Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02299825 1999-03-02
INTERACTIVE PARTS ORDERING MANAGEMENT METHOD AND SYSTEM
Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to the field of
electronic commerce ("e-commerce") software applications and,
more particularly, to a computerized method and system for
managing and fulfilling orders for goods, viz. computer and
electronic parts, on a centralized basis.
Background of the Invention
The satisfactory operation of many organizations and
businesses is dependent on the use of technical equipment
having associated therewith an expected "down time" caused by
the failure of parts and components. Many such organizations
and businesses have employees and/or contractors whose j ob it
is to continually monitor their needs for new parts and
initiate orders to third parties for the delivery of the same .
In some cases the third parties to whom such orders are given
are intermediary businesses ("parts brokers") who serve both
the ordering party (the buyer) by knowing where to find the
needed part and the manufacturer/source of the part (the
vendor) by ordering parts in bulk and reducing the number of
vendor transactions. In doing so such intermediary businesses
have heretofore applied manual systems, using pager and fax
communications and order-by-order calculations/decisions, for
checking warehouse inventory, selecting a warehouse having the
goods in stock and initiating the shipping process. However,
such manual systems are personnel dependent for action, add
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human action/reaction time to the overall process and are
prone to error. Static management/accounting software
referred to herein as an ERP ("enterprise resource planning")
system (an example of which is the Platinum~w~ product of Epicor
Software Corporation of Irving, California) is typically used
by parts brokers, the purpose of these systems being to
maintain and update inventory databases with respect to
submitted orders and to handle the various accounting
requirements resulting from product ordering such as accounts
receivable, accounts payable and general ledger entries.
The existing parts ordering methods as aforesaid are
disadvantageous in that they are labor intensive and personnel
dependent, are unable to reliably achieve one-day delivery
time commitments and provide minimal feedback and assistance
to the buyer. Therefore, there is a need by parts brokers and
their clients for the applicant's improved method and system
for locating, shipping and delivering parts, claimed herein,
which overcomes the foregoing disadvantages of the known
methods and systems.
Summary of the Invention
In accordance with the invention there is provided an
ordering management system and method for centrally
controlling the receipt and fulfillment of an electronic order
for goods which is transmitted from a remote location by a
user electronic I/O device interfaced to the system through
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a communications network. Means are included for permitting
real-time interactive communications between a service
representative electronic I/O device and the user electronic
I/O device and for permitting a service representative to
input information through the service representative
electronic I/O device to the electronic order during the
course of the interactive communications. Means are also
included for receiving order information from the user and/or
said service representative for identifying the goods and for
receiving order information from the user including the
destination address for delivery of the goods. Means are
included for accessing a database comprising information
identifying inventory goods and determining whether the order
information defines goods which are inventory goods. Means
are included for determining a time delivery requirement
applicable to the order and means are included for accessing
a database comprising information identifying inventory
locations having the goods in stock and identifying inventory
locations) having the goods in stock. Means are also
included for determining from the identified inventory
locations a target inventory location from which the goods are
deliverable to the destination address within the determined
time delivery requirement, comprising means for intelligent
time zone polling of the identified inventory locations.
Means are further provided for directing the order to the
target inventory location to initiate shipment of the goods
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in accordance with the order to satisfy the time delivery
requirement.
Preferably, the system further comprises means for
receiving shipment information from the target inventory
location, means for monitoring whether shipment information
for the order has been received and means for taking
progressive action with respect to the order if such shipment
information is not received within a predetermined time
period.
Description of the Drawings
The present invention is described in detail below with
reference to the following drawings in which like reference
numerals refer throughout to like elements.
Figure 1 is a block diagram of the components of a parts
ordering/management system which includes the e-commerce
"front end" interactive system of the present invention; and,
Figure 2 is a flow chart of the processes performed by
the interactive system of the present invention.
Detailed Description of a Preferred Embodiment
Figure 1 shows the components of a parts
ordering/management system 5 comprising the applicant's "front
end" interactive system 10 and a "back end" ERP system 20
interfaced thereto, each of said systems being embodied in
software. An internal network 15 links the interactive system
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10, through a firewall 20 and the Internet global
communications network 25, to individual users (buyers) 30 who
are authorized representatives (e.g. employees) of clients of
the system operator (referred to herein as "system clients").
The internal network 15 also links the interactive system 10
to an ERP system 20 and to administrators) 35, sourcers (40)
and customer service representatives "CSR's"(45) of the
interactive system 10. Output devices 50 such as printers are
also provided in the internal network 15.
The ERP system 20 includes an inventory database of core
parts 22 from which the system 10, through network 15, is able
to identify on a real-time basis whether a specified part
exists in inventory at a specified inventory location (e. g.
a warehouse). The inventory locations (warehouses) are
strategically located for a given system client, taking into
account the core parts needs and facilities of the individual
customers of the system client, so that the system client is
able to meet the delivery time requirements to which it has
committed with its customers. These delivery time
requirements, which are used by the system 10, are stipulated
by the system client and are governed by the content of the
Service Level Agreement (SLA) between the system client and
the particular customer of the system client. For the
preferred embodiment the delivery time requirements are 1
hour, 4 hours or next day delivery, 24 hours per day, 7 days
per week. For example, the system client may be responsible
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for supplying parts to company A and the SLA between the
client and that customer may be 1 hour delivery nationwide.
In that case the delivery time requirement for all parts
ordered by that system client for that specific customer ( i . a .
company A) is 1 hour.
A "core part" is defined to be either a high turnover
part or a critical part, these being categories of parts which
must be kept in inventory in order to satisfactorily service
a system client. Parts which are not core parts are not
maintained in inventory and, instead, are sourced-out by the
interactive system 10 (i.e. ordered from a source outside of
the system 5).
The preferred system 10, as illustrated in Figure 1,
includes a database server 4 and a database 8 comprising the
particulars of all of the core parts ( i . a . part and warehouse
identifiers) allocated to each system client so that the ERP
system database 22 of the actual core parts existing in the
warehouses does not have to be accessed unless and until a
specific part is identified, confirmed for purchase by the
user and the delivery destination has been selected by the
user. The system database 8 also stores historical
order/delivery information for each system client, including
the total order-to-delivery time for each special (i.e. out
sourced) order previously fulfilled by the system for a given
part.
CA 02299825 1999-03-02
The databases 8 and 22 are used by the system 10 to
process logistics for determining, automatically, for a part
ordered by a client the specific inventory (warehouse)
location which will satisfy the specific SLA delivery time
requirements for that system client and the particular
destination delivery address for the part. These logistics
which are preformed automatically by the system 10 include the
application of a set of rules (tests), as set out in Table 1
below, to each order whereby a given part is located and
selected on the basis of, inter alia, intelligent time zone
polling with respect to the inventory locations having the
part in stock and the time requirements of the available
shipping ( i . a , courier) options for delivery of the part to the
particular delivery address therefor. For example, if a
client requires 1 hour delivery to a Calgary address (this SLA
has already been programmed into the system 10), the systems'
logistics will go to the warehouse that can meet the delivery
requirement for Calgary. If the first warehouse does not have
the part, the system 10 will automatically calculates the
capability of the next nearest warehouse taking into
consideration both time zone and, mileage from the warehouse
city to the delivery city. This automatic consideration of
the time zone for successive warehouses under consideration
is referred to herein as "intelligent time zone polling".
Referring to the foregoing Calgary example, if the local
Calgary warehouse does not have the part in stock, the system
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will go to Edmonton based on the fact that it is closest
in terms of distance and is in the same time zone . The system
10 will then recalculate the delivery capability and either
confirm that the SLA delivery time requirement (i.e. 1 hour)
5 can be met or, an alternative of 4 hours can be achieved. The
system 10 thereby enables the user to execute orders quickly
and reliably achieving a superior level of delivery.
The system 10 of the preferred embodiment is Internet
accessed and, therefore, includes a Web (network) server and
10 e-commerce engine 12 for interfacing the system 10 with the
remote users (buyers) 30 (i.e. through the user's electronic
I/O device which, typically, is the user's PC) and warehouse
representatives 38 (i.e. through the representative's
electronic I/O device which, typically, is the
representative's PC). (References herein to communications
between the system and the user or warehouse or inventory
location representative will impliedly refer to their
electronic I/O devices.) An interactive service agent 14 is
provided in the system 10 to permit and control real-time
communications between the user 30 and a customer service
representative (CSR) 45, the agent being a segment of computer
software which can be autonomous and/or mobile and may be
implemented as a component or object. (Agents are able to
interact with their environment and to act both pro-actively
and reactively). A user directory component 4 is also
provided in the system 10 to maintain, verify and identify all
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registered (authorized) users of the system and to track and
compile each interactive ("on-line") session between the user
30 and the CSR 45. The term "component" herein refers to a
set of computer-readable instructions or commands and is not
limited to any specific architecture or location. The system
components may be provided through a single CPU or, as shown
in Figure 1, through separate CPU's (A, B and C) to achieve
better scalability, performance and reliability.
TABLE 1
1 o Rule No. Description of Business Rule
1 It is important to distinguish between "clients"
and
"customers". A "client" can have many "customers".
2 Any time a chat session is initiated, it must
drive a warm
transfer. More specifically, any order information
captured up
to the point at which the chat session has commenced
must
be automatically passed to the customer service
representative.
3 The "sourcing" process referred to is assumed
to be handled
by the ERP order management/purchasing components
and
as such, it is not part of the system 10.
4 All buyers (users) must be registered with the
system operator
and have a valid user ID and password to access
the system.
5 Login attempts are limited to 5 tries after
which the user is
locked out of the system.
6 If an individual is not a registered user, a
screen will be
available to register as a user. This screen
will capture
necessary information and forward it by e-mail
to an
administrator.
7 A user should be prompted to change his password
at
predefined intervals of 30 days and the password
cannot be
the same as one used previously.
8 A user must select the customer applicable to
an order.
Users should be limited to accessing customers
that belong
only to the client they represent.
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9 Service level agreements will be associated
with each
customer.
A part must exist in inventory with a valid
manufacturer's part
number, manufacturer name and product number
if it can be
ordered through the system.
11 The system must be able to search for a part
based upon the
manufacturer's part number, or manufacturer's
name and
product number. There must be a capability to
determine if
the manufacturer's name/product number is a
valid
combination.
12 If a part is found in inventory, the user should
be informed that
the part has been found and prompted to proceed
with the
order. The part number, description and price
must be
displayed.
13 The buyer must select a delivery location (ship-to-address)
for
the order. If a delivery location is not found
in the system the
order drops out to sourcing.
14 The system searches to determine if the part
is in stock as
follows:
The search process is limited to inventories
that are
allocated to the client and is not affected
by an
allocation to a customer.
The warehouse in the same city as the delivery
location
if one exists.
Other warehouses in the same time zone as the
delivery location based on their proximity and
delivery
capability to the delivery location.
A warehouse location in the next time zone to
the west
of the delivery location based on its proximity
and
delivery capability to the delivery location.
Other warehouse locations in the next time zone
to the
west of the delivery location based upon their
proximity
and delivery capability to the delivery location.
The search process continues until it is determined
that
the part is not in stock in any warehouse, then
the
order drops out of the system and goes to sourcing.
If a part is found in stock, the system must
inform the user if
the part can be delivered in 1 hour, 4 hours
or 1 day and
meets the service level agreement for the customer.
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16 If the service level agreement selected by the
user cannot be
met, then the systeme must inform the user of
this situation.
The user must have the option of deciding to
cancel or
proceed with the order. If the user proceeds
with the order,
the order is processed as outlined in rules
15 through 20. If
the user cancels the order, he must have the
capability to
initiate a chat session with a customer service
representative
who will collect information on the order and
retain this
information in a database. The order is then
processed
through the sourcing process.
17 If the part is found in stock, the user must
confirm whether or
not the order should proceed. If the order is
to proceed, the
user must enter a call number and a purchase
order number.
The delivery location (ship-to) address is pre-populated
based
upon the delivery location previously selected.
18 All order information must then be displayed
and the user
must confirm the order and by doing so, commit
the order to
the database.
s 19 If the user cancels the order, a form must be
presented to
capture the reason why the order was cancelled.
20 The system must be able to update the WebTracker
application once an order has been confirmed
and committed
to the database.
21 Warehouse representatives must have the capability
to check
for new orders, print packing slips and enter
waybill numbers.
22 The system administrator must be able to verify
that
warehouse representatives are fulfilling orders.
23 If an item is not found in inventory (refer
to rule 9 - inventory
search capability), the search screen must be
presented to
the user again, however the search screen must
now have the
capability to initiate a chat session with a
customer service
representative.
24 The user can use the search screen to determine
if the part is
in inventory or alternatively initiate a chat
session with a
customer service representative.
25 If the user decides to conduct a second search
to determine if
the part is in inventory and the search is successful,
the order
will proceed according to the rules documented
from rule 10
to rule 20.
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26 If the user decides to initiate a chat session
with a customer
service representative instead of proceeding
with the second
search for the part, the customer service representative
must
have the capability to access the search screen
to search for
the part in inventory.
27 If the customer service representative finds
the part in
inventory, he must have the capability to pass
the
manufacturer's part number, manufacturer's name
and
product number to the user. The user must be
able to use
this information to proceed with the order as
documented in
rules 10 through 20.
28 If the customer service representative cannot
find the part in
inventory, information about the order is retained
in a
database and the order is processed through
sourcing.
29 If a part is not found in stock (refer to rule
#13), the user must
be informed that the part is not in stock. The
user must also
be given the capability to initiate a chat session
with a
customer service representative where order
information is
captured in a database and the order is processed
through
sourcing.
As shown by the process flow chart of Figure 2 the system
receives a user login request and verifies the user' s input
identification information (1). If the user is an authorized
10 user (2) the system 10 presents a parts request form page to
the user (3) and asks the user to enter either the
manufacturer's number or the manufacturer's name and the
product number. The system 10 accepts the information input
by the user and searches its database 8 to identify whether
the information matches a core part therein (4). If the
system matches the requested part to a core part in inventory
the system confirms the selection with the user (10). If the
system does not match the requested part to a core part in
inventory the system again presents a parts request form page
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to the user(5) and indicates to the user that a match was not
made so that the user may re-enter correct information if
known. At the same time, the user is linked (6) to a customer
service representative (CSR) (via a "chat" hot link
implemented by agent 14 ) and real-time communications between
the CSR and the user, and collaborative browsing between them,
is enabled. The term "collaborative browsing" herein is
defined as a facility whereby both the CSR and the user are
able to enter information into the request forms presented to
the user for submitting an order. The collaborative browsing
facility of the system 10 assists the user and saves time and
data processing because it reduces the amount of data entry
keying to be required for any given order in which the
interactive facility is used. Unless the user enters part
identification information which is verified as being a core
part held in inventory, the CSR communicates through the
networks 15,25 with the user to the extent necessary to
identify the part which the user desires and the system then
identifies whether or not it is a core part (7). If the part
is a core part in inventory the CSR provides the part
identification particulars to the user (9) by entering the
information into the part request form through the
collaborative browsing facility of the system 10. If the part
is not a core part in inventory the CSR creates a normal ( i . a .
routine, time-independent) or special order (7a) and collects
all the necessary information concerning the part and
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destination address from the user and submits this into the
database 8. For normal orders a regular process is followed
and for special orders the CSR sends the information to a
sourcer (40) who then interacts with the user to source the
part and place an out-sourced order if directed to do so by
the user. Based on the part identification the system 10
provides to the sourcer (40) statistical (e. g. averaged)
delivery time information for the part which the sourcer
provides to the user. The system determines the statistical
delivery time information on the basis of the historical
sourced-out order information which has accumulated in
database 8 from previous out-sourced orders. For example, the
data may comprise delivery times for the fulfillment of five
out-sourced orders handled previously by the system for the
specific part required by the user from which the system 10
can average those stored delivery times and provide this
information to the sourcer for the user. With this
information the user is then better able to make a decision
of whether or not to proceed with the proposed sourced-out
order. Also, the user is thereby able to immediately inform
the customer of the likely timing and this information may be
critical to the customer's operations.
Following from step (4) where an inventory part request
has been entered by the user (or by the CSR on behalf of the
user) the system then confirms the selected part with the user
(10) and confirms with the user that a purchase of the part
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is being requested (11). The user then selects the
destination city of the delivery address from a pull-down menu
of the available destination cities for which the SLA delivery
time service is available for the ordered part (and a data
entry block for manual entry of the name of an unlisted city
is also provided for entry of a city for which the SLA
delivery service does not apply) . The system 10 then accesses
its database 8 and the real-time inventory database 22 provide
through the ERP system 20 and determines the warehouses which
have in stock the identified part (13). If the part is not
in stock in any warehouse the system presents to the user a
page identifying that the part is not available for delivery
within the SLA delivery time and prompts the user to select
a CSR chat hot link button or call a 1-800 number for further
assistance ( 17 ) . The CSR will then create a manual or special
order (7a) if requested to do so by the user.
If the part is in stock in one or more warehouses the
system 10 applies to the order a set of rules (processing
tests) , as set out in Table l, based on the user/CSR-input
order information, the warehouse information, the SLA delivery
time requirements for that particular customer and the
shipping options (the latter two categories of information
having been stored in the system 10. The system identifies
whether or not the rules are passed (15): they are passed if
the required delivery time can be met and they are not passed
if the required delivery time cannot be met. If the rules are
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passed the most appropriate warehouse which can meet the
delivery time requirement has been identified and the system
prompts the user to enter the delivery address, a call
number and purchase order number. A unique confirmation is
5 then assigned by the system to the order (18). The system 10
then displays all order information to the user and asks the
user to submit or cancel the order (19) and the user then
either submits the order or cancels the order (20). If the
user does not submit the order the system displays for the
10 user a page listing various reasons for canceling the order
and the user is prompted to check one item of the listing
(21). The user page is also provided with a 1-800 number
which the user may call for assistance.
If the user submits the order the system commits the
order to the databases 8 and 22 (23) and, through networks
15,25, the system notifies the warehouse representative (i.e.
the representative of the inventory location which has been
identified by the system from applying the rules) of the new
order (24). The warehouse representative arranges the
shipping of the part and prints a packing slip and shipping
waybill for the order and enters the packing slip and waybill
numbers into the order information of the system 10. A system
administrator 35 monitors the progress of all submitted orders
(26) to ensure that a warehouse representative has entered
into the system packing slip and waybill numbers for an order
within a predetermined amount of time (e. g. 30 minutes) from
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the submission of that order. If this has not been done the
administration takes appropriate action to ensure that the
designated warehouse acts.
Preferably, the system 10, warehouse representative 38
and user are interfaced to a Web tracking application 50 to
enable each to track the progress of the shipment of the part
from the warehouse to the delivery address. A particularly
suitable software tracking application has been developed by
and is available from the applicant under the trademark Web
TrackerT". The applicant's Web TrackerTM application is able
to operate in conjunction with the system 10 to submit total
order-to-deliver times for out-sourced product and the user
is able to obtain from it real-time information concerning the
status of delivery for any submitted order.
While the invention has been described herein with
reference to the ordering of parts it is not the intention of
the applicant to limit the invention thereto. Rather, it will
be apparent to the reader that the invention may be applied
to the ordering of any goods without departing from the scope
of the invention. Similarly, while it is preferable to
interface the system 10 to the user through the Internet
global communication network, to take advantage of the broad
availability and accessability of this network to users, the
invention is not limited thereto and an intranet could instead
be used. Further, is to be understood that the specific
system components and agent described herein are not intended
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to limit the invention which, from the teachings provided
herein, could be implemented and embodied in a number of
alternative computer program embodiments by persons skilled
in the art. Rather the invention is defined by the appended
claims.
