Google Answers Logo
View Question
 
Q: Prior Art Search - Electronic purchase order system ( Answered,   1 Comment )
Question  
Subject: Prior Art Search - Electronic purchase order system
Category: Computers > Software
Asked by: the_answers_are_here-ga
List Price: $200.00
Posted: 31 May 2005 07:48 PDT
Expires: 30 Jun 2005 07:48 PDT
Question ID: 527697
I am searching for any web pages, articles, newsgroup discussion,
papers, brochures, book chapters, newsletters, etc. that discuss a
computerized system that enables someone to view different electronic
catalogs, choose items and have requisitions and purchase orders
generated electronically for each of the items even though they may be
from different suppliers. Information on inventory will also be
available to the system.

The elements are described as?

An electronic sourcing system comprising:

    * at least two product catalogs containing data relating to items
associated with the respective sources;
    * means for selecting the product catalogs to search;
    * means for searching for matching items among the selected product catalogs;
    * means for building a requisition using data relating to selected
matching items and their associated source(s);
    * means for processing the requisition to generate one or more
purchase orders for the selected matching items; and
    * means for determining whether a selected matching item is
available in inventory.

Think of a big corporation that works with many different vendors. An
employee can look at each vendor?s electronic catalog and chooses the
items they need.  The system then generates the required requisition
or purchase orders for each of the different vendors.

Areas of possible research: Automotive industry, SAP (a software
company), supply chain resources.

Here is what you need to provide for this question to be considered
answered and receive a great rating:

1. Your reference, article, web page, brochure, newsgroup discussion,
etc, must have a date prior to August 10, 1994.  If there is no date
or the date is August 10, 1994 or later, the question is not answered.

2. Your reference will discuss reviewing different electronic catalogs
from different vendors or suppliers, placing orders electronically,
electronically generating requisition or purchase orders for each
vendor or supplier, inventory information is available electronically.

3. We already know of the following references and should not be
included in your answer...

USP 6,023,683, USP 6,055,516, USP 6,505,172, USP 5,694,551 and USP
5,712,989 (and all references they cite)

The more references and the greater detail earn you great reviews and tips.

Feel free to ask for clarrification and thanks, I look forward to your results.

Request for Question Clarification by pafalafa-ga on 31 May 2005 08:06 PDT
Hello..it's always nice to have a new prior art challenge!

Does this pre-1994 description sound like the type of thing you're looking for:


-----

...The combined enterprise of 50 people moves 400,000 different part
types from 80 different suppliers and manufacturers...Some 90 percent
of their purchase orders never see the white of paper. Communication
is entirely electronic - from one computer to another.

To...bring necessary parts from supplier to customer, its computer
system provides electronic parts catalogs, stock supply information on
its own and suppliers' inventories and weekly updates on product price
movements and national popularity rankings...personnel know precisely
what is available and what is moving in the vast auto parts supply
stream.

The computer does almost everything. Employees just feed it, or ask it
the right information, and move the corresponding auto parts from
point A to point B, then to point C, the greasy hand of the customer.


...terminals allow clerks at each location to look up auto parts in
electronic catalogs, to check stock supplies in the warehouse or to
order parts from suppliers, among other functions...terminals are all
tied into...[the] central mainframe computer.
-----


If this is NOT on target, please let us know as clearly as possible
where and why it falls short, so we can best target any follow-up
research.

Thanks,

pafalafa-ga

Clarification of Question by the_answers_are_here-ga on 31 May 2005 09:24 PDT
Hello and thanks for requesting clarrification...

Dates are critical, make sure the reference pre-dates August 10, 1994.
Make sure it is not an internal inventory system, but a system that
accesses outside vendors' catalogs, orders material or supplies and
generates the purchase orders. Also, make sure it is not a reference
cited in any of the patents I list as already known.

Look to the description and ask whether it satifies the elements sought, i.e.

    * at least two product catalogs containing data relating to items
associated with the respective sources;
    * means for selecting the product catalogs to search;
    * means for searching for matching items among the selected product catalogs;
    * means for building a requisition using data relating to selected
matching items and their associated source(s);
    * means for processing the requisition to generate one or more
purchase orders for the selected matching items; and
    * means for determining whether a selected matching item is
available in inventory.


Also, the greater the detail and the greater number pf references
increases ratings and tips.  Thanks again and ask for more
clarrification if you like.

Request for Question Clarification by pafalafa-ga on 31 May 2005 13:15 PDT
Thanks for getting back to me.

I will continue looking for other references, and let you know what I find.  

I just want to confirm what I have thus far, however.  By my reading,
the article I excerpted earlier fits pretty much all your criteria:


--Dates are critical, make sure the reference pre-dates August 10, 1994.

The article is from 1988


--Make sure it is not an internal inventory system, but a system that
accesses outside vendors' catalogs, orders material or supplies and
generates the purchase orders.

"its computer system provides electronic parts catalogs, stock supply
information on its own and suppliers' inventories..."

"Some 90 percent of their purchase orders never see the white of
paper. Communication is entirely electronic..."


--make sure it is not a reference cited in any of the patents I list
as already known.

I haven't checked this yet, but I will.




--at least two product catalogs containing data relating to items
associated with the respective sources

"400,000 different part types from 80 different suppliers and manufacturers..."



--means for selecting the product catalogs to search

"terminals allow clerks at each location to look up auto parts in
electronic catalogs..."


--means for searching for matching items among the selected product catalogs

"To...bring necessary parts from supplier to customer, its computer
system provides electronic parts catalogs, stock supply information on
its own and suppliers' inventories and weekly updates on product
price...personnel know precisely what is available and what is moving
in the vast auto parts supply stream..."



--means for building a requisition using data relating to selected
matching items and their associated source(s)

"......terminals allow clerks at each location to look up auto parts
in electronic catalogs, to check stock supplies in the warehouse or to
order parts from suppliers..."



--means for processing the requisition to generate one or more
purchase orders for the selected matching items

"...Some 90 percent of their purchase orders never see the white of
paper. Communication is entirely electronic - from one computer to
another..."



--means for determining whether a selected matching item is available in inventory.

"its computer system provides electronic parts catalogs, stock supply
information on its own and suppliers' inventories..."




Please let me know ASAP if any of that seems off-target for what you need. 

paf

Clarification of Question by the_answers_are_here-ga on 31 May 2005 13:28 PDT
Appears correct and on target. I would be comfortable with you
providing this reference in total and hopfully more like it.
Answer  
Subject: Re: Prior Art Search - Electronic purchase order system
Answered By: pafalafa-ga on 31 May 2005 19:44 PDT
 
Answers,



This turned out to be a lot tougher than I imagined.  

After finding the initial article that I already mentioned to you, the
well just ran dry.  I think it quite likely that there were a number
of systems back in the late 1980's/early 1990's that could serve as
examples of prior art, but it's very tricky finding sources of
information that describe them in enough detail to really hit the nail
on the head.

However, that first article was so spot-on, that I trust it will do
the trick, even as a stand-alone.  To get right to it, the article
was:


Journal of Commerce
April 14, 1988, Thursday
SECTION: ELECTRONICS, 
Pg. 4B


AUTO PARTS COMPANIES TERM EDI INVALUABLE
by Torrey Byles


I've already provided just about as many excerpts from the article as
I comfortably can.  I wish I could post the whole article here, but
I'm afraid it's copyrighted, so all I can offer are brief excerpts. 
I'm repeating the excerpts here, with a bit more information added:


----
...A&H Auto Supply Inc. of Wilmington, N.C...has four auto stores
throughout the city which are serviced by one warehouse distributor,
operated by a sister company, East Coast Inc....The combined
enterprise of 50 people moves 400,000 different part types from 80
different suppliers and manufacturers to earn from $ 3 million to $ 4
million in sales every year...Some 90 percent of their purchase orders
never see the white of paper. Communication is entirely electronic -
from one computer to another.

To help A&H bring necessary parts from supplier to customer, its
computer system provides electronic parts catalogs, stock supply
information on its own and suppliers' inventories and weekly updates
on product price movements and national popularity rankings...A&H
personnel know precisely what is available and what is moving in the
vast auto parts supply stream.

The computer does almost everything. Employees just feed it, or ask it
the right information, and move the corresponding auto parts from
point A to point B, then to point C, the greasy hand of the customer.

A&H has 38 terminals throughout their four stores and warehouse to
handle the traffic...The terminals allow clerks at each location to
look up auto parts in electronic catalogs, to check stock supplies in
the warehouse or to order parts from suppliers, among other
functions...The terminals are all tied into A&H's central mainframe
computer.

The computer has built in functions that allow it to automatically
dial or receive telephone calls with outside suppliers...The system
initiates a call when somebody on a terminal wants to place an order
for parts or wants to find part information. It receives calls when
supplier computers call up every week to send down price updates or
national popularity rankings for products.

In addition to communications functions, the system runs a gamut of
management functions, beginning with point-of-sale inventory updating,
to accounts receivable and payable, to sales analysis reports.

The computer system - hardware and software combined - was
manufactured by Triad Systems Corp. of Livermore, Calif...Triad
specializes in building inventory control systems for the automobile,
hardware store and dental office industries.


===============


There are also two patents that I want to bring to your attention,
that may also fit the bill, though it's always a bit hard to be sure,
given the convoluted type of language used in patents.  Nonetheless,
they look relevant, and I did not see them on your list, or included
in the patents you mentioned:


PATENT 5319542
June 7, 1994

System for ordering items using an electronic catalogue


The disclosed system facilitates the user in electronically ordering
items from suppliers. The system is comprised of an Electronic
Catlogue and an Electronic Requisition facility. The Electronic
Catalogue includes a Public Catalog and a Private Catalogue. The
Public Catalog is stored on a publicly available database for access
by customer/Requestors. The Private Catalogue is resident on a
Customer's computer system and may contain unique pricing data based
on pricing agreements. The Electronic Requisition facility is used by
the Customer/Requestors to electronically create purchase requisitions
based upon the information provided in the catalogues and route the
requisitions through the appropriate approval process within he
enterprise. Requisitions are then processed through the customer's
procurement system and transmitted electronically as purchase orders
to Suppliers.

[NOTE: various places in the patent refer to multiple catalogs on the
system, rather than just a single catalog]






PATENT 4799156
January 17, 1989


Interactive market management system


A system for interactive on-line electronic communications and
processing of business transactions between a plurality of different
types of independent users including at least a plurality of sellers,
and a plurality of buyers, as well as financial institutions, and
freight service providers. Each user can communicate with the system
from remote terminals adapted to access communication links and the
system may include remote terminals adapted for storage of a remote
data base. The system includes a data base which contains user
information. The data base is accessed via a validation procedure to
permit business transactions in an interactive on-line mode between
users during interactive business transaction sessions wherein one
party to the transaction is specifically selected by the other party.
The system permits concurrent interactive business transaction
sessions between different users.


...the user selects, from a menu of options, the specific function it
wants to perform (e.g., enter an order, inquire about a late delivery,
search the catalogue, etc. )

...A typical distributor's menu may present catalogue/price list
inquiry, enter/modify request for quotation (RFQ), review proposals,
enter an umbrella agreement, enter/amend/confirm an order, inquiry and
report, enter/review payments, and mortgage of orders/invoices.

...A buyer may enter and substitute one or more RFQ's. At the entry
time the system validates the various data items, and calculates
weight, volume, etc. distributor's catalogue, the system can suggest
Based upon complementary relationships listed in the complementary
items.

[NOTE: this seems to be a system that allows multiple sellers -- each
with their own catalogs -- to interact with multiple buyers]



===============


There are also a number of articles that describe systems that come
close, but the descriptions are frustratingly incomplete, and can't be
fully compared against the criteria you laid out.  Still, they seemed
definitely worth citing here just the same:



-----
9 February 1993
Business Wire 
Reynolds to introduce electronic parts catalog for Isuzu dealers 

...The first electronic parts catalog system for Isuzu dealers in the
United States was introduced today by The Reynolds and Reynolds
Company and Bell & Howell Publication Systems Company....Marketed by
Reynolds as the PartsVision(R) system, this marks the companies' tenth
image-based application, more than any other automotive computer
systems vendor.

...With the electronic parts catalog, the latest parts data for Isuzu
vehicles in the United States produced in the last seven years can be
quickly accessed through simple entry of a vehicle's year, model,
group or section via keyboard, eliminating the use of time-consuming
paper catalogs...

...PartsVision is integrated with Reynolds in-house systems, allowing
the dealer to access inventory, vehicle service history, dispatching
or repair order billing systems from one terminal...
-----



-----
27 April 1992
Computer Reseller News
Vars Industry:  Coin markets parts catalog to automotive dealers 

...Automotive VAR Coin Dealership Systems is marketing an electronic
parts catalog system to General Motors Corp., Honda Motor Co. and
Acura car dealerships.

...The automated system enables dealership employees to look up parts
information far quicker than using the traditional manual paper
catalog, according to Coin. Employees can also inquire, select and
bill car parts on one screen.

...The setup also includes a computerized parts list for use in
product recalls, large body orders and common repairs. Dealership
employees can add notes to each part number for things such as the
part's location or an alternate part number.

...The VAR has partnered with Dega Technology Inc., a CD-ROM
developer, to market the EPC100.
-----



-----
12 July 1987
Chicago Sun-Times 
New technology smooths road for auto services 



It's a given in the auto service business that mechanics and
countermen think they know more about car parts than the other...Such
arguing has virtually stopped at Larry Faul Oldsmobile in Schaumburg
as the result of a newly installed, state-of-the-art electronic parts
catalog.

...Using optical disc technology and a computer monitor, countermen
call up a diagram of the section of a car being serviced which shows
every component in that area. Together, the counterman and mechanic
view the diagram to identify needed parts. Each is labeled with a one-
or two-digit number. By touching the number label on the screen or
entering it on the computer keyboard, a more detailed diagram pops up
on the screen...With one more keystroke or touch of the screen, a
short list of catalog names and numbers appear.

...Nowotarski pointed to racks of shelves filled with bulky, dog-eared
catalogs that the optical disc system has replaced. Parts for all GM
models, including trucks, that fill about 120 catalogs of varying
thickness are now stored on two 5 1/4-inch compact discs and two hard
discs...

...In addition, Sears Roebuck & Co. is using Bell & Howell IDB 2000 at
more than 40 credit centers to track sales transactions and billing
information.
-----



-----
24 October 1989
Business Wire 
Reynolds and Reynolds releases ERA 4.0 enhancements; system speed
improved, pricing reduced; appeals to more market segments


...The Reynolds and Reynolds Co. (NYSE:REY) Tuesday announced the
release of 4.0 hardware and software enhancements for its ERA in-house
computer system for automobile dealers...The ERA system provides and
integrates the following applications by department: Business Office -
Accounting, Payroll, Lease Management, Accounts Payable, Executive
Data Management System, and Dealer Communication System. Sales
Department - Vehicle Management, Finance and Insurance, and Showroom
Control. Service Department - Service Merchandising, Service
Scheduling, and Service Invoicing. Parts Department - Parts Inventory,
Parts Invoicing, and Electronic Parts Cataloging.
-----



-----
InfoWorld
Nov 15, 1993
Vol.15, Iss. 46;  pg. S90, 2 pgs 
Case study: Freightliner Corp. 


...Already at the top of a highly competitive industry, Freightliner
Corp., the leading manufacturer of over-the-road vehicles, is about to
roll out an ambitious client/server development project with NT as its
hub...


...CATALOGING THE PARTS. Freightliner's first foray into providing its
dealers with Windows-based tools was with a LAN-based electronic parts
catalog called PartsPro. A CD-ROM database of automotive parts used in
Freightliner trucks over the past 15 years, this allowed dealers to do
a search by truck serial number--each custom vehicle manufactured by
Freightliner is assigned a unique number listing all parts
utilized--from Windows-based workstations installed in remote dealer
offices. Communications links between the remote PCs and the
Portland-based mainframe allowed dealers to place orders for parts
electronically.

...Now an even more broad-reaching project is underway. Called
ServicePro, this will encompass PartsPro by providing an integrated
approach to virtually all dealer support services...ServicePro will
automate such routine dealer functions as diagnosing truck mechanical
problems; locating warranty and service information; and generating
repair orders through an easy-to-use, icon- and menu-driven
application...To accommodate the fact that most dealers already have
proprietary minicomputer-based applications running other aspects of
their businesses--such as accounting, payroll, and parts
functions--Freightliner is writing interfaces that will link
ServicePro into five of the trucking industry's most popular
host-based business systems.
-----






I trust this information fully answers your question.  However, please
don't rate this answer until you have everything you need.  If you
would like any additional information, just post a Request for
Clarification to let me know how I can assist you further, and I'm at
your service.

All the best,

pafalafa-ga


search strategy:  searched Google and a number of newspaper, magazine,
professional journal databases, and patent databases for [ electronic
parts catalog ], names of companies associated with this technology,
and related terms.
Comments  
Subject: Re: Prior Art Search - Electronic purchase order system
From: jones72-ga on 21 Sep 2005 13:29 PDT
 
But there is a lot more out there.  Look and you will find.

Important Disclaimer: Answers and comments provided on Google Answers are general information, and are not intended to substitute for informed professional medical, psychiatric, psychological, tax, legal, investment, accounting, or other professional advice. Google does not endorse, and expressly disclaims liability for any product, manufacturer, distributor, service or service provider mentioned or any opinion expressed in answers or comments. Please read carefully the Google Answers Terms of Service.

If you feel that you have found inappropriate content, please let us know by emailing us at answers-support@google.com with the question ID listed above. Thank you.
Search Google Answers for
Google Answers  


Google Home - Answers FAQ - Terms of Service - Privacy Policy