Supply chain management system

• US 9,971,981 B2
• Filed: 06/12/2015
• Issued: 05/15/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 06/13/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Industrystar, LLC
• Original Assignee: Industrystar, LLC
• Inventors: Crane, Jr., William J., Forster, Matthew William, Nelson, Kenneth Alan
• Primary Examiner(s): Miller, Alan S
• Application Number:
  US14/738,594
• Publication Number:
  US 20150363730A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,068 Days
• Field of Search: 705 711- 742
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06315 Needs-based resource requirements planning or analysis
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0635 Risk analysis of enterprise or organisation activities
• 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 50/04 Manufacturing
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 90/30 Computing systems specially adapted for manufacturing

Abstract

An illustrative method for managing a supply chain is performed by a supply chain management server. The method comprises receiving information related to operations of a first supplier. The first supplier is responsible for providing a first product that satisfies criteria of a buyer. The method further includes determining a risk value that indicates a risk level of disruption of the operations of the first supplier and flagging the first supplier within a database of potential suppliers in response to determining that the determined risk value is greater than a risk tolerance threshold. The method also comprises notifying the buyer that the first supplier has been flagged and providing a list of recommended suppliers to the buyer. The recommended suppliers are each capable of providing a respective second product to the buyer. Each of the respective second products satisfies the criteria of the buyer.

Claims

1. A method for managing a supply chain performed by a supply chain management server comprising:

monitoring, by a computing system, supply chain disruption event information from a plurality of data sources in real-time, wherein the monitoring comprises receiving information related to operations of a first supplier from the plurality of data sources, and wherein the first supplier is responsible for providing a first product that satisfies criteria of a buyer;

based on the supply chain disruption event information, determining, by the computing system, a risk value that indicates a risk level of disruption of the operations of the first supplier;

flagging, by the computing system, the first supplier within a database of potential suppliers in response to determining that the determined risk value is greater than a risk tolerance threshold;

notifying, by the computing system, the buyer that the first supplier has been flagged;

providing, by the computing system, a list of recommended suppliers to the buyer on a graphical display device in response to determining that the determined risk value is greater than the risk tolerance threshold, wherein the recommended suppliers are each capable of providing a respective second product to the buyer, wherein each of the respective second products satisfies the criteria of the buyer; and

automatically soliciting, by the computing system, bids from one or more suppliers on the list of recommended suppliers in response to determining that the determined risk value is greater than the risk tolerance threshold.

2. The method for managing the supply chain of claim 1, wherein said notifying the buyer comprises indicating to the buyer that the first supplier is at risk of failing to deliver the first product to the buyer before a previously agreed-upon delivery date.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising notifying a prospective buyer that the first supplier has been flagged, wherein the prospective buyer has not previously purchased the first product from the first supplier.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein said notifying the prospective buyer that the first supplier has been flagged comprises displaying an icon in a list of potential suppliers, wherein the list of potential suppliers comprises the first supplier, and wherein the icon indicates that the first supplier is at risk of failing to deliver the first product before a preferred date of the prospective buyer.

5. The method of claim 1,

wherein the supply chain disruption event information indicates that the supply chain disruption event occurred, wherein the supply chain disruption event impacts an ability of the first supplier to provide the first product to the buyer on time, wherein the supply chain disruption event will prevent the first supplier from delivering the first product to the buyer on time, and wherein said determining the risk value comprises:

assigning each of the plurality of sources a weight corresponding to a reliability level of the respective source, wherein the reliability level indicates a reliability of the respective source to report accurately; and

summing the weights of each of the plurality of sources, and

wherein said flagging the first supplier is responsive to the supply chain management server determining that the sum of the weights of each of the plurality of sources is above the risk tolerance threshold.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising determining which of the plurality of sources indicates that the supply chain disruption event occurred.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving buyer preference information;

receiving buyer-supplier association information that indicates relationships between the buyer and one or more of the potential suppliers;

receiving transportation cost information that indicates transportation costs of the respective second products from locations of the potential suppliers and a location of the buyer; and

determining the list of recommended suppliers based on the information, the buyer preference information, the buyer-supplier association information, and the transportation cost information, wherein the list of recommended suppliers comprises at least one supplier of the potential suppliers.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein said determining the list of recommended suppliers comprises:

comparing buyer preferences of the buyer preference information with respective supplier capabilities of the information to determine a plurality of difference scores;

determining a previous relationship score based on a previous relationship between the buyer and the first supplier indicated in the buyer-supplier association information;

determining a transportation cost score based on a cost to transport the respective second products from a location of the first supplier to the location of the buyer;

summing the plurality of difference scores, the previous relationship score, and the transportation cost score, wherein each of the plurality of difference scores, the previous relationship score, and the transportation cost score are weighted based on relevance to the buyer; and

determining that the recommended suppliers are each capable of providing the respective second product to the buyer based on the sum of the plurality of difference scores for each of the suppliers.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving feedback regarding the first supplier, wherein the feedback was received from a plurality of buyers;

calculating a plurality of sub-scores based on the information and the feedback, wherein each sub-score relates to an aspect of the first supplier;

calculating an aggregate score based on the plurality of sub-scores, wherein each sub-score is weighted based on relevance of the respective aspect to one or more second buyers; and

ranking the first supplier among the recommended suppliers based on the aggregate score.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the plurality of buyers each have a confirmed identity and each have been confirmed to be customers of the first supplier.

11. The method of claim 9, further comprising displaying, on the graphical display device, the list of recommended suppliers in an order based on an aggregate score for each of the recommended suppliers.

12. A system for managing a supply chain comprising:

a communications transceiver configured to communicate with a plurality of buyers and a plurality of suppliers;

a memory configured to store a database of supplier information, a database of disruption event information, and a database of the plurality of suppliers, wherein the supplier information relates to operations of a first supplier, wherein the first supplier is responsible for providing a first product that satisfies criteria of a buyer, and wherein the disruption event information comprises information indicating disruption of the operations of the first supplier of the plurality of suppliers; and

a processor operatively coupled to the communications transceiver and the memory, wherein the processor is configured to;

monitor the supplier information and the disruption event information from a plurality of computerized data sources in real-time;

based on the supplier information and the supply chain disruption event information, determine a risk value that indicates a risk level of disruption of the operations of the first supplier based on the disruption event information;

flag the first supplier within the database of the plurality of suppliers in response to determining that the determined risk value is greater than a risk tolerance threshold;

notify, via the communications transceiver, the buyer that the first supplier has been flagged;

provide, via the communications transceiver, a list of recommended suppliers to the buyer via a graphical display device in response to determining that the determined risk value is greater than the risk tolerance threshold, wherein the recommended suppliers are each capable of providing a respective second product to the buyer, wherein each of the respective second products satisfies the criteria of the buyer; and

automatically solicit bids from one or more suppliers on the list of recommended suppliers in response to determining that the determined risk value is greater than the risk tolerance threshold.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein, to determine the risk value, the processor is further configured to:

receive the supply chain disruption event information from a plurality of sources that indicates that the supply chain disruption event occurred, and wherein the supply chain disruption event impacts an ability of the first supplier to provide the first product to the buyer on time;

assign each of the plurality of sources a weight corresponding to a reliability level of the respective source, wherein the reliability level indicates a reliability of the respective source to report accurate information; and

sum the weights of each of the plurality of sources, and

wherein said flagging the first supplier is in response to determining that the sum of the weights of each of the plurality of sources is above a risk tolerance threshold.

14. The system of claim 12, wherein the memory is further configured to store a database of buyer preference information, a database of buyer-supplier association information, and transportation cost information, and wherein the processor is further configured to:

receive the buyer preference information;

receive the buyer-supplier association information, wherein the buyer-supplier information indicates relationships between the buyer and one or more of the potential suppliers;

receive the transportation cost information, wherein the transportation cost information indicates transportation costs of the respective second products from locations of the plurality of suppliers and a location of the buyer; and

determine a list of recommended suppliers based on the information, the buyer preference information, the buyer-supplier association information, and the transportation cost information, wherein the list of recommended suppliers comprises at least one supplier of the plurality of suppliers.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein, to determine the list of recommended suppliers, the processor is further configured to:

compare buyer preferences of the buyer preference information with respective supplier capabilities of the information to determine a plurality of difference scores;

determine a previous relationship score based on a previous relationship between the buyer and the first supplier indicated in the buyer-supplier association information;

determine a transportation cost score based on a cost to transport the respective second products from a location of the first supplier to the location of the buyer;

sum the plurality of difference scores, the previous relationship score, and the transportation cost score, wherein each of the plurality of difference scores, the previous relationship score, and the transportation cost score are weighted based on relevance to the buyer; and

determine that the recommended suppliers are each capable of providing the respective second product to the buyer based on the sum of the plurality of difference scores for each of the suppliers.

16. The system of claim 12, wherein the memory is configured to store a database of feedback regarding the first supplier, and wherein the processor is further configured to:

receive the feedback, wherein the feedback was supplied by a plurality of buyers;

calculate a plurality of sub-scores based on the information and the feedback, wherein each sub-score relates to an aspect of the first supplier;

calculate an aggregate score based on the plurality of sub-scores, wherein each sub-score is weighted based on relevance of the respective aspect to one or more second buyers; and

rank the first supplier among the recommended suppliers based on the aggregate score.

17. The system of claim 12, further comprising a location sensor configured to:

determine a location of a shipment containing the first product; and

transmit, to the communications transceiver, the location of the shipment, wherein the disruption event information comprises the location of the shipment.

18. A non-transitory computer-readable medium including computer-readable instructions that, upon execution by a processor, cause a device to:

monitor supply chain disruption event information from a plurality of data sources in real-time, wherein to monitor the supply chain disruption event information the computer-readable instructions cause the device to receive information related to operations of a first supplier from the plurality of data sources, wherein the first supplier is responsible for providing a first product that satisfies criteria of a buyer;

based on the supply chain disruption event information, determine a risk value that indicates the risk of disruption of the operations of the first supplier;

flag the first supplier within a database of potential suppliers in response to determining that the determined risk value is greater than a risk tolerance threshold;

notify the first supplier that the first supplier has been flagged;

provide a list of recommended suppliers to the buyer on a graphical display device in response to determining that the determined risk value is greater than the risk tolerance threshold, wherein the recommended suppliers are each capable of providing a respective second product to the buyer, wherein each of the respective second products satisfy the criteria of the buyer and;

automatically solicit bids from one or more suppliers on the list of recommended suppliers in response to determining that the determined risk value is greater than the risk tolerance threshold.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 18, wherein the instructions further cause the device to:

receive buyer preference information;

receive buyer-supplier association information that indicates relationships between the buyer and the potential suppliers;

receive transportation cost information that indicates transportation costs of the respective second products from locations of the potential suppliers and a location of the buyer; and

determine a list of recommended suppliers based on the information, the buyer preference information, the buyer-supplier association information, and the transportation cost information, wherein the list of recommended suppliers comprises at least one supplier of the potential suppliers.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 18, wherein the instructions further cause the device to:

receive feedback regarding the first supplier, wherein the feedback was received from a plurality of buyers;

calculate a plurality of sub-scores based on the information and the feedback, wherein each sub-score relates to an aspect of the first supplier;

calculate an aggregate score based on the plurality of sub-scores, wherein each sub-score is weighted based on relevance of the respective aspect to one or more second buyers; and

rank the first supplier among the recommended suppliers based on the aggregate score.