Unified Catalog Data Retrieval and Modification
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Solution Overview
Problem
Sophisticated companies with independent technical support systems face challenges in merging or restructuring, leading to employees being unaware of available resources and experiencing resource wastage due to overlapping services and goods from disparate systems.
Innovation Solution
A unified catalog system that collects, manages, and edits data from multiple catalog systems, providing a unified user interface for browsing and ordering items, while eliminating the need for system reconfiguration or merging, by using APIs to retrieve and modify catalog data, removing duplicates, and enhancing order fulfillment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If multiple independent catalog systems are maintained separately, then each system can operate independently with its own management, but employees cannot access all available resources and resource wastage occurs due to overlapping services
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a unified catalog system that consolidates multiple independent catalog systems into a single interface. The system retrieves data from various underlying catalog systems (e.g., supplier catalogs, internal inventories) and presents them through one unified catalog, allowing employees to access all resources in one place rather than navigating multiple separate systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The unified catalog system serves multiple functions: it aggregates data from different source systems, provides a single search interface, manages product information centrally, and enables access to diverse resources (supplier products, internal inventory, discontinued items) through one universal platform, eliminating the need for employees to know which specific system contains which resource.
2Ease of manufacture
If multiple independent catalog systems are maintained, then each system can be managed separately, but resource wastage occurs due to overlapping services and goods
Solution Approach 1:
The system merges multiple catalog data sources into a unified view, allowing the organization to maintain separate underlying catalog systems while presenting a consolidated interface. This enables resource optimization by identifying and eliminating duplicate products and services across different catalogs, reducing wastage while preserving the operational independence of each source system.
Solution Approach 2:
The unified catalog system creates a virtual copy or representation of data from multiple underlying catalogs without requiring physical consolidation of the source systems. It retrieves and displays product information from various catalogs through a single interface, enabling resource optimization and duplicate identification while maintaining the original separate system structures.
3Productivity
If a unified catalog system is implemented, then resource wastage is reduced and access is simplified, but system complexity increases due to data integration from multiple sources
Solution Approach 1:
The unified catalog system acts as an intermediary layer between employees and the multiple underlying catalog systems. It retrieves data from various source systems, standardizes the information format, and presents it through a unified interface, thereby simplifying user access while managing the complexity of data integration behind the scenes without requiring users to understand the underlying system architecture.
Solution Approach 2:
The system segments the complexity of data integration by maintaining separate connections to each underlying catalog system while presenting a unified interface. It handles data retrieval, processing, and presentation in distinct stages, allowing the complex integration logic to be managed systematically without overwhelming the user interface or requiring complete system reconfiguration.
4Ease of operation
If catalog data is collected and modified from disparate systems, then a unified interface is provided, but data accuracy and consistency become challenging to maintain
Solution Approach 1:
The unified catalog system implements feedback mechanisms to maintain data consistency across multiple source systems. It monitors data from underlying catalogs, identifies discrepancies or duplicates, and provides controls for data validation and correction, ensuring that the unified interface presents accurate and consistent product information while accommodating updates from various source systems.
Data Source
AI summary
Embodiments for providing a unified catalog include systems and methods that import catalog data from one or more underlying catalog systems. The systems identify items from the catalog data and modify at least one of item descriptions, item names, product categories, and item identifiers associated with the identified items. The systems further provide a unified user interface to a user for browsing the items, receive a request for at least one product selected by the user from the items, and send an order for the at least one selected product to the one or more catalog systems.