Patent ID: 8027856

Claim:
A machine for updating part specification and purchasing documents, the machine comprising: a manufacturer computer for notifying relevant parties of revisions to part specification documents and purchasing documents, the manufacturer computer comprising a processor and computer readable and non-transitory storage media including computer readable instructions stored thereon that when executed causes control circuitry within the manufacturer computer to perform the steps of: monitoring user access to the part specification documents to determine whether a part specification in the part specification documents has been revised, revisions to the part specification document including adding, deleting or revising part specifications, the part specification documents including drawings of parts; responsive to detecting a revision to a part specification document for a part, identifying a unique part number associated with the part having the revised part specification; searching open purchasing documents relating to purchases from outside suppliers for the unique part number responsive to the identifying of the unique part number to thereby identify each of one or more open purchasing documents associated with the part having the revised part specification, the identified one or more open purchasing documents comprising one or more open purchase orders for the part, the part currently being manufactured under the one or more open purchase orders; identifying, responsive to searching the purchasing documents, each supplier electronic mail address associated with each corresponding open purchasing document containing the unique part number for the part having the revised part specification document, each supplier electronic mail address associated with a different outside supplier; responsive to identifying each respective supplier electronic email address associated with each open purchasing document containing the unique part number for the part having the revised part specification, generating to each of the respective outside suppliers, a separate electronic mail message notification of the revision to the part specification document for the part having the unique part number contained within the respective purchasing document, each electronic mail message notification containing the unique part number and a link to the revised part specification document; monitoring access by each of the outside suppliers receiving the electronic mail message notification of the revised part specification document to thereby determine whether each notified outside supplier affected by the revision has accessed the revised part specification document within a preselected period of time; and determining, by sending a second electronic notification, why one or more of the notified outside suppliers has not accessed the revised part specification document.