Method and system for online sales and purchases

Abstract

Internet-based commercial network connects multiple qualified participant buyers and sellers. Items are made available for defined periods of time, referred to as an event (139). Event terms and conditions include item types, price, quantity, volume or units, discount, shipping terms (138). Reiterative offer and counteroffers permit negotiation of terms for an event. Participants may view anonymous competitive quotes for comparison and analysis. Pooled purchases and auctions are envisioned. Participants may create web presences and are subject to restrictions on access (141) and purchase (142) authority. Central system maintains participant data.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION[0001]This application is a division of U.S. application Ser. No. 10 / 399,196 filed Apr. 1, 2005 and naming as inventors Richard J. Solar, Oren L. Davis, Mirko Predosin, Diane L. Slonaker and Richard A. Russell and having the same title as this application, which was the U.S. National stage of, and claimed priority from, an international application No. PCT / US01 / 32180, filed Oct. 10, 2001, naming the above five inventors, and having the same title as this invention, that international application claimed priority from the U.S. provisional application, identically entitled, No. 60 / 239,141, filed Oct. 10, 2000, naming as inventors Oren L. Davis, Mirko Predosin, Diane L. Slonaker and Richard A. Russell. Priority from each of the above-identified earlier-filed applications is hereby claimed. Each of the above-identified, earlier-filed applications is hereby incorporated by reference.FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0002]This invention relates to a system, soft...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0014]Further, purchasing events may be spot buys. This event is opened to cover a pressing need for a particular item or items. That may arise from a shortage occurring because, for example, a retailer-buyer has run a sale on the particular item, because the retailer-seller wishes to extend a particularly successful promotion, or because a retailer-buyer has scheduled an ad for a particular item. The immediate need may be heightened by the buyer's inability to purchase the desired item from the buyer's usual suppliers. The spot buy event enables a spur of the moment buy to cover a real or anticipated shortage.

[0015]Where the event is a purchasing event, the event may be of several kinds. One is a market price event where the products sought to he purchased have a “going price” against which the sellers quote. In this kind of event, the quote may be plus or minus some variance from the market price. In that case, the system is able to convert this to a total price mathematically and display that to the purchaser. The second kind of event does not have a market price with respect to the items sought to be purchased, but rather the sellers quote the actual price intended on an item by item basis. In a preferred embodiment the system also provides certain improvements over the reverse auction that assists a buyer in the procurement of general merchandise items, large capital items or branded products. One such improvement aids the purchaser in evaluating the cost of money over time. Another improvement helps level the decision making process when purchasing similar products that are different brands.

[0016]The system is robust in the sense that it can accommodate variance in the unit of measure posted by a purchaser and the unit of measure on which a quote is made. For example, the desired purchase may be posted in cases and the responsive quote may be in pounds. The system can be equipped with conversion factors that will accommodate this, making the calculation of the total value of the quote so that the purchaser can readily compare quotes.

[0019]Participating sellers may increase their price offers or quote within a specified period of time as well as decrease them. This is to give inexperienced sellers the reassurance that it is possible to correct an error in pricing.

[0034]In one preferred embodiment, the system and method of the invention facilitates a buyer's choice between competitive branded products. This is done by affording a basis for comparing supplier's proposals. An objective comparison is afforded even though such terms as price, quantity, and additional funds may differ among the proposals. The system compares the gross margin that would result from a seller's proposal with the gross margin that would be achieved under the buyer's proposed terms. Dollar and percentage differences are shown. A comparison between sellers proposals is made based on how each proposal differs from each of the buyer's proposals.

Problems solved by technology

For any product that can be described and priced per item, per weight or by how it is packaged, procurement has often been inefficient and time consuming for purchasers and sellers alike.

Additionally, past procurement methods have not been certain to bring purchasers the best purchase terms available, or to assure sellers a reasonable opportunity to fairly compete.

This practice has been inefficient, time consuming and not competitive.

Sellers have been unable to react to competitive offers and purchasers have been denied the benefit of such reactive pricing.

These sites are not tailored to a particular business's procurement practices, however.

They do not afford the opportunity for a business purchaser to schedule an event among recognized, qualified business suppliers, during which many items required by the business purchaser are posted by that purchaser, and suppliers are unable to quote against one another, not just on price, but on other terms important to both the selling and purchasing parties.

In addition prior sites have not allowed for actual negotiation of contract terms of a negotiated contract.

Images