System and method for multi-enterprise supply chain optimization
First Claim
1. A method of optimizing multi-enterprise supply chain agreements using an electronic scenario based option contract, the method comprising:
- creating at a buyer computer a plurality of scenarios of forecasted demand for one or more products;
communicating from the buyer computer to a seller computer an offer to enter into an option contract for the supply of the one or more products, the option contract including an option corresponding to each of the plurality of scenarios of forecasted demand;
executing the option contract;
receiving at the buyer computer an indication of current buyer demand for at least one scenario associated with the one or more products;
automatically and without user input subsequent to receiving at the buyer computer the indication of current buyer demand for the one or more products, determining at the buyer computer whether the indicated current buyer demand exceeds the forecasted demand specified in the option contract; and
automatically and without user input subsequent to determining at the buyer computer whether the indicated current buyer demand exceeds the forecasted demand specified in the option contract, if the indicated current buyer demand does not exceed the forecasted demand specified in the option contract, communicating from the buyer computer to the seller computer a request to exercise at least a portion of the option based at least in part on the indicated current buyer demand.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method of optimizing multi-enterprise supply chain agreements using an electronic scenario based option contract includes creating at a buyer computer a plurality of scenarios of forecasted demand for one or more products and communicating from the buyer computer to a seller computer an offer to enter into an option contract for the supply of the one or more products, the option contract including an option corresponding to each of the plurality of scenarios of forecasted demand. The method further includes executing the option contract, receiving at the buyer computer an indication of current buyer demand for at least one scenario associated with the one or more products, and exercising at least a portion of the option in the option contract based at least in part on the indicated buyer demand.
24 Citations
40 Claims
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1. A method of optimizing multi-enterprise supply chain agreements using an electronic scenario based option contract, the method comprising:
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creating at a buyer computer a plurality of scenarios of forecasted demand for one or more products; communicating from the buyer computer to a seller computer an offer to enter into an option contract for the supply of the one or more products, the option contract including an option corresponding to each of the plurality of scenarios of forecasted demand; executing the option contract; receiving at the buyer computer an indication of current buyer demand for at least one scenario associated with the one or more products; automatically and without user input subsequent to receiving at the buyer computer the indication of current buyer demand for the one or more products, determining at the buyer computer whether the indicated current buyer demand exceeds the forecasted demand specified in the option contract; and automatically and without user input subsequent to determining at the buyer computer whether the indicated current buyer demand exceeds the forecasted demand specified in the option contract, if the indicated current buyer demand does not exceed the forecasted demand specified in the option contract, communicating from the buyer computer to the seller computer a request to exercise at least a portion of the option based at least in part on the indicated current buyer demand. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A method of optimizing multi-enterprise supply chain agreements using an electronic scenario based option contract, the method comprising:
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receiving at a seller computer terms of an option contract from a buyer computer, the terms comprising an option corresponding to a buyer'"'"'s plurality of scenarios of forecasted demand for one or more products; communicating to the buyer computer an acceptance of the terms of the option contract for at least one scenario of the plurality of scenarios; storing the terms of the accepted option contract in a memory accessible to the seller computer; and receiving, at the seller computer and from the buyer computer, a request to exercise at least a portion of the option, for at least one scenario of the plurality of scenarios, based at least in part on an indication of current buyer demand for the at least one scenario associated with the one or more products. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A system of procurement management, comprising:
a buyer computer comprising one or more processing units and one or more memory units, the buyer computer comprising; a forecast module configured to create a plurality of scenarios of forecasted demand for one or more products; a negotiation module configured to communicate to a seller computer an offer to enter into an option contract for the supply of the one or more products, the option contract including a proposed option corresponding to each of the plurality of scenarios of forecasted demand, the negotiation module further configured to receive from the seller computer a modified plurality of scenarios of forecasted demand, to communicate the modified plurality of scenarios of forecasted demand to the forecast module, and to receive from the forecast module a compromised plurality of scenarios of forecasted demand; a scenario analyzer module configured to create multiple scenarios of demand including alternate scenarios of demand based on the forecasted demand; an execution module configured to execute an option contract including an option corresponding to the compromised plurality of scenarios of forecasted demand; an exercise module configured to; receive from the forecast module an indication of current buyer demand for the one or more products; determine whether the indicated current buyer demand exceeds a maximum option quantity specified in the option contract; and if the indicated current buyer demand does not exceed the maximum option quantity specified in the option contract, communicate to the seller computer a request to exercise at least a portion of the option based at least in part on the indicated current buyer demand. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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31. A system of supply management, comprising:
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a seller computer comprising one or more processing units and one or more memory units, the seller computer comprising; a forecast module configured to determine a seller'"'"'s forecasted supply capacity for one or more products; a negotiation module configured to receive from a buyer computer an offer to enter into an option contract for a plurality of scenarios of buyer'"'"'s forecasted supply needs of one or more products, the option contract including a proposed option corresponding to the seller'"'"'s forecasted supply capacity for the one or more products; a scenario analyzer module configured to translate at least one scenario of the plurality of scenarios of supply needs into seller'"'"'s scenarios based on seller'"'"'s supply capacity; an execution module configured to execute the option contract for at least one scenario of the plurality of scenarios and to store the terms of the option contract in a memory accessible to the seller computer; and a tracking module configured to receive, from the buyer computer, a request to exercise at least a portion of the option, for at the least one scenario of the plurality of scenarios. - View Dependent Claims (32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40)
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Specification