Inventory and Supply Chain Control and Tracking Methods and Systems

An inventory and supplier control system, comprising:

• means for querying a database of compound identifiers that represent products and providers, a first product comprising a provider identifier identifying a first provider party that manufactures, distributes, or sells the product, a second product, identical to the first product, comprising a second provider identifier identifying a second provider party that manufactures, distributes, or sells the same product, wherein the first product and the second product are identical to one another and share an identical product identifier therebetween, but the first provider party and the second provider party are different entities, the first provider identifier being appended to the identical product identifier to create a first compound identifier, the second provider identifier being appended to the identical product identifier to create a second compound identifier, wherein the first provider identifier for the first provider party and the second provider identifier for the second provider party each comprise a unique character set used to represent only a respective provider;
• receiving a selection of the first or second product from the first party;
• and
• means for transmitting an order to the first or second provider party associated with the selection, as identified by the provider identifier of the compound identifier for the selection.

A method, comprising:

• generating a product identifier that represents a product;
• generating a provider identifier that identifies a party that provides the product to a reseller, wherein the reseller is a party that conveys the product to a customer;
• joining the product identifier with the provider identifier to create a compound identifier;
• and
• storing the compound identifier in a database.

A method of inventory and supply chain management executed by an inventory management system that comprises a processor and a memory for storing logic, the processor executing the logic to perform the method, comprising:

• receiving a request for a product from a first party, wherein the request comprises a first compound identifier for the product, wherein the first compound identifier includes a product identifier that identifies the product and a provider identifier that identifies the party that manufactures, distributes, or sells the product;
• decomposing the first compound identifier to obtain the provider identifier included therein by separating the first product identifier from the provider identifier;
• transmitting the sales order to a second party using the provider identifier;
• receiving from the second party, notification that the product has shipped by:
• receiving a native stock keeping unit (SKU) for the product from the second party;
• correlating the native SKU with the first compound identifier for the product to create shipping and tracking information;
• transmitting the shipping and tracking information to the first party;
• receiving the product from the second party;
• and
• integrating the first compound identifier for the product into a database of compound identifiers that each represent a relationship between a product and a provider, wherein the product is a first product comprising a provider identifier identifying a first provider party that manufactures, distributes, or sells the product, a second product, identical to the first product, comprising a second provider identifier identifying a second provider party that manufactures, distributes, or sells the same product, wherein the first product and the second product are identical to one another and share a substantially identical product identifier therebetween, but the first provider party and the second provider party are different entities, the first provider identifier being appended to the product identifier to create the first compound identifier, the second provider identifier being appended to the product identifier to create a second compound identifier, wherein the first provider identifier for the first provider party and the second provider identifier for the second provider party each comprise a unique character set used to represent only a respective provider, wherein the second compound identifier is linked to a unique a native SKU.