Claims
- 1. A method for managing data items in an inventory management system, comprising:
maintaining a set of data items representing stock items in an inventory, wherein at least one stock item is described by two or more values, each value being expressed in different units of measurement; receiving a change request for a change of the values for the stock item that is described in the two or more different units of measurement; and updating the two or more values for the stock item that is described in two or more different units of measurement.
- 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising defining a relationship between the different units of measurement based on a user input.
- 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the change request can be performed by any participating party in a supply chain.
- 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the change request comprises one of an add operation for increasing values representing a stock item, and a delete operation for reducing values representing a stock item.
- 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the change request expressed in the two or more units of measurement.
- 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the change request expressed in only one unit, the method further comprising updating at least one more unit based on a relationship between the two different units.
- 7. The method of claim 1, further comprising querying a data item for one or more values of a particular unit for the stock item that is described in the two or more different units of measurement.
- 8. The method of claim 1, wherein a first data item represents a first stock portion owned by a first user and a second data item represents a second stock portion owned by a second user, the first and second stock portions being commingled in a same location.
- 9. A computer program product, comprising instructions to cause a programmable processor to:
maintain a set of data items representing stock items in an inventory, wherein at least one stock item is described by two or more values, each value being expressed in different units of measurement; receive a change request for a change of the values for the stock item that is described in the two or more different units of measurement; and update the two or more values for the stock item that is described in two or more different units of measurement.
- 10. The computer program product of claim 9, further comprising instructions to define a relationship between the different units of measurement based on a user input.
- 11. The computer program product of claim 9, wherein the change request can be performed by any participating party in a supply chain.
- 12. The computer program product of claim 9, wherein the change request comprises one of: an add operation for increasing values representing a stock item, and a delete operation for reducing values representing a stock item.
- 13. The computer program product of claim 9, wherein the change request expressed in the two or more units of measurement.
- 14. The computer program product of claim 9, wherein the change request expressed in only one unit, the computer program product further comprising instructions to update at least one more unit based on a relationship between the two different units.
- 15. The computer program product of claim 9, further comprising instructions to query a data item for one or more values of a particular unit for the stock item that is described in the two or more different units of measurement.
- 16. The computer program product of claim 9, wherein a first data item represents a first stock portion owned by a first user and a second data item represents a second stock portion owned by a second user, the first and second stock portions being commingled in a same location.
RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation-in-part of, and claims priority from, co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/136,847 filed on Apr. 30, 2002, having common inventors Matthias Heinrichs, Pascale Van Laetham, Markus Seng, and Achim Heger, common ownership, and titled Inventory Management, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
Continuation in Parts (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
10136847 |
Apr 2002 |
US |
Child |
10159798 |
May 2002 |
US |