Supply chain architecture
First Claim
1. A method for processing customer forecasted demands for direct material, the method comprising:
- electronically receiving customer forecasted demands for procurement of direct material to be used for production of products in accordance with the customer forecasted demands by a supply chain server from at least one customer;
electronically analyzing by the supply chain server the customer forecasted demands to determine whether the customer forecasted demands are valid, wherein said step of analyzing includes determining whether the customer forecasted demands represent a known customer, whether the customer forecasted demands comply with contractual terms, whether the customer forecasted demands are complete, whether the customer forecasted demands are accurate, whether the customer forecasted demands adhere to previous forecasts, whether the customer forecasted demands adhere to previous buying patterns, and whether the customer forecasted demands represent requests within agreed to capacities, and wherein the step of analyzing further includes at least one of identifying major shifts relative to previous weeks'"'"' forecasts, identifying major cumulative shifts in buying patterns, identifying requests outside of agreed upon capacities, and identifying supply and demand requirements relative to at least one of a start-up, an end-of-run and a plant shutdown; and
electronically sending by the supply chain server the customer forecasted demands to at least one supplier when the customer forecasted demands are determined to be valid.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A supply chain network where customers, suppliers, logistics providers, carriers, and financial institutions are all connected to a centralized supply chain server. The server receives forecasts for direct material procurement from the customers detailing the orders that the customers desire. These forecasts are analyzed by the supply chain server to ensure that they conform to contractual agreements and do not contain errors. The supply chain server sends the forecasted demands to at least one supplier after determining the forecasts are valid. The supply chain server controls the processes involved in distributing the product from the suppliers to the customers including the generation and payment of invoices. A form of financing the customers'"'"' purchases, made possible by the novel supply chain architecture, is also disclosed.
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Citations
60 Claims
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1. A method for processing customer forecasted demands for direct material, the method comprising:
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electronically receiving customer forecasted demands for procurement of direct material to be used for production of products in accordance with the customer forecasted demands by a supply chain server from at least one customer;
electronically analyzing by the supply chain server the customer forecasted demands to determine whether the customer forecasted demands are valid, wherein said step of analyzing includes determining whether the customer forecasted demands represent a known customer, whether the customer forecasted demands comply with contractual terms, whether the customer forecasted demands are complete, whether the customer forecasted demands are accurate, whether the customer forecasted demands adhere to previous forecasts, whether the customer forecasted demands adhere to previous buying patterns, and whether the customer forecasted demands represent requests within agreed to capacities, and wherein the step of analyzing further includes at least one of identifying major shifts relative to previous weeks'"'"' forecasts, identifying major cumulative shifts in buying patterns, identifying requests outside of agreed upon capacities, and identifying supply and demand requirements relative to at least one of a start-up, an end-of-run and a plant shutdown; and
electronically sending by the supply chain server the customer forecasted demands to at least one supplier when the customer forecasted demands are determined to be valid. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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30. A system for processing customer forecasted demands, the system composing:
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a supply chain server coupled to at least one customer and at least one supplier, the supply chain server including a messaging services system and an ERP system;
wherein;
the messaging services system electronically receives customer forecasted demands for procurement of direct material to be used for production of products in accordance with the customer forecasted demands from the at least one customer;
the ERP system electronically analyzes the customer forecasted demands received by the messaging services system to determine whether the customer forecasted demands are valid, by determining whether the customer forecasted demands represent a known customer, whether the customer forecasted demands comply with contractual terms, whether the customer forecasted demands are complete, whether the customer forecasted demands are accurate, whether the customer forecasted demands adhere to previous forecasts, whether the customer forecasted demands adhere to previous buying patterns, and whether the customer forecasted demands represent requests within agreed to capacities, and by at least one of identifying major shifts relative to previous weeks'"'"' forecasts, identifying major cumulative shifts in buying patterns, identifying requests outside of agreed upon capacities, and identifying supply and demand requirements relative to at least one of a start-up, an end-of-run and a plant shutdown; and
the messaging system electronically sends the customer forecasted demands to the at least one supplier when the customer forecasted demands are determined to be valid. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58)
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59. A method for processing customer forecasted demands for direct material, the method comprising:
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electronically receiving customer forecasted demands for procurement of direct material to be used for production of products in accordance with the customer forecasted demands by a supply chain server from at least one customer;
electronically converting the customer forecasted demands from a first data format to a second data format;
electronically analyzing by the supply chain server the converted customer forecasted demands to determine whether the converted customer forecasted demands are valid, wherein the step of analyzing includes determining of whether the converted customer forecasted demands represent a known customer, whether the converted customer forecasted demands comply with contractual terms, whether the converted customer forecasted demands are complete, whether the converted customer forecasted demands are accurate, whether the converted customer forecasted demands adhere to previous forecasts, whether the converted customer forecasted demands adhere to previous buying patterns, and whether the converted customer forecasted demands represent requests within agreed-to capacities, and wherein the step of analyzing further includes at least one of identifying major shifts relative to previous weeks'"'"' forecasts, identifying major cumulative shifts in buying patterns, identifying requests outside of agreed upon capacities, and identifying supply and demand requirements relative to at least one of a start-up, an end-of-run and a plant shutdown;
electronically determining whether each respective customer represented in each customer'"'"'s respective converted forecasted demand has an approved credit standing after each customer'"'"'s respective converted forecasted demands are determined to be valid;
electronically transmitting an error notification to any customer associated with a converted forecasted demand determined not to be valid or any customer determined riot to have an approved credit standing; and
electronically sending by the supply chain server the valid converted customer forecasted demands to at least one supplier for each customer determined to have an approved credit standing. - View Dependent Claims (60)
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Specification