Materials supply contract system and method
First Claim
1. A method for a buyer to award a supply contract to a supplier selected from a panel of predetermined suppliers which each have a base supply contract with the buyer, the method being conducted over a computer network which comprises at least one buyer computer, an administrator computer and at least two supplier computers, the method comprising the steps of:
- (a) establishing key parameters for a BOM to be submitted by the administrator computer to the at least two supplier computers (eg. price, quality, delivery and service);
(b) applying a weighting to each of the parameters;
(c) applying a rating for each of these parameters for each supplier of the panel of predetermined suppliers;
(d) calculating, from said parameter weightings and said supplier ratings for each parameter, an overall rating for each supplier of the panel of predetermined suppliers;
(e) applying that overall rating to any offer received by the administrator computer from the supplier computer of that supplier in response to the release of a BOM to adjust that offer prior to comparison of that offer with any other offer; and
(f) providing to each supplier computer a current bid to win (CBTW) in respect of said supply contract, the CBTW calculated by said administrator computer to dynamically indicate to a supplier the offer that that particular supplier must submit to compete with the best previous offer.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
The invention relates to a materials supply contract system and method for use in conducting business on-line over a network of computers such as the Internet. A method is provided for a buyer to award a supply contract, issued as a BOM, to a supplier selected from a panel of predetermined suppliers which each have a base supply contract with the buyer, the method being conducted over a computer network which comprises at least one buyer computer, an administrator computer and at least two supplier computers, the method comprising the steps of sending a buyer message from the buyer computer to the administrator computer identifying the BOM which includes at least one predetermined parameter (e.g. material requirement, business and market rules and/or special instructions), receiving the buyer message and displaying the BOM on a site on the administrator computer which is accessible by at least two supplier computers, sending a BOM message from the administrator computer to the at least two suppliers, receiving and storing an offer message in the administrator computer from one or more of the at least two supplier computers which includes an offer to supply goods or services in accordance with the BOM, sending an acceptance message from the administrator computer to the supplier computer which sent the successful offer, and sending a notification message from the administrator computer to the buyer computer notifying the buyer computer of one or more of the offers.
43 Citations
22 Claims
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1. A method for a buyer to award a supply contract to a supplier selected from a panel of predetermined suppliers which each have a base supply contract with the buyer, the method being conducted over a computer network which comprises at least one buyer computer, an administrator computer and at least two supplier computers, the method comprising the steps of:
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(a) establishing key parameters for a BOM to be submitted by the administrator computer to the at least two supplier computers (eg. price, quality, delivery and service); (b) applying a weighting to each of the parameters; (c) applying a rating for each of these parameters for each supplier of the panel of predetermined suppliers; (d) calculating, from said parameter weightings and said supplier ratings for each parameter, an overall rating for each supplier of the panel of predetermined suppliers; (e) applying that overall rating to any offer received by the administrator computer from the supplier computer of that supplier in response to the release of a BOM to adjust that offer prior to comparison of that offer with any other offer; and (f) providing to each supplier computer a current bid to win (CBTW) in respect of said supply contract, the CBTW calculated by said administrator computer to dynamically indicate to a supplier the offer that that particular supplier must submit to compete with the best previous offer. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. An administrator computer system for enabling a buyer to award a supply contract, issued as a BOM, to a supplier selected from a panel of predetermined suppliers which each have a base supply contract with the buyer, the system operating over a computer network and connecting to at least one buyer computer and at least two supplier computers, the system including:
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(a) means for establishing key parameters for a BOM to be submitted to the at least two supplier computers (eg. price, quality, delivery and service); (b) means for applying a weighting to each of the parameters; (c) means for applying a rating for each of these parameters for each supplier of the panel of predetermined suppliers; (d) means for calculating, from said parameter weightings and said supplier ratings for each parameter, an overall rating for each supplier of the panel of predetermined suppliers; (e) means for applying that overall rating to any offer received by the administrator computer from the supplier computer of that supplier in response to the release of a BOM to adjust that offer prior to comparison of that offer with any other offer; and (f) means for providing to each supplier computer a current bid to win (CBTW) in respect of said supply contract, the CBTW calculated by said administrator computer to dynamically indicate to a supplier the offer that that supplier must submit to compete with the best previous offer. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20)
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21. A method for a buyer to award a supply contract to a supplier selected from a panel of predetermined suppliers which each have a base supply contract with the buyer, the method being conducted over a computer network which comprises at least one buyer computer, an administrator computer and at least two supplier computers, the method involving a competitive auction event conducted to result in said award of supply contract, the method comprising the steps of:
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(a) in advance of said auction event, establishing key parameters for a BOM to be submitted by the administrator computer to the at least two supplier computers (eg. price, quality, delivery and service); (b) applying a weighting process with respect to said parameters for each supplier of the panel of predetermined suppliers, to calculate a rating for each supplier of the panel of predetermined suppliers; and (c) during said auction event, receiving respective offers from the respective supplier computers associated with respective suppliers, adjusting said offers by applying said ratings for the respective suppliers, and using said ratings for all said suppliers to provide to each supplier an indication of a current bid to win (CBTW) in respect of said supply contract, the CBTW calculated by said administrator computer to dynamically indicate to a supplier the offer that that particular supplier must submit to compete with the best previous offer. - View Dependent Claims (22)
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Specification