Architectural design for service request and order management application software

• US 8,595,077 B2
• Filed: 09/18/2008
• Issued: 11/26/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 09/18/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SAP SE
• Original Assignee: SAP AG (SAP SE)
• Inventors: Koegler, Alexander, Moghaddam, Hamid, Barnbeck, Joachim, Lesk, Michael, Schwarz, Matthias, Haas, Christian, Dieterich, Simon, Mark, Alexandra, Meiswinkel, Ralph, Orban, Attila, May, Bernhard, Hartig, Steffen, Breitling, Thomas, Dreidemy, Olivier M., Pachter, Nir, Kull, Irena, Reinelt, Klaus, Hirth, Jochen, Steinbach, Jochen, Colle, Renzo, Hetzer, Stephan, Krasinskiy, Alexander, Hahn, Andrea
• Primary Examiner(s): Airapetian, Mila
• Application Number:
  US12/233,462
• Publication Number:
  US 20100070331A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,895 Days
• Field of Search: 705/26, 705/27
• US Class Current: 705/26.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/08 Logistics, e.g. warehousing, loading or distribution; Inventory or stock management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0875 Itemisation or classification of parts, supplies or services, e.g. bill of materials
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/04 Billing or invoicing

Abstract

Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer program products, for implementing a software architecture design for a software application implementing service request and order management. The application is structured as multiple process components interacting with each other through service interfaces, and multiple service operations, each being implemented for a respective process component. The process components include an Outbound Delivery process component, a Site Logistics Processing process component, an Inventory Processing process component, a Customer Requirement Processing process component, a Supply and Demand Matching process component, a Logistics Execution Control process component, a Service Request Processing process component, a Service Order Processing process component, and a Service Confirmation Processing process component.

Claims

1. A computer program product comprising application software encoded on a tangible machine readable information carrier, the application software being structured as process components interacting with each other through service interfaces, the software comprising:

a plurality of process components, each of the process components being a package of software implementing a respective and distinct business process, the plurality of process components including;

a service request processing process component that logs and resolves service requests concerning issues that customers have with regard to products;

a service order processing process component that handles the creation, planning, and fulfillment of service orders, to be executed by a service engineer at customer site for an agreed price;

a service confirmation processing process component that reports back actual times and quantities for services provided, and spare parts consumed related to the execution of a service order;

a customer requirement processing process component that controls customer requirements in the supply chain, involving checking material availability, receiving, preparing, and passing customer requirements on to supply planning and logistics, and providing feedback on fulfillment;

an accounting process component that represents relevant business transactions for valuation and profitability analysis;

a supply and demand matching process component that manages all the tasks necessary to ensure that sufficient material receipt elements exist to cover material demand while taking available capacity into account; and

a logistics execution control process component that handles the creation, controlling, and monitoring of the supply chain execution activities for the fulfillment of an order on a macro-logistics level, triggers site logistics activities and receives information about the supply chain execution progress; and

a plurality of service operations, each service operation being implemented for a respective process component, the operations comprising inbound and outbound operations, the outbound operation for a first process component being operable to send a message to a second process component of the plurality of process components, the second process component having an inbound operation for receiving the message, the passing of messages between an inbound and an outbound operation defining a message based pair wise interaction between the respective process components of the respective operations, the pair-wise interactions between pairs of the process components including interactions between;

the service request processing process component and the accounting process component;

the service request processing process component and a customer invoice processing process component;

the service order processing process component and the customer invoice processing process component;

the service order processing process component and the accounting process component;

the service order processing process component and a financial accounting master data management process component;

the service order processing process component and the customer requirement processing process component;

the service confirmation processing process component and an inventory processing process component;

the service confirmation processing process component and the customer invoice processing process component;

the service confirmation processing process component and the accounting process component;

the logistics execution control process component and a site logistics processing process component; and

the logistics execution control process component and an outbound delivery processing process component.

2. The product of claim 1, wherein:

the plurality of process components further includes;

a site logistics processing process component that handles the preparation, physical execution, and confirmation of logistics processes within a site;

an inventory processing process component that manages inventory and recording of inventory changes, and provides services to maintain current stock, content and structure of logistic units and allocations;

an outbound delivery processing process component that manages and processes the outbound delivery requirements for shipping goods to a product recipient, and combines document-based tasks for the outbound delivery process;

a customer invoice processing process component that handles the invoicing of customers for the delivery of goods or the provision of services;

a financial accounting master data management process component that handles the management of financial accounting master data that is used both for accounting and costing purposes;

a balance of foreign payment management process component that handles the collection, processing, and reporting of receivables and payables according to foreign trade regulations;

a due item processing process component that handles the collection, management, and monitoring of trade receivables or payables and corresponding sales tax or withholding tax; and

a payment processing process component that handles the processing and management of all payments, is responsible for the associated communication with financial institutions such as banks, and provides the primary input for liquidity management; and

wherein the pair-wise interactions between pairs of the process components further include interactions between;

the site logistics processing process component and the accounting process component;

the inventory processing process component and the accounting process component;

the inventory processing process component and the supply and demand matching process component;

the customer invoice processing process component and the accounting process component;

the customer invoice processing process component and the due item processing process component;

the customer invoice processing process component and the balance of foreign payment management process component;

the due item processing process component and the payment processing process component;

the due item processing process component and the accounting process component;

the payment processing process component and the due item processing process component; and

the payment processing process component and the accounting process component.

3. The product of claim 2, wherein:

each of the plurality of process components is assigned to exactly one deployment unit among multiple deployment units, and each deployment unit is deployable on a separate computer hardware platform independent of every other deployment unit; and

all interaction between a process component in one deployment unit and any other process component in any other deployment unit takes place through the respective service interfaces of the two process components.

4. The product of claim 3, wherein the deployment units comprise:

a customer relationship management deployment unit that includes the service request processing process component, the service order processing process component, and the service confirmation processing process component;

a supply chain control deployment unit that includes the customer requirement processing process component, the supply and demand matching process component, and the logistics execution control process component;

a production and site logistics execution deployment unit that includes the site logistics processing process component, the inventory processing process component, and the outbound delivery processing process component;

a customer invoicing deployment unit that includes the customer invoice processing process component;

a due item management deployment unit that includes the balance of foreign payment management process component, and the due item processing process component;

a payment deployment unit that includes the payment processing process component; and

a financial accounting deployment unit that includes the accounting process component and the financial accounting master data management process component.

5. The product of claim 1, wherein:

each of the process components includes one or more business objects; and

none of the business objects of any one of the process components interacts directly with any of the business objects included in any of the other process components.

6. The product of claim 5, wherein the business objects comprise a business process object.

7. The product of claim 5, wherein:

none of the business objects included in any one of the process components is included in any of the other process components.

8. The product of claim 1, further comprising:

a plurality of process agents, each process agent being either an inbound process agent or an outbound process agent, an inbound process agent being operable to receive a message from an inbound operation, an outbound process agent being operable to cause an outbound operation to send a message, each process agent being associated with exactly one process component.

9. The product of claim 8, wherein:

the inbound process agents comprise a first inbound process agent operable to start the execution of step requested in a first inbound message by creating or updating one or more business object instances.

10. The product of claim 8, wherein:

the outbound process agents comprise a first asynchronous outbound process agent that is called after a business object that is associated with the first outbound process agent changes.

11. The product of claim 1, wherein the operations comprise synchronous and asynchronous operations.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein:

the plurality of process components further comprises;

a site logistics processing process component that handles the preparation, physical execution, and confirmation of logistics processes within a site;

an inventory processing process component that manages inventory and recording of inventory changes, and provides services to maintain current stock, content and structure of logistic units and allocations;

an outbound delivery processing process component that manages and processes the outbound delivery requirements for shipping goods to a product recipient, and combines document-based tasks for the outbound delivery process;

a customer invoice processing process component that handles the invoicing of customers for the delivery of goods or the provision of services;

a financial accounting master data management process component that handles the management of financial accounting master data that is used both for accounting and costing purposes;

an accounting process component that represents relevant business transactions for valuation and profitability analysis;

a balance of foreign payment management process component that handles the collection, processing, and reporting of receivables and payables according to foreign trade regulations;

a due item processing process component that handles the collection, management, and monitoring of trade receivables or payables and corresponding sales tax or withholding tax; and

a payment processing process component that handles the processing and management of all payments, is responsible for the associated communication with financial institutions such as banks, and provides the primary input for liquidity management; and

the pair-wise interactions between pairs of the process components further include interactions between;

the site logistics processing process component and the accounting process component;

the inventory processing process component and the accounting process component;

the inventory processing process component and the supply and demand matching process component;

the customer invoice processing process component and the accounting process component;

the customer invoice processing process component and the due item processing process component;

the customer invoice processing process component and the balance of foreign payment management process component;

the due item processing process component and the payment processing process component;

the due item processing process component and the accounting process component;

the payment processing process component and the due item processing process component; and

the payment processing process component and the accounting process component.

14. The system of claim 11, wherein:

each of the process components includes one or more business objects; and

none of the business objects of any one of the process components interacts directly with any of the business objects included in any of the other process components.

15. The system of claim 11, wherein:

none of the business objects included in any one of the process components is included in any of the other process components.

16. The system of claim 11, wherein:

a plurality of process agents, each process agent being either an inbound process agent or an outbound process agent, an inbound process agent being operable to receive a message from an inbound operation, an outbound process agent being operable to cause an outbound operation to send a message, each process agent being associated with exactly one process component.

17. The system of claim 11, the system comprising multiple hardware platforms, wherein:

the outbound delivery process component, the service request processing process component, the service order processing process component, and the service confirmation processing process component are deployed on a first hardware platform;

the customer requirement processing process component, the supply and demand matching process component, and the logistics execution control process component are deployed on a second hardware platform; and

the customer invoice processing process component, is deployed on a third hardware platform;

the site logistics processing process component, the outbound delivery processing process component, and the inventory processing process component are deployed on a fourth hardware platform;

the accounting process component is deployed on a fifth hardware platform;

the balance of foreign payment management process component and the due item processing process component are deployed on a sixth hardware platform; and

the payment processing process component is deployed on a seventh hardware platform.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein each of the first through the seventh hardware platforms are distinct and separate from each other.

12. A system, comprising:

a computer system comprising one or more hardware platforms for executing a computer software application;

a plurality of process components, each of the process components being a package of software implementing a respective and distinct business process, the plurality of process components including;

a service request processing process component that logs and resolves service requests concerning issues that customers have with regard to products;

a service order processing process component that handles the creation, planning, and fulfillment of service orders, to be executed by a service engineer at customer site for an agreed price;

a service confirmation processing process component that reports back actual times and quantities for services provided, and spare parts consumed related to the execution of a service order;

a customer requirement processing process component that controls customer requirements in the supply chain, involving checking material availability, receiving, preparing, and passing customer requirements on to supply planning and logistics, and providing feedback on fulfillment;

an accounting process component that represents relevant business transactions for valuation and profitability analysis;

a supply and demand matching process component that manages all the tasks necessary to ensure that sufficient material receipt elements exist to cover material demand while taking available capacity into account; and

a logistics execution control process component that handles the creation, controlling, and monitoring of the supply chain execution activities for the fulfillment of an order on a macro-logistics level, triggers site logistics activities and receives information about the supply chain execution progress; and

a plurality of service operations, each service operation being implemented for a respective process component, the operations comprising inbound and outbound operations, the outbound operation for a first process component being operable to send a message to a second process component of the plurality of process components, the second process component having an inbound operation for receiving the message, the passing of messages between an inbound and an outbound operation defining a message-based pair-wise interaction between the respective process components of the respective operations, the pair-wise interactions between pairs of the process components including interactions between;

the service request processing process component and the accounting process component;

the service request processing process component and a customer invoice processing process component;

the service order processing process component and the customer invoice processing process component;

the service order processing process component and the accounting process component;

the service order processing process component and a financial accounting master data management process component;

the service order processing process component and the customer requirement processing process component;

the service confirmation processing process component and an inventory processing process component;

the service confirmation processing process component and the customer invoice processing process component;

the service confirmation processing process component and the accounting process component;

the logistics execution control process component and a site logistics processing process component; and

the logistics execution control process component and an outbound delivery processing process component.

19. A method for developing a computer software application, comprising:

obtaining in a computer system digital data representing an architectural design for a set of processes implementing an end-to-end application process, the design specifying a process component for each process in the set of processes, the design specifying further specifying a set of process component interactions, wherein;

the specified process components include components including;

a service request processing process component that logs and resolves service requests concerning issues that customers have with regard to products;

a service order processing process component that handles the creation, planning, and fulfillment of service orders, to be executed by a service engineer at customer site for an agreed price;

a service confirmation processing process component that reports back actual times and quantities for services provided, and spare parts consumed related to the execution of a service order;

a customer requirement processing process component that controls customer requirements in the supply chain, involving checking material availability, receiving, preparing, and passing customer requirements on to supply planning and logistics, and providing feedback on fulfillment;

an accounting process component that represents relevant business transactions for valuation and profitability analysis;

a supply and demand matching process component that manages all the tasks necessary to ensure that sufficient material receipt elements exist to cover material demand while taking available capacity into account; and

a logistics execution control process component that handles the creation, controlling, and monitoring of the supply chain execution activities for the fulfillment of an order on a macro-logistics level, triggers site logistics activities and receives information about the supply chain execution progress; and

wherein;

the process component interactions include interactions between

the service request processing process component and the accounting process component;

the service request processing process component and a customer invoice processing process component;

the service order processing process component and the customer invoice processing process component;

the service order processing process component and the accounting process component;

the service order processing process component and a financial accounting master data management process component;

the service order processing process component and the customer requirement processing process component;

the service confirmation processing process component and an inventory processing process component;

the service confirmation processing process component and the customer invoice processing process component;

the service confirmation processing process component and the accounting process component;

the logistics execution control process component and a site logistics processing process component; and

the logistics execution control process component and an outbound delivery processing process component.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein:

the specified process components further include;

a site logistics processing process component that handles the preparation, physical execution, and confirmation of logistics processes within a site;

an inventory processing process component that manages inventory and recording of inventory changes, and provides services to maintain current stock, content and structure of logistic units and allocations;

an outbound delivery processing process component that manages and processes the outbound delivery requirements for shipping goods to a product recipient, and combines document-based tasks for the outbound delivery process;

a customer invoice processing process component that handles the invoicing of customers for the delivery of goods or the provision of services;

a financial accounting master data management process component that handles the management of financial accounting master data that is used both for accounting and costing purposes;

a balance of foreign payment management process component that handles the collection, processing, and reporting of receivables and payables according to foreign trade regulations;

a due item processing process component that handles the collection, management, and monitoring of trade receivables or payables and corresponding sales tax or withholding tax; and

a payment processing process component that handles the processing and management of all payments, is responsible for the associated communication with financial institutions such as banks, and provides the primary input for liquidity management; and

the process component interactions further include interactions between;

the site logistics processing process component and the accounting process component;

the inventory processing process component and the accounting process component;

the inventory processing process component and the supply and demand matching process component;

the customer invoice processing process component and the accounting process component;

the customer invoice processing process component and the due item processing process component;

the customer invoice processing process component and the balance of foreign payment management process component;

the due item processing process component and the payment processing process component;

the due item processing process component and the accounting process component;

the payment processing process component and the due item processing process component; and

the payment processing process component and the accounting process component.

21. The method of claim 19, wherein:

each process in the set of processes is a business process transforming a defined business input into a defined business outcome.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein:

obtaining digital data representing the architectural design further comprises editing the design before using the design.