Abstract:
Electronic asset disposal request forms are created, approved, and forwarded to a surplus property disposal professional who then may modify and supplement the electronic request forms to create electronic postings that are accessible over a computer network to interested potential buyers. The potential buyer may then create an offer which is processed electronically. The surplus property professional may have discretion to determine which potential buyers are eligible to participate and whether to invoke an automated “last and final” bidding process, as well as the ability to select between a simple “for sale” posting and a “closed bid” posting. Details of pending auctions may be automatically circulated to participants in prior auctions of similar items and to other registered buyers who have expressed interest in those types of items. The result is a flexible mechanism that is fair and efficient for all concerned.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/499,092, filed Aug. 29, 2003, which is hereby incorporated by reference. 
     
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD  
       [0002]     The invention relates to computerized systems and methods for advertising and selling materials and equipment over a computer network such as the internet. More particularly, the system provides a large organization with a flexible mechanism for the disposal of surplus assets in a manner that is fair and efficient for all concerned.  
       BACKGROUND  
       [0003]     A “closed bid box” process is used by many business organizations and government entities to award competitive contracts and to dispose of surplus assets. In such a typical such process, details of the competition are published and bidders submit sealed bids prior to a set deadline. BiddingNET is an example of a closed bid box process which makes extensive use of computerization and computer network technology to provide a computerized closed bid box on an internet web site which is accessible to registered sellers, under the control of a professional buyer. In accordance with the conventional rules applicable to any “closed bid box” auction, all bids are strictly confidential until they are opened at the end of the auction; however, in some cases the professional buyer will actively monitor when bids are received and from whom, and may be given the right to terminate or extend the deadline or to restart the process on modified terms and conditions if he is not satisfied that sufficient qualified bidders are competing to produce a competitive price. The professional buyer may also be given the authority to reject any bid that is not responsive, or from a bidder with doubtful qualifications, or that is otherwise not in the best interest of the buyer&#39;s organization. BiddingNET is the subject of commonly assigned U.S. Patent Publication US 2002/0107775 A1 dated Aug. 8, 2002, which is hereby incorporated in its entirety by reference.  
         [0004]     Another type of competitive bidding process is an “open auction” system in which the current price is announced to all prospective bidders as the auction proceeds, Depending on the applicable rules, the auction is terminated at a fixed time (which encourages all bidders to wait until the last moment) or at the whim of the auctioneer (who can thus encourage an unsuccessful bidder to make an even higher bid). In either case, a bidder can bid through a proxy to maintain his anonymity or to hide his maximum price. Alternatively, in a so-called “Dutch” auction, the price is incrementally dropped until a bid is received (which encourages bidders to offer their maximum price). eBay is a well known example of a computerized auction process that includes a number of variations on a traditional open auction.  
         [0005]     Surplus materials and unused assets present special issues to business organizations and government entities. On the one hand, disposal of such assets is outside the normal organizational responsibilities and expertise and it is difficult to determine a fair resale price from readily available information such as depreciated cost or replacement cost. Moreover, disposal of surplus of unascertainable value presents opportunity for fraud and legal challenges, as well as possibility for product liabilities, warranty claims, and taxes. Accordingly, it is often simpler and safer to destroy the unwanted inventory and dispose of it for scrap value, or to incur on-going storage and maintenance expenses for assets that have no operational value to the organization, or to simply give it away to a related company or to a local charity.  
         [0006]     RequisitionNET is a computerized tool for maintaining efficient communication between an operational entity and a professional buyer assigned to that entity, at the same time facilitating and enforcing best practices in the procurement process such as appropriate review and approval of all requisitions, ensuring that all qualified bidders (and only qualified bidders) are permitted to participate, and verifying that any subsequent changes in the requisition are appropriate to the needs of the requesting organization. RequisitionNET is the subject of commonly assigned U.S. Patent Publication US 2002/0107713 A1 dated Aug. 8, 2002, which is hereby incorporated in its entirety by reference.  
       SUMMARY  
       [0007]     In one embodiment of a computerized asset recovery system particularly suitable for a large organization with many operational units, each operational unit has responsibility for identifying surplus material and assets assigned to that unit that are no longer required for the unit&#39;s operational responsibilities. Electronic asset disposal request forms are created, approved, and forwarded to a surplus property disposal professional. The professional then may modify and supplement the electronic request forms to create electronic postings that are accessible to interested potential buyers. Each such electronic posting will typically include a description of the property and the applicable terms and conditions. The potential buyer may then modify and supplement the posted information to create an electronic offer and submit that offer electronically to the surplus property professional in accordance with the posted terms and conditions. The system then presents the submitted electronic offers to the surplus property professional for electronic acceptance or rejection in accordance with the previously posted terms and conditions.  
         [0008]     In particular, the surplus property professional may be given at least limited flexibility to determine which potential buyers will have the right to review and respond to a particular posting, and to select the rules that establish when and to whom the responsive electronic offers will be accessible. For example, the professional may decide to limit the potential buyers to other organizational units of the same company or to reject all offers that are below a certain reserve price. Alternatively, the system may be programmed to require that prior to offering the surplus property to unrelated entities, the property must first be offered for redeployment within the company on a cost only, fixed price or best price basis.  
         [0009]     As a further enhancement, the system may provide the disposal professional with an automated “last and final” bidding process in which the highest bidder faces a second round of competitive bidding from his closest rivals after the results of the initial round have been posted.  
         [0010]     Preferably, the surplus property disposal professional can select between at least two entirely different auction schemes depending for example on the uniqueness of the property, its potential value, and how many potential bidders can be expected to submit substantial bids: a simple “for sale” posting in which all offers are accessible to all participants and the property professional may accept any offer at any time, and a “closed bid” in which the amount of each bid is not known to the disposal professional or other participants until the bidding period has ended. In particular, such an automated “for sale” process allows for the fast turn around of assets, those that have less value, or may not be sold normally because of the usual paperwork processing costs. Offers are collected as they are submitted and the sale is consummated when the seller determines an adequate price is reached in the bidding. On the other hand, the “closed bid” process provides a private competitive bid process that is more complex to administer, but is nevertheless particularly suitable for more valuable assets in which it is critical that the final price is established by competitive market forces and that no bidder will be seen as having any unfair advantage over any other r bidder.  
         [0011]     Because all communications and transactions are processed by networked computers, details of pending auctions may be automatically circulated to participants in prior auctions of similar items and to other registered buyers who have expressed interest in those items. Furthermore, the system can easily maintain a complete database of all buyers and their corresponding interest areas and a complete history of all transactions (including dates, parties, prices and terms and conditions), for use in auditing and financial reporting as well as in the management and defense of potential liability issues regarding the item(s) sold.  
         [0012]     The invention is defined in the appended claims, some of which may be directed to some or all of the broader aspects of the invention set forth above, while other claims may be directed to specific novel and advantageous features and combinations of features that will be apparent from the Detailed Description that follows.  
     
    
     FIGURES  
       [0013]     Certain characteristics, features and advantages of various preferred embodiments are depicted in the accompanying drawings, in which:  
         [0014]      FIG. 1  is a flowchart of an exemplary Internal Request Process  
         [0015]      FIG. 2  is a screenshot of an exemplary Request Retrieval  
         [0016]      FIG. 3  is a screenshot of an exemplary Request Detail  
         [0017]      FIG. 4  is a flowchart of an exemplary Auction Process incorporating various novel aspects of the present invention.  
         [0018]      FIG. 5  is a flowchart of an exemplary Bidding Process  
         [0019]      FIG. 6  is a screenshot of an exemplary Request Selection by the ARP  
         [0020]      FIG. 7  is a screenshot of an exemplary Open Bid Retrieval by the ARP  
         [0021]      FIG. 8  is a screenshot of an exemplary Sell Retrieval by the ARP  
         [0022]      FIG. 9  is a screenshot of an exemplary Bid Edit by the ARP  
         [0023]      FIG. 10  is a screenshot of an exemplary Bid and Sell Selection by the Buyer  
         [0024]      FIG. 11  is a screenshot of an exemplary Bid Detail as presented to the Buyer  
         [0025]      FIG. 12  is a screenshot of an exemplary Bid Line Item Retrieval by the Buyer  
         [0026]      FIG. 13  is a screenshot of an exemplary Bid Line Item Draft Response by the Buyer  
         [0027]      FIG. 14  is a screenshot of an exemplary Bid Header Response Draft by the Buyer  
         [0028]      FIG. 15  is a screenshot of an exemplary Submitted Bids Retrieval by the Buyer  
         [0029]      FIG. 16  is a screenshot of an exemplary Submitted Sells Retrieval by the Buyer 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0030]     Referring now to  FIG. 1  which is a flowchart of an exemplary Internal Request Process  2 , it may be seen that a Request  4  to sell surplus property may be created (block  6 ) and edited/deleted (block  8 ) by an Originator prior to submission (block  10 ) to a comprehensive review and approval process (block  12 ) as described in more detail in the referenced RequisitionNET Patent Publication. Optionally, the preliminary creation (block  14 ) and editing (block  16 ) of the Request may be performed by a Preparer prior to any revision (block  8 ) by the originator, with that Preparer always having the final say as to whether the Request is to be submitted or Deleted. In particular, the Originator may Withdraw (block  18 ) the request even after it has been submitted for review and approval, and is automatically given an opportunity to edit or delete any Request that is not Approved (NO branch  20 ). Assuming that all involved Approvers have approved the Request (NO branch  22 ), and that it has not been Withdrawn by the Originator, the approved Request is then automatically forwarded (block  24 ) to a responsible Surplus Asset Recovery/Disposal Professional (hereinafter “ARP”) in the Asset Recovery Department, as will hereinafter be described in more detail with respect to  FIG. 4 .  
         [0031]     Reference should now be made to  FIG. 2  which is a screenshot showing the opening screen  26  used by the Preparer or Originator to retrieve (Search criteria  28  and Search button  30 ) previously created Draft (tab  32 ), Pending (tab  34 ) and Completed (tab  36 ) requests, as well as to commence preparation of a New Request (button  38 ). A simplified version of screen  26  may also be provided to Reviewers (link  40 ) and Approvers (link  42 ) for selection of various categories of Requests for which they are responsible.  
         [0032]      FIG. 3  shows an exemplary Edit screen  44  with tabs of viewing and editing the Draft information concerning the basic Request (tab  46 ), the individual line items (tab  48 ), any prospective Buyers known to the Originator (tab  50 ), a list of proposed Reviewers (tab  52 ), a list of required Approvers (tab  54 ), and a Log (tab  56 ) which documents any changes to Request  46 .  
         [0033]     In particular, the Request  46  is preferably divided into Line Items each with their own identification, description and ownership details  58 , as well as details concerning the Location  60  at which the item is currently located (for possible inspection) and the Location  62  at which it may be picked up. Details  64  are preferably also provided about the accounting status of the item in question and to provide a more detailed description  66  of the item in question than the simple Brief Description  68  used for line item identification purposes. By so dividing the Request  46  into a number of Line Items  48  or lots, not only are the individual items more precisely identified and accounted for, it will be possible for Buyers to bid only on those items  48  in which they are particularly interested and for the ARP to selectively accept Bids for some but not all of the Line Items  48  listed on a particular Request  46 .  
         [0034]     Once the Request has been completed, reviewed and approved, it is forwarded to the Asset Recovery Department for processing in accordance with the flowchart of  FIG. 4 .  
         [0035]     In particular, the Surplus Asset Disposal process  70  commences with processing  72  of the Request  46  by the ARP, with an eye to the Posting  74  of the processed Request on a networked website. In accordance with whether the Posting (decision block  76 ) is to solicit formal Bids (BID branch  78 ) or is a more informal Fast Sell.  
         [0036]     In the event the Posting is an open Fast Sell posting (SELL branch  80 ), the posting remains in effect for Buyer Bidding Period (block  82 ) (described in more detail herein with respect to  FIG. 5 ). The received bids are reviewed from time to time by the ARP and (block  84 ) once an acceptable Bid has been received or if the ARP determines that there is not sufficient interest in the Item to justify keeping the Posting active (YES branch  86 ), the Bidding Period is Closed by the ARP and the highest Bid is reviewed by the ARP to determine if it should be Awarded or Rejected (block  88 ).  
         [0037]     If the Posting is for a closed bid box (sealed bid) posting (BID branch  78 ) then a second test is made to determine whether the ARP has specified a Redeployment Posting (test  90 ) and/or a 24 Hour Best and Final Bid (tests  92 ,  94 ). If the Posting is for a simple Redeployment (NO branch  96  from test  92 ) then a simple Redeployment process (shown in more detail in  FIG. 5  and  FIG. 9 ) is initiated (block  98 ) which is automatically closed (block  100 ) at the predetermined time and the results passed on to the ARP for Award or other appropriate processing (previously described block  88 ). In particular, if no Internal Departments have submitted acceptable bids, the ARP will have an opportunity to review and edit the Request (block  72 ) for subsequent Posting as simple Fast Sell or a formal solicitation from bidders outside the organization (NO branch  102 ).  
         [0038]     Alternatively, if the Posting is for a 24 Hour Best and Final Redeployment (YES branch  104  from test  92 ), then an Initial Redeployment Process  106  (similar to process  98 ) followed by an initial Closing (block  108 ) which differs only from the previously described closing  100  in that a limited number of high bids are selected and their respective bidders are provided with an additional 24 hours to revise their bids for a subsequent round of bidding (block  110 ) followed by a Final Closing (block  112 ) that is essentially the same as the previously described Closing of block  100 .  
         [0039]     Assuming that the Posting is not for a Fast Sell (SELL branch  80 ) or an internal Redeployment (YES branch from Redeployment test  90 ), then it is a formal closed bid box solicitation directed to all registered bidders, and at the option of the ARP may be either a Regular Bid process (NO branch  114  from test  94 ) or a 24 Hour Best and Final Bid process (YES branch  116 ). No branch  114  leads to a Buyer Bidding Period  118  that is similar to the previously described Redeployment Process  100  except that it is open to all registered bidders, followed by a Closing  120  that is the same as the previously described Redeployment Final Closing  112 . In particular, the ARP will Accept or Reject the bid from the highest bidder (block  88 ), and if that highest bid is rejected, may repost the request, possibly in edited form.  
         [0040]     YES branch  116  reflects a Posting for a formal closed bid process ( 122 ,  124 ) that is open to all registered bidders and that is followed by a Best and Final process  126   128 .  
         [0041]     Reference should now be made to  FIG. 5  which is a more detailed description of the Bidding process of blocks  82 ,  98 ,  106  and  122 . In particular, while the bidding process is active, the prospective Buyer (or in the case of a Redeployment, the interested Internal Department) has access to the Posting (block  130 ) and may Place  132  a new Bid or Modify  134  or Withdraw  136  an existing Bid. Whenever a new or modified bid is placed  138  the ARP is notified  140 ; however, in the case of a closed or sealed bid process neither the ARP nor any other bidder is notified of the amount of the bid until the bidding process is closed.  
         [0042]      FIG. 6  depicts the screen used by the ARP to review (block  72  of  FIG. 4 ) and list line items  142  from multiple Pending asset disposal Requests, and to select one or more of the listed items for Posting (block  78 ). In particular, the ARP can check particular line items (check box  144 ) and combine the checked items into either a Sell Draft (tab  146 ) for processing in accordance with SELL branch  80  of  FIG. 4 ) or a Bid Draft (tab  148 ) for processing in accordance with BID branch  78 . Alternatively, the ARP may also select Pending disposal Requests for Rejection (tab  150 ), if in his professional opinion they are not suitable for even the informal Fast Sell process.  
         [0043]      FIG. 7  depicts the screen used by the ARP to Edit a Bid Draft once it has been created. Note that the screen has three tabs: the active Bid tab  152 , a Line Item tab  154  (which causes the Line Items associated with that Bid Draft to be displayed for viewing and editing) and a Terms &amp; Conditions tab  156  which provides the ARP with an opportunity to view and possibly modify all the associated legal fine print. Some of the displayed fields, such as Brief Description field  158 , are initially populated with values from the original Request, for possible editing by the ARP, while other fields such as Payment Method  160  are input by the ARP (possibly using previously specified default values). Two fields ARP originated fields are particularly noteworthy “24 Hour Best &amp; Final” checkbox  162  (which signifies that the items in question are sufficiently unique and valuable to justify a second round of bidding) and Redeployment/Private Bid checkbox  164  (which gives priority to a defined Internal Department or other related entity, possibly on terms more favorable than would be extended to outside bidders). Note that if the ARP does check the Redeployment/Private Bid checkbox  164 , it is also necessary to identify the Group  166  that is eligible to bid, possibly using Find link  168 .  
         [0044]     Once the ARP has Edited the Request, including details of each included Line Item and whether a prospective Buyer may bid on only a partial lot (radio button  170 ), the ARP uses the Post button  172  to commence the formal bidding process. A similar process with analogous screens is also provided for Fast Sell Postings, but without a fixed Closing Time  174  and without any possibility of Best &amp; Final  162  or Redeployment  164  options.  
         [0045]      FIG. 8  shows the screen used by the ARP to keep track of the various Formal Bids for which the ARP is responsible, including those still in Draft  176 , Open  178 , Closed  180  and Awarded  182 , as well as a tab for a History  184  of fully completed transactions As depicted, the Open tab  178  is active, and the display shows a columnar listing  186  of various Open Postings  188 , sorted by a user specified sort key  190  (in the depicted example, in ascending order of closing date  192 ).  
         [0046]     Each Posting row  188  includes a link  194  to a more detailed screen for Viewing and possible action by the ARP. In the event that the ARP elects to Amend a Posting while the Bidding Period is still open or after the period has Closed but no bid has been Awarded, the Amend Date  196  is noted in the listing for that Posting  186 . By monitoring this listing, the ARP is thus able to identify any potentially troublesome Open bids that may require additional attention, such as personally contacting potential buyers, or Amending and/or re-Posting the Bid to attract more interest.  
         [0047]      FIG. 9  is similar to  FIG. 8  but shows the screen used by the ARP to keep track of the ARP&#39;s Informal Sells. Note that there is no Closed Tab  180  various Formal Bids. Moreover, the listing includes the current High Bid  198 , there is no closing date  192 , and to keep the process simple, each item is separately listed.  
         [0048]      FIG. 10  through  FIG. 16  depict various aspects of the activities performed by the Buyer (or Internal Department in the case of an Internal Redeployment) during the Bidding/Redeployment Processes of  FIG. 4  and  FIG. 5 .  
         [0049]      FIG. 10  depicts the Selection screen used by an authorized Buyer to review and possibly Respond to the Bids and Sells posted by the ARP. The screen is currently opened at Selected tab  200 . Other tabs accessible to this Buyer are Open tab  202  which includes all currently active Bid Postings accessible to this Buyer and Draft tab  204  which includes all Bid Postings for which this Buyer is in the process of preparing a responsive Bid. Note that the Buyer has various fields in which to enter selection criteria to limit the number of Posted transaction appearing in listing  206 , including predetermined Categories  208  and Types  210 , as well as keywords  212  from the Brief Description, and date ranges for Closing  214  and Posting  216 .  
         [0050]      FIG. 11  shows the View screen that appears when the Buyer clicks on the View link  218  of  FIG. 10  associated with a particular Posting  220 . The Bid tab  222  displays the Header information  224  for the posting, while as shown in  FIG. 12 , the Line Item tab  226  displays a Header for each Line Item  228 . By clicking on the View link  230  for a particular Line Item  228 , the Buyer opens a detailed Response screen ( FIG. 13 ) in which the Buyer may enter a Price  232 , Shipping Terms  234 , and Pickup Date  236 , prior to saving the Line Item Response information and returning to the draft Bid Response Header screen of  FIG. 14 . In particular, when a particular Bid Posting is for more than one Line Item and the possibility of a Split Award has been authorized by the ARP (Award Type  238 ), the Buyer fills out a separate Detailed Response ( FIG. 13 ) for each Line Item of interest  240 ,  242  and a covering Transaction Header Response  244  common to all, which include Buyer specific information such as Tax status  246 , special Terms and Conditions  248 , and Buyer generated Attachments  250  such as his standard Purchase Order terms. Once the entire Response form has been completed to the Buyer&#39;s satisfaction it is submitted to the system (button  252 ) and relevant details are automatically distributed to the ARP and to the other Buyers as appropriate.  
         [0051]     Using the Formal Bid Selection screen depicted in  FIG. 15 , the Buyer can monitor and View (link  254 ) the previously submitted Responses, for possible Modification  134  or Withdrawal  136  (see  FIG. 5 ). In a similar manner, the Informal Sell Selection screen of  FIG. 16  may be used to monitor and possibly Modify or Withdraw the Buyer&#39;s outstanding Responses to Posted Fast Sells via View link  256 .  
         [0052]     Other implementations and enhancements to the disclosed exemplary apparatus and processes will doubtless be apparent to those skilled in the art, both today and in the future. For example, the invention may be implemented with other computer and network architectures and user interfaces. As another example, many of the data fields may be populated with default preferences previously provided by the user, or determined by heuristic algorithms from archived historical data.