System and method for managing internet trading networks

• US 20030023497A1
• Filed: 03/02/2001
• Published: 01/30/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 03/02/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kyndryl Incorporated
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Wilson, Sherry L., Godoy, Glenn C., Musa, Mark A., Broden, Theresa W., Murphy, Jane M.
• Granted Patent: US 7,243,077 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/26
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0605 Supply or demand aggregation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0641 Shopping interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/08 Auctions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/00 Finance; Insurance; Tax strategies; Processing of corporate or income taxes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/04 Trading; Exchange, e.g. stocks, commodities, derivatives or currency exchange
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/06 Asset management; Financial planning or analysis
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/188 Electronic negotiation

Abstract

An Internet trading network is operated by establishing supplier memberships of suppliers providing offerings to the trading network; establishing customer memberships of customers providing volume commitments; consolidating all volume commitments for a particular commodity or service when negotiating an offering with the supplier; managing memberships and their accounts.

Claims

1. A method for operating a trading network, comprising the steps of:

establishing supplier memberships of suppliers providing offerings to said trading network;

establishing customer memberships to obtain customer benefits, with customers providing volume commitments selectively receiving higher benefits;

consolidating all volume commitments for a particular commodity or service;

negotiating an offering with said supplier with respect to said commodity or service;

managing supplier and customer membership including benefit package development; and

thereafter

managing accounts for trading network services rendered.

2. The method of claim 1, said consolidating step further comprising the step of determining a trading network level forecast for each of a plurality of commodities with which said trading network deals.

3. The method of claim 2, said consolidating step further comprising the step of defining a trading network level forecast for said commodities pertaining to a specific period of time.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of defining said benefit package as a plurality of portfolio items.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising the step of grouping a plurality of versions of said portfolio items under a portfolio item master.

10. The method of claim 8, further comprising the steps of identifying for each of a plurality of portfolio items the corresponding said commodities with which said trading network deals.

11. The method of claim 8, further comprising the steps of defining each said portfolio item as one of a purchase offering, a technology offering or a procurement business offering.

12. The method of claim 11, said purchase offering providing access selectively to a purchasing catalog or contract.

13. The method of claim 11, said technology offering allowing use of specific applications for a given business function and the IT infrastructure.

14. The method of claim 11, said procurement business offering being a value-add service that the trading network can offer for a fee.

15. The method of claim 8, further comprising the steps of

defining each said portfolio item as a trading network offered item or a supplier offering, said trading network offered item being offered directly from the trading network itself, not from any of the suppliers in the network;

and said supplier offering being a trading network portfolio item that is offered from one of said suppliers in the network as a line item within a supplier'"'"'s membership agreement.

16. The method of claim 8, further comprising the steps of:

defining disclosed and undisclosed fee types for portfolio items in said benefit package.

17. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of receiving as a participating customer company a company providing a volume commitment and agreeing to duration of membership and billing frequency provisions.

18. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of receiving as a supplier member of said trading network a supplier offering to customers in said trading network at least of a supplier offering as a trading network portfolio item, a supplier preference offering, and a catalog offering.

4. The method of claim if further comprising the step of customizing said benefit package for a set of said customers.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising the step of collecting into said benefit package a plurality of supplier offerings assignable as a benefit to said customer members.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising the steps of defining said benefit package as a custom package or a standard package, said custom package being a package which can only be assigned as a customer benefit to predefined set of customers and said standard package being a package which can be to any customer member.

7. The method of claim 5, further comprising the steps of defining said benefit package as a managed package or an unmanaged package, said managed package being a package for which a customer provides a. volume commitment and for which actual purchases are tracked against said commitment, and said unmanaged package being a package for which no volume commitment is required from said customer.

19. A method for managing a supplier for participation in trading network, comprising the steps of:

receiving from said trading network a volume commitment consolidating a plurality of trading network customer volume commitments for a particular commodity or service; and

thereafter

negotiating an offering with said trading network to supply to customer members of said trading network said commodity or service.

20. A method for managing a customer for participation in a trading network, comprising the steps of:

providing to said trading network a volume commitment with respect to a particular commodity or service; and

thereafter

receiving said commodity or service as a benefit of said trading network according to terms negotiated by said trading network with a supplier of said commodity or service.

21. A trading network system, comprising:

a trading network supplier membership entity establishing supplier memberships of suppliers providing offerings to said trading network;

a trading network customer entity establishing customer memberships Of customers providing volume commitments;

a trading network level forecast entity consolidating all volume commitments for a particular commodity or service; and

an offering entity negotiated with said suppliers with respect to said commitments for enabling said customer entities to receive said commodity or service;

a trading network portfolio item entity for facilitating supplier offering assignment to a customer benefit package;

a set of management controls for ensuring underlying applications use of membership attributes match agreement terms; and

a flexible membership pricing structure for facilitating billing appropriate to a given customer agreement.

22. The system of claim 21, further comprising a trading network level forecast entity for each of a plurality of commodities with which said trading network deals.

23. The system of claim 22, further comprising a trading network level forecast entity for defining for said commodities a specific period of time of availability.

24. The system of claim 22, said trading network package being assigned to a set of said customers as a membership benefit.

25. The system of claim 24, said trading network package further comprising a plurality of supplier offerings assignable as a benefit to said customer members.

26. The system of claim 25, said benefit comprising a custom package or a standard package, said custom package being a package which can only be assigned as a customer benefit to predefined set of companies, and said standard package being a package which can be to any customer member.

27. The system of claim 25, said benefit further comprising a managed package or an unmanaged package, said managed package being a package for which a customer provides a volume commitment and for which actual purchases are tracked against said commitment, and said unmanaged package being a package for which no volume commitment is required from said customer.

28. The system of claim 21, said trading network package including a plurality of portfolio items.

29. The system of claim 28;

, a plurality of versions of said portfolio items being grouped under a portfolio item master.

30. The system of claim 28, each of a plurality of portfolio items corresponding to commodities with which said trading network deals.

35. The system of claim 28, each said portfolio item being a trading network offered item or a supplier offering, said trading network offered item being offered directly from the trading network itself, not from any of the suppliers in the network;

and said supplier offering being a trading network portfolio item that is offered from one of said suppliers in the network as a line item within a supplier'"'"'s membership agreement.

36. The system of claim 28, said benefit defining for said portfolio items disclosed and undisclosed fee types.

37. The system of claim 21, further comprising as a participating customer company a company agreeing to duration of membership, billing frequency provisions and optionally providing a volume commitment.

38. The system of claim 21, further comprising as a supplier member of said trading network a supplier offering to customers in said trading network as a trading network portfolio item, at least one of a supplier offering, a supplier preference offering, and a catalog offering.

31. The system of claim 283, each said portfolio item comprising one of a purchase offering, a technology offering or a procurement business offering.

32. The system of claim 31, said purchase offering providing access selectively to a purchasing catalog or contract.

33. The system of claim 31 said technology offering allowing use of specific applications for a given business function and the IT infrastructure.

34. The system of claim 31, said procurement business offering being a value-add service that the trading network can offer for a fee.

39. A program storage device readable by a machine, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by a machine to perform method steps for operating a trading network, said method steps comprising:

establishing supplier memberships of suppliers providing offerings to said trading network;

establishing customer memberships to obtain customer benefits, with customers providing volume commitments selectively receiving higher benefits;

consolidating all volume commitments for a particular commodity or service;

thereafter

negotiating an offering with said supplier with respect to said commodity or service;

managing membership (both supplier and customer) including benefit package development; and

thereafter

managing accounts (billing, payments, etc) for Trading Network services rendered.

40. A computer program product or computer program element for operating a trading network according to the steps of:

establishing supplier memberships of suppliers providing offerings to said trading network;

establishing customer memberships to obtain membership

benefits with customers providing volume commitments selectively receiving higher benefits;

consolidating all volume commitments for a particular commodity or service;

negotiating an offering with said supplier with respect to said commodity or service.

managing supplier and customer membership including benefit package development; and

thereafter

managing accounts for trading network services rendered.