WO2002011013A1

WO2002011013A1 - System for ordering custom-cut material

Info

Publication number: WO2002011013A1
Application number: PCT/US2001/017290
Authority: WO
Inventors: Horace Kephart
Original assignee: Stainless Steel Financial, Inc.
Priority date: 2000-07-28
Filing date: 2001-05-30
Publication date: 2002-02-07
Also published as: AU2001271275A1

Abstract

An internet site (499) can be used to easily order custom-cut pieces as well as stock pieces of metal, glass, and so on. Procedures associated with the site present the customer with menus for describing the desired items, and the site program calculates the cost of each item and presents the customer with a screen summarizing the items, shipping times, and prices (409). The items are preferably grouped by shipping times (466). The customer can choose to save his or her inquiry for recall at a later date. At the time of recall, the prices and product shipment options are automatically recalculated before displaying the detailed inquiry information; the recalled inquiry can then be modified by the customer (456).

Description

SYSTEM FOR ORDERING CUSTOM-CUT MATERIAL

Background of the Invention Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to the ordering of materials on the internet. More specifically, it relates to the ordering of items which are custom-cut or custom- produced to the specific specifications, shapes and dimensions required by a customer.

Description of the Prior Art

Materials such as metals, fabrics, and wood are generally produced in large quantities in standard shapes such as coils, rolls, discrete plates, bars, rods, and so on.

Typically, these standard shapes are ultimately subdivided or cut up into discrete pieces of very specific sizes and shapes for use by customers as components in fabricated products, machinery, vessels, and buildings. A roll of wire has a definite length, but is almost always cut into smaller pieces for particular jobs. A standard 4- by-8 sheet of plywood is often used as a unit, but in many cases has particular shapes cut out of it, and then serves as a continuous material from which the item is cut.

A customer can often use standard pieces of material, but often will want the material vendor to supply a particular item cut from the continuous material of a standard plate, roll, etc.: for example, a rectangle of specific dimensions or a disc of specific diameter.

In the past, ordering of custom-cut pieces or items has been time-consuming. Typically, the customer first requested a quotation on the bill of material he or she was seeking. Such requests were sent to the vendor via fax, telephone, e-mail, or regular mail. The vendor would first review the "request for quote" to insure that all needed information had been included. Next, the vendor would determine if it were possible to provide the requested items, and if so, the possible delivery date and the price. That information was then communicated to the customer, who would decide whether or not to order the items, and then inform the vendor of the decision. The vendor would then confirm acceptance, either verbally or in writing, of the customer's order. This procedure required a sequence of communications between the customer and the vendor. Recently, some vendors of custom-cut items have begun electronic marketing. However, those vendors have relied on the "look-up table" approach to pricing, that is too rigid to provide the customer with the optimum price for each possible item.

The old "look-up table" approach is used for selling many standard items. In many people's experience, it is typified by an auto parts store. Before the computer era, buying an auto part entailed watching a clerk consult a vast line of books full of fine print to determine the part number of the particular part needed for the customer's make, model, year, and engine size of vehicle; then waiting for the clerk to go into the storeroom to get the part with that part number; and then waiting for the clerk to consult another row of books to determine the price of that part. The separate price books were needed because of price fluctuations. If the prices had changed very quickly, say on a daily basis, the old system would have broken down because it would have become too difficult to change the books.

Today the look-up table is an electronic database, and buying auto parts is easier. With a central database, even daily changes in prices are possible. However, in spite of computerization there is a limit to how quickly the database can change. For example, spark plugs come in various lengths and types, and each auto make, model, year, and engine requires one of those lengths and type. Suppose that cars changed their recommended spark plug types, perhaps because mineral build-up in the cooling system heated the engine and required a "colder" plug; and suppose further that the mineral build-up were to vary with climate zone and water supply; and suppose further that other parts also changed in a like manner. A large number of people would be needed to continuously update the parts database. Even a large national chain of auto parts stores would be hard-pressed if the changes were frequent and extensive enough. For a small neighborhood parts store, it would be impossible.

In the field of custom-cut items, the number of possible "items" is very large, even larger than the number of automobile parts. Consider rectangles cut from a standard sheet of plywood: even if the cut pieces are limited to whole-inch increments of width and length, there are 4608 possible rectangular pieces that can be cut from the standard sheet. (The sheet measures 48 inches by 96 inches; cutting lengthwise, there are 96 possible 1-inch wide rectangles (1 by 96, 1 by 95 ...), 96 possible 2-inch wide rectangles, 96 possible 3-inch wide rectangles, and so on: a total of 48 times 96, including the full sheet.) If, more realistically, a customer might want a plywood rectangle cut to a tolerance of l/16th inch, then the number of possible rectangles is 1,048,576. With various grades, thicknesses, and finishes of plywood to choose from the number of possible items is very large. Everything is sold on the internet, and internet sales are typically for standardized "off-the-shelf items. Placing an order for distinct items is easy because the customer's choices are limited. Bolts, for example, are specified by style (e.g. Phillips head), thread (e.g. 1/4-20), length (e.g., VA inches), material (e.g. grade 5 plated steel), and so on. A complete description of the item is not needed, only a choice. For example, all the dimensional tolerances of a bolt are inherent in the choice of the item. All grade 5 bolts of a given length will have a standard tolerance that can be looked up, but does not need to be specified when ordering the bolts. The same is true for other characteristics, such as the thread shapes and tolerances, surface finish, and so on. Standard items are not only easy to order, but are also easy to price. When calling a lumber yard, the price on a certain thickness and grade of plywood can be obtained easily, but if the customer wants a piece cut from the sheet a much longer time will be required to obtain the price quote.

Moreover, standard grades and sizes are easily warehoused and thus, the turnaround time between manufacture and sale is normally not critical.

In contrast, custom-cut pieces are difficult to warehouse because no category has been set up for them. In fact, if a custom-cut piece is able to be warehoused, then it is not a custom piece any longer but instead has just become a standard piece. In addition, the prices of custom pieces vary greatly depending not only on the price of the standard item from which they are cut but also the shape configuration, piece size, the number of pieces, overall scrappage losses, and production time allotted in order for the vendor to produce the desired custom-cut piece or pieces.

Moreover, when two items are ordered at the same time, the price of either or both can be affected. For example, if next-day shipments are more expensive, but an item cannot be cut and shipped that quickly because of another item being cut on the same machine, the price of the first item will change. Similar price interactions can occur because of overtime pay, rush ordering or processing of stock material, increased man-hours for scheduling, and so on. Another example is when two jobs interact by changing the ratio of left-over scrap weight to finished item weight (because both items may come from the same piece of stock material).

In addition to a constantly changing price environment for the standard material pieces from which items are to be custom-cut, the availability of the material and the vendor's production schedules are also constantly changing. Previously, if a customer and salesperson had arrived at a description of the items, and also a price, but the customer did not place the order, then the customer and salesperson might have resumed their discussions some time later. But by then, any one of the three factors -material price, material availability, and production schedule - might have changed, requiring the salesperson to requote the terms and conditions under which the item would be sold. That, in turn, would require the customer to re-think the placing the order on that item.

For any custom-cut material, requesting a quote and then ordering is more difficult than it is for standard shapes. Many of the same qualities must be specified as when ordering standard sizes, for example the type of material, but there are also additional other factors, including the shape and the dimensions of the custom item, the tolerance on the size, and in many cases other characteristics such as the method of cutting (saw, torch, etc.), edge finishing, and so on. The customer must give a more complete description of a non-standard item, which requires additional time; and unless the vendor's salesperson is expert, the time required to factor the cutting, finishing, and so on into the final cost is also very time-consuming. The extra time is a burden on the customer as well as on the vendor.

To avoid delays in quoting a price, previous attempts to sell custom-cut items electronically have relied on the look-up table approach, which is easy to implement because off-the-shelf programs are available. But to set the price of a custom-cut piece by a database look-up table prevents the vendor from optimizing the price. To update a look-up table requires recalculation of many entries when one factor changes, and as noted above, there is a limit to how many changes to the database can be tolerated by a business.

The only way to make a look-up table practical, in the face of numerous items and rapid change, is to decrease the number of categories. That is, the look-up table is made imprecise. For example, the optimum price per pound of material will, in general, be a function of the size of an item because of lower cutting and handling costs with larger items; but with a look-up table that differential can, at best, be specified only in terms of size ranges, and the optimum function, with the price varying continuously with the item size, cannot be reached. As another example, the prices of many materials fluctuate and most small businesses, such as vendors of custom-cut items, cannot update a database often enough to optimize the price of each item, so price averaging must be resorted to.

The internet demands rapid provision of a sales price, which can easily be done with a database look-up table. But the look-up table approach is crude and cannot provide the optimum price, and therefore cannot provide the best service for the customer nor maximize the vendor's profit.

U.S. Patent 5,117,354 to Long et al. discloses the pricing and ordering of custom manufactured parts using telephone-based data links. The Long system is an electronic variant of the old mail slot system, where a central computer ("mail host") has memory areas ("mailboxes") that act like the slots or boxes in which paper mail was placed for later retrieval. The information just sits in these "mailboxes" until it is periodically downloaded. The system is not interactive and obtaining the desired information involves waiting for the mailbox to be downloaded. If an order is submitted to the customer, it is submitted with a previously- developed price quote (col. 10, line 52). The information, once it is trapped in a mailbox, cannot readily be accessed or updated.

Previous attempts to use the internet for selling custom-cut items have been limited to the look-up table approach. The prior art does not include any system for ordering custom-cut materials which is interactive, to shorten the time needed to place an order. Neither does the prior art disclose any system for updating portions of an order, quote, or inquiry. Summary of the Invention

One object of the invention is to provide an interactive system for ordering materials and especially custom-cut pieces of material.

Another object is to provide such a system which is usable over the internet. Still another object is to provide for a customer's ability to recall a quote or inquiry, at which time the customer is immediately provided with updated product or item pricing and freight costs, product availability, and length of time required for the vendor to produce each item. A further object is to employ formulaic or algorithmic pricing.

The present invention discloses a method which allows a customer to rapidly place an order, using the internet, for a custom-cut piece of continuous material and to obtain an immediate price. It also permits a customer to log off prior to actually placing an order, then log on later and at once be presented with the same information on the custom items entered earlier, along with a newly-updated set of product prices, freight costs, product availabilities, and vendor required production times.

The invention includes pricing according to procedures, rather than by look-up tables, which allows the price to be generated very quickly even when the item being ordered is unusual. The price quoted for an item may include the cost of the material used in making the item (including any waste material) generated in the process of making the item less the recycle value of the waste; the cost of manpower and supplies required for cutting the item, including wages, as well as the time and equipment needed to move the material about on the factory floor; inspection, packaging, shipping, and profit. The present invention preferably uses menus in place of fill-in spaces wherever possible. The invention also preferably uses nested pull-down menus, i.e., a tree structure of customer choices. The use of "fill-in" responses, which require additional work and time of the user, are minimized.

In order to simplify delivery, the present invention groups ordered items, or items inquired about, by customer-requested shipping times. For example, items which are in stock, or which can be custom-cut rapidly, are preferably grouped together, if the customer elects to have such items produced quickly. Items that are to be shipped at a later date are likewise grouped together; and so on, so that each inquiry is subdivided into groups according to shipping date. Freight costs are determined based on the overall size and weight of items to be shipped on each of the identified shipping times. Grouping by delivery date is also within the scope of the invention. With these and other objects, advantages, and features of the invention that may become hereinafter apparent, the nature of the invention may be more clearly understood by reference to the following detailed description of the invention, the appended claims and the several drawings attached hereto.

Brief Description of the Drawings

FIG. 1 is schematic pictorial view of a first screen of the invention; FIG. 2 is schematic pictorial view of a second screen of the invention; FIG. 3 is schematic pictorial view of a third screen of the invention; and FIG. 4 is a schematic flowchart overview showing a program of invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic flowchart overview showing a program of the invention. FIG. 6 is schematic pictorial view of a fourth screen of the invention; FIG. 7 is schematic pictorial view of a fifth screen of the invention; FIG. 8 A is schematic pictorial view of a sixth screen of the invention; and FIG. 8B is schematic pictorial view of a seventh screen of the invention.

Detailed Description of the Invention

Referring now in detail to the drawings wherein like parts are designated by like reference numerals throughout, Fig. 4 shows a flowchart of a program 400 of the present invention, which preferably is based on the interactive ordering of items through an internet site 499 maintained by a vendor (not shown in Fig. 1) and coupled to a computer 497. The vendor preferably actualizes the program 400 using the computer 497, which automatically performs calculations of prices, as discussed below, and also performs the other functions described. The exemplary embodiment of the invention allows the user to specify and order cut pieces from continuous areas or lengths of metal stock. One, or a number of identical pieces, are referred to as an

"item".

In its preferred embodiment, the present invention does not use intermediate communication methods such as e-mail or telephone links. The customer communicates directly with the vendor only through the internet site 499, using a customer computer 498. However, the customer preferably can be switched to a voice line or e-mail if person-to-person contact is needed.

The present invention preferably is organized by screens, which appear sequentially and/or by user selection on the CRT display. The present invention also contemplates the use of pull-down screens ("dialogue boxes") and multiple or subdivided display devices. The screens are illustrated in other drawing figures and are discussed below.

Returning now to Fig. 4, the program 400 includes subprograms 401, 402, 409 and 415. Subprogram 401 logs in the user accessing the program over the internet and checks the validity of the information supplied by the user (e.g., user ID or PIN). The subprogram 401 may include an "error handler" program, a welcome message, etc. If at subprogram 401 it is decided that the user is an existing user, then program control shifts to the quote manager 409; if not, then program control shifts to the new user registration subprogram 402, where a user ID and password are generated, thence to the confirmation subprogram 415, and thence back to the quote manager 409. The quote manager 409 is a subprogram which coordinates the presentation of

"quotes" or inquiries (item lists and associated prices) to the user. The quote manager 409 communicates with a quote memory program interface 404. When the user is a new user, or if the user previously logged on and developed a quote but had entered a decision not to save that quote (or had exited before a quote was developed), then no previous quote will be displayed; otherwise, the quote manager 409 causes the quote memory subprogram 404 to remove from memory a list of stored quotes associated with that user (or, an associated user). The memory optionally is purged after a certain interval.

Thus, all users who previously developed quotes are, preferably, presented with those previous quotes immediately upon logging onto the site. The user's quotes are preferably presented in a form similar to the screen of Fig. 1, even if the user has only one quote; alternatively, they are presented in a form similar to that of Fig. 2. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the prices are updated before the retrieved quote is presented to the user.

If a new quote is to be generated (no old quote is stored in the memory associated with the subprogram 404) the quote manager subprogram 409 transfers control to the new quote generator 403. Subprograms 403, 456, 465, and 461 develop a new quote by interacting with the user, preferably via screens (e.g., the screen of Fig. 6). For the exemplary cut metal pieces, that information preferably will include the number of pieces, the gauge, the cut type, the dimensions, the tolerances, and so on. The subprogram 461 preferably can access an inventory program so as to check whether the item being specified can be made from material in stock. The earliest shipping time is also figured on the basis of the other information, such as the availability of transport, and the user is presented with a choice among possible shipping dates.

If an item cannot be described or priced by the subprograms 456, 465, and 461, then human intervention may be needed. The Box 411 represents an interface with a sales representative to facilitate development of the quote. The interface 411 could be through the existing screens or a jump outside of the screens to allow the user to write or speak directly to the sales representative. Preferably, the initial contact with the sales representative is via telephone or e-mail with the quote embedded (attached). An exemplary screen might say, "To contact a sales person via e-mail: 1. Enter your message below. A copy of your current quote will be enclosed in the e-mail. 2. Click on the sale e-mail address [on the same line]. Or, you may telephone [800 number]." A click-button would return the user to the previous screen.

After the price is developed, the quote information is then transferred to the quote summary process subprogram 410, which puts the quote into proper format for display on an interface and presents it to the user (e.g., the screen of Fig. 2).

Throughout the program 400, the quote summary process subprogram 410 acts as an interface and presents information to the user, preferably via screens.

The subprogram 430 interacts with the subprogram 410 to delete items from the quote, and from the screens showing the quote to the user. It acts conversely to the subprogram 456, which adds items. When an item is added, the subprograms 465 and 461 are again called up to obtain the needed information.

Once the needed information has been input by the user, the subprograms 456, 465, and 461 generate a price for each of the items in the quote. A key feature of the present invention is the updating of price quotes to account for fluctuating markets, changeable overhead, and item interactions. When a quote is retrieved by the subprogram 404, the prices in that quote will be checked and updated if need be.

Preferably, each price is recalculated each time the user logs on, and preferably is also recalculated after a time if the user stays logged on for a very long period, or on some other triggering event such as a change in the stock inventory. As an alternative option, quotes retrieved from the memory subprogram 404 within a certain time period need not be checked but, if the quote is older than a market price fluctuation interval, then either the price will be re-calculated or the market prices of the stock material will be checked for differences from the time of the original quote, and recalculation will be carried out if the market price has changed. An item may be flagged upon certain conditions. For example, if the user specifies an item which cannot be made from materials or configurations requested by the user or the user's desired production times or specifications except under special circumstances, then the item and/or the quote including it is flagged as "Inquiry Only" and this flag may be printed on the screens visible to the user. No price is calculated for "Inquiry Only" items.

Once the items are specified and the current price is determined, the program 400 presents (preferably) all of the information to the user, as indicated in Fig. 4 by the line 4610 leading from the box of subprogram 461 to the box of quote summary subprogram 410. The exemplary screen is shown in Fig. 2. At that point, a shipping destination subprogram 407 is activated and preferably a new screen is presented to the user, which allows the user to interactively input information about the shipping destination.

In one alternative of the present invention, the quote prices are updated as a first step in subprogram 480, rather than in the quote manager subprogram 409.

One of the screens presented by the quote summary subprogram 410 asks the user if he or she wishes to place an order. If an order is placed, the order acceptance subprogram 480 is activated. That preferably generates an order acceptance screen, as exemplified by Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 shows a program 500 of the present invention, used for pricing an item of a quote. The program 500 may be embedded into the subprograms 456 and/or 465 shown in Fig. 4, or may be a stand-alone program. The steps of the pricing program 500 preferably include the transfer 502 from another program, labeled "start"; calculating the shipping weight of the cut item (step 504); calculating the scrap weight and/or usable scrap weight (e.g., remelt weight) at step 506; calculating the material cost (step 508);and calculating the scrap value (step 510).

The step of calculating the scrap weight 506 results in a prediction, and the accuracy of the prediction is important in providing the optimum price. If the prediction is too high, the price will be too high and the customer may not place the order; if too low, the vendor will lose money. The present invention contemplates the steps of calculating scrap weight based on geometrical considerations and the inter- fitting of items, whether identical or varied in shape, size, or number. Such considerations are virtually impossible to incorporate into a database look-up table, because the available areas and shapes of the stock material are constantly changing with each cut and with each order which might be allocated to a particular piece of stock material.

The amount of scrap increases with the general yield loss when full-size standard plates are cut up, resulting in a less-than-perfect utilization of the material.

One approach is to associate a particular scrap percentage rate, which can be determined by averaging over a long period of time, the percentage associated with various materials, thicknesses, and item shapes. In many cases, as when rings are cut from a standard sheet, the percentage of scrap can be estimated with good precision.

The next steps of the program 500 involve the work path calculation. In Fig. 5 that is, in exemplary fashion, broken down into the three steps 522, 524, and 526 respectively, of calculating workstation time, calculating workstation supply, and calculating workstation variable cost. Those steps may be incorporated into a loop and repeated for each of the different workstations required for an item (e.g., a sawing workstation and an edging workstation).

The following are examples of the work station time calculations for a plasma cutting machine.

For rectangles, the processing time = job set up time (minutes) + ((gage factor times gage times 2 times (width + length) times number of pieces to be cut to produce the "item")); job set up time = 9 minutes. The gage factor for gages less than or equal to 1.50 inches might be 0.00115, while that for gages greater than 1.50 inches it might be 0.00075.

For disks, the processing time = job set up time (minutes) + (gage factor times gage times pi times OD times number of pieces to be cut to produce the "item"). For a number of pieces greater than or equal to 50, where the gage is less than 0.875 inches, set up time = 12 minutes and gage factor is 0.0010; for gage between 0.875 inches and 1.50 inches, job set up time = 9 minutes and gage factor = 0.00115; for gage is greater than 1.50 inches, job set up time = 9 minutes and gage factor is 0.00075.

The calculations for another type cutting work station, a shear station, could be as follows: The standard cutting times for rectangles, processing time = job set up time

(minutes) + (cutting factor Times (3 + no. of pieces in item)). For pieces less than 180 inches in length, set up time = 4.8 minutes and cutting factor = 0.04. For pieces greater than or equal to 180 inches, set up time = 9.6 minutes and cutting factor = 0.06. The actual cutting time hours of the hourly work force for an item equals the

("standard cut time" times Work Station Crew Size)/(Work Station productivity factor). Workstation supplies costs are determined from historical financial records which track all the various supplies charged to each particular work station (such as abrasive wheels for the abrasive cutters). These costs are annualized and then divided by the annualized bill weight of product processed through the plasma machines. For example, for a plasma machine the rate or factor might be $0.00591925/lb. of billing weight, while for an abrasive cutter the rate might be $0.0311805/lb. of billed weight.

For each item, the work station cutting time is also determined. The cutting time, expressed in hours, is multiplied by the hourly employee costs (straight time plus benefits), expressed in $/hour. Step 530 calculates the packaging cost of the item. There are standard packaging requirements for certain size and shapes of items. For example, rings or discs of greater than a certain quantity and less than certain OD are packaged in drums. Other sizes and quantities of rings or disks are strapped to wood pallets.

Step 542 decides how to calculate the percentage allotted to the sales margin. Step 544 calculates the base dollars per pound of material in the item using the margin, and step 546 calculates the margin using the base dollars per pound. There are simple equations which equate one of these to the other:

Revenue minus (Material cost + variable manufacturing costs + "outside services" costs + freight) = "Sales Margin" ($). % Sales Margin = Sales margin/(Revenue minus Freight).

"Base Price", ($/Lb.) - (Revenue minus Freight)/Bill Wt. Of Item.

Knowing the costs to produce an item and then setting a desired % sales Margin solves for Base Price in $/Lb. In the same manner, by setting a desired "Base Price", one can solve for % Sales Margin. In the present invention an exception might be made for a few items, for example stainless sold in standard "random lengths", for which there is a "going marketplace" price. For these, a "Base Price" can be established by the "market prices". In general, the desired % sales margin is established and the system calculates the "Base Price." If the item is to be sold FOB factory, the "selling price" may be the same as the "Base Price". If the item is being sold "delivered", the freight costs are added to the "Base Price to determine "selling price". Finally, in steps 550 and 552, the Base Price and the margin are stored and control is shifted back to the calling or main program 400.

Preferably, the pricing procedure takes into account the price of the continuous material and the cost of making the custom-cut items, including such factors as the amount of material in the left-over scrap, the current lead times at the factory work stations, the efficiency of those work stations, the normal material flow paths through the work stations, and/or various possible permutations and combinations of work stations and flow paths.

Each particular cost relating to the production and delivery of an item is, preferably, calculated separately. Those costs, and then prices, are determined by equations such as those described above.

More specifically, for metal the material costs are calculated by, first, determining the costs of a "master plate" (or "full sized plate") as it enters the factory. That is in turn determined by knowing the current month's purchase price of the particular material grade's slab (or ingot) plus the costs that the rolling mill charges for producing that combination of grade/thickness/size of plate and the yield losses associated with the plate's production in the rolling mill. To that are added the additional costs of the yield losses associated with producing the particular item from the "master plate". In each step a credit is given for the scrap value of the material associated with the yield loss.

Since pricing for the most part is determined from an established % sales margin, the price is a direct function of the costs the item picks up going through the various cost centers as well as yield losses, etc. Such "extras" as next day shipment premiums are determined from a simple algorithm of an additional % of sales price but no less than a minimum total $.

The price calculation steps preferably are based on a certain limited number of work flow paths and work station selections. Work flow selections might include, for example, whether plasma cutting is ordered; clearly, a plasma cutting station would be included in that case. The choice of work stations will depend upon the shape, because work stations are usually specialized for producing respective shapes. A lathe, for instance, makes shapes with axial symmetry. In the case of sheet materials, one machine might be used for cutting out rectangular plates and another for cutting out discs. The price will depend on the shape not only because of the amount of scrap generated but also because of the cost of making that shape.

For example, assume that the customer is asking for a quote on a 5 inch thick, 30 inch OD disk; the customer does not require a "machine cut" edge. To produce that product, the plate from which the item is to be cut, once it arrives at the factory's door, must first pass through "incoming inspection" where it is checked to ensure that its chemistry is that of the grade of material that the marking on the plate indicates it is and that its surface condition is satisfactory for further processing. It is tagged and placed into inventory; in addition, a sample piece is cut from the plate and sent to the laboratory for testing of its physical and chemical characteristics.

When an order is received that will utilize that particular plate, it is pulled from inventory and delivered to the cutting work station. Depending on the size and thickness of the item, it may, for example be delivered to the "powder cutter" work station where it is to be cut. The cut piece(s) are then moved to the final inspection work station where they are checked to ensure they meet in all respects the customer's order. Concurrently, the lab checks the test results from the sample it obtained from the "master plate" to ensure that the material meets all the physical and chemical conditions required to meet the specification identified in the original order by the customer. Assuming the pieces associated with the item pass both "final inspection" and the laboratory testing, the pieces are sent to "Shipping" where they are packaged and grouped with other items on the same order. The combined set of items is then loaded into the transport truck assigned to deliver the material to the customer.

There are other "general" costs which are associated with any material being processed in the factory, such as general maintenance, manning the storeroom and engineering support, the costs of which are added to all items being processed.

In a preferred embodiment, the work flow path is outlined and then the cost at each station is calculated, based on the time/labor costs, capital costs, energy costs, and so on, and includes both stations at which cutting, edging, and so on is performed, and stations which only handle, route, or inventory the items. The sum of those costs, plus any added overall costs, plus the profit margin, is the basis for the price quote on that item. For example, assume that the product is one disk of metal grade C400, 0.625 inches gage, by 66.25 inch diameter that is to provided with a plasma cut edge treatment with no allowance for further finishing. The customer desires a ground surface on both sides of the disk. It is to be shipped to Texas, with freight costs included in the selling price (i.e., a "delivered" sale). Then the Bill Weight is 913 lbs. and the Ship Weight is 707 lbs.; material costs, including the impact of all yield losses, are $3,887 (or $4.26/Lb. Bill Wt); and variable manufacturing cost (which incorporates all the general main plant costs (which include incoming inspection, laboratory testing, movement of material through the plant, final inspection, and shipping), the plasma cutting work station costs (including labor and supplies), the

Ryman Grinder work station costs (including labor and supplies), is $193 (or $0.21/Lb. Bill Wt.). Freight costs to ship the item to the location in Texas (determined from freight costs tables provided by trucking companies) are $99. The total variable costs is $3,887 + $193 + $99 = $4,179 (or $4.58/Lb.) Economies of scale are also preferably taken into account, with set-up time being less important as compared to cutting time when the items are numerous. Preferably, the unit price on a plurality of identical or similar items will be lower than the unit price for one or a few items.

The calculation of shipping cost is also preferably automated, for example by assigning orders that fall within certain size and weight ranges to certain shipping modes (courier service, van, flatbed truck, rail). For example, items in a quote which weigh less than 100 pounds can be shipped via courier service; other items below certain weights and dimensions (e.g., smaller than 84 inches by 360 inches, and weighing less than 6000 pounds) can be shipped by van; and all others by flatbed truck. The shipping cost would then be figured in the usual way.

The invention also contemplates different price structures for different customers, with preferred customers being quoted a lower price or having prices quoted according to different criteria. The price structure is preferably actuated automatically by the customer's password. The ordering process from the point of view of a user or customer interacting with the invention via the internet is presented below. The customer preferably uses an input device, such as a mouse with a click button or keyboard cursor and "Enter" keys, to highlight and select the desired type of material and to navigate among the various screens. Use is made of menus, pulldown menus, virtual buttons (screen areas which act like a button when the mouse is clicked with the cursor inside), referred to herein as "click-buttons" highlighting, and so on.

In the ordering process, the customer is first presented with a user identification screen. In this screen the customer can enter a password to gain access to the following screens. Preferably, each individual user is assigned a unique password. The password can be any set of symbols read or input by any means, for example a name or PIN entered by keyboard; data stored in a medium, such as a card to be "swiped"; a device for identifying the customer by eye pattern, fingerprint, voice print, signature, or the like; an identifier associated with a particular machine used by the customer or a group of customers; or any other means for identifying the customer. If desired, the same password can be used for a group of customers, such as for example different employees of one company who all have the authority or credit to place orders.

If the customer has no password, then an authorizing screen is accessed, preferably through the user identification screen. The customer can acquire a password through the authorizing screen. Alternatively, the authorizing screen can be incorporated into the user identification screen. If the password is used for security, for example where the customers have credit with- the vendor, then the separate authorizing screen is preferred.

The authorizing screen can double as the "home page" or base screen of the internet site. Alternatively, the "home page" can include other areas as well as ordering information.

Once the customer's password is accepted, the customer is presented with one or more item description screens. Not all the possible screens are illustrated, but examples are discussed below. Fig. 1 shows the indicia 100 of an exemplary quote manager screen for an exemplary user "John Smith". Each quote, presented on one line of the window, has an identification number (allocated by the quote manager subprogram 409 of Fig. 4), a description entered by the user (e.g., "Discs for rotary clutch"), the date on which the quote was last modified, and a "remove" click-button. Other click-buttons take the user to a different screen to start a new quote, or to a home screen (which might be an order acceptance screen). Fig. 2 shows the indicia 200 of a quote summary screen, which might appear upon clicking inside one line of the horizontal window of Fig. 1. Some of the information from Fig. 1 is preferably also included in this screen: the quote number (which is shown in Fig. 1 under the heading "Quote ID"), user-entered description, and last modification date ("Last Modified") in Fig. 1). Click-buttons are provided for adding another item, calculating cost, returning to the quote manager screen of

Fig. 1, placing an order, and saving the quote.

The preferred disposition of items is in groups arranged by shipping date, as illustrated in Fig. 2. Click-buttons labeled "edit" allow the user to return to the item description screens described below. Fig. 3 shows an order acceptance screen 300. Both the vendor-assigned

"Quote ID" from the screens of Figs. 1 and 2 is given, and also a user-defined "Order ID". The latter will typically be a purchase order number. A click button reverts to the quote manager screen of Fig. 1.

The specification of the items will in general require several screens. A first screen is exemplified by Fig. 6 with screen indicia 600. The customer selects by clicking in the round area associated with each material. In Fig. 6, the user has selected a cut rectangular plate of 304L type stainless steel. Non-listed grades and item shapes can be entered by typing at the bottom, and a "next" click-button progresses the user to the next screen. The next screen is exemplified by indicia 700 of Fig. 7, in which the user selects the gauge (thickness) and specification.

Figs 8 A and 8B show alternate screen indicia 801 and 803 for describing the inner diameter (ID) and outer diameter (OD) of a ring-shaped item, and the width and length of a plate, respectively. Edge finishing is also specified in these screens. Which screen appears depends on the customer's column selection in Fig. 6 ("cut rectangular" or "rings"). Other screens may appear if the item is a bar, disc, or other shape. As the screens of Figs. 8A and 8B are the final item-specification screens, they include an "add to quote" click-button.

The illustrated screens are exemplary only. The general scheme, of selecting one characteristic, such as the product type, then another characteristic, such as the grade, until all the characteristics needed for the item (which appear on that screen) are selected, may be followed in various ways.

The customer is preferably given an opportunity to choose among alternative characteristics not listed on the screen, by selecting "Other." This selection causes another screen to appear, or, preferably, a sub-screen such as a pull-down menu. "Other" may also be selected for writing-in a characteristic or, to institute a direct connection to a salesperson.

Also, depending upon the selected shape of the item, the customer may be presented with a question such as, "Do you need allowance to finish to these dimensions?" In finalizing the order, the customer may be asked to specify delivery terms

(e.g., F.O.B.), delivery times (for example, next working day, five working days, ten working days, or some other delivery time to be entered via the keyboard or equivalent, or chosen from a pull-down menu or scroll menu). The user, as part of the item shipping time process sub-program 461, will be required to provide a shipping delivery address. The system will allow the user to select from a list of previously supplied shipping delivery addresses or input a new shipping delivery address. Preferably, on the second or subsequent interaction with each screen the program "fills in" each choice with the customer's previous entry, as a default. The user has the option of accepting the default or changing it. The defaults can appear either automatically or by some action of the customer (e.g., pressing a certain key to bring up the previous choice).

In metal vending, weight can be a factor in shipping time; if the weight is too high, then the items cannot be manufactured from material in stock and, preferably, the customer is informed that a shipping time can be arranged if the weight on the inquiry or quote is lowered.

If the customer saves the inquiry or quote, and later visits the site and gives the same password, the screen or screens of Fig. 2 will reappear but with recalculated prices and delivery time options, which are not necessarily the same as those quoted in the earlier appearance of the screen. That feature permits the vendor to take into account the price of metals (or other materials) which fluctuate rapidly, and also to incorporate any changes in the cost of processing or making items custom-cut from continuous material.

Besides prices, the present invention also may update other information associated with the inquiry, such as availability of materials in stock (or future availability). For example, a user who had previously been informed that an item was unavailable might be asked if he or she still desired that item. Although certain presently preferred embodiments of the present invention have been specifically described herein, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art to which the invention pertains that variations and modifications of the various embodiments shown and described herein may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, it is intended that the invention be limited only to the extent required by the appended claims and the applicable rules of law.

Claims

What Is Claimed is:

1. A system for placing an order for an item to be cut from a piece of material, comprising: an order entry system maintained by a vendor who promotes said item, said order entry system being accessible to a network to which a customer ordering said item to be cut also has access; said order entry system including a system for generating a quote for said item and calculating in real time a cost for said item, in which said cost is a function of parameters of said item requested by said customer.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the real time calculation of the cost comprises calculating in real time according to a formula.

3. The system according to claim 2, wherein the formula comprises calculating a material cost associated with the item and scrap associated with cutting the item from the piece of material.

4. The system according to claim 2, wherein the formula comprises calculating a price with at least one of material-availability data, material-cost data, and workstation cost data as input data.

5. The system according to claim 2, wherein the formula comprises calculating a workstation time for the particular item, multiplying cost rate of money per unit time by the workstation time to reach a workstation product and including the workstation product in the current price.

6. The system according to claim 1, wherein the system for generating a quote for said item comprises a system for determining respective shipping dates for each of a plurality of items, grouping the items according to the shipping dates thereof, and presenting the customer with descriptions of the material items according to the shipping dates thereof.

7. The system according to claim 6, wherein the system for determining respective shipping dates presents the customer with descriptions that are grouped on a single screen.

8. The system according to claim 1, wherein the cost function comprises calculation of a price of material in the item.

9. The system according to claim 1, wherein the cost function comprises addition of a delivery factor.

10. The system according to claim 1, wherein the cost function includes material parameters which are updated continually.

11. The system according to claim 1 , wherein said system for generating a quote comprises a subsystem for modifying the quote.

12. The system according to claim 1, wherein said system for generating a quote comprises a subsystem for saving the quote, recalling the quote, and recalculating in real time a new cost for said item.

13. The system according to claim 1 , wherein said system comprises a button which, when the button is pressed by the customer, converts the quote to an order.

14. A method to be performed by a vendor who promotes items, to obtain from a customer an order for one particular item to be cut from a piece of material, the method comprising: maintaining an order entry system accessible to a network to which the customer ordering said item to be cut also has access; requesting parameters of the item from the customer; generating a quote for said item via said order entry system; and calculating in real time a cost for said item, in which said cost is a function of parameters of said item requested by said customer.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein the step of calculating the cost comprises calculating in real time according to a formula.

16. The method according to claim 15, comprising calculating, according to the formula, a material cost associated with the item and scrap associated with cutting the item from the piece of material.

17. The method according to claim 15, comprising calculating, according to the formula, a price with at least one of material-availability data, material-cost data, and workstation cost data as input data.

18. The method according to claim 15, comprising calculating, according to the formula, a workstation time for the particular item, multiplying cost rate of money per unit time by the workstation time to reach a workstation product and including the workstation product in the current price.

19. The method according to claim 14, wherein the step of generating a quote for said item via said order entry system comprises determining respective shipping dates for each of a plurality of items, grouping the items according to the shipping dates thereof, and presenting the customer with descriptions of the material items according to the shipping dates thereof.

20. The method according to claim 19, comprising presenting the customer with descriptions that are grouped on a single screen.

21. The method according to claim 14, wherein the step of calculating a real-time cost comprises calculating a cost of material in the item.

22. The method according to claim 14, wherein the step of calculating comprises the cost function including addition of a delivery factor.

23. The method according to claim 14, wherein the cost function includes material parameters which are updated continually.

24. The method according to claim 14, comprising modifying the quote.

25. The method according to claim 14, comprising saving the quote, recalling the quote, and recalculating in real time a new cost for said item.

26. The method according to claim 14, comprising the customer pressing a button which converts the quote to an order.

27. A method of providing updated sales offers to a customer via an internet site, comprising steps of:

(A) identifying the customer; then

(B) searching for a saved quote of the customer, wherein either (1) if no saved quote is found, then taking a specification from the customer to define at least one specified material item, having a shape and made from the continuous material, to be offered to the customer; calculating a present price of the material item; and offering the customer the material item at the present price; and completing a sale of the material item at the present price if the customer places an order, and, saving the specified material as a saved quote if the customer does not place an order; or

(2) if a saved quote is found, then calculating a presently updated price of the material item; and offering the customer the material item at the updated price; and (C) if the customer does not order the offered material item, then creating a saved quote including the material item.