System and method for managing data concerning service dispatches involving geographic features

• US 7,881,945 B2
• Filed: 09/28/2004
• Issued: 02/01/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 09/28/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Dell Products LP (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Dell Products LP (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Inventors: Schmitt, Douglas, Barretto, Alexandre Fiore, Nguyen, Richard Nhat, Betteridge, Mark R J
• Primary Examiner(s): OUELLETTE, JONATHAN P
• Application Number:
  US10/952,429
• Publication Number:
  US 20060069577A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,317 Days
• Field of Search: 705/1, 705/1.1
• US Class Current: 705/1.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/016 After-sales

Abstract

A method and system are disclosed that enable a seller of equipment to dispatch service personnel and parts to a remote location while taking into account geographic-specific conditions. The geographic-specific conditions can include, for example, inclement weather, planned activities and unplanned events that affect traffic to/from the remote location. The system includes, among other things, telecommunication facilities that link sellers, purchasers and third party service vendors. The system may also include data repository facilities to persist data that is received from external sources, generated from within, or sent outside the system. Persistent and/or transient data can be correlated with geographic-related externalities in order to modify the dispatch activities in order to meet ongoing commitments.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving a request from a customer, wherein the request pertains, at least in part, to a customer location and an equipment failure of at least one component of equipment associated with the customer;

determining a service level obligation associated with the at least one component of equipment associated with the customer;

overlaying the customer location on a map, wherein the step of overlaying the customer location on a map is completed by an information handling system comprising a processor and a memory;

overlaying the location of an object needed to service the request on the map, wherein the step of overlaying the location of an object is completed by the information handling system; and

servicing the request using the map, wherein the map indicates a current priority level for the request, and wherein the step of servicing the request is based, at least in part, on the service level obligation.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the object needed is a part.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the object needed is a technician.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the object needed is an externality.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the externality is weather.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the externality is a planned event.

7. The method of claim 4, wherein the externality is an unplanned event.

8. The method of claim 4, wherein the externality blocks access the object'"'"'s access to the customer location.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the map enables the rerouting of the object to the customer location.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the customer location is stored in a persistent database.

11. A method for identifying one or more access routes concerning the service dispatches of a service provider, comprising:

creating a data record for each service dispatch, wherein the service dispatch pertains, at least in part, to a customer location and an equipment failure of at least one component of equipment associated with the customer, and wherein the data record includes a service level obligation associated with the at least one component of equipment associated with the customer;

displaying an icon for the service dispatch on a map, wherein the step of displaying the icon is completed by an information handling system comprising a processor and a memory;

overlaying an externality on the map, wherein the step of overlaying an externality of the map is completed by the information handling system;

wherein the map indicates whether one of the one or more access routes is open; and

wherein the map indicates a current priority level for the service dispatch.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the externality is weather.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the externality is an unplanned event.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein the externality is a planned event.

15. A method for servicing dispatches in response to a series of service calls, comprising:

identifying the location of equipment that is the subject of each service call;

identifying a service level obligation associated with each piece of equipment;

identifying service resources necessary to service each piece of equipment;

generating a service dispatch that is associated with each service call, wherein each service dispatch is associated with a service dispatch record;

establishing a set of expected milestones associated with each service dispatch;

p1 overlaying the location of equipment onto a map, wherein the map indicates a current priority level for the service dispatch, wherein the step of overlaying the location of equipment onto a map is completed by an information handling system comprising a processor and a memory;

overlaying an externality onto the map that may affect completion of one or more milestones, wherein the step of overlaying an externality onto the map is completed by the information handling system; and

monitoring, with respect to each service dispatch, the completion of the milestones associated with the service dispatch.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the externality is weather.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the externality is an unplanned event.

18. The method of claim 15, wherein the externality is a planned event.

19. A system for managing service dispatch records associated with service calls to a service provider, comprising:

a customer database storing data concerning the service level obligation of the service provider for the customer of the products that are the subject of the service calls;

a service provider database storing data concerning service dispatch resources concerning the customer and product associated with the service call;

a geographic information database storing data concerning geographic locations, the geographic information database capable of generating a map;

a display that is operable with the customer database and the service provider database, the map constructed and arranged to display the data associated with the service call arranged by location on the map, wherein the map indicates a current priority level for the service call;

a service dispatch generation module operable to generate a service dispatch record on the basis of the data from the customer database, customer database, and service provider database, wherein a generated service dispatch record includes a set of service milestones to be met as part of the completion of the service dispatch associated with the service call.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the geographic information is a street.

21. The system of claim 19, wherein the geographic information is weather.

22. The system of claim 19, wherein the geographic information is related to an unplanned event.

23. The system of claim 19, wherein the geographic information is related to a planned event.