Collective procurement management system

Abstract

A collective procurement management system which permits multiple potential purchasers of a specific item or service to submit orders for the item or service on an ongoing basis. As orders enter the system, they are grouped such that potential purchasers are may “cooperate” in generating a collective bulk order so that all participants may obtain discount / volume pricing. Once a threshold level of order volume is obtained as a result of multiple orders, the grouped order is submitted to the supplier for fulfillment. The order is then fulfilled at a volume pricing level although individual portions of the collective order are routed to a plurality of purchasers. The present invention also includes a Reverse Auction Process (RAP) which, in one embodiment, operates to allow potential purchasers to select a product or service and set a maximum price that they are willing to pay for the same. Following submission of this information to the system, possibly including orders for the same item from other potential buyers, potential vendors bid to supply the item to the relevant buyers requesting the item.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0001] The present invention relates generally to automated systems and methods for transaction processing and more particularly to systems and methods for efficiently and optimally processing purchase and sale orders for goods and services. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] Business is all about commercial transactions. These transactions result in the critical revenue streams necessary for businesses to survive. In some cases, businesses purchase goods or services which are helpful or necessary for the company to operate. Goods and services may be purchased as “overhead” (e.g. pencils and pens for employees) or for redistribution to the ultimate consumer (e.g. software to be distributed by a PC seller in connection with the sale of PCs). [0003] While commercial transactions between parties have occurred practically since the beginning of time, the methodology by which they are conducted has evolved rapidly. This is especially true in recent years with the a...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

"The present invention is a transaction management system that allows multiple potential purchasers to place orders for products or services at a time. The system automatically groups together similar orders and sends them to the supplier for fulfillment. The supplier can adjust the level of control over the order as the order progresses. The system also allows potential purchasers to specify multiple price points for an order, which can influence the order's fulfillment. The system also allows potential purchasers to automate their purchasing process by submitting rolling orders to the system. Overall, the system provides a flexible and efficient way for suppliers and potential purchasers to negotiate deals and obtain desired goods and services."

Problems solved by technology

While these systems are extremely successful, they do suffer drawbacks.

In particular, these systems generally operate under the restriction that the supplier-purchaser relationship is predefined and relatively inflexible.

This can be disadvantageous to the purchaser not only in terms of pricing but also in terms of product / service quality and fitness for purpose.

In other words, the purchaser may, due to a prior commitment made to a supplier, be stuck with an inferior product / service or one that does not meet its needs as well as another product / service which would otherwise be available to the purchaser.

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