Staged Catalog Update Workflow for Procurement Systems

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Solution Overview

Problem

The management of catalog information in procurement systems becomes inefficient as the size and complexity of hosted catalogs grow, making it difficult to load, validate, and approve updates, especially with increasing numbers of suppliers and items.

Innovation Solution

A computer-implemented method and system for updating and managing hosted catalogs, involving an input store, data integration component, application database, live, and staged catalogs, where catalog updates are validated, staged for approval, and then promoted to live status upon authorized user acceptance, with a central catalog service coordinating the workflow and using delta files for efficient import and change reporting.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If catalog information is hosted internally in the procurement system, then buyers can have centralized control and rich item content, but the system complexity and difficulty of managing updates increase significantly

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecentralized control and rich item contentVSAvoidsystem complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the catalog management process into distinct phases: validation phase (checking catalog updates against business rules), staging phase (holding approved updates in a temporary state), and promotion phase (moving from staged to live catalogs). This segmentation allows complex management tasks to be broken down into manageable, automated steps, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining centralized control.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The patent introduces a staged catalog as an intermediary between the input store and the live catalog. This staged catalog acts as a buffer that holds validated but not yet promoted catalog updates, allowing for review and approval before making changes live. This intermediary structure simplifies the management process by providing a controlled transition mechanism.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Quantity of substance

If the number of items and attribute information increases in hosted catalogs, then catalog richness improves, but the difficulty of loading and validating catalog information increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecatalog richnessVSAvoiddifficulty of loading and validating

Core Design Contradiction:

Quantity of substanceVSDifficulty of detecting and measuring

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements preliminary validation of catalog updates against predefined business rules before the updates are loaded into the staged catalog. This preliminary action ensures that only valid catalog information proceeds to the staging phase, reducing the burden of validation later and making the loading process more efficient even as catalog richness increases.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system provides feedback mechanisms throughout the catalog management process, including validation results from business rules, status information about catalog updates (validated, staged, promoted, rejected), and notifications to stakeholders. This feedback enables automated monitoring and decision-making, reducing the difficulty of managing large volumes of catalog information.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

3Reliability

If manual monitoring and approval of catalog changes is performed, then oversight is maintained, but the process becomes increasingly difficult and time-consuming as catalog size grows

Engineering Contradiction:

ImproveoversightVSAvoidtime-consuming process

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements automated validation of catalog updates against predefined business rules, allowing the system to self-validate catalog information without requiring manual review of every detail. This self-service validation maintains reliability by ensuring business rules are consistently applied while significantly reducing the time required compared to manual monitoring of all catalog changes.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

Solution Approach 2:

The patent replaces manual mechanical processes (manual monitoring and approval) with automated electronic processes. The system automatically validates catalog updates, tracks their status through the staged catalog, and notifies appropriate stakeholders. This substitution maintains oversight through automated monitoring while dramatically reducing the time investment required, especially as catalog size grows.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

Data Source

PatentUS11915239B2System and method for updating and managing hosted catalogs in a procurement system

Publication Date: 2024.02.27 BUYERQUEST INC

AI summary

Disclosed herein are systems, methods, and non-transitory computer-readable storage media for updating and managing hosted catalogs in a procurement system. A procurement system is provided comprising at least one live hosted catalog and at least one staged hosted catalog. Catalog update files are received into the system, and a data integration component validates and imports the catalog updates to the staged catalog, and an authorized buyer user is presented a summary of the update information and, upon an acceptance of the updates by the buyer user, the catalog update information is promoted to the live hosted catalog. In one embodiment a central catalog service maintains status information of the updates and coordinates workflow. In another embodiment, the system evaluates the update information and determines whether an approval is required.