GB2360372A

GB2360372A - Transmitting product announcements

Info

Publication number: GB2360372A
Application number: GB0006286A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Philip Horswill
Original assignee: NET DILIGENCE Ltd
Current assignee: NET DILIGENCE Ltd
Priority date: 2000-03-15
Filing date: 2000-03-15
Publication date: 2001-09-19
Also published as: GB0006286D0

Abstract

Suppliers of manufactured products post safety announcements and recall announcements about particular products on a website. Recipients of the products register at the website indicating the products they have received. The website collates this information with the announcements, and forwards to the recipients any announcements about those products, by reference to a database.

Description

2360372 Internet Communication

Field of the invention

The present invention relates to a system for communicating information about manufactured products to recipients of those products. The invention further relates to computing apparatus arranged to perform the method, and to a computer program product, such as a recording medium, carrying computer program instructions readable by a computing apparatus to cause the computing apparatus to perform a method according to the invention.

Background Of the invention

Goods produced by a manufacturer conventionally pass through supply channels, usually including at least one merchant, to reach consumers. For many products the supply channels form an intricate international network and many distributors or vendors compete in the same marketplace. These networks become even more complicated when one considers sales of goods among consumers (e.g. second hard, or as site installations which are fixtures when the site is sold).

In the present document, of any two parties in a supply channel, the upstream party will be referred to as a "supplier" of goods while the downstream party will be referred to as a "recipient" of the goods. Thus a supp may be the manufacturer of the goods, in which se the recipient jierca may be a merchant of the goods or a consumer of the goods. Alternatively the supplier may be a merchant (e.g. the distributor of goods in a certain area) and the recipient is the consumer. Normally, the recipient will have purchased the goods, but the term "recipient" as used here is not limited in this way, and for example includes persons who have acquired goods (e.g. by hire) without legal title to them. Furthermore, in the case that a certain consumer has received the goods then re-sold them to another consumer (e.g. second hand), the second consumer is a "recipient", and relative to him all the parties via whom the goods reached him (that is, starting with the manufacturer himself) are regarded as his suppliers.

2 There are several situations in which a manufacturer (or someone downstream of him, such as his agents) may wish to transmit information concerning the goods to recipients. For example, a supplier may wish to transmit a safety announcement (e.g. advising the recipients how to use the product to avoid possible dangers) or a recall announcement advising or instructing the recipients to return the goods, e.g. to a point higher up in the supply channel or to an agent of the supplier, for repair or replacement. Conventionally, such announcements are made by filtering information down through the supply channels, but this technique is not entirely reliable, for example because records of supply channels reaching as far as the recipients may by unavailable (especially in the case that goods have been re-sold). Furthermore, it takes time for the information to travel down the supply channel.

An alternative is for a supplier to post adverts containing the announcements in printed matter such as magazines. However, this is expensive and wasteful - since the advert will be seen by many people who do not possess the product. It thus creates bad publicity for the supplier. Furthermore, the announcements are not guaranteed to reach all recipients of the products.

Summary of the invention

In general terms, the present invention proposes that a site of a data communication network (such as the world wide web) carries announcements posted by suppliers of products and accessible to recipients of the goods (or potential recipients of goods). The recipients register with the site, supplying profile information from which a profile is assembled. The site uses the profile information to filter the announcements to determine announcements relevant to the recipients, and enables the recipients to receive such announcements, e.g. as an email message.

3 Specifically one expression of the invention is website-based method of transmitting announcements associated with products from a plurality of product suppliers to a plurality of parties, the method including:

maintaining a database specifying for each party at least one announcement transmission criterion; receiving from one of said product suppliers an announcement associated with at least one said product; and determining, using the database, which of the parties should receive the announcement, and transmitting the announcement to those parties.

The parties are usually recipients of goods, but may also be potential recipients, such as individuals or companies who are considering receiving the goods. The criteria for each party preferably include whether the party has received, or is considering receiving, the goods.

Alternatively or additionally, the criteria may be based on any of the parties' demographics, location, etc.

Brief description of the Figures

Further features and advantages of the invention will be explained by reference to embodiments of the invention which will now be described, for the sake of example only, with reference to Figure 1 which shows schematically a system according to the invention.

Detailed description of the drawings - Referring to Fig. 1, a website is supported by a server system 1, and communicates via the Internet (indicated schematically as 3), with server(s) 5 owned by respective suppliers of goods (e.g. manufacturers andlor distributors), and the respective terminals 7 of recipients of the goods. The server system 1 is preferably operated by an organisation which is not one of the product suppliers, and preferably not even commercially associated with any of the product suppliers.

The server system 1 is schematically indicated as including a communication unit 11 which is responsible for communication with -ihe internet 3, e.g. for transmitting code (such as HIVIT1-, Java or Javascript) to 4 define one or more webpages to be viewed by the users of terminals 7. The communication unit 11 is further arranged for communicating with the servers 5. Furthermore, the unit 11 is capable of receiving and transmitting email messages from the servers 5 andlor terminals 7.

The communication unit 11 is in communication with a processor unit 13, which can read and write to databases 15, 17, 19, 21.

Suppliers (e.g. manufacturers) can register with the server system 1, and activate the server system in respect of any one of more of their products.

The server system 1 stores a list of those activated manufacturer's products in a database 17.

Upon receiving a product (or starting to consider obtaining a product), a user of the system communicates, using his terminal 7, with the server system 1, and transmits to it data characterising products the user has received (or is considering receiving). The server system 1 confirms that this is one of the products for which it is activated. The data includes recipient data characterising the user, e.g. at least an address of the user. The server system 1 stores the recipient data (possibly in a collated form) in database 15.

To increase the likelihood that a user would register in this way, the product may be supplied to the recipient carrying information indicating that the product is one of the products for which the server system 1 has been activated. This mark thus also acts as an assurance that product announcement information will be readily available. It is a statement to consumers about a company's commitment to health and safety.

-- To assist the registration of the user, the product may further carry information such as the internet address of the website defined by the server system 1. The website itself may be arranged to supply (e.g. on the user's command) information to assist the user in the registration. For example, it may contain a database of information (obtained from the supplier) about products, e.g. with photographs andlor with information about optional features of the products, so that the user can enter product data which specifies not only which product he has received but also exactly what its specifications are. To speed up this process, the product may carry a code number which the server system 1 can recognise, and which specifies (e.g. completely) what product has been received.

Note that any given user may register in respect of more than one received product, e.g. in respect of a plurality of products obtained from different suppliers. Thus, preferably the data in respect of a particular user includes a recipient record of recipient data relating to the user, and coupled to it a product record for each of the products in respect of which the user has registered. Thus, when the user registers in respect of a new product, this can be performed by adding one further product record to the database 15 and referencing the new product record to the existing recipient record. Thus, the user does not have to re-enter the data which characterises him.

Upon a supplier deciding to release an announcement concerning a supplied product, the supplier's server 5 transmits the announcement together with product definition data defining the product concerned, to the server system 1. The server system stores this data in database 17.

The processor 13 compares the product data in database 15 with the product definition data in database 17, and determines which user(s) should receive the announcements. For example, in the case of an announcement which is in respect of a particular product having certain optional features and supplied during a certain period in a certain geographical area, a given announcement may only be forwarded to a given product recipient if the data in his product record (or one of his product records) andlor recipient record exactly matches these criteria.

. Fijrthermore, the announcement may be made to the recipient in a format according to the recipient record. For example, it may be in a language which he has specified, or a language of the country in which according to the recipient record the recipient lives. As another example, the announcement may specify action the user should take (e.g. a location to which he should return the product, or the contact details of a repair service) according to the geographical location of the recipient according to the recipient record.

Regarding the transmission of these announcements, a first possibility is for the server 13, to transmit, e.g. by email, this announcement data via the intemet 3 to the respective terminals 7 of the appropriate user(s), e. g. using 6 email address information which is part of the recipient record stored in the database 15.

The recipient record may further include data specifying when this email is sent. For example, announcements may be forwarded to users by email immediately they are received by the server system 1. Alternatively, they may be transmitted on a timescale selected by the user and defined by the recipient record, e.g. daily, weekly or monthly. Optionally, the announcements themselves may include data specifying how urgent the announcement is, and this may influence the timing of the delivery, e.g. the server system 1 may override (in the case of an urgent announcement) the preference of the user to be notified only once a month. Alternatively, the user may be able trigger a transmission to him of the relevant information (and in this case optionally dispense with automatic transmission to him of the announcements). For example, the user may be able to trigger the transmission by sending an email to the server system 1, and receiving the result as an email. However, and more preferably, the user may be able to access the collated data by simply logging onto the site, so that the data is presented to him not as an email but as part of a webpage Normally, the collation of the information (that is the determination of what announcement(s) are relevant to a user according to his recipient record and product record(s)) is performed immediately before the delivery. However, alternatively or additionally, the server system 1 may store the collated information for some or all of the users in a database 19, so that the user-can access it directly at any time without having to wait for the collation to occur.

The profile may include significant demographic data, e.g. beyond merely the geographical location of the user. For example, the profile may include medical conditions of a user, such as an allergy, or health and safety disabilities such as epilepsy. Thus, announcements can specifically be targeted at registered recipients who are particularly at risk. Usually, the recipients should enter such medical data not only about themselves, but about any person who is likely to use or otherwise come into contact with the received product.

7 Clearly, the profile data (even in cases in which it is just user addresses and registered products) will be of considerable commercial value.

It may be used, for example, to generate advertising for transmission (e. g. by internet) to the registered users, e.g. in tandem with announcements from suppliers, or periodically on a predetermined timescale. The advertisements may for example be for consumables of the products for which the recipient is registered.

Although the invention has been explained above in terms of the users transmitting the product data, this is not a necessary feature of the invention.

For example, upon a supplier supplying a product to a user, the supplier may itself transmit the profile data to the server system 1, to generate the user record and the product record. If the recipient is already registered at the server system 1, the supplier may, instead of the data to form a new recipient record, just submit to the server system 1 sufficient information to identify the existing recipient record of the product recipient, e.g. a recipient reference number associated with the recipient record. Such a process of registration by the supplier, rather than by the recipient, could, for example, be performed in collaboration with other customer monitoring performed by the supplier, such as a club card scheme.

These schemes may also operate though electronic payment processing standards, such as the Bluetooth scheme. Companies subscribing to such standards may be permitted to "mine" data (extract, collate and extrapolate data) from the transaction for the purpose of identifying recipients of products, e.g. for the purpose of causing or of facilitating the registration of the recipient with the server system 1, andlor the distribution of recall and safety announcements to the recipients.

Security is an important consideration in a method according to the invention.

Firstly, product announcements, generally implying a criticism of the products, should only be accepted by the server system 1 if they originate from authorised persons. In practice, the suppliers store, e.g. in their servers 5, a respective password. The record for a given product stored in the database 17 will be associated with the one or more passwords of one or 8 more respective suppliers for that product (e.g. the manufacturer itself, or its distributors) who are authorised to post an announcement. Thus, the server system will only accept an announcement in respect of a given product if it receives the announcement in combination with the one or more passwords for that product. Supplying the password gives the supplier access to a password protected member area at the site.

Secondly, the data transmitted by the user to the site may be sensitive.

A user himself may only able to access that data (e.g. to verify it or update it) upon supplying a password associated with the user's record in the server system 1. In practice, whenever a user connects to the server system 1 he may be required to complete a log-on procedure, e.g. including supplying a password.

The server system 1 may provide additional services to the suppliers andlor recipients who register with it. For example, the site may maintain a database 17 of photographs or diagrams of the registered products which the servers 5 can draw on in producing their announcements.

Furthermore, the server system may be provided with a database 21 storing links to the corporate site of the suppliers, such as the company's home page, or to the customer service centre.

The database 17 may furthermore be a searchable archive. By contrast, recall notices in traditional media have a very short life. Depending on the publications used, that may be as short as just one day. By means of the archive of the present invention, a consumer who is considering acquiring a p;3eticdiar product may be able in advance to review a history of announcements concerning that product.

Alternatively or additionally, the database 21 may comprise an array of useful consumer related internet links, e.g. to advice links, consumer societies, government bodies, etc. Furthermore, registered members of the server system 1 (principally recipients) may be able to post in the database 21 requests for advice, e.g. from lawyers who answer consumer questions. The advice may be stored in the database 21, and over time this will build up into a library (which may be searchable) of consumer support.

9 Furthermore, the server system 1 may be configured to transmit the announcements not only to recipients of goods, but also to organisations which support other sites, e.g. sites which display recall notices and news.

The product is preferably a manufactured good, but the invention is not limited in this respect. Preferably the product is a mechanical, electrical or electronic product, but alternatively the product may be a chemical (e.g. a pharmaceutical), a drink or a foodstuff. It could be an information-based product such as software or a database. It is even possible to imagine cases in which the product is a service.

The recipient of any product may be a consumer. However, within the scope of the invention, the recipient may itself be a merchant (e.g. a retailer). Upon the merchant receiving an announcement concerning one of its products, the merchant may withdraw that product from sale. Preferably, the user data supplied by the recipient specifies the position of the recipient in the supply channel, e.g. whether the recipient is a merchant or a consumer. The announcements may in this case specify which sort of recipient they are directed to (e.g. just to consumers), and the server system may only forward the announcement to recipients of the correct type.

Although the invention has been described above in relation to 20 particular embodiments, many variations are possible within the scope of the invention as will be clear to an expert.

--- For example, the terminal of a user may be any device (e.g. a mobile telephone, TV, PC or Mac) which is enabled for internet communication. It may for example itself be one of the products for which the website is activated. Furthermore, although the invention has been described in terms of communication via the internet (world wide web) it is applicable to any other distributed communication system, e.g. the server system 1 may define a website of a proprietary network, such as an intranet. Such a network may be appropriate for example in the case that the recipients are merchants rather than consumers.

Claims

1. A website-based method of transmitting announcements associated with products from a plurality of product suppliers to a plurality of parties, the method including: maintaining a database specifying for each party at least one announcement transmission criterion; receiving from one of said product suppliers an announcement associated with at least one said product; and determining, using the database, which of the parties should receive the announcement, and transmitting the announcement to those parties.

2. A method according to claim 1 in which for at least some parties at least one announcement transmission criterion specifies at least one product received by that party, said transmission of the announcement being performed in the case of a party which has received the product associated with the announcement.

3. A method according to claim 1 in which said announcements are safety announcements or product recall announcements.

4. A method according to claim 1 in which said step of transmitting said announcements is performed by electronic mail.

5. A method according to claim 1 which further includes maintaining for at least one party data characterising the location of the party, said announcement being associated with a geographical region defined by geographical data, and said step of transmitting said announcements to such parties only being performed for parties having a location within said geographical region.

6. A method according to claim 1 which further includes maintaining for at least one party data characterising a medical condition of the party, said 11 announcement being associated medical data, and said step of transmitting said announcements to said parties only being performed for parties having a medical condition conforming to said medical data.

7. A method according to claim 1 which further includes employing the database to select at least one party, and transmitting further information to the selected party.

8. A method according to claim 7 in which said further information is advertising information.

9. A computer program product carrying program instructions readable by a computing apparatus to cause the computing apparatus to carry out a method according to claim 1.

9. A method according to claim 1 in which there are a plurality of suppliers, each associated with a respective set of one or more said products, said method only transmitting the announcement if it concerns a product associated with the supplier from whom the announcement was received.

10. A computer server for transmitting announcements associated with products from a plurality of product suppliers to a plurality of parties, the server including:

a database specifying at least one announcement transmission criterion for each party; a communication unit which receives from one of said product suppliers an announcement associated with at least one said product; . a-processor which determines, using the database, which of the parties should receive the announcement; the communication device transmitting the announcement to those parties.

11. A computer program product carrying program instructions readable by a computing apparatus to cause the computing apparatus to carry out a method according to claim 1.

1 Amendments to the claims have been filed as follows 12- Claims 1. A website-based method of transmitting announcements associated with products from a plurality of product suppliers to a plurality of parties, said announcements being safety announcements or product recall announcements associated with geographical regions defined by geographical data, the method including:

maintaining a database specifying for each party at least one announcement transmission criterion, the criterion for at least one party lo including a location of that at least one party; receiving from one of said product suppliers an announcement associated with at least one said product; and determining, using the database, which of the parties should receive the announcement, it being determined that said at least one party should receive the announcement only if that at least one party has a location corresponding to the geographical region associated with the announcement, and transmitting the announcement to those determined parties.

3. A method according to claim 1 in which said step of transmitting said announcements is performed by electronic mail.

4. A method according to claim 1 which further includes maintaining for at least one party data characterising a medical condition of the party, said announcement being associated medical data, and said step of transmitting said announcements to said parties only being performed for parties having a medical condition conforming to said medical data.

13 5. A method according to claim 1 which further includes employing the database to select at least one party, and transmitting further information to the selected party.

6. A method according to claim 5 in which said further information is advertising information.

7. A method according to claim 1 in which there are a plurality of suppliers, each associated with a respective set of one or more said products, said method only transmitting the announcement if it concerns a product associated with the supplier from whom the announcement was received.

8. A computer server for transmitting announcements associated with products from a plurality of product suppliers to a plurality of parties, said announcements being safety announcements or product recall announcements associated with a geographical region defined by geographical data, the server including:

a database specifying at least one announcement transmission criterion for each party, the criterion for at least one party including a location of that at least one party; a communication unit which receives from one of said product suppliers an announcement associated with at least one said product; and 1 a processor which determines, using the database, which of the parties should receive the announcement, the processor only determining that said at least one party should receive the announcement if that at least one party has a location corresponding to the geographical region associated with the announcement; the communication unit transmitting the announcement to those determined parties.