Sales channel management infrastructure

Abstract

A sales system supports sales between a plurality of buyers and a plurality of sellers in a communication network. A sales server has a seller interface used by both a first seller and a second seller respectively via a first seller's computer and a second seller's computer to register availability for sale of a first product and a second product. The sales server, based upon received buyer input from an identified buyer via a buyer computer that includes buyer orders for the first product and the second product dispenses a first sales order to the first seller's computer for the first product and a second sales order to the second seller's computer for the second product. The sales server provides instructions to the first seller's computer for fulfillment of the first sales order and to the second sales computer for the fulfillment of the second sales order.

1 . A sales system that supports sales between a plurality of buyers and a plurality of sellers in a communication network, the sales system comprising:
 a sales server having a seller interface, the seller interface being used by both a first seller and a second seller respectively via a first seller's computer and a second seller's computer to correspondingly register availability for sale of a first product and a second product;   the sales server, based upon received buyer input from an identified buyer via a buyer computer, wherein the received buyer input comprises buyer orders for the first product and the second product, dispensing a first sales order to the first seller's computer for the first product and a second sales order to the second seller's computer for the second product; and   the sales server also providing instructions to the first seller's computer for fulfillment of the first sales order by the first seller, and to the second sales computer for the fulfillment of the second sales order by the second seller.   
     
     
         2 . The sales system of  claim 1  further comprising:
 the second seller's computer registering availability for sale of a third product; 
 the second seller's computer receiving a third sales order for the third product from an external sales system; and 
 the sales server providing instructions to the second sales computer for the fulfillment of the third sales order by the second seller. 
 
     
     
         3 . The sales system of  claim 1  wherein the sales server tracks and manages inventory of the first product for the first seller and of the second product for the second seller. 
     
     
         4 . The sales system of  claim 1  wherein the sales server tracks and manages fulfillment activities for the first seller and for the second seller. 
     
     
         5 . The sales system of  claim 4  wherein the fulfillment activities are conducted at a fulfillment center managed by the sales server. 
     
     
         6 . The sales system of  claim 4  wherein the fulfillment activities are conducted based on geographical information associated with each of the plurality of buyers. 
     
     
         7 . The sales system of  claim 5  wherein the fulfillment activities are conducted based on geographical information associated with each of the plurality of buyers and inventory associated with each of the plurality of sellers. 
     
     
         8 . The sales system of  claim 1  further comprising:
 the sales server performs order fulfillment operations aimed at assigning at least one item of the first product and at least one item of the second product from an inventory to the identified buyer, based on a buyer order placed by the identified buyer for the at least one item of the first product and at least one item of the second product, wherein the buyer order placed also comprises delivery options; and 
 the sales server updates the inventory of the first product and of the second product in addition to honoring delivery options selected by the identified buyer as part of the order fulfillment operations. 
 
     
     
         9 . The sales system of  claim 1  further comprising:
 the sales server maintains a customer profile for each of the plurality of buyers; 
 the sales server shares the corresponding customer profile for the identified buyer, or a subset thereof, with the first seller and the second seller to facilitate shipping of the first product by the first seller and the second product by the second seller to the identified buyer. 
 
     
     
         10 . The sales system of  claim 1  further comprising:
 the sales server triggers order fulfillment activities only after it receives and validates payment information for the buyer order. 
 
     
     
         11 . A sales system that supports sales for multiple sellers, the sales system comprising:
 an order system associated with each of a plurality of sales channels that are associated with a product for sale;   an inventory system associated with each of the plurality of sales channels;   an order fulfillment system that is employed across the plurality of sales channels for the product for sale;   a pricing system that is employed across the plurality of sales channels for the product for sale; and   an integrated channel service manager that facilitates conducting sales transactions for the product for sale employing the plurality of sales channels, wherein the sales transactions are conducted spanning across the plurality of sales channels, as necessary.   
     
     
         12 . The sales system of  claim 11  wherein the multiple channels for the product for sale comprise one or more of a retailer oriented channel, a seller's web site based sales channel and a reseller oriented sales channel, the sales system further comprising:
 a website or a web-based interface for each of the plurality of sales channels for the product for sale that facilitates access by a buyer, via a buyer's computer communicatively coupled to the sales system. 
 
     
     
         13 . The sales system of  claim 11  further comprising:
 a promotional server that facilitates dispensing promotional offers to a buyer across one or more of the plurality of sales channels, wherein the promotional offers are customizable to specific ones of the plurality of sales channels. 
 
     
     
         14 . A method for supporting sales services by a multi-seller sales system, wherein sales occur between a plurality of buyers and a plurality of sellers in a communication network, the method comprising:
 maintaining an inventory of products offered for sale by a first seller and by a second seller, wherein the first seller provides a first product for sale employing a first computer, and the second seller provides a second product for sale employing a second computer;   tracking products that are ready-to-ship by the first seller and by the second seller, wherein the products that are ready-to-ship are a subset of the products offered for sale;   completing payment operations for a buyer order placed by a first buyer, wherein the buyer order comprises one or more items of the first product, and one or more items of the second product and delivery options; and   fulfilling the buyer order by executing order fulfillment operations.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14  wherein fulfilling comprises:
 initiating the shipping of products to the first buyer based on delivery options; 
 modifying the inventory of products after they are shipped to the first buyer; 
 monitoring the delivery of the shipped products and updating a status of delivery. 
 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 14  wherein completing payment operations comprises:
 computing delivery costs based on delivery operations;
 determining promotional offers that apply to the buyer order; 
 incorporating the delivery costs and all promotional offers that apply to the buyer order; computing a sales price; and 
 
 charging the sales price to a bank account, credit card account or a charge account associated with the first buyer. 
 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 15  wherein the first seller is a manufacturer and the first computer provides access to a manufacturer's order fulfillment system, and wherein the execution of the fulfillment operations also results in updating of the manufacturer's inventory managed by a manufacturer's inventory system also accessible via the first computer. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 15  further comprising:
 conducting integrated sales channel management for the first seller and for the second seller, wherein the first seller and the second seller each employ a plurality of sales channels, wherein each of the plurality of sales channels provide the opportunity to sell the corresponding first product and a second product. 
 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18  wherein the plurality of sales channels comprise a retailer oriented channel, a seller's web site based sales channel and a reseller oriented sales channel. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 14  wherein the inventory of products are maintained and managed across a plurality of sales channels for each of the plurality of sellers and comprise a retailer oriented channel, a seller's web site based sales channel and a reseller oriented sales channel.