DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

[0020] Reference will now be made to the drawings to describe the present invention in detail.

[0021] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an application environment including a system for integration of actual product costs 1 (hereinafter simply referred to as the system 1 ) in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The system 1 is connected to a plurality of client terminals 3 , a general ledger management system 4 , a manufacturing process management system 5 , a work order management system 6 , a purchase management system 7 , an inventory management system 8 and a production management system 9 via a network 2 . The system 1 comprises a web server 12 , a database server 14 , and a database 16 . The system 1 uses a web-based solution, i.e. an application program of the system 1 runs on the web server 12 . Using Internet access software installed in the client terminals 3 , users of the system 1 such as cost management personnel and supervisors can log in the web server 12 via the network 2 with a www (world wide web) address. The users can then perform all required operations within the system 1 and obtain relevant data. The operations include value-added costs integration, material costs integration, and actual costs integration. The web server 12 comprises a value-added costs integration module 121 , a material costs integration module 122 , an actual costs integration module 123 , and an actual costs enquiry module 124 . The value-added costs integration module 121 calculates value-added costs of each product based on manufacturing expenses data and work time data on work orders. The material costs integration module 122 calculates material costs of each product based on purchase data, inventory data, and consumed material data. The actual costs integration module 123 calculates actual costs of each product by integrating the material costs and the value-added costs of the product. The actual product costs enquiry module 124 performs enquiry operations. That is, the actual product costs enquiry module 124 retrieves the actual costs, value-added costs, material costs and other relevant data of each product, and sends the data to a respective client terminal 3 . The Internet access software is Internet Explorer from Microsoft Corp. or Navigator from Netscape Corp. The network 2 is the Internet or an intranet.

[0022] The web server 12 is connected to the database server 14 , which contains the database 16 . The database server 14 can exchange data with the general ledger management system 4 , the manufacturing process management system 5 , the work order management system 6 , the purchase management system 7 , the inventory management system 8 and the production management system 9 via the network 2 . The database server 14 receives manufacturing expenses data from the general ledger management system 4 , basic data of operation centers from the manufacturing process management system 5 , work time data on work orders from the work order management system 6 , purchase data from the purchase management system 7 , inventory data from the inventory management system 8 , and consumed material data from the production management system 9 . The database 16 stores the manufacturing expenses data, purchase data, inventory data and consumed material data. The database 16 further stores cost variable definition data, operation center definition data, cost group data, an operation center variance list, an operation center expenses rate list, and so on. The database 16 further stores a material purchase costs list, a relevant inventory costs list, and an integrated product material costs list. The database 16 further stores an actual product costs list.

[0023] FIG. 2 is essentially a block diagram of sub-modules comprised in the value-added costs integration module 121 of the web server 12 . The value-added costs integration module 121 comprises a cost variable definition sub-module 1211 , an operation center maintenance sub-module 1212 , a manufacturing expenses account/amount transfer sub-module 1213 , a cost group file creation sub-module 1214 , an operation center variance calculation sub-module 1215 , a cost group apportionment sub-module 1216 , and a value-added costs calculation sub-module 1217 .

[0024] The cost variable definition sub-module 1211 is used for defining possible cost variables, cost variable codes and other relevant data when calculating product value-added costs. Cost variables are factors that affect product value-added costs, such as labor work time, machine work time, etc. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the cost variables can be an apportionment standard for apportioning costs of cost groups (i.e. cost categories) to operation centers (assembly lines, work stations, etc.), as well as an apportionment standard for apportioning operation center costs to product costs.

[0025] Based on operation center basic data obtained from the manufacturing process management system 5 , the operation center maintenance sub-module 1212 performs operation center maintenance. That is, the operation center maintenance sub-module 1212 selects work centers in operation centers and specifies cost variables to be apportioned to product value-added costs. Each product is a finished product, a semi-finished product or a product manufactured according to a contract. An operation center may be an assembly line, a production station, etc. Each operation center serves as a basic unit for collection of production site manufacturing expenses data.

[0026] The manufacturing expenses account/amount transfer sub-module 1213 performs manufacturing expenses account/amount transfers. In a transfer, the database server 14 obtains manufacturing expenses information from the general ledger management system 4 , calculates manufacturing expenses data in a current period, and saves the data in the database 16 .

[0027] The cost group file creation sub-module 1214 divides a company's department or product groups into different cost groups according to different cost variables, defines manufacturing expenses accounts and cost variables in each cost group, and calculates the manufacturing expenses of each cost group by summing up values of all of the manufacturing expenses accounts based on the manufacturing expenses data.

[0028] The operation center variance calculation sub-module 1215 obtains work time data on work orders from the work order management system 6 . That is, the operation center variance calculation sub-module 1215 keeps a record of each work center's work time on work orders and a quantity of output of each product for the current period of cost calculations, and calculates the sum of all the operation centers' cost variances and each product's cost variance for each operation center. Cost variance is hereinafter referred to simply as “variance.” The operation center total variance of each operation center is the total of product variances for each type of product for each work center contained in that operation center. Each product variance is the product's work time on work orders (such as labor work time and machine work time). The formula for calculating the product variance of each product in one operation center is:

V=WT/Q

[0029] where V stands for the product variance of the product in the operation center, WT stands for the total work time on work orders of the product in the operation center, and Q stands for the total manufactured quantity of the product.

[0030] The total work time on work orders of the product in the operation center is the total of work time on work orders in each work center contained in that operation center.

[0031] The cost group apportionment sub-module 1216 specifies a ratio of each cost group's manufacturing expenses apportioned to each operation center, i.e. an apportioned variance of each operation center, and generates cost group apportionment data that are stored in the database 16 . Cost group apportionment data of a previous period's cost calculations can be obtained from the cost group apportionment sub-module 1216 , and are used to define the cost group apportionment data of the current period. The apportioned expenses of each cost group's manufacturing expenses to be apportioned to corresponding operation centers can be determined by the sum of the operation center total variances corresponding to the cost group generated by the operation center variance calculation sub-module 1215 .

[0032] The value-added costs calculation sub-module 1217 calculates each operation center's total costs by using the operation center total variance, each cost group's manufacturing costs corresponding to the operation center, and the operation center's apportioned variance. The value-added costs calculation sub-module 1217 further calculates each operation center's expenses rate and each operation center's value-added costs for a particular product, according to the operation center's total costs and the operation center's total variance. The formulas for calculating each operation center's total costs, expenses rate and value-added costs for a particular product are as follows: operation center total costs=ΣE _M *(V _A /V _S )

[0033] where E _M *(V _A /V _S ) is equal to the manufacturing expenses apportioned to the operation center, and where E _M stands for manufacturing expenses, V _A stands for the apportioned variance of the operation center in a cost group, and V _S stands for the sum of all the operation center total variances in the cost group;

R _E =C _T /V _T

[0034] where R _E stands for the operation center's expenses rate, C _T stands for the operation center's total costs, and V _T stands for the operation center's total variance; and

C =R _E *V _P

[0035] where C _V stands for the operation center's product costs for a particular product, R _E stands for the operation center's expenses rate, and V _P stands for the product variance of the operation center.

[0036] The value-added costs of a particular product is calculated according to the following formula:

Value-added costs of a particular product=Σoperation center product costs for all the operation centers.

[0037] FIG. 3 is essentially a block diagram of sub-modules comprised in the material costs integration module 122 of the web server 12 . The material costs integration module 122 comprises a purchase data retrieval sub-module 1221 , a purchase data gathering sub-module 1222 , a current period purchase costs calculation sub-module 1223 , an inventory data retrieval sub-module 1224 , a historical purchase costs calculation sub-module 1225 , a consumed material data retrieval sub-module 1226 , and a material costs calculation sub-module 1227 .

[0038] The purchase data retrieval sub-module 1221 generates a purchase data retrieval request based on a fiscal year or other accounting period information input by a cost manager via a user interface provided by a respective client terminal 3 , and sends the request to the database server 14 . Upon receiving the request, the database server 14 accesses the purchase management system 7 to obtain current period purchase data, and saves the data as purchase data in the database 16 . The purchase data comprise purchase date, material number, material name, purchase quantity, purchase unit price, purchase expenses, and so on.

[0039] The purchase data gathering sub-module 1222 gathers the current period purchase data of each material to obtain a total purchase quantity, a total purchase value and total purchase expenses of each material.

[0040] The current period purchase costs calculation sub-module 1223 calculates purchase expenses apportioned to each unit of each material based on the total purchase expenses of the material and the purchase quantity of the material. The current period purchase costs calculation sub-module 1223 further calculates a current period's purchase costs of a unit of each material based on the purchase expenses apportioned to each unit of each material, the total purchase value and the total purchase quantity of the material gathered by the purchase data gathering sub-module 1222 . The formula for calculating the purchase expenses apportioned to each unit of each material is:

E _UP =E _TP /Q _TP

[0041] where E _UP stands for the purchase expenses apportioned to each unit of the material, E _TP stands for the total purchase expenses of the material, and Q _TP stands for the purchase quantity of the material.

[0042] The formula for calculating current period purchase costs of a unit of each material is:

C _UP =E _UP +( E _TV /Q _TP )

[0043] where C _UP stands for current period purchase costs of a unit of the material, E _UP stands for the purchase expenses apportioned to each unit of the material, E _TV stands for the total purchase value of the material, and Q _TP stands for the total purchase quantity of the material.

[0044] The current period purchase costs calculation sub-module 1223 stores the purchase expenses apportioned to each unit of each material and current period purchase costs of a unit of each material in a current period purchase costs list. The current period purchase costs list further contains information on material number, material name, total purchase expenses, total purchase quantity, unit price, total purchase value, and so on.

[0045] The inventory data retrieval sub-module 1224 generates an inventory data retrieval request based on the fiscal year or other accounting period input by the cost manager, and sends the request to the database server 14 . Upon receiving the request, the database server 14 accesses the inventory management system 8 to obtain current period inventory data and initial inventory data, and stores the data in the database 16 .

[0046] The historical purchase costs calculation sub-module 1225 calculates the historical purchase costs of a unit of each material based on the initial inventory data and the current period purchase costs list. The initial inventory data comprise initial inventory quantity and initial inventory value. The result of the calculation is saved in a historical purchase costs list. The formula for calculating the historical purchase costs of a unit of each material is:

C _UHP =( V _II +Q _P *C _UP )/( Q _P +Q _IO )

[0047] where C _UHP stands for the historical purchase costs of a unit of the material, V _II stands for the initial inventory value, Q _P stands for the current period purchase quantity, C _UP stands for the current period purchase costs of a unit of the material, and Q _IO stands for the initial inventory quantity.

[0048] The consumed material data retrieval sub-module 1226 generates a consumed material data retrieval request according to the fiscal year or other accounting period input by the cost manager, and sends the request to the database server 14 . Upon receiving the request, the database server 14 accesses the production management system 9 to obtain current period consumed material data, and stores the data in the database 16 . The consumed material data comprises product name, product number, current period produced quantity, and all consumed materials' numbers, names and quantities.

[0049] The material costs calculation sub-module 1227 calculates costs of each material consumed in a particular product based on the quantity of the consumed material, historical purchase costs of a unit of the material and the produced quantity of the product. The material costs calculation sub-module 1227 further calculates the material costs of the product based on the costs of each material consumed in the product. The material cost integration sub-module 1227 sums up the costs of all materials consumed in the product to obtain material costs of the product, and saves the result in a material costs integration list. The formula for calculating the costs of each material consumed in the product is:

C _CM =Q _WM *C _UHP /Q

[0050] where C _CM stands for the costs of a particular material consumed in the product, Q _WM stands for the quantity of the consumed material, C _UHP stands for the historical purchase costs of a unit of the material, and Q stands for the produced quantity of the product.

[0051] The formula for calculating the material costs of the product is:

C _M =ΣC _CM

[0052] where C _M stands for the material costs of the product, and C _CM stands for the costs of each material consumed in the product.

[0053] FIG. 4 is a main flowchart for operating the system 1 in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention. In step S 100 , the value-added costs integration module 121 calculates the value-added costs of a particular product based on the manufacturing expenses of each cost group, the apportioned variance of each operation center, the operation center total variance of each operation center, and the product variance of the product. In step S 200 , the material costs integration module 122 calculates the material costs of the product based on the produced quantity of the product, total consumed materials quantities of the product, and the historical purchase costs of each material. In step S 300 , the actual costs integration module 123 sums up the value-added costs of the product and the material costs of the product to obtain the actual costs of the product, and generates an actual product costs list. The actual product costs list comprises information on each product's name, number, actual costs, value-added costs, material costs, value-added costs in each operation center, and costs of each consumed material. In step S 400 , the cost management personnel enquire of the actual costs, value-added costs and material costs of a product via the actual costs enquiry module 124 .

[0054] FIG. 5 is a flowchart for integrating the value-added costs of a product in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. In step S 110 , the cost management personnel perform cost variable maintenance by using the cost variable definition sub-module 1211 . That is, said personnel define cost variables, codes and other related data which are likely to be used during product cost calculations to generate the cost variable definition data. In step S 120 , the cost management personnel perform operation maintenance by using the operation center maintenance sub-module 1212 . That is, said personnel obtain operation center basic data from the manufacturing process management system 5 . Said personnel define work centers in each operation center and determine cost variables of each product's costs, based on the operation center basic data and the cost variable definition data. The operation center definition data are thereby generated. In step S 130 , the manufacturing expenses account/amount transfer sub-module 1213 obtains manufacturing expenses information from the general ledger management system 4 , and saves the information in the database 16 as the manufacturing expenses data. In step S 140 , the cost group file creation sub-module 1214 creates a cost group file. That is, the cost group file creation sub-module 1214 defines the cost groups, defines manufacturing expenses accounts and cost variables in each cost group, calculates the manufacturing expenses of each cost group, and thereby generates the cost group data. In step S 150 , the operation center variance calculation sub-module 1215 sums up all the work time on work orders of each work center in each operation center based on work time data on work orders of the current period obtained from the work order management system 6 and definitions of the operation center definition data, calculates the operation center total variance and product variances of each operation center, and thereby generates the operation center variance list. In step S 160 , the cost group apportionment sub-module 1216 defines the apportioned variance to be apportioned to each operation center from the cost group's manufacturing expenses. The cost group apportionment data are thereby generated. In step S 170 , the value-added costs calculation sub-module 1217 calculates the value-added costs of each product based on the manufacturing expenses of each cost group, the apportioned variance of each operation center, the operation center total variance of each operation center and the product variance of the product.

[0055] FIG. 6 is a flowchart of details of step S 170 of FIG. 5 , namely calculating the value-added costs of each product. In step S 171 , using an operation center name as an enquiry keyword, the value-added costs calculation sub-module 1217 searches the cost group apportionment data to obtain data for at least one cost group whose manufacturing expenses are to be apportioned to the particular operation center. In step S 172 , the value-added costs calculation sub-module 1217 calculates manufacturing expenses apportioned to the operation center by using the following formula:

A _C =C _G *( V _A /TV _A )

[0056] where A _C stands for the apportioned costs of the operation center, C _G stands for the costs of a cost group, V _A stands for the apportioned variance of the operation center, and TV _A stands for the total apportioned variances of all the operation centers.

[0057] In step S 173 , the product costs of the operation center is calculated by summing up all the manufacturing expenses apportioned to the operation center; that is, by using the following formula:

operation center product costs=Σ E _M *( V _A /V _S )

[0058] where E _M *(V _A /V _S ) is equal to the manufacturing expenses apportioned to the operation center,

[0059] and where E _M stands for manufacturing expenses, V _A stands for the apportioned variance of the operation center in a cost group, and V _S stands for the sum of all the operation center total variances in the cost group.

[0060] In step S 174 , the operation center total variance is obtained by searching the operation center variance list, using the operation center's name as an enquiry keyword. In step S 175 , the operation center's expenses rate is calculated by using the following formula:

R _E =C _T /V _T

[0061] where R _E stands for the operation center's expenses rate, C _T stands for the total costs of the operation center, and V _T stands for the operation center's total variance.

[0062] In step S 176 , the operation center product costs for the product is calculated by using the following formula:

C _V =R _E *V _P

[0063] where C _V stands for the operation center product costs for the product, R _E stands for the expenses rate of the operation center, and V _P stands for the product variance of the operation center which is obtained by enquiry of the operation center variance list 165 .

[0064] Steps S 171 through S 175 are repeated so that in step S 177 , all the product costs of the product in all the operation centers are calculated. In step S 178 , all these product costs are summed up, so that the value-added costs of the product is obtained.

[0065] FIG. 7 is a flowchart for integrating the material costs of a product in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. In step S 210 , using an accounting period as an enquiry keyword, the material costs calculation sub-module 1227 searches the purchase management system 7 via the database server 14 to obtain the current period purchase data of each material. In step S 220 , the purchase data gathering sub-module 1222 gathers the current period purchase data of each material to obtain a current period purchase quantity, a total purchase value and total purchase expenses of the material. In step S 230 , the current period purchase costs calculation sub-module 1223 calculates purchase expenses apportioned to each unit of each material based on the total purchase expenses of the material and the purchase quantity of the material. The current period purchase costs calculation sub-module 1223 further calculates a current period's purchase costs of a unit of each material based on the purchase expenses apportioned to each unit of each material, the total purchase value and total purchase quantity of the material gathered by the purchase data gathering sub-module 1222 . The formula for calculating the current period purchase expenses of each unit of each material is:

E _UP =E _TP /Q _TP

[0066] where E _UP stands for the current period purchase expenses of each unit of the material, E _TP stands for the total purchase expenses of the material, and Q _TP stands for the purchase quantity of the material.

[0067] The formula for calculating current period purchase costs of a unit of each material is:

C _UP =E _UP +( E _TV /Q _TP )

[0068] where C _UP stands for the current period purchase costs of a unit of the material, E _UP stands for the current period purchase expenses of each unit of the material, E _TV stands for the total purchase value, and Q _TP stands for total purchase quantity.

[0069] In step S 240 , using an accounting period as an enquiry keyword, the inventory data retrieval sub-module 1224 searches the inventory management system 8 via the database server 14 to obtain the current period inventory data. In step S 250 , the historical purchase costs calculation sub-module 1225 calculates the historical purchase costs of a unit of each material based on the initial inventory data and the current period purchase costs list. The result of the calculation is saved in a historical purchase costs list. The formula for calculating the historical purchase costs of a unit of each material is:

C _UHP =( V _II +Q _P *C _UP )/( Q _P +Q _IO )

[0070] where C _UHP stands for the historical purchase costs of a unit of the material, V _II stands for the initial inventory value, Q _P stands for the current period purchase quantity, C _UP stands for the current period purchase costs of a unit of the material, and Q _IO stands for the initial inventory quantity.

[0071] In step S 260 , using a product name and the accounting period as the enquiry keywords, the consumed material data retrieval sub-module 1226 searches the production management system 9 via the database server 14 to obtain the current period consumed material data of a product. In step S 270 , the material costs calculation sub-module 1227 calculates costs of each material consumed in the product based on the quantity of the consumed material, historical purchase costs of a unit of the material and the produced quantity of the product. The material costs calculation sub-module 1227 further calculates the material costs of the product based on the costs of each material consumed in the product. The formula for calculating the costs of each material consumed in the product is:

C _CM =Q _WM *C _UHP /Q

[0072] where C _CM stands for the costs of a particular material consumed in the product, Q _WM stands for the quantity of the consumed material, C _UHP stands for the historical purchase costs of a unit of the material, and Q stands for the produced quantity of the product.

[0073] In step S 280 , the material cost integration sub-module 1227 sums up the costs of all materials consumed in the product to obtain material costs of the product, and saves the result in a material costs integration list. The formula for calculating the material costs of the product is:

C _M =ΣC _CM

[0074] where C _M stands for the material costs of the product, and C _CM stands for the costs of each material consumed in the product.

[0075] Although only preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that many modifications to the preferred embodiments are possible without materially departing from the novel teachings and advantages of the present invention. Accordingly, all such modifications are deemed to be covered by the following claims and allowable equivalents of the claims.