Methods and systems for purchase of commodities

• US 7,840,475 B2
• Filed: 08/01/2002
• Issued: 11/23/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 08/01/2002
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Farms Technology, LLC (Corteva, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Farms Technology, LLC (Corteva, Inc.)
• Inventors: Fritsch, Daniel Scott, Tatge, Jason G
• Primary Examiner(s): Thein; M.
• Application Number:
  US10/209,994
• Publication Number:
  US 20040024648A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,036 Days
• Field of Search: 705/26, 705/27, 705/37, 705/28, 705/29
• US Class Current: 705/37
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0226 Incentive systems for frequent usage, e.g. frequent flyer miles programs or point systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0635 Processing of requisition or of purchase orders
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0641 Shopping interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/08 Auctions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/04 Trading; Exchange, e.g. stocks, commodities, derivatives or currency exchange

Abstract

The invention is directed to methods and systems for commodities procurement with concomitant hedging. The invention enables automatic commodity purchase at a desired basis level when a seller'"'"'s price matches a buyer'"'"'s basis bid and concomitantly automatically placing an electronic commodities order to hedge the buyer'"'"'s purchase.

Claims

1. A commodity purchasing system, comprising:

a data storage device;

a processor connected to the data storage device;

a plurality of buyer interfaces, recorded on the data storage device, comprising a set of pictures, text or voice statements that provide instructions and protocols that will cause a respective plurality of buyer-operated computers to display to a respective plurality of buyers sell data received from a seller, and to receive from the plurality of buyers hedge transaction data and bid data, said hedge transaction data for each buyer including a hedge commodity, and said bid data for each buyer including a basis for a desired commodity;

a network connection to a commodity exchange that periodically receives a real-time exchange rate quote for the hedge commodity;

a bid generating program, comprising computer-readable instructions to cause the processor to periodically update the bid data for each buyer in the plurality of buyers so that said bid data for said each buyer includes an updated bid price for the desired commodity, wherein said bid generating program calculates said updated bid price by subtracting said each buyer'"'"'s basis from the real-time exchange rate quote;

a seller interface, recorded on the data storage device, comprising a set of pictures, text or voice statements that provide instructions and protocols that will cause a seller-operated computer to display to the seller the bid data received from the plurality of buyers, and to receive the sell data from the seller, said sell data including a net sell price for the desired commodity and, for each buyer in the plurality of buyers, a transaction cost associated with selling the desired commodity to said each buyer, wherein said transaction cost is based on a cost the seller will incur or avoid in connection with delivering the desired commodity at a time and a location specified by said each buyer;

an offer generating program, comprising computer-readable instructions that cause the processor to periodically update the sell data for the seller so that the sell data includes a plurality of specific offers for the plurality of buyers, respectively, each specific offer including a specific sell price for each buyer, the specific sell price being calculated by adding the transaction cost associated with said each buyer to the net sell price; and

a conformance monitoring program, comprising computer-readable instructions that cause the processor to periodically compare the bid data for each buyer in the plurality of buyers to the specific offer for said each buyer, and send an alert to the seller and a particular buyer in the plurality of buyers if a conformance is detected between the bid data for said particular buyer and the specific offer for said particular buyer;

wherein, the processor, operating under control of the conformance monitoring program, detects the conformance when (i) the updated bid price in the bid data for the particular buyer matches the specific sell price in the specific offer for the particular buyer, (ii) a quality specification in the bid data for said particular buyer matches a quality attribute in the specific offer for the particular buyer, (iii) a type specification in the bid data for said particular buyer matches a type attribute in the specific offer for the particular buyer, and (iv) a color specification in the bid data for said particular buyer matches a color attribute in the specific offer for the particular buyer.

2. The commodity purchasing system of claim 1, wherein the hedge commodity and the desired commodity are the same.

3. The commodity purchasing system of claim 1, wherein the seller interface comprises an interactive web page.

4. The commodity purchasing system of claim 1, wherein the seller interface comprises an e-mail transmittal.

5. The commodity purchasing system of claim 1, wherein the seller interface comprises a voice message.

6. The commodity purchasing system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of buyer interfaces comprises a respective plurality of interactive web pages.

7. The commodity purchasing system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of buyer interfaces comprises a respective plurality of e-mail transmittals.

8. The commodity purchasing system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of buyer interfaces comprises a respective plurality of voice messages.

9. The commodity purchasing system of claim 1, wherein the bid generating program, the offer generating program and the conformance monitoring program are embodied in one computer program.

10. The commodity purchasing system of claim 1, wherein said offer generation program is further configured to cause the processor to remove the plurality of specific offers from the sell data of the seller responsive to the conformance monitoring program causing the processor to send the alert.

11. The commodity purchasing system of claim 1, wherein the alert comprises one or more e-mail messages.

12. The commodity purchasing system of claim 1, wherein the alert is presented to the seller via the seller interface.

13. The commodity purchasing system of claim 1, wherein the alert is presented to the particular buyer via a buyer interface associated with the particular buyer.

14. The commodity purchasing system of claim 1, further comprising:

a plurality of seller interfaces, recorded on the data storage device, each comprising a set of pictures, text or voice statements that provide instructions and protocols that will cause a respective plurality of seller-operated computers to display to a respective plurality of sellers the bid data received from the plurality of buyers, and to receive sell data from the plurality of sellers, said sell data including, for each seller, a net sell price for the desired commodity and, for each buyer in the plurality of buyers, the transaction cost associated with selling the desired commodity to said each buyer;

wherein

the offer generating program further comprises computer-readable instructions that cause the processor to periodically update the sell data for the plurality of sellers so that the sell data includes, for each seller, a plurality of specific offers for the plurality of buyers, respectively, each specific offer including the specific sell price for each buyer, the specific sell price being calculated by adding the transaction cost associated with said each buyer to the net sell price, and

the conformance monitoring program further comprises computer-readable instructions that cause the processor to periodically compare the bid data for each buyer in the plurality of buyers to the specific offer for said each buyer from each seller, and sends an alert to a particular seller in the plurality of sellers and a particular buyer in the plurality of buyers if a conformance is detected between the bid data for said particular buyer and the particular seller'"'"'s specific offer for said particular buyer.

15. A commodity purchasing system, comprising:

a web page server;

a central processor;

a commodity-purchasing software program, residing on the web page server;

a plurality of buyer interface web pages on the web page server configured to cause a respective plurality of buyer-operated computers to display to a respective plurality of buyers sell data received from a seller, and to transmit to the central processor hedge transaction data and bid data received from the plurality of buyers, said hedge transaction data for each buyer including a hedge commodity, and said bid data for each buyer including a basis for a desired commodity;

a seller interface web page on the web page server configured to cause a seller-operated computer to display to the seller the bid data received from the plurality of buyers, and to transmit to the central processor sell data received from the seller, said sell data including a net sell price for the desired commodity and, for each buyer in the plurality of buyers, a transaction cost associated with selling the desired commodity to said each buyer, wherein said transaction cost is based on a cost the seller will incur or avoid in connection with delivering the desired commodity at a time and a location specified by said each buyer;

and

a commodity exchange network connection that periodically delivers to the central processor a real-time exchange rate quote for the hedge commodity;

wherein the commodity-purchasing software program comprises a set of computer-readable instructions to cause the central processor and web page server to

transmit the plurality of buyer interface web pages to the plurality of buyer-operated computers and to transmit the seller interface web page to the seller-operated computer,

periodically update the bid data presented by the seller interface web page so that said bid data includes an updated bid price for the desired commodity for each buyer in the plurality of buyers, said updated bid price being calculated by subtracting said each buyer'"'"'s basis from the real-time exchange rate quote,

periodically update the sell data presented by the plurality of buyer interface web pages so that the sell data for the seller includes a specific offer for each buyer in the plurality of buyers, each specific offer including a specific sell price for said each buyer, wherein the commodity-purchasing software program calculates the specific sell price for said each buyer by adding the transaction cost associated with said each buyer to the net sell price, and

periodically compare the bid data for each buyer in the plurality of buyers to the specific offer for said each buyer, and send an alert to the seller and a particular buyer in the plurality of buyers if a conformance is detected between the bid data for said particular buyer and the specific offer for said particular buyer;

wherein, the commodity-purchasing software program is configured to cause the central processor to detect the conformance when (i) the updated bid price in the bid data for the particular buyer matches the specific sell price in the specific offer for the particular buyer, (ii) a quality specification in the bid data for said particular buyer matches a quality attribute in the specific offer for the particular buyer, (iii) a type specification in the bid data for said particular buyer matches a type attribute in the specific offer for the particular buyer, and (iv) a color specification in the bid data for said particular buyer matches a color attribute in the specific offer for the particular buyer.

16. The commodity purchasing system of claim 15, wherein the hedge commodity and the desired commodity are the same.

17. The commodity purchasing system of claim 15, wherein, responsive to the alert, the commodity-purchasing software program is further configured to cause the central processor and the web page server to remove the plurality of specific offers from the sell data displayed by the plurality of buyer interface web pages.

18. The commodity purchasing system of claim 15, wherein the alert is presented to the seller via the seller interface web page.

19. The commodity purchasing system of claim 15, wherein the alert is presented to the particular buyer via a buyer interface web page transmitted to the particular buyer.

20. The commodity purchasing system of claim 15, further comprising:

a plurality of seller interface web pages on the web server configured to cause a respective plurality of seller-operated computers to display to a respective plurality of sellers the bid data received from the plurality of buyers, and to transmit to the central processor sell data received from the plurality of sellers, said sell data including, for each seller, a net sell price for the desired commodity and, for each buyer in the plurality of buyers, a transaction cost associated with selling the desired commodity to said each buyer;

wherein the commodity-purchasing software program is further configured to cause the central processor and the web page server to

periodically update the bid data presented by each seller interface web page so that said bid data includes an updated bid price for the desired commodity for each buyer in the plurality of buyers, wherein said updated bid price is calculated by subtracting said each buyer'"'"'s basis from the real-time exchange rate quote,

periodically update the sell data presented by the plurality of buyer interface web pages so that the sell data on each buyer interface web page includes a plurality of specific offers from said plurality of sellers, each specific offer including a specific sell price for said each buyer, wherein the specific sell price for said each buyer is calculated by adding the transaction cost associated with said each buyer to the net sell price, and

periodically compare the bid data received from each buyer in the plurality of buyers to the specific offer for said each buyer received from the plurality of sellers, and send an alert to a particular seller in the plurality of sellers and a particular buyer in the plurality of buyers if a conformance is detected between the bid data for said particular buyer and the particular seller'"'"'s specific offer for said particular buyer.

21. A method for purchasing commodities on a computer system comprising a central processor, a web page server and a network connection to a commodities exchange, the method comprising:

using the web page server and the central processor to transmit to a plurality of buyer-operated computers a respective plurality of buyer web pages for a respective plurality of buyers, each buyer web page being configured to cause the buyer-operated computer to display sell data received from a seller and to receive from the plurality of buyers hedge transaction data and bid data, said hedge transaction data for each buyer including a hedge commodity, and said bid data for each buyer including a basis for a desired commodity;

periodically receiving on the central processor, via the network connection to the commodities exchange, a real-time exchange rate quote for the hedge commodity;

using the web page server and the central processor to periodically update the bid data for each buyer in the plurality of buyers so that said bid data for said each buyer includes an updated bid price for the desired commodity, wherein said central processor calculates the updated bid price by subtracting said each buyer'"'"'s basis from the real-time exchange rate quote;

using the web page server and the central processor to transmit to a seller-operated computer a seller web page configured to cause the seller-operated computer to display the bid data received from the plurality of buyers and to receive from the seller the sell data, said sell data including a net sell price for the desired commodity and, for each buyer in the plurality of buyers, a transaction cost associated with selling the desired commodity to said each buyer, wherein said transaction cost is based on a cost the seller will incur or avoid in connection with delivering the desired commodity at a time and a location specified by said each buyer;

using the central processor to periodically update the sell data for the seller so that the sell data includes a plurality of specific offers for the plurality of buyers, respectively, each specific offer including a specific sell price for each buyer, wherein the central processor calculates the specific sell price by adding the transaction cost associated with said each buyer to the net sell price; and

using the central processor to periodically compare the bid data for each buyer in the plurality of buyers to the specific offer for said each buyer to determine whether a conformance exists between the bid data for a particular buyer in the plurality of buyers and the specific offer for said particular buyer; and

if a conformance exists, causing the central processor to send an electronic alert to the seller-operated computer and the buyer-operated computer for the particular buyer;

wherein, the central processor is configured to determine that the conformance exist when (i) the updated bid price in the bid data for the particular buyer matches the specific sell price in the specific offer for the particular buyer, (ii) a quality specification in the bid data for said particular buyer matches a quality attribute in the specific offer for the particular buyer, (iii) a type specification in the bid data for said particular buyer matches a type attribute in the specific offer for the particular buyer, and (iv) a color specification in the bid data for said particular buyer matches a color attribute in the specific offer for the particular buyer.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the hedge commodity and the desired commodity are the same.

23. The method of claim 21, further comprising using the web page server to remove the plurality of specific offers from the sell data of the seller upon sending the electronic alert.

24. The method of claim 21, wherein sending the electronic alert comprises sending one or more e-mail messages.

25. The method of claim 21, wherein sending the electronic alert to the seller comprises sending a notification to the seller via the seller interface.

26. The method of claim 21, wherein sending the electronic alert to the buyer-operated computer comprises modifying the buyer web page displayed on the buyer-operated computer.

27. The method of claim 21, further comprising:

using the web page server and the central processor to transmit a plurality of seller web pages to a respective plurality of seller-operated computers, each seller web page being configured to cause each seller-operated computer to display the bid data received from the plurality of buyers, and to receive sell data from a plurality of sellers, said sell data including, for each seller, a net sell price for the desired commodity and, for each buyer in the plurality of buyers, a transaction cost associated with selling the desired commodity to said each buyer;

using the web page server and the central processor to periodically update the sell data for the plurality of sellers so that the sell data includes, for each seller, a plurality of specific offers for the plurality of buyers, respectively, each specific offer including a specific sell price for each buyer, wherein the specific sell price is calculated by the central processor by adding the transaction cost associated with said each buyer to the net sell price;

using the central processor to periodically compare the bid data for each buyer in the plurality of buyers to the specific offer for said each buyer from each seller in the plurality of sellers to determine if a conformance exists between the bid data for said particular buyer and a particular seller'"'"'s specific offer for said particular buyer; and

using the central processor to send an electronic alert to the seller-operated computer for the particular seller in the plurality of sellers and the buyer-operated computer for a particular buyer in the plurality of buyers if the central processor determines that said conformance exists.