SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR OPTIMIZING LOGISTICS SOURCING DECISIONS FOR LOGISTICS MANAGEMENT NETWORKS
First Claim
1. A method of managing logistics sourcing decisions including shipping rates in a logistics management network having a consignee, a shipper and a plurality of carriers for shipping freight from the shipper to the consignee, the method comprising:
- a) transmitting, by a central server, a shipping bid to the plurality of carriers;
b) receiving, at the central server, a plurality of bid responses from the plurality of carriers in response to the shipping bid, the plurality of bid responses including at least a first bid having a first shipping rate and a first expiration date from a first carrier;
c) receiving, at the central server, a shipping constraint from the shipper;
d) determining, by the central server, whether the plurality of bid responses meet the shipping constraint to identify a rejected bid of the plurality of hid responses, the central server transmitting a rejection notification to a rejected carrier of the plurality of carriers associated with the rejected bid;
e) determining, by the central server, whether the plurality of bid responses meet the shipping constraint to identify a plurality of accepted bids of the plurality of bid responses, the central server transmitting a plurality of acceptance notifications to a plurality of accepted carriers of the plurality of carriers, the plurality of accepted bids including at least the first bid;
f) storing, at the central server, the plurality of accepted bids from step (e), the plurality of accepted bids stored until at least their respective expiration dates;
g) receiving, by the central server, a selected bid of the plurality of accepted bids of step (f), the selected bid comprised of the first bid;
h) transmitting, by the central server, a booking request to the first carrier; and
i) receiving, at the central server, tracking information related to the freight being shipped by the first carrier to the consignee including a ship date when the freight is received by the first carrier and a receipt date when the freight is delivered to the consignee.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A preferred method of managing logistics sourcing decisions including shipping rates in a network involves transmitting a shipping bid, receiving a plurality of bid responses from a plurality of carriers including a first bid having a first shipping rate and a first expiration date from the first carrier, receiving a shipping constraint, determining whether the plurality of bid responses meet the shipping constraint to identify a rejected bid and a plurality of accepted bids, storing a plurality of accepted bids until at least their respective expiration dates, receiving a selected bid of the plurality of accepted bids of step, wherein the accepted bid is the first bid, transmitting a booking request to the first carrier and receiving tracking information related to the freight being shipped including a ship date when the freight is received by the first carrier and a receipt date when the freight is delivered to the consignee.
32 Citations
15 Claims
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1. A method of managing logistics sourcing decisions including shipping rates in a logistics management network having a consignee, a shipper and a plurality of carriers for shipping freight from the shipper to the consignee, the method comprising:
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a) transmitting, by a central server, a shipping bid to the plurality of carriers; b) receiving, at the central server, a plurality of bid responses from the plurality of carriers in response to the shipping bid, the plurality of bid responses including at least a first bid having a first shipping rate and a first expiration date from a first carrier; c) receiving, at the central server, a shipping constraint from the shipper; d) determining, by the central server, whether the plurality of bid responses meet the shipping constraint to identify a rejected bid of the plurality of hid responses, the central server transmitting a rejection notification to a rejected carrier of the plurality of carriers associated with the rejected bid; e) determining, by the central server, whether the plurality of bid responses meet the shipping constraint to identify a plurality of accepted bids of the plurality of bid responses, the central server transmitting a plurality of acceptance notifications to a plurality of accepted carriers of the plurality of carriers, the plurality of accepted bids including at least the first bid; f) storing, at the central server, the plurality of accepted bids from step (e), the plurality of accepted bids stored until at least their respective expiration dates; g) receiving, by the central server, a selected bid of the plurality of accepted bids of step (f), the selected bid comprised of the first bid; h) transmitting, by the central server, a booking request to the first carrier; and i) receiving, at the central server, tracking information related to the freight being shipped by the first carrier to the consignee including a ship date when the freight is received by the first carrier and a receipt date when the freight is delivered to the consignee. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A method of managing logistics sourcing decisions including shipping rates in a logistics management network having a consignee, a shipper and a plurality of carriers for shipping freight from the shipper to the consignee, the method comprising:
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a) transmitting, by a central server, a shipping bid to the plurality of carriers; b) receiving, at the central server, a plurality of bid responses from the plurality of carriers in response to the shipping bid, the plurality of bid responses including at least a first bid having a first shipping rate and a first expiration date from a first carrier; c) receiving, at the central server, a shipping constraint from the consignee; d) determining, by the central server, whether the plurality of bid responses meet the shipping constraint to identify a rejected bid of the plurality of bid responses, the central server transmitting a rejection notification to a rejected carrier of the plurality of carriers associated with the rejected bid; e) determining, by the central server, whether the plurality of bid responses meet the shipping constraint to identify a plurality of accepted bids of the plurality of bid responses, the central server transmitting a plurality of acceptance notifications to a plurality of accepted carriers of the plurality of carriers, the plurality of accepted bids including at least the first bid; f) storing, at the central server, the plurality of accepted bids from step (e), the plurality of accepted bids stored until at least their respective expiration dates; g) receiving, by the central server, a selected bid of the plurality of accepted bids of step (f), the selected bid comprised of the first bid; h) transmitting, by the central server, a booking request to the first carrier; and i) receiving, at the central server, tracking information related to the freight being shipped by the first carrier to the consignee including a ship date when the freight is received by the first carrier and a receipt date when the freight is delivered to the consignee. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15)
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Specification