Patent ID: 6947903
Filing Date: 2005-09-20
Classification: G06Q

Abstract:
1. A method of monitoring supply chain activity, comprising: scanning for changed supply-related data at independent supply chain sites within the supply chain; extracting the supply-related data at the independent supply chain, the data being maintained in plural formats at the supply chain sites, where each of the supply chain sites represents an independent entity in the supply chain; translating the extracted data into a common format; uploading the extracted data from each supply chain site to a data collection site, the data collection site collecting the extracted data; and upon a request from a user associated with one of the supply chain sites, detecting a problem condition if there is a surplus or shortage in the collected data retrieved from at least one of the supply chain sites other than the site of the user; and responding to the problem condition by asserting an alert to the user, where the alert indicates a problem condition associated with at least one of the supply chain sites other than the site of the user.