Methods and apparatus for an auction system with interactive bidding

• US 20050240507A1
• Filed: 04/26/2004
• Published: 10/27/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 04/26/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: Emptoris Incorporated (International Business Machines Corporation)
• Inventors: Galen, William, Raskina, Olga, Kanner, Joshua, Scheur, Rina
• Granted Patent: US 7,457,769 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/37
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0635 Processing of requisition or of purchase orders
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/08 Auctions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/04 Trading; Exchange, e.g. stocks, commodities, derivatives or currency exchange

Abstract

Prospective suppliers competing in an auction format to fulfill a requisition receive assistance in responding to the requisition over a computer network. A plurality of bids responsive to the requisition are received from at least one prospective supplier. At least one initial winning bid is selected from the received bids that at least partially satisfies the requisition. Using the received plurality of bids, at least one proposed bid is determined that, if adopted by a prospective supplier, would constitute a new winning bid. The proposed bid is made available to at least one prospective supplier that had not previously submitted a winning bid.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method to assist prospective suppliers with responding to an issued requisition over a computer network, said method comprising:

receiving, from at least one prospective supplier, a plurality of bids responsive to the requisition;

determining at least one initial winning bid selected from the received bids that at least partially satisfies the requisition;

determining at least one proposed bid using the received plurality of bids, the at least one proposed bid, if adopted, constituting a new winning bid; and

making the at least one proposed bid available to at least one prospective supplier other than a supplier from which an initial winning bid was received.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one initial winning bid is determined using price criteria.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one initial winning bid is determined using non-price criteria.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one initial winning bid optimally satisfies the requisition.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the interactions with the prospective sellers occur in real-time.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising communicating the at least one initial winning bid to each prospective supplier having at least one initial winning bid.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising communicating those received bids not qualifying as an initial winning bid to their suppliers.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one initial winning bid is determined in part using mixed integer calculations.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein bids are selected from the group consisting of bundled bids, business volume discounts, volume discount bids for an item, and simple bids.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising communicating the availability of a new proposed bid to at least one prospective supplier.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving, from at least one prospective supplier, a second bid selected from the at least one proposed bid.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising determining at least one subsequent winning bid in response to the received second bid.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising communicating to the prospective supplier whether the received second bid is a new winning bid.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising identifying received bids not qualifying as a winning bid.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising communicating with the supplier associated with an initial winning bid to inform them that an initial winning bid is no longer a winning bid.

16. A computer useable medium having computer readable code embodied therein to assist prospective suppliers with responding to an issued requisition over a computer network, the code in the medium comprising:

computer readable code for causing a computer to receive, from at least one prospective supplier, a plurality of bids responsive to the requisition;

computer readable code for causing a computer to determine at least one initial winning bid selected from the received bids that at least partially satisfies the requisition;

computer readable code for causing a computer to determine at least one proposed bid using the received plurality of bids, the at least one proposed bid, if adopted, constituting a new winning bid; and

computer readable code for causing a computer to make the at least one proposed bid available to at least one prospective supplier other than a supplier from which an initial winning bid was received.

17. The medium of claim 16, wherein the computer readable code for causing a computer to determine at least one initial winning bid utilizes price criteria.

18. The medium of claim 16, wherein the computer readable code for causing a computer to determine at least one initial winning bid utilizes non-price criteria.

19. The medium of claim 16, wherein the computer readable code for causing a computer to determine at least one initial winning bid determines a winning bid that optimally satisfies the requisition.

20. The medium of claim 16, wherein the computer readable code causes a computer to interact with prospective suppliers in real-time.

21. The medium of claim 16, further comprising computer readable code for causing a computer to communicate the at least one initial winning bid to each prospective supplier having at least one initial winning bid.

22. The medium of claim 16, further comprising computer readable code for causing a computer to communicate those received bids not qualifying as an initial winning bid to their suppliers.

23. The medium of claim 16, wherein computer readable code for causing a computer to determine at least one initial winning bid utilizes mixed integer calculations.

24. The medium of claim 16, further comprising computer readable code for causing a computer to communicate the availability of a new proposed bid to at least one prospective supplier.

25. The medium of claim 16, further comprising computer readable code for causing a computer to receive, from at least one prospective supplier, a second bid selected from the at least one proposed bid.

26. The medium of claim 25, further comprising computer readable code for causing a computer to determine at least one subsequent winning bid in response to the received second bid.

27. The medium of claim 26, further comprising computer readable code for causing a computer to communicate to the prospective supplier whether the received second bid is a new winning bid.

28. The medium of claim 27, further comprising computer readable code for causing a computer to identify received bids not qualifying as a winning bid.

29. The medium of claim 28, further comprising computer readable code for causing a computer to communicate with the supplier associated with an initial winning bid to inform them that an initial winning bid is no longer a winning bid.

30. A computer-implemented method to assist prospective suppliers with responding to an issued requisition for a desired quantity of at least one item over a computer network, said method comprising:

receiving, from at least one prospective supplier, a plurality of bids responsive to the requisition;

determining those items in the requisition for which the desired quantity is not fully satisfied by the received plurality of bids;

calculating the effective prices for the determined items in the requisition;

calculating decremented prices for the determined items by decrementing each effective price by a predetermined amount;

creating a proposed bid utilizing the decremented prices; and

making the proposed bid available to at least one prospective supplier other than a supplier from which an initial winning bid was received.

31. The method of claim 30, wherein the predetermined decremented price amount is a dollar value.

32. The method of claim 30, wherein the predetermined decremented price amount is a specified percentage.

33. An auction server comprising:

a network interface;

a communication module for issuing, in accordance with criteria provided by a buyer, a requisition over a computer network via the network interface;

a bid-receipt module for receiving, over the computer network via the interface, a plurality of bids responsive to the requisition;

an analysis module for determining (i) at least one initial winning bid selected from the received bids that at least partially satisfies the requisition, and (ii) at least one proposed bid using the received plurality of bids, the at least one proposed bid, if adopted, constituting a new winning bid,

wherein the communication module is configured to make the at least one proposed bid available, over the computer network via the interface, to at least one prospective supplier other than a supplier from which an initial winning bid was received.

34. The server of claim 33, wherein the analysis module determines the at least one initial winning bid using price criteria.

35. The server of claim 33, wherein the analysis module determines the at least one initial winning bid using non-price criteria.

36. The server of claim 33, wherein the at least one initial winning bid determined by the analysis module optimally satisfies the requisition.

37. The server of claim 33, wherein the at least one proposed bid is generated and provided to a supplier during an interaction session between said supplier and the server.

38. The server of claim 33, wherein the communication module is configured to communicate the at least one initial winning bid to each prospective supplier having at least one initial winning bid.

39. The server of claim 33, wherein the communication module is configured to communicate those received bids not qualifying as an initial winning bid to their suppliers.

40. The server of claim 33, wherein the analysis module determines the at least one initial winning bid in part using mixed integer calculations.

41. The server of claim 33, wherein the analysis module is configured to handle bundled bids, business volume discounts, volume discount bids for an item, and simple bids.

42. The server of claim 33, wherein the communication module is configured to communicate availability of a new proposed bid to at least one prospective supplier.

43. The server of claim 33, wherein the bid-receipt module is configured to receive, from at least one prospective supplier, a second bid selected from the at least one proposed bid.

44. The server of claim 43, wherein the analysis module is configured to determine at least one subsequent winning bid in response to the received second bid.

45. The server of claim 44, wherein the communication module is configured to communicate to the prospective supplier whether the received second bid is a new winning bid.

46. The server of claim 45, wherein the analysis module is further configured to identify received bids not qualifying as a winning bid.

47. The server of claim 46, wherein the communication module is configured to communicate with the supplier associated with an initial winning bid to inform them that an initial winning bid is no longer a winning bid.