Providing highly automated procurement services
First Claim
20. A method for providing highly automated procurement services, comprising the steps of:
- (a) accessing a database initialized with information regarding a plurality of trading partners;
(1) said plurality of trading partners including customer and non-customer trading partners;
(2) said information including trading relationship information involving at least a customer trading partner and another of said trading partners;
(b) receiving a purchase request of a first trading partner among said trading partners;
(c) automatically selecting at least one qualified trading partner from said trading partners based on said information and said purchase request;
(d) generating a purchase order based on said purchase request;
(e) forwarding said purchase order to said at least one qualified trading partner;
(f) receiving a notification pertaining to said at least one qualified trading partner; and
(g) automatically processing said notification, including forwarding said notification to said first trading partner.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A computer system may be configured to provide highly automated procurement services including the possibility for price non-disclosure. The computer system is coupled to communication devices of a plurality of trading partners via a set of connection networks. A database accessible by the computer system is initialized with information from one or more trading partners. The computer system may be configured to process transactions among the one or more trading partners in a highly automated manner based on information in the database and additional information received during the transactions.
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Citations
46 Claims
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20. A method for providing highly automated procurement services, comprising the steps of:
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(a) accessing a database initialized with information regarding a plurality of trading partners;
(1) said plurality of trading partners including customer and non-customer trading partners;
(2) said information including trading relationship information involving at least a customer trading partner and another of said trading partners;
(b) receiving a purchase request of a first trading partner among said trading partners;
(c) automatically selecting at least one qualified trading partner from said trading partners based on said information and said purchase request;
(d) generating a purchase order based on said purchase request;
(e) forwarding said purchase order to said at least one qualified trading partner;
(f) receiving a notification pertaining to said at least one qualified trading partner; and
(g) automatically processing said notification, including forwarding said notification to said first trading partner.
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21. A system for providing highly automated procurement services, comprising:
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(a) a database initialized with information regarding a plurality of trading partners;
(1) said plurality of trading partners including customer and non-customer trading partners;
(2) said information including trading relationship information involving at least a customer trading partner and another of said trading partners; and
(b) a computer system coupled to communications devices of said plurality of trading partners via a set of connection networks;
(1) said computer system being coupled to said computer database;
(2) said computer system being configured to receive a purchase request of a first trading partner among said plurality of trading partners;
(3) said computer system being configured to generate a purchase order based on said information and said purchase request;
(4) said computer system being configured to automatically forward said purchase order to at least one qualified trading partner selected from said trading partners based on said purchase request;
(5) said computer system being configured to received a notification from said at least one qualified trading partner; and
(6) said computer system being configured to automatically process said notification. - View Dependent Claims (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35)
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22-1. The system of claim 21, wherein said information includes terms and conditions with at least one of said plurality of trading partners.
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36. A computer program product for providing highly automated procurement services, comprising:
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(a) logic code for accessing a database initialized with information regarding a plurality of trading partners;
(1) said plurality of trading partners including customer and non-customer trading partners;
(2) said information including trading relationship information involving at least a customer trading partner and another of said trading partners;
(b) logic code for receiving a purchase request of a first trading partner among said trading partners;
(c) logic code for automatically selecting at least one qualified trading partner from said trading partners based on said purchase request;
(d) logic code for generating a purchase order based on;
(1) a portion of said trading relationship information pertaining to said at least one qualified trading partner; and
(2) said purchase request;
(e) logic code for forwarding said purchase order to said at least one qualified trading partner;
(f) logic code for receiving a notification pertaining to said at least one qualified trading partner; and
(g) logic code for automatically processing said notification, including forwarding said notification to said first trading partner. - View Dependent Claims (37, 38, 39, 40)
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41. A computer program product for providing highly automated procurement services, comprising:
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(a) logic code for accessing a database initialized with information regarding a plurality of trading partners;
(1) said plurality of trading partners including customer and non-customer trading partners;
(2) said information including trading relationship information involving at least a customer trading partner and another of said trading partners;
(b) logic code for receiving a purchase request of a first trading partner among said trading partners;
(c) logic code for automatically selecting at least one qualified trading partner from said trading partners based on said information and said purchase request;
(d) logic code for generating a purchase order based on said purchase request;
(e) logic code for forwarding said purchase order to said at least one qualified trading partner;
(f) logic code for receiving a notification pertaining to said at least one qualified trading partner; and
(g) logic code for automatically processing said notification, including forwarding said notification to said first trading partner.
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42. A computer system for providing highly automated procurement services, comprising:
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(a) means for accessing a database initialized with information regarding a plurality of trading partners;
(1) said plurality of trading partners including customer and non-customer trading partners;
(2) said information including trading relationship information involving at least a customer trading partner and another of said trading partners;
(b) means for receiving a purchase request of a first trading partner among said trading partners;
(c) means for automatically selecting at least one qualified trading partner from said trading partners based on said purchase request;
(d) means for generating a purchase order based on;
(1) a portion of said trading relationship information pertaining to said at least one qualified trading partner; and
(2) said purchase request;
(e) means for forwarding said purchase order to said at least one qualified trading partner;
(f) means for receiving a notification pertaining to said at least one qualified trading partner; and
(g) means for automatically processing said notification, including forwarding said notification to said first trading partner. - View Dependent Claims (43, 44, 45, 46)
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Specification