International Business Machines Corporation

Eric T Lambert

Benjamin J Steele, Jr

John S Maresca

Michael J Whitney

Paul Anthony Zulpa

E Weston Seaman

Debra J White

Laurie Cohn

James Greene

Nadeem Malik

Edmund D Blackshear

Lane Thomas Holloway

George Michael Hurtis

Katherine June Pearsall

Edward Kobeda

Michael E Weissinger

Robert D Hayes

Biao Cai

Michael W Bolch

Brent R Jensen

Shu Chen Lim

An exemplary embodiment of the invention relates to a method, system, and storage medium for facilitating part qualification functions in a communication network environment. The method comprises creating a commodity template for a commodity associated with a supplier part. Creating a commodity template further comprises entering requirement data for qualifying the commodity and selecting at least one database in a part qualification repository for storing the requirements data. The part qualification repository comprises a parts database, a technology survey database, a quality information network database, and archives database, and a system testing database. The method further comprises assigning a default viewing tool for qualifying the commodity based upon the database selected and establishing access restriction operable for restricting and authorizing viewing and editing capabilities associated with the commodity template. The requirements data stored in databases associated with the part qualification repository are shared among the databases. The invention also included a system and storage medium.

Method and system for electronically qualifying supplier parts

Methods for monitoring user specific information on websites by searching websites and displaying the results based at least partially on geographical region are disclosed. Embodiments may include receiving a search request including one or more keywords and searching a database based on the received search request to generate search results, where the search results include an indication of one or more websites each with an associated geographical region. Embodiments may also include generating a geographical user interface page based on the search results, where the page includes an indication of the one or more opinion websites superimposed on a map based on their associated geographical region. Embodiments may further include transmitting the generated geographical user interface page. Further embodiments may include generating geography-based directed advertising based on the search results or receiving and storing a rating for a website from a user.

Monitoring user specific information on websites

A storage medium for managing a supply chain is provided. The storage medium includes instructions for implementing a method. The method includes transmitting a bid request from a bill of material (BOM) file to a web site and receiving a response from a supplier, resulting in an award notice. The method also includes identifying component prices incurred by the supplier that manufactures products using the components, comparing the prices with those available to the manufacturer from a component supplier. For components in which the supplier incurs a price greater than that available to the manufacturer, the method includes requesting authorization for the supplier to purchase a quantity of the component from the component supplier at the purchase price available to the manufacturer. Upon approval, the method includes transmitting an authorization to the supplier to purchase the component directly from the component supplier. The authorization includes guidelines for the contract manufacturer to follow.

Storage medium for facilitating parts procurement and production planning across an extended supply chain

An exemplary embodiment of the invention relates to a computer-based system and method for automating supply chain functions in a network environment, and more particularly, for identifying and implementing cost-savings techniques within the parts procurement and production planning system of an extended enterprise. The system includes a manufacturing enterprise or original equipment manufacturer (OEM) system comprising a host system operating a web server, an applications server, and a database manager; a data storage device in communication with the host system, and at least one terminal for accessing the host system. The OEM system runs on a network that is coupled to the Internet and is accessible to a supplier enterprise system and/or contract manufacturer system identified with proper permissions. The applications server executes a set of programs for managing the OEM system, including the A-source application of the present invention. The A-source application is assisted by bridging software capable of integrating a variety of data pertaining to parts or components collected from a plurality of sources, such as physical attributes for components stored in one database and corresponding business attributes stored in a second database, and organizing the data in a manner such that the organization implementing the software can then perform comprehensive analyses on the integrated data and ultimately make more effective purchasing decisions based upon the analyses. Bills of material, requests for quotes (RFQs), requests for price updates, and the physical and business attributes belonging to the bills of material are inputted into the manufacturing enterprise system via the A-source application where analysis and calculations are performed on the inputs and cost savings techniques can be identified and electronically implemented.

Method and system for facilitating parts procurement and production planning across an extended supply chain

An exemplary embodiment of the invention relates to an integrated computer-based method and system for facilitating supplier qualification and quality management. This computer-based method and system includes a host system receiving a request from a user system to execute supplier qualification and quality management software, executing the requested software at the host system, sending results of the software execution to the user system, receiving input at the host system from the user system in response to the software execution, and providing the user system with output generated as a result of executing the software. The supplier qualification and quality management software includes a selection module, a qualification module and a quality module.

Method and system for providing an end-to-end business process for electronic supplier qualification and quality management

This is a system and method for management system. The system and method includes a raw pull indicator database which receives inputs comprising data from participant nodes. A system comprises execution logic which operates on the data from the raw pull indicator. A disposition system feedbacks reliability data of the participants based on the data operated on by the system.

Quality/reliability system and method in multilevel manufacturing environment

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Wappingers Falls, NY, United States of America

Eric T Lambert