US 2003/0115115 A1 · Private exchange catalog system and methods

Abstract

This invention is related to electronic information transfer between trading partners and more particularly to the conversion and validation of item identifiers, part numbers, in documents that describe a manufactured product. In the present invention, a private exchange catalog provides the description of an item and the item identifier, the part number, as represented in the sets of part numbers of each trading partner. The catalog is used for validation and processing of the Approved Manufacture List, a cross reference between a buyers part number and a supplier part number, and for part number conversion and validation of the Bill of Material, a list of part numbers and quantities for a product, and the AML as these documents are transferred between the trading partners. Methods for using and maintaining the private exchange catalog are provided.

Claims17

Dependent claims

A Private Exchange Catalog System and an OEM AML source, both connected to a network, an AML relating an OEM part number to a supplier and supplier part number, wherein the Private Exchange Catalog system is comprised of an Received AML storage containing a previous received AML and a Working AML storage containing the working AML such that when the Private Exchange Catalog system receives an AML from the AML source using the network, the Private Exchange Catalog System:

Compares the received AML with the previous received AML from the Received AML storage,
If different, then
a. The AML changes are identified in the working AML;
b. The working AML changes are made and validated;
c. The modified working AML is stored in the Working AML storage and the received AML is stored in the Received AML.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Private exchange catalog system and methods

Life of this patent

Private exchange catalog system and methods

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims17