System and method for assisting customers in choosing a bundled set of commodities using customer preferences
US7430531B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | May 30, 2000 |
| Grant date | Sep 30, 2008 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | May 30, 2020 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06Q40/06
- WIPO fieldIT methods for management
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A system and method for assisting a customer in choosing a combination of commodities based on preferences of the customer. A combination is a set of related commodities, wherein bundling discounts may be applied to particular bundles of related commodities. Combination options are created by optimizing the categories within the combination in parallel, and then selecting the best value options from each category into a grouping. The effective cost of a grouping is calculated as a total of the effective costs of each option within the grouping. The effective costs consider weighted values of performance features in addition to the actual cost of a commodity. The groupings are ranked and presented to the user, so that the user may select a grouping as combination of commodities for purchase.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.