JP4256598B2 - Vendor information management system - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In the case of manufacturing so-called assembled products such as transportation equipment such as airplanes and ships, and power plants, chemical factories, steelworks, general factories, etc., the present invention is designed, procured or manufactured. The present invention relates to a vendor information management system for accumulating and managing information on vendors who place business orders and contributing to efficient and appropriate vendor selection.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In the case of manufacturing a so-called assembly product such as a transport device such as an airplane or a ship, or a plant such as a power plant, a chemical factory, a steel factory, or a general factory, generally, the manufacturing routine is as shown in FIG. There are five stages: (1) design, (2) material procurement, (3) quality assurance, (4) work, and (5) on-site delivery.
[0003]
(1) The design stage is a stage where the overall design of the above-described product and the part design of the parts constituting the product are performed.
[0004]
(2) The material procurement stage is a stage for procuring materials necessary for the parts constituting the above-described product.
[0005]
(3) In the quality assurance stage, (2) Check whether the materials procured in the material procurement stage are as per the required specifications, and if materials that do not satisfy the required specifications are delivered, as per the required specifications This is the stage to deliver the materials.
[0006]
(4) The work stage is a stage in which work is performed as designed in the (1) design stage using materials whose quality has been confirmed to be in accordance with the required specifications in the (3) quality assurance stage.
[0007]
(5) The on-site carry-in stage is a stage at which the parts and products machined at the (4) work stage are carried on site and installed.
[0008]
The manufacturer contractor may be able to design and manufacture parts with his organization and equipment based on the specifications of a given product, but in the manufacture of large products as described above, various parts The ratio of outsourcing to the vendor at all stages of design, material procurement, quality assurance, construction, and local delivery is usually rare. Is expensive.
[0009]
In this case, in order to select an appropriate vendor, it is necessary to investigate its management status, performance, manufacturing capacity, cost, and the like. Information collection methods performed at each stage (1) to (5) are mainly based on paper such as catalogs and specifications, and based on the paper-based information collected in this way, competitor vendors Comparisons, vendor surveys, and vendor evaluations.
[0010]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, such a conventional manufacturing routine has the following problems.
[0011]
That is, in the conventional manufacturing routine, at each stage in (1) to (5) described above, although there is a flow of an interface for manufacturing, no exchange of other information is performed. The person in charge at each stage needs to perform vendor evaluation when selecting a vendor. When such vendor evaluation is performed, collection of vendor information, comparison of competing vendors, vendor survey, and vendor evaluation are required. Are carried out independently at each stage. The same vendor may be selected at different stages, but at each stage, the results of vendor evaluation performed for such vendor selection are usually only managed as self-assessment information and closed at each stage. I manage. For this reason, there is a possibility that redundant information collection is performed at each stage, and there is a problem that useless labor may be spent.
[0012]
In addition, since such information collection is performed at each stage alone, there is no stage in which a total evaluation from (1) design to (5) on-site delivery is performed. Furthermore, the results of the evaluations performed at each stage are not always the same, and there is a problem that a biased evaluation or an erroneous evaluation may be performed at a certain stage.
[0013]
For example, there is no problem if the vendor being considered has made a serious nonconformity very recently, and if the evaluation is performed after promptly obtaining the nonconformity information, (3) Quality Assurance While this information is obtained at the stage, (1) the vendor may be adopted without knowing this information at the design stage, and there is a possibility that nonconformity may be reoccurred.
[0014]
When the same equipment is used for the same purpose, the nonconformity information is relatively easy to obtain. However, when the same equipment is used for other purposes and a nonconformity occurs, the non-conformity is not easy on a paper basis. It is difficult to obtain information. Thus, it is apparent that the paper-based information collection method is no longer limited from the viewpoint of speedy acquisition of information and quick analysis of the acquired information.
[0015]
The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and centrally manages vendor information used at each stage of manufacturing a product using a communication network, and further updates the latest information from the vendor. By acquiring and updating in real time using a communication network, it is possible to quickly analyze vendor information and select an appropriate vendor based on the analysis results, thereby improving the quality of purchased products and low-cost purchases. An object is to provide a possible vendor information management system.
[0016]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, the present invention takes the following measures.
[0017]
That is, according to the first aspect of the present invention, when a product is manufactured, orders are made for each work including design of the product, procurement of materials necessary for the product, quality assurance of the procured material, and manufacture of the product. A vendor information management system that centrally manages the information of each vendor that is the supplier at the supplier, and is provided at each vendor side, and at least the vendor overview, the number of employees, business items, main customers, and main material suppliers Vendor terminal that sends vendor information including major subcontractor, latest financial results, major equipment / equipment, technical level information, quality control method, job organization information, and vendor PR information to the ordering party Non-conformance information of the vendor that is provided in the design department that orders at least a part of the design work from one of the vendors and is known by the design department. And a design department terminal that transmits evaluation information as a result of vendor evaluation performed by the design department, and a terminal provided at the ordering source, and prepared for a material procurement department that procures materials from one of the vendors. Non-conformance information of vendors that the material procurement department knows, order information including vendors procured by the material procurement department and their order values, and evaluation information that is the result of vendor evaluation conducted by the material procurement department The material procurement department terminal that sends the message and the terminal that is provided at the ordering source, is provided in the quality assurance department that guarantees the quality of the material procured by the material procurement department, and the vendor's quality management department grasps A quality assurance department terminal that transmits nonconformity information and evaluation information that is the result of vendor evaluation performed by the quality assurance department, and a terminal that is provided at the ordering party, and at least the production of manufactured products The manufacturing department that is provided in the manufacturing department that orders a part from one of the vendors, and that transmits the nonconformity information of the vendor known by the manufacturing department and the evaluation information that is the result of the vendor evaluation performed by the manufacturing department. Vendor information receiving means for receiving terminal, vendor information transmitted from each vendor terminal via a communication network, order record information and evaluation information transmitted from any of the department terminals , Non-conformance information receiving means for receiving non-conformance information relating to each vendor transmitted from any of the department terminals, and vendor information provided for the ordering source and received by the vendor information receiving means, Vendor information storage means for storing the order record information and evaluation information in association with the corresponding vendor, and the non-conformance information receiving means provided in the ordering source. Non-conformance information storage means for storing the non-conformance information received in association with the corresponding vendor.
[0018]
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the vendor information management system according to the first aspect, the communication network is the Internet, the vendor information is obtained from a homepage published on the Internet, and information that is not disclosed on the homepage is obtained. Obtains the information from the vendor terminal via the Internet, and obtains vendor information of competing vendors from the portal site published on the Internet for vendors not stored in the vendor information storage means. A vendor information acquisition terminal for transmitting information to the vendor information receiving means is added.
[0019]
According to a third aspect of the invention, in the vendor information management system according to the first or second aspect of the invention, the information is stored in the vendor information storage means based on the search keyword provided in the ordering source and input to each department terminal. Search for at least one of the vendor information, ordering record information, evaluation information, and nonconformity information stored in the nonconformity information storage means, and returning the search result to the department terminal from which the search keyword is input Add means.
[0020]
According to a fourth aspect of the invention, in the vendor information management system according to the first or second aspect of the invention, each department terminal has vendor information, ordering record information, evaluation information, and nonconformity information stored in the vendor information storage means. The nonconformity information stored in the storage means can be browsed.
[0021]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
[0022]
An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
[0023]
FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of a vendor information management system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[0024]
A vendor information management system according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a vendor-side server computer 2 (hereinafter referred to as a “server computer 2”) connected to each other via the Internet 1 by linking a plurality of computers such as workstations. A centralized information management unit 3, a portal site 4, and a local server computer 5.
[0025]
The server computer 2 is provided for each vendor, and FIG. 1 shows an example of a server computer provided for each vendor of vendor A, vendor B, vendor C, vendor D, vendor E, and vendor F. Based on the input request from the information central management unit 3 side, these server computers 2 input basic information on the manufacturer by inputting information such as their management status, actual results, manufactured items, manufacturing capacity, and costs according to the input form. It is created and transmitted to the information central management unit 3 side.
[0026]
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a list of examples of contents of input requests from the information central management unit 3 side. As shown in the figure, an overview, employees, sales (production) items, main customers, main materials Enter the supplier, major subcontractor, latest financial results, technology, quality control, job organization, etc., and send it back to the information central management unit 3 side. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of an outline of the vendor basic information.
[0027]
The information central management unit 3 is a core part of a vendor information management system provided on the manufacturer contractor side, and includes a firewall 7, an application server computer 8, a database server computer (DB server computer) 9, a LAN 10, And a departmental server computer 11.
[0028]
The firewall 7 manages data communication by being placed between the Internet 1 and the LAN 10, and protects the information central management unit 3 from external attacks and unauthorized access performed via the Internet 1.
[0029]
The application server computer 8 includes a vendor information management system 13 and a knowledge management system 14, and collects and collectively manages vendor information and performs vendor analysis based on the vendor information collected and managed.
[0030]
The vendor information management system 13 acquires the vendor basic information created by the vendor-side server computer 2 and transmitted via the Internet 1 through the firewall 7 and stores it in a vendor database (vendor DB) 16 (to be described later) of the DB server computer 9. These pieces of information are stored. Also, order record information, evaluation information, and a bite memo input from the departmental server computer 11 side are also stored.
[0031]
The vendor information management system 13 is provided with a search program for searching for information stored in the vendor DB 16, and the vendor information management system 13 is based on a request from the departmental server computer 11 input to the search program. The information stored in the DB 16 is searched, and the search result is returned to the requesting departmental server computer 11.
[0032]
The DB server computer 9 includes a vendor DB 16 and a knowledge nonconforming DB 17. The vendor DB 16 stores the manufacturer basic information based on the request from the vendor information management system 13 and stores the vendor information corresponding to the request information requested from the departmental server computer 11 via the vendor information management system 13. Delivered to the vendor information management system 13. On the other hand, the knowledge nonconformity DB 17 stores nonconformance information based on a request from the knowledge management system 14, and sends nonconformance information requested from the departmental server computer 11 via the vendor information management system 13 to the vendor information management system 13. hand over.
[0033]
The LAN 10 is a network that connects the application server computer 8 and each departmental server computer 11.
[0034]
The departmental server computer 11 is provided for each department of the material department, the design department, the quality assurance department, and the manufacturing department, and by inputting necessary search keywords along the search system held by the vendor information management system 13, The vendor information management system 13 is made to search for vendor information for vendor selection.
[0035]
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a vendor search keyword input screen. By making predetermined inputs in the columns of predefined manufacturer code, manufacturer name, item code (major category), item code (medium category), item name, and location, the entered information is sent to the vendor information management system 13. Sent. The vendor information management system 13 searches the vendor DB 16 for relevant vendor basic information based on the transmitted vendor search keyword, and returns the search result to the departmental server computer 11 as the request source. The vendor search keyword shown in FIG. 4 does not necessarily need to be input as a search keyword for all items. If at least one search keyword (generic generic name can be specified) is specified. Based on the specified information, search results that match it are extracted. The search keyword is not necessarily input, and a keyword can be specified in advance in a list display format for each search keyword item.
[0036]
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a search result list when a search keyword as shown in FIG. 4 is input. Vendors that match the search keyword are displayed in a list in a predefined manufacturer code order. An example is shown. Detailed information of a desired vendor is displayed by designating a selection field shown in the drawing from the vendors displayed in this way.
[0037]
Further, the departmental server computer 11 inputs the ordering results, nonconformity information, evaluation information, and bite memo of each vendor from the respective departments of the material department, the design department, the quality assurance department, and the manufacturing department. Through the vendor information management system 13 and the knowledge management system 14, the ordering record, evaluation information, and bite memo are written in the vendor DB 16, and the nonconforming information is written in the knowledge nonconforming DB 17 (nonconforming information). FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of an input screen for inputting a bite memo regarding a specific vendor. A bite memo is data that includes opinions, know-how, and other information from each department (materials, design, quality assurance, manufacturing) regarding a specific vendor, and each department has conventionally managed it individually. It is for sharing information.
[0038]
The departmental server computer 11 can cause the knowledge management system 14 to search based on the nonconformity information written in this way, and can display the search result received from the knowledge management system 14.
[0039]
FIG. 7 shows a display example of an order record that is a result of a search using Kansai ABC Electric Co., Ltd. as a search keyword, and displays the order amount (thousand yen) and the number of cases (cases) for each product category. is doing. FIG. 8 shows a display example in which nonconformity information stored in the knowledge nonconformity DB 17 is displayed as a list. When the registration number in the figure is designated by clicking the mouse or the like, further detailed information is displayed.
[0040]
The portal site 4 acquires the vendor's basic information and the like as long as it is open on the Internet 1 such as a home page or a portal site. Information acquired from the portal site 4 is transmitted to the information central management unit 3 and managed in the same manner as the basic information transmitted from each vendor-side server computer 2.
[0041]
Next, the operation of the vendor information management system according to the embodiment of the present invention configured as described above will be described.
[0042]
First, the operation when the manufacturer basic information is stored in the information central management unit 3 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
[0043]
In the case where the manufacturer basic information is stored in the information central management unit 3, the server computer 2 provided on each vendor side, as shown in FIG. 2, outline, employees, sales (production) items, main customers, Manufacturer basic information such as major material suppliers, major subcontractors, latest financial results, technology, quality control, job organization, etc. is entered in the input form, and the entered manufacturer basic information is sent to the information central management unit 3 side (S1). This input request is input by each vendor-side server computer 2 based on the input form distributed from the information central management unit 3 side to each vendor-side server computer 2, and the input information is input to the information central management unit 3 Made by sending to the side. It is also possible to acquire information in the range disclosed on the Internet 1 from the portal site 4, create manufacturer basic information based on the acquired information, and send the created manufacturer basic information to the information central management unit 3. It is possible.
[0044]
Manufacturer basic information transmitted from the vendor-side server computer 2 or from the portal site 4 is input to the information central management unit 3 via the Internet 1 (S2). The information central management unit 3 includes a firewall 7 and is protected from external attacks and unauthorized access performed via the Internet 1.
[0045]
The manufacturer basic information input to the information central management unit 3 in this way is input to the vendor information management system 13 of the application server computer 8 through the firewall 7 and further stored in the vendor DB 16 (S3).
[0046]
Next, the operation when accumulating nonconformity information, ordering record information, evaluation information, and a bite memo will be described.
[0047]
The nonconformity information, ordering record information, evaluation information, and a bite memo are input by each departmental server computer 11, and the input nonconformity information is sent to the knowledge nonconformity DB 17 via the vendor information management system 13 and the knowledge management system 14, and The entered ordering record information, evaluation information, and bite memo are written and stored in the vendor DB 16, respectively.
[0048]
The vendor information management system 13 is provided with a search program for searching for information stored in the vendor DB 16, and the vendor information management system 13 is based on a request from the departmental server computer 11 input to the search program. The information stored in the DB 16 is searched, and the search result is returned to the requesting departmental server computer 11. The operation during such a search will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
[0049]
When searching for vendor basic information, ordering records, evaluation information, and bite memos stored in the vendor DB 16, first, a search system held by the vendor information management system 13 is started in the departmental server computer 11 and necessary. A search keyword is input (S11).
[0050]
The search keyword input from the departmental server computer 11 is transmitted to the vendor information management system 13 (S12). The vendor information management system 13 searches the vendor DB 16 for the relevant vendor basic information, order record, evaluation information, or bite memo based on the transmitted vendor search keyword (S13). This search result (competitive vendor candidate list) is sent back to the request-by-department server computer 11 and viewed for vendor selection (S14).
[0051]
Similarly, the knowledge management system 14 also includes a search program for searching for nonconformity information stored in the knowledge nonconformity DB 17, and the departmental server computer 11 side or the vendor information management system 13 input to this search program. The nonconformity information stored in the knowledge nonconformity DB 17 is retrieved based on the request from the server, and the retrieval result is returned to the departmental server computer 11 as the request source. The operation during such a search will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
[0052]
When searching for non-conforming information stored in the knowledge non-conforming DB 17, first, a search system held by the knowledge management system 14 is activated in the departmental server computer 11, and a necessary search keyword is input (S21) or a vendor. The search system is automatically started from the information management system 13.
[0053]
The search keyword input from the departmental server computer 11 or the vendor information management system 13 is transmitted to the knowledge management system 14 (S22). In the knowledge management system 14, the corresponding nonconformity information is searched from the knowledge nonconformity DB 17 based on the transmitted search keyword (S23). The retrieved nonconformity information is returned to the requesting departmental server computer 11 or the vendor information management system 13 and viewed for vendor selection (S24).
[0054]
In addition, the vendor terminal and each department terminal in the claims correspond to the vendor-side server computer 2 and the departmental server computer 11 in the above-described embodiment, and the meaning is simply a computer system for both a terminal and a server. Is also included. Further, the vendor information receiving means, nonconformity information receiving means, vendor information storage means, nonconformity information storage means, and vendor information acquisition terminal referred to in the claims are the vendor information management system 13, knowledge management system 14, vendor DB16 in the above embodiment. , Corresponding to the knowledge nonconformity DB 17 and the portal site 4, respectively. Further, the retrieval means in the claims corresponds to the vendor information management system 13 and the knowledge management system 14 in the above embodiment.
[0055]
As described above, in the vendor information management system according to the embodiment of the present invention, the business partner and the vendor information are centrally managed by using the Internet 1 in the above-described manner, thereby providing the business partner. In addition, it is possible to improve the efficiency of survey work related to vendor surveys and obtain the latest information in almost real time.
[0056]
In addition to identifying the other party using the Internet 1, security can be ensured by applying the firewall 7. Further, by adopting a standard (unified) code system, it is possible to acquire competing vendor candidate information including public information using the portal site 4.
[0057]
Transaction / vendor information that was previously managed and operated on a paper basis, such as pamphlets and vendor lists, is converted into electronic information and managed collectively, and it can be easily updated to the latest information by using it as a common database in each department. In addition, it is possible to prevent redundant information collection by a plurality of departments. Further, since information on each department can be collected, more accurate vendor evaluation can be performed by referring to the information from other departments.
[0058]
Vendors can also provide and disclose PR (sales) points in addition to providing their latest information, enabling sales expansion and order expansion.
[0059]
As described above, since information can be shared in each department, manual input double input work or the like is completely unnecessary, and work efficiency can be improved.
[0060]
As mentioned above, although preferred embodiment of this invention was described referring an accompanying drawing, this invention is not limited to this structure. Within the scope of the invented technical idea of the scope of claims, a person skilled in the art can conceive of various changes and modifications, and the technical scope of the present invention also relates to these changes and modifications. It is understood that it belongs to.
[0061]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, vendor information used in each stage of manufacturing a product is centrally managed using a communication network, and the latest information from the vendor is further used using the communication network. Can be acquired and updated in real time.
[0062]
Vendors can also provide and disclose PR (sales) points in addition to providing their latest information, enabling sales expansion and order expansion.
[0063]
As described above, it is possible to quickly analyze vendor information and select an appropriate vendor based on the analysis result, thereby realizing a vendor information management system capable of improving the quality of purchased products and making low-cost purchases. Can do.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of a vendor information management system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a list of examples of contents of input requests from the information central management unit side
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of an outline of vendor basic information.
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a vendor search keyword input screen.
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a list of input search keywords and search results based thereon
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a screen for inputting a bite memo regarding a specific vendor;
FIG. 7 is a view showing a display example of an order record obtained by searching Kansai ABC Electric Co., Ltd. as a search keyword.
FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a display example in which nonconformity information is displayed as a list
FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing an operation when maker basic information is stored in the information central management unit.
FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing an operation when searching for information stored in a vendor database;
FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing an operation when searching for information stored in a knowledge nonconforming database.
FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram for explaining business assignment of products in the prior art
[Explanation of symbols]
1 ... Internet
2. Vendor side server computer
3. Information central management department
4. Portal site
5 ... Local server computer
7 ... Firewall
8 ... Application server computer
9 ... Database server computer
10 ... LAN
11: Departmental server computer
13. Vendor information management system
14 ... Knowledge Management System
16 ... Vendor database (vendor DB)
17 ... Knowledge nonconforming database (Knowledge nonconforming DB)

Claims (4)

In the case of manufacturing a product, each supplier who orders each business consisting of designing the product, procuring materials necessary for the product, quality assurance of the procured material, and manufacturing the product A vendor information management system for centrally managing vendor information at an ordering source,
Provided at each vendor side, at least vendor overview, number of employees, business items, major customers, major materials suppliers, major subcontractors, latest financial results, major equipment / equipment, technical level information, quality control methods, duties A vendor terminal that transmits organization information and vendor information including vendor PR information via a communication network;
Non-conformance information of the vendor that is provided in the ordering source, provided in a design department that orders at least a part of the design work from any of the vendors, and known by the design department; And a design department terminal that transmits evaluation information that is a result of the vendor evaluation performed by the design department,
Non-conformance information of the vendor, which is a terminal provided at the ordering source, provided in a material procurement department that procures material from any of the vendors, and grasped by the material procurement department, the material procurement A material procurement department terminal that transmits order information including the vendors procured by the department in the past and the order value, and evaluation information that is a result of the vendor evaluation performed by the material procurement department;
Non-conformance information of the vendor that is provided in the ordering source, provided in a quality assurance department that performs quality assurance of the material procured by the material procurement department, and grasped by the quality management department, and A quality assurance department terminal that transmits evaluation information that is the result of a vendor evaluation performed by the quality assurance department;
A terminal provided in the ordering source, provided in a manufacturing department that orders at least a part of manufacture of the manufactured product from any one of the vendors, and the vendor A manufacturing department terminal that transmits non-conformance information and evaluation information that is a result of vendor evaluation performed by the manufacturing department;
Vendor information reception for receiving the vendor information transmitted from each vendor terminal via the communication network, the order record information and the evaluation information transmitted from any of the department terminals, provided in the orderer. Means,
Non-conformance information receiving means for receiving non-conformance information about each vendor transmitted from any of the department terminals provided in the ordering source;
Vendor information storage means for storing the vendor information, the order record information, and the evaluation information received by the vendor information receiving means provided in the ordering source in association with the corresponding vendor;
A vendor information management system, comprising: a nonconformity information storage unit that is provided in the ordering source and stores the nonconformity information received by the nonconformity information receiving unit in association with a corresponding vendor. In the vendor information management system according to claim 1,
The communication network is the Internet, and the vendor information is acquired from a homepage published on the Internet. For information not disclosed on the homepage, the information is acquired from the vendor terminal via the Internet. For vendors not stored in the vendor information storage unit, a vendor information acquisition terminal that acquires vendor information of competing vendors from a portal site published on the Internet and transmits the acquired vendor information to the vendor information receiving unit. Vendor information management system characterized by the addition of In the vendor information management system according to claim 1 or 2,
The vendor information stored in the vendor information storage means, the order record information, the evaluation information, and the nonconformity information storage means provided in the ordering source and based on a search keyword input to each department terminal A vendor information management system is provided, wherein search means for searching for at least one of the nonconformance information stored in the search information and returning a search result to a department terminal from which the search keyword is input is added. In the vendor information management system according to claim 1 or 2,
Each department terminal is capable of browsing the vendor information stored in the vendor information storage means, the order record information, the evaluation information, and the nonconformity information stored in the nonconformity information storage means. A featured vendor information management system.

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