Method of testing inventory management/shipping systems
First Claim
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1. A method of testing a service performance of an e-commerce site, the method comprising the steps of:
- (a) generating a request for an item from a client device through a client browser query to a server supporting the e-commerce site;
(b) automatically determining an availability parameter accessible to subscribers for the item, including whether the item is presently available, or a predicted date for which the item will be available;
(c) in response to detecting said availability parameter accessible to subscribers, automatically generating a notification from the client device to inform an operator of the e-commerce site when a deficiency of inventory is detected;
wherein each of the above steps are performed over a network by a client device without directly accessing a database of transaction records maintained by and/or accessible only to the server for inventory or sales of such item.
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Abstract
An inventory management, and a shipping/returns management system can be analyzed to determine various performance characteristics of an e-commerce operator, such as whether the latter maintains sufficient items to meet demand, whether distribution is occurring in a timely fashion, etc. The systems are analyzed using one or more anonymous proxy accounts.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method of testing a service performance of an e-commerce site, the method comprising the steps of:
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(a) generating a request for an item from a client device through a client browser query to a server supporting the e-commerce site; (b) automatically determining an availability parameter accessible to subscribers for the item, including whether the item is presently available, or a predicted date for which the item will be available; (c) in response to detecting said availability parameter accessible to subscribers, automatically generating a notification from the client device to inform an operator of the e-commerce site when a deficiency of inventory is detected; wherein each of the above steps are performed over a network by a client device without directly accessing a database of transaction records maintained by and/or accessible only to the server for inventory or sales of such item. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A method of testing a service performance of an e-commerce site, the method comprising the steps of:
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(a) generating a request for an item from a client device through a client browser query to a server supporting the e-commerce site; wherein said request is automatically initiated on behalf of a proxy account representing a particular demographic profile for a user and not a an actual user; (b) automatically determining an availability parameter accessible to subscribers for the item for said proxy account, including whether the item is presently available, and/or a predicted date for which the item will be available; (c) in response to detecting said availability parameter accessible to subscribers, automatically generating a notification from the client device to inform an operator of the e-commerce site when a deficiency of inventory is detected; wherein each of the above steps are performed over a network by a client device without directly accessing a database of transaction records maintained by and/or accessible only to the server for inventory or sales of such item. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification