WO2001077936A2

WO2001077936A2 - Electronic system and method for end to end operation and management of industry supply chain

Info

Publication number: WO2001077936A2
Application number: PCT/US2000/031566
Authority: WO
Inventors: Craig Clifford; Holli Van Leeuwen; John Clifford
Original assignee: Forestfactory, Inc.
Priority date: 2000-04-10
Filing date: 2000-11-17
Publication date: 2001-10-18
Also published as: WO2001077936A8; AU2001217713A1

Abstract

The present invention provides an interactive electronic system and method for operating and managing the ordering and inventory of products and services across an industry supply chain. The system generally includes a management server, one or more customer computing devices, one or more vendor computing devices, and one or more handler computing devices, the customer, vendor and handler computing devices being electronically connected to the management server and capable of transmitting customer, vendor and handler information, respectively, to the server. The management server uses this information to operate and manage the purchase and delivery of products, to manage inventory levels, and to provide information to system users regarding product purchasing and supply. Various management programs run on or are otherwise electronically accessible to the management server. For example, an inventory management program permits system users to manage their inventories for products, including viewing current and projected inventories.

Description

ELECTRONIC SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR END TO END OPERATION AND MANAGEMENT OF INDUSTRY SUPPLY CHAIN

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field Of The Invention

The present invention relates generally to an electronic

system and method for delivering products, services and

information to all levels of an industry supply chain. More

particularly, the invention relates to an interactive

electronic system and method for operating and managing

product ordering and inventory . throughout the entire supply

chain, over a distributed computer network such as the

Internet .

Background And Related Prior Art

The Internet and businesses' internal data networks

(intranets) , have emerged as global communication channels

that allow users to share information and conduct real-time

business electronically. According to Industry estimates,

there were approximately 150 million users of the Internet at

the end of 1998, and the number of users is expected to grow

to 500 million by the end of 2003. It has been estimated

that, by 2001, there will be 133 million global Intranet

users. It is also becoming increasingly common for businesses to use so-called "extranets" that allow the businesses to

communicate and conduct transactions electronically with their

customers and suppliers. It is estimated that overall

business-to-business electronic and Internet commerce in the

U.S. will increase from approximately $100 billion in 1999 to

$1.3 trillion in 2003.

As these numbers suggest, it is known to advertise and

sell a commercial product over a distributed network such as

the Internet, intranets, or extranets. - merchant typically

provides a list of products in its inventory along with other

information such as the prices for the products. Such systems

are sometimes referred to as "electronic merchandising

systems" or "virtual storefronts." It is further known in the

art to combine several online vendors to enable a user to

choose among several retailers' goods in "electronic malls" or

"virtual malls."

As part of the online process, it is known to employ

Electronic Data Interchange ("EDI") software that enables

businesses to communicate on a computer-to-computer basis

using predefined standards. Business-to-business documents

are commonly being transmitted electronically via EDI

standards within the United States. For instance, software

packages licensed by software developers to customers and/or suppliers enable the transmission of customer purchase orders

as EDI purchase orders . Examples of EDI software include ON-

CALL EDI^® from TSI International, EDI Express^® from General

Electric Information Services and GENTRAN^® software from

Sterling Software.

In addition to creating new avenues for sales, new forms

of services are available over a distributed network. In

particular, one type of delivery system for computer software

applications called Application Service Providers (ASP's) is

becoming increasingly popular. The ASP's head and operate

software for corporate customers and are becoming widely used.

For example, comprehensive business management packages such

as REAL WORLD^® from Real World Corporation of Concord, NH and

ASK^® from The ASK Group contain a purchasing module to create

replenishment orders when inventoried items fall below

restocking points.

ASP ' s are becoming more popular as businesses are

choosing to focus on their core businesses and seeking to

reduce cost associated with development and maintaining

information technology (IT) networks and software

applications. In addition, by outsourcing to ASP's, companies

avoid major challenges faced in losing and retaining qualified

IT employees and realize increased time-to-market benefits. However, some industries are not readily conducive to

exchange of products and services over a distributed network.

In these industries, products and services provided by

companies tend to be a niche oriented or segmented to small

parts of the supply chain.

For instance, in raw materials industries such as the

paper or lumber industries, customers typically demand a very

specific product that is only available at limited sources.

Although it is known to sell paper products, for example, over

a distributed network such as the Internet, current e-commerce

providers do not offer coverage throughout the entire supply

chain. Several e-commerce paper enterprises have been

launched on the World Wide Web such as paperexchange . com,

paperloop.com, paperlink.com, and paperhub.com. These current

solutions have typically been auction-type sites or sites for

single suppliers and have not interfaced the full spectrum of

business entities in the supply chain. In the raw materials

industries such as the paper industry, these entities include

end-users of paper such as magazine publishers, manufacturers

and suppliers of paper such as paper mills and distributors,

and various handlers of paper or strategic partners such as

transportation companies, printers, converters, and logistics

providers. One problem deterring integration of such industries is that the different entities in the supply chain

use incompatible technologies in their computers. As a

result, entities in the supply chain do not have access to

many data features and services .

One of the primary drivers behind the growth of business-

to-business e-commerce is the demand for value-added

applications to supplement existing supply chain components

services . With the fragmented supply chain infrastructure

currently in place, the key to unlocking the potential of this

market is Internet-enabling technology.

Having grown accustomed to and dependent upon the

information and application available on their personal

computers, vendors and customers want access to similar

information to transact their business functions. With

growing reliance on the distributed networks and with

developing emergence of systems to satisfy service

requirements electronically, a need currently exists for e-

commerce solutions to unify fragmented markets such as the

paper and other raw materials markets.

Furthermore, as more and more corporations and their

employees demand e-commerce solutions, driven by the

increasing usefulness of these services, undermanned and ill-

equipped information technology staffs will have no choice but to look for an interactive, outsourced solution. Thus, there

exists a further need for an interactive solution to operate

and manage the ordering and inventory of products and services

across an entire supply chain network.

However, there exist multiple barriers to the

establishment of an automated, e-commerce solution to unify a

fragmented industry. For instance, as previously described,

one problem preventing the integration or unification of a

supply chain is the wide variety of incompatible technologies

used by the different businesses and consumers in the supply

chain. For instance, the different parties in a supply chain

often use multiple operating systems that complicate the

purchasing and management process. Additionally, companies

typically use a variety of operating systems for their

internal data application. These differences prevent vendors

from reaching customers, who may require multiple supply

channels to meet their needs for various products and

services. Thus, there is a further need to interface all

supply chain entities who may have incompatible networks,

devices, operating systems, and programs.

Another barrier to the establishment of an automated e-

commerce solution to unify products and services in a

fragmented industry is that the existing data communication systems are restrictive and complex. Furthermore, many

information technology managers lack the engineers and system

resources to design, develop, install and maintain new

software and systems required to give their customers access

to the required e-commerce solutions. Corporate managers are

also reluctant to invest in a specialized information

technology infrastructure and training required to support an

electronic access solution. Thus there is further need for

methodology for providing an e-commerce solution that does not

increase the work burden and infrastructure requirements of

the information technologies sections.

Another problem is that current purchasing systems are

often slow, cumbersome and expensive. For example, the vast

majority of purchasing transactions in markets such as the

paper market are currently conducted via telephone, facsimile,

and recorded by extensive hard-copy documentation. The

inquiry process is largely dependent on personal contacts and

availability via telephone. Likewise, the ordering process is

via telephone or fax and supported by exchanges of hard copy

documentation. Shipping documentation, and claims are

virtually all exchanged via hard copy documentation, with some

use of EDI. The current process is time consuming, involves

extensive human intervention, and is, therefore, costly and prone to human error. Furthermore, each component operates as

an independent process with little or no interface to one

another. As a result, there is further need for an easier,

faster and less expensive ordering system in fragmented

industries .

There is further need for an inventory management system

directed to a fragmented industry. Business customers in raw

materials industries, such as the paper industry, often have

problems with efficiently automating the accounting and management of inventory. For example, currently a business

customer may purchase materials from multiple vendors and

attempt to manage those inventories through disparate manual and/or automation systems. For many cataloguers and magazine

publishers inventory is the largest item on their balance sheet, yet its management is plagued by inefficiencies and/or

the inability to account for it at all in a reasonable manner.

There is thus a need for an efficient inventory manager that

addresses these problems .

Another barrier to the creation of an automated, e-

commerce solution for a fragmented industry is that corporate

managers often require rigorous security standards when

entrusting their data to third parties. Thus, there is a further need for a high level of security in any proposed e-

commerce solution.

In sum, a comprehensive service to offer high value

application access to business entities at all levels of a

supply chain, along with the commensurate security,

performance, ease of use and segment interaction is required.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In response to the needs described above, the present

invention provides a complete interactive e-commerce solution

for unifying and joining the multiple levels of a product supply chain, from the manufacturer through to the ultimate

customer. The present invention provides an interactive, on¬

line system and method for operating and managing the ordering

and inventory of products and services across the supply

chain.

In particular, the system of the invention generally

includes at least a management server, one or more customer

computing devices and one or more vendor computing devices.

Customers are typically end-users of products (but may include

mid-level users of products) . Vendors are typically

manufacturers of products and other product suppliers such as

distributors or brokers. In a preferred embodiment, the system includes at least an intermediate handler of materials

("handler") such as a transportation entity, packager,

printer, logistics supplier, or other strategic partner, and

associated computing device. Customers, vendors and handlers

at the various supply chain levels constitute users of the

system.

The customer, vendor and handler computing devices are

electronically connected to the management server and are

capable of receiving and transmitting customer information

from and to that server. A database electronically

accessible by the management server stores customer, vendor

and handler information. The management server uses this

information to operate and manage the purchase and delivery of

products to customers, to manage inventory levels, and to

provide information to system users regarding product

purchasing and supply.

An inquiry program running on or accessible to the

management server allows system users to place single or

multiple purchasing inquiries based on a specific product

need. In one embodiment, the inquiry program enables users to

request that supply partners suggest alternative available

products, as well as enables a user to place a product order

based on the system response to the inquiry. An order program running on or accessible to the

management server allows a customer to place an order through

the system without necessarily going through the inquiry

process; when the order has been accepted, the program sends

an order acknowledgment electronically to the customer's

system account. Customers may view their accounts from their

computing devices, as well as view manifests, track orders and

create claims to be forwarded to vendors.

An inventory manager program running on or accessible to

the management server permits system users to manage their

inventories of products . Customers can maintain forecasts and

view inventories by location and product brand. The system will account for customer orders so that a customer may view

its projected inventory and track current orders to its

inventory. Customers may supply the management server with

usage information and the inventory manager program will

catalog inventory changes automatically.

In another embodiment of the invention, a customer

computing device transmits information regarding the

customer's use of the product to the management server and a

vendor computing device transmits information regarding the

vendor inventory of a product . The server then uses this

information to automatically manage the customer's supply of the product. For example, the server automatically places an

order for the product in response to a programmed condition

such as the customer's low supply of the product. This

product management can operate continuously around-the-clock

to better serve the consumer.

The present invention provides particular advantage to

fragmented industries such as those involving raw materials

like paper or lumber, for delivering products and services to

all levels of business within the industry supply chain. In

the paper industry, for example, customer users of the system

could include end-users of paper such as publishing houses or

magazine publishers; vendor users of the system could include

paper mills, distributors of printing paper and paper

procurement brokers; and handlers could include printers and

shipping entities, among various others.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will be described in detail with reference

to the following drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an interactive

electronic system for operating and managing the ordering and

inventory of a product in accordance with the present

invention; FIG. 2A is a schematic diagram of the management server

database in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 2B is a schematic diagram of the management server

with processing programs in accordance with the invention.

FIGS. 3A and 3B are sample "Create Inquiry" user screens

in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart describing the inquiry process.

FIGS. 5A and 5B are sample "Order" user screens in

accordance with the invention.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart describing the order process.

FIGS. 7A and 7B are sample "Inventory Details" and "Usage

Report" user screens in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 8 is a flow chart of a method of an alternative

embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 9A and 9B are sample "Inventory Reporting" user

screens in accordance with embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 10 is a sample "Interactive Forecaster" user screen

in accordance with embodiments of the invention.

FIGS. 11A and 11B are sample "Usage Reporting" user

screens in accordance with embodiments of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS As illustrated in FIG. 1, the present invention provides

an interactive, electronic system 10 for operating and

managing the ordering and inventory of products and services

across an entire industry supply chain. The system

interconnects all levels of the supply chain, including

suppliers of products (vendors) such as manufacturers,

distributors/merchants, and brokers; materials handlers such

as transportation entities, logistics suppliers, printers and

other strategic partners; and various customers/end-users of

products, via a distributed computer network such as the

Internet. The system 10 generally includes a management server

20, a customer computing device 30, a handler computing device

35 and a vendor computing device 40 all electronically

connected 60 to the management server 20 and one another via a

distributed network such as the Internet or via a distributed

network in combination with intranets, extranets and/or EDI

connections. This allows the transfer of electronic

information between the management server 20 and the customers

30, handlers 35 and vendors 40 (users of the system 10) . The

management server 20 may be a proxy server type computing

device or a mini-computer such as a IBM AS/400 server or a

Microsoft brand Windows NT server. When the distributed

network connection is the Internet, the management server 20 may be connected to the Internet via a Web server 15, such as

a Microsoft brand Internet Information Server (IIS) . The Web

server 15 will host the system website and utilize web

applications such as VB Script and Active Server Pages. The

customer computing device 30, handler computing device 35, and

vendor computing device 40 may be desktop computers, laptop

computers or any other type of electronic device that includes

Web browser capabilities enabling the customer 30, handler 35,

and vendor 40 to communicate with and receive data from

management server 20 over the Internet.

The management server 20 receives customer information

from the customer computing device 30, handler information

from the handler computing device 35 and vendor information

from the vendor computing device 40. Customer information may

include information about the customer itself (such as

location or id number) , customer needs or desires for a

particular product, customer part or current usage rates of a

product, customer orders, and customer current, projrcted and

ordered inventory of a product, among other information.

Handler information may include basic information about the

handler itself (e.g. , location and id number) , information

regarding order tracking such as the location of a particular

order en route to a customer, handler inventory or use rate of a particular product, and handler requests for product, among

other information. Vendor information may include basic

information about the vendor itself (such as location and id

number) , information regarding the products the vendor has

available for sale, the vendor's current inventory of a

particular product, product pricing and specification

information, information regarding the vendor's filling of

customer orders, and vendor shipping or complaint policies,

among other information.

The management server 20 stores system user information

in a database 21 shown in more particular detail in FIG. 2A.

Database 21 is preferably stored on (but can be otherwise

electronically connected to) server 20, so that server 20 may

store and retrieve user information from and otherwise query

database 21. In addition to storing all user information,

database 21 will also store all product order, invoice and

rate information. Database 21 is also capable of being

updated from the system website using, for example, ODBC

connectivity. Database 21 or a database extension thereto

residing on server 20 stores Web, EDI or other network

specific data. FIG. 2A. A dedicated connection 62 (FIG. 1)

between the databases 21 and the Web server 15 facilitates

data retrieval at a sufficient rate. FIG. 2B describes schematically processing programs 22

(software) running on or accessible to management server 20.

These programs 22 perform various functions in connection with

the user and system information described above. The system

software platform is preferably based on XML (extensible mark¬

up language) . XML is a web language similar to hypertext

markup language (HTML) , but XML is adapted to the transfer of

data whereas HTML is used for the transfer of text or images.

In particular, XML is more interactive and well suited for

electronic commerce because the coding contains markers that

simplify the standardization of information over the Internet.

This feature allows the use of intelligent agents that seek out consistent information and then act on what they find.

More specifically, the management server 20 includes a

variety of software management programs 22 to facilitate the

end-to-end interaction over the supply chain between

manufacturers, distributors/merchants, product handlers, and customers/ultimate product users. These programs include the

following.

A registration program 24 requires all users of the

system 10, be they customers, manufacturers, distributors or

system personnel, to log into the system 10. The program 24

will record all log-ins. In addition to registering a new user to the system, the log-in permits existing users to

access information about their own accounts and various other

information about products and entities in the supply chain

depending on the user's particular need and access authority.

For example, upon logging on, a customer may be immediately

presented with an update as to the status of its product

request or an alert as to a problem with a purchase request .

A summary of alert screens permits user's to see what activity

has transpired in relation to their account since the last

time they logged-on.

The program 24 will also permit a user to provide

information to server 20 about how that user desires to do

business. For example, a customer can input that it prefers

to receive product from or do business directly with a

manufacturer or, alternatively, to receive product directly

from a distributor. Other instructions could be provided such

that the customer is able to personalize or customize how they

want to relate with vendors and handlers, i.e., how they want

to conduct business over the system.

System 10 preferably includes security to allow for users

to connect to their legacy systems . In order to connect to

their legacy system users can be required to authenticate

their NT domain password, software key PIN number and SecurelD dynamic token with passwords which are never viewed by

management server 20. The system 10 offers end-to-end

encryption, single address proxy regardless of the number of

users, and complete customer control over server access and

data storage . Thus a customer may place a product order but

not allow third parties, other than the end-vendor, to read

the order. Similarly, a vendor may forward product

information to one customer but not other customers or

vendors . Additionally with respect to security, in a preferred

embodiment, the system will enable individual, rights-based

security whereby according to a user id provided, only a certain user would be permitted to take certain types of

actions via the system. These authorized actions could vary

even within a particular entity. For example, individual X

with a company would only be authorized to place orders, while

individual Y with that same company would only be authorized

to handle inventory. Further, the flow of information through

system 10 will be via a closed platform and unique to the

channel transacting the business, such that all individual

transactions will be confidential to the participants.

The management server 20 also includes a product search i program 25. This program 25 is a search engine that allows a customer to search for information about products the customer

desires to purchase (by entering a minimal amount of

information or a detailed description of the product) . The

results of the search are displayed in an organized manner.

The customer may learn about specific products being offered

by manufacturers or other vendors, request samples of

products, place inquiries about particular products being

offered by a particular vendor, or place orders for products.

The management server 20 further includes an inquiry

program 26 which allows users to place with the system single

or multiple inquiries based on a specific product need. A

customer has the ability to request, for example, that a

supply partner suggest alternatives to the customer. If a

customer decides to place an order based on the response they

have received from the inquiry, they can then proceed to do

so .

To create an inquiry, a system user clicks on an

"Inquiries" button and a "Create Inquiry" screen is displayed.

The user is prompted for details about the product in which

it is interested. Sample "Create Inquiry" screens to be

completed by a user (such as would be used in the system as

applied to the printing paper industry) are shown in FIGS. 3A

and 3B. Once the system 10 receives the inquiry, the user is provided with notification via a suitable screen that

indicates the data that has been forwarded to a vendor of

choice, and receives a notation that the system will be

contacting the user shortly with the information required.

The user is also given the opportunity to check on the status

of its inquiry at any time by clicking a link to "previous

inquiries." The response to the inquiry will be displayed to

the user once completed. Response information includes

information such as the inquiry number, the inquiry date, the

status of the inquiry, the specifications requested, the

customer (user) name as displayed to the product supplier, the

supplier price, commissions, shipping information, any

supplier comments, and information about quotes provided. An

inquiry may be converted to a product order by the user ' s

clicking on an appropriate "Order" indicator button.

A sample inquiry process is described in more detail in

the flow chart of FIG. 4. Specifically, when the server 20

receives an inquiry 410, it looks to determine whether the

inquiry is addressed to a particular member of the system

personnel 412. If the inquiry is not addressed to a

particular person, the system personnel assigns the request to

an account manager salesman 414 and the inquiry is passed to

that person 420. If the inquiry is already addressed, the system inquires as to whether the addressee is present 414, if

the addressee is not, the request is forwarded to the

addressee's back-up person for the account 416. After the

inquiry is passed to the addressee 420, the server queries as

to whether or not the request is for a specific product and

mill 422. If yes, the system determines whether the mill is

capable of producing that product 424. If no, the system

queries as to whether or not the request is for a specific

product 426 and if not, the customer's needs are analyzed 428.

If the request is for a specific product, the system

identifies mills that might produce product or an alternative

430 and then proceeds to match-up the manufacturing

capabilities and product specifications 432. Once the request

is matched with a mill, prices are collected from the mill 434

and a negotiation occurs 436 to get the best price from the

mill and report the best alternatives to the customer 438.

The customer is then asked whether or not it wants to see

samples 440. If it does, the server notifies the mill or

other supplier 442. Next, the price is negotiated with the

customer 444 and the customer is asked whether they want to

place a product order 446. If the customer does not want to

place an order, the system logs that no sale has been requested 448. If the customer does want to place an order,

the customer proceeds to the order module 450 described below.

The management server 20 additionally contains an order

manager program 27. The order manager program 27 allows

orders to be placed without going through the above-described

inquiry process. When the order has been accepted, an order

acknowledgment will electronically be sent to the user's

account. This expedites the process for the buyer who knows

exactly what product from what manufacturer they desire. By

activating appropriate buttons on pages displayed, end-user

customers will be able to view manifests, track orders,

reorder products and create claims where there have been

problems with the product provided. To place an order, a

customer is displayed an "Order" screen. The screen includes

prompts for the customer name and contact information,

purchase order number, the manufacturer's name and contact

information, and shipping information, as well as the item

descriptions, quantities ordered and prices, among other

things. Sample "Place An Order" screens are shown in FIGS. 5A

and 5B .

The order manager program 27 permits customers to search

outstanding invoices and determines the status of their orders

(i.e. , track orders) , including whether an order has been sent to the manufacturer, when an estimated ship date has been

determined for the order, whether the order has been

completely shipped and billed, whether an order has been

cancelled, and whether a claim or complaint has been made with

respect to the order. Depending on a manufacturer, or other's

security level, active orders for third-parties or linked

customers may be displayed. Orders may be amended and in

certain circumstances, customer and manufacturer invoices are

displayed adjacent to each other. A search engine permits

orders to be searched by entering, for example, a customer

name or order number (only system personnel may be permitted

to enter customer names as opposed to order numbers) .

Customers are permitted to search for a particular invoice or

to receive a list of certain invoices. Users (depending on

their security access codes) are able to search for a

particular manifest by specifying a shipping date range or by

specifying a customer number which would display all manifests

for the customer for the given date range .

The order manager program 27 further permits customers to

make claims, or system personnel may enter claims on behalf of

the customer. Links are provided to corresponding order and

manifest information. (See FIGS. 5A and 5B) A user may be

permitted to generate an e-mail to be sent to a manufacturer with respect to a claim. Every time claim details are entered

or modified by a customer, the management server sends a claim

alert to a system account manager for the order.

A sample order process is described in the flow chart of

FIG. 6. Specifically, at 610 the order is assigned an

identification number. The order is then placed with the mill

612 and entered into server database 614. The system

inquiries as to whether or not the customer's credit is clear

616. If not, the credit problem is investigated 618. Once

the credit issue is resolved 620 or if the credit is clear,

the order is printed 621, and the customer is advised that the

order is out, such as by e-mail 622. Optionally, the order

status is rechecked 624. The system queries as to whether or

not the order has been changed 626. If the order has been

changed, it is modified in the server database 627. If the

order has not been changed, the system inquires as to whether

the mill or customer has requested a change 628. If a change

has been requested, the system attempts to accommodate the

change 630. If neither the mill or the customer has requested

the change, the system checks to see whether or not the order

has been shipped 632. If the order has not been shipped, it

is rechecked 624. If the order has been shipped, the system

receives a manifest and invoice from the mill 634. The system checks to see whether the manifest matches the order 636. If

the manifest does not match the order, the system attempts to

resolve the situation 638. If the system determines that the

order has not been shipped 632, the system then returns to

rechecking the order 624.

The management server 20 further includes an inventory

management program 28. This program permits customers to

maintain forecasts and view inventories by various

subcategories, such as location, product brand and status.

Orders placed will be taken into account by this program such

that projected future inventories can be viewed. In the paper industry, for example, printers 30 electronically supply

management server 20 with usage reports so inventories are

appropriately adjusted.

An "inventory search" results in viewing of information

with respect to a particular customer such as the location,

grade category, manufacturer, ship date, and roll number (in

the paper industry) of products in inventory. An "inventory

list" screen permits customers to view their entire inventory.

Inventories may be broken down by brands or by unit. (E.g. ,

in the printing industry at a roll-by-roll level, and if there

is an active usage log a customer could select rolls to add to

same.) A sample "Inventory Details" screen is shown in FIG. 7A. Also, users can generate a report showing how much paper

they used by location, date and grade category. A sample

"Usage Report Results" screen is shown in FIG. 7B. The data

concerning a specific roll can be modified or a new roll can

be added to inventory. By a customer's selecting a "Create

Usage Log" button, a customer creates a "usage log" to which

to add specific rolls. A "Current Usage Log" button permits

customers to view a list of all the rolls that were used for a

given job. E.g. , FIG. 7A.

Further, as shown by the user screens depicted in FIGS.

9A and 9B, users can generate an inventory report showing how

much paper is left for a particular location, such as a

particular printer. Such a report could be generated for any

date and time. As shown in these figures, alerts can be

presented on the screens to indicate to the user instances

where there is insufficient inventory to complete all

allocated printing jobs and thus indicating a need to

reallocate resources or order additional inventory. As can be

seen in FIG. 9B, the alert can be broken down in more detail

using management program 28 by the user selecting the

particular alert from FIB 9A.

Additionally, users can optionally generate interactive

forecasting reports. An example of such an interactive forecasting report screen is depicted by FIG. 10. Such a

forecast report would contain information pertaining to the

amount of inventory bought and subsequently consumed within

certain time periods so as to enable the user to more

accurately predict an optimum amount of inventory to maintain.

Furthermore, in embodiments of the invention, one can

view inventory usage reports so as to better determine when

new orders for a particular item are required. FIGS. 11A and

11B depict sample screens whereby a user can view inventory

usage reports. In this manner, a user can view information

relating to the amount of resources being directed to a

particular job.

In preferred embodiments of the present invention, the

inventory management program 28 maintains a central

information depository, such as in the form of a relational

database, of the inventory records for all users or a selected

subset of users (such as printers) . Inventory and order

information from each user is obtained via EDI and stored in

the information depository such that inventory information for

all users is coordinated in a central location.

In such preferred embodiments, the inventory information

for each user, relating to location, status and brand for

example, are stored in the relational database. In this manner, inventory relating to a particular brand for a user at

a particular can be assigned a particular type. Such types

could include currently projected (projected inventory before

any orders are made) , historically projected (projected

inventory after orders are submitted) , on order (confirmed

inventory orders) , in transit (inventory being currently

shipped) , currently on hand (all inventory at a location) ,

available to use (inventory not allocated to particular jobs) , used (inventory consumed or allocated for use) , and damaged

inventory. By using the user interface screens depicted by FIGS. 9A through 11B, users can view, track, and manage

inventory through their entire supply chain in an efficient

manner.

Optionally, with the "shipping data manager" program 23

(FIG. 2B) the management server 20 may store information on

the customer and vendor for use during transactions. The

shipping data manager 23 may also contain information related

to the shipment of the product such as the costs and

requirements for various shipping options.

The system 10 also provides for EDI or other electronic

document and data feeds (FIG. 1, 61) into and out of database

21 from all users depending on how they prefer to conduct

business. For example, manifests are an important electronic transaction capable of being implemented by the system 10 as

EDI or other feeds into the inventory functionality of the

website. Once the manifests are received by the server 20,

the information will be available to system users quickly and

accurately. It is also contemplated that transactions via EDI

or other electronic transactions may be used for usage reports

received from handlers or customers. Users may, therefore,

manage ordering and inventory in EDI format . This can speed

up processing time and reduce mistakes. Where EDI is used,

the management server 20 is capable of implementing EDI

receipts and transmissions through software such as GENTRAN

software for the AS/400 Server.

It is also contemplated, given that users may desire to

conduct certain transactions such as aspects of inventory

management manually and/or with paper hard copies, data may

also be received and inputted into server 20 or transmitted to

customers, vendors or handlers by means of paper hard copy and

manual entry at a system site by system personnel.

In an additional embodiment, management server 20 is used

to connect to a private network such as a local area network

(LAN) or an intranet or extranet. FIG. 1 illustrates, by way

of example, a vendor computer 40 as connecting to a private

network consisting of multiple network computers 43 through network connections 44. For instance, the network computers

43 may be different suppliers of a product who do not normally

accept orders over an open network such as the Internet . The

present invention thus allows the customer computer 30 to

place an order with the network computers 43. Security of the

private network is still preserved and the operators of the

network computer's did not require additional equipment or

technical knowledge to reach the customer computer 30.

In its preferred embodiment, as can be seen in FIG. 1,

management server 20 inter-connects multiple levels of the

supply chain for a product. Server 20 interconnects vendors

40, e.g., both the original manufacturer and a secondary

distributor of the product, to end-user customers, to

materials handlers and strategic partners (e.g. , shippers) .

By this, the present invention provides a complete e-commerce

solution for joining all the different levels of a supply

chain in an industry.

Alternative Embodiment With Automatic Monitoring And Reordering

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the present invention also

provides a system 10 for monitoring a customer's (or

handler's, such as a printer's) use of a product and for

automatically reordering the product from a vendor. In this embodiment, the customer computing device 30 (or this could be

the handler computer device 35) contains information on the

customer's use of the product, and the vendor computing device

40 contains information on the vendor's inventory of the

product. The management server 20 is connected both to

customer computing device 30 and the vendor computing device

40 via a connection 60 to allow the transfer of data between

the server 20 and the customer and vendor computing devices 30

and 40. The server 20 receives the use data from the customer

computing device and the inventory data from vendor computing

device 40 and stores this information in a database 21. The

server 20 then uses the information in the database 21 to

manage the customer's supply of the product. In particular,

the server 20 will automatically place an order for the

product in response to a programmed condition such as the

customer's use of the product. These conditions may be

contained in the database 21 or in a directing program 22 that

contacts the vendor computer 40. This product management can

operate continuously around-the-clock to better serve the

customer.

For example, in the printing paper industry, the

management server 20 could monitor the activities of the

printer 35 to determine the amount and type of printing paper to be ordered to meet needs. Through the connection to the

paper mill 40, the server 20 may fulfill the specific order

requested by the publisher 30 or printer 35.

_ The information on the customer's use is typically

contained in an information storage device 31 on the

customer's computer 30. For example, the use information

storage device 31 may be a database or spreadsheet that

records the use of the product. The use information storage

device 31 may automatically monitor the use of the product or

may be updated intermittently by the customer. Using this

information, the server 20 can be alerted when the product is

sufficiently consumed by the

customer 30. An example of the database 21 when used in this

fashion is now provided:

Example 1

In this example, the database 21 stores the use and

inventory data for two products, X and Y. The illustrated

database stores the number of uses by the customer, the number

of the product in the vendor's inventory and the vendor's

prices for the product. The database 21 further contains

conditions for automatically initiating a product purchase.

As illustrated, a purchase may be initiated, for instance,

after a certain number of uses, when the price falls or when

the customer's inventory is low.

The data contained on the use storage device 31 may

automatically transfer to the server 20 at the direction of a

use program 32 on the customer's computer. For instance, the

use program 32 may be a JAVA or Perl script application

adapted to the run on the customer's computer 30 Internet

browser. Upon the establishment of a connection between the

server 20 and the customer computer 30, the use program 32 may

then transfer information constantly to provide real-time

information to proxy server 20. In this way, the system 10

may provide real time maintenance of the customer's supply of

the product by instantly reacting to any action taken by the

customer. Similarly, an inventory program 42 may run on the

vendor's computer 40 to transfer information on the vendor's

inventory to the proxy server 20.

Both Java and Perl are designed to run on any operating

systems, and as a result, the use and inventory programs 32

and 42 may be used on virtually any computing device. It is

preferable that the use and the inventory programs 32 and 42

transfer information from the server 20 in extensible markup

language (XML) . Alternatively, a data mining program 23 may operate on

the management server 20. Data mining programs are known in

the art and allow servers to seek out data contained on a connected computer. For example, the data mining program 23

may be a Perl program that examines a known location for

inventory or use information and returns this information over

the connections 60 using known techniques such as XML.

The system may be implemented discretely without

affecting the operations of the consumer or vendor. For

instance, the use program 32 may be bundled with the network

of related enterprises. When the customer 30 orders from the

vendor computer 40, the use program may be automatically

installed onto the customer's computer 30. Alternatively, the customer may choose to subscribe to the server 20 and use the

server to order from existing vendors.

The method in the instant embodiment of the present

invention, namely, a method 100 for automatic, real-time

maintenance of a user's supply of a product, is described in

the flow chart of FIG. 8. In box 110 of the method 100, a

connection is established between a management server, a

costumer's (or handler's) computing device, and a vendor's

computer device. As previously described, this connection is

generally a distributed network to allow interconnection

across the supply chain.

Then, at 120, the server collects and stores information

about the customer ' s use of the product and about the vendor ' s

inventory. This may be done through software that resides on

the customer's and vendor's computers or software that resides

on the server. The data collection software may run

periodically or constantly in real-time. The software may

actively seek information or may request the information from

the consumer and vendor.

Once the information is collected, the server, at 130

uses the information to automatically place an order to the

vendor. As described above, the order may be caused by

factors such as the customer's usage rate of the product 122 or the price of the product at the vendor 124. Where there is more than one vendor, the server may use information to select

the best vendor 126 to meet the needs of the user.

Example of Application to the Printing Paper Industry

The present invention particularly addresses needs in

fragmented industries, such as the printing paper industry,

for delivering products and services to all levels of business

within the supply chain. Overall, the present invention

provides an operative and management tool to facilitate

transactions throughout the product's supply chain and enhance participating enterprises' ability to reach consumers.

Entities in the printing paper industry are increasingly

interested in e-commerce solutions. The advancement of the

technology, the introduction of new services, the demands for

more efficient and timely information, and the increased

demands for individuals/employees ' time have all contributed

to the growth in interest and demand for an economic and

efficient electronic management tool in the printing paper

market .

It should be appreciated, however, that the present

invention may be modified to adapt to many other industries.

The printing paper market is currently segmented into two

large groups which each represents approximately 50% of the printing paper market in North America: 1) Paper mills selling

direct to the customer; and 2) paper mills selling through

wholesalers (paper distributors/merchants) . Products and

services provided by businesses tend to be niche-oriented or

segmented to part of the supply chain solution. For

example, the "Paper Consumer" segment is defined by businesses

requiring the selection, procurement, and management of paper

purchasing operations and inventories that would benefit from

an e-commerce alternative for this process. Examples include

magazine publishers, catalog companies, book publishers,

commercial printers. The materials handlers/strategic

partners segment includes entities such as, printers, logistics suppliers, traders, and shipping entities who

transport or otherwise handle paper. "Mills" include the

manufacturers of the paper.

Most of these companies are focusing primarily on their

specific product line to specific market sectors. Although

mills may offer products directly to consumers, they often

depend on value-added source providers

(distributors/merchants) to address the needs of customers.

The system provided by the present invention provides

automatic, constant maintenance of the customer's supply in

real-time. This maintenance is particularly useful in the printing paper industry. The system is able to support

existing standard paper purchasing applications and/or can be

used as a platform to support vertically specialized

purchasing applications using standard protocols, such as XML.

Use of the system and method of the present invention

increases the efficiency, performance and ease of use for

businesses in the printing paper market.

To address the problem of the wide variety of

incompatible technologies between the different members of the

supply chain, the present invention and joins a wide variety

of networks and operating systems. In particular, the

software platform of the present invention is designed to

interact with the most widely used data network systems such

as EDI, which is currently used by many paper mills. For

instance, the XML-based software platform can interact with

major operating systems on which most corporate applications

run and most mainframe operating systems. As connections to

new entities become needed, the system can adapt the software

platform to meet the needs of those systems. The system 10

can also be updated to accommodate new protocols for networks

and operating systems.

The present invention provides an end-to-end network

solution that interfaces not only vertically and horizontally throughout the supply chain, but also interfaces the multiple

components in the paper purchasing and paper management

process . Similarly, the present invention provides a standard

platform for various entities to conduct business. The system

10 enables all data to be captured in a common system, server

20, so that the various components involved in the paper

purchasing management process will exist in one central

database 21.

The invention, having been described, it will be apparent

to those skilled in the art that the same may be varied in

many ways without departing from the spirit and scope of the

invention. Any and all such modifications are intended to be

included within the scope of the following claims.

Claims

What is claimed is :

1. A system for operating and managing the ordering and

inventory of products and services across an industry supply

chain comprising:

(a) a management server;

(b) at least one customer computing device electronically connected to the management server and capable

of transmitting customer information to the management server;

(c) at least one vendor computing device electronically

connected to the management server and capable of transmitting

vendor information to the management server; (d) a database electronically accessible by the

management server that stores customer information and vendor

information; and

(e) wherein the management server uses the customer and

vendor information to operate and manage the purchase and

delivery of products to customers, to manage inventory levels,

and to provide information to customers and vendors regarding

product purchasing and supply.

1 2. The system of claim 1 wherein the electronic connection

2 between the management server, customer computing device and

3 vendor computing device is a distributed computer network.

1 3. The system of claim 1 wherein the management server

2 comprises an inventory manager program accessible to the

3 management server that permits a customer to view current and

4 projected inventories.

1. 4. The system of claim 3 wherein the management server also

2 comprises an order program accessible to the management server

3 by which a customer may place a product order with a vendor.

1 5. The system of claim 4 wherein the order program permits

2 customers to track orders .

1 6. The system of claim 4 wherein the order program permits

2 customers to view manifests.

1 7. The system of claim 4 wherein the order program permits a

2 customer to create a product claim.

8. The system of claim 3 wherein the management server also

comprises a product search program accessible to the

management server which permits a customer to search for a

desired product to purchase .

9. The system of claim 8 wherein the management server

permits a customer to request a product sample.

10. The system of claim 8 wherein the management server

permits a customer to place an inquiry.

11. The system of claim 3 wherein the management server also comprises an inquiry program accessible to the management

server which allows a customer to request information about a

product available for purchase.

12. The system of claim 11 wherein the inquiry program

permits a customer to request information regarding an

alternative product supplier.

13. The system of claim 3 wherein the management server also

comprises a registration program accessible to the management

server which permits a user to customize the operation and management of the ordering and inventory of products by the

user.

14. The system of claim 1 also comprising at least one

handler computing device electronically connected to the

management server and capable of transmitting handler

information to the management server, and wherein the database

additionally stores handler information and the management

server also uses the handler information to operate and manage

the purchase and delivery of products, to manage inventory

levels and to provide information to customers, vendors and

handlers .

15. A system for facilitating a sale of a product from a

vendor to a customer, the system comprising:

(a) a management server;

(b) a customer computing device electronically connected

to the management server and that stores information on the

customer's use of the product;

(c) a vendor computing device electronically connected to

the management server and that stores information on the

vendor's inventory of the product; and (d) a database electronically accessible to the management server that stores the use data and the inventory

data, wherein the management server automatically places an

order for a product based upon the use data and the inventory

data.

16. The system of claim 15 wherein the management server

automatically places an order for the product in real-time.

17. A method for unifying the levels of an industry supply

chain comprising the steps of :

(a) establishing a connection between a management server, at least one customer computing device, and at least

one vendor computing device;

(b) collecting and storing on the management server

customer information and vendor information;

(c) using the customer information and vendor information

collected and stored on the management server to operate and

manage customer purchases and delivery of products, to manage

inventory levels, and to provide information to customers and

vendors regarding product purchasing and supply.

18. The method of claim 17 further comprising establishing a

connection between a management server and at least one

handler computing device and wherein the step of using

includes using the handler information to operate and manage

customer purchase and delivery of products, to manage

inventory levels and to provide information to customers,

vendors and handlers .

19. The method of claim 17 wherein the management server

accomplishes the customer purchase and delivery of products by means of an order process comprising the steps of a) a

customer's placing the order with the management server, b) the server's placing the order with a vendor, c) the order

being checked for changes and modifying the order if changes

have been made to it, and d) the server's checking if the

order has been shipped and the customer's receiving a manifest

if the order has been shipped.

20. The method of claim 17 wherein the management server

manages inventory levels with an inventory management process

that permits customers to maintain forecasts and view

inventories .

21. The method of claim 20 wherein the inventory management

process includes the steps of conducting an inventory search,

creating a usage report, and creating a current usage log.

22. A method for providing automatic sale of a product to a

customer from a vendor, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) establishing a connection between a management

server, a customer computing device, and a vendor computing

device;

(b) collecting and storing on the management server

information about the customer's use of the product and about

the vendor's product inventory; and

(c) the management server's using the stored information

to automatically place an order to the vendor based on the

customer's usage rate of the product.

23. The method of claim 22 wherein the step of automatically

placing an order to the vendor is based on the customer's

usage rate of the product and the price range of a product

offered by a vendor.

24. The system of claim 1 wherein the industry is the paper

procurement industry.