Abstract:
An exemplary embodiment of the invention relates to a computer-based method and system for facilitating production changes in an extended enterprise via a network environment. The system includes a manufacturing enterprise 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 manufacturing enterprise system runs on a network that is coupled to the Internet and is accessible to an outside enterprise or trading partner identified with having proper access permissions. The applications server executes a set of programs for managing the manufacturing enterprise system, including the process and product change notification application of the present invention. PCN notices and EOL requests are inputted into the manufacturing enterprise system via the process and product change notification application where required data are supplied, destination resources of affected parties are determined and decisions are calculated according to these inputs.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    This invention relates generally to supply chain management of outsourced goods, and more particularly, this invention relates to a method and system for facilitating production changes and end-of-life requests among supply chain partners in a multi-enterprise environment via a networked system.  
           [0002]    With the advent of the Internet and related technologies, complex networking systems have evolved that enable distant trading partners operating disparate computer systems to interact with one another. The Internet provides a ubiquitous message routing architecture that supports reliable inter-business connectivity around the world, based on common communication protocols and common standards for system interoperability. Further, the Internet and related intranet and extranet technologies offer a relatively low cost of entry, making them practical for use by large and small businesses alike. Web-based security issues have been minimized through the use of intranets that connect a business&#39; internal processes to the applications and data they need and extranets that connect external processes to the applications and data they need. Firewalls or security devices are added to protect against unauthorized access to the internal network and to isolate unauthorized Internet access from the extranet. With this new technology in place, existing trading barriers between trading partners can be removed, allowing for a synchronized flow of information.  
           [0003]    A recent trend in electronics manufacturing involves contracting out some or all of the manufacturing of a company&#39;s products to third party manufacturers which then build these products according to specification. This arrangement, known as outsourcing, results where the original manufacturer (called an Original Equipment Manufacturer, or OEM) buys assemblies in bulk from third-party contract manufacturers and then customizes them for a particular application. It then markets and sells the customized equipment under its own name. By outsourcing the manufacturing and assembly of these goods, established OEMs are able to focus on other business areas such as new product development and customer relationship management. Additionally, as product designs and components are becoming increasingly complex and frequently updated, a contract manufacturer with specialized skills may be better equipped to accommodate the changing technology. By outsourcing to meet peak demands, an OEM may be able to avoid having to build new facilities and/or hire new people.  
           [0004]    An OEM who is outsourcing the manufacturing of its products needs to be able to collaborate with its supply chain partners before, during, and after the manufacturing cycle in order to achieve maximum efficiency of the production process. One area of collaboration is the production change processes including process/product change notifications and end-of-life requests. Product or process change notifications (PCNs) are documents that supply chain partners send to an OEM to notify the OEM that either something in the devices under production is changing or a production process technique is changing which may trigger the need to re-qualify a device or process. The re-qualification process tests the new changes to ensure compatibility with larger assemblies or final products for which the devices will be incorporated. End-of-Life (EOL) requests are documents submitted by a supplier who has information about a product or material that has been, or is expected to be, purchased by the OEM or authorized manufacturer and will no longer be available for purchase. This gives the OEM advance warning that a change in production or process may become necessary in the future and that decisions regarding alternative processes or materials must be made. Numerous such notices are received by a typical OEM every year, often in a haphazard fashion, such as memorandums, e-mail, telephone conversations, and so on. For an OEM who has facilities all over the world, this unsystematic method of notification may result in a PCN being mis-delivered, or perhaps not received by the appropriate individuals at all. Various geographically dispersed facilities of an OEM may be involved with a program or manufacturing plan that is affected by the PCN, making it increasing difficult to organize and track the flow of information from facility to facility. If one or more divisions or facilities of an OEM does not receive the PCN data, its manufacturing processes can become significantly hampered causing production delays and increased associated manufacturing costs. It is therefore desirable to provide a method and system that facilitates the PCN/EOL processes so that the PCN information can be properly and quickly delivered to all involved sites and related locations of the OEM and production processes can be streamlined.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0005]    An exemplary embodiment of the invention relates to a computer-based method and system for facilitating production changes in an extended enterprise via a network environment. The system includes a manufacturing enterprise 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 manufacturing enterprise system runs on a network that is coupled to the Internet and is accessible to an outside enterprise or trading partner identified with having proper access permissions. The applications server executes a set of programs for managing the manufacturing enterprise system, including the process and product change notification application of the present invention. PCN notices and EOL requests are inputted into the manufacturing enterprise system via the process and product change notification application where required data are supplied, destination resources of affected parties are determined and decisions are calculated according to these inputs.  
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0006]    Referring now to the drawings wherein like elements are numbered alike in the several FIGURES:  
         [0007]    [0007]FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a portion of the system that includes a plurality of workstations and servers on which the process and product change notification application is implemented;  
         [0008]    [0008]FIG. 2 is a flowchart describing the PCN/EOL process; and  
         [0009]    [0009]FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary site form used by the process and product change notification application. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0010]    The process and product change notification application is a tool used to facilitate the production change processes in an extended enterprise environment. It provides a centralized storage system in which PCN/EOL documents can be created, edited, viewed, tracked and closed by a variety of users inside and outside of an organization on a tiered-access basis. It further allows outsiders of the organization to submit comments and view a limited portion of information in the PCN database via a secure network connection. System administrators for the organization establish and maintain the access permissions and set parameters for users of the process and product change notification tool in keeping with the objectives of the organization.  
         [0011]    In an exemplary embodiment, the process and product change notification application is implemented through a networked system such as that shown in FIG. 1. Although not necessary to realize the advantages of the present invention, system  100  may be part of a wide area network in which different geographical locations are interconnected, either by high-speed data lines or by radio links, interconnecting hundreds of workstations at widely disparate locations. In the simplified diagram of FIG. 1, system  100  includes an organization  102  comprising a web server  104 , an applications server  106 , and a database server  108  that are located on a host system  110  and connected through a network  112  to workstations  114 . The term “organization” refers to the system implementing the process and product change notification application. Network  112  may comprise a LAN, a WAN, or other network configuration known in the art. Further, network  112  may include wireless connections, radio-based communications, telephony-based communications, and other network-based communications. For purposes of illustration, however, network  112  is a LAN. A firewall  130  limits access to organization  102  to those users outside of organization  102  who possess proper access permissions. Firewall  130  may comprise a gateway router, proxy server or a combination of similar hardware/software devices readily known by those skilled in the art.  
         [0012]    Host system  110  is running suitable web server software designed to accommodate various forms of communications and which allows information in data storage device  118  to be published on a web site. For purposes of illustration, host system  110  is running Lotus Domino (TM) as its server software. Applications server  106  executes the process and product change notification tool, among other applications utilized by organization  102 . Applications server  106  is also running a groupware application such as Lotus Notes (TM) which allows remote users to access information through its replication capabilities, provides e-mail services, and supports a secure extranet architecture.  
         [0013]    Data storage device  118  resides within intranet  112  and may comprise any form of mass storage device configured to read and write database type data maintained in a file store (e.g., a magnetic disk data storage device). Data storage device  118  is logically addressable as a consolidated data source across a distributed environment such as network system  100 . The implementation of local and wide-area database management systems to achieve the functionality of data storage device  118  will be readily understood by those skilled in the art. Information stored in data storage device  118  is retrieved and manipulated via database server  108 .  
         [0014]    Data storage device  118  provides a repository for databases including a PCN/EOL database  120 , “where used” databases  122 , local databases  124 , data resource databases  126 , and any other information desired by organization  102  for use by the process and product change notification tool. These features are further described herein.  
         [0015]    System  150  comprises a web server  152  that connects workstations  154  to an intranet  156  and to the Internet. Firewall  158  provides security and protection against unauthorized access to internal network information from outside sources. Each of workstations  154  may access web server  152  via internal web browsers (not shown) located on workstations  154 . A data storage device  160  is coupled to server  152 . Selected data fields of PCN database  120  are replicated to database  128  and are accessible to system  150  via extranet  140 . PCNs submitted by system  150  are loaded into PCN database  120  via a supplier portal device or application such as the one described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/658,257 filed on Sep. 8, 2000, entitled “E-Collaboration Commodity Management System and Method”, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. System  150  is typically an existing supplier or contract manufacturer of organization  102 . The terms ‘supplier’ or ‘contract manufacturer’ and ‘trading partner’ are used interchangeably throughout this description. Remote workstation  170  is coupled to organization  102  via a web browser (not shown) and modem (not shown) for communicating with organization  102 .  
         [0016]    Various types of users utilize the process and product change notification tool and are described herein as follows:  
         [0017]    Divisional Users. Divisional users are typically engineers and developers of organization  102 . Divisions of organization  102  are classified or sorted according to the product being manufactured. For example, one division may be dedicated to manufacturing/assembling personal computers. A second division might be responsible for the production of mainframe computers. A third division might involve storage devices. Divisional users may view, update, and transfer documents in PCN/EOL database  120  to other authorized users, but are limited to modifying only those documents relating to their division.  
         [0018]    Suppliers/Contract Manufacturers. These users are external to the organization but have a need to access certain information contained in PCN/EOL database  120 . These users are restricted to viewing through the Internet a limited segment of information in PCN/EOL database  120  to ensure the overall confidentiality of the documents contained therein. Trading partners at system  150  can input comments or attachments through replicated database  128  and submit them via extranet  140  to PCN/EOL database  120 .  
         [0019]    Reviewing Engineers. Reviewing engineers associated with a division of organization  102  receive PCNs and EOLs from a PCN coordinator for action. These engineers are designated by organization  102  to take responsibility for PCNs as specified by the PCN coordinator. Reviewing engineers typically handle the tracking and control of those PCNs which affect a small, limited amount of products or assemblies relating to a group or division. They are generally employed by the process and product change notification tool when site forms are deemed to be unnecessary. Reviewing engineers provide feedback to the PCN coordinator as needed and close a PCN once it has been completed.  
         [0020]    Site focal point personnel. These users are typically employed when a PCN impacts a large number of site locations, commodities, programs, and/or divisions of organization  102 , such that a PCN site form is created by the process and product change notification tool and then broken down into smaller manageable site forms for action. Site focal point personnel may be assigned to a particular program or product or commodity as desired by organization  102 . These users track the progress of their own ‘micro’ site forms and report back to either a designated site manager or to the PCN coordinator.  
         [0021]    PCN Coordinator. The PCN coordinator facilitates the processing of PCNs and EOLs as they are received by supply chain partners. The PCN coordinator ensures that all required information is included in the PCN and that all necessary or affected parties are quickly informed of PCN/EOL receipts. The PCN coordinator also tracks the progress of each PCN of organization  102  so that all involved parties follow through with whatever actions are required by the PCNs/EOLs.  
         [0022]    Access control lists store the names of authorized users of the databases stored in data storage device  118  and each user is assigned an access level by an administrator or other designated representative of organization  102 . Only these administrators or designated personnel can add, modify or delete authorized users in the access control lists.  
         [0023]    An sample PCN notification process flow is described in FIG. 2. A supplier at system  150  submits a PCN to organization  102  at step  202 . The process and product change notification tool checks the PCN for missing data at step  204 . If data is missing from the PCN, the process and product change notification tool classifies the PCN as an “Advance Notice” at step  206 . This means that the PCN remains pending in the system while additional information is gathered, either by supplier  150  or organization  102  personnel. The PCN is stored in PCN database  120  at step  208 . The PCN Coordinator tracks the status of each PCN in the database and sends inquiries to supplier  150  if the PCN remains in PCN database  120  without further updates from supplier  150  after a given period of time. The PCN Coordinator is the nerve center of the process and product change notification process—receiving, forwarding, and processing PCN data as it advances through the system. If the information in the PCN is complete, flow proceeds to step  212  where it is marked, “Executable” by the process and product change notification application. This status means that the PCN is now ready to be operated upon by organization  102 . The PCN is again stored in PCN database  120  awaiting further action by the process and product change notification tool. The process and product change notification tool can prioritize the order in which PCNs stored in database  120  receive attention. The process and product change notification tool checks each PCN for missing part numbers at step  216 . If part numbers are missing at step  218 , the process and product change notification tool queries resource databases  126  for this information. Examples of such databases may include commercial software databases such as Aspect (TM) which provides a vast array of data pertaining to parts known in the industry. Once the information is complete, flow proceeds to step  222  where the process and product change notification tool determines which sites, divisions, commodities, etc., utilize the particular parts affected by the PCN. Examples of such databases include engineering databases, development databases, corporate databases, and manufacturing databases located at various locations and accessible to organization  102 . The process and product change notification tool notes the number of sites affected by the PCN at step  224 . If only one site is affected, the process and product change notification tool transmits the PCN data to that particular site for action at step  226 . In this case, a representative, or reviewing engineer at the site is responsible for processing the PCN. If on the other hand, multiple sites are affected, the process and product change notification tool creates a site form for each site affected at step  228 . The process and product change notification tool then examines the number of part numbers listed for each site at step  230 . If a low number of part numbers are involved, the site form is transmitted to the location affected for action at step  232 . If multiple part numbers are involved, the process and product change notification tool attaches a listing of the programs affected for each site before transmitting the site form to the location at step  234 . A notice is sent to the contact person, or focal point representative, who is primarily involved with the site and program at step  236 . If desired, the contact person, or focal point, may create additional site forms breaking down the information into smaller items, making the site form easier to manage at step  238 . Regardless of the number of sites, programs, or part numbers affected, all PCNs are processed at step  240 . At this point, the information in the PCN is evaluated by designated persons or divisions who must then make a determination of whether the items on the PCN require re-qualification before manufacturing proceeds. Once all site forms, or alternatively, all PCNs in the event only one site is involved, are processed, the PCN is closed at step  242  and the PCN coordinator is notified accordingly.  
         [0024]    [0024]FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary site form  300  that is used by the process and product change notification tool to document PCN information. Information provided on site form  300  includes all part numbers  302  affected by the PCN, the sites  304  which utilize these part numbers listed, the divisions  306  of organization  102  that are involved with the part numbers, as well as the commodities  308  affected. Site form  300  includes an attachment  350  which further breaks down the information provided in site form  300  into more manageable sections, such as programs  352  involved with the PCN along with their corresponding part numbers  354 . Organization  102  may choose to customize the above sections in order to better represent its organizational structure.  
         [0025]    As described above, process and product change notification tool streamlines the PCN/EOL processes that exist in virtually every outsourced manufacturing environment. The PCN and EOL data are stored in a centralized location whereby the PCN application distributes the data to key personnel for action. The PCN application tracks the progress of the activities to ensure they are properly addressed and completed. Electronic collaboration between suppliers and the enterprise allows for quicker turnaround times for information and actions resulting in a more efficient production cycles.  
         [0026]    As described above, the present invention can be embodied in the form of computer-implemented processes and apparatuses for practicing those processes. The present invention can also be embodied in the form of computer program code containing instructions embodied in tangible media, such as floppy diskettes, CD-ROMs, hard drives, or any other computer-readable storage medium, wherein, when the computer program code is loaded into and executed by a computer, the computer becomes an apparatus for practicing the invention. The present invention can also be embodied in the form of computer program code, for example, whether stored in a storage medium loaded into and/or executed by a computer, or transmitted over some transmission medium, such as over electrical wiring or cabling, through fiber optics, or via electromagnetic radiation, wherein, when the computer program code is loaded into and executed by a computer, the computer becomes an apparatus for practicing the invention. When implemented on a general-purpose microprocessor, the computer program code segments configure the microprocessor to create specific logic circuits.  
         [0027]    While preferred embodiments have been shown and described, various modifications and substitutions may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, it is to be understood that the present invention has been described by way of illustration and not limitation.