Systems and methods for source identification in item sourcing

Abstract

A source identification service is described that identifies sources for items of interest that are provided by a network-based service and may benefit from additional sources. The source identification service may identify sources for an item of interest in response to receipt a request. In one aspect, the source identification service may conduct a search of a network-based information resource using keywords pertaining to the item of interest to obtain a listing of sources capable of providing the item of interest. A source score may be generated for respective sources and compared to a selected value to identify potential sources for further consideration. The potential sources may also be filtered based upon selected criteria to refine the list of potential sources. An offer may be provided by the source identification service inviting the source to provide the item of interest on the network-based service.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A system for identifying sources for items, the system comprising:
 a data store configured to maintain item information regarding one or more items; and   a computing device in communication with the data store, the computing device configured to:
 receive a request to identify a potential source for an item that is offered by a number of item sources on a network-based service, wherein the number of item sources is less than a threshold, and wherein the threshold is determined at least in part by analyzing data regarding interactions between a plurality of users and the network-based service; and 
 identify a set of potential sources to satisfy the request. 
   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the computing device is further configured to:
 generate a source score for at least one of the identified set of potential sources, wherein the source score comprises one or more of:
 a source rank comprising a measurement of a relative importance of the at least one of the identified set of potential sources; 
 a source utilization estimate comprising an estimate of a number of the plurality of users requesting source utilization information from the at least one of the identified set of potential sources; 
 a first measurement of desirability of a payment method accepted by the at least one of the identified set of potential sources; or 
 a second measurement of desirability of a category in which the at least one of the identified set of potential sources is classified; and 
   select one or more of the identified set of potential sources having a corresponding source score greater than a value as at least one potential selected source to provide the item on the network-based service.   
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein the computing device is further configured to:
 transmit an offer inviting the at least one potential selected source to provide the item on the network-based service; and   store availability information in the data store indicating that the at least one potential selected source is configured to provide the item on the network-based service after the at least one potential selected source accepts the transmitted offer.   
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the computing device is further configured to identify the set of potential sources by submitting a search to a network-based search engine using one or more keywords pertaining to the item and receiving search results. 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein the computing device is further configured to obtain the source rank from a network-based search engine based upon a uniform resource locator of the at least one of the identified set of potential sources. 
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein the source score further comprises an stock keeping unit estimate comprising an estimate of a number of items offered for sale by the at least one of the identified set of potential sources, and a number of web pages hosted by the at least one of the identified set of potential sources. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein the source utilization estimate is obtained from a network-information resource that tracks network-navigation behavior of the plurality of users. 
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 3 , wherein the computing device is further configured to store the availability information in the data store unless:
 the at least one potential selected source is a duplicate of at least one of the number of item sources;   the at least one potential selected source does not accept payment for the item in a currency accepted by the network-based service;   the at least one potential selected source has previously refused to accept a transmitted offer; or   the at least one potential selected source is not an e-commerce website.   
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein the computing device is further configured to request contact information for the at least one potential selected source from a human interaction task system comprising one or more electronic computing devices configured to electronically assign tasks to one or more human workers. 
     
     
         10 . A computer-readable storage medium having instructions stored thereon, wherein the instructions, when executed by a computing apparatus, cause the computing apparatus to perform operations comprising:
 receiving a request to identify a potential source for an item that is offered by a number of item sources on a network-based service, wherein the number of item sources is less than a threshold, and wherein the threshold is determined at least in part by analyzing statistical information relating to searches performed by a plurality of users of the network-based service; and   identifying a set of potential sources to satisfy the request.   
     
     
         11 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 10 , wherein the instructions, when executed by a computing apparatus, cause the computing apparatus to:
 obtaining one or more keywords pertaining to the item from a data store;   obtaining search results in response to submission of the one or more keywords pertaining to the item to a network-based information resource, the search results comprising the identified set of potential sources for the item;   generating a source score for at least one of the identified set of potential sources returned by the search results, wherein the source score comprises a query rank comprising a frequency at which the at least one of the identified set of potential sources appears in the search results;   identifying at least one potential selected source having a corresponding source score greater than a numerical criterion;   obtaining contact information for the at least one potential selected source;   transmitting an offer inviting the at least one potential selected source to provide the item on the network-based service using the obtained contact information; and   adding an entry to the data store after the transmitted offer is accepted by the at least one potential selected source, the entry indicating that the at least one potential selected source provides the item on the network-based service.   
     
     
         12 . A computer-implemented method comprising:
 receiving a request to identify a potential source for an item that is offered by a number of item sources on a network-based service, wherein the number of item sources is less than a threshold, and wherein the threshold is determined at least in part by analyzing data regarding interactions between a plurality of users and the network-based service; and   identifying a set of potential sources to satisfy the request.   
     
     
         13 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 12 , further comprising
 generating a source score for at least one of the identified set of potential sources, wherein the source score comprises one or more of:
 a stock keeping unit estimate comprising an estimate of a number of items offered for sale by the at least one of the identified set of potential sources; 
 a source utilization estimate comprising an estimate of a number of the plurality of users requesting source utilization information from the at least one of the identified set of potential sources; 
 a first measurement of desirability of a payment method accepted by the at least one of the identified set of potential sources; or 
 a second measurement of desirability of a category in which the at least one of the identified set of potential sources is classified; and 
   selecting one or more of the identified set of potential sources having a corresponding source score greater than a value as at least one potential selected source to provide the item on the network-based service.   
     
     
         14 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 13 , further comprising:
 transmitting an offer inviting the at least one potential selected source to provide the item on the network-based service; and   storing availability information indicating that the at least one potential selected source provides the item on the network-based service after the at least one potential selected source accepts the transmitted offer.   
     
     
         15 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 12 , wherein the identifying the set of potential sources comprises submitting a search to a network-based search engine using one or more keywords pertaining to the item and receiving search results. 
     
     
         16 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 13 , wherein the generating the source score further comprises obtaining a source rank comprising a measurement of a relative importance of the at least one of the identified set of potential sources as obtained from a network-based search engine based upon a uniform resource locator of the at least one of the identified set of potential sources. 
     
     
         17 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 13 , wherein the stock keeping unit estimate comprises a number of web pages hosted by the at least one of the identified set of potential sources. 
     
     
         18 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 13 , wherein the source utilization estimate is obtained from a network-information resource that tracks network-navigation behavior of the plurality of users. 
     
     
         19 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 14 , wherein the storing availability information is performed unless:
 the at least one potential selected source is a duplicate of at least one of the number of item sources;   the at least one potential selected source does not accept payment for the item in a currency accepted by the network-based service;   the at least one potential selected source has previously refused to accept a transmitted offer; and   the at least one potential selected source is not an e-commerce website.   
     
     
         20 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 13 , further comprising requesting contact information for the at least one potential selected source from a human interaction task system comprising one or more electronic computing devices configured to electronically assign tasks to one or more human workers.