IP Library Granted Patent US 11,315,059
Granted Patent B1
US 11,315,059 · App. 16/510,302 · Granted Apr 26, 2022

System and method for automatic parameter tuning of campaign planning with hierarchical linear programming objectives

Inventor: Devanand R (Bangalore, IN)
Assignee: Blue Yonder Group, Inc.
G06Q10/06375G06F16/90344G06Q10/06315G06Q10/06393G06Q50/28
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 11,315,059
App. No.
16/510,302
Granted
Apr 26, 2022
Kind
B1
Abstract

A system and method are disclosed for big bucket campaign planning that automatically learns weights for parameters of a weighted evaluation function. Embodiments include modeling the use of the one or more campaign operations and one or more campaignable resources as one or more campaign planning problems comprising a sequential decision problem with decision parameters, determining a campaign plan for the use of campaign operations and one or more campaignable resource, encoding a required policy of the sequential decision problem into a k-lookahead search strategy by defining an evaluation function comprising a weighted sum of features evaluated from the campaign planning problem, learning weights associated with an evaluation function that determines an effective objective function for campaign planning as a linear programming problem, and computing the parameters of the evaluation function using an iterative cross-entropy campaign planning.

Claims (42)

1. A system of big bucket campaign planning that automatically learns weights for parameters of a weighted evaluation function, comprising:

a computer, comprising a processor and a memory, configured to:

model the use of the one or more campaign operations and one or more campaignable resources of a supply chain network comprising a production line configured to produce one or more products using one or more campaign operations and one or more campaignable resources as one or more campaign planning problems comprising a sequential decision problem with one or more decision parameters;

define an evaluation function comprising a weighted sum of features evaluated from the campaign planning problem that encodes a required policy;

initialize weights to build a consumption profile and evaluation function;

generate random weight vector samples to determine fitness values, wherein the fitness values indicate a level of variability:

evaluate reward values based on the fitness values associated with the random weight vector samples;

select a sub-sample of the top fitness values having the best associated objective function;

repeat the generate, the evaluate and the select steps to adjust the weights until a stopping criterion is met indicating an optimal solution has been reached regarding the modelled campaign operations and the modelled campaignable resources;

determine a campaign plan for the use of the one or more campaign operations and one or more campaignable resource.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the computer is further configured to:

invoke a user-specified number of processes to perform parallel operations of a campaign planning solve, each of the parallel operations running for a given weight sample and remaining independent of the other parallel operations.

3. The system of claim 2 , wherein the evaluation function comprises a weighted consumption profile that is evaluated according to one or more measures of on-hand inventory, demand, and safety stock in a predetermined number of future buckets.

4. The system of claim 3 , wherein the sequential decision problem decision parameters comprise one or more of the value function, a reward function, a state space, and an action set.

5. The system of claim 4 wherein the evaluation function comprises a linear combinations of the features (f1, f2, f3, . . . , fd) weighted by coefficients (w1, w2, w3, . . . , wd).

6. A computer-implemented method of big bucket campaign planning that automatically learns weights for parameters of a weighted evaluation function, comprising:

modeling, by a computer, the use of the one or more campaign operations and one or more campaignable resources of a supply chain network comprising a production line configured to produce one or more products using one or more campaign operations and one or more campaignable resources as one or more campaign planning problems comprising a sequential decision problem with one or more decision parameters;

defining an evaluation function comprising a weighted sum of features evaluated from the campaign planning problem that encodes a required policy;

initializing weights to build a consumption profile and evaluation function;

generating random weight vector samples to determine fitness values, wherein the fitness values indicate a level of variability;

evaluating reward values based on the fitness values associated with the random weight vector samples;

selecting a sub-sample of the top fitness values having the best associated objective function;

repeating the generating, the evaluating and the selecting steps to adjust the weights until a stopping criterion is met indicating an optimal solution has been reached regarding the modelled campaign operations and the modelled campaignable resources;

determining, by the computer, a campaign plan for the use of the one or more campaign operations and one or more campaignable resource.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 6 , further comprising:

invoking, by the computer, a user-specified number of processes to perform parallel operations of a campaign planning solve, each of the parallel operations running for a given weight sample and remaining independent of the other parallel operations.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 7 , wherein the evaluation function comprises a weighted consumption profile that is evaluated according to one or more measures of on-hand inventory, demand, and safety stock in a predetermined number of future buckets.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 8 , wherein the sequential decision problem decision parameters comprise one or more of the value function, a reward function, a state space, and an action set.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 9 , wherein the evaluation function comprises a linear combinations of the features (f1, f2, f3, . . . , fd) weighted by coefficients (w1, w2, w3, . . . , wd).

11. A non-transitory computer-readable medium embodied with software for big bucket campaign planning that automatically learns weights for parameters of a weighted evaluation function software, the software when executed:

models the use of the one or more campaign operations and one or more campaignable resources of a supply chain network comprising a production line configured to produce one or Amendment more products using one or more campaign operations and one or more campaignable resources as one or more campaign planning problems comprising a sequential decision problem with one or more decision parameters;

defines an evaluation function comprising a weighted sum of features evaluated from the campaign planning problem that encodes a required policy;

initializes weights to build a consumption profile and evaluation function;

generates random weight vector samples to determine fitness values, wherein the fitness values indicate a level of variability;

evaluates reward values based on the fitness values associated with the random weight vector samples;

selects a sub-sample of the top fitness values having the best associated objective function;

repeats the generates, the evaluates and the selects steps to adjust the weights until a stopping criterion is met indicating an optimal solution has been reached regarding the modelled campaign operations and the modelled campaignable resources;

determines a campaign plan for the use of the one or more campaign operations and one or more campaignable resource.

12. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11 , further comprising:

invokes a user-specified number of processes to perform parallel operations of a campaign planning solve, each of the parallel operations running for a given weight sample and remaining independent of the other parallel operations.

13. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 12 , wherein the evaluation function comprises a weighted consumption profile that is evaluated according to one or more measures of on-hand inventory, demand, and safety stock in a predetermined number of future buckets.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 13 , wherein the sequential decision problem decision parameters comprise one or more of the value function, a reward function, a state space, and an action set.

Assignments (5)
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST IN PATENTS PREVIOUSLY RECORDED AT REEL/FRAME (053383/0117) Recorded Nov 3, 2021
From: U.S. BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, AS COLLATERAL AGENT
To: BLUE YONDER GROUP, INC.
Reel/Frame 058794/0776 →
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Sep 16, 2021
From: JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A.
To: BLUE YONDER GROUP, INC.; BLUE YONDER, INC.; JDA SOFTWARE SERVICES, INC.; I2 TECHNOLOGIES INTERNATIONAL SERVICES, LLC; MANUGISTICS SERVICES, INC.; MANUGISTICS HOLDINGS DELAWARE II, INC.; REDPRAIRIE COLLABORATIVE FLOWCASTING GROUP, LLC; JDA SOFTWARE RUSSIA HOLDINGS, INC.; REDPRAIRIE SERVICES CORPORATION; BY BOND FINANCE, INC.; BY NETHERLANDS HOLDING, INC.; BY BENELUX HOLDING, INC.
Reel/Frame 057724/0593 →
SECURITY AGREEMENT Recorded Aug 3, 2020
From: BLUE YONDER GROUP, INC.
To: U.S. BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
Reel/Frame 053383/0117 →
CHANGE OF NAME Recorded Apr 14, 2020
From: JDA SOFTWARE GROUP, INC.
To: BLUE YONDER GROUP, INC.
Reel/Frame 052393/0325 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Jul 15, 2019
From: R, DEVANAND
To: JDA SOFTWARE GROUP, INC.
Reel/Frame 049750/0859 →