Patent ID: 7620575

Claim:
A computer-implemented system for locally generating price quotes, comprising: a plurality of buyer computers coupled with a plurality of sellers via a network, each of the plurality of buyer computers comprising a database and a server, wherein a buyer associated with the plurality of buyer computers comprises a buying group comprising two or more buyers buying items as a single buying entity, each server configured to: receive a plurality of pricing tools from the plurality of sellers, each pricing tool configured to generate price quotes for at least one corresponding seller; locally store the pricing tools received from the plurality of sellers such that the pricing tools are locally accessible to the server associated with the buying group; access a request for quote (RFQ) specifying an order comprising quantities of one or more items, the RFQ requesting one or more price quotes for the order; communicate the RFQ to the locally accessible pricing tools; using the locally accessible pricing tools received from the plurality of sellers, locally generate one or more price quotes for the order; provide the locally generated price quotes for the order for possible further action by the buying group; make one or more modifications to the order specified in the RFQ, the modifications being made based on the price quote for the order generated using the locally accessible pricing tools received from the plurality of sellers; using the locally accessible pricing tools received from the plurality of sellers, locally generate one or more price quotes for the modified order, provide the locally generated price quotes for the modified order for possible further action by the buyer; iteratively modify the order and locally generate corresponding price quotes to optimize sourcing for the buying group; and receive a pricing tool update for a particular locally accessible pricing tool, the pricing tool update reflecting one or more price changes for at least one seller, and update the particular locally accessible pricing tool according to the received pricing tool update.