Patent ID: 8433591
Filing Date: 2013-04-30
Classification: G06Q

Abstract:
1. A computer-implemented method for facilitating decisions to make an item in-house or to buy the item from one or more outside suppliers, the method comprising: receiving, at one or more computers, information defining a workflow corresponding to a business process for arriving at a make or buy decision for the item, wherein the information configures the one or more computers to enforce one or more aspects of the business process; generating, with one or more processors associated with the one or more computer systems, information configured for determining whether to buy or make the item using quantifications of the make decision, quantifications of the buy decision, and anticipated quantity of the item needed within a predefined time period; and generating, with one or more processors associated with the one or more computer systems, information configured for determining whether to buy or make the item using quantifications of a strategic value of either the make decision or the buy decision according to a set of strategic criteria indicative of a degree to which a decision is aligned with at least one predetermined business strategy based on information obtained through enforcement of the one or more aspects of the business process through the workflow; wherein enforcement of the one or more aspects of the business process through the workflow includes: