Method and program product for event monitoring

• US 7,647,250 B2
• Filed: 03/04/2005
• Issued: 01/12/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 03/08/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SAP SE
• Original Assignee: SAP AG (SAP SE)
• Inventors: Welter, Markus, Abo-Hasna, Ziad, Ullrich, Chantal
• Primary Examiner(s): Smith; Jeffrey A.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Allen; William J.
• Application Number:
  US11/071,982
• Publication Number:
  US 20050203817A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,775 Days
• Field of Search: 705/1, 705 26- 29
• US Class Current: 705/27.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/083 Shipping
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0833 Tracking
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0251 Targeted advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0252 based on events or environment, e.g. weather or festivals
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/04 Billing or invoicing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0635 Processing of requisition or of purchase orders
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0641 Shopping interfaces

Abstract

An event management method, program product and system for monitoring the status of a purchase order involves receiving purchase order information from a user, obtaining timeline information corresponding to the purchase order, receiving information from one or more sources on the status of the purchase order, using the received information to monitor progress of the purchase order against the timeline information, and providing a notification to the user upon identification of a missed date in the timeline information. Remedial measures are suggested or taken by the event management system.

Claims

1. An event management method for monitoring a status of a purchase order using an event monitoring system, the method comprising:

receiving by the event monitoring system purchase order information;

obtaining by the event monitoring system a first event comprising a vendor production end date;

obtaining by the event monitoring system a second event comprising a departure date of goods from a vendor;

obtaining by the event monitoring system a third event comprising an arrival date of goods at a destination;

obtaining by the event monitoring system a fourth event comprising a goods received date at a distribution center;

obtaining by the event monitoring system a fifth event comprising a received date of goods at a store;

obtaining by the event monitoring system a sixth event comprising a presentation date of goods at the store;

receiving by the event monitoring system information from one or more sources on the status of the purchase order;

using by the event monitoring system the received information to monitor the status of the purchase order against the first event, the second event, the third event, the fourth event, the fifth event, and the sixth event;

providing by the event monitoring system a first notification based on missing one or more of the first through sixth events;

generating by the event monitoring system a first list of a plurality of remedial measures based on the first notification and a first activity profile of a first vendor, the first activity profile includes rules for selecting which remedial measures may be utilized for the first vendor; and

storing the first notification in a business warehouse.

2. The event management method according to claim 1, wherein a first event date, a second event date, a third event date, a fourth event date, a fifth event date, and a sixth event date are generated based on product specific historical data.

3. The event management method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of triggering deployment of an advertising campaign based on the occurrence of one or more of the first through sixth events.

4. The event management method according to claim 1, wherein the step of receiving information further comprises connecting with computers at the one or more sources using a standard communication protocol and interface.

5. The event management method according to claim 1, wherein the first activity profile comprises data relating to local law procedures.

6. The event management method according to claim 1, further comprising generating a second list of a plurality of remedial measures based on a second notification.

7. The event management method according to claim 6, further comprising generating a third list of a plurality of remedial measures by selecting remedial measures from the second list based on a second activity profile of a second vendor, wherein the second activity profile includes rules for selecting which remedial measures may be utilized based on the second vendor.

8. The event management method according to claim 1, wherein activity profiles vary for each vendor.

9. The event management method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of automatically taking one or more remedial measures.

10. The event management method according to claim 1, further comprising generating a time line.

11. The event management method according to claim 10, wherein the timeline is based on extracting information from the purchase order information.

12. The event management method according to claim 10, wherein the timeline is based on accessing a database and retrieving timeline information.

13. The event management method according to claim 1, wherein the first list of the plurality of remedial measures comprises canceling the purchase order.

14. The event management method according to claim 13, wherein the first list of the plurality of remedial measures comprises providing the first vendor with a predetermined time period to remedy a missed event.

15. The event management method according to claim 13, wherein the first list of the plurality of remedial measures comprises a first remedial measure and a second remedial measure, wherein the first remedial measure and the second remedial measure are different types of remedial measures.

16. A program product recorded on a physical medium, the physical medium being selected from the group consisting of RAM, ROM, EPROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM, optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage, or other magnetic storage devices and readable by a computer for event management, the program product comprising machine-readable program code for causing, when executed, one or more machines to implement:

receiving by an event monitoring system purchase order information;

obtaining by the event monitoring system a first event comprising a vendor production end date;

obtaining by the event monitoring system a second event comprising a departure date of goods from a vendor;

obtaining by the event monitoring system a third event comprising an arrival date of goods at a destination;

obtaining by the event monitoring system a fourth event comprising a goods received date at a distribution center;

obtaining by the event monitoring system a fifth event comprising a received date of goods at a store;

obtaining by the event monitoring system a sixth event comprising a presentation date of goods at the store;

receiving by the event monitoring system information from one or more sources on the status of the purchase order;

using by the event monitoring system the received information to monitor the status of the purchase order against the first event, the second event, the third event, the fourth event, the fifth event, and the sixth event;

providing by the event monitoring system a first notification based on missing one or more of the first through sixth events;

generating by the event monitoring system a first list of a plurality of remedial measures based on the first notification and a first activity profile of a first vendor, the first activity profile includes rules for selecting which remedial measures may be utilized for the first vendor; and

storing the first notification in a business warehouse.

17. The program product according to claim 16, further comprising the step of triggering deployment of an advertising campaign based on the occurrence of one or more of the first through sixth events.

18. The program product according to claim 16, wherein the first activity profile comprises data relating to local law procedures.

19. The program product according to claim 18, further comprising generating a second list of a plurality of remedial measures based on a second notification.

20. The program product according to claim 19, further comprising generating a third list of a plurality of remedial measures by selecting remedial measures from the second list based on a second activity profile of a second vendor, wherein the second activity profile includes rules for selecting which remedial measures may be utilized based on the second vendor.