Apparatus, systems and methods for online, multi-parcel, multi-carrier, multi-service enterprise parcel shipping management

• US 7,774,284 B2
• Filed: 03/27/2001
• Issued: 08/10/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 03/27/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Iship Incorporated, Auctane LLC (Stamps.com, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Iship Incorporated, Stamps.com, Inc.
• Inventors: McLaughlin, Paul R., Teglovic, Stephen M., Glavin, Dennis, Liu, Jinyue, Dietz, John M., Bennett, David Allison, Mentzer, Charles D., Bilibin, Paul, Meyer, Scott, Krett, Lory Elizabeth, Smith, William W. III, Williams, Daniel F., Hu, Sean, Goldhaber, Lynn Shaindell
• Primary Examiner(s): Plucinski; Jamisue A
• Application Number:
  US09/820,377
• Publication Number:
  US 20020032573A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,423 Days
• Field of Search: 705/1
• US Class Current: 705/300
• 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 10/0834 Choice of carriers
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/08345 Pricing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0835 Relationships between shipper or supplier and carriers
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/101 Collaborative creation, e.g. joint development of products or services
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0282 Rating or review of business operators or products
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]

Abstract

The present invention provides a plurality of Enterprises with a single online user interface with which the Enterprise can provide Enterprise Shippers, shipping origination users and shipping intermediary users with an automated parcel management system for a plurality of supported Carriers for a plurality of services. The present invention provides for the hierarchical definition of users, including the establishment of at least one user for each Enterprise as a Super-Administrator with the highest level of privileges and authority for the Enterprise, and the identification of other users as Sub-Administrators, Desktop Users and Shipping Station Users. The present invention also provides for the hierarchical definition of organizational units within each Enterprise, including the definition of sites, groups within a site, and users within a group. The present invention further provides for a distinct definition of policies, privileges, and other types of specifications for each user level, each user, and each organizational unit. The present invention applies the user and organizational policies, privileges and other specifications as they apply to each particular user to drive the interactive interface with each particular user and to provide among other things, shipping options, shipping services, shipping rates, traveler and/or shipping label preparation, and shipment tracking.

Claims

1. An online, Internet-based, multi-carrier, multi-parcel shipping management computer system, said computer system programmed to:

according to a first set of instructions input by an administrator of an enterprise, designate in a memory accessible by the computer system, a first set of shipping privilege settings identifying each user of a plurality of users within the enterprise as restricted from printing shipping labels but authorized to submit pre-processing shipping requests;

according to a second set of instructions input by the administrator, designate in the memory, a second set of shipping privilege settings identifying at least a second user within the enterprise as authorized to print shipping labels according to a pre-processing shipping request by any user of the plurality of users; and

in response to an input by a first user of the plurality of users, display interactive graphic user interface shipping selection options to the first user according to the first set of shipping privilege settings.

2. The computer system of claim 1, said computer system further programmed to:

recognize as a particular pre-processing shipping request to generate a printable bar-coded pre-processing traveler label, a particular request input by the first user of the plurality of users to ship a particular package, wherein the particular request to ship the particular package comprises at least one of;

a destination name, a destination address, a return name, a return address, or package information;

generate a printable bar-coded pre-processing traveler label, wherein the printable bar-coded pre-processing traveler label comprises at least a machine-readable code;

save in the memory accessible by the computer system a relationship between the machine-readable code and the particular request to ship the particular package; and

print the printable bar-coded pre-processing traveler label, wherein said printed printable bar-coded pre-processing traveler label comprises an expression of the machine-readable code.

3. The computer system of claim 1, said computer system further programmed to:

receive a particular pre-processing shipping request by a first user of the plurality of users to ship a particular package, wherein the particular pre-processing shipping request comprises at least one of;

a destination name, a destination address, a return name, a return address, or package information;

generate an internal system tracking number in response to the particular pre-processing shipping request by the first user; and

save said internal system tracking number corresponding to the pre-processing shipping request in the memory.

4. The computer system of claim 3, said computer system further programmed to:

generate a printable bar-coded pre-processing traveler label in response to the particular pre-processing shipping request by the first user, wherein the printable bar-coded pre-processing traveler label comprises;

(A) a bar-coded expression of the internal system tracking number, and (B) a machine-readable expression of a set of partial shipment information, wherein the set of partial shipment information comprises at least one of;

a destination name, a destination address, a return name, a return address, or package information.

5. The computer system of claim 1, said computer system further programmed to:

receive a particular pre-processing shipping request by a first user of the plurality of users to ship a particular package, wherein the particular pre-processing shipping request comprises at least one of;

a destination name, a destination address, a return name, a return address, or package information; and

generate a printable bar-coded pre-processing traveler label containing partial shipment information in response to the particular pre-processing shipping request by the first user, wherein the printable bar-coded pre-processing traveler label comprises at least one of;

a destination name, a destination address, a return name, a return address, or package information.

6. The computer system of claim 5, said computer system further programmed to:

generate a system tracking number in response to the particular pre-processing shipping request by the first user; and

generate the printable bar-coded pre-processing traveler label comprising a representation of a machine-readable expression of a system tracking number for tracking the parcel within the enterprise.