APPROACH FOR ORDER RESOLUTION

• US 20150142611A1
• Filed: 11/20/2013
• Published: 05/21/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 11/20/2013
• Status: Active Application

• Current Assignee: Fish Six Restaurant Corp., The Melt
• Original Assignee: The Melt
• Inventors: KAPLAN, Jonathan, DEMARTA, Stanley Peter, LLACUNA, Jay Amando Domingo, BALDWIN, Christopher
• Granted Patent: US 10,282,774 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/26.81
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0635 Processing of requisition or of purchase orders

Abstract

A chain of establishments provides an online ordering system that allows a customer to order virtual items or services from an online menu. When an order is placed, the customer receives an order code that may then be verified at one of many establishment locations at one of many times to initiate order fulfillment. When the order code is verified at a particular restaurant, a point-of-service (POS) system maps the virtual items associated with the order to actual, in-stock items or services that are available at the particular establishment. The order may then be fulfilled and provided to the customer. One advantage of the disclosed technique is that the customer may pickup the order from any desired establishment location, and is not required to select a particular location when the order is placed. Consequently, the customer is provided with streamlined and flexible order placement and fulfillment experience.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for processing an order placed via an online customer interface, the method comprising:

receiving the order at a vendor location, wherein the order includes a first virtual item;

mapping the first virtual item to a first actual item that is available with respect to at least one of the vendor location and a current time; and

identifying the first actual item within an inventory associated with the vendor location to fulfill the order.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein mapping the first virtual item to the first actual item comprises determining that an equivalent item corresponding to the first virtual item is available at the vendor location.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein mapping the first virtual item to the first actual item comprises:

identifying a first category that is represented by the first virtual item; and

determining that the first actual item represents a specific instance of the first category that is associated with the vendor location.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein mapping the first virtual item to the first actual item comprises:

determining that an equivalent item corresponding to the first virtual item is not available at the vendor location; and

selecting a first alternative item from a set of alternative items associated with the first virtual item to replace the first actual item.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein receiving the order at the vendor comprises:

receiving a scan of a quick response (QR) code;

extracting an order number from the QR code; and

retrieving the first order from an order processing backend based on the order number.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 5, further comprising issuing the QR code to the customer when the order is placed via the online customer interface.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

computing a cost associated with the order based on a price associated with the first actual item; and

causing a payment processing backend to charge an account associated with the customer based on the cost associated with the order.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 7, further comprising determining the price associated with the first actual item based on the vendor location.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 7, further comprising determining the price associated with the first actual item based on the vendor location participating in an event.

10. A system for processing an order placed via an online customer interface, including:

a computing device configured to;

receive the order at a vendor location, wherein the order includes a first virtual item;

map the first virtual item to a first actual item that is available with respect to at least one of the vendor location and a current time; and

identify the first actual item within an inventory associated with the vendor location to fulfill the order.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the computing device is configured to map the first virtual item to the first actual item by determining that an equivalent item corresponding to the first virtual item is available at the vendor location.

12. The system of claim 10, wherein the computing device is configured to map the first virtual item to the first actual item by:

identifying a first category that is represented by the first virtual item; and

determining that the first actual item represents a specific instance of the first category that is associated with the vendor location.

13. The system of claim 10, wherein the computing device is configured to map the first virtual item to the first actual item by:

determining that an equivalent item corresponding to the first virtual item is not available at the vendor location; and

selecting a first alternative item from a set of alternative items associated with the first virtual item to replace the first actual item.

14. The system of claim 10, further comprising:

a kitchen management system configured to receive the order at the vendor location by;

receiving a scan of a quick response (QR) code;

extracting an order number from the QR code; and

retrieving the first order from an order processing backend based on the order number.

15. The system of claim 14, further including the online customer interface, configured to issue the QR code to the customer when the order is placed.

16. The system of claim 10, wherein the computing device is further configured to:

compute a cost associated with the order based on a price associated with the first actual item; and

cause a payment processing backend to charge an account associated with the customer based on the cost associated with the order.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the computing device is further configured to determine the price associated with the first actual item based on the vendor location.

18. The system of claim 16 wherein the computing device is further configured to determine the price associated with the first actual item based on the vendor location participating in an event.

19. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing program instructions that, when executed by a processing unit, cause the processing unit to process an order placed via an online customer interface by performing the steps of:

receiving the order at a vendor location, wherein the order includes a first virtual item;

mapping the first virtual item to a first actual item that is available with respect to at least one of the vendor location and a current time; and

identifying the first actual item within an inventory associated with the vendor location to fulfill the order.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 19, further comprising the steps of:

computing a cost associated with the order based on a price associated with the first actual item; and

causing a payment processing backend to charge an account associated with the customer based on the cost associated with the order.