Abstract: A method and system for providing procurement services to customer companies. A user profile for each user, in a computer database, specifies: (i) each user is authorized by a first customer company of the customer companies to access procurement resources and the procurement services for purchasing items and (ii) the first customer company and a first company group of related customer companies. Access to volume discounts with respect to vendors is provided to all customer companies in the first company group. Companies are authorized to have access to and share each procurement resource, by providing a resource profile specifying for each procurement resource a set of customer companies authorized for accessing and sharing each procurement resource to be shared among the users. Access to the procurement resources is controlled resources based on: the first company group, the first customer company, and the resource profile for each procurement resource.

Abstract: A method and system for providing procurement services to customer companies. A user profile for each user, in a computer database, specifies: (i) each user is authorized by a first customer company of the customer companies to access procurement resources and the procurement services for purchasing items and (ii) the first customer company and a first company group of related customer companies. Access to volume discounts with respect to vendors is provided to all customer companies in the first company group. Companies are authorized to have access to and share each procurement resource, by providing a resource profile specifying for each procurement resource a set of customer companies authorized for accessing and sharing each procurement resource to be shared among the users. Access to the procurement resources is controlled resources based on: the first company group, the first customer company, and the resource profile for each procurement resource.

Abstract: A method and system for managing trading in trading networks. At least one trading network package is offered. Each trading network package is based on negotiations occurring prior to receiving purchase requests from customer members of the trading network. Each trading network package is configured to include: (i) a value-add service offering offered by the trading network to the customer members for a fee, (ii) a managed package for which a customer member of the customer members provides a volume commitment and for which actual purchases are tracked; or (iii) both the value-add service offering and the managed package.

Abstract: A method and system for managing trading in trading networks. At least one trading network package is offered. Each trading network package is based on negotiations occurring prior to receiving purchase requests from customer members of the trading network. Each trading network package is configured to include: (i) a value-add service offering offered by the trading network to the customer members for a fee, (ii) a managed package for which a customer member of the customer members provides a volume commitment and for which actual purchases are tracked; or (iii) both the value-add service offering and the managed package.

Abstract: A system for performing a method for managing a supplier for participation in trading networks. The method includes: receiving from each trading network a volume commitment consolidating volume commitments for offerings of commodities and services; negotiating with each trading network to supply to customer members of the trading network the commodity or service; storing, for each trading network for each supplier, attributes including start date, end date, services and products offered to the trading network, and payment flow for the commodities and services; offing a trading network package based on negotiations occurring before receiving purchase requests from the customer members, the trading network package including: (i) a value-add service offering to the customer members for a fee, and (ii) a managed package for which a customer member provides a volume commitment and actual purchases are tracked; and negotiating price discount levels for committed levels of demand from the trading networks.

Abstract: A system for performing a method for managing a supplier for participation in trading networks. The method includes: receiving from each trading network a volume commitment consolidating volume commitments for offerings of commodities and services; negotiating with each trading network to supply to customer members of the trading network the commodity or service; storing, for each trading network for each supplier, attributes including start date, end date, services and products offered to the trading network, and payment flow for the commodities and services; offing a trading network package based on negotiations occurring before receiving purchase requests from the customer members, the trading network package including: (i) a value-add service offering to the customer members for a fee, and (ii) a managed package for which a customer member provides a volume commitment and actual purchases are tracked; and negotiating price discount levels for committed levels of demand from the trading networks.

Abstract: A method and system are disclosed for modeling a relational database. The method comprises the steps of defining a set of data tables to accommodate any number of levels of a business hierarchy and using these tables as a generic data model to handle various levels of requirements of the business hierarchy. This set of tables include a first control table, a second table containing hierarchy nodes in a flattened format, a third table storing unique hierarchy node names, and a fourth table describing the hierarchy nodes in one or more languages. For example, this business hierarchy may be a commodity hierarchy, a geography hierarchy and a client organization hierarchy. Also, in the preferred embodiment, no new tables are needed when a new hierarchy is introduced, and the generic data model supports different numbers of reporting levels from one hierarchy to the next hierarchy.

Abstract: An Internet trading network is operated by establishing supplier memberships of suppliers providing offerings to the trading network; establishing customer memberships of customers providing volume commitments; consolidating all volume commitments for a particular commodity or service when negotiating an offering with the supplier; managing memberships and their accounts.

Abstract: A hybird Notes/DB2 environment provides a requisition catalog on the Web. Client browsers are connected to a GWA infrastructure including a first network dispatcher and a virtual cluster of Domino.Go servers. The network dispatcher sprays out browser requests among configured .nsf servers in virtual server cluster. Communications from this virtual server cluster are, in turn, dispatched by a second network dispatcher servers in a Domino cluster. External objects, primarily for a GUI, are served in a .dfs and include graphic files, Java files, HTML images and net.data macros. The catalog is built from supplier provided flat files. A front end is provided for business logic and validation, as also is a relation database backend. HTML forms are populated using relational database agents. A role table is used for controlling access both to Notes code and DB2 data. Large amounts of data is quickly transferred using an intermediate agent and window.

Abstract: A method and system are disclosed for modeling a relational database. The method comprises the steps of defining a set of data tables to accommodate any number of levels of a business hierarchy and using these tables as a generic data model to handle various levels of requirements of the business hierarchy. This set of tables include a first control table, a second table containing hierarchy nodes in a flattened format, a third table storing unique hierarchy node names, and a fourth table describing the hierarchy nodes in one or more languages. For example, this business hierarchy may be a commodity hierarchy, a geography hierarchy and a client organization hierarchy. Also, in the preferred embodiment, no new tables are needed when a new hierarchy is introduced, and the generic data model supports different numbers of reporting levels from one hierarchy to the next hierarchy.

Abstract: An Internet trading network is operated by establishing supplier memberships of suppliers providing offerings to the trading network; establishing customer memberships of customers providing volume commitments; consolidating all volume commitments for a particular commodity or service when negotiating an offering with the supplier; managing memberships and their accounts.

Abstract: A hybird Notes/DB2 environment provides a requisition catalog on the Web. Client browsers are connected to a GWA infrastructure including a first network dispatcher and a virtual cluster of Domino.Go servers. The network dispatcher sprays out browser requests among configured .nsf servers in virtual server cluster. Communications from this virtual server cluster are, in turn, dispatched by a second network dispatcher servers in a Domino cluster. External objects, primarily for a GUI, are served in a .dfs and include graphic files, Java files, HTML images and net.data macros. The catalog is built from supplier provided flat files. A front end is provided for business logic and validation, as also is a relation database backend. HTML forms are populated using relational database agents. A role table is used for controlling access both to Notes code and DB2 data. Large amounts of data is quickly transferred using an intermediate agent and window.

Abstract: A system and method for procuring non-production commodities for use by employees of a commercial enterprise includes associating the employee with a user profile comprising information relating a status of the employee within the enterprise, automatically generating a requisition for the employee indicating a desired commodity and quantity thereof, and, utilizing the user profile information and the desired commodity to enable employee searching of specific catalogs provided in a database storage device for indication of the desired commodity in a requisition. The system and method further provides for the automatic generation of a purchase order based on the requisition, the forwarding of the purchase order to the vendor for processing the order without a third party intervenor, and provides a mechanism for receiving vendor purchase order acknowledgments and approving vendor initiated changes to the purchase order without third party intervention.

Abstract: An Internet trading network is operated by establishing supplier memberships of suppliers providing offerings to the trading network; establishing customer memberships of customers providing volume commitments; consolidating all volume commitments for a particular commodity or service when negotiating an offering with the supplier; managing memberships and their accounts.