Method, system, and program storage device for efficient fulfillment of work assignments
First Claim
1. A computer-implemented method to enable data-driven communications to fulfill a work assignment comprising:
- performing the method steps automatically under the control of at least one processor, the method further comprising;
receiving a request from a requestor to fill the work assignment, the work assignment having a plurality of attributes including;
at least one attribute indicating a priority of the request, andat least one of a plurality of other attributes;
accessing the database of potential providers, the stored database including a plurality of attributes for each provider including;
at least one particular attribute selected from the group comprising;
an attribute indicating a satisfaction rating of the provider with respect to at least one completed work assignment,an attribute indicating credentialing information of the provider, andan attribute indicating seniority of the provider; and
at least one of a plurality of other provider attributes;
comparing the plurality of attributes of said request against the plurality of attributes of said providers stored in said database of potential providers;
selecting, in a prioritized order from said stored database of potential providers, selected providers having a best fit match based on the comparison of the plurality of attributes of said request and the plurality of attributes of said providers;
instantaneously communicating said request to the selected providers in the prioritized order;
providing at least one mechanism by which the selected providers can instantly respond to accept the work assignment;
receiving a plurality of responses from at least a subset of the selected providers;
analyzing said plurality of responses to determine a best fit response based on the best fit match;
filling the work assignment by selecting the best fit response as a winning provider; and
communicating said filling the work assignment to the requestor and the winning provider.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention is directed to a computer-implemented method, system and apparatus to enable data-driven, multi-channel communications to facilitate business processes. By providing more than one channel for communication between market participants, which includes suppliers and consumers, real-time requests for information, services, or the like can be solicited in a way that those selected to provide responses have certain attributes, and the supplier is selected for the solicitation automatically and instantaneously notified of the request based on automatic selection of those attributes. The notification is instantaneously communicated using more than one channel of communication, potentially in a mode that the potential supplier has indicated is a more likely way of actually and instantly receiving the request. The system further provides at least one mechanism by which all of the selected suppliers can instantly respond to the request, which is then communicated to the requestor.
45 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A computer-implemented method to enable data-driven communications to fulfill a work assignment comprising:
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performing the method steps automatically under the control of at least one processor, the method further comprising; receiving a request from a requestor to fill the work assignment, the work assignment having a plurality of attributes including; at least one attribute indicating a priority of the request, and at least one of a plurality of other attributes; accessing the database of potential providers, the stored database including a plurality of attributes for each provider including; at least one particular attribute selected from the group comprising; an attribute indicating a satisfaction rating of the provider with respect to at least one completed work assignment, an attribute indicating credentialing information of the provider, and an attribute indicating seniority of the provider; and at least one of a plurality of other provider attributes; comparing the plurality of attributes of said request against the plurality of attributes of said providers stored in said database of potential providers; selecting, in a prioritized order from said stored database of potential providers, selected providers having a best fit match based on the comparison of the plurality of attributes of said request and the plurality of attributes of said providers; instantaneously communicating said request to the selected providers in the prioritized order; providing at least one mechanism by which the selected providers can instantly respond to accept the work assignment; receiving a plurality of responses from at least a subset of the selected providers; analyzing said plurality of responses to determine a best fit response based on the best fit match; filling the work assignment by selecting the best fit response as a winning provider; and communicating said filling the work assignment to the requestor and the winning provider. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9)
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8. The method of claim l further comprising:
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said receiving the request being more than one request at a time, said attributes including at least date and time information; creating a calendar event for each of said requests, said calendar event being created immediately subsequent to receiving each of said requests.
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10. A program storage device readable by a machine, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by the machine to perform method steps for enabling data-driven communications to automatically fulfill a work assignment, the method steps comprising:
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performing the method steps automatically under the control of at least one processor, the method further comprising; receiving a request from a requestor to fill the work assignment, the work assignment having a plurality of attributes including; at least one attribute indicating a priority of the request, and at least one of a plurality of other attributes; accessing the database of potential providers, the stored database including a plurality of attributes for each provider including; at least one particular attribute selected from the group comprising; an attribute indicating a satisfaction rating of the provider with respect to at least one completed work assignment, an attribute indicating credentialing information of the provider, and an attribute indicating seniority of the provider; and at least one of a plurality of other provider attributes; comparing the plurality of attributes of said request against the plurality of attributes of said providers stored in said database of potential providers; selecting, in a prioritized order from said stored database of potential providers, selected providers having a best fit match based on the comparison of the plurality of attributes of said request and the plurality of attributes of said providers; instantaneously communicating said request to the selected providers in the prioritized order; providing at least one mechanism by which the selected providers can instantly respond to accept the work assignment; receiving a plurality of responses from at least a subset of the selected providers; analyzing the plurality of responses from the selected providers to determine a best fit response based on the best-fit match; filling the work assignment by selecting the best fit response as a winning provider; and communicating said filling the work assignment to the requestor and the winning provider. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A system for fulfillment of a work assignment and for receiving instantaneous communication from a provider, comprising:
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an interface device configured to receive user input of a request to fill a work assignment, the assignment having certain attributes; a storage device configured to store a database of potential providers qualified to fill the work assignment; a computer program configured to; receive the request to fill the work assignment, the work assignment having a plurality of attributes including; at least one attribute indicating a priority of the request, and at least one of a plurality of other attributes; access the database of potential providers, the stored database including a plurality of attributes for each provider including; at least one particular attribute selected from the group comprising; an attribute indicating a satisfaction rating of the provider with respect to at least one completed work assignment, an attribute indicating credentialing information of the provider, and an attribute indicating seniority of the provider; at least one of a plurality of other provider attributes; compare the plurality of attributes of said request against the plurality of attributes of said providers a stored in said database of potential providers; and select, in a prioritized order from said stored database of providers, selected providers having a best-fit match based on the comparison of the plurality of attributes of said request and the plurality of attributes of said providers; a communication device configured to instantaneously send said request to the selected providers in the prioritized order and receive a plurality of responses from at least a subset of the selected providers; the computer program further configured to analyze said plurality of responses to determine a best fit response based on the best fit match and fill the work assignment by selecting the best fit response as a winning provider; and the communication device further configured to communicate said filling the work assignment to the requestor and the winning provider. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification