Systems and methods facilitating mobile retail environments

• US 10,037,519 B2
• Filed: 06/23/2015
• Issued: 07/31/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 06/09/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Guestlogix, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Guestlogix, Inc.
• Inventors: Proud, Brett, Aldomar, Jose-Manuel, Hanna, Ramez, Fitzgerald, Jim
• Primary Examiner(s): Rudy, Andrew Joseph
• Application Number:
  US14/747,815
• Publication Number:
  US 20150371205A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,134 Days
• Field of Search: 705 15- 22, 705 261, 705 2635, 705 267
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/20 Point-of-sale [POS] network systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/202 Interconnection or interaction of plural electronic cash registers [ECR] or to host computer, e.g. network details, transfer of information from host to ECR or from ECR to ECR
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3224 Transactions dependent on location of M-devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/325 using wireless networks
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/14 Travel agencies
• CPC Class Codes: G07G 1/0009 Details of the software in the checkout register, electronic cash register [ECR] or point of sale terminal [POS]
• CPC Class Codes: G07G 1/14 Systems including one or more distant stations co-operating with a central processing unit data transmission in general H04L; telemetry systems for selectively calling a substation from a main station H04Q9/00

Abstract

An automated system for facilitating sales in dynamically-changing mobile retail environments includes a vendor/supplier connector module, a carrier connector module, a provisioning module, and a point-of-sale (POS) customization module. The vendor/supplier connector module facilitates automated exchange of product data with a plurality of different vendors or suppliers of products or services. The carrier connector module facilitates automated exchange of transportation data with a plurality of different carriers, with the transportation data corresponding to specific mobile retail environments. The provisioning module automatically determines, based on the product data and on the transportation data, products or services corresponding to a specific mobile retail environment. The POS customization module automatically generates re-configuration data for each of a plurality of POS interfaces. The re-configuration data limits each of the plurality of POS interfaces to facilitating sales of only the subset of the set of products or services that corresponds to a specific mobile retail environment.

Claims

1. A method for configuring point-of-sale (POS) devices in dynamically-changing mobile retail environment, the method comprising:

automatically facilitating exchange of product data over a computer network with a plurality of different vendors or suppliers of products or services including exchange of data corresponding to a set of products or services to be ordered or delivered on board mobile retail environments;

automatically facilitating exchange of transportation data over a computer network with a plurality of different carriers including exchange of vehicle and departure/arrival information corresponding to at least one specific on-board mobile retail environment;

automatically determining, based on the product data and on the transportation data, mobile inventory requirements representing certain members of the set of products or services corresponding to specific individual mobile retail environments of a plurality of mobile retail environments; and

automatically generating re-configuration data to be uploaded to each of a plurality of POS interfaces that automatically limit each of the plurality of POS interfaces to facilitating sales of only the certain members of the set of products or services that correspond to a specific one of the plurality of mobile retail environments.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

obtaining the mobile inventory requirements corresponding to specific mobile retail environments; and

generating sets of inventory stocking information for specific vehicles at specific departure points, wherein each set of inventory stocking information is generated based on a corresponding the mobile inventory requirements corresponding to a specific mobile retail environment to be implemented.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the transportation data includes passenger-specific information for at least a first passenger, and further comprising:

analyzing the passenger-specific information and the transportation data to determine a first passenger-specific mobile retail environment corresponding to a travel schedule of the first passenger,

wherein the automatically generating re-configuration data includes generating re-configuration data to be uploaded to at least one POS interface corresponding to the first passenger-specific mobile retail environment such that the at least one POS interface limits a selection of products or services to a first passenger-specific subset of the set of products or services relevant specifically to the first passenger.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the passenger-specific information for at least the first passenger includes at least one of:

loyalty program information, and payment information associated with at least the first passenger, and

wherein the automatically generating re-configuration data includes generating re-configuration data to be uploaded to at least one POS interface corresponding to the first passenger-specific mobile retail environment for providing the at least one POS interface the loyalty program information and/or the payment information associated with at least the first passenger to facilitate completion of transactions with the first passenger.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the automatically generating re-configuration data includes generating re-configuration data to be uploaded to a network-based POS interface of the plurality of POS interfaces to facilitate pre-ordering of products or services to be delivered in at least one mobile retail environment of a series of the at least one mobile retail environments associated with a first passenger who is to be present in the series of the at least one mobile retail environments, wherein the re-configuration data for the network-based POS interface for configuring the network-based POS interface to display a limited assortment of products or services to be made available in a selected at least one mobile retail environment of the series for pre-ordering, the re-configuration data for the network-based POS interface including a virtual token, associated with the first passenger, to be verified on-board the selected at least one mobile retail environment to permit delivery of a pre-ordered product or service.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the virtual token is associated with passenger specific information from the transportation data that is specific to the first passenger.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising transmitting pre-order information to a first vendor or supplier, wherein the pre-order information is generated based on the transportation data and on data generated via at least one of the plurality of POS interfaces.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the transportation data includes crew-specific information associated with at least one crew member, wherein the crew-specific information relates to services or transactions that are permitted in at least one mobile retail environment.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising automatically re-categorizing products or services represented by the product data into a new categorization hierarchy corresponding to at least a first mobile retail environment.