Patent Publication Number: US-2003225636-A1

Title: Network-based just-in-time material shortage and supply information exchange system and method

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001] 1. Field of the Invention  
       [0002] This invention relates to network-based information technology, and more particularly, to a network-based just-in-time (JIT) material shortage and supply information exchange system and method, which is intended for use in the supply chain management for a supplier and a manufacturer to allow the supplier and the manufacturer to exchange information about the manufacturer&#39;s current condition of material shortage and the supplier&#39;s capability to supply material for the shortage in a real-time online manner over a network system, such as the Internet, so as to allow the supplier to supply material to the manufacturer in a just-in-time (JIT) manner and prepare well in advance to prevent oversupply or undersupply and also allow the manufacturer to carry out purchase management well in advance to prevent shortage of material supply.  
       [0003] 2. Description of Related Art  
       [0004] In the manufacture industry, such as the CEM (Contract Electronics Manufacture) industry, the manufacturer is dependent on a supplier for supply of materials such as electronic components, that are used for the assembly of various electronic products, such as computers or the like. To make the manufacture efficient, it is an important task to carry out efficient supply chain management for the transaction between the manufacturer and the supplier and allow both sides to be fully aware of the manufacturer&#39;s current condition of material shortage, so as to allow the manufacturer to perform inventory management tasks more efficiently and allow the supplier to supply material in a just-in-time (JIT) manner to let the manufacturer always have sufficient material for manufacture.  
       [0005] Traditionally, the information and relevant data about the current condition of material shortage on the manufacturer side are prepared by the manufacturer on printed documents and sent to the supplier by mail or fax to let the supplier know the manufacturer&#39;s current condition of material shortage.  
       [0006] One drawback to the above-mentioned conventional paperwork-based information exchange method, however, is that the use of printed documents for exchanging all the information and relevant data about the manufacturer&#39;s current condition of material shortage is quite laborious and time-consuming and would not allow real-time inquiry and update of all the related information, making the supply chain management for the transaction between the manufacturer and the supplier unsatisfactorily inefficient.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0007] It is therefore an objective of this invention to provide a network-based JIT material shortage and supply information exchange system and method, which allows a manufacturer and a supplier to exchange information about the manufacturer&#39;s current condition of material shortage and the supplier&#39;s current inventory stock of material and other relevant data in an online real-time manner.  
       [0008] The network-based JIT material shortage and supply information exchange system and method of the invention allows a supplier and a manufacturer to exchange information about the manufacturer&#39;s current condition of material shortage and the supplier&#39;s current inventory stock of material and other relevant data, and which is characterized by the use of an Internet-linked server to provide online information about the manufacturer&#39;s current condition of material shortage and relevant data to the supplier as well as the information about the supplier&#39;s current inventory stock of material and relevant data, such as percentage of reserved amount of supply, to the manufacturer by means of a Material-Shortage Status Inquiry Web page and a Specific Rate Reserved Inventory Stock Web page.  
       [0009] The network-based JIT material shortage and supply information exchange system and method of the invention is more advantageous than prior art in that it allows the manufacturer and the supplier to exchange information about supply chain management efficiently in an online real-time manner, so as to allow the supplier to prepare well in advance to prevent oversupply or undersupply and also allow the manufacturer to carry out purchase management well in advance to prevent shortage of material supply. 
     
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS  
     [0010] The invention can be more fully understood by reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments, with reference made to the accompanying drawings, wherein:  
     [0011]FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the system architecture of the network-based JIT material shortage and supply information exchange system according to the invention;  
     [0012]FIG. 2A shows an example of the screen display of a Material-Shortage Status Inquiry Web page provided by the network-based JIT material shortage and supply information exchange system and method according to the invention;  
     [0013]FIG. 2B shows an example of the screen display of a Specific Rate Reserved Inventory Stock Web page provided by the network-based JIT material shortage and supply information exchange system and method according to the invention;  
     [0014]FIG. 3 is a flow diagram showing the procedural steps performed by the network-based JIT material shortage and supply information exchange system and method according to the invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
     [0015] The network-based JIT material shortage and supply information exchange system and method according to the invention is disclosed in full details by way of preferred embodiments in the following with reference to the accompanying drawings.  
     [0016]FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the system architecture of the network-based JIT material shortage and supply information exchange system of according to the invention. As shown, the network-based JIT material shortage and supply information exchange system according to the invention comprises: (a) a network system  10 ; (b) a server  20 ; (c) at least one first-party workstation  30 ; and (d) at least one second-party workstation  40 , and which is intended for use by a supplier (i.e., the first party) and a manufacturer (i.e., the second party) to exchange information about the manufacturer&#39;s current condition of material shortage and the supplier&#39;s current inventory stock of material and other relevant data in an online real-time manner over the network system  10 .  
     [0017] The network system  10  can be, for example, the Internet or an extranet system dedicatedly established between the supplier and the manufacturer, and which is linked to the server  20 , the first-party workstation  30 , and the second-party workstation  40  to allow the server  20 , the first-party workstation  30 , and the second-party workstation  40  to exchange data therethrough.  
     [0018] The server  20  is linked to the network system  10  and installed with a supply chain management information system  21  capable of serving up a Material-Shortage Status Inquiry Web page  21 A and a Specific Rate Reserved Inventory Stock Web page  21 B. Any authorized workstations (i.e., the first-party workstation  30  and the second-party workstation  40 ) can gain access to the Material-Shortage Status Inquiry Web page  21 A and the Specific Rate Reserved Inventory Stock Web page  21 B by linking via the network system  10  to the server  20 .  
     [0019]FIG. 2A shows an example of the screen display of the Material-Shortage Status Inquiry Web page  21 A, which can be displayed on the computer screen (not shown) of the first-party workstation  30  or the second-party workstation  40  when being linked. This Material-Shortage Status Inquiry Web page  21 A allows the supplier to inquire for the condition of material shortage on the manufacturer side.  
     [0020]FIG. 2B shows an example of the screen display of the Specific Rate Reserved Inventory Stock Web page  21 B, which can be displayed on the computer screen (not shown) of the first-party workstation  30  or the second-party workstation  40  when being linked. In particular, this Specific Rate Reserved Inventory Stock Web page  21 B allows the supplier to learn the manufacturer&#39;s current condition of material shortage and relevant data and post the information about the supplier&#39;s current inventory stock of material that can be supplied to the manufacturer to make up the material shortage on the manufacturer side. In addition, the Specific Rate Reserved Inventory Stock Web page  21 B is used to display the information about the supplier&#39;s specific rate reserved inventory stock of material, which is equal to the manufacturer&#39;s demand based on a forecast production capacity during a specific further period, such as the next four weeks, multiplied by a specific rate, such as 25%. This allows the supply chain management information system  21  to compute for the percentage of reserved amount of supply based on the manufacturer&#39;s current condition of material shortage and the supplier&#39;s current inventory stock of material.  
     [0021] The first-party workstation  30  is a computer unit on the supplier side, which can be linked via the Internet  10  to the supply chain management information system  21  on the server  20  by the use of a Web browser program, such as Microsoft Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator, and use the Web browser program to post data on or browse the contents of the Material-Shortage Status Inquiry Web page  21 A and the Specific Rate Reserved Inventory Stock Web page  21 B.  
     [0022] The second-party workstation  40  is a computer unit on the manufacturer&#39;s side, which can be linked via the Internet  10  to the supply chain management information system  21  on the server  20  by the use of a Web browser program, such as Microsoft Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator, and use the Web browser program to post data on or browse the contents of the Material-Shortage Status Inquiry Web page  21 A and the Specific Rate Reserved Inventory Stock Web page  21 B. In one preferred embodiment of the invention, for example, the second-party workstation  40  is an integrated part of an ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) system installed at the manufacturer&#39;s site, which allows the manufacturer to transfer information about the manufacturer&#39;s current condition of material shortage and relevant data to the supply chain management information system  21  on the server  20 , so as to allow the supplier to gain access to such information online via the Internet  10 .  
     [0023]FIG. 3 is a flow diagram showing the procedural steps performed by the network-based JIT material shortage and supply information exchange system and method according to the invention.  
     [0024] As shown, in the first step S 1 , an uploading-by-manufacturer procedure is performed, in which the manufacturer utilizes the second-party workstation  40  in its internal ERP system to link via the network system  10  to the supply chain management information system  21  on the server  20 , and then upload the information about the manufacturer&#39;s current condition of material shortage and relevant data to the supply chain management information system  21 .  
     [0025] In the next step S 2 , a posting procedure is performed, in which the supply chain management information system  21  process and post the manufacturer-uploaded information and relevant data on the Material-Shortage Status Inquiry Web page  21 A.  
     [0026] In the next step S 3 , an inquiry-by-supplier procedure is performed, in which the supplier links its first-party workstation  30  via the Internet  10  to the supply chain management information system  21  on the server  20 , and use a Web browser program, such as Microsoft Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator, to gain access to the Material-Shortage Status Inquiry Web page  21 A and use it to inquire for a particular manufacturer&#39;s current condition of material shortage. In response, the supply chain management information system  21  will display the Specific Rate Reserved Inventory Stock Web page  21 B.  
     [0027] In the next step S 4 , when there is a change in the supplier&#39;s current inventory stock of material, a computing procedure is performed, in which the supplier uses the data input box  210  in the Specific Rate Reserved Inventory Stock Web page  21 B to input the relevant data about the change in the inventory stock of material and then click the button [Store Supplier&#39;s Amount of Inventory Stock]  211 . This causes the supply chain management information system  21  to compute for the percentage of reserved amount of supply based on the manufacturer&#39;s current condition of material shortage and the supplier&#39;s current inventory stock of material. This allows the manufacturer to browse the information about the supplier&#39;s current inventory stock of material by using a Web browser program on the second-party workstation  40  linked via the Internet  10  to the Specific Rate Reserved Inventory Stock Web page  21 B.  
     [0028] In conclusion, the invention provides a network-based JIT material shortage and supply information exchange system and method, which allows a supplier and a manufacturer to exchange information about the manufacturer&#39;s current condition of material shortage and the supplier&#39;s current inventory stock of material and other relevant data, and which is characterized by the use of an Internet-linked server to provide online information about the manufacturer&#39;s current condition of material shortage and relevant data to the supplier as well as the information about the supplier&#39;s current inventory stock of material and relevant data, such as percentage of reserved amount of supply, to the manufacturer by means of a Material-Shortage Status Inquiry Web page and a Specific Rate Reserved Inventory Stock Web page. This feature allows the manufacturer and the supplier to exchange the information about their supply chain management more efficiently in an online real-time manner, so as to allow the supplier to prepare well in advance to prevent oversupply or undersupply and also allow the manufacturer to carry out purchase management well in advance to prevent shortage of material supply.  
     [0029] The invention has been described using exemplary preferred embodiments. However, it is to be understood that the scope of the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. On the contrary, it is intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements. The scope of the claims, therefore, should be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar arrangements.