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System and method for providing a price quotation for a transportation service providing equipment selection capability

  • US 10,268,981 B2
  • Filed: 04/04/2016
  • Issued: 04/23/2019
  • Est. Priority Date: 02/01/2002
  • Status: Expired due to Fees
First Claim
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1. A method for conducting an online transaction to fulfill a rail-shipment service inquiry including providing a cost estimate in relation to the transport of transporting goods by rail, comprising:

  • (a) adapting a Graphical User Interface (GUI) by dynamically modifying a selection range of an input object providing equipment options a user can select for performing a shipment of goods, the adapting including;

    i. receiving customer credentials which identify a specific customer profile in a customer profile database;

    ii. sending commands over a data communication network to a remote customer client system, the commands directing the remote customer client system to implement a GUI providing a goods input object configured to accept user inputs identifying goods to be shipped;

    iii. the GUI being configured to provide a dynamically adaptable railcar type input object identifying a collection of individually selectable freight railcar type options that the user can chose from for performing the shipment of the goods specified by a user at the goods input object, the collection of individually selectable freight railcar types options being dynamically adaptable to the goods to be shipped;

    iv. in response to a user input at the goods input object identifying particular goods to be shipped, sending commands over the data communication network to the remote customer client system for directing the GUI to make available for selection at the railcar type input object an adapted collection of freight railcar type options corresponding to freight railcar types suitable to transport the particular goods and omitting freight railcar type options corresponding to freight railcar types that cannot transport the particular goods;

    v. in response to a user input identifying a specific freight railcar type selected at the railcar type input object, executing a program element configured for processing the specific freight railcar type selected at the railcar type input object to derive a customer-specific list of actual railcars, the derived customer-specific list of actual railcars including a railcar of the specific railcar type selected at the railcar type input object, the customer-specific list including actual railcars that are owned by a specific customer associated with the specific customer profile;

    vi. the GUI being configured to display the derived customer specific list of actual railcars;

    (b) computing the cost estimate by using as factors at least the user input at the GUI identifying the goods to be shipped, information in the specific customer profile and the railcar type selected among the adapted collection of freight railcar type options and displaying the computed cost estimate at the GUI.

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