Selectica Files Patent for New Configuration Engine With Dynamic Component Modeling and Pricing

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Free-Press-Release.com) July 21, 2008 --

SAN JOSE, Calif. – July 22, 2008 – Selectica (NASDAQ: SLTC), a leading provider of sales and product configuration and enterprise contract lifecycle management solutions, today announced that the company has filed a patent for three new innovations that will enhance its declarative sales configuration engine: the ability to set prices/margins at the product component level, a unique reverse configuration process that maps design options to meet buyer objectives, and dynamic components to change attributes of components in a configuration model. These patent-pending innovations will make it possible to declare an “intent” for a product design or features, and then determine available configuration options, including associated costs down to individual components.

Other product configuration software creates dependencies between component parts and assemblies or stock-keeping units (SKUs), incorporating pricing at the SKU level into the process. Incorporating pricing at the lower component level requires a more detailed model of the end product, but gives more flexibility to the buyer and the seller in designing the end product. Selectica’s patent-pending configuration engine incorporates pricing rules at the component level, eliminating the need for manual pricing/margin calculations and maintaining endless spreadsheets. As a result, the configuration uses hierarchical models that include both rules and constraints for pricing and margins, as well as other rules and constraints. During product configuration, the engine filters the most appropriate rules based on selected components.
The patent also extends to reverse configuration, a unique sales configuration approach that captures the buyer’s objectives and matches them to specific components and SKUs to create custom solutions. In reverse configuration, the configuration engine first captures decision criteria that make up a deal between buyer and seller, then configures the SKUs to maximize the solution against those criteria. The result is an optimized end product that offers the closest match of possible features and the best price.

Also included in the patent is the concept of dynamic components, which permits the attributes of a configuration model to change over time. Normally, the person building the model of the end product or service is limited to using only fixed component attributes, such as physical characteristics and interdependencies (e.g. power requirements or dimensions). With dynamic components, attributes can change as needed, enabling much more flexible configuration and pricing.

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Investor Contact:
Scott Wilson, 415-785-7945, ir@selectica.com
Media Contact:
Tom Woolf, 415-259-5638, pr@selectica.com

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