Systems and Methods Facilitating Mobile Retail Environments

• US 20110196754A1
• Filed: 04/20/2011
• Published: 08/11/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 06/09/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Guestlogix, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Guestlogix, Inc.
• Inventors: Proud, Brett, Fitzgerald, Jim, Hanna, Ramez, Aldomar, Jose Manuel
• Granted Patent: US 9,076,137 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/16
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/20 Point-of-sale [POS] network systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/202 Interconnection or interaction of plural electronic cash registers [ECR] or to host computer, e.g. network details, transfer of information from host to ECR or from ECR to ECR
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3224 Transactions dependent on location of M-devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/325 using wireless networks
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/14 Travel agencies
• CPC Class Codes: G07G 1/0009 Details of the software in the checkout register, electronic cash register [ECR] or point of sale terminal [POS]
• CPC Class Codes: G07G 1/14 Systems including one or more distant stations co-operating with a central processing unit data transmission in general H04L; telemetry systems for selectively calling a substation from a main station H04Q9/00

Abstract

An automated system for facilitating sales in dynamically-changing mobile retail environments includes a vendor/supplier connector module, a carrier connector module, a provisioning module, and a point-of-sale (POS) customization module. The vendor/supplier connector module facilitates automated exchange of product data with a plurality of different vendors or suppliers of products or services. The carrier connector module facilitates automated exchange of transportation data with a plurality of different carriers, with the transportation data corresponding to specific mobile retail environments. The provisioning module automatically determines, based on the product data and on the transportation data, products or services corresponding to a specific mobile retail environment. The POS customization module automatically generates re-configuration data for each of a plurality of POS interfaces. The re-configuration data limits each of the plurality of POS interfaces to facilitating sales of only the subset of the set of products or services that corresponds to a specific mobile retail environment.

Claims

1. An automated system for facilitating sales in dynamically-changing mobile retail environments, the system comprising:

a vendor/supplier connector module that is constructed to facilitate automated exchange of product data over a computer network with a plurality of different vendors or suppliers of products or services, wherein the product data includes information corresponding to a set of products or services that;

(a) can be ordered on board mobile retail environments, (b) can be delivered on board mobile retail environments, or both (a) and (b);

a carrier connector module that is constructed to facilitate automated exchange of transportation data over a computer network with a plurality of different carriers, wherein the transportation data includes vehicle and departure/arrival information corresponding to specific mobile retail environments;

a provisioning module that is communicatively coupled to the vendor/supplier connector module and to the carrier connector module, the provisioning module being constructed to automatically determine, based on the product data and on the transportation data, a plurality of subsets of the set of products or services, each of the plurality of the subsets corresponding to a specific mobile retail environment;

a point-of-sale (POS) customization module that is communicatively coupled to the provisioning module, the POS customization module being constructed to automatically generate re-configuration data for each of a plurality of POS interfaces, wherein the re-configuration data limits each of the plurality of POS interfaces to facilitating sales of only the subset of the set of products or services that corresponds to a specific one of the mobile retail environments.

2. The automated system of claim 1, further comprising:

a first POS interface device of the plurality of POS interfaces, wherein the first POS interface device is a vehicle-based POS interface device having a display device and a user input device.

3. The automated system of claim 2, wherein the first POS interface device comprises a hand-portable unit associated with a first vehicle.

4. The automated system of claim 2, wherein the first POS interface device comprises a mounted unit installed in a first vehicle.

5. The automated system of claim 1, further comprising:

a network-based POS interface of the plurality of POS interfaces, the network-based POS interface being implemented on a client computer device having a display device and a user input device, the client computer device running a browser application, wherein the browser application is communicatively coupled to a server that hosts the network-based POS interface.

6. The automated system of claim 5, wherein the network-based POS interface is on board a vehicle on which the mobile retail environment is established.

7. The automated system of claim 5, wherein the network-based POS interface is implemented on a personal computer that is communicatively coupled to the server via the Internet.

8. The automated system of claim 5, wherein the network-based POS interface is configured to facilitate pre-ordering of products or services to be delivered in at least one mobile retail environment of a series of the at least one mobile retail environments associated with a first passenger who is to be present in the series of the at least one mobile retail environments, whereby the network-based POS interface displays a limited assortment of products or services to be made available in a selected at least one mobile retail environment of the series for pre-ordering, and whereby the network-based POS interface provides to the first passenger a virtual token associated with the first passenger to be verified on-board the selected at least one mobile retail environment to permit delivery of a pre-ordered product or service.

9. The automated system of claim 8, wherein the virtual token is associated with passenger specific information from the transportation data that is specific to the first passenger.

10. The automated system of claim 1, wherein the vendor/supplier connector is adapted to transmit pre-order information to a first vendor or supplier, wherein the pre-order information is generated based on the transportation data and on data generated via at least one of the plurality of POS interfaces.

11. The automated system of claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the plurality of different vendors or suppliers of products or services includes vendors who are merchants of record;

and

wherein the vendor/supplier connector is adapted to facilitate an exchange of transaction information between the merchants of record and the plurality of POS interfaces.

12. The automated system of claim 1, wherein the transportation data includes passenger-specific information for at least a first passenger.

13. The automated system of claim 12, wherein the provisioning module is constructed to analyze the passenger-specific information and the transportation data to determine a first passenger-specific mobile retail environment corresponding to a travel schedule of the first passenger;

and

wherein the POS customization module is adapted to automatically re-configure at least one POS interface corresponding to the first passenger-specific mobile retail environment such that the at least one POS interface limits a selection of products or services to a first passenger-specific subset relevant to first passenger.

14. The automated system of claim 13, wherein the passenger-specific information for at least the first passenger includes at least one of:

loyalty program information, and payment information associated with at least the first passenger; and

wherein the POS customization module is adapted to automatically re-configure at least one POS interface corresponding to the first passenger-specific mobile retail environment such that the at least one POS interface has available the loyalty program information and/or the payment information associated with at least the first passenger to facilitate completion of transactions with the first passenger.

15. The automated system of claim 1, wherein the transportation data includes crew-specific information associated with at least one crew member, wherein the crew-specific information relates to services or transactions that are permitted in at least one mobile retail environment.

16. The automated system of claim 1, wherein the provisioning module is further adapted to automatically re-categorize products or services represented by the product data into a new categorization hierarchy corresponding to at least a first subset of the plurality of subsets.

17. The automated system of claim 1, further comprising:

a POS programmer device adapted to be communicatively coupled to the POS customization module, and constructed to;

receive at least a subset of the re-configuration data;

communicate with a POS interface located on-board a vehicle and, based on the subset of the re-configuration data, to automatically configure the POS interface.

18. An on-board point-of-sale (POS) device for use in a mobile retail environment, comprising:

a display device and a user input device;

a processor device and a memory device;

a receiver that is constructed to receive new configuration data for a new instance of a mobile retail environment, wherein new product or service information is loaded into the memory device corresponding to the new instance of the mobile retail environment, wherein the new product or service information is based on transportation schedule and arrival/departure information specific to the new instance of the mobile retail environment, and on information corresponding passengers to be present in the new instance of the mobile retail environment.

19. The POS device of claim 18, wherein the information corresponding to passengers to be present in the new instance of the mobile retail environment includes information corresponding to at least one pre-ordered product or service to be sold in the new instance of the mobile retail environment.

20. The POS device of claim 18, wherein the new product or service information is based on information corresponding to crew personnel specific to the new instance of the mobile retail environment.

21. A method of facilitating sales in dynamically-changing mobile retail environment, the method comprising:

automatically facilitating exchange of product data over a computer network with a plurality of different vendors or suppliers of products or services including exchange of data corresponding to a set of products or services that;

(a) can be ordered in at least one on-board mobile retail environment, (b) can be delivered in at least one on-board mobile retail environment, or both (a) and (b);

automatically facilitating exchange of transportation data over a computer network with a plurality of different carriers including exchange of vehicle and departure/arrival information corresponding to at least one specific on-board mobile retail environment;

automatically determining, based on the product data and on the transportation data, a plurality of subsets of the set of products or services, each of the plurality of subsets corresponding to a specific mobile retail environment of a plurality of mobile retail environments; and

automatically generating re-configuration data for each of a plurality of POS interfaces that automatically limit each of the plurality of POS interfaces to facilitating sales of only the subset of the set of products or services that corresponds to a specific one of the plurality of mobile retail environments.