Guided buying decision support in an electronic marketplace environment
First Claim
1. A system providing guided buying decision support within an electronic marketplace environment, comprising:
- a server operable to interact with buyers to receive procurement parameters for items;
an option generator operable to;
receive procurement parameters for a particular item needed by a particular buyer;
determine one or more acceptable item-supplier combinations consistent with the procurement parameters for the item; and
generate a plurality of diverse types of recommended options for communication to the buyer to enable the buyer to select one of the plurality of diverse types of recommended options, each of the plurality of diverse types of recommended options communicated to the buyer for selection specifying a service through which it is possible to procure the item consistent with procurement parameters, the plurality of diverse types of recommended options communicated to the buyer for selection comprising;
a recommended purchase from the supplier currently offering the item at the lowest price consistent with the procurement parameters;
a recommended auction in which the item is currently being auctioned under circumstances consistent with the procurement parameters; and
a recommended reverse auction that may be initiated with respect to the item under circumstances consistent with the procurement parameters;
the server further operable to;
communicate to the buyer a recommended course of action specifying the recommended option that should be selected from among the plurality of diverse types of recommended options communicated to the buyer for selection to give the buyer the best opportunity to procure the item consistent with the procurement parameters and at the lowest price; and
interact with the buyer to receive a selection of a particular recommended option from among the plurality of diverse types of recommended options communicated to the buyer for selection; and
a manager application operable to automatically initiate the service specified in the selected one of the plurality of diverse types of recommended options in an attempt to procure the item consistent with the procurement parameters.
16 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A system (10) for providing guided buying decision support within an electronic marketplace environment includes a server (42) that interacts with buyers (12) to receive procurement parameters for items. An option generator (50) receives procurement parameters for a particular item needed by a particular buyer (12), determines one or more acceptable item-supplier combinations consistent with the procurement parameters for the item, and generates one or more recommended options for communication to the buyer (12), each recommended option specifying a service through which it is possible to procure the item consistent with the procurement parameters. The server (42) further interacts with the buyer (12) to receive a selection of a particular recommended option. A manager application (46) automatically initiates the service specified in the selected recommended option in an attempt to procure the item consistent with the procurement parameters.
177 Citations
49 Claims
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1. A system providing guided buying decision support within an electronic marketplace environment, comprising:
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a server operable to interact with buyers to receive procurement parameters for items; an option generator operable to; receive procurement parameters for a particular item needed by a particular buyer; determine one or more acceptable item-supplier combinations consistent with the procurement parameters for the item; and generate a plurality of diverse types of recommended options for communication to the buyer to enable the buyer to select one of the plurality of diverse types of recommended options, each of the plurality of diverse types of recommended options communicated to the buyer for selection specifying a service through which it is possible to procure the item consistent with procurement parameters, the plurality of diverse types of recommended options communicated to the buyer for selection comprising; a recommended purchase from the supplier currently offering the item at the lowest price consistent with the procurement parameters; a recommended auction in which the item is currently being auctioned under circumstances consistent with the procurement parameters; and a recommended reverse auction that may be initiated with respect to the item under circumstances consistent with the procurement parameters; the server further operable to; communicate to the buyer a recommended course of action specifying the recommended option that should be selected from among the plurality of diverse types of recommended options communicated to the buyer for selection to give the buyer the best opportunity to procure the item consistent with the procurement parameters and at the lowest price; and interact with the buyer to receive a selection of a particular recommended option from among the plurality of diverse types of recommended options communicated to the buyer for selection; and a manager application operable to automatically initiate the service specified in the selected one of the plurality of diverse types of recommended options in an attempt to procure the item consistent with the procurement parameters. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A method of providing guided buying decision support within an electronic marketplace environment, comprising:
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receiving procurement parameters for a particular item needed by a particular buyer; determining one or more acceptable item-supplier combinations consistent with the procurement parameters for the item; generating a plurality of diverse types of recommended options for communication to the buyer to enable the buyer to select one of the plurality of diverse types of recommended options, each of the plurality of diverse types of recommended options communicated to the buyer for selection specifying a service through which it is possible to procure the item consistent with the procurement parameters, the plurality of diverse types of recommended options communicated to the buyer for selection comprising; a recommended purchase from the supplier currently offering the item at the lowest price consistent with the procurement parameters; a recommended auction in which the item is currently being auctioned under circumstances consistent with the procurement parameters; and a recommended reverse auction that may be initiated with respect to the item under circumstances consistent with the procurement parameters; communicating to the buyer a recommended course of action specifying the recommended option that should be selected from among the plurality of diverse types of recommended options communicated to the buyer for selection to give the buyer the best opportunity to procure the item consistent with the procurement parameters and at the lowest price; receiving a selection of a particular recommended option from among the plurality of diverse types of recommended options communicated to the buyer for selection; and automatically initiating the service specified in the selected one of the plurality of diverse types of recommended options in an attempt to procure the needed item consistent with the procurement parameters. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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31. Software for providing guided buying decision support within an electronic marketplace environment, the software embodied in a computer-readable medium and when executed operable to:
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receive procurement parameters for a particular item needed by a particular buyer; determine one or more acceptable item-supplier combinations consistent with the procurement parameters for the item; generate a plurality of diverse types of recommended options for communication to the buyer to enable the buyer to select one of the plurality of diverse types of recommended options, each of the plurality of diverse types of recommended options communicated to the buyer for selection specifying a service through which it is possible to procure the item consistent with the procurement parameters, the plurality of diverse types of recommended option options communicated to the buyer for selection comprising; a recommended purchase from the supplier currently offering the item at the lowest price consistent with the procurement parameters; a recommended auction in which the item is currently being auctioned under circumstances consistent with the procurement parameters; and a recommended reverse auction that may be initiated with respect to the item under circumstances consistent with the procurement parameters; communicate to the buyer a recommended course of action specifying the recommended option that should be selected from among the plurality of diverse types of recommended options communicated to the buyer for selection to give the buyer the best opportunity to procure the item consistent with the procurement parameters and at the lowest price; receive a selection of a particular recommended option from among the plurality of diverse types of recommended options communicated to the buyer for selection; and automatically initiate the service specified in the selected one of the plurality of diverse types of recommended options in an attempt to procure the item consistent with the procurement parameters. - View Dependent Claims (32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45)
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46. A system providing guided buying decision support within an electronic marketplace environment, comprising:
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means for receiving procurement parameters for a particular item needed by a particular buyer, determining one or more acceptable item-supplier combinations consistent with the procurement parameters for the item; means for generating a plurality of diverse types of recommended options for communication to the buyer to enable the buyer to select one of the plurality of diverse types of recommended options, each of the plurality of diverse types of recommended options communicated to the buyer for selection specifying a service through which it is possible to procure the item consistent with the procurement parameters, the plurality of diverse types of recommended options communicated to the buyer for selection comprising; a recommended purchase from the supplier currently offering the item at the lowest price consistent with the procurement parameters; a recommended auction in which the item is currently being auctioned under circumstances consistent with the procurement parameters; and a recommended reverse auction that may be initiated with respect to the item under circumstances consistent with the procurement parameters; means for communicating to the buyer a recommended course of action specifying the recommended option that should be selected from among the plurality of diverse types of recommended options communicated to the buyer for selection to give the buyer the best opportunity to procure the item consistent with the procurement parameters and at the lowest price; and means for interacting with the buyer to receive a selection of a particular recommended option from among the plurality of diverse types of recommended options communicated to the buyer for selection; and means for automatically initiating the service specified in the selected one of the plurality of diverse types of recommended options in an attempt to procure the item consistent with the procurement parameters.
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47. A system providing guided buying decision support within an electronic marketplace environment, comprising:
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a server operable to interact with buyers to receive procurement parameters for items; an option generator operable to; receive procurement parameters for a particular item needed by a particular buyer; determine one or more acceptable item-supplier combinations consistent with the procurement parameters for the item; and generate a plurality of diverse types of recommended options for communication to the buyer to enable the buyer to select one of the plurality of diverse types of recommended options, each of the plurality of diverse types of recommended options communicated to the buyer for selection specifying a service through which it is possible to procure the item consistent with the procurement parameters, the plurality of diverse types of recommended options communicated to the buyer for selection comprising; a recommended purchase from the supplier offering the item at the lowest price consistent with the procurement parameters; a recommended auction in which the item is being auctioned under circumstances consistent with the procurement parameters; and a recommended reverse auction that may be initiated with respect to the item under circumstances consistent with the procurement parameters; the server further operable to; provide to the buyer the probabilities the buyer will procure the item in the recommended auction and in the recommended reverse auction below the lowest price quoted against an acceptable item-supplier combination to allow the buyer to decide whether to select the recommended auction or recommended reverse auction, respectively, instead of the recommended purchase; and interact with the buyer to receive a selection of a particular recommended option from among the plurality of diverse types of recommended options communicated to the buyer for selection; and a manager application operable to automatically initiate the service specified in the selected one of the plurality of diverse types of recommended options in an attempt to procure the item consistent with the procurement parameters.
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48. A method of providing guided buying decision support within an electronic marketplace environment, comprising:
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receiving procurement parameters for a particular item needed by a particular buyer; determining one or more acceptable item-supplier combinations consistent with the procurement parameters for the item; generating a plurality of diverse types of recommended options for communication to the buyer to enable the buyer to select one of the plurality of diverse types of recommended options, each of the plurality of diverse types of recommended options communicated to the buyer for selection specifying a service through which it is possible to procure the item consistent with the procurement parameters, the plurality of diverse types of recommended options communicated to the buyer for selection comprising; a recommended purchase from the supplier offering the item at the lowest price consistent with the procurement parameters; a recommended auction in which the item is being auctioned under circumstances consistent with the procurement parameters; and a recommended reverse auction that may be initiated with respect to the item under circumstances consistent with the procurement parameters; providing to the buyer the probabilities the buyer will procure the item in the recommended auction and in the recommended reverse auction below the lowest price quoted against an acceptable item-supplier combination to allow the buyer to decide whether to select the recommended auction or recommended reverse auction, respectively, instead of the recommended purchase; and receiving a selection of a particular recommended option from among the plurality of diverse types of recommended options communicated to the buyer for selection; and automatically initiating the service specified in the selected one of the plurality of diverse types of recommended options in an attempt to procure the item consistent with the procurement parameters.
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49. Software for providing guided buying decision support within an electronic marketplace environment, the software being embodied in a computer-readable medium and when executed operable to:
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receive procurement parameters for a particular item needed by a particular buyer; determine one or more acceptable item-supplier combinations consistent with the procurement parameters for the item; generate a plurality of diverse types of recommended options for communication to the buyer to enable the buyer to select one of the plurality of diverse types of recommended options, each of the plurality of diverse types of recommended options communicated to the buyer for selection specifying a service through which it is possible to procure the item consistent with the procurement parameters, the plurality of diverse types of recommended options communicated to the buyer for selection comprising; a recommended purchase from the supplier offering the item at the lowest price consistent with the procurement parameters; a recommended auction in which the item is being auctioned under circumstances consistent with the procurement parameters; and a recommended reverse auction that may be initiated with respect to the item under circumstances consistent with the procurement parameters; provide to the buyer the probabilities the buyer will procure the item in the recommended auction and in the recommended reverse auction below the lowest price quoted against an acceptable item-supplier combination to allow the buyer to decide whether to select the recommended auction or recommended reverse auction, respectively, instead of the recommended purchase; receive a selection of a particular recommended option from among the plurality of diverse types of recommended options communicated to the buyer for selection; and automatically initiate the service specified in the selected one of the plurality of diverse types of recommended options in an attempt to procure the item consistent with the procurement parameters.
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Specification