Supply chain management system

Abstract

An illustrative method for managing a supply chain is performed by a supply chain management server. The method comprises receiving information related to operations of a first supplier. The first supplier is responsible for providing a first product that satisfies criteria of a buyer. The method further includes determining a risk value that indicates a risk level of disruption of the operations of the first supplier and flagging the first supplier within a database of potential suppliers in response to determining that the determined risk value is greater than a risk tolerance threshold. The method also comprises notifying the buyer that the first supplier has been flagged and providing a list of recommended suppliers to the buyer. The recommended suppliers are each capable of providing a respective second product to the buyer. Each of the respective second products satisfies the criteria of the buyer.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for managing a supply chain comprising:
 monitoring, by a computing system, a plurality of computerized resources for information related to supply chain disruption events;   predicting, by the computing system, a geographic location affected by a supply chain disruption event based on the information related to supply chain disruption events;   determining, by the computing system, a supplier affected by the supply chain disruption event at the geographic location, wherein determining the supplier affected by the supply chain disruption event comprises comparing a geographic location affected by the supply chain disruption event to a location of the supplier, and wherein the supplier is responsible for providing a product that satisfies a criterion of a buyer;   determining, by the computing system, a risk level associated with the supplier in accordance with the supply chain disruption event at the geographic location, wherein determining the risk level comprises comparing a risk value associated with the supplier to one or more risk tolerance thresholds;   monitoring, by the computing system, the supply chain disruption event over time;   updating, by the computing system, the risk level associated with the supplier based on the monitoring of the supply chain disruption event; and   providing, by the computing system, one or more updates regarding the risk level associated with the supplier.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 flagging the supplier within a database of potential suppliers in response to determining that the risk value is greater than the risk tolerance threshold; and   notifying the buyer that the supplier has been flagged, wherein said notifying the buyer comprises indicating to the buyer that the first supplier is at risk of failing to deliver the first product to the buyer before a previously agreed-upon delivery date.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein predicting the geographic location affected by the supply chain disruption event comprises comparing a number of the computerized sources providing information indicative of the supply chain disruption event to a threshold number of sources, and wherein the geographic location is predicted to be affected by the supply chain disruption event in response to the number of the computerized sources satisfying the threshold number of sources. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the threshold number of sources is dependent on the reliability of the computerized sources. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein predicting the geographic location affected by the supply chain disruption event comprises:
 weighting each computerized source;   aggregating weights of the computerized sources providing information indicative of the supply chain disruption event; and   comparing the aggregated weights of the computerized sources to a threshold score, and wherein the geographic location is predicted to be affected by the supply chain disruption event in response to the aggregated weights satisfying the threshold score.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein at least one of the weights of the computerized sources include a time decay element such that the weight is adjusted based on an amount of time since reporting of the information indicative of the supply chain disruption event by a respective computerized source. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 5 , further comprising adjusting the aggregated weights based on a business category of the supplier. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 predicting, by the computing system, one or more suppliers affected by a non-location specific supply chain disruption event based on the information related to supply chain disruption events;   determining, by the computing system, a risk level associated with the one or more suppliers affected by the non-location specific supply chain disruption event;   monitoring, by the computing system, the non-location specific supply chain disruption event over time;   updating, by the computing system, the risk level associated with the one or more suppliers affected by non-location specific supply chain disruption event based on the monitoring of the non-location specific supply chain disruption event; and   providing, by the computing system, one or more updates regarding the risk level associated with the one or more suppliers affected by non-location specific supply chain disruption event.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising searching, by the computing system, the information related to supply chain disruption events for keywords that are indicative that a supply chain disruption event has occurred. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising providing a list of recommended suppliers to the buyer, wherein the recommended suppliers are each capable of providing a respective second product to the buyer, wherein the respective second product satisfies the criterion of the buyer. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , further comprising:
 receiving buyer preference information;   receiving buyer-supplier association information that indicates relationships between the buyer and one or more of the potential suppliers;   receiving transportation cost information that indicates transportation costs of the respective second products from locations of the potential suppliers and a location of the buyer; and   determining the list of recommended suppliers based on the information, the buyer preference information, the buyer-supplier association information, and the transportation cost information, wherein the list of recommended suppliers comprises at least one supplier of the potential suppliers.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 10 , further comprising displaying, on a graphical display device, the list of recommended suppliers in an order based on an aggregate score for each of the recommended suppliers. 
     
     
         13 . A system for managing a supply chain comprising:
 a communications transceiver configured to communicate with a plurality of buyers and a plurality of suppliers;   a memory configured to store disruption event information and supplier information, wherein the supplier information relates to operations of a supplier and includes a location of the supplier, wherein the supplier is responsible for providing a first product that satisfies criteria of a buyer, and wherein the disruption event information comprises information indicating a supply chain disruption event; and   a processor operatively coupled to the communications transceiver and the memory, wherein the processor is configured to:
 monitor a plurality of computerized resources for the disruption event information; 
 predict a geographic location affected by a supply chain disruption event based on the disruption event information; 
 determine the supplier is affected by the supply chain disruption event at the geographic location, wherein determining the supplier is affected by the supply chain disruption event comprises comparing a geographic location affected by the supply chain disruption event to the location of the supplier; 
 determine a risk level associated with the supplier in accordance with the supply chain disruption event at the geographic location, wherein determining the risk level comprises comparing a risk value associated with the supplier to one or more risk tolerance thresholds; 
 monitor the supply chain disruption event over time; 
 update the risk level associated with the supplier based on the monitoring of the supply chain disruption event; and 
 provide one or more updates regarding the risk level associated with the supplier. 
   
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein the processor is further configured to:
 flag the supplier within a database of potential suppliers in response to determining that the risk value is greater than the risk tolerance threshold; and   notify the buyer that the supplier has been flagged, wherein said notifying the buyer comprises indicating to the buyer that the first supplier is at risk of failing to deliver the first product to the buyer before a previously agreed-upon delivery date.   
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein predicting the geographic location affected by the supply chain disruption event comprises comparing a number of the computerized sources providing information indicative of the supply chain disruption event to a threshold number of sources, and wherein the geographic location is predicted to be affected by the supply chain disruption event in response to the number of the computerized sources satisfying the threshold number of sources. 
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein the threshold number of sources is dependent on the reliability of the computerized sources. 
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein, to predict the geographic location affected by the supply chain disruption event, the processor is configured to:
 weight each computerized source;   aggregate weights of the computerized sources providing information indicative of the supply chain disruption event; and   compare the aggregated weights of the computerized sources to a threshold score, and wherein the geographic location is predicted to be affected by the supply chain disruption event in response to the aggregated weights satisfying the threshold score.   
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 17 , wherein at least one of the weights of the computerized sources include a time decay element such that the weight is adjusted based on an amount of time since reporting of the information indicative of the supply chain disruption event by a respective computerized source. 
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 17 , further comprising adjusting the aggregated weights based on a business category of the supplier. 
     
     
         20 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium including computer-readable instructions that, upon execution by a processor, cause a device to:
 monitor a plurality of computerized resources for information related to supply chain disruption events;   predict a geographic location affected by a supply chain disruption event based on the information related to supply chain disruption events;   determine a supplier affected by the supply chain disruption event at the geographic location, wherein determining the supplier affected by the supply chain disruption event comprises comparing a geographic location affected by the supply chain disruption event to a location of the supplier, and wherein the supplier is responsible for providing a product that satisfies a criterion of a buyer;   determine a risk level associated with the supplier in accordance with the supply chain disruption event at the geographic location, wherein determining the risk level comprises comparing a risk value associated with the supplier to one or more risk tolerance thresholds;   monitor the supply chain disruption event over time;   update the risk level associated with the supplier based on the monitoring of the supply chain disruption event; and   provide one or more updates regarding the risk level associated with the supplier.