Methods and systems for reconciling data

• US 20050283502A1
• Filed: 06/18/2004
• Published: 12/22/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 06/18/2004
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: SAP AG (SAP SE)
• Original Assignee: SAP AG (SAP SE)
• Inventors: Heitner, Ami, Rozenszajn, Sergio, Sosin, Pavel, Kolchinsky, Yacov, Kull, Irena
• Application Number:
  US10/871,663
• Publication Number:
  US 20050283502A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/08 Logistics, e.g. warehousing, loading or distribution; Inventory or stock management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders

Abstract

Systems and methods are disclosed for reconciling data. The disclosed systems and methods may include receiving a first data corresponding to an expected state of at least one of a plurality of objects. Furthermore, the disclosed systems and methods may include creating a second data corresponding to an actual state of the at least one of the plurality of objects and comparing the first data to the second data to determine if the actual state corresponds to the expected state. In addition, systems and methods are disclosed for determining and applying rules to data. The disclosed systems and methods may include receiving a data comprising a root element and at least one leaf element, the root element having attributes and the attributes comprising characteristics. Furthermore, the disclosed systems and methods may include selecting a condition table based upon the characteristics, selecting a first ruleset based upon the selected condition table, and applying rules defined by the selected first ruleset to the data.

Claims

1. A method for reconciling data, the method comprising:

receiving a first data corresponding to an expected state of at least one of a plurality of objects;

creating a second data corresponding to an actual state of the at least one of the plurality of objects; and

comparing the first data to the second data to determine if the actual state corresponds to the expected state.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the first data comprises receiving the first data from a vendor of the at least one of the plurality of objects.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the first data comprises receiving the first data in a first hierarchical data structure comprising a first data root element corresponding to a container associated with the at least one of the plurality of objects and a first data leaf element corresponding to the at least one of the plurality of objects.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the first data comprises receiving the first data wherein the expected state comprises a condition in which a container associated with the at least one of the plurality of objects and the at least one of the plurality of objects are expected to be in at a future time.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the first data comprises receiving the first data wherein the expected state comprises a condition in which a container associated with the at least one of the plurality of objects and the at least one of the plurality of objects are expected to be in at a future time, the future time comprising when the container is to be received by a buyer.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein creating the second data comprises:

receiving a container containing the at least one of the plurality of objects;

reading an object indicia corresponding to the at least one of the plurality of objects;

reading a container indicia corresponding to the container; and

establishing the second data in a second hierarchical data structure comprising a second data root element corresponding to the read container indicia and a second data leaf element corresponding to the read object indicia.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein receiving the container comprises receiving the container comprising at least one of a pallet, a forklift, a case, and a storage bin.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein reading the object indicia comprises machine reading the object indicia.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein machine reading the object indicia comprises at least one of receiving a signal associated with a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag and scanning a bar code.

10. The method of claim 6, wherein reading the object indicia comprises reading an electronic product code.

11. The method of claim 6, wherein reading the object indicia comprises receiving object attributes comprising at least one of an object type, a vendor identification number, a product identification number, a serial number, an expiration date, a batch number, a description, and a list of actions applied.

12. The method of claim 6, wherein reading the container indicia comprises machine reading the container indicia.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein machine reading the container indicia comprises at least one of receiving a signal associated with a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag and scanning a bar code.

14. The method of claim 6, wherein reading the container indicia comprises reading an electronic product code.

15. The method of claim 6, wherein reading the container indicia comprises receiving container attributes comprising at least one of a container type, a vendor identification number, a product identification number, a serial number, an expiration date, a batch number, a description, and a list of actions applied.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein creating the second data comprises:

receiving, at a first time, a first container containing the at least one of the plurality of objects;

reading a first object indicia corresponding to the at least one of the plurality of objects;

reading a first container indicia corresponding to the first container;

receiving, at a second time, a second container containing an other of the plurality of objects, the second time being subsequent to the first time;

reading a second object indicia corresponding to the other of the plurality of objects;

reading a second container indicia corresponding to the second container, the second container indicia containing data linking the second container to the first container;

establishing the second data in a second hierarchical data structure comprising a second data root element corresponding to the read first container indicia and a second data leaf element corresponding to the read first object indicia, the second data further comprising an other data leaf element corresponding to the read second object indicia if the difference between the first time and the second time is less than a time threshold value; and

wherein receiving the first data corresponding to the expected state of the at least one of a plurality of objects further comprises receiving the first data corresponding to the expected state of the other of the plurality of objects.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising proving an update indicating a status of at least one of the first container, the second container, and the plurality of objects.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein comparing the first data to the second data to determine if the actual state corresponds to the expected state comprises:

determining if a first data root element included in the first data has a corresponding second data root element in the second data; and

determining if all first data leaf elements included in the first data have corresponding second data leaf elements in the second data.

19. The method of claim 1, further comprising transmitting a signal indicating a result of the comparison of the first data to the second data.

20. A system for reconciling data, the system comprising:

a memory storage for maintaining a database; and

a processing unit coupled to the memory storage, wherein the processing unit is operative to

receive a first data corresponding to an expected state of at least one of a plurality of objects;

create a second data corresponding to an actual state of the at least one of the plurality of objects; and

compare the first data to the second data to determine if the actual state corresponds to the expected state.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein the processing unit being operative to receive the first data comprises the processing unit being operative to receive the first data from a vendor of the at least one of the plurality of objects.

22. The system of claim 20, wherein the processing unit being operative to receive the first data comprises the processing unit being operative to receive the first data in a first hierarchical data structure comprising a first data root element corresponding to a container associated with the at least one of the plurality of objects and a first data leaf element corresponding to the at least one of the plurality of objects.

23. The system of claim 20, wherein the processing unit being operative to receive the first data comprises the processing unit being operative to receive the first data wherein the expected state comprises a condition in which a container associated with the at least one of the plurality of objects and the at least one of the plurality of objects are expected to be in at a future time.

24. The system of claim 20, wherein the processing unit being operative to receive the first data comprises the processing unit being operative to receive the first data wherein the expected state comprises a condition in which a container associated with the at least one of the plurality of objects and the at least one of the plurality of objects are expected to be in at a future time, the future time comprising when the container is to be received by a buyer.

25. The system of claim 20, wherein the processing unit being operative to create the second data comprises the processing unit being operative to:

read an object indicia corresponding to the at least one of the plurality of objects;

read a container indicia corresponding to a container; and

establish the second data in a second hierarchical data structure comprising a second data root element corresponding to the read container indicia and a second data leaf element corresponding to the read object indicia.

26. The system of claim 25, wherein the processing unit being operative to read the container indicia comprises the processing unit being operative to read the container indicia on a container comprising at least one of a pallet, a forklift, a case, and a storage bin.

27. The system of claim 25, wherein the processing unit being operative to read the object indicia comprises the processing unit being operative to machine read the object indicia.

28. The system of claim 27, wherein the processing unit being operative to machine read the object indicia comprises at least one of the processing unit being operative to receive a signal associated with a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag and the processing unit being operative to scan a bar code.

29. The system of claim 25, wherein the processing unit being operative to read the object indicia comprises the processing unit being operative to read an electronic product code.

30. The system of claim 25, wherein the processing unit being operative to read the object indicia comprises the processing unit being operative to receive object attributes comprising at least one of an object type, a vendor identification number, a product identification number, a serial number, an expiration date, a batch number, a description, and a list of actions applied.

31. The system of claim 25, wherein the processing unit being operative to read the container indicia comprises the processing unit being operative to machine read the container indicia.

32. The system of claim 31, wherein the processing unit being operative to machine read the container indicia comprises at least one of the processing unit being operative to receive a signal associated with a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag and the processing unit being operative to scan a bar code.

33. The system of claim 25, wherein the processing unit being operative to read the container indicia comprises the processing unit being operative to read an electronic product code.

34. The system of claim 25, wherein the processing unit being operative to read the container indicia comprises the processing unit being operative to receive container attributes comprising at least one of a container type, a vendor identification number, a product identification number, a serial number, an expiration date, a batch number, a description, and a list of actions applied.

35. The system of claim 20, wherein the processing unit being operative to create the second data comprises the processing unit being operative to:

read, at a first time, a first container indicia corresponding to a first container;

read a first object indicia corresponding to the at least one of the plurality of objects;

read, at second time, a second container indicia corresponding to a second container, the second container indicia containing data linking the second container to the first container;

read, at a second time, a second object indicia corresponding to the another of the plurality of objects; and

establish the second data in a second hierarchical data structure comprising a second data root element corresponding to the read first container indicia and a second data leaf element corresponding to the read first object indicia, the second data further comprising an other data leaf element corresponding to the read second object indicia if the difference between the first time and the second time is less than a time threshold value.

36. The system of claim 35, further comprising the processing unit being operative to prove an update indicating a status of at least one of the first container, the second container, and the plurality of objects.

37. The system of claim 20, wherein the processing unit being operative to compare the first data to the second data to determine if the actual state corresponds to the expected state comprises the processing unit being operative to:

determine if a first data root element included in the first data has a corresponding second data root element in the second data; and

determine if all first data leaf elements included in the first data have corresponding second data leaf elements in the second data.

38. The system of claim 20, further comprising the processing unit being operative to transmit a signal indicating a result of the comparison of the first data to the second data.

39. A computer-readable medium which stores a set of instructions which when executed performs a method for reconciling data, the method executed by the set of instructions comprising:

receiving a first data corresponding to an expected state of at least one of a plurality of objects;

creating a second data corresponding to an actual state of the at least one of the plurality of objects; and

comparing the first data to the second data to determine if the actual state corresponds to the expected state.

40. The computer-readable medium of claim 39, wherein receiving the first data comprises receiving the first data from a vendor of the at least one of the plurality of objects.

41. The computer-readable medium of claim 39, wherein receiving the first data comprises receiving the first data in a first hierarchical data structure comprising a first data root element corresponding to a container associated with the at least one of the plurality of objects and a first data leaf element corresponding to the at least one of the plurality of objects.

42. The computer-readable medium of claim 39, wherein receiving the first data comprises receiving the first data wherein the expected state comprises a condition in which a container associated with the at least one of the plurality of objects and the at least one of the plurality of objects are expected to be in at a future time.

43. The computer-readable medium of claim 39, wherein receiving the first data comprises receiving the first data wherein the expected state comprises a condition in which a container associated with the at least one of the plurality of objects and the at least one of the plurality of objects are expected to be in at a future time, the future time comprising when the container is to be received by a buyer.

44. The computer-readable medium of claim 39, wherein creating the second data comprises:

receiving a container containing the at least one of the plurality of objects;

reading an object indicia corresponding to the at least one of the plurality of objects;

reading a container indicia corresponding to the container; and

establishing the second data in a second hierarchical data structure comprising a second data root element corresponding to the read container indicia and a second data leaf element corresponding to the read object indicia.

45. The computer-readable medium of claim 44, wherein receiving the container comprises receiving the container comprising at least one of a pallet, a forklift, a case, and a storage bin.

46. The computer-readable medium of claim 44, wherein reading the object indicia comprises machine reading the object indicia.

47. The computer-readable medium of claim 46, wherein machine reading the object indicia comprises at least one of receiving a signal associated with a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag and scanning a bar code.

48. The computer-readable medium of claim 44, wherein reading the object indicia comprises reading an electronic product code.

49. The computer-readable medium of claim 44, wherein reading the object indicia comprises receiving object attributes comprising at least one of an object type, a vendor identification number, a product identification number, a serial number, an expiration date, a batch number, a description, and a list of actions applied.

50. The computer-readable medium of claim 44, wherein reading the container indicia comprises machine reading the container indicia.

51. The computer-readable medium of claim 50, wherein machine reading the container indicia comprises at least one of receiving a signal associated with a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag and scanning a bar code.

52. The computer-readable medium of claim 44, wherein reading the container indicia comprises reading an electronic product code.

53. The computer-readable medium of claim 44, wherein reading the container indicia comprises receiving container attributes comprising at least one of a container type, a vendor identification number, a product identification number, a serial number, an expiration date, a batch number, a description, and a list of actions applied.

54. The computer-readable medium of claim 39, wherein creating the second data comprises:

receiving, at a first time, a first container containing the at least one of the plurality of objects;

reading a first object indicia corresponding to the at least one of the plurality of objects;

reading a first container indicia corresponding to the first container;

receiving, at a second time, a second container containing an other of the plurality of objects, the second time being subsequent to the first time;

reading a second object indicia corresponding to the other of the plurality of objects;

reading a second container indicia corresponding to the second container, the second container indicia containing data linking the second container to the first container;

establishing the second data in a second hierarchical data structure comprising a second data root element corresponding to the read first container indicia and a second data leaf element corresponding to the read first object indicia, the second data further comprising an other data leaf element corresponding to the read second object indicia if the difference between the first time and the second time is less than a time threshold value; and

wherein receiving the first data corresponding to the expected state of the at least one of a plurality of objects further comprises receiving the first data corresponding to the expected state of the other of the plurality of objects.

55. The computer-readable medium of claim 54, further comprising proving an update indicating a status of at least one of the first container, the second container, and the plurality of objects.

56. The computer-readable medium of claim 39, wherein comparing the first data to the second data to determine if the actual state corresponds to the expected state comprises:

determining if a first data root element included in the first data has a corresponding second data root element in the second data; and

determining if all first data leaf elements included in the first data have corresponding second data leaf elements in the second data.

57. The computer-readable medium of claim 39, further comprising transmitting a signal indicating a result of the comparison of the first data to the second data.