Locally generating price quotes using one or more pricing tools received from a seller

• US 7,620,575 B1
• Filed: 08/31/2001
• Issued: 11/17/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 08/31/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Blue Yonder Group, Inc. (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: i2 Technologies US Incorporated (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Tenorio, Manoel
• Primary Examiner(s): CHEUNG, MARY DA ZHI WANG
• Application Number:
  US09/945,297
• Time in Patent Office: 3,000 Days
• Field of Search: 705/20, 705 26- 27, 705/35, 705/37, 705/64, 705 74- 78, 705/400, 705/409, 235/378, 235/94.A, 235/61.M, 235/58.PS, 707/1
• US Class Current: 705/35
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/201 Price look-up processing, e.g. updating
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/00 Finance; Insurance; Tax strategies; Processing of corporate or income taxes

Abstract

A system includes one or more computers associated with a buyer for locally generating price quotes. The one or more computers receive a pricing tool from a seller, the pricing tool operable to generate price quotes for the seller, and locally store the pricing tool received from the seller such that the pricing tool is locally accessible to the one or more computers associated with the buyer. The one or more computers access a request for quote (RFQ) specifying an order including quantities of one or more items, the RFQ requesting a price quote for the order, and communicate the RFQ to the locally accessible pricing tool. Using the locally accessible pricing tool received from the seller, the one or more computers locally generate a price quote for the order. The one or more computers provide the locally generated price quote for the order for possible further action by the buyer.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented system for locally generating price quotes, comprising:

a plurality of buyer computers coupled with a plurality of sellers via a network, each of the plurality of buyer computers comprising a database and a server, wherein a buyer associated with the plurality of buyer computers comprises a buying group comprising two or more buyers buying items as a single buying entity, each server configured to;

receive a plurality of pricing tools from the plurality of sellers, each pricing tool configured to generate price quotes for at least one corresponding seller;

locally store the pricing tools received from the plurality of sellers such that the pricing tools are locally accessible to the server associated with the buying group;

access a request for quote (RFQ) specifying an order comprising quantities of one or more items, the RFQ requesting one or more price quotes for the order;

communicate the RFQ to the locally accessible pricing tools;

using the locally accessible pricing tools received from the plurality of sellers, locally generate one or more price quotes for the order;

provide the locally generated price quotes for the order for possible further action by the buying group;

make one or more modifications to the order specified in the RFQ, the modifications being made based on the price quote for the order generated using the locally accessible pricing tools received from the plurality of sellers;

using the locally accessible pricing tools received from the plurality of sellers, locally generate one or more price quotes for the modified order, provide the locally generated price quotes for the modified order for possible further action by the buyer;

iteratively modify the order and locally generate corresponding price quotes to optimize sourcing for the buying group; and

receive a pricing tool update for a particular locally accessible pricing tool, the pricing tool update reflecting one or more price changes for at least one seller, and update the particular locally accessible pricing tool according to the received pricing tool update.

2. A computer-implemented system for locally generating price quotes, the system comprising:

a plurality of buyer computers coupled with a plurality of sellers via a network, each of the plurality of buyer computers comprising a database and a server, each server configured to;

receive one or more pricing tools from one or more of the plurality of sellers, the one or more pricing tools configured to generate one or more price quotes for one or more corresponding plurality of sellers;

locally store the one or more pricing tools received from one or more of the plurality of sellers in the database coupled with each of the plurality of buyer computers, such that the one or more pricing tools are locally accessible to the server coupled with each of the plurality of buyer computers;

access a request for quote (RFQ) specifying an order comprising quantities of one or more items, the RFQ requesting a price quote for the order;

communicate the RFQ to the locally accessible one or more pricing tools stored in the database;

using the locally accessible one or more pricing tools received from one or more of the plurality of sellers, locally generate, at the corresponding buyer computer, one or more price quotes for the order; and

provide the locally generated one or more price quotes for the order for possible further action by the corresponding buyer computer.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the one or more pricing tools are encrypted to prevent the one or more pricing tools from being used to determine how price quotes are calculated.

4. The system of claim 2, wherein a buyer associated with the plurality of buyer computers comprises a buying group comprising two or more buyers buying items as a single buying entity.

5. The system of claim 2, wherein the server is further configured to:

receive a pricing tool update from a seller, the pricing tool update reflecting one or more price changes for the seller; and

update the locally accessible one or more pricing tools according to the received pricing tool update.

6. The system of claim 2, wherein the server is further configured to:

make one or more modifications to the order specified in the RFQ, the modifications being made based on the price quote for the order generated using the locally accessible one or more pricing tools received from one or more of the plurality of sellers;

using the locally accessible one or more pricing tools received from one or more of the plurality of sellers, locally generate a price quote for the modified order, and provide the locally generated price quote for the modified order for possible further action by the corresponding buyer computer.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the one or more modifications to the order are made automatically by the server coupled with each of the plurality of buyer computers based on the locally generated price quote for the order.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the server is configured to iteratively modify the order and locally generate corresponding price quotes to optimize sourcing for the corresponding buyer computer.

9. The system of claim 2, wherein the server is configured to locally generate the price quote independent of communication with one or more of the plurality of sellers subsequent to receiving the one or more pricing tools from one or more of the plurality of sellers.

10. A computer-implemented method for locally generating price quotes, comprising:

receiving one or more pricing tools from one or more of a plurality of sellers coupled with a plurality of buyer computers, each of the plurality of buyer computers comprising a database and a server, the one or more pricing tools received by the server and configured to generate one or more price quotes for one or more corresponding plurality of sellers;

locally storing, by the server, the one or more pricing tools received from one or more of the plurality of sellers in the database coupled with each of the plurality of buyer computers, such that the one or more pricing tools are locally accessible to the server;

accessing, by the server, a request for quote (RFQ) specifying an order comprising quantities of one or more items, the RFQ requesting a price quote for the order;

communicating, by the server, the RFQ to the locally accessible one or more pricing tools stored in the database;

using the locally accessible one or more pricing tools received from one or more of the plurality of sellers, locally generating, by the server, at the corresponding buyer computer, one or more price quotes for the order; and

providing, by the server, the locally generated one or more price quotes for the order for possible further action by the corresponding buyer computer.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the one or more pricing tools are encrypted to prevent the one or more pricing tools from being used to determine how price quotes are calculated.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein a buyer associated with the plurality of buyer computers comprises a buying group comprising two or more buyers buying items as a single buying entity.

13. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

receiving a pricing tool update from a seller, the pricing tool update reflecting one or more price changes for the seller; and

updating the locally accessible one or more pricing tools according to the received pricing tool update.

14. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

making one or more modifications to the order specified in the RFQ, the modifications being made based on the price quote for the order generated using the locally accessible one or more pricing tools received from one or more of the plurality of sellers;

using the locally accessible one or more pricing tools received from one or more of the plurality of sellers, locally generating a price quote for the modified order, and providing the locally generated price quote for the modified order for possible further action by the corresponding buyer computer.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the one or more modifications to the order are made automatically based on the locally generated price quote for the order.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising iteratively modifying the order and locally generating corresponding price quotes to optimize sourcing for the corresponding buyer computer.

17. The method of claim 10, wherein locally generating the price quote comprises generating the price quote independent of communication with one or more of the plurality of sellers subsequent to receiving the one or more pricing tools from one or more of the plurality of sellers.

18. Software associated with a plurality of buyer computers for locally generating price quotes, the software embodied in a computer-readable medium and when executed using one or more computers is configured to:

receive one or more pricing tools from one or more of a plurality of sellers coupled with a plurality of buyer computers, each of the plurality of buyer computers comprising a database and a server, the one or more pricing tools configured to generate one or more price quotes for one or more corresponding plurality of sellers;

locally store the one or more pricing tools received from one or more of the plurality of sellers in the database, such that the one or more pricing tools are locally accessible to the software associated with the buyer computer;

access a request for quote (RFQ) specifying an order comprising quantities of one or more items, the RFQ requesting a price quote for the order;

communicate the RFQ to the locally accessible one or more pricing tools stored in the database;

using the locally accessible one or more pricing tools received from one or more of the plurality of sellers, locally generate, at the corresponding buyer computer, one or more price quotes for the order; and

provide the locally generated one or more price quotes for the order for possible further action by the corresponding buyer computer.

19. The software of claim 18, wherein the one or more pricing tools are encrypted to prevent the one or more pricing tools from being used to determine how price quotes are calculated.

20. The software of claim 18, wherein a buyer associated with the plurality of buyer computers comprises a buying group comprising two or more buyers buying items as a single buying entity.

21. The software of claim 18, further configured to:

receive a pricing tool update from a seller, the pricing tool update reflecting one or more price changes for the seller; and

update the locally accessible one or more pricing tools according to the received pricing tool update.

22. The software of claim 18, further configured to:

make one or more modifications to the order specified in the RFQ, the modifications being made based on the price quote for the order generated using the locally accessible one or more pricing tools received from one or more of the plurality of sellers;

using the locally accessible one or more pricing tools received from one or more of the plurality of sellers, locally generate a price quote for the modified order, and provide the locally generated price quote for the modified order for possible further action by the corresponding buyer computer.

23. The software of claim 22, wherein the one or more modifications to the order are made automatically by a server coupled with the plurality of buyer computers based on the locally generated price quote for the order.

24. The software of claim 23, further configured to iteratively modify the order and locally generate corresponding price quotes to optimize sourcing for the corresponding buyer computer.

25. The software of claim 18, further configured to locally generate the price quote independent of communication with one or more of the plurality of sellers subsequent to receiving the one or more pricing tools from one or more of the plurality of sellers.

26. A computer-implemented system for locally generating price quotes, comprising:

a plurality of buyer computers coupled with a plurality of sellers via a network, each of the plurality of buyer computers comprising a database and a server, each server comprising;

means for receiving one or more pricing tools from one or more of the plurality of sellers, the one or more pricing tools configured to generate one or more price quotes for one or more corresponding plurality of sellers;

means for locally storing the one or more pricing tools received from one or more of the plurality of sellers in the database coupled with each of the plurality of buyer computers, such that the one or more pricing tools are locally accessible to the server coupled with each of the plurality of buyer computers;

means for accessing a request for quote (RFQ) specifying an order comprising quantities of one or more items, the RFQ requesting a price quote for the order;

means for communicating the RFQ to the locally accessible one or more pricing tools stored in the database;

means for locally generating, at the corresponding buyer computer, one or more price quotes for the order using the locally accessible one or more pricing tools received from one or more of the plurality of sellers; and

means for providing the locally generated one or more price quotes for the order for possible further action by the corresponding buyer computer.