Business transaction management

• US 8,046,238 B2
• Filed: 12/20/2001
• Issued: 10/25/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 12/20/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Accenture Global Services Limited (Accenture PLC)
• Original Assignee: Accenture Global Services Limited (Accenture PLC)
• Inventors: Kilmer, Burrell G., Jordan, Kyle K., Saffell, Timothy J., Solomon, Stuart J., Anderson, Stewart J. J., Hendershot, Benjamin J., Mehok, Matthew W., Wells, Casey C.
• Primary Examiner(s): BORISSOV, IGOR N
• Application Number:
  US10/027,664
• Publication Number:
  US 20040015435A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,596 Days
• Field of Search: 705/1, 705/7, 705/8, 705/9, 705/10, 705/11, 705/26, 705/27, 705/30, 705/34, 705/35, 705/36, 705/39, 705/40, 705/400, 705/80, 705/1.1, 705/28, 705/29, 705/32, 705/42, 705/412, 705/413
• US Class Current: 705/1.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0631 Resource planning, allocation, distributing or scheduling for enterprises or organisations
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/10 specially adapted for electronic funds transfer [EFT] systems; specially adapted for home banking systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/04 Billing or invoicing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/12 Accounting

Abstract

A method and system of managing business transactions includes receiving at least one business transaction, determining whether the business transaction satisfies at least one configurable business rule, and establishing a subsequent business transaction based on the results.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving electronically, at a computer system, a first transaction record from an energy supplier that is located in a first jurisdiction and that supplies energy to customers in an energy market, the first transaction record being received according to a first protocol, and the first transaction record having a first format and including first transaction data stored in the first format and describing a customer enrollment transaction between the energy supplier and a customer located in a second jurisdiction;

converting, by the computer system, the first transaction data from the first format into a second format;

configuring business rules based on the first jurisdiction of the energy supplier and the second jurisdiction of the customer, the configured business rules being appropriate for handling transactions in accordance with jurisdictional requirements for energy transactions engaged in by the energy supplier;

accessing, from among the configured business rules by the computer system and based on information in the first transaction record, a first business rule describing a response business transaction expected to be completed between the energy supplier and the customer in response to the customer enrollment transaction, the first business rule including an acceptable time period in which the response business transaction is required to be completed to comply with jurisdictional requirements imposed by the first jurisdiction of the energy supplier and the second jurisdiction of the customer;

receiving, by the computer system, a second transaction record from the energy supplier including second transaction data describing completion of the response business transaction and including a time attribute related to a time of completion of the response business transaction;

processing, by the computer system, the second transaction record using the first business rule, the processing including;

based on the time attribute included in the second transaction record received from the energy supplier, determining a time period between completion of the customer enrollment transaction between the energy supplier and the customer and completion of the response business transaction between the energy supplier and the customer;

comparing the determined time period with the acceptable time period included in the first business rule;

based on comparison results, determining, by the computer system, whether the response business transaction between the energy supplier and the customer was completed within the acceptable time period; and

processing the second transaction record based on whether the response business transaction between the energy supplier and the customer was completed within the acceptable time period;

tracking, by the computer system, information related to business transactions between the energy supplier and the customer to identify a schedule of recurring transactions that occur in a lifecycle of business between the energy supplier and the customer;

determining, by the computer system and in response to processing the second transaction record, a next expected energy usage business transaction between the energy supplier and the customer and a second time period of when the next expected energy usage business transaction is expected to be received based on the tracked schedule of recurring transactions that occur in the lifecycle of business between the energy supplier and the customer;

storing, by the computer system, at least some portions of the first transaction record and the second transaction record; and

displaying the results of the processing and storing, by the computer system, to at least one of the energy supplier and the customer.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein:

receiving the second transaction record from the energy supplier comprises receiving the second transaction record according to the first protocol, with the second transaction record having the first format and including the second transaction data stored in the first format and describing the response business transaction between the energy supplier and the customer; and

processing the second transaction record comprises;

converting the second transaction data from the first format into the second format;

determining in an automated manner whether the first business rule is satisfied by the second transaction data;

accessing, when the first business rule is satisfied, a second business rule configured by the energy supplier and describing a third transaction expected to be completed between the energy supplier and the customer in response to the response business transaction; and

receiving a third transaction record from the energy supplier including third transaction data describing completion of the third transaction.

3. The method of claim 2 further comprising repeating the operations of converting, determining, accessing, and receiving from claim 2 for a series of successive transactions between the energy supplier and the customer, each of the series of successive transactions between the energy supplier and the customer identifying a succeeding transaction in the series through a business rule.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein:

receiving the second transaction record from the energy supplier comprises receiving the second transaction record according to the first protocol, with the second transaction record having the first format and including the second transaction data stored in the first format and describing the response business transaction between the energy supplier and the customer; and

processing the second transaction record comprises;

converting the second transaction data from the first format into the second format;

determining whether the first business rule is satisfied by the second transaction data; and

informing the energy supplier of whether the first business rule is satisfied.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein determining whether the first business rule is satisfied comprises determining whether the second transaction was completed within a time period required by the first business rule.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

receiving a third transaction record from the energy supplier, the third transaction record being received according to the first protocol, and the third transaction record having the first format and including third transaction data stored in the first format and describing a completed third transaction between the energy supplier and the customer;

converting the third transaction data from the first format into the second format;

determining that the third transaction is an unexpected transaction, an unexpected transaction being a transaction that is expected to succeed a given transaction that has not been completed; and

informing the energy supplier that the third transaction is an unexpected transaction.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

receiving a third transaction record from another energy supplier, the third transaction record being received according to another protocol, and the third transaction record having another format and including third transaction data stored in the other format and describing a completed third transaction between the other energy supplier and another customer;

converting the third transaction data from the other format into the second format;

accessing, based on information in the third transaction record, a third business rule configured by the other energy supplier and describing a fourth transaction expected to be completed between the other energy supplier and the other customer in response to the completed third transaction; and

receiving a fourth transaction record from the other energy supplier including fourth transaction data describing completion of the fourth transaction.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein receiving the fourth transaction record comprises receiving the fourth transaction record according to the other protocol, with the fourth transaction record including the fourth transaction data stored in the other format and describing a completed fourth transaction between the other energy supplier and the other customer, the method further comprising:

converting the fourth transaction data from the other format into the second format;

determining, by the computer system, whether the third business rule is satisfied by the fourth transaction data;

accessing, based on whether the third business rule is satisfied, a fourth business rule configured by the other energy supplier and describing a fifth transaction expected to be completed between the other energy supplier and the other customer in response to the completed fourth transaction; and

receiving a fifth transaction record from the other energy supplier including fifth transaction data describing completion of the fifth transaction.

9. The method of claim 8 further comprising repeating the operations of converting, determining, accessing, and receiving from claim 8 for a series of successive transactions between the other energy supplier and the other customer, each of the series of successive transactions between the other energy supplier and the other customer identifying a succeeding transaction in the series through a business rule.

10. The method of claim 3 further comprising:

receiving a fourth transaction record from another energy supplier, the fourth transaction record being received according to another protocol, and the fourth transaction record having another format and including fourth transaction data stored in the other format and describing a completed fourth transaction between the other energy supplier and other customer;

converting the fourth transaction data from the another format into the second format;

accessing, based on information in the fourth transaction record, a fourth business rule configured by the other energy supplier and describing a fifth transaction expected to be completed between the other energy supplier and the other customer in response to the completed fourth transaction;

receiving a fifth transaction record from the other energy supplier including fifth transaction data describing completion of the fifth transaction;

receiving the fifth transaction record from the other energy supplier, the fifth transaction record being received according to the other protocol, and the fifth transaction record having the other format and including the fifth transaction data stored in the other format and describing a completed fifth transaction between the other energy supplier and the other customer;

converting the fifth transaction data from the other format into the second format;

determining, by the computer system, whether the fourth business rule is satisfied by the fifth transaction data;

accessing, based on whether the fourth business rule is satisfied, a fifth business rule configured by the other energy supplier and describing a sixth transaction expected to be completed between the other energy supplier and the other customer in response to the completed fifth transaction;

receiving a sixth transaction record from the other energy supplier including sixth transaction data describing completion of the sixth transaction; and

repeating the operations of receiving a transaction record of an expected transaction, converting a format of the transaction record of the expected transaction to a second format, determining whether the transaction record of the expected transaction satisfies a business rule, accessing a further business rule describing a further transaction expected to be completed, and receiving a transaction record for the further expected transaction, for a series of successive transactions between the other energy supplier and the other customer, each of the series of successive transactions between the other energy supplier and the other customer identifying a succeeding transaction in the series through a business rule.

11. The method of claim 3 further comprising receiving from the energy supplier an update for the first business rule and applying the updated first business rule to future transaction completed between the energy supplier and the customer.

12. The method of claim 3 further comprising providing the energy supplier electronic access to transaction records for the series of successive transactions.

13. The method of claim 1 wherein processing the second transaction record based on whether the second transaction between the energy supplier and the customer was completed within the acceptable time period comprises:

conditioned on the second transaction between the energy supplier and the customer not being completed within the acceptable time period;

processing the second transaction record;

sending a message to the energy supplier indicating that the second transaction between the energy supplier and the customer was not completed within the acceptable time period; and

storing a record indicating that the second transaction between the energy supplier and the customer was not completed within the acceptable time period.

15. The method of claim 1 further comprising using the tracked schedule of recurring transactions that occur in the lifecycle of business between the energy supplier and the customer to ensure that appropriate business transactions are processed at right times by appropriate energy suppliers and appropriate customers.

16. The method of claim 1:

wherein tracking information related to business transactions between the energy supplier and the customer to identify a schedule of recurring transactions that occur in a lifecycle of business between the energy supplier and the customer comprises tracking business transactions that have occurred between the energy supplier and the customer to predict future transactions that are expected to occur in the lifecycle of business between the energy supplier and the customer; and

determining a next expected energy usage business transaction between the energy supplier and the customer and a second time period of when the next expected energy usage business transaction is expected to be received based on the tracked schedule of recurring transactions that occur in the lifecycle of business between the organization energy supplier and the customer comprises setting the next expected energy usage business transaction between the energy supplier and the customer in accordance with the predicted future transactions that are expected to occur in the lifecycle of business between the energy supplier and the customer.

17. The method of claim 1:

wherein tracking information related to business transactions between the energy supplier and the customer to identify a schedule of recurring transactions that occur in a lifecycle of business between the energy supplier and the customer comprises tracking time periods of business transactions that have occurred between the energy supplier and the customer to identify a timing schedule of transactions that have occurred in the lifecycle of business between the energy supplier and the customer; and

determining a next expected energy usage business transaction between the energy supplier and the customer and a second time period of when the next expected energy usage business transaction is expected to be received based on the tracked schedule of recurring transactions that occur in the lifecycle of business between the energy supplier and the customer comprises determining the second time period of when the next expected energy usage business transaction is expected to be received based on the tracked timing schedule of transactions that have occurred in the lifecycle of business between the energy supplier and the customer and providing an exception condition when the next expected energy usage business transaction is not completed within the second time period.

18. The method of claim 1 wherein tracking information related to business transactions between the energy supplier and the customer to identify a schedule of recurring transactions that occur in a lifecycle of business between the energy supplier and the customer comprises monitoring a sequence of business transactions over a course of a lifecycle of a business process between the energy supplier and the customer.

19. The method of claim 1 further comprising matching a request business transaction with a corresponding response business transaction in order to determine whether the request business transaction and the corresponding response business transaction have satisfied the tracked schedule of recurring transactions that occur in the lifecycle of business between the energy supplier and the customer.

14. A computer readable storage medium having embodied thereon a computer program, the computer program comprising instructions for:

receiving electronically, at a computer system, a first transaction record from an energy supplier that is located in a first jurisdiction and that supplies energy to customers in an energy market, the first transaction record being received according to a first protocol, and the first transaction record having a first format and including first transaction data stored in the first format and describing a customer enrollment transaction between the energy supplier and a customer located in a second jurisdiction;

converting, by the computer system, the first transaction data from the first format into a second format;

configuring business rules based on the first jurisdiction of the energy supplier and the second jurisdiction of the customer, the configured business rules being appropriate for handling transactions in accordance with jurisdictional requirements for energy transactions engaged in by the energy supplier;

accessing, from among the configured business rules by the computer system and based on information in the first transaction record, a first business rule describing a response business transaction expected to be completed between the energy supplier and the customer in response to the customer enrollment transaction, the first business rule including an acceptable time period in which the response business transaction is required to be completed to comply with jurisdictional requirements imposed by the first jurisdiction of the energy supplier and the second jurisdiction of the customer;

receiving, by the computer system, a second transaction record from the energy supplier including second transaction data describing completion of the response business transaction and including a time attribute related to a time of completion of the response business transaction;

processing, by the computer system, the second transaction record using the first business rule, the processing including;

based on the time attribute included in the second transaction record received from the energy supplier, determining a time period between completion of the customer enrollment transaction between the energy supplier and the customer and completion of the response business transaction between the energy supplier and the customer;

comparing the determined time period with the acceptable time period included in the first business rule;

based on comparison results, determining, by the computer system, whether the response business transaction between the energy supplier and the customer was completed within the acceptable time period; and

processing the second transaction record based on whether the response business transaction between the energy supplier and the customer was completed within the acceptable time period;

tracking, by the computer system, information related to business transactions between the energy supplier and the customer to identify a schedule of recurring transactions that occur in a lifecycle of business between the energy supplier and the customer;

determining, by the computer system and in response to processing the second transaction record, a next expected energy usage business transaction between the energy supplier and the customer and a second time period of when the next expected energy usage business transaction is expected to be received based on the tracked schedule of recurring transactions that occur in the lifecycle of business between the energy supplier and the customer;

storing, by the computer system, at least some portions of the first transaction record and the second transaction record; and

displaying the results of the processing and storing, by the computer system, to at least one of the energy supplier and the customer.

20. A computer system comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory coupled to the at least one processor having stored thereon instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, causes the at least one processor to perform operations comprising;

receiving electronically a first transaction record from an energy supplier that is located in a first jurisdiction and that supplies energy to customers in an energy market, the first transaction record being received according to a first protocol, and the first transaction record having a first format and including first transaction data stored in the first format and describing a customer enrollment transaction between the energy supplier and a customer located in a second jurisdiction;

converting the first transaction data from the first format into a second format;

configuring business rules based on the first jurisdiction of the energy supplier and the second jurisdiction of the customer, the configured business rules being appropriate for handling transactions in accordance with jurisdictional requirements for energy transactions engaged in by the energy supplier;

accessing, from among the configured business rules and based on information in the first transaction record, a first business rule describing a response business transaction expected to be completed between the energy supplier and the customer in response to the customer enrollment transaction, the first business rule including an acceptable time period in which the response business transaction is required to be completed to comply with jurisdictional requirements imposed by the first jurisdiction of the energy supplier and the second jurisdiction of the customer;

receiving, by the computer system, a second transaction record from the energy supplier including second transaction data describing completion of the response business transaction and including a time attribute related to a time of completion of the response business transaction;

processing, by the computer system, the second transaction record using the first business rule, the processing including;

based on the time attribute included in the second transaction record received from the energy supplier, determining a time period between completion of the customer enrollment transaction between the energy supplier and the customer and completion of the response business transaction between the energy supplier and the customer;

comparing the determined time period with the acceptable time period included in the first business rule;

based on comparison results, determining, by the computer system, whether the response business transaction between the energy supplier and the customer was completed within the acceptable time period; and

processing the second transaction record based on whether the response business transaction between the energy supplier and the customer was completed within the acceptable time period;

tracking, by the computer system, information related to business transactions between the energy supplier and the customer to identify a schedule of recurring transactions that occur in a lifecycle of business between the energy supplier and the customer;

determining, by the computer system and in response to processing the second transaction record, a next expected energy usage business transaction between the energy supplier and the customer and a second time period of when the next expected energy usage business transaction is expected to be received based on the tracked schedule of recurring transactions that occur in the lifecycle of business between the energy supplier and the customer;

storing, by the computer system, at least some portions of the first transaction record and the second transaction record; and

displaying the results of the processing and storing, by the computer system, to at least one of the energy supplier and the customer.