Estimated time of arrival (ETA) systems and methods

• US 20050171856A1
• Filed: 01/30/2004
• Published: 08/04/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 01/30/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Canon USA, Inc. (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon USA, Inc. (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Nishioka, Ken, Takahashi, Shinichi, Kawano, Takenari, Tsugu, Kazuo
• Granted Patent: US 7,536,321 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/26
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/063 Operations research, analysis or management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/08 Logistics, e.g. warehousing, loading or distribution; Inventory or stock management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/083 Shipping
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0833 Tracking
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0641 Shopping interfaces

Abstract

A system on a network provides estimated time of arrival information to a client located on the network. The system is adapted to present to the client pages for eliciting a product inquiry including a product number. The system receives the product inquiry, determines estimated time of arrivals for various destinations for at least one in-transit unit having the product number, and transmits to the client the estimated time of arrivals.

Claims

1. A system on a network, for providing estimated time of arrival information to a client located on the network, the system being adapted to:

present to the client one or more pages adapted to elicit a product inquiry including a product number;

receive the product inquiry;

determine a plurality of estimated time of arrivals to a plurality of destinations for at least one in-transit unit having the product number; and

transmit to the client the estimated time of arrivals.

2. A system according to claim 1 further adapted to:

transmit to the client diversion recommendation information including recommended quantity of units of the product number to divert to at least one of the destinations, the recommendation information being based on inventory information and in-transit information, the current inventory information including sales history and back-order data for the at least one destination, and the in-transit information including a location for each of the at least one in-transit unit.

3. A system according to claim 1 further adapted to:

present to the client one or more pages adapted to elicit from the client a product diversion request including a shipping carrier identifier, a product number, a quantity number, and a destination identifier;

receive the product diversion request; and

divert one of the at least one in-transit units to a final destination corresponding to the destination identifier.

4. A system according to claim 3, wherein the system diverts one of the at least one in-transit units based on the results of a diversion planning processor adapted to process inventory information and in-transit information, the current inventory information including sales history for at least one of the destinations and back-order data at least one of the destinations, and the in-transit information the location of at least one transportation vehicles carrying at least one of the in-transit units.

5. A system according to claim 3 further adapted to:

transmit to the client acknowledgement information including the product number and a quantity of units of the product number diverted to the final destination.

6. A system according to claim 3 further adapted to:

communicate to a shipping carrier a diversion instruction to divert one of the in-transit units to the final destination, the diversion instruction including the destination identifier and a container identifier including enough information to locate the product on a transportation vehicle of the shipping carrier.

7. A system according to claim 6, wherein the transportation vehicle is a cargo vessel.

8. A system according to claim 6, wherein the transportation vehicle is a railroad train.

9. A system according to claim 6, wherein the transportation vehicle is a land transport vehicle.

10. A system according to claim 3, wherein the in-transit unit has not been allocated to any one of the destinations.

11. A system according to claim 3, wherein the in-transit unit was previously allocated to one of the destinations.

12. A system located on a network linking the system with a server on the network, the system being adapted to:

transmit to the server product inquiry information including a product number; and

receive a plurality of estimated time of arrivals to a plurality of destinations for at least one in-transit unit having the product number.

13. A system according to claim 12 further adapted to:

transmit to the server a diversion request including a shipping carrier identifier, a product number, a quantity number, and a destination identifier; and

receive an acknowledgement from the server that it has diverted one of the at least one in-transit units to a final destination corresponding to the destination identifier.

14. A system according to claim 12 further adapted to:

transmit to the server a product purchase order including a product number, a quantity number, and a customer identifier; and

receive an acknowledgement from the server that the product order has been accepted, wherein the server diverts one of the at least one in-transit units of that product number to a final destination based on the customer identifier.

15. A system on a network, for providing excess freight cost information including excess costs for ordering from at least one secondary destination, the server being adapted to:

present to a client located on the network one or more pages adapted to elicit a product inquiry including a product number;

receive the product inquiry;

receive from a product weight table database a corresponding product weight;

receive from a dealer location database a dealer address;

receive from a freight table database at least one freight cost based on the dealer address;

calculate at least one difference in freight cost based on the information stored in the product weight database, the freight database and the dealer location database; and

transmit to the client the at least one difference in freight cost.

16. A system located on a network linking the system with a server, and being adapted to:

transmit to the server product inquiry information including a product number and a customer identifier; and

receive at least one difference in freight cost for ordering from at least one secondary destination.

17. A system on a network, for automatically diverting one of a plurality of in-transit units having a product number to one of a plurality of destinations, the system being adapted to:

determine an estimated time of arrival to each of the plurality of destinations for the plurality of in-transit units;

determine a diversion plan based on sales history information for each of the plurality of destinations, current inventory information for each of the destinations and in-transit information, the current inventory information including back-order data, and the in-transit information including the location of the plurality of in-transit units; and

diverting the one unit to one of the destinations based on the diversion plan.

18. A system on a network according to claim 17, being further adapted to:

communicate to a shipping carrier a diversion instruction to divert the one unit to one of the destinations, the diversion instruction including a destination identifier corresponding to the one destination based on the diversion plan and a container identifier including enough information to locate the one unit on a transportation vehicle of the shipping carrier.

19. A system according to claim 18, wherein the transportation vehicle is a cargo vessel.

20. A system according to claim 18, wherein the transportation vehicle is a railroad train.

21. A system according to claim 18, wherein the transportation vehicle is a land transport vehicle.

22. A system according to claim 18, wherein the one unit has not been allocated to any one of the destinations.

23. A system according to claim 18, wherein the one unit was previously allocated to one of the destinations.

24. A method of providing estimated time of arrival information to a client located on the network, comprising the steps of:

presenting to the client one or more pages adapted to elicit a product inquiry including a product number;

receiving the product inquiry;

determining a plurality of estimated time of arrivals to a plurality of destinations for at least one in-transit unit having the product number; and

transmitting to the client the estimated time of arrivals.

25. A method as set forth in claim 24, further comprising the step of:

transmitting to the client diversion recommendation information including recommended quantity of units of the product number to divert to at least one of the destinations, the recommendation information being based on inventory information and in-transit information, the current inventory information including sales history and back-order data for the at least one destination, and the in-transit information including a location for each of the at least one in-transit unit.

26. A method as set forth in claim 24, further comprising the steps of:

presenting to the client one or more pages adapted to elicit from the client a product diversion request including a shipping carrier identifier, a product number, a quantity number, and a destination identifier;

receiving the product diversion request; and

diverting one of the at least one in-transit units to a final destination corresponding to the destination identifier.

27. A method as set forth in claim 26, further comprising the step of:

diverting one of the at least one in-transit units based on the results of a diversion planning processor adapted to process inventory information and in-transit information, the current inventory information including sales history for at least one of the destinations and back-order data on at least one of the destinations, and the in-transit information the location of at least one transportation vehicles carrying at least one of the in-transit units.

28. A method as set forth in claim 26, further comprising the step of:

transmitting to the client acknowledgement information including the product number and a quantity of units of the product number diverted to the final destination.

29. A method as set forth in claim 26, further comprising the step of:

communicating to a shipping carrier a diversion instruction to divert one of the in-transit units to the final destination, the diversion instruction including the destination identifier and a container identifier including enough information to locate the product on a transportation vehicle of the shipping carrier.

30. A method as set forth in claim 29, wherein the transportation vehicle is a cargo vessel.

31. A method as set forth in claim 29, wherein the transportation vehicle is a railroad train.

32. A method as set forth in claim 29, wherein the transportation vehicle is a land transport vehicle.

33. A method as set forth in claim 26, wherein the one unit has not been allocated to any one of the destinations.

34. A method as set forth in claim 26, wherein the one unit was previously allocated to one of the destinations.

35. A method of obtaining estimated time of arrivals from a server on a network, the method comprising the steps of:

transmitting to the server product inquiry information including a product number; and

receiving a plurality of estimated time of arrivals to a plurality of destinations for at least one in-transit unit having the product number.

36. A method as set forth in claim 35, further comprising the steps of:

transmitting to the server a diversion request including a shipping carrier identifier, a product number, a quantity number, and a destination identifier; and

receiving an acknowledgement from the server that it has diverted one of the at least one in-transit units to a final destination corresponding to the destination identifier.

37. A method as set forth in claim 35, further comprising the steps of:

transmitting to the server a product purchase order including a product number, a quantity number, and a customer identifier; and

receiving an acknowledgement from the server that the product order has been accepted, wherein the server diverts one of the at least one in-transit units of that product number to a final destination based on the customer identifier.

38. A method of providing excess freight cost information including excess costs for ordering from at least one secondary warehouse, the method comprising the steps of:

presenting to a client located on a network one or more pages adapted to elicit a product inquiry including a product number;

receiving the product inquiry;

receiving from a product weight table database a corresponding product weight;

receiving from a dealer location database a dealer address;

receiving from a freight table database at least one freight cost based on the dealer address;

calculating at least one difference in freight cost based on the information stored in the product weight database, the freight database and the dealer location database; and

transmitting to the client the at least one difference in freight cost.

39. A method of obtaining excess freight cost information including excess costs for ordering from at least one secondary destination from a server located on a network, the method comprising the steps of:

transmitting to a server product inquiry information including a product number and a customer identifier; and

receiving at least one difference in freight cost for ordering from at least one secondary destination.

40. A method of automatically diverting one of a plurality of in-transit units having a product number to one of a plurality of destinations, the method comprising the steps of:

determining an estimated time of arrival to each of the plurality of destinations for the plurality of in-transit units;

determining a diversion plan based on sales history information for each of the plurality of destinations, current inventory information for each of the warehouses and in-transit information, the current inventory information including back-order data, and the in-transit information including the location of the plurality of in-transit units; and

diverting the one unit to one of the destinations based on the diversion plan.

41. A method as set forth in claim 40, further comprising the step of:

communicating to a shipping carrier a diversion instruction to divert the one unit to one of the destinations, the diversion instruction including a destination identifier corresponding to the one destination based on the diversion plan and a container identifier including enough information to locate the one unit on a transportation vehicle of the shipping carrier.

42. A method as set forth in claim 41, wherein the transportation vehicle is a cargo vessel.

43. A method as set forth in claim 41, wherein the transportation vehicle is a railroad train.

44. A method as set forth in claim 41, wherein the transportation vehicle is a land transport vehicle.

45. A method as set forth in claim 41, wherein the one unit has not been allocated to any one of the destinations.

46. A method as set forth in claim 41, wherein the one unit was previously allocated to one of the destinations.

47. A system for providing estimated time of arrival information to a client located on the network, comprising:

means for presenting to the client one or more pages adapted to elicit a product inquiry including a product number;

means for receiving the product inquiry;

means for determining a plurality of estimated time of arrivals to a plurality of destinations for at least one in-transit unit having the product number; and

means for transmitting to the client the estimated time of arrivals.

48. A system as set forth in claim 47, further comprising:

means for transmitting to the client diversion recommendation information including recommended quantity of units of the product number to divert to at least one of the destinations, the recommendation information being based on inventory information and in-transit information, the current inventory information including sales history and back-order data for the at least one destination, and the in-transit information including a location for each of the at least one in-transit unit.

49. A system as set forth in claim 47, further comprising:

means for presenting to the client one or more pages adapted to elicit from the client a product diversion request including a shipping carrier identifier, a product number, a quantity number, and a destination identifier;

means for receiving the product diversion request; and

means for diverting one of the at least one in-transit units to a final destination corresponding to the destination identifier.

50. A system as set forth in claim 49, further comprising:

means for diverting one of the at least one in-transit units based on the results of a diversion planning processor adapted to process inventory information and in-transit information, the current inventory information including sales history for at least one of the destinations and back-order data on at least one of the destinations, and the in-transit information the location of at least one transportation vehicles carrying at least one of the in-transit units.

51. A system as set forth in claim 49, further comprising:

means for transmitting to the client acknowledgement information including the product number and a quantity of units of the product number diverted to the final destination.

52. A system as set forth in claim 49, further comprising:

means for communicating to a shipping carrier a diversion instruction to divert one of the in-transit units to the final destination, the diversion instruction including the destination identifier and a container identifier including enough information to locate the product on a transportation vehicle of the shipping carrier.

53. A system as set forth in claim 52, wherein the transportation vehicle is a cargo vessel.

54. A system as set forth in claim 52, wherein the transportation vehicle is a railroad train.

55. A system as set forth in claim 52, wherein the transportation vehicle is a land transport vehicle.

56. A system as set forth in claim 49, wherein the one unit has not been allocated to any one of the destinations.

57. A system as set forth in claim 49, wherein the one unit was previously allocated to one of the destinations.

58. A system for obtaining estimated time of arrivals from a server on a network, the system comprising:

means for transmitting to the server product inquiry information including a product number; and

means for receiving a plurality of estimated time of arrivals to a plurality of destinations for at least one in-transit unit having the product number.

59. A system as set forth in claim 58, further comprising:

means for transmitting to the server a diversion request including a shipping carrier identifier, a product number, a quantity number, and a destination identifier; and

means for receiving an acknowledgement from the server that it has diverted one of the at least one in-transit units to a final destination corresponding to the destination identifier.

60. A system as set forth in claim 58, further comprising:

means for transmitting to the server a product purchase order including a product number, a quantity number, and a customer identifier; and

means for receiving an acknowledgement from the server that the product order has been accepted, wherein the server diverts one of the at least one in-transit units of that product number to a final destination based on the customer identifier.

61. A system for providing excess freight cost information including excess costs for ordering from at least one secondary warehouse, the system comprising:

means for presenting to a client located on a network one or more pages adapted to elicit a product inquiry including a product number;

means for receiving the product inquiry;

means for receiving from a product weight table database a corresponding product weight;

means for receiving from a dealer location database a dealer address;

means for receiving from a freight table database at least one freight cost based on the dealer address;

means for calculating at least one difference in freight cost based on the information stored in the product weight database, the freight database and the dealer location database; and

means for transmitting to the client the at least one difference in freight cost.

62. A system for obtaining excess freight cost information including excess costs for ordering from at least one secondary warehouse from a server located on a network, the system comprising:

means for transmitting to a server product inquiry information including a product number and a customer identifier; and

means for receiving at least one difference in freight cost for ordering from at least one secondary destination.

63. A system for automatically diverting one of a plurality of in-transit units having a product number to one of a plurality of destinations, the system comprising:

means for determining an estimated time of arrival to each of the plurality of destinations for the plurality of in-transit units;

means for determining a diversion plan based on sales history information for each of the plurality of destinations, current inventory information for each of the destinations and in-transit information, the current inventory information including back-order data, the in-transit information including the location of the plurality of in-transit units; and

means for diverting the one unit to one of the destinations based on the diversion plan.

64. A system as set forth in claim 63, further comprising:

means for communicating to a shipping carrier a diversion instruction to divert the one unit to one of the destinations, the diversion instruction including a destination identifier corresponding to the one destination based on the diversion plan and a container identifier including enough information to locate the one unit on a transportation vehicle of the shipping carrier.

65. A system as set forth in claim 64, wherein the transportation vehicle is a cargo vessel.

66. A system as set forth in claim 64, wherein the transportation vehicle is a railroad train.

67. A system as set forth in claim 64, wherein the transportation vehicle is a land transport vehicle.

68. A system as set forth in claim 64, wherein the one unit has not been allocated to any one of the destinations.

69. A system as set forth in claim 64, wherein the one unit was previously allocated to one of the destinations.

70. Computer-readable medium containing code for providing estimated time of arrival information to a client located on the network, said code including:

code for presenting to the client one or more pages adapted to elicit a product inquiry including a product number;

code for receiving the product inquiry;

code for determining a plurality of estimated time of arrivals to a plurality of destinations for at least one in-transit unit having the product number; and

code for transmitting to the client the estimated time of arrivals.

71. Computer-readable medium according to claim 70, said code further including:

code for transmitting to the client diversion recommendation information including recommended quantity of units of the product number to divert to at least one of the destinations, the recommendation information being based on inventory information and in-transit information, the current inventory information including sales history and back-order data for the at least one destination, and the in-transit information including a location for each of the at least one in-transit unit.

72. Computer-readable medium according to claim 70, said code further including:

code for presenting to the client one or more pages adapted to elicit from the client a product diversion request including a shipping carrier identifier, a product number, a quantity number, and a destination identifier;

code for receiving the product diversion request; and

code for diverting one of the at least one in-transit units to a final destination corresponding to the destination identifier.

73. Computer-readable medium according to claim 72, said code further including:

code for diverting one of the at least one in-transit units based on the results of a diversion planning processor adapted to process inventory information and in-transit information, the current inventory information including sales history for at least one of the destinations and back-order data on at least one of the destinations, and the in-transit information the location of at least one transportation vehicles carrying at least one of the in-transit units.

74. Computer-readable medium according to claim 70, said code further including:

code for transmitting to the client acknowledgement information including the product number and a quantity of units of the product number diverted to the final destination.

75. Computer-readable medium according to claim 70, said code further including:

code for communicating to a shipping carrier a diversion instruction to divert one of the in-transit units to the final destination, the diversion instruction including the destination identifier and a container identifier including enough information to locate the product on a transportation vehicle of the shipping carrier.

76. Computer-readable medium according to claim 75, wherein the transportation vehicle is a cargo vessel.

77. Computer-readable medium according to claim 75, wherein the transportation vehicle is a railroad train.

78. Computer-readable medium according to claim 75, wherein the transportation vehicle is a land transport vehicle.

79. Computer-readable medium according to claim 72, wherein the one unit has not been allocated to any one of the destinations.

80. Computer-readable medium according to claim 72, wherein the one unit was previously allocated to one of the destinations.

81. Computer-readable medium containing code, said code including:

code for transmitting to the server product inquiry information including a product number; and

code for receiving a plurality of estimated time of arrivals to a plurality of destinations for at least one in-transit unit having the product number.

82. Computer-readable medium according to claim 81, said code further including:

code for transmitting to the server a diversion request including a shipping carrier identifier, a product number, a quantity number, and a destination identifier; and

code for receiving an acknowledgement from the server that it has diverted one of the at least one in-transit units to a final destination corresponding to the destination identifier.

83. Computer-readable medium according to claim 81, said code further including:

code for transmitting to the server a product purchase order including a product number, a quantity number, and a customer identifier; and

code for receiving an acknowledgement from the server that the product order has been accepted, wherein the server diverts one of the at least one in-transit units of that product number to a final destination based on the customer identifier.

84. Computer-readable medium containing code for providing excess freight cost information including excess costs for ordering from at least one secondary destination, said code including:

code for presenting to a client located on the network one or more pages adapted to elicit a product inquiry including a product number;

code for receiving the product inquiry;

code for receiving from a product weight table database a corresponding product weight;

code for receiving from a dealer location database a dealer address;

code for receiving from a freight table database at least one freight cost based on the dealer address;

code for calculating at least one difference in freight cost based on the information stored in the product weight database, the freight database and the dealer location database; and

code for transmitting to the client the at least one difference in freight cost.

85. Computer-readable medium containing code for obtaining excess freight cost information, said code including:

code for transmitting to the server product inquiry information including a product number and a customer identifier; and

code for receiving at least one difference in freight cost for ordering from at least one secondary destination.

86. Computer readable medium containing code for automatically diverting one of a plurality of in-transit units having a product number to one of a plurality of destinations, said code including:

code for determining an estimated time of arrival to each of the plurality of destinations for the plurality of in-transit units;

code for determining a diversion plan based on sales history information for each of the plurality of destinations, current inventory information for each of the destinations and in-transit information, the current inventory information including back-order data, the in-transit information including the location of the plurality of in-transit units; and

code for diverting the one unit to one of the destinations based on the diversion plan.

87. Computer-readable medium according to claim 86, said code further including:

code for communicating to a shipping carrier a diversion instruction to divert the one unit to one of the destinations, the diversion instruction including a destination identifier corresponding to the one destination based on the diversion plan and a container identifier including enough information to locate the one unit on a transportation vehicle of the shipping carrier.

88. Computer-readable medium according to claim 87, wherein the transportation vehicle is a cargo vessel.

89. Computer-readable medium according to claim 87, wherein the transportation vehicle is a railroad train.

90. Computer-readable medium according to claim 87, wherein the transportation vehicle is a land transport vehicle.

91. Computer-readable medium according to claim 87, wherein the one unit has not been allocated to any one of the destinations.

92. Computer-readable medium according to claim 87, wherein the one unit was previously allocated to one of the destinations.