WO2023119249A1

WO2023119249A1 - A cloud-based erp system for data sharing between business entities to enable market place feature

Info

Publication number: WO2023119249A1
Application number: PCT/IB2022/062744
Authority: WO
Inventors: Manoj Kumar SAHOO
Original assignee: Sahoo Manoj Kumar
Priority date: 2021-12-23
Filing date: 2022-12-23
Publication date: 2023-06-29

Abstract

An aspect of the present invention facilitates data sharing between business entities (sellers and suppliers) to enable one or more market place features. In one embodiment, supplier data stores maintain corresponding details for products available at supplier entities, while seller data stores maintain corresponding details for the products available at seller entities. An Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system receives corresponding sets of data sharing rules from the set of supplier entities, wherein a corresponding set of data sharing rules received from a supplier entity specifies the data to be shared between the supplier data store of the supplier entity and the set of seller data stores. In response to receiving, the ERP system applies the corresponding sets of data sharing rules to cause data to be shared between the set of supplier data stores and the set of seller data stores.

Description

A CLOUD-BASED ERP SYSTEM FOR DATA SHARING BETWEEN BUSINESS ENTITIES TO ENABLE MARKET PLACE FEATURE

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[001] Technical Field

[002] The present disclosure relates to enterprise systems and more specifically to a cloud-based Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system for data sharing between business entities to enable market place feature.

[003] Related Art

[004] An ERP system is commonly used by business organizations to manage day-to- day business activities such as accounting, procurement, project management, risk management and compliance, and supply chain operations. When an ERP system is hosted in a cloud infrastructure (such as Amazon Web Services (AWS) available from Amazon.com, Inc., Google Cloud Platform (GCP) available from Google LLC, etc.), it is referred to as a cloud-based ERP system.

[005] In the following disclosure, the term “business entity” is used to refer to any user associated with a cloud-based ERP system. Examples of business entities are business organizations, companies, etc. Business entities may be engaged in selling one or more products (referred to as “seller entities” or “sellers”), supplying/making/producing the one or more products (referred to as “supplier entities” or “suppliers”), or buying the one or more products (referred to as “buyer entities” or “buyers”).

[006] Market place traditionally refers to the connection between at least two business entities (supplier and buyer). Market place is the platform where a seller hosts/lists one or more products for sale and a buyer can select a desired ones of the one or more products from the seller and purchase the desired products. It should be appreciated that the seller may not make/produce the products on sale, but instead may procure the products from suppliers (who supply or make/produce the products). Multiple sellers, suppliers and buyers can participate in a market place. In the disclosure herein, the term “market place feature” refers to a product hosted/listed for sale in a market place. Examples of market places are Amazon [TM] shopping portal, eBay [TM] e-commerce portal, etc.

[007] Currently, each seller maintains a corresponding product and inventory data which is private to that seller. Similarly, each supplier maintains a corresponding product and inventory data that is private to that supplier.

[008] Accordingly, there is a need to provide data sharing between business entities (sellers and suppliers) to enable one or more market place features.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[009] An aspect of the present invention facilitates data sharing between business entities (sellers and suppliers) to enable one or more market place features. In one embodiment, a set of supplier data stores maintains corresponding details for one or more products available at a set of supplier entities, while a set of seller data stores maintains, corresponding details for the one or more products available at a set of seller entities. An Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system receives corresponding sets of data sharing rules from the set of supplier entities, wherein a corresponding set of data sharing rules received from a supplier entity specifies the data to be shared between the supplier data store of the supplier entity and the set of seller data stores. In response to receiving, the ERP system applies the corresponding sets of data sharing rules to cause data to be shared between the set of supplier data stores and the set of seller data stores.

[010] According to another aspect of the present invention, the ERP system establishes a unique exchange key for each combination of supplier entity and seller entity based on the corresponding sets of data sharing rules. The ERP system then pushes data between each combination of supplier data store and seller data store using a corresponding channel between the supplier data store and the seller data store, wherein the data is pushed using the unique exchange key established for the combination of supplier entity and seller entity corresponding to the combination of supplier data store and seller data store.

[Oil] According to one more aspect of the present invention, upon receiving from a first seller entity contained in the set of seller entities, a change data indicating the change in the details of a first product, the ERP system determines a first supplier entity contained in the set of supplier entities that is associated with the first product and the first seller entity and then syncs between a first seller data store of the first seller entity and a first supplier data store of the first supplier entity. The synching comprises updating the first seller data store with the change data and updating the first supplier data store with the change data.

[012] In one embodiment, the updating the first seller data store comprises creating a purchase order entry in the first seller data store and the updating the first supplier data store comprises creating a sales order entry in the first supplier data store.

[013] According to yet another aspect of the present invention, upon receiving from a second supplier entity contained in the set of supplier entities, a change data indicating the change in the details of a second product, the ERP system determines a second seller entity contained in the set of seller entities that is associated with the second product and the second supplier entity and then syncs between a second supplier data store of the second supplier entity and a second seller data store of the second seller entity. The synching comprises updating the second supplier data store with the change data and updating the second seller data store with the change data.

[014] Several aspects of the invention are described below with reference to examples for illustration. However, one skilled in the relevant art will recognize that the invention can be practiced without one or more of the specific details or with other methods, components, materials and so forth. In other instances, well-known structures, materials, or operations are not shown in detail to avoid obscuring the features of the invention. Furthermore, the features/aspects described can be practiced in various combinations, though only some of the combinations are described herein for conciseness.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[015] Example embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings briefly described below.

[016] FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example computing system in which various aspects of the present invention can be implemented.

[017] FIG.s 2A and 2B are flow charts illustrating the manner in which data sharing between business entities is facilitated according to aspects of the present invention.

[018] FIG. 3 depicts an implementation of various aspects of the present invention in one embodiment.

[019] FIG.s 4A and 4B depicts sample data formats used for data exchange between business entities in one embodiment.

[020] FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating the details of a digital processing system in which various aspects of the present invention are operative by execution of appropriate execution modules.

[021] In the drawings, like reference numbers generally indicate identical, functionally similar, and/or structurally similar elements. The drawing in which an element first appears is indicated by the leftmost digit(s) in the corresponding reference number.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[022] It is to be understood that the present disclosure is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangement of components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The present disclosure is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or of being carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.

[023] Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment”, “an embodiment”, or similar language means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, appearances of the phrases “in one embodiment”, “in an embodiment” and similar language throughout this specification may, but do not necessarily, all refer to the same embodiment.

[024] The use of "including", "comprising", or "having" and variations there of herein is meant to encompass the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereof as well as additional items. The terms "a" and "an" herein do not denote a limitation of quantity, but rather denote the presence of at least one of the referenced items. Further, the use of terms "first", "second", and "third", and the like, herein do not denote any order, quantity, or importance, but rather are used to distinguish one element from another.

[025] As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an", and "the" include both singular and plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. By way of example, "a dosage" refers to one or more than one dosage. The terms "comprising", "comprises" and "comprised of" as used herein are synonymous with "including", "includes" or "containing", "contains", and are inclusive or open-ended and do not exclude additional, non-recited members, elements, or method steps.

[026] All documents cited in the present specification are hereby incorporated by reference in their totality. In particular, the teachings of all documents herein specifically referred to are incorporated by reference.

[027] Example embodiments of the present invention are described with reference to the accompanying figures.

[028] 1. Example Environment

[029] FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example computing system (100) in which various aspects of the present invention can be implemented. The block diagram is shown containing end user systems 110a- 110c, network 130, supplier server 130, market place server 140, data stores 135 & 145, and cloud 160 (which in turn is shown containing a number of nodes such as node 170a and 170b, ERP server 150 and data store 180).

[030] Merely for illustration, only representative number/type of systems is shown in FIG. 1. Many computing systems often contain many more systems, both in number and type, depending on the purpose for which the computing system is designed. Each system/ device of FIG. 1 is described below in further detail.

[031] Network 130 provides connectivity between end user systems 110a- 110c, supplier server 130, market place server 140, and nodes of cloud 160 (such as node 170a/170b, ERP system 150 and data store 180). Network 130 may represent Wireless/LAN networks implemented using protocols such as Transport Control Protocol/Intemet Protocol (TCP/IP), or circuit switched network implemented using protocols such as GSM, CDMA, etc. as is well known in the relevant arts.

[032] In general, network 130 provides transport of packets, with each packet containing a source address (as assigned to the specific system from which the packet originates) and a destination address, equaling the specific address assigned to the specific system to which a packet is destined/targeted. The packets would generally contain the requests and responses between end user systems 110a- 110c, supplier server 130, market place server 140 and nodes of cloud 160 (such as node 170a/170b, ERP system 150 and data store 180) as described in detail in the below sections.

[033] Each of end user systems HOa-l lOc represents a system such as a personal computer, workstation, mobile phone (e.g., iPhone available from Apple Corporation), tablet, portable device (also referred to as “smart” devices”) that operate with a generic operating system such as Android operating system available from Google Corporation, etc., used by users to send (user) requests to nodes of cloud 160 such as ERP system 150. In addition, each of end user systems 110a- Hoc may include various hardware (and corresponding software) sensors such as camera, microphone, accelerometers, etc. In general, an end user system enables a user to send user requests for performing desired tasks to ERP system 150 and to receive corresponding responses containing the results of performance of the requested tasks.

[034] Cloud 160 is a collection of nodes (such as node 170a/170b) that may include processing nodes, connectivity infrastructure, data storages, administration systems, etc., which are engineered to together host software applications. Cloud 16 may be provided on a public cloud infrastructure (such as Amazon Web Services (AWS) available from Amazon.com, Inc., Google Cloud Platform (GCP) available from Google LLC, etc.) that provides a virtual computing infrastructure for various customers, with the scale of such computing infrastructure being specified often on demand. Alternatively, cloud 160 may be provided on an enterprise system (or a part thereof) on the premises of the business organizations. Cloud 160 may also be a "hybrid" infrastructure containing some nodes of a public cloud infrastructure and other nodes of an enterprise system. Some of the nodes of cloud 160 may be implemented as corresponding data stores similar to data store 180, while other nodes of the cloud 160 may be implemented as corresponding server systems, similar to ERP system 150.

[035] Each of supplier server 130, market place server 140 and ERP server 150 represents a system, such as a web and/or application server, executing various applications designed to perform one or more tasks requested from end user systems. For example, each of the servers may execute one or more ERP applications related to accounting, procurement, project management, risk management and compliance, supply chain operations, etc.

[036] Each server may perform the tasks using data maintained internally in the server, on external data (e.g., maintained in data stores 135/145/180) or on data received as part of the requests (e.g., data received from end user systems HOa-l lOc). Each server may also send the results of performance of the tasks to end user systems 110a- 110c or one or more nodes of cloud 160. Furthermore, each server may maintain some of the received information (such as the data from end user systems 110a- 110c) and the result of performance of the tasks in data stores 135/145/180. [037] Each of data stores 135, 145 and 180 represents a non-volatile storage, facilitating storage and retrieval of a collection of data by corresponding systems such as supplier server 130, market place server 140, and ERP server 150. A data store may maintain information such as user data received from end user systems 110a- 110c, data related to performance of tasks noted above, etc. In one embodiment, a data store is implemented using relational database technologies where the data is maintained in the form of databases containing tables and columns and provides storage and retrieval of data using structured queries such as SQL (Structured Query Language), as is well known in the relevant arts. Alternatively, a data store may be implemented as a file server and store data in the form of one or more files organized in the form of a hierarchy of directories, as is well known in the relevant arts.

[038] It may be appreciated that each of ERP server 150 and data store 180 are implemented on corresponding nodes of cloud 160. Accordingly, ERP server 150 and data store 180 together operate as a cloud-based ERP system. The ERP system may be operated on behalf of a single business organization or for multiple business organization.

[039] Supplier server 130 maintains details of the products available at a supplier entity in data store 135, while marker place 140 corresponds to a seller entity and maintains details of the products available at the market place/seller entity in data store 145. Some of the products stored in data store 145 may be made available for sale electronically via a market place (e.g., online shopping portal) hosted by market place server 140), thereby enabling buyers using end user systems 110a- 110c to select and purchase desired products from the market place. Buyers using end user systems 110a- 110c may also be enabled to buy the products supplied by the supplier entity directly from supplier server 130, for example, using an online website provided by supplier server 130.

[040] It may be appreciated that data store 135 (and correspondingly the data stored therein) is accessible only to supplier server 130, while data store 145 is accessible only to market place server 140. As such, there is a need to provide data sharing between business entities (sellers and suppliers) to enable one or more market place features.

[041] ERP server 150, provided according to aspects of the present invention, facilitates data sharing between business entities as described below with examples. [042] 2. General Flow

[043] FIG.s 2A and 2B are flow charts illustrating the manner in which data sharing between business entities is facilitated according to aspects of the present invention. The flowcharts are described with respect to FIG. 1, in particular, ERP server 150, merely for illustration. However, various features can be implemented in other systems and/or other environments also without departing from the scope of various aspects of the present invention, as will be apparent to one skilled in the relevant arts by reading the disclosure provided herein.

[044] In addition, some of the steps may be performed in a different sequence than that depicted below, as suited in the specific environment, as will be apparent to one skilled in the relevant arts. Many of such implementations are contemplated to be covered by several aspects of the present invention.

[045] Referring to FIG. 2A, in step 201, supplier data stores (such as 135) maintain corresponding details for products available at supplier entities (such as those available from supplier server 130).

[046] In step 202, seller data stores (such as 145) maintain corresponding details for products available at seller entities/market place (such as those available from market place server 140).

[047] In step 203, ERP server 150 receives corresponding sets of data sharing rules from the supplier entities. A set of data sharing rules received from a supplier entity specifies the data to be shared between the supplier data store of the supplier entity and the set of seller data stores. Each rule may specify the details of the supplier entity, the seller entity, the product details to be shared, the inventory details to be shared, etc.

[048] In step 204, ERP server 150 applies the corresponding sets of data sharing rules to cause data to be shared between the supplier data stores (such as 135) and the seller data stores (145). According to an aspect, for each combination of supplier entity and seller entity, ERP server 150 establishes a unique exchange key and pushes data between the corresponding combination of supplier data store and seller data store using the unique exchange key. For example, the unique exchange key may be an encryption/decryption key used for transfer of data between the supplier data store and the seller data store.

[049] Thus, aspects of the invention facilitate data sharing between business entities (sellers and suppliers) to enable one or more market place features. It may be appreciated that such shared data between the business entities is required to be updated when there is any change in one of the data stores, for example, upon a purchase of a product at any one of the business entities (supplier server 130 or market place server 140). Aspects of the present invention are directed to updating of the data shared between business entities as described below with examples.

[050] Referring to FIG. 2B, in step 251, ERP server 150 receives a change data for a product from a first business entity (seller/supplier). The change data may indicate changes in the product details or inventory details. The change data may be received as one or more packets from either market place server 140 or supplier server 130.

[051] In step 252, ERP server 150 determines a second business entity (supplier/seller) associated with the first business entity based on the data sharing rules received earlier from the supplier entities (in step 203). Specifically, if the change data is received from a seller entity, ERP server 150 determines the specific supplier entity that supplied the product to the seller entity. If the change data is received from a supplier entity, ERP server 150 determines one or more seller entities to which the product is supplied by the supplier entity.

[052] In step 253, ERP server 150 synchronizes (“syncs”) the change data between the data stores of the first business entity and the second business entity. The term “sync” implies that ERP server 150 sends requests to the data stores (via corresponding servers) to cause the data stores to be updated with the change data. In the scenario that the first and second business entity are respectively a seller and a supplier, the update of the change data in the seller data store creates a purchase order entry (for the product) in the seller data store and the update of the change data in the supplier data store creates a sales order entry in the supplier data store.

[053] Thus, aspects of the present invention are directed to updating of the data shared between business entities. The manner in which ERP server 150 according to the operation of FIG.s 2 A and 2B may be implemented is described below with examples.

[054] 3. Illustrative Example

[055] FIG. 3 and 4A-4B together illustrate the manner in which data sharing between business entities is facilitated in one embodiment. FIG. 3 depicts an implementation of various aspects of the present invention in one embodiment. FIG.s 4A and 4B depicts sample data formats used for data exchange between business entities in one embodiment. Each of the Figures is described in detail below.

[056] Referring to FIG. 3, each of a_S, b_S,... ,m_S (m being any natural number) represents a corresponding supplier entity, while each of a_M, b_M,... ,n_M (n being any natural number) represents a corresponding market place/ seller entity. Each supplier entity is shown containing a corresponding supplier server (310a, 310b, etc.) similar to supplier server 130 and a corresponding supplier data store (320a, 320b, etc.) similar to data store 135. Each seller entity is shown containing a corresponding market place server (360a, 360b, etc.) similar to market place server 140 and a corresponding seller data store (340a, 340b, etc.) similar to data store 145.

[057] Each of supplier data stores and seller data stores may maintain details of the products available at the corresponding supplier and seller. Referring to FIG. 4A, table 410 depicts sample product related data that may be maintained in the supplier/seller data stores, while table 420 depicts sample inventory related data that may be maintained in the supplier/seller data stores.

[058] Data sharing module (DSM) 350 represents a module implemented in ERP server 150 that facilitates data sharing between the various business entities (seller entities and supplier entities) shown in FIG. 3. DSM 350 receives data sharing rules from supplier entities. Referring to FIG. 4B, table 430 depicts sample data that may be specified as part of a data share header when specifying data sharing rules. It may be observed that table 430 specifies a single combination of a supplier entity and a seller entity/market place. Similarly, multiple rules with corresponding data share headers may be received by DSM 350 from one or more supplier entities.

[059] DSM 350 forwards the received data sharing rules as one or more requests to the corresponding seller entities/market places. A seller entity accepts a request received from a supplier entity and generates a unique exchange key for future data exchange between the two entities (the seller entity and the supplier entity). As such, multiple exchange keys may be generated corresponding to different combinations of seller entities and supplier entities.

[060] DSM 350 then causes the product data of table 410 and the inventory data of table 420 to be pushed from the supplier data stores to the respective seller data stores using data share channels established between the two data store instances. Referring again to FIG. 4B, table 440 depicts sample data that may be specified as part of a data share transfer. Table 440 include the data share header as shown in table 430 and includes the details of the products/inventory as part of “Tran Data” field in JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) format, well known in the relevant arts. In addition, the “Data Type” field indicates the type of data that is being transferred between the data stores. One or more requests according to the data share header (430) and data share transfer (440) formats may be sent by DSM 350 or the supplier data stores to affect the push of the product data to the seller data stores.

[061] After the data sharing is completed, the products may be made available for sale both at the supplier entity (website) and at the market place (online shopping portal). Upon a product being sold at a market place, a change data is sent from the market place to DMS 350, which in turn determines a supplier who supplies the product to the market place and causes a sync between the seller data store of the market place and a supplier data store of the determined supplier. In one embodiment, the update of the change data in the seller data store creates a purchase order entry (for the product) in the seller data store and the update of the change data in the supplier data store creates a sales order entry in the supplier data store.

[062] Similarly, when a product is sold at a supplier server, a change data is sent from the supplier server to DMS 350, which in turn determines a seller/market place who sells the product on behalf of the supplier and causes a sync between the supplier data store of the supplier and a seller data store of the determined seller/ market place. The sync between the supplier data stores and the seller data stores and vice versa may be performed by sending one or more requests according to the data share header (430) and data share transfer (440) formats.

[063] Thus, the cloud-based ERP system of ERP server 150 and data store 180 facilitates data sharing between business entities to enable market place feature. In an embodiment, the ERP system enables multiple suppliers to share their product list with a large business entity/individual seamlessly with secure key exchange. The products are sold by the large entity to buyers and in turn pass a purchase/sales transaction from small supplier. The small entity also can sell his/her product from his own company in ERP system. Inventory position gets updated at both business entities end seamlessly, irrespective of the end point of sale. Settlement happens in a single ERP server. [064] It may be appreciated that the instant invention has various advantages such as small business entity can leverage the platform to increase their sales, low cost online platform in SaaS (Software as a Service) and improves operational efficiency for both business entities. The system ensures integrity of data and hence the trust on the overall system is improved.

[065] The inventors have determined that blockchains can play a vital role in tracking the ownership of products. Any unique art / item where the ownership is critical is pushed to a blockchain for immutable reference of the owner.

[066] As is well known, a blockchain is an incorruptible digital distributed ledger of transactions. Information held on a blockchain exists as a shared and continually reconciled database. The blockchain database is not stored in any particular location, rather the records are kept at different locations and easily verifiable. That means no centralized version of the information exists for a hacker to tamper the data. As the blockchain data is hosted by millions of computers simultaneously, it is almost impossible to corrupt the data. And the data is accessible to anyone over the Internet.

[067] Specifically, an efficient system with a blockchain based digital ledger of transactions may be implemented. The blockchain may be used to store multiple transactions performed as part of the cloud-based ERP system between the business entities. Each transaction (maintained in the blockchain) captures information on a set of products and the interaction between two or more entities with respect to the set of products.

[068] In addition, the set of transactions (maintained in the blockchain) includes invoice details of the products provided to the buyer and shipment tracking details of the products from the supplier to the buyer. Furthermore, the ERP system may provide additional data based on the historical analysis of the transactions maintained in the blockchain.

[069] It should be appreciated that the above noted features can be implemented in various embodiments as a desired combination of one or more of hardware, execution modules and firmware. The description is continued with respect to one embodiment in which various features are operative when execution modules are executed.

[070] 5. Digital Processing System

[071] FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating the details of digital processing system 500 in which various aspects of the present invention are operative by execution of appropriate execution modules. Digital processing system 500 may correspond to ERP server 150.

[072] Digital processing system 500 may contain one or more processors (such as a central processing unit (CPU) 501), random access memory (RAM) 502, secondary memory 503, graphics controller 506, display unit 507, network interface 508, and input interface 509. All the components except display unit 507 may communicate with each other over communication path 505 which may contain several buses as is well known in the relevant arts. The components of FIG. 5 are described below in further detail.

[073] CPU 501 may execute instructions stored in RAM 502 to provide several features of the present invention. CPU 501 may contain multiple processing units, with each processing unit potentially being designed for a specific task. Alternatively, CPU 501 may contain only a single general-purpose processing unit. RAM 502 may receive instructions from secondary memory 503 using communication path 505.

[074] Graphics controller 506 generates display signals (e.g., in RGB format) to display unit 507 based on data/instructions received from CPU 501. Display unit 507 contains a display screen to display the images defined by the display signals. Input interface 509 may correspond to a keyboard and a pointing device (e.g., touch-pad, mouse), which enable the various inputs to be provided.

[075] Network interface 508 provides connectivity to a network (e.g., using Internet Protocol), and may be used to communicate with other connected systems. Network interface 508 may provide such connectivity over a wire (in the case of TCP/IP based communication) or wirelessly (in the case of WIFI, Bluetooth based communication).

[076] Secondary memory 503 may contain hard drive 503a, flash memory 503b, and removable storage drive 503c. Secondary memory 503 may store the data (e.g., portions of the data shown in FIG. 4A-4B) and software instructions (e.g., for implementing the steps of FIG. 2A-2B and the modules of FIG. 3), which enable digital processing system 500 to provide several features in accordance with the present invention.

[077] Some or all of the data and instructions may be provided on removable storage unit 504, and the data and instructions may be read and provided by removable storage drive 503c to CPU 501. Floppy drive, magnetic tape drive, CD-ROM drive, DVD Drive, Flash memory, removable memory chip (PCMCIA Card, EPROM) are examples of such removable storage drive 503c.

[078] Removable storage unit 504 may be implemented using storage format compatible with removable storage drive 503c such that removable storage drive 63c can read the data and instructions. Thus, removable storage unit 504 includes a computer readable storage medium having stored therein computer software (in the form of execution modules) and/or data.

[079] However, the computer (or machine, in general) readable storage medium can be in other forms (e.g., non-removable, random access, etc.). These “computer program products” are means for providing execution modules to digital processing system 500. CPU 501 may retrieve the software instructions (forming the execution modules) and execute the instructions to provide various features of the present invention described above.

[080] It should be understood that the figures and/or screen shots shown above highlighting the functionality and advantages of the present invention are presented for example purposes only. The present invention is sufficiently flexible and configurable, such that it may be utilized in ways other than that shown in the figures.

[081] Merely for illustration, only representative number/type of graph, chart, block, and sub-block diagrams were shown. Many environments often contain many more block and sub-block diagrams or systems and sub-systems, both in number and type, depending on the purpose for which the environment is designed.

[082] While specific embodiments of the invention have been shown and described in detail to illustrate the inventive principles, it will be understood that the invention may be embodied otherwise without departing from such principles.

[083] It should be understood that the examples and embodiments described herein are for illustrative purposes only and that various modifications or changes in light thereof will be suggested to persons skilled in the art and are to be included within the spirit and purview of this application and scope of the appended claims.

Claims

I/WE CLAIM:

1. A method for data sharing between entities, the method comprising: maintaining, in a set of supplier data stores, corresponding details for one or more products available at a set of supplier entities; maintaining, in a set of seller data stores, corresponding details for the one or more products available at a set of seller entities; receiving, by an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system, corresponding sets of data sharing rules from the set of supplier entities, wherein a corresponding set of data sharing rules received from a supplier entity specifies the data to be shared between the supplier data store of the supplier entity and the set of seller data stores; and applying, by the ERP system, the corresponding sets of data sharing rules to cause data to be shared between the set of supplier data stores and the set of seller data stores.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the applying comprises: establishing, by the ERP system, a unique exchange key for each combination of supplier entity and seller entity based on the corresponding sets of data sharing rules; and pushing, by the ERP system, data between each combination of supplier data store and seller data store using a corresponding channel between the supplier data store and the seller data store, wherein the data is pushed using the unique exchange key established for the combination of supplier entity and seller entity corresponding to the combination of supplier data store and seller data store.

3. The method of claim 1, comprising: receiving, by the ERP system, from a first seller entity contained in the set of seller entities, a change data indicating the change in the details of a first product; determining, by the ERP system, a first supplier entity contained in the set of supplier entities that is associated with the first product and the first seller entity; synching, by the ERP system, between a first seller data store of the first seller entity and a first supplier data store of the first supplier entity, wherein the synching comprises: updating the first seller data store with the change data; and updating the first supplier data store with the change data.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the updating the first seller data store comprises creating a purchase order entry in the first seller data store and the updating the first supplier data store comprises creating a sales order entry in the first supplier data store.

5. The method of claim 1, comprising: receiving, by the ERP system, from a second supplier entity contained in the set of supplier entities, a change data indicating the change in the details of a second product; determining, by the ERP system, a second seller entity contained in the set of seller entities that is associated with the second product and the second supplier entity; synching, by the ERP system, between a second supplier data store of the second supplier entity and a second seller data store of the second seller entity, wherein the synching comprises: updating the second supplier data store with the change data; and updating the second seller data store with the change data.

6. A system for data sharing between entities, the system comprising: a set of supplier data stores to maintain corresponding details for one or more products available at a set of supplier entities; a set of seller data stores to maintain corresponding details for the one or more products available at a set of seller entities; and an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system performing the actions of: receiving corresponding sets of data sharing rules from the set of supplier entities, wherein a corresponding set of data sharing rules received from a supplier entity specifies the data to be shared between the supplier data store of the supplier entity and the set of seller data stores; and applying the corresponding sets of data sharing rules to cause data to be shared between the set of supplier data stores and the set of seller data stores.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein for the applying, the ERP system performs the actions of: establishing a unique exchange key for each combination of supplier entity and seller entity based on the corresponding sets of data sharing rules; and pushing data between each combination of supplier data store and seller data store using a corresponding channel between the supplier data store and the seller data store, wherein the data is pushed using the unique exchange key established for the combination of supplier entity and seller entity corresponding to the combination of supplier data store and seller data store.

8. The system of claim 6, wherein the ERP system performs the actions of: receiving from a first seller entity contained in the set of seller entities, a change data indicating the change in the details of a first product; determining a first supplier entity contained in the set of supplier entities that is associated with the first product and the first seller entity; synching between a first seller data store of the first seller entity and a first supplier data store of the first supplier entity, wherein the synching comprises: updating the first seller data store with the change data; and updating the first supplier data store with the change data.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the updating the first seller data store comprises creating a purchase order entry in the first seller data store and the updating the first supplier data store comprises creating a sales order entry in the first supplier data store.

10. The system of claim 6, the ERP system performs the actions of: receiving from a second supplier entity contained in the set of supplier entities, a change data indicating the change in the details of a second product; determining a second seller entity contained in the set of seller entities that is associated with the second product and the second supplier entity; synching between a second supplier data store of the second supplier entity and a second seller data store of the second seller entity, wherein the synching comprises: updating the second supplier data store with the change data; and updating the second seller data store with the change data.

11. A non-transitory machine-readable medium storing one or more sequences of instructions for data sharing between entities, wherein execution of said one or more instructions by one or more processors contained in a digital processing system causes said digital processing system to perform the actions of: maintaining, in a set of supplier data stores, corresponding details for one or more products available at a set of supplier entities; maintaining, in a set of seller data stores, corresponding details for the one or more products available at a set of seller entities;

17 receiving, by an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system, corresponding sets of data sharing rules from the set of supplier entities, wherein a corresponding set of data sharing rules received from a supplier entity specifies the data to be shared between the supplier data store of the supplier entity and the set of seller data stores; and applying, by the ERP system, the corresponding sets of data sharing rules to cause data to be shared between the set of supplier data stores and the set of seller data stores.

12. The non-transitory machine -readable medium of claim 11, wherein the applying comprises: establishing, by the ERP system, a unique exchange key for each combination of supplier entity and seller entity based on the corresponding sets of data sharing rules; and pushing, by the ERP system, data between each combination of supplier data store and seller data store using a corresponding channel between the supplier data store and the seller data store, wherein the data is pushed using the unique exchange key established for the combination of supplier entity and seller entity corresponding to the combination of supplier data store and seller data store.

13. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 11, comprising: receiving, by the ERP system, from a first seller entity contained in the set of seller entities, a change data indicating the change in the details of a first product; determining, by the ERP system, a first supplier entity contained in the set of supplier entities that is associated with the first product and the first seller entity; synching, by the ERP system, between a first seller data store of the first seller entity and a first supplier data store of the first supplier entity, wherein the synching comprises: updating the first seller data store with the change data; and updating the first supplier data store with the change data.

14. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 13, wherein the updating the first seller data store comprises creating a purchase order entry in the first seller data store and the updating the first supplier data store comprises creating a sales order entry in the first supplier data store.

15. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 11, comprising: receiving, by the ERP system, from a second supplier entity contained in the set of

18 supplier entities, a change data indicating the change in the details of a second product; determining, by the ERP system, a second seller entity contained in the set of seller entities that is associated with the second product and the second supplier entity; synching, by the ERP system, between a second supplier data store of the second supplier entity and a second seller data store of the second seller entity, wherein the synching comprises: updating the second supplier data store with the change data; and updating the second seller data store with the change data.

19