Patent ID: 6847941

Claim:
A method for central supply control of products, having long delivery times from a manufacturing site to dealers, via a data network having at least one central data bank, each dealer being allocated at least one computer configured to make data inquiries to centrally managed data in the data bank of at least one of an assigned importer and manufacturer, the method comprising the steps of: (a) dividing inventories into at least two process segments; (b) allocating the inventories in the respective process segments to at least one of individual dealers and importers, the allocated inventories being subdivided into free inventories, non-free inventories and inventories allocated to ultimate consumers; (c) performing a search inquiry for a desired product by a dealer in accordance with the allocated computer, the starch extending to inventories that have not been allocated to the ultimate consumer and that have been allocated to another dealer but are acquirable after negotiation with the another dealer, wherein a sequence of the search inquiry among inventories is performed selectively in accordance with at least one condition stipulated by at least one of the dealer and the data network; and (d) acquiring a product located by the dealer, the acquired product being regrouped from an originally allocated inventory to the dealer's inventory.