Method And Apparatus For Pricing Products In Multi-Level Product And Organizational Groups

Abstract

The invention organizes various pricing tables and price adjustment tables and various products and purchasing organizations based on “who” (i.e. which purchasing organization) is purchasing “what” (i.e. which product). The invention utilizes a denormalized table to relate the “who” to the “what” using denormalized numbers. The invention further organizes various purchasing organizations and products into hierarchical tables. These hierarchical tables are called organizational groups and product groups. Various price adjustments may be specified for each level of the organizational groups and product groups hierarchies. The price adjustments for a particular purchasing organization are determined by retrieving the price adjustments for that particular purchasing organization as well as the price adjustments for organizational groups above the particular purchasing organization in the organizational groups hierarchy. Likewise, the price adjustments for a particular product are determined by retrieving the price adjustments for that particular product as well as the price adjustments for product groups above the particular product in the product groups hierarchy. The invention sorts the various pricing adjustments applicable to a particular product offered to a particular purchasing group based on several criteria. After the sorting is accomplished the pricing adjustments are applied in sequence to arrive at a final price at which a particular product can be sold to a particular purchasing organization.

1 - 50 . (canceled) 
     
     
         51 . A method for determining a price of a product offered to a purchasing organization comprising:
 identifying one or more organizational groups, within a hierarchy of organizational groups, of which the purchasing organization is a member, wherein pricing information is (i) stored in a data source and (ii) associated with one or more of the organizational groups;   identifying one or more product groups, within a hierarchy of product groups, of which the product is a member, wherein pricing information associated with the one or more identified organizational groups and associated with the one or more identified product groups is: (i) stored in a data source and (ii) associated with one or more of the product groups; and   determining the price of the product using most restrictive pricing information.   
     
     
         52 . The method of  claim 51  further comprising:
 retrieving from the data source the pricing information associated with to the one or more identified organizational groups; and   retrieving from the data source the pricing information associated with to the one or more identified product groups.   
     
     
         53 . The method of  claim 51  further comprising:
 sorting the pricing information associated with to the one or more identified organizational groups and the one or more identified product groups according to pricing types.   
     
     
         54 . The method of  claim 53  further comprising:
 sorting the pricing information associated with to the one or more identified organizational groups and the one or more identified product groups according to at least one of, the hierarchy of product groups and the hierarchy of organizational groups.   
     
     
         55 . The method of  claim 53  further comprising:
 eliminating any of the pricing information that is less restrictive for the same pricing type.   
     
     
         56 . The method of  claim 51  wherein identifying the organizational groups comprises:
 retrieving from the data source identities of the one or more organizational groups of which the purchasing organization is a member.   
     
     
         57 . The method of  claim 51  wherein identifying the product groups comprises:
 retrieving from the data source the identities of the one or more product groups of which the product is a member.   
     
     
         58 . The method of  claim 51  wherein the data source comprises a sorted hierarchy of organizational groups. 
     
     
         59 . The method of  claim 51  wherein the data source comprises a sorted hierarchy of product groups. 
     
     
         60 . The method of  claim 51  wherein the pricing information comprises pricing adjustments. 
     
     
         61 . The method of  claim 51  wherein the pricing information includes denormalized values. 
     
     
         62 . The method of  claim 51  wherein the pricing information comprises information specifying an order in which the pricing adjustments are to be applied to determine the price of the product. 
     
     
         63 . The method of  claim 51  wherein the pricing information associated with to the one or more identified organizational groups is associated with based at least in part on effective dates of the pricing information, and the pricing information associated with to the one or more identified product groups is associated with based at least in part on effective dates of the pricing information. 
     
     
         64 . The method of  claim 51  wherein the pricing information associated with to the organizational groups is stored in a single table in the data source. 
     
     
         65 . The method of  claim 51  wherein the pricing information associated with to the product groups is stored in a single table in the data source. 
     
     
         66 . The method of  claim 51  wherein each of the one or more organizational groups includes multiple purchasing organizations. 
     
     
         67 . The method of  claim 51  wherein each of the one or more product groups includes multiple products. 
     
     
         68 . The method of  claim 51  wherein each of the one or more organizational groups are selected from the group comprising: World, U.S., Europe, Small, Medium, Large, Reseller, and End-User. 
     
     
         69 . The method of  claim 51  wherein each of the one or more product groups are selected from the group comprising: Hardware, CPU, Software, Support, and Vendors.