U.S. patent application number 10/279303 was filed with the patent office on 2003-03-20 for method and apparatus for managing the sale of aging products.
Invention is credited to Van Luchene, Andrew S., Walker, Jay S..
Application Number | 20030055744 10/279303 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 24251598 |
Filed Date | 2003-03-20 |
United States Patent
Application |
20030055744 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Walker, Jay S. ; et
al. |
March 20, 2003 |
Method and apparatus for managing the sale of aging products
Abstract
A store controller stores a series of prices for a product and
respective effective periods during which the prices are effective.
A customer submits an offer to buy the product at an "offer price"
that is one of the series of prices. The offer also has an offer
period that elapses when the respective effective period of the
product price elapses. The offer period thereby defines a period
during which the offer is effective and after which the offer
cannot be accepted. Each offer further specifies (i) a customer
identifier for identifying the customer, and (ii) funds or a
payment identifier for specifying an account from which funds
(typically the offer price) may be collected if the offer is
accepted. The store controller then determines whether to accept
the offer. If the offer is accepted, the store controller (i)
initiates use of the payment identifier, if any, to collect the
funds, and (ii) uses the customer identifier to identify the
customer as having paid for the product. Thus, the customer pays
for the product and the seller must deliver the product or
otherwise inform the customer that the product has been sold to
him.
Inventors: |
Walker, Jay S.; (Ridgefield,
CT) ; Van Luchene, Andrew S.; (New York, NY) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Dean P. Alderucci
Walker Digital, LLC
Five High Ridge Park
Stamford
CT
06905
US
|
Family ID: |
24251598 |
Appl. No.: |
10/279303 |
Filed: |
October 22, 2002 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
|
|
|
|
|
|
Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
10279303 |
Oct 22, 2002 |
|
|
|
09563715 |
May 2, 2000 |
|
|
|
6507822 |
|
|
|
|
09563715 |
May 2, 2000 |
|
|
|
08943965 |
Oct 6, 1997 |
|
|
|
6119100 |
|
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
705/26.1 ;
705/16 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06Q 20/04 20130101;
G06Q 20/00 20130101; G06Q 40/04 20130101; G06Q 30/02 20130101; G07F
9/026 20130101; G06Q 30/0601 20130101; G06Q 20/12 20130101; G06Q
20/201 20130101; G06Q 30/06 20130101; G06Q 20/20 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
705/26 ;
705/16 |
International
Class: |
G06F 017/60 |
Claims
We claim:
1. A method for managing the sale of a product, comprising: storing
a series of prices and effective periods for the product, each
price having a respective effective period during which the price
is effective; storing a customer identifier for identifying a
customer; storing an offer for the product, the offer including an
offer price equal to a selected price of the series of prices, and
an offer period which elapses when the respective effective period
of the selected price elapses, the offer period thereby defining a
period during which the offer is effective and after which the
offer cannot be accepted; storing a payment identifier for
specifying an account from which funds may be collected; if the
offer is effective, determining whether to accept the offer; and if
the offer is accepted, initiating use of the payment identifier to
collect the funds, and utilizing the customer identifier to
identify the customer as having paid for the product.
2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: storing an inventory
signal indicative of whether the product is available.
3. The method of claim 2, wherein the step of determining is
performed only if the inventory signal indicates that the product
is available.
4. The method of claim 2, further comprising: deleting the offer if
the inventory signal indicates that the product is not
available.
5. The method of claim 2, wherein the step of storing the inventory
signal comprises: storing a first inventory signal indicative of
whether the product is available from a first seller, and storing a
second inventory signal indicative of whether the product is
available from a second seller.
6. The method of claim 2, wherein the step of storing the inventory
signal comprises storing an inventory signal indicative of a
quantity of the product.
7. The method of claim 6, wherein the step of determining is
performed only if the inventory signal indicates that the quantity
is greater than a predetermined amount.
8. The method of claim 1, further comprising: deleting the offer
after the offer period has elapsed.
9. The method of claim 1, wherein the effective periods are sorted
such that each effective period increases in comparison to the
previous effective period.
10. The method of claim 9, wherein each price decreases in
comparison to the previous price as the effective periods increase
in comparison to each previous effective period.
11. An apparatus for managing the sale of a product, comprising: a
storage device; and a processor connected to the storage device,
the storage device storing a program for controlling the processor;
a series of prices and effective periods for the product, each
price having a respective effective period during which the price
is effective; a customer identifier for identifying a customer; a
payment identifier for specifying an account from which funds may
be collected; and an offer for the product, the offer including an
offer price equal to a selected price of the series of prices, and
an offer period which elapses when the respective effective period
of the selected price elapses, the offer period thereby defining a
period during which the offer is effective and after which the
offer cannot be accepted; the processor operative with the program
to determine whether to accept the offer if the offer is effective;
and if the offer is accepted, initiate use of the payment
identifier to collect the funds, and utilize the customer
identifier to identify the customer as having paid for the
product.
12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the storage device further
stores an inventory signal indicative of whether the product is
available.
13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the processor is further
operative with the program to determine whether to accept the offer
only if the inventory signal indicates that the product is
available.
14. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the processor is further
operative with the program to: delete the offer if the inventory
signal indicates that the product is not available.
15. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein inventory signal comprises:
a first inventory signal indicative of whether the product is
available from a first seller, and a second inventory signal
indicative of whether the product is available from a second
seller.
16. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the inventory signal is
indicative of a quantity of the product.
17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the processor is further
operative with the program to determine whether to accept the offer
only if the inventory signal indicates that the quantity is greater
than a predetermined amount.
18. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the processor is further
operative with the program to: delete the offer after the offer
period has elapsed.
19. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the effective periods are
sorted such that each effective period increases in comparison to
the previous effective period.
20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein each price decreases in
comparison to the previous price as the effective periods increase
in comparison to each previous effective period.
21. A method for managing the sale of a product, comprising:
storing a series of prices and effective periods for the product,
each price having a respective effective period during which the
price is effective; storing a customer identifier for identifying a
customer; storing an offer for the product, the offer including an
offer price equal to a selected price of the series of prices, and
an offer period which elapses when the respective effective period
of the selected price elapses, the offer period thereby defining a
period during which the offer is effective and after which the
offer cannot be accepted; receiving a collection identifier for
specifying an amount of collected funds; if the offer is effective,
determining whether to accept the offer; refunding the amount of
collected funds if the offer is not accepted; and utilizing the
customer identifier to identify the customer as having paid for the
product if the offer is accepted.
22. An apparatus for managing the sale of a product, comprising: a
storage device; and a processor connected to the storage device,
the storage device storing a program for controlling the processor;
a series of prices and effective periods for the product, each
price having a respective effective period during which the price
is effective; a customer identifier for identifying a customer; and
an offer for the product, the offer including an offer price equal
to a selected price of the series of prices, and an offer period
which elapses when the respective effective period of the selected
price elapses, the offer period thereby defining a period during
which the offer is effective and after which the offer cannot be
accepted; the processor operative with the program to receive a
collection identifier for specifying an amount of collected funds;
determine whether to accept the offer if the offer is effective;
refund the amount of collected funds if the offer is not accepted;
and utilize the customer identifier to identify the customer as
having paid for the product if the offer is accepted.
23. A method for managing the sale of a product, comprising:
generating a customer identifier for identifying a customer;
selecting a price from a series of prices; generating an offer for
the product, the offer including an offer price which is the
selected price; generating a payment identifier for specifying an
account from which funds may be collected; and transmitting the
customer identifier, the offer and the payment identifier to a
controller for storage.
24. The method of claim 23, wherein the stored offer further
includes an offer period during which the offer is effective.
25. An apparatus for managing the sale of a product, comprising: a
storage device; and a processor connected to the storage device,
the storage device storing a program for controlling the processor;
the processor operative with the program to generate a customer
identifier for identifying a customer; select a price from a series
of prices; generate an offer for the product, the offer including
an offer price which is the selected price; generate a payment
identifier for specifying an account from which funds may be
collected; and transmit the customer identifier, the offer and the
payment identifier to a controller for storage.
26. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the stored offer further
includes an offer period during which the offer is effective.
27. A method for managing the sale of a plurality of products,
comprising: storing for each product a series of prices and
effective periods, each price having a respective effective period
during which the price is effective; storing inventory data for
each product, including an indication of whether each product is
available, storing a plurality of offers, each offer corresponding
to a product identifier for identifying a selected product of the
plurality of products, an offer price equal to a selected price of
the series of prices for the selected product, an offer period
which elapses when the respective effective period of the selected
price elapses, the offer period thereby defining a period during
which the offer is effective and after which the offer cannot be
accepted, a payment identifier for specifying an account from which
funds may be collected, and a customer identifier for identifying a
customer who submitted the offer; identifying a group of offers
which are effective; and for each offer of the group of offers,
determining if the selected product is available, and initiating
use of the payment identifier to collect the funds if the selected
product is available.
28. The method of claim 27, further comprising: for each offer of
the group of offers, initiating use of the customer identifier to
deliver the selected product to the customer if the selected
product is available.
29. The method of claim 27, wherein the step of determining if the
selected product is available comprises searching each of a
plurality of inventory databases, each inventory database storing
inventory data for at least one store.
30. The method of claim 27, wherein the step of identifying a group
of offers further comprises identifying a group of offers which are
effective and cannot be accepted after a predetermined date.
31. An apparatus for managing the sale of a plurality of products,
comprising: a storage device; and a processor connected to the
storage device, the storage device storing a program for
controlling the processor; a series of prices and effective periods
for each product, each price having a respective effective period
during which the price is effective; inventory data for each
product, including an indication of whether each product is
available, and a plurality of offers, each offer corresponding to a
product identifier for identifying a selected product of the
plurality of products, an offer price equal to a selected price of
the series of prices for the selected product, an offer period
which elapses when the respective effective period of the selected
price elapses, the offer period thereby defining a period during
which the offer is effective and after which the offer cannot be
accepted, a payment identifier for specifying an account from which
funds may be collected, and a customer identifier for identifying a
customer who submitted the offer; the processor operative with the
program to identify a group of offers which are effective; and for
each offer of the group of offers, determine if the selected
product is available, and initiate use of the payment identifier to
collect the funds if the selected product is available.
32. The apparatus of claim 31, the processor further operative with
the program to: for each offer of the group of offers, initiate use
of the customer identifier to deliver the selected product to the
customer if the selected product is available.
33. The apparatus of claim 31, the storage device further storing a
plurality of inventory databases, each inventory database storing
inventory data for at least one store; the processor further
operative with the program to: search each of the plurality of
inventory databases in order to determine if the selected product
is available.
34. The apparatus of claim 31, the processor further operative with
the program to identify a group of offers which are effective and
cannot be accepted after a predetermined date.
35. A method for managing the sale of a product selected from a
plurality of products, comprising: storing a series of prices and
effective periods for the selected product, each price having a
respective effective period during which the price is effective;
storing a plurality of offers, each offer corresponding to a
product identifier for identifying one of the plurality of
products, an offer price equal to a selected price of the series of
prices, an offer period which elapses when the respective effective
period of the selected price elapses, the offer period thereby
defining a period during which the offer is effective and after
which the offer cannot be accepted, a payment identifier for
specifying an account from which funds may be collected, and a
customer identifier for identifying a customer who submitted the
offer; identifying a group of offers which are effective and
correspond to the selected product; and for each offer of the group
of offers, initiating use of the payment identifier to collect the
funds.
36. The method of claim 35, further comprising: for each offer of
the group of offers, initiating use of the customer identifier to
deliver the selected product to the customer.
37. The method of claim 35, further comprising: determining if the
selected product is available.
38. The method of claim 37, wherein the step of initiating use of
the payment identifier is performed only if the product is
available.
39. The method of claim 35, wherein the step of storing the
plurality of offers comprises: storing a first set of offers in a
first database and a second set of offers in a second database; and
wherein the step of identifying a group of offers comprises:
identifying a group of offers from the first set of offers which
correspond to the selected product and are effective; and if no
offers correspond to the selected product, identifying a group of
offers from the second set of offers which correspond to the
selected product and are effective.
40. An apparatus for managing the sale of a product selected from a
plurality of products, comprising: a storage device; and a
processor connected to the storage device, the storage device
storing a program for controlling the processor; a series of prices
and effective periods for the selected product, each price having a
respective effective period during which the price is effective;
and a plurality of offers, each offer corresponding to a product
identifier for identifying one of the plurality of products, an
offer price equal to a selected price of the series of prices, an
offer period which elapses when the respective effective period of
the selected price elapses, the offer period thereby defining a
period during which the offer is effective and after which the
offer cannot be accepted, a payment identifier for specifying an
account from which funds may be collected, and a customer
identifier for identifying a customer who submitted the offer; the
processor operative with the program to identify a group of offers
which are effective and correspond to the selected product; and for
each offer of the group of offers, initiate use of the payment
identifier to collect the funds.
41. The apparatus of claim 40, the processor further operative with
the program to: for each offer of the group of offers, initiate use
of the customer identifier to deliver the selected product to the
customer.
42. The apparatus of claim 40, the processor further operative with
the program to: determine if the selected product is available.
43. The apparatus of claim 42, the processor further operative with
the program to: initiate use of the payment identifier only if the
product is available.
44. The apparatus of claim 40, the storage device further storing:
a first set of offers in a first database, and a second set of
offers in a second database; the processor further operative with
the program to: identify a group of offers from the first set of
offers which correspond to the selected product and are effective;
and if no offers correspond to the selected product, identify a
group of offers from the second set of offers which correspond to
the selected product and are effective.
45. A method for managing the sale of a product, comprising:
storing a first price and a second price, the second price being
lower than the first price; storing a first effective period at
which the first price is effective; storing a second effective
period at which the second price is effective, the second effective
period starting after the corresponding first effective period
ends; storing an offer for the product, the offer including an
offer price which is one selected from the group consisting of the
first price and the second price, and an offer period which elapses
when the respective effective period of the selected price elapses,
the offer period thereby defining a period during which the offer
is effective and after which the offer cannot be accepted; storing
a customer identifier for identifying a customer; storing a payment
identifier for specifying an account from which funds may be
collected; generating an acceptance signal if the offer period is
effective; and if an acceptance signal is generated, initiating use
of the payment identifier to collect the funds, and utilizing the
customer identifier to identify the customer as having paid for the
selected product.
46. An apparatus for managing the sale of a product, comprising: a
storage device; and a processor connected to the storage device,
the storage device storing a program for controlling the processor;
a first price; a second price lower than the first price; a first
effective period at which the first price is effective; a second
effective period at which the second price is effective, the second
effective period starting after the corresponding first effective
period ends; an offer for the product, the offer including an offer
price which is one selected from the group consisting of the first
price and the second price, and an offer period which elapses when
the respective effective period of the selected price elapses, the
offer period thereby defining a period during which the offer is
effective and after which the offer cannot be accepted; a customer
identifier for identifying a customer; and a payment identifier for
specifying an account from which funds may be collected; the
processor operative with the program to generate an acceptance
signal if the offer period is effective; and if an acceptance
signal is generated, initiate use of the payment identifier to
collect the funds, and utilize the customer identifier to identify
the customer as having paid for the selected product.
47. A method of purchasing a product, comprising: receiving a
series of prices for a product, the series of prices established by
a seller, each price having an effective period; submitting an
offer to purchase the product, the offer including an offer price
selected from the series of prices, the effective period
corresponding to the offer price, and a payment identifier
including authorization to use the payment identifier to collect
the offer price if the offer is accepted; and if the offer is
accepted, accepting a charge based on the payment identifier for
the offer price, and receiving the product.
48. A method for selling a product, comprising: advertising a
series of special prices for the product, each of the special
prices having an effective time period associated therewith;
receiving at least one offer for the product, the offer identifying
one of the series of special prices and the corresponding effective
time period; continuing to sell the product at a list price while
performing the receiving and storing steps, thereby establishing a
source of alternate demand for the product; and periodically
reviewing the at least one offer to determine whether to accept the
at least one offer.
49. The method of claim 48, further comprising: maintaining the at
least one offer in confidence from prospective buyers of the
product.
50. A method of establishing prices for a product, comprising:
Setting a series of progressively decreasing prices for the
product, each of the series of progressively decreasing prices
including an effective time period; printing the series of
progressively decreasing prices and displaying the printed series
in association with a display of the product; accepting for storage
at least one offer for the product, including one of the
progressively decreasing prices and the included effective time
period, and a payment identifier guaranteeing payment for the one
price if the offer is accepted; and accepting the at least one
offer including utilizing the payment identifier to collect the one
price.
51. The method of claim 50, further including: displaying a list
price for the product, the list price effective for an immediate
sale.
52. The method of claim 51, further including: adjusting the list
price in dependence on the received offers.
53. A method for calculating a price for a product, comprising:
establishing a list price at which the product may be purchased;
publishing at least one offer price for the product, the offer
price being less than the list price, the offer price effective for
submitting an offer for the product, the offer acceptable at a
future date and at the discretion of the seller; receiving at least
one offer at the offer price; storing the at least one offer;
adjusting the list price in dependence on the received at least one
offer; and accepting at least one of the at least one offer for the
sale of the product.
Description
[0001] The present application is a continuation-in-part of
co-pending patent application Ser. No. 08/707,660, entitled "METHOD
AND SYSTEM FOR A CRYPTOGRAPHICALLY ASSISTED COMMERCIAL NETWORK
SYSTEM DESIGNED TO FACILITATE BUYER-DRIVEN CONDITIONAL PURCHASE
OFFERS", filed on Sep. 4, 1996.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention relates to methods and apparatus for
managing the sale of products and, more particularly, to methods
and apparatus for managing the sale of aging products.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] Retail stores and other sellers often cannot "move" (sell)
products as fast as desired. It is particularly difficult to sell
aging products, since aging products may have become unfashionable,
out of season, less useful or otherwise less desirable to
customers. Retaining aging products occupies space needed for
better selling products, and, even worse, can make other products
appear unattractive by association.
[0004] If a product has not sold for a significant amount of time,
or if it is otherwise desirable to quickly dispose of ("blow out")
the product, a store typically sells the product to a consolidator
or factory outlet at a fraction of the product cost. The expenses
incurred in "blowing out" ("liquidating") a product include
packaging, delivery and the loss to the seller for selling below
cost. Accordingly, stores are averse to blowing out aging products,
and instead prefer to sell aging products to customers.
[0005] In order to facilitate the sale of aging products without
suffering the adverse effects of blowing out those products, stores
often must lower the list prices (displayed prices) of those
products to entice customers to purchase them. Unfortunately,
lowering a list price of a product results in a lower profit, and
possibly even a loss, on each sale of that product. Lowered prices
may also make other, related products appear unduly expensive by
comparison, thereby decreasing sales of those related products.
Accordingly, it is desirable to sell aging products as quickly as
possible. In addition, it would also be desirable to minimize or
eliminate the publishing of lower list prices.
[0006] However, even lowering list prices does not move products
until customers become aware of the lower prices. Customers may not
become aware of the new prices until they visit the seller.
Advertising new prices may increase customer awareness of new
prices, but advertising is costly. Accordingly, lowering list
prices does not allow a seller to accurately manage the timing and
number of sales of aging products.
[0007] Lowering list prices can be even more costly to catalog
merchants. A catalog merchant publishes catalogs of products and
corresponding prices, and distributes the catalogs to potential
customers. A catalog merchant typically prints several versions of
each catalog in advance, each version having anticipated product
prices during the course of a season or year. Each version is
distributed at a different time, for example, a new catalog every
month, in order to inform potential customers of the new prices.
Accordingly, the catalog merchant often must establish prices well
in advance of when those prices will become effective.
[0008] Because the different versions of the catalog are often
printed well before the corresponding product prices are effective,
the catalog merchant may have to reprint a new version if it is
desirable to deviate from the pre-established prices. Such a
deviation may arise in response to unanticipated conditions. For
example, the catalog merchant may lower list prices of a product in
response to a similar, unanticipated price reduction by a
competitor. If the catalog merchant lowers list prices, it must
either (i) incur substantial expenses reprinting and redistributing
catalogs, or (ii) forego advertising the new, list prices, and
thereby forego most of the benefits of lowering those prices.
Accordingly, catalog merchants typically cannot respond easily to
unanticipated conditions that affect product prices.
[0009] Some stores offer "tiered" prices, in which a series of
subsequently lower prices for a product take effect over
correspondingly subsequent periods of time. For example, a product
price might be $100.00 during January (a first tier), $80.00 during
February (a second tier) and $70.00 thereafter (a third tier).
Tiered prices do not allow a seller to sell a product rapidly, for
example, if there is a sudden need to clear old products to make
space for new products. On the contrary, tiered prices tend to
discourage customers from returning until the lowered prices are in
effect. For example, customers willing to pay only the third tier
price would not return until that price was in effect.
[0010] Tiered prices represent an attempt to predict demand for a
product during different periods of time. However, like most
conventional pricing schemes, tiered prices do not allow a seller
to anticipate prices that customers are willing to pay until after
the customers actually make purchases. Consequently, when a seller
sets a tier price in order to sell the product quickly, the seller
may inadvertently set the tier price too low, and make less profit
than was attainable. Conversely, a seller may inadvertently set the
tier price too high, and thus fail to move the product as quickly
as desired.
[0011] In addition, tiered prices do not produce commitments to
purchase products at any particular price or time. Customers may or
may not return to visit the seller during the periods of future
tiers. Thus, tiered prices do not allow a seller to accurately
manage the timing or number of sales of products.
[0012] It is particularly difficult to coordinate the sale of aging
products between a group of related stores, such as a chain of
franchisees. One store may have difficulty selling a product, while
another store has customers waiting to buy that same product. To
the best of applicants' knowledge, no effective system exists for
managing this disparity between supply and demand at related
stores. Accordingly, aging products may not be sold to the waiting
customers as rapidly as desirable, if at all.
[0013] It would be advantageous to provide methods and apparatus
for managing the sale of aging products. Ideally, such methods and
apparatus would allow stores to abate or overcome the
above-described disadvantages.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0014] An object of the present invention is to provide a method
and apparatus for enabling a seller to more accurately manage the
sale of aging products.
[0015] In accordance with the present invention, a store controller
stores a series of prices for a product. Each price has a
respective effective period during which that price is effective. A
customer submits an offer to buy the product at an "offer price"
that is one of the series of prices. The offer also has an offer
period that elapses when the respective effective period of the
product price elapses. The offer period thereby defines a period
during which the offer is effective and after which the offer
cannot be accepted.
[0016] Each offer further specifies (i) a customer identifier for
identifying the customer, and (ii) funds or a payment identifier
for specifying an account from which funds (typically the offer
price) may be collected if the offer is accepted. The payment
identifier is typically a credit card number, checking account
number or other means for specifying funds. The payment identifier
thus provides the seller with assurance that payment for the
product will be available if the offer is accepted. Accordingly,
the seller may more accurately make decisions on the sale of
products.
[0017] The store controller operates to determine whether to accept
the offer in accordance with operator-set criteria. Offers are
effective and may be accepted at any time during the corresponding
offer period, and particularly when it is desirable to move an
aging product. For example, offers can be accepted if the
corresponding product must be sold and the offer price is above a
predetermined threshold. If the offer is accepted, the store
controller (i) initiates the use of the payment identifier, if any,
to collect the offer price, and (ii) uses the customer identifier
to identify the customer as having paid for the product. Thus, the
customer pays for the product and the seller must deliver the
product or otherwise inform the customer that the product has been
sold to him.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0018] FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of a system for managing
the sale of aging inventory provided in accordance with the present
invention.
[0019] FIG. 2 is a schematic illustration of a store of the system
of FIG. 1.
[0020] FIG. 3 is a schematic illustration of a store controller of
the store of FIG. 2.
[0021] FIG. 4 is a schematic illustration of a product price
database of the store controller of FIG. 3.
[0022] FIG. 5 is a schematic illustration of an offer database of
the store controller of FIG. 3.
[0023] FIG. 6 is a schematic illustration of an acceptance database
of the store controller of FIG. 3.
[0024] FIG. 7 is a schematic illustration of an inventory database
of the store controller of FIG. 3.
[0025] FIG. 8 is a schematic illustration of exemplary records of
databases of the store controller of FIG. 3.
[0026] FIG. 9 is a flowchart depicting a method for submitting an
offer for a product.
[0027] FIG. 10 is a flowchart depicting an embodiment of a method
for managing stored offers for products.
[0028] FIG. 11 is a flowchart depicting another embodiment of a
method for managing stored offers for products.
[0029] FIGS. 12A and 12B are flowcharts depicting yet another
embodiment of a method for managing stored offers for products.
[0030] FIG. 13 is a flowchart depicting a method for determining
whether to accept an offer for a product.
[0031] FIG. 14 is a flowchart depicting a method for determining if
a product is available.
[0032] FIG. 15 is a flowchart depicting a method for determining
whether to accept offers.
[0033] FIG. 16 is a schematic illustration of the central
controller of FIG. 1.
[0034] FIG. 17 is a schematic illustration of a store database of
the central controller of FIG. 16.
[0035] FIG. 18 is a flowchart depicting a method for aggregating
the offer databases of two or more sellers.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0036] For clarity, the following definitions apply:
[0037] The term "seller", as used herein, refers to an entity, such
as a store, a chain of stores or a catalog merchandiser, that sells
products to customers at prices that are set by the entity, not by
a customer.
[0038] The term "product", as used herein, means any type of good
or service that is offered for sale and/or sold by a seller.
[0039] The term "list price", as used herein, means a price that is
set by the seller and displayed to customers, and which is
therefore charged to customers who do not submit offers, but
instead immediately purchase products.
[0040] In accordance with the present invention described herein, a
store or other seller establishes, for each of a plurality of
products, a series of subsequently decreasing prices and
corresponding effective periods. The prices apply to offers that
customers may submit for the products. The prices and periods are
printed in a catalog or on a product tag, thereby informing
potential customers of the series of prices.
[0041] A customer desiring to buy a product may either (i) pay list
price and purchase the product immediately; or (ii) submit an offer
at a (reduced) offer price selected from the series of prices. The
customer provides the offer to a clerk operating a POS terminal. If
an offer is submitted, it may be accepted, if at all, at any time
before the corresponding effective period elapses.
[0042] Typically, each of the series of prices is lower than the
list price of the product Thus, if a customer is willing to wait to
receive a product, or is willing to risk never having his offer
accepted and thus never receiving the product, he pays a lower
price than if he had paid list price to immediately purchase the
product.
[0043] By requiring the customer to offer at a price selected from
one of the series of seller-determined prices, rather than at an
arbitrary price selected by the customer, the seller overcomes
customer reluctance to select a reasonable offer price. Selecting
one of a few seller-defined prices reasonably assures the customer
that he has not inadvertently submitted an offer that is too low to
ever be accepted or too high to be a "smart" offer.
[0044] By receiving and storing offers to purchase products, a
seller can more precisely manage the sale of those products. Since
the acceptance of offers is seller-driven, the seller may accept at
any time desired. If a product is selling as quickly as desired at
a list price set by the seller, the offers for that product need
not be accepted, and the seller receives the profit accruing from
the list price. On the other hand, if a product is not selling as
quickly as desired, the seller may accept some or all stored offers
for the product. Customers provide guaranteed commitments with
their offers to buy the products, so the seller is assured that
accepting an offer yields a guaranteed sale. Thus, the seller need
not wait for customers to learn about a sale before products can be
sold to customers at "sale prices".
[0045] Since the offers may be held confidential, the seller may
continue selling the product at the list price, which is typically
higher than the offer prices. Other customers will not easily
determine what offer prices have been accepted, so the list price
will not appear unduly high by comparison. Thus, many customers
will still find the higher list price acceptable and pay that
price.
[0046] In addition, due to the time factor of the tiered prices,
customers are assured that their offer price will be accepted
before lower offer prices are accepted. Thus, customers are assured
that offering a relatively high offer price provides an advantage
over customers that offer a lower offer price.
[0047] Furthermore, submitted offers allow the seller to determine
prices that customers are willing to pay before the customers
actually buy products. Thus, the seller can accurately manage the
sale of aging products while avoiding the drawbacks associated with
lowering prices.
[0048] Referring to FIG. 1, a system 100 for managing the sale of
aging inventory comprises a central controller 102 connected to
each of stores 104, 106 and 108. The stores 104, 106 and 108 are
typically related stores, such as a chain of retail franchisees.
Although three stores are shown in FIG. 1, it will be understood by
those skilled in the art that the invention is applicable to one or
more stores.
[0049] As described in detail below, the central controller 102
manages the sale of products in each of the stores 104, 106 and
108. In particular, the central controller 102 allows the stores
104, 106 and 108 to cooperate, and thus manage the sale of products
more efficiently. However, in some embodiments of the present
invention, a single seller operates alone, rather than together
with a group of related sellers. In such an embodiment, the
functionality of the central controller 102 may be embodied in an
apparatus such as a store controller operated by a single seller.
Accordingly, a single seller embodiment is first described below,
followed by an embodiment with a plurality of sellers.
[0050] FIG. 2 depicts the store 104 in more detail. Stores 106 and
108 are similar to the store 104, and so a detailed illustration of
each is omitted. The store 104 includes a store controller 120
connected to each of point-of-sale (POS) terminals 122, 124 and
126. The point-of-sale terminals 122, 124 and 126 are typically
cash registers, desktop computers or similar devices at which
offers may be entered, as described below. Any number of
point-of-sale terminals may be connected to the store controller
120, although three are shown in FIG. 2 for purposes of
illustration.
[0051] The store controller 120 is connected to the central
controller 102. As described above, in certain embodiments, the
functionality of the central controller 102 may be embodied in an
apparatus within a single seller. Accordingly, the store controller
120 may also perform some or all of the functions of the central
controller 102, rather than be connected to a separate central
controller 102 as shown in FIG. 2.
[0052] FIG. 3 depicts the store controller 120 in more detail. The
store controller 120 comprises a processor 140, such as one or more
conventional microprocessors, and a data storage device 142, such
as a RAM, floppy disk, hard disk or combination thereof, which is
connected thereto. The processor 140 is also connected to the
central controller 102 and each of the point-of-sale terminals 122,
124 and 126.
[0053] The processor 140 and the storage device 142 may each be (i)
located entirely within a single computer; (ii) connected to each
other by a remote communication link, such as a serial port cable,
telephone line or radio frequency transceiver; or (iii) a
combination thereof. For example, the store controller 120 may
comprise one or more computers connected to a remote server
computer for maintaining databases.
[0054] The storage device 142 stores (i) a program 144 for
controlling the processor 140 in accordance with the present
invention, and particularly in accordance with the processes
described in detail hereinafter; (ii) a product price database 146;
(iii) an offer database 148 for storing offers from customers for
products; (iv) an acceptance database 150 for storing accepted
offers; and (v) an inventory database 152 for storing the quantity
available of each product.
[0055] The program 144 includes program elements that may be
necessary, such as "device drivers" for interfacing with. computer
peripheral devices. Appropriate device drivers and other necessary
program elements are known to those skilled in the art, and need
not be described in detail herein. Each of the databases 146, 148,
150 and 152 are described in detail below and depicted with
exemplary entries in the accompanying figures. As will be
understood by those skilled in the art, the schematic illustrations
and accompanying descriptions of the databases presented herein are
exemplary arrangements for the stored information. A number of
other arrangements may be employed besides the tables shown.
[0056] Referring to FIG. 4, the product price database 146 stores
entries 153, 154 and 155, each having a product identifier 156
which uniquely indicates a product and a corresponding price 158 of
the product. The prices stored in the product price database 146
are not list prices, but are instead prices set by the seller for
customers who submit offers. In other words, in lieu of a purchase
at list price, a customer may instead choose to submit an offer to
purchase a product at an offer price selected from a series of
seller-defined prices. Accordingly, in the embodiment illustrated
in FIG. 4, each entry defines a product and a price at which
customers may submit an offer for the product. Typically, each
product has a series of tiered prices, and consequently two or more
entries in the product price database 146 may have identical
product identifiers.
[0057] The product price database 146 also stores, for each price,
a respective effective period 160 during which that price is
effective. The effective period is typically a day, range of days
or set of days. However, some products can have an effective period
that is always in effect after a predetermined date, so the product
always has one price after that date. The effective periods are
typically sorted such that each effective period increases in
comparison to the previous effective period. In addition, since the
price of a product typically decreases with time, each of the
series of prices decreases in comparison to the previous price as
the effective periods increase in comparison to each previous
effective period.
[0058] Those skilled in the art will understand that a number of
other arrangements may be employed for the product price database
146 besides the table shown in FIG. 4. For example, in other
embodiments, each entry in the product price database 146 may
include a product identifier and several prices and effective
periods.
[0059] Referring to FIG. 5, the offer database 148 stores entries
170 and 172, each having an offer identifier 173 for uniquely
identifying each offer, a product identifier 174 which indicates a
product, and a corresponding offer price 176 for the product.
Accordingly, each entry defines an offer to purchase a product at
an offer price. The offer price is selected from the series of
prices of the product stored in the product price database 146.
[0060] The offer database 148 also stores, for each entry, a
customer identifier 178 that indicates a customer who submitted the
offer for the product. A payment identifier 180 may also be stored
in the offer database 148, thereby specifying an account from which
the offer price or other amount of funds may be collected. The
specified account typically is a credit card, debit card, savings
account or checking account from which funds are transferred if the
seller accepts the offer.
[0061] As described above, an offer price has an offer period
during which the offer is effective and may be accepted. After the
offer period has elapsed, the offer may not be accepted. For
example, an offer at the first tier price remains effective until
the first tier period has elapsed. Thus, the customer is assured
that his (typically higher) offer price will expire after other
(typically lower) offer prices are entertained. An offer period 181
indicates a period during which the offer is effective, and may be
either (i) a period which elapses when the effective period of the
selected price elapses; or (ii) a customer-selected period which
elapses sooner than the effective period of the selected price.
[0062] Referring to FIG. 6, the acceptance database 150 stores
entries 190, 192 and 194, each having an acceptance identifier 196
for uniquely identifying the entry, an offer identifier 198 which
indicates an offer from the offer database 148 (FIG. 5) that has
been accepted, and the date 200 of acceptance. Based on the offer
identifier 198, information that corresponds to the offer may be
determined from the offer database 148. For example, based on the
offer identifier 198, the corresponding product identifier 174
(FIG. 5) and offer price 176 (FIG. 5) may be determined from the
offer database 148. In other embodiments, corresponding information
may be also stored in the acceptance database 150, as well as in
the offer database 148.
[0063] Referring to FIG. 7, the inventory database 152 stores
entries 202 and 204, each having a product identifier 206 which
indicates a product and a quantity 208 of each product.
Accordingly, each entry defines how many items of each product are
available for purchase. The product identifier 206 may be compared
with product identifiers in the offer database 148 (FIG. 5),
thereby matching entries in the inventory database 152 with entries
in the offer database 148 (FIG. 5). Thus, for each offer in the
offer database 148, the quantity available may be determined from
the inventory database 152.
[0064] FIG. 8 illustrates exemplary records used in the acceptance
of an offer for a product. A product price database 210, which is
an embodiment of the product price database 146 of FIG. 4, stores
two prices and effective periods for a product identified by
product identifier "1111". An offer database 220, which is an
embodiment of the offer database 148 of FIG. 5, stores an offer for
the product "1111" for an offer price of $7.50. The offer was
submitted by, or on behalf of, a customer identified by "AVL204",
and a payment identifier specifies a credit card account number to
pay for the product if the offer is accepted.
[0065] An inventory database 230, which is an embodiment of the
inventory database 152 of FIG. 7, stores the quantity of the
product "1111". As seen in FIG. 8, there are seventeen units of
product "1111" available.
[0066] An acceptance database 240, which is an embodiment of the
acceptance database 150 of FIG. 6, stores an entry indicating an
acceptance of the offer "1", and thereby indicates that the
customer "AVL204" has purchased the product "1111". Accordingly,
use of the payment identifier is initiated to collect the $7.50
from the credit card account, and the product is delivered to the
customer or set aside for the customer.
[0067] Referring now to FIG. 9, a method 250 illustrates the steps
taken when a customer submits an offer for a product, and the offer
is entered into a POS terminal. Such a POS terminal may be a cash
register at a retail store, or a desktop computer operated by a
customer service representative of a catalog merchant. The customer
name, address and credit card number are entered into the POS
terminal (step 252). If the customer has previously submitted an
offer and a corresponding customer identifier established (step
254), then that customer identifier is retrieved (step 256). If a
customer identifier does not already exist, then a new, unique
customer identifier is generated (step 258) to identify the
customer.
[0068] A product identifier for a desired product is entered into
the POS terminal (step 260), and an offer price is also entered
into the POS terminal (step 262). As described above, the offer
price is selected from a series of prices for the product.
Typically, the customer obtains the product identifier and product
price(s) from a catalog or a product tag bearing a product number
and product price(s), and provides the same to a clerk operating
the POS terminal.
[0069] The offer has an associated offer period during which the
offer is effective and after which the offer cannot be accepted. As
described above, the offer period elapses when the effective period
of the selected price elapses. In addition, the customer may
specify that the offer period elapse even sooner than the effective
period of the price. For example, although a selected price may be
effective until the end of June, the customer may specify that the
offer is effective until the beginning of June. Any
customer-specified offer period is entered into the POS terminal
(step 264).
[0070] The above-described information that is entered into the POS
terminal is then transmitted to the store controller 120 (FIG. 2)
for storage (step 266). After transmission, the offer is stored and
may be accepted when the seller desires if the offer remains
effective. Described below are several embodiments of a method for
managing stored offers for products, each provided in accordance
with the present invention.
[0071] Referring to FIG. 10, a method 280 illustrates steps
performed by the store controller 120 (FIG. 2) in managing and
accepting the stored offers for products. The method 280 may
alternatively be performed by the central controller 102 (FIG. 1)
in an embodiment with more than one seller. Prices and
corresponding effective periods for each of a plurality of products
are stored (step 282). Such prices and periods may be entered and
changed as needed. For example, when new products are introduced or
old products are discontinued, corresponding prices and effective
periods for each product can be entered or deleted,
respectively.
[0072] The offer, customer identifier and payment identifier are
each received from the POS terminal (steps 284, 286 and 288). Still
more information, such as the customer name and address, may be
received from the POS terminal as well. Each of the offer, customer
identifier and payment identifier may also be verified after being
received. For example, the payment identifier may be verified by
determining that an amount of funds are available, or attempting to
"freeze" (make unavailable to the customer) an amount of funds in
an account, as assurance that such funds remain available to the
seller if the stored offer is accepted. The offer, customer
identifier and payment identifier are then stored (step 290), and
may be retrieved for subsequent evaluation, review and/or
acceptance of the offer.
[0073] As described below, any of a number of methods may be used
in determining whether to accept the offer (step 292). If any offer
is accepted (step 294), then use of the corresponding payment
identifier is initiated in order to collect the offer price (step
296). Typically, the payment identifier is a credit card number, so
initiating use of the credit card number can comprise charging the
offer price to the credit card number. In addition, the
corresponding customer identifier is utilized to identify the
customer as having paid for the product (step 298). For example, an
entry in a "product delivery database" may be made to initiate
delivery of the product to the customer, or a receipt may be
printed out bearing the name of the customer and the product
bought.
[0074] Referring to FIG. 11, a method 310 is another embodiment of
a method for managing stored offers for products. The method 310 is
similar to the method 280 (FIG. 10) described above, and like steps
are numbered with like figure numerals in FIGS. 10 and 11. The
method 310 differs from the method 280 (FIG. 10) in that a
collection identifier is received from the POS terminal (step 312),
rather than a payment identifier (step 288 of FIG. 10). The
collection identifier specifies an amount of collected funds, and
may be, for example, an entry indicating an amount of cash tendered
at the POS terminal or an amount of funds authorized and tendered
from a credit card account. The received collection identifier is
also stored (step 314). Thus, in the present embodiment a customer
submits an actual payment before the offer is accepted by the
seller, rather than an account number used to effect a payment
after acceptance of the offer by the seller.
[0075] If an offer is not accepted (step 294) by the seller, then
the corresponding collected funds are refunded (step 316). Such a
refund may be accomplished in any of several ways. For example, a
voucher may be printed and delivered to the customer, a credit card
account may be credited or an entry may be entered in a database
for indicating an amount of store credit due to the customer.
[0076] FIGS. 12A and 12B depict a method 330 of yet another
embodiment for managing stored offers for products which is similar
to the method 280 (FIG. 10) described above. The method 330
includes yet further steps that may be desirable in managing
offers, and particularly in managing when to accept and/or delete
(clear or make unacceptable) offers.
[0077] Prices, corresponding effective periods and the quantity for
each of a plurality of products are stored (step 332). An offer for
a product, a customer identifier and a payment identifier are each
received from the POS terminal (steps 334, 336 and 338
respectively) and stored (step 342).
[0078] After the offer is stored, it is determined if the product
is available (step 344). If the product is not available, the offer
is deleted (step 346) since the offer cannot be accepted. The
availability of each product is determined from an associated
inventory entry indicating a quantity available. Typically, the
product is deemed to be "available" if the quantity is greater than
zero. Alternatively, it may be desirable to sell the product only
if more than a predetermined amount of the product is available. In
such an embodiment, a quantity greater than a predetermined amount
would indicate that the product is available.
[0079] The offer period is evaluated in order to determine if the
offer is still effective (step 348). Such an evaluation may
comprise, for example, determining if the current date is within
the offer period, or determining if the offer period is about to
expire. If the offer is not effective, the offer is deleted (step
346) since it cannot be accepted.
[0080] However, if the offer is effective, then the offer is
evaluated to see if it is desirable to accept the offer (step 352).
Such an evaluation may comprise, for example, accepting all offers
for a product, or accepting the highest offer price. If the offer
is accepted, use of the payment identifier is initiated to collect
payment for the product (step 358). In addition, the customer
identifier is utilized to identify the customer as having paid
(step 360).
[0081] In some embodiments, the seller may cancel an accepted
offer, and refund any funds, if any, which were collected in
connection therewith.
[0082] The above described embodiments of a method for managing
stored offers for products illustrate, among other things, steps
performed before and after an offer is accepted. The description
that follows explains methods for determining whether to accept an
offer.
[0083] Referring now to FIG. 13, a method 380 comprises steps for
determining to accept offers for a selected product, based on
whether there are effective offers for the selected product. The
method 380 is especially advantageous when there are one or more
particular products which must be moved. Inventory data is stored
for each of a plurality of products (step 382), thereby indicating
a quantity available of each product. In addition, a plurality of
offers is stored (step 384).
[0084] A group of effective offers is identified (step 386). The
offers may also be compared with a predetermined date, such as
"July 1", in order to identify offers which are effective only
before the predetermined date. Thus, offers that cannot be accepted
after July 1 (expiring offers) may be determined.
[0085] If there are any effective offers (step 388), and if the
desired products are available (step 390) then use of the
corresponding payment identifiers are initiated to collect the
offer prices from the customers (step 392), and the products are
delivered to the customers.
[0086] In single-seller embodiments, whether a product is available
may be determined from an inventory database storing a quantity
available of the product. In an embodiment with more than one
seller, a product can be deemed available if any of the sellers
have the product available. In such an embodiment, the inventory
databases of each seller are accessed in order to find a seller
having a product quantity that is greater than zero. As
appropriate, products can be shipped between multiple participating
sellers.
[0087] FIG. 14 illustrates in simplified form a method 400 for
determining if a product is available in a multiple-seller
embodiment. If a selected product is not available at a first store
(step 402), then it is also determined if the selected product is
available at any other related stores (step 404). If any store does
have the product available, then the offer is accepted, use of the
payment identifier is initiated (step 406) and the product is
shipped to the customer or to a store selected by the customer.
[0088] It may be desirable to sell a selected product at any
reasonable price, especially if it is necessary to rapidly move the
selected product. FIG. 15 illustrates a method 410 for determining
whether to accept offers based on a selected product to move. A
plurality of stored offers are recalled (step 412), and the product
identifier of each offer is compared to the selected product
identifier (step 414) to identify offers for the selected product.
Offers that correspond to the selected product are identified (step
416). If one or more offers correspond to the selected product
(step 418), use of the corresponding payment identifier is
initiated to collect the offer price (step 420).
[0089] A variety of other criteria may be used in determining
whether it is desirable to accept an offer. Criteria described
above include accepting (i) all expiring offers; (ii) all offers
for a selected product; (iii) all offers for available products;
and (iv) a combination thereof. In other embodiments, it may be
desirable to accept an offer for a selected product if (i) the
quantity available of the product is greater than a predetermined
threshold; (ii) the number of offers for the product is greater
than a predetermined threshold; (iii) the average offer price for
the product is greater than a predetermined threshold; (iv) the
number of "reasonable" offers for the product is greater than a
predetermined threshold; (v) sales of the product are less than a
predetermined threshold; or (vi) a combination thereof.
[0090] As described above, the central controller 102 (FIG. 1)
allows a plurality of sellers to cooperate, and thus to manage the
sale of products more effectively. In particular, the central
controller 102 aggregates each of the inventory databases of the
sellers and aggregates the offer databases of the sellers. Thus,
the central controller 102 can determine (i) which products are
available from each of the sellers (supply of products); and (ii)
which offers have been submitted to each of the sellers (demand for
products). The offers of a store can be matched with products of
other stores, and a customer offer can be satisfied from any store
having the desired product. Thus, each participating store may sell
more products and satisfy more customer demand than any store could
have done alone. In summary, the particular store of a chain of
stores that a customer visits is immaterial in meeting customer
demand.
[0091] FIG. 16 depicts the central controller 102 of FIG. 1 in more
detail. The central controller 102 comprises a processor 470, such
as one or more conventional microprocessors, and a data storage
device 472, such as a RAM, floppy disk, hard disk or combination
thereof, which is connected thereto. The processor 470 is also
connected to the store controller 120 (FIG. 2). As described above,
any number of stores, and thus store controllers, may be connected
to the central controller 102 although only one is depicted in FIG.
16.
[0092] The processor 470 and the storage device 472 may each be (i)
located entirely within a single computer; (ii) connected thereto
by a remote communication link, such as a serial port cable,
telephone line or radio frequency transceiver; or (iii) a
combination thereof. For example, the central controller 102 may
comprise one or more computers connected to a remote server
computer for maintaining databases.
[0093] The storage device 472 stores (i) a program 474 for
controlling the processor 470 in accordance with the present
invention, and particularly in accordance with the processes
described in detail hereinafter; and (ii) a store database 476 for
storing information on each store that is connected to the central
controller 102.
[0094] The program 474 also includes program elements that may be
necessary, such as "device drivers" for interfacing with computer
peripheral devices. Appropriate device drivers and other necessary
program elements are known to those skilled in the art, and need
not be described in detail herein.
[0095] Referring to FIG. 17, the store database 476 stores entries
480 and 482, each having (i) a store identifier 484 for uniquely
identifying a store connected to the central controller 102 (FIG.
16); (ii) an address 486 of the store; and (iii) a network address
488 for specifying a network address of the corresponding store
controller, thereby allowing the central controller 102 to
communicate with the corresponding store.
[0096] FIG. 18 illustrates a method 500 for aggregating the offer
databases of two or more sellers, thereby permitting offers
separately submitted to multiple stores to be compared and
evaluated. A first set of offers submitted to a first seller is
stored in a first offer database (step 502), and a second set of
offers submitted to a second seller is stored in a second offer
database (step 504). The offer databases may be stored on the
respective store controllers, or may be stored on the central
controller 102 (FIG. 16).
[0097] A selected product to move is compared with the products of
the first set of offers (step 506). The first set of offers is
typically the offers submitted at the store desiring to move the
product. Thus, "local" offers are compared and evaluated before the
offers of other stores. If any offers in the first set of offers
correspond to the selected product (step 508), then use of the
corresponding payment identifier is initiated in order to collect
the offer price (step 509).
[0098] If no offers in the first set of offers correspond to the
selected product, then the selected product is compared with the
products of the second set of offers (step 510). If any offers in
the second set of offers correspond to the selected product (step
512), then use of the corresponding payment identifier is initiated
in order to collect the offer price (step 509). It will be
understood that any of the evaluation criteria described above can
be used to manage the offer acceptance process amongst multiple
sellers.
[0099] Although the present invention has been described with
respect to a preferred embodiment thereof, those skilled in the art
will understand that various substitutions may be made to those
embodiments described herein without departing from the spirit and
scope of the present invention. For instance, rather than
initiating use of a payment identifier such as a credit card number
to collect funds when an offer is accepted, the store controller
may instead provide a phone number of the customer so that the
customer may be called and informed that his offer has been
accepted. In addition, although the customer typically may select
from a series of seller-defined product prices, in other
embodiments the customer may select his own offer price.
* * * * *