Recurring delivery of products

• US 8,370,271 B1
• Filed: 11/02/2009
• Issued: 02/05/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 11/02/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Inventors: Robinson, Heidi S., Noyes, Denise J., Kuan, Kenneth S., Malinowska, Magdalena, Husk, Linde E.
• Primary Examiner(s): JABR, FADEY S
• Application Number:
  US12/610,802
• Time in Patent Office: 1,191 Days
• Field of Search: 705/26.7, 705/27.1, 705/330
• US Class Current: 705/330
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/083 Shipping

Abstract

Technologies are described herein for providing recurring delivery of products to a customer on a periodic basis. A customer creates a recurring delivery list that specifies a particular delivery slot indicating when orders are to be delivered. The customer adds products to the recurring delivery list, specifying a quantity and frequency of delivery for each product. Orders are periodically generated from the customer'"'"'s recurring delivery list for delivery on the next occurrence of the specified delivery slot. The products included in each order are based on the frequency of delivery and a last delivery date for each product in the recurring delivery list. If the customer makes changes to the recurring delivery list, those changes may also be applied to any pending orders generated from the list.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for providing recurring delivery of products, the method comprising performing instructions under the control of a computer system for:

receiving at the computer system a designation of a delivery slot and a recurring delivery list comprising one or more list items, each of the one or more list items identifying a product, a quantity to deliver, and a frequency of delivery;

periodically generating, by the computer system, an order having a date and time for delivery based on a next occurrence of the delivery slot, the order being generated in advance of the date and time for delivery such that the order has a period of time of pendency prior to the delivery;

creating, by the computer system, one or more order items for the order based on a last delivery date and the frequency of delivery of each list item in the recurring delivery list;

receiving at the computer system a change made to a first list item of the recurring delivery list during the period of time of pendency of the order;

in response to receiving the change, determining, by the computer system, whether the order includes an order item corresponding to the first list item;

in response to determining that the order includes an order item corresponding to the first list item, modifying, by the computer system, the order item corresponding to the first list item based on the change made to the first list item of the recurring delivery list; and

providing, by the computer system, the order to an order fulfillment system capable of causing the one or more order items to be delivered substantially on the date and time for delivery.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the change made to the first list item of the recurring delivery list comprises one of removing the first list item, changing the quantity to deliver of the first list item, or changing the frequency of delivery of the first list item.

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

during the period of time of pendency of the order, receiving at the computer system a request to pause delivery of a second list item of the recurring delivery list until a specific future date;

determining, by the computer system, whether the order includes an order item corresponding to the second list item;

upon determining that the order includes an order item corresponding to the second list item, determining, by the computer system, whether the specific future date is greater than the date and time for delivery of the order;

upon determining that the specific future date is greater than the date and time for delivery of the order, removing, by the computer system, the order item corresponding to the first second list item from the order; and

causing, by the computer system, the second list item to be included in a next generated order having a date and time for delivery on or after the specific future date.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein one or more products identified by the one or more order items are provided at a discounted price if the one or more products are included in the recurring delivery list.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the delivery slot comprises a day of the week and a period of time during the day.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the recurring delivery list further specifies that the order may be delivered without a receiver being present and the method further comprises:

determining, by the computer system, that a first list item of the one or more list items is not eligible for unattended delivery; and

alerting, by the computer system, a customer associated with the recurring delivery list that the first list item is not eligible for unattended delivery.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the change made to the first list item comprises a change to the frequency of delivery of the first list item, and wherein the method further comprises:

determining, by the computer system, whether the change to the frequency of delivery of the first list item indicates that the product identified by the first list item is no longer scheduled for delivery on the date and time for delivery of the order; and

upon determining that the change to the frequency of delivery of the first list item indicates that the product identified by the first list item is no longer scheduled for delivery on the date and time for delivery of the order, removing, by the computer system, the order item corresponding to the first list item from the order.

8. A computer-readable non-transitory medium having computer-executable instructions stored thereon that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to:

receive a designation of a delivery slot and a recurring delivery list comprising one or more list items identifying a product, a quantity to deliver, and a frequency of delivery;

periodically generate an order having a date and time for delivery based on a next occurrence of the delivery slot, the order being generated in advance of the date and time for delivery such that the order has a period of time of pendency prior to the delivery;

create one or more order items for the order based on a last delivery date and the frequency of delivery of each list item in the recurring delivery list;

receive changes made to a first list item of the recurring delivery list during the period of time of pendency of the order; and

upon receiving the changes, determine whether the order includes an order item corresponding to the first list item,

in response to determining that the order includes an order item corresponding to the first list item, modify the order item corresponding to the first list item based on the changes made to the first list item of the recurring delivery list; and

provide the order to an order fulfillment system capable of causing the one or more order items to be delivered substantially on the date and time for delivery, wherein the order items may be delivered without a receiver being present.

9. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 8, having additional computer-executable instructions stored thereon that further cause the computer to:

during the period of time of pendency of the order, receive a request to pause delivery of a second list item of the recurring delivery list until a specific future date;

determine whether the order includes an order item corresponding to the second list item;

upon determining that the order includes an order item corresponding to the second list item, determine whether the specific future date is greater than the date and time for delivery of the order;

upon determining that the specific future date is greater than the date and time for delivery of the order, remove the order item corresponding to the second list item from the order; and

cause the second list item to be included in a subsequently generated order having a date and time for delivery on or after the specific future date.

10. A system for providing recurring delivery of products, the system comprising:

a server computer comprising a memory and one or more processing units; and

a recurring delivery module residing in the memory and configured to cause the one or more processing units to

deliver a first user interface to a computing device, the first user interface configured to receive a designation of a delivery slot and a recurring delivery list comprising one or more list items identifying a product, a quantity to deliver, and a frequency of delivery,

periodically generate an order comprising one or more order items selected from the recurring delivery list based on a last delivery date and the frequency of delivery of each list item, the order being generated in advance of a next occurrence of the delivery slot such that the order has a period of time of pendency prior to delivery,

deliver a second user interface to the computing device, the second user interface configured to allow a user of the computing device to make changes to the recurring delivery list during the period of time of pendency of the order,

receive changes made to a first list item of the recurring delivery list during the period of time of pendency of the order,

upon receiving the changes, determine whether the order includes an order item corresponding to the first list item,

in response to determining that the order include an order item corresponding to the first list item, modify the order item corresponding to the first list item based on the changes made to the first list item of the recurring delivery list, and

provide the order to an order fulfillment system capable of causing the one or more order items to be delivered at the next occurrence of the delivery slot.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the second user interface enables a customer to change the recurring delivery list by performing one or more of removing a list item, changing the quantity to deliver of a list item, changing the frequency of delivery of a list item, or pausing delivery of a list item until a future date.

12. The system of claim 10, wherein the delivery slot comprises a day of the week and a period of time during the day.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the period of time during the day comprises the hours before sunrise.

14. The system of claim 10, wherein the recurring delivery list further specifies that the order may be delivered without a receiver being present and wherein the recurring delivery module is further configured to:

determine that a first list item of the one or more list items is not eligible for unattended delivery; and

alert a user of the computing device that the first list item is not eligible for unattended delivery.

15. A computer-implemented method for providing recurring delivery of products, the method comprising performing instructions under the control of a computer system for:

receiving at the computer system a designation of a delivery slot and a recurring delivery list comprising one or more list items identifying a product, a quantity to deliver, and a frequency of delivery;

periodically generating, by the computer system, an order having a date and time for delivery based on a next occurrence of the delivery slot, the order being generated in advance of the date and time for delivery such that the order has a period of time of pendency prior to the delivery;

creating, by the computer system, one or more order items for the order based on a last delivery date and the frequency of delivery of each list item in the recurring delivery list;

during the period of time of pendency of the order, receiving at the computer system a request to pause delivery of a first list item of the recurring delivery list until a specific future date;

determining, by the computer system, whether the one or more order items for the order includes an order item corresponding to the first list item;

upon determining that the one or more order items for the order includes an order item corresponding to the first list item, determining, by the computer system, whether the specific future date is greater than the date and time for delivery of the order;

upon determining that the specific future date is greater than the date and time for delivery of the order, removing, by the computer system, the order item corresponding to the first list item from the order and causing the first list item to be included in a next generated order having a date and time for delivery on or after the future date; and

providing, by the computer system, the order to an order fulfillment system capable of causing the one or more order items to be delivered substantially on the date and time for delivery.

16. The computer-implemented method of claim 15, further comprising:

receiving, at the computer system, changes made to a second list item of the recurring delivery list during the period of time of pendency of the order; and

modifying, by the computer system, the order item of the order corresponding to the second list item based on the changes made to second list item of the recurring delivery list.

17. The computer-implemented method of claim 15, wherein one or more products in the one or more order items are provided at a discounted price if the one or more products are included in the recurring delivery list.

18. The computer-implemented method of claim 15, wherein the delivery slot comprises a day of the week and a period of time during the day.

19. The computer-implemented method of claim 15, wherein the recurring delivery list further specifies that the order may be delivered without a receiver being present and the method further comprises:

determining, by the computer system, that a first list item of the one or more list items is not eligible for unattended delivery; and

alerting, by the computer system, a customer associated with the recurring delivery list that the first list item is not eligible for unattended delivery.

20. A method performed in a computer system for providing recurring delivery of products, the method comprising:

providing, by the computer system, a user interface configured to allow a selection of a delivery slot comprising a day of the week and a period of time during the day;

providing, by the computer system, a user interface configured to allow a selection of one or more products for recurring delivery and a quantity and frequency of delivery for each product;

upon selection of a delivery slot and one or more products for recurring delivery, periodically generating, by the computer system, an order in an order fulfillment system for delivery on a next occurrence of the delivery slot, the order comprising one or more items based on the quantity and frequency of delivery and a last delivered date for each of the one or more products selected for recurring delivery, the order being generated in advance of the next occurrence of the delivery slot such that the order has a period of time of pendency prior to the delivery;

providing, by the computer system, a user interface configured to allow a change to the quantity or frequency of delivery of the one or more products selected for recurring delivery;

detecting, by the computer system, a change made to the quantity or frequency of delivery of a first product of the one or more products selected for recurring delivery during the period of time of pendency of the order;

upon detecting the change made to the quantity or frequency of delivery of the first product, determining, by the computer system, whether the order includes an item corresponding to the first product; and

upon determining that the order includes an item corresponding to the first product, modifying, by the computer system, the item corresponding to the first product based on the change made to the quantity or frequency of delivery of the first product.

21. The method of claim 20, further comprising:

providing, by the computer system, a user interface configured to allow a pausing of delivery until a future date of the one or more products selected for recurring delivery;

detecting, by the computer system, a pausing of delivery until a specific future date of a second product of the one or more products selected for recurring delivery during the period of time of pendency of the order;

upon detecting the pausing of delivery of the second product, determining, by the computer system, whether the order includes an item corresponding to the second product;

upon determining that the order includes an item corresponding to the second product, determining, by the computer system, whether the specific future date is greater than the next occurrence of the delivery slot;

upon determining that the specific future date is greater than the next occurrence of the delivery slot, removing, by the computer system, the item corresponding to the second product from the order; and

causing, by the computer system, the item to be included in a next generated order for delivery on or after the future date.