Deferred Purchase Request System for Vendor Selection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current online purchasing systems lack the ability to facilitate delayed purchase requests that can be issued at a future date, making it inconvenient for users to plan ahead for gifts, anniversaries, or business needs without requiring significant infrastructure investments.
Innovation Solution
A publicly accessible deferred purchasing system that allows users to enter deferred purchase requests with a specified issue date, which automatically generates and sends purchase orders to vendors via various network interfaces, including telecommunication and web-based platforms, using technologies like Jain SLEE and Parlay environments.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a publicly accessible deferred purchasing system is implemented, then users can plan and manage purchases in advance with convenience, but the system requires significant infrastructure investment and complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a deferred purchase request system as an intermediary layer between users and vendors. This system receives deferred purchase requests from users, stores them with specified issue dates, and automatically transmits them to vendors when the issue date is reached. This intermediary mechanism enables advance purchase planning without requiring users to directly manage complex vendor relationships or infrastructure, thus improving ease of operation while managing system complexity through a standardized interface.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the core functionality of deferred purchasing from complex existing e-commerce infrastructure. By separating the deferred purchase request acceptance and transmission functions from full-featured online purchasing systems, the invention creates a simplified standalone system that provides advance purchase planning capabilities without requiring the complete infrastructure of traditional e-commerce platforms, thereby reducing device complexity while maintaining operational convenience.
2Speed
If current online purchasing systems are used, then immediate purchases can be made, but delayed purchase requests for future issuance cannot be facilitated
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a dynamic purchase order system where the issue date of a purchase order is not fixed at creation but can be specified by the user. The system accepts deferred purchase requests with future issue dates and automatically transmits them to vendors when the specified date is reached. This dynamic timing mechanism allows the system to adapt between immediate execution (when issue date equals current date) and delayed execution (when issue date is in the future), thus providing both speed for immediate purchases and versatility for deferred purchases.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent enables preliminary action by allowing users to create and store deferred purchase requests in advance with specified future issue dates. The system maintains these requests in a database until the issue date is reached, at which point automatic transmission to the vendor occurs. This preliminary action capability allows users to plan purchases ahead of time (improving adaptability) while ensuring that the actual purchase execution still happens promptly when the issue date is reached (maintaining speed).
Data Source
AI summary
Operating a publicly accessible purchasing system including receiving, on a receipt date, from a purchaser, in a publicly accessible purchasing system, a deferred purchase request (“DPR”) for an item to be purchased; identifying a vendor; and issuing, in dependence upon the DPR, a purchase order to the vendor on a date subsequent to the receipt date. In some embodiments, a DPR includes an item identification for the item to be purchased, and identifying a vendor further comprises identifying a vendor in dependence upon the item identification. Some embodiments includes selecting a vendor in dependence upon vendor item prices. Some embodiments include selecting a vendor having a lowest vendor item price for the item to be purchased. Embodiments include selecting vendors in dependence upon purchasers' indicated maximum prices, in independence upon information in purchase orders previously issued to vendors, and in dependence upon proximity of a vendor to a purchaser.