E-Commerce Platform Modules

E-Commerce Platform Agents
These agents work for buyers, sellers, brokers and market owners in order to achieve business goals. They can save time, money and effort by automating simple tasks such as searching, monitoring and sorting. Agents can also assist in more complex tasks including analysis, decision-making and negotiation.

Market Owner's Module
This core module allows the platform to be configured and branded to meet the basic business requirements and processes. This includes setting business rules and terminology, user groups and access permissions, language, currencies and preferred communications media - email, SMS, WAP, Fax or telex.
Standard catalogue functionality is also provided for setting up and managing product hierarchies.

Auction Module
The auction module provides an effective way to sell a wide range of products, particularly time sensitive or perishable goods. The module offers a comprehensive range of auction formats, including:

• English
• Sealed bid
• Japanese
• Dutch
• Vickery

Additional auction types can be easily added to meet specific requirements. Once bidding and win parameters are defined, software agents can be instructed to set up, or take part in an auction - making, accepting or rejecting bids, monitoring progress and alerting their owners of developments.

Sourcing Module
The sourcing module makes it easy to buy simple or tailor-made products. The module allows buyers to define their exact requirements, submit requests for proposals (RFP or tenders) and manage incoming responses. If a short list is produced, sellers can be routed to an auction or a negotiation. Sellers can instruct agents to search and monitor for RFP's, requesting more information, if necessary, or responding appropriately with an offer.

Negotiation Module
The negotiation module offers a sophisticated means of automating part, or all, of the buying and selling process. It can handle complex negotiations, incorporating multiple factors such as price, delivery and payment terms. The module can mange discussions with multiple parties simultaneously to optimise the speed and effectiveness of any negotiation. Once a negotiation strategy is defined, software agents can submit requests, counter offers and complete deals on their owners' behalf, reporting back on progress.