DE10017574A1 - Procedure for distributing articles - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for distributing articles which have been ordered electronically from an online provider (2) and whose retention by the customer (1) is no longer desired. DOLLAR A The online provider (2) electronically sends an order (B) to a shipping service (3) to collect the items from the customer (1) with details of the customer and delivery details as well as the identification data of the shipment (5) and for forwarding of items to the manufacturer (s) or online provider (2) or to conduct an auction to sell the items in an Internet auction house with the associated indication of an opening price, an item description and an item identifier to provide the auction result with the data on the items assign and for subsequent delivery of the auctioned item to the auction buyer (s). DOLLAR A After storing the transmitted data in a database from the shipping service, picking up the items from the customer and storing them, carrying out the auctions with the corresponding order, the items are removed from the warehouse and sent to the buyer of the auction or to the online provider or manufacturer / Suppliers sent (F).

Description

The invention relates to a method for distributing arti cels that were ordered from an online provider and their Remaining with the customer is no longer desired.

Buying goods from online vendors over the Internet shows rapid growth. Of course it happens that the delivered goods do not meet the claims or expectations the customer's requirements, since z. B. the article one have not ordered color, are faulty, at eyes Acceptance does not meet expectations or the Be setting process was faulty and unwanted items ge were delivered.

In these cases, the customer had to Technology the articles, provided with reasons for the non-acceptance dance, repack (if possible in the original packaging), re-address and with the help of a shipping service to the Send the sender of the article. This procedure is for the Orderer with high transport costs and not him wishes and causes high storage costs for the provider.

On the other hand, it also happens that the customer after the Delivery of the ordered items does not deliver on time paid so that the provider reclaims the goods.

The invention specified in claim 1 is therefore on was based on creating a procedure with which the Trans port and storage expenses for sending back an online Vendors ordered and delivered items, their whereabouts is no longer requested by the customer.

The electronic commissioning of a shipping service by the online provider for picking up the items from the customer  with all necessary information about the customer and the lie ferdaten, such as. B. Delivery number, item description, invoice Shipment data, identification data of the shipment, and forwarding to the online provider or manufacturer / supplier or to an internet auction house to conduct an internet Sale auction of articles according to the interests of the online provider (e.g. free storage capacity, storage costs, Transport costs, condition of the items) has a relief of the Customer and savings in storage costs and transport costs most result.

Advantageous embodiments of the invention are in the Un represented claims.

The order can then be sent to the shipping service to pick up the arti the customer due to an order from the Be to the online provider stating the reasons for one Non-acceptance can be triggered.

Furthermore, the order can be picked up from the online provider themselves triggered because of the buyer's purchase price not paid or not paid in full on the payment date has been.

It is also advantageous if the Internet auction house Be is part of the shipping service and therefore faster internal communication is possible.

For additional transport costs due to the absence of the Orderer when the intended collection of the items avoid, it is advantageous that the shipping service is picked up min and time agreed with the customer beforehand.

In a further advantageous embodiment, the Ver sanddienst the consignment picked up from the customer checks whether the content corresponds to the target content Provider has been reported to match by without an additional  ches opening the shipment is weighed and / or by means of X-ray is radiated. Only in accordance with The articles are forwarded according to the target data.

It is also advantageous to remove the packaging from the customer to open the requested item shipment from the shipping service and Check the condition and function of the item. In case of damage the articles or impair their function a price estimate. Then the shipment is repackaged and when the auction is scheduled, the opening price for the Auction coordinated with the online provider before the Inter net auction house is commissioned.

It is advantageous if the shipping service uses the online Provider on the receipt and condition of the respective item item electronically taught.

In an advantageous embodiment, costs are optimized tion from the online provider, depending on the free location capacities at the online provider or the manufacturer learners / suppliers, the free transport capacities and the Transport costs and depending on the state of the arti kel, an auction order sent to the shipping service.

It is also advantageous if the online provider is for everyone Item type defines from the outset whether after picking up the item item at the customer's return to the manufacturer / supplier or online providers or whether a sales auction at an internet auction house. This will make him considerable processing effort saved.

In a further advantageous embodiment, articles from the shipping service to the respective manufacturer ler / suppliers or online providers sent if one agreed minimum quantity of the items by the customer fetches and is cached.  

The invention is then described in an exemplary embodiment further explained using the drawing.

Show

Fig. 1 shows a schematic flow of the method for distributing the items collected from the customer without Internet auction

Fig. 2 shows a schematic flow of the method for distributing the items picked up from the customer with an Internet auction.

2 Items ordered and delivered electronically by an end customer as customer 1 at an online provider (mail order company) should not remain with customer 1 . The reasons for this may be that the items do not meet the customer's expectations (wrong color, functionality), the wrong item was delivered, transport damage, errors or other defects are present, etc. In this case, the customer sends 1 to the online provider 2 electronically place an order to collect the delivered items. The online provider 2 then electronically transmits an order B to a shipping service 3 , in this case a corresponding post office of the Post Office, for picking up the unaccepted delivered items from the ordering party 1 with the ordering party data (name, address) and the delivery data such as. B. Delivery number, item description with size and weight information, invoice data, identification data of the shipment 5 . This order for picking up the delivered items B is also sent by the online provider 2 to the shipping service 3 if the customer 1 has not paid the item or not paid it in full on the payment date.

The transmitted data are stored in a database at the shipping service 3 . Before pick-up C of the shipment is carried out, it is advisable to coordinate the pick-up date and time between shipping service 3 and customer 1 in order to avoid additional pick-up trips. In the shipping service 3 , the shipment 5 is saved after collection in an automated warehouse 4 , which, as indicated by the dashed line, belongs to the shipping service 3 . In order to make the further distribution process simple and secure, a transponder is attached to the shipment as an identification mark. This transponder can e.g. B. contain the delivery number, previous identification data or a new identification, which is then included in the file. The advantage of a transponder is that no optical reading process has to be carried out for identification during distribution. Of course, this can also be done without a transponder, only then the address of the customer or other identification data on the shipment 5 must be read. Before or during storage there is also a determination of the content E of the shipment 5 , or a status check G of the article with opening of the packaging, as well as the electronic transmission of a pick-up confirmation D to the online provider 2 .

Which variant is carried out depends on the reasons for pick-up order A and the resulting procedural instructions for order B to the shipping service ( 3 ). Was the pick-up order A from the customer 1 z. B. triggered because he received the wrong item, or because he did not like the usage properties as he imagined them after the description, usually enough a content determination without opening the program 5 , z. B. by weighing or by X-raying, ie it is determined whether the content matches the target values. If this is the case (as in Fig. 1 Darge provides), it shall pursuant to this approach available to the online provider 2, the incoming shipment to the Her manufacturers / suppliers or the online provider 2, depending on the emergency F. are necessity forwarded this but only when there is a defined minimum quantity 6 for this addressee, be it articles of the same type or different articles. This means that the consignments 5 are temporarily stored and, if the necessary minimum quantity 6 is available, they are outsourced and dispatched to the manufacturer / supplier or online provider 2 F.

If there is no correspondence with the target data when determining the content without opening the packaging of the consignment ( 5 ), the consignment ( 5 ) is opened and the result is communicated to the online provider ( 2 ), who then decides whether forwarding as intended or whether an auction should take place in an Internet auction house.

In FIG. 2, the process sequence is shown when the transport, storage and cost situation was adopted by the virtual provider 2 an auction available due.

The first steps take place as shown in FIG. 1, ie after the pick-up order A from the customer 1 , the online provider 2 sends an electronic OR B to the shipping service 3 to pick up the unaccepted items delivered to the customer 1 . This order also contains the order data (name, address) and the delivery data, such as delivery number, item description with size and weight information, invoice data, and identification data of the shipment. After picking up the unaccepted item, the shipment 5 is then temporarily stored in the warehouse 4 of the shipping service 3 . If the articles are to be auctioned due to the procedure contained in Order B, the consignment 5 is opened before the intermediate storage in the warehouse 4 , and a content check is carried out, ie the articles are checked for their condition and, if necessary, their function and if necessary there is an appreciation G. The shipment is opened and the condition of the items is checked even if checking the contents of the shipment without opening the packaging has shown that there is a deviation from the target value. If, on the basis of order B of online provider 2, the item or items are to be auctioned without the buyer 1 having objected to their condition or function, the procedural decision also includes the opening price for the auction. If the condition of the article is not perfect (result of the content control), an estimate is made and the condition and the estimated value are then sent to the online provider 2 , who then transmits the modified opening price to the shipping service 3 . The shipping service then electronically sends an auction order I with the opening price and the information about the items (technical data, illustration) to an Internet auction house, which then carries out the auction. For the auction bidder 7 , who was awarded the contract, modified documents are printed out using the transmitted data (e.g. new invoice), the shipment is advantageous on the basis of the data stored in the database and the corresponding identifier of the shipment 5 ( a coded trans ponder) is removed from the warehouse, made ready for dispatch for the new recipient and delivered to him K. At the same time, the auction result is sent to online provider 2 J. If the items could not be sold at the auction, their whereabouts will be affected matched to online provider 2 .

Claims (11)

1. Procedure for distributing articles that have been electronically ordered from an online provider and whose retention is no longer desired by the customer, characterized by the steps:

• - Sending an electronic order (B) by the on-line provider ( 2 ) to a shipping service ( 3 ) for picking up the items from the customer ( 1 ) with details of the order, such as name, address and delivery data, such as delivery number, Item description with size and weight details, invoice data, identification data of the shipment ( 5 ) and for forwarding items to the manufacturer (s) or online provider or to carry out an auction to sell the items in an Internet auction house with the associated information Opening price, an item description and an item identification in order to be able to assign the auction result to the item data and for the subsequent delivery of the auctioned item to the auction buyer (s),
• - Creation of a database at the shipping service with the transmitted data for the items to be picked up from the customer, which is continuously updated according to the steps performed,
• - Collection (C) of the item from the customer ( 1 ) and storage,
• - Execution of the arranged auction (I) by the auction house and transmission of the price, name and address of the bidder ( 7 ) who was awarded the contract as buyer, upon agreement of the delivery time as well as article data and original delivery number to the dispatch service ( 3 ),
• - Remove the items from the warehouse and send them to the buyer of the auction (K) or to the online seller ( 2 ) or the manufacturer / supplier (F).

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the order (B) to the shipping service ( 3 ) for picking up the items from the customer ( 1 ) on the basis of an order by the customer ( 1 ) to the online provider ( 2 ) with the reasons for the non-acceptance being triggered. 3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the order (B) to the shipping service ( 3 ) for picking up the items from the customer ( 1 ) is triggered by the online provider ( 2 ) because the purchase price from the customer ( 1 ) was not paid or was not paid in full on the payment date. 4. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the Internet auction house inventory is part of the shipping service ( 3 ). 5. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the shipping service ( 3 ) before picking up (C) the article with the customer ( 1 ) electronically coordinates the pick-up date and time. 6. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that at the shipping service ( 3 ) before forwarding the content of the item picked up from the customer item shipment ( 5 ) without opening the packaging by weighing and / or X-ray screening via checks (E) and is forwarded in accordance with the target data. 7. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the packaging of the orderer ( 1 ) picked up item shipment ( 5 ) is opened at the shipping service ( 3 ), the condition and function of the item is checked in the event of damage to the item or impairment of their function, a price estimate is made (G), the consignment is repackaged and, if the auction is scheduled, the opening price for the auction is coordinated with the online provider (H) before the Internet auction house is commissioned. 8. The method according to any one of claims 1, 6 or 7, characterized in that the on-line provider ( 2 ) from the shipping service ( 3 ) is electronically informed of the receipt, condition and value of the respective article (H) . 9. The method according to any one of claims 1-8, characterized in that, depending on the free storage capacities at the online provider ( 2 ) or the manufacturers / suppliers, the free transport capacities and the transport costs and the condition of the article from the online Provider ( 2 ) to the shipping service ( 3 ) an auction order is transmitted. 10. The method according to any one of claims 1-8, characterized in that the online provider ( 2 ) determines from the outset for each article type whether a return (F) to the manufacturer after picking up the article (C) from the customer ( 1 ) / Suppliers or online providers ( 2 ) or whether a sales auction (I) takes place at an Internet auction house. 11. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that items from the shipping service ( 2 ) are only sent to the respective manufacturer / supplier or online provider (F) when an agreed minimum quantity of the items is picked up by the customers ( 1 ) and is saved.