Method and system for creating marketplace visibility and administering freight shipments using fuzzy commodity transportation instruments
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A method of brokering transportation transactions, comprising:
- receiving into a staging area a plurality of dissimilar bids for shipping goods;
receiving into said staging area a plurality of dissimilar offers for transporting goods;
sorting and aggregating said shipping bids into a set of first fuzzy commodities;
sorting and aggregating said carrier offers into a set of second fuzzy commodities;
selecting matching sets of said first and second fuzzy commodities in said staging area to create transportation instruments; and
creating underlying contracts to support the trading of said transportation instruments.
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Abstract
A utility for creating a real-time bid-ask transportation marketplace where all relevant information may be viewed and acted upon is disclosed. See FIG. 2. Users of the present invention tender shipments and offer capacity, which are analyzed and entered into transportation instruments. Contracts obligate the shipper to make a load available and the carrier to transport the load at a given time for a given price. Shipments may be managed throughout their entire life cycle using software tools that interact with the bid-ask marketplace.
105 Citations
47 Claims
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1. A method of brokering transportation transactions, comprising:
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receiving into a staging area a plurality of dissimilar bids for shipping goods;
receiving into said staging area a plurality of dissimilar offers for transporting goods;
sorting and aggregating said shipping bids into a set of first fuzzy commodities;
sorting and aggregating said carrier offers into a set of second fuzzy commodities;
selecting matching sets of said first and second fuzzy commodities in said staging area to create transportation instruments; and
creating underlying contracts to support the trading of said transportation instruments. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A method of matching a tendered shipment to offered conveyances, comprising:
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receiving into a staging area a tendered shipment;
receiving into said staging area a plurality of dissimilar offers from carriers;
sorting said shipment into a first fuzzy commodity;
sorting and aggregating said carrier offers into a second fuzzy commodity;
selecting one or more offers from the matching sets of said first and second fuzzy commodities in said staging area based upon a set of objective and subjective criteria; and
creating an underlying contract to support said transport of the shipment.
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17. A method of matching an offered conveyance to tendered shipments, comprising:
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receiving into a staging area an offered conveyance;
receiving into said staging area a plurality of dissimilar tendered shipments;
sorting said offered conveyance into a first fuzzy commodity;
sorting and aggregating said tendered shipments into a second fuzzy commodity;
selecting one or more shipments from the matching sets of said first and second fuzzy commodities in said staging area based upon a set of objective and subjective criteria; and
creating an underlying contract to support said transport of the shipments.
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18. A computer system for brokering a plurality of freight-shipments and carrier capacity, comprising:
marketplace means for establishing a bid-ask (offer) marketplace including shipper bids and carrier offers, wherein said bids and offers are measured by mode, market, and lane and optionally accessorial services. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37)
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38. A computer system for trading transportation futures, comprising:
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receiving into a staging area a plurality of dissimilar bids for shipping goods;
receiving into said staging area a plurality of dissimilar offers for transporting goods;
sorting said shipping bids into a set of first futures;
sorting and aggregating said carrier offers into a set of second futures;
selecting matching sets of said first and second futures in said staging area to create a bid-ask marketplace for transportation future instruments; and
creating underlying contracts to support the trading of said transportation future instruments.
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39. A computer system for trading transportation options, comprising:
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receiving into a staging area a plurality of dissimilar bids for options on shipping goods;
receiving into said staging area a plurality of dissimilar offers on options for transporting goods;
sorting said shipping bids into a set of first options;
sorting and aggregating said carrier offers into a set of second options;
selecting matching sets of said first and second options in said staging area to create a bid-ask marketplace for transportation option instruments; and
creating underlying contracts to support the trading of said transportation option instruments.
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40. A computer system for trading transportation options on futures, comprising:
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receiving into a staging area a plurality of dissimilar bids for options on futures for shipping goods;
receiving into said staging area a plurality of dissimilar offers on options on futures for transporting goods;
sorting said shipping bids into a set of first options on futures;
sorting and aggregating said carrier offers into a set of second options on futures;
selecting matching sets of said first and second options on futures in said staging area to create a bid-ask marketplace for transportation option on future instruments;
creating underlying contracts to support the trading of said option on futures transportation instruments, and bi-directional communication links coupled said computer system to the futures and options computer systems to create price consistency and to facilitate inter-market trading to manage risk taken in a position resulting from a trade in either market.
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41. A method of calculating a standardized transportation line haul rate per mile, comprising:
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receiving into a staging area transportation data for a shipment;
calculating standardized route miles from the zip codes of all stops in transit including origin and final destination and allowable practical routes for the type of cargo transported;
calculating the line haul price from the total price less standardized charges for provided accessorials; and
calculating the standardized line haul rate per mile by dividing the line haul price by the standardized route miles.
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42. A computer system for calculating historical market data on transportation, comprising:
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means for receiving into a staging area a plurality of completed shipment transportation data, and;
software program to calculate the standardized line haul rate per mile for each completed shipment. - View Dependent Claims (43, 44, 45, 46, 47)
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Specification