AUTOMATIC SALES ASSISTANT FOR ELECTRONIC COMMERCE CUSTOMERS

• US 20100106614A1
• Filed: 10/29/2008
• Published: 04/29/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/29/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation, ServiceNow Incorporated
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Walach, Eugeniusz, Heilper, Andre
• Granted Patent: US 8,583,510 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/26
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0603 Catalogue ordering

Abstract

An Automatic Sales Assistant (“ASA”) automates the handling of electronic commerce transactions by gathering all of the relevant information with respect to an electronic commerce transaction being carried out by a customer using a computer and presenting it to the customer in a unified and convenient form (e.g., a template) that the customer may use to properly complete the electronic transaction (e.g., a purchase of retail goods using the Internet). The transaction may be an active document that resides in a private folder on the customer'"'"'s computer. This type of active process handles all of the procedures related to any given electronic commerce transaction. Moreover, the ASA facilitates the proper resolution of any problems with a transaction by providing all of the necessary support material and information.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

gathering certain information relating to a customer;

storing the gathered information in a storage medium;

creating a first template having the gathered information, wherein the first template relates to ordering goods and/or services over the Internet from any of a plurality of online providers of goods and/or services utilizing the gathered information;

storing the first template in the storage medium;

accessing an Internet website of one of a plurality of online providers;

performing an electronic commerce transaction that comprises purchasing of goods and/or services by the customer from the accessed one of the plurality of online providers utilizing the first template for each electronic commerce transaction performed;

tracking shipment of the purchased goods and/or services;

verifying payment by the customer of the purchased goods and/or services; and

storing all information relating to the performed electronic commerce transaction in the storage medium.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the storage medium is part of a computer.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the gathered information includes personal information.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein performing an electronic commerce transaction that comprises purchasing of goods and/or services by the customer from the accessed one of the plurality of online providers includes entering into the first template information relating to goods and/or services desired to be purchased by the customer.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein tracking shipment of the purchased goods and/or services includes notifying the customer of any problem relating to the shipment of the goods, wherein the customer can take any corrective action in response thereto.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein tracking shipment of the purchased goods and/or services includes creating a second template relating to shipment information regarding the purchased goods and/or services, wherein the second template is stored in the storage medium.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein each performed electronic transaction has an associated XML document that is stored as part of a searchable database on a computer.

8. A computer program product for performing an electronic commerce transaction, the computer program product comprising:

a computer readable storage medium having computer readable program code embodied therewith, the cornputer readable program code comprising;

computer readable program code configured to implement a method for performing an electronic commerce transaction, the method comprising the steps of;

gathering certain information relating to a customer;

storing the gathered information in the storage medium;

creating a first template having the gathered information, wherein the first template having relates to ordering goods and/or services over the Internet from any of a plurality of online providers of goods and/or services utilizing the gathered information;

storing the first template in the storage medium;

accessing an Internet website of one of a plurality of online providers;

performing an electronic commerce transaction that comprises purchasing of goods and/or services by the customer from the accessed one of the plurality of online providers utilizing the first template for each electronic commerce transaction performed;

tracking shipment of the purchased goods and/or services;

verifying payment by the customer of the purchased goods and/or services; and

storing all information relating to the performed electronic commerce transaction in the storage medium.

9. The computer program product of claim 8, wherein the storage medium is part of a computer.

10. The computer program product of claim 8, wherein the gathered information includes personal information.

11. The computer program product of claim 8, wherein performing an electronic commerce transaction that comprises purchasing of goods and/or services by the customer from the accessed one of the plurality of online providers includes entering into the first template information relating to goods and/or services desired to be purchased by the customer.

12. The computer program product of claim 8, wherein tracking shipment of the purchased goods and/or services includes notifying the customer of any problem relating to the shipment of the goods, wherein the customer can take any corrective action in response thereto.

13. The computer program product of claim 8, wherein tracking shipment of the purchased goods and/or services includes creating a second template relating to shipment information regarding the purchased goods and/or services, wherein the second template is stored in the storage medium.

14. The computer program product of claim 8, wherein each performed electronic transaction has an associated XML document that is stored as part of a searchable database on a computer.

15. A system for performing an electronic commerce transaction, comprising:

a computing network including a processing device in communication with one or more computer memory storage devices; and

the computing network further configured to implement a method for performing an electronic commerce transaction, the method further comprising;

gathering certain information relating to a customer;

storing the gathered information in at least one of the one or more computer memory storage devices;

creating a first template having the gathered information, wherein the first template relates to ordering goods and/or services over the Internet from any of a plurality of online providers of goods and/or services utilizing the gathered information;

storing the first template in at least one of the one or more computer memory storage devices;

accessing an Internet website of one of a plurality of online providers;

performing an electronic commerce transaction that comprises purchasing of goods and/or services by the customer from the accessed one of the plurality of online providers utilizing the first template for each electronic commerce transaction performed;

tracking shipment of the purchased goods and/or services;

verifying payment by the customer of the purchased goods and/or services; and

storing all information relating to the performed electronic commerce transaction in at least one of the one or more computer memory storage devices.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the one or more computer memory storage devices are part of a computer.

17. The system of claim 15, wherein the gathered information includes personal information.

18. The system of claim 15, wherein performing an electronic commerce transaction that comprises purchasing of goods and/or services by the customer from the accessed one of the plurality of online providers includes entering into the first template information relating to goods and/or services desired to be purchased by the customer.

19. The system of claim 15, wherein tracking shipment of the purchased goods and/or services includes notifying the customer of any problem relating to the shipment of the goods, wherein the customer can take any corrective action in response thereto.

20. The system of claim 15, wherein tracking shipment of the purchased goods and/or services includes creating a second template relating to shipment information regarding the purchased goods and/or services, wherein the second template is stored in at least one of the one or more computer memory storage devices.

21. The system of claim 15, wherein each performed electronic transaction has an associated XML document that is stored as part of a searchable database on a computer.

22. A method, comprising:

gathering and storing on a computer certain information relating to a customer;

creating a first template having the gathered information, wherein the first template relates to ordering goods and/or services over the Internet from any of a plurality of online providers of goods and/or services utilizing the gathered information, wherein the first template is stored on the computer;

accessing an Internet website of one of the plurality of online providers;

performing an electronic commerce transaction that comprises purchasing of goods and/or services by the customer from the accessed one of the plurality of online providers utilizing the first template for each electronic commerce transaction performed;

tracking shipment of the purchased goods and/or services;

verifying payment by the customer of the purchased goods and/or services; and

storing on the computer all information relating to the performed electronic commerce transaction.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein performing an electronic commerce transaction that comprises purchasing of goods and/or services by the customer from the accessed one of the plurality of online providers includes entering into the first template information relating to goods and/or services desired to be purchased by the customer.

24. The method of claim 22, wherein tracking shipment of the purchased goods and/or services includes notifying the customer of any problem relating to the shipment of the goods, wherein the customer can take any corrective action in response thereto.

25. The method of claim 22, wherein tracking shipment of the purchased goods and/or services includes creating a second template relating to shipment information regarding the purchased goods and/or services, wherein the second template is stored on the computer.