Patent ID: 8463666

Claim:
A tangible computer readable medium including program code for providing a message-based interface for performing an assortment plan service, the service exposing at least one service as defined in a service registry, wherein upon execution the program code executes in an environment of computer systems providing message-based services and comprises: program code for receiving, from a service consumer, a first message for processing a plan for purchasing articles by a company; program code for invoking an assortment plan business object, wherein the business object is a logically centralized, semantically disjointed object representing a plan for purchasing articles by a company, and comprises data logically organized as: an assortment plan root node; a description subordinate node; a product category subordinate node; a season subordinate node; an item subordinate node and wherein the item node contains: a description subordinate node; a sales price specification calculation subordinate node; a product procurement arrangement subordinate node; a product category subordinate node; a prepack subordinate node and wherein the prepack node contains: a property valuation subordinate node and wherein the property valuation node contains: a property reference subordinate node; and a value group subordinate node and wherein the value group node contains a property value subordinate node; and a ratio subordinate node and wherein the ratio node contains: a property valuation subordinate node and wherein the property valuation node contains: a property reference subordinate node; and a value group subordinate node and wherein the value group node contains: a property value subordinate node; and a quantity subordinate node and wherein the quantity node contains: a property valuation subordinate node and wherein the property valuation node contains: a property reference subordinate node; and a value group subordinate node and wherein the value group node contains a property value subordinate node; and a target sales subordinate node; and program code for initiating transmission of a message to a heterogeneous second application, executing in the environment of computer systems providing message-based services, based on the data in the assortment plan business object, the message comprising an assortment plan message entity, a message header package, and an assortment plan package.