Abstract: A system or method for scheduling supply driven processes such as the processing of mail includes projecting arrival data for mail articles during a processing period, determining a processing schedule of available equipment and personnel for processing mail articles during the processing period, simulating the processing of mail articles during the processing schedule determined for the arrival data to evaluate processing performance, and determining any changes for the processing schedule based upon simulating the processing. A method for scheduling a multi-operation process to handle arriving raw material of uncontrolled amounts and types, in accordance with performance objectives, includes similar steps.

Abstract: A system and method for disseminating information concerning, for example, conditions affecting travel routes personalizes information in accordance with individual users or customers by building filters for attributes of the information from attributes of interest to each user, such as nodes of a travel route, which are registered with the system by the user or customer. The information is filtered by the filters constructed from the attributes to form a list of user identifications of users that have registered an attribute of interest which is included in the information provided to the system. Messages are retrieved from storage and communicated to users in accordance with the list of user identifications either automatically over one or more communication media also registered by each user or on a call-in inquiry basis. In the latter case and for modification or additions to registered user information and attributes of interest, the system and method provide for an active automated dialog with the user.