Method and apparatus for tracking vendor compliance with purchaser guidelines and related method for the commercial distribution of software and hardware implementing same

• US 20020007302A1
• Filed: 01/16/2001
• Published: 01/17/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 03/06/2000
• Status: Active Application

• Current Assignee: Compliance Networks LLC
• Original Assignee: Compliance Networks LLC
• Inventors: Watts, David, Holder, Greg S., Work, Bruce V., Schwartzman, Eric
• Application Number:
  US09/760,556
• Publication Number:
  US 20020007302A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/10
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0639 Performance analysis of employees; Performance analysis of enterprise or organisation operations
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/018 Certifying business or products
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0201 Market modelling; Market analysis; Collecting market data
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]

Abstract

A method and apparatus for monitoring transactional events in a supply chain. In a preferred embodiment, a computer-based system for assessing information concerning transactional events in a supply chain is provided to detect compliance and non-compliance with rules imposed by a participant in the supply chain. In the event that a rules violation is detected, a charge-back is generated to be imposed upon the party responsible for the rules violation. Transactional information may be provided to the computer-based system by any means, including manual (keyboard) entry and transmission from scanning devices (such as radio-frequency bar-code scanners and the like, and data feed from the participant'"'"'s own files). In one embodiment, the invention comprises computer software provided to parties to a supply chain by a software vendor. A practitioner of the invention may elect to provide such software to users on a low- or no-cost basis, and base remuneration for the software upon a proportion of the recovery income stream generated as a result of the issuance of chargebacks against rules violators.

Claims

1. A method for deriving recovery income within a distribution supply chain comprising a plurality of transactional events facilitating the conveyance of said goods from a supplier to an end recipient, comprising:

(a) establishing a plurality of compliance rules governing transactional events within said supply chain;

(b) defining a monetary penalty to be imposed on a party to a transactional event upon non-compliance with each said compliance rule;

(c) codifying said compliance rules within a computer-based system;

(d) monitoring said supply chain to detect non-compliance events;

(e) providing information regarding detected non-compliance events to said computer-based system;

(f) automatically generating, from said computer-based system, non-compliance charge-backs to be communicated to those parties within the supply chain upon whom said monetary penalties are to be imposed in accordance with said compliance rules.

2. A method in accordance with claim 1, further comprising:

(g) automatically generating reports of non-compliance events.

3. A method in accordance with claim 1, wherein said step (d) of monitoring said supply chain comprises performing a directed audit of transactional events in said supply chain to detect violations of said compliance rules.

4. A system for monitoring compliance with a plurality of rules governing transactional events within a supply chain, comprising:

a computer processing unit having a data store upon which at least one file encoding said plurality of rules is stored;

at least one input device for providing transactional information to said processing unit;

wherein said processing unit is adapted to execute a process whereby said transactional information is assessed for compliance with said plurality of rules;

and wherein said processing unit is further adapted to automatically generate non-compliance charge-backs upon detection of a transaction failure in which at least one of said plurality of rules is violated in a given transaction.

5. A method of commercial distribution of computer software, where the execution of said software results in generation of a recovery income stream, comprising, on the part of a distributor of said software:

providing a computer-readable copy of said computer software for execution by a participant in a supply chain;

charging said participant a software license fee proportional to said recovery income stream.

6. A method in accordance with claim 5, further comprising, on the part of the distributor, providing computer hardware suitable for executing said software.

7. A method in accordance with claim 5, wherein said software tracks compliance with rules imposed upon participants in a distribution supply chain.

8. A method of monitoring and enforcing compliance with rules imposed by a participant in a distribution supply chain upon transactional events occurring in said supply chain, comprising:

(a) for each transactional event to occur, providing transactional information concerning such event to a computer-based system having said rule codified therein;

(b) assessing said transactional information to identify violations of said rules;

(c) for each violation detected in step (b), automatically generating from said computer-based system a transaction chargeback reflecting a penalty to be imposed upon a party to said transactional event responsible for said violation.

9. A method in accordance with claim 8, wherein said step (a) of providing transactional information comprises entry of said information using a computer keyboard.

10. A method in accordance with claim 8, wherein said step (a) of providing transactional information comprises transmission of scanned information transmitted by radio-frequency.