Determining a policy parameter for an entity of a supply chain

1. A method for determining a policy parameter for an entity of a supply chain, comprising:

establishing one or more attributes of a plurality of entities of a supply chain;

establishing a plurality of attribute segments for each attribute, each attribute segment comprising one or more values of the corresponding attribute;

formulating one or more rules using one or more of the attribute segments to define one or more policy groups;

assigning one or more policy parameters of a plurality of policy parameters to each policy group;

identifying a policy group corresponding to an entity of the plurality of entities in accordance with the one or more rules;

determining the one or more policy parameters assigned to the identified policy group; and

selecting the one or more policy parameters for the entity.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the entity comprises one of an item, a location, a channel, or any combination of the preceding.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein establishing the one or more attributes comprises:

receiving from a user a request to generate an attribute; and

establishing the attribute in response to the request to generate the attribute.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein establishing the plurality of attribute segments comprises:

receiving from a user a request to generate an attribute segment for an attribute; and

establishing the attribute segment in response to the request to generate the attribute segment.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

assigning a priority to each policy group, a first policy group having a higher priority, a second policy group having a lower priority;

determining that the entity corresponds to the first policy group and to the second policy group; and

selecting the one or more policy parameters of the first policy group for the entity.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more policy groups comprises a default policy group, each entity of the plurality of entities corresponding to a least one policy group.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more policy groups comprise one or more criticality groups.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more policy groups comprise one or more order lead time groups.

9. A system for determining a policy parameter for an entity of a supply chain, comprising:

a database operable to store information about a supply chain; and

a computer system coupled to the database and operable to:

establish one or more attributes of a plurality of entities of the supply chain;

establish a plurality of attribute segments for each attribute, each attribute segment comprising one or more values of the corresponding attribute;

formulate one or more rules using one or more of the attribute segments to define one or more policy groups;

assign one or more policy parameters of a plurality of policy parameters to each policy group;

identify a policy group corresponding to an entity of the plurality of entities in accordance with the one or more rules;

determine the one or more policy parameters assigned to the identified policy group; and

select the one or more policy parameters for the entity.

10. The system of claim 9 , wherein the entity comprises one of an item, a location, a channel, or any combination of the preceding.

11. The system of claim 9 , the computer system operable to establish the one or more attributes by:

receiving from a user a request to generate an attribute; and

establishing the attribute in response to the request to generate the attribute.

12. The system of claim 9 , the computer system operable to establish the plurality of attribute segments by:

receiving from a user a request to generate an attribute segment for an attribute; and

establishing the attribute segment in response to the request to generate the attribute segment.

13. The system of claim 9 , wherein the computer system is further operable to:

assign a priority to each policy group, a first policy group having a higher priority, a second policy group having a lower priority;

determine that the entity corresponds to the first policy group and to the second policy group; and

select the one or more policy parameters of the first policy group for the entity.

14. The system of claim 9 , wherein the one or more policy groups comprises a default policy group, each entity of the plurality of entities corresponding to at least one policy group.

15. The system of claim 9 , wherein the one or more policy groups comprise one or more criticality groups.

16. The system of claim 9 , wherein the one or more policy groups comprise one or more order lead time groups.

17. Software for determining a policy parameter for an entity of a supply chain, the software embodied in a computer readable storage medium and when executed by a computer operable to:

establish one or more attributes of a plurality of entities of a supply chain;

establish a plurality of attribute segments for each attribute, each attribute segment comprising one or more values of the corresponding attribute;

formulate one or more rules using one or more of the attribute segments to define one or more policy groups;

assign one or more policy parameters of a plurality of policy parameters to each policy group;

identify a policy group corresponding to an entity of the plurality of entities in accordance with the one or more rules;

determine the one or more policy parameters assigned to the identified policy group; and select the one or more policy parameters for the entity.

18. The software of claim 17 , wherein the entity comprises one of an item, a location, a channel, or any combination of the preceding.

19. The software of claim 17 , operable to establish the one or more attributes by:

receiving from a user a request to generate an attribute; and

establishing the attribute in response to the request to generate the attribute.

20. The software of claim 17 , operable to establish the plurality of attribute segments by:

receiving from a user a request to generate an attribute segment for an attribute; and

establishing the attribute segment in response to the request to generate the attribute segment.

21. The software of claim 17 , further operable to:

assign a priority to each policy group, a first policy group having a higher priority, a second policy group having a lower priority;

determine that the entity corresponds to the first policy group and to the second policy group; and

select the one or more policy parameters of the first policy group for the entity.

22. The software of claim 17 , wherein the one or more policy groups comprises a default policy group, each entity of the plurality of entities corresponding to at least one policy group.

23. The software of claim 17 , wherein the one or more policy groups comprise one or more criticality groups.

24. The software of claim 17 , wherein the one or more policy groups comprise one or more order lead time groups.

25. A system for determining a policy parameter for an entity of a supply chain, comprising:

means for establishing one or more attributes of a plurality of entities of a supply chain;

means for establishing a plurality of attribute segments for each attribute, each attribute segment comprising one or more values of the corresponding attribute;

means for formulating one or more rules using one or more of the attribute segments to define one or more policy groups;

means for assigning one or more policy parameters of a plurality of policy parameters to each policy group;

means for identifying a policy group corresponding to an entity of the plurality of entities in accordance with the one or more rules;

means for determining the one or more policy parameters assigned to the identified policy group; and

means for selecting the one or more policy parameters for the entity.

26. A method for determining a policy parameter for an entity of a supply chain, comprising:

establishing one or more attributes of a plurality of entities of a supply chain by:

receiving from a user a request to generate an attribute; and

establishing the attribute in response to the request to generate the attribute;

establishing a plurality of attribute segments for each attribute, each attribute segment comprising one or more values of the corresponding attribute, the attribute segments established by:

receiving from the user a request to generate an attribute segment for an attribute; and

establishing the attribute segment in response to the request to generate the attribute segment;

formulating one or more rules using one or more of the attribute segments to define one or more policy groups, the one or more policy groups comprising a default policy group, each entity of the plurality of entities corresponding to at least one policy group;

assigning one or more policy parameters of a plurality of policy parameters to each policy group;

assigning a priority to each policy group, a first policy group having a higher priority, a second policy group having a lower priority;

identifying a policy group corresponding to an entity of the plurality of entities in accordance with the one or more rules, the entity comprising one of an item, a location, a channel, or any combination of the preceding, the policy group identified by:

determining that the entity corresponds to the first policy group and to the second policy group; and

identifying the first policy group as the identified policy group corresponding to the entity; and

selecting the one or more policy parameters for the entity by selecting the one or more policy parameters of the first policy group for the entity.