GB2503277A

GB2503277A - Method and apparatus for location-based service matching

Info

Publication number: GB2503277A
Application number: GB201211076A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Anthony Sorrell
Original assignee: SOLID CONTRACTS Ltd
Current assignee: SOLID CONTRACTS Ltd
Priority date: 2012-06-21
Filing date: 2012-06-21
Publication date: 2013-12-25
Also published as: GB201211076D0

Abstract

A method of and apparatus for location-based matching of clients with suppliers offering services comprising at least one geographical location associated with a respective service radius with respective services available in the service area, which are compared with a client service requirement, comprising at least one geographic location associated with a service radius and with respective required services, to determine supplier service offering fulfils the client service requirement. Some embodiments provide a client alert solution for a supplier where there are varying and specific needs based on geographic location.

Description

METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR LOCATION-BASED SERVICE MATCHING

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a method of and apparatus for location-based matching of clients with suppliers offering services. In particular, embodiments of the invention provide a method of and apparatus for determining one or more supplier service offerings fulfilling a client service requirement. Some embodiments provide a client alert solution for a supplier where there are varying and specific needs based on geographic location.

Background

There are many scenarios in which the matching of a party providing a service with a party requiring a service is desirable. For example, an employment agency service may be provided by matching job opportunities and potential employee candidates in a so-called job board. Alternatively, for example a dating service may be provided by matching two people looking for a relationship.

In many of these scenarios, the location of the parties is one factor that may be considered in determining whether a match between the parties can be made.

In traditional job boards use a single candidate location and a key-word search process. This service allows companies to identify potential employees through their Curriculum Vitae or their Resume. Although this process is effective, typically the use of location-based information is not very effective.

The present invention seeks to at least alleviate the disadvantages of the prior art r"E and to provide a novel method of and apparatus for determining one or more : supplier service offerings fulfilling a client service requirement.

Summary of the Invention

In one aspect of the invention there is provided a method of determining one or more : supplier service offerings fulfilling a client service requirement, comprising the steps of: accepting a client service requirement, the service requirement comprising at least one geographic location, the or each geographical location within the service requirement being associated with a service radius defining a client area and with services required in the client area; searching one or more supplier service offerings, each supplier service offering from a supplier comprising at least one geographical location, the or each geographical location within the supplier service offering being associated with a service radius defining a service area and with services available in the service area, to determine whether the or any supplier service offering fulfils the client service requirement; and forming a short list of supplier service offerings fulfilling the client service requirement.

In one embodiment the step of searching one or more supplier service offerings to determine whether the or any supplier service offering fulfils the client service requirement comprises the steps of: determining.whether the supplier services fulfil the required services; and determining whether the service area overlaps with the client area; where the supplier service offering is considered to fulfil the client service requirement when both determinations are fulfilled.

In one embodiment the method further comprises the steps of: providing service offering information for the short list of supplier service offerings to the client: receiving supplier service offering selections from the client; and sending service requirement information to suppliers of selected supplier service offerings.

In one embodiment client identity information is sent to suppliers of selected supplier service offerings.

In one embodiment the service requirement information sent to the supplier contains *". information additional to the services requirement information used to determine whether a supplier service offering fulfils the client service requirement. * **

In one embodiment the method further compises the steps of: receiving an *..

acceptance of the services requirement alert from the supplier; and in response to the acceptance of the services requirement, the step of sending supplier identity : information to the client. ** S S * 50

In one embodiment the supplier service offering comprises two or more geographical location and the services associated with one geographical location are different from the services associated with at least one other geographical location in the service offering.

In one embodiment the client service requirement comprises two or more geographical locations, and the services associated with one geographical location are different from the services associated with at least one other geographical location in the service requirement.

According to another aspect of the invention there is provided an apparatus for determining one or more supplier service offerings fulfilling a client service requirement, comprising: service offering store, for storing supplier service offering records, each supplier service offering record comprising at east one geographical location, the or each geographical location within the supplier service offering being associated with a service radius defining a service area and with services available in the service area, service requirement store for storing client service requirement records, the client service requirement record comprising at least one geographic location, the or each geographical location within the service requirement being associated with a service radius defining a client area and with services required in the client area; and shortlist store, storing a shortlist of matches between a service requirement and a service offering; and a matchin element, coupled to access records in the service offering store and to access records in the service requirement store, and coupled to the shortlist store, the matching element being operable to search one or more supplier service offering records to determine whether the or any supplier service offering fulfils the client service requirement; and to store a short list of supplier service offerings fulfilling the client service requirement in the shortlist store. * * * * **

:" In one embodiment the apparatus further comprises a communication element, the communication element being coupled to the shortlist store to access shortlist : *. records, and being arranged to communicate with a client in connection with a **** service requirement associated with a shortlist and a supplier in connection with a * service operation associated with the shortlist. ** * * * . * ** ** *

In one embodiment the apparatus further comprises an input element, the input element being coupled to the service requirement store, the input element being arranged so that during operation the input element obtains client service requirement information from a client and stores the client service requirement information as a record in the service requirement store.

In one embodiment the apparatus further comprises an input element, the input element being coupled to the service offering store, the input element being arranged so that during operation the input element obtains service offering information from a suppler and stores the service offering information as a record in the service offering store.

The invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Brief Description of the Drawings

Figure 1 is a schematic drawing showing an exemplary service requirement

specification;

Figure 2 is a schematic drawing showing an exemplary supplier service offering; Figure 3 is a schematic drawing of a match between the exemplary service requirement specification and the exemplary supplier service offering; Figure 4 is a flowchart showing a method in accordance with embodiments of the invention; Figure 5 is a flowchart showing a method in accordance with embodiments of the invention; and Figure 6 is a block diagram of an apparatus in accordance with embodiments of the invention. * *

: Detailed Description of Preferred Embodiments of the Invention ***.

Embodiments of the invention provide a method of and apparatus for determining *.: one or more supplier service offerings fulfilling a client service requirement. Methods and apparatus in accordance with embodiments of the invention may be used to create an alert of a client requirement for a supplier. Embodiments of the invention create a connection between the supplier and the client using a single or multiple supplier/client locations in which each individual location has an associated

specification of services.

Embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The invention will be described with reference to an embodiment used to implement a job board, but it wilt be appreciated by a skilled person that the invention is not limited to this scenario and embodiments of the invention may be used in many situations as shown by the exemplary embodiments discussed below.

In embodiments of the invention a client service requirement is created.

A service requirement specification in the exemplary embodiment comprises at least one geographic location, each geographical location within the service requirement being associated with a service radius defining a client area having service requirements.

Figure 1 is a schematic drawing showing an exemplary service requirement specification 10. The service requirement 10 has a first geographical location 12 and a corresponding radius 14, the geographical location 12 and the radius 14 defining a client area 16. The client area 16 is associated with service requirements in the client area: in this case, as an example, the service requirements for client area 16 are a specification of the qualifications or other job skills required (not shown explicitly in Figure 1) together with a salary limit of £35000. The service requirement 10 has a second geographical location 20 and a corresponding radius 22, the geographical location 20 and the radius 22 defining a client area 24. The client area 24 is associated with service requirements in the client area: in this case, as an example, the service requirements for client area 24 are a specification of the qualifications or other job skills required (not shown explicitly in Figure 1) together with a salary limit * of £32000. * S. * * S

S *

* In embodiments of the invention a supplier service offering is created. *. S * . . S *S

A supplier service offering in the exemplary embodiment comprises at least one geographical location, each geographical location within the supplier service offering being associated with a service radius defining a service area and with services available in the service area, Figure 2 is a schematic drawing showing an exemplary supplier service offering 28.

The supplier service offering 28 has a first geographical location 30 and a corresponding radius 32, the geographical location 30 and the radius 32 defining a service area 34. The service area 34 is associated with services available in the service area 34: in this case, as an example, the services available in the service area 34 are a specification of the qualifications or other job skills of the service provider (not shown explicitly in Figure 1) together with a desired salary of £28000.

The suppliôr service offering 28 also has a second geographical location 38 and a corresponding radius 40, the geographical lobation 38 and the radius 40 defining a service area 42. The service area 42 is associated with services available in the service area 42: in this case, as an example, the services available in the service area 42 are a specification of the qualifications or other job skills of the service provider (not shown explicitly in Figure 1) together with a desired salary of £25000.

The supplier service offering 28 also has a third geographical location 46 and a corresponding radius 48, the geographical location 46 and the radius 48 defining a service area 50. The service area 50 is associated with services available in the service area 50: in this case, as an example, the services available in the service area 34 are a specification of the qualifications or other job skills of the service provider (not shown explicitly in Figure 1) together with a desired hourly rate of £22per hour.

In general, the client may define service requirements with any number of *:*. geographical locations and radius defining client areas, together with the associated service requirements and a service provider may define a supplier service offering with any number of locations and radius defining service areas, together with * .. services available in the service area. The service requirements and the services ::.s available in the different areas may vary. te.

S

* Figure 3 is a schematic drawing of a match between the exemplary service *:*J requirement specification 10 shown in Figure 1 and the exemplary supplier service offering 28 shown in Figure 2. The same elements have been the same reference numbers, but the radius markings have been omitted for clarity. As can be clearly seen in Figure 3, in the case of the service requirement 10 and the service offering 28, a match can be established between the client area 24 and service area 34.

Exemplary methods in accordance with embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to Figure 4 and 5.

Firstly, a service supplier must provide the service details and the geographical information for a service offering. Therefore, in a first step 60 a supplier selects a geographic location and radius information for the selected location.

In a step 62, the supplier selects the service specification corresponding with the selected location.

In step 64, it is determined whether a new location is to be added to the supplier service offering. If a new location is to be added! step 64-yes, the method returns to step 60 of Figure 4, and steps 60-64 are repeated until no more locations are to be included in the supplier service offering. If all desired locations are included in the supplier service operation, step 64-n, the method flow proceeds to step 66.

In addition, a client must provide the service details and the geographical information for the client service requirement. Therefore, in a first step 70 a client selects a geographic location and radius information for the selected location.

In a step 72, the client selects the service specification corresponding with the selected location.

* ** In step 74, it is determined whether a further location is to be added to the client : service requirement. If a further location is to be added client service, step 74-yes, . the method returns to step 70 of Figure 4, and steps 70-74 are repeated until no more locations are to be included in the client service requirement. If all desired locations are included in the client service requirement, step 64-n, the method flow *:.; proceeds to step 66.

Typically, in an exemplary implemebtation of an embodiment of the present invention -such as a job board, for instance, a plurality of job seekers will have already submitted their supplier service offering to the job board, as set out in steps 60-64.

An employer can start a search for a new employee by inputting a client search requirement by following steps 70-74.

Thereafter in step 66 it is determined whether a supplier service offering fulfils the client service requirement. If not, step 66-n, the supplier ID of the supplier is excluded from further consideration, in step 78.

If, however it is determined that a supplier service offering does fulfil the client service requirement, step 66-yes, the supplier is added to the shortlist for the required service in step 80. The operation of embodiments of the invention in steps 66, 78 and 80 in the dashed box in Figure 4 will be described in more detail in the

following description of Figure 4.

Once the shortlist is completed, in step 82 an alert with client service requirements and the client identity are sent to suppliers of shortlisted supplier service offerings. In some embodiments the client requirements are restricted to the information used to determine that the service offering did fulfil the client service requirement. In other embodiments, additional information relating to the client service requirement can also be sent.

In some embodiments, the shortlist may be ranked by the system in order of preference, for example based on information in the service offering used to match ***.E the service requirement, or other information about the supplier known to the system.

: In some embodiments the number of suppliers to whom the client requirements are * sent is restricted, for example to a fixed system number or a number selected by the : *" client **** * ". : In some embodiments, at this stage the client is not made aware of the identity of suppliers, but may be informed, for example, that three matches have been found on : the shortlist. In some embodiments, the client may be provided with information provided by the supplier, in the service offering used to match the service requirement, or other information about the supplier. The client may be given the opportunity to restrict the number on the short list, or the number of suppliers contacted in this step. Furthermore, the client may be allowed to rank the entries on the shortlist.

In step 84 the suppliers that have been sent an alert in step 82 receive the alert with client service requirement. As discussed above, in some embodiments, additional information can be sent with the alert The supplier can determine whether the supplier is interested in proceeding in step 86. If the supplier is not interested, step 86-n, the supplier sends a negative reply to the system in step 88, and this results in the service offering from that supplier being excluded from the shortlist.

If the supplier is interested in proceeding, step 86-y, the supplier returns a positive reply in step 92, and the system provides the supplier identity and contact data to the client in step 94. In some embodiments, the supplier may contact the client directly in step 94 and step 92 may be omitted.

Figure 5 is a flow chart illustrating in more detail the steps of a method in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. In this embodiment it is assumed that a plurality of supplier service offerings is recorded and a new client service requirement is received, since this situation will exist in most scenarios.

In step 100 a client service requirement is accepted. The client service requirement in this embodiment specifies at least one location and corresponding radius that defines a service area, together with the specification of services required within that .: area, as described above with reference to Figure 1.

::::. In step 102 the supplier service offering are searched to determine any service offering that fulfils the client service requirement. * * .

First in step 104 it is determined whether the client area overlaps with the service area in order to determine whether the supplier can supply services in the correct location. In some cases, for example where the client requirement is for an employee to work at a particular site, the radius specified for a client location in the client requirement will be zero. In this case step 104 will result in a positive determination if the client location is within the service area defined by a location and corresponding radius.

If there is a location match between the service offering and the client requirement! step 104-y, in step 106 it is determined whether the supplier services satisfy the required services.

If the service offering provides a location match, step l04-y and a service match, step 106-y, in step 108 the supplier ID corresponding to the matched service offering is recorded in a shortlist. In some embodiments, steps 104 and 106 may be carried out in the reverse order to the order shown, or may be carried out in parallel, as will be apparent to a skilled person.

If either the location does not match, step 104-n, or the services do not match, step 106-n, the supplier ID and that service offering are excluded from the shortlist.

Thereafter, it is determined whether more supplier service offerings are available to consider in step 112. If more supplier service offerings are available, step ll2-y, a new supplier service offering is selected for consideration in step 102. If there are no more supplier service offerings available, step 112-n, the shortlist is complete and this method section ends step 114.

Figure 6 is a schematic block diagram of apparatus in which embodiments of the invention may be implemented. * * * * .*

Typically, embodiments of the invention might be implemented as a web-based service and the functionality of the invention is provided by suitable programs ". running on a multi-purpose computer or a dedicated processor for example. Typically the data used by and created by the method of embodiments of the invention will be stored in databases. Typically information will be received from or sent to the users *. : of the system using a web-based or email based communication. However, as will :. be apparent to a skilled person, embodiments of the invention may be implemented in many different ways, and the invention is not intended to be limited to the described embodiment.

The apparatus shown in Figure 6 is provided with: a service offering store 120, for storing a plurality of service offering records; a service requirement store 122, for storing a plurality of service requirement records; a shortlist store 124, for storing shortlist records; and an operation manager 126, for communicating with clients 128 and with suppliers 130, and for matching service requirements with service operations in accordance with embodiments of the invention as described above.

The operations manager is provided with three functional elements, namely an input element 132, a matching element 134 and a communication element 136.

-The input element 132 is coupled to the service offering store 120 and is arranged to receive supplier input 138 from the supplier 130. In the exemplary embodiment a web-based input mechanism is used to receive supplier input 136 from the supplier 130. In use, the input element 132 is operable to receive supplier input 138 from the supplier 130 and to create and store a corresponding service offering record in the service offering store 120.

The input element 132 is also coupled to the service requirement store 122 and is arranged to receive client input 140 from the client 128. In the exemplary embodiment a web-based input mechanism is used to receive client input 140 from the client 128. In use, the input element 132 is operable to receive client input 140 from the client 128 and to create and store a corresponding service requirement * record in the service requirement store 122.

* The matching element 134 is coupled to the service offering store 120 to access service offering records stored therein and is coupled to the service requirement . store 122 to access service requirement record therein. The matching element 134 is *:"E also coupled to the shortlist store 124 to store the shortlist of supplier identities for a particular client service. In use, the matching element 134 accesses the required :* records to perform matching of client service requirements and supplier service *:. offerings in accordance with embodiments of the invention. * * .

The matching element 134 may be coupled to the input element 132 in order to * accept a service requirement for searching direct from the client input 140, or alternatively the matching element 134 may accept from the stored service requirement record for searching.

The communication element 136 is coupled to the client 128 and the supplier 130, and manages communication with the client 128 and with the supplier 130 regarding the matches made by the matching element 134. Thus, the communication element 136 is coupled to the matching element 134 in order to receive a notification that a matching operation has resulted in a shortlist. The communication element 136 is also coupled to the shortlist store 124 for accessing and for updating the shortlist record in the shortlist store.

Thus it can be seen that in use of the exemplary apparatus shown in Figure 6 the input element 132 carries out steps 60-64 and 70-74 of the exemplary method shown in Figure 4, the matching element 134 carries out step 66 and steps 78 and of the exemplary method shown in Figure 4 and the communication element 136 carries out steps 82-94 of the exemplary method shown in Figure 4.

As mentioned above, the service offering store 120 is provided for storing a plurality of service offering records. In the exemplary embodiment shown in Figure 6, three service offering records 140, 142, 144 are shown, although it will be appreciated that many more records would typically be present.

The service offering records 140, 142, 144 are identical, but the record in the exemplary embodiment is illustrated in detail only for the service offering record 140, for clarity. This service offering has two locations and therefore the service offering record 140 comprises a first location record 146, a corresponding first radius record 148 and a corresponding first services specification record 150 in respect of the first location in the service operation. The service offering record 140 also comprises a second location record 152, a corresponding second radius record 154 and a corresponding second services specification record 156. Supplier details 158 relating : to supplier identity details, supplier contact details or any other information regarding the supplier are also included in the service offering record. *1 * . . *I.a

:, As mentioned above, the service requirement store 122 is provided for storing a plurality of service requirement records. In the exemplary embodiment shown in . : Figure 6, three service requirement records 160, 162, 164 are shown, although it will be appreciated that many more records would typically be present.

The service requirement records 160, 162, 164 are identical, but the contents of the record in the exemplary embodiment is illustrated only for the service requirement record 160 for clarity. This service requirement has two locations and therefore the service requirement record 160 comprises a first location record 166, a corresponding first radius record 168 and a corresponding first services specification record 170 in respect of the first location in the service operation. The service requirement record 160 also comprises a second location record 172, a corresponding second radius record 174 and a corresponding second services specification record 176. Client details 178 relating to client identity details, client contact details or any other information regarding the client are also included in the service requirement record. In addition, the service requirement record 160 also contains any additional information 180 that the client would like to submit, for example information about conditions or restrictions for the required services.

A number of exemplary scenarios in which embodiments of the invention may be applied will now be described.

First Example: Recruitment John Smith has accessed a recruitment system in accordance with an embodiment of this invention to create a service offering of: 1) 5 years' experience of SolidWorks with a permanent salary of £30,000 from within miles of M19 3FF 2) 5 years' experience of SolidWorks with a contract salary of £25 per hour from within 10 miles of SWI4 4ER.

STEP 1: Nature Delivered accesses the recruitment system and creates a service requirement for a designer with 3 Years SolidWorks experience for.a £25,000 job . *. which is located 0 miles from TW13 2AA.

U I,.."

* STEP 2: Nature Delivered can see how many match the requirement of a designer * *. with 3 Years SolidWorks experience for a £25,000 job within 0 miles of TW1 3 2AA. 0*

STEP 3: Nature Delivered can now choose to send details of desired requirement to all those that matched.

. : STEP 4: John Smith views Nature Delivered's Requirement then sends details back to Nature Delivered.

Second example: Airlines Super Airlines has accessed a flights system in accordance with an embodiment of * this invention to create a service offering of: 1) Flights between 01 June to 30 July to Leeds, Edinburgh & Malaga from within 0 miles of BH23 1 DD 2) Flights between 01 August to 31 December to Leeds, Edinburgh & Malaga from within 0 miles of SE13 3SS.

STEP 1 Pete Bean accesses the flights system and creates a service requirement fora flight to Leeds on 18 June which is located 30 miles from 5012 1AA.

STEP 2 Pete Bean can see how many match the requirement of a flight to Leeds on 18 June within 30 miles of 5012 1AA.

STEP 3 Pete Bean can now choose to send details of desired requirement to all those that matched. STEP4

Super Airlines views Pete Bean's Requirement then sends details back to Pete Bean.

Third example: Dating Miss Marple has accessed a dating system in accordance with an embodiment of : this invention to create a service offering of: * 1) visits to the cinema and enjoy a few glasses of wine from within 30 miles of 501 * *, 8GH * * * . 2) Dancing and enjoy a few glasses of wine from within 5 miles of WRI 4TH. 0' * * * * * S.

STEP 1 * II * *, Mr Jones accesses the dating system and creates a service requirement for a female friend to enjoy visits to the cinema and enjoy a few glasses of wine in the garden who is located 15 miles from P016 7]T.

STEP 2 Mr Jones can see how many match the requirement of a female friend to enjoy visits to the cinema and enjoy a few glasses of wine in the garden within 15 miles of P016 7TT.

STEP 3 Mr Jones can now choose to send details of desired requirement to all those that matched.

STEP 4 Miss Marple views Mr Jones's Requirement then sends details back to Mr Jones.

Fourth Example: Food Supply Chain Turkeys R Us has accessed a produce system in accordance with an embodiment of this invention to create a service offering of: 1) Free Range Poultry from within 50 miles of DT2 JSS 2) Free Range Poultry Delivery from within 5 miles of WC1 5NN.

STEP I

Jane Harris accesses the produce system and creates a service requirement for a Free range locally produced Turkey costing less than £20 which is located 30 miles from BH1 1BL.

STEP 2 * Jane Harris can see how many match the requirement of a Free range locally : ** produced Turkey costing less than £20 within 30 miles of BH1 1 BL. **** ***

Jane Harris can now choose to send details of desired requirement to all those that ::.:i matched.

* STEP4 Turkeys R Us views Jane Harris's Requirement then sends details back to Jane Harris.

Fifth example: Manufacturing Supply Chain Machined Global PLC accesses a supply chain system and creates a service offering of: 1) 3 and 5 axis machining from within 200 miles of BA12 5FF 2) 3 and 5 axis machining from within 200 miles of EH3 8FG.

STEP 1 Mega Manufacturing accesses the recruitment system and creates a service requirement for a Tier 1 Supplier offering 5 Axis Machining services located 50 miles from SN32 1DD.

STEP 2 Mega Manufacturing can see how many suppliers match the requirement of a Tier 1 Supplier offering 5 Axis Machining services within 50 miles of SN32 1 DD.

STEP 3 Mega Manufacturing can now choose to send details of desired requirement to all those that matched.

STEP 4 Machined Global PLC views Mega Manufacturing's Requirement then sends details back to Mega Manufacturing.

Sixth example: Tutor Services Mrs Francis accesses an educational services system and creates a service offering of: 1) A-Level Biology Teaching Services from within 15 miles of BH2 5SS * 2) GCSE Science Teaching Services from within 15 miles of BH2 5SS.

STEP 1 :.: Emma accesses the educational services system and creates a service requirement for a Private Tutor of Biology to work from her house which is located 0 miles from BH8 CEO.

STEP 2 Emma can see how many match the requirement of a Private Tutor of Biology to work from her house within 0 miles of BH8 OEQ.

STEP 3 Emma can now choose to send details of desired requirement to all those that matched.

STEP 4 Mrs Francis views Emma's Requirement then sends details back to Emma.

In some embodiments it may be advantageous to enable one or more of the following information parameters to-be-added-to The service offering and/or the service requirement: * Geo-tagged photos to specify location * 3D or 2D parametric CAD Data to define CAD capabilities of a candidate * currency of locations * living costs of locations * rented properties to locations * travel times to new locations * School rankings * industry to location * job title to location * pension scheme : * paid for candidate advertising website portfolio. **.*

3d maps * personal interests.

* forumsIsocial networking for likeminded candidates * Facebook or Linkedln or other social or business networking websites.

* CV upload * application management for candidate * specific skill-sets * video profile * Working hours * Holiday Allowance * Uniform preferred * Linking candidates to form businesses (in Solidworks specific, this could * be design) * Education Levels * Job Titles * Job title generator * company information for example turnover/profit and/or number employees In addition, some embodiments of the invention may allow: * a client to "poke" suppliers or applicants that haven't responded * a client to compare/rank suppliers or applicants * portfolios or CV/Resume to be displayed * Web interviews (Skype/Facetime) ". : Graphs of customisable statistics to be shown pre-screening tests (psychometric or Software) of candidates to be carried out * use of 3d model/PDF manipulator * The invention has been described by way of example only and variation may be *".: made to the embodiments described without departing from the scope of the *:*. invention.

Likewise it is understood that several embodiments, with modifications and alternatives, have been described, but having read and understood this description further embodiments and modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

For example a version of the invention may be incorporated into a piece of software capable of operating on a mobile device. Such pieces of application software are often referred to as APPS' and are particularly well suited for I-phones (Trade Mark), palm held devices, laptops or tablets all of which have computing capabilities

and are portable. * . * .* * * ** *..* *.. * ** . * * * *. ** . * * * * ..

Claims

Claims 1. A method of determining one or more supplier service offerings fulfilling a client service requirement, comprising the steps of: accepting a client service requirement, the service requirement comprising at least one geographic location1 the or each geographical location within the service requirement being associated with a service radius defining a client area and with services required in the client area; searching one or more supplier service offerings, each supplier service offering from a supplier comprising at least one geographical location, the or each geographical location within the supplier service offering being associated with a service radius defining a service area and with services available in the service area, to determine whether the or any supplier service offering fulfils the client service requirement; and forming a shod list of supplier service offerings fulfilling the client service requirement.
2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the step of searching one or more supplier service offerings to determine whether the or any supplier service offering fulfils the client service requirement comprises the steps of: determining whether the supplier services fulfil the required services; and determining whether the service area overlaps with the client area; where the supplier service offering is considered to fulfil the client service requirement when both determinations are fulfilled.
3. The method as claim 1 or 2 further comprising the step of * providing service offering information for the short list of supplier service offerings to the client; *...receiving supplier service offering selections from the client; and *. : sending service requirement information to suppliers of selected supplier service offerings.
4. The method as claimed in claim 3 wherein client identity information is sent to suppliers of selected supplier service offerings.
5. The method as claimed in claim 3, wherein the service requirement information sent to the supplier contains information additional to the services requirement information used to determine whether a supplier service offering fulfils the client service requirement.
6. The method as claimed further comprising the steps of: receiving an acceptance of the services requirement alert from the suppliei; and in response to the acceptance of the services requirement, the step of sending supplier identity information to the client.
7. The method as claimed in any preceding claim in which the supplier service offering comprises two or more geographical location and the services associated with one geographical location are different from the services associated with at least one other geographical location in the service offering.
8. The method as claimed in any preceding claim in which the client service requirement comprises two or more geographical locations, and the services associated with one geographical location are different from the services associated with at least one other geographical location in the service requirement.
9. Apparatus for determining one or more supplier service offerings fulfilling a client service requirement, comprising: service offering store, for storing supplier service offering records, each r": supplier service offering record comprising at least one geographical location, the or -*, each geographical location within the supplier service offering being associated with a service radius defining a service area and with services available in the service r area, ". : service requirement store for storing client service requirement records, the client service requirement record comprising at least one geographic location, the or each geographical location within the service requirement being associated with a service radius defining a client area and with services required in the client area; and shortlist store, storing a shortlist of matches between a service requirement and a service offering; and a matching element, coupled to access records in the service offering store and to access records in the service requirement store, and coupled to the shortlist store, the matching element being operable to search one or more supplier service offering records to determine whether the or any supplier service offering fulfils the client service requirement; and to store a short list of supplier service offerings fulfilling the client service requirement in the shortlist store,
10. The apparatus as claimed in claim 9, further comprising a communication element, the communication element being coupled to the shortlist store to access shortlist records, and being arranged to communicate with a client in connection with a service requirement associated with a shortlist and a supplier in connection with a service operation associated with the shortlist.
11. The apparatus as claimed in claim 9 or 10, further comprising an input element, the input element being coupled to the service requirement store, the input element being arranged so that during operation the input element obtains client service requirement information from a client and stores the client service requirement information as a record in the service requirement store.12 The apparatus as claimed in claim 9, 10 or 11 further comprising an input element, the input element being coupled to the service offering store, the input element being arranged so that during operation the input element obtains service offering information from a suppler and stores the service offering information as a record in the service offering store. S. S * S * * 55S5555** * S * *S * * * S... I.. * Se. * S * .* ** * * S S 5.