Abstract: A method and associated system for interfacing between a caller application and a service module. A service module builds a service module data structure pursuant to a previously received request. The request includes at least one caller application attribute describing the request. The service module data structure includes a generic service document and at least one service module attribute. Each service module attribute is stored in a relational table of the service module data structure. The requests serviced within the service module data structure, resulting in instantiating the generic service document. The generic service document is returned to the caller application. Building each service module attribute includes: constructing the generic service document and creating at least one container in the generic service document. Each container is respectively associated with each service module attribute in each mapping of at least one mapping.

Abstract: A method and system for interfacing between a caller application and a service module. A request for performing a transaction from the caller application is received. The request includes at least one caller application attribute describing the request. A service module data structure is built pursuant to the received request. The service module data structure includes a generic service document and at least one service module attribute. Each service module attribute is stored in a relational table of the service module data structure. The request is serviced within the service module data structure, which results in instantiating the generic service document. The generic service document is returned to the caller application.

Abstract: A method and associated system for interfacing between a caller application and a service module. Upon receiving a request for performing a transaction that includes at least one caller application attribute describing the request, the service module builds a service module data structure pursuant to the received request. The service module data structure includes a generic service document and at least one service module attribute. Each service module attribute is stored in a relational table of the service module data structure. The request is serviced within the service module data structure, resulting in instantiating the generic service document. The generic service document is returned to the caller application. Storing each service module attribute in the relational table includes: determining a category and a level of a first service module attribute; and storing in the relational table a first container pursuant to the category and the level.

Abstract: A method and associated system for interfacing between a caller application and a service module. A service module builds a service module data structure pursuant to a previously received request. The request includes at least one caller application attribute describing the request. The service module data structure includes a generic service document and at least one service module attribute. Each service module attribute is stored in a relational table of the service module data structure. The requests serviced within the service module data structure, resulting in instantiating the generic service document. The generic service document is returned to the caller application. Building each service module attribute includes: constructing the generic service document and creating at least one container in the generic service document. Each container is respectively associated with each service module attribute in each mapping of at least one mapping.

Abstract: A method and associated system for interfacing between a caller application and a service module. Upon receiving a request for performing a transaction that includes at least one caller application attribute describing the request, the service module builds a service module data structure pursuant to the received request. The service module data structure includes a generic service document and at least one service module attribute. Each service module attribute is stored in a relational table of the service module data structure. The request is serviced within the service module data structure, resulting in instantiating the generic service document. The generic service document is returned to the caller application. Building each service module attribute includes: constructing the generic service document and creating at least one container in the generic service document. Each container is respectively associated with each service module attribute in each mapping of at least one mapping.

Abstract: A method and system for interfacing between a caller application and a service module. A request for performing a transaction from the caller application is received. The request includes at least one caller application attribute describing the request. A service module data structure is built pursuant to the received request. The service module data structure includes a generic service document and at least one service module attribute. Each service module attribute is stored in a relational table of the service module data structure. The request is serviced within the service module data structure, which results in instantiating the generic service document. The generic service document is returned to the caller application.

Abstract: A method and associated system for interfacing between a caller application and a service module. Upon receiving a request for performing a transaction that includes at least one caller application attribute describing the request, the service module builds a service module data structure pursuant to the received request. The service module data structure includes a generic service document and at least one service module attribute. Each service module attribute is stored in a relational table of the service module data structure, which includes. The request is serviced within the service module data structure, resulting in instantiating the generic service document. The generic service document is returned to the caller application. Servicing the request includes: servicing comprising: performing the transaction; reloading containers from the relational table into respective containers of the generic service document; and returning the generic service document to the caller application.

Abstract: Disclosed is an apparatus that includes an identifying module, a survey module, an analytics module, and a ranking module. The identifying module identifies selected users, wherein the selected users are those users that have an awareness of factors that potentially affect a supply chain. The survey module administers a supply chain screening survey, which includes groups of intercorrelated questions, to the selected users and receives survey answers from the selected users. The analytics module performs a modified Cronbach-alpha analysis on the survey answers from the selected users in order to generate a response consistency rating for each of the selected users. The modified Cronbach-alpha analysis includes determining, for each one of the selected users, consistency between selected users of the survey answers within each group of intercorrelated questions. The ranking module assigns a reliability rank to each of the selected users based on their response consistency rating.

Abstract: An apparatus for building an information model for supply chain risk decision making includes a risk selection module, a priority module, a risk assessment module, and a scheduling module. The risk selection module selects, based upon a profiling questionnaire, one or more risk categories for an assessment subject. The priority module sets, based upon the profiling questionnaire, a level of importance of and a risk tolerance for the assessment subject in a supply chain. The risk assessment module receives, for each risk category of the one or more risk categories for the assessment subject, a likelihood and an impact of the risk category. The scheduling module sets a risk assessment schedule of the assessment subject based upon the level of importance of the assessment subject.

Abstract: A system and associated method for receiving an unlimited number of data items modified by a Web transaction. A processor requests a service from a Web-service program by sending the service program a set of data items and a client identifier. The Web-service program responds with a Web-interface program identifier and a user session identifier. The processor uses the session identifier, the Web-interface program identifier, and a storage location of the data items to open a session with a Web-interface program, during which the processor directs the Web-interface program to modify the data items and store them on a data storage device without interacting with the Web-service program. When the user session terminates, the processor requests from the Web-service program the modified data items and the Web-service program sends the data items to the processor without involvement of the Web-interface program.

Abstract: A method and associated system for interfacing between a caller application and a service module. Upon receiving a request for performing a transaction that includes at least one caller application attribute describing the request, the service module builds a service module data structure pursuant to the received request. The service module data structure includes a generic service document and at least one service module attribute. Each service module attribute is stored in a relational table of the service module data structure. The request is serviced within the service module data structure, resulting in instantiating the generic service document. The generic service document is returned to the caller application. Building each service module attribute includes: constructing the generic service document and creating at least one container in the generic service document. Each container is respectively associated with each service module attribute in each mapping of at least one mapping.

Abstract: A method and associated system for interfacing between a caller application and a service module. Upon receiving a request for performing a transaction that includes at least one caller application attribute describing the request, the service module builds a service module data structure pursuant to the received request. The service module data structure includes a generic service document and at least one service module attribute. Each service module attribute is stored in a relational table of the service module data structure. The request is serviced within the service module data structure, resulting in instantiating the generic service document. The generic service document is returned to the caller application. Storing each service module attribute in the relational table includes: determining a category and a level of a first service module attribute; and storing in the relational table a first container pursuant to the category and the level.

Abstract: A method and associated system for interfacing between a caller application and a service module. Upon receiving a request for performing a transaction that includes at least one caller application attribute describing the request, the service module builds a service module data structure pursuant to the received request. The service module data structure includes a generic service document and at least one service module attribute. Each service module attribute is stored in a relational table of the service module data structure, which includes. The request is serviced within the service module data structure, resulting in instantiating the generic service document. The generic service document is returned to the caller application. Storing each service module attribute in the relational table includes: determining a category and a level of a first service module attribute; and storing in the relational table a first container pursuant to the category and the level.

Abstract: A method, apparatus and program product which facilitate contract formation by making explicit the labor content of a bid presented by a second party (potential supplier) to a first party (buying the services or goods). Software executing on an information handling system and controllably accessible to both parties which provides a common set of the job roles, job skills and costs associated with a bid to be presented. Such clarification by use of a common taxonomic table enables the buying party to better understand the cost build up for the labor component and to rank the cost build up among several bidders.

Abstract: A dynamic review and approval process includes determining a minimum approval limit and constructing an approver list for procurement of one of goods and services. The approver list comprises a plurality of approvers, each approver having an approval limit that at least meets the minimum approval limit. The process includes removing one or more approvers who are unavailable and utilizing delegates for unavailable approvers. Processing approvals comprises notifying a first approver of the need for review and approval, receiving an approval or unapproval from the first approver, and repeating the steps of notifying and receiving for the remaining approvers on the approver list. An approval or unapproval from an approver not on the approver list is received and it is determined if the approval process is complete. It indicated to a user if the approval process is complete, otherwise the steps of notifying and receiving are repeated.

Abstract: A mapping method and system. The method includes receiving from a computing system, a selection of a first candidate skill from a list of candidate skills. The computing system receives a selection of a first work location of associated with a first skill. The computing system determines a first geographical location identifier identifying a first area comprising the first work location. The computing system determines a first work region comprising the first area and the first work location. The computing system selects a first group of suppliers associated the first work region. The computing system generates a candidate request document comprising the first candidate skill, the first work region, and the first work location. The computing system transmits to the first group of suppliers the candidate request document.

Abstract: A mapping method and system. The method includes receiving from a computing system, a selection of a first candidate skill from a list of candidate skills. The computing system receives a selection of a first work location of associated with a first skill. The computing system determines a first geographical location identifier identifying a first area comprising the first work location. The computing system determines a first work region comprising the first area and the first work location. The computing system selects a first group of suppliers associated the first work region. The computing system generates a candidate request document comprising the first candidate skill, the first work region, and the first work location. The computing system transmits to the first group of suppliers the candidate request document.

Abstract: An approach for transforming a starting list of purchase types into a selection list of valid purchase types by employing a configurable rule is presented. A unit price and commodity code are received for an item whose purchase is being charged to an account. Based on a category of the item, a starting list including purchase types is generated. Each purchase type specifies a corresponding accounting function. A rule set is identified in a table that associates the rule set with purchase type(s) specifying corresponding accounting functions. Identifying the rule set includes determining that the purchase type(s) are in a maximal subset of the purchase types included in the starting list. Based on the rule set and the unit price, a rule is identified in another table. The rule is applied to generate a selection list comprising a proper subset of the starting list.

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: An approach for sharing data between a calling application and a callee application is presented. A callee application receives a request for processing data owned and stored by the calling application in a data table. The callee application receives a document to which containers that include data elements from the data table are attached in a predefined order. The callee application identifies element types corresponding to the containers based on a mapping interface table. The callee application unloads data elements from the containers into a data store via the predefined order and associates the data elements with the corresponding element types. The callee application processes the data according to the request. The processing includes applying a business rule to a data element based on the business rule being associated with an element type of the data element. Only the callee application has knowledge of the applied business rule.