Electronic commerce utilizing a value parameter
First Claim
1. A method of electronic commerce comprising:
- providing access to information related to a product to a prospective purchaser of the product via an information network;
receiving application specific information related to prospective use of the product from the prospective purchaser via the information network;
producing data responsive to the application specific information from the prospective purchaser and indicative of a calculated value of the product to the prospective purchaser arising from a prospective purchase and use of the product; and
communicating the data to the prospective purchaser via the information network.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A method and apparatus for conducting electronic commerce wherein a prospective purchaser is given data indicative of a calculated value of a product to the prospective purchaser arising from the prospective purchase and use of the product. A prospective purchaser provides application specific information to a supplier via an Internet web page to identify the anticipated conditions of use of a product under consideration. The supplier calculates a value parameter responsive to the application specific information and communicates it back to the prospective purchaser. The value parameter may include, for example, return on investment, pay-back period, fuel savings, reduction in operating cost, etc. The value parameters for several alternative products may be compared and a recommended product identified. The application specific information provided by the prospective purchaser may be analyzed to identify further sales opportunities.
40 Citations
28 Claims
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1. A method of electronic commerce comprising:
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providing access to information related to a product to a prospective purchaser of the product via an information network;
receiving application specific information related to prospective use of the product from the prospective purchaser via the information network;
producing data responsive to the application specific information from the prospective purchaser and indicative of a calculated value of the product to the prospective purchaser arising from a prospective purchase and use of the product; and
communicating the data to the prospective purchaser via the information network. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method of electronic commerce comprising:
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providing access to information related to a plurality of products to a prospective purchaser via an information network;
receiving application specific information related to prospective use of at least two of the products from the prospective purchaser via the information network;
producing data responsive to the application specific information from the prospective purchaser and indicative of calculated values of the products to a prospective purchaser arising from the prospective purchase and use of each of the at least two of the products; and
communicating the data to the prospective purchaser via the global information network. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13)
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14. A method of electronic commerce comprising:
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providing access to information related to a product to a prospective purchaser of the product via an information network;
receiving application specific information related to prospective use of the product from the prospective purchaser via the information network;
producing data responsive to the application specific information from the prospective purchaser and indicative of a calculated value of the product to the prospective purchaser arising from a prospective purchase and use of the product;
communicating the data to the prospective purchaser; and
using the application specific information to identify a further sales opportunity.
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15. A method of electronic commerce comprising:
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providing access to information related to a locomotive upgrade product to a prospective purchaser via an information network;
receiving railway specific information related to prospective use of a locomotive utilizing the locomotive upgrade product from the prospective purchaser via the information network;
producing a return on investment parameter responsive to the railway specific information from the prospective purchaser and indicative of a calculated value of the product to the prospective purchaser arising from a prospective purchase and use of the locomotive upgrade product; and
communicating the return on investment parameter to the prospective purchaser via the information network. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17)
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18. A method of electronic commerce comprising:
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providing access to information related to a locomotive upgrade product to a prospective purchaser via an information network;
receiving railway specific information related to prospective use of a locomotive utilizing the locomotive upgrade product from the prospective purchaser via the information network;
producing a fuel savings parameter for the locomotive upgrade product responsive to the railway specific information from the prospective purchaser; and
communicating the fuel savings parameter to the prospective purchaser via the information network. - View Dependent Claims (19)
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20. A method of electronic commerce comprising:
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providing access to information related to a product to a prospective purchaser via an Internet web site;
requesting application specific information related to prospective use of the product from the prospective purchaser via the Internet web site;
providing default data for a portion of the application specific information for which the prospective purchaser need not provide application specific data;
producing value data responsive to the application specific information and indicative of a calculated value of the product to the prospective purchaser arising from purchase and use of the product; and
communicating the value data to the prospective purchaser via the Internet site. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22)
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23. A method of electronic commerce between a prospective purchaser who manages a fleet of vehicles and a supplier of equipment, the method comprising:
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a supplier providing access to product information related to at least one product for prospective use in the fleet of vehicles via an information network;
a prospective purchaser providing fleet information specific to a fleet of vehicles to the supplier;
the supplier producing data responsive to the fleet information and indicative of a calculated value of the product to the prospective purchaser arising from a perspective purchase and use of the at least one product for at least one vehicle in the fleet; and
the supplier communicating the data to the prospective purchaser via the information network. - View Dependent Claims (24)
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25. An apparatus for conducting electronic commerce comprising:
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a supplier data processor having access to data related to a plurality of products and having access to an information network;
a prospective purchaser data processor having access to the information network for displaying the data related to the products and for providing to the supplier data processor application specific data related to prospective use of at least one of the products by the prospective purchaser;
program instructions executable by the supplier data processor to generate value data responsive to the application specific data and representing a calculated value to the prospective purchaser arising from a prospective purchase and use of the at least one of the products.
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26. A machine-readable data storage medium encoded with a set of machine-executable instructions for using a data processing system to perform a method for conducting electronic commerce, the method comprising:
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providing access to information related to a product to a prospective purchaser of the product via an information network;
receiving application specific information related to prospective use of the product from the prospective purchaser via the information network;
producing data responsive to the application specific information and indicative of a calculated value of the product to the prospective purchaser arising from a prospective purchase and use of the product; and
communicating the data to the prospective purchaser.
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27. A method of electronic commerce comprising:
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providing an Internet web site for the exchange of information related to a plurality of locomotive products;
obtaining information related to an existing locomotive owned by a prospective purchaser via the Internet web site;
providing a list of potential replacement locomotives to the prospective purchaser via the Internet web site, the list of potential replacement locomotives being responsive to the existing locomotive information;
calculating a value parameter comparing each of the potential replacement locomotives to the existing locomotive, the value parameter comprising at least one of a fuel savings parameter, a replacement ratio, and an increased tonnage opportunity; and
communicating the value parameters to the prospective purchasers via the Internet web site. - View Dependent Claims (28)
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Specification