U.S. patent application number 10/058490 was filed with the patent office on 2004-04-22 for apparatus and method for obtaining lowest bid from information product vendors.
Invention is credited to Gindlesperger, William A..
Application Number | 20040078277 10/058490 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 26793830 |
Filed Date | 2004-04-22 |
United States Patent
Application |
20040078277 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Gindlesperger, William A. |
April 22, 2004 |
Apparatus and method for obtaining lowest bid from information
product vendors
Abstract
A system and method for competitive bid selection from a
plurality print and other customized information product vendors
based on a database of vendor records, each record identifying a
vendor, one or more buyers who approves the vendor for receipt of
invitations to bid, and a vendor capability data representing
production and economic capabilities of the vendor. A buyer's
invitation for bid data is received, representing a specific print
and other customized information product or service and an
invitation to bid on that product or service, and a data
identifying vendor requirements for producing the product is
calculated. An vendor's invitation to bid is transmitted to the
vendors from among those approved by the buyer associated with the
buyer's invitation for bid having a vendor capability data meeting
the calculated vendor requirements. Responding bids from the
vendors are input into the database and ranked in order of price.
The lowest price bid is identified and an order is issued to the
selected vendor. Further, a bid information data is transmitted to
each of the non-selected vendors, representing the identity of the
selected vendor and the rank order value of the bids.
Inventors: |
Gindlesperger, William A.;
(Chambersburg, PA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
ROBERT J. DEPKE LEWIS T. STEADMAN
HOLLAND & KNIGHT LLC
131 SOUTH DEARBORN
30TH FLOOR
CHICAGO
IL
60603
US
|
Family ID: |
26793830 |
Appl. No.: |
10/058490 |
Filed: |
January 28, 2002 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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10058490 |
Jan 28, 2002 |
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09383371 |
Aug 26, 1999 |
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6397197 |
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60097972 |
Aug 26, 1998 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
705/26.1 ;
705/37 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06Q 40/00 20130101;
G06Q 40/04 20130101; H04L 9/3297 20130101; G06Q 30/0601 20130101;
G06Q 30/06 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
705/026 ;
705/037 |
International
Class: |
G06F 017/60 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A method for competitive bidding by print information product
vendors comprising steps of: inputting a plurality of vendor
records into a storage of a general purpose computer, each of said
vendor records having a data field identifying a print information
product vendor and a buyer identification data field identifying a
buyer that said vendor is associated with; inputting a buyer's
invitation-for-bid data into said general purpose computer, said
buyer's invitation-for-bid data having a buyer identification data,
and having an invitation for bid on a print information product job
from said buyer; identifying at least one vendor record as
qualified, based on a match of said buyer identification data and
the buyer identification data field of said at least one vendor
record; transmitting a vendor's invitation-for-bid data to said at
least one vendor; inputting into said general purpose computer a
plurality of bid data, each from one of said plurality of vendors
to which said vendor's invitation-for-bid data was transmitted,
each of said bid data representing a bid price; identifying a bid
data from said received bid data having the lowest represented bid
price; outputting a selected vendor data representing the identity
of the vendor corresponding to the bid data identified by said
identifying step; and transmitting an order to the vendor
represented by said selected vendor data.
2. A method according to claim 1 further comprising a step of:
inserting a vendor capability data into at least one of said vendor
records, said vendor capability data representing a set of vendor
manufacturing capabilities of the print information product vendor
identified by said record; calculating a vendor requirement data
from said buyer's invitation-for-bid data, said vendor requirement
data representing a set vendor manufacturing capabilities required
for performing said print information product job; and comparing
said vendor requirement data to the print information product
records associated with the buyer from which said buyer's
information-for-bid was received, wherein said step of identifying
at least one vendor record as qualified is based on said comparing
and said match of said buyer identification data and the data field
of said at least one vendor record identifying a buyer that said
vendor is associated.
3. A method according to claim 1 further comprising steps of:
ranking said received bid data according to said represented bid
price; and transmitting an information data from said general
purpose computer to other vendors identifying said selected vendor
and the rank order value of said received bid data.
4. A method according to claim 2 further comprising steps of:
ranking said received bid data according to said represented bid
price; and transmitting an information data from said general
purpose computer to other vendors identifying said selected vendor
and the rank order value of said received bid data.
5. A method according to claim 2, wherein said vendor capability
data represents the identified vendor's capability to manufacture
each of a plurality of different types of print information
products.
6. A method according to claim 2, further comprising steps of:
transmitting a request for vendor capability data to said at least
one vendor associated with at least one of said buyers; receiving a
first formatted vendor capability data from said at least one
vendor; and converting said first formatted vendor capability data
into said vendor capability data, wherein said step of inputting a
vendor capability data inputs said converted data.
7. A method according to claim 2 wherein said vendor capability
data input for each of a plurality of printing vendors represents a
set of vendor capabilities relating to objective and subjective
parameters for each of a plurality of types of print information
products.
8. A method according to claim 1, further comprising steps of:
inputting into said central data server a completion of job data;
transmitting from said central data server to said buyer an invoice
for payment of said bid price; inputting a payment from said buyer
into an escrow account via electronic fund transfer; subtracting a
system access fee data and a licensing fee data from a data
representing said payment deposited into said escrow account to
generate a remainder payment data; and transferring a payment from
said escrow account to an account of said vendor corresponding to
said remainder payment data.
9. A method according to claim 2, further comprising steps of:
inputting into said central data server a completion of job data;
transmitting from said central data server to said buyer an invoice
for payment of said bid price; inputting a payment from said buyer
into an escrow account via electronic fund transfer; subtracting a
system access fee data and a licensing fee data from a data
representing said payment deposited into said escrow account to
generate a remainder payment data; and transferring a payment from
said escrow account to an account of said vendor corresponding to
said remainder payment data.
10. A method according to claim 1, further comprising a step of:
calculating a job milestone data based on said buyer's
invitation-for-bid data.
11. A method according to claim 10 further comprising steps of:
generating a job progress verification request based on said job
milestone data; and entering a data into said central data server
representing a job progress corresponding to said job progress
verification request.
12. A method according to claim 2, further comprising a step of:
calculating a job milestone data based on said buyer's
invitation-for-bid data.
13. A method according to claim 12 further comprising steps of:
generating a job progress verification request based on said job
milestone data; and entering a data into said central data server
representing a job progress corresponding to said job progress
verification request.
14. A system for competitive bidding by print information product
vendors comprising: means for inputting a plurality of vendor
records into a storage of a general purpose computer, each of said
vendor records having a data field identifying a print information
product vendor and a buyer identification data field identifying a
buyer that said vendor is associated with; means for inputting a
buyer's invitation-for-bid data into said general purpose computer,
said buyer's invitation-for-bid data having a buyer identification
data, and having an invitation for bid on a print information
product job from said buyer; means for identifying at least one
vendor record as qualified, based on a match of said buyer
identification data and the buyer identification data field of said
at least one vendor record; means for transmitting a vendor's
invitation-for-bid data to said at least one vendors; means for
inputting into said general purpose computer a plurality of bid
data, each from one of said plurality of vendors to which said
vendor's invitation-for-bid data was transmitted, each of said bid
data representing a bid price; means for identifying a bid data
from said received bid data having the lowest represented bid
price; means for outputting a selected vendor data representing the
identity of the vendor corresponding to the bid data identified by
said identifying means; and means for transmitting an order to the
vendor represented by said selected vendor data.
15. A system according to claim 14 further comprising: means for
inserting a vendor capability data into at least one of said vendor
records, said vendor capability data representing a set of vendor
manufacturing capabilities of the print information product vendor
identified by said record; means for calculating a vendor
requirement data from said buyer's invitation-for-bid data, said
vendor requirement data representing a set vendor manufacturing
capabilities required for performing said print information product
job; and means for comparing said vendor requirement data to the
print information product records associated with the buyer from
which said buyer's information-for-bid was received, wherein said
means for identifying at least one vendor record as qualified
performs said identifying based on a result of said comparing means
and a match of said buyer identification data and the buyer
identification data field of said at least one vendor record.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention generally relates to an apparatus and
method for creating a database representing print and other
information product vendor pools for one or more subscribing
buyers, and for selecting the lowest bidder from the databases
represented vendor pool on a per-job basis and, more particularly,
for creating and maintaining a database representing a vendor pool
for each subscribing buyer of printing and other customized print
information product goods and services, the database further
representing capabilities of said vendors, receiving
invitations-for-bid from buyers, extracting vendor qualification
criteria data from said invitations-for-bid, transmitting
invitations to bid on said invitations-for-bid to qualified ones of
said vendors, based on said vendor qualification criteria data, and
selecting from among the responding vendors based on the response
price and other factors.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Purchase of print and other customized information product
goods and services, such as business cards and forms, envelopes,
labels, pamphlets, CD ROMS, notepads, transparencies, brochures,
and bound books differs from non-custom manufactured goods or
services in that print and other information product goods and
services are generally not pre-stocked as "off-the-shelf" items
but, instead, must be specifically manufactured or provided to meet
the buyer's particular requirements. Consequently, print and other
information product goods and services frequently cannot be
purchased "off-the-shelf" at fixed prices appearing on standard
price lists. Instead, most print and other information product
goods and services are customized to some extent and, accordingly,
their prices are established when the specific goods or services
are themselves identified, either by an actual order,
invitation-for-bid ("IFB"), request-for-quote ("RFQ"), or
request-for-proposal ("RFP"); only then can the manufacturer or
service provider assess the precise quality and manufacturing or
service specifications required to perform the job.
[0003] The general procedure used in the prior are of procurement
of print and other customized information product goods and
services is that the buyer provides the actual order, or the IFB,
RFQ, or RFP to one or more printers with whom, in general, the
buyer has had sufficient previous experience to know what type of
product or level of service can be provided. For purposes of this
description, the terms "printer" and "print vendor" are
interchangeable and are defined as an entity which manufactures or
sells traditional forms of printing or other non-traditional types
of information product goods or services, which are or which
consist of any tangible medium for communicating or displaying
text, images, or other graphical or pictorial information,
including, but not limited to, business forms, labels, pamphlets,
books, flyers, brochures, transparencies, CD ROMs, stickers,
business cards, envelopes, and note pads. For purposes of this
description the terms "print information product" and "print
information goods" are interchangeable and defined to include all
of the above-identified goods and services. The printer then
reviews the buyer's product manufacturing and delivery
specifications or requirements contained in the order, IFB, RFQ, or
RFP including physical specifications, characteristics of style,
quantities, mode of shipment, delivery schedule, and quality level
required to perform individual jobs or estimated job requirement
over a given period of time and, based on or extrapolating from
previous experiences, provides an estimated price or bid to the
buyer. Generally the buyer will provide the order,
invitation-for-bid, request-for-quote, or request-for-proposal to a
single or very limited number of print vendors, and award the
contract to the single or lowest bidder.
[0004] In following this general procedure in the prior art,
however, buyers of printing and other customized information
product goods or services confront the so-called "iron triangle" of
quality, timeliness, and cost. Buyers want a product or service
that is good, fast, and cheap, but what they discover is that
traditional procurements methods will, at best, only achieve two of
these three ideals on any given job. Thus, a buyer might demand and
receive top quality on a "rush" order, but only at a high cost.
Conversely, negotiating a lower price may achieve cost savings, but
also compromise quality and timeliness.
[0005] This problem is heightened by great elasticity in the
so-called "market" price of printing or other customized
information product goods or services, which can vary widely from
vendor to vendor and from week to week. This elasticity results
from the fact that pricing of such customized goods or services
greatly depends on (1) the level of service and quality desired;
(2) the labor and equipment required to produce the job or provide
the service; (3) the amount time involved in producing the job or
providing the service; (4) whether the job or service can be
engineered or designed in a cost-effective way; and (5) whether the
customer order can be included in the print vendor's production
schedule to comply with the required delivery date.
[0006] This last factor is particularly crucial. Most print vendors
are "hard-iron" manufacturers with high overhead and labor costs.
As a result, idle equipment and labor can be devastating to a print
vendor's profit margin. At the same time, print vendors must be
ready to service their regular customers on short notice, which
means planning for downtime in the production schedule to ensure
that their machinery is available for "rush" orders. Managing
customer job orders in a way that minimizes these "holes" in the
production schedule is frequently what distinguishes the profitable
print vendor from the insolvent one.
[0007] As a result of this tension between the cost of idle
equipment and labor and the need to preserve downtime for regular
customers, print vendors are constantly seeking short-turnaround
jobs to fill their production "holes" when their regular orders do
not materialize. To obtain these short-turnaround jobs, many print
vendors will resort to extremely low pricing, provided that they
can do so without undermining their regular customer relations.
This pricing strategy is called "contribution pricing".
"Contribution" pricing is the practice of bidding out work at below
normal profit margins because any income above out-of-pocket costs
"contributes", 100%, to the print vendor's bottom line in
comparison to cost of letting its labor and machinery remain idle.
In current printing markets, "contribution" pricing on a regular
basis is found only in federal and state government procurements of
print information products.
[0008] In both public and private sector print information product
markets, however, traditional procurement methods and prior art
devices have failed to solve this "iron triangle" because of their
inability to take advantage of "contribution" pricing without
incurring prohibitive administrative costs or sacrificing quality
or timeliness. There are many reasons for this failure. First, the
purchase or procurement of printing and other customized
information product goods and services frequently requires
specialized knowledge and expertise in finding the right print
vendor for each job. Most businesses, however, hire purchasing
officials with general procurement knowledge who are then given
responsibility for a wide range of purchases. As a result, the
purchasing official is forced to rely on the print vendor's
expertise in designing or engineering a print job, which too often
results in the most expensive (and most profitable for the print
vendor) design, engineering, or production process.
[0009] Second, in order to find the manufacturer or service
provider who is willing to offer the lowest "contribution" pricing
on any given job, the buyer must often request price quotations
from dozens or even hundreds of vendors. In the actual business
environment, however, there are difficulties which makes selection
of a print vendor willing to offer "contribution" pricing difficult
for the buyer. There are also difficulties and tradeoffs which make
preparation of responding bids difficult for the print vendors. For
example, from the buyers perspective, a first difficulty is
identifying the pool of print vendors to whom it should send its
IFB or RFQ. A larger vendor pool would, in theory, be desirable
because it usually means a lower bid can be received. This is
well-known in the general business world. However, identifying such
a large vendor pool is generally not practical. A main reason is
that gathering and maintaining information about a large number of
current and potential print vendors is time consuming and
expensive. Few companies have the time, money, or inclination to
maintain a large, up-to-date database on such potential vendors,
particularly when soliciting dozens of bids or quotations will
itself require staff and administrative time that costs more than
the savings generated from competitive bidding. This disparity is
heightened by the fact that most print jobs involve relatively low
dollar purchases or procurements.
[0010] In addition, even if a buyer were willing to absorb the
administrative costs associated with keeping a large database of
vendors to improve the competitive bidding, the buyer is often
reluctant to do so because quality control becomes more difficult
as the vendor pool increases. Part of quality control is to monitor
the quality and dependability of goods and services output by each
vendor in the vendor pool. This is difficult not due only to the
volume of the information, but also to the fact that the buyer must
generally obtain such information from its own dealings with the
vendor. The reason is that reliability, price history, and quality
of a print vendor's work for other buyers may not be obtainable.
This is another reason that buyers will not seek goods or services
from new vendors because negative information on their reliability
or quality may then be learned first hand.
[0011] In the pubic sector, where federal and state agencies are
often required by law to make bid opportunities available to large
numbers of vendors, procurements of print information products
typically result in poor quality control and relatively high
administrative costs that must be subsidized by the taxpayer. In
contrast, traditional procurement methods and prior art devices in
the private sector have emphasized quality control by limiting the
vendor pool for print information goods and services to a small
number of reliable vendors with which it has previously done
business. However, as the present inventor has discovered, there is
a significant cost problem associated with limiting of the vendor
pool to a small number. The problem is that the limited competition
results in vendors offering, and charging, higher prices, being
undisciplined by a more competitive market. Such prior art methods
are typically based on direct negotiation with preferred vendors in
established commercial relationships, often resulting in controlled
term pricing that lumps procurements together in the hope of
enhancing the print buyer's buying power within a narrow pool of
vendors; and "best buy" or "best value" procurement practices
(which are now being adopted increasingly in the public sector)
that are largely creative user or quality control driven.
[0012] Because of the limitations of traditional procurement
methods, print vendors are often left not only with unscheduled
holes in their production schedules, but also unable to fill
downtime purposefully set aside for last minute "rush" orders from
regular customers. Moreover, even those print vendors who would
gain, in an immediate sense, from contribution pricing are
frequently unwilling to offer that pricing to their regular
customers. The reason is that the regular customer, after once
receiving a contribution pricing from its vendor due to the vendor
then facing idle machine time, would expect to pay the same low
prices for its future print jobs. The regular customer would even
expect the vendor to give contribution pricing at times when the
vendor lacks idle production capacity. As a result, the vendor
would have to displace more profitable work to accept the lower
paying work, in order maintain the goodwill of its customer.
[0013] The printing industry addresses the problem of maximizing
machine utilization without compromising its relationship with
preferred customers through sales and marketing efforts which, in
turn, increase the cost of each print job and which, ultimately,
the print vendor passes to the print buyer through higher prices.
The need to maximize factory floor and machine utilization is in no
way unique to the printing industry. It is a major concern in many
other customized manufacturing operations.
[0014] As a consequence of the foregoing, there has been a long
felt need for a system and method of competitive pricing for custom
printed goods and printing services that: (1) identifies and
manages large vendor pool to obtain the benefit of enhanced pricing
competition, without imposing relatively high administrative costs
or causing a loss of quality control; (2) offers vendors an
inexpensive, cost effective and reliable system for obtaining
access to print jobs and specifications without added marketing
costs and sales commissions; and (3) does not rely on the vendors'
product expertise to establish price, but rather allows each vendor
to bid high, bid low, or not bid at all based, strictly, on their
production capabilities and need to fill available time in their
production schedules.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0015] The present invention provides a system and method for
selecting a printing vendor from a plurality of printing vendors,
comprising steps of receiving, at a central, conventional database
server termed herein as "the PrintProSys.sup.SM server", an initial
vendor pool data set from each of a plurality of buyers, the
initial vendor data set identifying an initial vendor pool for that
buyer, entering the initial vendor pool data set into a vendor
database within the "PrintProSys.sup.SM server", transmitting an
invitation to subscribe to each vendor in the initial vendor pool,
receiving a vendor capability data from a sub-plurality of the
vendors in the initial vendor pool, the vendor capability data
describing each vendor's print capabilities, entering the vendor
capability data into the vendor database, receiving at the
PrintProSys.sup.SM server a buyer's invitation-for-bid describing a
customized print or other information product or service that the
buyer wishes to procure or obtain bids for, calculating or
extracting a vendor selection criteria data from the buyer's
invitation-for-bid, the vendor selection criteria data defining the
values that a vendor's capability data must meet to qualify for,
and to receive, a vendor's invitation-for-bid requesting a bid
response corresponding to the buyer's invitation-for-bid.
[0016] The method of the present invention then compares and
correlates the vendor selection criteria data to the vendor
capability data field of each vendor data record in the buyer's
vendor pool database. The PintProSys.sup.SM server then transmits a
vendor's invitation-for-bid data to each vendor in the buyer's
vendor pool whose vendor capability data field meets the vendor
selection criteria data extracted from the buyer's
invitation-for-bid data. Next, the PrintProSys.sup.SM server
receives a plurality of responding bid data, each being from a
corresponding one of the plurality of vendors to whom a vendor
invitation-for-bid data was transmitted, and each representing the
transmitting vendor's price for the particular print information
goods or services requested. The PrintProSys.sup.SM server then
selects the responding bid data having the lowest represented
vendor price and generates information identifying the buyer of the
identity of the selected vendor.
[0017] Upon the PrintProSys.sup.SM server's receipt of an approval
data from the buyer, it issues an order to the selected vendor for
the purchase of the at least one printed item. In addition, the
PrintProSys.sup.SM server's transmits to the remaining non-selected
vendors in the vendor pool a bidding result data representing the
identity of the selected vendor, and the rank order value of the
bid data submitted by all other selection pool vendors.
[0018] The PrintProSys.sup.SM server of the invention has the
further ability to maintain multiple vendor pools for each of a
plurality of buyers, the multiple vendor pools for a particular
buyer corresponding to multiple print product or service types that
the buyer procures.
[0019] A still further embodiment transmits a data representing the
bid price of all received bids, to all vendors who submitted
bids.
[0020] A further embodiment of the invention assigns a preferred
vendor flag to each vendor record and then selects vendors for
receiving vendors' invitation-for-bid based on the flag value.
[0021] A still further embodiment of the invention automatically
generates a set of project milestone data for use in monitoring the
winning vendor's progress on the buyer's requested print job or
service.
[0022] A still further embodiment of the invention receives an
invoice data from the winning print vendor upon completion of the
job, and generates a corresponding buyer's invoice in response. The
system then receives a fund transfer from the buyer based on the
buyer's invoice and deposits the fund into an escrow account. Next,
the system subtracts a system fee from the deposited amount,
transfers that system fee to a system administration account, and
transmits the remainder from the escrow to the winning print
vendor. This embodiment provides a single source accounting for
buyers dealing with a plurality of vendors.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0023] These features and advantages of the present invention will
be more fully disclosed in, or rendered obvious by, the following
detailed description of the preferred embodiment of the invention,
which is to be considered together with the accompanying drawings
wherein like numbers refer to like parts and further wherein:
[0024] FIG. 1 is a general flow chart showing the steps associated
with a preferred first embodiment of the present invention;
[0025] FIG. 2 is a tabulated format of information fields submitted
by potential subscribing print vendors for the pre-qualification
step of creating a database of a buyer's pool of print vendor;
[0026] FIG. 3 is a general flow chart showing steps of a second
embodiment of the invention, using a preferred vendor flag as a
selection criteria for receiving invitations-for-bid; and
[0027] FIG. 4 is a general flow chart of another embodiment of the
invention, having a milestone generation feature.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0028] The method and apparatus of the present invention will be
better understood by a description of its operation in reference to
the attached figures.
[0029] For purposes of this description tile following definitions
apply:
[0030] The index "i" identifies the particular vendor;
[0031] The index "j" identifies a particular buyer;
[0032] The value "J" is the number of buyers;
[0033] VR.sub.ij is the vendor record of the i.sup.th vendor in the
j.sup.th buyer's vendor pool or, equivalently, a vendor record of a
vendor "i" that is a approved by buyer "j" for receiving bids on
that buyer's jobs;
[0034] K.sub.j is the number of vendors in the j.sup.th buyer's
vendor pool or, equivalently, the number of vendors having vendor
records VR.sub.ij indicating approval by buyer "j" for receiving
bids on that buyer's jobs;
[0035] BVP.sub.j is the Buyer's Vendor Pool of the jth buyer,
referencing all of the K.sub.j vendor records VR.sub.ij associated
with the j.sup.th buyer; the plurality of K.sub.j vendor records
VR.sub.i, in the server database is the Buyer's Vendor Pool
BVP.sub.j, for j=1 to J.
[0036] Other definitions are recited where appropriate.
[0037] Referring to FIG. 1, the process begins at step 2 by
inputting for each of J buyers, each identified by the index j, a
plurality of K.sub.j vendor records VR.sub.ij into the memory of a
conventional network server running under Windows NT or any of the
equivalent server operating systems that are well-known in the art.
The server is termed the PrintProSys.sup.SM server for purposes of
this description.
[0038] The method then proceeds to step 4 where an
invitation-to-subscribe ITS.sub.ij, for i=1 to K.sub.j, is
generated for each of the K.sub.j vendors identified by the
j.sup.th buyer, for each of the J buyers.
[0039] Next, at step 6, a vendor capability attribute data,
VA.sub.ij, for i=1 to L.sub.j is quantified by each of a plurality
of L.sub.j vendors, where L.sub.j is the number of vendors from the
quantity K.sub.j of vendors in the j.sup.th Buyer's Vendor Pool
BVP.sub.j from whom a vendor capability attribute data is received.
For each j.sup.th buyer the value of L.sub.j can range from zero to
K.sub.j. The vendor capability attribute data, VA.sub.ij represents
the manufacturing, production, or provider capabilities of the
i.sup.th or submitting vendor. The vendor capability attributes
VA.sub.ij are in terms of understandable descriptor words, having
specific value tables determined by the particular implementation
of the system. An example set of vendor capability attributes
VA.sub.ij is shown on FIG. 2, and includes the vendor's ability to
generate various quantity ranges of: Books, including loose-leaf,
side-stitched and perfect bound; Books, Smyth-sown, case-bound;
Books, saddle stitched; Books, paste on fold; Binders Only; Print
Composition, including CD ROM, general, magnetic media, variable
imaging, master and replication; Die Cutting and Letterpress
capabilities; Four-Color Process capabilities; Cut Sheets
capabilities; Business Form Specialties; Continuous Form
capabilities; Snap Apart Sets capability; capability for
Flexography, Labels, Decal and Screen Process On Labels; capability
for Screen Printing and Printing of Plastic, Mylar and Acetate;
Miscellaneous Printing Processes, including thermography,
engraving, foil stamping and embossing; capabilities for various
Specialty Items, including tabloids, microfiches, negatives,
lamination, engineering drawings, tags, expansion file folders,
3-ring binders and advertising specialties; and envelopes.
[0040] At step 8 the vendor capability attributes VA.sub.ij are
transmitted to, received by and stored by the PrintProSys.sup.SM
server. The vendor capability attribute data VA.sub.ij may be
submitted by the vendor over the Internet, via an interactive data
entry terminal, e.g., a conventional personal computer, as is known
in the art.
[0041] In an alternative embodiment, the vendor may supply the
quantified vendor capability attributes VA.sub.ij by paper form
(not shown), the data from which is then entered into the
PrintProSys.sup.SM server storage by manual means. As yet another
alternative, the vendor can supply the quantified vendor capability
attribute data VA.sub.ij by magnetic data storage media, or optical
data storage media, or equivalent transportable media of the types
that are well known in the data storage arts.
[0042] Upon completion of step 8 the PrintProSys.sup.SM server
contains J of the above-identified Buyer's Vendor Pools BVPj, for
j=1 to J, each consisting of K.sub.j vendor records VR.sub.ij, each
vendor record having the received quantified vendor capability
attribute data VA.sub.ij. The quantified vendor capability
attribute data VA.sub.ij field of the vendor records VR.sub.ij for
which no was received are null entries.
[0043] Referring to FIG. 1, any of the J buyers, for example the
j.sup.th buyer, may now proceed to step 10 and transmit a buyer's
invitation for bid specification BIFB to the PrintProSys.sup.SM
server. In response to receiving the BIFB from the j.sup.th buyer,
the PrintProSys.sup.SM server goes to step 12 and calculates or
extracts a vendor capability criteria CC from the BIFB, which
defines the values that the quantified vendor capability attribute
data VA.sub.ij field of a vendor record VR.sub.ij must have to
qualify for bidding on the job defined by the buyer's invitation
for bid specification BIFB.
[0044] Referring again to FIG. 1, the method proceeds to step 14
where the PrintProSys.sup.SM server compares or correlates the
extracted a vendor capability criteria CC against the vendor
capability attribute data VA.sub.ij of each vendor record VR.sub.ij
in, or having a j value representing of it being in, the j.sup.th
Buyer's Vendor Pool BVP.sub.j. Next, at step 16, for each, if any,
of the vendor records VR.sub.ij having a vendor capability
attribute data VA.sub.ij meeting the vendor capability criteria CC,
the PrintProSys.sup.SM server reformats the BIFB into a vendors'
invitation for bid VIFB, and transmits the VIFB to the print vendor
based on the name and address field of the vendor record VR.sub.ij.
The vendor's invitation for bid VIFB specifies the print
information product or service in a consistent, standardized format
so that each receiving vendor will understand clearly all product,
delivery and other requirements for the print information item or
service that is being placed out for bids by the buyer. This
arrangement ensures that the bids are comparable and that mistakes
as to the requirements of the buyer are minimized, while enabling
each vendor to prepare a more precise calculation of its responding
bid B.sub.i.
[0045] Referring to FIG. 1, at step 18 one or more of the vendors
receiving the vendor's invitation for bid VIFB submits a bid
B.sub.i to the system, where the index "i" identifies the
submitting vendor. The bid is received by and input to the
PrintProSys.sup.SM data server. Then, at step 20 the
PrintProSys.sup.SM data server detects the lowest price bid and at
step 22 transmits to the buyer a data, WIN, informing of the
identity of that lowest price vendor. At step 24 the
PrintProSys.sup.SM server awaits receipt of approval data APP from
the buyer and, upon receipt, issues an order data ORDER to the
selected vendor for purchase of the print item or procurement of
the printing service at the bid price. If step 24 does not receive
the approval data APP no order data ORDER is transmitted. At step
26 the PrintProSys.sup.SM data server generates BIDINFORM data
representing the remaining non-selected vendors in the vendor
selection pool VSP.sub.jk and the identity and the bid price of the
bids B.sub.i received from all of the responding vendors, and this
data is then transmitted to all of the vendors.
[0046] A minor variation of the above-described first embodiment,
which is not shown, omits the step 4 generation of the
invitation-to-subscribe ITS.sub.ij, for i=1 to K.sub.j.
[0047] A first embodiment of the invention, and variations thereof,
have been described in reference to FIG. 1. In the FIG. 1
embodiment, step 2 inputs a vendor record VR.sub.ij for each i
vendor which make up an initial vendor pool for each buyer j, and
steps 6 and 8 then quantify and input a vendor capability attribute
VA.sub.ij into one or more of the vendor records VR.sub.ij. The
above-described step 12 then calculates or extracts a vendor
capability criteria CC from the invitation for bid BIFB, which
defines the values that the quantified vendor capability attribute
data VA.sub.ij must have to qualify the i.sup.th vendor for bidding
on the j.sup.th buyer's BIFB. Step 14 then selects the vendors that
receive the vendor's invitation-for-bid VIFB, based on comparing
the vendor capability criteria CC to the quantified vendor
capability attribute data VA.sub.ij for each the j.sup.th buyer's
vendors i.
[0048] Referring to FIG. 3, an alternative embodiment is depicted,
with like blocks having like labels compared to FIG. 1. In the FIG.
3 embodiment, each vendor record VR.sub.ij has a preferred vendor
flag PV.sub.ij. The preferred vendor flag has logical values of
"yes" and "no", which represent whether the i.sup.th vendor is a
preferred vendor for the j.sup.th buyer. The value of PV.sub.ij can
be set at step 40, when the vendor record VR.sub.ij is entered.
Step 40 is otherwise identical to step 2 of FIG. 1. This embodiment
does not enter vendor capability attributes VC.sub.ij and does not
extract a capability criteria CC from a received buyer's
invitation-for-bid. Instead, after receipt of a BIFB at step 10,
vendors are selected at step 42 to receive vendor's
invitations-for-bid VIFB solely on whether or not the vendor is a
preferred vendor of the j.sup.th buyer.
[0049] Referring to FIG. 4, an example of a still further
embodiment of the invention will be described. The example FIG. 4
embodiment comprises the above-described steps for the FIG. 1 first
embodiment, and an additional step 28 at which the
PrintsroSys.sup.SM generates a milestone data set MSTONE
representing a set of job milestones calculated from the schedule,
quantity and product or service descriptors corresponding to the
awarded bid. Example milestones values represented by MSTONE
include, but are not limited to, paper and supply availability,
scheduling and finishing of prep, proofing, pre-press, press sheet
inspections, press work, bindery, special finishing and shipping
and delivery.
[0050] A still further embodiment, which is not depicted, combines
the above-described step 28 of generating a milestone data set
MSTONE with the above-described embodiment of FIG. 3.
[0051] Another embodiment of the invention combines embodiments of
FIGS. 1 and 3, and selects vendors for receipt of vendors'
invitation-for-bid VIFB based on either of the two described
selection criteria being met, i.e., if the extracted vendor
capability criteria CC is met by the vendor capability data
VC.sub.ij, or if the vendor has a preferred vendor PV.sub.ij flag
value of "yes".
[0052] Yet another embodiment of the invention receives an invoice
data from the winning print vendor upon completion of the job, and
generates a corresponding buyer's invoice in response. The system
then receives a fund transfer from the buyer based on the buyer's
invoice and deposits the fund into an escrow account. Next, the
system subtracts a system fee from the deposited amount, transfers
that system fee to a system administration account, and transmits
the remainder from the escrow to the winning print vendor. This
embodiment provides a single source accounting for buyers dealing
with a plurality of vendors.
[0053] As can be readily determined by one of ordinary skill in the
art of print procurement, there are numerous advantages obtained
with the present described invention. First, the invention
quantifies both the buyer's needs and the vendors, attributes in a
database system that matches objective print information product or
service specifications with pre-determined vendor quality levels
and manufacturing, production, or provider capabilities. The
invention creates multiple vendor pools for each buyer, each vendor
pool being for a particular type of print information product or
services. As a result, the print buyer has a large pool of
qualified vendors to which each invitation-for-bid can be
distributed. Further, the buyer is no longer dependent on an
individual print vendor's specialized knowledge and, instead, is
able to obtain competitive pricing based on objective
specifications that reflect the buyer's requirements rather than
one particular vendor's existing backlog, manufacturing,
production, or provider preferences. At the same time, print
vendors can calculate more precisely, and hence more competitively,
the pricing in their bids due to availability of complete objective
specifications. Most importantly, given a sufficiently large vendor
pool for each job, combined with the fact that each vendor can bid
high, bid low, or not bid at all without concern for loss of the
buyer's good will, the buyer is virtually assured of receiving
"contribution pricing" from at least one responding vendor on each
and every job.
[0054] In addition, by employing the invention, the print buyer
sets the parameters for both vendor pool selection and for the
bidding and award process. The parameters are set in such a way,
however, that vendor quality and responsibility is determined at
the time each vendor pool is established and only the
responsiveness of each vendor's bid is reviewed at the time of
award. In this manner, the buyer can create and manage large vendor
pools without having to assess the quality of each bidder each time
an individual job is bid Moreover, the bidding and award process is
standardized so as to make the dissemination of invitations for
bid, the receipt of bids, and the award of the job to the lowest
responsive and responsible bidder virtually automatic and without
the need for additional procurement staff or the expenditure of
related out-of pocket administrative costs.
[0055] Moreover, the invention creates a system of "no-holds
barred" competitive bidding. Once approved for a vendor bidding
pool, the printing vendor no longer has to expend additional costs
on sales or marketing to obtain future jobs from the same buyer,
and from other buyers with pre-qualification requirements met by
the vendor's capability attributes. The printing vendor is thereby
assured access to future bidding opportunities that match the
vendor's quantified quality level and/or manufacturing, production,
or provider capabilities. In addition, knowing beforehand that the
award will go to the lowest responsive and responsible bidder, each
participating vendor will have an incentive to submit their lowest
bid upfront, rather than hold back their lowest bid, as they would
otherwise be inclined to do if the award was still going to be
negotiated after bid opening. The invention further provides that
all bids are released to all bidders after award, thereby creating
a "ratcheting down" effect as each vendor learns how low the price
range is likely to be on similar jobs in the future. As result,
buyers who use the invention will benefit from consistently low
prices from selected quality vendors, while enabling their
purchasing personnel to focus on budget planning, job preparation,
internal customer service needs, and production quality and
compliance.
[0056] It is to be understood that the present invention is
described above in reference to specific embodiments which are for
purposes of example only, and that the invention is not limited to
the specific arrangement, order of processing, or hardware for
carrying out the steps as described hereinabove or shown in the
drawings, but also comprises the various modifications readily
apparent to one skilled in the art upon reading this specification,
as defined by the broadest scope of the appended claims.
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