Managing Consistent Interfaces for Business Objects Across Heterogeneous Systems

• US 20090248473A1
• Filed: 03/31/2008
• Published: 10/01/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SAP SE
• Original Assignee: SAP AG (SAP SE)
• Inventors: Hald, Christian, Paul, Andreas, Seibel, Andreas, Hambrecht, Kerstin, Schneider, Thomas, Lanzer, Udo, Corbeil, Jean, Mohammadian, Maryam, Bommer, Harald, Scheerer, Dieter, Doenig, Susanne, Rajamohan, Devasena
• Granted Patent: US 8,423,418 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/8
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/063 Operations research, analysis or management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/067 Enterprise or organisation modelling

Abstract

A business object model, which reflects data that is used during a given business transaction, is utilized to generate interfaces. This business object model facilitates commercial transactions by providing consistent interfaces that are suitable for use across industries, across businesses, and across different departments within a business during a business transaction. In some operations, software creates, updates, or otherwise processes information related to a store and/or a work center business object.

Claims

1. A computer readable medium including program code for providing a message-based interface for performing a store service, the service exposing at least one service as defined in a service registry, wherein upon execution the program code executes in an environment of computer systems providing message-based services and comprises:

program code for receiving, from a service consumer, a first message for processing information for an operational unit at a location where retail processes with respect to consumers are executed;

program code for invoking a store business object, wherein the business object is a logically centralized, semantically disjointed object for representing an operational unit at a location where retail processes with respect to consumers are executed, and comprises data logically organized as;

a store root node;

a description subordinate node;

a location subordinate node and wherein the location node contains;

a location address subordinate node;

a supplying branch subordinate node; and

a price level subordinate node and wherein the price level node contains;

a price level product category subordinate node; and

program code for initiating transmission of a message to a heterogeneous second application, executing in the environment of computer systems providing message-based services, based on the data in the store business object, the message comprising a store supplying branch request message entity, a message header package, and a store package.

7. The program code of claim 1, wherein processing includes creating, updating and/or retrieving.

2. A computer readable medium including program code for providing a message-based interface for performing a store service, the service exposing at least one service as defined in a service registry, wherein upon execution the program code executes in an environment of computer systems providing message-based services and comprises:

program code for initiating transmission of a message to a heterogeneous second application, executing in the environment of computer systems providing message-based services, based on data in a store business object invoked by the second application, wherein the business object is a logically centralized, semantically disjointed object for representing an operational unit at a location where retail processes with respect to consumers are executed, and comprises data logically organized as;

a store root node;

a description subordinate node;

a location subordinate node and wherein the location node contains;

a location address subordinate node;

a supplying branch subordinate node; and

a price level subordinate node and wherein the price level node contains;

a price level product category subordinate node;

and the message comprising a store supplying branch request message entity, a message header package, and a store package; and

program code for receiving a second message from the second application, the second message associated with the invoked store business object and in response to the first message.

3. A distributed system operating in a landscape of computer systems providing message-based services, the system processing business objects involving creating, updating and retrieving information for an operational unit at a location where retail processes with respect to consumers are executed and comprising:

memory storing a business object repository storing a plurality of business objects, wherein each business object is a logically centralized, semantically disjointed object and at least one of the business objects is for representing an operational unit at a location where retail processes with respect to consumers are executed, and comprises data logically organized as;

a store root node;

a description subordinate node;

a location subordinate node and wherein the location node contains;

a location address subordinate node;

a supplying branch subordinate node; and

a price level subordinate node and wherein the price level node contains;

a price level product category subordinate node; and

a graphical user interface remote from the memory for presenting data associated with an invoked instance of the store business object, the interface comprising computer readable instructions embodied on tangible media.

4. A computer readable medium including program code for providing a message-based interface for performing a work center service, the service exposing at least one service as defined in a service registry, wherein upon execution the program code executes in an environment of computer systems providing message-based services and comprises:

program code for receiving, from a service consumer, a first message for processing information related to work centers;

program code for invoking a work center business object, wherein the business object is a logically centralized, semantically disjointed object for representing the scheduling, capacity planning and costing relevant data within an operation, and comprises data logically organized as;

a work center root node;

a description subordinate node;

a cost center assignment subordinate node; and

a capacity and scheduling specification subordinate node and wherein the capacity and scheduling specification node contains;

a capacity and scheduling specification variance per period subordinate node and wherein the capacity and scheduling specification variance per period node contains;

a capacity and scheduling specification variance per period operating hours subordinate node; and

program code for initiating transmission of a message to a heterogeneous second application, executing in the environment of computer systems providing message-based services, based on the data in the work center business object, the message comprising a work center enterprise resource planning by ID query message entity, a work center package, and a log package.

5. A computer readable medium including program code for providing a message-based interface for performing a work center service, the service exposing at least one service as defined in a service registry, wherein upon execution the program code executes in an environment of computer systems providing message-based services and comprises:

program code for initiating transmission of a message to a heterogeneous second application, executing in the environment of computer systems providing message-based services, based on data in a work center business object invoked by the second application, wherein the business object is a logically centralized, semantically disjointed object for representing the scheduling, capacity planning and costing relevant data within an operation, and comprises data logically organized as;

a work center root node;

a description subordinate node;

a cost center assignment subordinate node; and

a capacity and scheduling specification subordinate node and wherein the capacity and scheduling specification node contains;

a capacity and scheduling specification variance per period subordinate node and wherein the capacity and scheduling specification variance per period node contains;

a capacity and scheduling specification variance per period operating hours subordinate node;

and the message comprising a work center enterprise resource planning by ID query message entity, a work center package and a log package; and

program code for receiving a second message from the second application, the second message associated with the invoked work center business object and in response to the first message.

6. A distributed system operating in a landscape of computer systems providing message-based services, the system processing business objects involving creating, updating and retrieving information related to work centers, including scheduling, capacity planning and costing relevant data within an operation and comprising:

memory storing a business object repository storing a plurality of business objects, wherein each business object is a logically centralized, semantically disjointed object of a particular business object type and at least one of the business objects is for representing the scheduling, capacity planning and costing relevant data within an operation, and comprises data logically organized as;

a work center root node;

a description subordinate node;

a cost center assignment subordinate node; and

a capacity and scheduling specification subordinate node and wherein the capacity and scheduling specification node contains;

a capacity and scheduling specification variance per period subordinate node and wherein the capacity and scheduling specification variance per period node contains;

a capacity and scheduling specification variance per period operating hours subordinate node; and

a graphical user interface remote from the memory for presenting data associated with an invoked instance of the work center business object, the interface comprising computer readable instructions embodied on tangible media.