Method and system for price planning

• US 7,974,851 B2
• Filed: 08/26/2004
• Issued: 07/05/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 03/08/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SAP SE
• Original Assignee: SAP AG (SAP SE)
• Inventors: Veit, Thomas
• Primary Examiner(s): Hayes; John W
• Assistant Examiner(s): NELSON, FREDA ANN
• Application Number:
  US10/926,847
• Publication Number:
  US 20050197941A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,504 Days
• Field of Search: 705/1, 705/26, 705/400, 705/10, 705/7, 705/28, 705/1.1, 705/7.31, 705/7.35, 707/999.003
• US Class Current: 705/1.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0201 Market modelling; Market analysis; Collecting market data
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0202 Market predictions or forecasting for commercial activities
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0283 Price estimation or determination
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/00 Finance; Insurance; Tax strategies; Processing of corporate or income taxes

Abstract

A price planning workbench includes an automated pricing engine, a manual pricing engine, and a user interface. The user interface is configured to receive price planning information from one of the automated pricing engine and the manual pricing engine to generate a price planning schedule. The automated pricing engine may comprise a slow seller engine, a promotion management engine, or some other automated engine capable of providing the price changes used to generate the price planning schedule.

Claims

1. Non-transitory computer-readable media for price plan, the computer-readable media comprising program code stored therein executable by one or more machines, the computer-readable media comprising:

an automated pricing engine;

a manual pricing engine;

pricing implementation engine comprising;

instructions for receiving price planning information from one of the automated pricing engine and the manual pricing engine to generate a price planning schedule, the price planning schedule including price changes, the price changes being based on a total product life cycle and an actual product life cycle;

instructions for transferring the price planning schedule to have a data enrichment process performed where a user is allowed to intervene in the data enrichment process and modify the price planning schedule, wherein a modified price planning schedule is generated based on the data enrichment process;

instructions for implementing a comparison process, to implement a validation process for the modified price planning schedule and to implement the modified price planning schedule; and

instructions for storing a first data source, the modified price planning schedule, a budget, a budget plus a tolerance value, and an approval status;

instructions for determining whether a cost of the modified price planning schedule is less than the budget, the pricing implementation engine being further comprising instructions for determining whether the cost of the modified price planning schedule exceeds the budget but not the budget plus the tolerance value, and the pricing implementation engine further comprising instructions for determining whether the cost of the modified price planning schedule exceeds the budget plus the tolerance value;

instructions for transmitting a warning signal based on the cost of the modified price planning schedule exceeding the budget but not the budget plus the tolerance value;

instructions for transmitting a first data source approval signal based on the cost of the modified price planning schedule exceeding the budget plus the tolerance value; and

instructions for implementing the modified price planning schedule based on at least one of the cost of the price planning schedule being less than the budget, the cost of the pricing planning schedule exceeding the budget but not exceeding the budget plus the tolerance value, and receiving an approval of the modified price planning schedule based on the cost of the modified price planning schedule exceeding the budget plus the tolerance value.

2. The non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 1, wherein the pricing implementation engine transmits the modified price planning schedule to one or more cash register systems to implement one or more price changes in the price planning schedule.

3. The non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 1, wherein the modified price planning schedule includes one or more price changes for one or more articles or services for sale at a retail location.

4. The non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 3, wherein the modified price planning schedule further includes a time period associated with the one or more price changes.

5. The non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 1, wherein the automated pricing engine is a slow seller management engine.

6. The non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 5, wherein the slow seller management engine allows a markdown profile to be created or modified for one or more articles or services.

7. The non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 6, wherein the modified price planning schedule is generated based on the markdown profile.

8. The non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 1, wherein the manual pricing engine allows manual price changes to be entered for one or more articles or services.

9. The non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 8, wherein the modified price planning schedule is based on the manual price changes.

10. The non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 8, further including a conversion engine that converts the manual price changes into the promotion.

11. The non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 1, wherein the automated pricing engine is a promotion management engine.

12. A price planning system comprising:

one or more processors;

a memory; and

computer-readable media including program code stored therein executable by the one or more processors, the computer-readable media comprising;

an automated pricing module;

an manual pricing module;

a pricing implementation module comprising;

instructions for receiving price planning information from one of the automated pricing module and the manual pricing module to generate a price planning schedule, the price planning schedule including price changes, the price changes being based on a total product life cycle and an actual product life cycle;

instructions for storing the price planning information;

instructions for transferring the price planning schedule to the price planning system, the price planning system configured to perform a data enrichment process on the price planning schedule, the price planning system configured to allow a user to intervene in the data enrichment process and modify the price planning schedule, the price planning system configured to generate a modified price planning schedule based on the data enrichment process;

instructions for determining whether a cost of the modified price planning schedule is less than the budget, the pricing implementation module further comprising instructions for determining whether the cost of the modified price planning schedule exceeds the budget but not the budget plus the tolerance value, and the pricing implementation module further comprising instructions for determining whether the cost of the modified price planning schedule exceeds the budget plus the tolerance value;

instructions for transmitting a warning signal based on the cost of the modified price planning schedule exceeding the budget but not the budget plus the tolerance value;

instructions for transmitting a first data source approval signal based on the cost of the modified price planning schedule exceeding the budget plus the tolerance value;

instructions for implementing the modified price planning schedule based on at least one of the cost of the modified price planning schedule being less than the budget, the cost of the modified pricing planning schedule exceeding the budget but not exceeding the budget plus the tolerance value, and receiving an approval of the modified price planning schedule based on the cost of the modified price planning schedule exceeding the budget plus the tolerance value; and

wherein the price planning system is configured to modify a promotion by at least one of deactivating individual sale prices of the promotion, reactivating individual sale prices of the promotion, deactivating all of the sale prices of the promotion, reactivating all of the sale prices of the promotion, adding an article to the promotion, and changing a sales price of the promotion.

13. The system of claim 12, further including pricing implementation module comprising:

instructions for transmitting the modified price planning schedule to one or more cash register systems to implement one or more price changes in the modified price planning schedule; and

wherein the pricing implementation module comprises;

instructions for transmitting the modified price planning schedule based on the satisfaction of one or more conditions.

14. The system of claim 12, wherein the modified price planning schedule includes one or more price changes for one or more articles or services for sale at a retail location.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the modified price planning schedule further includes a time period associated with the one or more price changes.

16. The system of claim 12, wherein the automated pricing module is a slow seller management means.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the slow seller management module allows a markdown profile to be created or modified for one or more articles or services.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the modified price planning schedule is generated based on the markdown profile.

19. The system of claim 12, wherein the manual pricing module allows manual price changes to be entered for one or more articles or services.

20. The system workbench of claim 19, wherein the modified price planning schedule is based on the manual price changes.

21. The system workbench of claim 19, further including a conversion module comprising:

instructions for converting the manual price changes into the promotion.

22. The system workbench of claim 12, wherein the automated pricing module is a promotion management module.

23. A program product embodied on a non-transitory computer-readable medium for generating a price planning schedule, the program product comprising machine-readable program code stored therein, comprising:

an automated pricing engine;

a manual pricing engine;

a pricing implementation engine comprising;

instructions for receiving price planning information from one of the automated pricing engine and the manual pricing engine to generate the price planning schedule, the price planning schedule including price changes, the price changes being based on a total product life cycle and an actual product life cycle;

instructions for storing the price planning information;

transfer instructions for transferring the price planning schedule to have a data enrichment process performed where a user is allowed to intervene in the data enrichment process and modify the price planning schedule, wherein a modified price planning schedule is generated based on the data enrichment process;

instructions for determining whether a cost of the modified price planning schedule is less than the budget, the pricing implementation engine further comprising instructions for determining whether the cost of the modified price planning schedule exceeds the budget but not the budget plus the tolerance value, and the pricing implementation engine further comprising instructions for determining whether the cost of the modified price planning schedule exceeds the budget plus the tolerance value;

instructions for transmitting a warning signal based on the cost of the modified price planning schedule exceeding the budget but not the budget plus the tolerance value;

transmit instructions for transmitting a first data source approval signal based on the cost of the modified price planning schedule exceeding the budget plus the tolerance value;

instructions for implementing the modified price planning schedule based on at least one of the cost of the modified price planning schedule being less than the budget, the cost of the modified pricing planning schedule exceeding the budget but not exceeding the budget plus the tolerance value, and receiving an approval of the modified price planning schedule based on the cost of the modified price planning schedule exceeding the budget plus the tolerance value; and

wherein the program product comprises instructions for modifying a promotion by at least one of deactivating individual sale prices of the promotion, reactivating individual sale prices of the promotion, deactivating all of the sale prices of the promotion, reactivating all of the sale prices of the promotion, adding an article to the promotion, and changing a sales price of the promotion.

24. The program product of claim 23, further including a pricing implementation engine configured to transmit the modified price planning schedule to one or more cash register systems to implement one or more price changes in the modified price planning schedule.

25. The program product of claim 23, wherein the modified price planning schedule includes one or more price changes for one or more articles or services for sale at a retail location.

26. The program product of claim 25, wherein the modified price planning schedule further includes a time period associated with the one or more price changes.

27. The program product of claim 23, wherein the automated pricing engine is a slow seller management engine.

28. The program product of claim 27, wherein the slow seller management engine allows a markdown profile to be created or modified for one or more articles or services.

29. The program product of claim 28, wherein the modified price planning schedule is generated based on the markdown profile.

30. The program product of claim 23, wherein the manual pricing engine allows manual price changes to be entered for one or more articles or services.

31. The program product of claim 30, wherein the modified price planning schedule is based on the manual price changes.

32. The program product of claim 30, further including a conversion engine for converting the manual price changes into the promotion.

33. The program product of claim 23, wherein the automated pricing engine is a promotion management engine.