Method and apparatus for meta-shopping and dynamic setup of B2B ecommerce

Abstract

A method, apparatus, and computer implemented instructions for generating a customized catalog for an entity or organization. Items from a base catalog are presented to a user located at a remote data processing system. One or more items are selected by a user through a process of “meta-shopping”. The selected items are placed in a set, also referred to as a “meta-shopping cart”, used to generate the customized catalog. Terms for purchasing items in the customized catalog are associated with the customized catalog. Further, a protocol for purchasing items from the customized catalog may be established, and the customized catalog is then placed on a Web site.

1 . A method in a data processing system for establishing a customized catalog, the method comprising: 
 placing items in a meta-shopping cart in response to a selection of the items by a user; and    generating the customized catalog using items in the meta-shopping cart in response to a request to generate the customized catalog; and    placing the catalog on a Web site.    
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising: 
 allowing purchases from the catalog on the Web site by a selected buyer.    
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the selected buyer is the user.  
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the user is one of an individual, a business, and a government entity.  
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising: 
 processing orders to purchase items from the customized catalog.    
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising: 
 establishing terms for purchasing an item from the customized catalog.    
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein the step of establishing terms for purchasing an item from the catalog comprises: 
 presenting a set of default terms to the user; and    negotiating a final set of terms from the set of default terms to form the terms for purchasing an item from the customized catalog.    
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein the terms includes at least one of purchases prices for the items, minimum quantities of items to be purchased, order cancellation policies, shipping prices, delivery times, locations allowed to purchase from the customized catalog, and payment methods.  
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising: 
 sending the items to the user in response to the request to generate the customized catalog.    
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the items are converted into an extensible markup language format.  
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the web site is located at a user location.  
     
     
         12 - 72 . (canceled)  
     
     
         73 . A computer program product in a computer readable medium for establishing a catalog, the computer program product comprising: 
 first instructions for placing items in a meta-shopping cart in response to a selection of the items by a user;    second instructions for generating the customized catalog using items in the meta-shopping cart in response to a request to generate the customized catalog; and    third instructions for placing the catalog on a Web site.    
     
     
         74 . The computer program product of  claim 73  further comprising: 
 fourth instructions for allowing purchases from the catalog on the Web site by a selected buyer.    
     
     
         75 . The computer program product of  claim 74 , wherein the selected buyer is the user.  
     
     
         76 . (canceled)  
     
     
         77 . The computer program product of  claim 73  further comprising: 
 fourth instructions for processing orders to purchase items from the customized catalog.    
     
     
         78 . The computer program product of  claim 73  further comprising: 
 fourth instructions for establishing terms for purchasing an item from the catalog.    
     
     
         79 . The computer program product of  claim 78 , wherein the fourth instruction comprises: 
 first sub-instructions for presenting a set of default terms to the user; and    second sub-instructions for negotiating a final set of terms from the set of default terms to form the terms for purchasing an item form the catalog.    
     
     
         80 . The computer program product of  claim 78 , wherein the terms includes at least one of purchases prices for the items, minimum quantities of items to be purchased, order cancellation policies, shipping prices, delivery times, locations allowed to purchase from the catalog, and payment methods.  
     
     
         81 . The computer program product of  claim 73 , further comprising: 
 fourth instructions for sending the items to the user in response to the request to generate the customized catalog.    
     
     
         82 . The computer program product of  claim 81 , wherein the items are converted into an extensible markup language format.  
     
     
         83 - 96 . (canceled)