Integrated supply chain management

• US 20040153359A1
• Filed: 01/31/2003
• Published: 08/05/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 01/31/2003
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: 3M Innovative Properties Company (3M Company)
• Original Assignee: 3M Innovative Properties Company (3M Company)
• Inventors: Marchant, Richard J., Gaffney, Joseph J., Nowlin, Mary V., Vedavyasa, Harish, Tolk, Leann C., Ho, Mein-Kai, Husby, Paul C.
• Application Number:
  US10/357,269
• Publication Number:
  US 20040153359A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/10
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06315 Needs-based resource requirements planning or analysis
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0201 Market modelling; Market analysis; Collecting market data
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0202 Market predictions or forecasting for commercial activities

Abstract

A centralized supply chain management system is described that comprises a connectivity module that electronically communicates with enterprise data systems within one or more supply chains. The connectivity module receives part definitions and shipment data from the various data systems. A data alignment module generates a mapping between the part definitions of the various enterprises, and translates electronic data received from the enterprises in accordance with the mapping. A vendor managed inventory (VMI) module generates electronic orders based on the shipment data to provide automated control over inventor levels within the supply chain. A market analysis module generates market penetration models for the enterprises.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a connectivity module that electronically communicates with a distributor data system and a supplier data system, wherein the connectivity module receives from the distributor data system part shipment data for parts shipped from a distributor to customers;

a vendor managed inventory (VMI) module that generates electronic orders for the distributor to purchase additional parts from a supplier based on the part shipment data; and

a market analysis module that generates a market penetration model for the supplier based on the part shipment data received from the distributor data system.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the market analysis module generates the market penetration model to trace part flows from the supplier to customers of the distributor.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the part shipment data includes point of sale information that indicates respective distributor sales accounts for the shipments, and the market analysis module generates the market penetration model to identify sales volumes of the parts for each sales account of the distributor.

4. The system of claim 1, further comprising a data alignment module that maintains a mapping between distributor part definitions and supplier part definitions, wherein the market analysis module generates the market penetration model in a format consistent with the supplier part definitions based on the mapping.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the data alignment module issues a report to at least one of the distributor and the supplier indicating at least one discrepancy between the distributor part definitions and the supplier part definitions.

6. The system of claim 4, wherein the connectivity module electronically receives the distributor part definitions from the distributor data system, and the supplier part definitions from the supplier data system.

7. The system of claim 4, wherein the distributor part definitions include at least one of a distributor part number, a supplier part number, a unit of measure (UOM), a price per UOM, a price multiplier, a rounding value, and a lead time for receiving the part from the supplier.

8. The system of claim 4, wherein the supplier part definitions include at least one of a supplier part number, a unit of measure (UOM), a discount code, a discount amount, a case quantity, a price, a part type, and a lead time for shipping the part.

9. The system of claim 4, wherein the VMI module generates the electronic orders in a format consistent with the supplier part definitions based on the mapping maintained by the data alignment module.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the VMI module automatically communicates the electronic orders to the supplier data system to purchase the additional parts from the supplier for the distributor.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the VMI module presents the electronic orders to the distributor for approval.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the VMI module analyzes the part shipment data and generates forecast data indicating predicted demand values for the parts by the distributor, and generates the electronic order based on the forecast data.

13. The system of claim 1, further comprising an electronic invoice presentation and payment (EIPP) module to generate electronic invoices for payment by the distributor to the supplier in response to the electronic invoices.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the EIPP module communicates the electronic invoices to the distributor data system.

15. The system of claim 13, wherein the EIPP module presents a web-based interface to the distributor for approval of the electronic invoices.

16. The system of claim 13, wherein the EIPP module initiates electronic fund transfers (EFT) from a bank account of the distributor to a bank account of the supplier for payment of the electronic invoices upon receiving approval from the distributor.

17. The system of claim 4, further comprising an electronic invoice presentation and payment (EIPP) module to generate electronic invoices for payment by the distributor to the supplier in response to the electronic orders, wherein the EIPP module generates the electronic invoices in a format consistent with the distributor part definitions based on the mapping maintained by the data alignment module.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the EIPP module receives dispute data from the interface indicating a dispute of one or more of the invoices, and presents the dispute data to the supplier via a web-based interface in a format consistent with the supplier part definitions.

19. The system of claim 1, wherein the system operates within an application service provider (ASP) computing environment in which the connectivity module electronically communicates with a one or more remote supplier data systems associated with one or more remote distributor data systems.

20. The system of claim 19, further comprising a configuration manager that presents an interface allowing a system administrator to provide configuration data to selectively configure the system for the different supplier data systems and associated distributor data systems.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein for each of the supplier data systems and the associated distributor data systems the configuration manager selectively enables each of a set of software modules operating within the system

22. The system of claim 21, wherein the software modules include inbound and outbound message queues for exchanging messages between the software modules to control communications with the supplier data systems and the distributor data, and the software modules selectively exchange messages based on the configuration data.

23. The system of claim 21, wherein the software modules dynamically generate web-based interfaces based on the configuration data.

24. The system of claim 21, wherein the configuration manager maintains security data that defines a number of users for the supplier and the distributor authorized to access the system.

25. The system of claim 21, wherein the configuration manager receives security data from the system administrator to control access for users to the set of software modules.

26. The system of claim 21, wherein the set of software modules includes the VMI module, the market analysis module, and the connectivity module.

27. A method comprising:

generating a mapping between distributor part definitions maintained by a distributor data system and supplier part definitions maintained by a supplier data system;

receiving part shipment data from the distributor data system that indicates parts shipped from a distributor to customers, wherein the part shipment data conforms to the set of distributor part definitions; and

generating a market penetration model in a format that conforms to the supplier part definitions based on the mapping.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein generating a market penetration model comprises:

applying the mapping to the part shipment data to generate translated part shipment data that conforms to the supplier part definitions; and

generating a market penetration model based on the translated part shipment data.

29. The method of claim 27, wherein generating the market penetration model comprises generating the market penetration model to trace part flows from the supplier through the distributor to customers.

30. The method of claim 27, wherein the part shipment data includes point of sale information that indicates respective distributor sales accounts for the shipments, and generating the market penetration model comprises generating the market penetration model to identify sales volumes of the parts for each sales account of the distributor.

31. The method of claim 27, further comprising issuing a report to at least one of the distributor and the supplier indicating any discrepancies between the distributor part definitions and the supplier part definitions.

32. The method of claim 27, further comprising electronically receiving the distributor part definitions from the distributor data system and the supplier part definitions from the supplier data system.

33. The method of claim 27, further comprising generating electronic orders for the distributor to purchase additional parts from the supplier based on the part shipment data.

34. The method of claim 33, further comprising generating the electronic orders in a format consistent with the supplier part definitions based on the mapping.

35. The method of claim 33, further comprising automatically communicating the electronic orders to the supplier data system to purchase the additional parts from the supplier on behalf of the distributor.

36. The method of claim 33, further comprising presenting the electronic orders to the distributor for approval.

37. The method of claim 33, further comprising:

analyzing the part shipment data to produce forecast data having predicted demand values for the parts by the distributor; and

generating the electronic order based on the predicted demand values of the forecast data.

38. The method of claim 33, further comprising generating electronic invoices for payment by the distributor to the supplier in response to the electronic orders.

39. The method of claim 38, further comprising generating the electronic invoices in a format consistent with the distributor part definitions based on the mapping.

40. The method of claim 39, wherein generating electronic invoices in a format consistent with the distributor part definitions comprises:

receiving from the supplier data system invoice data in accordance with the supplier part definitions;

applying the mapping to the invoice data to generate translated invoice data in accordance with the distributor part definition; and

generating the electronic invoices based on the translated invoice data.

41. The method of claim 38, further comprising communicating the electronic invoices to the distributor data system for approval by the distributor.

42. The method of claim 38, further comprising presenting a web-based interface to the distributor for approval of the electronic invoices.

43. The method of claim 38, further comprising initiating electronic fund transfers (EFT) from a bank account of the distributor to a bank account of the supplier for payment of one or more of the electronic invoices.

44. The method of claim 38, further comprising:

receiving dispute data from the interface indicating a dispute of one or more of the invoices;

applying the mapping to the dispute data to translate the dispute data to a format that conforms to the supplier part definitions; and

presenting the translated dispute data to the supplier via a web-based interface for resolution.

45. The method of claim 27, further comprising generating the market model with a computing system operating within an application service provider environment that is communicatively coupled to a plurality of remote supplier data systems associated with one or more remote distributor data systems.

46. The method of claim 45, further comprising presenting an interface allowing a system administrator to provide configuration data to selectively configure the computing system for the supplier data systems and the associated distributor data systems.

47. The method of claim 46, further comprising selectively enabling each of a set of software modules operating within the computing system based on the configuration data.

48. The method of claim 47, further comprising selectively exchanging messages between the software modules to control communications with the supplier data systems and the distributor data systems based on the configuration data.

50. The method of claim 47, further comprising dynamically generating web-based interfaces for the software modules based on the configuration data.

51. The method of claim 47, further comprising controlling access to the software modules by a set of users based on the configuration data.

52. The method of claim 47, wherein the set of software modules includes:

a connectivity module that electronically communicates with the distributor data systems and the supplier data systems, and receives distributor part definitions for the distributor data systems and supplier part definitions from the supplier data systems;

a data alignment module that maintains a mapping between distributor part definitions and supplier part definitions for associated distributor data systems and supplier data systems; and

a market analysis module that generates the market penetration models.

53. A system comprising:

a connectivity module that electronically communicates with a customer data system and a service supplier data system, wherein the connectivity module receives data from the customer data system indicating services received from a supplier;

an electronic invoice presentation and payment (EIPP) module to generate electronic invoices for payment by the customer to the supplier for the services; and

a market analysis module that generates a market penetration model for the supplier based on the data received from the customer data system.

54. The system of claim 53, further comprising a data alignment module that maintains a mapping between customer definitions and supplier definitions, wherein the market analysis module generates the market penetration model in a format consistent with the service supplier definitions based on the mapping.

55. The system of claim 54, further comprising a vendor managed inventory (VMI) module that generates electronic orders for the customer to purchase additional services from the supplier based on the data.

56. The system of claim 55, wherein the VMI module generates the electronic orders in a format consistent with the supplier definitions based on the mapping maintained by the data alignment module.

57. The system of claim 54, wherein the VMI module analyzes the data and computes predicted demand values of the services provided by the supplier, and generates the electronic orders based on the demand values.

58. The system of claim 54, wherein the connectivity module receives part shipment data from the customer data system for parts received from the supplier, and the VMI module generates electronic orders for the customer to purchase additional parts from the supplier based on the data.

59. The system of claim 58, wherein the market analysis module generates the market penetration model for the supplier based on the services and parts provides to the customer.