Managing information in a multi-hub system for collaborative planning and supply chain management

• US 7,664,688 B2
• Filed: 09/30/2003
• Issued: 02/16/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 05/23/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: E2open, LLC (E2open Parent Holdings, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: E2open Incorporated (E2open Parent Holdings, Inc.)
• Inventors: Unal, Aynur, Meehan, Michael, Clark, Gregory Scott
• Primary Examiner(s): Hamilton; Lalita M
• Application Number:
  US10/675,926
• Publication Number:
  US 20040236666A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,331 Days
• Field of Search: 705/35, 705/40, 705/44, 705/1, 709/204
• US Class Current: 705/35
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/00 Finance; Insurance; Tax strategies; Processing of corporate or income taxes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/04 Trading; Exchange, e.g. stocks, commodities, derivatives or currency exchange

Abstract

A method and system for managing information in a multi-hub system for supply chain management and collaborative planning. A technique is presented from managing communications in a multi-hub model. First, consistency of data throughout the system is maintained by limiting which entities in the supply chain have the authority to write to the data. Various techniques for determining which entity has such authority are presented. Second, the relative complexity of transactions is determined by identifying how much computer processing is required. Transactions that require little processing are handled by lightweight servers; transactions that required moderate to extensive processing are sent to heavyweight servers. The end user receives information about the transaction more rapidly because the transactions are processed more efficiently.

Claims

1. A system for electronic supply chain management and collaborative planning, including:

a plurality of local hubs, remotely coupled to each other;

a set of supply chain information stored in a database coupled to each of said local hubs, wherein said set of supply chain information comprises a common set of data distributed among each of the local hubs, said set of supply chain information comprising a plurality of data portions respectively owned by one or more business entity relatively proximate to each said local hub;

a set of regional authorities controlling access to said supply chain information, wherein each given regional authority of said set of regional authorities has authority over said at least one of said local hubs, said given regional authority controlling which of said at least one of said local hubs may write to one or more of said data portion controlled by said given regional authority;

a first server coupled to at least one of said local hubs, wherein said first server is dedicated to process a first message type that requires access to and processing of said supply chain information stored in said database;

a second server coupled to said at least one of said local hubs, wherein said second server is dedicated to process a second message type that does not require access to and processing of said supply chain information stored in said database; and

a computer program coupled to said at least one of said local hubs to receive a message generated from a client device identifying a transaction, to determine whether said message requires access to and processing of said supply chain information stored in said database based on said transaction, to send said message to said first server when said message is determined to be said first message type, and to send said message to said second server when said message is determined to be said second message type.

2. A system as in claim 1, wherein at least one of said local hubs is designated as said regional authority to control synchronization of said set of supply chain information stored at other said local hubs.

3. A system as in claim 2, wherein said set of supply chain information is synchronized by restricting which local hub in said plurality of local hubs can perform a write operation to the set of information.

4. A system as in claim 2, wherein said regional authority includes a token, wherein said token permits said regional authority to exercise control over who may write to one or more data portion.

5. A system as in claim 2, wherein the designation of said regional authority is determined by at least one of the following:

(1) subnet location, (2) class of goods, (3) proximity to a valued client, and (4) network locations as measured by geography or network location.

6. A system as in claim 2, wherein the designation of said regional authority is responsive to which local hub in said plurality of local hubs is experiencing more business activity than other local hubs in said plurality of local hubs.

7. A system as in claim 6, wherein said business activity is measured by at least one of the following:

(1) number of transactions, (2) number of units being traded, and (3) monetary value of transactions.

8. A system as in claim 1, wherein said supply chain information regards an electronic transaction performed by said local hub or a business entity that conducts business using said local hub.

14. A system as in claim 1, wherein the computer program submits the message to said given regional authority in order to write data from said message to said database.

9. A method for processing transactions at a hub for electronic supply chain management, said method including steps of:

receiving messages from at least one client device at a software module of a local hub, said local hub being one of a plurality of local hubs remotely coupled to each other via a communication network, said software module executable by a processing device, said local hub coupled to a database of information regarding supply chain management;

parsing each of said messages and determining whether each message requires access to and processing of information stored in said database;

separating each of said messages into a first type of message or a second type of message, wherein said first type of message requires access to and processing of information stored in said database, and said second type of message does not require access to and processing of information stored in said database;

sending said first type of message to a heavyweight server, wherein said heavyweight server accesses information stored in said database, processes said first type of message and said information stored in said database, and transmits data resulting from the processing of said first type of message and said information stored in said database;

sending said second type of message to a lightweight server, wherein said second type of message is transmitted from said lightweight server without accessing and processing information stored in said database;

parsing said database into data portions for which said local hub has write access authorization, and data portions for which said local hub does not have write access authorization;

for each said first type of message, determining whether said first type of message requires writing to said database, and permitting writing only to said data portions of said database for which said local hub has write access authorization; and

performing a business transaction by said local hub by said writing to said data portions of said database for which said local hub has write access authorization.

10. A method as in claim 9, further including steps of performing a series of calculations and storing a result in said database.

11. A system for electronic supply chain management and collaborative planning, including:

a plurality of local hubs, remotely coupled to each other, each of said plurality of local hubs including;

a database to store supply chain information, wherein said supply chain information comprises a common set of data distributed among each of the plurality of local hubs, said set of supply chain information comprising a plurality of data portions respectively owned by business entities relatively proximate to each said local hub;

a heavyweight server to process a first type of message that requires access to and processing of said supply chain information stored in said database; and

a lightweight server to process a second type of message that does not require access to and processing of said supply chain information stored in said database;

a first regional authority corresponding to one of said plurality of local hubs for controlling access to said supply chain information in databases associated with a first group of said plurality of local hubs, wherein said first regional authority has authority over which of said first group of said plurality of local hubs may write to one or more of said data portions controlled by said first regional authority;

a second regional authority corresponding to another one of said plurality of local hubs for controlling access to said supply chain information in databases associated with a second group of said plurality of local hubs, wherein said second regional authority has authority over which of said second group of said plurality of local hubs may write to one or more of said data portions controlled by said second regional authority; and

a communication network to communicate between said first regional authority and said second regional authority, wherein said first regional authority requests instructions for obtaining one or more of said data portions under control of said second regional authority.

12. A system as in claim 11, wherein said one of said plurality of local hubs is designated as said first regional authority and said other one of said plurality of local hubs is designated as said second regional authority based on factors selected from a group consisting of a physical region in which said first and second groups of said plurality of local hubs are located, a class of goods in databases associated with said first and second groups of said plurality of local hubs, a subnet location, a proximity to a valued client, and a network location as measured by a ping time.

13. A system for electronic supply chain management and collaborative planning, including:

a plurality of local hubs, remotely coupled to each other via a communication network and each including;

a database to store a set of information, wherein said set of information comprises a common set of data distributed among each of the local hubs, and further comprises a plurality of data portions for which respective ones of said local hubs have write authorization access;

a first server to process a first message type that requires access to and processing of said information stored in said database;

a second server to process a second message type that does not require access to and processing of said information stored in said database; and

a computer program executable by at least one of said first and second servers in response to a message from a client device identifying a transaction, to determine whether said message is said first message type or said second message type based on said transaction, to send said message to said first server when said message is determined to be said first message type, and to send said message to said second server when said message is determined to be said second message type; and

said computer program further to determine whether said message requires writing to said database and to determine a particular one of said local hubs that would write to said database, said computer program permitting writing only to the data portions of said database for which the particular one of said local hubs has write authorization access.