Automated back office transaction method and system

Claim 1

A method for digital automation of supply chains in a vertical marketplace, comprising: (a) generating, in a computerized system, at least one non-ratified contract for a transaction in one supply chain of the supply chains, wherein the non-ratified contract has a plurality of terms; (b) ratifying the contract and storing the contract as a ratified contract in a database in the computerized system, said contract identifying the contracting parties, the goods or services, and the payment details; (c) checking, in the computerized system, whether at least one term of the plurality of terms in the ratified contract indicates that at least one next contract is necessary for a next transaction in the supply chain, and if so, automatically performing steps (a) and (b) and (c) for the at least one next contract; (d) storing, in the database, links between each ratified contract and at least one next contract that relates to the same goods or services and that relates to parties vertically linked in the distribution chain for goods and services; (e) in response to marketplace events relating to sales of, deliveries of, or payments for goods and services, triggering the calculation, based upon the payment details specified in the related contracts, of the payable due to and from each of the parties; and (f) following such an event, and in accordance with the contracts, executing payments directly between the parties of the net amount due to and from each party such that gross payments need not pass through one party to the next.

Claim 2

A method for digital automation of supply chains in a vertical marketplace, comprising: (a) generating, in a computerized system, at least one non-ratified contract for a transaction in one supply chain of the supply chains, wherein the non-ratified contract has a plurality of terms; (b) ratifying the contract and storing the contract as a ratified contract in a database in the computerized system, said contract identifying the contracting parties, the goods or services, and the payment details; (c) checking, in the computerized system, whether at least one term of the plurality of terms in the ratified contract indicates that at least one next contract is necessary for a next transaction in the supply chain, and if so, automatically performing steps (a) and (b) and (c) for the at least one next contract; (d) storing, in the database, links between each ratified contract and at least one next contract that relates to the same goods or services and that relates to parties vertically linked in the distribution chain for goods and services; (e) in response to marketplace events relating to sales of, deliveries of, or payments for goods and services, triggering the calculation, based upon the payment details specified in the related contracts, of the payable due to and from each of the parties; and (f) following such an event, and in accordance with the contracts, executing payments directly between the parties of the net amount due to and from each party such that gross payments need not pass through one party to the next.

Claim 12

A method for digital automation of supply chains in a vertical marketplace, comprising: (a) providing a digital template of a non-ratified contract; (b) generating, in a computerized system, at least one non-ratified contract for a transaction in one supply chain of the supply chains, wherein the non-ratified contract has a plurality of terms, and automatically forwarding the non-ratified contract from a first entity to a second entity specified in the non-ratified contract; (c) ratifying the contract by digital acceptance by the second entity and storing the contract as a ratified contract in a database in the computerized system, said contract identifying the contracting parties, the goods or services, and the payment details; (d) checking, in the computerized system, whether at least one term of the plurality of terms in the ratified contract indicates that at least one next contract is necessary for a next transaction in the supply chain, and if so, automatically performing steps (b) and (c) and (d) for the at least one next contract that relates to the same goods or services and that relates to parties vertically linked in the distribution chain for goods and services; (e) in response to marketplace events relating to sales of, deliveries of, or payments for goods and services, triggering the calculation, based upon the payment details specified in the related contracts, of the payable due to and from each of the parties; and (f) following such an event, and in accordance with the contracts, executing payments directly between the parties of the net amount due to and from each party such that gross payments need not pass through one party to the next; (g) storing, in the database, links between each ratified contract and at least one next contract; (h) associating a unique identifier for the supply chain with each contract and each transaction; (i) wherein a first performance of step (b) is initiated by transmitting a request for a product from a customer to a seller; (j) wherein one of the terms requires delivery of a product from one entity to an other entity, further comprising the steps of creating and storing a record, when the product has been provided, with information that the product is delivered; and calculating payables and transferring payment from each second entity to each first entity; and (k) wherein the database stores information on amounts due and payable by a plurality of entities including the first entity and the second entity, and wherein the calculating step includes offsetting amounts due between the plurality of entities.

Claim 13

A method for digital automation of supply chains in a vertical marketplace, comprising: (a) providing a digital template of a non-ratified contract; (b) generating, in a computerized system, at least one non-ratified contract for a transaction in one supply chain of the supply chains, wherein the non-ratified contract has a plurality of terms, and automatically forwarding the non-ratified contract from a first entity to a second entity specified in the non-ratified contract; (c) ratifying the contract by digital acceptance by the second entity and storing the contract as a ratified contract in a database in the computerized system, said contract identifying the contracting parties, the goods or services, and the payment details; (d) checking, in the computerized system, whether at least one term of the plurality of terms in the ratified contract indicates that at least one next contract is necessary for a next transaction in the supply chain, and if so, automatically performing steps (b) and (c) and (d) for the at least one next contract that relates to the same goods or services and that relates to parties vertically linked in the distribution chain for goods and services; (e) in response to marketplace events relating to sales of, deliveries of, or payments for goods and services, triggering the calculation, based upon the payment details specified in the related contracts, of the payable due to and from each of the parties; and (f) following such an event, and in accordance with the contracts, executing payments directly between the parties of the net amount due to and from each party such that gross payments need not pass through one party to the next; (g) storing, in the database, links between each ratified contract and at least one next contract; (h) associating a unique identifier for the supply chain with each contract and each transaction; (i) wherein a first performance of step (b) is initiated by transmitting a request for a product from a customer to a seller; (j) wherein one of the terms requires delivery of a product from one entity to an other entity, further comprising the steps of creating and storing a record, when the product has been provided, with information that the product is delivered; and calculating payables and transferring payment from each second entity to each first entity; and (k) wherein the database stores information on amounts due and payable by a plurality of entities including the first entity and the second entity, and wherein the calculating step includes offsetting amounts due between the plurality of entities.

Claim 16

A system for digital automation of supply chains in a vertical marketplace, each of the supply chains having a plurality of transactions between a plurality of parties including a buyer, a seller and a supplier, including at least one transaction between the buyer and the seller, and a transaction between the seller and the supplier, comprising: (a) storage in a database for at least one non-ratified contract corresponding to each transaction of the plurality of transactions in one of the supply chains, wherein each non-ratified contract has a plurality of terms, and wherein each non-ratified contract is approved by one of the parties; (b) storage in the database for at least one ratified contract corresponding to each of the non-ratified contracts, wherein the ratified contract is approved by an other one of the parties, said contract identifying the contracting parties, the goods or services, and the payment details; (c) a plurality of stored links between ratified contracts, including at least one link between the ratified contracts for the transaction in the supply chain between the buyer and the seller and the ratified contract for the transaction in the supply chain between the seller and the supplier that relate to the same goods or services in the distribution chain; (d) a computer implemented calculation mechanism which, in response to triggering marketplace events relating to sales of, deliveries of, or payments for goods and services, calculates, based upon the payment details specified in the related contracts, the payable due to and from each of the parties; and (e) a computer-implemented payment mechanism which, following such an event, and in accordance with the contracts, executes payments directly between the parties of the net amount due to and from each party such that gross payments need not pass through one party to the next.

Claim 17

A system for digital automation of supply chains in a vertical marketplace, each of the supply chains having a plurality of transactions between a plurality of parties including a buyer, a seller and a supplier, including at least one transaction between the buyer and the seller, and a transaction between the seller and the supplier, comprising: (a) storage in a database for at least one non-ratified contract corresponding to each transaction of the plurality of transactions in one of the supply chains, wherein each non-ratified contract has a plurality of terms, and wherein each non-ratified contract is approved by one of the parties; (b) storage in the database for at least one ratified contract corresponding to each of the non-ratified contracts, wherein the ratified contract is approved by an other one of the parties, said contract identifying the contracting parties, the goods or services, and the payment details; (c) a plurality of stored links between ratified contracts, including at least one link between the ratified contracts for the transaction in the supply chain between the buyer and the seller and the ratified contract for the transaction in the supply chain between the seller and the supplier that relate to the same goods or services in the distribution chain; (d) a computer implemented calculation mechanism which, in response to triggering marketplace events relating to sales of, deliveries of, or payments for goods and services, calculates, based upon the payment details specified in the related contracts, the payable due to and from each of the parties; and (e) a computer-implemented payment mechanism which, following such an event, and in accordance with the contracts, executes payments directly between the parties of the net amount due to and from each party such that gross payments need not pass through one party to the next.

Claim 26

A method for using an electronic data processing system to manage the accounting of parties carrying out common transactions in a vertical marketplace, said method including the following steps: establishing on the system digital representations of contracts between the parties, each contract identifying the contracting parties, the goods or services, and the payment details; within the system, establishing digital linkages between contracts that relate to the same goods or services and that relate to parties vertically linked in the distribution chain for those goods and services; in response to marketplace events relating to sales of, deliveries of, or payments for goods and services, triggering the calculation, based upon the payment details specified in the related contracts, of the payable due to and from each of the parties; and following such an event, and in accordance with the contracts, executing payments directly between the parties of the net amount due to and from each party such that gross payments need not pass through one party to the next.

Claim 27

A method for using an electronic data processing system to manage the accounting of parties carrying out common transactions in a vertical marketplace, said method including the following steps: establishing on the system digital representations of contracts between the parties, each contract identifying the contracting parties, the goods or services, and the payment details; within the system, establishing digital linkages between contracts that relate to the same goods or services and that relate to parties vertically linked in the distribution chain for those goods and services; in response to marketplace events relating to sales of, deliveries of, or payments for goods and services, triggering the calculation, based upon the payment details specified in the related contracts, of the payable due to and from each of the parties; and following such an event, and in accordance with the contracts, executing payments directly between the parties of the net amount due to and from each party such that gross payments need not pass through one party to the next.