Document exchange framework for automated extensible markup language data in an e-procurement system and method

• US 20030074279A1
• Filed: 10/17/2001
• Published: 04/17/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 10/17/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Oracle America, Inc. (Oracle Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Oracle America, Inc. (Oracle Corporation)
• Inventors: Li, Yafeng, Viswanath, Sridatta
• Granted Patent: US 7,644,014 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/27
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0633 Lists, e.g. purchase orders, compilation or processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0635 Processing of requisition or of purchase orders
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0641 Shopping interfaces

Abstract

In an electronic procurement system having a portal server, an Extensible Markup Language (XML) content integration and transformation method and system. The XML content integration and transformation system includes logic for retrieving an “Open Buying on the Internet (OBI)” compliant XML file from a database which is then formatted in response to an electronic purchasing request over the Internet. In one embodiment of the present invention, the client aware XML content transformation system receives an OBI XML file and uses this information to automatically search for data objects related to the OBI XML file content from a database on the Internet and translates the content into a format suitable for internal processing by the XML content integration and transformation logic and delivers it to the purchasing requisitioner over the Ineternet.

Claims

1. An electronic purchasing and procurement system comprising:

an applications content configuration module automatically processing electronic purchase requisition applications content over multiple back-end resource servers comprising a plurality of catalogs containing descriptions of goods and services pertinent to a type of procurement environment;

a database storing data descriptors describing items contained in said catalogs, said database further storing data object and attributes pertinent to said electronic purchase requisition applications content; and

an applications content transformation service, in response to receiving a particular purchase request associated with a particular purchasing requisitioner, for dynamically presenting transformed content in a format suitable to said purchasing requisitioner, wherein said applications content transformation service is also for transforming content to said particular purchasing requisitioner for presentation thereto.

2. The electronic purchasing and procurement system of claim 1, further comprising an applications content translating module coupled to said applications content configuration module for providing specific markup language templates which, in combination with said electronic purchasing requisition applications content, are transformed into content suitable for presentation to a particular purchasing requisitioner.

3. The electronic purchasing and procurement system of claim 1, further comprising an automatic markup language data generation service for automatically detecting and providing markup language data responsive to said particular purchasing requisitioner of said particular purchase request.

4. The electronic purchasing and procurement system of claim 3, wherein said markup language is an Extensible Markup Language (XML).

5. The electronic purchasing and procurement system of claim 1, further comprising pre-stored class information for enabling said applications content transformation service to transform said electronic purchasing and procurement applications content in a manner suitable for presentation to said particular purchasing requistioner.

6. The electronic purchasing and procurement system of claim 1, wherein said electronic purchasing and procurement applications content is compliant with Extensible Markup Language (XML) content.

7. The electronic purchasing and procurement system of claim 6, wherein said electronic purchasing and procurement applications content is compliant with the Open Buying on the Internet (OBI) Standard.

8. The electronic purchasing and procurement system of claim 7, wherein said particular purchasing requisitioner uses a hand-held device interface.

9. The electronic purchasing and procurement system of claim 7, wherein said particular purchasing requisitioner uses a wireless phone interface.

10. The electronic purchasing and procurement system of claim 7, wherein said particular purchasing requsitioner uses a wireless personal computer system interface.

11. An electronic purchasing and procurement request Extensible Markup Language (XML) content transformer in an electronic purchasing and procurement system, comprising:

a server;

a plurality of catalogs of goods and services residing in a database in said server, each of said catalogs of comprising unique goods and services identification parameters; and

a procurement and purchasing Extensible Markup Language (XML) content provider for retrieving XML data from a source external to said server in response to a particular purchase requisition content access request from a particular purchase order of a plurality of purchase requisitioners requesting information defined in said goods and services identification parameters.

12. The XML content transformer of claim 11, further comprising XML content translation templates, said translation templates being specific to a purchase order line item data objects and attribute information defining goods and services.

13. The XML content transformer of claim 12, further comprising XML translation logic for translating said XML content into a proprietary XML content specific for processing by said electronic purchasing and procurement system.

14. The XML content transformer of claim 12, wherein said XML content translation templates are substantially compliant with the Open Buying on the Internet (OBI) data standards.

15. The XML content transformer of claim 11, wherein said procurement and purchasing XML content provider is extensible to dynamically alter transformation data provided to said XML content provider.

16. The XML content transformer of claim 15 wherein said XML content is transformed in combination with said XML content translation templates to a markup content suitable for presentation, to a particular outbound document.

17. A Document Exchange (XDOC) framework for processing in-bound and out-bound documents in an electronic procurement system, comprising:

an Extensible Markup Language (XML) content configuration file module for providing XML content gathered from a plurality of in-bound documents in a coherent and cohesive markup format and applied to out-bound documents responsive to said in-bound documents;

a conduit file module coupled to said XML configuration file module for receiving files in a first XML format and generating corresponding files in a second XML format; and

a persistent object frammer (POF) module coupled to said XML content configuration file module for maintaining data persistence of files stored in a database external to said XDOC framework in said electronic procurement system, wherein said files stored in said database correspond to said XML content in said in-bound documents and said out-bound documents respectively.

18. The XDOC framework of claim 17, wherein said XML content configuration file module comprises XML content retrieving logic for retrieving XML content from data sources that are external and internal to said XML content configuration file module.

19. The XDOC framework of claim 17, wherein said in-bound and said out-bound documents are purchase orders respectively describing information related to buyer requests and supplier goods and services information in said electronic procurement system.

20. The XDOC framework of claim 19, wherein said first XML file format is an Open Buying on the Internet (OBI) Standards compliant XML file.

21. The XDOC framework of claim 17, wherein said files stored in said database are defined as data objects with related attributes.

22. The XDOC framework of claim 21, wherein said attributes define in granular details, the contents of the data objects stored in said database.

23. The XDOC framework of claim 20, wherein said markup content is substantially compliant with Handheld Device Markup Language content.

24. The XDOC framework of claim 20, wherein said markup content comprises a content suitably adapted to interact with an Internet browser of a computer system.

25. The XDOC framework of claim 24, wherein said XML content configuration file modules further comprises availability logic for determining whether content selected by a user in said in-bound documents is available for presentation in said out-bound documents.

26. A method for providing Extensible Markup Language (XML) content from a database to a purchase order request in an electronic purchasing network, said method comprising:

receiving a purchasing request cataloged in a plurality of in-bound documents by said electronic purchasing network, said purchasing request comprising goods, services and supplier information defining purchasing parameters specific and unique to a particular purchasing professional;

retrieving XML content in response to said purchasing request from data sources external and internal to said electronic purchasing network; and

transforming said retrieved XML content into appropriate content suitable for an underlying markup language of an Internet browser used by said purchasing professional.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein said retrieving XML content comprises recursively traversing said data sources to identify data objects that correspond to the contents of said in-bound documents.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein said recursively traversing said data sources further comprise retrieving data attributes form said data sources, said data attributes further defining said data objects.

29. The method of claim 26, wherein said transforming comprises loading a class of transformation parameters suitable for transforming said retrieved XML content in a manner specific and unique to a particular purchase order.

30. The method of claim of 26, wherein said external data source comprises catalogs of procurement items coupled to the Internet.