Scalable Enterprise Systems: Real-Time Promising for Authority Domains Operating in a Build-to-Order Mode

University Of Oklahoma Norman Campus, Norman OK

Investigators

Abstract

This grant funds investigation of scalable techniques for real-time order promising by discrete build-to-order environments facing dynamic order arrivals. The algorithms to be developed in this project for calculating due dates consider current time-phased availability of resources and material, existing commitments, and the current system state. The presence of various alternate resources or materials increases the combinatorial complexity of the problem. To increase performance, a combination of both optimal algorithms with good scalability such as shortest path and computational heuristics will be considered. One of the heuristics to be examined is based on a novel, even controversial, idea: for the purposes of promising, the time when a resource will be able to process an operation can be estimated with sufficient accuracy by considering only a partially ordered resource task plan. Current support for this principle is grounded in practical experience but little scientific evidence. Joint research occurring at the intersection of Industrial Engineering and Computer Science is necessary in this project because algorithmic and computational aspects are intertwined when performing research in a large-scale systems context. Algorithms will be implemented in an object-oriented, memory-resident, multi-threaded architecture for detailed study and empirical evaluation. A key tenet of this project is that the results be highly scalable. Order promising is perhaps the most important operational-level activity. The ability to make tight, yet achievable, promises in response to requests from consumers or other businesses is a fundamental business requirement. Surprisingly, very little research has been done in this area. Results of this research will increase the accuracy and speed with which these promises can be made. This research is directly applicable to manufacturers that increasingly are selling built-to-order products direct to customers via the Internet and to a future where collaborative commerce freely occurs among dynamically recombinant business partners.