Apparatus and process facilitating customer-driven sales of products having multiple configurations

Abstract

The present invention provides an apparatus and process for facilitating customer-driven sales of products having multiple configurations, preferably automobiles and trucks. The apparatus is a computer network comprising a server with a product database thereon, an intermediary subsystem, and a seller subsystem. The server, intermediary subsystem, and seller subsystem function together and communicate with each other to allow an intermediary, on behalf of a customer, to configure a feasible product, transmit a request for quote (RFQ) to a target set of sellers in the customer's geographic area, receive quotes from the target sellers in response to the RFQ, and transmit the customer's acceptance of one of the quotes to the appropriate seller. The apparatus may also include a customer subsystem by which the customer may configure their own feasible product and transmit their feasible product information to the intermediary. The intermediary subsystem can optionally include a product database thereon which the intermediary can use to configure a feasible product without communicating with the server. The process allows an intermediary to configure a feasible product, transmit a request for quote (RFQ) to a target set of sellers in the customer's geographic area, receive quotes from the target sellers in response to the RFQ, and transmit the customer's acceptance of one of the quotes to the appropriate seller.

1 . A process for completing a contractual agreement over a wide-area network for purchasing a product having multiple configurations characterized by a set of product attributes and exclusively sold by manufacturer-licensed sellers, comprising:
 (a) configuring a customer's desired product by selecting the customer's desired set of product attributes to form a request for quote (RFQ), wherein the desired set of product attributes comprises a plurality of product configuration characterization parameters;   (b) selecting a target set of manufacturer-licensed sellers located within a geographical area, wherein the target set sellers comprises at least one manufacturer-licensed seller;   (c) transmitting the RFQ to the target set of sellers using the wide-area network;   (d) responding to the RFQ with a price quote from at least one seller from the target set of sellers, wherein the price quote is transmitted using the wide-area network to the customer;   (e) selecting a price quote for acceptance by the customer; and   (f) transmitting the customer's acceptance to the seller.   
     
     
         2 . The process of  claim 1  wherein step a further comprises:
 (i) transmitting the customer's desired set of product attributes to an intermediary;   (ii) inputting the customer's desired set of product attributes into an intermediary subsystem; and   (iii) querying an electronic database of existing product configurations, using the customer's desired set of product attributes, to assess the feasibility of the customer's selected configuration.   
     
     
         3 . The process of  claim 2  further comprising (iv) transmitting the customer's desired set of product attributes to a second intermediary. 
     
     
         4 . The process of  claim 1  wherein step a further comprises:
 (i) inputting the customer's product attributes into a computer through a customer subsystem;   (ii) querying an electronic database of existing product configurations, using the customer's desired set of product attributes, to assess the feasibility of the customer's selected configuration; and   (iii) transmitting the customer's attribute set to an intermediary.   
     
     
         5 . The process of  claim 4  further comprising (iv) transmitting the customer's desired set of attributes to a second intermediary. 
     
     
         6 . The process of  claim 1  in step a, further comprising the step ranking at least one product attribute in the set of product attributes on a scale that indicates the customer's degree of flexibility about that product attribute. 
     
     
         7 . The process of  claim 1  wherein step d further comprises:
 (i) querying an electronic database of existing product configurations to provide a feasible alternative product configuration; and   (ii) assembling a quote based upon the alternative product configuration.   
     
     
         8 . The process of  claim 1  wherein step c further comprises:
 (i) transmitting the RFQ from an intermediary to a server; and   (ii) transmitting the RFQ from the server to the target set of sellers.   
     
     
         9 . The process of  claim 1  wherein step c further comprises:
 (i) transmitting the RFQ from an intermediary to a foreign server;   (ii) transmitting the RFQ from the foreign server to a server; and   (iii) transmitting the RFQ from the server to a target set of sellers.   
     
     
         10 . The process of  claim 9  wherein the RFQ is stored on the server and foreign server, and transmitted between the server and foreign server, using a standardized data format. 
     
     
         11 . The process of  claim 1  wherein responding to the RFQ comprises: transmitting a quote from at least one seller from the target set of sellers to a server; and transmitting the quote from the server to an intermediary. 
     
     
         12 . The process of  claim 1  wherein step d further comprises:
 (i) transmitting a price quote from at least one seller from the target set of sellers to a server;   (ii) transmitting the price quote from the server to a foreign server; and   (iii) transmitting the price quote from the foreign server to an intermediary.   
     
     
         13 . The process of  claim 12  wherein the price quote is stored on the server and the foreign server and transmitted between the server and the foreign server using a standardized data format. 
     
     
         14 . The process of  claim 1  where the price quotes are transmitted to the customer by the intermediary using a telephone, electronic mail, or fax. 
     
     
         15 . The process of  claim 1  wherein step b further comprises:
 (i) querying a database of product sellers based on a set of seller criteria; and   (ii) selecting the target set of product sellers from the query results.   
     
     
         16 . The process of  claim 15  further comprising storing a list of the target set of sellers on the seller database as a preferred seller list. 
     
     
         17 . The process of  claim 15  wherein step b further comprises (iii) filtering the query result based on additional seller criteria. 
     
     
         18 . The process of  claim 1  wherein step e further comprises:
 (i) transmitting the price quotes to an intermediary subsystem; and   (ii) transmitting the price quotes to a customer subsystem.   
     
     
         19 . The process of  claim 1  further comprising notifying the target set of sellers that an RFQ has been transmitted to them. 
     
     
         20 . The process of  claim 1  further comprising storing each RFQ in an RFQ database. 
     
     
         21 . The process of  claim 20  further comprising tracking the status of each RFQ. 
     
     
         22 . The process of  claim 1  further comprising:
 (i) inputting a set of customer information; and   (ii) storing the set of customer information in a customer database.   
     
     
         23 . The process of  claim 22  further comprising tracking customer information to obtain marketing information. 
     
     
         24 . A computer network apparatus for facilitating purchase of a product, wherein the product has multiple configurations, is sold by manufacturer-licensed sellers and having multiple configurations characterized by a set of product attributes, comprising:
 (a) a server comprising a processor and a storage device connected to the processor,   (b) a product database stored on the storage device, wherein the product database consists essentially of information regarding existing combinations of product attributes,   (c) a seller database stored on the storage device, the seller database including seller information such as geographic location,   (d) a program stored on the storage device for controlling the processor, wherein (1) the program is operative with the processor to receive a customer's selected set of product attributes, (2) query the product database using the customer's desired set of product attributes to confirm the feasibility of the customer's selected configuration, (3) query the seller database using a set of seller attributes to select a target set of sellers in the customer's geographic area, (4) transmit a request for quote (RFQ) to the target set of sellers, (5) the RFQ including the customer's desired set of product attributes, receive a quote from at least one seller from the target set of sellers, (6) transmit the quote to the customer, (7) receive an acceptance of one of the quotes, and (8) transmit the acceptance to the seller whose quote was accepted.   
     
     
         25 . The apparatus of  claim 24  further comprising a seller subsystem connected to the server, wherein the seller subsystem comprises a computer operative with a program stored thereon programmed to:
 receive from the server an RFQ;   receive from a seller input of a quote in response to the RFQ, and   transmit the quote to the server.   
     
     
         26 . The apparatus of  claim 25  further comprising an intermediary subsystem connected to the server, the intermediary subsystem comprising a computer operative with a program stored thereon to:
 receive from an intermediary input of a customer's selected set of product attributes,   transmit to the server the customer's selected set of product attributes,   receive from the server a quote from a seller,   receive from the intermediary input of an acceptance of a quote, and   transmit to the server an acceptance of one of the quotes.   
     
     
         27 . The apparatus of  claim 25  further comprising a customer subsystem connected to the server, wherein the customer subsystem comprises a computer operative with a program stored thereon to:
 receive from a customer input of the customer's selected set of product attributes; and   transmit the selected set of product attributes to the server.   
     
     
         28 . The apparatus of  claim 26  further comprising a customer subsystem, wherein the customer subsystem comprises a computer operative with a program stored thereon to:
 receive from a customer input of the customer's selected set of product attributes; and   transmit the selected set of product attributes to the server.   
     
     
         29 . The apparatus of  claim 26  wherein the intermediary subsystem is further operative with the program stored thereon to receive from the server a customer's desired set of configuration attributes. 
     
     
         30 . The apparatus of  claim 26  wherein the intermediary subsystem comprises a computer having a program and a second product database stored thereon, wherein the program is operative with the computer to:
 receive input of a customer's selected set of product attributes;   query the second product database using the customer's desired set of product attributes to confirm the feasibility of the customer's selected configuration, and   transmit to the server the customer's desired set of product attributes.   
     
     
         31 . The apparatus of  claim 24  further comprising an RFQ database stored on the server's storage device, wherein the program stored on the server's storage device is operative with the processor to:
 store RFQ's processed by the apparatus in the RFQ database, and   track the status of each RFQ in the database.   
     
     
         32 . The apparatus of  claim 24  further comprising a customer database stored on the storage device, wherein the program is operative with the processor to:
 store customer information in the customer database, and   update the customer information when new customer information is received.   
     
     
         33 . The apparatus of  claim 32  wherein the customer information is stored on the customer database in lists, wherein each list is an intermediary's customer list. 
     
     
         34 . The apparatus of  claim 32  wherein the program is further operative with the processor to track customer information. 
     
     
         35 . The apparatus of  claim 24  wherein the program stored on the storage device of the server is further operative to store a list of target sellers as a preferred seller list. 
     
     
         36 . A computer network apparatus for facilitating customer purchase of a product having multiple configurations, sold by manufacturer-licensed sellers and having configurations characterized by a set of product attributes, comprising:
 (a) a server comprising a processor, a storage device connected to the processor, a product database stored on the storage device, wherein the product database includes information regarding existing combinations of product attributes, and a seller database stored on the storage device, wherein the seller database including seller characterizing information,   (b) a program stored on the storage device for controlling the processor, wherein the program is operative with the processor to (1) receive a request for quote (RFQ) from a foreign server, wherein the RFQ consists essentially of a customer's selected set of product attributes, and communicated in a common language for describing the product, (2) query the seller database using a set of seller attributes to select a target set of sellers in the customer's geographic area, (3) transmit the RFQ to the target set of sellers using the common language, (4) receive a quote from at least one seller from the target set of sellers, (5) transmit the quote to the foreign server, (6) receive an acceptance of one of the quotes from the foreign server, and (7) transmit the acceptance to the seller whose quote was accepted.   
     
     
         37 . The computer network apparatus of  claim 36  further comprising a foreign server connected to the server, the foreign server comprising a computer operative with a program stored to (1) receive a customer's selected set of product attributes, (2) configure a product using the customer's set of product attributes, (3) transmit a request for quote (RFQ) to the server, wherein the RFQ consists essentially of the customer's set of product attributes in a standardized data format, (4) receive a quote from the server, (5) transmit the quote to an intermediary, (6) receive an acceptance of the quote from the intermediary, and (7) transmit an acceptance to the server. 
     
     
         38 . The apparatus of  claim 36  further comprising a seller subsystem connected to the server, wherein the seller subsystem comprises a computer operative with a program stored to:
 receive an RFQ from the server;   receive from a seller input of a quote in response to the RFQ, and   transmit the quote to the server.   
     
     
         39 . The apparatus of  claim 38  further comprising an intermediary subsystem connected to the foreign server, wherein the intermediary subsystem comprises a computer operative with a program stored to:
 receive from an intermediary input of a customer's selected set of product attributes,   transmit to the foreign server the customer's selected set of product attributes,   receive from the foreign server a quote from a seller,   receive from the intermediary input of an acceptance of a quote, and   transmit to the foreign server an acceptance of one of the quotes.   
     
     
         40 . The apparatus of  claim 38  further comprising a customer subsystem connected to the foreign server, wherein the customer subsystem comprises a computer operative with a program stored to:
 receive from a customer input of the customer's selected set of product attributes; and   transmit the selected set of product attributes to the foreign server.   
     
     
         41 . The apparatus of  claim 39  further comprising a customer subsystem connected to the foreign server, wherein the customer subsystem comprises a computer operative with a program stored to:
 receive from a customer input of the customer's selected set of product attributes; and   transmit the selected set of product attributes to the foreign server.   
     
     
         42 . The apparatus of  claim 39  wherein the intermediary subsystem is further operative with the program stored to receive from the server a customer's desired set of configuration attributes. 
     
     
         43 . The apparatus of  claim 36  further comprising an RFQ database stored on the server's storage device, wherein the program stored on the server's storage device is further operative with the processor to:
 store RFQ's processed by the apparatus in the RFQ database, and   track the status of each RFQ in the database.   
     
     
         44 . The apparatus of  claim 36  further comprising a customer database stored on the storage device, wherein the program is further operative with the processor to:
 store customer information in the customer database, and   update the customer information when new customer information is received.   
     
     
         45 . The apparatus of  claim 36  wherein the customer information is stored on the customer database in lists, wherein each list is an intermediary's customer list. 
     
     
         46 . The apparatus of  claim 36  wherein the program is further operative with the processor to track customer information. 
     
     
         47 . The apparatus of  claim 36  wherein the program stored on the storage device of the server is further operative to store a list of target sellers as a preferred seller list.