Patent ID: 7092918
Filing Date: 2006-08-15
Classification: G06Q

Abstract:
1. An apparatus for determining optimum prices of products for sale, comprising: a scenario/results processor, configured to enable a user to prescribe an optimization scenario, and configured to present the optimum prices to said user, wherein the optimum prices are determined by execution of said optimization scenario, wherein said scenario/results processor comprises: an input/output processor, configured to acquire data corresponding to said optimization scenario from said user, and configured to distribute optimization results to said user, said input/output processor comprising: a scenario controller, coupled to said input/output processor, configured to control the acquisition of said data and the distribution of said optimization results in accordance with a price optimization procedure; a demand engine, coupled to said scenario/results processor, configured to model relationships between potential prices of the products and market demand for the products; an activity based cost engine, coupled to said demand engine, configured to estimate demand chain costs for the products based upon said market demand; and a price optimization engine, coupled to said demand engine and said activity based cost engine, configured to employ said market demand and said demand chain costs to determine the optimum prices, wherein the optimum prices are a subset of said potential prices, and wherein the optimum prices maximize a merchandising performance figure of merit according to said optimization scenario.