COMPUTERIZED QUOTATION SYSTEM AND METHOD

Abstract: A computerized system for forming a network of buyers and vendors for processing requests for quotation for goods and services including storage means containing the identification of network members, means for network buyers to generate a request for quotation for goods and/or services, means for transmitting the request, filter means for selecting appropriate network members to receive the request based on filter conditions defined by the buyer and/or by the vendor and/or by the central processing unit, and means for responding to the generator of the request for quotation with either a response to the request or with a list of selected network members. Filter conditions may define the class of vendors in terms of geographical location, quantity, language, currency, special conditions of sale, and the like.

Description: COMPUTERIZED QUOTATION SYSTEM AND METHOD FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates generally to a computerized system forming a computer based communications network of buyer and vendor members for processing requests for quotation for goods and/or services from network members or their representatives and for linking buyers to sellers through the computer based communications network of network members having means for selectively controlling the linkage between network members in accordance with filter conditions of the buyers and/or sellers as well as filter conditions established by die computerized system. The filter conditions determine which of the network sellers will receive a buyer's request for quotation. More particularly this invention relates to a computerized system forming a computer based communications network between network members having filter means for controlling the communication linkage between such network members based upon chosen filter conditions set up by the network members and the system to satisfy one or more requests for quotation from the network members. BACKGROUND OF INVENTION Buyers in need of goods and services often spend considerable time locating an appropriate vendor. Buyers use trade publications, directories, recommendations, and other means to locate vendors. If the type of vendor needed is in a foreign country, the problem compounds. Vendors advertise through various media and by direct sales methods to make known to potential buyers what they sell and bow to contact them. Once a buyer identifies a few vendors, each must be contacted to obtain product or service price and availability information. This is a time consuming process and companies typically rely on experienced purchasing staff to accomplish it. In addition, when buyers must sell surplus inventory from time to time they must advertise, cold call, sell to brokers or the like. These processes are costly and T'"»<* consuming for most businesses. The prior art describes computerized shopping systems which employ some kind of central database of goods and services offered to buyers. Information about the goods and services offered is stored centrally and must be kept current ceutrally. The volume of information required to be maintained and updated in a central database system restricts it to a limited type or number of goods and services or number of vendors it can offer. It is not feasible for such systems to provide access to all standard goods and services and all suppliers world wide. For such a central database to exist, the amount of information to be stored would be awesome as would be the task of keeping it current. It simply is not feasible for central database systems to satisfy the need of buyers to receive timely quotes on an enormous variety of goods and services from vendors anywhere in the world. For this reason existing centralized database systems are created and maintained by the one or a few vendors whose goods and prices are displayed. These systems necessarily restrict a buyer's choice of vendors. These systems are like electronic supermarkets which are owned by a single company or an association of suppliers. In such systems a vendor provides its database of goods and/or services to a buyer who orders items from the vendor's database. It is analogous to walking into a vendors store and selecting items from the vendors available stock. Another such system is analogous to shopping in a mall. In this case a number of (complementary) vendors combine to offer their collective inventory to the buyer duough individual databases or a combined database of available goods or services. In yet another existing system a primary seller, such as an insurance agency, offers to provide buyers premium quotations from the insurance carriers for which die agency is an agent. In all of the above cases the vendors responding to the buyers request regarding a particular good or service are either the service provider or a vendor with whom die service provider is involved in another business relationship such as advertisers in a common publication or affiliated insurance carriers. These select vendors provide the product and pricing information supplied by the system to buyers. These systems have no capacity to offer an unlimited number of goods and services from any number of vendors who wish to become members of die system. This would require an unrealistically large central database containing information about products, services and vendors. Each vendor would be required to provide detailed information to the central database about its product lines and would be required to update diem daily. Accordingly, existing systems are very specialized electronic buying services with a limited selection of goods, services, and vendors. In addition, buyers wishing to sell surplus inventory from time to time cannot use these systems for that purpose. The present invention is analogous to a cross between telephone and broadcasting technologies. It is this difference which creates the opportunity for buyers to relate to vendors without a rigid structure operating through a centralized computer database as required by existing methods. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is a computerized system forming a computer based communications network for processing requests for quotation for goods and/or services by broadcasting such requests to network members of die computerized system over any conventional transmitting medium, such as the Internet, to which the computerized system may be connected. No central database of goods, prices, etc. is involved. Instead, buyers formulate requests for quotation and transmit them to die computerized network which broadcasts the request for quotation of one or more specified standard products to prospective sellers based on filter conditions set by the buyer and/or the seller and/or the network operator. The filter compatible sellers' responses are communicated to die prospective buyer either over the communications network or via other acceptable communications means. Their responses are processed by the quotation system and submitted to die requesting buyer. The method of die present invention processes requests for quotation for goods and/or services from a buyer or supplier of goods and/or services through a computerized system forming a computer based communications network of network members for linking buyers to suppliers with the computerized system having at least one central processing unit including operating system software for controlling the central processing unit and storage means containing die identification of the network members, wherein d e method comprises a computerized system receiving a buyer's request for quotation over a communication network; selecting one or more appropriate vendors to receive the buyer's request for quotation based on filter conditions, if any, set by the buyer, vendor and die network software; transmitting or malting available the buyer's request for quotation to said selected vendors over a communications network; and said selected vendors communicating their quotations either directly to the buyer or to die computerized system which in turn makes available or transmits said received quotations to d e requesting buyer. The computerized system of the present invention forms a computer based communications network for processing requests for quotation for goods and/or services through at least one central processing unit with said computerized system comprising operating system software for controlling the central processing unit and storage means containing appropriate identity and odier information about members of the network, means for potential buyers of product and/or services to transmit a request for quoution to said central processing unit, means for said central processing unit to selectively broadcast or make available said request for quoution to selected network vendor members, means for said vendor members to respond direcϋy to die requesting buyer or to said central processing unit and means for transmitting or making available from said central processing unit vendor's quotations to the requesting potential buyers. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The following detailed description may best be understood by reference to die following description in conjunction wid the accompanying drawings in which: FIG. 1. shows a network diagram of the computerized system of the present invention where die Internet is die communications network; FIG. 2. shows a block diagram representing how a buyer interacts with die computerized system of diis invention via die Internet; FIG. 3. is a block diagram of how a vendor's offer of items for special sale is communicated to network buyer members; FIG. 4. is a dau flow diagram linking vendors and buyers to a hypothetical central office arranged to demonstrate an embodiment of die quoution system of this invention; FIG. S. and FIG. 6. show logic for processing requests for quoution such that all filter conditions are met and a predetermined number of vendor responses are returned to the requesting buyer; FIG. 7. shows a hypothetical list of options for use in preparing requests for quoution to be routed over die network. It is one embodiment of dau structures suiuble for buyers and vendors to interact via the quoution system network of diis invention; FIG. 8. shows a hypothetical illustration of a request for quotation. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention is a computerized quoution system forming a computer based communications network for processing requests for quoution for goods and services from respective buyers or vendors who broadcast such requests to network members of the computerized system. There is no central pricing database to limit die number of buyers and vendors of goods and services or to limit the number of goods and services which can be processed. However die goods and services must be standard items to ensure that there is no confusion as to what buyers are requesting and what sellers are offering to buyers. Figure 1 shows die system of diis invention as configured using the Internet as the communications network. A network member is anyone or any company which has registered as a user by completing an application and can be a buyer and/or a vendor in using the services provided by die computerized system of die present invention. The programming (e.g. Internet HTML pages or quoution system provided software) which enables network members to interact with die network would include information sufficient for network members to identify standard goods or services that tbey wish to identify in a request for quoution. Standardization of product or service descriptions is essential to avoid confusion unless a more text oriented specification is appropriate to die product or service type. To this end preprogrammed menu information is provided to classify product and services in categories broken down by functional class and subclass corresponding to the products as ώey are commercially known and identified. Such menus are readily upgraded to include new and revised commercially available products and services from die manufactures or suppliers of such products and services. Buyers would use diis information to prepare requests for quoution which will then be clearly understood by vendors. This product and other information and progranuning or software could be made available to network members either by direct electronic transfer to the user's personal computer or by providing information, software, or dau on computer disks, compact disks, or other appropriate means. Providing standardized information to network users is necessary to correlate product and service identifications for buyers and vendors among other system maintenance functions. Figure 4 snows bow information would flow in an Internet embodiment of this invention. The quoution system central office would main^in its Internet site HTML pages and odier necessary items by communication with its HTML World Wide Web server. It would download from die Web site requests for membership as well as requests for quoution. The Central Office would process RFQs through appropriate software and would wait for vendors to contact the Central Office FTP site. Vendors would use quoution system supplied software to cross reference their inventory to link widi product lists used by the quoution system. When contacted die Central Office would acquire via suitable vendor software the RFQ information required and available from die vendors product daubase. If die vendor has prepared information relating to special sales, this information would be transferred to die Central Office at diis time. Software version and list upgrades would be performed as well. When die FTP transfers are complete, the Central Office would prepare RFQ e-mail for requesting buyers and forward same as required. New vendors may apply for membership using the quoution system's World Wide Web application form or by contacting quoution system offices by other means. Buyer members would access die quoution system's World Wide Web site and apply for membership or request price quotations or odier available information, such as a trade publication search engine or statistical charts of price versus time by product, provided dirough die quoution system's Web site. New members would receive password information via e-mail to ensure that applicants have provided correct e-mail coordinates. The invention can be understood readily from d e following description of the preferred embodiment in conjunction widi die flow diagram of Figure 2 in which communication between buyers, sellers and die network computers) is completed using the Internet. A World wide Web home page is set up to provide access to the network by Internet members. A potential user accesses the Internet using any standard Web browser and becomes a quoution network user by completing a registration application providing necessary dau about itself. Once registered, a member can access die forms necessary for preparing a request for quoution ("RFQ"), which will be described in greater detail hereafter. The RFQ is subsequendy downloaded to a quoution system central office computer dirough a file transfer protocol (FTP) connection to the Internet Web server. The RFQ is then processed to select vendors who are capable of quoting on die RFQ and who meet any odier conditions set by the requesting buyer (e.g. language, currency, or vendor location). In addition, RECTIFIED SHEET {RULE 91) vendors may "deselect" themselves from quoting on certain types of RFQs by registering tbcir preferences widi die quoution system to avoid receiving RFQs of certain types. The buyer and vendor filters may represent in their simplest form defined classes of suppliers and/or buyers and may extend to delineate conditions of sale and/or purchase. Limitations or conditions included in die RFQ and/or in die response are defined for purposes of die present application as filter information or simply "filters". Filtering performed by a quoution system computer may simply involve limiting die network members to whom the RFQ is given and/or to whom responses are given or may be a more complex selection process. Part of the process of selecting vendors involves quoution system business arrangements and odier considerations. An example of diis would be providing vendors varying categories of service which may require prioritizing the vendors according to a formula. In diis way, by die category of service they choose, vendors may determine the percentage of RFQs they receive from a given number received by die quoution system. Figure 5 and Figure 6 show sample logic for processing filter conditions to accomplish vendor selection for a given RFQ. Figure 7 shows hypothetical buyer and vendor information items which could comprise d e RFQ dau packet. Once vendors are selected to receive RFQs, die RFQ information may be transmitted to diem via FTP over die Internet, however, a preferred way would be to provide vendors widi software which permits diem to schedule when they wish to communicate with die quoution system. In diis case, the vendor software would contact die quoution system over die Internet via FTP; the quoution system would interrogate the vendor's product daubase (using suitable software which links or cross references the vendor's inventory to die quoution system product and services lists) and retrieve pricing and odier information necessary to respond to die RFQ; and diereafter prepare e-mail to be sent to die requesting buyer member. Figure 8 shows one possible arrangement of RFQ dau which would be e-mailed to a buyer. In diis example a request for quoution is sent for 5,000 OH006-20O0656 type J resistors manufactured by Ohmite for delivery by 8/1/1993. The buyer indicates that die delivery date is firm. Odier information such as RFQ date, tracking number and product code are shown. In this case die sender has specified ϋut diis request for quoution be routed to vendors in the sute of New Jersey USA only. The lower portion of FIG. 6. snows a response from for example Acme Supply, Inc. together widi pricing, contact information, delivery and vendor notes indicating dut die request can be "Shipped 1000 per box from inventory, subject to prior sale." The e-mail could be configured as HTML pages and read as HTML by the buyer's browser directly or via application helper software provided by die quoution system. One advantage to providing buyers widi HTML type e-mail quotations is that hypertext links can be embedded in die quoution along widi dau about die quoution which would permit die buyer to select a response option direcdy from die quoution HTML page. The option may be to request that an e-mail purchase order be sent to a vendor and tiut die buyer's credit information, e.g. on file widi die quoution system, be used to effectuate automatically a credit purchase of die quoted product. Odier alternatives include providing quotations to buyers via FTP or dirough interaction widi die quoution system World Wide Web Internet site. As an alternative, communications between buyers and sellers may be by telephone, e-mail or odier means. Shipping companies can be included in the process if a credit purchase conditions die vendor's payment on confirmation from die shipper that the delivery has been received and accepted by the buyer. The quoution system would verify die buyer's credit and notify the vendor of die purchase order and credit code. When die vendor ships die package using a participating shipper and d e buyer accepts die goods, die shipper would communicate die delivery acceptance to the quoution system computer or direcdy to die credit provider to permit release of funds to die vendors account. This would be particularly useful in international transactions. Although die above example uses die Internet as die communications network between buyers, sellers and die quoution system computer, other computer communications arrangements can be used as well. Also, although die quoution computer system may execute all functions using one node on a communications network, it is equally suitable to have multiple nodes at many sites to service all network users. Figure 1 shows two such quoution system central computers. In diis event, all nodes would intercommunicate as required to complete routing of user information and odier functions. The quoution system computer is schematically shown in Figure 4 as die "Central Office" and includes a random access memory for temporary storage of information, a read only memory for permanent storage of die computers configuration and basic operating commands, an input/output adapter for connecting peripheral devices and known input and interface devices. Visual ouφut is provided by display adapters and display devices. The network computer is controlled by one or more central processing units which may include a conventional microprocessor and a number of odier units interconnected via a system bus. Any operating system may be resident on die computer. Programming for die buyer's and vendor's computer type equipment would be appropriate to the variety of goods and services buyers and vendors wish to sell over die network and would change as new goods and services come into existence and old ones are discontinued. Figure 3 shows in block diagram a process by which vendors may offer items "on sale * to quoution system buyers. In diis case, buyers will be informed of die sale if they identify or have identified die product or its category to die quoution system and provided die vendor has defined filter conditions which include die buyer in die class of buyers to which the vendor wishes to communicate its "on sale" offer. Limiting the class of recipients may be used by large organizations to communicate exclusively to odier members of tiieir organization. For example, large corporations may make special sale offers exclusively to dieir employees. Alternatively, general users can offer to donate products exclusively to chariuble or not for profit organizations. The process of die present invention begins when a buyer prepares a network compatible request for quoution (RFQ). The buyer additionally may prepare or has previously prepared a definition of die class of vendor to receive die request. The request or requests are telecommunicated to a quoution network computer and is thereafter routed to die specified class of vendors consistent widi network software and vendor requirements or conditions, if any. Vendors in the defined class respond to die buyer's request for quoution and die buyer may purchase from a responding vendor. The number of vendors widύn die specified class will depend on die buyer's class specification. For example, a buyer who specifies vendors of volt meters in New York State will reach more vendors d n if New York City alone were specified. Such class specifications are information filters dirough which only die desired vendors can pass. By joining die network, all vendors are potential class members no matter where in die world diey are located. In addition, a vendor may choose to filter out requests for quoution for odier d n a vendor defined class of requests for quoution, e.g., requests must be for at least 10,000 pieces or for goods produced by a specific manufacturer. The computerized system may also add a filter, for example, to reflect the type of service selected by die buyer and/or vendor. The network computer's filter may time sequence routing of die buyer's request based on die vendor's distance from die buyer's location. This would give vendors widi die lowest shipping charges earlier access to die buyer's request and would give the buyer an opportunity to cancel further routings of its request if responses indicate that more distant vendors are not likely to provide more competitive quotes than diose already received. When a vendor wants to receive requests for quoution over die network, die vendor notifies die network of d e class of goods or services in which die vendor deals (a "request for quoution class definition"). This can be communicated by voice, telephone, fax, et cetera, or by use of programming provided for U t purpose but die preferred mediod is to use programming provided for that purpose by die network. The request for quoution class definition is transmitted to die network and d e network uses that definition to filter all requests for quoution routed to the vendor, i.e., to die class defined by a buyer of which die vendor is a member. In diis way the vendor receives only those requests for quoution which conform to the vendor's request for quoution definition. The number of vendors witiiin a class to receive a request for quoution may be very large. To keep die process manageable network software may be arranged to limit die number of vendors to receive a request for quoution. By using die present invention, a network member buyer in Frankfurt, Germany who requests a quoution for an electronic part may receive quoutions widύn minutes from previously unknown network member vendors in Cupertino, California and Kyoto, Japan. Where appropriate, programining would enable the user to receive, review, and reply to responses from network users. Programming would be tailored to the various types of request for response network users require. Users can be buyers and or vendors. When a user wants to buy somediing, the programming for preparing a request for quoution is invoked on the user's computer or computer like device. When a user wants to sell somediing, a request for quoution class definition is prepared using programming provided for that purpose. A typical situation in which a user who is predominantly a buyer may choose to be a vendor is when die user overstocks an item and chooses to resell die surplus inventory via die network. To sell surplus inventory without die network of diis invention requires advertising, word of moudi, cold calling, sale to a broker or die like. In addition, die network software could be arranged to enable vendors to donate unwanted R CC D SHEET (RULE 91) equipment, et cetera, to charity network members. In addition, die network filters could be defined to permit intra organizational notices of availability or requirements for products or services, especially in large distributed corporations or governmental agencies. The network is a routing service with die routing being controlled by class description filters which can be specified by die buyer, die network computer, and die vendors. By analogy, it is like a cross between a telephone call and a radio broadcast where die ultimate recipient is neiϋter an individual nor a mass audience, but a cuss of recipients identified by their characteristics. In die preferred embodiment the vendor class of network members are filtered to be selected based on ueir likelihood to respond to die request for quoution. Alternatively, or in addition, the vendor responses may likewise be filtered to satisfy conditions of die vendors responding or in accordance with predefined conditions for faciliuting a linkage between die prospective buyer and an acceptable seller.

Claims: What we claim is: 1. A computerized system for forming a computer based communications network of network members inclusive of network buyers and or network vendors for processing requests for quoution for goods and services dirough at least one central processing unit including operating system software for controlling die central processing unit, storage means containing identification of the network members, means for network buyers to generate request for quoution for goods and/or services, means for transmitting said request for quoution to said central processing unit, filter means for filtering die network members in said storage means to determine which network members are to receive said request for quoution based upon filter conditions set up by die network buyer in said request for quoution or by die central processing unit in accordance widi preestablisbed conditions, means for broadcasting said request for quoution to the network members selected by said filter means and means for responding to the generator of said request widi eidier a response from die selected network members or widi a list of said selected network members for said generator of said request to establish independent communication. 2- A computerized system as defined in claim 1 wherein said network members communicate via die Internet dirough said central processing unit. 3- A method for processing requests for quoution for goods and/or services from a party representing a buyer or supplier of goods and or services dirough a computerized system forming a computer based communications network of network members for linking buyers to suppliers widi die computerized system having at least one central processing unit including operating system software for controlling die central processing unit and storage means containing die identification of die network members, wherein die mediod comprises die steps of: receiving a buyer's request for quoution over a communication network; selecting one or more appropriate vendors to be sent die buyer's request for quoution based upon filter conditions, if any, set by die buyer, vendor and die network software; transmitting die buyer's request for quoution to said selected vendors over said communications network; and with said selected vendors communicating their quotations eidier direcdy to die buyer or to die computerized system which in turn transmits said received quotations to die requesting buyer. 4. A computerized system for engaging 1n transactions over a data network, said computerized system comprising: a plurality of terminals, at least one of which being designated a requestor and others of which are designated vendor terminals; filter and broadcast means for receiving, over said data network, requests from said requestor to engage in transactions with unspecified vendor terminals, and for filtering said requests to determine with which vendor terminals said requests should be matched; and means for matching said requests with vendor terminals which meet predetermined filter conditions for generating quotes from information contained in a database associated with said vendor terminals, and for accepting said quotes from said vendor terminals. 5. The computerized system of claim 4 further comprising means for communicating responses from said vendor terminals to said filter and broadcast means; and means at said filter andbroadcast means for communicating a selected set of said responses to said requestor. 6. The computerized system of claim 5 wherein said transaction is a purchase, and wherein the purchase may comprise a plurality of items. 7. The system of claim 6 further comprising: means for establishing communications between said filter and broadcast means and said vendor terminals which meet said filter conditions; and means for determining whether a quote for saidtransaction froma particular vendor terminal meeting said filter conditions should be sent to said requestor. 8. A method of purchasing goods or services over a data network comprising the steps of: communicating, over said data network, to a filter means, at least one request for a quotation from a potential buyer of said goods or services; filtering, at said filter means, the at least one request in order to ascertain a set of sellers potentially capable of supplying said goods or services; and obtaining, from at least one of said potential sellers, over a data network, quotes to supply said goods or services, and forwarding said quotes to said potential buyer. 9. The method of claim 8 wherein said step of obtaining comprises the step of each seller contacting said filter means at predetermined intervals and supplying bids in response to any requests for proposal that have arrived at said filtering means and that were determined, by the filter means, to be a request for proposal for goods or services which said each seller is potentially capable of supplying. 10. The method of claim 8 further comprising the step of accepting filtering conditions from said potential buyer, and utilizing said filtering conditions in said step of filtering to determine said subset of potentially capable sellers. 11. The method of claim 8 wherein said step of obtaining comprises the step of automatically and periodically supplying the filter means with Information sufficient to assemble a bid in response to a request for a bid. and sending the bid to said potential buyer via e-mail. 12. A method of utilizing a data network for advertising and selling items for sale by a seller including the steps of: communicating, to a centralized filter means, froma potential buyer, a category of item in which said buyer is interested; communicating, to the centralized filter means, from said seller, sale information indicating items to be placed on sale and at least one class of buyers to receive sale Information; communicating a quote from said seller for said item to a buyer if said buyer is within said class and said item is within said category. 13. The method of c aim 10 wherein said set is limited by said filter conditions and by a predetermined maximum number from which a bid is to be received. 14. A method of matching buyers of goods and services with sellers of goods and services over a data network comprising the steps of; communicating, from buyers to a filter means, requests for quotes (RFQs); filtering said RFQs so that only sellers meeting a first set of filter conditions receive sai RFQs; accepting quotes from sellers meeting said first set of filter conditions, and filtering said quotes so that only quotes meeting a second set of filter conditions are sent to a buyer requesting said quotes. 15. A system for engaging in commercial transactions, comprising; filtermeans for accepting filter conditions frombuyers andsellers; a plurality of buyers for communicating RFQs to said filter means; a pluralityof sellers for communicating quotes to said filter means in response to said RFQs. said filter means Including means for determining, based upon said filter conditions, which sellers should receive RFQs from a buyer, and which quotes should be received by the buyer. 16. The method of claim 7 wherein said communications is continuous. 17. The method of claim 7 wherein said communications is periodic. 18. The method of claim 17 wherein said communications is initiated by said vendor terminal.

Inventors: GIOVANNOLI JOSEPH, GIOVANNOLI, JOSEPH
Applicants: GIOVANNOLI JOSEPH, GIOVANNOLI, JOSEPH
Application year: 1997
Main classification: G06F17
IPC codes: G06Q30, G06Q50