Patent ID: 7277865
Filing Date: 2007-10-02
Classification: G06Q

Abstract:
1. In a contract: manufacturing framework, a method of providing access to manufacturing services and manufacturing management services that can be contracted, the method comprising the steps of: (a) providing a system database including a plurality of category databases, the category databases including at least a contracts database, an industry database, and a bench marking database, wherein each of the category databases include a plurality of Contract Manufacturing Organization data structures, wherein each Contract Manufacturing Organization data structure includes a description of a particular Contract Manufacturing Organization and manufacturing services provided by the Contract Manufacturing Organization that can be contracted for, and wherein the database further includes a plurality of hyperlinks to information; (b) identifying a particular Contract Manufacturing Organization data structure based on request data from a user's terminal wherein the request data includes a type of inquiry and is provided to the system database that utilizes one of the category databases to process the request data based on the type of inquiry in the request data; (c) identifying a particular hyperlink based on the requested data; (d) sending the user the identified Contract Manufacturing Organization data structure so as to identify to the user a particular Contract Manufacturing Organization, and sending the user the identified hyperlink; (e) allowing the user to obtain additional information about the Contract Manufacturing Organization identified by the Contract manufacturing Organization data structure utilizing the identified hyperlink; (f) receiving order information at a Central management unit terminal for a new order from the user's terminal for manufacturing services from a particular Contract Manufacturing Organization stored in the category databases; (g) checking budget constraints at the Central management unit terminal, wherein budget constraints are calculated by comparing cost of the new order plus past order costs against an ordering budget to determine whether the cost of the new order would exceed the ordering budget; and (h) the Central management unit terminal placing the new order for manufacturing services with the particular Contract Manufacturing Organization if the cost of the new order is within the budget constraints.