System, method, and non-transitory computer-readable storage media for use in delivering items to a customer

• US 10,402,773 B2
• Filed: 01/30/2015
• Issued: 09/03/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 01/30/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Walmart Apollo, LLC (WalMart Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Walmart Apollo, LLC (WalMart Inc.)
• Inventors: Ramalingam, Chandrasekar, Sahu, Varun, Singh, Nelnish, Rathinam, Sathish Ragu Vignesh, Shiriyaar, Gurucharan
• Primary Examiner(s): Dunham, Jason B
• Assistant Examiner(s): Weiner, Arielle E
• Application Number:
  US14/610,959
• Publication Number:
  US 20160224934A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,677 Days
• Field of Search: 705346, 705 261- 272, 705 2681, 709203
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0833 Tracking
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0635 Processing of requisition or of purchase orders

Abstract

A system for use in delivering physical customer items to a customer is described. The system includes a database and a server computer. The database includes customer item lists that include customer item records indicative of physical customer-owned items previously collected from customers. The server computer includes a processor that is programmed to display a website including a plurality of consumer goods and allow the customer to select goods for purchase and delivery. The processor also retrieves a customer item list associated with the customer, displays customer-owned items that are eligible for delivery, and allows the customer to select eligible customer-owned items to be included in a customer delivery order request. The processor also generates and displays a delivery order report including the selected consumer goods, the selected eligible customer-owned items, and a customer specified delivery location for use in assembling and delivering the goods and customer-owned items.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a database configured to store a product list and a plurality of customer item lists, the product list including a plurality of consumer goods available for purchase by a customer, and each of the plurality of customer item lists including a unique customer identification (“

ID”

) that matches one or more customer item records comprising a physical customer-owned item associated with a corresponding customer, wherein the database is configured to store the unique customer ID, and wherein the one or more customer item records comprise;

collected customer item records indicating the physical customer-owned item previously collected from the corresponding customer, wherein one or more physical customer-owned items are serviced by a third party; and

eligible customer item records, each indicating a status of a respective one of the physical customer-owned items, as serviced, and eligible for delivery; and

a server computer system configured to;

cause to be displayed a website including the plurality of consumer goods to the customer via a software application (“

app”

) configured to be installed on a customer device and allow the customer to select at least one of the plurality of consumer goods for purchase, wherein the server computer system comprises a first processor and a first communication system, wherein the server computer system further comprises an order fulfillment system and a delivery system;

receive, by the first communication system (a) of the server computer system and (b) in data communication with the software app on the customer device, a request from the customer to purchase and deliver the at least one of the plurality of consumer goods to a customer-specified location;

generate a customer delivery order request, using the first processor (a) of the server computer system and (b) in data communication with the order fulfillment system, the customer delivery order request comprising the at least one of the plurality of consumer goods and the unique customer ID associated with the customer, wherein the order fulfillment system comprises a second processor and a second communication system;

upon generating the customer delivery order request, by the first processor (a) of the server computer system and (b) in data communication with a first memory system of the database and (c) in data communication with the second processor of the order fulfillment system, (i) retrieve a customer item list associated with the unique customer ID from the database and (ii) identify the eligible customer item records included in the customer item list, wherein the second processor is in further data communication with an automatic retrieval system to automatically retrieve the plurality of consumer goods from a facility using one or more robots configured to read the customer item list associated with the customer delivery order request and wherein the plurality of customer item lists comprise the customer item list;

generate, by the first processor (a) of the server computer system and (b) in data communication with the software app on the customer device and (c) in data communication with the delivery system, an eligible customer item webpage including a status of eligibility for delivery of first physical customer-owned items of the one or more physical customer-owned items associated with the eligible customer item records, wherein the delivery system comprises a third processor and a third communication system;

cause to be displayed, by the third communication system (a) of the delivery system and (b) in data communication with the software app on the customer device, the eligible customer item webpage, on a graphical user interface on the customer device;

when the first physical customer-owned items of the one or more physical customer-owned items are eligible for delivery, prompt, by the first communication system (a) of the server computer system and (b) in data communication with the software app on the customer device and (c) by the third communication system of the delivery system, the customer via the graphical user interface of the customer device to select at least one of the first physical customer-owned items of the one or more physical customer-owned items eligible for delivery to be included in the customer delivery order request;

determine, by the first processor (a) of the server computer system and (b) in data communication with the software app on the customer device, whether the customer selected, via the graphical user interface of the customer device, the at least one of the first physical customer-owned items of the one or more physical customer-owned items eligible for delivery to be included in the customer delivery order request;

responsive to determining the customer selected the at least one of the first physical customer-owned items eligible for delivery to be included in the customer delivery order request, generate and cause to be displayed on the graphical user interface of the customer device, by the first processor (a) of the server computer system and (b) by the third communication system of the delivery system, and (c) in data communication with the software app on the customer device, a delivery order report comprising the customer delivery order request including the at least one of the plurality of consumer goods and the at least one of the first physical customer-owned items;

confirming, by the first processor (a) of the server computer system and (b) in data communication with the software app on the customer device and (c) by the third communication system of the delivery system, the customer-specified location, using a rule engine to apply a set of rules to the delivery order report for use in assembling and delivering the at least one of the plurality of consumer goods and the at least one of the first physical customer-owned items of the one or more physical customer-owned items to the customer-specified location as determined by the customer; and

automatically manage, by the third processor (a) of the delivery system and (b) in data communication with the software app on the customer device, shipping logistics between (i) one or more stores and (ii) one or more third party entities selected to receive the at least one of the first physical customer-owned items of the one or more physical customer-owned items for delivery to be included in the customer delivery order request.

2. The system in accordance with claim 1, the first processor programmed to:

receive a pick-up request from the customer including at least one of a second physical customer-owned items of the one or more physical customer-owned items to be collected from the customer-specified location upon delivery of the customer delivery order request to the customer-specified location; and

generate and store a pickup customer item record matching the at least one of the second physical customer-owned items of the one or more physical customer-owned items, as requested, the pickup customer item record including the unique customer ID and a pickup item identification (“

ID”

).

3. The system in accordance with claim 2, the first processor programmed to:

generate the delivery order report including the pickup customer item record for use in identifying the at least one of the second physical customer-owned items of the one or more physical customer-owned items to be collected at the customer-specified location.

4. The system in accordance with claim 2, the first processor programmed to:

receive a customer item intake notification from an operator device including the unique customer ID, the customer item intake notification matching the at least one of the second physical customer-owned items of the one or more physical customer-owned items being collected from the customer-specified location;

identify the pickup customer item record matching a pickup customer record having a customer identification (“

ID”

) matching the unique customer ID; and

generate and store a collected customer item record matching the at least one of the second physical customer-owned items of the one or more physical customer-owned items, as collected, in a corresponding customer list as a function of the pickup customer item record.

5. The system in accordance with claim 4, the first processor programmed to:

generate an eligible customer item record associated with the at least one of the second physical customer-owned items of the one or more physical customer-owned items, as collected, after a predefined period of time has elapsed from receiving the customer item intake notification, the eligible customer item record matching the at least one of the second physical customer-owned items of the one or more physical customer-owned items being eligible for delivery.

6. The system in accordance with claim 4, the first processor programmed to:

generate an eligible customer item record associated with the at least one of the second physical customer-owned items of the one or more physical customer-owned items, as collected, upon receiving a notification of a completion of a predefined action associated with the at least one of the second physical customer-owned items of the one or more physical customer-owned items, as collected.

7. The system in accordance with claim 4, the first processor programmed to:

transmit a notification to a third party service system upon receipt of the customer item intake notification.

8. The system in accordance with claim 7, the first processor programmed to:

generate an eligible customer item record associated with at least one of the physical customer-owned items, as collected, upon receiving the notification from the third party service system.

9. The system in accordance with claim 1, the first processor programmed to:

receive a request to modify a previous customer delivery order request from the customer and responsively retrieve and cause to be displayed the previous customer delivery order request associated with the customer;

identify and cause to be displayed the at least one of the physical customer-owned items that are eligible for delivery; and

allow the customer to select the at least one of the physical customer-owned items and modify the previous customer delivery order request to include the at least one of the physical customer-owned items, as selected.

10. The system in accordance with claim 1, the first processor programmed to:

allow the customer to modify a previous customer delivery order request to include a pick-up request including at least one of second physical customer-owned items of the one or more physical customer-owned items to be collected upon delivery of the previous customer delivery order request, as modified.

11. The system in accordance with claim 1, wherein the at least one of the physical customer-owned items is delivered to a first store location and transferred to a second store location for servicing, and returned to a customer-specified location from the second store location, the first processor programmed to:

modify a corresponding customer item record to indicate a location of the at least one of the physical customer-owned items.

12. The system in accordance with claim 1, wherein the customer leaves a previously unidentified physical customer-owned item at the customer-specified location, the first processor programmed to:

receive a customer item intake notification from an operator device including the unique customer ID, the customer item intake notification indicative of the physical customer-owned item being collected from the customer-specified location; and

generate and store a customer item record associated with at least one physical customer-owned item in a corresponding customer list.

13. A method comprising:

storing, with a computer system using one or more processors, a product list and a plurality of customer item lists in a database, the product list including a plurality of consumer goods available for purchase by a customer, and each of the plurality of customer item lists including a unique customer identification (“

ID”

) that matches one or more customer item records comprising a physical customer-owned item associated with a corresponding customer wherein the database is configured to store the unique customer ID, and wherein the one or more customer item records comprise;

collected customer item records indicating the physical customer-owned item previously collected from corresponding customer records, wherein one or more physical customer-owned items are serviced by a third party; and

eligible customer item records, each indicating a status of a respective one of the physical customer-owned items, as serviced and eligible for delivery;

causing to be displaying, with the computer system, a website including the plurality of consumer goods to the customer via a software application (“

app”

) configured to be installed on a customer device and allowing the customer to select at least one of the plurality of consumer goods for purchase, wherein a server computer system comprises a first processor and a first communication system, wherein the server computer system further comprises an order fulfillment system and a delivery system;

receiving, by the first communication system (a) of the server computer system and (b) in data communication with the software app on the customer device, a request from the customer to purchase and deliver the at least one of the plurality of consumer goods to a customer-specified location;

generating a customer delivery order request, using the first processor (a) of the server computer system and (b) in data communication with the order fulfillment system, the customer delivery order request comprising the at least one of the plurality of consumer goods and the unique customer ID associated with the customer, wherein the order fulfillment system comprises a second processor and a second communication system;

upon generating the customer delivery order request, by the first processor (a) of the server computer system and (b) in data communication with a first memory system of the database and (c) in data communication with the second processor of the order fulfillment system, (i) retrieving a customer item list associated with the unique customer ID from the database and (ii) identifying the eligible customer item records included in the customer item list, wherein the second processor is in further data communication with an automatic retrieval system to automatically retrieve the plurality of consumer goods from a facility using one or more robots configured to read the customer item list associated with the customer delivery order request, and wherein the plurality of customer item lists comprise the customer item list;

generating by the first processor (a) of the server computer system and (b) in data communication with the software app on the customer device and (c) in data communication with the delivery system, an eligible customer item webpage including a status of eligibility for delivery of first physical customer-owned items of the one or more first physical customer-owned items associated with the eligible customer item records, wherein the delivery system comprises a third processor and a third communication system;

causing to be displayed, by the third communication system (a) of the delivery system and (b) in data communication with the software app on the customer device, the eligible customer item webpage, on a graphical user interface on the customer device;

when the first physical customer-owned items of the one or more physical customer-owned items are eligible for delivery, prompting, by the first communication system (a) of the server computer system and (b) in data communication with the software app on the customer device and (c) by the third communication system of the delivery system, the customer via the graphical user interface of the customer device to select at least one of the first physical customer-owned items of the one or more physical customer-owned items eligible for delivery to be included in the customer delivery order request;

determining, by the first processor (a) of the server computer system and (b) in data communication with the software app on the customer device, whether the customer selected, via the graphical user interface of the customer device, the at least one of the first physical customer-owned items of the one or more physical customer-owned items eligible for delivery to be included in the customer delivery order request;

responsive to determining the customer selected the at least one of the first physical customer-owned items eligible for delivery to be included in the customer delivery order request, generating and cause to be displaying on the graphical user interface of the customer device, by the first processor (a) of the server computer system and (b) the third communication system of the delivery system, and (c) in data communication with the software app on the customer device, a delivery order report comprising the customer delivery order request including the at least one of the plurality of consumer goods and the at least one of the first physical customer-owned items;

confirming, by the first processor (a) of the server computer system and (b) in data communication with the software app on the customer device and (c) by the third communication system of the delivery system, the customer-specified location, the delivery order report for use in assembling and delivering the at least one of the plurality of consumer goods;

confirming, by the first processor (a) of the server computer system and (b) in data communication with the software app on the customer device and (c) by the third communication system of the delivery system, the customer-specified location, using a rule engine to apply a set of rules to the delivery order report for use in assembling the delivery order report for use in assembling and delivering the at least one of the plurality of consumer goods, as selected, and the at least one of the first physical customer-owned items, as selected, to the customer at the customer-specified location as determined by the customer; and

automatically, by the third processor (a) of the delivery system and (b) in data communication with the software app on the customer device, managing shipping logistics between (i) one or more stores and (ii) one or more third party entities selected to receive the at least one of the first physical customer-owned items of the one or more physical customer-owned items for delivery to be included in the customer delivery order request.

14. The method in accordance with claim 13, further comprising:

receiving, with the computer system, a pick-up request from the customer including at least one second physical customer-owned item to be collected from the customer-specified location upon delivery of the customer delivery order request to the customer-specified location;

generating and storing, with the computer system, a pickup customer item record indicative of the at least one second physical customer-owned item, as requested, the pickup customer item record including the unique customer ID and a pickup item identification (“

ID”

); and

generating, with the computer system, the delivery order report including a second pickup customer item record for use in identifying the at least one second physical customer-owned item, as requested, to be collected at the customer-specified location.

15. The method in accordance with claim 14, further comprising:

receiving, with the computer system, a customer item intake notification from an operator device including the unique customer ID, the customer item intake notification matching the at least one second physical customer-owned item being collected from the customer-specified location;

identifying, with the computer system, a pickup customer item record matching a pickup order record having a customer identification (“

ID”

) matching the unique customer ID; and

generating and storing, with the computer system, a collected customer item record matching the at least one second physical customer-owned items, as collected, in a corresponding customer list as a function of the pickup customer item record.

16. The method in accordance with claim 15, further comprising:

generating, with the computer system, an eligible customer item record associated with the at least one second physical customer-owned items, as collected, after a pre-defined period of time has elapsed from receiving the customer item intake notification, the eligible customer item record matching the at least one second physical customer-owned item being eligible for delivery.

17. The method in accordance with claim 15, further comprising:

generating, with the computer system, an eligible customer item record associated with the at least one second physical customer-owned items, as collected, upon receiving a notification of a completion of a predefined action associated with the at least one second physical customer-owned items.

18. The method in accordance with claim 13, further comprising:

transmitting, with the computer system, a notification to a third party service system upon receipt of a customer item intake notification; and

generating, with the computer system, an eligible customer item record associated with at least one of the physical customer-owned items, as collected, upon receiving the notification from the third party service system.

19. The method in accordance with claim 13, further comprising:

receiving, with the computer system, a request to modify a previous customer delivery order request from the customer and responsively retrieving and displaying the previous customer delivery order request associated with the customer;

identifying and displaying, with the computer system, the at least one of the physical customer-owned items that are eligible for delivery; and

allowing, with the computer system, the customer to select the at least one of the physical customer-owned items and modifying the previous customer delivery order request to include the at least one of the physical customer-owned items, as selected.

20. One or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media, having computer-executable instructions embodied thereon, wherein when executed by at least one processor, the computer-executable instructions cause the processor to:

cause to be displayed a website including a plurality of consumer goods to a customer via a software application (“

app”

) configured to be installed on a customer device and allow the customer to select at least one of the plurality of consumer goods for purchase, wherein a server computer system comprises a first processor and a first communication system, wherein the server computer system further comprises an order fulfillment system and a delivery system;

receive, by the first communication system (a) of the server computer system and (b) in data communication with the software app on the customer device, a request from the customer to purchase and deliver the at least one of the plurality of consumer goods to a customer-specified location;

generate a customer delivery order request, using the first processor (a) of the server computer system and (b) in data communication with the order fulfillment system, the customer delivery order request comprising the at least one of the plurality of consumer goods and a unique customer identification (“

ID”

) associated with the customer, wherein the order fulfillment system comprises a second processor and a second communication system;

upon generating the customer delivery order request, by the first processor (a) of the server computer system and (b) in data communication with a first memory system of a database and (c) in data communication with the second processor of the order fulfillment system, (i) retrieve a customer item list of a plurality of customer item lists associated with the unique customer ID from the database, the customer item list including customer item records indicative of physical customer-owned items associated with the customer, the customer item records including collected customer item records indicating the physical customer-owned items previously collected from the customer, wherein one or more physical customer-owned items being serviced by a third party, and (ii) identify eligible customer item records indicating a status of a respective one of the physical customer-owned items eligible for delivery, wherein the second processor is in further data communication with an automatic retrieval system to automatically retrieve the plurality of consumer goods from a facility using one or more robots configured to read the customer item list associated with the customer delivery order request;

identify the eligible customer item records included in the customer item list, as retrieved the plurality of customer item lists comprising the customer item list;

generate by the first processor (a) of the server computer system and (b) in data communication with the software app on the customer device and (c) in data communication with the delivery system, an eligible customer item webpage including a status of eligibility for delivery of first physical customer-owned items of the one or more physical customer-owned items associated with the eligible customer item records, wherein the delivery system comprises a third processor and a third communication system;

display, by the third communication system (a) of the delivery system and (b) in data communication with the software app on the customer device, the eligible customer item webpage, on a graphical user interface on the customer device;

when the first physical customer-owned items of the one or more physical customer-owned items are eligible for delivery, prompt, by the first communication system (a) of the server computer system and (b) in data communication with the software app on the customer device and (c) by the third communication system of the delivery system, the customer via the graphical user interface of the customer device to select at least one of the first physical customer-owned items of the one or more physical customer-owned items eligible for delivery to be included in the customer delivery order request;

determine, by the first processor (a) of the server computer system and (b) in data communication with the software app on the customer device, whether the customer selected, via the graphical user interface of the customer device, the at least one of the first physical customer-owned items of the one or more physical customer-owned items eligible for delivery to be included in the customer delivery order request;

responsive to determining the customer selected the at least one of the first physical customer-owned items eligible for delivery to be included in the customer delivery order request, generate and cause to be displayed on the graphical user interface of the customer device, by the first processor (a) of the server computer system and (b) the third communication system of the delivery system, and (c) in data communication with the software app on the customer device, a delivery order report comprising the customer delivery order request including the at least one of the plurality of consumer goods and the at least one of the first physical customer-owned items;

confirming, by the first processor (a) of the server computer system and (b) in data communication with the software app on the customer device and (c) by the third communication system of the delivery system, the customer-specified location, using a rule engine to apply a set of rules to the delivery order report for use in assembling and delivering the at least one of the plurality of consumer goods and the at least one of the first physical customer-owned items of the one or more physical customer-owned items to the customer-specified location as determined by the customer; and

automatically manage, by the third processor (a) of the delivery system and (b) in data communication with the software app on the customer device, shipping logistics between (i) one or more stores and (ii) one or more third party entities selected to receive the at least one of the first physical customer-owned items of the one or more physical customer-owned items for delivery to be included in the customer delivery order request.