Patent ID: 8732047

Claim:
A computer-implemented method of conducting contract execution against expressive contracts comprising: (a) storing in a computer storage accessible to a processor of a computer data about a plurality of contracts, wherein the data about each contract includes: one good or service associated with the contract; a payment rule to determine a payment for the purchase of at least one quantity of at least one good or service under the contract; and a seller under the contract, wherein the data about a first one of the plurality of contracts also includes: a plurality of purchases made against the contract, a trigger condition based on the plurality of purchases made against the contract, and an effect associated with the trigger condition wherein the effect causes either: a payment to occur, a payment associated with a purchase transaction to change, a future payment or a future payment contingent on a future purchase transaction to change, or a constraint on allowable purchases to change; (b) storing in the computer storage data about a procurement plan; (c) storing in the computer storage data associated with a purchase request, wherein the purchase request data includes information about a first quantity of at least one good or service; (d) the processor of the computer determining a second quantity of one good or service and a second one of the plurality of contracts against which to complete the purchase request based on an optimization of all of the following: the procurement plan in step (b), the data about the plurality of contracts, the trigger condition and associated effect, the plurality of purchases made against the first one of the contracts in step (a), and the quantity of at least one good or service in step (c); (e) in response to the processor automatically approving the second contract and the second quantity in step (d) subject to one or more predetermined rules or the processor receiving an approval of the second contract and second quantity, the processor causing a purchase order for the second quantity of the one good or service to be placed to the seller associated with the second contract in step (d).