The present disclosure is generally related to merging multi-level marketing systems.
Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) companies are defined by a commission structure that is multi-level, such that a commission is paid to at least one member above the member who made a sale or purchase. However, there are multiple kinds of commission structures, for example, binary, matrix, or unilevel. Merging these companies while maintaining the integrity of the existing commission structure has been unsuccessful when the two companies do not have the same kind of commission structure. Usually, when companies with a different commission structure do merge, the two commission structures are simply kept separate and retain their traits and commission rates. Therefore, members of a traditional unilevel commission structure must continue to build that structure even if other members of the merged company are in a multi-level structure. If the merged company does decide to attempt to merge the commission structures, it often ends with members feeling disoriented or upset by changes that can impact income from commissions. There is a need for existing MLM companies to merge without having to either continue to keep the two companies separate or upset members by rearranging the existing commission structures.
Systems and methods for a Multi-Level Marketing Merger System are disclosed. The system includes Multiline MLM organization, which is a distribution organization characterized by a multi-level payment structure. In a Multiline MLM organization, a user is a distributor or a sales agent and may earn commission based on their own sales and the sales of other users. The user may have one or more users above the user in the organization structure, who are referred to as upline user. When the user makes a sale, the user may pay commission to one or more upline users. The user may have one or more users below the user in the organization structure, which is referred to as downline user. The user may receive commission from the downline users who have made a sale. The Multiline MLM organization may allow the user to have an infinite number of lines below the user, each line representing another user. Alternatively, the distribution organization may limit the number of downline users a user can have at a fixed number and only increase the number of downlines if the user has met a certain threshold criteria. In the case where the user has recruited a new user but has not met the criteria to open a new downline, the user may only retain the status as a sponsor or a recruiter but not be an upline user to the new user. Users who are in a relationship of receiving or paying commission to one another but not in each other's downline or upline are in a crossline relationship. For example, the sponsor who recruited the user may or may not be an upline user to the user in the Multiline MLM organization but still receive commission from the user via the crossline relationship. The commission rate paid to an upline user may be different from a crossline user or an upline user who is also the sponsor.
In contrast, a Unilevel MLM lacks crossline relationship because the sponsor that recruited the user is an upline user of the user. The Unilevel MLM organization may have an infinite number of lines below the user as new recruits are recruited by the user. A downline user pays commission to the upline user when a sale is made by the downline user.
Merging the users of a Unilevel MLM into a Multiline MLM may require position and user connection changes for users of the Unilevel MLM. Users of the Multiline MLM may have a maximum number of users possible as downline users until a commission threshold is reached, while Unilevel MLM users may not have a maximum number of users possible as downline users. The Multi-Level Marketing Merger System may instantaneously reorganize connections and positions of the users from the Unilevel MLM into the Multiline MLM to reconcile different commission rules from two or more organizations with different structures to find the optimal commission structures for users and maximize commission rates. This allows for a seamless transition without an interruption in the businesses. The Multi-Level Marketing Merger System may reorganize the different structures by creating crossline connections to sponsors and placing users in the downline of different users while maintaining the possible commission earned for each user. Based on commission rules in the Unilevel MLM and commission rules in the Multiline MLM the Multi-Level Marketing Merger System may update rules in the Multiline MLM associated with a user and the position of the user to ensure the possible commission earned by the user is comparable after the merger. The process for comparing and merging the systems is described in detail in
A Multiline MLM Commission Module 104 may receive data from the Multiline MLM Sales Database 103 to pay commissions to one or more other users. The Multiline MLM Commission Rules Database 105 may contain rules to calculate commission based on the position of the user in the Multiline MLM User Database 102 and sales data in the Multiline MLM Sales Database 103. The 104 Multiline MLM Commission Module may calculate commission based on sales data in the Multiline MLM Sales Database 103, the position of the user in the Multiline MLM User Database 102, and rules stored in the Multiline MLM Commission Rules Database 105 corresponding to the sales data and the position of the user. The calculated commission may be stored in the Multiline MLM Commission Database 106. In some embodiments, the Multiline MLM Commission Module 104 may pay users directly. The Multiline MLM Additional Line Module 107 may receive data from the Multiline MLM Commission Database 106 to determine if the user qualifies for an additional line.
The Multiline MLM Additional Line Module 107 may determine if the user has met a threshold commission value on their existing lines based on data from the Multiline MLM Commissions Database 106 and may add an additional line to the number of lines that the user is allowed. The Multiline MLM Additional Line Module 107 may update the Multiline MLM User Database 102, the Multiline MLM Commission Module 104, or any combination of databases with additional line data the user is allowed. In some embodiments, the Multiline MLM Commission Module 104 may calculate and store an additional commission for the user based on the additional line data. The Multiline MLM Merger Module 108 may receive data via a Cloud 109 from a Unilevel MLM organization 110.
The Cloud 109 or communication network may be a wired and/or a wireless network. The communication network, if wireless, may be implemented using communication techniques such as Visible Light Communication (VLC), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), Long Term Evolution (LTE), Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), Infrared (IR) communication, Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), Radio waves, and other communication techniques known in the art. The communication network may allow ubiquitous access to shared pools of configurable system resources and higher-level services that can be rapidly provisioned with minimal management effort, often over Internet and relies on sharing of resources to achieve coherence and economies of scale.
The Unilevel MLM organization 110 may include a distribution organization characterized by a Unilevel payment structure wherein a user of the organization is a distributor and pays commission to a sponsor user above the user in the distribution organization. The user in the Unilevel MLM organization 110 may also be a sponsor user by recruiting and adding a new user in a single line below the user. The sponsor user may receive commission from an infinite number of new users in the single line below the sponsor user. Structure of the Unilevel MLM organization 110 is discussed in further detail in
The Multiline MLM User Structure, may limit the number of users connected to a sponsor (i.e. Sponsor 301 or User/Sponsor 303) via an immediate downline connection. This limitation may be configured as a rule in the Multiline MLM User Database 102. A maximum number of users connected to the sponsor via an immediate downline connection rule may be configured based on various factors including but not limited to the position of the user or sponsor in the Multiline MLM User Structure, the number of upline connections connected to the user or sponsor, the number of downline connections connected to the user or sponsor, the total commission earned by the user or sponsor, the total sales made by the user or sponsor, the commission earned from each of the downlines of the user or sponsor, or any combination therein. For example, the Multiline MLM User Structure in
The Multiline MLM User Structure may allow a sponsor to receive commission from each user with an immediate upline connection to the sponsor, such as the User/Sponsor 303 receiving commission from the any number of users 307. The sponsor may also receive commission from any number of users with an upline connection to the users that have an immediate upline connection to the sponsor. For example, Sponsor 301 may receive commission from the any number of users 307, as the any number of users 307 has an immediate upline connection 306 to the User/Sponsor 303 that has an immediate upline connection 304 to the Sponsor 301. Further, a sponsor may receive commission from users the sponsor has recruited if the user is not in their downline via a sponsor connection, such as the User/Sponsor 303 receiving commission via the sponsor connection 310 from the new user 308. Depending on the position of the user in the organization hierarchy, the rate of commission may vary. Additionally, the commission rate may vary based on the relationship between the users. A sponsor may receive one rate of commission from the user whereas an upline may receive a different rate of commission from the user. The rate of commission may also vary based on amount of sales exceeding a certain threshold value. For example, a sale under $500 may grant 5% in commission whereas a sale over $500 may grant 10% in commission.
At step 406, the Multiline MLM Commission Module 104 may calculate the commission owed to the sponsor based on the identified sponsor connection commission rule and the sale value of the user sale. For example, the user may have made a sale for $100, and the sponsor connection commission rule may state that the sponsor of the user should receive 5% of the sale value for a commission total of $5. In step 407, the Multiline MLM Commission Module 104 may store the calculated sponsor commission total in the Multiline MLM Commission Database 106. The stored commission total may be stored and associated with various users for different reasons. For example, the commission total may be stored associated with the sponsor user ID as commission paid by the specific user to the sponsor, added to the total commission earned for the sponsor, associated with the selling user ID as the commission paid by the specific user, or in any similar combination. At step 408, the Multiline MLM Commission Module 104 may identify if the user has an upline user that is owed commission who not the sponsor of the user. The commission to be paid by the user may be calculated differently for a sponsor, an upline and an upline who is also a sponsor. Similar to steps 405-407, the Multiline MLM Commission Module 104 identifies commission rules for the upline user of the selling user at step 409, calculates commission for the upline user based on one or more commission rules and the sale value at step 410, and stores the calculated commission in the Multiline MLM Commission Database 106 at step 411. At step 412, the Multiline MLM Commission Module 104 may identify if there is commission for additional upline users that has not yet been calculated. If the upline user ID does not match any upline user IDs that have already had commission calculated, the new upline user ID is processed by returning to step 408. If the upline user ID does match an upline user ID that has already had commission calculated and there is no additional upline user ID to process, the Multiline MLM Commission Module restarts the process, at step 401.
At step 505, the Multiline MLM Additional Line Module 107 may identify a threshold criteria for addition an additional line that must be met or surpassed by each commission source user ID associated with the payee ID. Such criteria may include one or more threshold values a user must meet from sales and received commission. There may be a threshold value for total commission received from the downlines of the user, another threshold value for commission received from each of the downlines of the user, and yet another threshold for the total sales that the user has made. The threshold values may vary for each users based on the data regarding the user, such as the position of the user in the Multiline MLM structure, the number of downlines the user already has, and the relationship between the users. The threshold criteria may be weighted based on the relationship between the users. For example, the commission type “upline” may be considered more heavily than the commission type “sponsor” in determining whether the threshold criteria to create an additional line has been met.
In step 506, the Multiline MLM Additional Line Module 107 may calculate the total commission payout from a source user ID including previously paid commission and any new or unprocessed commission from the source user ID. Total commission payouts may be calculated based on a variety of rules, which may consider the total lifetime commission from the downline user, the commission from the downline user over a certain period of time, and the commission from a type of product. The Multiline MLM Additional Line Module 107 may compare the calculated total commission payout to the threshold value of commission payouts. Based on the calculation in step 506, the Multiline MLM Additional Line Module 107 may determine if the total commission paid to the payee ID is greater than, equal to, or less than the threshold value of commission payouts.
In step 507, if the total commission payout from the source user ID does not meet or exceed the threshold value, the payee ID user may not receive an additional line, and the process restarts at step 501. If the total commission payout from the source user ID does meet or exceed the threshold value, the Multiline MLM Additional Line Module 107 may identify an additional commission source ID that has not yet been processed at step 508. If the Multiline MLM Additional Line Module 107 identifies an additional commission source ID, the process returns to step 506, and repeats for the new commission source ID. If the Multiline MLM Additional Line Module 107 does not identify any additional commission source ID, one or more additional lines may be added to the available lines of the payee ID at step 509. The Multiline MLM Additional Line Module 107 may execute a variety of rules associated with adding one or more additional lines to the payee ID based on the position of the user in the Multiline MLM organization, total lines available to the user, total commission paid to the user, number of users that the user has sponsored, or any combination of rules. In some embodiments, the Multiline MLM Additional Line Module 107 may add multiple additional lines to the available lines for the user.
In step 510, the Multiline MLM Additional Line Module 107 may update the Multiline MLM User Database 102 for the payee ID with the one or more additional lines. In some embodiments, the one or more additional lines may include no users, or may include users with no sales data. If an additional line includes no users or no sales data, the Multiline MLM Additional Line Module 107 may enter a placeholder nominal value or null value in the Multiline MLM User Database 102 that may later be replaced by user and sales data. The Multiline MLM Additional Line Module 107 may repeat the process at step 501 upon conclusion of updating the Multiline MLM User Database 102.
The unique code may be assigned or obtained by a new user via an online interaction (e.g., an online purchase) with a specific product webpage associated with the code. A link to the product webpage may be provided to the new user via a universal resource locator (URL) or an embedded URL in which the embedded unique code provides referral information associated with a upline user. When the new user engages in an online interaction with the product webpage, a new unique code is generated for the new user. The new unique code provides that the new user becomes related to the upline user as well as other distributors that previously purchased the product. Users that subsequently use the new link may each be given a respective different unique code that provides the respective set of upline users. After an online interaction meets certain conditions (e.g., a product purchased at the website), commissions may be paid out to the associated set of upline users specified by the unique code embedded in the link according to a defined commission levels.
At step 602, the Multiline MLM Merger Module 108 may analyze the new user data from the Unilevel MLM by comparing the new user data to the user data saved in the Multiline MLM User Database 102. Comparing user data between the Unilevel MLM and Multiline MLM may be executed using various different algorithms to match the Unilevel MLM user data to the sponsor, upline and downline users, and relative position within the Unilevel MLM organization.
At step 603, the Multiline MLM Merger Module 108 determines whether the new user can be placed downline of the sponsor of the user. If the sponsor has available space for a downline user, the Multiline MLM Merger Module may skip to step 608. If the sponsor of the user does not have available space for a downline user, the Multiline MLM Merger Module 108 may proceed to step 604. The Multiline MLM Merger Module 108 may then identify if the sponsor qualifies for an additional line by executing the process for the Multiline MLM Additional Line Module 107 described in
If the sponsor does not qualify for an additional line, the Multiline MLM Merger Module 108 may identify another user in the Multiline MLM with an open downline user available at step 606. The identified user may be selected at random or selected based on position in the organization, the number of available downlines, and the number of total downlines the user has. The Multiline MLM Merger Module 108 may store the data associated with the new user who is in the downline of the identified user.
At step 607, the Multiline MLM Merger Module 108 may update the digital file associated with the new user data and the sponsor user data. The upline and downline relationship between the new user and the sponsor is severed and the new user and the sponsor are linked in a crossline relationship. The digital file is embedded with a new unique code and the Multiline MLM User Database is updated accordingly with the new unique code.
At step 608, the Multiline MLM Merger Module 108 may compare commission data associated with the new user received from the Unilevel MLM to the commission data and rules for the position of the new user in the Multiline MLM. Various mathematical procedures may be executed to calculate an equivalent commission rate that the user could receive from the downline. In some embodiments, if the commission rate for the new user in the Multiline MLM is less than the commission rate for the same user in the Unilevel MLM, the Multiline MLM Merger Module 108 may generate an additional downline for the new user at step 609. In other words, if the user is expected to receive less commission in the Multiline MLM than what the user used to receive in the Unilevel MLM, the user may be entitled to additional downlines until the user could receive comparable commission in the Multiline MLM. In another embodiment, the Multiline MLM Merger Module 108 may send a request for a change in commission rules to the Multiline MLM Commission Rules Database 105, and may update the commission rules of the new user in the Multiline MLM to equal the commission rate for the user in the Unilevel MLM. Various requests may be made to a combination of databases available in the Multiline MLM in order to adjust the available commission rate to be equal or comparable to the previous commission rate in the Unilevel MLM.
At step 610, the Multiline MLM Merger Module 108 may store the new user data in the Multiline MLM User Database 102 and any other database of the Multiline MLM that contains updated information for the user. The Multiline MLM Merger Module 108 may proceed back to step 601 and may repeat the process until all available users in the Unilevel MLM have been created in the Multiline MLM User Database 102.
The foregoing detailed description of the technology herein has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the technology to the precise form disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching. The described embodiments were chosen in order to best explain the principles of the technology and its practical application to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the technology in various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. It is intended that the scope of the technology be defined by the claim.
The present application is a continuation-in-part and claims priority benefit of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/867,316 filed Jul. 18, 2022, which claims the priority benefit of U.S. provisional application No. 63/222,749 filed Jul. 16, 2021, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.
Number | Date | Country | |
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63222749 | Jul 2021 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 17867316 | Jul 2022 | US |
Child | 18077893 | US |