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AssigneeNone recorded
InventorsMarco L. Turra, Noel L. Perry, James L. Shefelbine, Barbara R. Tilka, Vicki L. Burton, John R. Couch, Thomas J. Schoenleben
Estimating the term…
A computer-implemented method of facilitating the pricing of freight transportation services entails receiving information to compute pricing benchmarks from which a suggested price may be selected. The information may include, e.g., the commodity to be transported, the origin and destination, the vehicle type, and whether the customer owns the vehicle. In some cases, the type of commodity will dictate the appropriate type of vehicle (e.g., a covered hopper railroad car). Additional information may include the customer's name, user's identification, date, shipment dates and other information related to the potential transaction. Benchmarks may be computed based on the aforementioned information, historical data and pricing guidelines. The benchmarks account for best current rates, the amount a competitor would charge for transporting the commodity, costs, a minimum financial return, a desired profit, and historic rates per mile for the relevant commodity. The benchmarks, which may be computed in any order and according to various formulae so long as they establish desired limits for pricing, are used to determine a suggested price that is competitive, provides a desired financial return and does not cannibalize any existing traffic.
A method for determining a suggested price for freight transportation services comprising steps of:
A method of determining a suggested price for rail freight transportation services comprising steps of:
A computer-implemented system for determining a suggested price for rail freight transportation services comprising:
A system for determining a suggested price for rail freight transportation services as in step 31, wherein:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.
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Administration; Management: logistics, e.g. warehousing, loading or distribution; Inventory or stock management
Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising: price estimation or determination
Commerce: buying, selling or leasing transactions
Information and communication technology [ict] specially adapted for administrative, commercial, financial, managerial
Term end not estimated
This invention relates to pricing. More particularly, this invention relates to a system and method to facilitate the pricing of freight transportation services, particularly rail freight transportation services.
Today's freight transportation providers operate in a highly competitive marketplace, facing intense competition from other providers of the same and alternative modes of freight transportation services. To compete effectively they must provide their customers with high quality services at a good price, which preferably covers costs and contributes to a reasonable measure of profitability.
Railroads, for example, compete against each other and against trucks and barges. Pricing managers price railroad services for customers by performing market and competitive analysis for individual business opportunities. They typically strive to account for competition while pricing services to cover variable costs, realize varying contributions (“contribution” is a measure of profitability that is widely used in the railroad industry and other capital intensive industries) to fixed costs, and achieve a measure of profitability.
The foregoing and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following description, appended claims, and accompanying drawings, where:
FIG. 1 conceptually depicts an exemplary computer system for implementing a system and methodology to facilitate pricing of freight transportation services in accordance with a preferred implementation of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a flowchart conceptually depicting steps of a method for facilitating the pricing of freight transportation services in accordance with a preferred implementation of the present invention;
FIG. 1 conceptually shows an exemplary computer system for implementing a system and methodology to facilitate the pricing of rail freight transportation services in accordance with a preferred implementation of the present invention. The computer system includes a bus 140 for communicating information, a central processing unit (CPU) 110, a read only memory (ROM) 120, random access memory (RAM) 130, a storage device 150, a communications device 160 and an input device 170. The storage device may include a hard disk, CD-ROM drive, tape drive, memory and/or other mass storage equipment. These elements are typically included in most computer systems and particularly computer servers, and the aforementioned system is intended to represent a broad category of systems capable of being programmed to perform the methodology in accordance with a preferred implementation of the present invention. Of course, the system may include fewer, different and/or additional elements, provided it is capable of performing the method of facilitating the pricing of rail freight transportation services in accordance with the present invention. For example, the system may include multiple CPUs, a display device, and various input and output devices. Additionally, the system may alone perform the methodology or operate in a distributed environment to perform the method in accordance with a preferred implementation of the present invention. A user may access the computer system directly using an input device or remotely via a dial-up or network connection.
FIG. 2 shows a high-level flowchart that conceptually depicts steps of a method of facilitating the pricing of freight transportation services in accordance with a preferred implementation of the present invention. An initial step 210 entails inputting information to compute benchmarks, from which a suggested price may be selected. Preferably, the information includes the type and quantity of the commodity to be transported, the origin and destination, the vehicle container type, and ownership of the vehicle or container. Commodities are preferably identified using Standard Transportation Commodity Classification (STCC) Codes published by the Association of American Railroads <www.aar.org>, as such codes are typically used in databases of rail transactions. To facilitate the selection of a code, a search tool and/or link to a list of available codes and commodity descriptions may be provided. In some cases, the type of commodity may dictate the appropriate type of vehicle or container. Additional information may include the customer's name, user's identification, date, shipment dates and other information related to the potential transaction.
For example, referring to the exemplary lists of input provided in FIGS. 6 and 7 for pricing rail freight transportation services, such other information may include data identifying the relevant market segment and line of business to enable comparisons with traffic involving similar commodities and analyses of potential substitute commodities. Such information may also be used to identify the transaction as stored for purposes of future research and analysis.