US 6,983,190 B2
Method for optimizing material substitutions within a supply chain
Brian Trevor Denton, Winooski, Vt. (US); and Robert John Milne, Jericho, Vt. (US)
Assigned to International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, N.Y. (US)
Filed on Oct. 22, 2003, as Appl. No. 10/605,735.
Prior Publication US 2005/0090921 A1, Apr. 28, 2005
Int. Cl. G06F 19/00 (2006.01)
U.S. Cl. 700—103 21 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A computer implemented production planning method comprising:
identifying substitute components that can be used in place of original components in assemblies;
providing restrictions on use of said substitute components to subsets of assemblies, such that a substitute component may be substituted for an original component in a first assembly and may not be substituted for said original component in a second assembly, wherein said restrictions allow for multiple substitutions of said substitute components for said original components in said first assembly; and,
computing an optimal production plan in which said first assembly is produced with said multiple substitutions, wherein said plan is optimized for manufacturing efficiency.