Expert Provisioner: a range management aid

Expert Provisioner is a knowledge-based provisioning system developed by Royal Air Force (RAF) logistics research and AIAI at the University of Edinburgh for use by the RAF logistics command to support the procurement of consumable parts. The starting point for Expert Provisioner is an electronic purchase order form and its end point is a recommendation of whether to buy the item or not, its cost and due delivery date. Purchase recommendations are based on many factors including forecast demand, unit costs, shelf life and existing stock levels. Identified benefits of the system include improved speed and accuracy of the data checking and order quantity calculation processes; automatic recording of provisioning history data for use in financial management/analysis; and finally, the ability to allow trainees to work on real life problems and compare their results with the experts.