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

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.

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 pricing 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 computer and the network, an electronic request for price (RFP) associated with computer-aided-design (CAD) model data representing a structure;   in response to receiving the RFP, automatically running, by the electronic pricing machine, the interrogation engine to interrogate the CAD model data to determine and store in memory structure parameters, to compare to parameters of a possible supplier to determine whether or not the possible supplier is capable of and/or willing to supply one or more instantiations of the structure;   automatically generating, by the electronic pricing machine, a price/no-price determination of whether or not the possible supplier will provide a price to the price requestor, wherein the generating includes running, by the electronic pricing machine, the willingness engine to automatically compare one or more of the supply parameters to one or more stored willingness limitations of the possible supplier so as to determine whether or not the one or more supply parameters satisfy the one or more willingness limitations;   based on the price/no-price determination, either 1) running, by the electronic pricing machine, the pricing engine to generate a price or 2) not running, by the electronic pricing machine, the pricing engine; and   when the electronic pricing machine generates the price, providing, by the electronic pricing machine and 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 one or more of the supply parameters to stored objective capabilities information of the possible supplier so as to determine whether or not the one or more supply parameters satisfy 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 weight limitation. 
     
     
         6 . A method according to  claim 1 , wherein the willingness limitations include a material limitation. 
     
     
         7 . A method according to  claim 1 , wherein the willingness limitations include a lead-time limitation. 
     
     
         8 . A method according to  claim 1 , wherein the willingness limitations include a quantity limitation. 
     
     
         9 . A method according to  claim 1 , wherein the willingness limitations include a certification limitation. 
     
     
         10 . A method according to  claim 1 , wherein the willingness limitations include a process limitation. 
     
     
         11 . A method according to  claim 1 , wherein the willingness limitations include a tolerance. 
     
     
         12 . A user interface 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, wherein an interrogator is configured and used to extract from the CAD model data 1) objective fabrication parameters pertaining to objective supplier capabilities and 2) supplier willingness parameters pertaining to supplier fabrication willingness, the user interface comprising:
 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 parameters that the interrogator 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; and 
 store the inputted objective capabilities information in an objective capabilities datastore; and 
   a willingness GUI designed and configured to:
 prompt the supplier representative to input desired willingness limitations corresponding to the supplier willingness parameters that the interrogator is designed and configured to extract from the CAD model data when present, wherein the willingness GUI includes a plurality of willingness input features designed and configured for inputting corresponding differing types of willingness limitations; and 
 store the inputted willingness limitations in a willingness limitations datastore. 
   
     
     
         13 . A user interface according to  claim 10 , wherein the willingness limitations include a dimensional limitation. 
     
     
         14 . A user interface according to  claim 10 , wherein the willingness limitations include a weight limitation. 
     
     
         15 . A user interface according to  claim 10 , wherein the willingness limitations include a material limitation. 
     
     
         16 . A user interface according to  claim 10 , wherein the willingness limitations include a plating limitation. 
     
     
         17 . A user interface according to  claim 10 , wherein the willingness limitations include a quantity limitation. 
     
     
         18 . A user interface according to  claim 10 , wherein the willingness limitations include a certification limitation. 
     
     
         19 . A user interface according to  claim 10 , wherein the willingness limitations include a weld type limitation. 
     
     
         20 . A user interface according to  claim 10 , wherein the willingness limitations include a stitch type limitation.