Patent ID: 8478649
Filing Date: 2013-07-02
Classification: G06Q

Abstract:
1. A computer-implemented method for creating and managing structured order items according to a customer order within a supply chain management system, the customer order specifying a plurality of products and required quantities thereof, the method comprising: comparing, by a computer processor, an available quantity of an ordered product with an ordered quantity of the ordered product; creating, by the computer processor, a substitution requirement group indicating a variant product as a substitute for the ordered product, if the available quantity of the ordered product does not correspond to the ordered quantity of the ordered product, the variant product comprising a plurality of component products and being associated with a product type indicator and a start production indicator; determining whether a required quantity of the variant product is confirmed based on the ordered quantity and the available quantity; determining the plurality of component products according to the product type indicator of the variant product, if the required quantity of the variant product is not confirmed and the product type indicator has a predetermined type value; performing an availability check for the component products according to the start production indicator of the variant product, to determine whether the required quantity of the component products can be confirmed, if the start production indicator has a predetermined start production value; determining at least one alternative product for the component products if the availability check does not confirm the required quantity of the component products; performing an availability check for the at least one alternative product; creating, by the computer processor, structured order items according to the variant product and the component products, the structured order items being arranged in a tree structure comprising the ordered product, the variant products, the component products, the alternative products, and the relationships among them; and updating, by the computer processor, the customer order by linking the ordered product with the structured order items.