WO2007035195A2 - System and method for inventory control - Google Patents

Abstract

A system and method, for example, for allowing a tangible good dealer to automatically purchase new tangible good inventory, automated scheduling of tangible good inspections, establishing an integrated market for tangible goods in which sale of tangible goods by dealers may be subject to automated controls, integrating and weighting of retail sales and cost data for tangible goods, establishing a wholesale market for tangible goods, establishing a wholesale market for leased tangible goods, and deriving tangible good valuation comparison indices. The system may include a computer system configured to automatically bid on tangible goods to increase inventory of tangible goods, and specify an inventory rating based on tangible good valuation for allowing the tangible good dealer to automatically purchase most needed tangible good inventory of tangible goods that meet or exceed the inventory rating.

Description

SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR INVENTORY CONTROL

RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims priority to pending U.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 60/694,318 filed on June 27, 2005, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

[0002] Further, the following co-pending and commonly-assigned PCT Patent Applications which designate among other countries, the United States, have been filed on the same day as the present application. Each of these applications relate to and further describe various aspects of the embodiments disclosed in the present application, as well as the above- referenced Provisional Application. Consequently, the contents of each of the following patent applications are hereby incorporated herein, by reference, in their entireties, in the present application: (1) "System and Method for Distribution of Wholesale Goods," filed on June 27, 2006, listing Wess Eric Sharpe as the Inventor, and accorded U.S. Application No. , PCT Application No. ; (2) "System and Method for Controlling

Dealer/Consumer Interaction," filed on June 27, 2006, listing Wess Eric Sharpe as the Inventor, and accorded U.S. Application No. , PCT Application No. ;

(3) "System and Method for Tangible Good Valuation," filed on June 27, 2006, listing Wess Eric Sharpe and Eric Burton Schorvitz as Inventors, and accorded U.S. Application No. , PCT Application No. ; (4) "System and Method for Facilitating the

Sale of a Tangible Good Through an Auction Process," filed on June 27, 2006, listing Wess

Eric Sharpe as the Inventor, and accorded U.S. Application No. , PCT Application

No. ; and (5) "System and Method for Control, Distribution and Purchase of

Wholesale Goods and Related Interactions," filed on June 27, 2006, listing Wess Eric Sharpe and Eric Burton Schorvitz as Inventors, and accorded U.S. Application No. , PCT

Application No. .

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

a. Field of Invention

[0003] The invention relates generally to inventory control, and, more particularly, to a system and method for enabling a tangible good dealer to automatically control and manage existing and future inventory. b. Description of Related Art

[0004] Inefficient distribution, sale and purchase of inventory has been a long-standing problem for many types of goods. This problem is particularly acute with respect to vehicles. The number of possible configurations for a specific year, make and model based on available colors, various options, and various configurations is more often than not greater than a billion. Conversely, vehicle dealers can stock only a small percentage of the configurations given space and cost constraints on maintaining inventory. The relatively small local inventory of a vehicle dealer relative to the numerous possible vehicle configurations makes it highly unlikely that the dealer will be able to offer the exact vehicle desired by a customer. Local inventories of used vehicles have an even lower probability of meeting actual consumer demands given additional variables such as mileage, cosmetic condition, etc. Dealers and consumers therefore often settle on a less than perfect new or used vehicle transaction reducing sales, consumer satisfaction, prices and profits and requiring increasing incentives while also creating a high pressure sale process disliked by consumers. The depreciation in dealer to consumer sale prices of used vehicles also affects the amount dealers are willing to pay consumers on trade-ins of used vehicles, further decreasing the consumer's purchasing power for new vehicles sales and creating an unfortunate cycle of depreciation. [0005] In addition to sales price and profits, the inability to match consumer demand with inventory harms financing operations because it (i) reduces the amount individuals are willing to pay up-front and in monthly payments; and (ii) makes it even more difficult to match low credit buyers with appropriate vehicles. Further, the inefficient distribution of vehicles also has negative effects on the freight transportation industry. In particular, freight carriers are not provided with information sufficient to optimize freight transport and many transporters waste significant resources.

[0006] A variety of solutions have been considered to make vehicle distribution more efficient. At the manufacturing level, build to order and late customization of orders have been attempted. In addition to their relative ineffectiveness, these efforts are unrealistic given other factors that require advance planning for optimal use of manufacturing assets and low cost production. Further, manufacturing level solutions such as these actually increase vehicle costs given requirements for parts storage and movement away from lean manufacturing.

[0007] Several e-commerce based systems for improving product distribution have also been proposed or attempted. Some systems — such as direct order manufacturing— would eliminate the dealer network. Dealers, however, provide important functions such as distribution of information and product, trade-in opportunities, indirect financing, and servicing and also provide a face to face relationship that is an important aspect of the retail sale of goods such as vehicles.

[0008] One existing e-commerce based system that leverages the existing dealer structure for improved distribution of new vehicles is the electronic dealer trade system developed by vehicle manufacturers. Using this system, dealers can locate vehicles at other dealers (or in production for, or transit to, other dealers) and initiate a trade. Dealer trade systems, however, are disadvantageous because they consume significant time of the dealer that may turn out to be a wasted effort — there is no certainty the dealer will be able to obtain the vehicle they have located, much less at a desired price (no price mechanism exists in the dealer trade system). Arranging trades can also be difficult because one dealer (the dealer with the vehicle) is typically in a much better negotiating position than the other dealer (the dealer who wants the vehicle). The dealer looking to make a trade also does not have an easy mechanism for identifying the dealer that will offer the greatest possible return. Finally, even if a trade is consummated, the dealers must spend additional time arranging for freight transportation. [0009] For used vehicles, auctions have provided improved distribution not only between dealers, but also between dealers and remarketers (e.g., corporate and government fleets, rental car companies, etc.). Physical auctions bring more buyers and sellers together for increased value, but are disadvantageous because they require transportation and storage of product (time and cost) and active participation of buyers and sellers (travel time and cost). Further, physical auctions often fail to convey adequate product information to enable buyer confidence and still significantly limit the pool of available participants. [0010] Recent auction improvements include the use of internet video to bring more buyers and reduce participant costs. More significantly, several auctioneers and remarketers have developed or implemented e-commerce based systems for used vehicle wholesaling such as Manheim Online (www.manheim.com), ATC (www.autotradecenter.com), Adesa (www.adesa.com) and General Motors (www. gmonlineauctions .com) . Car manufacturers have also adopted electronic systems for wholesaling used vehicles to their dealers and allowing dealers to exchange used vehicles. The limited number of participants in these systems, however, fails to optimize value. Further, these systems also do not integrate freight delivery resulting in buyer uncertainty regarding delivery costs and timing. The inability to guarantee freight cost and delivery in these systems creates uncertainty thereby decreasing potential sales, satisfaction, and profits. [0011] The inventors herein have recognized a need for a system and method for enabling a tangible good dealer to automatically control and manage existing and future inventory that will minimize and/or eliminate one or more of the above-identified deficiencies.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

[0012] The invention provides a system for allowing a tangible good dealer to automatically purchase and/or wholesale new and/or used tangible good inventory. The system may include a computer system configured to automatically bid on tangible goods to increase inventory of tangible goods, and specify an inventory rating based on tangible good valuation for allowing the tangible good dealer to automatically purchase most needed tangible good inventory of tangible goods that meet or exceed the inventory rating. [0013] For the system described above, the system may be operable via a wireless handset. The computer system may be configured to allow a tangible good selling dealer to accept the bid, counter-bid, and/or reject the bid. The computer system may also be configured to maintain the bid for a predetermined time period. Upon acceptance of a bid by a tangible good selling dealer, the computer system may be configured to cancel all outstanding bids. [0014] The invention also provides a system for automated scheduling of tangible good inspections. The system may include a computer system configured to define a time of day a seller allows inspections and inspectors in an inspection area, calculate an amount of inspection time needed for an amount of inspections requested, define locations of scheduled inspections and available time in an inspector's calendar, define distance and time between each scheduled location and a requested location, calculate time to perform a requested inspection and drive to a next scheduled location, define a date and time that a first available inspector can perform an inspection, and/or adjust the inspector's calendar accordingly and respond to a request in a predetermined time period.

[0015] The invention further provides a system for establishing an integrated market for tangible goods in which sale of tangible goods by dealers is subject to automated controls. The system may include a computer system configured to determine an amount of a consumer's credit limitation to allow the consumer to bid on a tangible good up to a maximum amount, and determine an amount of a tangible good selling dealer's tangible good cost and/or tangible good secured amount to require the consumer to bid on the tangible good above a minimum amount. The computer system may be further configured to control the sale based on the minimum and maximum bid amounts. [0016] The invention yet further provides a system for integrating and weighting retail sales and cost data for tangible goods. The system may include a computer system configured to provide data indices for determining relative value and expected profitability of current and available wholesale tangible good inventory, and/or provide overall inventory value ratings that permit automated buy, sell and hold decisions based on historical and current market information. The computer system may utilize the data indices and the overall inventory value ratings to determine an effective tangible good inventory.

[0017] For the system described above, the system may provide inventory intelligence for facilitating purchase and maintenance of tangible good inventory by evaluating one or more of the following factors; inventory guidelines for enabling dealers to establish guidelines of inventory size and/or limitations, sales forecast for enabling dealers to set annual and/or monthly new or used tangible good sales forecasts by segment and/or model, a continuous calculation of best-selling new and used tangible goods for each dealer over a prior period of time, a continuous calculation of best-selling new and used tangible goods for each dealer over a future period of time, a calculation of best-selling new and used tangible goods in a predetermined area, specific model trending of tangible good sales in an area of dealer influence, real time valuation of all tangible goods in a dealer inventory and markets, cost of wholesale buying and selling that impacts inventory corrections, and/or average retail price versus actual or expected cost of tangible good sale.

[0018] The invention further provides a system for establishing a wholesale market for tangible goods. The system may include a computer system configured to provide for a first tangible good dealer to purchase from a second tangible good dealer a tangible good in transit for delivery to the second tangible good dealer, and provide for the first tangible good dealer to purchase a tangible good on order from the second tangible good dealer and/or customize the tangible good.

[0019] The invention also provides a system for establishing a wholesale market for leased tangible goods. The system may include a computer system configured to provide for a tangible good dealer to sell future leased tangible goods based on a date of availability for a tangible good, provide for the tangible good dealer to ascertain information pertaining to a condition of the tangible good, and provide for sale of the tangible good to be completed only after inspection of the tangible good for verification of the information. [0020] The invention further provides a system for deriving tangible good valuation comparison indices. The system may include a computer system configured to calculate one or more of the following factors related to a tangible good model, segment and manufacturer; relative retail rating (RRR) for providing an instant rating of retail opportunity by dividing the average retail profit margin for each model by the average cost, relative market index (RMI) of risk based on specific supply and demand, and/or relative value index (RVI) based on retail and wholesale factors combined.

[0021] For the system described above, the computer system may be further configured to allow one or more of the RRR, RMI and RVI factors to be adjusted by an authorized user. The RRR factor may be adjustable between profit margin and the cost of time, the RMI factor may be adjustable between supply and demand, and the RVI factor may be adjustable between retail and wholesale. The computer system may be further configured to calculate one or more market indices based on real time valuation of a tangible good. Exemplary indices may be a New Automobile Market Average (NAMA) index, or a Pre-owned Automobile Market Average (PAMA) index. The NAMA and PAMA indices may use weighted average of a predetermined number of best retailing new and used tangible goods at a predetermined time.

[0022] The invention also provides a method for allowing a tangible good dealer to automatically purchase and/or wholesale new and/or used tangible good inventory. The method may include automatically bidding on tangible goods to increase inventory of tangible goods, and specifying an inventory rating based on tangible good valuation for allowing the tangible good dealer to automatically purchase most needed tangible good inventory of tangible goods that meet or exceed the inventory rating.

[0023] For the method described above, the method further includes allowing a tangible good selling dealer to accept the bid, counter-bid, or reject the bid. The method may further include maintaining the bid for a predetermined time period. Upon acceptance of a bid by a tangible good selling dealer, the method may further include cancelling all outstanding bids. [0024] The invention further provides a method for automated scheduling of tangible good inspections. The method may include defining a time of day a seller allows inspections and inspectors in an inspection area, calculating an amount of inspection time needed for an amount of inspections requested, defining locations of scheduled inspections and available time in an inspector's calendar, defining distance and time between each scheduled location and a requested location, calculating time to perform a requested inspection and drive to a next scheduled location, defining a date and time that a first available inspector can perform an inspection, and/or adjusting the inspector's calendar accordingly and respond to a request in a predetermined time period. [0025] The invention also provides a method for establishing an integrated market for tangible goods in which sale of tangible goods by dealers is subject to automated controls. The method may include determining an amount of a consumer's credit limitation to allow the consumer to bid on a tangible good up to a maximum amount, determining an amount of a tangible good selling dealer's tangible good cost and/or tangible good secured amount to require the consumer to bid on the tangible good above a minimum amount, and controlling the sale based on the minimum and maximum bid amounts.

[0026] The invention yet further provides a method for integrating and weighting retail sales and cost data for tangible goods. The method may include providing data indices for determining relative value and expected profitability of current and available wholesale tangible good inventory, providing overall inventory value ratings that permit automated buy, sell and hold decisions based on historical and current market information, and utilizing the data indices and the overall inventory value ratings to determine an effective tangible good inventory.

[0027] For the method described above, the method may provide inventory intelligence for facilitating purchase and maintenance of tangible good inventory by evaluating one or more of the following factors; inventory guidelines for enabling dealers to establish guidelines of inventory size and/or limitations, sales forecast for enabling dealers to set annual and/or monthly new or used tangible good sales forecasts by segment and/or model, a continuous calculation of best-selling new and used tangible goods for each dealer over a prior period of time, a continuous calculation of best-selling new and used tangible goods for each dealer over a future period of time, a calculation of best-selling new and used tangible goods in a predetermined area, specific model trending of tangible good sales in an area of dealer influence, real time valuation of all tangible goods in a dealer inventory and markets, cost of wholesale buying and selling that impacts inventory corrections, and average retail price versus actual or expected cost of tangible good sale.

[0028] The invention also provides a method for establishing a wholesale market for tangible goods. The method may include providing for a first tangible good dealer to purchase from a second tangible good dealer a tangible good in transit for delivery to the second tangible good dealer, and providing for the first tangible good dealer to purchase a tangible good on order from the second tangible good dealer and/or customize the tangible good.

[0029] The invention yet further provides a method for establishing a wholesale market for leased tangible goods. The method may include providing for a tangible good dealer to sell future leased tangible goods based on a date of availability for a tangible good, providing for the tangible good dealer to ascertain information pertaining to a condition of the tangible good, and providing for sale of the tangible good to be completed only after inspection of the tangible good for verification of the information.

[0030] The invention further provides a method for deriving tangible good valuation comparison indices. The method may include calculating one or more of the following factors related to a tangible good model, segment and manufacturer; relative retail rating (RRR) for providing an instant rating of retail opportunity by dividing the average retail profit margin for each model by the average cost, relative market index (RMI) of risk based on specific supply and demand, and/or relative value index (RVI) based on retail and wholesale factors combined.

[0031] For the method described above, the method may further include allowing one or more of the RRR, RMI and RVI factors to be adjusted by an authorized user. The RRR factor may be adjustable between profit margin and the cost of time, the RMI factor may be adjustable between supply and demand, and the RVI factor may be adjustable between retail and wholesale. The method may further include calculating one or more market indices based on real time valuation of a tangible good. Exemplary indices may be a New Automobile Market Average (NAMA) index and/or a Pre-owned Automobile Market Average (PAMA) index. The NAMA and PAMA indices may use weighted average of a predetermined number of best retailing new and used tangible goods at a predetermined time. [0032] Each of the aforementioned systems and methods may be implemented via a wireless handset. Further, the tangible goods and all aspects (i.e. inspections, indices) related thereto may be for vehicles.

[0033] Additional features, advantages, and embodiments of the invention may be set forth or apparent from consideration of the following detailed description, drawings, and claims. Moreover, it is to be understood that both the foregoing summary of the invention and the following detailed description are exemplary and intended to provide further explanation without limiting the scope of the invention as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0034] The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate preferred embodiments of the invention and together with the detail description serve to explain the principles of the invention. In the drawings: [0035] Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic view of a system for distribution of tangible goods in accordance with the present invention;

[0036] Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic view of a component of the system of Fig. 1;

[0037] Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic view of a system, for example, for allowing a tangible good dealer to automatically purchase new tangible good inventory in accordance with the present invention;

[0038] Figs. 4A-4J show various screen shots of the system of Fig. 3;

[0039] Fig. 5 is a listing of various applicable sub-systems for inventory management;

[0040] Fig. 6 is a flowchart of various applicable sub-systems for inventory management;

[0041] Fig. 7 is a listing of various applicable sub-systems for inventory automation;

[0042] Fig. 8 is a flowchart of various applicable sub-systems for inventory automation;

[0043] Fig. 9 is a flowchart of various sub-systems of the system of Fig. 3 for inventory buy, price, and sell automation;

[0044] Fig. 10 is a flowchart of various sub-systems of the system of Fig. 3 for inventory analysis and management;

[0045] Fig. 11 is a listing of various applicable sub-systems for automobile inspections;

[0046] Fig. 12 is a flowchart of various sub-systems of the system of Fig. 3 for inspection as well as representation;

[0047] Fig. 13 is a listing of various applicable sub-systems for wholesale interactions;

[0048] Figs. 14A-14C are flowcharts of various applicable sub-systems for wholesale interactions;

[0049] Fig. 15 is a screen shot part of a Search Results Display sub-system for the wholesale interactions embodiment of Fig. 13;

[0050] Fig. 16 is a screen shot part of a Third Party Reconditioning sub-system for the wholesale interactions embodiment of Fig. 13;

[0051] Fig. 17 is a screen shot part of a Market Trade Negotiation sub-system for the wholesale interactions embodiment of Fig. 13;

[0052] Fig. 18 is a screen shot part of a Single Bids sub-system for the wholesale interactions embodiment of Fig. 13;

[0053] Fig. 19 is a screen shot part of a Bid Options Summary sub-system for the wholesale interactions embodiment of Fig. 13; and

[0054] Figs. 20A-20P are screen shots of a system for deriving tangible good valuation comparison indices. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0055] Referring now to the drawings wherein like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views, Figs. 1-20 illustrate various exemplary views of a system 20 and corresponding method, for example, for allowing a tangible good dealer to automatically purchase new tangible good inventory, automated scheduling of tangible good inspections, establishing an integrated market for tangible goods in which sale of tangible goods by dealers may be subject to automated controls, integrating and weighting of retail sales and cost data for tangible goods, establishing a wholesale market for tangible goods, establishing a wholesale market for leased tangible goods, and deriving tangible good valuation comparison indices.

[0056] As described in detail in copending application titled "System and Method for Distribution of Wholesale Goods," filed June 27, 2006, and the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference in its entirety, generally, Fig. 1 illustrates a system 20 for distribution of tangible goods in accordance with the present invention. System 20 is particularly adapted for use in distributing types of goods that are tangible (i.e., have a physical structure) and in which each of the goods is unique in some way. In particular, system 20 is adapted for use in distributing vehicles such as automobiles. Vehicles are unique in that each vehicle has a unique vehicle identification number (VIN) that allows information about the vehicle (e.g., prior repair history, ownership history, etc.) to be tracked. Although system 20 is particularly adapted for these types of goods, however, it should be understood that system 20 may be used for distribution of a wide variety of tangible goods. [0057] System 20 includes a computer system 22 or central computing architecture. System 22 includes one or more microprocessors configured in accordance with the present invention by programming instructions (i.e., software) to perform one or more of the functions described herein. In particular, system 22 establishes an electronic wholesale marketplace for a type of tangible good in which wholesalers can sell and purchase the goods and further establishes an electronic freight marketplace for the goods in which freight haulers can accept contracts for the transport of the purchased goods. In this connection, system 22 is designed to allow a variety of participants to interact with the wholesale marketplace and the freight marketplace including dealers 24, remarketers 26 (e.g., in the case of vehicles, rental car companies, corporate and government fleet owners, leasing institutions, etc.), freight haulers 28, manufacturers 30, financial institutions 32, and third party product and service providers 34 (e.g., third party inspection services, storage and distribution services, auctioneers, information providers, etc.). The number and type of marketplace participants — and the type of interaction of those participants with the marketplaces— will vary depending upon the type of good and other factors. System 22 will also assume a wide variety of computing configurations depending on the type of good and other factors (e.g., type of marketplace participants). As such, system 22 may include a plurality of computing devices arranged in one or more of a plurality of known computing architectures. System 22 may, for example, include servers, such as servers 36, 38, 40 and may include one or more supercomputers 42.

[0058] As used herein, the term "server" refers to a computing device coupled to a network and configured by programming instructions (i.e., software) to provide services to other computing devices (including other servers). Referring to Fig. 2, the architecture of each server 36, 38, 40 may be described as a series of layers including an operating system layer 44, a database layer 46, an application layer 48 and an interface layer 50. [0059] The operating system layer 44 of each server 36, 38, 40 may include a conventional operating system such as one of the operating systems sold under the registered trademark "WINDOWS®" available from Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Washington. It should be understood, however, that other conventional operating systems such as those based on the Linux or UNIX operating systems or operating systems for the Apple computer system (e.g. OS X) may alternatively be used.

[0060] The database layer 46 is configured to provide a static and dynamic contact structure for each server 36, 38, 40. Database layer 46 is used to provide both intermediate information while each server 36, 38, 40 executes operations and long-term storage of data. Database layer 46 may employ a database management system (DBMS) such as the DMBS sold under the trademark "SQL SERVER" by Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Washington.

[0061] The application layer 48 is configured to communicate with and between database layer 46 and interface layer 50 and configures the server 36, 38, 40 to perform the functions described in greater detail hereinafter. Application layer 48 may be implemented using conventional software development components and may further include a combination of JavaScript, VB Script and ASP (Active Server Pages) and other conventional software components to provide required functionality.

[0062] Interface layer 50 provides a graphical and communications interface between the servers 36, 38, 40 and between the servers 36, 38, 40 and supercomputers 42 and the computing devices used by dealers, remarketers, freight haulers, financial institutions and third party service providers. Interface layer 50 may be configured to be extensible Markup Language (XML) or Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) compliant. [0063] Referring again to Fig. 1, servers 36 may comprise web servers or application servers running application server software (and/or a combination of the two). Servers 38 may comprise database servers running database server software that provides database related services—including access, retrieval from, and storage to databases 52— to servers 36, 40 and supercomputer 42.

[0064] The information stored in databases 52 will vary depending on factors such as the good and the marketplace participants. In the case where the good is a vehicle, databases 52 may include information relating to the market participants. For example, databases 52 may store information about each participant such as business entity information (name, addresses, identification information, SIC classification, etc.), contact information (identification of primary contacts and their titles, phone numbers, email addresses, etc.) authentication information, relationships (e.g. linking dealers by a shared characteristic such as common ownership), controls on marketplace participation (defined by the dealers 24 themselves or by manufacturers 30, financial institutions 32, etc.), licenses, insurance coverage, etc. Databases 52 may also include valuation information used in valuation of the goods. For example, databases 52 may include information regarding specifications for the goods and each dealer's labor rate for repair of the goods (flat rate based on type of repair or time-based (hourly) rates) to assist in providing a proper valuation, and estimated time for repairing predefined defects in the goods (e.g., a cracked windshield in a vehicle). Databases 52 may also include information about previous marketplace transactions for each good. The above examples of the type of information stored in databases 52 are not meant to be exhaustive, but rather illustrative. It will be evident from the subsequent description that databases 52 will hold a wide variety of information for use by system 22.

[0065] Servers 40 and supercomputer 42 may be used to provide distributed computational resources within system 22 and to perform intensive computational and processing functions. Supercomputer 42 may comprise a computing device including a plurality of microprocessors configured to engage in parallel processing such as those offered for sale by IBM Corp or Cray, Inc.

[0066] Servers 40 and supercomputers 42 may be arranged in any of plurality of distributed computing architectures such as a two-tier (client-server) computing architecture, or a multi-tier (n-tier) computing architecture, or a grid computing architecture or a peer-to- peer computing architecture. Servers 36, 38, 40, or other servers (not shown) may also perform conventional distributed computing functions such as load balancing among the servers 36, 38, 40.

[0067] Servers 36, 38, 40 and supercomputers 42 communicate with one another over a telecommunications network 54. Network 54 may, for example, comprise a local area network (LAN) or wide area network (WAN) and may comprise an intranet or an extranet and may utilize the public internet. An enterprise service bus (ESB) may be used to control communications (including messaging and routing) over network 54 between servers 36, 38, 40 and supercomputers 42.

[0068] The marketplace participants—including dealers 24, remarketers 26, freight haulers 28, manufacturers 30, financial institutions 32 and third party product and service providers 34--will use a variety of computing devices to connect to system 22 over a telecommunications network 56. These devices may include, for example, local servers 58, wireless access points (WAPs) 60 and personal computers 62 such as desktop or laptop computers and handheld computers such as personal digital assistants (PDAs). Network 56 preferably includes the public internet and may include both wired and wireless networks. For example, freight haulers 28 or other market participants that may be located remotely from wired computers or sites may invoke cellular, satellite or other wireless technologies as part of network to enable communication of their computing devices with system 22. [0069] Servers 58 may comprise webs servers or application servers or a combined web/application server. Servers 58 may provide a variety of functions depending on the application. In accordance with one aspect of the invention, however, servers 58 may be configured to communicate with an inventory management system 64 for a dealer 24 of tangible goods (e.g., a vehicle dealer's DMS system) for inventory control. Server 58 may receive information pertaining to the dealer's inventory from system 64 and provide it to computer system 12.

[0070] Wireless access points (WAPs) 60 are provided to enable communication between wireless computing and communication devices and may comprise conventional structures known in the art. For example, WAPs 60 may be used to allow inspectors to inspect the goods located at dealerships (e.g. outside storage lots) or other locations lacking access to a wired network and to send information to and receive information from system 22. [0071] Personal computers 62 are provided to perform a wide variety of functions, many of which are described hereinafter, depending on the market participant. Personal computers 62 may function as client in a client-server configuration with servers 36, 38, 40 of system 22. In particular, computers 62 may run client software to access system 22 such as an internet browser (in the case of a web-based application) or a customized graphical user interface. [0072] Servers 58, WAPs 60 and computers 62 may communicate with one another at a market participant's location or locations over a private telecommunications network 66 such as a local area network (LAN) or wide area network (WAN). Servers 58, WAPs 60 and computers 62 may further communicate with system 22 through network 56. Again, an enterprise service bus (ESB) may be used to control communications (including messaging and routing) over network 56 between servers 58, WAPs 60 and computers 62 and system 22. [0073] While the remaining architecture and operation of system 20 is described in copending application titled "System and Method for Distribution of Wholesale Goods," as briefly discussed above, the present application will describe specific operations of system 20, for example, for enabling a dealer to provide information regarding inventory and non- inventory tangible goods, enabling inventory of tangible good selling dealers to be sold to a consumer at a remote tangible good purchasing dealer site, and enabling a tangible good selling dealer to select from at least two product variables for negotiating a tangible good sale with a consumer.

[0074] The detailed description of various sub-systems incorporated in system 20 according to the present invention will follow the next few paragraphs, which will generally describe the operation of system 20.

[0075] For the most part, dealers rely on intuition for inventory, retail, and wholesale decision making. To clearly improve the dealer's ability to minimize costs and maximize sales, the system 20 provides the dealer with an inventory intelligence system. A few firms currently purport to provide dealers with inventory intelligence systems. While some of those systems consist of misinformation and others provide part of the information, all of those systems lack most of the critical information concerning vehicle inventory behavior. Thus, all of those systems are far from trustworthy and actionable in everyday operations. System 20 however integrates and weighs all data concerning the limitations and possibilities of vehicle inventory for each specific operation to calculate the most efficient and effective inventory for a dealer at any given time. Moreover, system 20 integrates those calculations directly in an inventory interface, thereby enabling reliable retail and wholesale decision making and instant action-taking capabilities that will reduce cost and increase unit sales. [0076] As illustrated in Fig. 3, system 20 may therefore generally allow a tangible good dealer to automatically purchase new tangible good inventory. The system may include computer system 22 configured to automatically bid on tangible goods 70 to increase inventory of tangible goods 72, and specify an inventory rating based on tangible good valuation (see copending application titled, "System and Method for Tangible Good Valuation," incorporated by reference in its entirety) for allowing tangible good dealer 74 to automatically purchase most needed tangible good inventory of tangible goods that meet or exceed the inventory rating (see further explanation below).

[0077] Computer system 22 may be configured to allow tangible good selling dealer 76 to accept the bid, counter-bid, and/or reject the bid, and the bid may be maintained for a predetermined time period. Upon acceptance of a bid by tangible good selling dealer 76, computer system 22 may be configured to cancel all outstanding bids. [0078] Vehicles in the U.S. market are available in almost 1,400 model variations with billions of possible combinations of options and colors. Because system 20 will maintain all automobile characteristics and all factors of trade execution, dealer 74 will be able to easily search for and locate new and used vehicles based on criteria such as the year, make, model, mileage, segment, carmaker and aftermarket options, vehicle history elements, reconditioning costs and time, delivery cost and time, seller's price, price range, total cost, and total time before the vehicle is ready for retail sale.

[0079] Moreover, dealer 74 may also search and locate vehicles based on retail criteria such as payment, including finance criteria and profit margin. As members (i.e. dealers 74) of system 20 search for and locate vehicles in the market, system 20 may provide the accurate and real time value for each mile, option, condition, and total valuation for each specific vehicle they review. Therefore, a dealer 74 may likewise search for vehicles based on the difference between the total vehicle costs compared to the real time value. [0080] Unless directed by dealer 74, the search results will provide a list of vehicles that meets the criteria starting, for example, with the lowest delivered price (asking price, vehicle reconditioning cost, freight cost, and the system 20 buy fee) and then sorted by delivery time. If desired, dealer 74 may adjust the order by any criteria available in system 20. Within the listed results, dealer 74 (or a consumer 78) may select any unit to review vehicle detail. Based on data interaction between the system 20 vehicle database and carmakers, all new and used vehicle detail will show feature and benefit information. Results may also show static pictures and video of the vehicle and options. Used vehicle results may include the inspection templates and provide visual clarity of the vehicle, options, and condition. For new and used vehicles, dealer 74 may review previous, current, and projected value as compared to the total delivered cost. In seconds, each consumer 30 will be able to review, understand, and acquire vehicles with total confidence. [0081] Referring to Figs. 4A-4J, rather than limit supply and demand to any place or time, system 20 treats them both as a constant. In other words, maximum value is everywhere all of the time rather than subject to any one place or time. Once a dealer 74 (on behalf of a consumer 78) has entered their criteria and reviewed the results, they may buy. If a dealer's bid meets the asking price or automatic accept price, the vehicle is sold. If the dealer's bid is less than the asking price or automatic accept price but higher than the floor price, a dealer 76 may accept the bid and thus, every part (synchronous) of the transaction is started, counter-bid and negotiate until the counter-or-recounter is accepted by dealer 74 or dealer 74 counter-or- recounter is accepted by the seller and thus, the transaction is started, or simply reject or ignore the bid, counter, or recounter, and thus, ending the process. All buyer bids, seller counter bids, and recounter bids may be limited to a lifespan of one business day. The system 20 price negotiation systems may be a very close emulation of current wholesale price practices, yet far more intuitive, easier, and faster with greater capabilities for buyers and sellers.

[0082] After dealer 74 has entered their search criteria and system 20 has returned the list of search results, dealer 74 may select, review, and bid on one vehicle with one seller or send many individual bids with instant cancellation of all remaining bids once the desired quantity is met. Moreover, a dealer may also refine the search criteria (vehicle, options, mileage, condition, cost, and time) and bid on all of the listed results simultaneously by also defining the bidding and quantity criteria. The bid criteria may consist of the starting bid, incremental bid, maximum bid, and maximum quantity. Once the criteria is entered and confirmed, system 20 may bid on behalf of the buyer within the search and bidding criteria. Due to the 24 hour (or otherwise preset) lifespan for all bids, small incremental bids will likely slow the process. Assuming that sellers accept the bids and the quantity is fulfilled, all outstanding bids may instantly disappear. Because any bid in system 20 could instantly disappear, seller , responsiveness to bids on new and used vehicles they truly need to wholesale will be high. Since dealers will be able to define and bid on any criteria and quantity with the push of a button, liquidity will be high as well.

[0083] Based on vehicle valuation and inventory intelligence, system 20 enables the constant automation of buying and selling. For example, a dealer could direct system 20 to automatically buy and deliver all new and used vehicles in the market with an inventory rating at or above 9.0 positive. Because the inventory intelligence automatically incorporates real time vehicle valuation (see copending application titled, "System and Method for Tangible Good Valuation"), the rating would likely drop below 9.0 if the price exceeded the actual valuation. Moreover, the intelligence is based on the dealer's specific inventory needs. As such, a specific model that equals 9.1 before it is acquired may equal 8.5 afterwards because the days of supply for that model has increased in the dealer's inventory. Therefore, dealers can employ automated buying with complete confidence because the system incorporates cost, time, and values while intrinsically maintaining efficient and effective vehicle inventory based on the control and needs of each specific dealer. The same capabilities may be available on the sell-side, i.e. automatically enter and wholesale each vehicle with an inventory rating at or exceeding 9.0 negative. With system 20, members can thus be more conservative or aggressive by simply adjusting their ratings up or down. Referring again to Figs. 4A-4J, Figs. 4A-4J provide various screen shots of system 20. For example, Fig. 4A illustrates an approved franchise trade for new vehicles, and specifically shows a user interface depiction of the main vehicle exchange screen where the dealer can choose to buy or sell new or used vehicle(s) in the system 20 marketplace. Fig. 4B illustrates various criteria for specific bid vehicles (i.e. delivery time, freight cost), and specifically shows a user interface depiction of the vehicle search criteria and search result windows. After providing the search criteria, the buyer may select the search option to view the results with the ability to subsequently adjust the criteria. Figs. 4C-4F, 4H and 4J generally illustrate various explanations of specific displayed entities, Fig. 4G generally illustrates various criteria for specific bid vehicles (i.e. delivery time, freight cost), Fig. 41 generally illustrates various criteria for a specific vehicle, and Figs 4A-4J generally illustrate use of the various indices (i.e. NAMA, PAMA, RRR, RMI; see discussion below). As shown, Fig. 4C specifically illustrates a detailed depiction of the search criteria window listed in Fig. 4B, Fig. 4D specifically illustrates a detailed depiction of the search results window listed in Fig. 4B, Fig. 4E specifically illustrates a user interface depiction of the vehicle search criteria and search result windows for the inventory intelligence option based on rating, Fig. 4F specifically illustrates a user interface depiction of the vehicle search criteria and search result windows for the inventory intelligence option based on margin, Figs. 4G and 4H specifically illustrate a user interface depiction of the vehicle search criteria and search result windows illustrating the use of retail finance options as search criteria, and Figs. 41 and 4J specifically illustrate a user interface depiction of the buyer bid options confirmation screen. The buyer selects the confirm option to start the bidding process.

[0084] Referring to Figs. 5 and 6, system 20 according to the present invention will now be described in further detail, in conjunction of the following applicable sub-systems for inventory management; Automobile Inventory Emulations 80, Inventory Guideline Management 82, Sales Forecasting Administration 84, ROI Expectations Administration 86, Prior Automobile Sales Analysis 88, Progressive Retail Sales Analysis 90, Sales Influence Area Registrations 92, Automobile Sales Trend Analysis 94, Automobile Valuation Integration 96, Wholesale Trade Cost Factoring Algorithm 98, Algorithmic Weight Adjustments 100, Specific Vehicle Rating Calculation 102, Rating Recommendation Control 104, Optimal Vehicle Inventory Analysis 106, Leasing Vehicle Return Application 108, and Vehicle Inventory Auditing System 110.

[0085] To provide dealers with continuous inventory intelligence, system 20 may connect the following factors (in italics): Inventory Guidelines: Enables dealers to easily establish guidelines such as inventory size and turn as well as specific limitations such as models, cot, value, condition, age, etc; Sales Forecast: Enables dealers to easily set annual and/or monthly new as well as used vehicle sales forecasts by segment, new and/or used model, and by sales representative; Recent Sales: A continuous calculation of the best-selling new and used vehicles for each dealer over a recent period of time, e.g., the most recent 90-day period of retail unit; Forward Sales: A continuous calculation of the best selling new and used vehicles for the next sales period based on the dealer's sales for the same period prior, e.g., 30-day period; Area Registrations: Calculation of the best-selling models in the dealer's area of influence; Trend Analysis: Specific model trending of vehicle sales in the area of dominant influence; Market Valuation: Real-time valuation of all vehicles in the inventory and the markets; Trading Costs: The cost of wholesale buying and selling that impacts inventory corrections; and Investment Return: Average retail price versus the actual or expected cost of vehicle sale.

[0086] Automobile Inventory Emulations

[0087] Automobile Inventory Emulations (ATE) sub-system 80 may be an integration and storage system which continually updates the dealer's inventory. The server at a dealership may read the inventory and send only changes to system 20; this may be done on a real-time basis. The dealers may set their inventory management criteria (see Inventory Guideline Management sub-system 82). An Inspection Report, once completed, may be stored in AEB sub-system 80 in the same file as the vehicle.

[0088] AIE sub-system 80 may be integrated with a Dealer Management System. For example, a status of 1 indicates a vehicle may be on the lot of dealer 74 whereas a vehicle in status 4 means a consumer may be looking at it, and a status 5 indicates a contract may be pending. [0089] Inventory Guideline Management

[0090] Inventory Guideline Management (IGM) sub-system 82 may be a system leveraged by AIE sub-system 80 (see above). IGM sub-system 80 may allow a dealer administrator to select the criteria for entering his vehicles into the present invention marketplace. Examples of this criteria could be: Never allow more than $3 million of vehicle inventory; Highlight vehicles that have been in inventory more than 60 days; Do not allow more than 400 cars in inventory; Do not allow any vehicle in inventory with a value over $40K [0091] Sales Forecasting Administration

[0092] Sales Forecasting Administration sub-system 84 may leverage the Sales Forecast Administration sub-system (described in copending application titled "System and Method for Controlling Dealer/Consumer Interaction," the disclosure of which incorporated herein by reference in its entirety) to get information on the dealer's sales forecast and calculate and present the forecast. Dealer sales management can easily increase/decrease the sales forecast for a given time period. This forecast may include all sales for the dealership, including both sales via or without system 20. This also includes the Marketing Forecast in order to allow system 20 to correlate marketing with sales. System 20 may assign a weighted value to this algorithm.

[0093] ROI Expectations Administration

[0094] ROI Expectations Administration sub-system 86 may enable dealer 74 to administer the ROI (Return on Investment) expected from retail sales (percent margin or a dollar amount). It can be tracked by segment, auto, block, or other appropriate criteria. [0095] Prior Automobile Sales Analysis

[0096] Prior Automobile Sales Analysis sub-system 88 may allow valuation and dealer communication integration for garnering all of the information for inventory intelligence except for Area Registrations. The system 20 data integration may connect dealers and data providers in real time. Based on a dealer's previous vehicle sales, system 20 may provide the dealer with a map of his Area of Dominant Influence (ADI) by zip code. Based on the map, system 20 will show the cost of sales data. Moreover, the dealer can easily adjust the cost of data by simply adjusting the size of the area of interest, e.g., 90 to 95 percent. To acquire sales data, the dealer can easily set up periodic renewal or automated purchases of the data from the provider. The current cost of data sales and distribution may be very high for providers while the value of the data may be low because dealers lack the time and/or the ability to properly analyze and apply it. System 20 may increase the value of this data by transforming it from merely interesting into a powerful tool to provide answers rather than more questions. Furthermore, system 20 may reduce the sales and distribution costs to nearly zero.

[0097] The historic view by new/used vehicle by zip code allows a view of the likelihood of future demand for a given market segment. By virtue of ADI, dealer 74 may choose which domain he wants to sell into (within five miles, for example); this provides a backward look which typically covers, for example, a three- or four-month window.

[0098] Databases such as those from RL Polk currently provide new vehicle registration data limited to a dealer for nearby zip codes. With system 20, dealer 74 may be able to get more information over a larger domain while at the same time reducing its spending for data acquisition.

[0099] Progressive Retail Sales Analysis

[0100] Progressive Retail Sales Analysis (PRSA) sub-system 90 may take into consideration local events that could have an impact on sales. These local events, such as a circus in town or a major sporting event, may be extrapolated from prior year experience.

The analysis of prior sales and progressive sales may be done at no charge to dealer as this information originates in the dealer's own sales records. The analysis of future sales may be current and forward looking for three months and tries to catch local events that could impact sales volumes.

[0101] Sales Influence Area Registrations

[0102] Sales Influence Area Registrations (SIAR) sub-system 92 may include the whole marketplace for all retail auto sales. SIAR sub-system 92 data may be from RL Polk,

Experian, and others, and may go out and find all vehicle sales in a dealer's ADI; the dealer's own vehicle sales may be included as are others in that marketplace in the RL Polk data.

[0103] Automobile Sales Trend Analysis

[0104] Automobile Sales Trend Analysis (ASTA) sub-system 94 may take the registration data and monitor vehicle sales for trends. A rating may be assigned to each year, make, model, and sub-model. Registration data may come from the ADI. The trends may provide insight to both the vehicle manufacturers and dealers to derive more value from the manufacturing and distribution processes.

[0105] Automobile Valuation Integration

[0106] Automobile Valuation Integration (AVI) sub-system 96 may take into account the actual wholesale value of the vehicles versus the retail value. AVI sub-system 96 may allow dealer 74 to determine the greatest profit margin opportunities. Dealer 74 may use these criteria to buy the vehicles which are likely to deliver the greatest profit and to sell the vehicles on which he may be likely to incur a loss or smaller profits. [0107] Wholesale Trade Cost Factoring Algorithm

[0108] Wholesale Trade Cost Factoring Algorithm (WTCFA) 98 may calculate what it costs the dealer to adjust (buy/sell) inventory and enable inventory optimization. The first ten factors of WTCFA 98 may produce a rating for any given vehicle; this rating may be calculated by a Specific Vehicle Rating Calculation sub-system 102 (see discussion below). If the rating is based on a scale of one to ten, a vehicle with a rating of one (lowest value) for one dealer could have a rating of nine for another dealer, the higher rating resulting from a higher demand for this vehicle at the second dealer.

[0109] An exemplary scenario (see Rating Recommendation Control sub-system 104 described below) would have dealer 74 selling those vehicles with ratings of one to three, holding vehicles with ratings of four to seven, and buying vehicles with ratings of eight or higher from the system 20 marketplace. The most profitable and fastest selling vehicles may be part of an optimized inventory mix and size. System 20 may calculate the total cost of readjustments in the dealer's inventory with the objective of driving maximum value. [0110] Algorithmic Weight Adjustments

[0111] Algorithmic Weight Adjustments sub-system 100 may allow dealer 74 to adjust the weight of each of the criteria or elements in the aforementioned systems including Automobile Inventory Emulations 80, Inventory Guideline Management 82, Sales Forecasting Administration 84, ROI Expectations Administration 86, Prior Automobile Sales Analysis 88, Progressive Retail Sales Analysis 90, Sales Influence Area Registrations 92, Automobile Sales Trend Analysis 94, Automobile Valuation Integration 96, and Wholesale Trade Cost Factoring Algorithm 98, which all provide a value to a vehicle in the market. The weight adjustment may be on a horizontal scale between -10 to +10, so as to give dealer 74 a specific rating for his dealership. [0112] Specific Vehicle Rating Calculation

[0113] System 20 inventory intelligence may rate all new and used vehicles between -10 to +10 based on the aforementioned factors. The weight of each factor may be initially set to a default but dealer 74 may adjust the weight on a sliding scale to more closely reflect the dealer's specific operation. As a result of the ratings, system 20 inventory intelligence may calculate the optimal inventories for dealer 74, which will change as area sales, dealer sales, wholesale values, inventory guidelines, sales forecast, or expected returns change. In real time, optimal inventory may be juxtaposed to the actual inventory and provide the dealer with buy, sell, and hold guidance based on each dealer's specific settings. For example, dealer 74 may set the ratings at 6.2 negative equals sell while 7.1 positive equals buy, thus, all ratings between 6.2 negative and 7.1 positive equal hold. To improve market interaction, all buy and sell interfaces in system 20 may reflect the dealer's rating for the specific vehicle being sold or bought. Inventory ratings may also assist dealer 74 with retail sales. For example: a unit with a high rating such as 9.0 positive should result in more profit than one with a rating of 8.0 positive.

[0114] Thus Specific Vehicle Rating Calculation (SVRC) sub-system 102 may perform the actual calculation for every year, make, model, and sub-model in a particular dealer's lot. SVRC sub-system may use the factors from the aforementioned systems including Automobile Inventory Emulations 80, Inventory Guideline Management 82, Sales Forecasting Administration 84, ROI Expectations Administration 86, Prior Automobile Sales Analysis 88, Progressive Retail Sales Analysis 90, Sales Influence Area Registrations 92, Automobile Sales Trend Analysis 94, Automobile Valuation Integration 96, and Wholesale Trade Cost Factoring Algorithm 98, to come up with a specific rating for a make, model vehicle. The calculations are influenced by the weights of each of the 10 factors in the noted sub-systems, which dealer 74 may set in Algorithmic Weight Adjustments sub-system 100. The rating will be higher on those in inventory because the dealer has already taken delivery and doesn't have to incur wholesale transaction costs. [0115] Rating Recommendation Control

[0116] Rating Recommendation Control sub-system 104 may allow dealer 74 to set the criteria for a buy/sell decision on each vehicle; e.g., "wholesale every vehicle that has a positive 3 or lower or hold everything over 3, or buy everything at 8 or higher." Dealer 74 may then specify actions based on the rating. [0117] Optimal Vehicle Inventory Analysis

[0118] For Optimal Vehicle Inventory Analysis (OVIA) sub-system 106, based upon all of the criteria from the aforementioned systems including Automobile Inventory Emulations 80, Inventory Guideline Management 82, Sales Forecasting Administration 84, ROI Expectations Administration 86, Prior Automobile Sales Analysis 88, Progressive Retail Sales Analysis 90, Sales Influence Area Registrations 92, Automobile Sales Trend Analysis 94, Automobile Valuation Integration 96, and Wholesale Trade Cost Factoring Algorithm 98, system 20 may show the optimal inventory for the dealer at any given time, at the request of the dealer; e.g., "push a button." This may be the optimal inventory for system 20 for a given deal, and may show the time and cost to create the optimal inventory. OVIA sub-system 106 may include anticipation that it would take up to four days to reach the optimized inventory state, which would allow the placement of buy/sell orders, using validated fmancials and other criteria. System 20 may thus enable easy and automated market entry of new and used vehicles into the wholesale markets with absolute control and the highest confidence at zero or near-zero cost.

[0119] To maximize retail inventory efficiency and effectiveness and to encourage bilateral adoption, system 20 may provide dealer members with free inventory intelligence and automation systems with technical support. Inventory intelligence and automation systems will maximize wholesale supply and thus maximize wholesale demand in system 20; this will maximize wholesale transactions (i.e. system 20 revenue) as well as vehicle sales. [0120] Leasing Vehicle Return Application

[0121] Leasing Vehicle Return Application (LVRA) sub-system 108 may enable efficient check-in of a leased vehicle when it may be turned in. If the vehicle is still owned by the lessor, then LVRA sub-system 108 may add the car to the lessor's wholesale inventory. LVRA sub-system 108 may also provide the option of selling the vehicle to the dealer who has it as well as the option to have it reconditioned. [0122] Vehicle Inventory Auditing System

[0123] Vehicle Inventory Auditing (VIA) sub-system 110 may enable partners, such as financing firms, to audit the used vehicle inventory. System 20 may include the inventory information which places it in a position to sell auditing services.

[0124] Referring to Figs. 7 and 8, system 20 according to the present invention will now be described in further detail, in conjunction of the following applicable sub-systems for inventory automation; Automated Market Entry System 112, Automated Market Pricing System 114, Automated Market Rating System 116, Automated Market Buying System 118, Automated Market Auction System 120, Automated Reconditioning System 122, Automated Retail Criterion System 124, and Automated e-Commerce Systems 126. [0125] To support the wholesale buy/sell process, system 20 may provide automated entrance and pricing systems. Automated entrance may enable dealers to enter new vehicles automatically based on the model and on criteria such as inventory aging, vehicle age, cost, intelligence and valuation, as well as inventory quantities. Automated entrance and pricing systems apply to both new and used vehicle inventory.

[0126] The following scenario illustrates this automation: A Chevrolet dealer wishes to enter a Malibu model into the system 20 marketplace. He selects age and pricing as criteria for entrance. He specifies that when each Malibu reaches 10 days in inventory (age criteria), it will automatically enter the wholesale marketplace with an initial asking price of $500 over net cost and an initial floor price of $100 below cost (price criteria). He further specifies that the asking and floor price be automatically reduced by $50 for each additional 10 days in inventory (combined age and price criteria). Finally, he specifies that the price of the Malibu be reduced by $300 below cost when the vehicle has been in stock for 160 days (combined age and price criteria).

[0127] In summary, the system 20 entrance and pricing automation systems may allow dealers to maximize new and used vehicle supply in the system 20 marketplace with precise control, minimal effort and visible benefits. [0128] Automated Market Entry System

[0129] Dealers may use Automated Market Entry (AME) sub-system 112 to establish the criteria which will determine when a vehicle will automatically enter the present invention marketplace. As mentioned above, these criteria consist of model, inventory aging, vehicle age, cost, intelligence and valuation, as well as inventory quantities. [0130] Automated Market Pricing System

[0131] Automated Market Pricing (AMP) sub-system 114 may allow a dealer to set criteria to automate the pricing of vehicles in the system 20 marketplace. When no automated pricing criteria are set, the dealer must manually price the vehicle using a pricing interface; otherwise, the vehicle pricing may be automatically generated.

[0132] Automated pricing may be based on multiple factors such as the dealer's cost, current market value, This can be based on numerous factors, like dealer cost (at below or above), current market value. After a vehicle has entered the marketplace, its pricing can be automatically changed according to set criteria.

[0133] Three exemplary pricing components may include (in italics): The Spot Price - This may be the "buy now" or asking price; it may be the price a seller will accept for the vehicle. Setting a Spot Price may be a mandatory for marketplace entrance. This price may be visible to both the marketplace buyer and seller. The Floor Price - This may be the minimum price the seller will consider for review and negotiation. Setting a Floor Price may be mandatory for marketplace entrance. It may be not visible to the marketplace buyer. Tlie Automatic Bid Acceptance (ABA) Price - This price may be set between the Spot Price and the Floor Price. Bids at or above the ABA Price may be automatically accepted. If the buyer bids above the ABA the bid may be accepted. Setting an ABA Price may be optional. This price may be not visible to the marketplace buyers. [0134] Setting both the Spot Price and Floor Price may be mandatory; setting the ABA Price may be optional. An adjustment to the Spot Price will cause a change to both the Floor Price and the ABA Price. This trigger mechanism saves the dealer time. Market factors and real-time valuations may cause the pricing interface to generate the likelihood of a bid, expressed in the form of a percentage, which meets any of the three prices. Having this information enables the seller to adjust the vehicle price if needed. The system 20 vehicle entrance and pricing interfaces will enable a straightforward and easy process for sellers to wholesale their vehicles with their own best interests in mind.

[0135] Inventory intelligence, which provides a current reflection of the best inventory for any specific dealer, makes it possible for that dealer to avoid entering secondary or tertiary criteria for marketplace entrance. Regardless of whether additional criteria are needed, dealers and remarketers may want to automate wholesale pricing by adding them. [0136] System 20 enables the sellers to automatically adjust the Spot Price and Floor Price based on real-time vehicle valuable; this may be done by setting the price of a vehicle or group of vehicles within a percent or a dollar amount of real-time valuation over a period of time. The sellers will also be able to place a stop loss order on any automated price versus cost, regardless of valuation.

[0137] Sellers may also automate the floor price and ABA price as a percentage or dollar amount lower than the asking price and as such, narrow their price factors down to only one for a group or all vehicles they enter in the markets. For example, a seller can set a consistent Floor Price of $800 below the Spot Price. [0138] Automated Market Rating System

[0139] Automated Market Rating (AMR) sub-system 116 may support the correlation of the pricing strategy and the vehicle rating. For example, a dealer may adjust his inventory by purchasing vehicles with ratings of eight or greater and to sell a Pontiac G6 with a rating of three at a Spot Price of $8,500. [0140] Automated Market Buying System

[0141] Automated Market Buying (AMB) sub-system 118 may use positive ratings to buy vehicles instead of sell on the dealers' behalf. Based on price or rating the dealer can set criteria to buy vehicles. This may be the actual mechanism that buys the vehicle, unlike previously where it provided data. [0142] Automated Market Auction System

[0143] Automated Market Auction (AMA) sub-system 120 may provide the ability for dealers to set criteria to automatically move vehicles to the appropriate auction market if these vehicles to not qualify for the present invention marketplace. Other systems are in place to support locating an auction slot and to calculate freight charges to the auction. AMA subsystem 120 may move a vehicle to physical auction if it fails to pass any of the following criteria (Less than seven years old, Less than 70,000 miles, Less than $1,000 of reconditioning (excluding warranty and tire replacement)). Otherwise, it may be a candidate for the system 20 marketplace. [0144] Automated Reconditioning System

[0145] Automated Reconditioning (AR) sub-system 122 may trigger a vehicle reconditioning request after its purchase if certain criteria are met. The criteria may include a comparison of external versus internal reconditioning costs and an automatic reconditioning rule for all vehicles bought from or being entered into the present invention marketplace. [0146] For example, a buyer may set up a request for reconditioning a vehicle prior to its arrival on the lot. AR sub-system 122 may then leverage vehicle transportation, marshalling and reconditioning systems to generate a reconditioning price, set up freight, and proceed to have the vehicle reconditioned. [0147] Automated Retail Criterion System

[0148] The system 20 retail entrance and pricing automation closely resembles wholesale automation, with the exception of being a retail price rather than a wholesale price. Automated Retail Criterion (ARC) sub-system 124 may provide dealers with the ability to set vehicle pricing by setting their retail price as a percentage and/or dollar amount over their cost or real-time vehicle valuation. Dealers will also be able to utilize the system 20 inventory intelligence for retail pricing; i.e., the higher the rating, the higher the price and vice versa. [0149] Automated e-Commerce Systems

[0150] Automated e-Commerce (AEC) sub-system 126 may be used for automated entry of vehicles in inventory for e-commerce channels, dealerships, and national outlets such as AutoTrader.com and Cars.com.

[0151] hi addition to wholesale entrance and pricing automation, the system 20 inventory interfaces may enable dealers to manage retail pricing and e-commerce. Dealers may be able to select any vehicle in the system 20 inventory interface for retail pricing, for listing on their own website, and for listing on public websites. The system 20 inventory interface may display costs and any applicable terms and conditions. System 20 may automatically remove wholesaled or retailed vehicles from websites.

[0152] The aforementioned system 20 may thus include a vehicle inventory analysis and management system, including (a) an industry operating system (IOS), (b) an influence / platform_* (c) an information platform, (d) a consumer platform, (e) an economics platform, (f) a guideline platform, (g) an activity engine, (h) a retail engine, (i) an effect engine, (j) a margins engine, (k) a trending engine, (1) an estimate engine, (m) a global platform, (n) an acquire engine, (o) an ordering engine, (p) a factor engine, (q) a stock engine, (r) a weight engine,_! (t) a rating engine, and (u) an inventory platform.

[0153] Referring to Fig. 9, system 20 may further include an inventory buy, price, and sell automation system and method including (a) an industry operating system (IOS), (b) an ordering platform, (c) a wholesale platform, (d) an auctioning platform, (e) a recondition platform, (f) a dealership platform, (g) a marketing platform, (h) an optimizing platform, (i) an order engine, (j) a pricing engine, (k) a selling engine, (1) a buying engine, (m) a repairs engine, (n) a retail engine, and (o) an optimal engine.

[0154] Referring to Fig. 10, for the aforementioned vehicle inventory analysis and management system and method, the industry operating system (IOS) may provide integration, administration, and use of industry systems such as: 1) vehicle identification, 2) vehicle inspection, 3) vehicle valuation, 4) inventory management, 5) inventory automation, 6) vehicle transportation, 7) vehicle marshalling, 8) vehicle reconditioning, 9) physical auctions, 10) electronic wholesale, 11) dealership operations, 12) vehicle retail, 13) dealership ecommerce, 14) vehicle appraisal, 15) consumer finance, 16) product surveys, 17) industry advertising, 18) auto ecommerce, 19) vehicle production, 20) industry support, and 21) industry payments to enable efficient industry interactions.

[0155] The influence platform may determine a geographical influence area (GIA) based on prior new and/or used vehicle retail sales. The information platform may manage the vehicle identification data for vehicles sold within a GIA. The consumer platform may manage consumer demographic data for vehicles sold in the GIA. The economics platform may manage the latest GIA, local, regional, and national economic trends as reported by government agencies and other entities. The guideline platform may report all information herein to a user interface and enables a business entity to define stock criteria based on an array of variables such as year, make, model (YMM) combinations, options, dollars, aging, turn, forecast, profit, and cash to establish an inventory guideline sphere (IGS). The activity engine may allot points to each YMM/option based on consumer activity such as product requests, demonstrations, and price negotiations. The retail engine may assign prior (last X days) and progressive (next X days) points to each YMM/option based on retail in-store sales. The effect engine may assign prior and progressive points to each YMM/option based on retail area sales minus in-store sales. The margins engine may measure the difference between retail and wholesale values to add/deduct points to/from each YMM/option based on the margins. The trending engine may measure the trends for each YMM/option in (g, h, i, and j) to add/deduct points to/from each YMM/option accordingly. The estimate engine may add/deduct points to/from each YMM/option based on the vehicle sales forecast for each YMM/option over a period (next X days). The global platform may total the points for each YMM/option based on (g, h, i, j, k, and 1) and assign the points to all vehicles available in the new and used vehicle wholesale market (VWM), present vehicle inventory (PVI), and theoretical vehicle orders (TVO) from vehicle manufacturers. The acquire engine may deduct YMM/option points for vehicles in the wholesale market (VWM) based on the added cost/time of (freight, repairs, fees) acquisition. The ordering engine may deduct YMM/option points for theoretical vehicle orders (TVO) from vehicle manufacturers based on the cost/time of delivery and preparation. The factor engine may add/deduct points to/from all physical vehicles based on specific condition and history factors versus retail product sales factors such as aging/profits for the condition/history factors. The stock engine may add/deduct points to/from YMM/options in the VWM and for TVO based on the PVI days supply of incoming and current YYM/options to ensure an optimal PVI product mixture. The weight engine may calculate the correlation coefficient between each point factor and retail product sales and profits using linear and/or nonlinear regression to discern a percentage assignment per point factor and adjust the weight of each point factor versus total points accordingly. The adjust system may enable users (advanced) to adjust the weight of any YMM/option point factor versus the total and provide the user with impact/conflict warnings if necessary. The rating engine may calculate the total YMM/option adjustments and points from (m, n, o, p, q, r, s) and demonstrate the total points for each physical and theoretical vehicle on a standard point scale such as 7.41 out of 10. The inventory platform may group PVI based on current assignments such as incoming, wholesale, service, and retail while depicting all inventory factors such as vehicle identification, stock number, aging, activity, cost, value, and points by unit, group, and total to improve inventory management efficiency and effectiveness. [0156] For the aforementioned inventory buy, price, and sell automation system and method, the industry operating system (IOS) may provide integration, administration, and use of industry systems such as: 1) vehicle identification, 2) vehicle inspection, 3) vehicle valuation, 4) inventory management, 5) inventory automation, 6) vehicle transportation, 7) vehicle marshalling, 8) vehicle reconditioning, 9) physical auctions, 10) electronic wholesale, 11) dealership operations, 12) vehicle retail, 13) dealership ecommerce, 14) vehicle appraisal, 15) consumer finance, 16) product surveys, 17) industry advertising, 18) auto ecommerce, 19) vehicle production, 20) industry support, and 21) industry payments to enable efficient industry interactions.

[0157] The ordering platform may enable business entities to automate ordering of fully configured new vehicles and options from vehicle manufacturers based on an array of product criteria such as current market value, OEM cost, days-supply, local demand, and/or product rating: i.e. automatically order all new vehicles with options that have a combined product rating of 8.7 or higher. The wholesale platform may enable business entities to automate the buying, pricing, and selling of fully configured new/used vehicles to/from electronic new/used vehicle wholesale markets based on criteria such as current market value, seller price, days- supply, local demand, inventory cost, inventory ageing, product history, and/or product rating, i.e. automatically buy vehicles with a rating of 8.1 or higher and sell all vehicles in-stock with a rating of 3.4 or lower. The auctioning platform may enable business entities to automate the buying and selling of fully configured vehicles to/from physical auctions based on an array of product factors such as the current market value, seller price, days-supply, local demand, inventory cost, inventory ageing, product history, and/or product rating. The recondition platform may enable business entities to automatically order reconditioning for vehicles before entering a wholesale market and/or before delivery from a wholesale market based on factors such as the vehicle inspection, internal capacity, time advantage, cost advantage, and/or valuation advantage. The dealership platform may enable automobile dealers to automatically set retail price and/or adjust retail price for new and used vehicles in inventory based on factors such as current market value, days-supply, local demand, current cost, inventory ageing, product history, and product rating. The marketing platform may enable business entities to automatically enter vehicle identifications and representations with price in a dealer website, a national website, and print as well as electronic media based on criteria such as current market value, days-supply, local demand, current cost, inventory ageing, product history, product ratings, media cost, and media type. The optimizing platform may enable business entities to optimize a new, used, or total vehicle inventory via wholesale buying, selling, and ordering based on criteria such as product ratings; cash impact, and finance impact. The order engine may calculate criteria selected by business entities in (b) and automatically order fully configured new vehicles from vehicle manufacturers and updates vehicle inventory. The pricing engine may calculate all wholesale criteria selected by business entities in (c) and (d) to automatically enter and price new/used vehicles in the physical auctions and wholesale markets and update vehicle inventory. The selling engine may calculate all wholesale criteria selected by business entities in (c) and (d) to automate the selling of vehicles at physical auctions and in wholesale markets and update vehicle inventory. The buying engine may calculate the wholesale criteria selected by business entities in (c) and (d) to automatically buy vehicles in the physical auctions and wholesale markets and update vehicle inventory. The repairs engine may calculate reconditioning criteria selected by business entities in (e) to automate the repairs of vehicles to/from physical auctions and wholesale markets and update inventory cost. The retail engine may calculate criteria selected by business entities in (i) and (g) to automate the entry/pricing of new/used vehicles at the dealership, on websites, and for all media. The optimal engine may calculate criteria selected by business entities in (h) to buy and sell vehicle in the wholesale markets until inventory may be optimized to enable efficient and effective vehicle inventory stocking, pricing, and marketing. The prior art includes vehicle wholesale proxy bidding but does not include bidding based on the factors herein nor any other component from (a) through (o). [0158] Referring again to Fig. 3, in another embodiment, system 20 may further generally provide for automated scheduling of tangible good inspections. System 20 may include computer system 22 configured to define a time of day a seller 74 allows inspections and inspectors in an inspection area. System 20 may further calculate an amount of inspection time needed for an amount of inspections requested, define locations of scheduled inspections and available time in an inspector's calendar and define distance and time between each scheduled location and a requested location. Yet further, system 20 may calculate time to perform a requested inspection and drive to a next scheduled location, define a date and time that a first available inspector can perform an inspection, and/or adjust the inspector's calendar accordingly and respond to a request in a predetermined time period. [0159] Referring to Fig. 11, system 20 according to the present invention will now be described in further detail, in conjunction of the following applicable sub-systems for automobile inspections; Automated Inspection Initiations sub-system 128, Automobile Inspection Requests sub-system 130, Automobile Inspection Response sub-system 132, Automobile Inspections Platform sub-system 134, Automobile Identification sub-system 136, Automobile Historical Integration sub-system 138, Automobile Exterior Inspections sub-system 140, Automobile Paint-depth Analysis sub-system 142, Automobile Tire-depth Analysis sub-system 144, Automobile Interior Inspections sub-system 146, Automobile Carriage Inspections sub-system 148, Automobile Photography sub-system 150, Automobile Test-drive Inspections sub-system 152, Automobile Braking Calculations sub-system 154, Automobile Drivetrain Inspection sub-system 156, Automobile Fluids Incorporation subsystem 158, Flatrate Configuration Database sub-system 160, OBDII Configurations Database sub-system 162, Recondition Estimator Database sub-system 164, Reconditioning Parts Calculation sub-system 166, Reconditioning Hours Calculation sub-system 168 and Vehicle Inspection Certifications sub-system 170.

[0160] The overall automobile inspection system may be a metasystem that allows members and partners to have their vehicle undergo an inspection utilized for system 20. All , inspections are preferably carried out by a system 20 certified inspector, who can be from a system 20 inspection unit, or member and partner inspectors who are certified for system 20. [0161] To provide a complete, detailed, clear, and guaranteed representation, as well as transparency of used vehicle reconditioning cost and time, an inspector may perform a standardized and comprehensive inspection on all used vehicles before their entry into system 20. To perform the inspections, a system 20 operator may hire and train certified inspectors that will be tested by ASE. It is estimated that the inspectors may average seven inspections per business day, which translates into 129 certified inspectors per one percent market penetration; (i.e. 12 million transactions x 2 inspections / 265 days / 7 inspections / 100 points).

[0162] Dealers may have the choice to use an inspection via system 20 and evaluation systems or use their own. A lighter version of an inspection may be performed using a handheld device that will measure paint depth but will not evaluate break fluid or pad thickness. The system 20 inspection software may be provided so that the dealers can perform their own inspections. Light inspection may be only for cursory inspection, which will not be enough to allow the vehicle to enter the system 20 marketplace. Used vehicles may not enter the system 20 marketplace without a full inspection and passing of a system 20 market entry criteria.

[0163] The most efficient and effective vehicle inspection may be practically worthless without a representation that provides sellers and buyers with total confidence within the markets. To that end, the system 20 used vehicle representation provides stunning visual clarity and detail combined with guaranteed accuracy. In a matter of seconds, members will be able to easily understand everything they need to know about every used vehicle they review in system 20. The representations may include, for example: a 360-degree view of each used vehicle utilizing actual pictures and digital templates; a detailed list of all options with descriptions of their specific features and benefits; a group of digital templates depicting each vehicle and component in a 360 degree view; highly intuitive digital icons depicting all concerns in a color format, i.e. red, yellow, green; high quality pictures of the vehicle and all specific concerns throughout the inspection; all known vehicle history, i.e. accident, flood, insurance claims, registration, title, etc.; an itemized list of all cost and time to recondition each vehicle to end-consumer readiness; voice recordings enabling each member to hear the inspector's review of vehicle condition; and accurate vehicle valuation including the precise valuation of all options as well as mileage. [0164] Automated Inspection Initiations

[0165] Automated Inspection Initiations sub-system 128 may be a primary system that may be based off the aforementioned Inventory Automation sub-system and may interact specifically with the aforementioned Automated Market Entry sub-system 112). When a dealer (i.e. dealer 74) or member vehicle enters the wholesale market, Automated Inspection Initiations sub-system 128 may decide whether the vehicle needs inspection. [0166] Dealers (i.e. dealer 74) may establish criteria for entering vehicles into the system 20 marketplace (i.e. at what time after it may be placed into their inventory, etc) whereas system 20 may provide the equipment, inspection standard and valuation. Automated Inspection Initiations sub-system 128 may also include the capability for the buyer/member to enter their flat rates to be matched to the FlatRate Configuration Database sub-system 160 (described below). These flat rates are important for reconditioning cost calculations. With the data provided by IID, Inspection Proficiency Data (IPD) may provide real time analysis of vehicle inspection proficiency by inspector, such as the average time to and from assignments, the average time to complete an inspection by model, the percent of arbitration by model, and the cost of inspection inaccuracies. [0167] Automobile Inspection Requests

[0168] Suppose a dealer (i.e. dealer 74) has identified one or more used vehicles to be entered into the system 20 marketplace, since the vehicles are used, they need to be inspected prior to resale. The dealer may go about requesting inspections in one of three ways via Automobile Inspection Requests sub-system 130: (1) Type the number of inspections needed into the request system; (2) Scan the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) with the wireless handheld device and select the inspection option. This may be the preferred system 20 method since information about the vehicle can be retrieved from third-party databases, such as CARFAX, using the VIN; (3) Call the system 20 support center and request inspections. The support center will enter the dealer's system and set up inspection requests. The support center will work on behalf of the member within the limits of the dealer's authority. For example, one limit could be that the dealer cannot call the command center. In all three cases, the inspection request may be processed through the Automobile Inspection Requests subsystem 130. [0169] It is estimated that about 80 percent of the system 20 market trade will be used vehicles, which require an inspection usable with system 20. To enable efficiency and accuracy, inspectors may use the Mobile Inspection Terminal (MIT): a rugged handheld device for the present invention inspectors that will manage their activities, standardize inspections, and communicate with system 20. [0170] Automobile Inspection Response

[0171] Automobile Inspection Response sub-system 132 may ensure that certified system 20 inspectors have real-time and prompt interaction with the support center. Automobile Inspection Response sub-system 132 may leverage the Automobile Inspector Calendaring system to ensure efficiency. Certified inspectors may provide a complete, detailed, clear and guaranteed representation, as well as transparency, of used vehicle reconditioning cost and time. System 20 may perform a standardized and comprehensive inspection on all used vehicles before entry into the system 20 marketplace.

[0172] The Automobile Inspector Calendaring system may ensure that certified inspectors are able to efficiently and effectively inspect all used vehicles for market entry. They will be constantly supported by inspection and technology agents in system 20 support center. AU inspection processes may be electronic and standardized as well as connected to their associated support for real-time interaction. Immediately after a seller enters a request for one or more vehicle inspections, the Automobile Inspector Calendaring system may automatically perform the following: (1) Define the time of day the seller allows inspections; (2) Calculate the amount of inspection time needed for the inspections requested; (3) Define locations of scheduled inspections and available time in each inspector's calendar; (4) Define distance and time between each scheduled location and the requested location; (5) Calculate time to perform requested inspection(s) and drive to the next scheduled location; (6) Define the date and time that the first available inspector(s) can perform the inspection(s); and (7) Adjust inspectors' calendar(s) accordingly and respond to request within three seconds. [0173] If a date and time exceeds, for example, 48 hours in the future, the request may be automatically sent to an inspection agent. The inspection agent may review scheduled inspections for the appropriate inspectors as well as the requested inspection(s) and location. After review, the agent may optimize the response time.

[0174] Automobile Inspection Response sub-system 132 may include Inspector Calendaring System (ICS) for calculating the optimal time of inspections based on data such as IID, IPD analysis, pending assignments, inspector's schedule, quantity requested, and the inspection location. After calculation and inspection assignment, ICS may provide the member with the date and approximate time. An Inspection Request Return (IRR) system may review all of the activities on the calendars of applicable inspectors. Based on relevant factors, the IRR may then optimize the assignment of date and approximate time (usually within 48 hours) of the inspections requested and returns the data/time information to the seller within seconds. Even if a used vehicle qualifies within the limitations of year and mileage, an inspector may reject a vehicle for cause, e.g. paintwork, frame damage, and/or vehicle history. If rejected, an Inspection Failure Response (IFR) may enable the seller to assign the vehicle to an auction and/or enter the vehicle in the market AS-IS. [0175] Automobile Inspections Platform

[0176] Automobile Inspections Platform sub-system 134 may include an inspection cart and a truck with fluid analysis capabilities that are provided to the inspector. The inspector may have the following equipment in his inspection cart: (1) Industrial grade camera (Everest VIT - owned by GE, CA-Zoom Model) allowing work underneath the vehicle; (2) Toughbook laptop that may connect to a system 20 database and allow the inspector to leverage templates to identify and mark specific faults on the vehicle. This database may allow inspections to improve as more and more inspections are performed; (3) Brake testing equipment; (4) Tire tread analyzer; (5) Paint depth machine; and (6) Digital camera. [0177] Automobile Identification System

[0178] Automobile Identification sub-system 136 may use a Vehicle Identification System, the VIN may be scanned and vehicle information may be retrieved from a system 20 database on the Toughbook laptop. The information may include data from third party vendors, such as CARFAX, to assist inspectors in looking for previous vehicle damage. [0179] Automobile Historical Integration

[0180] Based upon the VIN identifications, Automobile Historical Integration sub-system 138 may integrate with CARFAX and match the vehicle history report. The vehicle history report (primary components) may display on the Toughbook enabling the inspector to recommend 11.0 - Auction Integration if the history may be negative. If the vehicle may be rejected from system 20, the transfer of the vehicle to auction may initiate automatically. Essentially, a negative result may stop the system 20 process. If the vehicle history may be positive, the result may take the inspector to Automobile Exterior Inspections sub-system 140 (discussed below).

[0181] For Automobile Historical Integration sub-system 138, Vehicle History Interaction (VHI) may enhance vehicle inspections by including vehicle history data from a provider such as CARFAX (www.carfax.com) or Experian (www.experian.com/automotive/index.html) while also providing the vehicle history provider with extremely rich information for all vehicles inspected by system 20. [0182] Automobile Exterior Inspections

[0183] For Automobile Exterior Inspections sub-system 140, in the exterior mode, the inspection software may guide the inspector through templates for the panels, doors, door jambs, pillars, bumpers, windows, wheels, tires, lights, roof, and trunk. Similar to the interior templates, the inspector may add icons to each exterior template for concerns such as scrapes, dings, dents, scuffs, and tears among many others. Templates for the windows and trunk may include icons such as cracks and stains. Using a small, yet high quality, extension camera with lights, the inspector may measure most brake pads. In rare circumstances, the inspector may need to remove the wheel to inspect the pads.

[0184] Below is an example of an operation via Automobile Exterior Inspections subsystem 140.

[0185] The automobile inspector starts with a template in which the inspector selects "exterior." System 20 may include a wizard that walks the inspector clockwise around the exterior of the vehicle. If a dent is found, the dent icon may be dragged to the location of the dent on the image of the vehicle. System 20 may then prompt for the size of the dent. The inspector may identify the attributes of the dent such as needing paint-less dent removal. The Toughbook may include a touch screen but also include a mouse, an option for voice recording and a normal high-pixel camera (independent of the under-carriage camera). In addition to the new and used vehicle database, a Vehicle Data System (VDS) may include four templates of each specific model (exterior, interior, engine, and undercarriage) in digital format. Moreover, the VDS may also provide a list of all possible factory and aftermarket options such as wheels, tires, etc. per specific model. Depending on the template (exterior, interior, engine, and undercarriage) from VDS, a Vehicle Template Interface (VTI) may provide the inspector with various condition indicators such as an icon for a scratch or carpet stain while also enabling the capture and depiction of numeric indicators such as paint depth and tire tread.

[0186] Automobile Paint-depth Analysis

[0187] For Automobile Paint-depth Analysis sub-system 142, the exterior inspection may continue with the paint-depth analysis. For all areas of the vehicle with paint, the inspection software may prompt the inspector to scan the paint in three defined areas with the coating thickness gauge. The electronic paint gauge may instantly add the precise paint depth to each template. Since a body shop may be unlikely to match factory paint depth from panel to panel, the inspection may discern previous paintwork. For example, if the paint depth on one panel may be nine millimeters while about five millimeters on the other panels, that panel has been repainted and the vehicle may have wrecked. Depending on the template (exterior, interior, engine, and undercarriage) from VDS, a Vehicle Template Interface (VTI) may provide the inspector with various condition indicators such as an icon for a scratch or carpet stain while also enabling the capture and depiction of numeric indicators such as paint depth and tire tread.

[0188] Automobile Tire-depth Analysis

[0189] For Automobile Tire-depth Analysis sub-system 144, the template may ask the inspector to read and store the tire tread depth for all tires associated with the vehicle. Using a laser measuring device, the inspector may also measure the precise tire tread depths. The tread depth measurements are important if a buyer has specified a minimum depth as acceptable and the measurements may be used to indicate to the buyer if replacement tires are needed. Depending on the template (exterior, interior, engine, and undercarriage) from VDS, the aforementioned Vehicle Template Interface (VTI) may provide the inspector with various condition indicators such as an icon for a scratch or carpet stain while also enabling the capture and depiction of numeric indicators such as paint depth and tire tread. [0190] Automobile Interior Inspections

[0191] For Automobile Interior Inspections sub-system 146, once the inspector has reviewed the vehicle's history and taken exterior pictures, the interior template may automatically appear. The inspector may review and/or test the condition of all interior components, including electronic equipment. If a concern is found, the inspector may simply click on the appropriate indicator (icon) and add it to the interior template. For example, if a cigarette burn is found in the passenger's seat; the inspector may click on the cigarette burn icon and drag it to the passenger's seat in the interior template. Then the inspection software may request the width and depth of the burn. After the size of the burn has been selected, system 20 may automatically move to picture mode. After the inspector has taken a picture of the burn, system 20 may instantly recommend the odor icon for the inspector to consider. If selected, the inspector may also select the severity of the odor. In total, the burn, picture, and odor may be completed in about ten seconds. Further, the inspector can add voice recordings to the indicators. In the blue outlined interior template, the icons may be depicted in yellow or red to enable easily review the concern or pictures. As discussed above, in addition to the new and used vehicle database, Vehicle Data System (VDS) may includes four templates of each specific model (exterior, interior, engine, and undercarriage) in digital format. Moreover, the VDS also provides a list of all possible factory and aftermarket options such as wheels, tires, etc. per specific model. As also discussed above, depending on the template (exterior, interior, engine, and undercarriage) from VDS, Vehicle Template Interface (VTI) may provide the inspector with various condition indicators such as an icon for a scratch or carpet stain while also enabling the capture and depiction of numeric indicators such as paint depth and tire tread.

[0192] Automobile Carriafie Inspections

[0193] For Automobile Carriage Inspections sub-system 148, after the exterior mode is complete, the inspection system may guide inspection underneath the vehicle. The inspector may use the laptop to control the pan, tilt, zoom, and picture capabilities of the small, yet high quality, camera which extends from a cart and projects light up to four feet. Similar to the other templates, the inspector may drag icons to the vehicle image as the camera inspects factors such as frame rails, absorbers, shocks, gas tank, boots, gear box, axles, and much more. If no problems are found, four standard pictures that may be taken (one for each corner). If a problem may be identified, a high-definition picture of the issue may be captured. Automobile Carriage Inspections sub-system 148 may likewise include the aforementioned Vehicle Data System (VDS), and Vehicle Template Interface (VTI). While the MIT may digitally capture vehicle data and all elements of exterior and interior condition, including paint depth; a Mobile Inspection Cart (MIC) may inspect the undercarriage by easily moving under the vehicle with floodlights and a digital camera while wirelessly communicating with the MIT for data capture. [0194] Automobile Photography System

[0195] Automobile Photography sub-system 150 may be the database that may contain the schematic representation of the vehicle with all fault indicators and component damage. This database may store the content that correlates to the template along with all photographs to provide a complete representation of vehicle. Automobile Photography sub-system 150 may likewise include the aforementioned Vehicle Template Interface (VTI). [0196] Automobile Test-drive Inspections

[0197] For Automobile Test-drive Inspections sub-system 152, once the inspector has completed the interior template, the inspection software may automatically move to test drive mode. Preceding the test drive, the inspector may attach an onboard diagnostics system between the inspection laptop and the vehicle's OBDII computer. In addition, the inspector may also connect the laptop to an electronic brake tester. While diagnostics are collecting data, the inspector may use voice recordings and the digital indicators to express the drivability factors such as turning, shifting, suspension, noise, and vibration. The inspector may also use icons to express the working order of all electrical, power assist, climate, audio, video, navigation and telematics. Automobile Test-drive Inspections sub-system 152 may likewise include the aforementioned Vehicle Template Interface (VTI). Once the inspector scans the VIN, the exterior template for that specific model automatically appears on the screen. From start to finish, a Standard Inspection Process (SIP) may be a step-by-step inspection process that ensures uniformity and accuracy, including test-driving the vehicle, voice recordings, pictures, video, etc. [0198] Automobile Braking Calculations

[0199] For Automobile Braking Calculations sub-system 154, the inspector may also perform a braking test that may require less than 200 feet of distance for accelerating to 20 MPH and then quickly stopping. The braking test may discern brake efficiency with a double axis accelerometer that may precisely measure peak acceleration and deceleration between front and rear, as well as right and left braking. In real time, system 20 may read the gravitational force data and calculate braking efficiency for a pass/ fail result owing to predetermined data for each model. While all tests may be initially effective, they may also increase effectiveness over time. [0200] Automobile Drivetrain Inspection

[0201] For Automobile Drivetrain Inspection sub-system 156, after a drive test, while diagnostics are collecting data, the inspector may use voice recordings and the digital indicators to express the drivability factors such as turning, shifting, suspension, noise, and vibration.

[0202] Automobile Fluids Incorporation

[0203] For Automobile Fluids Incorporation sub-system 158, once the test drive is completed, the vehicle fluids may be sufficiently heated and mixed and system 20 inspection software may automatically move to engine and fluid analysis mode. The inspector may draw a two-ounce sample of oil from the dipstick tube to begin the fluid analysis. Based on the onboard diagnostics results and/or specific model and/or condition, the inspector may also draw a sample of transmission fluid for analysis. The fluid analysis may precisely measure the full array of wear metals and foreign fluids that are present in the engine and/or transmission fluids to accurately determine problems without disassembly. As a result, fluid analysis may accurately detect coolant leaks, blown head gaskets, leaking manifold gaskets, cracked blocks, oil sludge and much more. Once the analysis is complete, the results may be wirelessly transferred to the laptop. At some point, the inspection may be completed and sent off to a primary server - the Toughbook may be no longer in the equation since the information may be sent to the system 20 central server. The inspection software may compare the results with a system 20 database and may: (1) Define amount of wear (minimal, normal, or excessive) relative to the specific model; (2) Define all existing concerns as well as the severity of all existing mechanical concerns; (3) Efficiently guide the inspector to determine the cause of existing mechanical concerns; and (4) Calculate the cost as well as time of correcting any problems based on estimator DB.

[0204] While the analysis calculates results, the inspector may inspect all fluid levels, belts, hoses, clamps, walls, seams, welds, VIN tags, crumple zones and the like to ensure the best representation. The total elapsed time for inspection may be outlined a briefing document.

[0205] Flatrate Configuration Database

[0206] Flatrate Configuration Database sub-system 160 may connect to the Dealer Administration sub-system (see copending application titled "System and Method for Controlling Dealer/Consumer Interaction"), which has all of the options for repairs that have a flat rate for the reconditioning work. This database may be used later to calculate the rate for reconditioning the vehicle for standard repairs. Any member that acts as a buyer of an automobile can set up their flat rates in the Dealer Administration sub-system. For example, if a vehicle has a dent, the Flatrate Configuration Database sub-system 160 may lay out all of the options to calcify the dent by size, shape, and depth then list options of method of repair. [0207] OBDII Configurations Database

[0208] OBDn Configurations Database sub-system 162 may contain all of the industry standard codes for On Board Diagnostics II (OBDII, the newest vehicles have III). This may be an external integration point for updating since different manufacturers provide their own OBD codes. This integration may be paramount since the onboard diagnostics system may capture critical data by monitoring onboard computers during a test drive. The data may initially include generic and other power train codes relating to concerns from a loose gas cap to engine failure but may grow to include all codes over time. After the capture of diagnostic trouble codes (DTC), the system may compare them with a system 20 database and (1) Provide each specific fault description based on the diagnostic trouble codes (DTC); (2) Define potential causes of the fault description based on database collaboration; (3) Efficiently guide the inspector to determine the probable or actual cause of a DTC; and (4) Calculate cost as well as time of correcting current problems (worst case may be utilized). As part of the UFC, Vehicle Condition Code (VCC) may utilize the vehicle inspection and the vehicle reconditioning database (VRD) to discern the cost and time of parts and labor to recondition each used vehicle in the market and then discerns the additional value loss of increasing reconditioning cost and time per combination. [0209] Recondition Estimator Database

[0210] Recondition Estimate Database sub-system 164 may leverage existing databases (i.e. Mitchell, Chilton's, and others) to identify the consumables in a reconditioning exercise. For any potential problem, the database may provide the recommended parts and the typical estimated labor hours required to fix the identified problem. Auto auctions provide excellent reconditioning services and efficiency. With system 20 auction integration (capacity and price), a buyer may view and execute the added cost and time of vehicle reconditioning, including transport from the seller to the auction to the buyer, before delivery. [0211] Reconditioning Parts Calculation

[0212] Having received the parts requirements from the Recondition Estimator Database sub-system 164, Reconditioning Parts Calculation sub-system 166 may look for the prices of the parts. This may be integrated with Proquest (which owns OEConnection and provides real-time parts) and their purchase prices. Alternatively, previously used databases, like Chilton's and Mitchell, may give approximate wholesale prices for these parts. During an inspection, if the parts necessary for reconditioning are under warranty, system 20 may automatically deduct the part costs from the parts cost schedule. Reconditioning Parts Calculation sub-system 166 may likewise include the aforementioned Vehicle Conditioning Service (VCS).

[0213] Reconditioning Hours Calculation

[0214] For Reconditioning Hours Calculation sub-system 168, reconditioning hours may be calculated from third-party databases, such as Mitchell and Chilton's, and the rate may be based on the labor rate that the member entered in the Dealer Administration sub-system. The actual result of this step may be the labor cost that may be calculated using the Dealer Administration sub-system and the Recondition Estimator Database sub-system 164. The labor cost may be dependent upon the buyer since it may be based upon their rates and capacity. In the Dealer Administration sub-system, the dealer may enter a price. The labor cost for the repairs may be estimated by multiplying the price entered by the dealer in the Dealer Administration sub-system to the estimated hours from the Recondition Estimator Database sub-system 164. Reconditioning Hours Calculation sub-system 168 may likewise include the aforementioned Vehicle Conditioning Service (VCS). [0215] Vehicle Inspection Certifications

[0216] For Vehicle inspection Certifications sub-system 170, vehicle makers or remarketers may have their own certification standards and may choose to add to the inspection process. The maker or remarketer may choose to apply qualifying vehicles with a brand such as "Certified GM Used Vehicle." This step can be automated based upon the specific vehicle maker and remarketer criteria. Any state title law dealing with quality of the vehicle may be inserted here. Vehicle Inspection Certifications sub-system 170 may record the amount of time spent by the inspector on each step of the inspection process. Accurately capturing and digitally disseminating all elements of used vehicles may be market critical, thus, certification may be a requirement of inspectors. Vehicle Inspector Certification (VIC) may be a comprehensive series of onsite written and physical tests dealing with the applications, seller interaction, and the inspection of vehicles.

[0217] Yet further, referring to Fig. 12, system 20 may also include a vehicle inspection as well as representation system and method including (a) an industry operating system (IOS), (b) an inspection request, (c) an inspection response system, (d) a vehicle history system, (e) an exterior inspection system, (f) a paint-depth system, (g) a tire-tread depth system, (h) an interior inspection system, (i) a carriage inspection system, (j) a photography system, (k) a test-drive system, (1) a brake-test system, (m) a laser measuring system, (n) an onboard diagnostic system, (o) a drivetrain fluid system, (p) an inspection action system, (q) a diagnostics intelligence system, (r) a voice record system, (s) a voice to text system, (u) a flat- rate database, (v) a vehicle repair database, (w) an industry certification system, and (x) a vehicle representation system.

[0218] The noted platforms and engines are described in detail above, or in copending applications titled "System and Method for Distribution of Wholesale Goods," "System and Method for Tangible Good Valuation," "System and Method for Inventory Control," "System and Method for Facilitating the Sale of a Tangible Good through an Auction Process," and "System and Method for Control, Distribution and Purchase of Wholesale Goods and Related Interactions," the respective disclosures of which, as discussed above, are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

[0219] For the aforementioned vehicle inspection as well as representation system and method, the industry operating system (IOS) may provide integration, administration, and use of industry systems such as: 1) vehicle identification, 2) vehicle inspection, 3) vehicle valuation, 4) inventory management, 5) inventory automation, 6) vehicle transportation, 7) vehicle marshalling, 8) vehicle reconditioning, 9) physical auctions, 10) electronic wholesale, 11) dealership operations, 12) vehicle retail, 13) dealership ecommerce, 14) vehicle appraisal, 15) consumer finance, 16) product surveys, 17) industry advertising, 18) auto ecommerce, 19) auto production, 20) industry support, and 21) industry payments with direct and indirect industry production, distribution, and consumption data integration to enable efficient and effective industry interactions.

[0220] The inspection request platform may enable various business entities and/or systems to request one or more vehicle inspections at one or more geographic locations. The inspection response system may schedule the inspections based on: 1. time of day the business allows inspection, 2. inspectors in the geographic area, 3. amount of inspection time needed, 4. location of all scheduled inspections, 5. available time in each inspector's calendar, 6. travel time between scheduled locations and the requested location, 7. time to perform scheduled inspections and travel to a requested location, and 8. time inspectors can perform inspections. The vehicle history system may provide vehicle history information from various sources and all previous inspections. The exterior inspection system may obtain and show vehicle condition factors with digital indicators on digital vehicle templates. The paint-depth system may measure and depict paint-depth for body parts on a vehicle template. The tire-tread depth system may measure and depict tire-tread depth on a vehicle template. The interior inspection system may capture and show vehicle condition factors with digital indicators on a vehicle template. The carriage inspection system may capture and show condition factors with indicators on a vehicle template. The photography system may manage a standard set of pictures per vehicle inspection and additional pictures of specific condition factors correlating with digital indicators. The test-drive system may assist inspectors with discerning drivability factors of vehicle with digital indicators that correspond with a vehicle template. The brake-test system may read gravitational force data to calculate brake efficiency for pass/fail results based on predetermined data for each model with digital indicators on a vehicle template. The laser measuring system may calculate the width of frame damage and thickness of some brake pads with indicators on a vehicle template. The onboard diagnostic system may capture the previous and current trouble codes from the vehicle's OBD system to discern mechanical problems. The drivetrain fluid system may measure an array of wear metals and foreign fluids in the engine and transmission fluids to determine mechanical problems. The inspection action system may direct the inspector to perform additional tests if needed based on the results of (k, 1, m, n, o). The diagnostics intelligence system may calculate vehicle problems based on year, make, and model combination history of actual problems corresponding with the combination of (k, 1, m, n, o) systems. The voice record system may capture inspector's comments during an inspection and correlates the files with digital indicators. The voice to text system may translate wave files to text for post analysis. The vehicle inspection system may direct an inspector through the inspection systems based on the specific model. The flat-rate database may determine the cost and time of repairing problems that qualify in the fiat-rate category based on standards and/or user selection as compared to inspection results. The vehicle repair database may calculate the cost/time of labor/parts to repair problems based on standards and/or user selection as compared to the vehicle inspection results. The industry certification system may enable business entities to correlate certified vehicle programs with inspection results. The vehicle representation system may depict pictures/video and condition indicators within 3D 360 by 360 degree templates, inspector recordings, and vehicle repair time/cost for a comprehensive, mobile, and efficient inspection system that may increase buyer confidence in the vehicle wholesale and retail markets.

[0221] Referring again to Fig. 3, in another embodiment, system 20 may further generally provide for establishment of an integrated market for tangible goods in which sale of tangible goods by dealers (i.e. dealer 74) may be subject to automated controls. System 20 may generally include computer system 22 configured to determine an amount of a consumer's credit limitation to allow the consumer (i.e. consumer 78) to bid on a tangible good up to a maximum amount. Computer system 22 may also be configured to determine an amount of a tangible good selling dealer's (i.e. dealer 74) tangible good cost and/or tangible good secured amount to require the consumer to bid on the tangible good above a minimum amount. Computer system 22 may thus control the sale based on the minimum and maximum bid amounts.

[0222] It is important to all buyers and sellers to know and control how buying and selling may impact their fioorplan and/or cash flow. It is likewise important to the market to ensure that buyers and sellers have the resources to buy and sell. Some buyers may enjoy 100 percent fioorplan credit for buying used vehicles. Therefore, buying in the market may have zero immediate impact on their cash flow. However, some buyers may have limitations on their amount of fioorplan credit available and/or the percentage financed versus the wholesale price paid. Therefore, every purchase may impact their cash flow. Further, it is possible that a seller could owe more on a vehicle than the price obtained in the market, which would impact their cash flow. To protect all of the buyers and sellers as well as the market, system 20 may integrate commercial finance and banking institutions with the market in real time.

Based on that integration, the administrators can easily control the maximum amount of cash consumed using the system 20, including the amount per manager and/or vehicle. The finance and banking integration also enables system 20 to limit entry, pricing, searching, bidding, and negotiation based on the amount of floorplan credit versus available or secured cash to ensure the appropriate resources for each possible transaction prior to transaction initiation.

[0223] In one example, a buyer's (i.e. consumer 78) floor plan credit may be limited to 85 percent of the wholesale purchase price. Thus, the buyer must have at least $1,501 in the bank or secured to bid on a $10,000 vehicle since the integration may not allow that particular buyer to bid more than $ 10,000 (maximum bid amount) on a vehicle until such cash or security exists. In another example, a seller may owe $11,000 on floor plan with $1,000 in the bank or secured. Therefore, system 20 may not allow that seller to price or a buyer to bid on that vehicle below $10,001 (minimum bid amount) because the cash or security does not exist to payoff the floor plan. Since system 20 guarantees the buyer, seller, and floor plan payoff, real time integration of cash and/or security transparency with wholesale trade maybe critical to market integrity, hi the same way that every vehicle in the market may be available for sale at the price listed or sold for the price negotiated, every bid may be guaranteed. [0224] Referring again to Fig. 3, in another embodiment, system 20 may further generally provide for integrating and weighting retail sales and cost data for tangible goods. System 20 may include computer system 22 configured to provide data indices for determining relative value and expected profitability of current and available wholesale tangible good inventory, and/or provide overall inventory value ratings that permit automated buy, sell and hold decisions based on historical and current market information. Computer system 22 may utilize the data indices and the overall inventory value ratings to determine an effective tangible good inventory.

[0225] System 20 may provide inventory intelligence for facilitating purchase and maintenance of tangible good inventory by evaluating one or more of the following factors: (1) inventory guidelines for enabling dealers (i.e. dealer 74) to establish guidelines of inventory size and/or limitations; (2) sales forecast for enabling dealers to set annual and/or monthly new or used tangible good sales forecasts by segment and/or model; (3) a continuous calculation of best-selling new and used tangible goods for each dealer over a prior period of time; (4) a continuous calculation of best-selling new and used tangible goods for each dealer over a future period of time; (5) a calculation of best-selling new and used tangible goods in a predetermined area; (6) specific model trending of tangible good sales in an area of dealer influence; (7) real time valuation of all tangible goods in a dealer inventory and markets; (8) cost of wholesale buying and selling that impacts inventory corrections; and/or (9) average retail price versus actual or expected cost of tangible good sale.

[0226] For the aforementioned factors, the system 20 inventory intelligence may rate all new and used vehicles between ten points positive and ten points negative based on the aforementioned factors. The weight of each factor may be initially set to a default but dealers may adjust the weight on a sliding scale to more closely reflect their specific operation. As a result of the ratings, the system 20 inventory intelligence may calculate the dealer's optimal inventories, which may change as area sales, dealer sales, wholesale values, inventory guidelines, sales forecast, or expected returns change. In real time, optimal inventory may be juxtaposed to the actual inventory and provide the dealer with buy, sell, and hold guidance based on each dealer's specific settings. In one example, a dealer may set the ratings at 6.2 negative equals sell while 7.1 positive equals buy, thus, all ratings between 6.2 negative and 7.1 positive equal hold. To improve market interaction, all buy and sell interfaces in system 20 may reflect the dealer's rating for the specific vehicle being sold or bought. Inventory ratings may also assist dealers with retail sales. In another example, a vehicle with a high rating such as 9.0 positive should enable more profit than a rating of 8.0 positive. [0227] For the most part, dealers rely on intuition for inventory, retail, and wholesale decision making. To clearly improve the dealer's ability to minimize costs and maximize sales, system 20 may provide them the aforementioned inventory intelligence system. A few firms currently purport to provide dealers with inventory intelligence systems. While some of those systems consist of misinformation and others provide part of the information, existing systems lack most of the critical information concerning vehicle inventory behavior. Thus, existing systems are far from trustworthy and actionable in everyday operations. The system 20 inventory intelligence system may thus integrate and weigh all data concerning the limitations and possibilities of vehicle inventory for each specific operation to calculate the most efficient and effective inventory for them at any given time. Moreover, system 20 may integrate those calculations directly in system 20 inventory interface, thereby enabling reliable retail and wholesale decision making and instant action taking capabilities that may reduce cost and increase unit sales.

[0228] Referring again to Fig. 3, in another embodiment, system 20 may further generally provide for establishment of a wholesale market for tangible goods. System 20 may include computer system 22 configured to provide for a first tangible good dealer (i.e. dealer 74) to purchase from a second tangible good dealer a tangible good in transit for delivery to the second tangible good dealer. Computer system 22 may be further configured to provide for the first tangible good dealer to purchase a tangible good on order from the second tangible good dealer and/or customize the tangible good.

[0229] For example, dealers (i.e. dealer 74) spend a lot of time and effort searching for new vehicles with the exact specification wanted by their retail consumers (i.e. consumer 78) who don't want to wait 8 - 10 weeks to get a vehicle "built to order" - and then try to trade with other dealers. The aforementioned features of system 20 thus add power and efficiency by automating the process and allow dealers to take "on order" cars from each other when they have a consumer ready to buy.

[0230] In addition to the wholesale redistribution of new vehicles in dealer inventories, system 20 may also enable wholesale trade of new vehicles orders. In sum, the wholesale trade of new vehicles in the order fulfillment process may expand the potential vehicle variations available to dealers by enabling a dealer to buy an order that may be close to production from another dealer and then customize the order on behalf of their consumer. As a result, the buying dealer may increase consumer satisfaction and sales while also reducing inventory and costs. The trade of orders may likewise include new vehicles in transit. The trade of new vehicle orders may work exactly the same as all other system 20 wholesale trade. [0231] Referring to Fig. 3, in another embodiment, system 20 may further generally provide for establishing a wholesale market for leased tangible goods. System may include computer system 22 configured to provide for a tangible good dealer (i.e. dealer 74) to sell future leased tangible goods based on a date of availability for a tangible good. Computer system 22 may be further configured to provide for the tangible good dealer to ascertain information pertaining to a condition of the tangible good, and provide for sale of the tangible good to be completed only after inspection of the tangible good for verification of the information.

[0232] Lessors want to remarket vehicles as quickly as possible as they come off lease and more than 50% of vehicles are inspected before lease end so all detailed condition/equipment/mileage information can be established. Some lessors already list vehicles for on-line auctions, but system 20 may provide greater precision, automation, transportation, and guaranteed condition.

[0233] Some remarketers seek to wholesale their vehicles before they come out of a fleet or their lease contract matures. To connect that future supply with demand, system 20 may include a futures market enabling remarketers to wholesale used vehicles before they are actually grounded. By selecting the date of availability and location where the vehicles can be inspected, remarketers may be able to enter vehicles in the futures market. After entering the location and availability date, a remarketer (i.e. dealer 74) may simply enter the year, model, trim, and quantity. For pricing, they may define the quantity into groups according to options and then the range of colors, mileage, and reconditioning cost. After system 20 provides the remarketer with a low and high valuation, the remarketer may enter the asking, floor, and automatic accept prices. On the availability date, system 20 inspectors may arrive at the remarketer' s specified locations to inspect all vehicles that were sold in the futures market. After inspection, all vehicles that qualify based on their representation may be sent to the buyer via the freight market. For vehicles that fail to qualify, remarketers may adjust the price and the buyer (i.e. consumer 78) may accept the adjusted price. Otherwise, those vehicles may enter in the spot market. Either way, all vehicle representations may be guaranteed. The upside may be that remarketers can reduce cost and risk while the downside maybe that the last buyers are less likely to acquire vehicles due to rejections. [0234] Referring to Figs. 13-14 (A-C), system 20 according to the present invention will now be described in further detail, in conjunction of the following applicable sub-systems for wholesale interactions: Market Vehicle Entry Administration sub-system 172, Market Inspection Integration sub-system 174, Market Price Management sub-system 176, Market Trade Transport Integration sub-system 178, Market Vehicle Searching sub-system 180, Search Interface sub-system 182, Search Algorithm sub-system 184, Search results display sub-system 186, New and used vehicle representation (NVR)sub-system 188, Third Party Reconditioning sub-system 190, Market Trade Negotiation sub-system 192, Single Bids subsystem 194, Automatic Bidding (Multi Bids) sub-system 196, Bid Options Summary subsystem 198, Futures Entry Management sub-system 200, Futures Price Management subsystem 202, Futures Trade Transport Integration sub-system 204, Futures Vehicle Searching sub-system 206, Futures Trade Negotiation sub-system 208, and Futures Inspection Approval sub-system 210. The aforementioned primary sub-systems for the Wholesale Interactions metasystem enable the interactions that facilitate searching for cars in the system 20 marketplace, viewing the cost and graphical representation of the car, bidding for a car or performing automatic bidding for a group of cars, viewing and adjusting settings for automatic bidding and buying cars in the futures market.

[0235] The Wholesale Interactions metasystem may deal with trade where buyers and sellers establish equilibrium price. Buyers and sellers may bid for vehicles and are able to counter each others bids. Block bidding and automatic bidding may also be included. The

Wholesale Interactions metasystem may include the futures market, hi system 20 terms, a fixtures market means one where re-marketers already know when cars are coming out of leases, rental car fleets or government/corporate fleets and put them in the marketplace in advance so that they can be sold by the time they are available. These vehicles may be put up for sale 3-4 weeks in advance based on certain criteria and allow buyers to buy them before the cars hit the actual market. [0236] Market Vehicle Entry Administration

[0237] For Market Vehicle Entry Administration sub-system 172, dealers (i.e. dealer 74) can enter and administer vehicle criteria for the market including the ability to put them into a pending status. Based on near zero entry barriers as well as an automated vehicle entry system that may be precise and easy to control, dealers can enter a large portion of their inventory into system 20 markets. System 20 interaction may enable administrators to control how their business may interact with system 20, including systems integration, settlement preferences, and member limits. The systems integration may include a system 20 installed server for reading the dealer's system to enable seamless vehicle entry into the markets and ensure that all vehicles sold in another forum are automatically removed from the markets. Dealers may be able to make settings controlling how vehicles from their inventory may enter the marketplace. For the futures market, since re-marketers typically know when cars are coming off lease which enables them to sell cars before the actual lease ends and likewise it enables buyers to buy it. This may be where the pending vehicles are administered and seen by the consumer (i.e. consumer 78). They may be temporarily removed from system 20. [0238] Market Inspection Integration System

[0239] Market Inspection Integration sub-system 174 may be where users enter a vehicle and can request an inspection. This system may integrate the aforementioned Automobile Inspection Requests sub-system 130. [0240] Market Price Management System

[0241] Market Price Management sub-system 176 may permit a seller to enter the spot price, floor price and ABA price. No matter how the price may be entered, manually or automatically, it may be preferably processed through Market Price Management sub-system 176. When a dealer (i.e. dealer 74) wants to enter a vehicle in the marketplace, he may enter a spot price for his car, an ABA price which may be the automatic bid acceptance price for the vehicle and the floor price. If a buyer (i.e. consumer 78) bids higher than the ABA price it may be automatically accepted. Anything below the ABA but higher than the floor price may result in a pending bid that the seller can accept, reject or counter. Market Price Management sub-system 176 may also be used to set up price tracking based on age and market value, and may be the ultimate place where prices are put into system 20 marketplace. [0242] Market Trade Transport Integration

[0243] Market Trade Transport Integration sub-system 178 may be the integration of a Vehicle Transportation sub-system into wholesale interactions. This integration point may take the data from Market Vehicle Searching sub-systems 180 (see discussion below) and put out the various transport routes for the freight. The first freight operator to select a suitable route may get the freight and decide the route. [0244] Market Vehicle Searching Systems

[0245] Vehicles in the U.S. market are available in almost 1,400 model variations with billions of possible combinations of options and colors. Because system 20 may maintain all automobile characteristics and all factors of trade execution, buyers may be able to easily search for and locate new and used vehicles in system 20 via Market Vehicle Searching subsystem 180 based on criteria such as the year, make, model, mileage, segment, carmaker and aftermarket options, vehicle history elements, reconditioning costs and time, delivery cost and time, seller's price, price range, total cost, and total time before the vehicle may be ready for retail sale. Moreover, the buyer (i.e. consumer 78) may also search and locate vehicles based on retail criteria such as payment, including finance criteria and profit margin. As the members search for and locate vehicles in the market, system 20 may provide the accurate and real time value for each mile, option, condition, and total valuation for each specific vehicle they review. Therefore, the buyer may likewise search for vehicles based on the difference between the total vehicle costs compared to the real time value. [0246] Unless directed by the buyer, the search results may provide a list of vehicles that meets the criteria starting with the lowest delivered price (asking price, vehicle reconditioning cost, freight cost, and system 20 buy fee) and then sorted by delivery time. If desired, the buyer may adjust the order by any criteria available in system 20. Within the listed results, the buyer may select any unit to review vehicle detail. Based on data interaction between system 20 vehicle database and carmakers, all new and used vehicle detail may show feature and benefit information. Results may also show static pictures and video of the vehicle and options. Used vehicle results may include the inspection templates and provide visual clarity of the vehicle, options, and condition. For new and used vehicles, the buyer may review previous, current, and projected value as compared to the total delivered cost. [0247] Thus, with regard to existing systems, what may be arduous, ambiguous, and risky today may be very quick, clear, and totally guaranteed in system 20. In seconds, each buyer may be able to review, understand, and acquire vehicles with total confidence. [0248] Search Interface

[0249] Market Vehicle Searching sub-system 180 may include Search Interface subsystem 182 to enable a buyer to search in system 20 for the car he/she wants from the wholesale market. The buyer may do so by specifying certain criteria before performing the search. The buyer may build a car that he wants by using a visual interface to specify a car make, model, mileage and so on. The options provided in the interface may be an extension of the Chrome system. The user may customize components to suit the kind of car they want. Search Interface sub-system 182 may then go out into the marketplace and return the resulting closest matches. The actual search may be performed in system 20 marketplace not in Chrome's database. Chrome's database may be used in Vehicle identifications for search by VIN for existing car information.

[0250] For all displayed results, invoice price, sellers spot price, transport price, and transport time may be calculated and displayed per vehicle result. However, these calculations may not be performed for all the results. A "best results" subset may be selected and the calculations may be performed for these results only. Next, transport price and time and reconditioning price and time may be calculated for each result based on inspection result knowledge. The user may also choose to search the futures market if they choose. [0251] Search Interface sub-system 182 may thus act as the start point for the user to: (1) Perform a search for cars in system 20 marketplace; (2) Perform a search in the futures market; (3) View a list of best results and be able to see costs associated with buying that vehicle; (4) Set bid price and bid on a vehicle or set automatic bidding options for a group of vehicles; (5) Be able to select a vehicle, view its representation, aftermarket parts on the vehicle and their costs. For used cars the user can also see an interactive version of the representation that can be manipulated to see inspection results; (6) From here the user may view bid options summary and adjust them; (7) The user may also view details about retail financing.

[0252] Search Algorithm

[0253] Initially, the buyer (i.e. dealer 74 or consumer 78) may build and customize the car that he/she wants in the user interface. The options for setting search criteria for the car are based on Chrome's search options. When the user clicks to perform the search, Search Algorithm sub-system 184 may operate in the following order: [0254] (1) Initial order - Search Algorithm sub-system 184 may perform a search in system 20 marketplace based on the users search criteria. The result set may be sorted in ascending order based on the distance from the buyer. A Location Information Administration subsystem and Market Transportation Systems sub-system may be used to determine this. [0255] (2) Second order - Now, Search Algorithm sub-system 184 may calculate the total cost of all the search results. However, actually calculating the exact cost of freight delivery, reconditioning, delivery time and reconditioning time may be computationally time consuming for a large result set. This may be why, initially, a simple equation may be used to estimate the total cost of the vehicle assuming that the final cost may be close to this price. Once the total estimated cost is calculated and the best results are displayed, specific cost and time calculations may be carried out only on the top results. Since this may be a small subset of the total results, the time taken for specific calculations may not be too high. [0256] The approximate cost may be calculated as follows: Cost = Base price + (Mileage X (Seller index (1.3) X Average BPM (8.3)) + (Recon Hours (4.21) X Buyer Rate (6.2)) + Parts cost (4.20)))

[0257] BPM = Transportation base cost per mile

[0258] (3) Freight Delivery cost calculations - The results may be sorted again by the estimated costs. Now, exact calculations may carried out on these results. [0259] Freight Delivery cost calculation may include: (1) Freight Acceptance Time (FAT): LIA (location index average) For e.g., If sellers location index may be 1, and buyer may be 3, the LIA may be 2. If average FAT for a location with index 2 may be 4 hours, assume FAT may be 4 hours for this case. LIA may be derived from a Freight Logistics Locating Factoring sub-system, which calculates average FAT for different indices continuously. (2) Freight Pick up Time (FPT): This may be obtained from the LIA too. (3) Government Mandated Time (GMT) by the miles from pick up to delivery. This may be also part of a Market Transportation sub-system. (4) Logistical Route Calculation (LRC): amount of time to drive route. (5) LRC and GMT are similar and based off each other. LRC can never be lower than the GMT. (6) Market Transportation sub-system (MTS): This system may adjust time calculations in LRC and updates it. The LRC may be also part of the Market Transportation sub-system. Further, the Market Transportation sub-system may calculate transportation time with all factors of delays, weather, traffic, FPT etc. and provide final delivery time for freight. Based on this a freight price needs to be calculated. A Freight Logistics Locating Factoring sub-system may calculate the base price per mile based on quantity, fuel price, service type and distance breaks. Distance breaks may be created automatically based on a greater than normal (using a variance factor) change (incline or decline) in the price in the freight transportation. Freight delivery costs may include the following factors: (1) LIA (location index average) X BPM (base price per mile) = PMP (per mileage price); (2) PMP X TDM (total delivery mileage) = Total freight price (TFP); (3) FDM (freight delivery mileage) + reconditioning distance = TDM; (4) Freight delivery price (FDP) + reconditioning delivery price = TFP.

[0260] (4) Reconditioning cost calculations may be performed only if the dealer is going to perform the reconditioning. For Reconditioning, MDS (Mechanical Database Selection), FRD (Flat rate Database), SET (Service Entrance Time), BLR (Buyers Labor Rates), PMU (Parts markup in percentage) may all be derived from a Recondition Service Administration sub-system. In addition, the following sub-systems may be referenced for this calculation FCD (Flatrate calculation database), RPC (Reconditioning parts calculation), RHC (Reconditioning Hours calculation) and WSI (Warranty Service Identifier). The member may select either Chilton's or Mitchell's as the database that provides reconditioning costs. Based on the database selected in the MDS -> ((RPC X WSI) X (1+PMU (in percentage/ 100)) (PMU may be from the Recondition Service Administration sub-system, WSI may be from the Recondition Estimator Database sub-system, and may be either a 0 or 1 depending on whether the part may be not under warranty or may be in warranty respectively) = TPC (Total parts cost). The following calculations may provide total cost and time for the buyer [0261] MDS -> (RHC X WSI) X BLR (the Recondition Service Administration subsystem) = TLC (Total Labor Costs). (WSI value decides what reconditioning labor costs are added)

[0262] FCD (corresponds with buyers flatrate factors BFF in the Recondition Service Administration sub-system) -> FRC (Flatrate costs) & FRT (Flatrate time) [0263] COST = TRC = TPC + TLC + FRC (Total Reconditioning costs) [0264] TIME = TRT = RHC + SET (service entrance time) + WST (warranty service time comes from Chilton's or Mitchell's) + FRT = TRT (total reconditioning time) [0265] Search Results Display

[0266] Search Results Display sub-system 186 may display (see Fig. 15 - which illustrates a user interface depiction of the vehicle search criteria and search result windows illustrating the use of retail finance options as search criteria) in the interface all the exact costs. Along with the search results, the user may see their search criteria, which may be everything that has been described in a Vehicle Identification sub-system. In real time, it maybe going to show the market value of both new and used vehicles by specific component, as well as its cost over the base model configuration.

[0267] The final results may show: (1) Value of the interior and exterior color, over base model configuration; (2) Sellers price (spot price); (3) Result number; (4) Invoice price; and (5) Delivery time (FDT).

[0268] For new vehicles, the results may also show: (1) The dealer cost for new vehicles; and (2) Difference between market value and dealer cost.

[0269] The results may display: (1) SRR (Search Results Rank): Search results ranked by what the system has calculated as the best results; (2) NDI (New Dealer Invoice): The invoice price for a new vehicle; (3) PDI (Prior Dealer Invoice): The invoice price for a used vehicle; (4) SSP (Sellers Spot Price): The spot price of the car set by the seller; (5) TFP (Total Freight Price): The total cost of delivering the freight; and (6) TDT (Total Delivery Time): Total time for delivery of the vehicle including freight acceptance and pickup time. [0270] At the time of inspection, (Vehicle Inspections Certification), the inspection system may know the Buyers Flat rate factors, which the buyer has entered into the Flatrate Configuration Database sub-system. From the inspection results and the buyers factors, the cost of reconditioning may be calculated. This may be what may be displayed to the buyer in the search results. After the buyer selects the car, the system may get Flatrates from applicable third parties and compare it with the buyers costs and allows the buyer to pick those reconditioning facilities if he wants. [0271] New and Used Vehicle Representation (XJVR & NVR)

[0272] NVR sub-system 188 may provide a 3-D graphical picture of the vehicle from an Automobile Graphical Database as well as a features and benefits listing. The user (i.e. dealer 74 or consumer 78) may change colors, or wheels or any other options on the vehicles. NVR sub-system 188 may give pictures of options and give information about them. NVR subsystem 188 may allow the user to change options and perform a search on the updated options. The User may click on these options and it may give them more information from EVOX which may be the main database for this information. System 20 may integrate with the EVOX database for this functionality. [0273] Used vehicle representation (UVR)

[0274] For UVR sub-system 188, the digital template for the vehicle from an Automobile Template Database which stores 3D templates of vehicles may be used for representing a used vehicle. UVR sub-system 188 may take the inspection results and use the indicators in an Automobile Indicator Database to highlight any problems or options (which may be highlighted in green). The tire thread depth may be also shown here. At the time of inspection, a template for each car, make, model would exist and the inspector would use the template to mark problem spots on the template for the buyer to see. Options may be already highlighted. The vehicle may be rotated 360 degrees for viewing. Templates may serve as a means to see the problems found in the inspections. Clicking on an indicator would take the user to a digital picture of the problem and a calculation of the costs to fix the car. This may be the reconditioning costs and time options for the car. The user may also click on the front, top, sides and bottom of the car and zoom into those areas. The exact recon cost and time may be displayed. UVR sub-system 188 may also allow the car to be laid out on in an exploded view.

[0275] Third Party Reconditioning

[0276] For Third Party Reconditioning sub-system 190, used vehicle reconditioning may be a critical part of retail and as such, it may be a critical part of wholesale. However, sellers and buyers have limited options and ability to have a vehicle reconditioned before it may be wholesaled by the seller or delivered to the buyer. While some dealers insist on reconditioning vehicles they purchase, others prefer to focus their service capacity on retail consumers and many simply prefer that all vehicles are reconditioned before delivery regardless of their service capacity. Moreover, a high amount of vehicle reconditioning value tends to be lost in the current wholesale market because reconditioning may be not properly represented or guaranteed. Thus, the reconditioning investment may be worth less than it should be. In fact, many dealers recondition all of the vehicles they purchase in spite of previous reconditioning. As such, those dealers must deduct that unnecessary cost from the price they can pay, thereby reducing vehicle value for all dealers and remarketers. [0277] Owing to system 20 inspection, members may enjoy absolute confidence and clarity of any vehicle's reconditioned needs before it is sold or bought in system 20. To enhance market capabilities, system 20 may use the freight capabilities to integrate auction reconditioning capacity in real time. Due to that integration, members may be able to easily review a list of reconditioning needs for any used vehicle and select exactly what they want reconditioned before the seller wholesales a vehicle and/or the buyer purchases a vehicle. The reconditioning option may include an aftermarket menu and show cost and time, including additional freight if required. Since auctions may provide distribution points for freight and are far more efficient at reconditioning, the option could easily lower cost and time. [0278] Referring to Fig. 16 (which illustrates a user interface depiction of the vehicle search criteria and search result windows illustrating the use of retail finance options as search criteria), in a similar manner as Fig. 15, Third Party Reconditioning sub-system 190 may be where the buyer (i.e. consumer 78) gets an option of using an intermediate reconditioner. It identifies the potential reconditioning facilities based on location and capacity. Third Party Reconditioning sub-system 190 may map out any possible reconditioning options between the buyer and seller route (uses a Market Transportation sub-system to get the route) or any other options within a reasonable radius. The calculations may be all automatic. Third Party Reconditioning sub-system 190 may then measure capacity of the facility using a Reversed Reconditioning Capacities sub-system, which accounts for marshalling capacity. Thereafter, since the Third Party Reconditioning sub-system 190 needs to get reconditioning capacity, it may read the Reversed Reconditioning Capacities sub-system for each auctioning facility that qualifies within the radius or the route. The Market Transportation sub-system may be used to qualify the route/radius. Third Party Reconditioning sub-system 190 may then rule out facilities with low capacities unless there may be no other choice. Inspection results may be obtained and multiplied by factors in a Reconditioning Database Integration sub-system, a Cosmetic Vehicle Services sub-system, and a Mechanical Vehicle Repairs sub-system. A Vehicle Inspection Integration Menu sub-system (which may be a list of reconditioning items, hours and prices) may integrate vehicle inspections with costs, and may use a Recondition Service Administration sub-system, Reconditioning Database Integration sub-system, Cosmetic Vehicle Services sub-system, and Mechanical Vehicle Repairs sub-system to figure out how much it may cost to repair the car at that facility. This may calculate TRC and TRT. NB Buyer may only see one reconditioning option and doesn't see the facility or other competitors. The chart below may be a depiction of happens when the buyer selects a specific used car. It may be only once the user selects a car to buy that they have the option to recondition it from a third party. The FDP (Freight Delivery Price) may be the price from one intermediate point to another, TFP may be what the buyer sees as total freight price and it may include several FDP 's since there could be many intermediate points [0279] Third Party Reconditioning sub-system 190 may further use the Market Transportation sub-system to find the best reconditioning facilities (potential auctions) by location for the buyer. The Market Transportation sub-system may use the Location Information Administration sub-system to make this decision. Once a facility is picked, the Reversed Reconditioning Capacities sub-system may check their capacity and rule out auctions that do not have capacity. For this, the Reversed Reconditioning Capacities subsystem may check the freight to know what day to check for available capacity. The Current Reconditioning Assignments and Vehicle Marshalling Capacity sub-systems may provide this information to the Reversed Reconditioning Capacities sub-system. If the facility has capacity, the Vehicle Inspection Integration Menu sub-system for that facility may use input from the Recondition Service Administration, Reconditioning Database Integration, Cosmetic Vehicle Services System, and Mechanical Vehicle Repairs sub-systems to calculate an estimate for cost of reconditioning. This may be provided to the Vehicle Recondition Estimate Menu sub-system which in turn may be displayed in the Third Party Reconditioning sub-system. The user may approve the estimate in the Vehicle Recondition Estimate Menu sub-system through the interface in the Third Party Reconditioning sub-system. The Vehicle Recondition Approval Menu sub-system may take the order and send capacity feedback to the Current Reconditioning Assignment sub-system and send the information to the Vehicle Recondition Freight sub-system, the freight transport system for taking care of vehicle transportation to the facility. The Vehicle Inspection Certifications sub-system may feed into the Vehicle Inspection Integration Menu sub-system as well.

[0280] The Vehicle Recondition Approval Menu sub-system may be only invoked if the user selects and accepts the bid/spot price in the Market Trade Negotiation sub-system which may be also contained in the Market Vehicle Searching sub-system user interface. The Role of the Freight Logistics Location Factoring sub-system may be to get TDP and TDT for every auction possibility to ensure that the freight costs and time for reconditioning facility are not prohibitive. The Freight Logistics Location Factoring sub-system may check TDT and TDP for transportation leg between seller to auction and auction to buyer only. At the Vehicle Recondition Freight sub-system however, system 20 may calculate more intermediate points for delivery.

[0281] Market Trade Negotiation Systems

[0282] For Market Trade Negotiation sub-system 192, rather than limit supply and demand to any place or time, system 20 may treat them both as a constant. In other words, maximum value may be everywhere all of the time rather than subject to any one place or time. Once a buyer (i.e. customer 78) has entered their criteria and reviewed the results, they may buy. If a buyer's bid meets the asking price or automatic accept price, the vehicle may be sold. If the buyer's bid is less than the asking price or automatic accept price but higher than the floor price, the seller may: (1) Accept the bid and thus, every part (synchronous) of the transaction may be started; (2) Counter-bid and negotiate until the counter-or-recounter may be accepted by the buyer or the buyer's counter-or-recounter may be accepted by the seller and thus, the transaction may be started; or (3) Simply reject or ignore the bid, counter, or recounter, and thus, end the process. [0283] All buyer bids, seller counter bids, and recounter bids may be limited to a lifespan of one business day for example. System 20 price negotiation systems may be a very close emulation of current wholesale price practices yet far more intuitive, easier, and faster with greater capabilities for buyers and sellers.

[0284] After the buyer has entered their search criteria and system 20 has returned the list of search results, the buyer may select, review, and bid on one vehicle with one seller or send many individual bids with instant cancellation of all remaining bids once the desired quantity may be met. Moreover, a buyer may also refine the search criteria (vehicle, options, mileage, condition, cost, and time) and bid on all of the listed results simultaneously by also defining the bidding and quantity criteria. The bid criteria may consist of the starting bid, incremental bid, maximum bid, and maximum quantity. Once the criteria may be entered and confirmed, system 20 may bid on behalf of the buyer within the search and bidding criteria. Due to the 24 hour lifespan for all bids, small incremental bids may likely slow the process. Assuming that sellers accept the bids and the quantity may be fulfilled; all outstanding bids may instantly disappear. Because any bid in system 20 could instantly disappear, seller responsiveness to bids on new and used vehicles they truly need to wholesale may be high. Since buyers may be able to define and bid on any criteria and quantity with the push of a button, liquidity may be high as well.

[0285] Referring to Fig. 17 (which illustrates the bid option offer window as shown in Figs. 4G, 15 and 16), the screen illustrated may be part of Market Trade Negotiation subsystems 192 to let the buyer set automatic bid options (ABO). For Fig. 17, the New Total Price may include freight, seller price, and system 20 fee, and the Used Total Price may include freight, seller price, and system 20 fee, and Recon(freight + costs, if applicable). Other factors included may be: TDP Total Delivery Price; SNP Seller net price; TRC= Total Recon Costs; TFP = Total Freight Price; VIF = Vehicle Inspection Fee; SSP = Sellers Spot Price; UBF = Used Buyer Fee; NBF = New Buyer Fee; CCP = Current Counter Price; BET = Bid Expiration Time; SFP = Seller Floor Price; ABA = Automatic Bid Acceptance; MBR = market Bid Rejection; MBA = market Bid Acceptance; BSR = Buyer Search Results; ABR = Automatic Bid Rejection; PAB = Pending Action Bid (greater than the floor price, less than ABA); BRN = Bid Rejection Notification; MTI = market Transaction Initiation; MBP = Multi Bid Price; SGS= Seller Group Selection; MBQ = Multi Bid Quantity; MVQ = Multiple Vehicle Quantity; MDB = Max Delivered Price; BRT= Bid Response Time; SBP = Starting Bid Price; ABS = Automatic Bid Sorting; BOS = Bid Options Summary; and ABO = Automatic Bid options. [0286] Single Bids

[0287] Referring to Fig. 18 (which illustrates a single-bid vehicle exchange negotiation process flow), for Single Bids sub-system 194, if the buyer bids the spot price in the market, it takes away the freight costs, reconditioning costs, the buyer fee and adds 0 for new cars and the inspection fee for used cars. If the seller accepts the bid price, this adjusted price may be the net price that the seller gets paid (Refund of inspection fee if sale may be made).

[0288] Single Bids sub-system 194 may include the following algorithms:

[0289] Bid calculations: BBP - TFP- (NBF or UBF) + VIF = SNP (Buyers bid price minus total freight price minus either the used buyer fee or new buyer fee plus the vehicle inspection fee (0 for new cars) equals the seller's net price)

[0290] Algorithm:

[0291] 1) BBP - TFP - (NBF or UBF) + VIF = SNP

Sellers net price may be Buyers bid price minus total freight price minus either the new buyer fee or the used buyer fee plus vehicle inspection fee refund. [0292] 2) If SNP < SFP Then ABR (Automatic Bid Rejection) goto 3)

Else if SNP >= SFP AND SNP < ABA Then PAB (Pending Action Bid) goto 4) Else if SNP >= ABA and SNP <= SSP Then MBA (market Bid Acceptance) goto 5) Where 0 <= SNP <= SSP

[0293] If SNP is less than the sellers floor price, then the bid may be automatically rejected (ABR) and a Bid Rejection Notification BRN may be sent. If SNP is between SFP and ABA, then a Pending Action Bid may be sent to seller (PAB). The seller may either a) reject (MBR) causing a rejection notice (BRN), b) accept MBA, initiating a transaction (MTI) or c) Counter Bid.

[0294] 3) BRN

[0295] 4) Seller: Based on the buyers bid, the seller can either accept, counter or reject the bid.

IfMBA then goto 5) (This step may be a seller action) If CCP then goto 6) (A counter offer may be made) IfMBR then goto 3) (Marker Bid Rejection) [0296] 5) MTI goto Transaction Processing

[0297] 6) SNP (new) + TFP + (NBF or UBF) - VIF = CCP goto 7) (The Seller makes a counter offer and the CCP may be calculated) [0298] A counter bid means the SNP may be updated by the seller. The CCP may be calculated, and it may be the sum of new SNP plus TFP plus either the new Buyer fee or the used Buyer fee minus Inspection fees.

[0299] 7) Buyer: Based on the counter price, the buyer can either reject, counter or accept the offer.

IfMBR then goto 3) (This may be a buyer action)

IfCCP then goto 1)

IfMBA then goto 5)

[0300] The buyer then either rejects it, resulting in a BRN, or counters with a new BBP resulting in another recalculation of the SNP and going back to the Seller. [0301] Business Rule: If no ABA entered, then ABA defaults to SSP (Sellers spot price). (This may be because ABA may be typically lower than SSP, it indicated the lowest a seller may be willing to go. If no ABA, then it defaults to SSP and if the bid may be greater than or equal to that ABA, the dealer automatically accepts).

[0302] Business Rule: An MBA automatically kills all PAB's (pending action bids) [0303] Business Rule: New SNP must be higher than old by at least a dollar for Counter Bid.

[0304] Business Rule: Subsequent Bids must be higher than previous bids. No bid can have the Seller Net Price greater than the Seller Spot Price. If a bid is entered causing the Seller Net Price to be higher than the Seller Spot Price then the bid is automatically accepted and adjusted such that the Seller Net Price equals the Seller Spot Price. [0305] Automatic Bidding (Multi Bids)

[0306] For Automated Bidding sub-system 196, for a group of vehicles, the buyer may select a group of vehicles, set the number of vehicles he wants to buy, the maximum price he may buy the vehicles for, the bid increment by which the bid can be incremented in case the start bid may be not accepted, the Bid rejection time which may be the amount of time the seller has to counter with an offer in case the bid may be pending and a starting bid price. The multi bid price may be the current bid price. Initially the starting bid may be the current bid price.

[0307] 1) The buyer may select a group of sellers, from the search results. (SGS) [0308] 2) Next, buyer may set criteria for automatic bidding, MVQ, MDB, IBP, BRT and SBP. Initially for first bid, MBP = SBP. Bid may be sent out.

[0309] 3) MBP - TFP - (NBF or UBF) + VEP = SNP (for all n members of SSG). AU SNPs are calculated. [0310] Similar to a single bid, the seller net price may be calculated, but in this instance it may be calculated for all vehicles in the SGS (group).

[0311] 4) AU sellers may be checked for possible ABA's. Qualifying ABA's are stored by the system. ABA's are hidden from the buyer.

[0312] 5) The lowest ABA's may be accepted resulting in highest value for sellers. MBA and MTI occur. MVQ may be decremented for each ABA.

[0313] This step may be similar to the single bid algorithm. ABA's are accepted, but the lowest ones are accepted first. This may be because the lower the sellers ABA compared to the bid, the higher value he gets from the sale. Each sale results in a decrement in MVQ meaning the number of vehicles left to buy decreases. [0314] 6) If Quantity is filled (MVQ=O) then END.

[0315] Once all the required vehicles are bought, the process ends and all remaining bids are killed.

[0316] 7) If not, check if there are any PAB's. Store all PAB's and start the BRT (Bid Response Time) (If any CCP's match with PAB's, send counter bid). [0317] If all the ABA's result in sales and there are still vehicles left to buy, Automated Bidding sub-system 196 may check if the bid results in pending action bids for any vehicles. These PAB's are stored and the Bid response time clock may be started. The seller has till the time runs out to counter.

[0318] 8) When BRT ends, check if there are any CCP (Counter bids) [0319] At the end of the clock, Automated Bidding sub-system 196 may check for counters.

[0320] 9) Select lowest CCPs. If CCP < MBP +IBP, accept bid, resulting in MBA and MTI.

[0321] If the counter offer may be such that the next bid increment may result in the counter being matched or exceeded, the counter offer may be automatically accepted and the MVQ may be decremented yet again.

[0322] 10) If CCP >= (MBA + IBP) then If CCP > (MBA + IBP) and (CCP < MDB) then store CCP

[0323] If the counter does not fit the criteria in step 9, but is still not greater than the maximum bid set by the buyer, then the counter offer may be stored. At the end of one cycle, if all the vehicles are not bought, the search may be performed again and the SGS may be refined. Then bidding starts again. Stored Counter offers however, result in another re- counter from the buyer. [0324] 11) If Quantity = 0 (MVQ=O) then END

[0325] 12) MBP = MBP + IBP. If MBP >MDB then END.

[0326] If the maximum delivered bid price is exceeded after incrementing the bid, then one cycle may be over. The search may be refined and the algorithm may be repeated.

[0327] 13) Else Refine SGS.

[0328] 14) Repeat 1.

[0329] Mathematical Algorithm:

1) SGS = (SET, MDB, SBP, IBP, BRT, MVQ)

2) For the n cars in SSG a. MBP-TFP-(UBF or NBF) + VIF = SNP

3) For (n cars SSG) a. IF SNP = ABA and SNP = SSP then ABA may be stored goto 4) b. Else SNP= SFP and SNP< ABA then PAB may be stored goto 6)

4) Sort ABA based on price in ascending order->ABS (Automatic bid sorting)

5) For (x stored ABA' s) a. ABS->MBA -> MVQ; MVQ-I b. If MVQ>0, then ABS again as above c. If MVQO then KRB (Kill Remaining Bids)

6) Start BRT (if second or later check counter)

7) When BRT= 0 , check for CCPs if non ->(10)

8) Sort CCP' s in increasing order ->ACS (Automatic Counter Sorting)

9) For (X₅ ASC) a. If(ACS< (MBP + IBP)) then MBA; MVQ-I b. IF(M VQ>0), then again, else KRB c. IF (ACS> (MBP+IBP) and ACS< MDB) then make counter offer

10) MBP=MBP+ IBP

If MBP< MDB then gotoll) If not END

11) Refine SGS

[0330] Bid Options Summary

[0331] For the Bid Options Summary sub-system 198, the buyer may set and adjust options for the way automatic bidding may be performed and then view the summary and adjust the settings anytime by viewing the Bid Options Summary (BOS). Fig. 19 illustrates a screen that shows the BOS (Bidding Option Summary), and specifically shows a user interface depiction of the buyer bid options confirmation screen. For Fig. 19, the buyer selects the confirm option to start the bidding process. [0332] Futures Entry Management Systems

[0333] Some remarketers seek to wholesale their vehicles before they come out of a fleet or their lease contract matures. To connect that future supply with demand, system 20 may include a Futures Entry Management sub-system 200 to wholesale used vehicles before they are actually grounded. By selecting the date of availability and location where the vehicles can be inspected, remarketers may be able to enter vehicles in the futures market. After entering the location and availability date, a remarketer may simply enter the year, model, trim, and quantity. For pricing, they may define the quantity into groups according to options and then the range of colors, mileage, and reconditioning cost. After system 20 provides the remarketer with a low and high valuation, the remarketer may enter the asking, floor, and automatic accept prices. On the availability date, system 20 inspectors may arrive at the remarketer' s specified locations to inspect all vehicles that were sold in the futures market. After inspection, all vehicles that qualify based on their representation may be sent to the buyer via the freight market. For vehicles that fail to qualify, remarketers may adjust the price and the buyer may accept the adjusted price. Otherwise, those vehicles may enter in the spot market. Either way, all vehicle representations may be guaranteed. The upside may be that remarketers can reduce cost and risk while the downside may be that the last buyers are less likely to acquire vehicles due to rejections.

[0334] At the point in time where remarketers know when, the quantity, the options and the location of vehicles coming into the market from them, they may enter their cars in the futures market as follows: (1) They may enter a Base Model Combination (BMC) in the system: The year, make and model information may be provided. Then they may add trim information. They also add the options that come with the vehicle which may be given to them automatically. (2) The quantity of cars to sell. This may be a range rather than an exact number. (3) Futures Entry Management sub-system 200 may then ask the seller what colors are available for the cars. This may be not done per car basis, but just a listing of all the car colors for the group. The buyers know that they may not have a choice of what color car they get. (4) Then the Futures Entry Management sub-system 200 may ask them for mileage range (10K-15K etc.). The user may be allowed a maximum spread of X amount of miles when specifying range. High end of range-low end of range cannot exceed this X value. The range may be specified by system 20. (5) The Futures Entry Management sub-system 200 may then ask them for a reconditioning range, which may be a range estimate for the cost of reconditioning. (6) The seller may then enter the Future Availability Date (FAD) of the cars so that inspection time can be estimated as well as delivery. (7) Then they price the group in Futures Price Management sub-system 202 (see discussion below). [0335] Futures Price Management Systems

[0336] Continuing from Futures Entry Management sub-system 200, Futures Price Management sub-system 202 may be where a remarketer can price their cars. The pricing mechanism may be similar to that in Market Price Management sub-system 176. hi Futures Price Management sub-system 202: (1) The seller may enter the spot price, floor and ABA price for all the cars in the group at one time, such as a fleet. (2) The seller may enter the price for a car but it applies to all of the vehicles in group that may be being entered in the futures market. (3) Futures Price Management sub-system 202 may also allow the seller to set price tracking according to age and market value. [0337] Futures Trade Transport Integration

[0338] The Futures Trade Transport Integration sub-system 204 integrates the Vehicle Transportation sub-system into the wholesale market. Futures Trade Transport Integration sub-system 204 may take data from Market Vehicle Searching sub-system 180 and put out the various transport routes on offer for a transporter. The transporter may select the best route for him based on these options. [0339] Futures Vehicle Searching Systems

[0340] Futures Vehicle Searching sub-system 206 may be the same as the Market Vehicle Searching sub-system 180 except that only the futures market may be searched. The buyer (i.e. consumer 78) may be only allowed to search by make, model and trim, because exact color and mileage may not be known for cars in the futures market. Buyers searching the system 20 marketplace using system Market Vehicle Searching sub-system 180 however, may choose to also search within the futures market, but freight delivery time may not be immediate, since the cars aren't actually in the market yet. [0341] Futures Trade Negotiation Systems

[0342] Futures Trade Negotiation sub-system 208 may use the Market Trade Negotiation sub-system 192 to carry out the negotiations and close the deal. [0343] Futures Inspection Approval System

[0344] Futures Inspection Approval sub-system 210 may use the Automobile Inspection Requests sub-system to request inspections on the availability date (FAD). A vehicle must preferably be inspected before they are entered into system 20 marketplace. Inspectors may be scheduled to show up on or after the FAD based on availability and if the car meets the criteria, it may be sold to the buyer (this may be based on the year, mileage, options and condition of the vehicle). Successful inspections result in a MTI (market Transaction Initiation which invokes clearinghouse and titling processes). All that don't qualify or (using the Market Vehicle Entry Administration sub-system or the Auction Vehicle Assignment sub-system) may be entered into the spot market.

[0345] Referring again to Fig. 3, in another embodiment, system 20 may further generally provide for deriving tangible good valuation comparison indices. System 20 may include computer system 22 configured to calculate one or more of the following factors related to a tangible good model, segment and manufacturer: (1) relative retail rating (RRR) for providing an instant rating of retail opportunity by dividing the average retail profit margin for each model by the average cost; (2) relative market index (RMI) of risk based on specific supply and demand; and/or (3) relative value index (RVI) based on retail and wholesale factors combined.

[0346] Computer system 22 may be further configured to allow one or more of the RRR, RMI and RVI factors to be adjusted by an authorized user. The RRR factor may be adjustable between profit margin and the cost of time, the RMI factor may be adjustable between supply and demand, and the RVI factor may be adjustable between retail and wholesale. Computer system 22 may be further configured to calculate one or more market indices based on real time valuation of a tangible good. Exemplary indices may be a New Automobile market Average (NAMA) index, or a Pre-owned Automobile market Average (PAMA) index. The NAMA and PAMA indices may use weighted average of a predetermined number of best retailing new and used tangible goods at a predetermined time.

[0347] Referring to Figs. 20A-20P, real time and accurate vehicle values may dramatically enhance the ability of sellers and buyers to interact in system 20 and auction markets. To enhance the interaction further, system 20 may provide members with numerous market indices based on those real time vehicle valuations. As discussed above, system 20 may calculate indices such as the NAMA (New Automobile market Average) and PAMA (Pre- owned Automobile market Average) for used. The NAMA and PAMA may employ a weighted average of, for example, the thirty best retailing new and used vehicles at any given time. Each model weight may be multiplied by its correlating valuation to maintain each index. With similar methodology, the carmakers and vehicle segments may also have a new and used vehicle index, which may be based on a weighted average of all carmaker vehicles and the best selling ten vehicles for each segment. [0348] As also briefly discussed above, to assist members with understanding risks and opportunities in the markets, system 20 may calculate three factors for each model, segment, and carmaker. The relative retail rating (RRR) may provide an instant rating of retail opportunity by dividing the average retail profit margin for each model by the average cost. That result may be divided by retail days-supply to calculate the index. Similarly, system 20 may calculate a Relative market Index (RMI) of risk based on specific liquidity and a Relative Value Index (RVI) based on retail and wholesale factors combined. All three of the indices may be normalized to a factor of one and tracked over time. Knowing that different members may interact differently, all system 20 members may be able to easily adjust the weight of primary factors as they desire on a horizontal sliding scale, i.e. a member can adjust the RRR between the profit margins and the cost of time, the RMI between supply and demand, and the RVI between retail and wholesale. The valuations and indices may enhance inventory insights and market trade. System 20 valuations may be for members only and cannot be published in any form. Violations may result in member suspension. Referring again to Figs. 20A-20P, Figs. 20A-20P generally provide various further screen shots of system 20 with various explanations of specific displayed entities, and additionally illustrate use of the various indices (i.e. NAMA, PAMA, RRR, RMI; see discussion above). Fig. 2OA illustrates a user interface depiction of the market value indices screen (NAMA and PAMA). Fig. 2OB specifically illustrates a user interface depiction of the new vehicle index screen (NAMA), Fig. 2OC illustrates a user interface depiction of the pre-owned vehicle index screen (PAMA), Figs. 2OD and 2OE illustrate a user interface depiction of the carmaker market analysis screen, Fig. 2OF illustrates a user interface depiction of the relative market rating screen, Fig. 2OG illustrates a user interface depiction of the relative retail rating screen, Fig. 2OH illustrates a user interface depiction of the relative market index screen, Fig. 201 illustrates a user interface depiction of the relative value index screen, Fig. 2OJ illustrates a user interface depiction of the relative rating adjustment screen, Fig. 2OK illustrates a user interface depiction of the model market analysis screen, Figs. 2OL, 2OM and 20N illustrate a user interface depiction of the specific model analysis screen, and Figs. 20O and 20P illustrate user interface depictions of the geographic market analysis screens.

[0349] The invention thus provides a system and method, for example, for allowing a tangible good dealer to automatically purchase new tangible good inventory, automated scheduling of tangible good inspections, establishing an integrated market for tangible goods in which sale of tangible goods by dealers maybe subject to automated controls, integrating and weighting of retail sales and cost data for tangible goods, establishing a wholesale market for tangible goods, establishing a wholesale market for leased tangible goods, deriving tangible good valuation comparison indices, and generally, for enabling a tangible good dealer to automatically control and manage existing and future inventory. [0350] Although particular embodiments of the invention have been described in detail herein with reference to the accompanying drawings, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to those particular embodiments, and that various changes and modifications may be effected therein by one skilled in the art without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Claims

Patent ClaimsWhat is claimed is:

1. A system for allowing a tangible good dealer to at least one of automatically purchase and wholesale at least one of new and used tangible good inventory, said system- comprising: a computer system configured to:

(a) automatically bid on tangible goods to increase inventory of tangible goods; and

(b) specify an inventory rating based on tangible good valuation for allowing the tangible good dealer to automatically purchase most needed tangible good inventory of tangible goods that meet or exceed said inventory rating.

2. A system according to claim 1, wherein said system is operable via a wireless handset.

3. A system according to claim 1, wherein said computer system is configured to allow a tangible good selling dealer to one of accept the bid, counter-bid, and reject the bid.

4. A system according to claim 1, wherein said computer system is configured to maintain the bid for a predetermined time period.

5. A system according to claim 1 , wherein upon acceptance of a bid by a tangible good selling dealer, said computer system is configured to cancel all outstanding bids.

6. A system according to claim 1, wherein said tangible goods are vehicles.

7. A system for automated scheduling of tangible good inspections, said system comprising: a computer system configured to at least one of:

(a) define a time of day a seller allows inspections and inspectors in an inspection area;

(b) calculate an amount of inspection time needed for an amount of inspections requested; (c) define locations of scheduled inspections and available time in an inspector's calendar;

(d) define distance and time between each scheduled location and a requested location;

(e) calculate time to perform a requested inspection and drive to a next scheduled location;

(f) define a date and time that a first available inspector can perform an inspection; and

(g) adjust the inspector's calendar accordingly and respond to a request in a predetermined time period.

8. A system according to claim 7, wherein said system is operable via a wireless handset.

9. A system according to claim 7, wherein said tangible good inspections are for vehicles.

10. A system for establishing an integrated market for tangible goods in which sale of tangible goods by dealers is subject to automated controls, said system comprising: a computer system configured to:

(a) determine an amount of a consumer's credit limitation to allow the consumer to bid on a tangible good up to a maximum amount;

(b) determine an amount of a tangible good selling dealer's at least one of tangible good cost and tangible good secured amount to require the consumer to bid on the tangible good above a minimum amount; and

(c) control said sale based on said minimum and maximum bid amounts.

11. A system according to claim 10, wherein said system is operable via a wireless handset.

12. A system according to claim 10, wherein said tangible goods are vehicles.

13. A system for integrating and weighting retail sales and cost data for tangible goods, said system comprising: a computer system configured to at least one of:

(a) provide data indices for determining relative value and expected profitability of current and available wholesale tangible good inventory;

(b) provide overall inventory value ratings that permit automated buy, sell and hold decisions based on historical and current market information; and

(c) utilize said data indices and said overall inventory value ratings to determine an effective tangible good inventory.

14. A system according to claim 13, wherein said system provides inventory intelligence for facilitating purchase and maintenance of tangible good inventory by evaluating at least one of the following factors:

(a) inventory guidelines for enabling dealers to establish guidelines of at least one of inventory size and limitations;

(b) sales forecast for enabling dealers to set at least one of annual and monthly new or used tangible good sales forecasts by at least one of segment and model;

(c) a continuous calculation of best-selling new and used tangible goods for each dealer over a prior period of time;

(d) a continuous calculation of best-selling new and used tangible goods for each dealer over a future period of time;

(e) a calculation of best-selling new and used tangible goods in a predetermined area;

(f) specific model trending of tangible good sales in an area of dealer influence;

(g) real time valuation of all tangible goods in a dealer inventory and markets; (h) cost of wholesale buying and selling that impacts inventory corrections; and (i) average retail price versus actual or expected cost of tangible good sale.

15. A system according to claim 13, wherein said system is operable via a wireless handset.

16. A system according to claim 13, wherein said tangible goods are vehicles.

17. A system for establishing a wholesale market for tangible goods, said system comprising: a computer system configured to: (a) provide for a first tangible good dealer to purchase from a second tangible good dealer a tangible good in transit for delivery to the second tangible good dealer; and

(b) provide for the first tangible good dealer to at least one of purchase a tangible good on order from the second tangible good dealer and customize the tangible good.

18. A system according to claim 17, wherein said system is operable via a wireless handset.

19. A system according to claim 17, wherein said tangible goods are vehicles.

20. A system for establishing a wholesale market for leased tangible goods, said system comprising: a computer system configured to:

(a) provide for a tangible good dealer to sell future leased tangible goods based on a date of availability for a tangible good;

(b) provide for the tangible good dealer to ascertain information pertaining to a condition of the tangible good; and

(c) provide for sale of the tangible good to be completed only after inspection of the tangible good for verification of said information.

21. A system according to claim 20, wherein said system is operable via a wireless handset.

22. A system according to claim 20, wherein said tangible goods are vehicles.

23. A system for deriving tangible good valuation comparison indices, said system comprising: a computer system configured to calculate at least one of the following factors related to a tangible good model, segment and manufacturer:

(a) relative retail rating (RRR) for providing an instant rating of retail opportunity by dividing the average retail profit margin for each model by the average cost;

(b) relative market index (RMI) of risk based on specific supply and demand; and

(c) relative value index (RVI) based on retail and wholesale factors combined.

24. A system according to claim 23, wherein said computer system is further configured to allow at least one of said RRR, RMI and RVI factors to be adjusted by an authorized user.

25. A system according to claim 23, wherein said RRR factor is adjustable between profit margin and the cost of time, said RMI factor is adjustable between supply and demand, and said RVI factor is adjustable between retail and wholesale.

26. A system according to claim 23, wherein said computer system is further configured to calculate at least one market index based on real time valuation of a tangible good.

27. A system according to claim 26, wherein said index is one of a New Automobile Market Average (NAMA) index and a Pre-owned Automobile Market Average (PAMA) index.

28. A system according to claim 27, wherein said NAMA and PAMA indices use weighted average of a predetermined number of best retailing new and used tangible goods at a predetermined time.

29. A system according to claim 23, wherein said system is operable via a wireless handset.

30. A system according to claim 23, wherein said tangible good valuation comparison indices are for vehicles.

31. A method for allowing a tangible good dealer to at least one of automatically purchase and wholesale at least one of new and used tangible good inventory, said method comprising:

(a) automatically bidding on tangible goods to increase inventory of tangible goods; and

(b) specifying an inventory rating based on tangible good valuation for allowing the tangible good dealer to automatically purchase most needed tangible good inventory of tangible goods that meet or exceed said inventory rating.

32. A method according to claim 31, wherein said method is implemented via a wireless handset.

33. A method according to claim 31 , wherein said method further includes allowing a tangible good selling dealer to one of accept the bid, counter-bid, and reject the bid.

34. A method according to claim 31 , wherein said method further includes maintaining the bid for a predetermined time period.

35. A method according to claim 31, wherein upon acceptance of a bid by a tangible good selling dealer, said method further includes cancelling all outstanding bids.

36. A method according to claim 31, wherein said tangible goods are vehicles.

37. A method for automated scheduling of tangible good inspections, said method comprising:

(a) defining a time of day a seller allows inspections and inspectors in an inspection area;

(b) calculating an amount of inspection time needed for an amount of inspections requested;

(c) defining locations of scheduled inspections and available time in an inspector's calendar;

(d) defining distance and time between each scheduled location and a requested location;

(e) calculating time to perform a requested inspection and drive to a next scheduled location;

(f) defining a date and time that a first available inspector can perform an inspection; and

(g) adjusting the inspector's calendar accordingly and respond to a request in a predetermined time period.

38. A method according to claim 37, wherein said method is implemented via a wireless handset.

39. A method according to claim 37, wherein said tangible good inspections are for vehicles.

40. A method for establishing an integrated market for tangible goods in which sale of tangible goods by dealers is subject to automated controls, said method comprising:

(a) determining an amount of a consumer's credit limitation to allow the consumer to bid on a tangible good up to a maximum amount;

(b) determining an amount of a tangible good selling dealer's at least one of tangible good cost and tangible good secured amount to require the consumer to bid on the tangible good above a minimum amount; and

(c) controlling said sale based on said minimum and maximum bid amounts.

41. A method according to claim 40, wherein said method is implemented via a wireless handset.

42. A method according to claim 40, wherein said tangible goods are vehicles.

43. A method for integrating and weighting retail sales and cost data for tangible goods, said method comprising:

(a) providing data indices for determining relative value and expected profitability of current and available wholesale tangible good inventory;

(b) providing overall inventory value ratings that permit automated buy, sell and hold decisions based on historical and current market information; and

(c) utilizing said data indices and said overall inventory value ratings to determine an effective tangible good inventory.

44. A method according to claim 43, wherein said method provides inventory intelligence for facilitating purchase and maintenance of tangible good inventory by evaluating at least one of the following factors:

(a) inventory guidelines for enabling dealers to establish guidelines of at least one of inventory size and limitations; (b) sales forecast for enabling dealers to set at least one of annual and monthly new or used tangible good sales forecasts by at least one of segment and model;

(c) a continuous calculation of best-selling new and used tangible goods for each dealer over a prior period of time;

(d) a continuous calculation of best-selling new and used tangible goods for each dealer over a future period of time;

(e) a calculation of best-selling new and used tangible goods in a predetermined area;

(f) specific model trending of tangible good sales in an area of dealer influence;

(g) real time valuation of all tangible goods in a dealer inventory and markets; (h) cost of wholesale buying and selling that impacts inventory corrections; and (i) average retail price versus actual or expected cost of tangible good sale.

45. A method according to claim 43, wherein said method is implemented via a wireless handset.

46. A method according to claim 43, wherein said tangible goods are vehicles.

47. A method for establishing a wholesale market for tangible goods, said method comprising:

(a) providing for a first tangible good dealer to purchase from a second tangible good dealer a tangible good in transit for delivery to the second tangible good dealer; and

(b) providing for the first tangible good dealer to at least one of purchase a tangible good on order from the second tangible good dealer and customize the tangible good.

48. A method according to claim 47, wherein said method is implemented via a wireless handset.

49. A method according to claim 47, wherein said tangible goods are vehicles.

50. A method for establishing a wholesale market for leased tangible goods, said method comprising:

(a) providing for a tangible good dealer to sell future leased tangible goods based on a date of availability for a tangible good; (b) providing for the tangible good dealer to ascertain information pertaining to a condition of the tangible good; and

(c) providing for sale of the tangible good to be completed only after inspection of the tangible good for verification of said information.

51. A method according to claim 50, wherein said method is implemented via a wireless handset.

52. A method according to claim 50, wherein said tangible goods are vehicles.

53. A method for deriving tangible good valuation comparison indices, said method comprising: calculating at least one of the following factors related to a tangible good model, segment and manufacturer:

(a) relative retail rating (RRR) for providing an instant rating of retail opportunity by dividing the average retail profit margin for each model by the average cost;

(b) relative market index (RMI) of risk based on specific supply and demand; and

(c) relative value index (RVI) based on retail and wholesale factors combined.

54. A method according to claim 53, wherein said method further includes allowing at least one of said RRR, RMI and RVI factors to be adjusted by an authorized user.

55. A method according to claim 53, wherein said RRR factor is adjustable between profit margin and the cost of time, said RMI factor is adjustable between supply and demand, and said RVI factor is adjustable between retail and wholesale.

56. A method according to claim 53, wherein said method further includes calculating at least one market index based on real time valuation of a tangible good.

57. A method according to claim 56, wherein said index is one of a New Automobile Market Average (NAMA) index and a Pre-owned Automobile Market Average (PAMA) index.

58. A method according to claim 57, wherein said NAMA and PAMA indices use weighted average of a predetermined number of best retailing new and used tangible goods at a predetermined time.

59. A method according to claim 53, wherein said method is implemented via a wireless handset.

60. A method according to claim 53, wherein said tangible good valuation comparison indices are for vehicles.