EP1360625A2 - Normalisation de decouverte de prix et negociations dans des branches d'industrie commerciales a couches de specifications multiples - Google Patents

Normalisation de decouverte de prix et negociations dans des branches d'industrie commerciales a couches de specifications multiples

Info

Publication number
EP1360625A2
EP1360625A2 EP01989727A EP01989727A EP1360625A2 EP 1360625 A2 EP1360625 A2 EP 1360625A2 EP 01989727 A EP01989727 A EP 01989727A EP 01989727 A EP01989727 A EP 01989727A EP 1360625 A2 EP1360625 A2 EP 1360625A2
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
values
bid
demand set
vendors
multiple sets
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Withdrawn
Application number
EP01989727A
Other languages
German (de)
English (en)
Inventor
Hans Dau
Keri Ann Aivazis
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Zeborg Inc
Original Assignee
Zeborg Inc
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Zeborg Inc filed Critical Zeborg Inc
Publication of EP1360625A2 publication Critical patent/EP1360625A2/fr
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06Q—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • G06Q30/00—Commerce
    • G06Q30/06—Buying, selling or leasing transactions

Definitions

  • the invention disclosed herein relates generally to the field of price discovery in commercial industries and more specifically to price discovery in commercial industries where products and services involve multiple specification layers.
  • Multiple Specification Layers occur when at least one of the elements of the set of characteristics for a Specification can be expressed with more than one set of elements. For example, if one of the elements of a specification were "location,” several sets of location elements could be valid for a given Specification, such as the set of all states, the set of all cities, the set of all 3-digit zip codes, the set of all 5-digit zip codes, the set of all 9-digit zip codes or the set of all postal delivery addresses. If at least two of these sets were valid for the "location" element of a Specification, then Multiple Specification Layers would exist for that Specification.
  • a Specification for a shipment consists of the following set of four elements: origin, destination, weight and commodity class (the descriptor of a shipment's transportation characteristics). Each unique combination of these elements can yield a different price for a particular shipment.
  • Multiple Specification Layers exist for LTL freight shipping specifications in the United States because "origin" can be drawn from the set of regions, the set of states, the set of 3-digit zip codes, the set of 5-digit zip codes or even the set of 9-digit zip codes.
  • the same set of Specification Layers exist for "destination" element of the shipping specification.
  • the Specification Layers consist of 18 Freight All Kinds ("FAK”) classes or 18 National Motor Freight Classification (“NMFC”) ratings.
  • the Buying Entity perceives the LTL pricing problem to be a five dimensional pricing matrix (origin, destination, weight bracket, commodity class, and vendor). To fully populate this matrix, each vendor would have to supply approximately 80,000 prices to the Buying Entity. In the more general case, a Buying Entity that desires to solicit the full matrix of prices from N transportation firms would therefore have to solicit 80,000 x N prices. Generally, attempts by Buying Entities to collect thousands of individually rated prices from a single vendor, let alone tens of thousands of individually rated prices from multiple vendors, are not successful due to the limitations of vendor estimation capabilities in the current art.
  • Percentage-of bids also do not make visible the willingness of certain carriers to reallocate equipment and staff to selected sub-segments of the market.
  • Another solution to the pricing problem in the art is to employ the Internet to locate the most attractively priced vendor who is both willing and able to execute a transaction at a given moment in time.
  • Such services are usually provided through Web sites which combine a pricing search mechanism with a transaction execution mechanism. While perhaps revealing attractive prices available to Buying Entities on a one-transaction-at-a-time basis, these services do not yield consistently attractive pricing to Buying Entities, particularly Buying Entities with significant transaction volumes.
  • the current art enables Buying Entities to employ the Internet to search for attractive shipping prices on a one-transaction-at-a-time basis.
  • a Buying Entity can post a Specification for a given shipment and can solicit bid data for the Specification from alternative competing transportation vendors. If a Buying Entity discovers acceptable pricing, the Internet service enables the Buying Entity and the selected vendor to commit the transaction.
  • This technique allows transportation vendors and Buying Entities to transmit pricing and corresponding specifications between themselves. At the margin, this technique also more efficiently clears transient markets for surplus shipping capacity. This technique is described in U.S. Patent 6,064,981.
  • the present invention relates to the standardization of price discovery, including collecting, storing, retrieving, evaluating, and negotiating pricing and specifications between a Buying Entity and vendors, for any industry with a pricing structure containing Multiple Specification Layers.
  • the present invention is equally applicable to any industry containing Multiple Specification Layers, such as the quantitative market research industry, the LTL freight industry is used herein for illustrative purpose and also as a preferred embodiment.
  • a Buying Entity is any purchaser of any good or service, such as an individual, corporation, partnership or other association.
  • a Specification refers to any given set of characteristics for a commodity such that a single price and a single quantity may be associated with a transaction for that commodity between a particular Buying Entity and seller. Most often, each element of the set of characteristics is itself a set containing a finite number of possible values.
  • a Specification Layer refers to one of the layers of a Multiple Specification Layer.
  • a Blended Average Price is a term used to refer to a class of inexact pricing heuristics currently in use by transportation firms.
  • an employee called an estimator
  • To compute a Blended Average Price an employee, called an estimator, for a transportation vendor performs a costing analysis for a set of shipments following a particular delivery method and route and then applies that analysis to a group of delivery methods and routes that, in the opinion of the estimator, share a certain degree of similarity.
  • the estimator then assigns a price to the group of delivery methods and routes, using any means known in the art for establishing such prices.
  • Such means typically require the estimator to make a variety of assumptions concerning difficult to forecast factors such as the future aggregate distribution of demand and the future average utilization of equipment for the group(s) of delivery methods and routes at hand.
  • the estimator's job is further complicated by the need to express such prices at Multiple Specification Layers inherent in the Specification for transportation services.
  • the price that results from such calculations is a blend of assumptions regarding the future and averages achieved in the past.
  • the present invention relates to the standardization of price discovery (e.g. collecting, storing, retrieving, evaluating, and negotiating pricing and specifications between Buying Entities and vendors) for any industry with a pricing structure containing Multiple Specification Layers.
  • price discovery e.g. collecting, storing, retrieving, evaluating, and negotiating pricing and specifications between Buying Entities and vendors
  • the addition of Multiple Specification Layers to the methods previously described in Standardizing Price Discovery in Commercial Industries requires the use of novel techniques for collecting, storing and retrieving pricing data.
  • Buying Entities can fully articulate the Multiple Specification Layers in their Demand Set, thereby minimizing the risk premia in that Demand Set.
  • vendor prices are collected using a "funneling" technique that accommodates the Multiple Specification Layers inherent in the Buying Entity's Demand Set. This technique allows vendors to reveal their most competitive pricing for any portion of or all of a given Buying Entity's Demand Set.
  • the system allows a Buying Entity to solicit multiple rounds of bids from the vendor set using the funneling technique.
  • the system provides an algorithm to store and retrieve vendor prices across all of a Buying Entity's Multiple Specification Layers.
  • a Target Rate List is developed from the most competitive prices solicited during the bidding round(s).
  • the Target Rate List is constructed so as to be optimized for each Buying Entity's Demand Set.
  • a Buying Entity can create a contractual pricing schedule optimized for the Multiple Specification Layers of its Demand Set so that the schedule covers a plurality of transactions that the Buying Entity anticipates it may encounter over a given time period.
  • a pricing schedule may take the form of a PRIVATE RATECARD accessed by the Buying Entity whenever transactions must be executed.
  • the present invention has a number of advantages over the current art.
  • the present invention provides Buying Entities with a pricing and price standardization mechanism that alleviates the necessity of resorting to inferior pricing techniques, such as inexact pricing heuristics, vendor estimators employing Blended Average Pricing, or other third-party transaction-based pricing services.
  • the invention also allows a Buying Entity to unbundle its price discovery process from its transaction execution process. By unbundling these processes, a Buying Entity can exploit the advantages inherent in sophisticated competitive bidding environments, such as the tendency of these environments to yield the most attractive prices available to any given Buying Entity in the marketplace — articularly in comparison to inexact pricing heuristics, vendor estimators or third-party transaction based pricing services.
  • the present invention also allows both Buying Entities and vendors to save time which would otherwise have been allocated to dealing with routine rating requests.
  • the above described concepts are achieved by a computer implemented method of price discovery for a commodity having one or more characteristics, wherein at least one of the one or more characteristics is capable of being described by multiple sets of values.
  • the method involves receiving from a buyer a demand set of specifications related to the commodity, each specification comprising values for the one or more characteristics, including a value from one of the multiple sets of values for the at least one characteristic.
  • the demand set is provided to one or more vendors.
  • a bid from at least one of the one or more vendors for one or more specifications of the demand set is received.
  • the received bids are stored.
  • FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of one embodiment of the invention
  • FIG. 2 is an illustration of Multiple Specification Layers in the LTL freight industry
  • FIG. 3 illustrates how a first LTL shipper might supply prices to a Buying Entity using an embodiment of the current invention
  • FIG. 3 A continues the illustration for how a first LTL shipper might supply prices to a Buying Entity using an embodiment of the cu ⁇ ent invention
  • FIG. 3B continues the illustration for how a first LTL shipper might supply prices to a Buying Entity using an embodiment of the current invention
  • FIG. 4 illustrates how a second LTL shipper might supply prices to a Buying Entity using an embodiment of the current invention
  • FIG. 4A continues the illustration for how a second LTL shipper might supply prices to a Buying Entity using an embodiment of the cu ⁇ ent invention
  • FIG. 4B continues the illustration for how a second LTL shipper might supply prices to a Buying Entity using an embodiment of the cu ⁇ ent invention
  • FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating the use of an embodiment of the present invention to create a PRIVATE RATECARD
  • FIG. 6 illustrates use of an embodiment of the present invention to enter into contracts using a PRIVATE RATECARD
  • FIG. 7 illustrates use of an embodiment of the present invention allowing an independent party to publish a Public Pricing Index
  • FIGS. 8 A and 8B illustrate alternate embodiments of the present invention comprising use of a PUBLIC RATECARD.
  • the present invention may be implemented in any electronic interactive environment, such as, for example the Internet and exchange data via any wide area, local or virtual networks or a CD ROM. Although it is theoretically possible to carry out the principles and methods of the present invention manually, the overwhelming amount and complexity of the data that is usually involved in the price discovery and standardization processes of this invention, coupled with realistic time constraints, best lend themselves to computerized manipulation.
  • the present invention preferably is implemented online, for example by means of a Web site, comprising, for example, a central processing server 100 and pricing database 110, which is accessed by N Buying Entities 200 and by M vendors 300 through telecommunication networks 400.
  • the examples of the techniques of the present invention reference the LTL
  • Table 500 shows an example for a first specification layer, Specification Layer 1, providing elements at the regional level.
  • Table 510 shows an example for a second specification layer, Specification Layer 2, that provides elements at the state level that co ⁇ espond to the first element of the regional level, "Northeast”.
  • Table 520 shows an example for a third specification layer, Specification Layer 3, that provides elements at the 3 digit zip code level that co ⁇ espond to the first element of the state level, "CT”.
  • Tables 530, 540, and 550 show examples for a fourth specification layer, Specification Layer 4, that provide elements at the 5 digit zip code level that co ⁇ espond to 3 digit zip code "061” (Table 530 covering zip code for Hartford, CT), to 3 digit zip code "065" (Table 540 covering zip codes for New Haven, CT), and to 3 digit zip code "069” (Table 550 covering zip codes for Stamford, CT).
  • a Buying Entity generates a Demand Set for performance by a vendor or vendors in a particular industry, such as the transportation industry or any other commercial industry in which a Buying Entity needs to procure goods or services.
  • the Demand Set contains the various elements of performance likely to be required in a given industry, such as specifications and service level requirements.
  • a Buying Entity supplies the Demand Set by providing the specifications, for any or all of the elements, which the Buying Entity has required in the past and/or expects to require in the future.
  • an LTL vendor would be interested in a Buying Entity's total number of shipments, total tonnage, and distribution patterns (for both number of shipments and tonnage) across weight groups for a given period of time.
  • the Demand Set is made available at a Buying Entity's option, either to all vendors within an industry or only to those vendors authorized by the Buying Entity to receive the Demand Set.
  • the Demand Set is made available online to all authorized vendors or made available in any other fashion that is accepted in the relevant industry or prefe ⁇ ed by the parties.
  • the vendor can analyze them to determine the attractiveness of each Buying Entity's Demand Set given the vendor's equipment and capabilities.
  • the comparison is conducted by means of a look-up engine or a query engine which would allow a vendor to find, compare and analyze portions of the Demand Set by criteria of interest to the vendor.
  • a vendor can submit a bid to any received Demand Set.
  • each vendor after viewing the Buying Entity's Demand Set, then can respond by providing prices at the Specifications Layer best suited to the vendor's capabilities.
  • the prices submitted by any one vendor may or may not be at the same levels as the Specification Layers outlined in the Buying Entity's Demand Set.
  • the present invention allows vendors to selectively depart from Blended Average Pricing. This technique allows vendors to minimize the Risk Premia in the Buying Entity's Demand Set because it becomes possible for vendors to isolate profitable and unprofitable business and price accordingly.
  • each participating vendor registers with the system and receives a customized ID and password required to enter the website and provide bid data elements.
  • FIGS 3, 3 A, 3B, 4, 4A, and 4B illustrate the mechanism employed to collect and store bid data from vendors in the LTL freight industry.
  • the vertical axis represents source and the horizontal axis represents destination.
  • the bid data collected by the present invention can be stored in a series of matrices.
  • a five dimensional pricing set such as in transportation pricing problems
  • two dimensions can be collected at a time by holding the other three dimensions constant.
  • the bid data collection program can hold vendor name, commodity class and weight bracket constant while stepping through the Multiple Specification Layers for origin and destination pricing. Then the program can change the weight bracket and step through the Multiple Specification Layers for origin and destination again. The entire process can be repeated for as many commodity classes and weight brackets as are necessary for a given Buying Entity's Demand Set.
  • the invention need not collect every possible price for each Demand Set element. Indeed, by organizing the Multiple Specification Layers into a hierarchy and traversing through those layers hierarchically from highest to lowest, a vendor supplying bid data can enter the data in a highly selective and economical fashion. For example, imagine our two hypothetical vendors supplying prices via the present invention where First Vendor is primarily an east-west shipper and Second Vendor is a north-south shipper. Further assume that both vendors compete primarily in Connecticut. Transportation vendors tend to compete by concentrating their equipment on certain routes where they attempt to achieve high load factors and co ⁇ espondingly high profitability, thus the bidding strategy for each firm is likely to reflect those strategies.
  • First Vendor might desire to supply a Buying Entity with aggressive pricing on routes where he believes that he has a cost advantage. For an east-west shipper in Connecticut, this might occur along Interstate 95, near the cities located on the Atlantic coast.
  • First Vendor's bidding strategy might be to bid aggressively in certain 3-digit and 5-digit zip codes along the Atlantic coast while bidding cautiously on other routes inside Connecticut and between Connecticut and nearby states. This strategy is illustrated in Figures 3, 3A, and 3B.
  • Fig. 3 provides examples of bid data at various specification layers.
  • each white square within a matrix represents a null price.
  • a Homogenous Rate Zone is indicated by a group of squares that all contain the same price, where the prices are indicated by the lower-case letters in the Figures. Shaded squares are Heterogeneous Rate Zones; vendor prices in these zones are defined in the next lower layer in the Specifications Layer hierarchy.
  • Fig. 3 A provides an example of bid data at a fourth specification layer, Specification Layer 4, covering the 5 digit zip code level co ⁇ esponding to Stamford,
  • Fig. 3B provides another example of bid data at Specification Layer 4, but covering the 5 digit zip code level co ⁇ esponding to New Haven, Connecticut.
  • Second Vendor might also desire to supply a Buying Entity with aggressive pricing on routes where he believes he has a cost advantage. For a north-south shipper in Connecticut, this might occur along Interstate 91, extending north from New Haven through Hartford. Second Vendor's bidding strategy might be particularly aggressive in certain 3-digit and 5-digit zip codes along Interstate 91 while cautious on other routes inside Connecticut and between Connecticut and nearby states. This strategy is illustrated in Figures 4, 4 A, and 4B. Fig. 4 provides examples of bid data at various specification layers for the Second
  • the matrix 700 shows bid data for a Specification Layer 1, covering region-to-region pricing
  • matrix 710 shows bid data for Specification Layer 2
  • matrix 720 shows bid data for Specification Layer 3, covering 3 digit zip code-to-3 digit zip code pricing.
  • each white square within a matrix represents a null price
  • Homogenous Rate Zones are indicated by the lower-case letters
  • shaded squares are Heterogeneous Rate Zones.
  • Fig. 4A provides an example of bid data for the Second Vendor at Specification Layer 4, covering the 5 digit zip code level co ⁇ esponding to New Haven, Connecticut. Again, Homogenous Rate Zones are indicated by the lower-case letters.
  • Fig. 4B provides another example of bid data at Specification Layer 4, but covering the 5 digit zip code level co ⁇ esponding to Hartford, Connecticut.
  • each white square within a matrix represents a null price.
  • a Homogenous Rate Zone is indicated by a group of squares that all contain the same price, where the prices are indicated by the lower-case letters in the Figures. Shaded squares are Heterogeneous Rate Zones; vendor prices in these zones are defined in the next lower layer in the Specifications Layer hierarchy.
  • matrix 610 contains 2 Homogeneous Rate Zones, one including all the squares in the first column except the first row and the other including all the squares in the first row except the first column. Both these Homogeneous Rate Zones have a price of "d”. Matrix 610 also shows that Specification Layer 2 contains one Heterogeneous Rate Zone, e.g., for "CT” to "CT”.
  • any shipping price can be expressed either as a dollar amount (or other cu ⁇ ency amount) or as a percentage of a published reference table containing such monetary amounts.
  • prices can be represented as a percentage of a published reference table, such as CZAR-LITE.
  • Vendors can enter rates at any Specification Layer they choose. For transportation industry pricing problems with two elements in a typical Specification, such as origin and destination, each of which can be subject to Multiple Specification Layers, it is useful to envision the rate storage problem in the form of a matrix.
  • (Origin State List/Range) —> (Destination State List/Range) S, has 2,500 entries. However, if there are repeating elements in the matrix, then a list representation of the matrix offers storage economies over a conventional 2,500 element table. A few examples should serve to illustrate the nature of these economies.
  • a computer program can convert the list representation of a matrix into a conventional table, complete with repeating values and null values. Such a program can build tables on demand and as needed from any stored list representation. This property is convenient for displaying or printing out the contents of the database.
  • Example 3 Here is an illustration of a more complex representation of a state-to- state table list:
  • a pointer construct such as the C programming language
  • Three core constructs are needed to represent the abstraction: a list construct, a price construct, and a Homogenous Rate Zone construct.
  • a list construct could be defined as a record containing either a single entry or a range of entries.
  • the abstraction (Origin List or Range) could be implemented as a list construct, as could the abstraction (Destination List or Range)
  • the price construct, R can be implemented as a record containing one of three possible values: a cu ⁇ ency amount, a percentage of a named reference table, or a system flag indicating a Heterogeneous Rate Zone.
  • a computerized mechanism to store Specification Layer prices could be implemented as a list of Homogenous Rate Zone constructs.
  • a computerized mechanism to store Multiple Specification Layer prices could be implemented as a list of Specification Layers.
  • search functions could be built to traverse all defined lists looking for prices that coincide with particular query criteria.
  • all vendor bids for a particular Demand Set are collected and analyzed.
  • the collection and analysis are performed online.
  • the analysis is performed by use of an algorithm that is customizable by the Buying Entity.
  • the output of the analysis is a Target Rate List containing a price for each bid element.
  • the Target Rate List is visible only to the participating vendors by means of, for example, being posted online on a Web site designed for this purpose.
  • the Target Rate List is utilized as a reference point for all subsequent negotiations between the parties for performances in the relevant industry. * Once a Target Rate List is generated and vendors have signaled their willingness to perform for the Buying Entity at the prices indicated on the Target Price List, a Buying Entity can stop the bidding process. A Buying Entity also could invite a second, or other subsequent round(s) of bids, where the bids are expressed as a percentage of the Target Rate List.
  • Target Rate List algorithm may operate as follows: for each element of the Buying Entity's Demand Set, and for each vendor who submitted prices, the algorithm retrieves the best price submitted by that vendor among all defined Multiple Specification Layers. Having collected the set of all such prices for all Specification Layers across all bidding vendors, the Buying Entity may specify an output where, given "m” vendors and a value "n" specified by the Buying Entity, where "m” > "n", the n th lowest bid is chosen for each element of the Buying Entity's Demand Set.
  • the Target Rate List is subsequently adjusted to achieve internal consistency of the prices, either by blunt ocular analysis or by computerized means.
  • Either the first or the second or subsequent rounds of bidding may lead to a contract for a particular performance or to an agreement to agree on later performances.
  • An agreement to agree takes the form of a PRIVATE RATECARD, which may be expressed as a set of percentages of the co ⁇ esponding Target Price List or a set of actual dollar figures.
  • Figure 5 shows a flowchart for creating a PRIVATE RATECARD.
  • the Buying Entity's Demand Set is obtained, step 1000.
  • the Multiple Specification Layers are defined, step 1100.
  • the Risk Premia in the Multiple Specification Layers of the Buying Entity's Demand Set are minimized, step 1200.
  • price collection is performed with the Multiple Specification Layers, step 1300.
  • Target Rate determination is performed with the Multiple Specification Layers, step 1400.
  • PRIVATE RATECARD contracting is performed with the Multiple Specification Layers.
  • a PRIVATE RATECARD is an electronic or paper schedule, presented in any acceptable format and containing the set of agreed upon prices for various performance elements.
  • a PRIVATE RATECARD also contains a formula which, with the aid of a PRIVATE
  • RATECARD calculator in accordance with this invention, is used to translate the schedule of agreed upon prices into a total price for a future specification.
  • each PRIVATE RATECARD is unique to the Buying Entity and the vendor or vendors which had agreed to the PRIVATE RATECARD schedule.
  • the Buying Entity when a Buying Entity with a PRIVATE RATECARD needs to contract with a vendor, the Buying Entity drafts the specifications for the job.
  • the Buying Entity then uses a PRIVATE RATECARD calculator to derive the price for that job.
  • the derivation can be obtained by any means known in the art.
  • the PRIVATE RATECARD calculator is an online calculator that includes a look-up engine for locating the relevant bid elements or Specification Levels.
  • the PRIVATE RATECARD calculator implements the PRIVATE RATECARD formula for the agreed upon prices for the relevant bidding elements or Specification Levels and outputs a final price calculation.
  • the format of the output is customizable by the user.
  • the PRIVATE RATECARD calculator is implemented over the Internet to facilitate updates of the calculator to reflect changes in macroeconomic and microeconomic factors, to accommodate new advances in the relevant technology, and to reflect changes to the PRIVATE RATECARD schedule of prices.
  • the PRIVATE RATECARD calculator can derive prices for multiple PRIVATE RATECARDS. Due to the amount and complexity of the data involved, this task would be enormous burdensome and virtually unmanageable if one were to attempt it manually.
  • FIG. 6 shows the use of a PRIVATE RATECARD to create contracts between Buying Entities and vendors.
  • a Buying Entity first drafts a Specification for its job, step 2000.
  • the Specification for a job would typically include origin, destination, shipment weight, commodity class, and any ancillary services that may be required.
  • a computer program written in accordance with the present invention by any means known in the art calculates the weight bracket based upon the shipment weight.
  • the present invention then employs the PRIVATE RATECARD calculator to obtain a total job price based on the origin, destination, weight bracket, commodity class, and ancillary services information for the job and retrieves the PRIVATE RATECARD prices for the shipment from all vendors who have agreed to a PRIVATE RATECARD pricing structure, step 2100.
  • the Buying Entity selects the vendor, step 2200, and the vendor then performs the job, step 2300.
  • any individual, entity or organization may publish a Public Pricing Index, contaimng a schedule of target prices, based on defining Multiple Specification Layers, price collection, and target rate determination processes according to this invention.
  • a Public Pricing Index contaimng a schedule of target prices, based on defining Multiple Specification Layers, price collection, and target rate determination processes according to this invention.
  • Fig. 7 first, Multiple Specification Layers are defined, step 3000. Then price collection is performed, step 3100. Next, target rate determination is performed, step 3200. Finally, a schedule of target prices is published to create a Public Pricing Index, step 3300. Once the Public Pricing Index is published, some but not all Buying Entities, particularly small and midsize companies, may find that they do not need to conduct the price determination and target rate processes outlined here. Instead, these companies may use the Public Pricing Index.
  • the Public Pricing Index may be adjusted over time for both macroeconomic factors, such as inflation, and microeconomic factors particular to the industry, such as a rapid rate of technological advance. Vendors may publish public asking prices, expressed as a percentage of the Public Pricing Index. The resulting schedule is refe ⁇ ed to herein as a PUBLIC RATECARD. A vendor may then make the PUBLIC RATECARD pricing available to Buying Entities in the vendor's industry, either by posting the PUBLIC RATECARD online or by any other means known in the art. A Buying Entity may contract with a vendor with the most favorable PUBLIC
  • a Purchasing Entity may review the available PUBLIC RATECARD(s), preferably by means of a look-up engine or a search engine that would enable the Buying Entities to search and compare the PUBLIC RATECARD(s) by Specifications of interest.
  • a vendor retrieves the Public Pricing Index, step 4000.
  • step 4100 the vendor calculates its public "Ask” prices, e.g., as a percentage of the Public Pricing Index.
  • step 4200 the vendor publishes its public "Ask” prices, e.g., via an Internet site designed for this purpose.
  • a Buying Entity may use a PUBLIC RATECARD calculator to determine the total price for a given Specification using the pricing schedule in any given
  • the Buying Entity uses a PUBLIC RATECARD calculator to determine the best "public price" for the job, step 5100.
  • a PUBLIC RATECARD calculator derives a final contract price similarly to the way a PRIVATE RATECARD calculator does so.
  • the Buying Entity selects a vendor, step 5200. As an option, this selection may be performed, in part, by a Purchasing Entity
  • Buying Entities can utilize both the present invention and the invention described in U.S. Serial No. 60/233,034, titled Standardizing Price Discovery and Negotiations in Commercial Industries and incorporated by reference herein, to comprehensively price all of the services to a Buying Entity from a vendor.
  • the system gathers bid data elements from vendors based on any of the several sets of Multiple Specifications Layers that are generally known in the industry, but it also collects the bids charged by these vendors for ancillary services.
  • LTL freight ancillary services can include, but are not limited to, facilities storage, freeze protection, weight verification, stop-off, and redelivery, and generally do not have the problem of Multiple Specification Layers.

Abstract

La présente invention concerne un procédé mis en oeuvre par ordinateur de découverte de prix d'une marchandise possédant une ou plusieurs caractéristiques, l'une de ces caractéristiques au moins pouvant être décrite par des ensembles multiples de valeurs. Ce procédé consiste à recevoir d'un acheteur un ensemble de demandes de spécifications liées à cette marchandise, chaque spécification comprenant des valeurs pour une ou plusieurs caractéristiques, notamment une valeur issue d'un des ensembles multiples de valeurs de cette ou ces caractéristiques. Puis l'ensemble de demandes est fourni à un ou plusieurs vendeurs. Une offre d'au moins un vendeur pour une ou plusieurs spécifications de l'ensemble de demandes est reçue. Les offres reçues sont stockées. Finalement, toutes les offres stockées sont analysées de façon à repérer une offre préférée pour chaque spécification de l'ensemble de demandes.
EP01989727A 2000-11-22 2001-11-21 Normalisation de decouverte de prix et negociations dans des branches d'industrie commerciales a couches de specifications multiples Withdrawn EP1360625A2 (fr)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

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US25266700P 2000-11-22 2000-11-22
US252667P 2000-11-22
PCT/US2001/043406 WO2002043303A2 (fr) 2000-11-22 2001-11-21 Normalisation de decouverte de prix et negociations dans des branches d'industrie commerciales a couches de specifications multiples

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EP1360625A2 true EP1360625A2 (fr) 2003-11-12

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US4412287A (en) * 1975-05-29 1983-10-25 Braddock Iii Walter D Automated stock exchange
US5063507A (en) * 1990-09-14 1991-11-05 Plains Cotton Cooperative Association Goods database employing electronic title or documentary-type title
US5845266A (en) * 1995-12-12 1998-12-01 Optimark Technologies, Inc. Crossing network utilizing satisfaction density profile with price discovery features

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AU2002228613A1 (en) 2002-06-03

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