Commodity management system
OwnerChristopher J. Jarvisinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A method is provided for establishing a cost model for a commodity, including identifying a plurality of suppliers of the commodity and analyzing the commodity to determine cost drivers associated with supplying the commodity. A supplier-specific cost is determined for each of the cost drivers for the plurality of suppliers, and the supplier-specific costs are compared to establish a commodity cost model. The commodity cost model may be used to obtain and retain lower prices from commodity suppliers.
Claims23
A method of establishing a cost model for a commodity, comprising:
- identifying a plurality of suppliers of the commodity;
- analyzing the commodity to determine cost drivers associated with supplying the commodity;
- determining a supplier-specific cost associated with the cost drivers for the plurality of suppliers;
- and
- comparing the supplier-specific costs to establish a commodity cost model.
A method of establishing a Best in Class cost model for a commodity, comprising:
- identifying a plurality of suppliers of the commodity;
- establishing a plurality of cost drivers that contribute to a total cost of the commodity;
- determining an actual cost associated with the cost drivers for each of the plurality of suppliers;
- and
- combining the lowest actual cost for each cost driver to create the Best in Class cost model for the commodity.
A method of analyzing costs of a commodity, comprising the steps of:
- analyzing the commodity to determine cost drivers associated with supplying the commodity;
- determining a supplier-specific cost associated with the cost drivers for a plurality of suppliers of the commodity;
- and
- calculating an industry mean for each cost driver based on the supplier-specific costs to create an industry mean cost model.
A system for establishing a cost model for a commodity, comprising:
- a commodity analysis processor that determines a plurality of cost drivers associated with supplying the commodity;
- a supplier interface that obtains a supplier-specific cost associated with the cost drivers from a plurality of suppliers of the commodity;
- and
- a cost analysis processor that compares the supplier-specific costs to establish a commodity cost model.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.