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BACKGROUND OF INVENTION
1. Field of Invention
The present invention generally relates to a novel system and method for
collecting consumer-product related information and transmitting and
delivering the same along the consumer-product supply and demand chain
using the National Information Infrastructure (e.g. the Internet), and
more particularly to a novel system and method for delivering consumer
product related information to consumers within retail environments using
Internet-based information servers and sales agents.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
Dissemination of consumer-product information between manufacturers and
their retail trading partners must be accurate and timely. The traditional
methods of phone calls and faxes are time consuming and resource
intensive. An electronic Universal Product Code (UPC) Catalog (i.e.
database system), accessible 24 hours a day, is a solution. In 1988,
QuickResponse Services (QRS), Inc. Of Richmond, Calif., introduced the
first independent product information database, using the retail industry
standard UPC numbering system. Today the QRSolutions.TM. Catalog contains
information on over 44 million products from over 1500 manufacturers. The
QRSolutions Catalog is a Window's based application providing a critical
information flow link between the retailers and the manufacturers along
the supply and demand chain.
After assigning a UPC number to each item, the manufacturer organizes and
sends the data, via an electronic data interchange (i.e. EDI)
transmission, or a tape, to QRS, Inc. to be loaded into the UPC Catalog
database. Changes to the data can be made on a daily basis. Retailers with
access to a manufacturer's data can view and download the data once it has
been added or updated. Automatic update capabilities ensure the most
recent UPC data will be in the EDI mailbox of each retailer customer
quickly.
The effect of a centralized database such as QRS's UPC Catalog improves the
flow of merchandise from the manufacturer to the retailer's selling floor
and ultimately to the consumer. With the UPC Catalog, accurate, up-to-date
product information is available when the retailer needs it, eliminating
weeks from the order cycle time.
In addition to the electronic UPC-based product information subsystem (i.e.
UPC Catalog) described above, a number of other information subsystems
have been developed for the purpose of providing solutions to problems
relating to electronic commerce merchandising and logistics within the
global supply chain. Such ancillary information subsystems include, for
example: Sales and Analysis and Forecasting Subsystems for producing and
providing retailers with information about what products consumers are
buying; Collaborative Replenishment Subsystems for determining what
products retailer can be buying in order to satisfy consumer demand at any
given point of time; and Transportation and Logistics Information
Subsystems for producing and providing retailers with information about
when products purchased by them (at wholesale) will be delivered to the
their stores. Typically, such information subsystems are connected to
various value added information networks in order to efficiently offer
such information services to retailers on a global basis.
While the above-described information systems collectively cooperate to
optimize the process of moving raw materials into finished products and
into the hands of consumers, such information systems simply fail to
address the information needs of the consumers of retail products who
either require or desire product-related information prior to as well as
after the purchase of consumer-products.
Presently, an enormous amount of time, money and effort is being expended
by companies in order to advertise and sell their products and services,
and after product purchase has taken place, to provide product related
information, product warranty service and the like. For decades, various
types of media have been used to realize such fundamental business
functions.
In recent times, there has been a number of significant developments in
connection with the global information network called the "Internet",
which has greatly influenced many companies to create multimedia Internet
Web-sites in order to advertise, sell and maintain their products and
services. Examples of such developments include, for example: the World
Wide Web (WWW) based on the Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) and the
Hypertext Transmission Protocol (HTTP) by Tim Berners-Lee, et al.; easy to
use GUI-based Internet navigation tools, such as the Netscape.RTM. browser
from Netscape Communications, Inc., the Internet Explorer.TM. browser from
MicroSoft Corporation and the Mosaic.TM. browser from Spyglass
Corporation; and the Virtual Reality Modelling Language (VRML) by Mark
Pecse. Such developments in recent times have made it very easy for
businesses to create 2-D Hypermedia-based Home Pages and 3-D VR Worlds
(i.e. 3-D Web-sites) for the purpose of projecting a desired "corporate
image" and providing a backdrop for financial investment solicitation as
well as product advertising, sales and maintenance operations.
Presently, a person desiring to acquire information about any particular
product has a number of available search options. In particular, he or she
may attempt to directly contact the manufacturer, wholesaler or reseller
by telephone, US mail, e-mail, or through the company's World Wide
Web-site (WWW), if they have one. In the event one decides to acquire
product information through the seller's WWW site, he or she must first
determine the location of its WWW site (i.e. Internet address) which
oftentimes can involve using Internet Search engines such as Yahoo.RTM.,
AltaVista.TM., WebCrawler.TM., Lycos.TM., Excite.TM., or the like. This
can be a very time consuming process and sometimes leads to a dead end.
Once the Internet address is obtained, one must then review the home page
of the company's Web-site in order to find where, if at all, information
about a particular product resides on the Website. This search process can
be both time consuming and expensive (in terms of Internet time) and may
not turn up desired information on the product of interest.
In some instances, product brochures bear a preprinted Internet address
designed to direct or point prospective customers to a particular Web-site
where more detailed product information can be found. A recent example of
this "preprinted Web Address" pointing technique is the 1996 product
brochure published by the Sony Corporation for its Sony.RTM. PCV-70
Personal Computer, which refers prospective customers to the Sony Web
Address "http://www.sony.com/pc". While this approach provides a direct
way of finding product related information on the Internet, it is not
without its shortcomings and drawbacks.
In particular, when a company improves, changes or modifies an existing
Web-site which publishes product and/or service advertisements and related
information, it is difficult (if not impossible) not to change the
Internet locations (i.e. Web addresses) at which such product and/or
service advertisements and related information appear. Whenever a company
decides or is forced to change any of its advertising, marketing and/or
public relations firms, there is a substantial likelihood that new
Web-sites will be created and launched for particular products and
services, and that the Web addresses of such new Web-sites will no longer
correspond with the Web addresses on preprinted product brochures in
currently circulation at the time. This can result in pointing a consumer
to erroneous or vacant Web-sites, that present either old or otherwise
outdated product and/or service information, possibly adversely
influencing the consumer's purchasing decision.
Moreover, when a company launches a new Web-site as part of a new
advertising and marketing campaign for a particular product, any
preprinted advertising or marketing material relating to such products
will not reflect the new Web-site addresses which the campaign is
attempting to get consumers to visit. This fact about preprinted
advertising media renders it difficult to unify new and old advertising
media currently in circulation into an advertising and marketing campaign
having a coherent theme. In short, the inherently static nature of the
"preprinted Web address" pointing technique described above is wholly
incapable of adjusting to the dynamic needs of advertising, marketing and
public relations firms alike.
In addition to the above-described techniques, I-World by Mecklermedia has
recently launched a commercial product finding database on the Internet
called "Internet Shopper". Notably, the "Internet Shopper" database is
organized by specific types of product categories covering computer and
telecommunication related technologies. While this product information
finding service may be of help to those looking to buy computer or
communication equipment, it fails to provide an easy way to find
information on previously purchased products, or on products outside of
the field of communication or computer technology. Consequently, the value
of this prior art technique is limited to those considering the purchase
of products catalogued within the taxonomy of the "Internet Shopper"
directory.
In view of the inherent limitations of I-World's "Internet Shopper" and
other product finding directories on the Internet, such as "NetBuyer" by
Computer Shopper (at "http://www.netbuyer.com"), the National Information
Infrastructure Testbed (NIIT) organization has recently formed a
"confidential committee of NIIT members" under the title "Universal
Product and Service Code Project". The stated problem addressed by this
Project is how to locate specific goods and services on the Internet, and
compare prices and other critical market information. As publicized in a
NIIT Project Abstract, the "Universal Product and Service Code Project"
seeks to make it easier to electronically locate goods and services on the
Internet using universal product and services identifiers and locators. As
stated in the Project Abstract, the "NIIT believes that changing the way
in which Internet information is organized is fundamental to solving this
problem. In the Universal Product and Service Code Project, NIIT members
are currently exploring how coding structures can help organize
information about products accessible using the Internet. NIIT's goal is
to inform the development of formalized coding standards that can be used
nationally and internationally so that users can locate goods and services
through simple searching and browsing methods. In turn, more advanced
features, such as comparison shopping, can be added as "intelligent agent"
software programs are refined to enable users to search and retrieve
products linked to these structures."
While the NIIT's Universal Product and Service Code Project seeks ways of
locating specific goods and services on the Internet, all proposals
therefor recommend the development of formalized coding standards and
searching and browsing methods which are expensive and difficult to
develop and implement on a world-wide basis. Moreover, such sought after
methods will be virtually useless to consumers who have already purchased
products and now seek product related information on the Internet.
In summary, prior art "demand chain management systems" have provided: (i)
procurement services consisting of UPC Catalogs accessible through the
Internet and EDI networks; (ii) inventory management services consisting
of replenishment, sales analysis and forecasting services; and (iii)
distribution management services consisting of EDI and logistics
management services. However, prior art "demand chain management systems"
have fail to address the information needs of the consumers of retail
products who either require or desire product-related information prior to
`as well as after` the purchase of consumer-products. Consequently, prior
art demand chain management systems operate in an open-loop mode with a
"break" in information flow cycle, disabling the manufacturers from
communicating with the consumers in an efficient manner to satisfy
consumer needs.
Thus, it is clear that there is great need in the art for an improved
system and method for collecting product related information and
transmitting and delivering the same between the manufacturers and
retailers of products to the consumers thereof in various environments,
while avoiding the shortcomings and drawbacks of prior art systems and
methodologies.
OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF INVENTION
Accordingly, a primary object of the present invention is to provide a
novel method and apparatus for collecting product-related information and
transmitting and delivering the same between the manufacturers and
retailers of products to the consumers thereof in retail shopping
environments as well as at home, at work and on the road, while overcoming
the shortcomings and drawbacks of prior art systems and methodologies.
Another object of the present invention is to provide such apparatus in the
form of novel consumer-product information collection, transmission and
delivery system.
Another object of the present invention is to provide such a system with an
Internet-based product information database subsystem which, for each
commercially available consumer-product, stores a number of information
elements including: the name of the manufacturer; the Universal Product
Code (UPC) assigned to the product by the manufacturer; one or more URLs
specifying the location of information resources (e.g. Web-pages) on the
Internet relating to the UPC-labelled consumer-product; and the like.
Another object of the present invention is to provide such a system, in
which the URLs stored in the Internet-based product information database
are categorically arranged and displayed according to specific types of
product information (e.g., product specifications and operation manuals;
product wholesalers and retailers; product advertisements and promotions;
product endorsements; product updates and reviews; product
warranty/servicing; related or complementary products; product incentives
including rebates, discounts and/or coupons; etc.) that relates to the
kind of information required, desired or otherwise sought by consumers,
wholesalers, retailers and/or trading partners.
Another object of the present invention is to provide such a system,
wherein the information maintained within the Internet-based product
information database subsystem provides a manufacturer-defined
consumer-product directory that can be used by various persons along the
retail supply and demand chain.
Another object of the present invention is to provide such a system,
wherein the manufacturers of consumer-products are linked to the retailers
thereof in the middle of the supply and demand chain by allowing either
trading partner to access consumer-product information from the
Internet-based product information database virtually 24 hours a day,
seven days a week.
Another object of the present invention is to provide such a system,
wherein consumer-product manufacturers, their advertisers, distributors
and retailers are linked to the consumers of such products at the end of
the supply and demand chain, by allowing such parties to access
consumer-product information from the Internet-based product information
database subsystem virtually 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Another object of the present invention is to provide such a system and
method of using the same, which will accelerate the acceptance of
electronic commerce on the Internet and the development of the electronic
marketplace, which can be used by consumers and small and large businesses
alike.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a novel system and
method for finding and serving consumer-product related information on the
Internet.
Another object of the present invention is to provide such a system and
method, wherein virtually any type of product can be registered with the
system by symbolically linking or relating (i) its preassigned Universal
Product Number (e.g. UPC or EAN number) or at least the Manufacture
Identification Number (MIN) portion thereof with (ii) the Uniform Resource
Locators (URLs) of one or more information resources on the Internet (e.g.
the home page of the manufacturer's Web-site) related to such products.
Another object of the present invention is to provide such a system and
method, wherein a Web-based document transport subsystem is provided for
use by manufacturers as well as their advertisers and agents in
registering the UPNs (e.g. UPC numbers) of their products and the URLs of
the information resources related to such products.
Another object of the present invention is to provide such a system and
method with an improved Internet browser or Internet application tool
comprising an number of different modes, namely: an "Internet
Product-Information (IPI ) Finding" Button for entering the "IPI Finding
Mode" of the system when it is selected; a "Universal Product Number (UPN)
Search" Button for entering the "UPN Search Mode" when the "UPN Search"
button is selected; and a "Product Registration" Button for the "Product
Registration Mode" of the system when the "Product Registration" Button is
selected.
Another object of the present invention is to provide such a system,
wherein when the system is in its IPI Finder Mode, a predesignated
information resource (e.g. advertisement, product information, etc.)
pertaining to any commercial product registered with the system can be
automatically accessed from the Internet and displayed from the Internet
browser by simply entering the registered product's UPN into the Internet
browser manually or by bar code symbol scanning.
Another object of the present invention is to provide such a system,
wherein when the system is in its "UPN Search Mode", a predesignated
information resource (e.g. advertisement, product information, etc.)
pertaining to any commercial product registered with the system can be
automatically accessed from the Internet and displayed from the Internet
browser by simply entering the registered product's trademark(s) and/or
associated company name into the Internet browser.
Another object of the present invention is to provide such a system,
wherein a predesignated information resource pertaining to any commercial
product having been assigned a Universal Product Number (UPN) can be
accessed from the Internet and displayed from the Internet browser by
simply selecting its IPI Find button and then entering the UPN numeric
string into a dialogue box which pops up on the display screen of the
Internet browser program.
Another object of the present invention is to provide such a system in
which a relational database, referred to as "an Internet Product Directory
(IPD)," is realized on one or more data-synchronized IPD Servers for the
purpose of registering product related information, namely: (i)
information representative of commercial product descriptions, the
trademarks used in connection therewith, the company names providing
and/or promoting such products, the E-mail addresses of such companies,
and the corresponding URLs on the Internet specifying current (i.e.
up-to-date) Internet Web-site locations providing product-related
information customized to such products.
Another object of the present invention is to provide such a product
information finding and serving system, wherein the URLs symbolically
linked to each registered product in the IPD Servers thereof are
categorized as relating primarily to Product Advertisements, Product
Specifications, Product Updates, Product Distributors, Product
Warranty/Servicing, and/or Product Incentives (e.g. rebates, discounts
and/or coupons), and that such URL categories are graphically displayed to
the requester by way of easy-to-read display screens during URL selection
and Web-site connection.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a novel method of
carrying out electronic-type commercial transactions involving the
purchase of products which are advertised on the Internet at uniform
resource locations (URLs) that are registered with the IPI system of the
present invention.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a novel system and
method of finding the UPN or USN associated with any particular registered
product, respectively, by simply selecting a GUI button on the Internet
browser display screen in order to enter a "UPN Search Mode", whereby (i)
a dialogue box is displayed on the display screen requesting any known
trademarks associated with the product, and/or the name of the company
that makes, sells or distributes the particular product, and (ii) the
corresponding UPN (i.e. UPC number or EAN number) registered with the IPD
Servers is displayed to the user for acceptance, whereupon the Internet
Uniform Resource Locators (URLs) are automatically accessed from the IPD
Servers and displayed on the display screen of the Internet browser for
subsequent URL selection and Web-site connection.
Another object of the present invention is to provide such a system and
method, wherein during the UPN Search Mode, the UPN (e.g. UPC or EAN
number) associated with any registered product can be found within the
database of the IPD Server using any trademark(s) and/or the company name
commonly associated with the product.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a novel system and
method for serving consumer-product related information to Internet users
in retail shopping environments (e.g. departments stores, supermarkets,
superstores, home-centers and the like) as well as at home, work or on the
road.
Another object of the present invention is to provide such a system and
method in the form of a computer-based kiosk installed within a retail
shopping environment and having an automatic bar code symbol reader for
reading the UPC numbers on consumer products being offered for sale in the
store, and also a LCD touch-type display screen for displaying
product-related information accessed from hyper-linked Web-sites on the
Internet.
Another object of the present invention is to provide "virtual sales
agents" with retail shopping environments by installing the computer-based
kiosks of the present invention therein.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a novel method of
constructing a relational database for use within the product information
finding and serving subsystem of the present invention.
Another method of the present invention is to provide such a method of
database construction, wherein the relational database is initially
"seeded" with: (i) the Manufacturer Base UPC Numbers based on the six
digit UPC Manufacturer Identification Numbers (MIN) assigned to the
manufacturers by the UCC and incorporated into the first six characters of
each UPC number applied to the products thereof; and (ii) the URLs of the
Web-site home pages of such manufacturers.
Another method of the present invention is to provide such a method of
database construction, wherein the "seeded" relational database is then
subsequently extended and refined with the participation of each
registered manufacturer (and/or agents thereof) by adding to the
"seeded"database (iii) the 12 digit UPC numbers assigned to each product
sold thereby and the menu of URLs symbolically linked to each such
corresponding product.
Another object of the present invention is to provide such a system and
method, in which Web-site-based advertising campaigns can be changed,
modified and/or transformed in virtually any way imaginable by simply
restructuring the symbolic links between the products and/or services in
the campaign using current (i.e. up-to-date) Web-site addresses at which
Web-site advertisements and information sources related thereto are
located on the Internet.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a novel system and
method of automatically soliciting companies to register their products
within the databases of such IPD Servers in order that product related
information of a multimedia nature (e.g. Web-sites), once registered
therewith, can be easily found on the Internet by anyone using the system
and method of the present invention.
These and other objects of the present invention will become apparent
hereinafter and in the Claims to Invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
For a more complete understanding of how to practice the Objects of the
Present Invention, the following Detailed Description of the Illustrative
Embodiments can be read in conjunction with the accompanying Drawings,
wherein:
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating the various information
subsystems provided by the consumer-product information collection,
transmission and delivery system of invention along the consumer-product
demand chain, namely an Internet-based Product-Information (IPI) Finding
and Serving Subsystem, a UPC-based Product-Information Subsystem ("UPC
Catalog"), an Electronic Trading Information Subsystem, a Sales Analysis
and Forecasting Information Subsystem, Collaborative Replenishment
Information Subsystem, and a Transportation and Logistics Information
Subsystem;
FIGS. 2A1 and 2A2 depict a schematic diagram of an illustrative embodiment
of the consumer-product information collection, transmission and delivery
system of the present invention shown embedded with the infrastructure of
the global computer communications network known as the "Internet", and
comprising a plurality of data-synchronized Internet Product Directory
(IPD) Servers connected to the infrastructure of the Internet, a UPC/URL
Database Subsystem (i.e. UPCIURL Catalog) connected to one or more of the
IPD Servers and one or more globally-extensive electronic data interchange
(EDI) networks, a Web-based Document Server connected to at least one of
the IPD Servers and the Internet infrastructure, a Web-based Document
Administration Computer connected to the Web-based Document Server by way
of a TCP/IP connection, a plurality of Internet Product-Information (IPI)
Servers connected to the infrastructure of the Internet for serving
consumer-product related information to consumers in retail stores and at
home, a plurality of Client Subsystems connected to the infrastructure of
the Internet and allowing manufacturers to transmit consumer-product
related information to the Web-based Document Server for collection and
retransmission to the IPD Servers, and a plurality of Client Subsystems
connected to the infrastructure of the Internet and allowing consumers in
retail stores and at home to request and receive consumer-product related
information from the IPD Servers;
FIG. 2A is a schematic diagram illustrating the flow of information along
the consumer-product supply and demand chain, including (i) the
communication link extending between the information subsystems of
manufacturers of UPC-encoded products and the centralized (or master) UPC
Catalog Database Subsystem of the consumer-product information collection,
transmission and delivery system of the present invention, (ii) the
communication link extending between the UPC/URL Database Subsystem and
the IPD Servers of the present invention, (iii) the communication link
extending between the IPD Servers and in-store Client Subsystems of
retailers, (iv) the communication link extending between the IPI Servers
and the in-store Client Subsystems of retailers, (v) the communication
link extending between the IPD Servers and the Client Subsystems of
consumers, and (vi) the communication link extending between the IPI
Servers and the Client Subsystems of consumers;
FIG. 3A1 is a graphical representation of a first illustrative embodiment
of the client computer system of the present invention, designed for use
in desktop environments at home, work and play;
FIG. 3A2 is a graphical representation of a second illustrative embodiment
of the client computer system of the present invention realized in the
form of a multi-media kiosk, designed for use as a "virtual sales agent"
in retail shopping environments such as department stores, supermarkets,
superstores, retail outlets and the like;
FIG. 3B is a schematic representation of an exemplary display screen
produced by a graphical user interface (GUI) based web browser program
running on a Client System and providing an on-screen IPI Find button.
FIG. 3C is a schematic representation of an exemplary display screen
produced by a GUI-based Internet browser or communication program
supporting a Netscape-style browser "display framework", providing an
ultra-compact on-screen IPD Web-site control panel having an IPI Find
button, an UPN Search Button, and a Product Registration Button carrying
out the method of the present invention;
FIG. 4A1 is a schematic representation of the relational-type IPI
Registrant Database maintained by each IPD Server configured into the
system of the illustrative embodiment of the present invention, showing
the information fields for storing (i) the information elements
representative of the UPN (e.g. UPC numeric data structure, EAN numeric
data structure, and/or National Drug Code (NDC) numeric data structure),
URLs, trademark(s) (TM.sub.i), Company Name (CN.sub.i), Product
Description (PD.sub.i) and E-Mail Address (EMA.sub.i) thereof
symbolically-linked (i.e. related) for a number of exemplary IPI
Registrants listed (i.e. registered) with the IPI Registrant Database
maintained by each IPD Server;
FIG. 4A2 is a schematic representation of the information subfield
structure of the URL Information Field of the IPI Database of FIG. 4A1,
showing the Product Advertisement Information Field, the Product
Specification (Description/Operation) Information Field, the Product
Update Information Field, the Product Distributor/Reseller/Dealer
Information Field, the Product Warranty/Servicing Information Field, the
Product Incentive Information Field thereof, the Product Review
Information Field, the Related Products Information Field, and
Miscellaneous Information Fields detailed in greater detail hereinafter;
FIG. 4B is a schematic representation of the relational-type Non-IPI
Registrant Database maintained by each IPD Server that is configured into
the IPI finding and serving subsystem of the illustrative embodiment of
the present invention, showing the information fields for storing (i) the
information elements representative of the Company Name (CN.sub.i),
Trademark(s) (TM.sub.i) registered by the associated Company, and E-Mail
Address (EMA.sub.i) thereof symbolically-linked for a number of exemplary
Non-IPI registrants listed within the Non-IPI Registrant Database
maintained by each IPD Server;
FIG. 5A is a schematic diagram illustrating the high level structure of a
first type of communication protocol that can be used among the Client
System C.sub.a, the IPD Server S.sub.b, and the IPI Server S.sub.c of the
IPI finding and serving subsystem hereof when the GUI browser program
running on the Client System is in its IPI Find Mode of operation,
requesting as input a UPN (i.e. UPN data structure) to determine the
URL(s) of the corresponding product registered therewith;
FIG. 5B is a schematic diagram illustrating the high level structure of a
first type of communication protocol that can be used among the Client
System C.sub.a, the IPD Server S.sub.b, and the IPI Server S.sub.c of the
IPI finding and serving subsystem hereof when the GUI browser program on
the Client System is in its UPN Search Mode of operation, requesting as
input a trademark and/or company name in order to determine the UPN (i.e.
UPN data structure) of the corresponding product and thus the URL(s)
registered therewith;
FIG. 6A is a high level flow chart illustrating the steps involved in
carrying out the communication protocol shown in FIG. 5A when the Client
System is in its IPI Find Mode of operation;
FIG. 6B is a high level flow chart illustrating the steps involved in
carrying out the communication protocol shown in FIG. 5A when the Client
System is in its UPN Search mode of operation;
FIG. 7A is a schematic diagram illustrating the high level structure of a
second type of communication protocol that can be used among the Client
System C.sub.a, the IPD Server S.sub.b, and the IPI Server S.sub.c of the
IPI finding and serving subsystem hereof when the GUI browser program on
the Client System is in its IPI Find Mode of operation, requiring as input
a UPN to determine the URL(s) of the corresponding product registered
therewith;
FIG. 7B is a schematic diagram illustrating the high level structure of a
second type of communication protocol that can be used among the Client
System C.sub.a, the IPD Server S.sub.b, and the IPI Server S.sub.c of the
IPI finding and serving subsystem hereof when the GUI browser program on
the Client System is in its UPN Search Mode of operation, requiring as
input a trademark and/or company name in order to determine the UPN of the
corresponding product and thus the URL(s) registered therewith;
FIG. 8A is a high level flow chart illustrating the steps involved in
carrying out the communication protocol shown in FIG. 7A when the Client
System is in its IPI Find Mode of operation; and
FIG. 8B is a high level flow chart illustrating the steps involved in
carrying out the communication protocol shown in FIG. 7A when the Client
System is in its UPN Search Mode of operation.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS OF THE PRESENT
INVENTION
Referring to the figures shown in the accompanying Drawings, like
structures and elements shown throughout the figures thereof shall be
indicated with like reference numerals.
Overview Of The System Of The Present Invention
As illustrated in FIG. 1, the consumer-product information collection,
transmission and delivery system of the present invention is generally
indicated by reference numeral 1 and comprises an integration of
information subsystems, namely: an IPI finding and serving subsystem 2 for
allowing consumers to find product related information on the Internet
(e.g. WWW) at particular Uniform Resource Locators (URLs), using UPC
numbers and/or trademarks and tradenames symbolically-linked or related
thereto; a UPC Product-Information Subsystem ("UPC Catalog") 3 for
providing retailers with accurate up-to-date product information on
numerous consumer-products offered for wholesale to retailers by
manufacturers registering there products therewith; a Electronic Trading
Information Subsystem 4 for providing trading partners (e.g. a
manufacturer and a retailer) to sell and purchase consumer goods by
sending and receiving documents (e.g. purchase orders, invoices, advance
slip notices, etc.) to consummate purchase and sale transactions using
either EDI transmission or Web-based electronic document communications; a
Sales Analysis and Forecasting Information Subsystem for providing
retailers with information about what products consumers are currently
buying at retail stores or expect to be buying in the near future;
Collaborative Replenishment Information Subsystem 6 for determining what
products retailers can be buying in order to satisfy consumer demand at
any given point in time; a Transportation and Logistics Information
Subsystem 7 for providing retailers with information about when ordered
products (purchased by retailers at wholesale) will be delivered to the
retailer's stores; and Input/Output Port Connecting Subsystems 8 for
interconnecting the input and output ports of the above-identified
subsystems through the infrastructure of the Internet and various
value-added EDI networks of global extent. Notably, unlike prior art
supply chain management systems, the consumer-product information
collection, transmission and delivery system of the present invention
embraces the manufacturers, retailers, and consumers of UPC-encoded
products, and not simply the manufacturers and retailers thereof. As will
become apparent hereinafter, this important feature of the present
invention allows manufacturers and retailers to deliver valuable product
related information to the consumers of their products, thereby increasing
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