Described is a system and method that satisfies offers from customers with
quotes from suppliers in a way that increases the likelihood of achieving
an acceptable match. The system of the present invention is configured to
receive from a customer an offer for a product. The system queries in
parallel multiple suppliers for rate quotes on the desired product. Each
of the suppliers is ranked according to the lowest rate quoted by each
supplier. The supplier quoting the lowest rate is selected as the winner
of the offer. The system may then evaluate any other rate quotes provided
by the winning provider. The system may satisfy the customer's offer with
the winning provider at a higher rate (if one was provided) than the
winning rate quoted, up to the customer's offer (perhaps adjusted for a
reasonable profit). In this way, even though the provider provides low
rate quotes to win the offer, the provider may still realize a much
higher rate for the goods or services by quoting additional, higher rate
quotes as well.