Patent Application
20050137938
The present invention relates generally to eCommerce, and, more specifically, to a method, system, and computer program product for eCommerce brokering of Retail Transaction Data.
It is customary in many retail environments, such as supermarkets, to utilize a point-of-sale (POS) system having an optical scanner at designated checkout counters. Bar codes on objects or articles being purchased are read by the scanner so as to permit identification of the articles. In addition to providing efficient means of processing sales, these systems also allow retailers to collect a significant amount of information regarding the sales transaction. For example, it is easy to compile information regarding the price and quantities of all items sold, and, using a POS system, collect demographic information about the purchasers of the items sold. For example, today nearly every supermarket offers discounts to customers who possess a “bonus card.” These cards are issued by the store at no charge to customers who complete a short application soliciting demographic information about them (e.g., address, age, sex, marital status, etc.). Each time a “bonus card” holder purchases items, the bar code on the issued card is scanned. In doing so, the demographic information of the purchaser can be associated with the items purchased, allowing marketing and sales analysts to look for trends and to use this information to direct future sales and marketing strategies.
As an example, the vast amount of information collected can be cataloged and indexed to provide insight on buyer behavior and buying patterns. After the various information is collected at the POS, it can be compiled and cross referenced to extract additional information of interest. For example, information regarding items that are often purchased together, and by whom, can be extracted from the data collected at the POS and used to perform association analysis.
All of the above-described information can be derived from the data collected at the POS terminal. These data records are generally known as the “transaction log” or TLog data. Tlog data generally consists of a complete record of every event that occurs at the POS terminal. Clearly, the TLog information is very valuable to the retailers. There are, however, many other organizations that would place a high value on such TLog data. Manufacturers, advertising companies, and marketing consultants are among the many other types of organizations that would benefit from access to the TLog data. As a result, a business-to-business market is growing for the TLog data collected via POS systems.
The current process by which TLog can be obtained by prospective buyers is time and labor intensive. It requires manual compilation of data, as each data request is generally unique to the requester. For example, let us assume the Coca-Cola Bottling Co. (“Coke”) desires data on the demographics of the buyers of its products from Walmart Stores, Inc. (“Walmart”). A representative from Coke determines the exact information it desires (e.g., age and sex of Diet Coke buyers over a certain time period) and then contacts the proper person at Walmart with the request. The individual at Walmart must then go to the collected data and compile the requested information. The process is typically completed by the individual at Walmart sending the data, commonly via email with a spreadsheet attachment, to the requestor at Coke.
The process can become more complex if the requested data is subject to other constraints. In the example given, Walmart may have a contractual obligation with PepsiCo, Co. (“Pespi”) that prevents them from distributing information to third parties regarding sales of Pepsi products. In such an instance, the data compiled by the individual at Walmart must be examined, or filtered, to remove any information regarding Pepsi products before it can be sold to Coke. Additionally, the data is commonly “sanitized,” which is a process by which the data is modified to insure the privacy of the customers of the retailer. Sanitizing involves ensuring that personal information such as names, addresses, credit card numbers, etc. are removed before the TLog data is delivered to a third party. The compiling, filtering, sanitizing, and sending of the TLog data can be an extensive process, as is the process marketing the Tlog data (i.e., determining what prospective buyers would be interested in which TLog data items and at what price).
What is needed, therefore, is an efficient mechanism by which retailers in possession of TLog data can broker the price, availability, and delivery of selected and filtered portions of the available Tlog data to various business customers. This invention fulfils this need, among others.
The present invention provides a method, system, and computer program product for allowing retailers to sell TLog data to third party purchasers using a standard eCommerce engine. The present invention provides an efficient means for a purchaser to access a catalog of TLog data through an on-line storefront, determine the price and availability of various TLog data, and place a request for such data. The system in accordance with the present invention authenticates the user, retrieves the requested data, filters and sanitizes the data as needed, and formats and delivers the information, all in accordance with previously established criteria for each user.
In an exemplary embodiment, the method in accordance with the present invention collects TLog data, creates a user profile for a plurality of purchasers, offers customized TLog data for sale to the purchasers based upon criteria contained within their respective user profile, determines the appropriate price for the offered TLog data, packages and delivers the appropriate data in response to a purchase from a purchaser, and creates and stores a record of the transaction.
The environment shown in
The server 103 is connected to the internet 100 to allow for communication between purchasers of the TLog information and the seller of the TLog information. Purchasers can access the eCommerce system via one or more interface devices, such as workstations 106, laptops 107, PDAs 108, cellular phones 109, or any other device capable of accessing the internet.
The server 103 is also linked with POS terminal 104 at the retail location, via TLog Brokering and Processing Engine 105, to enable TLog data to be uploaded from the POS to the program modules on server 103. In the exemplary embodiment, a single POS terminal 104 is shown. In practice, however, the system in accordance with the present invention will likely comprise many sources of TLog data, e.g., data from various stores at various locations. Furthermore, in the exemplary embodiment, the server 103 is linked to the POS terminal 104 via the TLog Brokering and Processing Engine 105, although the connection between the server 103 and the POS terminal 104 through the TLog Brokering and Processing Engine 105 could alternatively travel via the internet.
In the exemplary embodiment, purchasers interested in obtaining TLog data access the system via Online Storefront 251 contained within the Main Application Module 250. Online storefront 251 provides an interface that is appropriate to the user's browsing device (e.g., via a web page, WAP page, etc.) through which purchasers can visit the systems, identify themselves, and make purchases according to predetermined criteria. Before any prospective purchaser can purchase TLog data, he or she must first be registered for identification purposes. During the registration process, a user profile is created and stored in the Main Application Module 250 in a location designated for User Profile Information 252. The User Profile Information 252 contains information regarding who a user is and what information to which a user has access. Main Application Module 250 uses this information in conjunction with stored Contract Information 253 that is maintained for particular users or organizations. The Contract Information 253 is a record of the contract or business agreement that may exists for a particular user or organization. This information is used to determine, among other things, the price at which particular information is available. For example, a particular user may have a subscription agreement that allows for continued access to various information, or alternatively a user may be on a “buy per item” system where charges are assessed based upon the amount of data purchased. Additionally, the business agreement may also set forth the type or category of information that is available to a particular user or organization to which the user belongs.
In order to enable the stored TLog data to be cataloged and ordered in a manner that will allow users to search for desired data types, a set of Metadata and Content References 241 is entered by the retailer. For example, various groupings or views of the stored TLog data are possible. Some views may be a group of data about a certain product within a certain geographic region, while other views may be data regarding the sales of a certain product subject to a particular promotion. The Metadata and Content References 241 are used to assign sortable characteristics to the TLog data. The Metadata and Content References 241 can be entered by the retailer using the Ingest function (shown in
Once the Metadata and Content References 241 are input via the Ingest Module 240, they are uploaded into the Content & Catalog Loader 223, which is part of the Content Module 220. The data in the Content & Catalog Loader 223 associates the actual TLog data records from TLog database 221 with the metadata in the Content Catalog 222. By associating each piece of TLog data with one or more metadata or content reference, searchable data is created that can be provided to purchasers via Online Storefront 251 contained in Main Application Module 250.
When a registered purchaser (one already having a user profile and contract information stored in Main Application Module 250) accesses the storefront, he or she can conduct a search for available TLog data (i.e., browse through the available data groupings in the content catalog) using the Catalog & Content Search Module 254 of Main Application 250. The actual set of data shown to the purchaser is limited according to the information in the purchaser's profile, and also in accordance with any constraints contained in the contract under which the purchaser is operating.
After selecting a desired set of TLog data records, the purchaser places an order via the Order Entry Component 255 of Main Application 250. In the exemplary embodiment, the Order Entry Component 255 determines the price of the records using Pricing Calculator 256 if the price of the data selected is undetermined. Additionally, the TLog data records requested can be checked at this point to determine if they covered by a subscription or pre-paid pricing plan using Subscription Verifier 257. Data that is not covered under a subscription must be paid for in some other means. Payment means are well known in eCommerce engines such as Websphere Commerce and include methods such as immediate payment via credit card or generation of an invoice for future payment.
After an order is placed, the actual data is retrieved through the Content Catalog 222 from TLog database 221. The data is sent to the Asset Retrieval & Assembly component 231 located within the Fulfillment Module 230. The Asset Retrieval & Assembly component 231 is analogous to the well known “shopping cart” used in eCommerce applications. Once the purchaser has completed selecting data, the selected data in the Asset Retrieval & Assembly component 231 is forwarded to the Distribution Module 260 for delivery. This is analogous to the “checkout” phase of well known eCommerce engines. Information regarding the order status is provided via an order Status Update component 232 of the Fulfillment Module 230 to the Commerce Database 224 contained within the Content Module 220. The Commerce Database 224 maintains information regarding all of the purchases that have been made. Information such as the records purchased, the price of the records, the purchaser of the records, the time of delivery of the records, and any other information that the retailer desires to track with regards to the sale of the TLog data are stored in the Commerce Database 224.
The Distribution Module 260 is responsible for providing the completed order to the purchaser. The TLog records are packaged in a format suitable for the purchaser's use and any necessary usage rights or licensing information is added (shown in
After the purchaser is identified, a check is performed to determine if the purchaser is subject to special criteria because of a previously agreed upon business agreement or contract (step 307). If no contract exists, the purchaser will be subject to predetermined standard criteria for non-contract purchasers (step 309).
At this point, the purchaser can browse the metadata that describes the TLog records that are available for purchase by him or her (step 311). The metadata and the actual data have been filtered in accordance with the user profile for the user and any contract criteria the user to which the user is subject. The purchaser selects the TLog records he or she desires to purchase from those available (step 313). An order is placed to purchase the selected records (step 315).
Next, the order is processed by the system. In the exemplary embodiment, this involves retrieving the data from the TLog database and preparing it for distribution to the purchaser, e.g., placing the requested TLog data records in the purchaser's shopping cart, i.e., in the Asset Retrieval & Assembly component of the Fulfillment Module (step 317). Alternatively, the selected data may only be identified, but not be retrieved from the database and packaged, until the purchaser has completed all of his or her shopping. If the purchaser desires to purchase additional records, he or she can return at this point to the browse screen (step 319). If no additional TLog data records are desired, the purchase can proceed to the checkout process (step 321). The purchaser completes the sale by paying for the selected items using one of the available payment means, e.g., credit card, subscription, invoice, etc. The transaction is completed by delivering the purchased TLog data records to the purchaser in the manner previously selected by the purchaser during the registration process, e.g., downloading via the internet, sending of a CD ROM, etc. (step 325).
The above-described steps can be implemented using standard well-known programming techniques. The novelty of the above-described embodiment lies not in the specific programming techniques but in the use of the steps described to achieve the described results. Software programming code which embodies the present invention is typically stored in permanent storage of some type, such as permanent storage on a user workstation. In a client/server environment, such software programming code may be stored with storage associated with a server. The software programming code may be embodied on any of a variety of known media for use with a data processing system, such as a diskette, or hard drive, or CD-ROM. The code may be distributed on such media, or may be distributed to users from the memory or storage of one computer system over a network of some type to other computer systems for use by users of such other systems. The techniques and methods for embodying software program code on physical media and/or distributing software code via networks are well known and will not be further discussed herein.
The system in accordance with the present invention provides an efficient means for retailers in possession of valuable TLog data to broker this data to interested third party purchasers. The present invention provides retailers with the means to efficiently offer for sale selected TLog data, filtered in accordance with a purchaser's profile, priced in accordance with a purchaser's profile, and packaged in a format in accordance with a purchaser's profile. It also enables companies who wish to obtain such TLog data to easily and efficiently obtain the information they desire. By eliminating the time consuming and labor intensive process previously employed to distribute TLog data, the present invention allows for TLog data to be obtained in greater volumes and at a lower cost. Additionally, the data can be obtained much more rapidly than in the past. The present invention allows for TLog data to become available for sale or purchase almost in real time.
It should be understood that the foregoing is illustrative and not limiting and that obvious modifications may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention. Accordingly, the specification is intended to cover such alternatives, modifications, and equivalence as may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the following claims.
