System for ordering items over computer network using an electronic catalog

• US 5,870,717 A
• Filed: 11/13/1995
• Issued: 02/09/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 11/13/1995
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Wiecha, Charles Francis
• Primary Examiner(s): Poinvil, Frantzy
• Application Number:
  US08/558,065
• Time in Patent Office: 1,184 Days
• Field of Search: 395/201, 395/226-228, 395/244, 379/91.01, 340/825.26-825.28, 340/825.33-825.35, 283/56, 235/378-381, 235/385, 902/22, 902/30-33, 705/1, 705/26-28, 707/1, 707/10, 707/200
• US Class Current: 705/26.81
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0629 for generating comparisons
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0635 Processing of requisition or of purchase orders
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0643 Graphical representation of items or shoppers

Abstract

Current corporate purchasing procedures are labor-intensive and therefore costly. The system enables an employee who needs an item which must be ordered from a supplier to select the item from an electronic catalog displayed on a personal computer and submit an order for approval and processing directly, by-passing both the normal paper approvals and the manual verification of the order by the organization'"'"'s Purchasing department. It achieves this by means of an electronic catalog accessible from the employee'"'"'s own personal computer, and a computer network and associated services linking the enterprise to one or more suppliers.

Claims

1. A system for electronically ordering items within an enterprise comprising:

a maintenance entity. located outside said enterprise, for receiving price and availability data from a plurality of distributors and means for receiving and processing images and text of catalog data from a plurality of catalog content providers for creating and maintaining one or more electronic master catalogs in a central location for subsequent distribution to a plurality of shadow catalog servers distributed throughout said enterprise, where said shadow servers contain data representing a customized electronic catalogue from said master catalogs, over a computer network, said maintenance entity comprises;

means for constructing said customized catalog from said master catalogs;

means for receiving a supplier'"'"'s price and catalog availability changes from a plurality of said distributors and propagating them to one or more selected buyers over said computer network;

means for receiving catalog changes from a plurality of said catalog content providers and propagating them to one or more selected buyers over said computer network;

one or more computer systems, maintained by said maintenance entity, and having means for creating and transmitting to a plurality of shadow catalog servers within said enterprise, images and text of a plurality of catalog items offered by said content provider and price and availability data from said suppliers;

said enterprise comprises;

a plurality of first end-user computer systems geographically distributed throughout said enterprise comprising a user interface and able to access disk storage on said shadow catalog server, and having means for electronically ordering said catalog items from said shadow catalog servers;

said shadow catalog servers, which comprise a second computer system whose disk storage can be accessed over a local area network by one or more first end-user'"'"'s computers;

said disk storage being used to hold and maintain (1) one or more customized electronic catalogs, and (2) internal program code comprising a Catalog Browser capable of transmitting purchase orders to a master buyer and server, and having means for allowing an end user to view said customized electronic catalog in order to facilitate comparisons between catalog items from several suppliers, and in permitting orders to be generated containing items from several suppliers;

said master buyer server comprising a third computer system located within said enterprise containing (1) purchase order workflow software comprising an order manager and a purchase order workflow which takes purchase orders from one or more end user computers and controls their flow through said enterprise'"'"'s business processes before transmitting them over a network to the supplier; and

(2) a Purchase Order data base; and

means for said master buyer server to receive information from and transmit information to said supplier.

2. A system according to claim 1, further comprising a means for specifying, subscription information comprising a mapping between a plurality of supplier'"'"'s catalog items and one or more buyers for indicating which catalog items can be propagated to each buyer'"'"'s catalog server, where said mapping is unique to each said buyer'"'"'s catalog server.

3. A system according to claim 1, further comprising a means for specifying, pricing information comprising a mapping between a plurality of supplier'"'"'s catalog items and one or more buyers for indicating which catalog items can be propagated to each buyer'"'"'s catalog server, where said mapping is unique to each said buyer'"'"'s catalog server.

4. A system according to claim 1, further comprising an EDI gateway wherein EDI transactions between one or more distributors and said maintenance entity are converted to pricing, catalog availability and purchase order transactions between one or more customers and said maintenance entity, and wherein EDI transactions between one or more suppliers and said maintenance entity are converted to catalog update transactions between one or more customers and said maintenance entity.

5. A system according to claim 1, further comprising a means for enabling said purchase order workflow software to be mapped to the business processes of an enterprise.

6. A system according to claim 1, further comprising mapping tables constructed by said maintenance entity for identifying suppliers, manufacturers, content providers, catalogs, catalog items and buyers for uniquely identifying each, whilst allowing said suppliers, manufacturers, content providers and buyers to continue to use the naming conventions established within their organizations.