JP2007535722A - Supportive signal tracking - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a business tracking method for business communication between trading partners in a supply chain. Trading partner (115) utilizes central hub (120) to coordinate and track events. Prior to sending the event (111) to the other trading partner, the trading partner (115) gets the event tracking number (123) from the central hub. The trading partner receiving the event (111) can confirm its unique status and validity by observing the content within the event itself and by querying the central hub (120) for additional information.

Description

  The present invention relates to event tracking in supply chain management.

  Supply chain management (SCM) is a process-orientated approach to sourcing, producing, and delivering products to customers and services. SCM includes a wide range of products and services suppliers, sub-suppliers, internal operations, trade customers, retail customers, and consumers (referred to herein as trading partners). have. It covers the management of materials, information and funds flow. Information passed through cooperative partners is critical to the success of the SCM. The quality of information, ie how it is perceived and used, is also important for operating the SCM efficiently and effectively.

  Using the SCM network, a trading partner (in this case, a potential purchaser of an item) can send a purchase order request to the supplier of the required item. The request can include other details such as delivery date and payment method. Unfortunately, trading partners often use different information systems. In addition, the flow of information from one trading partner to another trading partner cannot be monitored in such a way that a request for goods from one trading partner can be received more than once by another trading partner, It is not systematically organized. This confuses the receiving counterparty and makes it difficult to know what the potential buyer really wants.

  First, when multiple requests for bids are generated, the trading partner submits an incorrect bid. For example, XYZ Electronics decides to carpet the first floor of a two-story office building. They request a bid from a trading partner (carpet supplier / installer) for 1,000 yards of Neon Carpet Company Deep Pile Blue, catalog number NCC1701B. Later, XYZ decided that it would be better to lay carpet on the second floor as well. They therefore require a bid on the same carpet type and quantity. A trading partner who receives two bid requests may naturally be confused. The type and amount of carpet is the same for both requirements. Payment terms, delivery date, and other request-related information will also likely be the same.

  In such a case, the trading partner may not be able to place an accurate bid. The counterparty takes into account how much underfelt, how much tackboard, how many people, how many delivery trucks when calculating their bids You will not know what to do.

  Second, the same request can be accepted more than once by a trading partner, which is confusing. Often, communication networks used by trading partners within a supply chain include multiple paths between each trading partner. For example, trading partner alpha can have direct links to three other trading partners: Bravo, Charlie, and Delta. These three counterparties can have direct links to counterparties requesting bids, which they each communicate with counterparty alpha. Alpha received what appeared to be three separate bid requests. Depending on connectivity between trading partners, the three bids may arrive on different days with increasing confusion.

  Third, how do counterparties interpret requests for two bids that are nearly identical or at least similar? In the carpet example above, assume that the second request was for Neon Carpet Company's Deep Pile Cyan, catalog number NCC1701C. Should this be interpreted as an addition to the first requirement or as a modification? Without more information, the trading partner cannot be sure.

  Fourth, a potential purchaser may treat some trading partners differently. Sending bid requests to multiple trading partners means sending the same request to all or creating individual requirements for each trading partner. The first selection does not allow individual processing of each counterparty, and the second selection requires more time on the potential buyer side to generate individual requests.

  An important element of supply chain management is that there is an effective coordination of all links in the chain, which can be done as fast as possible without losing any quality or customer satisfaction. Unfortunately, there are actually an unlimited number of scenarios in the supply chain that can generate questions and inefficiencies.

  Therefore, it would be desirable to provide a communication method between trading partners in a supply chain that does not have the disadvantages of the prior art.

  The present invention includes a method and system that can eliminate errors in communication between trading partners in a supply chain. This is achieved in an embodiment of the invention having a central hub to coordinate communication between trading partners. This removes the uncertainty regarding the uniqueness of any single communication event.

  The central hub has the functionality to organize and monitor communications between trading partners in the supply chain. Regardless of the disparate systems and methods used by trading partners, a hierarchy of standardization is included in the communications within them.

  Events triggered by trading partners are assigned a unique signal tracking number by the central hub. The relevant details about the event are related by signal tracking number and recorded in the database at the central hub. A unique signal tracking number is preferably incorporated into the event. Thereafter, any trading partner who receives the event can verify the signal tracking number of the event and compare it with other events received. Thus, confusion regarding the unique identity of the event is denied or confirmed.

  In aspects of the invention, metadata is associated with an event and can be maintained in a signal tracking database. This information can be used to further identify important attributes associated with the event. The trading partner can query the database for any additional information that may be available in the event. Such information can be related to the event, but is not actually included in it. For example, an event can refer the receiving trading partner to metadata about the event held at the hub. This allows the event to be small in size and allows sensitive data to remain in places where it can have protected access.

  Access to some or all of the additional data associated with the event is possible for some trading partners and not for others. This allows trading partners responding to the event to be treated differently without requiring a large amount of additional work by the event creator.

  In the following description, preferred embodiments of the present invention are described in terms of preferred processing steps and data structures. Those skilled in the art, after reviewing this application, will understand that embodiments of the present invention may be adapted to one or more general purpose or special purpose processors, or to the special processing steps and data structures described herein. And that the implementation of the process steps and data structures described herein will not require undue experimentation or further invention.

Vocabulary The following terms refer to or relate to aspects of the invention as described below. The description of the general meaning of these terms is not limiting and is merely exemplary.

・ "Supply chain"
A supply chain is a chain of processes that facilitates economic activity between trading partners, from the purchase of raw goods and materials for production to the delivery of finished goods to end consumers. Most organizations have a supply chain that changes degrees depending on the size of the organization and the type of goods produced. These networks get supplies and parts, change their materials into finished products, and distribute them to customers. An integrated supply chain is characterized by synchronizing the flow of information with the flow of goods between trading partners.

·"supply chain management"
Supply chain management is a strategy for bringing greater value to consumers and / or customers for the lowest possible total supply costs, where business partners work together to work closely together. This coordination includes order generation, order acquisition, and order fulfillment / distribution of products, services, or information. Effective management must consider coordinating all the different parts of this chain as quickly as possible without losing either quality or customer satisfaction while continuing to reduce costs.

  Effective supply chain management enables businesses to make informed decisions along the entire supply chain, from obtaining raw materials to produce products to distributing finished products to consumers. To do. At each link, the business needs to make the best choice as to what the customer needs and how they can meet their requirements at the lowest possible cost.

・ "Event"
In general, an event is a communication submitted from a trading partner in a supply chain to one or more other trading partners. Examples of events include purchase orders, order confirmations, and delivery schedules.

・ "Trading partners"
In general, trading partners include products and services suppliers, sub-suppliers, trading customers, retail customers, and consumers. However, anyone who participates in a part of the supply chain can be considered a trading partner.

  As noted above, the description of the general meaning of these terms is not intended to be limiting, but is merely exemplary. Other and further applications of the present invention, including extensions of these terms and concepts, will be apparent to those skilled in the art after reading this application. These and other and further applications are part of the scope of the present invention and will be apparent to those skilled in the art without further invention or undue experimentation.

System Elements FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a system that uses cooperative signal tracking numbers.
System 100 includes a plurality of counterparty devices 110 associated with a plurality of counterparties 115, a hub 120, and a communication network 130.
Event 111 includes electronic data, preferably in the form of an electronic communication. The format of the event 111 is at the discretion of the sending trading partner 115, or the format agreed by the trading partner 115 of the sender and receiver of the event 111. The message format may include purchase orders, order confirmations, and other supply chain management messages.

  Trading device 110 includes a processor, main memory, and software for executing instructions (not shown, but understood by those skilled in the art). This software preferably includes a browser and other software capable of operating the counterpart device 110 consistent with the present invention and described herein.

  Trading partners 115 preferably include customers 141, distributors 143, brokers 145, suppliers 147, or other types of members in the supply chain. In other embodiments, trading partner 115 may include customer 141, distributor 143, broker 145, supplier 147, or some other type of business entity combination.

  To illustrate an exemplary flow of events 111 in system 100, each counterparty device 110 in FIG. 1 is assigned to a business type of customer 141, distributor 143, broker 145, or supplier 147.

  The hub 120 includes a signal tracking database 121 for processing, organizing, and storing the signal tracking number 123, a processor, main memory, and software for executing instructions (not shown, but understood by those skilled in the art). It is out. This software preferably includes software that causes the hub 120 to communicate with each counterparty device 110 and to operate the hub 120 in another manner consistent with the present invention as further described herein.

  When event 111 is given to signal tracking number 123, additional data regarding event 111 can be stored in hub 120. The additional data may include event 111 itself or other information about trading partner 115 sending event 111. For example, the digital signature can be stored in the data of the hub 120. By using the hub 120 to store additional data that may or may not be needed by the recipient's trading partner 115, the event 111 is smaller in size and is more efficiently transmitted.

  In other embodiments, any portion of the additional data can be incorporated into event 111 and transmitted therewith.

The signal tracking number 123 contains a set of data that uniquely identifies the event 111.
When signal tracking number 123 is provided by hub 120, it is incorporated into event 111. It can therefore be used to identify events.

  The communication network 130 is at least one of communication networks such as a LAN, WAN, Internet, intranet, extranet, virtual private network, virtual switched network, or a combination thereof. Contains parts. In a preferred embodiment, the communication network 130 is in addition to (or in addition to) the communication network just shown, or any other set of communication networks that allow the elements described herein to perform the functions described herein. Instead, it includes a packet switched network such as the Internet.

  The preferred embodiment for the communication network 130 is an evolution of the products of the participation of trading partners 115 and the supply chain in which they participate. In a preferred embodiment with respect to this element, as described above, the communication network 130 can include various types of computerized networks. In general, the more complex communication network 130 requires a larger invention.

  Communication link 113 operates to couple each counterparty device 110 and hub 120 to communication network 130. When the counterparty device 110 is connected to more than one communication network 130, more than one other counterparty device 110, or a combination thereof, more than one communication link 113 can be used.

  Query 117 includes a request to hub 120 to provide information regarding event 111 identified by its signal tracking number 123.

  The response 119 substantially includes detailed information regarding the event 111. The creator of event 111 provides the information contained in response 119. Any additional information is stored in the hub 120. The format of the additional information regarding the event can be controlled by the hub 120 or can be left entirely to the discretion of the creating trading partner 115.

Other Embodiments of System 100 FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of another embodiment of a system that uses cooperative signal tracking numbers.
This embodiment shows a complex connection between trading partners. The trading partner device 110 (supplier 147) is coupled to the communication network 130 and two other trading partner devices 110 (distributor 143 and broker 145).

  Such other embodiments show how the event 111 can be accepted more than once by the counterparty device 110. In particular in this example, at least three identical events 111 can be received by counterparty device 110 operated by supplier 147. First, the event 111 can be received from the customer 141 via the communication network 130. Second, the event 111 can be received from the customer 141 via the communication network 130 through the distributor 143. Third, the event 111 can be received from the customer 141 via the communication network 130 through the broker 143.

  Such other embodiments are exemplary and are not intended to be limiting. The number of counterparty devices 110 and connection lines is virtually unlimited.

Method of Operation FIG. 3 shows a process flow diagram of a method using cooperative signal tracking numbers. Method 300 is performed by system 100. Although the method 300 is described serially, the steps of the method 300 can be performed by separate elements in concatenation or in parallel, or asynchronously in a pipelined or other manner. Except as otherwise noted, there are no special requirements that method 300 must perform in the same order as the steps shown in this description.

  At flow point 310, hub 120 is ready to process incoming requests for signal tracking number 123 and to respond to query 117.

  In step 311, trading partner 115 creates event 111. It is generated by trading partner device 110. The creator's trading partner 115 identifies a list of recipients of event 111. Event 111 may be any of the types described above.

  In step 313, trading partner device 110 sends the event to hub 120 for processing. In other embodiments, the counterparty device 110 sends a request for the signal tracking number 123 to the hub 120.

  In step 315, the hub 120 assigns a unique signal tracking number 123 to the event 111 and records the assignment in the signal tracking database 121. Additional information regarding event 111 may be recorded at hub 120 for future reference. Additional information is linked to event 111 by its signal tracking number 123.

  In step 317, event 111 is modified to include signal tracking number 123. In other embodiments, the signal tracking number 123 is sent to the counterparty device 110 where the event 111 has been created. At that location, event 111 is modified to include signal tracking number 123.

  In step 319, event 111 is sent to a list of recipients identified by the creator's trading partner 115.

  At the flow point 321, the process can be repeated starting from step 310 in order to be able to generate additional events 111 and assign a signal tracking number 123.

  In step 323, the query 117 is sent from the counterparty device 110 to the hub 120. Initiating a query 117 allows trading partner 115 that received event 111 to obtain additional information about event 111. Upon receipt of event 111, query 117 can be sent manually or automatically by receiving trading partner device 110 to establish the status of event 111 and obtain any additional information available. .

  The only identity of event 111 can be collected by comparing the assigned signal tracking number 123, but the additional information clarifies similar appearing events 111 that differ only by signal tracking number 123, and It may be necessary to confirm the exact intent of the sending counterparty 115. For example, a trading partner may issue a first order for 100 gallon purple paint and then a second order for the exact same product and quantity. Trading partner 115 may wonder if one of the purchase orders is an error or a real further request. Additional data stored in the hub 120 can be used to clarify these common issues.

  In step 325, response 119 is sent by hub 120 to counterparty device 110 that initiated query 117. The signal tracking number 123 in query 117 is checked against the appropriate record in signal tracking database 121. Any additional data can be included in the response 119 as required. If event 111 is known to be a duplicate, trading partner device 110 can be configured to automatically discard it or otherwise process it as duplicate event 111.

  At flow point 327, the process can be repeated from step 323 to allow additional events 111 to be asked.

Generality of the Invention The present invention has applicability and generality to other aspects of business for business communication and collaboration between business entities.

Other Embodiments Although preferred embodiments are shown herein, many variations are possible which are within the concept and scope of the present invention, and those variations will become apparent to those skilled in the art after reading this application. I will.

FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of a system that uses cooperative signal tracking numbers. FIG. 6 shows a block diagram of another embodiment of a system that uses cooperative signal tracking numbers. FIG. 4 shows a process flow diagram of a method for using cooperative signal tracking numbers.

Claims (21)

Generate a supply chain communication event at the sender for delivery to the set of payees, where the set of payees includes trading partners in the supply chain;
Processing the event at a central hub, where the processing includes modifying the event to be uniquely identifiable,
Deliver the above event to the recipient's group in the modified format,
Query the central hub in response to receipt of the event;
Business execution method including that. The above process
Sending the event to the hub, wherein the hub includes a database for storing a plurality of the event and a plurality of unique identifiers associated with the data set describing the event;
Add a unique identifier to the event at the hub,
Store a set of data at the hub, where the data describes the event and is indexed to the unique identifier,
The business execution method of claim 1, comprising delivering the event to a set of recipients.   The business execution method according to claim 2, wherein the hub is inevitably located at a location away from the generation.   The business execution method according to claim 2, wherein the adding includes recording the adding step in the database.   The business execution method according to claim 2, wherein the storing includes storing the data set describing the event in the database further including additional data supplied by the sender.   The business execution method of claim 2, wherein the delivering includes sending the event in a modified form to the set of recipients. The above inquiry
Send a query to the hub from at least one of the recipient sets, where the query requests additional information in response to receipt of at least one of the events;
Generate a response to the above query,
The business execution method of claim 1, comprising delivering the response to at least one of the set of recipients.   The business execution method according to claim 7, wherein the distribution is executed (1) manually by one request of the set of recipients, or (2) automatically executed in response to receipt of the event. .   The distribution includes identifying the event for which additional information has been requested, the identifying verifying a unique identifier associated with the event having a record of the unique identifier in the hub database. The business execution method according to claim 7, further comprising:   The business execution method according to claim 7, wherein the generating includes generating an electronic communication text of additional information from the database associated with the event identified by the unique identifier. Means for generating a supply chain communication event at a sender for delivery to a set of payees, wherein the set of payees includes a counterparty in the supply chain;
Means for processing the event at a central hub, wherein the means for processing includes a means for changing the event to be uniquely identifiable;
Means for delivering the event to the set of recipients in the modified form;
Means for querying the central hub in response to receipt of the event;
Including the device. The means for processing is as follows:
Means for sending the event to the hub, wherein the hub includes a database for storing the plurality of the event and a plurality of unique identifiers associated with the data set describing the event;
Means for adding a unique identifier to the event at the hub;
Means for storing a set of data at the hub, wherein the data describes the event and is indexed to the identifier;
12. The apparatus of claim 11 including means for delivering the event to a set of recipients.   The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the hub is necessarily located remotely from the generation.   The apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the adding means includes means for recording the adding step in the database.   13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the means for storing includes means for storing the data set describing the event in the database further comprising additional data supplied by the sender.   13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the means for delivering includes means for sending the event in a modified form to the set of recipients. The above means for inquiring is
Means for sending a query from at least one of the set of recipients to the hub, wherein the query requires additional information in response to receipt of at least one of the events;
Means for generating a response to the query;
12. The apparatus of claim 11 including means for delivering the response to at least one of the recipient set.   18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the means for sending the query is (1) manually executed at the request of the recipient, or (2) automatically executed in response to receipt of the event.   The means for transmitting includes means for identifying the event for which additional information has been requested, the means for identifying is a unique identifier associated with the event having a record of the unique identifier in the hub database. The apparatus of claim 17, comprising means for collating   18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the means for generating includes means for generating an electronic communication text of additional information from the database associated with the event indicated by the unique identifier. Generate a supply chain communication event for delivery to a set of payees, where the set of payees includes trading partners in the supply chain,
Receive the above event at the central hub,
Modify the event to include a unique identifier, where the identifier is stored in the hub database with additional information describing the event,
Deliver the event to the recipient's group in the modified format,
Querying the event for the information describing the event, wherein the query includes matching the unique identifier included in the event with the identifier stored in the database;
A computer readable medium comprising instructions written to be readable by a computer to perform the above steps, in response to the inquiry, wherein the reply includes delivery of information describing the event.

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