Following action by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, CombineNet finished 2010 with 16 patents in sourcing optimization in its portfolio.

The six latest patents concern advanced methodologies and technology approaches to optimizing and simplifying the process of sourcing goods and services from suppliers, from routine spend categories to the most complex sourcing events, said Rich Wilson, president and chief operating officer of the company. "The collection of awarded patents we hold validates our commitment to research and innovation in solving sourcing challenges for over a decade. This gives customers of our best-in-breed advanced sourcing product numerous advantages, and our innovation is a continued key focus as we experience increasing adoption globally and across more spend categories."

The six patents awarded in 2010 are:

• Method for optimal winner determination in combinatorial auctions
• Branch on bid searching method and apparatus
• Preference elicitation in combinatorial auctions
• Market clearability in combinatorial auctions and exchanges
• Bidding language for combinatorial auctions and method of use thereof, and
• Concisely expressed combinatorial auction problem solving method

With these patents, Wilson said, key benefits for users of the CombineNet ASAP (Advanced Sourcing Application Platform) product include: increased speed, performance, and scale for sourcing scenario development and analysis; increased flexibility on collecting and analyzing non-price data; and support for complexities found in certain spend areas.

Source: CombineNet