AU2012100874A4 - Distribution system - Google Patents

Abstract

Abstract The present invention is related to the shipping of packages. In particular, it relates to a distribution system that allows a recipient to collect their packages at convenient times and places. In particular, the present invention relates to a distribution system comprising i) transporting the item directly to a collection point, wherein the collection point has been pre-selected by a customer from a list comprising at least one collection point, the list being generated by a computer on the basis of a destination address provided by the customer when ordering the item on-line; and ii) advising a recipient by electronic means, of the item being delivered to the collection point and being ready for collection by the recipient.

Description

P1/00/011 Regulation 3.2 AUSTRALIA Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR AN INNOVATION PATENT ORIGINAL Name of Applicant: PAUL LOCKWOOD Actual Inventors: Paul LOCKWOOD Address for Service: Houlihan 2 , Level 1, 70 Doncaster Road, Balwyn North, Victoria 3104, Australia Invention Title: DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to the Applicant:- 2 Distribution System Field of the Invention The present invention is related to the shipping of packages. In particular, it relates to a 5 distribution system that allows a recipient to collect their packages at convenient times and places. Background to the Invention The shipping of parcel items by freight companies can typically be described in terms of 10 three primary transport legs. In the first leg, a shipping item, e.g. a package(s), carton(s) etc., is taken from an initial sender's address to a local depot of a transport service provider. In the second leg, the item is transported from the local depot to a local, interstate, or even an overseas, delivery centre. In the third leg, the item is transported from the delivery centre to its final destination address. The second and third legs may include several 15 additional "stop-overs" at other depots, depending on the delivery route chosen by the freight company. If the final delivery of the item requires a signature, and the destination address is unattended, a 'calling card' is left, and the item is returned to the delivery centre. This is inconvenient for both the freight company and for the customer who must, typically, contact the freight company to arrange a suitable time for re-delivery at the 20 customer's expense or for the item to be collected from the delivery centre. The evolution of e-commerce in the last 10 years has placed enormous pressure on traditional retailers, e-traders and freight companies. This is because collectively they have failed to address the issue of delivering the ordered items to customers at a time that is 25 convenient for them, not when it is convenient for the freight company. This impacts online businesses and their ability to service their customers. It has forced up delivery prices as a result of freight companies trying to come to terms with delivering directly to consumers which takes them out of high density industrial and office delivery areas and into residential areas. 30 The customer's overall shopping experience is dulled because: deliveries are made to their homes when no one is there and parcels, if left unattended, can be stolen, and customers cannot always access a Post Office or delivery centre to collect their parcel during its 3 normal opening hours because of work commitments. These problems need to be overcome. The traditional retail model is dying a slow death because of its inability to compete with 5 on-line businesses on price. This is largely due to excessively large stores that attract very high rents, huge wages and the need to tie up money in holding stock. Again, these are difficulties that have to be addressed now, before more traditional retailers go out of business. 10 Online businesses could improve the service to their customers if their deliveries could be affected at a time that is convenient to the customer, not when it is convenient for the freight company. Summary of the Invention 15 In recent years e-commerce sales have grown exponentially due to their price competitiveness. Online businesses are able offer lower prices in part because they don't have to pay for and build into the sale price of an item, factors to cover overhead expenses such as retail rent, wages and huge inventory. In an e-commerce environment 'he who has the best deal wins'. The same is true of traditional retail but it continues to survive on its 20 point of difference, while it struggles to compete on price - that being the instant gratification that the customer derives from being able to take home their purchase immediately. The success of furniture retailer IKEA is testament to this instant gratification. The customer is able to take home furniture products that would have previously required ordering from a workshop and then waiting for delivery at sometime in 25 the future. Email delivery of tickets and vouchers is another example of instant delivery of purchased items. Customers demand the best price for their product, and delivery on their terms. This is a concept that freight companies and the like have failed to address and they need now to accommodate the growing needs of consumers. The present invention seeks to provide an improved system by which products are available to a customer at a time of 30 their choosing. Freight companies in Australia have equipped themselves to service the needs of the Business-to-Business environment, which is strictly nine to five, Monday to Friday. Their 4 current business model fails to address the growing problem that customers are not normally home during these hours. In one embodiment, the present invention provides a distribution system comprising: i) 5 transporting an item directly to a collection point, wherein the collection point has been pre-selected from a list comprising at least one collection point, the list being generated by a computer on the basis of a postcode or a destination address selected by a customer when ordering the item on-line; and iii) advising a recipient by electronic means, of the item's arrival at the collection point, thereby providing notification that the item is ready for 10 collection by the recipient. In a further embodiment, the present invention provides a method of ordering and receiving an item using a client system, the method comprising: i) displaying information identifying the item and displaying an indication of an action that is to be performed by a 15 customer to order the item; ii) in response to the indicated action being performed, sending to a server system a request to order the item; iii) requesting the customer to identify a delivery area for the item; iv) in response to the identified delivery area, the server system generates and displays a list comprising at least one collection point; v) requesting the customer to select a collection point from the list; vi) in response to the selected collection 20 point, transporting the item to the collection point selected by the customer; and vii) advising a recipient by electronic means, of the item being received at the collection point and being ready for collection by the recipient. The distribution system described herein seeks to solve the above mentioned problems at 25 all levels. In particular, the recipient can receive their purchased items at a time and place which is convenient to them. The retailer can offer an improved delivery policy and the freight company can significantly reduce the number of futile deliveries and resultant customer follow-up to arrange collection from the transport company depot. The distribution system of the present invention provides many advantages over existing 30 systems, including reduced cost for the freight company and improved convenience for the customer. A further advantage that may be provided by the present invention is realised at the collection point. In most embodiments of the present invention, the collection point is a retail store, such as a major supermarket or convenience store chain of fame and repute.

5 Such a retail store is also likely to receive more custom simply by the additional number of people that enter the store. Having the collection point inside a "bricks and mortar" store also allows the recipient to 5 pick up the item in a secure manner, since most stores include some form of internal security, such as cameras and the like. Detailed Description of the Invention The following description refers to a specific embodiment of the present invention and is in 10 no way intended to limit the scope of the present invention to that specific embodiment. The present invention provides a means by which purchased or ordered items may be delivered to a convenient location so that the recipient of the item may attend that location at a convenient time to collect the item. As discussed above, this is an improvement over 15 current delivery systems wherein the item would be received in a transport depot then delivered to a residential address, for example, where, if the residence was unattended, the item could be left unattended or returned to the freight company's depot for the customer to arrange a subsequent pick up or redelivery for an additional fee. The present invention provides a system which significantly reduces the number of returned items and makes the 20 items available for collection by the recipient at a convenient time and place by delivering the items to a collection point such as, but not limited to, a supermarket, convenience store, or another retailer that is open for business beyond and/or outside normal business hours (i.e. Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm). 25 Before implementation of the distribution system of the present invention, arrangements will be made with one or many businesses to act as decentralised collection points. The choice of such businesses is typically governed by the following exemplary criteria: number of outlets/stores in residential areas; opening hours, especially before and after normal business hours; and, ability to store items for later collection by the recipient. Of 30 significant importance for the present invention is the requirement that the collection point is open outside of regular business hours. The skilled person will realise that supermarkets satisfy these criteria, as do convenience stores, department stores, newsagencies and many pharmacies. It will become apparent to the skilled person that using a supermarket, for 6 example, as a collection point has a number of advantages over the currently distribution model, not least of which is its opening hours, which not only extend from before 9am to after 5pm on weekdays, but also includes weekend opening times. This is clearly very convenient for the recipient of the item. Accordingly, it is envisaged that a formal 5 arrangement with one or more supermarket chains, such as, but not limited to, Aldi, BI-LO, Coles, Foodworks, Franklins, IGA, Ritchies and/or Safeway/Woolworths in Australia will form the basis of the service because it can offer a very wide spread of collection points. Similarly, convenience store chains could be used, for example, 7-Eleven, Lucky 7, Nightowl, a convenience store associated with a petrol station, as well 10 as the convenience store brands of the major supermarket chains. It will become apparent to the skilled person that there is a considerable number of potential stores that could be used in a network of collection points. Once the collection points have been arranged, they can be offered to customers as 15 delivery collection sites. A customer, when purchasing an item on-line, will be asked by a computer, where the item is to be delivered. Upon receipt of destination information such as suburb, town and/or postcode, the computer will use the information to identify at least one collection point that will be a convenient distance from the recipient. The customer will then be given a list of, at least one, collection point from which to select a delivery 20 location. Such a list may be provided as a "drop-down" list. The recipient of the item may or may not be the customer, depending on whether the item is intended for the customer, for example, it might be a gift. In alternative embodiments, the customer is a retailer who places an order for an item on 25 behalf of another person. It is therefore the customer/retailer who provides the computer with destination information and then selects the collection point from the computer-generated list. In this embodiment, the recipient is unlikely to be the customer who actually placed the order, it may be the person who directed the customer to place the order. 30 Once the customer has selected a collection point and the purchase of the item is complete, the retailer, preferably an on-line retailer, arranges for the item to be delivered by the freight company to the collection point selected by the customer. Typically, a freight 7 company will have a single depot in a State or large city to which the item is delivered after pick up from the retailer or a warehouse. The freight company then transports the item to the pre-designated collection point. 5 At the collection point, the item is stored securely for subsequent collection by the recipient. The present invention differs from other distribution systems in that the item is not delivered to a post box or locker which may or may not be situated inside the collection point. The present invention therefore provides the owner of the collection point with additional potential customers, and it does not restrict the size of the item being delivered 10 to fit inside a letter box or locker. As discussed below, collection of the item by the recipient also provides proof of delivery information that may be sent to the customer, e-retailer and/or freight company. It is usual practice in the freight industry to use some form of tracking so that the location 15 of an item may be determined at any time. Such tracking is most frequently performed using a barcode attached to the item, wherein the barcode includes an item-specific designation. While barcodes are typically used, the present invention is not so limited, in particular, it is envisaged that the item may include an additional or alternative item-specific designator, such as, but not limited to, a matrix barcode such as a QR code, 20 or a unique alphanumeric code stored in an RFID. The item-specific designator may be read by a scanner, such as a hand-held scanner that can transmit time and/or location information regarding the item to a central computer system. In order to provide accurate tracking, the item-specific designator is usually scanned whenever the item arrives at a location and leaves a location. Accordingly, it is possible, via existing carrier tracking 25 technology, to have the computer system notify the recipient of the location of the item at any time. For example, the computer system can send an electronic message to the recipient to alert the recipient by text message or email that the item has been dispatched from the freight company's depot or the retailer's warehouse. Since the freight company will be able to predict the estimated arrival time of the item at the collection point, such 30 information may also be transmitted to the recipient. Upon arrival at the collection point, the item-specific designator is again scanned and a computer system, by which the arrival information is received, may send a text message or email to the recipient to indicate that the item is ready for collection. Other information that may be sent in such a message 8 includes, but is not limited to: the opening hours of the collection point; the level of identification that is required to be presented for the recipient to collect the item; a collection code that may be presented at the collection point in lieu of, or in addition to, identification; the consignment note number, the barcode number, and/or a unique order 5 number generated by the retailer; and advice as to whether the item is heavy or bulky and thus requiring special equipment for collection. It is also envisaged that, upon collection of the item, the computer system may alert the customer and/or retailer as to any aspect of the delivery, such as, but not limited to, arrival of the item at the collection point and collection of the item by the recipient. 10 The electronic message may be sent by any electronic means, such as, but not limited to, telephone call, fax, text message (SMS), picture message (MMS), email, or social media message. 15 The recipient then attends the collection point, at a time of their choosing, to receive the item upon presentation of suitable identification. Because the collection point has been chosen to meet at least some of the above criteria, the collection point will be open outside regular business hours, making it convenient for the recipient to collect the item. 20 The fact that the recipient has to attend the collection point to receive the item is beneficial for the owner of the collection point, especially in the case of a supermarket, because it is possible that the recipient will also purchase something while at the collection point. A further option for the delivery system of the present invention is for the collection point 25 to offer an after-hours delivery service from the collection point to the recipient. This service may be offered for a small additional fee that may be optionally nominated at the point of purchase. This phase goes one step further in offering a service on the customer's terms. 30 Where the terms "comprise", "comprising", "include", "includes", "included" or "including" are used in this specification, they are to be interpreted as specifying the presence of the stated features, integers, steps or components referred to, but not to 9 preclude the presence or addition of one or more other feature, integer, step, component or group thereof. Further, any prior art reference or statement provided in the specification is not to be taken 5 as an admission that such art constitutes, or is to be understood as constituting, part of the common general knowledge.

Claims (5)

1. A distribution system comprising: i) transporting the item directly to a collection point, wherein the collection 5 point has been pre-selected by a customer from a list comprising at least one collection point, the list being generated by a computer on the basis of a destination address provided by the customer when ordering the item on-line; and ii) advising a recipient by electronic means, of the item being delivered to the 10 collection point and being ready for collection by the recipient.

2. A method of ordering and receiving an item using a client system, the method comprising: i) displaying information identifying the item and displaying an indication of an 15 action that is to be performed by a customer to order the item; ii) in response to the indicated action being performed, sending to a server system a request to order the item; iii) requesting the customer to identify a delivery area for the item; iv) in response to the identified delivery area, the server system generates and 20 displays a list comprising at least one collection point; v) requesting the customer to select a collection point from the list; vi) in response to the selected collection point, transporting the item to the collection point selected by the customer; and vii) advising a recipient by electronic means, of the item being received at the 25 collection point and being ready for collection by the recipient.

3. The system of claim 1 or the method of claim 2, wherein the collection point is open for business outside of normal business hours. 30

4. The system or method of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the collection point is selected from the group consisting of: supermarkets, convenience stores, department stores, newsagencies and pharmacies. 11

5. The system or method of any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein said electronic means is selected from the group consisting of: telephone call, fax, text message (SMS), picture message (MMS), email, and social media message.