Electronic pricing machine configured to generate prices based on supplier willingness and a user interface therefor

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11423449-B1
Application number	US-201715467079-A
Country	US
Kind code	B1
Filing date	Mar 23, 2017
Priority date	Mar 23, 2016
Publication date	Aug 23, 2022
Grant date	Aug 23, 2022

Abstract

Methods and software facilitate supplier willingness awareness in a marketplace of suppliers of structures represented and/or specified in a design. In some embodiments, methods and software of the present disclosure allow each of any one or more designers participating in an automated marketplace to view a list of suppliers that are willing to fabricate a particular design and/or prices associated with fabricating such a design such that the designers can quickly and easily identify suppliers that are not only capable of fabricating particular designs but also willing to do so. Such a list may be generated by comparing a list of objective requirements for a design, which may be generated from fabrication data associated with a designer's request for price or computer aided design file, to willingness data associated with one or more suppliers.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method performed by a computing system in communication with at least one client device across a network, the method comprising:
providing automated costing software to the computing system to transform at least part of the computing system into an electronic pricing machine, wherein the automated costing software includes an interrogation engine, a willingness engine, and a pricing engine;
receiving from a price requestor, by the electronic pricing machine via the at least one client device and the network, an electronic request for price (RFP) associated with computer-aided-design (CAD) model data representing a structure;
automatically executing, in response to receiving the RFP, the interrogation engine;
wherein the interrogation engine is configured to:
receive the electronic RFP and the CAD model data as inputs;
identify a discrete shape in the CAD model data as a function of a CAD command, wherein the discrete shape includes a geometric aspect;
determine a uniform thickness datum as a function of the discrete shape, wherein
determining the uniform thickness datum comprises:
identifying a thickness value;
determining that the structure has at least one solid body;
comparing vertexes of the at least one solid body face perpendicular to a base plane to the thickness value; and
comparing a perimeter of a top face of the at least one solid body to a perimeter of a bottom face of the at least one solid body;

compare the geometric aspect and the uniform thickness datum to a corresponding manufacturing requirement; and
generate a supply parameter as a function of the comparison of the geometric aspect to the corresponding manufacturing requirement, wherein the supply parameter indicates an objective requirement for fabricating the structure associated with the electronic RFP;

automatically generating, by the electronic pricing machine, a price/no-price determination indicating whether or not a possible supplier will provide a price to the price requestor, wherein the price/no-price determination includes a positive or negative determination, wherein generating the price/no-price determination includes running, by the electronic pricing machine, the willingness engine to automatically compare the supply parameter to one or more stored willingness limitations of the possible supplier, wherein the one or more stored willingness limitations of the possible supplier includes at least a weight limitation, and determining whether or not the supply parameter satisfies the one or more willingness limitations based on the comparison;
either running, by the electronic pricing machine, the pricing engine to generate a price as a function of the positive determination or not running, by the electronic pricing machine, the pricing engine as a function of the negative determination;
generating, as a function of the price/no-price determination, a filtered supplier list, wherein the filtered supplier list includes suppliers capable of fabricating the structure associated with the electronic RFP; and
providing, when the electronic pricing machine generates the price, by the electronic pricing machine to a user interface via the network, the price for viewing of the price requestor on the user interface.

2. A method according to claim 1 , wherein automatically generating a price/no-price determination further includes running, by the electronic pricing machine, an objective capabilities engine to automatically compare the supply parameter to stored objective capabilities information of the possible supplier so as to determine whether or not the supply parameter satisfies the objective capabilities information.

3. A method according to claim 2 , wherein the objective capabilities information of the possible supplier is different from the willingness limitations of the possible supplier.

4. A method according to claim 1 , wherein the willingness limitations include a dimensional limitation.

5. A method according to claim 1 , wherein the willingness limitations include a material limitation.

6. A method according to claim 1 , wherein the willingness limitations include a lead-time limitation.

7. A method according to claim 1 , wherein the willingness limitations include a quantity limitation.

8. A method according to claim 1 , wherein the willingness limitations include a certification limitation.

9. A method according to claim 1 , wherein the willingness limitations include a process limitation.

10. A method according to claim 1 , wherein the willingness limitations include a tolerance.

11. A system for an electronic pricing machine designed and configured to allow a supplier to provide a price in response to a request for price from a price requestor for supplying one or more instantiations of a structure represented by computer-aided-design (CAD) model data, the user interface comprising:
an interrogation engine designed and configured to:
receive an electronic request for price (RFP) and a CAD model data as inputs;
identify a discrete shape in the CAD model data as a function of a CAD command,
wherein the discrete shape includes a geometric aspect;
determine a uniform thickness datum as a function of the discrete shape,
wherein determining the uniform thickness datum comprises:
identifying a thickness value;
determining that the structure has at least one solid body;
comparing vertexes of the at least one solid body face perpendicular to a base plane to the thickness value; and
comparing a perimeter of a top face of the at least one solid body to a perimeter of a bottom face of the at least one solid body;
compare the geometric aspect and the uniform thickness datum to a corresponding manufacturing requirement; and
generate a supply parameter as a function of the comparison of the geometric aspect to the corresponding manufacturing requirement, wherein the supply parameter indicates an objective requirement for fabricating the structure associated with the electronic RFP and a supplier willingness parameter associated with the objective requirement for fabricating the structure associated with the electronic RFP;

an objective capabilities graphical user interface (GUI) designed and configured to:
prompt a supplier representative to input objective capabilities information corresponding to the objective fabrication parameter that the interrogation engine is designed and configured to extract from the CAD model data when present, wherein the objective capabilities GUI includes a plurality of capabilities input features designed and configured for inputting corresponding differing types of objective capabilities information;
store the inputted objective capabilities information in an objective capabilities datastore; and
automatically generate a price/no-price determination indicating whether or not a possible supplier will provide a price to the price requestor, wherein the price/no-price determination includes a positive or negative determination, wherein generating the price/no-price determination includes comparing the supply parameter to one or more stored willingness limitations of the possible supplier, wherein the one or more stored willingness limitations of the possible supplier includes at least a weight limitation, and determining whether or not the supply parameter satisfies the one or more willingness limitations based on the comparison;
generating, as a function of the price/no-price determination, a filtered supplier list,

wherein the filtered supplier list includes suppliers capable of fabricating the structure associated with the electronic RFP; and
a willingness GUI designed and configured to:
prompt the supplier representative

Assignees

• Desprez Llc

Inventors

• Jacobs Ii James L

Classifications

• G06Q30/0611 Primary

  Request for offers or quotes · CPC title

• G06Q30/0283 Primary

  Price estimation or determination · CPC title

• G06F30/00

  Computer-aided design [CAD] · CPC title

• G06F30/10

  Geometric CAD · CPC title