Patent ID: 7660741

Claim:
A computer-implemented sourcing system, comprising: one or more data storage locations on a computer-readable medium comprising sourcing criteria; a sourcing engine stored on a computer-readable medium and coupled with the one or more data storage locations, the sourcing engine configured to implement the following instructions when executed by a processor: receive one or more item sourcing requirements, the one or more item sourcing requirements identify an item and a quantity of the item to be sourced from one or more suppliers; access the sourcing criteria in the one or more data storage locations, the sourcing criteria comprising one or more quantity pricing rules associated with the one or more suppliers, the price and quantity information of the item available at each of the one or more suppliers, and two or more sourcing rules associated with the sourcing of the item, one of the two or more sourcing rules including a minimum sourcing requirement associated with one or more of the one or more suppliers, the two or more sourcing rules further comprising at least one hard sourcing rule and at least one soft sourcing rule, wherein the hard sourcing rule cannot be violated and the soft sourcing rule can be violated; determine one or more suppliers from which the item should be sourced and a quantity of the item to obtain from each of the one or more suppliers based on the sourcing criteria; and a transaction execution module on a computer-readable medium and coupled with the sourcing engine, the transaction execution module configured to implement the following instructions when executed by a processor: receive the determination of the one or more suppliers; generate one or more transaction documents each identifying the item and the requested quantity of the item, and including a request that a supplier provide the requested quantity of the item; and communicate the one or more transaction documents to the identified one or more suppliers.