Patent ID: 7398228

Claim:
A computer implemented method for matching commodity suppliers with intending purchasers, the method comprising the steps of: obtaining supply information including a plurality of supply quantities and a supply price that for each supply quantity indicates a supply cost from at least one commodity supplier for a particular commodity item and arranging the information into a supply list for storage in a database, wherein the supply price lowers as the supply quantity increases, and wherein each supply quantity is classified into a plurality of supply quantity ranges that indicate a maximum supply quantity range for each commodity supplier; receiving purchase wish information including a desired purchase price and a desired purchase quantity for said particular commodity item from intending purchasers through a network for a predetermined period of time; storing the received purchase wish information in said database; after said predetermined period of time, collecting said purchase wish information stored in said database and producing a purchase wish list having the information arranged in a predetermined order; selecting an optimum combination of intending purchasers, selling quantities, selling prices, commodity suppliers, supply quantities, and supply prices by comparing only the desired purchase price and the desired purchase quantity of said purchase wish list with the supply price and supply quantity of said supply list by calculating a total profit using an iterative aggregation of profit for each additional intending purchaser; and transmitting a purchase admission notification to the intending purchasers selected in said selecting step, wherein an intending purchaser who bids lower than the supply price for the particular supply quantity is not automatically disqualified.