Patent ID: 7055741

Claim:
A system for the unattended distribution of items, comprising: an unattended facility located remote from a central warehouse and capable of containing a plurality of items; a network; a central server connected to the unattended facility via the network, wherein said central server is configured to transmit a notification to a customer about an ordered item, said notification including a passcode that is associated with one or more groups of passcodes, said one or more groups of passcodes having a first group of passcodes having authorization to only view and selectively choose items assigned to the passcode used to access the unattended facility, and a second group of passcodes comprised of one or more passcodes that have authorization to view and selectively choose one or more items that have not been assigned to any certain passcode, and each group of passcodes is a subset of all passcodes; and an interface connecting an inventory management service to the central server through the network, said interface configured to enable an exchange of information between the inventory management service and the unattended facility, whereby the inventory management service is facilitated in keeping an inventory of the items in the unattended facility or retrieving returned items from said unattended facility.