CombineNet Awarded U.S. Patent for Algorithms to Analyze and Select Bid Allocations
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PITTSBURGH, May 1 /PRNewswire/ -- CombineNet, the leading provider of advanced sourcing technologies, was recently awarded a patent for a methodology to determine award allocations in combinatorial auctions. Awarded by the United States Patent and Trademark Office, patent #7,010,505, CombineNet's second patent for optimization technologies, provides additional intellectual property protection for the company's solutions. CombineNet's industry-leading optimization technologies facilitate Expressive Commerce by providing the ability to analyze unlimited numbers of open-ended proposals to find award allocations that add greater value to an organization.
"This patent further demonstrates CombineNet's position as a leader in advanced sourcing technologies," said CombineNet CEO Tony Bonidy. "The analysis power of combinatorial optimization has allowed our customers to realize the benefits of Expressive Commerce in reducing costs and driving innovation and supply chain efficiency through the sourcing process."
Expressive Commerce harnesses the best parts of e-commerce and traditional face-to-face negotiations, enabling buyers and sellers to express their needs and capabilities fully to drive efficiency within the supply chain. The technology behind this patent provides CombineNet's Advanced Sourcing Application Platform (ASAP) with an additional tool for analyzing the complex data sets created by Expressive Bidding to find the best award allocation.
The inventors of the patent are Dr. Craig E. Boutilier of Toronto, Canada, and Dr. Holger H. Hoos of Vancouver, Canada, both of whom are members of CombineNet's Technical Advisory Board. Dr. Boutilier is Professor and Chair of the Department of Computer Science at the University of Toronto, an Associate Editor of the International Journal of Artificial Intelligence Research, and a recipient of the Killam Faculty Research Fellowship for 1997-98. Dr. Hoos is an Associate Professor of Computer Science at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, and is a renowned authority on combinatorial auctions and stochastic search.
About CombineNet
CombineNet is the advanced sourcing technology company for the Consumer Packaged Goods, Transportation and Retail industries. CombineNet's technologies support Expressive Commerce, the strategic sourcing initiative that allows buyers and sellers to communicate supply and demand more expressively, collaboratively and strategically. The result is a win-win for both buyer and supplier, where greater innovation and supply chain efficiency drive the absolute best value and lowest total cost of ownership for goods and services.
Expressive Commerce is made possible by the CombineNet Advanced Sourcing Application Platform (ASAP), powered by a proprietary, patented combinatorial optimization engine. It is the unparalleled analysis capability of CombineNet's optimization engine that enables ASAP to instantly sort through the millions of options created by Expressive Commerce, identifying the optimal option. CombineNet has delivered an average 30x ROI for the largest businesses in the world including General Mills, Procter & Gamble, Siemens, the United States Postal Service, and others. For more information, visit www.combinenet.com.
Source: CombineNet
CONTACT: Joanne Beardslee, +1-412-642-7700, or +1-412-980-4205, or joanne.beardslee@elias-savion.com, for CombineNet
Web site: www.combinenet.com/
