Patent ID: 7162440

Claim:
A system for processing product movement requests including orders and returns while maintaining a real-time accounting of product locations, including: a network; a first communication link connecting a first location to the network; a second communication link connecting a second location to the network; and an information manager coupled to the network including a database of product information; wherein in response to a product order from the first location, the information manager sends an order confirmation message over the network to the first location, causes the second location to send an order acknowledgement card and the ordered product to the first location, and updates the database to indicate that the ordered product was received by the first location upon return receipt of the order acknowledgement card, and wherein in response to a request to return product from the first location, the information manager sends a return confirmation message over the network to the first location, sends a return acknowledgement card to the first location, and updates the database to indicate that the returned product was received by the second location upon return receipt of the return acknowledgement card and receipt of the returned product at the second location; whereby the information manager maintains in the database a confirmed last known location for each product in the system.