Methods and apparatus for anonymously requesting bids from a customer specified quantity of local vendors with automatic geographic expansion

• US 7,418,410 B2
• Filed: 01/07/2005
• Issued: 08/26/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 01/07/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Nicholas Caiafa
• Original Assignee: Nicholas Caiafa
• Inventors: Caiafa, Nicholas
• Primary Examiner(s): Smith; Jeffrey A.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Shah; Amee A
• Application Number:
  US11/031,755
• Publication Number:
  US 20060155609A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,327 Days
• Field of Search: 705/26, 705/27
• US Class Current: 705/26.61
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0623 Item investigation

Abstract

Methods and apparatus to anonymously request bids from a geographically centered plurality of vendors. The methods and apparatus enable a plurality of vendors to enter line card information (e.g., part numbers) and geographical information (e.g., zip codes) into a central database via a web page. Customers may then search for vendors in their area. The process automatically expands the geographical search area until a customer determined quantity of vendors are found. An anonymous e-mail message (i.e., a message not disclosing customer identity) is then sent to each selected vendor. The e-mail message preferably includes a hyperlink to a web page related to the customer request. Interested vendors may then supply vendor related information (e.g., price and delivery). If the customer locates a vendor able to meet the customer'"'"'s needs, the customer may select the vendor to complete the purchase via the broker server.

Claims

1. A method of requesting bids from a plurality of vendors, the method comprising:

controlling a plurality of graphical interfaces which are operatively coupled to a database and a processor, the processor being operable over a network, the graphical interfaces including;

(a) a vendor registration graphical interface;

(b) a request graphical interface;

(c) a first additional graphical interface; and

(d) a second additional graphical interface;

receiving, through the vendor registration graphical interface, product/service information and geographical information from each one of the plurality of vendors;

receiving, through the request graphical interface, a request for a product/service from a customer, the request including request data indicative of;

(a) the product/service;

(b) a desired delivery location; and

(c) a quantity of a plurality of desired responses;

storing a unique request identifier associated with the request;

determining that a first geographical area is closer to the desired delivery location than a second geographical area is to the desired delivery location;

selecting a first quantity of vendors associated with the first geographical area;

selecting a second quantity of vendors associated with the second geographical area if the first quantity of vendors is less than the quantity of desired responses;

sending at least one electronic message to each one of the selected vendors, the at least one electronic message including a first activator which is operatively coupled to the first additional graphical interface, the first additional graphical interface;

(i) indicating the unique request identifier;

(ii) including a second activator which is operatively coupled to a third additional graphical interface, the third additional graphical interface being accessible over the network, the third additional graphical interface indicating at least part of the request data; and

(iii) includes a third activator which, when activated, rejects the request; and

enabling the customer to access the second additional graphical interface, the second additional graphical interface;

(a) indicating the unique request identifier;

(b) including a second activator which is operatively coupled to a fourth additional graphical interface, the fourth additional graphical interface being accessible over the network, the fourth additional graphical interface indicating at least part of the product/service information; and

(c) including a third activator which, when activated, closes the request.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein selecting the first quantity of vendors associated with the first geographical area is based on the data indicative of the product/service, the data indicative of the desired delivery location, the product/service information, and the geographical information.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein selecting the second quantity of vendors associated with the second geographical area is based on the data indicative of the product/service, the data indicative of the desired delivery location, the product/service information, and the geographical information.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one electronic message to the first quantity of vendors is anonymous with respect to the customer.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the first activator is a hyperlink.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising cross referencing the data indicative of the product/service to data indicative of a related product/service, wherein the at least one electronic message includes at least a portion of the data indicative of the related product/service.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving a message indicative of a rejected vendor from the customer and automatically selecting a replacement vendor for the rejected vendor.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one electronic message includes an attachment from the customer, the attachment facilitating identification of the product/service.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving a second electronic message from at least one of the first quantity of vendors, the second electronic message including data supplied by the at least one of the first quantity of vendors.

10. The method of claim 9, which includes accessing the unique message identifier by accessing the second electronic message.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the second electronic message includes at least a portion of the data indicative of the product/service.

12. The method of claim 9, which includes providing access to a hyperlink at the second electronic message, wherein activation of the hyperlink provides access to a fifth additional graphical interface associated with the at least one of the first quantity of vendors.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein the second electronic message includes at least one of pricing information, quantity information, availability information, and delivery time information.

14. The method of claim 9, which includes providing access to an attachment by providing access to the second electronic message, wherein the second electronic message includes an attachment from the at least one of the first quantity of vendors, the attachment containing information associated with the product/service.

15. The method of claim 14, which includes providing access to an electronic document by providing access to the attachment, the electronic document being selected from the group consisting of a manual associated with the product/service and a drawing associated with the product/service.

16. The method of claim 9, further comprising sending a third electronic message to one of the first quantity of vendors, the third electronic message including purchase information.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein the product/service information includes at least one of a list of products/services, a list of manufacturer names, general product/service descriptions, and detailed product/service descriptions.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein the geographical information includes at lease one of a zip code and an area code.

19. The method of claim 1, wherein the data indicative of the product/service includes at least one of a part number, a manufacturer, and a part description.

20. The method of claim 1, wherein the data indicative of the product/service includes at least one of a category and a keyword.

21. The method of claim 1, wherein the data indicative of the desired delivery location includes a zip code.

22. The method of claim 1, wherein the data indicative of the desired delivery location includes an area code.

23. The method of claim 1, wherein determining that the first geographical area is closer to the desired delivery location than the second geographical area is to the desired delivery location includes retrieving data from a lookup table.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the lookup table includes at least one of zip codes and area codes.

25. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving the product/service information for each of the plurality of vendors from the plurality of vendors via the vendor registration graphical interface.

26. The method of claim 1, including storing a unique anonymous identifier associated with a unique identifier of the customer.

27. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one electronic message includes the unique request identifier and excludes the unique customer identifier.

28. A server comprising:

a network connection;

a memory device storing (i) product/service information for each of a plurality of vendors, (ii) geographical information for each of the plurality of vendors, (iii) a software program; and

(iv) data corresponding to a plurality of graphical interfaces, the graphical interfaces including a vendor registration graphical interface, a request graphical interface, a first additional graphical interface, and a second additional graphical interface; and

a processor operably connected to the network connection and the memory device, wherein the software program is structured to be executed by the processor to cause the server to;

receive, through the vendor registration graphical interface, product/service information and geographical information for from each one of the plurality of vendors;

receive a request for a product/service from a customer through the request registration graphical interface, the request including request data indicative of;

(a) the product/service;

(b) a desired delivery location; and

(c) a quantity of desired responses;

store a unique request identifier associated with the request;

determine that a first geographical area is closer to the desired delivery location than a location of one or more other geographical areas relative to the desired delivery location;

select a first quantity of vendors associated with the first geographical area;

successively select a second quantity of vendors associated with each of the other geographical areas until a total of the selected vendors is at least equal to the quantity of desired responses;

store a unique anonymous identifier associated with a unique customer identifier of the customer;

send at least one electronic message to each of the selected vendors, the at least one electronic message including a first activator which is operatively coupled to the first additional graphical interface, the first additional graphical interface;

(i) indicating the unique request identifier;

(ii) including a second activator which is operatively coupled to a third additional graphical interface, the third additional graphical interface being accessible over the network, the third additional graphical interface indicating at least part of the request data; and

(iii) including a third activator which, when activated, rejects the request; and

enable the customer to access the second additional graphical interface, the second additional graphical interface;

(a) indicating the unique request identifier;

(b) including a second activator which is operatively coupled to a fourth additional graphical interface, the fourth additional graphical interface being accessible over the network, the fourth additional graphical interface indicating at least part of the product/service information; and

(c) including a third activator which, when activated, closes the request.

29. The server of claim 28, wherein the server selects the first quantity of vendors associated with the first geographical area based on the data indicative of the product/service, the data indicative of the desired delivery location, the product/service information, and the geographical information.

30. The server of claim 28, wherein the at least one electronic message to the first quantity of vendors is anonymous with respect to the customer.

31. The server of claim 28, wherein the first activator is a hyperlink.

32. The server of claim 28, wherein the at least one electronic message includes at least a portion of the data indicative of the product/service and at least a portion of the data indicative of the desired delivery location.

33. The server of claim 28, wherein the at least one electronic message includes an attachment from the customer, the attachment facilitating identification of the product/service.

34. The server of claim 28, further comprising receiving a second electronic message from at least one of the first quantity of vendors, the second electronic message including data supplied by the at least one of the first quantity of vendors and the unique message identifier.

35. The server of claim 34, wherein the second electronic message includes at least a portion of the data indicative of the product/service and a hyperlink to a fifth additional graphical interface associated with the at least one of the first quantity of vendors.

36. The server of claim 34, wherein the second electronic message includes at least one of pricing information, quantity information, availability information, and delivery time information.

37. The server of claim 34, wherein the second electronic message includes an attachment from the at least one of the first quantity of vendors, the attachment containing at least one of a manual associated with the product/service and a drawing associated with the product/service.

38. The server of claim 34, further comprising sending a third electronic message to one of the first quantity of vendors, the third electronic message including purchase information.

39. The server of claim 28, wherein the product/service information includes at least one of a list of products/services, a list of manufacturer names, general product/service descriptions, and detailed product/service descriptions.

40. The server of claim 28, wherein the geographical information includes at lease one of a zip code and an area code.

41. The server of claim 28, wherein the data indicative of the product/service includes at least one of a part number, a manufacturer, a part description, a category and a keyword.

42. The server of claim 28, wherein the data indicative of the desired delivery location includes at least one of a zip code and an area code.

43. The server of claim 28, further comprising receiving the product/service information for each of the plurality of vendors via the vendor registration graphical interface.

44. The server of claim 28, further comprising storing a unique anonymous identifier associated with a unique identifier of the customer.

45. The server of claim 28, wherein the at least one electronic message includes the unique request identifier and excludes the unique customer identifier.

46. A computer readable medium comprising a plurality of computer readable instructions operable to cause a computing device to:

access data corresponding to a plurality of graphical interfaces including;

(a) a vendor registration graphical interface;

(b) a request graphical interface;

(c) a first additional graphical interface; and

(d) a second additional graphical interface;

receive, through the vendor registration graphical interface, product/service information and geographical information for each one of a plurality of vendors;

store the product/service information and geographical information provided by each one of the vendors;

receive through the request graphical interface, a request for a service from a customer, the request including request data indicative of;

(a) the service;

(b) a desired delivery location; and

(c) a quantity of desired responses;

store a unique request identifier associated with the request;

determine that a first geographical area is closer to the desired delivery location than a second geographical area is to the desired delivery location;

select a first quantity of vendors associated with the first geographical area;

select a second quantity of vendors associated with the second geographical area if the first quantity of vendors is less than the quantity of desired responses;

store a unique anonymous identifier associated with a unique customer identifier of the customer;

send at least one electronic message to each one of the selected vendors, the at least one electronic message;

including a first activator which is operatively coupled to the first additional graphical interface, the first additional graphical interface;

(i) indicating the unique request identifier;

(ii) including a second activator which is operatively coupled to a third additional graphical interface, the third additional graphical interface being accessible over the network, the third additional graphical interface indicating at least part of the request data; and

(iii) including a third activator which, when activated, rejects the request; and

enable the customer to access the second additional graphical interface, the second additional graphical interface;

(a) indicating the unique request identifier;

(b) including a second activator which is operatively coupled to a fourth additional graphical interface, the fourth additional graphical interface being accessible over the network, the fourth additional graphical interface indicating at least part of the product/service information; and

(c) including a third activator which, when activated, closes the request.

47. The computer readable medium of claim 46, wherein the instructions are structured to cause the computing device to select the first quantity of vendors associated with the first geographical area based on the data indicative of the service, the data indicative of the desired delivery location, the product/service information, and the geographical information.

48. The computer readable medium of claim 46, wherein the at least one electronic message to the first quantity of vendors is anonymous with respect to the customer.

49. The computer readable medium of claim 46, wherein the first activator is a hyperlink.

50. The computer readable medium of claim 46, wherein the at least one electronic message includes at least a portion of the data indicative of the service, at least a portion of the data indicative of the desired delivery location, and an attachment from the customer facilitating identification of the service.

51. The computer readable medium of claim 46, wherein the instructions are structured to cause the computing device to receive a second electronic message from at least one of the first quantity of vendors, the second electronic message including data supplied by the at least one of the first quantity of vendors, the unique message identifier, at least a portion of the data indicative of the service, and a hyperlink to a fifth graphical interface associated with the at least one of the first quantity of vendors.

52. The computer readable medium of claim 51, wherein the second electronic message includes at least one of pricing information, quantity information, availability information, and delivery time information.

53. The computer readable medium of claim 51, wherein the second electronic message includes an attachment from the at least one of the first quantity of vendors, the attachment containing at least one of a manual associated with the service and a drawing associated with the service.

54. The computer readable medium of claim 51, wherein the instructions are structured to cause the computing device to send a third electronic message to one of the first quantity of vendors, the third electronic message including purchase information.

55. The computer readable medium of claim 46, wherein the product/service information includes at least one of a list of products/services, a list of manufacturer names, general product/service descriptions, and detailed product/service descriptions.

56. The computer readable medium of claim 46, wherein the geographical information includes at lease one of a zip code and an area code.

57. The computer readable medium of claim 46, wherein the data indicative of the service includes at least one of a part number, a manufacturer, a part description, a category and a keyword.

58. The computer readable medium of claim 46, wherein the instructions are structured to cause the computing device to select the first quantity of vendors associated with the first geographical area based on a customer requirement falling within a range of values associated with at least one of the first quantity of vendors.

59. The computer readable medium of claim 46, wherein the instructions are structured to cause the computing device to store a unique anonymous identifier associated with a unique identifier of the customer.

60. The computer readable medium of claim 46, wherein the at least one electronic message includes the unique request identifier and excludes the unique customer identifier.