Method and apparatus for facilitating buyer-driven purchase orders on a commercial network system
First Claim
1. A computer based method for facilitating a transaction between at least two buyers, an intermediate, and at least one seller, comprising:
- receiving at the intermediate a forward purchase order for at least one item from at least two buyers, said intermediate having a central controller;
forwarding a purchase stipulation from the central controller to the at least two buyers responsive to the submitted forward purchase order;
upon receiving an acceptance of said purchase stipulation, aggregating said forward purchase order to orders of like kind in a pool to form a pooled purchase order;
making the pooled purchase order including conditions of said pool to at least one seller;
receiving a bid from at least one seller;
verifying said bid with conditions of said pool;
if conditions of said pool are satisfied, binding the seller to said intermediate and storing said bid in seller database;
selecting a best bid from said database to determine a selected seller; and
forwarding confirmations of sale to the at least two buyers and the selected seller.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Systems and methods are described for providing a global bilateral buyer-driven system for creating binding contracts by incorporating various methods of communication, commerce and security for the buyers and the sellers. Individual buyers purchase requirements are aggregated into a single collective purchase requirement and sellers are located willing to bid on the collective purchase requirement. A central controller facilitates the buyer/seller transaction by fielding binding offers from buyers, aggregating those offers into group (i.e. pooled) offers and communicating those group offers globally in a format which can be efficiently accessed and analyzed by potential sellers. This system can also effectuate performance of resulting contracts, resolve disputes arising from those contracts, and maintain billing, collection, authentication, and anonymity. The methods disclosed are applicable to any commerce situation involving buyers and sellers.
1515 Citations
37 Claims
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1. A computer based method for facilitating a transaction between at least two buyers, an intermediate, and at least one seller, comprising:
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receiving at the intermediate a forward purchase order for at least one item from at least two buyers, said intermediate having a central controller;
forwarding a purchase stipulation from the central controller to the at least two buyers responsive to the submitted forward purchase order;
upon receiving an acceptance of said purchase stipulation, aggregating said forward purchase order to orders of like kind in a pool to form a pooled purchase order;
making the pooled purchase order including conditions of said pool to at least one seller;
receiving a bid from at least one seller;
verifying said bid with conditions of said pool;
if conditions of said pool are satisfied, binding the seller to said intermediate and storing said bid in seller database;
selecting a best bid from said database to determine a selected seller; and
forwarding confirmations of sale to the at least two buyers and the selected seller. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
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32. A computer based method for facilitating a transaction between at least one buyer, an intermediate, and at least one seller, comprising:
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receiving at the intermediate a forward purchase order for at least one item from at least one buyer, said intermediate having a central controller;
forwarding a prenegotiated price for said items from the central controller to the buyer responsive to the submitted forward purchase order;
upon receiving an acceptance of said prenegotiated price; and
forwarding confirmations of transaction to the buyer and the selected seller. - View Dependent Claims (36)
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33. A device having computer readable code embodied therein for causing a computer to perform the method steps for facilitating a transaction between at least two buyers, an intermediate, and at least one seller, comprising:
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receiving at the intermediate a forward purchase order for at least one item from at least two buyers, said intermediate having a central controller;
forwarding a purchase stipulation from the central controller to the at least two buyers responsive to the submitted forward purchase order;
upon receiving an acceptance of said purchase stipulation, aggregating said forward purchase order to orders of like kind in a pool to form a pooled purchase order;
making the pooled purchase order including conditions of said pool to at least one seller;
receiving a bid from at least one seller;
verifying said bid with conditions of said pool;
if conditions of said pool are satisfied, binding the seller to said intermediate and storing said bid in seller database;
selecting a best bid from said database to determine a selected seller; and
forwarding confirmations of sale to the at least two buyers and the selected seller.
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34. A method for facilitating a transaction between a buyer, an intermediate, and at least one seller, comprising:
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receiving at the intermediate a forward purchase order for a goods or service from the buyer, said forward purchase order having a reserve price, said intermediate having a central controller;
forwarding a purchase stipulation from the central controller to the buyer responsive to the submitted forward purchase order;
receiving an acceptance of said purchase stipulation;
posting at said central controller said forward purchase order;
receiving a bid from at least one seller;
verifying said bid with conditions of said forward purchase order;
if conditions of said forward purchase order are satisfied, store bid in seller database;
selecting a best bid from said database to determine a selected seller; and
forwarding confirmations of sale to the buyer and the selected seller. - View Dependent Claims (35, 37)
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Specification