JP2001022832A - Inter-enterprise cooperation system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a system capable of providing electronic enterprise cooperation for effectively utilizing the favorite fields of a plurality of enterprises. SOLUTION: A provider server 11 receives transaction information or process information transmitted from a server 12 of an enterprise A. When the order information of articles or the like is received, an inter-enterprise cooperation managing part 24 expands this information into a process composed of a plurality of work processes and stores it in an enterprise data base 21. When the result of a related process is reported from a receiving part 23, the date of the result is recorded on this schedule. In response to an inquiry from a server 14 of an enterprise C, a retrieval part 27 extracts the relevant process from an enterprise data base 21 and transmits it through an editing part 28 and an output part 29 to the server 14 of the enterprise C.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a network system in which a plurality of companies efficiently combine business know-how, technology, and experience in a field where they are good at performing business activities. It relates to the electronic trading system of virtual companies that utilize it.

2. Description of the Related Art In the process coordination of a company, a coordinating company or a department (in some cases, an individual case) has in-house rules,
Or, at the discretion of the department, the process of deciding whether to work inside or outside or purchasing parts was determined. Or, in the package system, as a business process system in the same company,
Manufacturing, sales logistics, accounting, projects, services, transportation, etc. support the business in an optimal corporate environment.
For example, it provides an inexpensive business process management system that can be easily expanded and contracted in accordance with the scale of an enterprise business process. The technology is well known. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-114883, "Business management support system"
Is a system in which a client / server type management system for processing information on business processes in a company is integrated on a plurality of local networks, and information provided to a certain management system and information processed by a certain management system are processed by the management system. There is a system that is provided to another management system via a local network to manage a plurality of business processes in an enterprise in a coordinated manner.

However, there has been a problem that it is not possible to quickly perform corporate activities by combining optimal business processes among a plurality of companies. In addition, although cooperation between companies is performed between company models or business processes, a cooperation method between a model and a real business on a virtual company is not found. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, and to provide a method and apparatus for supporting optimal support of a corporate model involving a plurality of business processes.

In order to solve this problem, a new company is electronically established on a service provider server on a network. A “corporate database” is provided on a provider server on the network, and a virtual company is created on this database. This company has
An optimum "company model" is selected from conditions such as order specification and quantity, and a company that matches the transaction and its business process are determined and generated in the company database for each transaction.
Information such as delivery date, work instructions, order conditions, etc. is sent to related parties via the network to the server and requester of this provider, and electronic information related to the department concerned is sent from the server on the business side. Can query and reference. In addition, the person in charge of the electronic company and the related department can refer to the “company database” of the provider. In each “process (company + business)”, at the end of the work, a performance report is sent to the virtual company of the provider server.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of the inter-company cooperation system of the present embodiment. The system is a server 11
Is connected to the server 11 via the network 15,
Company A server 12 and company B server 1 as clients
3 and a company C server 14. The company A server 12 is installed in one company or a partner company, and transmits transaction information and business process performance data to the server 11 via the network 15. Company B server 13
Is set up in another company or affiliated company and network 1
5 to receive transaction information and business process information from the server 11. The server 11 relays the transaction information and process information relating to the ordering of the product received from the company A server 12 to the company B server 13 and, at the same time, a company model table from the ordering of the product to the billing of the affiliated company to the consumer and the totaling of sales. Then, the company model of the corresponding pattern is extracted, a company database is created, and the process (company name + department name) is managed. The company C server 14 inquires of the provider server 11 via the network 15 about a specific product ordering process, and acquires business process status data. The company A server 12, the company B server 13, and the company C server 14 are a plurality of business processes of the corresponding company, such as business process 1 (business 1), business process 2 (business 2), and business process 3 (business 3). "People", "things",
Has "information", "funds", etc. Company A server 12,
The company B server 13 and the company C server 14 are servers of a distributed processing system. The server can execute a plurality of application programs (AP) as a matter of course. The servers 11, 12, 13, and 14 are information processing devices such as personal computers, workstations, mainframe computers, and parallel computers. The network 15 includes the Internet, VA that can be used between a plurality of companies and affiliated companies.
Network such as a dedicated line provided by N companies. Examples of the form of corporate cooperation of the server 11 include “corporate cooperation” which is a cooperation between a plurality of companies, “corporate group cooperation” between specific company groups, and “electronic company cooperation” which is a cooperation between unspecified companies. Outsourcing such as "Package and Application Program", "Package and Package", "Company and Professional Human Resources Company", "Company and General Affairs or Accounting", "Parent Company and Subsidiary", "Between Venture Companies",
There are "between large companies, small and medium-sized companies, and venture companies" and "between Japanese companies and European and American companies". The network configuration includes a provider configuration, a system without a provider, and the like. The company system information on the servers of the companies A, B, and C in FIG. 1 can be collectively managed by the provider server. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of the virtual enterprise E and the configuration of the database and function modules held by the server 11 of the provider. The company database 21 maintains and manages business process data of operations such as manufacturing, shipping, delivery, and delivery of products across a plurality of companies based on ordering of products between companies and consumers. The relay unit 22 is a company A
The cooperation information received from the server 12 is relayed to the company B server 13 and passed to the inter-company cooperation management unit 24. The company A server 12 may transmit the same cooperation information to both the company B server 13 and the server 11 by broadcast communication. In that case, the relay unit 22 is merely a receiving unit of the transaction information. The receiving unit 23 transmits the work result data received from the transmitting terminal such as the company A server 12 to the inter-company cooperation management unit 2.
Pass to 4. The inter-company cooperation management unit 24 expands the cooperation information received from the relay unit 22 from the “company model” (FIG. 5) table to the “company database” (FIG. 4) table format and stores the same in the company database 21. It is a processing unit. In addition, the inter-company cooperation management unit 24 updates the corresponding company database of the company database 21 with the cooperation information or the business process data received from the relay unit 22 or the reception unit 23, and the work instruction transmission unit 25 executes the related process (related company). The work instruction is transmitted to a server such as the company B server 13). The receiving unit 26 is a processing unit that receives a business process inquiry from the company C server 14. The search unit 27 is a processing unit that searches the company database 21 and acquires a corresponding company database. The editing unit 28
The processing unit edits the acquired company database. The output unit 29 transmits the created cooperation data to the company C server 14.
It is a processing unit that transmits to FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a data example of the transaction information 35 transmitted from the company A server 12 to the provider server 11. FIG. 3A shows order information transmitted from Company Z to Company A, which includes a product number, a quantity, a delivery date, an orderer, a contractor, an order number, and a password. FIG. 3B shows order information A1, which includes an order number, a process name, a work completion date, a report date, and a password. The format of the link information is CII syntax rules,
It can conform to a standard format such as EDIFACT. It is also assumed that order numbers, order numbers, and the like are unified in accordance with standard standards of a code system of processes between companies and consumers. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the configuration of the company database stored in the company database 21. The company database data is a transaction table for each business process of the company, and a company database is created for each electronic company. In this example, a transaction table for each business process of the personal computer manufacturing and sales company "E" is shown. In the table, “company name (virtual)” 41, “order number” 42, “business” 43, “process (company name + department name)” 44, “next process” (plural) 45, “delivery date” "4
6. Arrange “work instruction” 47, “takeover information” 48, which is the handover information of the corresponding process, and “work record” 49, and arrange in the row direction the same company name (virtual) and each business process related to the same order number. Arrange related information in process order. "Business"
43, a “process (company name + department name)” 44 and a “next process” 45 select an optimum company name (virtual) 51 and pattern name 52 from the company model table 50 (FIG. 5) and execute The company database is developed based on “53”, “process (company name + department name)” 54, “next process (1)” 55, and “next process (2)” 56. Other items "delivery date" 46, "work instruction" 47, "takeover information" 48,
The “work record” 49 is determined based on the number of orders received and the status of the corresponding business process. FIG. 5 is a “company model” table, which describes a process and a transaction condition pattern for each order of the electronic company. The company name (virtual) 41 in FIG.
The business 43, the process (company name + business name) 44, and the next process 44 (1) and (2) are selected by the company name 51 and the pattern name 52 from the company model table of FIG. This example is a company model of a personal computer manufacturing and sales company E,
"1" is selected as the pattern name. In the table, "company name (virtual)" 51, "pattern name" 52, "business"
53, “process (company name + department name)” 54, “next process (1)” 55, “next process (2)” 56, “work instruction” 57, “takeover information” 58, “work standard” 59 and the "constraint condition" 5A, and business processes related to the same company name and pattern name are arranged in the row direction. The company model differs depending on the size, technology, etc. of each company. When a pattern is created as a virtual company in combination, it is registered each time. “E” of the “company name (virtual)” 51 indicates the electronic virtual company E. , And “pattern name” 52 indicate processing patterns of the business of the electronic virtual company E. Pattern 1 of “business” represents a business process from receiving an order to billing and totaling sales. “A1” of the “process (company name + department name)” 54 indicates that the department 1 of the company A shares the order business process. "B3" of the "next process (1)" 55 indicates that the purchasing / adjustment business process is shared by the department 3 of the company B as the business process after the "order receiving" of A1. “C5” of the “next process (2)” 56 indicates that manufacturing / assembly is performed in the department 5 of the company C in parallel with B3 as a business process after “order acceptance” of A1. "Work instructions" 57,
The “takeover information” 58 is the same information as in FIG. 4 and varies depending on the contents of the order. The company model is selected based on the "work standard" 59, the "constraint condition" 5A and the like, and the delivery date is determined.
FIG. 6 is a table of “company definition”, in which processes for each company and each business are summarized in a table. The table is arranged such that "process (company name + business name) 61," business name "63," department "64," network address "65,
The “related data table” 66 and the “password” 67 are arranged, and different company patterns are arranged in the row direction. “Process (company name + business name)” 61 and “business name” 63 related to FIG.
In addition to the above, "department" 64, which is the name of the executing department, "network address" 65 indicating the electronic location, "order data" as detailed information for each company pattern, "related data table" 66 having process completion information, etc. It consists of a "password" 67 for preventing access. FIG. 7 shows the contents of the “related data table”, in which the order information (712 to 717), the process completion date 71
8, a table having necessary information in a company pattern such as process work results and work instructions. Process 711
The table name “A” of the “order” processing of the sales department of the A company “A1”
The “AAA” 71 table includes “Process (company name + business name)” 711 in the column direction and “Product number” 7 as order information.
12, "quantity" 713, "delivery date" 714, "orderer" 715,
"Contractor" 716, "Order No." 717, "Scheduled process completion date" 718, "Process work result" 719, "Work instruction" 7
Has 1A. The table 721 of the table name “CCCC” of the “manufacturing” process of the manufacturing department of the company A of the process 721 “C5” has “process (company name + business name)” in the column direction and “article number” as order information. 722, "quantity" 723, "delivery date"
724, “Orderer” 725, “Orderer” 726, “Order No.”
727, a “scheduled process completion date” 728, a “process work result” 729, a “work instruction” 72A, and an “assembly information” 72B. In the table of 72, “memory 256M” is used as assembly information as detailed information different from the table of 71.
B, 1000 MIPS ”72B. FIG. 9 is a flow screen of a company process for each case, which shows a business process for each case, work results, and the like. This example is a company model of a personal computer manufacturing and sales company. Company "E", Order No. "H100
1 "and" H2002 "are displayed on the screen. The screen is based on “Matter H1001” 441 and “Matter H2002” 442 as a basis, “Process A1 (order received) 2/1” 443, “Process B3 (purchase / adjustment) 2/4” 444, and “Process D8 (delivery and work results) : 2/10 ”445,“ Process A7 (Billing, Sales Aggregation) 2/17 ”446,“ Process C5 (Manufacturing / Assembly) 2/3 ”447, and“ Process B1 (Orders Received) ”
"2/5" 448 is displayed on the screen. In this example, the production / assembly of C5 is selected. When selected, information before and after this C5 is displayed on the screen. Here, as shown at 441, processes before and after C5 of the case H1001 are displayed. What is A7's billing and sales totals are outside the front and back, so they are displayed outside the frame. When C5 is selected, the related table shown in FIG. 4 is displayed, from which the contents of “work instruction” 47 and the “takeover information” 48 are changed to the table name “AA” shown in FIG.
AA "or the takeover information of the corresponding process of table name" CCCC "can be referred to. FIG. 10 shows a “Company Model Creation” screen, which describes a process and a transaction condition pattern for each order of the electronic company. This example is a company model of a PC manufacturing and sales company.
A company model of company "E" and pattern name "1" is created from the screen. The screen shows “Company name” 551 and “Pattern name” 552
“Process of business process” 553, “Process (company name + department name)” 554, “Next process (1)” 5
55, “Next process (2)” 556, “Work instruction” 55
7, "takeover information" 558, "work standard" 559, and "constraint condition" 55A are arranged, and business processes related to the same company name and pattern name are arranged in the row direction. The company model differs depending on the size, technology, etc. of each company. Create a pattern as a virtual company by combining them. “E” of the “company name” 551 indicates the electronic virtual company E. "Pattern name" 5
Reference numeral 52 "1" indicates a processing pattern of the business of the electronic virtual company E. Pattern 1 represents a business process from order receipt to billing / sales totaling. “A1” of “process (company name + section name)” 554 is section 1 of company A
Indicates that the business process for orders is shared.
“B3” of “next process (1)” 555 is “order” of A1
As a later business process, purchase /
It shows that the coordination business process is shared.
“C5” of “next process (2)” 556 is “order” of A1
As a later business process, manufacturing /
This shows that the assembly is performed in parallel with B3. “Work instruction” 557 and “takeover information” 558 are the same information as in FIG. "Work standard" 559,
The company model is selected according to the "constraint condition" 55A and the delivery date is determined. FIG. 11 shows a "process definition" screen, in which processes for each company and each business are input from the screen. The fields are “process (company name + business name) 661,“ company name ”663,“ business name ”664,
Data is entered in “Department” 665, “Network Address” 666, “Related Data Table” 667, and “Password” 668. The “screen” includes “process (company name + business name)” 661, “company name” 663, and “business name” 664 related to FIG. A “network address” 666, an order information as detailed information for each company pattern, a “related data table” 667 having process completion information, and the like, and a “password” 668 for preventing unauthorized access.
FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of processing from the receiving unit 26 to the output unit 29 of the server 11. The receiving unit 26 receives the transaction / process information 36 between the companies from the company C server 14.
(Step 81), the search unit 27 retrieves the company database 21 and extracts the transaction table of the company database of the designated order number (step 82). A corresponding one is read from the company definition table from the network address of the company C server 14 and the received password (step 83). If there is no corresponding one, the processing inability at step 91 is notified to the transmission source. It is determined whether the received information is new transaction (35) or process information (36) depending on whether the received information is transaction information or process information (step 84). If it is the process information (36), step 92 and subsequent steps are executed. If it is new transaction information (35), a virtual company for each transaction is created. In this case, a corresponding pattern is selected from the company model table in FIG. 5 to create the company data table in FIG. At this time, from the company model table in FIG. 5, the order name and the company name / pattern name “company name (virtual)”, “business”,
Extract "process (company name + business name)", "next process (1)", "next process (2)", "work instruction", "takeover information", and "work standard time", and refer to FIG. It is created (step 86). At this time, the "delivery date" in FIG. 4 is determined from the work standard time (step 87). After completion of the table shown in FIG. Related process (company name + business name)
(Step 88). In each process, the process is performed by creating the process table shown in FIG. This table may be stored on the server of the host provider or on the server of each company. The way of holding should be determined based on operation and cost.
Send a virtual company creation completion message to the contractor. The orderer confirms the contents and, if OK, notifies the orderer that the arrangement has been completed (step 89). If it is not the transaction information (35) in the judgment of step 84, the following processing is executed. If the received data is not the process information (36), the fact that the data cannot be received is notified to the transmission destination and the process is terminated (step 92). Order No. of the process information (36). With the process name, the company database (FIG. 4) is searched to retrieve the corresponding table, and the work completion date of the process information (36) is set in the work result of FIG. 4 (step 94).
The updated table in FIG. 4 is updated, and the “process work result” in the table of the corresponding process in FIG. 7 is updated (step 95). The work result update is notified to the related process (step 96). FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the flow of the process of creating a process definition table. The process name (company name + business name) 661 is input from the provider client to the “process definition screen” in FIG. 11 (step 881). The company definition table (FIG. 6) is read by the process name of the company name and the business name. It is determined whether the process name exists in the company definition table (step 88).
3). If there is, the processing of FIG. 13 is performed. "Company name" 663, "Business name" 664, "Department" on the process definition screen in FIG.
665, "network address" 667, "password"
668 is input (step 884). Register the screen input data in the company definition table (FIG. 6) (step 88)
5). FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of a process of creating a company model. “Company model creation screen” in FIG. 10
, Enter the company name 551 and the pattern name 552 from the provider client (step 8881). The company model table (FIG. 5) is read with the company name 551 and the pattern name 552 (step 8882). It is determined whether the company model name exists in the company model table (step 88).
83). If there is, the processing of FIG. 14 is performed. Data is input to “process” 554 on the company model screen of FIG. 10 (8
885). Depending on the process, the company definition table (Fig. 6)
Is read (step 8885). It is determined whether the process name (company + business name) is in the company definition table (step 8886). If not, the company definition table creation processing (step 8887) of FIG. 12 is executed. if there is,
The processing of step 8888 in FIG. 14 is performed. Processing procedure 5 for business with company name “E” 551 and pattern name “1” 552
53, a process (company name + business name) 554, the next process (1) 555, (2) 556, a work instruction 557, a work standard 559, and a constraint 55A are input from the screen (step 8888). "Business procedure" 553, "Process"
554, “next process (1)” 555, “next process (2)” 556, “work instruction” 557, “takeover information” 55
8. The user inputs "work standard" 559 and "constraint condition" 55A (step 884). The screen input data is registered in the company definition table (FIG. 6) (step 885). Upon receiving the transaction / process information 36 between companies (step 81), the search unit 27 searches the company database 21 and extracts a transaction table of the company database of the designated order number (step 82). A corresponding one is read from the company definition table from the network address of the company C server 14 and the received password (step 83). If there is no corresponding one, the processing inability at step 91 is notified to the transmission source. It is determined whether the received information is new transaction (35) or process information (36) depending on whether the received information is transaction information or process information (step 84). If it is the process information (36), step 92 and subsequent steps are executed. If it is new transaction information (35), a virtual company for each transaction is created. In this case, a corresponding pattern is selected from the company model table in FIG. 5 to create the company data table in FIG. At this time, the company name / pattern name “company name (virtual)”, “business”, and “process (company name + business name)” that match the order details and the constraints of the company model table from the company model table of FIG. "
"Next process (1)", "next process (2)", "work instruction", "takeover information", and "work standard time" are extracted and FIG.
Is created (step 86). At this time, the "delivery date" in FIG. 4 is determined from the work standard time (step 87). After completion of the table shown in FIG. A work instruction message is transmitted to the related process (company name + business name) in (Step 88). In each process, the process is performed by creating the process table shown in FIG. This table may be stored on the server of the host provider or on the server of each company. The way of holding should be determined based on operation and cost. Send a virtual company creation completion message to the contractor. The orderer confirms the contents and, if OK, notifies the orderer that the arrangement has been completed (step 89). If it is not the transaction information (35) in the judgment of step 84, the following processing is executed. If the received data is not the process information (36), the fact that the data cannot be received is notified to the transmission destination and the process is terminated (step 92). Order No. of the process information (36).
With the process name, the company database (FIG. 4) is searched to retrieve the corresponding table, and the work completion date of the process information (36) is set in the work result of FIG. 4 (step 94). The updated table in FIG. 4 is updated, and the “process work result” in the table of the corresponding process in FIG. 7 is updated (step 95). The work result update is notified to the related process (step 96).

As described above, according to the present invention,
Cooperation between companies that selects the optimal process between different companies can be performed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an overall configuration of a virtual entrepreneur E according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a diagram showing an example of data of transaction information 35 and process information 36. FIG.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a business database of the embodiment, showing a transaction table for each business process of a company E;

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a company model table of the embodiment, which is a company model of a personal computer manufacturing / sales company E, and which shows a virtual company name E: pattern 1;

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a company definition table according to the embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a related data table of a company definition table according to the embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a flow of business process execution of the virtual company of the embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a flow screen of a company process for each case according to the embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a company model of a personal computer manufacturing / sales company E on the company model creation screen of the embodiment, in which a virtual company name E: pattern 1 is created.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a process definition screen of the embodiment, which is a company model of a personal computer manufacturing / sales company E and in which a process A1 is created.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of creating a process definition table according to the embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of creating a company model according to the embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of creating a company model according to the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

11 server, 12 server of company A, 13 server of company B, 14 server of company C, 15 network between companies, 20 server of provider, 21 company database, 24 enterprise cooperation management Department, 35 ... transaction information,
36 Process information.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A method of combining a business process that is good at a plurality of companies to enable a company to operate in an optimal company organization utilizing a network. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the status of the business process of the corresponding company is taken out in response to the inquiry of the business process of another company, and the status of the company is transmitted to the inquiry destination. 3. A means for acquiring information transmitted between business processes via a network, a means for developing the information into a plurality of business processes across a plurality of companies based on the information, and a record of the business processes Means for recording the work completion date when a report is obtained. A server device for managing transactions between business processes. 4. A computer program embodied on a computer-readable storage medium for managing transactions between business processes, the program comprising the steps of: (a) connecting business processes via a network; (B) develops an optimal business process based on the transaction information and the already registered business process, and (c) a business process department related to the business process for the business process. Make a contact.