Method and system for managing invitations to bid
First Claim
1. A computer-implemented method for fulfilling an invitation for bids of at least one performance to be effected by a bidder against payment, comprising:
- providing a database, comprising at least one performance description and at least one price description for each of a plurality of predetermined performances;
generating a list of unpriced performances desired by a buyer by selecting at least one of the predetermined performances from the database and by including the respective performance description in the list of performances;
forwarding the list of unpriced performances to a plurality of bidders;
receiving a bid from at least one of the plurality of bidders, each received bid including a bid price input to a bid mask by the bidder and assigned to at least one performance description of the list of unpriced performances, the bid price stating the price to be paid to the bidder for effecting the respective performance by the bidder;
evaluating the received bids and selecting a bid from the bids received; and
updating the database such that, for each performance of the generated list of performances for which a bid is selected, the price description in the database corresponding to said performance is modified to reflect the selected bid, wherein at least the updating is performed by a computer.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method for managing the drafting, submission, and evaluation of invitations to bid for the delivery of one or more products and/or services. An archival database of performance descriptions and prices is utilized to generate a list of desired performances; the list being automatically distributed to a plurality of selected potential bidders. Upon receipt of the submitted bids, the system evaluates the bids based on price, past pricings, and bidder performance history. A bid is selected as the winning bid, and a contract listing the desired performances is generated and forwarded to the successful bidder. During contract performance, bidder performance is monitored, with the results being added to a historical database for subsequent use in the bid evaluation and selection process. The contents of the successful bid, including any new performance descriptions drafted during the generation of the bid, are added to the archival database for use in future bid invitation generation applications.
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Citations
52 Claims
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1. A computer-implemented method for fulfilling an invitation for bids of at least one performance to be effected by a bidder against payment, comprising:
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providing a database, comprising at least one performance description and at least one price description for each of a plurality of predetermined performances; generating a list of unpriced performances desired by a buyer by selecting at least one of the predetermined performances from the database and by including the respective performance description in the list of performances; forwarding the list of unpriced performances to a plurality of bidders; receiving a bid from at least one of the plurality of bidders, each received bid including a bid price input to a bid mask by the bidder and assigned to at least one performance description of the list of unpriced performances, the bid price stating the price to be paid to the bidder for effecting the respective performance by the bidder; evaluating the received bids and selecting a bid from the bids received; and updating the database such that, for each performance of the generated list of performances for which a bid is selected, the price description in the database corresponding to said performance is modified to reflect the selected bid, wherein at least the updating is performed by a computer. - 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, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43)
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44. A computer-implemented method for managing an invitation for bids for at least one performance to be effected by a bidder, comprising:
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archiving a plurality of performances in a descriptions database, wherein each archived performance includes a performance description; generating a list of desired and unpriced performances from the archived performances; distributing the generated list of performances inviting the input of a bid to a plurality of bidders; receiving a bid submitted from at least one of the plurality of bidders, wherein each submitted bid includes a price input by the bidder assigned to at least one of the distributed list of performances and wherein the assigned price is the bid price to be paid to the bidder for effecting the respective performance by the bidder; evaluating the received bids and automatically selecting a bid from the bids received; and updating the archived descriptions database with the prices from the selected bid, wherein at least the updating is performed by a computer. - View Dependent Claims (45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52)
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Specification