Providing supplier relationship management software application as enterprise services

Abstract

Methods and apparatus, including systems and computer program products, for a services architecture design that provides enterprise services having supplier relationship management functionality at the level of an enterprise application. The design includes a set of service operations, process components, and optionally deployment units. Suitable business objects are also described.

1 . A computer readable medium including program code for providing message-based services using a service-oriented methodology for implementing an instance of a deployment unit, the medium comprising:
 program code for storing an instance of a supplier invoicing deployment unit for the management and volume processing of supplier invoices, including exception handling and approval, where the supplier invoicing deployment unit defines the limits of an application-defined transaction for the management and volume processing of supplier invoices, including exception handling and approval by a set of actions that have atomicity, consistency, isolation, and durability in a database, and wherein the actions associated with the application-defined transaction are performed by one or more process components contained in the supplier invoicing deployment unit, wherein each process component comprises a software package realizing a business process and exposing its functionality as one or more service operations, wherein the supplier invoicing deployment unit comprises:
 a create supplier invoice request operation, a notify billing due operation, a notify of contract release operation, an update supplier invoice verification exception operation, a confirm invoice operation, a create invoice operation, a notify of invoice operation, a request Evaluated Receipt Settlement (ERS) invoice operation, a notify of invoice operation, a notify of invoice operation, a create invoice based on attachment operation, a notify of invoice values operation, a request exception operation, a resolution operation, a notify of supplier invoice operation, a maintain invoice request operation, a create invoice operation, a first notify of invoice cancellation operation, a second notify of invoice cancellation operation, and a third notify of invoice cancellation operation; 
 wherein the service operations of the supplier invoice processing deployment unit are packaged together to be deployed on a single computer system; and 
 program code for executing the application-defined transaction for the management and volume processing of supplier invoices, including exception handling and approval; and program code for presenting data associated with the executed application-defined transaction for the management and volume processing of supplier invoices, including exception handling and approval to a graphical user interface. 
   
     
     
         2 . The medium of  claim 1 , wherein the supplier invoice deployment unit further comprises a supplier invoice processing process component. 
     
     
         3 . The medium of  claim 2 , wherein the supplier invoice processing process component implements the create supplier invoice request operation, the notify billing due operation, the notify of contract release operation, the update supplier invoice verification exception operation, the confirm invoice operation, the create invoice operation, the notify of invoice operation, the request ERS invoice operation, the notify of invoice operation, the notify of invoice operation, the create invoice based on attachment operation, the notify of invoice values operation, the request exception operation, the resolution operation, the notify of supplier invoice operation, the maintain invoice request operation, the create invoice operation, the first notify of invoice cancellation operation, the second notify of invoice cancellation operation, and the third notify of invoice cancellation operation. 
     
     
         4 . The medium of  claim 2 , wherein the supplier invoice processing process component comprises a supplier invoice request business object, an ERS run business object, a supplier invoice business object, and a supplier invoice verification exception business object. 
     
     
         5 . The medium of  claim 1 , wherein the services operations are grouped into service interfaces, the service interfaces comprising:
 a supplier invoice request migration in interface that includes the create supplier invoice request operation;   an invoice verification out interface that includes the notify billing due operation;   a contract release out interface that includes the notify of contract release operation;   an exception resolution in interface that includes the update supplier invoice verification exception operation;   an invoicing out interface that includes the confirm invoice operation;   an invoicing in interface that includes the create invoice operation;   a receivables payables out interface that includes the notify of invoice operation;   an ERS invoicing out interface that includes the request ERS invoice operation;   an invoice accounting out interface that includes the notify of invoice operation;   a foreign receivable payable notification out interface that includes the notify of invoice operation;   an image recognition invoicing in interface that includes the create invoice based on attachment operation;   an invoice verification out interface that includes the notify of invoice values operation;   an exception resolution out interface that includes the request exception resolution operation;   a customer project expenses notification out interface that includes the notify of supplier invoice operation;   an invoice verification in interface that includes the maintain invoice request operation;   an internal invoicing in interface that includes the create invoice operation;   an invoice accounting out interface that includes the first notify of invoice cancellation operation;   a foreign receivable payable notification out interface that includes the second notify of invoice cancellation operation; and   a receivables payables out interface that includes the third notify of invoice cancellation operation.   
     
     
         6 . The medium of  claim 1 , wherein the single computer system comprises a single physical hardware platform. 
     
     
         7 . A computer readable medium including program code for providing message-based services using a service-oriented methodology for implementing an instance of a deployment unit, the medium comprising:
 program code for storing an instance of a requisitioning deployment unit for the management and processing of internal requests from employees, where the requisitioning deployment unit defines the limits of an application-defined transaction for the management and processing of internal requests from employees by a set of actions that have atomicity, consistency, isolation, and durability in a database, and wherein the actions associated with the application-defined transaction are performed by one or more process components contained in the requisitioning deployment unit, wherein each process component comprises a software package realizing a business process and exposing its functionality as one or more service operations, wherein the requisitioning deployment unit comprises:
 a request availability information operation, a change internal request based on purchase request operation, a request availability information and provisional reservation operation, a request in-house requirement reservation and fulfillment operation, a request purchasing operation, a change internal request based on purchase order operation, a request Goods and Services Acknowledgment (GSA) based on delivery confirmation operation, a change internal request based on availability update operation, a change internal request based on fulfillment confirmation operation, and a request invoicing based on invoice acceptance operation; 
 wherein the service operations of the requisitioning deployment unit are packaged together to be deployed on a single computer system; and 
   program code for executing the application-defined transaction for the management and processing of internal requests from employees; and   program code for presenting data associated with the executed application-defined transaction for the management and processing of internal requests from employees to a graphical user interface.   
     
     
         8 . The medium of  claim 7 , wherein the requisitioning deployment unit further comprises an internal request processing process component. 
     
     
         9 . The medium of  claim 8 , wherein the internal request processing process component implements the Request Availability Information operation, the Change Internal Request based on Purchase Request operation, the Request Availability Information and provisional Reservation operation, the Request In-house Requirement Reservation and Fulfillment operation, the Request Purchasing operation, the Change Internal Request based on Purchase Order operation, the Request GSA based on Delivery Confirmation operation, the Change Internal Request based on Availability Update operation, the Change Internal Request based on Fulfillment Confirmation operation, and the Request Invoicing based on Invoice Acceptance operation. 
     
     
         10 . The medium of  claim 8 , wherein the internal request processing process component comprises an internal request business object. 
     
     
         11 . The medium of  claim 7 , wherein the services operations are grouped into service interfaces, the service interfaces comprising:
 an internal fulfillment out interface that includes the request availability information operation;   a purchasing in interface that includes the change internal request based on purchase request operation;   an internal fulfillment out interface that includes the request availability information and provisional reservation operation;   an internal fulfillment out interface that includes the request in-house requirement reservation operation and the fulfillment operation;   a purchasing out interface that includes the request purchasing operation;   an ordering notification in interface that includes the change internal request based on purchase order operation;   an internal acknowledgement out interface that includes the request GSA based on delivery confirmation operation;   an internal fulfillment in interface that includes the change internal request based on availability update operation and the change internal request based on fulfillment confirmation operation; and   an internal invoicing out interface that includes the request invoicing based on invoice acceptance operation.   
     
     
         12 . The medium of  claim 7 , wherein the single computer system comprises a single physical hardware platform.