Method and apparatus for facilitating business processes

摘要

One embodiment of the invention provides a framework for facilitating business processes between multiple trading participants. To utilize the infrastructure each trading participant connects to a centralized process management platform. Once a trading participant connects to the centralized process management platform the trading participant becomes a member of an electronic trading community. Members of the electronic trading community may utilize the process management platform as a conduit for sending and receiving business process data, and the process management platform can monitor and manage the flow of business process messages and data in order to facilitate and enable successful completion of business processes. Thus, the process management platform acts as an intermediary for each of the parties involved in a particular business process. In one embodiment of the invention trading participants connect to the process management platform through process gateways. Each process gateway provides an interface for connecting to the process management platform and may be located at a facility associated with the trading participant or at a facility associated with the process management platform.