Patent ID: 7937282

Claim:
A computer-implemented method for generating a price schedule for one or more products, the method comprising: generating, by a computer system, a plurality of stages, each stage representing a time interval and comprising one or more states and a plurality of paths, each path comprising a plurality of states, the plurality of states having at least one predecessor state that is coupled with at least one successor state by a transition, each state having a price value, an inventory value, and a state value; generating, by the computer system, a transition graph by repeating the following for the plurality of stages until a final stage is reached: determining the price value of a successor state; calculating the inventory value of the successor state using the price value and the inventory value of a predecessor state; and calculating the state value of the successor state using the price value and the inventory value of the predecessor state; applying one or more constraints that limits a difference in values between a successor state and a predecessor state; selecting, by the computer system, a path of the plurality of paths according to the state values of the one or more states; determining, by the computer system, a price schedule from the selected path; and outputting, by the computer system, the price schedule to one or more computers associated with one or more entities.