Method and system using intelligent agents for dynamic integration of buy-side procurement systems with non-resident, web-enabled, distributed, remote, multi-format catalog sources

• US 20050049938A1
• Filed: 09/02/2003
• Published: 03/03/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 09/02/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Coupa Software Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Vinimaya Incorporated
• Inventors: Venkiteswaran, Vaidhyanathan
• Granted Patent: US 7,756,750 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/27
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0603 Catalogue ordering
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0613 Third-party assisted
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0623 Item investigation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0625 Directed, with specific intent or strategy
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0627 using item specifications
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0629 for generating comparisons
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0633 Lists, e.g. purchase orders, compilation or processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0641 Shopping interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/04 Trading; Exchange, e.g. stocks, commodities, derivatives or currency exchange

Abstract

A process, method, computer program product and system, for performing dynamic integration of buy-side procurement systems with supplier web-site catalogs to enable online procurement in which a client computer issues a request for shopping from inside a procurement system to system resident on a plurality of server computers available to service said request; said method, performed by system, comprising steps of: receiving said request from said client computer; launching intelligent agents to retrieve said catalog content information from catalog sources web-enabled over the internet or within the intranet, aggregating retrieved catalog information, associating retrieved catalog information with other data items available within the system, applying business rules to aggregated information, making decisions on what part of aggregated information would be available to client computer; rendering said aggregated catalog results to User; enabling sorting/multi-level refining operations; allowing User to select one or more catalog results into a shopping cart; on User confirmation, dynamically create procurement-system defined XML cart; submit this dynamic XML cart to buy-side procurement system through published interfaces. After User completion of workflow inside procurement system, the said solution also enables procurement system to place order on supplier web-enabled transaction system.

Claims

1. A process and method for performing dynamic integration of buy-side procurement systems with supplier web site catalogs to enable online procurement. In the said method/process, a client computer issues a catalog shopping request from inside a procurement system to said system resident on a plurality of server computers available to service said request;

Execution of said request, performed by said system, comprises steps of;

a) Receiving said request from said client computer;

b) Launching one or more intelligent agent(s) to perform distributed remote search across one or more web-enabled catalog sources, wherein the request issued by the User is made up of a group of inter-related sub-requests, and said system decides which agents should be launched to satisfy each request;

c) Said Agents retrieve catalog content information from catalog sources web-enabled over the internet or within the intranet,

d) Said Agents may, on their own, launch other sub-agents for retrieving addition catalog content

e) Aggregating retrieved catalog information

f) Associating retrieved catalog information with other data items available within the said system,

g) Applying business rules to aggregated information, wherein said business rules include pricing conditions, filtering conditions, etc.

h) Making decisions on what part of aggregated information would be available to User on client computer,

i) Rendering said aggregated catalog results to User in HTML format over a browser;

j) Enabling sorting/multi-level refining operations;

k) Allowing User to select one or more catalog results into a shopping cart;

l) On User confirmation of shopping cycle completion, dynamically create procurement-system defined XML cart;

m) Submit this dynamic XML cart to buy-side procurement system through published interface.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein decisions for launching agents are made by said system.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein managing the launched agents is performed by said system.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein decisions for launching Sub-Agents are made dynamically by said Agents

13. The method of claim 1 wherein said request from User is received from the client computer, through the procurement system, over a communication network.

5-8. -8. A system for performing above-mentioned process/methods in claim 1 to 4.

9-12. -12. A computer program product, stored on a computer readable storage medium, which executes above-mentioned process/methods in claims 1 to 4 on the system mentioned in claim 5 to 8.

14. The method for creating new Agents

15. A system for performing the method in claim 14.

16. A computer program product, stored on a computer readable storage medium, that enables execution of method in claim 14 on system in claim 15.

17. The method for maintaining Agents

18. A system for performing the method in claim 17.

19. A computer program product, stored on a computer readable storage medium that enables execution of method in claim 17 on system in claim 18.

20. A method wherein, after completion of requisition workflow inside procurement system, the said solution also enables procurement system to place order on supplier web-enabled transaction system using HTTP/HTTPS/Embedded XML protocol.

21. A system for performing method in claim 20.

22. A computer program product, stored on a computer readable storage medium that enables execution of method in claim 21 on system in claim 22.