Capital equipment on-line configurator interface

• US 20030028449A1
• Filed: 08/01/2001
• Published: 02/06/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 08/01/2001
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: General Electric Company
• Original Assignee: GE Medical Systems Global Technology Company LLC (GE Healthcare Technologies, Inc.)
• Inventors: Ziler, David L., Heinen, John
• Application Number:
  US09/920,261
• Publication Number:
  US 20030028449A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/27
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0621 Item configuration or customization
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0633 Lists, e.g. purchase orders, compilation or processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0641 Shopping interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/04 Trading; Exchange, e.g. stocks, commodities, derivatives or currency exchange

Abstract

A system for and method of configuring capital equipment in an on-line marketplace environment provides for the generation and acceptance of purchase orders in an automated and distributed environment. Using this system or method, a purchaser may view basic product information at a business-to-business exchange web page and select a link to display a product provider web page. After the purchaser contacts the product provider to configure a particular capital equipment product, the product provider posts a complete product specification and price quotation on-line at the product provider web page. A reference to the quote is displayed at the exchange web page, and the purchaser may view the quotation on-line and accept the quotation at the exchange web page.

Claims

1. A system for purchasing customized capital equipment in an online marketplace environment, the system comprising:

a business-to-business exchange web page including basic product information for a plurality of capital equipment products;

at least one link included in the exchange web page for punching through from the exchange web page to a product provider web page;

means for presenting a price quotation for a capital equipment product; and

an acceptance module configured for enabling acceptance of the price quotation at the exchange web page.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the capital equipment products include medical equipment systems.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the price quotation is generated by a product provider.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the price quotation is generated using a product configurator.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the price quotation is based on unique customer requirements.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the product provider web page includes means for receiving customer requirements for the capital equipment product.

7. The system of claim 1, further comprising means for communicating the price quotation acceptance to a product provider.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the means for communicating includes means for triggering a price quotation acceptance at the product provider web page.

9. The system of claim 7, wherein the means for communicating includes means for sending a notification to the product provider

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one link is a hyperlink to the product provider web page.

11. The system of claim 1, further comprising means for automatically eliciting purchaser requirements for use in generating the price quotation.

12. A system for allowing purchases of customized capital equipment in a marketplace environment, the system comprising:

a business-to-business exchange web page including basic product information for at least one product and at least one link to a product provider web page;

means for presenting a price quotation from a product provider at the exchange web page; and

means for accepting the price quotation at the exchange web page.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the product is a medical equipment system.

14. The system of claim 12, wherein the customized price quotation is generated by a product provider.

15. The system of claim 12, wherein the price quotation is generated using a product configurator.

16. The system of claim 12, wherein the customized price quotation is based on unique customer requirements.

17. The system of claim 12, wherein the exchange web page includes means for receiving customer requirements for use in generating the customized price quotation.

18. The system of claim 12, further comprising means for communicating the acceptance to the product provider.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the means for communicating includes triggering a price quotation acceptance at the product provider web page.

20. The system of claim 18, wherein the means for communicating includes means for sending a notification to the product provider.

21. The method of claim 18, further providing automatically generating a series of questions designed to elicit purchaser requirements and displaying the questions to a purchaser.

22. A method for purchasing customized capital equipment products in an electronic marketplace, the method comprising:

viewing basic product information for a plurality of capital equipment products at a business-to-business exchange;

providing customer specifications for a customized capital equipment product to a product provider;

viewing a price quotation for the customized capital equipment product; and

accepting the price quotation at the business-to-business exchange.

23. The method of claim 22 wherein the customized capital equipment product is a medical system.

24. The method of claim 22, wherein the step of viewing basic product information comprises viewing a business-to-business exchange web page using a web browser.

25. The method of claim 22, further comprising punching through to a product provider web page.

26. The method of claim 22, wherein the step of providing customer specifications comprises answering a series of questions regarding customer requirements.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein at least a portion of the questions may be answered at the provider web page.

28. The method of claim 22, wherein viewing the price quotation takes place at the exchange web page.

29. The method of claim 22, further comprising communicating the acceptance to the product provider.

30. The method of claim 29, wherein communicating the acceptance includes triggering an acceptance at the product provider web page.

31. The method of claim 29, wherein communicating the acceptance includes sending a notification to the product provider.

32. The method of claim 29, further providing automatically generating a series of questions designed to elicit purchaser requirements and displaying the questions to a purchaser.

33. A method for enabling purchases of customized capital equipment in a marketplace environment, the method comprising:

displaying basic product information for a plurality of products at a business-to-business exchange web page;

providing at the exchange web page a link to a price quotation for a capital equipment product; and

receiving an acceptance of the price quotation at the exchange web page.

34. The method of claim 33, further comprising communicating the acceptance to a product provider.

35. The method of claim 34, wherein communicating the acceptance comprises triggering an acceptance at a product provider web page.

36. The method of claim 34, wherein communicating the acceptance comprises sending a notification to the product provider.

37. The method of claim 33, wherein the price quotation is generated by a product provider.

38. The method of claim 33, wherein the price quotation is generated using a product configurator.

39. The method of claim 33, wherein the price quotation is based on unique customer requirements.

40. The method of claim 33, further providing automatically generating a series of questions designed to elicit purchaser requirements and displaying the questions to a purchaser.

41. A method for enabling purchases of customized capital equipment in a marketplace environment, the method comprising:

displaying basic product information for a capital equipment product at a business-to-business exchange;

providing at the exchange a link to a customized price quotation for a capital equipment product;

receiving an acceptance of the price quotation at the exchange; and

communicating the acceptance to a product provider.

42. The method of claim 41, wherein the price quotation is generated by a product provider.

43. The method of claim 41, wherein the price quotation is generated using a product configurator.

44. The method of claim 41, wherein communicating the acceptance comprises triggering an acceptance at a product provider web page.

45. The method of claim 41, wherein communicating the acceptance comprises sending a notification to the product provider.