JP2004515847A - Reverse auction method and system - Google Patents

Abstract

No abstract.

Description

[0001]
Background of the Invention
Field of the invention
The present invention relates to online auctions. In particular, the present invention provides an online business-to-business procurement service over the Internet, characterized by writing the buyer's requirements for services and products, and matching suppliers' asking prices to meet the buyer's requirements. Methods and systems for providing.
[0002]
Description of related technology
Current online airline ticket auctions offer individual buyers the opportunity to bid on airline tickets. In general, the buyer specifies the date of travel, the city of departure and arrival, and the maximum payment per ticket the buyer wants. The specified information is forwarded by the online auction provider to several airlines or agents to get tickets at the desired price.
[0003]
The buyer then receives a notification from the online auction provider indicating whether the buyer's asking price has been accepted by the airline. In current online auctions, buyers cannot negotiate prices directly with airlines. Moreover, current online auction providers are not suitable providers to meet the needs of business buyers interested in purchasing large numbers of tickets. This is also due to the fact that air tickets are not transferable in current online auctions. Further, discounts cannot be negotiated with airlines when multiple tickets are purchased at once by a single buyer. Further, the only relevant information considered as part of the decision to accept the asking price is the price of the ticket. Thus, in the art, buyers and sellers can reach a direct agreement, provided to business buyers, and enable sellers to introduce information other than price information about services or products as part of the auction process There is a need for an auction method and system.
[0004]
Summary and purpose of the invention
An online reverse auction method and system is disclosed. In particular, such methods and systems allow buyers interested in purchasing a product or service to create a proposal and upload it to the supplier's access website. The supplier submits the offer by uploading it to the website in response to the offer request. Buyers and suppliers can see all quotes offered.
[0005]
The buyer can review the details of the asking price offered in response to the offer request, while the supplier can review his / her offered asking price. The details of the asking price can be reviewed by accessing the website. If a certain asking price is accepted by the buyer or a counter offer is accepted by the seller, an acknowledgment of acceptance is sent to the buyer and the supplier who provided the accepted asking price.
[0006]
It is an object of the present invention to provide business buyers with whom a buyer and a seller can achieve a direct agreement, wherein the seller introduces information other than price information about a service or product as part of the auction process. To provide a method and system that enables Yet another object of the present invention is to enable buyers and sellers to make agreements, pledges, and the like when transacting with each other. Yet another object of the present invention is to achieve the above object by allowing both buyers and sellers to reach agreements via the Internet. It is a further object of the present invention to post on a website a proposal request submitted by a buyer and details of an asking price submitted by a seller to facilitate the negotiation process.
[0007]
The nature of the invention, together with these and other objects, advantages, and features of the invention that may become apparent hereinafter, set forth the following detailed description of the invention, the appended claims, and the accompanying several drawings. It can be more clearly understood by reference.
[0008]
Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
[0009]
These and other features and advantages of the present invention are described in, and will be apparent from, the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments.
[0010]
Detailed description of preferred embodiments
Reference will now be made to the figures where like elements are designated by like reference numerals. FIG. 16 illustrates a reverse auction system 1600 according to one aspect of the present invention. The system includes a personal computer used by the buyer (i.e., buyer PCs 1601-1603), a personal computer used by the supplier (i.e., supplier PCs 1604-1606), at least one exchange server 1610, a group of Web server and database server 1611, and a network interconnecting the PCs 1601-1606 and the servers 1610-1611 (ie, the Internet 1612).
[0011]
Purchaser personal computers 1601-1603 and supplier personal computers 1604-1606 may be stand-alone personal computers. Alternatively, the personal computers 1601 to 1603 can be interconnected via the purchaser's intranet. Similarly, supplier personal computers 1604-1606 can be interconnected via the supplier's corporate intranet.
[0012]
In one aspect of the invention, the buyer may be a company interested in purchasing a ticket from a supplier (eg, an airline). The buyer may also be represented by a travel agency.
[0013]
The functions performed by server 1610, web server 1611a, and database server 1611b can be implemented in a single server unit, but are shown separately to emphasize each function. The server 1610 may include a computer capable of processing data at high speed. The web server and database server 1611a-1611b may include a computer with software that operates a website and database system. For example, web server 1611a may be a Windows NT server, serving static html pages created to support the user interface functionality described above, and maintaining data in database server 1611b. Software such as Microsoft Internet Information Services, which is used to model. Web server 1611a may include software responsible for replicating data between database 1611b and server 1610. Database server 1611b can be implemented by running Oracle SQL Server 7.0 on a separate Windows NT server.
[0014]
In system 1600, web server 1611a acts as a front-end server for collecting and transmitting data from buyer PCs 1601-1603 and supplier PCs via Internet 1612. The data may be stored in the database server 1611b.
[0015]
The exchange server 1610 can be connected to a web server and database servers 1611a-1611b via the Internet 1612. Exchange server 1610 can access data from web servers and database servers 1611a-1611b. The exchange server 1610 uses the accessed data to perform functions such as searching for suggestion requests based on criteria entered by the supplier and ranking asking prices.
[0016]
FIG. 13 shows a high-level diagram of potential transactions that can be made as part of an online auction. In this figure, each buyer 1302 presents one RFP. Meanwhile, each supplier 1306 can respond to multiple REPs. Although not shown, in a more realistic example, each buyer presents multiple RFPs and each seller bids on any of the presented REPs.
[0017]
FIG. 1 is a flowchart of a method for conducting an online reverse auction according to one aspect of the present invention. Step 101 involves online registration of the buyer and at least one supplier or seller. Information entered by either the buyer or the seller as part of online registration 101 is described in the discussion below with respect to FIG.
[0018]
At step 102, the buyer can enter information about the company as well as information about past and planned trips. Information entered by the buyer as part of step 102 is described in the discussion below with respect to FIGS. 3A and 3B.
[0019]
In step 103, the buyer creates a request for proposal (RFP) that can be based on the historical data. The historical data may be entered as part of step 102, or may be created automatically by maintaining the buyer's travel preferences for an extended period of time. The RFP may include information such as the date of the trip, the departure and arrival airports, the class of service desired, the number of seats, etc., so that suppliers searching the RFP can determine whether the RFP is of interest. Then, the asking price can be presented in response to the RFP (step 104).
[0020]
For RFPs that are pending (eg, the buyer has not accepted the offer presented in response to the RFP), the buyer and the seller that offered the asking price can see the offered asking price. (Step 105). That is, a bid activity can be viewed by accessing the exchange server 1610 of FIG.
[0021]
Step 106 may include looking at details about the quote offered in response to the particular RFP. The display of the asking price details will be described in the discussion of FIG. 7 below.
[0022]
Step 107 includes activities that may be performed by the buyer as part of the reverse auction. This may include withdrawing the RFP, rejecting the asking price, accepting the asking price, or making a counter-application.
[0023]
Stage 108 includes activities that may be performed by the supplier or seller as part of the reverse auction. This may include accepting or rejecting the counter application, and countering the counter application.
[0024]
In step 109, the seller can send the corporate ID number to the buyer once the purchase agreement is reached. After the corporate ID number has been sent, the transaction can be terminated by the buyer.
[0025]
At step 110, the web server 1611 sends a notification to the buyer and the seller who presented the accepted asking price. The notification indicates confirmation of asking price acceptance.
[0026]
FIG. 2A shows a user interface 200 for inputting user registration information. The user interface can be displayed on any one of the purchaser PCs 1601 to 1603 in FIG.
[0027]
Interface 200 may include fields for logging in by entering a username 202 and password 204. An additional field 206 for password confirmation may be provided. The login process can take place before the actual registration with the system. That is, the new user can receive the login name and password required to register with the system via email. Alternatively, the user can first register and then obtain a login name and password.
[0028]
FIG. 2B shows the fields in interface 200 that are used to enter information about the company. Information includes company name 208, company category 210, company taxpayer ID number 212, company address 216, city, state, and country where the head office is located (218, 220, 222), company phone number and fax number. (224, 226), DUNS number 228, and company website address 230.
[0029]
A DUNS number may be defined as a number assigned by Dun & Bradstreet to a company to associate the company with a particular industry or the like. In the present invention, the DUNS number can be used to verify that the particular company signing for registration is indeed a genuine company.
[0030]
As part of the registration process, the buyer enters contact information as shown in FIG. 2C. Specifically, the buyer can enter information for his name 232, his title 234, email address 236, primary language 238, telephone number 240, and fax number 242.
[0031]
FIG. 3A shows a user interface 300 for entering purchaser travel policy information. The travel policy information can be included as part of the RFP and can be used by the seller when narrowing down the RFPs that offer quotes.
[0032]
The buyer can enter an alias 302 to maintain anonymity during the online auction process. The purchaser can enter the name 304 of the agency to enter when booking a trip, along with the corresponding agency number 306. The agency IATA number refers to a number assigned by the Air Transport Association and can be used to identify the travel agency that booked the air travel. Further, the buyer can indicate whether to claim 308 the use of the current agency. That is, the buyer can record the travel agency he claims to use when booking a trip through the system of the present invention, as shown in field 308. Finally, if the buyer does not want to claim the use of the current agency to book a trip, but instead wants to claim the use of a new agency, This can be indicated by using 310.
[0033]
The buyer can enter the desired class of service for flights less than a certain time 312 or even flights lasting a certain time 314. The class of service may include economy class, business class, or first class. The purchaser may also specify 316 if a direct flight is desired.
[0034]
The buyer can enter alternative airport information in field 318 and travel pattern information in fields 320 and 322. The travel pattern information may include the current annual air travel cost 320 and anticipated changes 322 in the air travel. The current annual travel cost may be shown as an annual travel cost for a calendar year in dollars. The expected change 322 in air travel costs may be shown as a percentage for the next year.
[0035]
In FIG. 3B, the user interface 300 may also include a field 326 such that the purchaser indicates that only certain suppliers can indicate the asking price to the RFP. The airline in field 326 may be selected from list 324 of available airlines.
[0036]
FIG. 3C shows a field 328 that allows the purchaser to enter a reason for ignoring the airline in list 326. Finally, FIG. 3D shows the message displayed to the buyer upon successful registration. After the message is displayed, an e-mail for confirming the user name and password is sent to the buyer.
[0037]
FIG. 4 shows a user interface 400 for uploading travel history data to a website. In the example of FIG. 4, the travel history data can be arranged in any one file of the purchaser PCs 1601 to 1603. The user interface 400 provides a field 402 for entering the name of the travel history file. The travel history data can be used to create an RFP. RFPs can also be created manually without relying on uploading travel history data.
[0038]
Travel history data to be uploaded can be limited to only a part of the travel history. For example, the travel history can be limited by specifying a start date and an end date. User interface 400 provides fields for entering start date 404 and end date 406. The user interface 400 also provides fields for entering the country in which the ticket was purchased (408) and for entering future travel dates (410 and 412).
[0039]
The travel history data file may be created by using a spreadsheet program such as Excel. Further, the travel history data may include fields specifying rank information, city pair information, airline, number of segments, revenue, and class of service.
[0040]
The rank indicates the rank of the sales channel based on the profit. In the rank field, enter a number such that 1 indicates the highest rank. Revenue may be defined as the sum of one-way travel costs for a particular shipping company's outlets, less fees, discounts, taxes, and the like.
[0041]
The city combination field includes the bidirectional departure city and destination city, while the airline field includes the airline flying between the city combinations.
[0042]
The section number field can include the total number of sections traveling on a particular sales channel at a particular transportation company. A section can be defined as a one-way trip. Markets may be defined as departure and arrival cities. In the case of a hotel, the sales channel can be defined as the location of the hotel. Further, in the case of a rental car, a sales channel can be defined as a position where the user gets on the car and a position where the car is returned.
[0043]
The revenue field may include the sum of the section costs of the outlets at a particular transportation company. The class of service field may indicate a class of service per leg traveling through a channel in a transportation company, which may be defined as an amount that the company spends on a specific channel and for a specific class of service ( (For example, each trip costs $ 300, 100 trips in economy class from Philadelphia to Dallas). In this case, the revenue field is $ 30,000 (100%) as the total revenue spent on the channel.^*($ 300.00).
[0044]
FIG. 5A shows a user interface 500 for manually creating an RFP. The user interface includes: section 502, booking country 504, departure and arrival cities (506 and 508), leg 510, travel start and end dates (512 and 514), class of service 516, RFP start and expiration dates (518). And 520), and a field for inputting the access management field 522.
[0045]
The partition field 502 may refer to the type of service or product for which the RFP is presented. The user interface 500 of FIG. 5A has been customized for air travel. Modifications of this aspect may include customizing the user interface to reflect an RFP that desires a product or service other than air travel.
[0046]
The reservation country field may refer to the country where the ticket is purchased. In field 506, the airport where the buyer wishes to depart can be specified. Similarly, field 508 can specify the airport to which the buyer wants to arrive.
[0047]
The buyer can enter section (ie, one-way trip) information in field 510. For example, 100 section in field 510 indicates that 100 one-way trips have been requested as part of the RFP.
[0048]
Fields 512 and 514 may each include the start and end dates or date ranges of the trip. In field 156, the buyer can enter the class of service desired. For example, a buyer can specify economy class, business class, or first class.
[0049]
In field 518, the buyer can enter the date on which RFP will be available in the system for seller access. Field 520 contains the date on which the RFP available in the merchant review system ends.
[0050]
The access control column 522 of the user interface 500 includes a list of airlines that are excluded from the RFP.
[0051]
FIG. 5B shows a user interface 524 for creating an RFP by using an uploaded travel history file. FIG. 5C includes a column 526 for specifying a past travel date used when creating the RFP. FIG. 5C also shows a list of RFPs created from the uploaded travel history fields.
[0052]
FIG. 6 shows the display of the RFP of a buyer with an undecided asking price and the corresponding asking price. FIG. 6 also shows three quotes (624, 626, 628) offered for a single RFP. An RFP number 602 is assigned to the RFP. In addition to indicating the RFP number, additional information about the RFP is also included. Each RFP in the list has a "pending" status indicating that the RFP is pending with respect to the asking price. Any status other than Pending indicates "Available", meaning that no response or asking price has been received, that an airline has offered the asking price or has made a counter application to a buyer's counter application. "Response", which means that the buyer has made an opposite application and is waiting for a response, "Applying", "Sold", which means that the offer or asking has been accepted by the buyer, and A "rejection" may be included which means that the asking price has not been accepted by the buyer and the bid has been closed. Other RFP and asking price related information includes asking price supplier 604, booking country 606, city combination 608, number of sections applied 610, number of requested sections 612, class of service 614, standard travel date (616 , 618), and RFP start and end dates (620, 622).
[0053]
FIG. 7 shows details of asking prices presented in response to a particular RFP 702. Each asking price has an associated status 703, which may indicate whether the asking price is new, updated, countersubscribed by the buyer, or rejected. The seller can also access the asking price details for a particular RFP, and can therefore update the asking price so that the buyer's asking is accepted. In one aspect of the invention, after an asking price has been rejected for a particular RFP, the seller offering the rejected asking price can either update that asking price or offer a new asking price in response to that RFP. Can not.
[0054]
Field 704 indicates the name of the airline offering the asking price. The seller commitment column may include price 705, discount rate 706, rebate rate 708, update 710, and mileage service miles 712.
[0055]
The purchaser contract column includes a section field 714, a percentage 716 of the applied one-way trip, a profit rate 718, and a profit amount 720. The section field 714 contains the number of sections subscribed by the airline at the price per section indicated in the price column 705.
[0056]
The rate of return 718 may include a percentage of revenue spent on a given outlet that may be required for the supplier to make a discount or incentive. For example, a supplier can expect $ 100,000 worth of revenue on these channels, in exchange for a 10% discount on certain channels or on some channels (at least two channels). In another example, one supplier can expect 50% of the amount spent on a particular channel, ie, a buyer spends $ 300,000 per year on a given channel and supplies Expect at least $ 150,000 in revenue from buyers.
[0057]
FIG. 8 shows a user interface 800 for responding to an asking price. The buyer can review the asking price 624 for the particular RFP number 802 and respond to the asking price using the button 804, either by accepting, rejecting, or making a counter offer. be able to.
[0058]
FIG. 9 shows a user interface displayed to a merchant to search for either a buyer or an RFP in the system that meets certain criteria. The user interface 900 allows the seller to search the RFP based on criteria such as departure or arrival airport, city combination, number of segments, class of service, date of travel, etc. specified by the buyer. Field 904, where the seller retrieves the RFP from the buyer based on the buyer's criteria, such as the location of the buyer's company headquarters, the buyer's travel agency, and anticipated changes in air travel costs. Field 906 that enables
[0059]
The search field 902 gives the merchant the option to search for all available RFPs that are pending for a period of time. Finally, the merchant has the option to search the RFP by clicking button 908 on user interface 900 or to search for the buyer by clicking button 910.
[0060]
The RFP information may belong to the database 1611 of FIG. 16, for example, to perform a search by querying the database by using an SQL command that includes the information entered in fields 904 and 906 as parameters for the query. it can. Once the RFPs that satisfy the description in the field have been extracted from the database, these RFPs can be displayed to the merchant. Each RFP contains information in addition to the information used by the seller as a search parameter.
[0061]
FIG. 10 shows a display of a result of searching for a buyer. The buyer can be identified by the alias 1002. The information displayed may be for a particular RFP presented by the buyer 1002 and meeting the RFP search criteria. The information may include the client's air travel costs 1006, the booking agency 1004 for a particular RFP, the city 1008 where the head office is located, and the state 1010 where the head office is located. Air travel costs may be defined as the total amount that a company is expected to spend on air travel during a particular time period. For example, a company's annual air travel cost of $ 1.5 million means that the company is expected to spend this amount on air travel in one year.
[0062]
FIG. 11 shows an exemplary display of historical information of a buyer accessed by a supplier. The displayed information may include the buyer's alias 1102, annual air travel costs in dollars 1104, expected changes in air travel costs 1114, the booking agency 1106 and the associated IATA number 1112, indicating whether to use the agency. 1108, whether the agency makes a reservation 1110, and travel policy information 1116 may be included. The merchant can access a list 1118 of flights booked by the buyer within the historical data date range of interest.
[0063]
FIG. 12 shows a display of a list of RFPs 1204 presented by a particular client 1202. Listing 1204 may include the RFPs of the buyers that met the seller's search criteria, as well as other RFPs submitted by the same buyer.
[0064]
FIG. 14 shows an interface 1400 for entering an asking price. Once the buyer has identified the asking price of interest, the buyer can begin negotiations with the seller that offered the asking price. The buyer can make a reverse offer for the first offer as part of the negotiation. The user interface 1400 can display a first asking price 1401 by the merchant and a counter offer 1402. When the interface 1400 is displayed to the supplier, the supplier is provided with a field 1404 for responding to the buyer's counter application.
[0065]
FIG. 15A shows a list 1502 of ongoing asking prices presented by the supplier in response to some RFPs. The information on the list includes RFP number 1504, buyer's alias 1506, reserved country 1508, city combination 1510, number of sections offered by asking price 1512, number of sections originally requested by buyer 1514, service Class 1516, travel start date 1518, travel end date 1520, RFP start date 1522, and RFP expiration date 1524. Similarly, FIG. 15B shows a list 1526 of the finalized RFP. List 1526 includes fields that specify RFPs 1528 sold to other suppliers and RFPs 1530 rejected.
[0066]
While the invention has been described with respect to the specific embodiments outlined above, it is evident that many modifications, variations and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the above-described preferred embodiments of the invention are intended to be illustrative, not limiting. Various changes can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a flowchart of a first method of the present invention.
2A to 2C are diagrams of a user interface for entering registration information of a user according to aspects and methods of the present invention.
3A to 3D are diagrams of a user interface for entering purchaser travel policy information in accordance with aspects and methods of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is an illustration of a user interface for uploading travel history data to a website, in accordance with aspects and methods of the present invention.
5A-5C are diagrams of a user interface for creating a proposal request, in accordance with aspects and methods of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a diagram of a proposal request with an undecided asking price and a corresponding asking price display, according to aspects and methods of the present invention.
FIG. 7 is a diagram of details of quotes presented in response to a solicitation request, in accordance with aspects and methods of the present invention.
FIG. 8 is an illustration of a user interface for responding to an asking price in accordance with aspects and methods of the present invention.
FIG. 9 is a diagram of a user interface for retrieving a proposal request, in accordance with aspects and methods of the present invention.
FIG. 10 is an illustration of a display of results of a search for a proposal request, in accordance with aspects and methods of the present invention.
FIG. 11 is an illustration of a display of a buyer's history being accessed by a supplier, in accordance with aspects and methods of the present invention.
FIG. 12 is an illustration of a display of a proposal solicited by a buyer, in accordance with aspects and methods of the present invention.
FIG. 13 is an illustration of a transaction between a buyer and a supplier in accordance with aspects and methods of the present invention.
FIG. 14 is an illustration of a user interface for entering a quote in accordance with aspects and methods of the present invention.
15A and 15B are diagrams of a representation of an asking price offered by a supplier in response to some offer requests, in accordance with aspects and methods of the present invention.
FIG. 16 is an illustration of a system for implementing a reverse auction method, in accordance with aspects and methods of the present invention.

Claims (27)

An online reverse auction method comprising the following steps:
Receiving information from the buyer and creating a request for proposal;
Writing a request for proposal on the merchant's access website;
Displaying at least one asking price offered by the at least one merchant in response to the offer request to the merchant and the buyer via the website; and receiving a notification to accept one of the asking prices. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving information from a buyer and creating a proposal request comprises the following steps:
Receiving a service category;
Receiving the start date of access to the proposal request;
Receiving a number of segments; and receiving an expiration date of access to the proposal request. 3. The method of claim 2, wherein receiving information from a buyer and creating a proposal request further comprises the following steps:
Receiving air travel as a service segment;
Receiving departure and arrival airport information; and receiving travel dates. The method of claim 1, further comprising displaying details of an asking price for the offer request. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving a record of the buyer's past travel data and writing the record to a website. 6. The method of claim 5, wherein receiving information from the buyer and creating a proposal request includes the following steps:
Receiving one of the entire past travel data record, a plurality of data selected from the record, and one data selected from the record to generate a proposal request. 6. The method of claim 5, wherein receiving a record of the buyer's past travel data includes the following steps:
Receiving the departure and arrival cities;
Receiving the airline used to travel between the departure city and the destination city;
Receiving the total number of one-way trips traveling on a particular market on a particular airline;
Receiving expected changes in travel information;
Receiving the sum of the section costs of the channels at the particular airline; and receiving information indicating the class of service per section traveling through the channels at the airline. The method of claim 1, further comprising creating an electronic contract between the buyer and the seller who has submitted the accepted asking price. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving offers from buyers and sellers and negotiating bids. 10. The method of claim 9, wherein receiving the offer comprises receiving a counteroffer. 10. The method of claim 9, wherein rejecting the received offer stops bidding negotiations. 11. The method of claim 10, wherein rejecting the received counter offer stops bidding negotiations. An online reverse auction method comprising the following steps:
Searching for a proposal in the database;
Accessing the proposal request;
Receiving a first asking price in response to an offer request;
Displaying other asking prices received in response to the offer request; and sending a notification to the parties when the party submitting the offer request accepts a certain asking price. 14. The method of claim 13, further comprising displaying asking price details for the offer request. The method of claim 1, wherein displaying the asking price details comprises at least one of the following steps:
Displaying the rank of the asking price;
Displaying the status of the asking price;
Displaying the supplier offering the asking price;
Displaying the price;
Displaying a discount of the point of sale purchase price for the in-store purchase price;
Displaying cashback information;
Displaying upgrade information;
Displaying the number of miles credited;
Displaying the expiration date of the asking price;
Displaying the number of sections;
Displaying segments as a percentage of the total number of expected trips; and displaying a rate of return. 14. The method of claim 13, further comprising updating the first asking price after the seller has considered other asking prices. 14. The method of claim 13, further comprising receiving a counter-offer from the party that submitted the offer request. 14. The method of claim 13, wherein retrieving a proposal request includes the following steps:
Receiving search criteria including city pair, airport code, number of segments, class of service, travel start and end dates, proposal request start and expiration dates, and proposal request numbers. 14. The method of claim 13, further comprising retrieving a seller that has made an available solicitation. 20. The method of claim 19, wherein searching for available soliciting buyers comprises the following steps:
Search criteria that include at least one of the following: annual travel expenses, travel agency, buyer ID number, booking agent, agency IATA number, expected changes in travel expense, alternative airport information, and the location of the buyer's headquarters. Receiving the. 14. The method of claim 13, wherein accessing the proposal request includes displaying general purchaser information without displaying the purchaser's name. 14. The method of claim 13, wherein accessing the proposal request includes displaying purchaser history information. 14. The method of claim 13, wherein receiving the first asking price comprises receiving a price and at least one of the following steps:
Receiving a discount rate;
Receiving rebate information;
Receiving upgrade information; and receiving frequent flyer miles included in the bonus application. 14. The method of claim 13, wherein receiving the first asking price comprises:
Receiving information on the percentage of revenue associated with the application;
Receiving a desired percentage of transactions from a segment-based offer;
Receiving a price per section; and entering the number of sections to be committed by the buyer. 15. The method of claim 14, wherein displaying the asking price details comprises at least one of the following steps:
Displaying the rank of the asking price;
Displaying the status of the asking price;
Displaying the supplier offering the asking price;
Displaying the price;
Displaying a discount on the over-the-counter purchase price;
Displaying cashback information;
Displaying upgrade information;
Displaying the number of miles credited;
Displaying the expiration date of the asking price;
Displaying the number of sections;
Displaying segments as a percentage of the total number of expected trips; and displaying a rate of return. A system for conducting an online reverse auction, comprising:
Means for searching for proposal requests in the database;
A means of accessing the proposal request;
Means for receiving a first asking price in response to an offer request;
Means for indicating other quotes received in response to the offer request;
Means for displaying the details of the asking price regarding the proposal request; and means for transmitting an ID number to the party when the party who has submitted the proposal request accepts the asking price. A system for conducting an online reverse auction, comprising:
A means for receiving information from the buyer and creating a proposal request;
Means of writing a proposal on the merchant's access website
Means for displaying at least one asking price offered by the at least one merchant in response to the offer request to the merchant and the buyer via the website; and means for receiving a notification to accept one of the asking prices.

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