Affiliate commerce system and method6629135Abstract The present invention is directed to an e-commerce outsourcing system and method that provides hosts with transparent, context sensitive e-commerce supported pages. The look and feel of a target host is captured for future use. The look and feel is captured by receiving the identification of an example page on the target host, retrieving the page, identifying the look and feel elements of the identified page and storing the identified elements. The host is provided with links correlating the host with a link for inclusion within a page on the host website for serving to a visitor computer, wherein the provided link correlates the host website with a selected commerce object contextually related to material in the page. The commerce object can be a product, a product category or a dynamic selection indicator. Upon activation of the provided link, the visitor computer is served with an e-commerce supported page with the look and feel of the host website associated with the activated link and with content based upon the commerce object associated with the activated link. Where the commerce object is a dynamic selection indicator the content is selected at the time of activation based upon an analysis of the page containing the activated link. Claims What is claimed is: Description BACKGROUND OF INVENTION
<ManageOrders
specification=`http://www.nexchange.net/
automated/xml/ManageOrders. 01.01.dcd`>
H <RequestHeader>
Response <Authentication
username=`xxx`
password=`xxx`
scope=`xxx`
/>
<Instructions OnFail=`HALT`/>
<Receipt Processor=`xxx` Date=`xxx`
Number=`xxx`/>
<ResponseSummary Status=`SUCCESS`>
Error Message Here
</ResponseSummary>
</RequestHeader>
BODY <RequestBody>
Query <Command status=`SUCCESS`>
<QueryNewOrders />
query <QueryNewOrdersResponse>
Query Results Here
</QueryNewOrdersResponse>
</Command>
Operation <Command status=`SUCCESS`>
<AcknowledgeOrder order_id=`xxx`
item_price_total=`xxx`/>
</Command>
</RequestBody>
</ManageOrders>
All responses contain the original request with status information and query results appended. The table above shows a response to a Manage Orders request. The response is divided into a header and a body section ("RequestHeader" & "RequestBody" respectively). The RequestHeader element contains authentication information and global instructions. When the request is returned, the request header will also contain a receipt and a response summary. The authentication element carries the information needed to identify and authenticate the requesting party. The global instruction element contains instruction on how the request is to processed if an error is received. The remainder of the commands in the request can be processed or the request can be discontinued. In a response, the receipt element is added to the request header. Information in the receipt can be used to recover the response. The response summary element contains a status code, which will be set to "SUCCESS" if all commands were completed successfully. The RequestBody element contains one or more command elements. The exact content of a command element depends on the interface being used. When a command is submitted, its status attribute will always be "REQUESTED". When the command has been processed, the response will echo back the command with the status changed to "SUCCESS", "FAILURE" or "SKIP". In the case of a query command, the response will contain a query response in addition to the status. If the request conforms to the DCD, the response will contain the original request with the status and query results embedded. The command status codes must be inspected to determine what has been done. If the request did not conform to the specification, two possible error types can occur: XML Parsing Error DCD Validating Error Errors are returned as NexError node. If a NexError is returned, the XML document has not been processed. The returned XML should always be examined for a NexError. If the request document is not valid XML, an XML Parsing Error will be returned. A NexError node will be added around the entire document. It will look similar to the following:
<NexError Msg=" XML Parsing Error" . . . >
<XMLParseError errorcode=" " reason=" " line=" "
linepos=" ">
offending section of document
</XMLParseError>
</NexError>
The errorcode, reason, line and linepos will contain information explaining what the error is and the location in the file. If the request document is valid XML but does not match the published Interface DCD, a DCD Validating Error will be returned. A NexError node will be added around the entire document. A DCDError node will be embedded in the document at the location of the error. It will look similar to the following:
<NexError Msg=" XML Validating Error" . . . >
<XMLValidateError msg="Find the DCDError Node in the
document for detailed error information."/>
. . . Valid Portion of document . . .
<DCDError message=" ">
offending section of document
</DCDError>
. . . Valid Portion of document . . .
</ XMLValidateError >
</NexError>
The following is an example request attempt to add one new product and to update the price of an existing product.
<ManageInventory
specification=`http://automation.nexchange.net/dcd/Manage
Inventory.01.02.dcd.xml`>
<RequestHeader>
<Authentication username=`xxxxx`
password=`xxxx` scope=`MNNN`/>
<Instructions onfail=`CONTINUE`/>
</RequestHeader>
<RequestBody>
<Command status=`REQUESTED`>
<AddProductDef updateifexists=`1`>
<ProductDef
id=`saw`
skumask=`saw`
name=`saw`
description=`A Circular Saw From Festo`
shortdescription=`Festo Circular Saw`
info=`no comment`
image=`http://216.0.58.242/rmtools/fw132saw.jpg`
largeimage=`http://216.0.58.242/rmtools/fw132saw.jpg`
usualprice=`145.00`
saleprice=`135.00`
compareprice=`215.00`
salelabel=`HOT PRICE`
instock=`1`
commplan=`default`>
<AttributeDefList/>
<KeywordList/>
</ProductDef>
</AddProductDef>
</Command>
<Command status=`REQUESTED`>
<UpdateProductDef
id=`saw`
image=`http://216.0.58.242/rmtools/fw132saw.jpg`/>
</Command>
</RequestBody>
</ManageInventory>
2. Host Manager The Host Manager is the "Control Center" for Hosts. Here, a Host can track sales, design their store front, generate links to merchant products, get traffic/order reports, update account information, etc. For a host to gain access to the host manager system, the host must be registered. FIG. 4 depicts a flow chart for a typical registration process. A host representative may initiate contact 410 with the system via a web interface. The signup process must collect basic host information 420, including the information necessary to pay the host a commission for purchases through his site, which is saved by the system 430. Optionally, a click agreement containing terms of use 440 may be presented requiring agreement 444 to proceed. If at some point the representative elects to cancel 425, 458 or reject the use agreement 448, he or she is returned to her point of entry 410. The system may then request the representative to select a user identification and a password 450. If the selected user identification is already in use 454, the representative may be prompted to select a user identification 450. The information associated with the host is stored 460, and the representative may proceed to the host manager system page 470. When a host logs in, they are taken directly to the Host Manager, as seen in FIG. 10, and assigned a Host Session ID (Host SID). All pages within the host system must request the Host Sid and call the ValidateHostSessionID function. If the session does not validate, the user is taken back to the Login screen. This module contains the following submodules: Account Information This sub-module allows a host to maintain the following types of information: Administrative Contact--name, address, phone Payee Contact--name, address, phone, SSN Site Information--site name, URL, description Site Demographics--# of visitors, type of visitors, comments A host representative will be able to maintain basic host information, including the information needed to pay the host, and the host's password. FIG. 5 depicts a flow chart of the pages and actions in a typical maintenance process. The representative has previously logged into the system to reach the host manager system page 470. From the host manager system, the representative selects to update her account 510 leading to a host information maintenance page 520. The representative can modify host information and, then choose to save or cancel the modification 530. In either case, the representative is returned to the host manger system page 470. Store Front Design The store front design is where the host's look and feel is captured. The look and feel is captured by selecting an example page the host, retrieving the sample page from the host, identifying the look and feel elements from the sample page and saving the identified look and feel elements. "Look and feel elements" include logos, colors, page layout, navigation systems, frames, `mouse-over` effects, or other elements that are consistent through some or all of a Host's website. A typical system for accomplishing this task would include a data store for storing look and feel descriptions, a communication channel to the host whose look and feel is to be captured and a processor for executing the capture. When a customer clicks on a host buying opportunity (link), the next page loaded will be a shopping page. However, this shopping page should retain the host's look and feel. This is accomplished by capturing the HTML text and images that comprise their look and feel and embed within it the shopping HTML content. Any relative URLs in the host look and feel may be changed to absolute URLs back to the host system. In a preferred embodiment, there are five steps to a process capturing the host's look and feel, converting relative URLs to absolute URLs and validation of links. A host representative will be able to capture host look and feel information and to update host look and feel information through recapture. FIG. 6 depicts a flow chart of the pages and actions in a typical look and feel capture process. The representative has previously logged into the system to reach the host manager system page 470. From this page, the representative selects to initiate host look and feel capture through a design storefront wizard 605. An introduction page is presented explaining the process 610 from which the representative proceeds in the following manner: Base URL 615--the URL used to convert relative links to absolute links, as seen in FIG. 11 header 620--the HTML to be rendered BEFORE the shopping html. Selection may be made by code, as seen in FIG. 12, by graphical point and click selection or other suitable selection method. footer 625--the HTML to be rendered AFTER the shopping html. Selection may be made by code, as seen in FIG. 13, by graphical point and click selection or other suitable selection method. preview 630--shows what the shopping page will look like (nothing has been captured yet). From this preview page 630, as seen in FIG. 14, the representative may elect to return to earlier stage to perform a change 635, 640 or 645 of base URL, header or footer respectively. The user may also have access to a preview 650 with example content included to demonstrate a typical page with both content and look and feel 680, as seen in FIG. 15. From the generic preview page 630, the representative may choose to continue 655 with finalizing the look and feel 660. final check 660--finalize the captured look and feel, as seen in FIG. 16, this page may allow validation of links and images and offer to save the captured look and feel. Once validation, if any has been performed, and the look and feel has been saved, the process completes 675. validation 665--validate the link and image URLs in the header and footer HTML. FIG. 17 displays the screen capture of page that could be used to display validation progress. save 670--Actually captures, processes and saves the storefront information. A completion page such as seen in FIG. 18 may be displayed. For security reasons, javascript is accepted but applets are stripped out in the preferred embodiment. Link Generator The Link Generator allows host to create and maintain the shopping opportunities that they can then place on their site. Each Link is assigned a unique Link ID. The Link ID identifies who the host is, who the merchant is, and what commerce object (catalog, category, product or dynamic selection) is linked to. The first time a host builds a Link to a merchant's product, category or catalog, an approval of that host for that merchant may be made. Until the host is approved, they cannot see the Link ID that has been assigned to the newly created Link. The code the host embeds on their web site is as follows: <!--BEGIN NEXCHANGE LINK.fwdarw. <!--For more information go to http://www.nexchange.com.fwdarw. <!--The following 2 lines MUST NOT BE CHANGED to ensure proper crediting.fwdarw. <IMG BORDER=`0` SRC='http://www.nexchange.net/img.asp?LinkID=xxxx'> <a href='http://www.nexchange.net/route.asp?LinkID=xxxx'> <!--Substitute your own text or image below> **YOUR TEXT OR IMAGE HERE**</a> <!--END NEXCHANGE LINK.fwdarw. There are several points to note here: The image src (img.asp) is actually an ASP program that returns a single transparent pixel. This is used to track impressions (how many times the link was displayed on the host site). The route.asp page is a page that routes the customer to the shopping page. As additional servers are added, this will become very important for load balancing. The `xxx` for the LinklD=`xxxx` is the Link ID assigned to the Link in the Link Generator. A host representative will be able to generate links to commerce objects. FIG. 7 depicts a flow chart of the pages and actions in a typical link generation process. The representative has previously logged into the system to reach the host manager system page 470. From this page, the representative selects to generate links 705, which transfers her to a page containing a list of all previously generated links for that host 710. From this page, the representative may choose among several options: view an existing link 722, remove an existing link 735, edit an existing link 728 or add a new link to either a merchant with whom a link already exists 720 or a merchant without an existing link 715. In viewing an existing link 722, the page containing the link may optionally displayed in a separate window 725; as a consequence, the representative could continue to interact with the list of available links page 710 in the primary window. The representative could select a link for removal 735 and, upon removal, return to the list of links page 710. The representative may choose to edit an existing link 728 leading to a link modification page 730. After modifying the link, the new link information would be saved 740, and the representative would return to the list of available links 710. In adding a new link, a distinction may be made whether a link is made to a merchant to whom the host has previously linked 720 or to a merchant to whom a previous link does not exist 715. In the latter case, an extra optional step may be involved to approve the host with respect to the new merchant as part of the catalog selection process 745. In other embodiments, such a distinction need not be made. In linking to a merchant to whom a previous link does exist 720, a catalog may implicitly be selected. In either situation, the creation process continues by allowing the representative to choose a commerce object to associate with the link 750. Such a commerce object will be a product, a product category, a catalog or an indication that a product, product category or catalog should be chosen dynamically. From this page, the representative may go back to the catalog selection page 745 or proceed with setting link attributes 755 such as the destination upon return from the link (e.g. the point of departure into the e-commerce page or a destination designated by the representative). From this page 755, the representative can return to the commerce object selection page 750 or continue forward with naming and saving the new link 760. Upon completion of naming and saving page 760, the link is saved to the system database 765, and the representative is provided with a link to include within a page on the host website 770. After cancellation at any time, or upon completion, the representative is returned to the list of available links page 710. Where a host representative chooses a dynamic indicator as the commerce object, the specific content will be chosen contextually based upon the content of the page that includes the link. In a preferred embodiment, keywords in the page are cross-reference with available catalogs, product categories and products to choose the appropriate content for the destination page associated with the link. FIG. 8 is a flow chart of the selection process in such a preferred embodiment. A visitor is viewing the host page including a link associated with a dynamic selection commerce object 810. The visitor activates the link. Receiving the activation, a determination is made as to whether content has previously been dynamically selected for the activated link 820. If yes, a second determination is made as to whether the previously dynamically selected content is current 830. If this is answered in the affirmative, a page is constructed with the previously dynamically selected content along with the look and feel associated with the host from which the link originated 840. If either determination is negative, the host page including the link is retrieved 850. The page content is analyzed, and based upon the analysis, content for the link destination is selected 860. The selected content is cached for potential future use 870. Finally, a page is constructed with the dynamically selected content along with the look and feel associated with the host from which the link originated 840. The analysis in 860 may take a variety of forms including, in a preferred embodiment, identification of marked keywords. In another embodiment, keywords may be dynamically determined using word count statistics. In a more elaborate system, the retrieval process might encompass not only the page containing the link but also other pages linked to the page of link origin. Keywords or word count analysis could be used to determine context based upon the aggregation of pages retrieved. In a further embodiment, differing weights could be given based upon the source of the keyword identified; keywords from the page of origin would have a greater weight than keywords derived from pages one link away. Reports A valid host representative will have on-demand access to a report showing visits to their links and sales. The report will be scoped by date range. Visits can be summarized by merchant and by link. Sales can be summarized by merchant and by link. As illustrated in FIG. 21, a host representative begins at the Host Manager page 470. She selects the view reports option 2105 to view the report menu page 2110. From the reports menu page 2110, she may enter criteria 2114, 2118 leading respectively to a revenue summary page 2120 or a monthly statement page 2130. From the monthly statement page 2130, she may change criteria 2135 to view a revised monthly statement 2130 or return to the report menu 2110. From the revenue summary page 2120, she may select a specific item 2125 for receiving a detailed revenue page 2150, alter the criteria 2127 to receive a revised revenue summary 2120, or return to the reports menu page 2110. From the detailed revenue page 2150, she may return to the revenue summary page 2120. The following reports are available for the hosts to track their results: Revenue Summary by Month This report provides sales and traffic information summarized by month. Data includes number of sessions, number of orders, gross and net sales, etc. Allows `Drill Down` to daily totals. Revenue Summary by Merchant This report provides sales and traffic information summarized by merchant. Data includes number of sessions, number of orders, gross and net sales, etc. Revenue Summary by Link This report provides sales and traffic information summarized by Link. Data includes number of sessions, number of orders, gross and net sales, etc. 3. Shopping The shopping module is the part of the application that allows customers to find, search, select and buy a product. There is also a return product section accessible to the customer after the order has been placed. Shopping is the part of the application that the general public will encounter. FIG. 19 displays a screen capture of a typical shopping page in a preferred embodiment. FIG. 22 depicts pages and procedures in a shopping process as implemented in a preferred embodiment. The customer was on a host site and saw a link to buy something created via the Link generator 2200. When he or she clicks on the link, he or she is taken to the shopping page parameterized with the Link ID 2210. If an error occurs during this transition, the visitor is routed to a link error page 2205. A variety of generic information may be available from any shopping page within the system. Such information could include information about the e-commerce outsource provider 2222, information about the merchant offering the current commerce object 2224, information about an involved party's privacy policy 2226, or information about an involved party's security policy 2228. Customers will be able to browse a merchant's catalogue and place items in their shopping cart 2212. When the customer is ready to checkout 2260, the system will acquire payment information 2262 and shipping information 2264 from the user, confirm this information 2266, and execute the transaction. The receipt including a URL that can be used to track the order status (e.g.--it could be bookmarked) will be displayed to the customer 2268. By visiting the URL provided upon checkout from the shopping experience, the customer can check the status of their order, initiate returns, and check on their return status. This module contains the following submodules: Session Each time a new shopping session is started, a customer session is created for the shopper. This Customer Session is assigned a Session ID (SID). All pages within the shopping system must request the SID and call the ValidateSessionID function. At any time if a session error occurs, a session error page 2215 may be presented. Unlike the merchant and host sessions, the shopping session is persistent. The session information retained is what the customer has placed in the cart and if they have checked out. The SID is also written back to the customers browser as a cookie. If a customer returns to the Shopping page an attempt will be made to use the last session they had. It will only be reused if the ALL of the following are true: The host the customer is coming from now is the same host as in the previous session The merchant for the current link is the same as the merchant in the previous session The previous session was not "Checked Out" The session is not older than a certain age. Product Search and Selection The main shopping page begins at the entry point that the host used to build the Link. This can be to a specific product, a category of products, a category of sub-categories, a complete catalog or a dynamically selected destination. However, no matter what entry point was chosen, the customer can navigate to every item contained in the merchant catalog used for the Link serving as the customer's entry point to the shopping. The customer may browse the catalog 2230 or search for a specific product or product category 2240. Shopping Cart The Shopping Cart is the main information saved in a customer session. As a customer places products in the shopping cart, we retain information such as: name of the product price of the product any attributes (size, color, etc) host commission rate merchant revenue percent This information must be stored redundantly in the shopping cart because the price, name, etc may change later and the values at the time of purchase need to be retained. The shopping cart interface also allows the shopper to remove a product and/or change the quantity through a view shopping cart page 2250. Check Out The check out process is separated into two distinct pieces. Order Capture Credit Validation Order capture is the process of obtaining the customers billing and shipping information and creating a pending order. The credit card information is checked to make sure it is a valid number for the card type but it is not actually processed with a credit card authorization service (i.e. CyberCash). The order is accepted, assigned an order id and the customer is given an on screen and email confirmation. The pending order has a status of new. The credit validation process happens sometime after the order capture has occurred. The customer's billing information is sent to the authorization service. The pending order now has the status of authorized. If the card is validated, the order is accepted and placed into the TheOrder table. The pending order has a status of accepted. If the billing information fails validation, the pending order status is set to rejected and an email is sent to the customer informing that the credit card information could not be validated. 4. System Manager The System Manager is the "Control Center" for administrators. The administrator can monitor the day-to-day activities and status of the system. When an administrator logs in, he or she is taken directly to the System Manager and assigned a Nexchange Session ID (NexchangeSID). All pages within the System Manager system must request the NexchangeSID and call the ValidateNexchangeSessionID function. If the session does not validate, the user is taken back to the Login screen. Access to administration functions will require authentication using the name and password for a valid administration account. The home/main page of the System Manager provides a quick summary of the current system status; a screen capture of a typical main page in a preferred embodiment is seen in FIG. 20. This summary includes pending orders, orders, host statistics, merchant statistics and an unattended orders list. An administrator will be able to configure a hosts or merchant's payment policy. This includes specifications for any holdbacks, and a method for calculating commission/payment. At the request of a merchant, an administrator will be able to configure the system to reject all shopping traffic from a particular host-merchant arrangement. The host and merchant contacts will be notified via email. An administrator will also be able to activate or deactivate a host. The system will reject shopping traffic from inactive hosts. When a host's status is changed, the host contact will be notified via email. An administrator will configure the system to enforce system-wide policies. System-wide policies include the number of days allowed for returns. The system will periodically run an audit process and report on situations of concern. For example, an audit could search for orders that have not been serviced for a certain period of time. The system may also report on possible security situations such as an inordinate number of account lockout incidents. This module contains the following submodules: Utilities The following utilities are available: List Pending Orders List Orders List Rejected Orders List Returns Host The following actions are available: List Promos List Hosts Maintain Host Tiers Host with Pending Merchants Merchant The following actions are available: List Merchants Copy a Category Find Category Links Add a New Merchant Maintain Brands Application Server Tier The business functionality is provided via "application servers". An application server will consist of one or more of the business modules, wrapped with an appropriate middleware adapter. This arrangement allows delivery of services via many different mechanisms. For example, if it becomes desirable to serve some functions to a Java client, a Java Remote Method Invocation (RMI) version of an application server could be built. The new server could be developed rapidly because only an RMI "wrapper" would need to be developed, while the application logic would be reused. In a preferred embodiment, this layer consists of a set of core C++ software modules that encapsulate business functions. The Application Server tier may run on one or more application server computers. The application servers are stateless. This means that, for two application servers serving the same functionality, "one is as good as another". In the event of failure, a client's requests may be handled by a different server than before the failure. Since it does not matter which server services a request, routing is greatly simplified. The stateless server approach also provides excellent fault tolerance since all application servers can back each other up. Use of a combination of "sticky routing" and caching to significantly ameliorate any detrimental performance implications of the stateless approach, while preserving most of the benefit. Once a client begins using a particular service, the system will show a preference for routing future requests from that client to the same server. The servers maintain a cache recently used data and will only access the database if the desired item cannot be used in cache. Since the routing is sticky, the client's data will often be in cache, and in many cases, no database access will be required. Should the client be routed to a new server, the session data can be retrieved from the database as occurs in the "vanilla" stateless model. In a preferred embodiment, the functionality of this layer utilizes one or more low cost server systems 125a-125d running a suitable operating system such as Microsoft Windows NT. This tier is also composed of several software layers as illustrated in FIG. 3: Remote Procedure Call Server 310. This software provides connectivity to the Web Server layer and is not application dependent. In a preferred embodiment, this software layer is the Objectstore Component Server. Application Logic 320. This software encapsulates the business functionality. The design of this software layer and the various application servers is more fully described below. Virtual Database 330. The virtual database layer allows the application data to be distributed across multiple Database servers while insulating the application layer from the physical storage configuration. The virtual database contains a table that maps object types to physical databases. All database objects or records of a given type are distributed across the permissible databases. Databases can be added while the system is live to permit expansion onto new servers. Overburdened databases can be closed to prevent assignment of new data to them. Databases can be moved to different physical servers. All stored objects are referenced by a handle which is unaffected by the physical location of the referenced data. The virtual database layer also permits a collection of objects distributed across multiple servers to be indexed and searched. DBMS Client 340. This software provides access to data stored in the databases. In a preferred embodiment, the DBMS client is Object Design's Objectstore client. All Objectstore clients contain a cache of recently used database pages. An optimistic locking scheme is used to ensure cache consistency. The caching scheme is very effective in the present invention because it is optimized for many readers and few writers. In a preferred embodiment, the application server layer includes the following eight application servers: 1. Cashier--Collects checkout information: billing info, shipping preferences, etc. The Cashier server is analogous to a cashier in a "bricks and mortar" store. The cashier's responsibilities are listed below: Collecting Information Necessary To Complete a Sale. This information will include billing information, shipping address(s) and preferred shipping methods. In some cases, the information to be collected may depend on the contents of the order. The cashier will also access the appropriate merchant policy information to assist in determining what data should be collected. Providing an Itemized Account of the Total. Upon receiving the necessary data, the cashier will compute the applicable taxes, shipping charges, etc, and provide an itemized account of the order total. Execute the Sale. Upon request, the cashier will execute the sale. A copy of the relevant information will be sent to the credit processor. When the credit processor approves the orders, the cashier will break the customer's order into individual merchant orders and forward them to the Merchants' Order Tracking server. The cashier will also post a record to the Ledger at this time. 2. Catalog--Houses product hierarchies. Conducts product searches. The catalog is an arrangement of product information. The catalog server supports a hierarchical browsing mode and various searching functions. Its responsibilities are listed below: Retrieve a catalog upon request. The catalog will include all content for a shopping experience. For products, the information will include the product description, price and options. Retrieve a list of products matching a query. This will initially support simple keyword searching, but may be expanded to more sophisticated searching techniques. 3. Credit Processor--Conducts card validation and fraud screening. The credit processor takes a candidate order and performs card authorization and fraud screening. The card processor cooperates with the order tracker to keep the status of the order updated. Perform Credit Card Authorization. Contact the card processing vendor and authorize the card. Retrieve the Address Verification System (AVS) code for use in fraud screening. Perform Fraud Screening. The system performs a fraud screening analysis based on the following factors: dollar amount of the order, AVS code, whether the billing and shipping address match, and whether the email address given is a free e-mail account. 4. Notifier--Sends messages. The Notifier keeps track of who wants to be notified of what and how they should be notified. The notifier receives notification of various system events and takes the appropriate course of action. The appropriate course of action will depend upon the event and the party to be notified. For example, a merchant that does a high volume of sales and is already integrated with the system may not wish to receive email notification of every order. 5. Ledger--Records and reports on all financial events. The Ledger is a record of all financial events. The ledger contains interfaces for posting events and interfaces querying and inspecting the ledger. Responsibilities include: Post an Order Event. The order event happens when the shopper confirms an order. Post a Sale Event. The sale event occurs when a merchant marks the last item in an order shipped. Post an Return Merchandise Authorization (RMA) Open Event/Post an RMA Completed Event/Post an RMA Canceled Event Post a Journal Entry. This interface will be used to record non-standard events. The posted ledger entries must collectively have an equal number of debits and credits. 6. Order Tracker--Records and reports on order status. This is the repository of order information. The order tracker includes a cashier's interface for creating a new order, a Merchant's interface for keeping the order status updated, and a Customer Service interface for checking on the status of the order and making relevant annotations. Query Order Status. This method is used by purchaser to check on the status of a pending order. Ship Order. This method is used by a merchant to document the parceling of an order into shipments. 7. Shopping Cart--Holds products that have been selected for purchase. The shopping cart is simply a collection of Inventory Reservation documents that represent the items that have been selected by the shopper. The shopping cart includes methods for adding and removing Inventory Reservations and for inspecting the contents of the cart. 8. Warehouse--Inventory availability information. Product configuration interfaces. The Warehouse represents a collection of physical items that are in stock. Responsibilities of the Warehouse are listed below: Provide Information on Stock Levels of a Particular Item/Order Items Having Low Inventory Levels. This is an advanced capability by which inventory may be dynamically reserved from a merchant, based on the current inventory levels. Provide Information on Product Configuration Options. The warehouse will provide a blank Inventory Reservation document that will specify all of the product's configuration options. Issue Reservations Against Inventory. A shopper will fill out an Inventory Reservation (which includes all configuration options) and submit it to the warehouse. If the item, as configured, is available, the reservation will be issued. This will serve to reserve the inventory for a fixed period of time. Database Server Tier Finally, the Database server tier is composed of a single software layer. This layer is responsible for low level manipulation of the data in the one or more databases. This tier may consist of multiple database servers. Using multiple servers is a major advantage for obvious reasons. The system's database chores can be distributed to many different servers. In a preferred embodiment, the database server is Object Design's Objectstore server. Objectstore supports a "warm failover" mode which allows a backup server to take over automatically if the primary should fail. An Microsoft SQL server is also used in the preferred embodiment to maintain financial records although properly configured another DBMS such as Objectstore or a commercially available accounting package could provide capability suitable for financial record keeping. The foregoing discussion describes the primary actors interacting with a system according to the present invention. After identifying these actors, typical transaction flows through the system are presented. There are three main parties in the outsourced e-commerce relationship, excluding the end consumer. These parties include Merchants, Hosts, and the e-commerce outsource provider. This folds into two parties where one party plays the dual role of Host and Merchant. Merchants Merchants are the producers, distributors, or resellers of the goods to be sold through the outsource provider. The primary responsibilities of a Merchant are to: Maintain an up-to-date catalog within the system including all products that are available for sale in storefronts served by the outsource provider Create approval standards for passively recruited Host applicants based upon website profiles and target audience characteristics Fulfill all orders received from the e-commerce outsource provider Provide assistance to outsource provider regarding promotional strategies. This can be accomplished by supplying marketing literature and materials, as well as any sales incentives. The Merchant owns the marketing literature and materials, and may access and modify these items as necessary. Provide service and support to customers generated via the outsource e-commerce provider Maintain internal records of orders filled through the outsource provider and process payments from the outsource provider for these orders Inform the e-commerce outsource provider of any backlogs, fulfillment delays, product changes, or other significant situations Hosts A Host is the operator of a website that engages in Internet commerce by incorporating one or more link to the e-commerce outsource provider into its web content. The responsibilities of a Host are to: Use the outsource provider Host Manager service bureau to select the Merchants and products that will be offered from the Host's website Promote transactions through the e-commerce outsource provider hosted by the website Regularly review the Merchant offerings for which they have been approved in order to take advantage of new products and to review sales and promotional strategies made available to them by the Merchant E-commerce Outsource Provider The role of outsource provider is to: Develop and maintain the outsource provider service bureau--the systems and software which provide the platform for e-commerce support services Identify and recruit target Host websites and monitor/manage these relationships Create customer-transparent Host processing "pages" on a secure server to receive order and payment information Create, maintain, and update the "look & feel capture" process through which consumers are able to shop in a Merchant-controlled storefront within the design and navigational context of the Host website, preserving the ownership of the visit experience by the Host Authorize credit card transactions (in most cases) Process credit card payments for orders received (in most cases) Pay periodic commissions to Hosts for orders shipped during a prior period Transmit orders to Merchants Pay Merchants for orders filled Manage the commission structure for Merchant-Host relationships to maximize sales and revenues Screen and approve Host applications Support and monitor the merchandise return/refund process and other customer service functions This following describes the order entry and settlement process from the initial promotion on a Host website all the way through to fulfillment, payment processing, commission payment, and Merchant payment. Order Placement, Fulfillment, and Settlement Overview The overall transaction process is very straightforward. The following is a list of the steps involved in receiving and processing an order request. a) A customer visits a Host website and, through contextually relevant content, becomes interested in a product offered. b) The customer selects the item(s) that she wishes to purchase by clicking a product image, banner-style link, or text link, or other offer format taking her to a dynamically generated web pages which retain the look and feel of the referring Host and are served by the e-commerce outsource provider. c) The customer browses through the products offered, indicating which items are to be purchased and in what quantities via forms on-screen. Selected items appear within the shopping cart at the top of the shopping interface. The user remains on the product screen without ever being involuntarily removed to a detailed shopping cart-only screen, representing a significant enhancement over most shopping cart technology in place today. When all desired products are selected, the customer initiates the checkout procedure, never leaving the Host website. d) The secure checkout interface appears, still consistent in look and feel with the Host's referring website. The customer completes the order form, provides all billing and shipping information required, confirms the items selected for purchase, and remits credit card information for payment processing. e) Assuming the payment method is authorized, the customer is returned to another section of the Host's website, possibly just returning to the page in which the offer was placed, as determined by the Host. f) The e-commerce outsource provider passes the order to the Merchant in real time. The credit card may be charged at this point or upon confirmation of shipment. g) The Merchant receives and logs the order. h) The Merchant then assembles and ships the order to the customer, keeping the outsource provider apprised of the order status. i) Periodically, the outsource provider will remit payment to the Merchant for that period's filled orders. j) Periodically, the outsource provider will remit payment to Hosts for all commissions earned in the prior period. Host Process Flow The process flow for a prospect to become a Host and be fully able to endorse/promote/offer Merchant products is as follows: a) Hosts are recruited from three sources: direct recruiting, in which the Host prospect is identified by and approached by an e-commerce outsource provider representative; passive recruiting, in which the Host has been referred to the outsource provider by other Hosts, relevant meta-sites (sites that contain lists of and links to other sites/services), or other sources; and Host Agent recruits, in which a specialized third party Agent identifies and approaches Host prospects. In many cases, the use of online signup forms and brochures may be a factor in recruitment. b) Prospect completes the Host application form (except where preapproved), providing information about the type of website(s) operated by the Host, some traffic statistics about these websites and general visitor demographics, and complete contact information. The prospect also selects an outsource provider system user ID and password which will later be used to access the system, retrieve important Hosting information and programming, and modify the custom materials in the outsource provider transaction processing engine. c) The application is received and the information therein is reviewed, and the application is either approved or rejected (unless this is a preapproved Host). If approved, the Host's ID and password are activated, and an automated message is sent to the new Host informing them of their approval. This message will also contain instructions for accessing the e-commerce outsource provider system, setting up their links to the outsource provider, and inserting outsource provider data into their website(s). Preapproved Hosts will be immediately able to access this system upon submission of their application. d) Host accesses e-commerce outsource provider system to begin the step-by-step setup process. The Host first identifies a page from their own website which will provide the look and feel to be replicated. Following this, the Host configures product selections for each of its approved Merchants and downloads product images, text, and CGI/HTML code for their own website. Host then completes changes to website and activates new content. Hosts are free to promote their use of the outsource provider as they feel is suitable to the product at any time and with any frequency, subject to reasonable limitations. e) Hosts will be able to access real-time reports about transaction volume including number of users, average purchase amount per user, number of purchases on specified days or within specified date ranges. Hosts can create customized reports to determine conversion rates, top selling products, commissions earned, paid, and due, and other pertinent information. This information can be leveraged by the e-commerce outsource provider and the Host to improve the efficacy of targeted marketing efforts on the Host's website. Internal System Transaction Flow The e-commerce outsource provider system acts as a clearinghouse for all orders. The system maintains a real-time interface with a credit card authorization and processing service and a robust database engine which is able to process transactions, record all transaction activities, generate reports used for commission payments and auditing of Merchant invoices, and track order status. The transaction flow for the outsource provider service bureau is directly related to the structure of the underlying database. This flow can be described as follows: a) Customer, visiting Host, activates link to commerce object within context of Host's website. This activation is typically accomplished by clicking on a hyperlink of some kind within a webpage of the Host's website. b) The e-commerce outsource provider launches new storefront featuring specific products or product category for Merchant, as determined by Host, with the look and feel of the Host's site. The user is not made aware of the fact that this shopping experience is taking place on an outsourced server. c) As customer browses through featured items in the Merchant's catalog, the outsource provider serves additional pages while maintaining the look and feel of the Host. The system maintains a dynamic record of customers activities including products reviewed, items selected for purchase (placed into shopping cart), and time spent shopping. The e-commerce outsource provider uses a highly reliable and accurate tracking technology throughout the shopping experience. d) Upon checkout, the system processes customer billing, shipping, and order information via secure (encrypted) data transmission (unless the consumer opts for non-encrypted transmission). This process includes an order confirmation process and a process by which a non-approved credit card transaction may be corrected and resubmitted. e) Upon approval, the outsource provider performs several simultaneous functions: Thank you screen is displayed to customer Customer is prompted to "continue" browsing Host's website. E-mail confirmation is sent to customer detailing order information, fulfillment process, customer service terms and procedures, and other relevant information. Order is transmitted to the Merchant electronically, via e-mail or direct link to order entry system. Order is logged into transaction database and logged by system in conjunction with Host referral information. Host is notified that a sale has been made and commission dollars have been earned. The second part of the e-commerce outsource provider service bureau transaction process pertains to reconciliation and settlement with the Merchants. a) Orders are transmitted to each Merchant as received and are logged into the system for future reference and reporting. b) Periodically, the outsource provider will pay each Merchant for orders processed during the prior period. Payment will be driven by shipped orders as recorded within the system. Merchants can view their accumulated sales within the system at any time during the period, and historical information will be available as well. The final part of the e-commerce outsource provider Service Bureau transaction process pertains to the payment of commissions to Hosts. c) Periodically, the e-commerce outsource provider will calculate the accumulated commissions due to each Host from the prior period's results. Hosts will be able to review their earnings on a real-time basis at any point during a period. d) The outsource provider will then pay each Host the appropriate commission amount via electronic payment or check along with a copy of the transactions and total report for the period being settled. Merchant Transaction Flow Each Merchant will be required to fulfill every order received through the e-commerce outsource provider within a designated time frame. Merchants must also be able to track certain information regularly and accurately. Merchants will be monitored to ensure timely fulfillment in order to provide the best quality customer service. The steps of the Merchants transaction flow after they have been established within the system are as follows: a) The designated recipient of orders within the Merchant organization will check for new orders at least on a daily basis, if not more frequently. Orders are received by the Merchant via e-mail or other electronic notification, including automated direct input to legacy order management systems owned or operated by the Merchant. These orders include all pertinent customer data required for fulfillment of each order. Merchants may also view all orders online, sorted by date, status (new/viewed), or other criteria, and download orders in bulk form directly from the outsource provider. b) After receiving the order, the Merchant will ship the order to the Customer within a reasonable time period for the type of merchandise ordered. Merchant will have the ability to modify the shipping status of the orders within the system. Merchants are obligated to provide timely shipping of their products. If any item ordered is out of stock or discontinued, the Merchant must update their catalog on the e-commerce outsource provider immediately and notify any affected customers immediately via e-mail or regular mail. Orders should be processed according to whatever internal process flow has been established by the Merchant. c) Upon receipt of payment for the prior month's orders, the Merchant is responsible for reconciling the amount remitted with their own fulfillment records. Any disputes should be addressed by accessing the Merchant interface and querying/updating records. The embodiments described above are given as illustrative examples only. It will be readily appreciated that many deviations may be made from the specific embodiment disclosed in this specification without departing from the invention. Accordingly, the scope of the invention is to be determined by the claims below rather than being limited to the specifically described embodiment above.
|
Same subclass Same class Consider this |
||||||||||