B2B Community Management via Unified BPM Overlay
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Solution Overview
Problem
Large-scale commercial entities face challenges in managing complex B2B collaboration networks due to the lack of unified and comprehensive approaches, leading to excessive costs, weaker collaborative relationships, and an inability to detect and act on business patterns effectively, as existing technologies focus on partial solutions and manual processes.
Innovation Solution
A comprehensive BPM overlay framework that provides integrated visibility and action mechanisms for B2B community management, supporting pattern-based strategies through a multi-faceted process model for establishing and maintaining electronic relationships, including provisioning, problem detection, and performance management, leveraging modern system-oriented architecture and BPM technology.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If manual processes and limited technology applications are used for B2B community management, then implementation and maintenance can be performed with existing simple systems, but costs become excessive and productivity is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual mechanical processes with an automated BPM overlay framework that uses electronic communication and automated workflows to manage B2B communities, eliminating the need for manual intervention in partner onboarding, interaction tracking, and relationship management tasks
Solution Approach 2:
The framework enables B2B partners to interact and transact autonomously through standardized electronic interfaces and automated processes, allowing the system to serve itself by automatically managing community interactions without requiring extensive human intervention
2Adaptability or versatility
If partial solutions and site-deployed applications are implemented for specific B2B functions, then specific tasks can be automated, but a unified view of the community is lost and device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The BPM overlay framework serves as a universal platform that can accommodate multiple B2B applications and functions (EDI, CRM, ERP, B2B gateways) through a common standardized interface, allowing one system to perform multiple community management functions rather than requiring separate specialized systems
Solution Approach 2:
The framework acts as an intermediary layer between various B2B applications and partners, providing a standardized communication interface that translates between different application protocols and the community management processes, thereby unifying diverse systems without requiring changes to the underlying applications
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple divisions within a hub use different applications and platforms for partner relationships, then each division can optimize for its specific needs, but a single view of the community cannot be achieved and information loss occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The framework serves as a central intermediary that collects, standardizes, and consolidates interaction information from multiple divisions using different applications, creating a unified community view while allowing each division to continue using its preferred applications without direct integration between them
Solution Approach 2:
The standardized electronic interface and common data model enable the framework to universally capture interaction information from diverse divisional applications in a consistent format, allowing a single view of the community to be constructed from heterogeneous data sources
4Reliability
If traditional EDI value added applications are used for partner onboarding, then electronic transaction capability can be established, but comprehensive community management including maintenance and performance measurement is not achieved and productivity remains limited
Solution Approach 1:
The framework performs preliminary actions by establishing standardized electronic interfaces and automated workflows in advance for partner onboarding, interaction tracking, and relationship management, enabling comprehensive community management processes to be executed automatically rather than manually
Solution Approach 2:
The system replaces manual community management processes with automated electronic workflows that track partner interactions, measure performance, and maintain relationships through standardized digital processes, eliminating the need for manual intervention in these management tasks
Data Source
AI summary
A method for managing a B2B electronic commerce community, wherein a plurality of B2B partners interact with a hub entity via a plurality of B2B applications, includes receiving interaction information describing interactions of a B2B partner with at least one of the B2B applications. The interaction information may describe a material flow, correspondence, transactions, notices, relationships, and so forth, between the B2B partner and the hub. Based at least in part on the received interaction information, the method develops a community manager that supports a common set of community management modules in communication with each of the B2B applications and maintains a single, hub-wide view of each of the B2B partners. The modules may include, as examples, modules for new partner on-boarding, community maintenance, improvement, and networking including social network tooling.