Abstract: An apparatus, method and computer program product for identifying fraud in transaction data. The method includes: receiving invoice data comprising a vendor, a requestor and events, receiving public data and private data sources, computing a vendor risk score using the public and private data sources matching the vendor of the invoice data, computing a requestor risk score using the public data sources and the private data sources matching the requestor of the invoice data, computing an active invoice score using the vendor risk score and the requestor risk score and when the active invoice score is greater than a predetermined amount, blocking the invoice data. In one embodiment, computing a vendor risk score comprises obtaining a weight and a confidence for the event, calculating an event vendor risk score using the weight times the confidence and combining the event vendor risk scores for all of the events.

Abstract: Systems, methods, and computer-readable media are disclosed for identifying customers having associated opportunities for improved growth and/or profitability with respect to product or service offerings and determining investment solutions that enhance the probability that the customers transition to the higher growth/profitability opportunities. Prior customer transactions are segmented based on segmentation criteria and used to generate a transaction graph. The nodes of the transaction graph represent the segmented transactions and client transaction paths between the nodes represent potential customer life-cycle trajectories.

Abstract: Systems, methods, and computer-readable media are disclosed for identifying customers having associated opportunities for improved growth and/or profitability with respect to product or service offerings and determining investment solutions that enhance the probability that the customers transition to the higher growth/profitability opportunities. Prior customer transactions are segmented based on segmentation criteria and used to generate a transaction graph. The nodes of the transaction graph represent the segmented transactions and client transaction paths between the nodes represent potential customer life-cycle trajectories.

Abstract: Systems, methods, and computer-readable media are disclosed for jointly optimizing one or more parameters associated with multiple different price mechanisms. The price mechanisms may include spot market pricing, fixed-contract pricing, formula-based pricing, or the like, and may vary in duration. The optimized parameters may include an optimized price for each price mechanism that maximizes expected seller profit across all price mechanisms and all buyers.

Abstract: Systems, methods, and computer-readable media are disclosed for optimizing terms of a long-term contract between a buyer and a seller for a product. Various types of forecasting models may be generated and used to determine the optimized terms such as an optimized price for the long-term contract. A risk model may be generated and evaluated to identify market disruptions that indicate that the optimized price should be re-negotiated to distribute the associated risk between the buyer and seller. An example of such a market disruption may be a market price fluctuation that causes a difference between a spot market price for the product and a contract price to meet or exceed a threshold value.

Abstract: An apparatus, method and computer program product for identifying fraud in transaction data. The method includes: receiving invoice data comprising a vendor, a requestor and events, receiving public data and private data sources, computing a vendor risk score using the public and private data sources matching the vendor of the invoice data, computing a requestor risk score using the public data sources and the private data sources matching the requestor of the invoice data, computing an active invoice score using the vendor risk score and the requestor risk score and when the active invoice score is greater than a predetermined amount, blocking the invoice data. In one embodiment, computing a vendor risk score comprises obtaining a weight and a confidence for the event, calculating an event vendor risk score using the weight times the confidence and combining the event vendor risk scores for all of the events.

Abstract: A system, method and computer program product for determining a target population to be subject to a promotion or offer of goods/services. The target population is determined that strongly prefers a given promotion, while also making sure the target population represents a sizable number of consumers such that profits may be maximized. The system provides an output solution listing available promotion options and one or more corresponding target groups based on solving an optimization problem that incorporates, prior obtained most important customer features for each promotion using historical promotion data and statistics measures. The system may automatically initiate a promotion offering to each of said customers by communicating the promotion to the members of the targeted group of people, wherein a percentage of future transactions to which the promotion is offered is expected to exceed a threshold level.

Abstract: A method for balancing supply and demand for a product using demand-shaping action includes identifying an imbalance between supply and demand for a given product. A customer choice model is generated based on collected historical sales data pertaining to the given product and at least one product similar to the given product. The customer choice model is configured to estimate, for a given customer or group of customers, a likelihood of effecting a substitution between each product pair of the given product and the at least one product similar to the given product, for each of one or more available demand shaping actions. One or more of the available demand shaping actions are automatically selected to minimize an estimate of revenue shortfall or inventory holding costs resulting from the identified imbalance between supply and demand.

Abstract: A method for balancing supply and demand for a product using demand-shaping action includes identifying an imbalance between supply and demand for a given product. A customer choice model is generated based on collected historical sales data pertaining to the given product and at least one product similar to the given product. The customer choice model is configured to estimate, for a given customer or group of customers, a likelihood of effecting a substitution between each product pair of the given product and the at least one product similar to the given product, for each of one or more available demand shaping actions. One or more of the available demand shaping actions are automatically selected to minimize an estimate of revenue shortfall or inventory holding costs resulting from the identified imbalance between supply and demand.

Abstract: A manufacturing process is migrated from an existing operation to a configure-to-order (CTO) system. As the CTO operation will eliminate the “machine-type model” (MTM) inventory of the existing operation, the emphasis is shifted to the components, or “building blocks”, which will still follow the build-to-stock scheme, due to their long leadtimes, and hence still require inventory. The solution involves an inventory-service trade-off of the new CTO system, resulting in performance gains, in terms of reduced inventory cost and increased service level. Other benefits include better forecast accuracy through parts commonality and risk-pooling, and increased customer demand, as orders will no longer be confined within a restricted set of pre-configured MTMs.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method, system and computer program product for implementing an automated inventory replenishment process between a manufacturer and a business partner. In one embodiment of the invention, a method is provided comprising the business partner purchasing and maintaining an inventory of goods from the manufacturer, and the manufacturer providing price protection to the business partner for the purchasing of the goods. This embodiment further comprises managing said inventory by using an automated process that takes into account said price protection for the purchasing of the goods.

Abstract: A manufacturing process is migrated from an existing operation to a configure-to-order (CTO) system. As the CTO operation will eliminate the “machine-type model” (MTM) inventory of the existing operation, the emphasis is shifted to the components, or “building blocks”, which will still follow the build-to-stock scheme, due to their long leadtimes, and hence still require inventory. The solution involves an inventory-service trade-off of the new CTO system, resulting in performance gains, in terms of reduced inventory cost and increased service level. Other benefits include better forecast accuracy through parts commonality and risk-pooling, and increased customer demand, as orders will no longer be confined within a restricted set of pre-configured MTMs.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method, system and computer program product for implementing an automated inventory replenishment process between a manufacturer and a business partner. In one embodiment of the invention, a method is provided comprising the business partner purchasing and maintaining an inventory of goods from the manufacturer, and the manufacturer providing price protection to the business partner for the purchasing of the goods. This embodiment further comprises managing said inventory by using an automated process that takes into account said price protection for the purchasing of the goods.

Abstract: Freshness inventory control problem may be formulated as a stochastic dynamic program. In one aspect, a stochastic dynamic programming formulation takes as input inventory status, stochastic demand forecast and cost information associated with on-hand inventory. The stochastic dynamic programming formulation is maximized to determine order quantity and depletion quantity of the product per period.

Abstract: A method and system to supply multiple items through a network of inventory staging areas and distribution points by determining inventory stocking levels for a staging area and distribution points, and inventory shipments from said staging area to distribution points and between the distribution points, using an optimization formulation whose objective is to cover maximum overall demand at the distribution points in a given period of time, and to minimize total cost of meeting demand.

Abstract: Freshness inventory control problem may be formulated as a stochastic dynamic program. In one aspect, a stochastic dynamic programming formulation takes as input inventory status, stochastic demand forecast and cost information associated with on-hand inventory. The stochastic dynamic programming formulation is maximized to determine order quantity and depletion quantity of the product per period.

Abstract: Win probability estimation model that statistically computes the probability of winning a bid at a given price, and profit optimization models that compute the optimal price for a bid balancing the probability of winning a bid at a price with the profitability of the bid at the given price. In one stage, an expected profit margin of a product may be formulated as a function of its profit margin and win probability to compute its optimal profit margin. In another stage, an expected profit for one or more product accessories may be formulated as a function of the profit margin and their conditional win probability given the server win to compute their optimal profit margins. The conditional win probabilities for the product accessories may be modeled as a function of the utilities of the various purchase options that contain the product and that accessory.

Abstract: A system and method evaluate product substitutions along multiple criteria in response to a sales opportunity, for instance, providing sales recommendations of configurable products in response to a customer request based on propensity functions. A customer propensity is determined to estimate attractiveness of a substitute product to a customer based on one or more attributes. A seller propensity is determined to estimate attractiveness to a seller of selling the substitute product based on one or more attributes. The customer propensity and the seller propensity are combined to find a plurality of substitute products.

Abstract: Freshness inventory control problem may be formulated as a stochastic dynamic program. In one aspect, a stochastic dynamic programming formulation takes as input inventory status, stochastic demand forecast and cost information associated with on-hand inventory. The stochastic dynamic programming formulation is maximized to determine order quantity and depletion quantity of the product per period.

Abstract: Distributing disaster relief supplies, in one aspect, may include determining cross shipping of disaster relief supplies between points of distribution using one or more combinations of information. The information may include one or more of on-hand inventory of each point of distribution, in-transit inventory to each point of distribution, demand queue of disaster victims at each point of distribution, traveling time between supply staging area and points of distribution, traveling time between points of distribution, number of transportation vehicles available for cross shipping, minimum batch size for cross shipping, frequency of cross shipping, and point of distribution activation status, or combinations thereof.