UNIFIED PRODUCT CATALOG ORDERS

• US 20150287124A1
• Filed: 04/08/2014
• Published: 10/08/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 04/08/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Bank of America Corp.
• Original Assignee: Bank of America Corp.
• Inventors: Ogrinz, Michael Emil, Munro, Jennifer Elizabeth, Ammons, David Ryan
• Granted Patent: US 9,830,640 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0635 Processing of requisition or of purchase orders

Abstract

Embodiments for creating a unified catalog include systems and method that import catalog data from one or more underlying catalog systems. The systems configure required fields for order fulfillment and receive a request for at least one selected item from the user. The systems further present at least one required field to the user in response to the request and send an order for the at least one selected item to the one or more catalog systems, the order comprising data from the at least one required field.

Claims

1. A unified catalog system for providing a central hub to a user for ordering products from disparate catalog systems, the system comprising:

a computer apparatus including a processor and a memory; and

a software module stored in the memory, comprising executable instructions that when executed by the processor cause the processor to;

import catalog data from one or more underlying catalog systems;

provide a user interface to a user for ordering items from the catalog data;

configure required fields for order fulfillment for each item;

receive a request for at least one selected item from the user;

present at least one required field to the user in response to the request; and

send an order for the at least one selected item to the one or more catalog systems, the order comprising data from the at least one required field.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the executable instructions further cause the processor to:

prompt the user to input information into fields required for the at least one selected item.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the executable instructions further cause the processor to:

auto-populate the at least one of the required fields.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the executable instructions further cause the processor to:

set a display order, field data type, and visibility for the required fields.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the executable instructions further cause the processor to:

identify fields that are common for the at least one selected item, wherein at least a portion of the identified fields are duplicative; and

merge the common fields.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the executable instructions further cause the processor to:

display the common fields at the top of the user interface; and

display fields unique to the at least one selected item and that require user input at the bottom of the user interface.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the executable instructions further cause the processor to:

map a dependent field of the required fields to a parent field such that the dependent field is displayed if preselected data is entered into the parent field.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the executable instructions further cause the processor to:

map a parent field of the required fields to one or more dependent fields such that the one or more dependent fields are displayed if preselected data is entered into the parent field.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the executable instructions further cause the processor to:

search an internal knowledge database for articles related to the at least one selected item;

display the most relevant articles to the user.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the order comprises multiple items associated with a single source catalog or multiple source catalogs.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the order comprises a single item associated with a single source catalog or multiple source catalogs

12. A computer program product providing a central hub to a user for ordering products from disparate catalog systems, the computer program product comprising:

a non-transitory computer readable storage medium having computer readable program code embodied therewith, the computer readable program code comprising;

computer readable program code configured to import catalog data from one or more underlying catalog systems;

computer readable program code configured to provide a user interface to a user for ordering items from the catalog data;

computer readable program code configured to configure required fields for order fulfillment for each item;

computer readable program code configured to receive a request for at least one selected item from the user;

computer readable program code configured to present at least one required field to the user in response to the request; and

computer readable program code configured to send an order for the at least one selected item to the one or more catalog systems, the order comprising data from the at least one required field.

13. The computer program product of claim 12, further comprising computer readable program code configured to prompt the user to input information into fields required for the at least one selected item.

14. The computer program product of claim 13, further comprising computer readable program code configured to auto-populate the at least one of the required fields.

15. The computer program product of claim 12, further comprising computer readable program code configured to identify fields that are common for the at least one selected item, wherein at least a portion of the identified fields are duplicative;

and merge the common fields.

16. The computer program product of claim 12, further comprising computer readable program code configured to display the common fields at the top of the user interface;

and display fields unique to the at least one selected item and that require user input at the bottom of the user interface.

17. A computer-implemented method for providing a central hub to a user for ordering products from disparate catalog systems, the method comprising:

importing, by a processor, catalog data from one or more underlying catalog systems;

providing, by a processor, a user interface to a user for ordering items from the catalog data;

configuring required fields for order fulfillment for each item;

receiving a request for at least one selected item from the user;

presenting, by a processor, at least one required field to the user in response to the request; and

sending, by a processor, an order for the at least one selected item to the one or more catalog systems, the order comprising data from the at least one required field.

18. The computer-implemented method of claim 17, further comprising:

prompting the user to input information into fields required for the at least one selected item.

19. The computer-implemented method of claim 17, further comprising:

identifying fields that are common for the at least one selected item, wherein at least a portion of the identified fields are duplicative and merging the common fields.

20. The computer-implemented method of claim 17, further comprising:

mapping a dependent field of the required fields to a parent field such that the dependent field is displayed if preselected data is entered into the parent field.