] In one arrangement, the utility may include receiving, in
response to the sending, an election to continue MA status of the
second quantity of parts; continuing MA status of the second
quantity of parts; and ending, from the processing engine in
response to expiration of the first predetermined period of time, a
message requiring election of continued MA status of the second
quantity of parts or a return to a non-MA status. In another
arrangement, the utility may include assigning the second quantity
of parts into a non-MA status upon expiration of a second
predetermined period of time in which the election has yet to be
received at the processing engine.
[0015] In another aspect, a method for use with managing inventory
within the infrastructure of a technology service provider includes
receiving, at a processing engine, asset data corresponding to
movement of assets from a first physical location to a second
physical location within the infrastructure. The asset data
includes shipped asset data corresponding to assets reported to
have been shipped from the first physical location to the second
physical location, received asset data corresponding to assets
reported to have been received at the second physical location from
the first physical location, and status data comprising a first
status of the assets within the infrastructure. The utility also
includes determining, using the processing engine, whether any
discrepancies exist between the shipped and received asset data
(e.g., in quantities, part numbers, etc.); and, responsive to at
least one discrepancy existing during the determining, disallowing
modification of the status data from the first status to at least
one second status until the at least one discrepancy is reconciled.
This aspect advantageously forces action on the part of an RMP or
other user to rectify the discrepancy as a failure to do so would
prevent the assets from being able to fulfill BOM line items, be
sold by dealers, etc. and, in other words, would cause a chokepoint
in the free and efficient flow of infrastructure assets.
[0016] In one variation, the utility may include receiving, at the
processing engine, updated shipped and received asset data;
determining, using the processing engine, whether any discrepancies
exist between the shipped and received asset data, the shipped and
received asset data including the updated shipped and received
asset data; and responsive to the determining failing to detect the
existence of any discrepancies between the shipped and received
asset data, allowing modification of the status data from the first
status to the at least one second status.
[0017] In another aspect, a method for use with managing inventory
within the infrastructure of a technology service provider includes
first receiving, at a processing engine as part of at least a first
process, first asset data identifying at least one part to be used
within the infrastructure, wherein the first asset data comprises
at least one part identifier and at least one manufacturer
identifier; accessing a database that includes a plurality of part
and manufacturer identifiers corresponding to parts used within the
infrastructure; locating the part and manufacturer identifiers of
the first asset data in the database; determining, using the
processing engine, that at least one of the part and manufacturer
identifiers is an alias part or manufacturer identifier of a first
master part identifier or a first manufacturer identifier in the
database; and replacing, in the first process, the at least one
alias part or manufacturer identifier with the first master part
identifier or first master manufacturer identifier.
[0018] In one variation, the utility may include second receiving,
at the processing engine as part of at least a second process,
second asset data identifying at least one part to be used within
the infrastructure, wherein the second asset data comprises at
least one part identifier and at least one manufacturer identifier;
accessing the database; locating the part and manufacturer
identifiers of the second asset data in the database; determining,
using the processing engine, that at least one of the part and
manufacturer identifiers is an alias part or manufacturer
identifier of the first master part identifier or first master
manufacturer identifier in the database; and replacing, in the
second process, the at least one alias part or manufacturer
identifier with the first master part identifier or first master
manufacturer identifier, wherein the first and second processes
correspond to use of the same exact part within the
infrastructure.
[0019] Any of the embodiments, arrangements, or the like discussed
herein may be used (either alone or in combination with other
embodiments, arrangement, or the like) with any of the disclosed
aspects. Merely introducing a feature in accordance with commonly
accepted antecedent basis practice does not limit the corresponding
feature to the singular. Any failure to use phrases such as "at
least one" does not limit the corresponding feature to the
singular. Use of the phrase "at least generally," "at least
partially," "substantially" or the like in relation to a particular
feature encompasses the corresponding characteristic and
insubstantial variations thereof. Furthermore, a reference of a
feature in conjunction with the phrase "in one embodiment" does not
limit the use of the feature to a single embodiment.
[0020] In addition to the exemplary aspects and embodiments
described above, further aspects and embodiments will become
apparent by reference to the drawings and by study of the following
descriptions.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0021] FIG. 1 is a schematic system diagram illustrating the
relationship between a number of technology service providers and
the functionality of an asset management server according to one
embodiment.
[0022] FIGS. 2-15 illustrate various screenshots of a portal of the
server of FIG. 1 accessible by technology service provider users
for use in efficiently managing their internal assets.
[0023] FIG. 16 is a flow diagram of a method for monitoring
infrastructure asset quantities that have been associated with a
"material available" status.
[0024] FIG. 17 is a flow diagram of a method for performing
concentric searching of assets within a provider's infrastructure
to fulfill BOM line items.
[0025] FIGS. 18-19 illustrate various screenshots of the portal of
FIG. 1.
[0026] FIG. 20 is a flow diagram of a method for reprioritizing
BOMs and reshuffling matching infrastructure assets among BOM line
items after a corresponding BOM reprioritization.
[0027] FIGS. 21-22 illustrate various screenshots of the portal of
FIG. 1.
[0028] FIG. 23 is a flow diagram of a method for monitoring asset
shipments between locations of a service provider and/or third
parties.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0029] The present disclosure generally relates to utilities
designed to allow organizations to more efficiently manage and
monitor movement of their internal assets (i.e., as opposed to
inventory and supplies intended to form part of products for
end-users) within the infrastructures of the organizations for use
in fulfilling BOM requests, improving spares and warehouse
inventory usage, extending product lifecycles, and the like. In
much of the following discussion, various utilities are discussed
in the context of service providers (i.e., entities that provide
services such as subscription or web services to other entities)
such as communications service providers (e.g., telecommunications
services providers) as doing so is particularly useful due to the
extent of the infrastructure of such providers involving the
movement of numerous types of assets (e.g., parts necessary to
build cellular towers, switching stations, etc.) between locations
of the infrastructure. It should be appreciated that the disclosed
utilities may, in some arrangements, be utilized in contexts other
than service providers.
[0030] Turning now to FIG. 1, a functional block diagram of a
system 100 is illustrated that may be used to efficiently manage
and track the use and movement of organizational (e.g., technology
service provider) assets to where such assets are needed within the
provider infrastructures. The system 100 includes at least one
server 104 that broadly receives customer (e.g., provider) data
(e.g., master parts lists, asset data, infrastructure information,
etc.) and subsequently processes such data using one or more
modules (either individually or in combination) in a manner that
allows customers to effectively manage their internal assets. The
server 104 may be in communication with one or more organizations
such as one or more service providers 108 (each including an
infrastructure of locations, markets, etc. as will be discussed
below) by way of one or more networks 112 (e.g., Internet, WANs,
LANs). While the server 104 is shown as a single device (e.g.,
server, laptop, desktop, mobile device, and/or other computing
device), one or more functionalities, processes or modules of the
server 104 may be allocated among a plurality of machines, devices
and/or processes which may or may not be embodied in a single
housing. In one arrangement, functionalities of the server 104 may
be embodied in any appropriate cloud or distributed computing
environment.
[0031] The server 104 may include memory 116 (e.g., one or more RAM
or other volatile memory modules), a processing engine or unit 120
(e.g., one or more CPUs) for executing computer readable
instructions from the memory 116, storage 124 (e.g., one or more
magnetic disks or other non-volatile memory modules), and/or a
number of other components 128 (e.g., input devices such as a
keyboard and mouse, output devices such as a display and speakers,
and the like), all of which may be appropriately interconnected by
a system bus 132. While not shown, the server 104 may include any
appropriate number and arrangement of interfaces that may
facilitate interconnection between the system bus 132 and the
various components of the server 104 as well as with other devices
(e.g., providers 108).
[0032] As shown, the memory 116 may include a portal 136 (e.g., an
Internet or web-based platform) in addition to a number of programs
or modules (for execution by the processing unit 120) that may be
accessed by the portal 136 for use in efficiently managing and
controlling warehouse and spares inventories of the providers 108.
For instance, any appropriate browser (not shown) running on client
devices (e.g., including memory, processor, storage, display, etc.)
of the providers 108 may appropriately access the portal 136 via
network(s) 112 (which may entail entering or providing any
appropriate credentials such as user name and password). While
reference will now be made to a number of representative
screenshots of the portal 136 that may be presented on a display of
a client device of a provider 108 and that may be manipulated by
each provider users (e.g., by administrators, managers, and/or
other users) to manage and monitor their internal inventories, it
should be understood that the various functionalities disclosed
herein are not limited to use with such specific screenshots.
Rather, the screenshots are merely provided to facilitate the
reader's understanding of the various programs, modules and other
functionalities disclosed herein.
[0033] Starting now at FIG. 2, various screenshots of the portal
136 will be illustrated that broadly provide users with the ability
to track asset status in real-time, facilitate movement of assets
between to where they are needed within the provider
infrastructures, and the like. Like many of the other screenshots
that will be discussed below, the screenshot 200 in FIG. 2 includes
a number of "first-level" buttons 204 (or other types of
user-manipulable features), a number of "second level" buttons 208
(or other types of user-manipulable features), and/or a number of
"third level" buttons 212 (or other types of user manipulable
features) for use in accessing the various functionalities herein.
In one arrangement, the first level buttons 204 may remain the same
throughout the various screenshots while the second and/or third
level buttons 208, 212 may change (to provide access to different
functionalities) depending upon which of the first level buttons
204 (or second level buttons 208) have been manipulated. It should
be understood, however, that the present disclosure is not limited
to the specific arrangements and names of buttons, drop-down menus,
and the like shown in the present figures. Rather, these features
have only been provided to assist the reader in understanding the
various functionalities disclosed herein.
[0034] In this screenshot 200, a "company settings" button 204 and
"company info" button 208 have been manipulated which broadly allow
a service provider to set and/or upload specific provider
information to be used by the various functionalities disclosed
herein (e.g., and which may be appropriately stored in storage
124). More specifically, FIG. 2 illustrates a number of cells 216
(and/or other features) that may be presented upon manipulation of
a "main company information" button 212 and that may be populated
with basic provider contact information (e.g., name, address, phone
number, website address, etc.).
[0035] FIGS. 3-5 illustrate screenshots 220, 224, 228 that may be
presented upon respective manipulation of "manage region," "manage
market," and "manage location" buttons 212. Each provider 108 may
utilize these buttons 212 to establish any desired infrastructure
within which provider assets are to be managed. As shown in FIG. 3,
the screenshot 220 may include a column 232 listing a number of
regions (e.g., "Main Region," "Corporate," etc.) of a provider, a
button 236 that allows for the addition of additional regions, a
drop-down menu 238 that allows for editing and other processing of
one or more of the regions, and/or a number of other user
manipulable features. As shown in FIG. 4, the screenshot 224 may
include a column 240 listing a number of markets (e.g.,
"Corporate," "Main Market," etc.), a column 244 listing the region
(as provided in FIG. 3) within which each market resides, a button
248 that allows for the addition of additional markets, a drop-down
menu 252 that allows for editing and other processing of one or
more of the regions, and/or a number of additional user manipulable
features.
[0036] As shown in FIG. 5, the screenshot 228 may include a column
256 listing a number of physical locations (e.g., cities,
warehouses, etc., such as "Atlanta," "Alpha," etc.), a column 260
listing the market within which each of the locations resides, a
section 264 within which contact and identification data of one or
more of the locations can be manipulated, a button 268 that allows
for the addition of additional locations, a drop-down menu 272 that
allows for the editing and other processing of one or more of the
locations, and/or a number of additional user manipulable features.
In this regard, each provider may be able to establish any desired
hierarchical infrastructure (e.g., where each region includes one
or more markets, and where each market includes one or more
locations) that may be stored in a customer infrastructure database
274 and used by the functionalities disclosed herein to efficiently
move assets between provider locations. Further discussion in
relation to hierarchically organized infrastructures will be
provided below.
[0037] Turning to FIG. 6, another screenshot 276 may be presented
on a user's display upon manipulation of a "parts management"
button 208 and a "master parts" button 212. This screenshot 276
illustrates information related to each of a number of physical
parts (i.e., assets) used in the infrastructure of a particular
service provider. Before discussing the screenshot 276 in more
detail, it is noted that the memory 116 of the server 104 may
include a "fuzzy" searching module 404 (e.g., one or more sets of
computer-readable instructions) that works in conjunction with
other modules and functionalities disclosed herein to allow for
"intelligent" searching capabilities. As will be appreciated
throughout this discussion, provision and storage of various pieces
of identifying data for each part (e.g., master part number,
manufacturer name, internal code, etc.) advantageously allows the
fuzzy searching module 404 to perform fuzzy searching and/or
cross-referencing of the pieces of data as part of many of the
other processes disclosed herein (e.g., during initial loading of
part numbers and manufacturer names, when infrastructure locations
are updating asset quantities, loading BOMs, etc.) to increase the
ability of the server 104 to accurately identify part matches
(e.g., such as reducing the likelihood that two identical parts are
surmised to be different due to differing internal codes used at
different locations within a service provider's
infrastructure).
[0038] For instance, the screenshot 276 may include a "part number"
column 280 that lists a master part number or name for each
respective part, a "manufacturer" column 284 that indicates a
manufacturer or supplier for each respective part, an "internal
code" column 288 that indicates a possibly unique internal code or
number for each part, a "HECI/CLEI" column 292 that indicates a
code or number used by the manufacturer to identify the part, a
"description" column 296 that allows a user to enter any
appropriate description for each part, and an "action" column 300
that allows a user to take one or more actions with respect to each
part. The various pieces of data illustrated in the screenshot 276
may be stored in a customer master parts database 304 corresponding
to each particular service provider.
[0039] To modify the data in any of the various columns 280-296 for
a particular part, an icon (or button or other user manipulable
feature) in the action column 300 for the part may be manipulated
to cause the display of a pop-up window 308. Turning now to FIG. 7,
another screenshot 306 may be presented which includes the pop-up
window 308. For instance, the pop-up window 308 may include a
number of cells, drop-down menus and the like that allow a user to
modify or otherwise set any of the data in the columns 280-296 as
well as other types of identifying information or metrics for the
particular part (e.g., dimensions, weight, etc.). As shown, one
cell 312 (or other feature) of the pop-up window 308 allows a user
to enter one or more alternate part numbers for the particular part
being edited (that, along with the other pieces of identifying
information and metrics, is linked to and cross-referenced with the
part number and each of the other pieces of information and metrics
in the database 304). Provision of an alternate part number allows,
for instance, the fuzzy searching module 404 to facilitate
fulfillment of a particular BOM line item quantity even if the
originally requested part (i.e., the part being edited in this
example) is unavailable in the provider's infrastructure or
otherwise non-locatable.
[0040] Another feature of the pop-up window 308 may be a drop-down
menu 316 (or other feature) that allows a user to select a "part
class" for the particular part name or number provided in column
280. Here, while each of the part names or numbers shown in column
280 is, in this example, a "master" part name or number, a user may
be able to use the drop-down menu 316 (and/or other user
manipulable features) to make a particular part number a
"secondary" part number, "tertiary" part number, or other type of
alias part number of another part number in which case such part
numbers would be appropriately linked and cross-referenced in the
database 304. In one arrangement, the alias part number could be
removed from column 280 and could populate an appropriate cell in
the pop-up window 308 of the master part number (not shown). While
also not shown, the portal 136 may include an "all parts" or other
similar type of button 212 that, when manipulated, causes the
display of a column showing all part numbers (i.e., whether master
or alias part numbers) used in the provider's infrastructure. For
instance, an administrator or other user, upon determining that two
different part numbers in column 280 are really identifying the
same physical part, could make one of the part numbers a
"secondary" or "alias" part number of the other part number. Thus,
the database 304 may be a dynamic, evolving database that can
become more accurate over time with continued user inputs,
modifications, etc. As a result, the fuzzy searching module 404 may
utilize the database 304 to enhance the ability of many of the
other modules and functionalities disclosed herein (which will be
discussed more fully below) to more efficiently manage and monitor
asset movement and disposition within a provider's
infrastructure.
[0041] Turning now to FIG. 8, another screenshot 320 may be
presented to a user upon manipulation of a "master manufacturers"
button 212. As shown, this screenshot 320 may include a
"manufacturer" column 324 that indicates a number of master
manufacturer names or numbers used in the infrastructure. For each
name in the column 324, an expand button 328 (or other feature) may
be provided that, when manipulated, may cause the display of a
column 332 listing any alias manufacturer names corresponding to
the particular master manufacturer name. Like the alias part
numbers, each of the alias manufacturer names are provided as a way
of saying that a first alias name (e.g., "airtel123" in FIG. 8) is
the same as a second alias name (e.g., "airtel11" in FIG. 8), both
of which correspond to a master name (e.g., "Airtel" in FIG. 8). In
this regard, the fuzzy searching module 404, upon accessing the
database 304 and performing appropriate cross-referencing, would be
able to surmise that the first and second alias names are really
referring to the same manufacturer.
[0042] For instance, imagine that users associated with first and
second locations within a provider's infrastructure both enter the
same part number (e.g., "AUA23") but different manufacturer names
into the portal 136 for storage in a customer asset database 339
(e.g., which includes available part or asset quantities at each of
the locations) and/or a BOMs database 340 (e.g., which includes one
or more BOMs of projects associated with each of the locations).
Some previous systems would only consider the part numbers and
possibly incorrectly assume that the two locations are referring to
the same physical part (because, for instance, different
manufacturers may utilize the same part number). However, the fuzzy
searching module 404 includes one or more layers of
cross-referencing to confirm whether or not the two locations are
referring to the same physical part. For instance, the fuzzy
searching module 404 may access the database 304 to determine
whether the different manufacturer names are referring to the same
manufacturer (e.g., if one name is an alias of another) or
different manufacturers (in which case the two entries from the
first and second locations are referring to different part numbers,
despite using the exact same part number). Additional types of
cross-referencing may be included.
[0043] With continued reference to the screenshot 320 of FIG. 8 and
similar to the management of part numbers, a user may be able to
appropriately set master manufacturer names, aliases thereof, and
the like. For instance, the screenshot 320 may include a
"master/alias" column 333 including a plurality of drop-down menus
(or other features) that allow a user to selectively opt to make a
particular manufacturer name a master or an alias. In the case
where a user opts to make a first of the manufacturer names in
column 324 an alias name, the user could manipulate the appropriate
drop-down menu in the column 333 to cause "make alias" to be
displayed, and then manipulate an appropriate "merge with"
drop-down menu (or other feature) in an "action" column 334 to
select a second of the manufacturer names in the column 324 of
which the first manufacturer name is to be an alias. As with the
part number information, the manufacturer name information may be
appropriately stored in the customer parts database 304 or other
appropriate database so as to be cross-referenced against the part
number information.
[0044] The screenshots 276, 306, 320 may also include "add part"
and "upload master set" buttons 212 that, upon manipulation
thereof, cause the presentation of screenshots (not shown) that
allow a service provider user to respectively input additional
individual parts or upload a portion or an entirety of a customer
master parts set (e.g., in the form of one or more data structures
including part numbers, internal codes, etc.) into the customer
master parts database 304 for use by the various functionalities
disclosed herein (e.g., from corresponding customer master parts
and customer asset databases 109, 110, see FIG. 1). Furthermore,
the screenshots 276, 306, 320 may include "approve parts" and
"approve manufacturers" buttons 212 that, upon manipulation
thereof, cause the presentation of screenshots (not shown) that
allow a user to indicate one or more parts or manufacturers as
being "masters" or "aliases" in the event that the one or more
parts or manufacturer names are not recognized by the fuzzy
searching module 404. For instance, in addition to any customer
parts information that was previously loaded and stored in the
database 304, the server 104 may also include at least one
"default" master parts database 305 including information similar
to that discussed above (e.g., part numbers, manufacturer names,
etc.) and that may gathered from one or more previously stored
master parts databases (e.g., from the same or different service
providers). In this regard, use of the "add part" and/or "upload
master set" buttons 212 to input or upload part numbers may cause
the fuzzy searching module 400 to search (e.g., via
cross-referencing) for any previously loaded information
corresponding to the same physical part or manufacturer and, in the
event of a failure to identify previously stored information, cause
the screenshots corresponding to the "approve part" and "approve
manufacturer" buttons 212 to display one or more parts or
manufacturers to identify as being masters or aliases (of another
master).
[0045] In one arrangement, the fuzzy searching module 404,
concentric searching module 406 (discussed below) and/or other
functionalities disclosed herein may utilize kitting (i.e., the
placement or association of two or more items or parts together to
form one group or one single item). For instance, during the
loading of inventory by service providers, kitting may be used to
identify a specific part number being loaded into the server 104.
That is, while a user may enter part identifying information
corresponding to only a single part, the fuzzy searching module 404
may understand that the particular identifying information actually
corresponds to a specific grouping of other parts and specific
quantities of these parts. For instance, while a user may be able
to observe the single entered part number or line item, the user
may also be able to go into a "kitting" screenshot or view and
observe the actual listings and levels of all the parts associated
with that "kit." The kit could simply be a single level of a
grouping of various parts or be a mixture of parts and other kits.
With this knowledge, users could continue to drill down to the
multiple levels that could be contained within increasing numbers
of kits. For instance, a service provider can not only designate
the parts within a kit and groupings of kits within kits with
endless levels or groupings, but the lowest level parts within such
kits may be tied into the customer master parts database 304.
[0046] Turning now to FIG. 9, another screenshot 336 may be
illustrated upon manipulation of an "asset management" button 204
under an AMS (asset management system) tab 205 of the portal 136.
In additional to the AMS tab 205, the portal 136 also includes an
IMS (internal material system) tab 206. For reference and as used
herein, the AMS can be thought of as the collection of modules,
processes and functionalities of the system 100 disclosed herein
that are generally responsible for maintaining and providing
inventory statuses and views of on-hand or local parts and
materials of a particular infrastructure location, allowing for the
posting of local parts into one of a number of "processes," and the
like. As also used herein, IMS can be thought of as the collection
of modules, processes and functionalities of the system 100
disclosed herein that are generally responsible for enabling
movement of assets to where they are needed within the provider's
infrastructure, detecting and allowing for the reconciliation of
delivery discrepancies between infrastructure locations, and the
like. It will be appreciated throughout this discussion how the AMS
and IMS are operable to seamlessly function together to enable
service providers to efficiently utilize their internal inventories
(i.e., those assets intended for internal consumption as opposed to
assets intended for use in products for end-users outside of the
provider's infrastructure).
[0047] As illustrated, manipulation of an "asset maintenance"
button 208 and a "manage parts" button 212 may cause the display of
part identification information (e.g., at least some of that shown
in FIG. 6) as well as quantity levels, statuses, etc. for a desired
location within a provider infrastructure market and/or region. The
screenshot 336 may include a drop-down menu 338 (or other feature)
that allows a user to select a desired infrastructure location
(e.g., as shown, an "alpha" location) along with a number of
columns that include information specific to each of a number of
parts associated with the selected location. For instance, the
screenshot 336 may include a plurality of columns 340 that include
identifying information for each of a plurality of parts (e.g.,
part number, HECI, internal code, manufacturer, etc.).
[0048] The screenshot 336 may also include a plurality of columns
341 that indicate various inventory levels or metrics for each of
the parts. One of the columns 341 may be an "available quantity"
column 344 that provides an indication (e.g., numerical) of a
quantity of each of the various parts of the selected location that
is "available" to be put into one or more "processes" as will be
discussed in more detail below. Another of the columns 341 may be a
"spare quantity" column 346 that provides a quantity of each part
that is being reserved for one or more purposes or otherwise
withheld from allocation to one or more of the processes. Another
of the columns 341 may be an "in process" column 348 that provides
the quantity of each part that is currently in a process. It should
be understood that the quantities in the columns 344, 346 and 348
are mutually exclusive (e.g., a part quantity that is "available"
cannot also be "spare" or "in process"). In any case, there may
also be a "total quantity" column 342 that provides an indication
of a summation of values of the columns 344, 346 and 348 for each
part.
[0049] For a greater understanding of the "processes" that
available part quantities may be put into, reference is now made to
the screenshot 350 of FIG. 10. As shown, an expand button 352 (or
other feature) of a particular part has been manipulated to cause
the display of a number of cells that specify the various processes
into which quantities of the particular part are currently
allocated. One cell may be a "WTS quantity" cell 356 ("Want To
Sell" quantity cell) that indicates the quantity of the particular
part that has been consigned to a dealer or other party for sale on
a secondary market or at least has been requested to be sold on a
secondary market. Another cell may be an "IMS quantity" cell 358
that indicates that quantity of the particular part that has been
allocated for possible use or consumption by BOMs originating from
infrastructure locations other than the current location (e.g., the
location selected in drop-down menu 338 in FIG. 9). Another cell
may be a "BOM quantity" cell 360 that indicates the quantity of the
particular part that has been allocated to BOMs originating from
the current location. The screenshot 350 may also include a "total
quantity in process" cell 354 that is a summation of the cells 356,
358, 360 and which corresponds to the value in the "in process"
cell 348 for the particular part from FIG. 9.
[0050] As discussed above, part quantities associated with
infrastructure locations can be put into one or more processes such
as moving the part quantities from one infrastructure location to
another infrastructure location to fulfill a BOM line item, posting
a part quantity into an MA status, consigning the parts to a
dealer, and the like. As will be discussed more fully below, BOMs
originating from a particular location (e.g., the "alpha" location
as selected and shown in FIGS. 9-10) may first be fulfilled from
"available" quantities (e.g., see column 344 in FIG. 9) of the
particular location. For instance, part quantities associated with
an "Alpha" location that are currently allocated to BOMs
originating from the Alpha location may be added to the "BOM
quantity" cell 360 as being currently assigned to a BOM process. In
the event that a particular part quantity has been in an
"available" status for more than a predetermined or desired period
of time (e.g., a time period indicating that the part quantity is
becoming stale), users (e.g., regional material planners or RMPs)
may opt to find other uses for such part quantities (e.g., by way
of posting such part quantities into one or more processes).
[0051] With continued reference to FIG. 10, a user may
appropriately select one or more desired parts which are to be
posted into a process (e.g., via selecting a checkbox 362 or other
user manipulable feature) and then select a "process" button 364
(or other feature); doing so may present the screenshot 366 of FIG.
11 which may include a "post selected as IMS" button 368 and a
"post selected as WTS" button 370. For instance, before consigning
the particular part quantities to a dealer for sale on a secondary
market (which would be possible via manipulating the "post selected
as WTS" button 370, a user may desire to make the part quantities
available for consumption by BOMs originating from other locations
within the provider's infrastructure (e.g., such as by sending the
part quantities into a process that changes a status of the part
quantities into a "material available" (MA) status indicating that
the part quantities can be consumed by other locations within the
infrastructure). In this regard, manipulation of the "post selected
as IMS" button 368 may cause the display of the screenshot 372 in
FIG. 12 which allows the user to select a particular quantity of
the "available" quantity of each of the particular parts to be
submitted to IMS for possible consumption by other infrastructure
locations (among other possible actions).
[0052] Upon selection of desired part quantities in appropriate
cells 374 in the screenshot 372, the user may manipulate a "submit
to IMS" button 376 that causes a status of the part quantities to
be changed from an "available" status to another status (e.g., a
"pending processing" status) where, for instance, such statuses may
be appropriately stored in the customer asset database 339.
Furthermore, opting to submit the particular part quantities to IMS
may cause the generation of a "pending posting" line item or
message that may be presented to any appropriate personnel or
administrator (e.g., RMP) to determine whether and/or how the part
quantities are to be made available to other infrastructure
locations. Turning now to FIG. 13, another screenshot 380 of the
portal 136 is shown up manipulation of the "submit to IMS" button
376 and that presents a plurality of processes for a corresponding
plurality of part quantities as uploaded by one or more users
(e.g., personnel associated with infrastructure locations where
such part quantities reside) to be acted on by an RMP or other
appropriate personnel (e.g., to move the part quantities into
another process). Alternatively, an RMP or other personnel may
access the screenshot 380 upon manipulation of an "Internal
Material System" button 204 and a "pending postings" button
208.
[0053] In any case, the screenshot 380 may include a number of
columns that include information for the plurality of processes
such as, inter alia, a "process ID" column 382 that displays a
unique ID to be used by system components and functionalities to
monitor and keep track of the processing for a particular part
quantity, an "action" column 384 including a number of buttons or
other user manipulable features that allow an RMP to take a
particular action (discussed below) with respect to a particular
process, among other columns (e.g., upload date, partly responsible
for upload, status, part quantity, etc.). An RMP or other personnel
may peruse the processes in the screenshot 380 to determine which
process(es) to take action on. For instance, the RMP may choose to
address pending processes according to upload date (e.g., via
addressing the oldest first), part quantity, and/or in any other
appropriate manner. Once the RMP has decided which process to act
on, the "RMP action" button (or other feature) corresponding to the
particular process in the "action" column 384 may be manipulated to
allow the RMP to take one or more appropriate actions with respect
to the pending part quantity process.
[0054] Turning now to FIG. 14, another screenshot 386 may be
presented upon the RMP or other personnel deciding which process to
take action on. In this screenshot 386, a number of cells 388 may
be presented which may be populated with part identifying
information (e.g., at least some of that shown in the screenshot
276 of FIG. 6), inventory information (e.g., total quantity
uploaded for IMS processing), and the like. The screenshot 386 may
also include a drop-down menu 390 (or other feature) that allows
the RMP to select one of a number of actions to take with respect
to the part in addition to cell 391 (or other feature) that allows
the RMP to choose the specific amount of the total quantity of the
part for which the action is to be taken such as the entire total
quantity or some portion of the total quantity (e.g., the cell 391
may be initially automatically populated with the total quantity).
As shown in the drop-down menu 390, the RMP may opt to send the
selected part quantity to sale/recycle (e.g., via consigning the
part quantity to a dealer), return (e.g., returning the part
quantity to the originating location in "available" status),
ADT/administrator (e.g., which allows for tracking of serialized
assets), or MA (i.e., make the part quantity available for
consumption by infrastructure locations other than the location
from which the part quantity process was uploaded). The RMP may
also choose to reject the part quantity from processing (e.g., via
returning the part quantity to the "available" status at the
originating location) or retain the part quantity for use. Upon
selection of a particular part quantity in cell 391 and a
particular action to take in drop-down menu 390, the RMP or other
user may select a "process" button in order to take the selected
action for the selected part quantity. The particular process ID
(from the process ID column in FIG. 13) may then be appropriately
linked or bound to the selected process (e.g., sale/recycle, MA
status, etc.) in the system and appropriately stored in the
customer asset database 339 for use or access by other components,
modules and functionalities disclosed herein.
[0055] Turning now to FIG. 15, another screenshot 393 of the portal
136 may be presented upon manipulation of the "material
availability" button 208 and the "view" or "my view" button 212.
Generally, this screenshot 393 presents a list of part quantities
from infrastructure locations that have been approved for MA status
(where manipulation of the "view" button 212 presents part
quantities in MA status originating from other locations and
manipulation of the "my view" button 212 presents part quantities
in MA status originating from a current or user-defined location).
As with the other listings of data and information shown in other
screenshots presented herein, the data shown in the screenshot 393
may be stored in any appropriate database in storage 124 for access
by the portal 136. For instance, this screenshot 393 may include a
"process ID" column 413 that includes identifiers that link
approved part quantities to MA processes and thus MA statuses, a
number of part identifying information columns 414 that include
part numbers, internal codes, etc. representing the parts of each
MA process, a "quantity" column 415 that provides the quantity of a
particular part that is in MA status, an "available" column 417
that provides a numerical indication of the quantity of parts that
is currently available for consumption by BOM line items, a
"pending" column 419 that provides a numerical indication of the
quantity of parts that have already been requested for a BOM of a
particular infrastructure location, a "days active" column 421 that
provides a number days (and/or other time increments) that the
particular part quantity has been in MA status, an "action" column
423 that allows an RMP or other user to take one or more actions
with respect to the particular part quantity (e.g., return to an
"available" status at the originating location, send for
sale/recycle, and the like), and/or one or more additional columns
(e.g., status, time, etc.).
[0056] As discussed throughout this disclosure, the present
functionalities and utilities advantageously allow technology
service providers to implement "best practices" life-cycle
management, asset disposition and asset tracking with enhanced
visibility and accountability. In this regard, the server 104 may
include what will be referred to as an "MA status" module 405 (see
FIG. 1) that broadly serves to monitor the listing of part
quantities that have been placed into an MA status and
automatically "cleanse" the listing of part quantities that have
remained in MA status for more than a user-defined period of time
indicating that it may be more beneficial to take another action
with respect to the particular part quantities (e.g., sending to
sale/recycle, returning to originating location, etc.).
[0057] Turning now to FIG. 16, a method 600 is shown (which may be
represented by the MA status module 405) that may be executed by
the processor 120 for use in monitoring and cleansing the MA status
listing shown in FIG. 15. The method 600 may include determining
602 whether a first predetermined time period has expired. For
instance, RMPs or other users may, upon approving an MA status of a
particular part quantity (e.g., in screenshot 386 of FIG. 14),
select a particular period of time (e.g., 60 days, 90 days, etc.)
for which the part quantity may stay "active" (e.g., in the absence
of a user requesting the part quantity to fulfill a BOM line item).
If the answer to the query at 602 is no, then the method 600 may
continue to cycle back to 602. In response to a positive answer at
602 (i.e., a determination that the predetermined time period has
expired), the method 600 may proceed to send 604 a message that
requires election of either continued MA status of the part
quantity or a change to one or more non-MA statuses (e.g., sent for
sale, returned to originating location, etc.). For instance, an
email or other type of message may be sent to the RMP or other user
informing the user of the expiry of the first predetermined time
period. In one arrangement, the first predetermined time period may
be the time period selected by the user (e.g., 60 days, 90 days).
In another arrangement, the first predetermined time period may be
automatically backed out of the user-selected maximum days-active
period. As just one example, if the user selected 60 days, the
first predetermined time period may be 53 days or, in other words,
one week before the user-selected 60 day period.
[0058] In any event, the method 600 may then inquire 606 whether a
response message was received in response to the message sent at
604 indicating whether and how the status of the part quantity is
to be changed. In response to a positive answer at 606, the method
600 may proceed to maintain or change 608 the part quantity status
based on the response message and end 610 (and/or return to one or
more steps of the method 600). For instance, if the response
message included instructions to maintain MA status for an
additional 60 days, the method 600 may proceed to do so and reset
the first or other predetermined time period and return to 602. As
another example, if the response message included instructions to
send the part quantity for sale by an approved dealer, the method
600 may proceed to change the status of the part quantity to "sent
to dealer" or other appropriate status (e.g., by disassociating the
part quantity from the particular process ID shown in column 413 of
FIG. 15) and end at 610.
[0059] In response to a negative answer at 606, the method 600 may
proceed to query 612 whether a second predetermined time period has
expired. For instance, the RMP or other use may be given a period
of time (e.g., day(s), week(s), etc.) within which to respond to
the election requirement sent at 604. In response to a negative
answer at 612, the method 600 may proceed to cycle back to 606 to
make another inquiry. In response to a positive answer at 612, the
method 600 may proceed to automatically change 614 the status of
the particular part quantity from an MA status to any appropriate
non-MA status (e.g., a "returned to originating location" or other
appropriate status). As can be appreciated, the method 600
advantageous serves to avoid or at least limit the maintaining of
"stale" part quantities in MA status that may be more efficiently
utilized elsewhere in the provider's infrastructure or even on a
secondary market.
[0060] Briefly returning to the screenshot 336 of FIG. 9, another
button that may be available to a user upon manipulation of the
"asset management" button 204 may be a "BOM" button 208. Broadly,
manipulation of the BOM button 208 allows a user to observe the
status of BOMs (e.g., data structures including originating or
"requested from" locations; one or more line items including part
identifying information such as part numbers, internal codes,
manufacturer names etc. as well as requested quantity numbers; and
the like) originating from projects associated with one or more
desired locations within the provider's infrastructure, issue one
or more BOMs, upload one or more BOMs, and the like. Initially, one
or more users may select a "BOM upload" button 212 to cause the
display of a screenshot (not shown) that allows the users to upload
one or more BOMs for one or more projects associated with any
desired infrastructure location(s). Stated differently, each BOM
may be uploaded from the perspective of a particular infrastructure
location, where each location may be located within a particular
market, and each market may be located within a particular region
(see above discussion in relation to FIGS. 3-5). Each BOM may
generally be in the form of a data structure made up of one or more
line items, where each line item represents a quantity of a
particular part requested for at least one project associated with
the particular infrastructure location. To create and upload a BOM,
users may populate each line item (not shown) with any appropriate
part identifying information (e.g., at least some of that shown in
the screenshot 276 of FIG. 6, such as part number, manufacturer
name, internal code, etc.), requested quantities, and the like.
Upon creation of a BOM, the BOM may be tagged with a "BOM ID" (or
other unique identifier) and uploaded to the server 104 (e.g., to a
BOM database 340).
[0061] Upon upload of a BOM to the server 104 and/or at any other
appropriate time (e.g., according to a predetermined schedule), the
server 104 may function to fulfill the various line items of the
BOM from assets of the service provider. In this regard, the memory
116 of the server 104 may include what will be referred to as a
"concentric parts searching module" 406 that broadly serves to
initially consider available or "on-hand" or excess inventory of
the original infrastructure location from which the BOM was
uploaded (i.e., inventory that is not currently allocated to a
particular project and not currently planned to be used) followed
by successive considerations of infrastructure locations that are
more and more remote from the original location in terms of
infrastructure levels.
[0062] With reference now to FIG. 17, a method 700 is shown (which
may be represented by the concentric searching module 406) that may
be executed by the processor 120 for use in fulfilling one or more
BOM line items. The method 700 may include receiving 702 a BOM
including at least one line item representing a quantity of a first
part for a project in a first location in a first market of a
service provider's infrastructure. For instance, and as discussed
above, various users of a particular service provider
infrastructure may upload BOMs from the perspective of various
locations within the infrastructure (it is noted that the BOM need
not necessarily be literally uploaded from a computer physically
within the particular location or warehouse) which may be received
at the server 104 and appropriately stored (e.g., in BOMs database
340). The method 700 may then include accessing 704 an asset
inventory listing in a database (e.g., customer asset database 339)
and "softly" allocating 706 matching assets in the listing that are
associated with the first location to the first part quantity.
[0063] As an example, imagine that the BOM was uploaded from a
location "Alpha" within a particular service provider's
infrastructure and that the BOM included a line item having a
quantity of 200 of a part identified by a part number of "@D3.0K"
and a manufacturer named "Ericsson Inc." Returning briefly to FIG.
9, the screenshot 336 illustrates, as discussed previously, asset
inventory information for the location "Alpha." As shown in the
second row in the list of parts, the Alpha location includes a part
identified by the part number "@D3.0K" and manufacturer "Ericsson
Inc." As also shown, there is an "available" quantity of 47 of this
part at the Alpha location. In this regard, the concentric
searching module 406 may serve to allocate (e.g., "softly"
allocated) all 47 of the available quantity of the part to the BOM.
Accordingly, the available quantity of this part may be reduced to
zero in the screenshot 336 while the "in process" quantity of this
part may be increased to 97 in the screenshot 336 (a summation of
the 50 already in process and the 47 newly in process).
[0064] The concentric searching module 406 may utilize or otherwise
work in conjunction with the fuzzy searching module 404 as part of
locating and identifying parts to fulfill BOM requests. For
instance, imagine that, instead of "@D3.0K," the user who uploaded
the BOM utilized "10366" in the line item to identify the desired
part. In this case, the fuzzy searching module 404 may serve to
identify "10366" as an internal code, and then determine, via
cross-referencing, that the desired part corresponds to the part
number "@D3.0K." Therefore, the part number "@D3.0K" may be used as
part of identifying matching asset quantities of the
infrastructure. As another example, imagine that the user loaded a
manufacturer name of "Erc" instead of "Ericsson, Inc." Here, the
fuzzy searching module 404 may serve to recognize "Erc" as an alias
manufacturer name of a master name of "Ericsson, Inc." (e.g., see
column 332 in FIG. 8) to confirm that the correct part has been
identified (e.g., in the event that different manufacturers both
utilized "@D3.0K" to identify the same physical part). Numerous
other examples exist of how the fuzzy searching module 404 may
function to identify the appropriate part requested in a BOM line
item.
[0065] In any case, the method 700 may query 708 whether the first
part quantity has been fulfilled and end 710 in response to
affirmative answer to the query 708. In the event the first part
quantity has not been fulfilled (as in the above example where only
47 of the requested 200 were fulfilled from "on-hand" inventory of
the originating infrastructure location), the method 700 may
proceed to allocate 712 any assets in the inventory listing (e.g.,
the customer asset database 339) associated with other locations in
the first market to the first part quantity (i.e., any portion of
the part quantity not fulfilled by on-hand inventory in step 706).
For instance, and returning to FIG. 5, the Alpha location from
which the present BOM was loaded from may be located within a first
market named "Main Market" along with a number of other locations
such as "Arvind," "Atlanta," "Augusta," and "Las Vegas."
[0066] Here, the method 700 proceeds to collectively (e.g., free of
regard to any relation between the originating location and the
other market locations, other than being located within the same
market) consider any matching assets from all of the locations
within the "Main Market" that have an MA status (e.g., from a
plurality of data structures similar to that in FIG. 9 for each of
such locations). As discussed above in relation to FIGS. 10-14,
assets that have been placed into an MA status may be available for
consumption by line items of BOMs that originate from locations
other than the location where the assets currently reside or are
otherwise assigned to. As also discussed previously, a number of
physical locations may be placed within the same "market" for a
number of accounting and/or other reasons. In this regard,
consideration of "matching" assets in MA status from such locations
(i.e., in the event that the originating location cannot satisfy or
fulfill all of the requested part quantities) may be more
beneficial than other locations (e.g., even if located
geographically closer to the originating location than locations
within the first market) or even secondary market sources due to
such accounting and/or other financial reasons.
[0067] Again, the method 700 may query 714 whether the first part
quantity has been fulfilled and end 710 in response to an
affirmative answer to the query 714. In the event the first part
quantity has not been fulfilled, the method may proceed to allocate
any assets in the inventory listing associated with locations
within at least a second market to the first part quantity (i.e.,
any portion of the part quantity not fulfilled by steps 706 and
712), where the first and second markets are located within a
common first region. For instance, and returning to FIG. 4, "Main
Market" is located within a region named "Main Region," along with
other markets named "Corporate," "Gaj Market," "Main," and
"testnwh." Here, the method 700 would proceed to collectively
consider any matching assets from all locations within one or more
(e.g., all) of the Corporate, Gaj Market, Main and testnwh markets
that have an MA status, and softly allocate such assets to the
first part quantity accordingly.
[0068] The method 700 may then query 718 whether the first part
quantity has been fulfilled and end 710 in response to an
affirmative answer to the query 718. In the event the first part
quantity has not been fulfilled, the method 700 may proceed to
allocate any assets in the inventory listing associated with at
least a second region of the provider infrastructure to the first
part quantity (i.e., any portion of the part quantity not fulfilled
by steps 706, 712 and 716). For instance, and returning to FIG. 3,
the provider's infrastructure may include a number of other regions
such as "Test region 1," "Test region 2," etc. In this regard, the
method 700 may proceed to collectively consider any matching assets
from all locations within one or more (e.g., all) of Test Region 1,
Test Region 2, etc. that have MA status and softly allocate such
assets to the first part quantity accordingly. The method 700 may
then again query 722 whether the first part quantity has been
fulfilled and end 710 responsive to an affirmative answer to the
query 722. In response to a negative answer to the query at 722,
the method 700 may proceed to access any appropriate secondary
market outside of the provider's infrastructure to locate
corresponding matching assets.
[0069] In one arrangement, the concentric searching module 406 may
utilize kitting as part of the searching process. For instance,
when the module 406 is attempting to locate a kit (e.g., as
identified by one or more of a kit number, code, etc.) associated
with other infrastructure locations, it will look not only for that
same kit but also for each of the multiple parts making up the kit.
Stated differently, in the event that the particular kit is not
identified from infrastructure assets, the module 406 may also
proceed to search for all of the parts (and possibly alternate
parts) that make up the kit individually throughout the provider's
infrastructure. In one arrangement, a user may be notified of the
need to go out and find the individual parts if the module 406 is
unable to find a packaged "kit" in the infrastructure. In another
arrangement, a user may be asked whether the user wants alternates
to be substituted within a kit for a particular BOM line item. For
instance, choosing to allow the alternate part may cause the module
406 to lock the alternate part to the particular BOM so that upon
another kit being loaded within another BOM that needs to look for
individual parts, the module 406 may again require a human decision
to allow or deny use of the same alternate part within the BOM
matching and pulling process.
[0070] Turning now to FIG. 18, another screenshot 394 of the portal
136 may be presented to a user upon manipulation of the BOM button
208 and a "view" button 212. This screenshot 394 presents a list of
all BOMs that have been uploaded from a particular infrastructure
location for one or more projects associated with the particular
infrastructure location and processed by the concentric searching
module 406 (e.g., in conjunction with the fuzzy searching module
404) in an attempt to fulfill the various individual line items of
the BOMs. The screenshot 394 may include a number of columns such
as a priority column 416 (discussed in more detail below), a "BOM
ID" column 418, a "from" column 420 (indicating which location the
BOM was uploaded from), a "status" column 422 (e.g., initially
matched, ready for issue, closed, etc.), a "matched" column 424
(discussed further below), an "EID" or "estimated issue date"
column 426, an "action" column 428, and/or one or more other
columns of information related to the BOMs.
[0071] For instance, a BOM having a status in the status column 422
of "initially matched" indicates that the concentric searching
module 406 has made at least one attempt to search for and softly
allocate matching assets to line item quantities of the BOM, but
that any matching assets are not yet ready for issue. As another
example, a BOM having a status of "ready for issue" indicates that
not only has the concentric searching module 406 made at least one
pass at locating and softly allocating matching assets to line item
quantities of the BOM, but that at least some of the located
matching assets can be immediately issued (e.g., because such
matching assets were either originally on-hand at the originating
location of the BOM upon loading of the BOM or are now on-hand
after requesting match assets in MA status from another
location).
[0072] With reference to the second BOM (e.g., having a BOM ID of
"BOM0001062") in the list shown in FIG. 18, for instance, this BOM
has a status of "initially matched" (see column 422) and a value in
the matched column 424 of "10110" which indicates that this BOM
includes at least one line item representing a quantity of 10 of at
least one part, and that all 10 of the at least one part have been
matched to assets (but not yet ready for issue as the status in
column 422 is only "initially matched" instead of "ready for
issue"). Upon manipulation of the "view" button in column 428, a
user may be presented with the screenshot 430 shown in FIG. 19
which provides more detailed information regarding the matching of
infrastructure assets to the line item quantities of the BOM.
[0073] This screenshot 430 may include a number of portions (e.g.,
each of which may be appropriately expanded and collapsed) such as
a "matched|ready to issue" portion 432, an "IMS>MA
matches|requests" portion 434, a "matched-other|qty requested by
email" portion 436 and/or an "unmatched|unordered" portion 438.
Each of the portions 432-438 is broadly operable to provide BOM
line item quantity status information in relation to various types
of infrastructure assets. Portion 432 may generally provide an
indication of the numbers of a particular line item quantity that
have been matched by infrastructure assets and that are either
ready to issue/be pulled or are currently in process to be
delivered to the BOM originating location (in this case, the
"Alpha" location).
[0074] For instance, portion 432 in FIG. 19 may include a row 433
corresponding to a particular line item and having one or more
cells 435 with part identifying information (e.g., part number,
internal code, manufacturer name, etc.), a cell 440 that displays
the requested quantity of this line item of the BOM, a cell 442
that displays an available to pull/issue quantity (in this example,
zero), a cell 444 that displays the quantity that is currently in
process to be delivered to the originating location and has thus
been "softly" allocated to the requested line item quantity (in
this example, 10, or in other words, the entire quantity of 10 in
this BOM line item), a cell 446 that provides the estimated issue
date or EID for the quantity that is currently in process, and a
cell 448 that provides the estimated time to arrival or ETA of the
quantity that is currently in process, among one or more other
cells. In one arrangement, the row 433 may be expanded to provide
historical information regarding when matches were found in
infrastructure assets by the concentric searching module 406, when
such assets were sent for shipment to the originating location, and
the like. While not shown, any "available/pull quantity" shown in
cell 442 (even if less than the requested line item quantity) may
be processed (e.g., via manipulating "process" button 437) which
causes the actual issue or delivery of the quantity to the specific
location of the project requesting the BOM (which may be the same
as or different than the "originating" location as used herein).
While also not shown, additional BOM line items may be represented
by additional rows within this portion 433.
[0075] With continued reference to FIG. 19, the portion 434 may
generally provide an indication of a number of matching assets in
MA status within the infrastructure (where the matching assets in
MA status have been considered by the concentric searching module
406 in the manner discussed in the method 700 of FIG. 17) that are
available for request but that have not yet been requested and have
not yet entered a process (such as the quantity of 10 in process
pending status in the cell 446 in the first portion 433). While not
shown, expansion of the portion 434 may cause the presentation of a
number of cells, drop-down menus, buttons and/or other features
that provide a user with the ability to request a particular
quantity of assets in MA status that have previously been matched
by the concentric searching module 406.
[0076] The portion 436 may generally provide an indication of a
number of matching assets within or available to the infrastructure
that are not in MA status (i.e., assets that have not specifically
been requested by users to be made available for consumption by
BOMs originating from locations other than the location where such
assets currently reside or are otherwise associated with). For
instance, such assets may include those that have been consigned to
a dealer but not yet sold. In this case, expansion of the portion
436 may provide the ability for a user to request such assets back
from consignment for use in fulfilling a particular line item
quantity. As with requests for assets in MA status in portion 434,
requests for assets in non-MA status entails the generation of a
process within the system that is tagged with a particular process
ID (discussed later with respect to FIG. 21) and a corresponding
increase in the quantity displayed in the cell 444 in portion 433
to indicate that such assets have been softly allocated to the
particular line item quantity. The manner in which non-MA status
assets are considered for possible soft allocation to the line item
quantity may proceed according to the method 700 of FIG. 15 (i.e.,
consideration of non-"available" assets at the originating location
followed by consideration of non-MA status assets at other
locations within the originating location's market followed by
consideration of non-MA status assets at locations within other
markets of the originating location's region followed by
consideration of non-MA status assets at locations within other
regions). Any non-matched assets may be indicated in the portion
438 which may indicate the need to order such assets from a
secondary market. Of course, a subsequent search by the concentric
searching module 406 for line item quantities may change the
various matching or unmatched quantities indicated in the portions
432, 434, 436, 438 (e.g., due to the ever-changing inventories of
infrastructure locations).
[0077] Returning to FIG. 18, each of the BOMs shown in the
screenshot 394 includes a particular number in the priority column
416 that broadly indicates an order (relative to the other BOMs) in
which infrastructure assets are to be allocated (e.g., softly) to
the various line item quantities of the BOMs. That is, in the event
that each of two or more BOMs includes at least one line item
representing a quantity of the same physical part, matching
infrastructure assets having the soonest EID would first be
allocated to the highest priority BOM's line item, followed by the
line item of the BOM having the next highest priority, and so on.
In this regard, the server 104 may include a BOM reprioritization
module 408 (see FIG. 1) that broadly serves to allocate matching
infrastructure assets according to BOM priority as well as
re-allocate matching assets to corresponding BOM line items in the
event that the priority number for one or more BOMs is
reprioritized or otherwise changed.
[0078] With additional reference now to FIG. 20, a method 800 is
shown (which may be represented by the BOM reprioritization module
408) that may be executed by the processor 120 for use in
automatically assigning or allocating infrastructure assets to BOM
line items according to a prioritized listing of BOM as well as
reassigning or reallocating infrastructure assets to BOM line items
upon a change in the prioritized BOM listing. The method 800 may
include obtaining 802 EIDs for matching part quantities of each
line item of each BOM in a prioritized listing of BOMs in a
database. As discussed above in relation to FIGS. 17-19, BOMs may
be uploaded or otherwise requested from various locations within
the provider's infrastructure and stored in the BOMs database 340
or other appropriate location and subsequently accessed by the
concentric searching module 406 for use in fulfilling the various
BOM line items. For instance, the concentric searching module 406
may perform initial searching for matching infrastructure assets
for the various BOMs as discussed above in any appropriate manner,
such as upon loading of a BOM into the database 340, according to a
predetermined schedule, etc.
[0079] As discussed previously, matching infrastructure part
quantities of BOM line items are assigned EIDs (e.g., see column
426 in FIG. 16 and cell 446 in FIG. 19) which generally convey the
soonest that the matching quantity (e.g., corresponding to a
matching part, a user-defined alternate part, and/or a kit) can be
issued or pulled when considering available inventory (i.e.,
on-hand inventory at the BOM originating location, e.g., see cell
442 in FIG. 19), inventory that is incoming/ordered or otherwise in
process to be delivered to the BOM originating location (e.g., see
cell 444 in FIG. 19), and/or internal shipments between warehouses.
Returning to FIG. 16, imagine that the BOMs in priority positions
one and two (in this example, BOM IDs BOM0001066 and BOM0001062)
both include first line items that represent quantities of the same
physical part (e.g., as determined by the fuzzy searching module
404). Furthermore, imagine that after the concentric searching
module 406 has proceeded to search for matching assets within the
provider's infrastructure for the various BOM line items, matching
asset quantities have been identified where a first quantity of
matching assets has a first EID and a second quantity of matching
assets has a second EID that is later in time than the first EID.
It should be appreciated that identification of the first quantity
of matching assets having the sooner EID need not necessarily be a
result of the first BOM to be processed by the concentric searching
module 406. For instance, it is envisioned that the first BOM may
be processed by the concentric searching module 406 resulting in
matching assets having a first EID, and at some later time, the
second BOM may be processed by the concentric searching module 406
resulting in the same matching assets but having a second EID that
is sooner or earlier in time that the first EID.
[0080] In any event, the method 800 may include assigning 804
matching part quantities having sooner EIDs to higher priority BOMs
in the prioritized listing of BOMs. In the above example, the first
quantity of matching assets would be used to fulfill the first line
item quantity of the first priority BOM; any remaining portion of
the first quantity of matching assets would be used to fulfill the
first line item quantity of the second priority BOM followed by, if
necessary, at least a portion of the second quantity of matching
assets (or additional quantities of matching assets). Of course, if
other lower priority BOMs in the listing also include line items
representing the same physical part, any matching assets would be
appropriately allocated to such line items in a manner so that line
items of higher priority BOMs are fulfilled with matching assets
having sooner EID than are line items of lower priority BOMs.
Furthermore, similar allocation of matching infrastructure assets
applies to BOMs having more than one line item.
[0081] The method 800 may also proceed to query 806 whether one or
more BOMs in the listing are to be reprioritized and end 808 if no
BOMs are to be reprioritized. For instance, in the event that it
has become increasingly important to complete an infrastructure
project associated with a lower priority BOM in a reduced period of
time, a user may choose to move its corresponding BOM to a higher
priority position in the listing. Again with reference to FIG. 18,
a user could move the BOM currently in priority position ten to
priority position five such as by modifying the corresponding cell
in the priority column 416 to read "5," clicking or tapping some
portion of the row representing the BOM and dragging the BOM up to
priority position five, and/or in one or more other appropriate
manners. In one arrangement, a user may be required to click or
otherwise manipulate a "process" or "reprioritize BOMs"-type button
(not shown) after one or more BOMs have been moved to one or more
desired positions in the priority listing.
[0082] In the event of a positive answer to the inquiry at 806, the
method 800 may proceed to assign 810, responsive to the BOM
reprioritization, matching infrastructure part quantities having
sooner EIDs to line items of higher priority BOMs so that a
matching infrastructure part quantity of a first line item of a
first BOM that has been newly reprioritized above at least a second
BOM has a sooner EID that does a matching infrastructure part
quantity of a common first line item of the at least second BOM.
Stated differently, the method 800 may essentially proceed to group
or otherwise collectively consider all of infrastructure assets
that had been softly allocated to BOM line item quantities and then
"reshuffle" the assets so that the line items of BOMs moved higher
in priority may now be fulfilled with matching assets having EIDs
that are sooner the matching asset EIDs that existed before the
reprioritization and reshuffling (where the reprioritization could
include the prioritization of one BOM or many BOMs).
[0083] For instance, in the event that a BOM is moved up to a
different priority position, each of the BOMs below the newly moved
BOM has now been moved down a priority position. Furthermore,
various combinations of reprioritizing BOMs both upwardly and
downwardly are envisioned. In any case, the disclosed process of
reprioritizing BOMs and reshuffling infrastructure assets among BOM
line items based on the reprioritizing may be likened to the
"robbing Peter to pay Paul" analogy as infrastructure assets that
were previously assigned to line items of a first BOM (and maybe
even specifically ordered for the first BOM) may now be assigned to
line items of a different, second BOM. Thus, as opposed to the
manual, time-intensive and error prone process currently used by
most companies to reprioritize BOM line item, the disclosed
processes automate the BOM reprioritization process and allow for
efficient and accurate reshuffling of infrastructure assets among
BOM line item quantities based on the reprioritization and
corresponding inventory allocation and management. In one
arrangement, users may be able to "lock" or "bind" matching
infrastructure quantities to particular BOM line items to prevent
such locked quantities from being allocated to line items of other
BOMs during the reshuffling process. In other words, such locked or
bound infrastructure quantities may be "hard" allocated to the BOM
line items. In this regard, users may essentially be able to
prioritize infrastructure asset allocation at a line item level
(i.e., in addition to at a BOM level as discussed above).
[0084] As discussed throughout this disclosure, various part
quantities of the provider's infrastructure may be placed into a
number of different processes (e.g., internal movement of a part
quantity in MA status between infrastructure locations to fulfill a
BOM line item, movement of a part quantity between an
infrastructure location and a third party such as a dealer, etc.).
In another aspect of the present disclosure, placement of a part
quantity into at least some of the processes may cause a
corresponding initiation of an "ADT" (asset disposition tracking)
process or posting that broadly serves to track shipped and
received assets between locations (e.g., infrastructure location to
infrastructure location, infrastructure location to third party
and/or third party to third part) by way of comparing shipped and
received lists, highlighting discrepancies, and updating asset data
in the customer asset database 339 (e.g., changing the status of a
particular asset from "in transit" to "received" and adjusting the
asset count held by each location).
[0085] Turning now to FIG. 21, another screenshot 450 of the portal
136 is illustrated that broadly presents a list of processes
(identified by corresponding process IDs) that have been posted for
ADT processing. For instance, the screenshot 450 may include a
"process ID" column 452 (that identifies the corresponding process
that caused initiation of ADT processing, such as a BOM process, a
"send to recycle" process, etc.), a "total shipped quantity" column
454, a "total received quantity" column 456, a "+/-" column 457
(e.g., showing discrepancies between shipped and received assets),
a "shipper/receiver" column 458, an "action" column 460 (e.g., that
allows a user to take at least one action with respect to the part
quantity), and/or one or more other columns (e.g., location,
market, poster, etc.).
[0086] In relation to ADT, the server 104 may include an ADT module
412 (see FIG. 1) that broadly serves to monitor shipments and take
corresponding actions depending upon a status of the shipments.
Turning now to FIG. 23, a method 900 is shown (which may be
represented by the ADT module 412) that may be executed by the
processor 120 for use in monitoring shipments between internal
infrastructure locations and/or third party locations. The method
900 may include receiving 902 asset data corresponding to movement
of assets from a first location (infrastructure third party) to a
second location (infrastructure or third party). For instance, and
turning to the screenshot 462 of FIG. 22 (which may result upon
manipulation of a "view" button in the "action" column 460
corresponding to a particular process in FIG. 21), the asset data
may include shipped asset data corresponding to assets reported to
have been shipped from a first physical location to a second
physical location (see column 464 in FIG. 22), received asset data
corresponding to assets reported to have been received at the
second physical location from the first physical location (see
column 466 in FIG. 22), and status data including a first status of
the assets within the infrastructure (not shown, but a status such
as "in transit," "in process," or the like). In one arrangement,
the receiving location may be required to upload received asset
data in any appropriate format (e.g., as part of a spreadsheet) to
the server 104 over network(s) 112 which may be appropriately
parsed, stored in storage 124, and accessed by portal 136 to
populate one or more cells in the column 466.
[0087] In any case, the method 900 may eventually proceed to query
904 whether discrepancies exist between the shipped and received
asset data (e.g., quantities, part numbers, etc.). For instance,
note how the column 464 indicates a shipped quantity of 10 and the
column 466 indicates a received quantity of 1 for a particular part
identified by a part number of "3S444," an internal code of "6268,"
and a manufacturer name of "Nortel Networks Inc." As a result, it
may be preliminarily determined that a discrepancy exists between
the shipped and received asset data and the method 900 may proceed
to disallow 908 changes to the status of the corresponding assets
(i.e., from an "in transit" status to a "received" status). The
method 900 may then proceed to query 910 whether updated asset data
has been received (e.g., from an RMP) and continue to cycle back to
908 if updated asset data has not been received. When and if
updated asset data is received, the method 900 may again query 912
whether discrepancies exist between the shipped and received asset
data as modified by the updated data. If discrepancies continue to
exist, the method 900 may flow back to 908. If no discrepancies are
determined to exist between the shipped and received asset data
(e.g., both correspond to a quantity of 10 of the same part) at
either 904 or 912, the method 900 may flow to 906 and proceed to
allow status changes of the assets from a first status (e.g., "in
transit") to a second status (e.g., "received").
[0088] It should be appreciated how disallowing changes to the
status of such assets essentially forces action on the part of an
RMP or other user to rectify the discrepancy because a failure to
do so would prevent the assets from being able to fulfill BOM line
items, be sold by dealers, etc. In other words, a failure to act by
the RMP or other user would cause a chokepoint in the free and
efficient flow of infrastructure assets. For instance, in the case
of an internal shipment of a particular asset quantity from a first
infrastructure location to a second infrastructure location to
fulfill a line item of a BOM originating at the second location, a
user would not be able to issue the BOM (or other BOM in the case
of a BOM reprioritization) until the particular asset quantity has
been accorded a status of "received," "ready to issue," and/or the
like. In this regard, preventing a change to a status of "received"
or "ready to issue" until shipped/received quantity discrepancies
have been resolved advantageously forces RMPs or other users to
correct such discrepancies which thereby increases the accuracy of
infrastructure records and related data. For instance, and while
not shown, an RMP or other user may be directed from the screenshot
462 of FIG. 22 to another screenshot (not shown, e.g., upon
manipulation of any appropriate button or other feature) whereby
the RMP may be able to manually modify or updated shipped and/or
received asset data (e.g., quantities, part identifying data, etc.)
for storage in the customer asset database 339. Part of this
process may require the RMP to communicate with managers resident
at the physical locations between which the assets were/are being
shipped to confirm the actual shipment/receipt of the assets
(and/or lack thereof). The updated shipped and/or received asset
data may then be reanalyzed to determine whether discrepancies
still exist (e.g., at step 912 of FIG. 23) whereby the user may be
required to again modify the data or else the asset status may be
appropriately changed.
[0089] The present functionalities may also include one or more
"reporting" functionalities that take kitting into consideration.
In one arrangement, and rather than simply knowing there are "x"
number of kits in stock, the reporting functionalities can provide
reports on all assets regardless of "kit" associations and listings
within the system. For instance, while a kit might be listed as
"xyz," the reporting functionality may provide the ability to
include as a kit or not as a kit in a reporting dump of assets per
location or provider-wide. In this regard, it may be clear as to
how many items of "x that the provider really has, be it in a kit
or listed as a piece part within their inventory listing providing
the ability to combine piece parts that are within a designated kit
and in piece parts to get a more accurate count on actual assets on
hand.
[0090] While this disclosure contains many specifics, these should
not be construed as limitations on the scope of the disclosure or
of what may be claimed, but rather as descriptions of features
specific to particular embodiments of the disclosure. Furthermore,
numerous other arrangements are envisioned. Furthermore, certain
features that are described in this specification in the context of
separate embodiments can also be implemented in combination in a
single embodiment. Conversely, various features that are described
in the context of a single embodiment can also be implemented in
multiple embodiments separately or in any suitable subcombination.
Moreover, although features may be described above as acting in
certain combinations and even initially claimed as such, one or
more features from a claimed combination can in some cases be
excised from the combination, and the claimed combination may be
directed to a subcombination or variation of a sub combination.
[0091] One or more computer programs (also known as a program,
software, software application, script, or code) used to provide
the functionality described herein (such as to perform concentric
parts searching, BOM reprioritization and line item reshuffling,
and the like) can be written in any form of programming language,
including compiled or interpreted languages, and it can be deployed
in any form, including as a stand-alone program or as a module,
component, subroutine, or other unit suitable for use in a
computing environment. A computer program does not necessarily
correspond to a file in a file system. A program can be stored in a
portion of a file that holds other programs or data (e.g., one or
more scripts stored in a markup language document), in a single
file dedicated to the program in question, or in multiple
coordinated files (e.g., files that store one or more modules,
sub-programs, or portions of code). A computer program can be
deployed to be executed on one computer or on multiple computers
that are located at one site or distributed across multiple sites
and interconnected by a communication network.
[0092] The processes and logic flows described in this
specification can be performed by one or more programmable
processors executing one or more computer programs to perform
functions by operating on input data and generating output. The
processes and logic flows can also be performed by, and apparatus
can also be implemented as, special purpose logic circuitry, e.g.,
an FPGA (field programmable gate array) or an ASIC
(application-specific integrated circuit). Processors suitable for
the execution of a computer program include, by way of example,
both general and special purpose microprocessors, and any one or
more processors of any kind of digital computer. Generally, a
processor will receive instructions and data from a read-only
memory or a random access memory or both. Generally, the elements
of a computer are a processor for performing instructions and one
or more memory devices for storing instructions and data. The
techniques described herein may be implemented by a computer system
configured to provide the functionality described.
[0093] In different embodiments, system 100 (i.e., the server 104,
one or more providers 108, etc.) may include one or more of various
types of devices, including, but not limited to a personal computer
system, desktop computer, laptop, notebook, or netbook computer,
mainframe computer system, handheld computer, workstation, network
computer, application server, storage device, a consumer
electronics device such as a camera, camcorder, set top box, mobile
device, video game console, handheld video game device, a
peripheral device such as a switch, modem, router, or, in general,
any type of computing or electronic device.
[0094] Typically, a computer will also include, or be operatively
coupled to receive data from or transfer data to, or both, one or
more mass storage devices for storing data, e.g., magnetic,
magneto-optical disks, or optical disks. However, a computer need
not have such devices. Moreover, a computer can be embedded in
another device, e.g., a mobile telephone, a personal digital
assistant (PDA), a mobile audio player, a Global Positioning System
(GPS) receiver, a digital camera, to name just a few.
Computer-readable media suitable for storing computer program
instructions and data include all forms of non-volatile memory,
media and memory devices, including by way of example semiconductor
memory devices, e.g., EPROM, EEPROM, and flash memory devices;
magnetic disks, e.g., internal hard disks or removable disks;
magneto-optical disks; and CD-ROM and DVD-ROM disks. The processor
and the memory can be supplemented by, or incorporated in, special
purpose logic circuitry. To provide for interaction with a user,
embodiments of the subject matter described in this specification
can be implemented on a computer having a display device, e.g., a
CRT (cathode ray tube) or LCD (liquid crystal display) monitor, for
displaying information to the user and a keyboard and a pointing
device, e.g., a mouse or a trackball, by which the user can provide
input to the computer. Other kinds of devices can be used to
provide for interaction with a user as well; for example, feedback
provided to the user can be any form of sensory feedback, e.g.,
visual feedback, auditory feedback, or tactile feedback; and input
from the user can be received in any form, including acoustic,
speech, or tactile input.
[0095] Similarly, while operations are depicted in the drawings in
a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring that
such operations be performed in the particular order shown or in
sequential order, or that all illustrated operations be performed,
to achieve desirable results. In certain circumstances,
multitasking and/or parallel processing may be advantageous.
Moreover, the separation of various system components in the
embodiments described above should not be understood as requiring
such separation in all embodiments, and it should be understood
that the described program components and systems can generally be
integrated together in a single software and/or hardware product or
packaged into multiple software and/or hardware products.
[0096] The above described embodiments including the preferred
embodiment and the best mode of the invention known to the inventor
at the time of filing are given by illustrative examples only.
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