Demand aggregation system

• US 7,181,419 B1
• Filed: 09/13/2002
• Issued: 02/20/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 09/13/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Valentine Communications LLC
• Original Assignee: Ewinwin Incorporated
• Inventors: Mesaros, Gregory J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Rosen, Nicholas D.
• Application Number:
  US10/243,456
• Time in Patent Office: 1,621 Days
• Field of Search: 705/14, 705/26
• US Class Current: 705/26.2
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0224 based on user history
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0605 Supply or demand aggregation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0625 Directed, with specific intent or strategy
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/08 Auctions

Abstract

The demand aggregation system includes buyer sponsored DealRooms, seller sponsored DealRooms, and multiple buyer and multiple seller sponsored DealRooms. Moreover, the demand aggregation system includes a customer relations management (CRM) package. In the CRM package, information on buyer and prospective buyers are loaded into a database that can include information such as: individual name; company name and address; email address; phone number; cell number; products purchased; volumes; time of purchase. Further the CRM package can be integrated with the demand aggregation system as well as a customer resource planning system (e.g., MRP, ERP).

Claims

1. A business transaction method, comprising:

maintaining buyer profiles in a data storage device;

deriving a plurality of customized price schedules for a product based on at least one buyer profile, each of the plurality of customized price schedules varying in accordance with a quantity of the product ordered from a plurality of deal rooms;

electronically offering the product for sale in at least one of the plurality of deal rooms, the product being offered in each deal room in accordance with at least one of the plurality of price schedules; and

displaying a listing of at least one of the plurality of deal rooms in which the product is offered when at least a subset of criteria indicated for a product search matches criteria describing the product.

2. The business transaction method of claim 1, further comprising providing an incentive which modifies at least one of the plurality of price schedules so as to motivate a plurality of buyers to place orders for the product sooner.

3. The business transaction method of claim 2, the incentive being determined by analyzing buyer patterns.

4. The business transaction method of claim 3, the incentive including at least one of offering an initial lower price schedule, free shipping and free storage.

5. The business transaction method of claim 1, the product being electronically offered for sale over the Internet.

6. The business transaction method of claim 1, the buyer profile being created in part from a registration survey.

7. The business transaction method of claim 6, the buyer profile being determined in part by information provided by suppliers.

8. The business transaction method of claim 1, electronically offering a product for sale being limited to an open session period corresponding to a time during which orders to purchase the product are accepted.

9. A computer readable medium with computer executable instructions stored thereon, the computer executable instructions being executed to perform the method of claim 1.

10. The business transaction method of claim 1, at least one of the plurality of deal rooms being sponsored by a buyer or a plurality of buyers, at least one of the plurality of deal rooms being sponsored by a seller or a plurality of sellers, and at least one of the plurality of deal rooms being cosponsored by both a buyer and a seller.

11. A computerized system for electronically transacting business, comprising:

at least one computer, the at least one computer comprising;

a customer resource component for identifying potential customers based on customer profiles stored in an electronic storage device;

a demand aggregation component that populates a seller'"'"'s product production schedule with orders placed by a paying customer in a deal room that electronically offers a product for sale to customers retrieved by the customer resource component in accordance with a price schedule, the price schedule setting a price for the product which varies in accordance with a quantity of the product ordered; and

a supplier alert component that monitors the potential customers that have visited the deal room and the paying customers to determine a probability that a target for the production schedule will be met;

wherein each of the components comprises computer hardware, or one or more computer-readable media including computer instructions which, when implemented, cause at least one computer to carry out the functions of the component, or computer hardware in combination with such one or more computer-readable media including such computer instructions.

12. The system of claim 11 further comprising an incentive component which modifies the price schedule so as to motivate a plurality of buyers to place orders for the product.

13. The system of claim 12, the incentive component modifying the price schedule based at least one customer profile.

14. The system of claim 11, the customer resource component receiving information about customers'"'"' responses to offers from the demand aggregation component.

15. The system of claim 14, the customer resource component saving customer response information to the customer'"'"'s profile.

16. The system of claim 11, further comprising a display to allow a seller to view deal room activity.

17. The system of claim 16, the display includes information that pertains to the number of customers that have access to an offer for the product.

18. The system of claim 16, the display includes information that pertains to the number of customers that have accessed an offer for the product to date.