Product data search with filtered and ranked results in electronic procurement systems

Abstract

An improved electronic procurement system is disclosed. The electronic procurement system ('system') implements context-sensitive filtering and ranking of search results. In some embodiments, the system is programmed to offer real-time, federated searches of internal and external databases in response to queries from a plurality of user accounts or devices in an organization and maintain context data related to such searches. The system is programmed to allow a user account to indicate whether a search result of a query from the user account is relevant or irrelevant and include such an indication and information regarding the user account in the context data. Upon receiving a subsequent query from a certain user account, the system is programmed to filter and thus refine the search results of the subsequent query based on the existing context data, specifically learning from similar user accounts who submitted similar queries before. The system is programmed to also adjust ranking and presentation of the search results based on further user interactions with the search results.