On-line selection of service providers in distributed provision of services on demand
US7225220B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jul 19, 2001 |
| Grant date | May 29, 2007 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Sep 19, 2023 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06Q10/087
- WIPO fieldIT methods for management
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
An electronic control apparatus configured for use in routing customer orders, received over the internet, to a service provider such as a print service provider selected from a plurality of competing print service providers, comprises an electronic interface configured to receive and acknowledge customer orders; first processing means configured to compare the requirements of a received order with pre-stored information specific to each of the competing service providers; responsive means configured to establish a list of the service providers determined to be able to fulfill requirements of the received order; and processing means configurable, for a received order, to make the selection from the list and to route the received order to the selected service provider. Advantageously by applying a series of filters an optimum service provider is selected by a gateway device assigning a printing order to a print service provider taking into account geographical criteria, and attempts to minimize the final price, in particular the shipping costs. While minimizing costs to the end customer, the gateway device seeks to ensure that a print service provider having competitive prices still…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.