SUPPLY CHAIN FINANCING AND CREDIT MEMO SYSTEMS AND METHODS

• US 20070282744A1
• Filed: 05/31/2007
• Published: 12/06/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 11/22/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: PrimeRevenue Incorporated
• Original Assignee: PrimeRevenue Incorporated
• Inventors: Juliano, Dan, Duncan, Daniel, Barnes, Robert
• Application Number:
  US11/756,484
• Publication Number:
  US 20070282744A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/40
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/102 Bill distribution or payments
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/02 Banking, e.g. interest calculation or account maintenance credit or loans G06Q40/03

Abstract

In an electronic supply chain finance system, a method of enabling a buyer to apply credit against accounts receivable owed to a supplier by the buyer, comprising receiving a payment obligation from the buyer, the payment obligation having a payment value and a payment maturity date and being associated with an underlying accounts receivable from the buyer to the supplier, receiving a credit note from the buyer, the credit note having a credit value and a credit maturity date and being associated with the underlying accounts receivable from the buyer to the supplier, presenting the payment obligation to a financial institution as if the payment value has been reduced according to the credit value, and upon or before the payment maturity date, reducing the payment value of the payment obligation according to the credit value of the credit note.

Claims

1. In an electronic supply chain finance system having a buyer, at least one supplier that provides goods/services to the buyer outside of the system, and at least one financial institution, each of which accesses the system through a computer network interface, a method of enabling the buyer to apply credit against accounts receivable owed to the supplier by the buyer, comprising the steps of:

receiving a payment obligation from the buyer, the payment obligation having a payment value and a payment maturity date and being associated with an underlying accounts receivable from the buyer to the supplier;

receiving a credit note from the buyer, the credit note having a credit value and a credit maturity date and being associated with the underlying accounts receivable from the buyer to the supplier;

presenting the payment obligation to the financial institution as if the payment value has been reduced according to the credit value; and

upon or before the payment maturity date, reducing the payment value of the payment obligation according to the credit value of the credit note.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the credit maturity date includes a period, and wherein the reduction of payment values occur for payment obligations that fall within the period.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein upon the buyer trading the payment obligation prior to the payment maturity date, the reduction of the payment value occurs as if the payment obligation reached the payment maturity date.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the reduction of the payment value occurs by application of credit notes according to age of the credit notes.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein upon the credit maturity date having passed, the reduction of the payment value occurs as if the payment obligation reached the payment maturity date.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the reduction of payment value occurs by application of credit notes according to the age of the payment obligations.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the payment obligation is batch loaded into the system from an accounts payable system of the buyer.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the credit memo is batch loaded into the system from an accounts payable system of the buyer.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising setting a reserve value against the payment value, wherein the reserve value is a percentage of the payment value, and wherein if the credit note equals or exceeds the reserve value, the payment value in excess of the credit note is available for trading, otherwise the payment value in excess of the reserve value is available for trading.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising setting a reserve value against the payment value, wherein the reserve value is a specified value, and wherein if the credit note equals or exceeds the reserve value, the payment value in excess of the credit note is available for trading, otherwise the payment value in excess of the reserve value is available for trading.

11. In an electronic supply chain finance system having buyers, suppliers that provide goods/services to the buyers outside of the system, and financial institutions, all having access to the system through computer network interfaces, a method enabling buyers to apply credits against accounts receivable owed to suppliers by the buyers, comprising the steps of:

defining a community within the system, the community including at least one respective buyer and one or more suppliers and financial institutions associated with the respective buyer;

configuring a buyer program associated with the respective buyer, the buyer program associating a subset of the suppliers and of the financial institutions with the respective buyer;

and thereafter;

receiving a payment obligation from the respective buyer, the payment obligation having a payment value and a payment maturity date and being associated with an underlying accounts receivable from the respective buyer to a respective supplier of the subset of suppliers;

receiving a credit note from the respective buyer, the credit note having a credit value and a credit maturity date and being associated with the underlying accounts receivable from the respective buyer to the respective supplier;

presenting the payment obligation to a respective financial institution of the subset of financial institutions as if the payment value has been reduced according to the credit value; and

upon or before the payment maturity date, reducing the payment value of the payment obligation according to the credit value of the credit note.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising receiving multiple payment obligations from the respective buyer.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the credit maturity date includes a period, and wherein the reduction of payment values occurs for payment obligations that fall within the period.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein upon the buyer trading the payment obligation prior to the payment maturity date, the reduction of the payment value occurs as if the payment obligation reached the payment maturity date.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the reduction of the payment value occurs by application of credit notes according to the age of the credit notes.

16. The method of claim 11, wherein upon the credit maturity date having passed, the reduction of the payment value occurs as if the payment obligation reached the payment maturity date.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the reduction of the payment value occurs by application of credit notes according to the age of the payment obligations.

18. In an electronic supply chain finance system having a buyer, at least one supplier that provides goods/services to the buyer outside of the system, and at least one financial institution, each of which accesses the system through a computer network interface, a method of enabling the buyer to apply credit against accounts receivable owed to the supplier by the buyer, comprising the steps of:

receiving a payment obligation from the buyer, the payment obligation having a payment value and a payment maturity date and being associated with an underlying accounts receivable from the buyer to the supplier;

receiving a credit note from the buyer, the credit note having a credit value and a credit maturity date and being associated with the underlying accounts receivable from the buyer to the supplier;

presenting the payment obligation to the financial institution as if the payment value has been reduced according to the credit value; and

upon determining a correspondence between the credit note and the payment obligation, reducing the payment value of the payment obligation according to the credit value of the credit note.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the payment obligation is batch loaded into the system from an accounts payable system of the buyer.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein the credit memo is batch loaded into the system from an accounts payable system of the buyer.