Aggregation engine for an electronic commerce system
First Claim
Patent Images
1. An aggregation engine for use in aggregating demands according to an aggregation rule comprising:
- a demand processor, said demand processor being outfitted so as to process demands into groups based upon said aggregation rule;
a group builder, said group builder being outfitted so as to compare incoming demands to existing groups, if one of said demands matches one of said existing groups, assigning a group ID to said one of said demands that is associated with said one of said existing groups, if said one of said demands does not match any of said existing groups, creating a new group and assigning a new group ID associated with the new group to said one of said demands; and
a rule engine, said rule engine being outfitted so as to build said aggregation rule according to predetermined parameters.
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Abstract
An aggregation engine for use in electronic commerce systems, such as an enterprise procurement system or an electronic marketplace, that automatically aggregates buyer demands according to an aggregation rule so as to enable the creation of fewer purchase orders and to take advantage of bulk buying power.
59 Citations
25 Claims
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1. An aggregation engine for use in aggregating demands according to an aggregation rule comprising:
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a demand processor, said demand processor being outfitted so as to process demands into groups based upon said aggregation rule;
a group builder, said group builder being outfitted so as to compare incoming demands to existing groups, if one of said demands matches one of said existing groups, assigning a group ID to said one of said demands that is associated with said one of said existing groups, if said one of said demands does not match any of said existing groups, creating a new group and assigning a new group ID associated with the new group to said one of said demands; and
a rule engine, said rule engine being outfitted so as to build said aggregation rule according to predetermined parameters. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A process of aggregating demands comprising the steps of:
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validating incoming data so as to ensure said data is valid;
processing said incoming data so as to extract an aggregation rule and at least one demand;
processing said aggregation rule so as to apply said aggregation rule against said at least one demand to create at least one group based upon said aggregation rule;
outputting output data indicative of said at least one group. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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14. A process of generating purchase orders through the aggregation of shopping baskets of demands comprising the steps of:
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selecting said shopping baskets to be aggregated;
building groups of said shopping baskets based upon an aggregation rule;
assigning a unique group ID for each of said groups;
storing said group IDs;
generating at least one purchase order based upon at least one of said group IDs.
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17. A process of creating coalitions of demands comprising the steps of:
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creating a process ID to identify a process through which said coalitions are to be created;
creating groups of demands based upon an application of an aggregation rule;
assigning a unique group ID for each group created and assigning said process ID to said demands;
assigning said demands to said coalitions based upon said group IDs;
once a predetermined time period has passed, closing said coalitions.
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22. A process of grouping demands manually input into a system by a user into coalitions of demands comprising the steps of:
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inputting demands into a demand aggregation application;
analyzing said demands by applying an aggregation rule;
if said analysis of said demands indicates that said demands meet criteria of one or more of said coalitions, proposing said one or more of said coalitions to said user;
permitting said user to assign said demands to said one or more of said coalitions;
if said analysis of said demands indicates that said demands do not meet criteria of one or more of said coalitions, automatically creating a new coalition to accommodate said demands. - View Dependent Claims (23, 25)
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24. A process of aggregating demands according to an aggregation rule comprising the steps of:
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collecting demands from a plurality of sources;
creating groups of demands based upon an application of said aggregation rule;
forwarding said demands to a demand aggregation application.
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Specification