Abstract:
An online order, fulfillment, and payment distribution system where a product or service is sold to a customer or end user, and a portion of that sale&#39;s revenue or profit is distributed to an independent third party not involved in the sale or fulfillment of the order. The order, fulfillment, and distribution system comprises of a method for distributing the profit or revenue of a sale to an independent third party, and an optional method for distributing the third parties&#39; literature to a customer or end user.

Description:
[0001]    An online order, fulfillment, and payment distribution system where a product or service is sold to a customer or end user, and a portion of that sale&#39;s revenue or profit is distributed to an independent third party not involved in the sale or fulfillment of the order. 
       FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The present invention generally relates to online order, fulfillment, and payment distribution system. The invention relates more specifically to a system of distributing revenue or profit from the online sale of a product or service by the manufacturer, distributer, or service provider to an independent third party. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    The approaches described in this section could be pursued, but are not necessarily approaches that have been previously conceived or pursued. Therefore, unless otherwise indicated herein, the approaches described in this section are not prior art to the claims in this application and are not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section. 
         [0004]    The development of online stores as a medium for sales and fulfillment of a product or service has made it easier for manufacturers and service providers to sell direct to customers bypassing the traditional channels where manufactures and service providers provide products and services through third party distributers and retailers. The current online sales and fulfillment method where a manufacturer or service provider sells direct to the end user results in channel conflict for the manufacturer or service provider and their distributers and retailers. 
         [0005]    Currently there are order and fulfillment systems in use where an order from the end user is placed online through the manufacturer or service provider and the order is either sent to an authorized retailer to fulfill, or placed in a queue where those orders can be selected by and fulfilled by an authorized retailer. For example, Shopatron Inc. of San Luis Obispo, Calif. provides a method where an end user places an order through the manufacturer&#39;s or service provider&#39;s website and that order is placed in an exchange where a retailer can request to fulfill the order. If they are the closest stocking retailer, they are assigned the order for in-store pickup or shipment to the customer. Shopatron Inc. then pays the retailers for all orders served 2× per month. However, this method of order and fulfillment does not allow the manufacturer or service provider direct control over the speed and quality of delivery. This method can also create confusion for the customer when a breakdown of the fulfillment of the order occurs. Often times, customers will assume that the manufacturer or service provider was at fault for the breakdown in the fulfillment process since the order was placed through the manufacturer&#39;s or service provider&#39;s website. This assumption can damage the reputation of the manufacturer or service provider. 
         [0006]    Online order, fulfillment, and payment distribution systems that distribute payment to a third party are used in several business contexts. For example, in the context of driving traffic to an online store, a portion of a sale can be distributed to an individual or company that drove the traffic to the online store. Typically these individuals or companies are known as referral or affiliate sites, and the payment they receive is based on the traffic and sell through they generate. For example, Amazon.com, Inc. of Seattle, Wash. offers an affiliate program for individuals and companies to receive payment for driving traffic and sales to Amazon.com. In this scenario, the order is placed at Amazon.com, Amazon.com takes payment, and Amazon.com fulfills the order or notifies a third party (sometimes the manufacturer) to fulfill the order. Amazon.com then distributes a payment to the referrer or affiliate. 
         [0007]    Based on the foregoing, there is a clear need for a way for manufactures and service providers to receive and fulfill orders from end users without causing channel conflict with other distribution methods. There is also a clear need for a method for manufacturers and service providers to have control over the speed and quality of fulfillment to ensure a positive experience by the end user or customer. Finally, there is also a clear need for a method where the revenue or profit from an online sale generated from an end user or customer using the manufacturer&#39;s or service provider&#39;s online store can be shared with an independent distributer or retailer authorized to sell products or services by that manufacturer or service provider. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0008]    The present invention is illustrated by way of example, and not by way of limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings and in which like reference numerals refer to similar elements and in which: 
           [0009]      FIG. 1  is an overview of the online order, fulfillment and payment distribution method described. 
           [0010]      FIG. 2  is an overview of 
           [0011]      FIG. 3  is an overview of 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
       [0012]    A method for an online order fulfillment and payment distribution system is described. In the following description, for the purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form in order to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the present invention. 
         [0013]    Embodiments are described herein according to the following outline: 
         [0000]    
       
         
               
               
             
           
               
                   
                   
               
             
             
               
                   
                 1.0 Definition of Terms 
               
               
                   
                 2.0 General Overview 
               
               
                   
                 3.0 Online Order Fulfillment, Payment Distribution 
               
               
                   
                 4.0 Overview of Exchange Between Manufacturer and Retailer 
               
               
                   
                 5.0 Overview of Retailer List and Selection 
               
               
                   
                 6.0 Extensions and Alternatives 
               
               
                   
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
       1.0 DEFINITION OF TERMS 
       [0014]    As used herein, term “product” refers to any commercial goods or services that can be sold to a customer. The term “customer” refers to any end user of a product. The term “manufacturer” refers to any manufacturer, service provider, or distributer who distributes product to independent 3 rd  parties with the goal of having that product sold to a customer. The term “retailer” refers to any company or individual that is independent to the manufacturer and sells product to a customer. The term “literature” refers to any text, photo, map, advertising material, or coupon. 
       2.0 GENERAL OVERVIEW 
       [0015]    The needs identified in the foregoing Background, and other needs and methods that will become apparent for the following description, are achieved in the present invention, which comprises, in one aspect, a method for payment distribution from a manufacturer to an eligible retailer who did not participate in the sale from the manufacturer to the customer. The method comprises of a list of eligible retailers, a system for selecting a retailer to distribute payment to, and a system for the retailer to include literature and/or advertising material to a customer receiving an order from the manufacturer. 
         [0016]    Other aspects will become apparent from the following description. 
       3.0 ONLINE ORDER, FULFILLMENT, PAYMENT DISTRIBUTION 
       [0017]      FIG. 1  is a block diagram  100  that illustrates an approach for a customer  101  placing an order for and paying  105  for one or more products with a manufacturer  103 , the manufacturer  103  fulfilling  107 A or  107 B/ 107 C that order to the customer  101 , and the manufacturer  103  distributing payment  109  to a retailer  104 . 
         [0018]    According to one embodiment, a customer  101  places an order for and pays  105  for one or more products from a manufacturer  103  over a link  102 . Link  102  may be any medium for transferring data between customer  101  and manufacturer  103  and the invention is not limited to any particular medium. Examples of the link  102  include, without limitation, a network such as a LAN, WAN, or the Internet, a telecommunications link, a wire or optical link or a wireless connection. 
         [0019]    The manufacturer  103  receives the order  106  from the customer  101  through the link  102 . The manufacturer  103  may optionally reply  110  to the customer  101  through the link  102 . Examples of the reply  110  include, without limitation, acknowledgment of receiving the order  106 , estimated shipping date of the order  106 , and shipment-tracking information of the order  106 . 
         [0020]    The customer  101 , receives communication  111  from manufacturer  103  through the link  102 . 
         [0021]    The received order  106  is processed and fulfilled  107 A by the manufacturer  103  to the customer  101 . Fulfillment  107 A describes delivery to customer  101  through a traditional delivery method. Examples of a traditional delivery method include, without limitation, a truck, a van, a car, or a plane. Additional electronic methods could include, but are not limited by fulfillment  107 B/ 107 C through the link  102 . 
         [0022]    Once an order  106  has been fulfilled  107 A or  107 B/ 107 C the manufacturer  103  distributes a payment or credit  109  to a retailer  104  based on the retailer  104  meeting a certain requirement. Examples of a requirement include, without limitation, physical distance between customer  101  and retailer  104  and the amount of business the retailer  104  generates for the manufacturer  103 . It should be noted that the requirement could be obtained by combining one or more attributes. It should also be noted that the payment  109  from manufacturer  103  to retailer  104  could be split between one or more retailers  104 , using multiple methods to define the share of the payment  109 . Examples of share of the payment  109  include, without limitation, physical distance between customer  101  and retailer  104  and the amount of business the retailer  104  generates for the manufacturer  103 . 
         [0023]    The retailer  104  provides the manufacturer  103  literature  110  that is included with the fulfillment  107 A or  107 B/ 107 C of the order  106  from the manufacturer  103  to the customer  101 . It should be noted that the literature  110  can be provided to the customer  101  using a separate method than the order  106  fulfillment method  107 A or  107 B/ 107 C. It should also be noted that the literature  110  can be optional and the payment  109  is not dependent on literature  110  being provided by the retailer  104 . 
       4.0 OVERVIEW OF EXCHANGE BETWEEN MANUFACTURER AND RETAILER 
       [0024]      FIG. 2 . is a block diagram  200  that illustrates an approach for a manufacturer to make a payment to a selected retailer. Its purpose is to give a more detailed description of the exchange process described in  FIG. 1 . 
         [0025]    The manufacturer  201  sends a payment/credit  204  to the retailer  203  through the link  202 . The link  102  may be any medium for transferring a payment/credit between manufacturer  201  and retailer  203  and the invention is not limited to any particular medium. Examples of the link  202  include, without limitation, the United States Postal Service, any other mail service provider, electronic transfer, a network such as a LAN, WAN, or the Internet, a telecommunications link, a wire or optical link or a wireless connection. 
         [0026]    The retailer  203  receives the payment/credit  205  from the manufacturer  201  through the link  202 . 
         [0027]    The retailer  203  sends literature  206  to the manufacturer  201  through the link  202 . The manufacturer  201  receives the literature  207  from the retailer  203  through the link  202 . The manufacturer  201  provides literature  208 A/ 208 B/ 208 C to customer  209  through traditional delivery/shipping methods ( 208 A) or through the link  202  ( 208 B/ 208 C). It is important to note this invention provides for the ability to deliver the literature  208 A with the customer&#39;s order  210  that was placed with the manufacturer  201 . 
       5.0 OVERVIEW OF RETAILER LIST, LITERATURE, AND SELECTION PROCESS 
       [0028]      FIG. 3 . is a block diagram  300  that illustrates an approach for storing and retrieving one or more retailers as well as zero or more literature. Its purpose is to give a more detailed description of the process for selecting a retailer for payment/credit. 
         [0029]    Manufacturer  301  sends customer order data  307  to a device  311  through a link  302 . Examples of the device  311  include, without limitation a server or other type of computer system designed to store and retrieve data. The device  311  receives the customer order data  310  from the link  302 . The device  311  then pulls information  305  about one or more retailers that meet a specific predefined condition. Examples of a predefined condition include, without limitation the physical distance from the customer to the retailer, some other geographical condition, and/or the amount of business a retailer  304  does with the manufacturer  301 . After the selection of one or more retailers, the device  311  pulls literature related to the corresponding retailer  306 . 
         [0030]    The device  311  sends the retrieved retailer information and any literature  312  through the link  302 . The manufacturer receives retailer information and any literature  313  from the link  302 . 
         [0031]    It should be noted that both the retailer information  305  and the corresponding literature  306  could be held in a database or any other method used for storing and retrieving information electronically. It should also be noted that the device  311 , the retailer information  305 , and the corresponding literature  306  could be physically located at a location that includes, without limitation an office of the manufacturer  301 , a warehouse of the manufacturer  301 , or a server room of the manufacturer  301 . Finally, it should also be noted that the device  311 , the retailer information  305 , and the corresponding literature  306  could be located outside of the manufacturer  301 . Examples of being located outside the manufacturer  301  include, without limitation the Internet, World Wide Web, or any other public or private network. 
         [0032]    The retailer  304  can upload literature  309  through the link  303  for literature storage  306  through the device  311 . The uploaded literature  309  is stored in a way that it corresponds with the specific retailer information  305 . One example of this includes, without limitation, a shared key. 
       6.0 EXTENSIONS AND ALTERNATIVES 
       [0033]    In the foregoing specification, the invention has been described with reverence to specific embodiments thereof. It will, however, be evident that various modifications and changes may be made thereto without departing from the broader spirit and scope of the invention. The specification and drawings are, accordingly, to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense.