Patent ID: 8429034
Filing Date: 2013-04-23
Classification: G06Q,G16H

Abstract:
1. A method for assisting a representative of a pharmaceutical company in managing the distribution of samples of a product to a customer within a territory of the representative during a site visit to the customer, the samples having been allocated to the representative from an inventory database concerning a central inventory of the pharmaceutical company, comprising the steps of: storing inventory information in a database of a machine in a form suitable for differentiating an on-hand quantity from an in-storage quantity; presenting within a user interface of the machine a chart or table which distinguishes the on-hand quantity of samples from an in-storage quantity of samples of at least one product; receiving from the representative an identification of a product included in the chart or table and a quantity of the product that is for distribution within the territory of the representative to the customer during the site visit; updating the database to track at least changes in the on-hand quantity information concerning the product stored in response to the receiving step; and communicating the database update to the inventory database at a central machine which differs from the machine, wherein the on-hand quantity includes samples with which the representative travels when meeting the customer, and the in-storage quantity includes samples that have been allocated to the representative but with which the representative does not presently travel when meeting the customer, and wherein the updating step is performed prior to the communicating step.