METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR MANAGING INVITATIONS TO BID

• US 20110161192A1
• Filed: 01/07/2011
• Published: 06/30/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 10/20/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AIS Management GmbH
• Original Assignee: AIS Management GmbH
• Inventors: MODEREGGER, Wolfgang, STEINLEHNER, Christian
• Granted Patent: US 8,352,324 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/26.3
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0611 Request for offers or quotes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/08 Auctions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/04 Trading; Exchange, e.g. stocks, commodities, derivatives or currency exchange

Abstract

A system and method for managing the drafting, submission, and evaluation of invitations to bid for the delivery of one or more products and/or services. An archival database of performance descriptions and prices is utilized to generate a list of desired performances; the list being automatically distributed to a plurality of selected potential bidders. Upon receipt of the submitted bids, the system evaluates the bids based on price, past pricings, and bidder performance history. A bid is selected as the winning bid, and a contract listing the desired performances is generated and forwarded to the successful bidder. During contract performance, bidder performance is monitored, with the results being added to a historical database for subsequent use in the bid evaluation and selection process. The contents of the successful bid, including any new performance descriptions drafted during the generation of the bid, are added to the archival database for use in future bid invitation generation applications.

Claims

1. A system for conducting invitations for bids for at least one contract awarder, wherein the bidding method is carried out for at least one performance to be effected by a bidder, comprising:

a data storage device storing at least performance descriptions and price descriptions, wherein assigned to a plurality of predetermined performances there is stored at least one performance description and one price description for effecting the performance;

a communications device forwarding performance descriptions selected from the stored performance descriptions to a party submitting an invitation for bids;

a first receiving device receiving a list of performances, from the party submitting an invitation for bids, generated from the forwarded performance descriptions;

a first transmission device forwarding the list of performances to a plurality of bidders;

a second receiving device receiving bids from at least one bidder of the plurality of bidders, each bid comprising at least one bid price determined by the bidder, which bid price is assigned to a performance description of the forwarded list of performances, which bid price states the amount to be paid to the bidder for effecting the respective performance by the bidder;

a second transmission device transmitting the received bids to the party submitting the invitation for bids;

a third receiving device receiving information regarding a bid selected by the party submitting the invitation for bids; and

an update device updating the price descriptions stored in the data storage device based on at least one bid price of the bid selected by the party submitting the invitation for bids.

2. A computer system for carrying out an invitation for bids for at least one performance to be effected by a bidder, comprising:

a first transmission device transmitting a request to a remote server for transmitting a plurality of performance descriptions assigned to predetermined performances;

a first receiving device receiving the transmitted plurality of performance descriptions;

a selection device selecting at least one performance description from the plurality of received performance descriptions;

a second transmission device transmitting information regarding the selected performance descriptions to the remote server;

a second receiving device receiving, from a plurality of bidders, prices assigned to the selected performance descriptions;

a processor determining one of the bidders as a selected bidder; and

a third transmission device transmitting to the remote server information designating the selected bidder.

3. The computer system according to claim 2, further comprising an indication device, said indication device generating a mask which shows in a column line by line, one below the other, data characterizing the selected performance descriptions, and which in a plurality of further columns shows the prices received from the plurality of bidders such that each bidder is assigned a separate column and the prices assigned to the same performance descriptions are arranged in the same line.

4. The computer system according to claim 3, further comprising an input device inputting a request for modification of the assignment of the bidders to the plurality of further columns.

5. A system for managing an invitation for bids for at least one performance to be effected by a bidder, comprising:

a storage device archiving a plurality of performances in a descriptions database, wherein each archived performance includes a performance description;

a first processor generating a list of desired performances from the archived performances;

a transmission device distributing the generated list of performances to a plurality of bidders;

a receiving device receiving a bid submitted from at least one of the plurality of bidders, wherein each submitted bid includes a price assigned to at least one of the distributed list of performances and wherein the assigned price is the bid price to be paid to the bidder for effecting the respective performance by the bidder;

a second processor evaluating the received bids and automatically selecting a bid from the bids received; and

an update device updating the archived descriptions database with the prices from the selected bid.