Patent ID: 8255269

Claim:
A processor-implemented method for optimizing a transaction between one or more users of a good or service and one or more suppliers of the good or service, comprising: providing a computer-processor; and storing in computer memory program instructions, wherein the program instructions, when executed, caused the computer-processor to perform the steps of: receiving, using a computer-processor, information defining a user, the user being a committed user or an uncommitted user; receiving, a computer-processor, a set of committed purchase conditions from the committed user indicative of conditions upon which the committed user commits to purchasing the good or service within a given period of time; receiving, using a computer-processor, a set of uncommitted purchase conditions from the uncommitted user indicative of conditions upon which the uncommitted user prefers to purchase the good or service within the given period of time; receiving, using a computer-processor, committed selling conditions from a supplier indicative of conditions upon which the supplier commits to sell the good or service within the given period of time; aggregating, using a computer-processor, committed users and suppliers into a group based on complementing committed purchase conditions of committed users and committed selling conditions of suppliers; determining, using a computer-processor, an optimal transaction based on realization of an economic goal constrained by the committed purchase conditions and committed selling conditions of the group; determining, using a computer-processor, at least one maximum transaction based on selecting uncommitted users for inducement into the group, based on a threshold similarity of uncommitted purchase conditions of the uncommitted users to be selected and the committed selling conditions, the maximum transaction being a closest possible realization of the optimal transaction; inducing the selected uncommitted users to join the group as committed users with incentives to create the maximum transaction; comparing, using a computer-processor, the optimal transaction to the maximum transaction to determine the difference between the optimal transaction and maximum transaction; and completing the transaction when the difference between the optimal transaction and maximum transaction is below a predefined threshold.