Abstract:
A method for creating a dynamic offering for perishable goods and services in an electronic trading system. A producer enters details about units of inventory. A purchaser enters details of purchaser profile and search criteria. The producer may analyze historical data concerning ways of offering to select a manner of offering and the producer sets the offering rules and activates and deactivates them. The offering is put into a core engine database. A dynamic offering for the perishable goods and services is made based on the intermediate offers contained in a core engine database and on the purchaser profile and search criteria, so that the dynamic offering is tailored to each purchaser and optimizes both the producer and purchaser situations. Also a system for creating the dynamic offering including elements performing the method is disclosed.

Description:
[0001]    The present invention relates to a method and system for the creation of a dynamic offering for perishable goods and services through an electronic trading system. Said method and system combine dynamic pricing with other offering elements in which the purchaser finds value, to create a customized package that the producer can route to a given set of channels according to some predefined choices.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    Perishable goods and services represent a large proportion of the goods and services traded on economic terms. Examples of such goods and services are passenger transportation and accommodation services (airlines, rail, cruises, advertising services, entertainment, etc.)  
           [0003]    Producers of such perishable goods and services (perishable assets) try to sell, or place, all units of inventory at the highest possible price before they expire. Perishable goods and services are defined as goods or services whose value diminishes with time, eventually becoming worthless on the expiration date. At any given point in time, the value of a perishable asset can be measured by multiplying the intrinsic value to the purchaser by the risk factor of no placement. As the risk factor of no placement increases with time, the value of the asset decreases until it can no longer be placed, which is the point of expiration. Producers extract value from perishable goods and services by placing them in advance of their expiration. Ideally, producers attempt to place every unit of inventory prior to expiration. For instance, an airline will try to place every seat on a given flight. Any unsold seats expire as soon as the flight departs. In this case, the producer is the airline, the unit of inventory is the seat, and the expiration is the departure date.  
           [0004]    Perishable goods and services can be grouped into two main categories depending on the status of their commercialization: unsold (excess) inventory (where supply exceeds demand) and sold inventory (where demand equals or exceeds supply). Sold inventory can be further categorized into standard inventory (supply approximately equals demand) and oversold inventory (demand significantly exceeds supply).  
           [0005]    Excess inventory is of particular concern to producers. Producers attempt to sell every unit of inventory before the value of that inventory expires. In most cases, only part of the total available inventory is sold, with the remainder becoming worthless on the expiration date. The costs associated with excess inventory are borne by purchasers of sold inventory, as fixed costs are spread over fewer units. Therefore, excess inventory has the effect of increasing average prices to purchasers and/or decreasing overall revenues to producers.  
           [0006]    Oversold inventory is also of concern to the producers. At a given price, demand for a product or service can often exceed supply. When this happens in traditional fixed-price markets, the actual market value of the product or service is higher than the selling price. Many consumers would willingly pay a premium for the inventory, given the opportunity to do so. Producers do not realize this premium unless the market price increases dynamically with market demand. Furthermore, once a given set of inventory becomes oversold, additional offers for that inventory become more valuable. Hence the producer will prefer to offer that inventory to customers that are more valuable in the long term.  
           [0007]    Producers face an additional dilemma that is of particular concern: Traditionally it has been difficult to quantify and act upon the difference between making an offer to a customer or purchaser based on his immediate cash contribution and making an offer to a customer based on his long term potential for cash contribution. These two aspects are called short-term cash yield and total yield. In order to be accurate total yield must incorporate a measure of the potential loyalty of the customer to the inventory. In cases where the customer&#39;s loyalty can be increased and/or measured, it may be more profitable in the long run for the producer to choose to give the unit of inventory for free to a valuable customer (e.g.; a frequent flyer) rather than get a immediate cash payment from a one time customer.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0008]    The present invention advantageously fills the aforementioned deficiency in the prior art by assisting producers in the placement of perishable goods and services via the Internet and other communication networks, while at the same time maximizing total yield derived from such placement and strengthening relationships between purchasers, producers and channels.  
           [0009]    One object of the present invention is to provide producers and channels with a means of presenting the offering in real time, either via a dynamic pricing system, a market-based pricing system or fixed pricing. The first mechanism automatically generates an online price of an asset, based on a predefined algorithm. One of those algorithms is the so called Dutch Auction, where a given asset is offered at a price that constantly drops in metered increments until either all units have been sold or until the auction ceases. Other algorithms will use different shapes of descending price curves or introduce variables other than time that govern price movements, such as number of viewers, number of seats left, time to expiration and time from last purchase. The present invention enables producers and channels to use these pricing mechanisms to offer units of inventory on their websites and within chosen channels. In the case of a market-based pricing system, the price of the asset changes dynamically as a function of changes in supply and demand, following a “bid-ask model”. The most widely known example of this model in use to date is in equity markets, where prices change dynamically based on supply and demand for a particular equity. In this model, purchasers place a bid to buy an asset at a given price, or place an order to buy the asset at the market price in effect at the time. The asset changes hands when an ask and a bid match. The present invention enables producers and channels to use the market-based pricing methodology to offer units of inventory on channel websites.  
           [0010]    Another object of the present invention is to provide the producer with the ability to choose where an offering is presented. In the traditional distribution models and in more recent Internet intermediary development, the producer generally has to choose a specific channel that is using any given pricing mechanism. Thus the producer is forced to place the offering according to the pricing mechanism used by the channel. The present invention enables the producer to decouple the choice of the pricing mechanism from the choice of the channel; thus providing the producer with an additional degree of flexibility and control in his distribution and marketing strategy. The invention also provides the ability to select specific purchaser segments independently from the channel being used. Thus the producer can effectively route an offering of oversold inventory to the more valuable purchasers.  
           [0011]    Another object of the present invention is to provide the producer with the ability to choose the negotiation rules that control the manner in which the offering is presented to the purchaser. Again in the traditional models, the choice of a given channel was generally associated with a given set of rules that were specific to the channels (e.g.; the name of the producer was not visible to the end purchaser, or the rules governing the flexibility of the goods and services were specific to the channel). The present invention enables the producer to decouple those rules from the choice of a pricing mechanism and the choice of a given channel.  
           [0012]    Another object of the present invention is to provide producers the ability to offer non-price components of value to the purchaser based on specific criteria, at a given point in time. Non-price components are any elements of an offering aside from price. Non-price components can be broadly grouped into two categories: Terms &amp; Conditions and Use of Certain Assets. Terms &amp; Conditions may include intangibles such as different configurations of the product (times, classes, etc.), payment terms, coupons, upgrades, mileage bonuses, special customer service arrangements, flexible change terms, access to privileged information, etc. Use of Certain Assets grants the purchaser access to certain assets held by the producer, the channel, or some other party, and may include some type of insurance, limousine service, departure lounge access, access to office space &amp; facilities, gifts of tangible goods, etc.  
           [0013]    Another object of the invention is to combine the above mentioned choices (pricing mechanism and algorithm, purchaser segment, choice of channels and choice of negotiation rules) into a single, effective decision making mechanism through which the producer has the ability to change each one of those four components in real time, independently and relative to any inventory grouping. The invention can manipulate inventory groupings that have any combination of parameters possible, from complex combinations based on search criteria (e.g.,; dates, location, timing, etc..) down to the level of a single unit of inventory (e.g.; one seat on an given flight). The system provides the producer with interfaces that work as a “control panel” for the inventory he chooses to place through the system. This control panel effectively manages the automatic connectivity of the system with the producer&#39;s legacy systems for yield management, inventory management and revenue management. The system is also designed to ensure that all the business procedures related to the fulfillment of the offering (connection to reservation systems, payment systems and other elements) are included.  
           [0014]    Another object of the invention is to provide an affiliation mechanism for channels that enables a large combination of on-line, fixed and alternative channels to be integrated into the system. This object will provide the producers with the greatest set of alternatives with respect of the choice of channels.  
           [0015]    Another object of the invention is to provide the producer with modeling and analysis tools to assist in the compilation of offers. Using data collected from previous transactions fulfilled by the system, the invention provides an analysis and modeling interface to the producer to evaluate potential outcomes of possible offer combinations.  
           [0016]    The invention refers to a method for the creation of a dynamic offering for perishable goods and services in an electronic trading system, being said system accessible by at least, one producer, one purchaser and one channel.  
           [0017]    Producers include any party that holds perishable goods and services such as airlines (airline seats), tour operators (travel tickets), performance companies (theatre tickets) and cargo operators (cargo space). Channels are intermediaries to whom access has been provided that will route the offers to purchasers and provide fulfillment support. Channels of perishable goods and services include travel agents, travel-related websites, ticket box offices, and the producers themselves. Distribution can be carried out using various means of communication, such as telephone, fax, Internet, and face-to-face sales. Purchasers include any party who wishes to access the dynamic offer(s) directly.  
           [0018]    This method comprises the steps of:  
           [0019]    the producer entering details about individual units of inventory, into an Inventory database via a producer interface  
           [0020]    the purchaser interacting with the channel via a channel interface and entering details of purchaser profile and search criteria,  
           [0021]    the producer electing to analyze historical data concerning the relative effectiveness of various combinations of offering elements, and conducting simulations that attempt to predict the efficacy of a particular offering, based on said historical data, and using said simulations, to predict the performance of a particular combination of offering elements to use in creating a new offering  
           [0022]    the producer selecting and/or defining elements about offering rules, into an Offering Rules database via said producer interface,  
           [0023]    the producer activating/deactivating said offering rules  
           [0024]    the producer creating intermediate offers assigning the offering rules contained in the Offering Rules database to the inventory contained in the Inventory database, which intermediate offers are stored in a Core Engine database,  
           [0025]    a core engine constructing a dynamic offering for said perishable good or service based on the intermediate offer contained in the Core Engine database and on the purchaser profile and search criteria,  
           [0026]    such that the dynamic offering constructed is tailored uniquely to each purchaser, and optimizes both the producer and the purchaser situations, creating and adding value for both the producer and the purchaser and also to the channel.  
           [0027]    The entry of inventory comprises the steps of:  
           [0028]    the producer generating inventory,  
           [0029]    the producer identifying units of inventory to be made available and associating each unit to an inventory code, which inventory codes are organized and stored in an Inventory Codes Database,  
           [0030]    generating a directory of all inventory that could possibly be offered,  
           [0031]    the producer entering inventory details into an Inventory Details database,  
           [0032]    the inventory codes are associated with said details and stored in the Inventory database.  
           [0033]    And, the entry of offering rules comprises the steps of:  
           [0034]    the producer entering a predefined set of inventory group codes, that act as filters against the Inventory database to select only the units of inventory that meet certain criteria,  
           [0035]    the producer entering a predefined set of offering rules, which are organized and stored in the Offering Rules database, said offering rules including  
           [0036]    i. pricing rules,  
           [0037]    ii. purchaser segment rules,  
           [0038]    iii. channel filtering rules,  
           [0039]    iv. negotiation rules  
           [0040]    v. offering administration rules  
           [0041]    said offering rules being assigned to individual units of inventory based on predefined offering parameters.  
           [0042]    Said pricing rules determine both a pricing mechanism and a pricing algorithm to be used during the offering. Said purchaser segment rules designate characteristics of the purchaser segment to which the offering will be targeted. Said channel filtering rules determine through which channels the offering will be made available. Said negotiation rules designate certain non-price elements to be included in the offering, including Terms and Conditions and Use of Certain Assets. Said offering administration rules determine when an offering will be made available to the channels, for how long the offering will last and how often it will be repeated.  
           [0043]    The method of the invention may include the steps of notifying a third party via the corresponding interfaces of a potential transaction, and facilitating the participation of said third party in the offering and closing of the transaction.  
           [0044]    The invention also relates to a system for the creation of said dynamic offering; said system includes at least, one producer, one purchaser and one channel, and also electronic or physical connections between said parties.  
           [0045]    The system further includes a core engine, which constructs a dynamic offering for said perishable good or service based on an intermediate offer contained in a Core Engine database and on a purchaser profile and search criteria entered by said purchaser, such that the dynamic offering constructed is tailored uniquely to each purchaser, and optimizes both the producer and the purchaser situations, creating and adding value for both the producer and the purchaser and also to the channel.  
           [0046]    The system includes an Inventory database which contains inventory data entered by the producer and an Offering Rules database, which contains offering rules entered by the producer.  
           [0047]    Preferably, the offering rules include inventory group codes, pricing codes, purchaser segment rules, channel filtering rules, negotiation rules and offering administration rules.  
           [0048]    The system may preferably include third parties with corresponding interfaces.  
           [0049]    The system may preferably include access for third parties with the corresponding interfaces; said third parties include any party who wishes to offer elements that are available at the time of construction of the offer. Said third parties may wish to access the Core Engine directly through a specific Automatic Programmable Interface.  
           [0050]    Via the corresponding interfaces the third party is notified of a potential transaction, enabling participation in the offering and the closing of the transaction. Third parties may also include enabling systems such as payment facilitators, reservations systems, logistics companies and credit card companies.  
           [0051]    For purposes of clarification, a glossary of the terms used throughout the disclosure of the invention is provided hereby:  
                                       Associated   Inventory that can be combined with a specific unit of       Inventory   inventory, such as return flights.       Cash Yield   Net cash proceeds to a Producer of a commercial           exchange with a Purchaser.       Channel   Distribution means that acts as an intermediary between the           Purchase and the capXnow database.       Channel   Rules defined by the Producer that govern specific       Filtering   Channels to which the Offering will be made available.       Rules       Core Engine   Information-processing center of the invention that develops           and delivers Dynamic Offerings based on Offering Rules,           available Inventory, Purchaser Search Criteria and           Purchaser Profile information.       Core Engine   Database that stores Offerings that have been created by       Database   Producers for use at a future time.       Dynamic   A unique combination of Offering Elements delivered to a       Offering   Purchaser through a Channel Interface, said combination           being based on specific Offering Rules applied to           Inventory Group Codes, and being further filtered by           Purchaser Search Criteria and Purchaser Profile           information.       Dynamic   Method of pricing a good or service during an Offering,       Pricing   whereby the price changes with time.       Enabling   Third Parties who participate in an Offering by providing       Systems   services that facilitate or optimize the transaction, such as           credit card companies, reservations systems and logistics           companies.       Excess   Inventory whose supply exceeds demand.       Inventory       Expiration   The specific point in time when a Perishable Good or           Service becomes worthless, such as departure of an           aircraft.       Interface   A two-way electronic presentation of information between           a user (such as a Purchaser, Channel or Producer) and a           database.       Inventory   Units of capacity generated by the Producer.       Inventory   Codes that refer to a specific type of Inventory, such as       Codes   flight numbers.       Inventory   Data stored in the Inventory Database that is specific to       Data   a unit of Inventory, such as flight number and type of           aircraft.       Inventory   Database of Inventory Codes plus Inventory Details.       Database       Inventory   Catalog of Static Inventory Data that is stored in the       Details   Inventory Details database and added to the Inventory           Codes to provide the Purchaser with complete details on           a unit of inventory.       Inventory   Codes that designate a specific aggregation of       Group   Inventory, based on certain rules that are defined by the       Codes   Producer.       Inventory   A specific aggregation of inventory, based on certain rules       Grouping   that are defined by the Producer.       Modeling   Mathematical simulation of probable future outcomes based           on assumptions and historical data.       Negotiation   A set of Producer-defined rules that govern the integration       Rules   of non-price elements into the offering, such as Terms &amp;           Conditions and Use of Certain Assets.       Non-Price   Any elements of an Offering aside from price, such as       Components   Terms &amp; Conditions and Use of Certain Assets.       Offering   A combination of Offer Elements that is stored in the Core           Engine Database, said combination being defined by the           Producer in anticipation of activation and acceptance by the           Purchaser via a Search Query.       Offering   A specific set of rules, defined by the Producer, that will       Admini-   govern when the offering is held, how long it will last, and       stration   how often it will be repeated.       Rules       Offering   Individual components that govern the parameters by which       Elements   an offering will be made, such as Pricing Mechanism,           Purchaser Profile, Negotiation Rules, Channel Filtering           Rules, and specific Inventory to be made available.       Offering   A specific set of rules, defined by the Producer, that will       Rules   govern what Inventory will be offered to whom through           which Channel at what time and at what price, using what           Terms &amp; Conditions.       Offering   Database of all Offering Rules established by the Producer       Rules   for use in an Offering at a future time.       Database       Oversold   Inventory whose demand exceeds supply.       Inventory       Perishable   Goods and Services whose value diminishes with time,       Goods and   eventually becoming worthless upon Expiration.       Services   Commercial act of transferring ownership or access to       Placement   goods &amp; services from a Producer to a Purchaser.       Pricing   Formula developed by the Producer that contains specific       Algorithm   parameters and variables that will determine the behavior of           a Pricing Mechanism during an Offering.       Pricing   Means by which the price associated with an Offering is       Mechanism   presented in real-time to the Purchaser through the Channel           Interface, said means either determining the price or           allowing the market or the Producer to determine the price,           for example Dutch Auction, Bid-Ask, or Fixed Pricing.       Producer   Provider of Perishable Goods or Services       Purchaser   Channel end-user who conducts a Search Query against the           Core Engine database via the Channel Interface.       Purchaser   Set of Purchaser-specific data, provided by the Channel or       Profile   by the Purchaser, which is used by the Core Engine to           devise a Dynamic Offering based on rules set forth in the           Purchaser Segment by the Producer.       Purchaser   Rules defined by the Producer that govern to whom the       Segment   Offering will be made or that modify the Offering based       Rules   on Purchaser - specific data contained in the Purchaser           Profile.       Search   Values entered by the Purchaser through the Channel       Criteria   Interface to perform a Search Query.       Search   Information processing request containing Search Criteria       Query   that is conducted by a Purchaser through the Channel           Interface, with the intent of filtering the database of           available inventory and producing a result that meets           requirements set forth in Search Criteria.       Sold   Inventory whose supply approximately equals demand.       Inventory           Terms and   Non-price elements of an offering that specify rules       Conditions   of use and modification and grant the Purchaser certain           rights and options.       Third Parties   Any party who wishes to offer Elements that are available           at the time of construction of an Offering, except the           Channel and the Producer.       Total Yield   Cash Yield plus the net present value of all potential           future transactions with a specific Purchaser.       Unsold   Inventory that has not yet been placed.       Inventory       Use of   Rights granted by the Producer to the Purchaser to access       Certain   certain assets held by the Producer, said rights       Assets   being granted in conjunction with acceptance by the           Purchaser of the Offering.       Yield   The science of optimizing return from future inventory       Management   based on projections and modeling using historical data.       Yield   Any device that attempts to track the historical       Tracking   performance of inventory placement, such as an EXCEL       Tool   spreadsheet or a Yield Management System.                  
 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0052]    [0052]FIG. 1 illustrates an overall view of the system of the present invention, key parties involved and relationships amongst the key parties.  
         [0053]    [0053]FIG. 2 shows the end-to-end inventory placement process.  
         [0054]    [0054]FIG. 3 is a diagram block that depicts the entry of inventory data process in detail.  
         [0055]    [0055]FIG. 4 is a diagram block that depicts the entry of the offering rules process in detail.  
         [0056]    [0056]FIG. 5 is a diagram block that depicts the creation of an intermediate offering using offering rules and inventory group codes.  
         [0057]    [0057]FIG. 6 is a diagram block showing a synthesis of the method of the invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0058]    [0058]FIG. 1 shows the general structure of the system for the creation of a dynamic offering  10  for perishable goods and services in an electronic trading system according to the present invention, showing key parties involved and relationships amongst the key parties. Said system is accessible by at least, one producer  20  of perishable goods and services, one purchaser  30  and one channel  40 . The system includes electronic/physical connections between all parties.  
         [0059]    The system may also include access for third parties  80  with the corresponding interfaces; third parties may also include enabling systems  90  such as payment facilitators, reservations systems, logistics companies and credit card companies.  
         [0060]    The method for the creation of a dynamic offering  10  works as follows:  
         [0061]    Producers  20  load inventory into the Core Engine  100  via a producer interface  21 , such as a web-based interface or en masse via electronic communication links that are specific to the type of producer hooked up to the system. The producer interface collects the following information from producers, partly through a web-based ASP interface, partly through direct connections with the producer&#39;s legacy sites:  
         [0062]    a. Inventory codes that will be made available to channels  40 , which will be tracked to the Inventory Details database  54  to provide full details on each unit of inventory (i.e.; flight departure and arrival times, city pairs, etc.)  
         [0063]    b. Pricing and offering information, such as what the initial offering price will be, what the parameters governing the price movement and what the final price will be as well as when the offerings will take place. (i.e.; Dutch Auction starting at $700 and declining to $200 at the linear rate of $300 per hour, available Wednesday night at 8 pm GST).  
         [0064]    c. Associated inventory and rules, such as what other value-added goods or services will be made available with this inventory (i.e.; all return flights from the destination on these dates with a Saturday night stay, maximum stay of thirty days, and minimum stay of two days).  
         [0065]    d. Negotiation Rules, such as change privileges, display of producer information on the channel website, and various exchange and trading capabilities that will be granted to purchasers as part of the offering. (i.e.; offer free exchanges for a different flight on the same route).  
         [0066]    e. Filtering rules that will dictate to whom will the inventory be made available, such as through which channels and to which target purchaser segments (i.e.; through all online travel agents and to all frequent flier members).  
         [0067]    The Core Engine  100  contains databases and rules that will collect and store inventory information and dynamically formulate offers based on:  
         [0068]    i. Supply conditions (i.e.; there are many seats to Frankfurt)  
         [0069]    ii. The timing (i.e.; seats may be offered first on a travel web site and any remaining seats may be auctioned at the website of the producer)  
         [0070]    iii. The nature of the channel (i.e.; Travelocity may get a different offering than eBookers)  
         [0071]    iv. The buying history of the purchaser (i.e.; frequent flier)  
         [0072]    v. Preferences of the purchaser (i.e.; prefers a limousine at the airport)  
         [0073]    vi. Filtering of third party information for privacy protection purposes  
         [0074]    vii. Aggregation and integration of third party offers into the offering (i.e.; electronic coupons, producer rebates to the channel or to the purchaser).  
         [0075]    viii. Verification and validation of purchaser-specific profile and transaction data (i.e.; this purchaser is in fact a Gold member)  
         [0076]    As shown in FIG. 2, once the Core Engine has constructed the dynamic offering, the other parties included in the system place the offering and provide fulfillment if the purchaser accepts said offering.  
         [0077]    [0077]FIG. 2 shows the end-to-end inventory placement process:  
         [0078]    Box  111  involves the entry of inventory data (as further illustrated in FIG. 3), such as: flight numbers or similar product codes, dates, auction data, price data and association data, so that this unit may be linked with other units.  
         [0079]    Box  112  involves the entry of offering data (as further illustrated in FIG. 4), such as: non-price elements that may be combined with the unit of inventory to create a dynamic offering, and offering and negotiation rules that will determine which purchasers get what combination of offering elements at what time through which channel, and filtering rules that will determine the channels to which the inventory will be offered.  
         [0080]    Box  113  involves the on-line construction of an offering by the Core Engine using rules input by the producer and offering elements made available. Actual offering will depend on the following: buying history and preferences of the purchaser, supply conditions, non-price offering elements made available by the producer or the channel, the channel used by the purchaser, associations made by the producer to other units of inventory, the number of other purchasers of the inventory and the timing of those purchases, time and date and third-party offering elements that are available at the time of construction of the offering.  
         [0081]    Box  114  involves the purchasing process, which is conducted by the channel and includes selection of the offering and transmission of payment information.  
         [0082]    Box  115  involves the fulfillment of the offering, which is also conducted by the channel and includes reservation and delivery of the product being purchased.  
         [0083]    [0083]FIG. 3 is a diagram that depicts the inventory data entry process in detail, which is basically as follows:  
         [0084]    As shown in box  120 , the producer manages the allocation and creation of inventory, using a yield tracking told such as historical yield data or a more sophisticated yield tracking tool such as a spreadsheet (such as Microsoft™ EXCEL), a relational database (such as Microsoft™ ACCESS), or a complex inventory management system such as a Yield Management System, the latter of which is based on complex statistical models; these models attempt to predict the amount of inventory needed based on historical sales.  
         [0085]    Since the outcome of both informal formulations and statistical models is merely a prediction, there will be variances between predicted inventory needed and actual inventory required. As the expiration date of the unit of inventory approaches, the probability of placing all inventory becomes possible to estimate (box  121 ). Using this probability, the producer can identify “excess” inventory and “oversold” inventory (box  122 ). Units of inventory are identified using inventory codes (i.e.; flight numbers), which are organized and stored in the Inventory Codes Database  53 .  
         [0086]    The inventory codes are loaded into the Inventory Codes Database via communication means  75 , for example a manual web interface or an electronic message. The manual web interface permits the producer to enter inventory manually via a password-protected website. In most cases, the inventory availability will be communicated en masse via electronic message; this method requires electronic links between the producer&#39;s inventory management systems and the Core Engine.  
         [0087]    As shown in box  123 , a directory of all inventory that could possibly be offered is generated. The producer enters inventory details into the Inventory Details database  54 , which is a reference database; these details (e.g.; flight origination and destination, times, etc.) are generally fixed. In this way, the inventory codes are augmented (see box  124 ) with associated fixed data and are stored in the Inventory Database  51 .  
         [0088]    [0088]FIG. 4 is a diagram block that depicts the entry of the offering rules process in detail, which is basically as follows:  
         [0089]    a) The producer may elect to analyze historical data concerning the relative effectiveness of various combinations of offering elements. In addition to historical analysis (box  130 ), the producer may elect to conduct simulations or models that attempt to predict the efficacy of a particular offering, based on information contained in the system already. Using these advanced analytical methods, the producer can predict to a certain extent the performance of a particular combination of offering elements for use in creating a new offer.  
         [0090]    b) The producer enters or selects a predefined set of offering rules that will govern the elements and values that will be made available to a specific purchaser segment in a dynamic offering. Such rules formulate the offering based on:  
         [0091]    i. The actual units of inventory requested  
         [0092]    ii. The timing of the offering  
         [0093]    iii. The buying patterns of the purchaser  
         [0094]    iv. The preferences of the purchaser  
         [0095]    V. Offering elements available at the time from third parties  
         [0096]    vi. Pricing and auction parameters (pricing rules  63 )  
         [0097]    vii. Channel filtering rules  65   
         [0098]    viii. Purchaser segment rules  64   
         [0099]    ix. Association of inventory units  
         [0100]    x. Negotiation rules  66   
         [0101]    xi. Offering administration rules  67   
         [0102]    The offering rules entered by the producer are grouped (box  131 ) and stored in the Offering Rules Database  61 .  
         [0103]    [0103]FIG. 5 is a diagram block that depicts the creation of an intermediate offer using offering rules and inventory group codes  62 . The producer will use an offer management “control panel” to formulate various combinations of inventory group codes  62  and offering rules, which are selected from the Offering Rules database  61 . Within these rules, the inventory group codes act as filters against the universe of all available inventory to select only the units of inventory that fit the criteria specified. This inventory is then combined with the offering rules to create a unique intermediate offer that is then loaded into the Core Engine database  101  for use at a future time.  
         [0104]    [0104]FIG. 6 is a diagram block showing a synthesis of the method of the invention. The purchaser  30  accesses the channel interface, i.e. a channel website  41 , to which access has been provided. Through the system, search criteria  31  and purchaser profile  32  information are used to define the actual offerings that are made on behalf of the producer  20  to the purchaser  30 . Based on the specific criteria in effect at the time, the Core Engine  100  constructs a dynamic offering  10  based on rules set in the Offering Rules database  61  and the details of individual units of inventory stored in the Inventory Database  51 , which have been associated and stored in the Core Engine Database  101 . Said dynamic offering is made available to the purchaser via said channel website  41 . Should the purchaser accept the offer, the channel  40 , third parties  80  and/or enabling systems  90  conduct the sale, including payment and fulfillment.