WO2001020505A2 - Procede et dispositif electroniques permettant de faciliter de maniere dynamique la gestion du rendement - Google Patents

Procede et dispositif electroniques permettant de faciliter de maniere dynamique la gestion du rendement Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2001020505A2
WO2001020505A2 PCT/EP2000/008885 EP0008885W WO0120505A2 WO 2001020505 A2 WO2001020505 A2 WO 2001020505A2 EP 0008885 W EP0008885 W EP 0008885W WO 0120505 A2 WO0120505 A2 WO 0120505A2
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WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
inventory
requests
bid
buyer
seller
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Application number
PCT/EP2000/008885
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English (en)
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WO2001020505A8 (fr
Inventor
Jean-Louis Velaise
Original Assignee
Imediapoint.Com Limited
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 Imediapoint.Com Limited filed Critical Imediapoint.Com Limited
Priority to AU74189/00A priority Critical patent/AU7418900A/en
Publication of WO2001020505A2 publication Critical patent/WO2001020505A2/fr
Publication of WO2001020505A8 publication Critical patent/WO2001020505A8/fr

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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
    • G06Q10/00—Administration; Management
    • G06Q10/04—Forecasting or optimisation specially adapted for administrative or management purposes, e.g. linear programming or "cutting stock problem"
    • 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
    • G06Q10/00—Administration; Management
    • G06Q10/06—Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling

Definitions

  • the auctioneer w ill decrease the offer price of the item until either a buver bids on the item or the pnce reaches a prescribed w undraw al price
  • the prescribed w ithdraw al price is set the owner of the lnventon and reflects the low est price at w hich the seller is w illing to sell the item
  • bu ⁇ ers or their representam es had to be sicalK present at the auction. in order to bid on l emorv
  • Some auctions had arranged lines oi communication, such as telephone or tacsimile ith absent buvers These arrangements allow ed an absent buyer to participate m the auction, howev er, this method became inefficient w hen bidding occurred quicklv
  • auctions have become more automated and a greater group of buyers Auctions held online can have software perform the duties of auctioneers and use email or chat methods of accepting bids Also, online auctions notify buyers of bid increases in real time posting the current bid pnce on their website
  • auction w ebsites are "Bid Com " and "OnSale co " Both of these websites hold auctions w ith online buyers for regular commercial inventor.' GeneralK , these auctions v. ill offer an item for a price low er than that of the market ⁇ alue of the item and allow buyers to bid for the item Also.
  • Adauction com is a website that auctions Internet banner, print, and outdoor adv ertising This w ebsite models traditional auctions in that sellers inform AdaucLon com that thev ha ⁇ e unsold space and Adauction com then organizes a traditional auction for the space w ith online buyers
  • the present inv ention is an electronic method for dynamically facilitating yield management including posting inventory having dynamic anables.
  • receiving requests for the inventory for a penod of time, and allowing the dynamic v ariables to be changed dunng the penod of time requests are received
  • the requests may be bids from potential buyers of the inventory
  • the requests may require a specific amount of the inventory and cannot be accepted if the specific amount is not ailable
  • the inventory may be media
  • the method may include optimizing the requests that are accepted such that a maximum amount of revenue is generated given an av ailable amount of the inventory
  • the method may include receiving categories w ith the requests for the inv entory, receiving a list of excluded categones for the inventory, and rejecting all requests for the inventory having categones on the list of excluded categories for the mventorv
  • the method may include classifying the requests as accepted requests and rejected requests and notifying makers of the requests of the
  • the method may include receiving desired amounts with the requests for the inventory, companng the desired amounts with the requests to the posted amount of the inventory, and allowing the posted amount of the inventory to be changed du ⁇ ng the time penod that the requests are received in v iew of the comparison between the desired amounts w ith the requests and the posted amount of the inventory
  • the method may include receiving a desired pnce with the requests for the inventory, comparing the desired pnce to the reserve pnce, rejecting requests that have a desired pnce less than the reserve pnce.
  • the method may include allowing requests to be designated as conditional on other requests and accepting the designated requests only if the other requests are also accepted
  • the method may include receiving purchase parameters, determining optimal inventory to request based on the purchase parameters and re-determining the optimal inventory to request if the dynamic vanables change.
  • the present invention is a system for electronically, dynamically facilitating yield management including a processor, memory, and a program executable on the processor using the memory for posting inventory having dynamic vanables, receiving requests for the mv entorv tor a period of time and allow ing the dynamic v anables to be changed dunng the penod of time that the requests for the inventory are received.
  • the requests may be bids from potential buyers of the inventory
  • the requests may require a specific amount of the mventory and cannot be accepted if the specific amount is not available
  • the inventory may be media
  • the system may include a program executable on the processor using the memory for optimizing the requests that are accepted such that a maximum amount of revenue is generated given an a ailable amount of the in entory
  • the system may include a program executable on the processor using the memory for receiving categories w ith the requests for the in entory, receiving a list of excluded categones for the mventorv .
  • the sv stem may include a program executable on the processor using the memorv for classifying the requests as accepted requests and rejected requests and notifying makers of the requests of the classification
  • the system may include a program executable on the processor using the memory for posting a confirmation v alue, receiving orders hav ing the confirmation value and preferentially accepting the received orders over the requests for the inv entory
  • the system may include a program executable on the processor using the memory for receiving a ratio descnbing a value of a non-standard unit of time relative to a value of the standard unit of time, calculating a value equivalent to the v alue of the standard unit of time for the non-standard unit of time, receiving standard units of time and non-standard units of time with the requests, converting the standard units of time and the non-standard units of time based on the calculated value equivalent, and companng the converted equivalent alues to determine w hich requests to accept.
  • the system may include a program executable on the processor using the memory for receiving desired amounts w ith the requests for the mventorv', companng the desired amounts with the requests to the posted amount of the inventory, and allowing the posted amount of the inventory to be changed dunng the time penod that the requests are received in view of the companson between the desired amounts with the requests and the posted amount of the inventory
  • the system may include a program executable on the processor using the memory for receiving a desired pnce with the requests for the inventory, companng the desired pnce to the reserve pnce, rejecting requests that have a desired pnce less than the reserve pnce, and allowing the reserve pnce to be changed dunng the penod of time that requests are received
  • the system may include a program executable on the processor using the memory for allowing requests to be designated as conditional on other requests and accepting the designated requests only if the other requests are also accepted
  • the system may include a program executable on the processor using the memorx for receiv
  • the present inv ention is an electronic method for dynamically facilitating yield management including registenng a seller and a plurality of buyers by individual descnptiv e information, granting a seller account to a registered seller upon venfymg the individual descnpti e information, and granting a buver account to each registered buyer of the plurality of buvers upon v e ⁇ fv mg the indiv idual descriptive information
  • the method further includes accepting from the seller mv entorv postings, and an auction penod, available quantitv reserv e price and purchase price for each inventory posting
  • the method also includes accepting bids for each mv entorv posting dunng the auction penod from the buyer accounts and companng the amount of each bid to the purchase pnce
  • the method includes notifying the seller and each of the buyer accounts that submit a bid equal to the purchase price of a direct purchase and decrementing the available quantity for that inventory posting
  • the method includes ordenng the bids for
  • the method includes notifying the seller account of any change in the order of the bids submitted for each inventory posting dunng the auction penod, notifying each of the buyer accounts that submit a bid of any change in the status of the bid submitted from that buyer account dunng the auction penod and a close of the auction at the end of the auction penod, and notifying the seller and each of the buyer accounts that submit a bid that is classified as a winning bid at the close of the auction of an auction purchase
  • the method may include allowing the buyer account to submit an available quantity that must be acquired for the bid to be classified as a winning bid.
  • the invention is a system for electronically, dynamically facilitating yield management including means for posting inventory having dynamic variables, means for receiv ing requests for the mventorv' for a penod of time, and means for allowing the dynamic v anables to be changed dunng the period of time that the requests for the inventory are received.
  • Figure 1 shows an embodiment of the present invention.
  • Figure 2 shows an embodiment of an Internet website log-in screen.
  • Figure 3 is a flow chart describing an embodiment of a buyer log-in process and a system monitonng of the buyer.
  • Figure 4 is a flow chart describing an embodiment of a seller log-in process and a system monitonng of a seller.
  • Figure 5 shows an embodiment of an Internet website inventory screen.
  • Figure 6 shows an embodiment of an Internet website bidding screen.
  • Figure ⁇ shows an embodiment of an Internet website bidding screen.
  • Figure S shows an embodiment of an Internet website bidding screen.
  • Figure 9 is a flow chart describing an embodiment of a bidding process.
  • Figure 10 is a flow chart describing an embodiment of a classification process for pending bids.
  • Figure 1 1 shows an embodiment of an Internet website bidding screen.
  • Figure 12 shows an embodiment of an Internet website inventory screen.
  • Figure 13 shows an embodiment of an Internet website seller calculation screen.
  • Figure 14 is a flow chart describing an embodiment of a campaign management process.
  • Figure 15 is a flow chart describing an embodiment of a conditional bidding process.
  • FIG 1 show s an embodiment in accordance with the present invention
  • the invention can be embodied in electronic software residing in one or more computers 10 connected to one or more buyer computers 12 and seller computers 14 through a network 16 .
  • the computers shown in figure 1 may be mainframe computers, network computers, web-browsing terminals, desktop computers, laptop computers, palmtop computers, etc , and may run under IBM-compatible operating systems, Macintosh operating systems, UNIX operating systems, etc.
  • the network 16 may be embodied in many different forms.
  • One widely known network of computers that the present invention may use is the Internet It will be understood by those skilled m the art that there are many methods of connecting to the Internet
  • the present invention may be an Internet-based exchange for recognized buyers and sellers
  • buyers and sellers may access the website through a log-in screen 20
  • registered users can enter their user name and password in fields 22 and 24. respectively, to log-on
  • new users may be registered administratively from known information or information submitted v ia telephone, facsimile, etc
  • step 34 If the system does not recognize the buyer/seller, a message w ill be returned to that effect (step 34) and the buyer/ seller will be granted an opportunity to resubmit their sign-m information (step 36) This may either result in accessing the registration screen for new users from the hyperlink 28 or re-entenng the buyer's/seller's user name and password. In either case, if the new user application or re-entenng of user name and password is submitted, the system will determine if the submission is approved/recognized (step 38) If the buyer/seller does not provide any further submission, the process will end (step 40) If the new information provided is not approv ed.
  • the buv er seller will be notified and again prompted for resubmission (step 42)
  • the buyer/seller may be given specific reasons w hy the information provided was not approved, for example, the submitted information contained a blank field. If the buyer/seller resubmits (step 44) w ith information that is approved/recognized (step 38), then the buyer/seller w ill be logged onto the website (step 46) Other ise, the process will repeat (step 42) until the buyer/seller logs on ( step 46) or does not resubmit. w hich ends the process (step 40)
  • an inventory screen shown in figure 5
  • the buyer can review av ailable items and bid on or purchase those items Also, if the buyer has prev iously bid on or purchased any items, the buyer may review those previous actions
  • the system will monitor whether the buyer has opted to bid on any items (step 48) and w hether the log-off hyperlink has been selected (step 50) Selecting the log-off hvperhnk w ill end the process ( step 40) w hile opting to bid on an item w ill take the buyer to a bidding screen (step 52)
  • the bidding operates bv a "Bid-Loop " process, which will be described w ith reference to figure 8 below
  • the seller can post items of mventorv' and review those postings Also, the seller can change the reserve pnce and/or quantity of available lots for posted inv entory Further, the seller can modify exclusion categones for posted inventory Exclusion categories will be described in more detail below. Similar to the buyer, the seller uses a log-off hyperlink to exit the website w hen finished.
  • the system monitors whether the seller has chosen to post or edit inventory (step 54) or the log-off hyperlink has been selected ( step 50) As before, selecting the log-off hyperlink (step 50) will end the process (step 40), while choosing to post or edit mv entorv' (step 54) w ill bnng the seller to an inventory screen (step 56) Adding inventory operates by an "Add Inventory-Loop" process, which will be described vv ith reference to figure 13 below
  • the bidding screen includes mventorv categones 62 and mventorv' items 64
  • the inventory items 64 may be tabulated by the week in which the media slot commences as shown Buyers can select to view specific commencement vv eeks by using a pull-down menu 66
  • the available units 68 for a given inventory item 64 appear in the table conespondmg to the week m which they commence.
  • a bidding screen 80 as shown in figures 6 and 7, will be displayed
  • the inventory screen 60 also contains hyperlinks that return to the inventory screen 70, refresh the inventory available 72. and allow the seller to update the information submitted at registration 74 Also, the buyer uses a log-off hyperlink 76 to exit the website when finished.
  • the bidding screen 80 contains specific information 82 on the inventory item 64 This information is provided bv the seller when the inventory is added, as will be discussed later Also, the bidding screen 80 contains a purchase inventory field 84 and a bid for inventory field 86 The purchase mventorv' field 84 lists the fixed purchase pnce 88 as set by the seller upon posting the inventory and includes a quantity field 90 the buyer uses to select the amount of units desired The buyer can only elect to purchase up to as many units as are currently av ailable Also, as units are purchased, the quantity av ailable for bid decreases accordingly
  • the bid for inv entory field 86 includes the av ailable quantity 92, the time remaining until the close of the auction 94 start and end times for the auction 96. and the number of bids currentlv pending for the inv entory 98 Also ithin the bid for mv entorv field 86.
  • bid pnce field 100 and unit quantitv field 102 are included The buyer inputs a bid pnce and a quantity of units on which to bid
  • buyers can select whether the bid is locked or unlocked using radio buttons 103, or the like Also, a buyer may be prompted for a product category 105, which is used m conjunction with category exclusions Locked/unlocked bids and category exclusions will be descnbed in more detail below.
  • a bid may also become a winning bid if there are locked bids involv ed in the auction and the bid is one that maximizes the total revenue for the seller This concept will be descnbed m more detail w ith reference to locked bids below If there are no further changes, the bid will become a purchase w hen the auction closes Alternatively, the bids may be in a standard highest-to-lowest ranking This alternative simplifies the descnbed process and thus, will not be addressed in detail
  • Figure 9 is a flow chart showing the Bid-Loop process When a buyer submits an entry from the purchase inventory field 84 or bid for inventory field 86. the system will check whether the auction has closed (step 1 10) The system notifies the buyer that the auction is closed (step 112) and the process ends (step 1 14) If the auction is closed, neither purchases nor bids will be accepted.
  • bids may be accepted after the auction has closed to allow sellers to see the market demand for a certain product, and possibly reopen tne auction
  • the inv entor ⁇ ' may be removed from the posted mventorv after the auction commences In this case, buyers would not have any opportunit) to bid on inv entorv after the auction closes, and thus, this issue would be moot.
  • the system w ill determine if the buyer is in an excluded category for the inventory (step 1 13) If the buyer is in an excluded category, the sv stem w ill notify the buv er of this fact (step 1 1 1 ) and the process ends (113)
  • the sv stem next determines whether the bid price is equal to the purchase pnce (step
  • the s stem checks whether units are available for the mv entorv (step 1 18) In the event that there are no more units av ailable for the mventorv. the s stem notifies the buver that the mv entorv' is sold out or that the buyer is in an excluded categon.
  • step 120 decrements the quantity of units av ailable for the inv entory (step 122), confirms to the buyer and the seller that the units of inventory have been sold at the purchase price (step 124), and the process ends (step 1 14)
  • step 126 the system will compare the submitted pnce to the reserve price set by the seller and other pending bids. Note that this step w ill only be reached by submissions from the bid for inventory field 86 Also in step 126. the system will compare the av ailable quantity to the requested quantity This quantity companson will be described below in more detail, together with the concept of locked
  • the bid w ill be a non-w innmg bid
  • the buyer is notified that the submitted bid is a non-w innmg bid (step 128).
  • the buyer has three choices
  • a non-winnmg bid left standing may become a winning bid, if any, or a combination of. more inventory is released by the seller, the reserve pnce is adjusted down by the seller, other bids are ithdrawn, etc.
  • a ouv er submitting a bid w ill be notified of having a winning bid if the bid meets the reserve price and is currently a highest bid (step 130)
  • the total requested quantity of mv entorv from bids that are simultaneously w inning bids can never exceed the quantity of av ailable units for the mventorv
  • the bid submitted earlier will prevail and become a winning bid.
  • the system determines whether the seller has modified the mv entory (steps 132 and 133) As will be descnbed in more detail below , sellers can dv namicallv change the av ailable quantity and reserve pnce These changes may affect the status of a bid If the seller has changed any of the parameters for the inventory, the system w ill re-determine the status of the submitted bid (step 126) Otherwise, the system w ill check w hether the auction time has expired (steps 134 and 135) Also, the system may specifically notify the buyer of any cnange in the status of the submitted bid These loops will continue until the auction time expires, at which point the system will notify the buyer of the close of the auction (steps 136 and 137) After the auction is closed, the system confirms to the buyer and the seller that the units of inventory have been sold at the submitted pnce (step 124) If a buyer has a
  • submitted bids may be customized such that they w ill only be winning bids for a specific quantity of the inventory This customized bid is called a "locked bid " Locked bids will only be a winning bid for the total quantitv of the bid Activating the locked bid feature is accomplished by clicking a check box on the bid screen If a buyer elects to deactiv ate the locked bid feature w hen placing a bid, then the bid could be a w inning bid for an amount less than the requested amount.
  • the locked bid would not be a winning bid and the buyer would not be obligated to buy the lesser amount
  • the system may return a general notice of non-winning bid if the total amount of the locked bid is not won
  • Buyers can edit locked bids to deselect the locked bid feature in either case, if a lower quantity becomes acceptable
  • the system may rank bids in a standard highest-to-lowest order or may optimize the total revenue generated by the bids
  • An exemplary bidding situation is presented below to clanfy the locked bid and total revenue optimization features.
  • a seller posts inv entory with an available quantity of 4 units and receives the following bids:
  • the winning bids would be Buyer A for 2 units (for a total price of 210), Buyer B for 1 unit (for a total pnce of 100), and Buyer E for 1 unit (for a total price of 75).
  • Buyer C cannot have inning bids because all 3 units bid for must be available for the locked bid to win.
  • Buyer D cannot hav e a winning bid because both units bid for must be available for the locked bid to win.
  • Buyer C had placed an unlocked bid. then that bid would have been a w inning bid for 1 unit. Also, if Buyer D had placed an unlocked bid and Buyer C had not.
  • Buyer D ould have been had a winning bid for 1 unit. Further, the seller can dynamically adjust the available units of inventory and thus alter the status of the bids. If the seller adds an additional unit of inventory, resulting m a total of 5 units available, then the winning bids would be reorganized to maximize the total revenue for the seller. In the above scenario, with 5 units available, the winning bids would be Buyer A for 2 units (for a total pnce of 210). and Buyer C for 3 units (for a total pnce of 285). With the additional unit of inventory, Buyer C ' s locked bid is satisfied and can be a winning bid. Buyer C's bid will become a winning bid.
  • the system calculates the maximum total revenue for the seller and will select winning bids accordingly If the seller adds three additional units of inventory, resulting in a total of 7 units available, the winning bids would Buyer A for 2 units (for a total pnce of 210), Buyer C for 3 units (for a total price of 285), and Buyer D for 2 units (for a total pnce of 180). This results in a total revenue of 675. As with Buyer C in the last situation, the additional units of inventory can satisfy Buyer D's locked bid and maximize total revenue. By satisfying Buyer D's locked bid rather than satisfy ing the higher bid by Buver B (for a total price of 100) and the lower bid by Buyer E (for a total pnce of 75). the total revenue for the seller is 675 instead of 670.
  • Winning bids are commitments and the only w ay a buyer can remove a w inning bid is by purchasing the inventory at the purchase pnce
  • the system asks the buyer whether the currently pending bid should be remov ed
  • the buyer need not remov e the bid, but has the ability to do so at that point
  • Non- inning bids can be remov ed or modified as described above
  • the process of classifying locked and unlocked bids is descnbed with reference to figure 10 below First, the system determines w hich bid has the highest submitted pnce (step 140) Next, the system determines w hether the highest bid is a locked or unlocked bid (step 142) If the bid is an unlocked bid.
  • the system will compare the requested quantity of units to the quantity of available units for the inventory (step 144) In a situation where the available quantity is less than the requested quantity, the highest bid that maximizes the total revenue for the seller will win all of the av ailable units In such a situation, the system notifies the buyer that the submitted bid is a w inning bid for the quantity av ailable for the mventorv (step 146) and the process ends (step 148)
  • the system notifies the buyer submitting the highest bid that the submitted bid is a inning bid for the requested quantity (step 150) and determines whether there are any more av ailable units (step 152) If no more units are available, i e., the highest bid requested exactly the quantity av ailable, the process ends (step 148). However, if there are additional units available, the system will determine the next highest submitted bid pnce (step 154)
  • step 143 if the bid is a locked bid, the system will determine whether the quantity available is less than the requested quantity (step 143) If there is sufficient quantity to cover the requested bid, ⁇ e , the quantity available is greater than or equal to the requested quantity, the buyer submitting the bid is notified of having winning bid status (step 150). Then, the process determines whether any units of the inventory remain available as descnbed above (step 152). On the other hand, if the available quantity is less than the requested quantity, the buyer submitting the bid is notified of having non-w inning bid status (step 145). This is because a locked bid cannot be classified as a winning bid unless the entire requested quantity is available.
  • the system can move directly to determining the next highest bid (step 154) because the highest bid could not be a w inning bid and at least one unit must be available on which to start the bidding.
  • the system essentially repeats the above process and checks whether the bid is locked or unlocked (step 156). If the bid is locked, the system determines w hether the available quantity is less than the requested quantity (step 158) and, if so. the system again determines the next highest bid (step 154). Otherwise, the system notifies the buyer submitting the next highest bid of having a winning bid (step 160) and determines w hether any available units remain for the inventory (step 162). If any units remain available, the system w ill again determine the next highest bid (step 154). Otherwise, the process will end (step 148).
  • the system determines whether the available quantity is less than the requested quantity (step 157). If so, the buyer submitting the next highest unlocked bid will be notified of having a winning bid for the available quantity. On the other hand, if the system determines that the available quantity is greater than or equal to the requested quantity, the buyer submitting the next highest unlocked bid is notified of having a winning bid (step 160) for the requested quantity, and the process continues as descnbed above.
  • the process descnbed above with reference to figure 10 may also include optimization steps to ensure that the highest total revenue is obtained for the seller. Also, those skilled in the art will appreciate that ranking may be dictated in other ways given specific industries. In one embodiment, this optimization simply consists of calculating the possible ways that the available inventory can be distributed among the bids and then comparing the total revenue generated from each different distribution possibility in order to determine the maximum total revenue for the seller. Other methods of optimizing the distribution of a limited number of items across a set of differing variables are well known in the art.
  • broadcast media standard slots are 30-second interv als, but. generallv . sellers w ill also offer time slots of other than 30-second intervals The cost of these non-standard time slots are often not directly proportional to their deviation from the standard time inter al, e g , if a 30-second time slot is pnced at 100.
  • Duration (in seconds) 1 10 20 j 30 40 50 60
  • FIG. 1 1 shows a buyer purchase screen for broadcast media 170 If a buyer wishes to purchase a spot length of other than 30 seconds, the buyer can enter the spot length into field 172 pnor to bidding or purchasing All bids w ill be ranked according to the 30 second equivalent pnce, however, the final pnce pav able w ill take into account the spot length per the adjustment factors in use
  • the algonthm inv olv ed allows the seller to submit a personal ratios of value, which are then used to calculate the equiv alents This concept can apply generally to any inventory that can be partially sold or sold m v a ⁇ able lot sizes, e g , banels of oil might be divided into Vi barrels at a not linear pnce differential
  • the seller may elect to exclude certain product categones from certain auctions Refernng to figure 12, in order to accomplish this exclusion, the system prompts the seller for product exclusion categones m field 182 on the add inventory screen 180 As descnbed with reference to figure 8, buyers enter an advertising product category (field 105) when placing a purchase or a bid This information from the buyer is then used by the system to exclude the categones selected by the seller If a buyer in an excluded category places a bid. the system returns a message stating that the bid was a non- winning bid due to the exclusion, as descnbed with reference to figure 9 This exclusion of certain product categones is useful for many reasons.
  • the system allows the seller to calculate the effect on total revenue given the addition or subtraction of inventory, and/or changes in reserve pnce. before making such changes.
  • the system simply calculates the maximum total revenue given the new inventory and/or reserve price as described above: however, the changes are not posted for buyers to see until the seller chooses to implement changes.
  • this pre- post g calculation 1 84 appears on the seller's description of inventory screen.
  • a hyperlink may be used to reach a separate pre-posting calculation screen.
  • the current pending bids 185. the value of each bid 186. and the total revenue generated by these bids 186 is shown in the pre-post g calculation 1 83.
  • the seller can set desirable changes in quantity field 187 and reserve price field 188, and see the effect these changes would have if implemented by selecting the implement changes button 1 89.
  • the system optimizes a buyer ' s campaign given a set of variables.
  • the buyer inputs a set of vanables. such as desired budget, prefened inventory types, etc.. and the system matches these variables to the appropnate seller classifications.
  • the buyer may also input priorities for each variable or certain conditional requirements that must be met.
  • the optimization of the campaign is based on the factors provided by each individual buyer using this aspect of the invention; therefore, the particular desires of a buyer determine the process through which the campaign is optimized.
  • the system may also dynamically provide alternatives as bidding causes the price of certain inventory to nse.
  • the system determines effectiveness of the calculated possibilities based on the present cost of the inventory. If the cost changes, the system recalculates possibilities that satisfy the provided variables and reorders these new possibilities based on prionty, if given. Alternatively, the system may calculate estimates of a potential range of closing prices based on data from similar inventory sales and use those estimates to determine the effectiveness of the calculated possibilities. The system may further prioritize the possibilities based on built-in effectiveness variables.
  • certain possible configurations may yield more time, while others offer a more desirable media format to reach the target demographic, or there may be a large discrepancy between the cost of one type of media versus another
  • alternative spot lengths for broadcast media may be calculated in order to determine the most cost-effective campaign Combining these factors allows the system to optimize the effectiveness of the campaign
  • the buyer could ultimately choose any of the possibilities calculated While this concept can apply generally to any type of purchase parameters, one possible implementation of a campaign management process for media is descnbed below
  • the campaign management process receiv es input v anables from a buyer (step 190)
  • the system retneves corresponding v anables kept by the system that hav e been provided by sellers (step 192)
  • the system determines whether pnonties for the v anables w ere prov ided by the buyer (step 194) If not, the system simply calculates possible configurations of expenditure based on the v ariable inputs (step 196) and returns these possibilities to the buv er (step 202)
  • the system calculates possible configurations (step 198) and reorders the possible configurations based on the prioritization requirements (step 200) before returning the possibilities to the buyer (step 202) In either case, the system then checks whether the seller has changed any parameters of inventory in the configurations (step 204) If so, the system retneves the now changed corresponding variables (step 192)
  • conditional bids are based on a buyer's desire to acquire certain inventory only if other inventory is acquired Essentially, conditional bids allow "package deals" to be created Those skilled in the art w ill appreciate that buyers often use conditional purchasing in the ordinary course of business, particularly m diverse campaigns
  • the buyer may either initially enter a set of bids as conditional, or mark cunently non- inning bids conditional on one another
  • conditional bidding in the system is similar to that of locked bidding and may be a separate feature or part of the system descnbed above Refernng to figure 15, in one embodiment, the system determines, as descnbed previously, the status of a pending bid (step 210) If the bid is a winning bid, the system determines whether that bid is a conditional bid (step 212).
  • the process ends (step 213). If, on the other hand, the bid is a winning bid and conditional, the system retneves information on conespondmg conditional bids (step 214) The system then determines w hether the status of the conespondmg bids allows the conditional bid to be a winning bid. t e . whether all corresponding bids are w inning bids as well (step 216).
  • the bid is classified as a w inning bid (step 218) and the process ends (step 213) If the conespondmg bids are not all winning bids, then the bid cannot be classified as winning based on its conditional setting and thus, the system classifies the bid as a non-w inning bid (step 220) and the process ends (step 21 ) This process ill be repeated throughout the duration of the auctions including the conditional bids If any conditional bid becomes a non-winnmg bid, the conespondmg conditional bids ill also become non-w innmg bids
  • the conditional bidding process descnbed above applies to multiple auctions ending at the same time The process could apply more generally to multiple auctions that closed w ithin a set time of one another if the buyers and sellers w ere notified that the results of the multiple auctions would not be av ailable until the last auction had closed
  • Advantages of the present inv ention mav include one or more ot the following
  • the speed of deliver.' of the Internet enables buyers and sellers to transact "late sales" business that could be lost to both parties if left to traditional channels of communication.
  • this is not the invention ' s limit, as the system is equally applicable to futures and spot markets and could be readily employed in almost any other area of transaction between buyers and sellers.
  • No specific computer know -how is necessary User-friendly web pages with easy to understand fields and hyperlinks make the present invention simple for persons with any level of computer skill.
  • Inventory can be purchased at the seller's requested pnce, or the mventory can be bid for in an auction environment Thus, a buyer will never "overpay " Buyers can make more than one bid for specific inventory This allows a single buyer to make purchases and bids for different campaigns with different needs.
  • Non-winning bids may be w ithdraw n pnor to the close of auction, however, winning bids are commitments and cannot be w ithdraw n This is similar to a seller's inability to withdraw inventory if it is purchased Winning bids are considered commitments so that the seller w ill hav e an accurate v lew of the mventorv' sold If a bid is not a winning bid, there is no obligation to buy or continue bidding and the bid can be withdrawn
  • the present invention boosts revenues bv providing an additional real time sales channel p ⁇ manlv for the clearance of late av ailability inv entory Control of inventory rests with the seller, i c , placement and pricing of any inventory is solely at the discretion of the media seller.
  • the present inv ention provides immediate access to one marketplace for inventory across all lines of business While the above descnptions involve media, the svstem of the present inv ention is not limited thereto Buyers will achieve better results bv hav ing the opportunitv to augment existing campaigns w ith cost-efficient buys or simply conducting their purchases in a forum that effectively determines competitive market pnces

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Abstract

L'invention concerne un procédé et un dispositif électroniques permettant de faciliter de manière dynamique la gestion du rendement. Ce procédé consiste à afficher un stock comprenant des variables dynamiques, à recevoir des demandes concernant ce stock pendant un intervalle de temps donné et à permettre aux variables dynamiques de se modifier pendant l'intervalle de temps correspondant à la réception des demandes. Les demandes acceptées sont optimisées de manière à générer un revenu maximal pour une quantité disponible de stock. Les demandes concernant le stock mentionnent des catégories, et une liste de catégories exclues est reçue pour ce stock. Toutes les demandes comprenant des catégories figurant sur la liste des catégories exclues sont rejetées. Les demandes sont classées en demandes acceptées et demandes rejetées et les auteurs des demandes sont avisés de cette classification. Les demandes concernant le stock mentionnent en outre des quantités désirées, et ces quantités désirées sont comparées à une quantité annoncée du stock. On laisse cette quantité annoncée se modifier pendant l'intervalle de temps de réception des demandes en fonction de la comparaison entre les quantités désirés mentionnées dans les demandes et la quantité annoncée pour le stock. Les demandes peuvent être désignées comme conditionnelles, auquel cas elles sont dépendantes d'autres demandes. Les demandes désignées sont alors acceptées uniquement si les autres demandes sont également acceptées. Le procédé comprend en outre la réception de variables de campagne, et la définition d'un rapport optimal entre le stock et la demande en fonction de ces variables de campagne. Ce rapport stock/demande optimal est redéfini si les variables dynamiques se modifient.
PCT/EP2000/008885 1999-09-10 2000-09-11 Procede et dispositif electroniques permettant de faciliter de maniere dynamique la gestion du rendement WO2001020505A2 (fr)

Priority Applications (1)

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AU74189/00A AU7418900A (en) 1999-09-10 2000-09-11 Electronic method and apparatus for dynamically facilitating yield management

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US39457399A 1999-09-10 1999-09-10
US09/394,573 1999-09-10

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