System and method for receiving and managing remotely placed orders

Abstract

A system for enabling the remote ordering of products, primarily for use in a multi-vendor system, is disclosed. Orders are placed remotely, such as through wireless devices connected to a central server. The central server, in turn is in communication (wireless or otherwise) with a server located at one or more venues within the organization operating the system. The one or more venues provide products or services available for ordering through the system. Where multiple venues are involved, the system is designed to handle differences in the product or service availability at those different venues, and provides for an ability to make corrections to orders that may be or may become necessary on account of those differences. The system provides for multiple options through which users can pay for and receive orders, and also provides methods for synchronizing the remote ordering system with pre-existing, conventional methods of ordering and product/service order fulfillment.

1 . A method of managing remotely placed orders comprising:
 receiving to an order management system server a venue selection from a mobile device at a first location, the venue selection identifying a first venue from among a plurality of venues, the first venue located at a second location;   requesting venue specific menu data from a venue server at the second location, wherein the venue specific menu data identifies a plurality of goods then available for production by the first venue;   receiving to the order management system server order data from the mobile device, the order data indicative of a current order for one or more goods from the plurality of goods then available from the first venue;   storing the order data at the order management system server;   at a later time, receiving to the order management system server location verification data from the mobile device, the location verification data identifying that the mobile device is now at the second location;   in response to receipt of the location verification data, transmitting the order data from the order management system server to the venue server to verify that the one or more goods identified in the order data are still available; and,   releasing the order data to the first venue for production.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the location verification data identifies an indicia uniquely associated with the first venue. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the indicia is a QR code. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising the step of transmitting data representing an order management system application component to the mobile device, wherein the order management system application component is capable of being operated by an operating system on the mobile device to generate display screens for use in generating the order data. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the venue specific menu data for the first venue is updated multiple times each day to reflect changes in the plurality of goods offered at the first venue. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising the step of storing the order data as a quick order for use in the generation of subsequent current orders by application software housed on the mobile device. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the order data identifies a receipt method from the list of receipt methods consisting of: pickup at counter, drive-thru, and curb-side delivery. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising the step of verifying receipt of payment for the one or more goods identified in the order data prior to releasing the order data to the first venue for production. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising the step of, prior to receiving the venue selection, recommending at least one of the venues from the plurality of venues based, at least in part, on its proximity to the first location. 
     
     
         10 . A method for processing a remotely-placed order for time-sensitive goods received from a first location at a first time, the goods to be received at a second location at a second time, the steps of the method comprising:
 receiving to an order management system server order data from a mobile device located at the first location, wherein the order data represents a request that at least one time-sensitive good be produced by a first venue remote from the first location;   associating the order data with a user account at the order management system server;   subsequently receiving to the order management system server location verification data from the mobile device, wherein the location verification data corresponds to the first venue and identifies that the mobile device is located at the first venue;   after receiving location verification data corresponding to the first venue, directing staff at the first venue to produce the at least one time-sensitive good.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , further comprising the step of generating an order number associated with the request. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising the step of transmitting the order number to the mobile device. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , further comprising the step of displaying the order number on an order ready board once the at least one time-sensitive good has been produced and is ready to be received. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , further comprising the step of providing the at least one time-sensitive good to a consumer in response to the consumer displaying the order number on the mobile device. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 10 , further comprising the step of sending venue specific menu data to the mobile device, wherein the venue specific menu data is indicative of the time-sensitive goods presently available to be produced by the first venue. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 10 , further comprising the step of transmitting data representing an order management system application component to the mobile device, wherein the order management system application component is capable of being operated by an operating system on the mobile device to generate display screens for use in generating the order data.