Patent ID: 7813961

Claim:
A method of integrating planning, purchasing, and allocation of goods, the method comprising: providing a purchase order workbench configured to generate a purchase order list based on purchasing data, regional marketing data, and competition data, the purchase order list including a plurality of items and associated purchasing data for each item; providing a planning workbench configured to compare a cost of the purchase order list to a budget to generate a first result and a second result, the first result is the cost of the purchase order list being less than or equal to the budget, the second result is the cost of the purchase order list exceeding the budget; generating by a processor a first purchase order when the first result occurs, the first purchase order being approved for purchase; transmitting by the processor when the second result occurs, a request for an approval signal; receiving by the processor the approval signal based on the request for an approval signal; generating the first purchase order based on the second result occurring and receiving the approval signal, the first purchase order being approved for purchase; providing an allocation workbench configured to generate an allocation table, the allocation table including at least one of the plurality of items from the purchase order list that has been approved for purchase, the allocation table including a designation of a sales location for each item; and storing at least one of the first result, the second result and the first purchase order; wherein the approval signal comprises instructions for approving the first purchase order where the cost of the purchase order list exceeds the budget.