Methods and systems for the physical delivery of goods ordered through an electronic network

• US 20020032613A1
• Filed: 04/16/2001
• Published: 03/14/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 04/18/2000
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Dock 3 Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Dock 3 Incorporated
• Inventors: Sheehy, Finbar, Buettgenbach, Thomas H.
• Application Number:
  US09/836,455
• Publication Number:
  US 20020032613A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/26
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/08 Logistics, e.g. warehousing, loading or distribution; Inventory or stock management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0836 Recipient pick-ups
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0633 Lists, e.g. purchase orders, compilation or processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0641 Shopping interfaces

Abstract

The present system relates to systems and methods for providing delivery of goods purchased through electronic commerce. An embodiment of the present invention allows a user to purchase an item from a vendor or merchant in an e-commerce environment and have the item shipped to a selected Will-Call Center for pick up by a recipient. The recipient can be the user or some other designated party. The Will-Call Center further automatically notifies the recipient of the availability of the item to be picked up.

Claims

1. A method of providing an item for pickup that has been ordered from an online merchant by a user operating a remote client computer, the method comprising:

receiving an order for the item in a merchant computer system, where the order is received from a first electronic message from the remote client computer, wherein the order designates a Will-Call Center selected from a plurality of predetermined Will-Call Centers, where the Will-Call Center is a separate entity from the online merchant;

locating a distribution center carrying the item;

packaging the item in a package such that the package includes a machine-readable reference to an identifier of the package, where the identifier is related to the user in a database;

sending a second electronic message to a remote common carrier computer system to request a common carrier associated with the remote common carrier computer system to ship the item from the distribution center to the Will-Call Center;

sending a third electronic message to a Will-Call Center computer system such that the Will-Call Center computer system can identify the package when the package arrives;

shipping the item from the distribution center to the Will-Call Center;

scanning the machine readable reference on the package at the Will-Call Center with a scanning device, which is at least periodically coupled to the Will-Call Center computer system to transfer the identifier to the Will-Call Center computer system; and

automatically sending a fourth electronic message to a recipient after receiving the identifier and relating the package to the recipient.

2. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the recipient is the user.

3. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the Will-Call Center computer system is located within a network firewall associated with a client computer of the user, and where the fourth electronic message is an email message carried within an Intranet associated with the network firewall.

4. The method as defined in claim 1, further comprising automatically identifying the recipient in response to a scanning of a barcode associated with the recipient.

5. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the fourth electronic message includes a hyperlink to an interactive Web page with information relating to the package, further comprising:

providing the recipient with a location of the originally selected Will-Call Center and an estimate of when the package is expected to be available;

receiving an entry from a Web browser of the recipient, where the entry includes a designation for a different Will-Call Center;

sending a fifth electronic message to the remote common carrier computer system to cancel shipment to the originally selected Will-Call Center;

sending a sixth electronic message to the different Will-Call Center computer system such that the different Will-Call Center computer system can identify the package when the package arrives; and

shipping the item from the distribution center to the different Will-Call Center.

6. The method as defined in claim 1, further comprising:

embedding the machine readable reference in a barcode label, where the barcode label is related to at least one record in a database identifying the contents of the package; and

applying the barcode label to the package.

7. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the machine-readable reference is a label used by the common carrier to identify the package.

8. The method as defined in claim 1, further comprising:

providing the Will-Call Center computer system with an indication of a size of the package before the package is delivered to the Will-Call Center by the common carrier;

retrieving indications of sizes of physical spaces in the Will-Call Center;

evaluating a size of at least one physical space within the Will-Call Center relative to the indication of the size of the package;

automatically allocating the physical space for a time period that includes at least a delivery time to the Will-Call Center when the physical space is large enough to store the package; and

automatically de-allocating the physical space in response to a pickup of the package.

9. The method as defined in claim 1, further comprising:

providing the Will-Call Center computer system with an indication of a size of the package and a refrigeration requirement associated with the item before the package is delivered to the Will-Call Center by the common carrier;

retrieving descriptions of storage spaces in the Will-Call Center, where the descriptions include a size and a refrigeration characteristic associated with the storage space;

evaluating the size and the refrigeration characteristic of at least one physical space within the Will-Call Center relative to the received indication of the size of the package and the refrigeration requirement associated with the item;

automatically allocating a physical space for at least a delivery time to the Will-Call Center when the physical space is large enough to store the package and the physical space is compatible with the refrigeration requirement; and

automatically de-allocating the physical space in response to a pickup of the package.

10. The method as defined in claim 1, further comprising:

providing the Will-Call Center computer system associated with the selected Will-Call Center with at least one physical characteristic of the package and an expected arrival date of the package prior to shipping the package to the selected Will-Call Center;

receiving an indication from the selected Will-Call Center computer system as to whether the selected Will-Call Center has at least one available appropriate physical space available to store the package on at least the expected arrival date;

automatically reserving an available appropriate physical space on at least the expected arrival date in the selected Will-Call Center when the indication provides that the selected Will-Call Center has at least one available appropriate physical space; and

selecting a new Will-Call Center when the indication indicates provides that the previously selected Will-Call Center does not have at least one available appropriate physical space to store the package.

11. The method as defined in claim 1, further comprising:

providing the Will-Call Center computer system associated with the selected Will-Call Center with at least one physical characteristic of the package and an expected arrival date of the package prior to shipping the package to the selected Will-Call Center;

receiving an indication from the selected Will-Call Center computer system as to whether the selected Will-Call Center has at least one available appropriate physical space available to store the package on at least the expected arrival date;

automatically reserving an available appropriate physical space on at least the expected arrival date in the selected Will-Call Center when the indication provides that the selected Will-Call Center has at least one available appropriate physical space; and

changing a characteristic of the shipping from the distribution center to the Will-Call Center such that the package is scheduled to arrive at the selected Will-Call Center on a new expected arrival date.

12. The method as defined in claim 1, further comprising automatically selecting the Will-Call Center from the plurality of predetermined Will-Call Centers in response to a received ZIP code.

14. The method as defined in claim 13, further comprising automatically notifying the designated Will-Call Center of an impending delivery of the item.

15. The method as defined in claim 14, further comprising:

providing a Web page that includes information relating a location of the originally selected Will-Call Center and an estimate of when the package is expected to be available at the originally selected Will-Call Center in response to a query from the Web browser;

receiving an entry from a Web browser that designates a new Will-Call Center;

intervening the shipping of the item to the originally selected Will-Call Center;

automatically notifying the originally selected Will-Call Center of the cancellation of the delivery of the item to the originally selected Will-Call Center;

automatically notifying the new Will-Call Center of a new impending delivery of the item;

automatically receiving an indication from the new Will-Call Center in response to an arrival of the shipped item; and

automatically receiving an indication from the new Will-Call Center when the shipped item has been picked up.

16. The method as defined in claim 13, further comprising:

receiving a first payment from the buyer;

providing a second payment to a shipper; and

providing a third payment to the Will-Call Center.

17. The method as defined in claim 13, further comprising:

selecting a first group of Will-Call Centers from a plurality of Will-Call Centers, where the first group includes Will-Call Centers in a first vicinity of at least a portion of an address received from the Web browser;

displaying the first group of Will-Call Centers through the Web browser; and

receiving the designation from the Web browser of the Will-Call Center through a selection of a Will-Call Center in the first group.

18. The method as defined in claim 13, wherein a plurality of items is ordered, the method further comprising:

creating multiple combinations of items and vendors, where a combination from the multiple combinations includes a of items ordered;

summing cost for the combinations, where the costs include prices for the items from the vendors, shipping costs from a common carrier for shipping the items from the vendors to the Will-Call Center, and sales taxes, where applicable;

displaying the combinations through the Web browser;

receiving a selection of a combination from the multiple combinations; and

placing orders for the items and the vendors corresponding to the selected combination with shipping to the Will-Call Center.

19. The method as defined in claim 18, further comprising arranging the combinations for display in order of cost.

20. The method as defined in claim 13, wherein the Will-Call Center is physically located in a campus of an entity selected from the group consisting of a university, a large apartment complex, a hospital, and a corporation.

13. A method of making available an item ordered in e-commerce, the method comprising:

providing a buyer with an electronic catalog that is viewable through a Web browser;

receiving a selection from the Web browser of at least one item for purchase;

receiving a designation from the Web browser of a Will-Call Center where the item is to be picked up;

shipping the item to the designated Will-Call Center;

automatically receiving an indication from the Will-Call Center in response to an arrival of the shipped item; and

automatically receiving an indication from the Will-Call Center when the shipped item has been picked up.

21. A method of providing an item ordered in e-commerce to a recipient, the method comprising:

receiving a package from a common carrier that contains an item ordered in e-commerce;

scanning an identifier included with the package;

relating the identifier to a recipient of the package;

automatically informing the recipient after arrival of the package;

storing and locking the package in an electronically lockable box that is accessible to the recipient;

storing an electronic key in a database, where the electronic key can unlock the lockable box;

receiving a code from the recipient;

comparing the code to the key; and

unlocking the box in response to a match between the code and the key.

22. The method as defined in claim 21, wherein the code is received from a keypad.

23. The method as defined in claim 21, further comprising:

relating the electronic key in the database to a barcode maintained by the recipient; and

scanning the barcode to receive the code from the recipient.

24. The method as defined in claim 21, further comprising automatically providing an indication of a physical size of the package to the recipient.

26. The method as defined in claim 25, further comprising:

inspecting a physical condition of the item; and

automatically sending a report of the physical condition to the vendor.

29. The electronically lockable storage box as defined in claim 28, wherein the interface and the storage unit reside in a central computer system in communication with a plurality of electronically lockable storage boxes.

30. The electronically lockable storage box as defined in claim 28, wherein the movable access panel includes a sliding drawer.

31. The electronically lockable storage box as defined in claim 28, wherein the data input device is a keypad.

32. The electronically lockable storage box as defined in claim 28, wherein the data input device is a barcode scanner.

25. A method of preparing an item originally purchased in e-commerce for return to a vendor, the method comprising:

providing a Web page to a remote user with a browser in a network, wherein the Web page includes a fillable form;

receiving shipping information from the browser, wherein the shipping information includes information relating to the user and a shipping destination for the item from the browser;

storing the shipping information in a database;

providing an at least temporarily unique id to the browser;

storing and relating the unique id to the shipping information in the database;

accepting the item for return to the shipping destination upon receiving the item and receiving the unique id without needing additional information;

automatically printing a shipping label for a common carrier from the shipping information in the database that is related to the unique id; and

providing an automatic notification of a pickup of the item by the common carrier.

27. A system that provides an item for pickup that has been ordered from an online merchant by a user operating a remote client computer, the system comprising:

means for receiving an order in a merchant computer system for the item in a first electronic message from the remote client computer, wherein the order designates a Will-Call Center selected from a plurality of predetermined Will-Call Centers;

means for locating a distribution center carrying the item;

means for packaging the item in a package such that the package includes a machine-readable reference to an identifier of the package, where the identifier is related to the user in a database;

means for sending a second electronic message to a remote common carrier computer system to request a common carrier associated with the remote common carrier computer system to ship the item from the distribution center to the Will-Call Center;

means for sending a third electronic message to a Will-Call Center computer system such that the Will-Call Center computer system can identify the package when the package arrives;

means for shipping the item from the distribution center to the Will-Call Center;

means for scanning the machine readable reference on the package at the Will-Call Center with a scanning device, which is at least periodically coupled to the Will-Call Center computer system to transfer the identifier to the Will-Call Center computer system; and

means for automatically sending a fourth electronic message to a recipient after receiving the identifier and relating the package to the recipient.

28. An electronically lockable storage box that allows a user to pick up an item ordered in e-commerce comprising:

an interior adapted to hold a package;

an exterior, at least a portion of which is accessible to a user;

a movable access panel that forms at least a part of the portion of the exterior, wherein the movable access panel is adapted to prevent access to the interior in a first position and to allow access to the interior in a second position;

an interface to a computer network that is adapted to receive an unlocking key related to the package from a remote computer system;

a data input device in communication with the computer network, where the data input device is adapted to receive an entered key from the user; and

a locking mechanism adapted to maintain the movable access panel in the first position when the locking mechanism is locked and to permit the movable access panel to achieve the second position when the locking mechanism is unlocked, wherein the locking mechanism unlocks in response to a condition of the entered key corresponding to the unlocking key at a time when the package resides in the interior of the electronically lockable storage box.