Net-effect arrangement inheritance
First Claim
1. A computer generated machine-readable program that allows an organization to manage and view all arrangements that are in effect between the organization and one or more participants with which the organization conducts business, wherein the arrangements are any business relationship, and further wherein one or more presentations can be created based on a type of arrangement to be viewed, the method comprising the steps of:
- storing all of the organization'"'"'s arrangement items, wherein arrangement items include any construct that is used to build a business relationship;
creating rules that select specific arrangement items for inclusion in a presentation;
selecting the type of arrangement presentation to be created, wherein at least one participant is also selected;
consolidating a set of rules based on the type of arrangement to be created and the at least one selected participant; and
, applying the set of rules to the organization'"'"'s arrangement items, wherein the set of rules selects specified arrangement items and the selected arrangement items are presented as a viewable presentation that shows the selected type of arrangement between the organization and the at least one selected participants.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A rules based management program that allows a set of rules that is used to create an ancestor catalog to be inherited by a lower level organization and immediately used to create a catalog for the lower level organization. The lower level organization can tailor the catalog to meet the needs of its customers by adding one or more explicit rules to the set of rules. The new set of rules may then be inherited by an even lower level organization and again immediately used to create a catalog for the even lower level organization. The even lower level organization can also tailor the catalog to its needs by adding its own explicit rules to the set of rules. The rules are used to dictate what is included in or excluded from a particular catalog. The rules are also used to determine prices for the products, services and capabilities that are offered in the catalogs. The rules act only on data, or items, that are in effect at that time and in a specified location.
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Citations
17 Claims
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1. A computer generated machine-readable program that allows an organization to manage and view all arrangements that are in effect between the organization and one or more participants with which the organization conducts business, wherein the arrangements are any business relationship, and further wherein one or more presentations can be created based on a type of arrangement to be viewed, the method comprising the steps of:
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storing all of the organization'"'"'s arrangement items, wherein arrangement items include any construct that is used to build a business relationship;
creating rules that select specific arrangement items for inclusion in a presentation;
selecting the type of arrangement presentation to be created, wherein at least one participant is also selected;
consolidating a set of rules based on the type of arrangement to be created and the at least one selected participant; and
,applying the set of rules to the organization'"'"'s arrangement items, wherein the set of rules selects specified arrangement items and the selected arrangement items are presented as a viewable presentation that shows the selected type of arrangement between the organization and the at least one selected participants. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. In a rules based computer program having machine readable code that allows a first participant in the system to inherit rules from a marketer wherein, the rules are used to create a catalog for the first participant each time the participant logs on to the system, the method comprising the steps of:
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listing all items that are available world wide from the marketer in a marketer'"'"'s base catalog wherein, the items include products, services and capabilities offered by the marketer and each item is assigned an effectivity period, during which a specified item is considered to be in effect, and an effectivity location, wherein the effectivity location defines an area that the specified item is considered to be in effect;
associating a base set of rules with the marketer'"'"'s base catalog wherein, the base set of rules relate to item inclusion or exclusion, pricing, or presentation layout, and each rule is capable of being inherited by the first participant and by other participants, and further wherein each rule is assigned an effectivity period, during which a specified rule is considered to be in effect, and an effectivity location, wherein the effectivity location defines an area that the specified rule is considered to be in effect;
authorizing the first participant to sell items that are listed in the marketer'"'"'s base catalog wherein, the first participant is provided with identification information that the participant uses to log on to the system;
assigning a subset of rules to the first participant based on the participants situational factors including, location and entitlements wherein, the subset of rules are a subset of the base set of rules, and the subset of rules determines what items will appear in the first participant'"'"'s catalog; and
,creating a viewable catalog for the first participant each time the participant logs on to the system by applying the subset of rules to the items in effect in the first participant'"'"'s location;
wherein, changes to the subset of items, because of items that have either come into effect or gone out of effect, and changes to the subset of rules, because of rules that have come into effect or gone out of effect, are automatically represented in the first participant'"'"'s viewable catalog the next time the first participant accesses his catalog. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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Specification