Automated transaction processing system and approach

• US 20050033671A1
• Filed: 09/10/2004
• Published: 02/10/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 11/12/1996
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Syncada LLC (US Bancorp)
• Original Assignee: US Bancorp
• Inventors: Hahn-Carlson, Dean W.
• Granted Patent: US 7,627,499 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/34
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/08 Logistics, e.g. warehousing, loading or distribution; Inventory or stock management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0838 Historical data
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/10 specially adapted for electronic funds transfer [EFT] systems; specially adapted for home banking systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/102 Bill distribution or payments
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3674 involving authentication
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/382 insuring higher security of transaction
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/40 Authorisation, e.g. identification of payer or payee, verification of customer or shop credentials; Review and approval of payers, e.g. check credit lines or negative lists
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/401 Transaction verification
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/04 Billing or invoicing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/12 Accounting

Abstract

Transaction management is facilitated using an approach involving the use of transaction characteristics to authenticate transaction information. According to an example embodiment, a computer processing system is programmed to process a shipment transaction involving a shipper and a carrier. The system is particularly suited to efficiently automate the payment of a shipment transaction and to efficiently provide access to relevant shipment information. The system includes a shipper processor that receives transaction document information such as purchase order information and assists in generating a bill of lading for the transaction. A shipper access terminal interfaces between the shipper processor and a central processor arrangement to control the quantity, quality, and timeliness of information transferred to the central processor arrangement. The central processor arrangement stores selective transaction information such as shipment information and generates reports regarding the transactions, with each transaction having particular information associated with it (e.g., shipper ID, carrier ID and other information). A carrier processor provides proof of delivery to the central processor arrangement. The central processor communicates with one or more financial institutions so that the carrier is paid and shipper billed for the relevant transaction.

Claims

1. A transaction-processing system for facilitating transactions involving merchant offerings among parties including shippers and carriers, aspects of each transaction being characterized by transaction-based documents that are respectively provided by different parties to the transaction, the system comprising:

a transaction databank having a plurality of anchor locations, each anchor location for storing a plurality of transaction-profile attributes that correspond to a transaction; and

a computer arrangement adapted to;

identify attributes for a common transaction, the identified attributes being carried by the respective transaction-based documents as respectively provided from the different parties to the common transaction,

use the identified attributes to construct a plurality of transaction-profile attributes in a particular one of the anchor locations, and

in response to another transaction-based document for the common transaction carrying the identified attributes, use the constructed transaction-profile attributes in the particular anchor location to advance progress toward completion of the transaction.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein each of the parties to each common transaction has different party-identifying data and wherein the computer arrangement is further adapted to delineate the different party-identifying data in the transaction databank.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein each anchor location having constructed transaction-profile attributes corresponds to only one unique transaction.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the anchor locations are identified by an anchor ID.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the anchor ID includes a payment ID.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the computer arrangement is adapted to identify user-profile attributes for each of the different parties to the common transaction and to store the user-profile attributes in the particular one of the anchor locations.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the computer arrangement is adapted to use the user-profile attributes and the identified attributes for the common transaction to construct the plurality of transaction-profile attributes in the particular one of the anchor locations.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the computer arrangement is adapted to present information stored in the anchor location for the common transaction to one of the parties to the common transaction in response to the one of the parties requesting at least one of the transaction-profile attributes constructed in the anchor location.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the computer arrangement is adapted to advance progress toward completion of the transaction by generating payment authorization information as a function of the other transaction-based document, the transaction-profile attributes and user-profile attributes for parties to the transaction.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the computer arrangement is further adapted to interface with a payment institution and to send the payment authorization information to the payment institution for use in effecting payment for the transaction.

11. In an environment of multiple parties to a transaction, a transaction system for processing transaction information related to a transaction between one of the parties and another one of the parties, the system comprising:

a central processing terminal adapted to compare elements of the transaction information with user profile information associated with the parties and to automatically generate a set of common transaction information that identifies the transaction as a function of the comparison, the common transaction information including different user profile information from the one and the other one of the parties.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the central processing terminal is adapted to compare elements of the transaction information that include the identity of at least one of the parties.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein the central processing terminal is adapted to compare elements of the transaction information that include the identity of at least two parties and to authenticate the transaction using a set of data that includes the identities of the two parties.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the central processing terminal is further configured and arranged to assign new identity information to the transaction as a function of the authentication.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the central processing terminal is further configured and arranged to assign identity information to the transaction, the identity information including data fields that separately identify elements of the transaction, at least one of the data fields being exclusive to a first party to the transaction and at least another one of the data fields being exclusive to a second party to the transaction.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the central processing terminal is configured and arranged to provide access to information related to the transaction to the first party in response to the first party inputting data that matches the data in the data field exclusive to the first party.

17. The system of claim 11, wherein the central processing terminal is adapted to identify the transaction with an anchor ID, the anchor ID being a unique key for a record of the transaction which the central processing terminal uses to centrally track the transaction.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the anchor ID is assigned to at least two different parties'"'"' identification information.

19. The system of claim 11, wherein the central processing terminal is adapted to identify the transaction with reference to one or more of:

a BOL number, party'"'"'s customer number for another party, party'"'"'s vendor number for another party, a payment ID, a merchant number, an account ID, an order number, an invoice number, a receipt number and the transaction date.

20. The system of claim 11, wherein the central processing terminal is adapted to automatically authenticate the transaction information as a function of the user profile information and to generate payment authorization information for the authenticated transaction.

21. The system of claim 11, wherein the central processing terminal is adapted to compare elements of the transaction information that include elements represented on order, invoice, contract and receipt documents to reconcile the elements.

22. The system of claim 21, wherein the central processing terminal is further adapted to authorize payment in response to the receiving the receipt document, when the elements are reconciled.

23. In an environment of multiple parties to a transaction, a transaction system for processing transaction information related to a transaction between one of the parties and another one of the parties, the system comprising:

a processing terminal adapted to;

compare elements of the transaction information, which include the identity of at least two parties, with user profile information associated with the parties;

automatically generate a set of common transaction information that identifies the transaction as a function of the comparison of the elements with the user profile information, the common transaction information including different user profile information from the one and the other one of the parties;

using the generated set of common transaction information, automatically associating transaction information from different parties to the transaction;

reconciling the automatically associated transaction information by comparing element values in automatically associated transaction information from different parties; and

authorize payment for the transaction as a function of the reconciliation.

24. A method for facilitating transactions involving merchant offerings among parties including shippers and carriers, aspects of each transaction being characterized by transaction-based documents that are respectively provided by different parties to the transaction, the method comprising:

identifying attributes for a common transaction, the identified attributes being carried by the respective transaction-based documents as respectively provided from the different parties to the common transaction,

using the identified attributes to construct a plurality of transaction-profile attributes in a particular one of a plurality of anchor storage locations, and

in response to another transaction-based document for the common transaction carrying the identified attributes, using the constructed transaction-profile attributes in the particular anchor location to advance progress toward completion of the transaction.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein using the constructed transaction-profile attributes in the particular anchor location to advance progress toward completion of the transaction includes using the constructed transaction-profile attributes to authenticate a transaction for authorizing payment for the transaction.

26. A system for facilitating transactions involving merchant offerings among parties including shippers and carriers, aspects of each transaction being characterized by transaction-based documents that are respectively provided by different parties to the transaction, the system comprising:

data storage means including a plurality of anchor storage locations for storing a plurality of transaction-profile attributes that correspond to a transaction;

means for identifying attributes for a common transaction, the identified attributes being carried by the respective transaction-based documents as respectively provided from the different parties to the common transaction, p1 means for using the identified attributes to construct a plurality of transaction-profile attributes in a particular one of a plurality of anchor storage locations, and

means for using, in response to another transaction-based document for the common transaction carrying the identified attributes, the constructed transaction-profile attributes in the particular anchor location to advance progress toward completion of the transaction.

27. In an environment of multiple parties to a transaction, a method for processing transaction information related to a transaction between one of the parties and another one of the parties, the method comprising:

comparing elements of the transaction information with profile information associated with the parties; and

generating a set of common transaction information that identifies the transaction as a function of the comparison, the common transaction information including different profile information from the one and the other one of the parties.

28. The method of claim 27, further comprising:

authenticating the identified transaction as a function or the set of common transaction information and the profile information associated with the parties; and

generating payment authorization information as a function of the authentication.

29. In an environment of multiple parties to a transaction, a system for processing transaction information related to a transaction between one of the parties and another one of the parties, the system comprising:

means for comparing elements of the transaction information with profile information associated with the parties; and

means for generating a set of common transaction information that identifies the transaction as a function of the comparison, the common transaction information including different profile information from the one and the other one of the parties