Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02713782 2010-08-27
SYSTEM, METHOD AND COMPUTER PROGRAM FOR INTEGRATING DIVERSE POINT
OF SALE SYSTEMS
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to integrating point of sale systems.
The present invention
relates more specifically to integrating diverse point of sale systems by
providing a common data
model.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Significant technological challenges have impacted the retail industry as a
result of a fractured
point of sale system infrastructure. Franchises, and even franchisees within a
franchise,
commonly use diverse point of sale systems. The challenge occurs when a
franchise as a whole
tries to do something as a single unit, such as online ordering. A particular
franchise might, for
example, have five diverse point of sale systems being used throughout their
chain. In order to
provide a unified online ordering system that works with all of their stores,
they must implement
five different custom integrations with five diverse POS systems, none of
which "talk" to each
other or are integrated with each other in any way. As a result, retailers
desiring to offer online
retailing cannot leverage point of sale data that is already available to
them.
Several solutions for providing an integrated point of sale system have been
proposed, however
none of them provide integration of diverse point of sale systems.
United States Patent Publication No. 20030120546 to Cusack et al. discloses a
system and
method for facilitating real-time, web-based point of sale transactions and
operations. This patent
relates to a system and method for facilitating real-time, web based point of
sale operations such
as sales, reporting, etc. The system and method include and involve a central
database
management facility storing and managing data related to at least one user
interface form
operable within a browser application and to items which may be sold or
otherwise processed at
a point of sale. Also included and involved is a plurality of client data
processing facilities which
are coupled to the central database management facility via an electronic data
network. Each
client data processing system is located at a remote point of sale and is
coupled to the central
database management facility via a network connection over the electronic data
network. Each
client data processing facility is configured to execute the browser
application, to access the
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central database management facility via the network connection to retrieve
and process at least
one user interface form within the browser application, to access the central
database
management facility in real time to retrieve data related to at least one of
the items to facilitate a
remote point of sale related operation, and to cause the central database
management facility to
manage the data based on the remote point of sale related operation.
United States Patent Publication No. 20080208696 to Olson discloses a point of
sale system with
web-based back-office. This patent relates to a system and a method for
managing a range of
businesses. The business operations range from a single branch to a large
chain of stores or
branches. This invention relates to the managing of the points of sale (POS)
with web-based
back-office systems. POS transaction engine terminals are implemented on
personal computer,
PC hardware using PC software with a relational database. The transaction
engine architecture
provides cost-effective application customization. Web-based back-office
software is
implemented on servers. POS and BO systems are monitored and supported via the
web using
protocol and open software components.
United States Patent Publication No. 20080270514 to Farias discloses a system
for accessing a
POS terminal, method for downloading and updating applications and method for
performing
electronic operation using such a system. This patent relates to a system for
accessing POS
terminals, with or without pin pad, using a client system to connect such POS
terminal to a
network comprised by at least one server, the system enabling any POS terminal
to execute
applications located in such servers, through a plurality of specific
protocols in a process similar
to the Internet, as well to download and update applications from application
servers and to
perform electronic operations in transaction serves.
None of Cusack et al., Olson, or Farias provide any means to integrate diverse
point of sale
systems for centralizing access to point of sale data. Furthermore none of
these patent
applications provide any means to leverage point of sale data from the point
of sale systems for
online promotion.
Therefore, what is required is a means by which to integrate diverse point of
sale systems. What
is also required is a means to leverage point of sale data from the point of
sale systems for online
promotion.
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SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides a system for integrating diverse point of sale
systems, the system
comprising: (a) one or more point of sale agents linkable to one or more
diverse point of sale
systems; and (b) an order manager linked to the one or more point of sale
agents; wherein the
one or more point of sale agents are operable to communicate point of sale
data between the one
or more diverse point of sale systems and the order manager by mapping the
point of sale data to
a common data model.
The present invention also provides a network implementable method of
integrating diverse
point of sale systems, the method comprising: (a) mapping point of sale data
communicated by
each of the diverse point of sale systems to a common data model; and (b)
communicating, or
facilitating the communication of, by means of one or more point of sale
agents, the point of sale
data between each of the diverse point of sale systems and an order manager in
accordance with
the common data model.
The present invention further provides a system for integrating point of sale
systems, the system
comprising: (a) one or more point of sale systems; (b) one or more point of
sale agents linked to
the one or more point of sale systems; and (c) an order manager linked to the
one or more point
of sale agents; wherein the one or more point of sale agents are operable to
communicate point of
sale data between the one or more point of sale systems and the order manager
by mapping the
point of sale data to a common data model.
In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in
detail, it is to be
understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details
of construction and to
the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or
illustrated in the
drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced
and carried out
in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and
terminology employed
herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as
limiting.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The invention will be better understood and objects of the invention will
become apparent when
consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such
description makes
reference to the annexed drawings wherein:
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FIG. 1 illustrates a system in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 2 illustrates a consumer accessing the order interface and browsing a
listing of items
accessible from the one or more entities to place an order for one or more
items.
FIG. 3 illustrates a consumer accessing an order interface website by means of
a web browser.
FIG. 4 illustrates an entity owner accessing the promotion configuration
utility.
In the drawings, embodiments of the invention are illustrated by way of
example. It is to be
expressly understood that the description and drawings are only for the
purpose of illustration
and as an aid to understanding, and are not intended as a definition of the
limits of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have
the same meaning
as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this
invention belongs. Also,
unless indicated otherwise, except within the claims, the use of "or" includes
"and" and vice-
versa. Non-limiting terms are not to be construed as limiting unless expressly
stated or the
context clearly indicates otherwise (for example "including", "having" and
"comprising"
typically indicate "including without limitation"). Singular forms including
in the claims such as
"a", "an" and "the" include the plural reference unless expressly stated
otherwise.
The invention will be explained in details by referring to the figures.
The present invention provides a system, method and computer program for
integrating diverse
point of sale systems. The present invention is operable to communicate with
diverse point of
sale systems to integrate point of sale data. The present invention also
provides a system, method
and computer program for enabling dissemination of promotions to consumers
based on point of
sale data.
The diverse point of sale systems may be owned and/or administered by one or
more entities
and/or related entities. For example, the entities may be unrelated retailers,
related retailers (for
example, franchises), or outlets of a commonly owned retailer. The retailers
may be in any field
of retailing, such as sellers of goods and services, restaurants, etc. The
entity could also be a
reseller or aggregator rather than a retailer, or a vendor of goods outside of
a retail environment.
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It should be understood that the present invention is not limited to any type
of entity and that it
could also be used for a plurality of entities that operate in different
spaces, such as a retailer and
a non-retailer, etc.
The present invention enables integration of diverse point of sale systems and
use of their point
of sale data for promotional dissemination. It enables real-time or near real-
time access to and
integration of diverse point of sale systems. Point of sale data corresponding
to the point of sale
systems may be made accessible to a consumer via the Internet, enabling the
consumer to select
a particular entity with which to deal and, despite the entity's particular
point of sale system,
enables the consumer to be provided with the most up-to-date point of sale
data. The consumer
could also access point of sale data across a plurality of the entities, so as
to avoid the need to
explicitly select a particular entity with which to interact.
The point of sale data can also be disseminated by a variety of third party
media, including
search websites, retail listing websites, restaurant reservation aggregators,
etc. These third parties
may leverage the point of sale data to offer item listings (such as restaurant
menus, for example)
and promotions, which can be dealt with directly using the entity's point of
sale system by means
of the present invention.
The present invention provides a common data model for enabling the
integration of diverse
point of sale systems. The point of sale systems may be provided by a third
party or be
custom/proprietary point of sale systems. Typically each point of sale system
is provided on a
computer, such as a personal computer, on site at a particular business
location. However, it
should be understood that the present invention is not to be limited to any
particular
configuration of a point of sale system. For example, a particular point of
sale system for a
franchisee may be located on a server computer at a franchise head office.
The system for integrating diverse point of sale systems may comprise one or
more point of sale
agents linkable to one or more diverse point of sale systems. The system may
also comprise an
order manager linked to the one or more point of sale agents. The one or more
point of sale
agents may be operable to communicate point of sale data between the one or
more diverse point
of sale systems and the order manager by mapping the point of sale data to a
common data
model. Another system in accordance with the present invention may include one
or more of the
point of sale systems, which may be linked to the point of sale agents.
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The order manager may comprise an order interface enabling one or more
consumers to access
the order manager and thereby interact with the one or more diverse point of
sale systems. For
example, the order interface may enable the one or more consumers to make
purchases
corresponding to point of sale data. For example, point of sale data may
include a business
identifier, an item or service sold by the business, a price, a description,
etc. This point of sale
data may be accessible to a consumer by the order interface. The consumer may
purchase the
item from the business via the order interface. The order interface may then
communicate with a
point of sale system corresponding to the business by means of its
corresponding point of sale
agent to complete the purchase.
The system may also comprise a campaign manager linked to the order manager.
The campaign
manager may be operable to disseminate one or more promotions to one or more
consumers
based on the point of sale data. The campaign manager may also be operable to
direct the one or
more consumers to access the order interface. For example, the order interface
may be a website
and the one or more promotions may include a hyperlink to the website. A
consumer could click
on the hyperlink to access the order interface. For example, the one or more
promotions may be
disseminated through a medium such as contextual advertisements, social media
feeds, emails,
Internet-enabled messaging, or any combination of these media. For example, a
consumer may
be provided with a contextual advertisement generated by the campaign manager
in response to a
query on a third party website. The contextual advertisement may include a
hyperlink to the
order interface that is preconfigured to display point of sale data for an
item or items that
correspond to point of sale data, enabling the consumer to make a purchase of
any of the items.
The promotions may be created using the campaign manager or one of the diverse
point of sale
systems.
A point of sale database may be provided for storing point of sale data for
the one or more
diverse point of sale systems. The point of sale database may be linked to the
order manager. The
point of sale database may be useful for replication of point of sale data, so
as to reduce
communication requirements between the order manager and the potentially
remotely located
point of sale systems. In such a case, the point of sale database could be
updated or refreshed
from time to time, for example based on a polling model or subscription model.
In a polling
model, for example, the order manager may be operable to compare the point of
sale data at the
one or more diverse point of sale systems with the point of sale data stored
in the point of sale
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database. If the order manager detects a modification, the order manager may
selectively update
the point of sale database. In a subscription model, for example, the one or
more point of sale
agents may notify the order manager of a modification to the point of sale
data. The order
manager may be operable to update the point of sale database with modified
point of sale data in
response to a notification of modification.
FIG. 1 illustrates a system in accordance with the present invention. The
system may comprise
one or more point of sale agents (1), an order manager (3) and a campaign
manager (5) linked by
a network (7), such as the Internet. The one or more point of sale agents (1),
the order manager
(3) and the campaign manager (5) may be provided by one or more centrally
located or
distributed computers linked to each other by means of a network such as the
Internet, including
in a cloud computing environment. Optionally, one or more of the point of sale
agents (1) may
be provided on site at the business location for the corresponding point of
sale system. The one
or more point of sale agents, the order manager (3), and the campaign manager
(5) may be
provided by one or more computer programs which when executed by a computer
processor are
operable to provide the features described herein.
The system may also include a point of sale database (15), promotion database
(9) and campaign
rules database (11), which are described below. The system may also include an
administration
utility (13), which is described below.
The system may be accessible by a consumer by means of a client device, such
as a client
computer (17) or mobile device (19). The client device may include or be
linked to a web
browser for accessing the order manager and/or point of sale data disseminated
via third party
website, as described more fully below.
The communication link between the point of sale agent and its corresponding
point of sale
system may be secure, for example by implementing an encryption technique
and/or
authentication, such as a mutual authentication technique. For example, both
the point of sale
agent and the point of sale system may be provided with a certificate to
identify themselves with
each other to establish explicit trust for any given communication. The point
of sale agent may
also be provided with constrained rights to minimize its capabilities in
affecting point of sale
data on the point of sale system. For example, the point of sale agent may be
given read-only
rights to "pricing" or "menu" point of sale data for a restaurant point of
sale system, but read-
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write access to "ordering" point of sale data to enable remote ordering of
items by a consumer.
Any or all of these security measures may also be implemented in the link
between the point of
sale agent and the order manager.
Each point of sale agent may be operable to communicate point of sale data
between its
corresponding point of sale system and the order manager, by mapping the point
of sale data to a
common data model. The common data model enables the point of sale data for
diverse point of
sale systems to conform to a single common data encapsulation that can be
recognized by the
order manager to provide an integrated or unified system. The point of sale
agents are operable
to map point of sale data for any particular point of sale system to the
common data model, so as
to standardize the representation of the point of sale data for the order
manager. The common
data model enables both interoperability between diverse point of sale
systems, and scalability of
the system as a whole.
The point of sale data mapped to the common data model may include static and
dynamic data.
For example, in the context of a restaurant implementation, the point of sale
data for each point
of sale system may include a restaurant identifier (which may be static),
delivery areas (which
may be static), menu (which may be static), pricing (which may be dynamic) and
promotions
(which may be dynamic). By mapping the point of sale data for each point of
sale system to the
common data model, all point of sale data can be handled holistically across
the entire system.
The mapping of point of sale data by the point of sale agent may be configured
by a system
administrator or learned based on heuristics as the system expands.
Each point of sale agent may also enable remote provisioning and local point
of sale system
diagnostics, which are more fully described below.
The order manager is operable to access each of the diverse point of sale
systems by means of
the corresponding point of sale agent by communicating point of sale data
therewith in
accordance with the common data model. The order manager may be provided with
real-time or
near real-time access to the point of sale data for each point of sale system.
The order manager
may optionally access replicated point of sale data from a point of sale
database.
A point of sale database may be linked to the order manager for storing point
of sale data for one
or more of the point of sale systems. The point of sale database may be
updated or refreshed
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from time to time, for example based on a polling model or subscription model.
Providing a
point of sale database may be advantageous to reduce the need for
communication of point of
sale data between the point of sale systems, point of sale agents, and order
manager, particularly
where the point of sale data is static. For example, if a consumer is
interested in static point of
sale data such as a restaurant menu, this information does not typically need
to be refreshed. At
the time of a purchase of one or more items on a restaurant menu, however, it
may be preferable
to communicate with the point of sale system to establish a current price for
the one or more
items.
In a polling model, for example, the order manager may be operable to compare
the point of sale
data at the one or more diverse point of sale systems with the point of sale
data stored in the
point of sale database. This comparison can be made based on a preconfigured
time interval (for
example, every five second, five minutes, one day, etc.) or each time some
particular point of
sale data is communicated to the corresponding point of sale agent (for
example, for an "order").
If the order manager detects a modification, the order manager may selectively
update the point
of sale database.
In a subscription model, for example, the one or more point of sale agents may
notify the order
manager of a modification to the point of sale data. This can be provided, for
example, where the
particular point of sale system includes an application programming interface
(API) that notifies
the point of sale agent of a modification. The point of sale agent can then
initiate a corresponding
notification to the order manager, which may be operable to update the point
of sale database
with modified point of sale data.
The order manager may also monitor connectivity status to each point of sale
by means of each
point of sale agent. For example, connectivity status may be monitored by each
point of sale
agent using an API provided by each point of sale system. The connectively
status can be
communicated from the point of sale agent to the order manager. The order
manager may
maintain a connectivity status list for recording the last known connectivity
status of each point
of sale system. If connectivity is lost to any particular point of sale
system, the corresponding
point of sale agent may notify the order manager of this status. If a consumer
attempts to initiate
a transaction that requires that particular point of sale system, the order
manager can inform the
consumer that the entity corresponding to the point of sale system is not
orders via the order
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manager, and may optionally provide the consumer with means to place an order
offline (such as
a phone number or some other appropriate fall back). The consumer may still be
given access to
point of sale data that is available to the order manager.
Furthermore, the order manager can request a connectivity status update from
any particular
point of sale agent based on a preconfigured time interval, such as every five
seconds, and the
point of sale agent may correspondingly obtain the connectivity status for the
point of sale
system and communicate the connectivity status to the order manager. If
connectivity is lost to
any particular point of sale agent, the order manager can provide similar
functionality as in the
case of a point of sale system losing connectivity, as described above.
The order manager may include an order interface, enabling a consumer to place
an order from
one or more entities. The order interface may be a webpage accessible by a web
browser, so as to
enable online ordering. For example, FIG. 2 illustrates an example where a
consumer could
access the order interface (21) and browse a listing of items (23) accessible
from the one or more
entities, and could place an order for one or more items (25). The purchase
price could be
confirmed in real-time or near real-time with reference to the point of sale
data known to the
order manager or accessible from the point of sale systems by means of the
point of sale agents.
The order can therefore be placed directly through the point of sale systems
by means of the
order manager.
A separate order interface may be provided for different media that are used
to access the order
manager. For example, a mobile web page may be provided for accessing the
order manager
from a mobile device, and/or an application may be provided for accessing the
order manager
from a computer and/or mobile device and/or proprietary system. The order
interface may also
be accessible by an API that can be used on social networking websites, search
engine websites,
retailer websites, restaurant websites, etc.
Once a consumer accesses the order interface, the order manager may generate
an order session
(27) for tracking and recording the status of a particular order. The order
manager may also
maintain a record of past and pending orders (29). For example, a consumer may
access the order
manager by means of the order interface to initiate an order. The consumer may
partially
configure an order but not complete the order, or may configure an order in a
sequence of steps.
The order manager may save the order status for future retrieval.
Correspondingly, the order
CA 02713782 2010-08-27
manager may maintain consumer accounts for enabling retrieval of past and
pending orders, or to
provide a consumer with a list of favorite entities, orders, etc. based on
past behaviour (31).
The order manager may communicate orders made by a consumer from the order
interface to the
point of sale systems for the entities. When an order is submitted to the
order interface (33), it
may be communicated to the respective point of sale system by means of a point
of sale agent
(35). The point of sale system may approve or deny the order and notify the
point of sale agent of
this status (37). The order status may then be communicated by the point of
sale agent to the
order manager, and displayed to the consumer by the order interface (39).
FIG. 3 illustrates a particular example in which a consumer may access an
order interface
website by means of a web browser (41). The consumer may be presented with a
list of entities
(43) that have a point of sale system linked to the order manager by a point
of sale agent. This
list of entities may be obtained from the point of sale systems at the time
the consumer accesses
the order interface, or collected from the point of sale database from
previously obtained point of
sale data (2).
The consumer may select a particular entity with which to deal and/or could
search for or browse
for one or more particular items that are available from the entities as a
collective (45). For
example, if the consumer selects a particular entity, the order interface may
then present the
consumer with items and/or pricing and/or promotions available from that
entity. The consumer
may select one or more of the items for purchase and submit an order through
the order interface
(47). Optionally, the order interface may require the consumer to provide
identifying
information, such as name and address, and payment information, such as a
credit card or deposit
account.
The order interface may communicate the order information to the point of sale
agents for point
of sale systems from which items are to be purchased (49). The point of sale
systems may
approve or deny the order and notify the point of sale agents of same. The
point of sale systems
may also compute the final order price, including taxes, delivery, or other
surcharges or
discounts, and notify the point of sale agents of same (51). The point of sale
agents may
correspondingly communicate this data to the order manager, which may
aggregate the data (if it
must be received from more than one point of sale agent, based on the items
ordered) and present
it to the consumer, who may be given an opportunity for final approval (53).
The final order may
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be submitted to the point of sale systems by means of the point of sale
agents, where payment
may be confirmed and the order fulfilled (55). It should be understood that
this transaction is just
one example of using the present invention, and in particular that the order
or necessity of
particular steps could be modified.
The order manager may also include a query interface for obtaining static
point of sale data. For
example, during a transaction a consumer may initially browse a menu and look
at options and
pricing prior to starting the ordering process. The type of point of sale data
required to support
this activity is typically static and may be stored in the point of sale
database. The order
manager may access the point of sale data from the point of sale database
rather than the point of
sale systems, in order to reduce bandwidth and load on the point of sale
systems. When a
consumer attempts to fulfill a transaction the order manager may then
communicate with a point
of sale system to confirm the point of sale data (for example to establish
final pricing).
The campaign manager may be operable to disseminate one or more promotions to
one or more
consumers based on the point of sale data and direct the one or more consumers
to access the
order interface. A promotion configuration utility may be provided by the
campaign manager or
linked to the campaign manager, for example being provided by the point of
sale system, for
creating and configuring promotions. The promotion configuration utility
allows an entity or
entities to initiate a promotion (by specifying items, pricing, and promotion
time period) using
any of (i) a web interface to the campaign manager; (ii) pre-existing means
provided by a point
of sale system and accessible by an API to a point of sale agent; and/or (iii)
another custom
interface such as a mobile application, etc.
The campaign manager may also include or be linked to a promotion database
that is operable to
store promotions. A promotion may typically encapsulate a temporary offer or
special that is
used to drive consumer traffic to a specific entity or entities. The promotion
configuration utility
may be used to configure information regarding pricing, the specific items
that are being
promoted, the time period the promotion is in effect, how to incorporate the
promotion into the
ordering workflow, the channels used to disseminate the promotion, keywords to
be used for
contextual advertisement placement (if applicable), and a hyperlink to the
order interface for
enabling a consumer to participate in the promotion. The campaign manager may
provide one or
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more sets of default campaign rules for simplifying the process of configuring
a promotion. The
configuration of the promotions may be stored to the promotion database.
The promotions may be disseminated either by active or passive channels.
Passive channels may
include, for example, contextual advertisements on search engine websites and
active channels
may include, for example, social media feeds, emails, Internet-enabled
messaging, etc. These
channels may be linked to the campaign manager by APIs provided by channel
owners/administrators. The campaign manager may include or be linked to a
campaign rules
database that is operable to store rules for promotions by means of the active
and/or passive
channels. For example, the campaign rules database may include rules for
character limits for
particular social media feeds, font limitations for particular channels, etc.
The campaign manager is operable to disseminate the promotion online in
accordance with the
configuration of the promotion. The disseminated promotion includes the
preconfigured
hyperlink enabling a consumer to access the order interface. The order
interface can be
dynamically configured in response to a consumer accessing the order interface
by means of a
promotion. For example, a promotion for a specific item offered by a specific
entity includes a
hyperlink to the order interface preconfigured with that item and entity
already selected.
Discounts and other offers for the promotion can also be preconfigured in the
order interface.
The order interface and order manager can then be used as described above.
The campaign manager may monitor promotions that are currently in effect,
initiate notifications
to be sent to owners/administrators or promotion issues, record metrics and
click-through
information, and deactivate expired promotions. The campaign manager may
provide historical
data for promotions to enable optimum configuration of future promotions.
FIG. 4 illustrates a particular example in which an entity owner may access
the promotion
configuration utility (57). The owner may select one of one or more default
campaign rules made
available by the promotion configuration utility to simplify configuration of
the promotion (59).
The owner may also configure the promotion to include the items, prices,
discounts, and
dissemination channels for the promotion.
In an alternate example, the promotion may be created or configured on a point
of sale system
using a workflow enabled by the point of sale system (61). The corresponding
point of sale agent
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may monitor the point of sale system and become aware of any such promotions,
and may notify
the campaign manager of same by means of the order manager (63).
The promotion configuration utility may generate a hyperlink for linking the
promotion to the
order interface. The promotion may be verified against campaign rules from the
campaign rules
database for each of the selected dissemination channels, and warnings may be
provided to the
owner for any non-compliant configuration. A compliant configuration may be
saved to the
hyperlink to the promotion database. The campaign manager may disseminate the
promotion by
means of the selected dissemination channels in accordance with the
configuration of the
promotion (65).
The system may also include an administration utility for enabling
administration of the system,
analytics, and reporting of data collected by the order manager and campaign
manager.
For example, the administration utility may enable remote diagnostics and/or
provisioning of
point of sale systems and/or point of sale agents. For example, fixes, patches
and/or functionality
improvements may be provisioned to the point of sale agents from the
administration utility.
The analytics and reporting of data may include order history for a consumer;
order history for
an entity; promotion history; click-through rates; fulfilment rates; promotion
history by price,
location, items, channel, or any other indicator; diagnostic information
including point of sale
system uptime, response rates, etc.
The foregoing description of embodiments has been presented for purposes of
illustration and
description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to be limited to the
precise forms disclosed, and
modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings or
may be acquired from
practice of the invention. The embodiments were chosen and described in order
to explain the
principals of the invention and its practical application to enable one
skilled in the art to utilize
the invention in various embodiments and with various modifications as are
suited to the
particular use contemplated. It is intended that the scope of the invention be
defined by the
claims appended hereto and their equivalents.
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