Techniques for customized deployment of offers

• US 10,296,922 B2
• Filed: 03/30/2012
• Issued: 05/21/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 03/30/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NCR Voyix Corporation
• Original Assignee: NCR Corporation (NCR Voyix Corporation)
• Inventors: Koser, Vincent Robert
• Primary Examiner(s): Stoltenberg, David J
• Application Number:
  US13/434,936
• Publication Number:
  US 20130262235A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,608 Days
• Field of Search: 705 1467
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0237 at kiosk
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0238 at point-of-sale [POS]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0253 During e-commerce, i.e. online transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0268 at point-of-sale [POS]

Abstract

Techniques for customized deployment of offers are provided. Customized offers are packaged into a description, a presentation, and offer evaluation execution logic and deployed to an enterprise system. Portions of the package'"'"'s execution logic have access to some resources of the enterprise system. Once the customized offers are deployed, they can be pushed or pulled to point-of-sale devices for redemption processing during transactions with consumers.

Claims

1. A method for packaging a self-contained custom offer processing environment, the method implemented as executable instructions that are programmed in a non-transitory computer-readable medium and executes on a hardware server, the method comprising:

receiving, by the server, a document descriptor that identifies items and conditions for providing a customized offer, the document descriptor received by a contracting vendor, the server operated by a third party contracted by the contracting vendor to provide the self-contained custom offer processing environment, wherein the conditions including expiration dates and geographic limitations associated with the customized offer;

acquiring, by the server, a document presenter that defines how the customized offer is presented, the document presenter defines how the customized offer is presented and processed by a mobile device operated by a particular customer and presented or processed by a Point-Of-Sale (POS) device operated by the particular customer or a cashier;

obtaining, by the server, a plug-in executor configured to execute the conditions using the items to present the customized offer as defined by the document presenter, the plug-in executor including a plurality of standardized components having information about the plurality of components, the information including evaluation criteria and rewards;

assembling, by the server, an offer plugin that comprises the document descriptor, the document presenter, and the plug-in executor, and configuring the offer plugin with access limited to the document descriptor, the document presenter, and the plug-in executor, the offer plugin when processed performs a sequence of operations including;

identifying the document descriptor, the document presenter, and executing the plugin-executor, and wherein the plug-in executor configured with limited and predefined access from the deployed environment to resources of an enterprise retail offer management system, and the plugin-executer performs processing of;

operating in the deployed environment as the self-contained custom offer processing environment with the limited and predefined access to the resources of enterprise retail offer management system, and processing the customized offer within the self-contained custom offer processing environment; and

packaging, by the server, the document descriptor, the document presenter, and the plug-in executor into an encapsulated customized offer representing the offer plugin, and deploying an encapsulated customized offer to the deployed environment for interaction with the resources of the enterprise retail offer management system and establishing the self-contained custom offer processing environment within the deployed environment, and when the encapsulated customized offer deploys to the deployed environment, an executing version of the encapsulated customer offer utilizing the plug-in executor and enterprise legacy systems representing the resources in during the enterprise retail offer management system, wherein utilizing the enterprise legacy systems includes the executing version of the encapsulated customer offer having access to the resources that include;

a customer points program, an issuance submission module, and a rewards generation engine of the enterprise legacy systems.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising, processing the method as a user-interface presented to a user from the enterprise retail offer management system.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising, assigning security rights to the encapsulated customized offer.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising, executing the plug-in executor on the server in response to satisfaction of the evaluation criteria and a command, an event, or a particular policy evaluation.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving further includes configuring at least some items and at least some conditions for conditional access to predefined resources of the enterprise retail offer management system.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein configuring further includes identifying the resources as one or more of:

customer account details and customer reward details.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein acquiring further includes configuring the document presenter to present the custom offer based on a POS device that subsequently attempts to redeem the custom offer.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein configuring further includes accounting for POS devices that include:

a self-service kiosk used by a customer, a cashier-manned station used by a cashier on behalf of the customer, and the mobile device used by the customer.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein obtaining further includes configuring the plug-in executor as a self-contained and restricted processing environment with limited and predefined access to resources of the enterprise retail offer management system.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein packaging further includes configuring the enterprise retail offer management system to display the custom offer and activate the encapsulated customized offer via the plug-in executor once deployed in the enterprise retail offer management system.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein packaging further includes representing the encapsulated customized offer as an object recognized and callable from within the enterprise retail offer management system.

12. A method for dynamic processing of a self-contained custom offer processing environment, the method implemented as executable instructions and programmed in a non-transitory computer-readable medium and executed on one or more hardware processors of a Point-Of-Sale (POS) device, the method comprising:

obtaining, by the POS device, a customized offer from a self-contained customized offer package available from an enterprise retail offer management system, the self-contained customized offer including a plug-in executor configured to execute a plurality of standardized components having information about the plurality of components within a limited access portion of the enterprise retail offer management system as a self-contained customized offer processing environment, the information including evaluation criteria and rewards, the enterprise retail offer management system operated by a third party contracted by an operator of the POS device to provide the self-contained custom offer processing environment, wherein the evaluation criteria including conditions and the conditions including expiration dates and geographical limitations for the customized offer, and wherein the POS device, processing the self-contained offer package by obtaining an offer plugin from the self-contained offer package, and the offer plugin comprising;

     1) a document descriptor that defines the evaluation criteria for the self-contained customized offer,

     2) a presenter module that defines how the self-contained customized offer is presented, and

     3) the plug-in executor, and wherein the plug-in executor when processed;

a) establishing the self-contained customized offer processing environment with limited access within the portion of the enterprise retail offer management system, b) evaluating the evaluation criteria from the document descriptor within the self-contained customized offer processing environment, and c) providing the customized offer from the self-contained customized offer processing environment;

redeeming, by the POS device, the customized offer after successful evaluation by the self-contained customized offer package at the enterprise retail offer management system wherein redeeming occurs based on how the customized offer is presented for redemption by the presenter module embedded in that package, wherein redeeming further includes dynamically executing the self-contained customized offer package on the POS device as the self-contained custom offer processing environment by the plug-in executor and utilizing by the plug-in executor enterprise legacy systems during processing of the offer package, wherein utilizing the enterprise legacy systems includes accessing a customer points program, an issuance submission module, and a rewards generation engine of the enterprise legacy systems; and

adjusting, by the POS device, a transaction price for a transaction, the adjustment is based on the successful evaluation of the customized offer by the self-contained customized offer package.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein obtaining further includes receiving the customized offer in print media delivered by a customer to the POS device.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein obtaining further includes receiving the customized offer as a bar code or Quick Response (QR) code provided to a scanner of the POS device by a customer from a portable device of a customer.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein obtaining further includes receiving the customized offer as a Near Field Communication (NFC) delivered from a portable device of a customer to a NFC device of the POS device.

16. The method of claim 12, wherein obtaining further includes receiving the customized offer dynamically on a display screen manned by a cashier at the POS device and pushed from the enterprise retail offer management system.

17. The method of claim 12, wherein obtaining further includes receiving the customized offer dynamically on a display screen of a device used by a customer where the transaction occurs over the Internet at a website.

18. A system for dynamic processing of a self-contained custom offer processing environment, the system comprising:

a hardware server configured with a custom offer deployment manager implemented as executable instructions within a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium and that executes on one or more processors of the server; and

a Point-Of-Sale (POS) device configured with a custom offer agent implemented as executable instructions within a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium and that executes on one or more hardware processors of the POS device;

wherein the custom offer deployment manager is configured to encapsulate a custom offer as a package that includes a document descriptor, a document presenter, an offer plugin and a plug-in executor, the plug-in executor including a plurality of standardized components having information about the plurality of components, the information including evaluation criteria and rewards, the custom offer deployment manager also configured to deploy the package as a self-contained processing environment within a portion of an enterprise retail offer management system with limited access for dynamic execution on the POS device, the custom offer agent is configured to receive the custom offer and redeem the custom offer via the POS device and in accordance with conditions defined in the package by the evaluation criteria and as processed by the plug-in executor of the package executing on the POS device, wherein the conditions including expiration dates and geographic limitations associated with the custom offer, wherein the document presenter is configured to define how the customized offer is delivered for processing by a mobile device of a particular customer or the POS device operated by a cashier or the particular customer, wherein the package is configured to be dynamically executed on the POS device as the self-contained offer processing environment, and the package is configured during processing of the package on the POS device to utilize enterprise legacy systems, wherein utilizing the enterprise legacy systems includes the package executing on the POS having access to a customer points program, an issuance submission module, and a rewards generation engine of the enterprise legacy systems, the hardware server operated by a third party contracted by an operator of the POS device to provide the self-contained custom offer processing environment, wherein the offer plugin includes;

the document descriptor, the document presenter, and the plug-in executor, and wherein the offer plugin when processed identifies the document descriptor and the document presenter and processes the plug-in executor, the plug-in executor when processed establishes the self-contained custom offer processing environment within the portion of the enterprise retail offer management system with limited access, evaluates the evaluation criteria from the document descriptor, and provides the custom offer within the self-contained customer offer processing environment.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the POS device is a self-service kiosk checkout station or a cashier-manned checkout station at a retail establishment.