Patent Publication Number: US-7590987-B2

Title: Apparatus and method for integrating variable subsidiary information with main office information in an enterprise system

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION  
     This application claims benefit of priority of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 60/386,370, filed Jun. 5, 2002. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
     The present invention pertains to an enterprise-wide enterprise resource planning (ERP) management system, and in particular, to methods and systems for interfacing the enterprise-wide ERP management system with information systems at subsidiary organizations. 
     BACKGROUND  
     In today&#39;s large national and multi-national corporations, which frequently have numerous diverse small and middle-sized business subsidiaries, data integration between a corporate headquarters ERP management system and the ERP systems at each subsidiary can be an almost impossible task. In fact, up to 40% of all small and middle-sized businesses are subsidiaries of large corporations. It is common for subsidiaries to have implemented different solutions that are not completely compatible with the solutions at the corporate headquarters. It is also common for the subsidiaries to have access to fewer information technology resources than what is available at the corporate headquarters. This may occur for many reasons including: not using centralized planning and control to design the individual systems at each of the locations to be compatible; disparities in computing capabilities between the locations; or a subsidiary being purchased with a different existing information system. In addition, ERP systems at subsidiaries are often by design smaller and less capable, since the subsidiary system does not have the same data processing requirements as at the corporate headquarters. 
     Because of this system diversity, it can be extremely difficult, time consuming and expensive even to connect to all of the different ERP systems at diverse corporation&#39;s locations. In fact, it can be even more difficult, time consuming and expensive to enable all of the locations to be able to coherently share and use the information from each other location. Therefore, it would be desirable to be able to connect, easily and efficiently, a corporate headquarters ERP management system to all subsidiary ERP systems to enable the sharing of the information in each of the separate ERP systems. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
         FIG. 1  is a block diagram of an enterprise-wide integrated ERP management system, in which embodiments of the present invention may be used. 
         FIG. 2  is a block diagram of the enterprise-wide integrated ERP management system of  FIG. 1  illustrating information flow paths used in the generation of an integrated output of information across the enterprise-wide integrated ERP management system, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 3  is a block diagram of the enterprise-wide integrated ERP management system of  FIG. 1  illustrating information flow paths used in the generation of an integrated output of information to and from subsidiaries distributed in the enterprise-wide integrated ERP management system, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 4  is a block diagram of the enterprise-wide integrated ERP management system of  FIG. 1  illustrating information flow paths used in the generation of an integrated output of information to and from subsidiaries and/or suppliers distributed in the enterprise-wide integrated ERP management system, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 5  is a detailed block diagram showing implementation details in the elements and data flows involved in the data flow illustrated in  FIG. 4 , in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 6  is a detailed block diagram showing implementation details in the elements and data flows involved in the data flow illustrated in  FIG. 3 , in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 7  is a detailed block diagram showing implementation details in the elements and data flows involved in the data flow illustrated in  FIG. 2 , in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 8  is a detailed flow diagram of an integrated scenario method for performing central supply planning in the enterprise-wide integrated ERP management system, for example, between a head office and its subsidiaries, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
     Embodiments of the present invention provide improved methods and systems for seamlessly interfacing and scaling an enterprise-wide management information system, for example, an enterprise resource planning (ERP) management system at a headquarters location with ERP systems at subsidiary and/or supplier organizations. For example, the functional systems with each ERP may include logistics/supply, human resources, finance and the like. The ERP systems at the subsidiary and supplier organizations frequently are not similar and/or directly compatible with the ERP system at the headquarters location. According to an embodiment of the present invention, an information exchange component may serve to integrate the headquarters ERP system with the subsidiary and/or supplier ERP systems using standardized, predetermined query and response interfaces and/or a data mapping tool. This information exchange component may also be referred to as an integration server. Thus, a user at a remote location may connect to the ERP using a data base server, a web server and a data interface application programming interface (API) at the remote location through a data mapping component and an intermediate documents (IDOC) adapter in a data exchange interface (XI). To enable this ease of connectivity, the present invention takes advantage of a significant level of information being relatively universal in ERP systems and to provide the standardized, predetermined query and response interfaces with which to facilitate the connection and request for and receipt of information. For example, the interfaces may make use of predetermined formats and/or data mappings to make most user queries from the remote location and to display the results from the queries at the remote location. Therefore, embodiments of the present invention may be easily customized, are easy to implement, and help lower system costs for implementation and maintenance. 
     Similarly, according to the embodiment, a supply chain manager at the headquarters ERP system may use the connection to the subsidiary and/or supplier systems to request information. In fact, the supply chain manager may use similar standardized, predetermined query and response interface formats specific to the type and/or source of information being requested from the subsidiary and/or supplier systems and to view the responses at the headquarters ERP system. 
       FIG. 1  is a block diagram of an enterprise-wide integrated information management system  100 , in which embodiments of the present invention may be used. In  FIG. 1 , integrated information management system  100  may include one or more user workstations  110 , which may be connected to an information management application  120 , which may provide access to all data located at a headquarters office, and a data warehouse application  130 . For example, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, information management application  120  may include a mySAP and/or a SAP R/3 Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Solution, both from SAP Aktiengesellschaft of Frankfurt Germany. Information management application  120  may also be connected to data warehouse application  130  and an interface application  140 . Data warehouse application  130  may provide access to consolidated data from subsidiary organizations related to and a headquarter company at which data warehouse application  130  may be resident. Interface application  140  may enable integration of different versions of the same application as well as different applications located at subsidiaries related to the headquarter company and/or suppliers unrelated to the headquarter company. 
     For example, in  FIG. 1 , in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, data warehouse application  130  may include a mySAP Business Warehouse (BW) and interface application  140  may include an Exchange Infrastructure, both from SAP Aktiengesellschaft. User workstation  110  may be running an Internet browser program, for example, Internet Explorer® from Microsoft Corporation and/or Netscape Communicator from Netscape Communications, and may be “logged-on”, that is, connected to, a web page (not shown) on a portal  160  via a network  150 . A user may logon to the web page by entering a universal resource locator (URL) in an address field of the browser program. In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, network  150  may be a communications network, such as, for example, an Intranet and/or an Internet, and portal  160  may permit a user at workstation  110  to view information stored in ERP systems distributed at subsidiaries of the headquarters office. Portal  160  also may be connected to data warehouse application  130  and, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, may include an Enterprise Portal from SAP Aktiengesellschaft. In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, user workstation  110 , information management application  120 , data warehouse application  130 , interface application  140 , network  150  and portal  160  may all be located at a single site, for example, a company&#39;s headquarters location. 
     In addition, embodiments of the present invention are contemplated in which the above-listed components may be located at multiple sites, generally, within the headquarter company&#39;s location. For example, the components may either be physically closely located, that is, within the same room or building, or separated, that is, in separate rooms, buildings, etc. within the headquarter company&#39;s location. However, it may also be possible to have the system components located in separate locations, for example, different cities, if the company has a decentralized structure. 
     In  FIG. 1 , in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, interface application  140 , network  150  and portal  160  may each be separately connected to one or more remote information management systems at subsidiary- 1  . . . subsidiary-N  170 - 1  . . .  170 -n. Each of the remote information management systems located at a regional office and/or a subsidiary company may include, for example, a SAP Business One resource planning solution from SAP Aktiengesellschaft. In general, the data in each subsidiary&#39;s remote information management system may also be contained in data warehouse application  130 . However, the data in data warehouse application  130  may not be the most current and may not be in exactly the same format as at each subsidiary. For example, the same data may be identified by different field names in a database at each subsidiary, and/or may be stored in fields with different sizes. The use of different field names may occur when existing systems that were not originally developed to be compatible with each other are combined. The different sizes may also result from combining data from two or more fields at one subsidiary that are contained in separate fields at another subsidiary. Therefore, it may be necessary to “map”, that is, convert the data from one format to another or to map fields with the same data but different field names when performing data reconciliation/consolidation functions. 
       FIG. 2  is a block diagram of the enterprise-wide integrated information management system of  FIG. 1  illustrating information flow paths used in the generation of an integrated output of information distributed across the enterprise-wide integrated information management system, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. In general, updating the information at data warehouse application  130  may be performed by sending a request for the desired data to one or more of subsidiary- 1  . . . subsidiary-N  170 - 1  . . .  170 -n from data warehouse application  130 . The one or more of subsidiary- 1  . . . subsidiary-N  170 - 1  . . .  170 -n may each respond by sending the requested data back to data warehouse application  130  where it may be transformed to fit within the data structure resident in data warehouse application  130 , if necessary. In  FIG. 2 , the paths used to enable consolidated reporting within one company, for example, the headquarter company, are illustrated according to the embodiment. 
     An example of when a data transformation may occur, in  FIG. 2 , is during an inventory reconciliation/consolidation between subsidiary- 1   170 - 1  and data warehouse application  130 . Specifically, the data base at subsidiary- 1   170 - 1  may have stock items identified by a 20 character field named “Item No.”, while the data base at data warehouse application  130  may have stock items identified by an 18-character field named “Material No.”. For example, in such a situation the 20-character Item No. may contain the 18 characters contained in the Material No. field in the first 18 characters and a 2-character code in the last 2 characters to identify the specific supplier of that particular item may be contained in the last two characters in the field. Therefore, during a data reconciliation of the data at subsidiary- 1   170 - 1  with the data in data warehouse application  130 , each 20-character Item No. from subsidiary- 1   170 - 1  may be mapped to the correct 18 character Material No. at data warehouse application  130 . In addition, if tracked at data warehouse application  130 , the 2 character supplier code may be stored in an appropriate location in data warehouse application  130 , for example, a supplier code field that may be associated with each Material No. in data warehouse application  130 . 
     Alternatively, the fields may have the same character length but only have different names, which may only require that the fields be mapped to each other during the data reconciliation/consolidation. Likewise, the fields may have the same names but different character lengths, which, in addition to the mapping process, may need the data to be converted/truncated to fit into the available space during the data reconciliation/consolidation. 
     In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, data requests may be sent from at least one of subsidiary- 1  . . . subsidiary-N  170 - 1  . . .  170 -n, for example, subsidiary- 1   170 - 1 , to data warehouse application  130 . In this embodiment, subsidiary- 1   170 - 1  may send ( 215 - 1 ) to data warehouse application  130  an order for a number of a specific supply item. Data warehouse application  130  may identify a source, for example, subsidiary-N  170 -n, for the number of the specific supply item and send ( 210 -n) an order to subsidiary-N  170 -n to ship the desired number of the specific supply item to subsidiary- 1   170 - 1 . Subsidiary-N  170 -n may send ( 215 -n) a verification of the order back to data warehouse application  130  which may send ( 210 - 1 ) the notification to subsidiary- 1   170 - 1 . Subsidiary-N  170 -n may subsequently send ( 215 -n) a notification to data warehouse application  130  that the order has been shipped out, and data warehouse application  130  may send ( 210 - 1 ) the shipping notification to subsidiary- 1   170 - 1 . Although, the above embodiment is directed to a simplified, successful scenario for reasons of clarity, numerous other scenarios may exist. For example, the data warehouse application  130  may determine that the requested number of the specific supply item is not available at any of the other subsidiaries, either individually or in combination, and may send a message back to subsidiary- 1   170 - 1  to that effect, whereupon subsidiary- 1   170 - 1  may send back to data warehouse application  130  a cancellation or an order for whatever quantity of the specific supply item is available. 
       FIG. 3  is a block diagram of the enterprise-wide integrated information management system of  FIG. 1  illustrating information flow paths used in the generation of an integrated output of information from subsidiaries distributed in the enterprise-wide integrated ERP management system, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. In  FIG. 3 , the paths used to enable consolidated reporting across subsidiaries are illustrated. 
     In  FIG. 3 , a user at workstation  110 , for example, a supply chain manager in a company&#39;s headquarters office, may need to view, in real-time, the current stock on-hand inventory information at his subsidiaries to determine if and where he has the inventory to supply a manufacturing location. In accordance with embodiments of the present invention, and as described above in relation to  FIG. 1 , the supply chain manager may logon ( 310 ,  325 ) to a web page application at portal  160  to request information from several sources, for example, data warehouse application  130  and one or more of subsidiary- 1  . . . subsidiary-N  170 - 1  . . .  170 -n. 
     In  FIG. 3 , in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, if the supply chain manager wants to see all of the available inventory at each subsidiary, he or she may send ( 315 - 1  . . .  315 -N) the request to one or more of subsidiary- 1  . . . subsidiary-N  170 - 1  . . .  170 -n from portal  160  to determine the current stock levels. To do this the supply chain manager may access portal  160  using an Internet browser program, for example, Internet Explorer from Microsoft Corporation and/or Netscape from Netscape Communications, to connect to a web page/application running on the portal. Once connected to portal  160 , the supply chain manager may request information from one or more of subsidiary- 1  . . . subsidiary-N  170 - 1  . . .  170 -n. For example, the supply chain manager may request the information from subsidiary- 1   170 - 1  using one or more predetermined query formats. Each query format may be implemented as a program to retrieve and display pertinent data from internal and/or external company resources on portal  160 . Similarly, multiple web pages may be used to contain multiple query formats. For example, internal resources may include one or more of subsidiary- 1  . . . subsidiary-N  170 - 1  . . .  170 -n and external resources may include one or more of supplier- 1  . . . supplier-M  180 - 1  . . .  180 -M within the web page at portal  160 . In general, each of the one or more predetermined query formats may be pre-configured with which of subsidiary- 1  . . . subsidiary-N  170 - 1  . . .  170 -n are to receive the request and send ( 315 - 1  . . .  315 -n) the request to the determined subsidiaries. Each of the receiving subsidiaries may respond to the request by sending ( 320 - 1  . . .  320 -n) a reply back to portal  160 . The predetermined query format selected at portal  160  may either display ( 325 ) each subsidiaries response separately or it may consolidate the replies and display ( 325 ) the consolidated response in a predetermined response format inside the web page of portal  160 . Once displayed, the user at workstation  110  may view the predetermined response format. According to the embodiment of the present invention, between workstation  110  and portal  160  there may only be web or Internet access of the web page at portal  160  using the URL of the web page. The predetermined response formats may each be implemented as a “sub window” of the web page of portal  160 . In general, the predetermined query and response formats are considered permanent and are not subject to change by the user. However, embodiments of the present invention are contemplated in which “editable”, that is changeable by the user, versions of the predetermined query and response formats may be available. 
     A benefit of being able to make this request is that the supply chain manager may receive the most current consolidated inventory information from his or her subsidiaries, which may be more detailed and provide more up-to-date information than what is contained at either information management application  120  and/or data warehouse application  130 . This, of course, may depend directly on the amount of time that has elapsed since the last time the data at information management application  120  and/or data warehouse application  130  was reconciled with data from subsidiary- 1  . . . subsidiary-N  170 - 1  . . .  170 -n. 
     In accordance with other embodiments of the present invention, data and/or information requests may be sent to the supply chain manager at workstation  110  from at least one of subsidiary- 1  . . . subsidiary-N  170 - 1  . . .  170 -n. For example, subsidiary- 1   170 - 1  may send ( 320 - 1 ) to portal  160  a query for information on a specific supply item. Portal  160  may display ( 325 ) the query for the supply chain manager at workstation  110 . The supply chain manager at workstation  110  may obtain the information and enter ( 310 ) the information into the web page format at portal  160 . Portal  160  may send ( 315 - 1 ) the information back to subsidiary- 1   170 - 1 . Although, the above embodiment is directed to a simplified, successful scenario for reasons of clarity, numerous other scenarios may exist. For example, scenarios similar to those discussed above for  FIG. 2 , as well as others described herein, may also be possible. 
       FIG. 4  is a block diagram of the enterprise-wide integrated ERP management system of  FIG. 1  illustrating information flow paths used in the generation of an integrated output of information from subsidiaries and/or suppliers distributed in the enterprise-wide integrated ERP management system, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. In other words,  FIG. 4  illustrates how collaboration across different company borders, for example, the company‘s’ and the suppliers&#39; separate borders between heterogeneous applications may be implemented using interface application  140 . Interface application  140  may accomplish this collaboration by integrating different versions of a given application as well as different applications. The integration may be achieved using an open architecture-based interface application  140  with message-oriented communications, for example, hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) communications using extensible markup language (XML) messages. 
     In  FIG. 4 , in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, data requests may flow from the subsidiaries up to the corporate headquarters supply chain manager. For example, in an order fulfillment scenario, a salesperson at subsidiary- 1   170 - 1  may create an order (not shown) for a product to be sent to a customer and may send ( 430 - 1 ,  440 ) the order to information management application  120  via interface application  140 . The supply chain manager at workstation  110  may view the order on information management application  120 , may ship out (not shown) the ordered product, and may send ( 415 ,  420 - 1 ) a message indicating that that the product was shipped to the salesperson at subsidiary- 1   170 - 1  from information management application  120  via interface application  140 . The salesperson at subsidiary  170 - 1  may receive the message, generate an invoice to bill the customer and may send the bill out to the customer for payment. 
       FIG. 5  is a detailed block diagram showing implementation details in the elements and data flows involved in the data flow illustrated in  FIG. 4 , in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. For example, according to the embodiment, in the order fulfillment scenario described above for  FIG. 4 , in  FIG. 5 , a salesperson at subsidiary- 1   170 - 1  may connect to a data base management system  520  at subsidiary- 1   170 - 1  to create an order for a product to be sent to a customer. For example, an application  510  may connect to data base management system  520  via a data base server  522  to send the order to information management application  120  via data base management system  520  and interface application  140  where the supply chain manager at workstation  110  may view ( 410 ,  445 ) the order on information management application  120 . 
     In  FIG. 5 , in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, application  510  may connect to data base server  522  by establishing a link with one or more objects in data base server  522 . More specifically, application  510  may be used to send ( 521 ,  430 - 1 ) the order from data base server  522  through a web service component  524  in data base management system  520  using ( 523 ) a data interface (DI) application programming interface (API)  526  to interface application  140 . More specifically, the order may be sent ( 521 ,  430 - 1 ) to an Extensible Stylesheet Language Transformations (XSLT) mapping component  532 , which may be a part of a routing client  534  in an exchange infrastructure (XI)  536  in interface application  140 . According to the embodiment, web service component  524  may enable communication between data base management system  520  and interface component  140  using, for example, simple object access protocol (SOAP) and extensible markup language (XML) messages. XSLT mapping component  532  may perform data mapping functions to ensure the format of the order is compatible with the format of the data in information management application  120 , if necessary, and may send ( 531 ) the order, either the original or reformatted order, to an intermediate documents (IDOC) adapter  538  within interface application  140 . IDOC adapter  538  may be used to connect components (or external systems) to interface application  140  using an IDOC communication format and may send ( 440 ) the order to a client application  542  running on an enterprise data base system  544  in information management application  120  where the supply chain manager may access the order from workstation  110  by viewing ( 410 ,  445 ) the order on information management application  120  through enterprise data base system  544 . The supply chain manager may ship out (not shown) the ordered product, if available stock levels permit. 
     The supply chain manager may also send ( 415 ,  420 - 1 ) a message back to the salesperson at subsidiary- 1   170 - 1  on whether the product shipped, from information management application  120  via interface application  140 . Specifically, the supply chain manager may send ( 415 ) the message from enterprise data base system  544  through client application  542  to IDOC adapter  538  in interface application  140 . IDOC adapter  538  may send ( 533 ) the message to XI system  536 , where XSLT mapping component  532  may send ( 420 - 1 ) the message to web service  524  in data base management system  520 . Web service  524  may send ( 523 ) the message to data base server  522  via data interface API  526 , where the message in data base server  522  may be viewed ( 513 ,  514 ) using application  510 . The salesperson at subsidiary- 1   170 - 1  may view the message, generate an invoice to bill the customer and send the invoice out for payment and/or to notify the customer that the order was placed, back-ordered and/or shipped. 
       FIG. 6  is a detailed block diagram showing implementation details in the elements and data flows involved in the data flow illustrated in  FIG. 3 , in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. For example, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, in the information request scenario described above for  FIG. 3 , data and/or information requests may be sent from at least one of subsidiary- 1  . . . subsidiary-N  170 - 1  . . .  170 -n, for example, subsidiary- 1   170 - 1 , to the supply chain manager at workstation  110 . For example, as described above for  FIG. 1 , in  FIG. 6 , a user may logon ( 613 ,  621 ,  320 - 1 ) to a web page at portal  160  using an application  610 , such as an Internet browser program, at subsidiary- 1   170 - 1  and may connect to enterprise portal  160  via a data base server  622  and a web service  624 , which may be connected to data base server  622 , in a data base management system  620 . Application  610  may be used to enter a query for information on a specific supply item in the web page at portal  160  in, for example, a predetermined format available in the web page at portal  160 . The query for information may be displayed at portal  160  for a user, for example, a supply chain manager, at workstation  110  to access. Similar to the user of application  610 , the supply chain manager at workstation  110  may logon ( 325 ,  310 ) to the web page at portal  160 , view ( 310 ,  325 ) the query from the user of application  610 , and enter a response to the query in the web page. 
     In  FIG. 6 , the supply chain manager may use workstation  110  to obtain the information requested in the query from an external source, for example, information management application  110 , and enter the information in the web page at portal  160 . For example, although the  FIG. 1  connection to information management application  120  is not shown here for reasons of clarity, in  FIG. 6 , if the information is not local to workstation  110 , the supply chain manager may request the information from information management application  120 . Portal  160  may display the information on the web page for application  610  to access ( 613 ,  621 ,  624 ,  320 - 1 ,  315 - 1 ,  614 ) via data base server  622  and/or web service  624 . The information may be displayed in the web page in a predetermined output format associated with the predetermined query. Although, the above embodiment is directed to a simplified, successful information request scenario, for reasons of clarity, numerous other scenarios may exist. For example, scenarios similar to those discussed above for  FIG. 2 , as well as others described herein, may also be possible. 
       FIG. 7  is a detailed block diagram showing implementation details in the elements and data flows involved in the data flow illustrated in  FIG. 2 , in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. For example, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, in the data request scenario described above for  FIG. 2 , in  FIG. 7 , data requests may be sent from at least one of subsidiary- 1  . . . subsidiary-N  170 - 1  . . .  170 -n, for example, subsidiary- 1   170 - 1 , to data warehouse application  130 . For example, a user of an application  710  may send ( 713 ) a request for data to a data base server  722  in a data base management system  720 . Data base server  722  may send ( 721 ) the data request to a Java Database Connectivity (JDBC) adapter  724 , which may format and send ( 215 - 1 ) the data request to a consolidated data base server  135  in data warehouse application  130 . JDBC adapter  724  may use ( 723 ) an object server  726  in data base management system  720  to ensure that the format of the request is compatible with data warehouse application  130 . Consolidated data base server  135  may identify the requested data and send ( 210 - 1 ) a response to JDBC adapter  724  in data base management system  720 . JDBC adapter may send ( 723 ) the response to object server  726  for any re-formatting necessary to be compatible with data base server  722 , and object server  726  may send ( 725 ) the response to data base server  722 . Data base server  722  may send ( 714 ) the response to application  710 . Although, the above embodiment is directed to a simplified, successful scenario for reasons of clarity, numerous other scenarios may exist. For example, the data warehouse application  130  may determine that the requested number of the specific supply item is not available at any of the other subsidiaries, either individually or in combination, and may send a message back to subsidiary- 1   170 - 1  to that effect, whereupon subsidiary- 1   170 - 1  may send back to data warehouse application  130  a cancellation or an order for whatever quantity of the specific supply item is currently available. In addition, the interface between application  710  and data base management system  720  may be implemented using a browser and web page configuration as described above, for example, in relation to  FIG. 1 . 
       FIG. 8  is a detailed flow diagram of an integration scenario method for performing central supply planning in the enterprise-wide integrated information management system, for example, between a head office and its subsidiaries, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. It should be clear that  FIG. 8  is merely illustrative of one of the many integration scenarios possible with the systems and methods described herein. As such, the system and methods of the present invention may provide the technical infrastructure and/or basis necessary to build-up any collaborative and/or integrative scenario with distributed business transactions between a head office and its subsidiaries or between suppliers and manufacturers. 
     In  FIG. 8 , in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, a subsidiary and/or supplier sales system  805  may be connected to an exchange interface  810 , which may be connected to a central planning system  815  and a central supply system  820  located at, for example, a company&#39;s headquarters office. Subsidiary sales system  805  may transfer ( 830 ) historical sales data  832  to central planning system  815  via exchange interface  810  where it may be used to generate ( 834 ) a revised demand plan estimate of future sales figures. Demand data  838  from the revised demand plan estimate may be accessed by a user at subsidiary sales system  805 , who has logged-on to central planning system  815  via a web service and may be used to change ( 840 ) the revised demand plan kept at central planning system  815 . Revised demand data  842  from the demand plan may be sent ( 840 ) back to central planning system  815  via exchange interface  810  where the revised demand plan may be updated ( 844 ). The revised demand plan may be used to generate ( 846 ) a central demand plan at the corporate head office. It should be noted that the central demand plan in central planning system  815  may include data from more than just the single subsidiary described above. For example, the entire process may be repeated for each subsidiary and/or supplier connected to the corporate head office before generating ( 846 ) the central demand plan. 
     In  FIG. 8 , in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, subsidiary sales system  805  may also transfer ( 850 ) inventory and in-transit data, specifically, stock and stock in-transit data  852 , to central planning system  815  via exchange interface  810  where the data can be combined with the central demand plan to perform ( 848 ) supply chain planning. As an output of the supply chain planning, a materials list  854  may be sent to central supply system  820  for use in generating ( 856 ) individual customer orders, from which sales data  858  may be sent back to subsidiary sales system  805  via exchange interface  810 . Materials list  854  may include, but is not limited to, for example, a material item number, a quantity and a need-by/demand date. Sales data  858  may be used by subsidiary sales system  805  to generate ( 860 ) a purchase order for items specified in sales data  858 . The individual customer orders may also be used to create an outbound delivery advance(d) shipping notice (ASN) confirmation for each order, from which delivery data  864  may be sent to subsidiary sales system  805  via exchange interface  810 . Delivery data  864  may be used to create ( 866 ) an inbound delivery ASN. The inbound delivery ASN may also be used to create ( 868 ) a goods receipt for the inbound delivery, which, in turn, may be used to create ( 870 ) an inbound invoice containing invoice data  872  at subsidiary sales system  805 . The inbound invoice and invoice data  872  may be sent to central supply system  820  via exchange interface  810 , and central supply system  820  may use invoice data  872  and information from created ( 862 ) outbound delivery ASN to create ( 874 ) an outbound invoice. 
     Several embodiments of the present invention are specifically illustrated and described herein. However, it should be appreciated that modifications and variations of the present invention are covered by the above teachings and come within the purview of the appended claims without departing from the spirit and intended scope of the invention.