Store delivery of products ordered over a computer network
First Claim
1. A method of delivering a purchased product comprising:
- a) presenting a plurality of products to a customer through a virtual store;
b) receiving a request to purchase a particular product from the customer;
c) receiving a delivery address for the customer;
d) selecting from a plurality of physical stores at least one local physical store located near the delivery address for the customer;
e) reviewing a computerized inventory for the local physical stores to determine if any of the local stores have the particular product in inventory;
f) if one of the local physical stores have the product in inventory, offering an option of local delivery to the customer;
g) if the customer selects the option of local delivery, pulling the particular product from the inventory of one of the local physical stores; and
h) delivering the pulled particular product to the delivery address of the customer.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A method and system are presented for using the stock of one physical store, selected from among many physical stores, for the purpose of making a delivery of a product purchased through a virtual store. The appropriate physical store is selected based upon proximity to the customer and availability of the desired product as indicated by the computerized inventory maintained by the store. Once the store is selected and the customer selects local delivery, the order is sent to the store and a delivery request is sent to a local delivery service that services the store.
Upon receipt of the order, delivery tags are printed at the store. An employee of the store pulls the desired products from the store'"'"'s inventory and tags the products for delivery. The results of the employee'"'"'s efforts are input into to the system of the present invention. If the products are successfully retrieved, then shipping details are received from the shipping service and communicated to the customer. The shipping service then picks up the products and completes the delivery.
If the employee is unsuccessful in retrieving the products, this result is used to alter the stores computerized inventory, and, if possible, another store is selected. If no other local stores has the item in stock, the shipment is handled through the normal fulfillment processes of the virtual store.
90 Citations
23 Claims
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1. A method of delivering a purchased product comprising:
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a) presenting a plurality of products to a customer through a virtual store;
b) receiving a request to purchase a particular product from the customer;
c) receiving a delivery address for the customer;
d) selecting from a plurality of physical stores at least one local physical store located near the delivery address for the customer;
e) reviewing a computerized inventory for the local physical stores to determine if any of the local stores have the particular product in inventory;
f) if one of the local physical stores have the product in inventory, offering an option of local delivery to the customer;
g) if the customer selects the option of local delivery, pulling the particular product from the inventory of one of the local physical stores; and
h) delivering the pulled particular product to the delivery address of the customer. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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5. A method of delivering a purchased product in a retail environment having a virtual store and a plurality of physical stores that use a computerized inventory system to track inventory, the method comprising:
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a) receiving a purchase request from a customer for the purchased product via the virtual store;
b) determining at least one local physical store located near the customer;
c) determining from among the local stores at least one eligible store having the purchased product in inventory according to the computerized inventory system;
d) identifying the purchased product and the customer to one of the eligible stores;
e) pulling the purchased product from the inventory of the eligible store; and
f) delivering the purchased product to the customer. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A system for delivering a purchased product comprising:
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a) a local delivery service computer system having i) an interface to receive delivery orders over a network for local delivery of a product, and ii) an ability to track delivery orders during the local delivery process;
b) a physical store computer system for managing aspects of at least one of a plurality of physical stores, the physical store computer system having i) an inventory management portion to maintain a separate real-time inventory for each physical store, and ii) an interface to allow an employee to review an order for the product and to input a result for pulling the product from inventory;
c) a virtual store computer system having i) an e-commerce portion to offer the product for sale to customers, ii) a physical store selection portion to determine an eligible physical store from the plurality of physical stores based upon the location of the physical stores and whether the physical store has the product selected by the customer in-stock, and iii) a physical store interface to communicate the order for the product to the physical store computer system for the eligible physical store; and
d) a delivery request system to communicate the delivery order to the local delivery service computer system after the customer selects a local delivery option for the product.
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Specification