Method for determining single figure of merit

Abstract

A method, program and system for analyzing product price structures are provided by the present invention. The invention involves receiving product information about a multi-component product, such as a service plan, and analyzing individual price elements within the multi-component product. These individual price elements may include, purchase price, fixed periodic charges, up-front charges, variable charges, discounts, service contract length, service and maintenance costs, labor costs, and purchase minimums. The invention then determines customer requirements and calculates the total cost over an estimate service life of the product according to these requirements. This projected total cost is then converted to a single figure of merit that reduces the price structure of the product to a single financial figure that can be compared across products with different price structures. The single figure of merit may be, for example, the average monthly charge during the service term, total spending over the entire service term, sum of the first twelve month's billing, or Net Present Value (NPV) of outlays over the service term.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.