Patent ID: 7680674

Claim:
A method allowing a railway transportation company to take an order from a customer for shipping a commodity, the method comprising: a. receiving at a network server that communicates with a customer's computer over a data network information on shipping parameters, the information on shipping parameters conveying a type of commodity to be shipped and a type of railcar to use for shipping the commodity; b. performing a search on a network server to determine if the shipping parameters match a promotional event in a promotional event database that entitles the customer to a promotion selected in the group consisting of a discount and an awarding of merchandise; c. when the search performed matches with a promotional event, the network server sending information to the customer's computer to advise the customer that the promotion applies to the shipping of the commodity; d. when the search performed does not match with a promotional event: i. the network server identifying a change in at least one of the type of commodity to be shipped and the type of railcar to use for shipping the commodity conveyed by the information on shipping parameters received from the customer's computer, the identified change being effected would create a match with a promotional event in the promotional events database; ii. the network server sending information to the customer's computer to advise the customer that a promotion would apply to the shipping of the commodity if the identified change was accepted by the customer; and iii. the network server being responsive to reception of information originating from the customer's computer indicating that the customer accepts the identified change such that the shipping of—the commodity according to the shipping parameters including the identified change can be performed.