| Method and system for gathering and disseminating quality performance and audit activity data in an extended enterprise environment -> Monitor Keywords |
|
|
  Method and system for gathering and disseminating quality performance and audit activity data in an extended enterprise environmentRelated Patent Categories: Data Processing: Financial, Business Practice, Management, Or Cost/price Determination, Automated Electrical Financial Or Business Practice Or Management Arrangement, Operations Research, Job Performance AnalysisThe Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20080040207. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION [0001] This application is a divisional application of U.S. Ser. No. 09/749,846 Dec. 27, 2000, the contents of which are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] This invention relates generally to a computer-based method and system for supply chain management, and more particularly, this invention relates to a method and system for gathering and disseminating quality performance and audit activity data in an extended environment. [0003] With the advent of the Internet and related technologies, complex networking systems have evolved that enable distant trading partners operating disparate computer systems to interact with one another. The Internet provides a ubiquitous message routing architecture that supports reliable inter-business connectivity around the world, based on common communication protocols and common standards for system interoperability. Further, the Internet and related intranet and extranet technologies offer a relatively low cost of entry, making them practical for use by large and small businesses alike. Web-based security issues have been minimized through the use of intranets that connect a business' internal processes to the applications and data they need and extranets that connect external processes to the applications and data they need. Firewalls or security devices are added to protect against unauthorized access to the internal network and to isolate unauthorized Internet access from the extranet. With this new technology in place, existing trading barriers between trading partners can be removed, allowing for a synchronized flow of information. [0004] A recent trend in electronics manufacturing involves contracting out some or all of the manufacturing of a company's products to third party manufacturers which then build these products according to specification. This arrangement, known as outsourcing, results where the original manufacturer (called an Original Equipment Manufacturer, or OEM) buys assemblies in bulk from third-party contract manufacturers and then customizes them for a particular application. It then markets and sells the customized equipment under its own name. By outsourcing the manufacturing and assembly of these goods, established OEMs are able to focus on other business areas such as new product development and customer relationship management. Additionally, as product designs and components are becoming increasingly complex and frequently updated, a contract manufacturer with specialized skills may be better equipped to accommodate the changing technology. By outsourcing to meet peak demands, an OEM may be able to avoid having to build new facilities and/or hire new people. [0005] An OEM who is outsourcing the manufacturing of its products needs to be able to collaborate with its contract manufacturers and suppliers before, during, and after the manufacturing cycle in order to achieve maximum efficiency of the production process. One area of collaboration is supplier auditing and reporting. Technology shifts are causing new technical suppliers to rise in an ever-increasing worldwide space. With this rise in suppliers, comes the need for new quality control measures including auditing processes. Before integrating a supplier technology into an OEM's product, a supplier is often subjected to a rigorous audit to ensure that correct technical processes are followed and to ensure technical capability. Supplier audit management must be able to handle the audit process where the OEM has offices located around the world and buys from suppliers equally spread out. Traditional methods of qualifying suppliers and performing auditing procedures often result in redundant or unnecessary audits where inefficient, incomplete, or outdated records provide incorrect information. This is compounded by the fact that multiple procurement divisions of an OEM may not always know what other divisions are doing due to inadequate communications, employee turnover, and/or geographic separation. Further, old auditing methods that involved tracking down a particular auditor who possessed the requisite skills necessary to perform the audit was tedious and time consuming and often involved scheduling the auditor to travel excessive distances to the audit sites. Finally, old audit methods provided inconsistent results where audit reports took on different formats depending upon the division requesting the audit, resulting in non-standardized audit reports and unsatisfactory results. The present invention seeks to eliminate or reduce the above inefficiencies by providing a centralized storage system and process for creating, editing and storing auditing schedules, reports, and reference materials via a collaborative, web-enabled workgroup application. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0006] A method for facilitating supplier auditing functions in a communications network environment is disclosed. The method includes receiving a request from a user system of an enterprise system to initiate an activity. The activity includes assessing a supplier record for determining a need to schedule a supplier audit, and scheduling the audit for performing an initial or ongoing qualification of an existing or prospective trading partner of the enterprise system. Assessing the supplier record includes reviewing past audit activity, date of last audit, and results of past audits. The enterprise system retrieves data from at least one database, which corresponds to the request. The enterprise system includes a quality information network application for executing activity options that include the activity requested by the user system. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0007] Referring now to the drawings wherein like elements are numbered alike in the several FIGURES: [0008] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a portion of the system that includes a plurality of workstations and servers on which the quality information network application is implemented; [0009] FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary main menu screen for the quality information network application; [0010] FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary audit schedule menu and product category submenu screen for the quality information network application; [0011] FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary audit schedule form screen for the quality information network application; and [0012] FIG. 5 is a flowchart describing the quality information network audit process. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT [0013] The quality information network application is a collaborative tool used to facilitate the supplier auditing and reporting processes in an extended enterprise environment. It provides a centralized storage system in which audit schedules, reports and miscellaneous documents can be created and viewed in a collaborative manner by various users inside and outside of an organization on a tiered-access basis. It allows outsiders of the organization to submit comments and view a limited portion of information in the quality information network databases via a secure network connection. System administrators for the organization establish and maintain the access permissions and set parameters for users of the quality information network tool in keeping with the objectives of the organization. [0014] In an exemplary embodiment, the quality information application is implemented through a networked system such as that shown in FIG. 1. Although not necessary to realize the advantages of the present invention, system 100 may be part of a wide area network in which different geographical locations are interconnected, either by high-speed data lines or by radio links, interconnecting hundreds of workstations at widely disparate locations. In the simplified diagram of FIG. 1, system 100 includes an organization 102 comprising a web server 104, an applications server 106, and a database server 108 that are located on a host system 110 and connected through a network 112 to workstations 114. The term "organization" refers to the system implementing the quality information network application. Network 112 may comprise a LAN, a WAN, or other network configuration known in the art. Further, network 112 may include wireless connections, radio-based communications, telephony-based communications, and other network-based communications. For purposes of illustration, however, network 112 is a LAN. A firewall 130 limits access to organization 102 to those users outside of organization 102 who possess proper access permissions. Firewall 130 may comprise a gateway router, proxy server or a combination of similar hardware/software devices readily known by those skilled in the art. [0015] Host system 110 is running suitable web server software designed to accommodate various forms of communications and which allows information in data storage device 118 to be published on a web site. For purposes of illustration, host system 110 is running Lotus Domino.TM. as its server software. Applications server 106 executes the quality information network tool, among other applications utilized by organization 102. Applications server 106 is also running a groupware application such as Lotus Notes.TM. which allows remote users to access information through its replication capabilities, provides e-mail services, and supports a secure extranet architecture. [0016] Data storage device 118 resides within intranet 112 and may comprise any form of mass storage device configured to read and write database type data maintained in a file store (e.g., a magnetic disk data storage device). Data storage device 118 is logically addressable as a consolidated data source across a distributed environment such as network system 100. The implementation of local and wide-area database management systems to achieve the functionality of data storage device 118 will be readily understood by those skilled in the art. Information stored in data storage device 118 is retrieved and manipulated via database server 108. [0017] Data storage device 118 provides a repository for databases including a reference database 122, an audit schedule database 124, an audit reports database 126, a supplier quality performance database 128, an executive summary reports database 129, and any other information desired by organization 102 for use by the quality information network tool. These features are further described herein. [0018] System 150 comprises a web server 152 that connects workstations 154 to an intranet 156 and to the Internet. Firewall 158 provides security and protection against unauthorized access to internal network information from outside sources. Each of workstations 154 may access web server 152 via internal web browsers (not shown) located on workstations 154. A data storage device 160 is coupled to server 152. Selected data fields and data from audit reports database 126 are replicated to database 120 and are accessible to system 150 via extranet 140. System 150 is typically an existing supplier or trading partner of organization 102. The terms `supplier` or `contract manufacturer` and `trading partner` are used interchangeably throughout this description. Remote workstation 170 is coupled to organization 102 via a web browser (not shown) and modem (not shown) for communicating with organization 102. [0019] A variety of user types may utilize the quality information network tool. These user types help define the nature and extent of access to data provided by organization 102. For purposes of illustration, four user types are described herein; however, an organization implementing the quality information network tool may define its own user types. Continue reading... Full patent description for Method and system for gathering and disseminating quality performance and audit activity data in an extended enterprise environment Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Method and system for gathering and disseminating quality performance and audit activity data in an extended enterprise environment patent application. ###  How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents1. Sign up (takes 30 seconds). 2. Fill in the keywords to be monitored. 3. Each week you receive an email with patent applications related to your keywords. Start now! - Receive info on patent apps like Method and system for gathering and disseminating quality performance and audit activity data in an extended enterprise environment or other areas of interest. ### Previous Patent Application: System and method for measuring reactions to product packaging, advertising, or product features over a computer-based network Next Patent Application: Performance optimization Industry Class: Data processing: financial, business practice, management, or cost/price determination ### FreshPatents.com Support Thank you for viewing the Method and system for gathering and disseminating quality performance and audit activity data in an extended enterprise environment patent info. IP-related news and info Results in 0.24131 seconds Other interesting Feshpatents.com categories: Accenture , Agouron Pharmaceuticals , Amgen , AT&T , Bausch & Lomb , Callaway Golf |
||
