JPH10269293A - Method and device for managing work flow of steel products - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make it possible to prevent the flow out of secret information of steel maker to the outside, by excluding an information transmitting error, accelerating the specification examining answer and delivery date answer, and reducing papers. SOLUTION: A company outside server 103 and a company outside client 101 are connected through a general purpose public line 102, the server 103 and a company inside server 105 are connected through a fire wall 104 and information on a steel maker is stored in a company inside examining data base 112. Then, the contents of the data base 112 and an open data base 111 are updated to by equal and at the time of accessing to the server 103 from the client 101, its sales agent office or a user is identified to change the information opening level of an open data base 111 within the server 103 based on the identifying result.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to the specification, delivery time, etc. between a steel maker and a sales agent or a user, which occur in inquiries, inquiries, orders for steel products, etc.
The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for managing a workflow of a steel product that performs a series of operations related to examination and exchange of product information such as quantity.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No.
JP-A-8-095877 and JP-A-8-123
A workflow system as proposed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 869 uses a LAN or WAN within the same company to share information between the same in-house groups to support work efficiency and shared progress management. System.

[0003]

The request for the manufacture of steel products differs from ordinary products, and is not limited to standard products or existing products. In other words, steel products are subject to various customized product specifications according to the user's usage pattern. For example, dimensions and tolerances (sheet thickness and sheet width, etc.), contained chemical components, mechanical test values ( Strength, hardness, etc.). Then, a sales agent or the like inquires of the steel maker about these unique specification requirements for each product inquiry or order, and confirms the availability, stock, delivery date, and the like of the specification.

[0004] In response to this, a steel maker responds to a request from a sales agent or the like, examines the technical and process aspects, and determines whether it can be manufactured, is not possible, is conditional, and if it is possible, is in stock. It is necessary to answer the delivery date with reference to For this reason, in a series of operations from inquiries for steel products to orders, steel manufacturers and sales agents need to exchange a large amount of advanced information. Is limited to telephone or fax, and has a problem that it is difficult to make quick and accurate contact. Therefore, as a method for solving this problem, a method of electronically sharing information by a workflow system has recently been realized.

[0005] However, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. Hei 8-36538, Hei 8-095877 and Hei 8-0
A workflow system described in, for example, US Pat. No. 36538, mainly uses an in-house LAN to transmit and exchange information in the company, such as a steel maker and a sales agent or a user. It did not attempt to share information by conducting general-purpose communication and information exchange with wide-area and unspecified third parties.

[0006] Further, since the information system for examining the availability of product specifications, availability of inventory, production process and delivery date is processed by a computer independent of the workflow system and is not connected to an external communication system, There is a problem that it takes a long time to output the information once by a printer or the like and send it again by fax or the like. In addition, when this examination information is disclosed to a sales agent, it will be stored in a public database,
From a security point of view, some of the examination information needs to be kept confidential as the steelmaker's know-how, and includes information that you do not want to disclose externally. However, on the other hand, changing the contents of the in-house examination database and the public database has a problem that a large amount of management man-hours is required to maintain consistency between the two.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and has been made between a steel maker and a sales agent or a user, which occurs in inquiries, inquiries, orders for steel products, and the like. , In a series of operations related to the examination and exchange of product information such as specifications,
Eliminate information transmission mistakes, speed up response to specification review and delivery date, reduce paper, etc., without increasing the burden of maintaining and managing databases, and exposing external leakage of confidential information from steel manufacturers. It is an object of the present invention to provide a method and an apparatus for managing a work flow of a steel product, which can perform prevention.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A method for managing the workflow of a steel product according to the present invention is used for inquiries, inquiries, orders for a steel product, etc., between a steel manufacturer and a steel product sales agent or user. In the workflow management method of steel products, which performs a series of tasks related to the examination and exchange of product information such as generated specifications, delivery date, quantity, etc.
An external server installed on the steel maker side and a client installed on the sales agent or user side are connected via a general-purpose public line, and an external server and an internal server installed on the steel maker side are connected via a firewall. , Information on the steel maker side generated by a series of operations related to the examination and exchange of product information is stored in the database on the internal server, and the contents of the database on the internal server and the database on the external server are updated to be the same And
When the client accesses the external server, the sales agent or the user is identified, and the information disclosure level of the database in the external server is changed based on the identification result.

The steelwork workflow management device according to the present invention is a specification and delivery date that is generated by a steelmaker's side and a steelware sales agent or a user's side for inquiries, inquiries, orders for steelworks, and the like. In a steelwork workflow management system that performs a series of tasks related to the examination and exchange of product information such as product and quantity, an external server installed on the steel maker side, and a sales agent or user connected to the external server via a general public line A client installed on the side, an in-house server installed on the steel maker's side and connected to an external server via a firewall, and steel installed on the external server and generated by a series of operations related to review and exchange of product information An in-house database that stores information on the manufacturer side and in-house data that is set up in the in-house server An external database that is updated to have the same content as the external database, and an external database that identifies the sales agent or user when the client accesses the external server, and based on the identification result, Security means for changing the information disclosure level.

[0010]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a steelwork workflow management apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 shows a connection state between a sales agent and a steel maker in this embodiment. FIG. In the figure,
Reference numeral 101 denotes an external client installed at the sales agent. The external client 101 is used by the sales agent to input a request and confirm a response. Here, there are many dealers of steel products, and since the dealers have built their own systems, the system environment differs for each distributor. Therefore, in this embodiment, an external client 10 is provided so as to cope with these different system environments.
No. 1 does not use a special device and program, and has a configuration of only a combination of a general-purpose personal computer and WWW browser software which are generally commercially available.

Reference numeral 102 denotes an outside client 1 of a sales agent.
01 is a general-purpose wide-area public line connecting the steel maker and the steel maker side. As mentioned above, the number of sales agents is large, and the area is scattered all over the country. There is. Therefore, in this embodiment, the Internet is selected as the general-purpose wide-area public line 102.

Reference numeral 103 denotes an external server installed in a steel maker and connected to the general-purpose wide area public line 102, and all processes relating to the external client 101 of the sales agent are executed by the external server. Information to be disclosed to the sales agent is stored in a public database 111 provided in the external server 103, and the information is provided to the external client 101.

Reference numeral 104 denotes a firewall for preventing an outsider from invading the steel maker's LAN and WAN. The external server 103 is installed outside the firewall 104. Since this system has a general and open system configuration, there is a high possibility that a third party will enter the system. Therefore, the server is divided into an external server 103 and an internal server 105, and a firewall 104 is installed between them. System configuration.

Reference numeral 105 denotes an in-house server, and reference numeral 112 denotes an in-house examination database storing the same contents as those of the public database 111. Reference numeral 106 denotes a host computer having a core system. The host computer 106 has a specification database 113 for sharing and storing past specification information and stock information with the core system. I have.

Reference numeral 107 denotes an in-house client of the steel maker. The in-house client 107 is installed at a sales or technical department in the steel maker to check the contents of requests and input information. In addition, information stored in the in-house examination database 112 and the specification database 113 can be searched and registered via the in-house server 105 and the host 106. Reference numeral 108 denotes a steel maker's in-house LAN and WAN, and devices within the steel maker communicate with each other via this communication line.

Next, the operation of each section of this embodiment will be described. First, the external server 103 performs a security process 201, a workflow control process 202, and a public database management process 203. Security processing 201 Outside client 101 and outside server 10 of the sales agent
Security management such as user authentication to prevent the intrusion of third parties when communicating with 3, encryption to protect information from eavesdropping and eavesdropping during communication, confidentiality of know-how of steel manufacturers, confidentiality of information between sales agents, etc. I do.

Workflow control 202 Determines the next worker based on the input data from each client, sends an e-mail notifying the person in charge of the work request, and also manages the data editing authority. Public database 111 Stores request data input from sales agents, response data returned from steel manufacturers to sales agents, and data under consideration. -Database management control processing 203 Public database 111 and in-house examination database 112
The data of both DBs are copied at any time from each other to make the data of both DBs consistent.

The in-house server 105 has an out-of-office server 1
The same workflow control processing 202 and database management processing 203 as in step 03 are performed. Workflow control 202 Determines the next worker based on input data from each client, sends an e-mail notifying the corresponding person of a work request, and also manages data editing authority.・ Database management control processing 203 In-house examination database 112 and public database 111
The data of both DBs are copied at any time from each other to make the data of both DBs consistent. -In-house examination database 112 Stores the same contents as the public database 111.

The host computer 106 performs a master management process 204. Master management processing 204 Data such as past specification information and stock information accumulated in the specification database 113 is provided in accordance with the request of the in-house client 107, and the specifications determined by the steelwork workflow management device are provided. A process for storing in the specification DB 113 is performed.

Next, a work flow of this embodiment will be described. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a work flow of this embodiment.・ Specification request 301 First, the sales agent is an outside client 10 of the sales agent.
From step 1, information such as a product name, a standard, and a size requested for a product to be ordered is input. Then, the information is transmitted to the external server 103 via the wide area public line 102, and the data input to the external server 103 is transmitted to the public database 11
Stored in 1. Further, the same information is transmitted to the in-house server 105 via the firewall 104 and the LAN / WAN 108, and is also stored in the in-house examination database 112.

Request reception 302 The in-house server 105 notifies the in-house client 107 of the sales department of the steel maker that the sales agent has input the request. Then, the person in charge of the sales department of the steel maker checks the contents of the specification request from the sales agent on the in-house client 107. Then, after confirming the contents of the specification request, if there is any deficiency in the contents or the like, the sales agent is asked to make corrections or the specification contents are directly corrected and the data is stored in the in-house examination database 112.

Specification determination and manufacturing availability determination 303 The in-house server 105 notifies the client 107 of the steel maker technical department that the sales department of the steel maker has input a request. Then, the person in charge of the technical department of the steel maker checks the contents of the request on the in-house client 107, and checks the chemical components (C, Si, Mn ...
…), Heat treatment method, and all the specifications such as mechanical test values. If there is any deficiency in the contents of the request, a request for correction is made to the sales department, and past specifications are checked using the specification database 113 to determine the specifications. Then, information such as the determined contents of the specification, inventory, and delivery date is stored in the in-house examination database 112.

Answer 304 The in-house server 105 informs the in-house client 107 of the sales department of the steel maker that the specifications have been determined. Then, the person in charge of the sales department of the steel maker checks whether the contents of the request and the determined specification can be answered to the sales agent by looking at the in-house client 107. Also, if there is any deficiency in the content, request a correction from the technical department. Then, the answer data of the in-house examination database is stored in the public database 111 via the database management processing 203.

The final contents confirmation 305 The in-house server 105 transmits the result to the outside server 103,
The external server 103 notifies the external client 101 via the public line 102 that the specification has been determined. At this time, the security process 201 of the external server 103 identifies the sales agent and selects a transmission item so that the know-how and the confidential information of the steel maker are not transmitted to the sales agent. Access control is made so that the know-how and confidential information of steel makers are not visible to the sales agents. Then, the representative of the sales agent checks the contents of the response on the external client 101,
If there are any deficiencies in the content, request a correction to the sales department of the steel maker. If there is no deficiency in the contents, the series of processing ends.

In this embodiment, the steel maker has an in-house client 107, a host computer 106 having a specification database 113, and an in-house examination database 11
Server 105 with public database 2 and public database 111
An external server 103 having a host computer 106, an in-house server 105, and an in-house client 107 is provided.
Is connected via a LAN / WAN 108, the external server 103 is connected to the internal server 105 via the firewall 104, the external server 103 is connected to the external client 101 of the sales agent via the general public line 102, and the internal server 105 Assuming that the contents of the examination database 112 and the public database 111 of the external server 103 are the same, a common workflow management process is performed by both the steel maker and the sales agent, and the external client 101 accesses the public database 111 of the external server 103. The information disclosure level of the public database was changed to prevent the steel maker's know-how and confidential information from being transmitted to the sales agent. Digitization and sharing Eliminates information transmission errors, speeds up response to specification review and delivery date, reduces paper usage, etc. It is possible to prevent any outflow.

[0026]

As described above, according to the present invention, an external server installed at a steel maker and a client installed at a sales agent or a user are connected by a general-purpose public line, and the external server and the steel are connected. Connects to the in-house server installed on the manufacturer side through a firewall, stores information on the steel manufacturer side generated by a series of operations related to examination and exchange of product information in the database on the in-house server, Update the contents of the database and the database in the external server to be the same, identify the sales agent or user when the client accesses the external server, and based on the identification result, the database in the external server Information disclosure level has been changed, so that information on manufacturing It can be digitized and shared, eliminating information transmission mistakes, speeding up the response of specification review and delivery date, reducing the number of papers, etc., and without increasing the load of database maintenance and management, steel manufacturers This has the effect that external leakage of confidential information can be prevented.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a steelwork workflow management device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a connection state between a sales agent and a steel maker according to the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a work flow according to the embodiment;

[Explanation of symbols]

 101 external client 102 general-purpose wide area public line 103 external server 104 firewall 105 internal server 106 host computer 107 internal client 108 internal LAN and WAN 111 public database 112 internal study database 113 specification database 201 security processing 202 workflow control processing 203 public database management processing 204 Master management processing

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Takuya Uesaka 1-2-1, Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo Nihon Kokan Co., Ltd. Inside NK Exa (72) Inventor Masako Takeya 580 Horikawacho, Saiwai-ku, Kawasaki-shi, Kanagawa Pref.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. Examine and exchange product information, such as specifications, delivery date, quantity, etc., generated during inquiries, inquiries, orders for steel products, etc. between steel manufacturers and steel product sales agents or users. In a workflow management method for a steel product that performs a series of operations, the external server installed on the steel maker side and the client installed on the sales agent or the user side are connected by a general-purpose public line, and the external server is connected to the external server. Connected to the in-house server installed on the steel maker side via a firewall, the information on the steel maker side generated by a series of business related to the examination and exchange of the product information is stored in the database in the in-house server, Update the contents of the database in the internal server and the database in the external server so that they are the same. When accessing the external server from the client, the sales agent or the user is identified, and the information disclosure level of the database in the external server is changed based on the identification result. Workflow management method. 2. Examination and exchange of product information such as specifications, delivery date and quantity between a steel maker and a sales agent or user of a steel product, such as inquiries, inquiries, and orders for steel products. In a steelwork workflow management device that performs a series of operations, an external server installed on the steel maker side, and a client installed on the sales agent or user side connected to the external server and a general public line An internal server installed on the steel maker side and connected to the external server via a firewall, and a steel maker side provided in the external server and generated by a series of operations related to the examination and exchange of the product information. An in-house database for storing information, and the in-house database provided in the in-house server. An external database that is updated to have the same content, and when accessing the external server from the client, the sales agent or the user is identified, and the external database is identified based on the identification result. And a security means for changing the information disclosure level of the steelwork.