Patent ID: 8560366

Claim:
A computer-implemented method, performed by a computer connected to a processor and a network, for a computerized framework manager to supply collaborative planning comprising: furnishing, by the processor, connections to the network for use by a plurality of business entities, wherein the plurality of business entities comprise at least one of service providers, vendors, resellers, and manufacturers; receiving, by the processor, information via the network from a first business entity of the plurality of business entities, including information relating to a demand of the first business entity for offerings; receiving, by the processor, information via the network from a second business entity of the plurality of business entities, including information relating to a first supply of offerings from the second business entity; receiving, by the processor, information via the network from a third business entity of the plurality of business entities, including information relating to a second supply of offerings from the third business entity; comparing, by the processor, the first supply, the second supply, and the demand for the offerings to plan future supply and demand for the offerings; selecting, by the processor, a supplier from a group consisting of the second business entity and the third business entity based on a result of the comparing; using, by the processor, the network to facilitate planning between the first business entity and the supplier selected; using, by the processor, the network to provide data access from multiple simultaneous data sources for demand and supply planning; and storing, by the processor, capacity data using the network wherein storing capacity data using the network includes replication and synchronization capabilities; wherein selecting a supplier includes: receiving, by the processor, information via the network from the first business entity, including information relating to, first budget associated with the offerings from the second business entity; receiving by the processor, information via the network from the first business entity, including information relating to a second budget associated with the offerings from the third business entity; determining, by the processor, whether a first cost associated with the offerings from the second business entity is less than a first threshold level associated with the first business entity and whether a second cost associated with the offerings from the third business entity is less than a second threshold level associated with the first business entity; selecting, by the processor, the second business entity as the supplier if the first cost is less than the first budget; selecting, by the processor, the third business entity as the supplier if the second cost is less than the second budget; and placing, by the processor, an equal number of orders by the first entity with the second business entity and the third business entity if the first cost is less than the first budget and the second cost is less than the second budget.