Patent ID: 7599883

Claim:
A computer-implemented method for assigning a customer credit limit to a customer, comprising: setting a customer risk category and a customer hierarchy for the customer; determining, by a computer, a credit horizon for the customer, wherein the credit horizon comprises a specified time period with regard to a delivery date of the item, wherein the specified time period that is varied based on the customer risk category; receiving a request for delivery of an undelivered item to the customer; determining, by a computer, whether the delivery date of the undelivered item is within the credit horizon; establishing a credit for the customer when the delivery date of the item is within the credit horizon in accordance with the customer risk category, the customer hierarchy, and open orders for the customer within the credit horizon, and ignoring open orders that are due for delivery to the customer after the credit horizon; and assigning the customer credit limit to the customer based on the established credit.