Dynamic criteria based line-grouping mechanism and method for purchase order generation
First Claim
1. A method for automatically generating purchase orders in a computer implemented procurement system, comprising:
- accessing a user modifiable configuration file comprising a selected list of criteria on which line items are to be sorted into purchase orders;
modifying the selected list of criteria in response to user input;
traversing a list of line items associated with a requisition, each line item comprising an item description and criteria data, and automatically grouping said line items of said list into purchase orders wherein all items of a given purchase order have matching criteria data with respect to any criteria of said modified list of criteria;
storing results of said grouping into a line group data structure that is mapped to said requisition, wherein the line group data structure indicates one or more groups of one or more line items according to the results of said grouping; and
generating separate purchase orders according to said line group data structure.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A mechanism and method for dynamic criteria-based line grouping for generating purchase orders within a software procurement system. The software system includes a data structure containing line items of a requisition. Each line item contains criteria that can be used to sort the line item to a particular purchase order, e.g., the criteria could include (1) information regarding the supplier, (2) the billed-to address, (3) the send-to address and (4) the currency used to purchase the line item. A configuration file (LGU file) contains the criteria by which the line items are sorted into purchase orders. This configuration can be dynamically altered by the user at any time thereby altering the manner in which the line items are sorted into purchase orders. A line_group table indicates which line items are grouped within a particular purchase order based on the dynamic configuration of the LGU file. A order_header table relates a line_group table to a requisition. A “host PO” object exists within a line_group table and can represent all line items of a requisition for efficient line item processing.
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Citations
27 Claims
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1. A method for automatically generating purchase orders in a computer implemented procurement system, comprising:
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accessing a user modifiable configuration file comprising a selected list of criteria on which line items are to be sorted into purchase orders; modifying the selected list of criteria in response to user input; traversing a list of line items associated with a requisition, each line item comprising an item description and criteria data, and automatically grouping said line items of said list into purchase orders wherein all items of a given purchase order have matching criteria data with respect to any criteria of said modified list of criteria; storing results of said grouping into a line group data structure that is mapped to said requisition, wherein the line group data structure indicates one or more groups of one or more line items according to the results of said grouping; and generating separate purchase orders according to said line group data structure. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A system, comprising a bus coupled to a processor and a memory coupled to said bus, said memory comprising instructions that when executed implement a method for automatically generating purchase orders in a computer procurement system, said method comprising:
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accessing a user modifiable configuration file comprising a selected list of criteria on which line items are to be sorted into purchase orders; modifying the selected list of criteria in response to user input; traversing a list of line items associated with a requisition, each line item comprising an item description and criteria data, and automatically grouping said line items of said list into purchase orders wherein all items of a given purchase order have matching criteria data with respect to any criteria of said modified list of criteria; storing results of said grouping into a line group data structure that is mapped to said requisition, wherein the line group data structure indicates one or more groups of one or more line items according to the results of said grouping; and generating separate purchase orders according to said line group data structure. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A method for automatically generating purchase orders in a computer implemented procurement system, comprising:
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accessing a user modifiable configuration file comprising a selected list of criteria on which line items are to be sorted into purchase orders; allowing a user to perform electronic commerce to establish an electronic shopping cart associated with a requisition, said electronic shopping cart comprising a list of line items wherein each line item comprises an item description and criteria data; modifying the selected list of criteria in response to user input; automatically grouping said line items of said list into purchase orders wherein all items of a given purchase order have matching criteria data with respect to any criteria of said modified list of criteria; storing results of said grouping into a line group data structure that is mapped to said requisition via an order header data structure, wherein the line group data structure indicates one or more groups of one or more line items according to the results of said grouping; and generating separate purchase orders according to said line group data structure. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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Specification