JP2003533776A - Business-to-employer interactive reward and fulfillment systems and methods - Google Patents

Abstract

  (57) [Summary] The present invention relates to business-to-employer interactive reward and fulfillment systems and methods. Computer-implemented real-time transaction points where the prize program participant earns points and immediately accumulates them in a centralized data store for transactions at any one of a plurality of point servers networked to the host incentive prize system. The storage system comprises: (a) a point server, (i) at least one in-store server system including a point-of-sale system; (ii) at least one online interactive consumer website server; and (iii) A centralized data storage device comprising: (b) a host incentive prize system comprising at least (i) a host processor; (ii) a centralized data storage device electrically coupled to said host processor. The centralized data storage device includes a plurality of prize program participant records, each of the prize program participant records including at least one program participant point balance; (iii) relating to the record from the point server. A host communication device electrically coupled to the host processor for receiving the request, the host communication device transmitting at least one of the point balances to the point server; (c) the in-store server system; A customer website server and the employee contract and incentive website each process the transaction to determine points earned for the transaction, the point server further storing the points stored in the central data store. Balance each The points earned at the end of the transaction are updated immediately by sending them to the host processor in real time, and the points earned for the transaction are updated to create an updated point balance in a central data store. Added to the balance.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates generally to rewards and redemption programs. In particular, the present invention relates to a rewards and incentive / contract system that is implemented to support employee relationship management (ERM) within a retail commerce system and enterprise organization via a communications network. It relates to rewards and buyback programs executed by the buyback system. A retail purchasing system is a type of point-of-sale computer system used within retail stores to carry out sales transactions and to allow reward issuance and redemption; of interactive rewards and redemptions of personal computer users resulting from online purchasing. Includes potential online interactive websites; and online internet and intranet websites managed by business organizations that provide interactive rewards and buybacks to employees to achieve their goals. The present invention is a complete rewards and redemption program and system that combines a web-based employee contracts and rewards system managed within an enterprise with a consumer loyalty program that can operate at retail stores and / or online internet shopping sites. is there. Consumer loyalty is created by giving each consumer points for transactions that occur in-store at a particular retailer's location and / or online at a particular merchant's website. Employees recognized by their peers or supervisors to achieve a particular goal or to exhibit a desired behavior must have the same currency and value as those granted in retail and e-commerce shopping networks. You will be rewarded by receiving points. A common account in a common point currency is provided to individuals who transact in the e-commerce area, retail in-store areas and may also be involved in employee contract programs offered by that individual's employer. By combining the consumer loyalty program with the employee contracts program, participating retailers and internet e-commerce sites seek to acquire new customers and settle their points earned in the incentive program. Increase the total income made by employees who wish to add to their contract program account balance by earning additional point rewards for consumer purchases and / or consumer purchases. Similarly, employees engaged in loyalty programs that become employees of companies and organizations involved in contract programs can combine points earned in the retail network with points awarded by employee contract programs. , And those points can be redeemed within the contract program reward system.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Traditionally, in the retail environment, retailers and manufacturers have established consumer loyalty for goods and services offered for sale by advertising and coupons. Many manufacturers distribute coupons for their products by email, printing the coupons in newspapers or magazines, or by enclosing them in similar or related product packages. Currently, there are point-of-sale information management systems that assist manufacturers by distributing coupons by printing redeemable coupons at point-of-sale terminals for immediate delivery to consumers. These systems are specifically designed to place discount coupons for selected products in the hands of customers using certain competing products. The other loyalty reward program is of the type managed by the use of credit equipment as disclosed in Burton, US Pat. No. 5,025,372. In that system, a credit device is provided and a bonus credit value is granted based on the format in which the price paid for the product is a parameter. Therefore, at each purchase of some merchandise, credit values are granted and accumulated. Participants in the program can use the credit value accumulated for purchasing with credit devices.

With the advent of electronic commerce enabled by the rapid expansion of the Internet / World Wide Web and browser technology, other types of prize programs have emerged and Stray's US Pat. No. 5,774,870. Is disclosed in. The Stray patent discloses a fully interactive online frequency and prize repurchase program. The system disclosed in the Stray patent provides online access to product information, allows product purchases using the electronic order format, and provides prizes and redemption options using the online electronic buy-back order format. As a result of the introduction of online frequency and prize repurchase programs, as well as having an electronic storefront and McCarthy's United States Patent No. 4,
U.S. Pat. No. 5,923,01 to Fred Regill et al.
Merchants utilizing traditional point-of-sale loyalty programs, such as those disclosed in 60 and Burton's US Pat. No. 5,025,372, make transactions attractive and establish customer loyalty at their e-store. I'm looking for a way to do it. Many of these merchants have established a physical market presence with their retail outlets, and commercial (commerce) websites on the Internet to assert and / or replace their physical outlets. Is running. There is a need for a single loyalty program with the potential to expand both areas, so that the retailers involved in such a program can compete in both electronic trading and retail market environments. Have advantages. The system must provide incentives to customers at the point of sale and for products and services purchased at online interactive websites. Also, incentives must be provided to the customer regarding the behavior of the other person who will win the prize. A stand-alone employee contract program that rewards points for special achievements and actions is available in the in-store retail area, or through e-
Enhanced by enabling the exchange of points (substitutability) by the retail loyalty network in the commerce over-the-counter area, or both. Conversely, loyalty points earned by customers in the in-store retail area or in the e-commerce over-the-counter area can be redeemed for prizes awarded by the employee incentive program.

The accepted value of point rewards awarded by employee incentive programs is increased by an increasing number of options and opportunities to earn and redeem points in retail / e-commerce networks. The additional opportunity to earn points enables employees and customers to earn meaningful rewards in a compressed time period and impacts as a recruiting tool to attract potential employees to the corporate organization. Can be

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a centralized data storage device for transactions in which any one of a plurality of point servers networked to a host incentive system where a prize program participant earns points and immediately credits them. To provide a computer-implemented real-time transaction point accumulation system for accumulation in. The point accumulation server may consist of at least one in-store service system including a point-of-sale system, at least one online interactive consumer website server and interactive employee contract and incentive website server. it can. The host incentive prize system includes at least a host processor and a centralized data storage device electrically coupled to the host processor. The centralized data store includes a plurality of prize program participant records, and each of the product program participant records includes at least one program participant point balance. The host communication device is electrically coupled to the host processor and receives requests for prize program personnel records from the point server and sends at least point balance to the point server. The in-store server system, the customer website server, and the employee contract and incentive website each process transactions to determine the points earned for that transaction. These point servers also cause the point balance stored in the centralized data store to be updated immediately by transmitting the points acquired to the host processor at the end of each transaction in real time. The points earned for each transaction are added to the point balance stored in each participant record to create an updated point balance of the participant records stored in the centralized data store.

The system's online interactive consumer website server includes at least a website processor, a website data storage device electrically coupled to the website processor, and a web electrically coupled to the website processor. Consists of site communication devices. This website communication device transmits a request for prize program participant account data from a centralized data store and includes at least a prize point balance and stores the data in a temporary data store for use by the website server. Retrieving program personnel account data from centralized data storage. The interactive website calculates the points earned for each prize and transmits the earned points in real time to the host processor at the end of the transaction. The points earned for each transaction are added to the point balance stored in each program participant's record to create an updated point balance in the program participant's record stored in the centralized data store.

Interactive employee contracts and incentive website servers provide the organization with the ability to instantly grant points to centralized data storage to achieve goals and present actions that may be desirable to the organization. Prepare for the individual. A website server is electrically coupled to the website processor for interactive communication with the website processor, a website data storage device electrically coupled to the website processor, and the website processor. Includes data entry device. Interactive employee contracts and incentives The website server interactively gives points to the nominating members of the nominee upon request of the nominee as an incentive. The points awarded are instantly transmitted to a centralized data store and are immediately available for repurchase in the exchange of products and services in a related retailer system networked to a host incentive award system. Points are added to those previously stored in the organizational designated member record to create an account point balance. It will be appreciated that the program stakeholder record and the organizational nomination record may be the same record in one embodiment. In an alternative embodiment, the program participant record and the organizational nomination record are two separate records connected to allow immediate access to points in either account. Website servers include the ability to announce organizational designated members of incentives and points granted via e-mail, on-premises mail, or United States or private mail. The organization server grants an activity currency to an organization nominee member at the request of an organization nominator member as a prize for a nominee who presents some activity the organization encourages. Both the designated member and the nominee member of the organization are employees of the organization.

The present invention may be more fully understood in consideration of the following detailed description of the invention in connection with the accompanying drawings, which is incorporated in and constitutes a part of this specification.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The principle of the present invention is that the point where a consumer and / or an employee of a business organization is instantly reflected in a central position regardless of where the point is earned. Providing a combined computer-implemented online electronic consumer transaction and employee contract / incentive point accumulation system. A system embodying the present invention provides a system that allows a consumer to earn points for transactions that originate from an individual or organization in a retail store, at a retailer's internet-based website, and in recognition of certain behavior. By doing so it has spread to the physical and Internet realms. The points earned from individuals or organizations in the embodiments described herein are from peers and / or supervisors at the prizewinner's place of employment in recognizing certain actions or things. The system allows points to be earned for transactions in any of these three areas as immediately reflected in central data storage. The use of the present invention establishes a presence in the physical market so as to enhance their presence and consumer loyalty by providing a means for reward as obtained in both the physical and internet domains. Provide a supplier. The present invention also provides retailers and other employers with the means to provide incentive point prizes to their employees, with points from a common currency, the same currency exchanged in the two loyalty areas. Which increases the value of points issued in all three areas. All rewards earned in all three areas are maintained in one system. No distinction is drawn between rewards earned in the central host system domain as compared to rewards earned in other domains. The system provides merchants and employers with the ability to develop consumer loyalty and enhanced employee relationships beyond what can be achieved in each area alone. There are several categories of merchants and employers involved: (1) e-commerce interactive websites only, (2) physical store locations only, (3) physical store locations and internet commerce. E-commerce interactive website at (4) employee contract / incentive programs only, and (5) can fall into one of any combination of (1) to (4). When supported by a network of non-competitive retail partners in both the physical and Internet domains, the use of the present invention helps retain loyal shoppers and increases retailer profitability and profitability by acquiring new customers. Let Retail partners are given additional opportunities to acquire new customers by employee contract / incentive parties seeking to redeem points issued by their employers in the retail area. A combined loyalty and employee contract / incentive program implemented by a preferred embodiment of a system constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention includes physical and computer networks including both intranet and internet domains. Spread over the territory. Transactions that occur in the physical domain take place at retail outlets, typically at point-of-sale devices. Transactions that occur in the computer network domain are conducted via a personal computer via an internet or intranet connection to a retailer's interactive e-commerce website or employee contract / incentive program interactive website. Users access both the retailer's interactive website stored on the retailer's web commerce server and the employee's contract / incentive program interactive website stored on the employee contract / incentive program server via the public Internet can do. The employee contract / incentive program server can also be accessed by the user via the corporate intranet or personal network. It is understood that a retail store is a store,
It is meant to include any facility from which a consumer may purchase goods or services, including service facilities, catalog sales and mail order houses. It is also understood that the interactive website encompasses any internet-based virtual store from which consumers can purchase goods or services. In the physical area, the functionality of the system at each retail store is performed by the in-store system controller, and the functionality of the system is also controlled by point-of-sale devices such as cash registers or via service disk workstations. Executed in the target area. The service disk allows the consumer to enroll in the program, redeem points for a certificate, transfer points from one account to another, or have some administrative functions performed thereby, to the system. Is one point of the invasion of. In the intranet and internet areas, the functionality of the system is performed by the web server processor.

In order to engage in either loyalty or employee incentive programs in the physical or intranet and internet areas, consumers must be identified by a unique account verification number. A unique account verification number is assigned to the consumer party throughout registration. No registration period is required that must elapse before a consumer can be involved in the loyalty program. A program maintained by consumers in various ways, including a paper registration form provided at the location of the merchant involved, or via an electronic registration form on the retail merchant's interactive website, or by the loyalty program administrator. You can register for the program through the host website. Employees can register through the interactive website of the organization that is a member of the employee contract / incentive program. It is understood that the functionality of the employee contract / incentive website is accessible only to employees throughout the company running the program, but not from the private intranet of the company or from the public internet area. It means that you can Although registration in loyalty programs or employee contract incentive programs can be accomplished in a variety of ways, the most common way consumer registration information is captured in the physical domain is through the paper registration format. When the customer completes the paper form, he or she will have a point accumulation card ready for use at any one of multiple retail stores networked to the program manager's host system. The account number identified on the card is also immediately accepted by any e-commerce merchant involved in a program that has a website on the Internet. Merchants send paper formats to data entry vendors, where they are converted to electronic format. The electronic data is then sent to the program manager host system and added to the central customer database within the host system. Other registration data sources include information gathered from similar credit card applications. The registration data is captured in electronic form and sent to the program manager host system for intrusion into the central customer database.

Program registration data can also be captured via the Internet. If a consumer has already provided name and demographic data to an e-commerce merchant for billing or shipping, that information will be used by the e-commerce merchant to occupy fields of electronic registration format be able to. If that information is not available, the participating e-commerce merchants can put an electronic form on their website. The program manager host system can also provide these electronic formats that can be accessed by the program manager loyalty program e-commerce website. It is understood that the registration form can be accessed from the home page in the Program Administrator Loyalty Program e-commerce website or the merchant websites involved, or from other pages in both sites. The point of intrusion is not important as long as the proper information is gathered. The user interface simply presents the electronic format and prompts the consumer to enter the information required for that format. Upon completion of the format,
Or, if consumer information is obtained from existing data, the data is transmitted to the program manager host system and checked against various editing rules for validity. If the data passes the edit check, the online point server in the program administrator host system creates a new account and assigns a unique account number to that account. Successful receipt of registration data also includes transmitting an e-mail message to the customer advising the customer of the successful receipt of registration data and / or to the retailer or retailer website involved. An electronic response can be triggered that can include transmitting a program account number that can be used immediately, either in the physical or Internet domain for negotiation transactions during a consumer visit. The e-mail message also notifies that the loyalty program being mailed allows the consumer to earn points and redeem in any environment. The employee contract / incentive program enrollment may be captured by the employee contract incentive program host system via a public internet private intranet or extranet in a manner similar to that described above for participating electronic commerce merchants. Employee profile information may be automatically subscribed to the system by employees, supervisors, talent managers or through interfaces coming from internal talent or other systems. The system can automatically assign a new account number when the profile data is entered and activated as described above, or the employee can enter into a loyalty program relationship within the retail area. You may be prompted to enter your account number to suit the circumstances you have already registered. Other embodiments of the present invention allow existing account numbers to be connected to new incentive account numbers, in which case loyalty offered to employee contract / incentive programs via the intranet or internet domain. Transactions occurring in the physical and Internet areas of the program or information can be connected to create a common account. Successful registration in the employee incentive program also triggers an email to the employee by describing the program's profits, currency substitutability, etc.

Consumers enrolling in a loyalty or employee contract / incentive program are assigned a unique account number and at retail and service outlets where point-of-sale facilities are programmed to read the account number from a point accumulation card. It has a permanent point accumulation card that identifies its account for use in its physical area. The point accumulation card can be a card with a read-only magnetic stripe or barcode located on the card. The bar code or magnetic stripe contains data indicating the customer account number. When the customer's point accumulation program account is activated, use of the point accumulation card prompts the system to look for the customer's point accumulation program account. The card number, which is preferably 16 digits, includes a stable 16 digit ISO (International Organization for Standardization) number and a check digit.

Generally, the combined loyalty / employee contract / incentive program executed by the system operates as follows. In the physical area,
When a customer is shopping at a retail store, the customer's point accumulation card is swiped or scanned by a point-of-sale card reader or bar code scanner throughout checkout or payment for purchased items. . The device that reads the account data from the point accumulation card is part of the system. The system reads the customer account number encoded on the magnetic stripe or bar code and sends a search request for a customer point balance connected to the customer account number. The system also includes the ability to handle up-to-date card displays at the point of sale and alternative forms of account identification such as credit cards or driver's license numbers. If the alternate account identification is displayed by the customer, the system will identify the customer and the customer account number from the alternate account identification information processed by the system so that the customer point balance search request can be achieved. It includes various mechanisms. One mechanism that can be used to identify a customer is to connect an alternative identification (such as credit card information) to the customer's primary (primary) account number. Once such a connection (link) is established, the host system processes the alternative identification sent by the point of sale device and locates the customer account by the link between the account number and the alternative identification. The host system then sends the primary account number and account information to the point of sale device.

Following the request for customer account information, the program management host system sends at least the customer's current accumulated point balance from the central host system database. The received data is stored in the point-of-sale information management device in temporary data storage and displayed in real time on the point-of-sale information management device. Similarly, in the internet / electronic transaction area, customers can purchase through the websites of participating retailers. The retailer's website, which has an interactive home page, is networked to the host system via a direct connection to an online point server or via a program administrator loyalty program e-commerce web server. The retailer's website server queries the online points server and retrieves the customer rewards account points balance from the host system database.

Consumer transactions that occur in the Internet domain in combined royalties / employee contracts / incentives are devices for consumers to access the Internet, such as personal computers with browser software, WebTv, Internet accessible Suppose you have a mobile phone with security, a PDA with internet accessibility, etc. When a consumer accesses the Internet, the consumer enters the URL (Uniform Source Pointing Device) address of the electronic transaction website of the retailer involved and displays the contents of that "page" of their personal computer. The process of is started. The content corresponding to the main URL is typically the website's that brings to the user a menu of information and features, displayed as an image or text with a corresponding link to a new "page" of information. Referred to as the "home page".
When an individual involved in a combined loyalty / employee contract / incentive program accesses the web server of an involved retailer or employer organization, the system will prompt the customer to identify the loyalty program (for the involved retailer). With the option to identify as a party at the website or at the loyalty program manager's website or as a party at the employee contract / incentive program (to the employee incentive program host system via an intranet or internet connection). In one embodiment, customers can identify themselves by entering their loyalty program account number. What is understood is
It is that the use of an account number is the only way to identify the customer or employee involved and the steps for identifying the customer or employee are not limited to the use of the customer account number. Identifiers can also be used, such as employee ID #, social security numbers for credit card numbers.

If the loyalty customer is connected to the participating retailer website via the loyalty program administrator's e-commerce website, the loyalty account number may be used to electronically access the participating retailer website. Can be done. Loyalty account numbers may also begin with registration at physical store locations, program call centers, similar cards or other participating e-commerce websites. The account number can also start from an employee contract / incentive program. If you enter an account number after visiting a retailer website where the customer is involved, the number will be matched against a check digit routine to validate the correct entry and used to identify that customer as a loyalty program participant. To be stored in a temporary storage device. The account number can be matched against the central database from any point in the online consumer transaction process. Customer records stored in the central database may also be accessed via the prize program account identification number. This information can be used to customize the content and "look and feel" of the customer's website. If the user accessing the website does not enter an account number or does not have a loyalty program account number, the user will be given the option to register and obtain an account number in the program .

An additional feature that the system provides in the Internet domain is that it allows retailers to independently capture and store information about users within their website. This overt information typically includes the customer's name, demographics, priorities, billing and shipping addresses, credit card data, user identification numbers, PIN numbers, etc. This data is also used to help personalize the website. Some of the explicit information captured can be used for alternative identification purposes if the customer does not know the prize program account number. For example, a credit card number may be used in place of the program customer prize account number. The system includes functionality to identify the customer and customer account number from the credit card number processed by the system so that the customer point balance search request can be completed. One mechanism that can be used to identify a customer is to link alternative information (such as a credit card number) to the customer's primary account number. Once such a link is established, the host system processes the alternative information sent by the website server and locates the customer account by the link between the customer's primary account number and the alternative identification. The host system then sends the customer record information associated with the customer's primary account number to the participating retailer website.

The customer earns points based on the pre-tax, tax-free total purchases made at the participating retailer stores / outlets and based on the participating retailer's website. Points that can be earned include "regular" points and "bonus" points. All points earned for regular or bonus are added to the customer's current point balance stored in the central host system database in real time.

In the preferred embodiment of the retail loyalty program, the customer earns “regular” points based on the pre-tax dollar amount of the current sales transaction, excluding any duty-free merchandise. "Bonus" points are extra points that can be earned by a customer on a retailer's website in a retail store, especially with respect to the purchase of promoted merchandise. The bonus points typically have a preset price defined for the item stored in the item master file. In the Internet domain, master files are stored on website servers. In the physical area, the master file is stored in the in-store controller. For example, if a special manufacturer of a mobile phone cigarette lighter adapter for use with a special mobile phone has 75 bonus points attached to it in the master file, the customer will 75 bonus points will be awarded upon purchase. The bonus points are
It can also be granted in a variable pricing scheme. One example of a variable point commodity pricing scheme is one that has a variable price based on the quantity or weight purchased, such as fruits, candies, vegetables and meats, which may give 50 points per pound of the commodity purchased. In the background. “Bonus” points may be guaranteed by the retailer, manufacturer or program coordinator involved. The amount of "regular" points that can be earned for a sales transaction depends on the dollar amount of the transaction, so the calculation of "regular" points favors customers who are making larger dollar sum total purchases. It is slanted as it is. An example of how regular points are awarded is shown below in Table 1. Not all consumer products are eligible to earn points. For example, duty-free goods, which in some jurisdictions may be goods such as tobacco and alcohol, do not earn points when purchased.

As shown in Table 1 below, in one embodiment, the system is shaped to have two “breakpoints” for point calculation. Breakpoints are the minimum purchases required to begin earning points. The first breakpoint in the illustrated embodiment is $ 10 ($ 10). The second breakpoint is $ 25. $ 25 ($ 25) is the current average deal volume that triggers higher point issuance rates. All cents are rounded down when calculating points. Although deals below the minimum of $ 10 ($ 10) are not eligible for regular points, bonus points are awarded for purchased bonus items even if the deal amount is $ 10 ($ 10) or less. At any given time, the average store deals with hundreds of bonus products in a big way. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that point numbers, various breakpoints and bonus merchandise represent one preferred embodiment according to a system implementing the principles of the present invention. Other point amounts, dollar amounts and products can be used and should not be construed as limitations of the invention.

[0021]

[Table 1]

The example given above in Table 1 illustrates how points are accumulated in one embodiment. In the example above, the customer's purchase volume must be at least $ 10 ($ 10) for the customer to earn regular points. If the purchase price of all purchased items is greater than or equal to $ 10 ($ 10), the customer is purchased at $ 25 ($ 25) up to the second breakpoint but not including it. Earn 5 points per dollar amount. Total purchase value is 25
Once the dollar ($ 25) is reached, in addition to the 5 points earned for each dollar between $ 10 and $ 25, the customer receives 10 points for each dollar starting at $ 25 ($ 25). To earn.

As shown in Table 1, if the purchase amount is equal to $ 5 ($ 5.00), no points are awarded. If the purchase amount is at least equal to $ 10 ($ 10.00), 5 points will be awarded. No points are awarded for purchases of less than $ 10. 3 if the purchase amount equals $ 15.21 ($ 15.21)
0 points are awarded; 5 points for the first $ 10 ($ 10) and a total of 30
5 points will be awarded for each dollar above $ 10 ($ 10) for points. No points are awarded for 21 cents, as all cent amounts are rounded down when calculating points. If the purchase amount is equal to $ 30.99 ($ 30.99), 135 points will be awarded. 5 points is the first $ 10 ($ 1
0) and for each dollar above $ 10 ($ 10) for a total of 75 points. 75 points are characterized as the first breakpoint.
Customers purchase the first $ 25 ($ 2
5) You will get a second break point which is 10 points for each dollar above $ 25 ($ 25) for 10 points for a total of 60 points. 9
No points are awarded for 9 cents. 30 as indicated above in Table 1
The total points earned for a purchase that is a total of $ 99 cents ($ 30.99) is 135 points by combining the first and second chance break points.

When a customer purchases redeemable items in a number of ways, including gift certificates and / or catalog items at such purchases both at the retailer service desk or for online online in-store purchases. You can buy back the points you have earned. Online buybacks occur through the interactive websites of participating retailers and in-store buybacks occur through point-of-sale devices. However, in some embodiments of the system, the customer may not be allowed to redeem the points earned for the redeemable item until certain information is entered into the system. For example, a retailer may want demographic information entered into each customer's customer record before having each customer redeem points in the program. The retailer can fulfill this request by placing blocks for each customer's redemption of points until demographic information is entered in the customer record. In the physical area, customers
The requested customer profile data is directed to the retailer service desk for entry and storage in the customer record at the host system. In the Internet domain, website servers query customers for customer profile information. In one embodiment, the entry of required profile data is used as a precondition to the customer using the account. In this embodiment,
Upon entering the request profile data, the website server analyzes the customer deal point balance to determine if the data indicative of the customer deal point balance is greater than or equal to the cash credit point balance. In another embodiment, the website server analyzes the customer transaction point balance data after the account has been established and before entering the requested profile data. If the customer transaction point balance data is greater than or equal to the cash credit point balance, the customer has the option of immediately reducing the price of the redeemable transaction product by a specified amount.

Redemption of points at the service desk for catalog items, certificates, and travel related certificates that can be redeemed at various point levels is enabled for customer accounts in the central host system database, and The customer's point balance reflected in the account is debited in real time upon redemption of points for certificates or catalog items.

Redemption of points at the end of an online purchase or at a retail checkout that occurs at a retail store, in one embodiment, occurs for all purchased merchandise. In this embodiment, points are redeemed for the entire purchase price of the customer's transaction. Point redemption reduces the cost of all merchandise purchased throughout the online visit or at the end of the checkout process for purchases occurring at retail stores. In another embodiment, redemption of points during the end of an online purchase or at a checkout for a retail occurring purchase occurs only for items specifically designated to be redeemable. . Merchandise is designated by the retailer as redeemable. Customers who purchase products that are designated as redeemable are informed by the retailer about their repurchase eligibility. In some embodiments, depending on the capabilities of the website server and the point-of-sale system, the retailer's system may repurchase after the product is entered into the retailer's system as being a purchased product. The customer can be informed about the eligibility of the goods with respect to. If the customer decides to repurchase an item that is eligible for repurchase, points are debited from the customer's account point balance and the customer immediately accepts a reduction in the price of the item being purchased. The device also includes the ability to reflect a reduction in price add-ons for items purchased by customers involved in the loyalty program. Such reductions are determined by the individual retailer involved. For example, all customers who enter their account numbers into the retailer system throughout the transaction may be entitled to any amount of cent off (cent discount) discount on the transaction item identified by the retailer. This additional reduction in price can be awarded individually or in combination with the price reduction provided by the redemption of points for selected redeemable products.

Two examples of additional reductions in price used in combination with standard point buyback are 2
It can be visualized for redeemable products that are priced in dollars ($ 2.00). If the retailer wants to reveal to their customers the free repurchasable merchandise, the retailer can allocate an additional reduction of 8 cents to the repurchasable merchandise. When a customer has a merchandise account number along with the purchase of a merchandise, they get a discount of 8 cents and if they choose to redeem the merchandise, they get 750 points for a $ 1.20 reduction. You can exchange and get goods for free. In this scenario, the additional discount does not depend on whether the customer buys back points for price reduction. All customers who participate in the program and enter an account number into the retailer system throughout the purchase of a product or service get a price reduction. Also,
The expectation is that additional discounts may be dependent on the redemption of points.
At that time, no additional reduction in price of 8 cents will occur unless the customer chooses to buy back points for the initial price reduction.

In the physical area, during the customer's checkout at the point-of-sale device, the system will include in the sales receipt a description of the bonus item and all bonus items purchased during the customer's visit to the retailer. Print the corresponding bonus points earned for. The buybacks taken by the customer at the time of sale are also printed on the receipt. When the customer completes all the transactions, the system will update the new points to reflect the total points earned for those transactions and all points earned and redeemed during the customer's current visit to the retailer. Print the account point balance on the customer receipt. The system also sends a message in favor of the total points redeemed in the current transaction to the central host system database at the completion of the transaction so that the total points earned in the transaction by the points category and the customer account can be updated. To do. At the retailer's option, the system causes the retailer to create a transaction log file that is configured to capture and upload information about customer transactions at various levels of detail for data analysis. Transaction log files are generated on both types of retailer systems for transactions occurring online and in-store.

The employee contract / incentive program integrated within the combined program can include multiple functions. The first is the ability to issue a certificate of congratulations and real-time point rewards to employees in recognition of positive behavior and achievement of goals or things. To capture and measure these behaviors, the programs and systems include interactive applications for peers, supervisors and trainers to enter data belonging to employee profiles.
The interactive application enables the desired behavior or goal to be achieved. Actions are high performance, completion of online or offline training courses, completion of special work objectives, employee referrals, exemplary services, or any special time spent solving problems or acquiring new clients. It can involve effort. Things like service anniversary also trigger the issuing of rewards. Upon confirmation of a contract matter or action, the employee contract / incentive application formats and transmits a point issuance transaction to an online points server hosted by the program administrator, and the account is credited in real time. The Online Points Server returns a new balance of personal accounts to the Employee Incentive Program Host, reflecting transactions made in other retail loyalty areas. In a preferred embodiment, the employee incentive system also provides the individual as desired by the example, with an electronic copy of a printable recognition certificate, by confirming the number of points earned and the new point balance. E-mail can be generated. The preferred embodiment can also trigger an email to the employee's supervisor or the human resources representative will inform them of the confirmation if the confirmation was sent by an peer or other colleague. . Another feature of the preferred embodiment is to make employees aware of accepting participation in speculation regarding large rewards or awards, such as those awarded at selected intervals.

Another example of an employee contract matter that may be designated as a trigger for recognition issuance and point rewards for employees is employee service anniversary. The Employee Service Anniversary feature scans the employee database at regular, scheduled intervals and extracts a list of all employee records that appear to have gone beyond service anniversary, such as one year, five years, and ten years. It is a batch software routine that can perform. This list is then examined by a human resource representative responsible for the group by inspection. In some situations, human resource representatives may need to coordinate their anniversary data. For example, if the employee was in the absence permit not considered for service hours, the service anniversary is postponed until the appropriate date and time reflecting the absence permit. The human resource representative's employer also has the ability to authorize or not authorize the issuance of remuneration for each employee on the list. Once the list has been reviewed and adjusted,
The user submits a batch, which in turn e-mails the employee with a link to the rewards page, and each employee on the list for the appropriate number of merchandise points as issued for that particular matter. Causes real-time point issuance transactions to the member's online point server. Points provided to the employee's central account are accessible to all systems in any of the areas that have access to the online point server. The employee contract / incentive system also formats and emails each of the authorized employees for service anniversary with notification of the number of points provided to their account in a digital certificate and recognition of their achievement. send.

Another major feature of the employee incentive program within the combined program is the ability to redeem points earned in the reward area displayed on the redeem page of the employee incentive program site. The buy-back page is similar to an e-commerce shopping site-a catalog of products available for buy-back is displayed, including the number of points requested to be redeemed for each product. Multiple methods for product search are proposed-employees can be searched by category, by product or by keyword. If the employee chooses to initiate the search, the search criteria are entered and transmitted to the web server and the results of the search are returned to the client workstation. The employee has the option to select one of the products from the list of products that is left to observe the product details.

Upon completion of shopping, choose to end the purchase and engage in the end of the purchase routine. The account point balance available to employees can be validated in a number of ways. The first method involves two stages. In the first stage, the balance is retrieved on entry to the termination routine and stored in local memory.
The termination routine then calculates and displays the total number of points required for redemption. The employee incentive web application then compares the total number of points requested against the account balance previously stored in memory.
If the account point balance is less than the amount required to complete the transaction, an error message will be displayed, and the routine will remove the item from the shopping cart to reduce the amount of points required for a redemption, Or encourage employees to leave buybacks altogether. If the account point balance is greater than or equal to the amount required to redeem, the second stage of the transaction is initiated and the point debit transaction is electronically transmitted in real time to the online point server at the program administrator host site. And the employee account balance is reduced by the corresponding number of points. The web application displays the new point balance to the employee. The second method of enabling account balances and debiting account balances utilizes a single stage transaction approach. When the number of points required for redemption is calculated, a point debit authorization request is electronically sent in real time from the employee incentive website to the online point server. The website must wait for a response from the online point server. In this way, the online point server performs an account balance comparison for point redemption requests. If the account balance is greater than or equal to the number of points required to purchase the item, an authorization message is returned to the web server and displayed by the client device and along with the new account point balance. The incentive web application captures the product order information and transmits it to the order fulfillment entity, internal or external system. The buy-back transaction ends. In connection with the order execution system, the employee incentive web server provides an interface for employees to observe the execution status of orders. The order execution system manages the execution process throughout its life cycle.

The link to the program administrator's e-commerce site offers additional rewards around the square for redemption by the employee. Additional links to e-commerce sites that are involved in the loyalty program also appear on the contract program buyback page and thus drive customer transactions to those sites. Employee contract /
Incentive programs can be extended to in-store retail areas.

The third major function of the employee incentive interactive site is the ability to offer employee self-service, such as the ability to update address, demographic information, administrative name profit information online requests. . This information is stored in a database accessible by the incentive program application and is secured so that employees must enter an identifier online password to access the information.

The fourth major function of the employee incentive application is the supervisor's or manager's ability to create templates for recognition or product certificates in electronic form. Different templates can be created depending on the behavior being perceived and the initiator of that cognition (originator). For example, templates may be created for peer-to-peer awareness, while other templates may be created for supervisor awareness, training completion, employee recommendation, etc. These templates are stored in the employee contract / incentive program database and are accessible by those individuals wishing to issue reward recognition. Supervisor and administrator functions also include access to reports detailing cognitions sent and received individually and in groups.

(Employee Contract and Incentive Prize System Overview) The interactive employee contract and incentive website server has an employee contract reward system that is networked to the central host incentive prize system and is identical to the employee. Allows the consumer to earn and accumulate points in his or her role. “Employee self-service” as a key component of the employee contract program is related to capturing and maintaining employee data
Is the concept of. The Korean aspect of the employee contract program is your home address,
It is a timely question of employee data such as e-mail addresses, phone numbers, supervisors, selected profit options, payment ledger information, etc. Typically, this information may belong to various databases lacking connections between these data stores, with different database keys in different departments within the organization and possibly in different geometric locations. Today, more and more employees are happy and able to maintain their profile directly through the real-time "self-service" model enabled by Internet technology. The "self-service" registration model for employee contract programs is less costly to the organization executing the program, contracts directly with employees, and provides more accurate employee data. Workplace trends today are (1) more employees having online access, (2) more employees working at home with access to the organization's central system, and (3) more employees. Employees work on a contract-guaranteed basis, and (4
) More employees are willing to "self-service" to their profile information via an internet connection. This concept should be directly extendable to maintaining their profile information via the Internet.

Assuming that the employee is enrolled in the contract / incentive programme, the points-based prize may relate to the goals achieved, certain things and / or actions exhibited by the employee that benefit the employer. Issued by the employer on recognition. An employee contract / incentive program utilizing points-based prizes may have any or all of the following functional components: (1) peer-to-peer recognition, (2) manager-to-employee recognition, (3) Employee Recommendation Program, (4) Service Anniversary Rewards, (5) Training Recognition, (6) Online Peer and Supervisor Performance Review, (7) Suggestion Program, (8
) Travel “best practice” recognition, (9) Employee discount, (10
) Employee Survey and (11) Job Proof Test. It should be noted that an organization may have a customized set of ERM services to interested parties based on criteria such as stakeholder profiles, departments, work groups, geography, etc. For example, employees within one department of an organization may have access to peer-to-peer awareness, while employees in other departments may not have access to the module.

In the retail area, the involved retailer system is a point-of-sale system and at least one for presenting goods and / or services to consumers.
Includes at least one in-store system including one online interactive website. Corporate organizations involved in affiliated employee contract / incentive programs may be internal, via workstations or intranets connected by the company's local area network, or via any device with internet access and browser functionality. A system is provided that includes at least an interactive website that is externally accessible.

The points earned are transmitted in real time to the host processor and are added to the previously earned points stored in the central data storage of the host system. In either the consumer loyalty area or the employee contract / incentive area, the updated or previous point balance can be used to immediately reduce the price of selected items purchased by the consumer. The point balance (or a portion of the point balance) may also be redeemed for products offered as rewards on employee incentive / contract program interactive web pages. The system extends to both physical and Internet domains, providing retailers involved in loyalty awards programs with the ability to increase their physical retail outlets with a website, which By offering a competitive advantage to reach additional customers. The system further extends to the internet area of companies that are presenting employee incentive programs, thus adding value to both consumer loyalty and employee incentive program areas with a common point reward currency.

A system implementing the principles of the present invention consists of (1) the participating retailer system and (2) the employee contract system hosted by the participating corporate organization, both of which ( 3) Incentive prize program coordinator networked to host system. The involved retailer system includes at least one in-store system and at least one online interactive website. The in-store system is a local processor, a data entry means electrically coupled to the local processor for receiving the consumer account number,
And a local communication device electrically coupled to the local processor for transmitting a request for consumer account data. An online interactive website for transmitting a request for web server processor, web server data storage electrically coupled to the web server processor, data entry electrically coupled to the web server processor, and consumer account data. And a web server communication device electrically coupled to the web server processor. The employee contract / incentive programming system includes an online interactive website with a web server processor, a web server data storage device electrically coupled to the web server processor, and the web for transmitting a request for employee account data. A web server communication device is electrically coupled to the server processor. The system also consists of employee and supervisor workstations on the organization's personal network with a connection to an interactive website. The employee incentive programming system also provides a connection from an internet access device to an interactive website, such as a personal computer with a browser, which is connected via the public internet. The website system also includes an e-mail system with the ability to send e-mail to devices within the company intranet or to devices outside the company intranet that have access to an internet mail server.
The employee incentive website may also include access to an order fulfillment system, internal or external to the company domain that provides order management capabilities for the buyback rewards presented by the program.

The program manager host system includes a host processor, a loyalty program e-commerce web server, a host processor web server, a host database electrically coupled to the host processor and participating retailer systems to consumers. It has a host communication device electrically coupled to the online point server for receiving requests for account data. Host Database Contains a plurality of consumer records and merchandise records, where each consumer record contains at least the total consumer prize account points for the consumers involved. A host communication device, including a web server gateway and a program administrator web server, allows access to the online point server via the Internet and is involved in directing the transmitted consumer account data to the display and data storage device. The consumer account data to one of the retailer systems in place. The participating retailer system processes each consumer transaction during the consumer's visit to the retailer retailer or the retailer's website to determine whether points are awarded. The involved retailer system is the retailer website server data store or local data by adding any points granted to them during the consumer's visit to the retailer retailer's or retailer's website. Immediately update the total number of transaction points stored in the storage device. Within the retail territory, the involved retailer systems are responsible for shopping adjustments to determine if the total number of points earned by consumers is high enough to allow for immediate price reductions on repurchasable products. Query the data showing the total number of updated trading points following data entry for redeemable products. The system provides for an immediate reduction of the purchase price of the purchased repurchasable item and an immediate update of the updated point balance when points are redeemed to reduce the purchase price of the purchased repurchasable item. Allow a decrease in The reduced and updated point balance, or if the points are not redeemed, the updated point balance is immediately transmitted and stored in the host system's database to replace the previous total transaction points. The new point balance is immediately available for use in subsequent online or in-store transactions.

Within the employee contract / incentive program area, the interactive website handles requests from employee peers or supervisors for prize certificates and point currency prizes. These requests for recognition certificates are based on contract program components, for example:
It can begin with one of peer-to-manager awareness, training program completion, suggestion suggestions, etc. Requests may also be automatically generated by the system based on anniversary data or other criteria. Regardless of the origin of the cognitive request, point-issue prizes generated by the incentive program web server are credited to the individual's account in the overall program host system database. The updated point balance may be immediately available for redemption in either of three areas: in-store retailing, Internet e-commerce, or employee incentive websites (Internet or Internet).

Detailed Functional Description FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of an embodiment of a computer implemented consumer transaction point accumulation system. The system includes a retailer system consisting of an in-store system 10 in communication with a retailer host 30 and a product website server 50 in communication with a consumer internet access device 60. The system also includes a program coordinator host system 40. The in-store system 10 comprises a typical point-of-sale device 12 including a magnetic card reader and / or bar code scanner. It has online connections to both the program coordinator host system 40 and the retailer host system 30. The point-of-sale information management device 12 is electrically coupled to an in-store controller 14 that is electrically coupled to an in-store system communication device 18. In another embodiment, the system does not include in-store system communication device 18 and in-store controller 14 performs the functions of transmit and receive communication from program coordinator host system 40. The program coordinator host system 40 comprises an online point server 42, a central database host system 44, a loyalty program e-commerce web server 46 and a web server gateway 48. The in-store system 10 may also include a networked workstation 16 utilized at the retailer's service desk. In-store system communication device 18 and service desk workstation 16 send in-store system transactions to and from program coordinator host system 40 via a communications network. The transactions being sent between the in-store system 10 and the host system 40 occur in real time.

The ERM 70 is coupled to an employee database 76 that is accessible by a PC-based workstation with browser software or by any device that allows access to the Internet such as a PDA, WebTv, etc. Web application server 72. These devices are local to the ERM web server 72 and are accessible to the ERM web server via the local area network 74, via the eXtranet connection 54, 62, or to the public internet 58, 64.
Can be remotely connected to the ERM web via access via.

The in-store system retailer host system 30 is the in-store system controller 1
4 electrically coupled. The retailer host system 30 facilitates centralized setting of program data associated with bonuses and point-of-sale redeemable products. The retailer host system 30 transmits the setting details regarding the bonus and the point-of-sale repurchase item to the point-of-sale information management device at each retail store via the in-store system controller 14. The majority of the configured data is received in batch from the retailer host system 30, which may be offsite, but requires the store clerk to correct and / or modify the configured details downloaded from the host. Might happen. The ability to read and change product level point parameters is therefore a requirement at the retailer level. Such changes are typically made by accessing the in-store system controller 14 database. The retailer host system 30 also provides the retailer with the ability to batch upload consumer activity shopping data for analysis.

In the preferred embodiment, the merchant website server 50 receives data transmissions from a web server processor, a web server data storage device electrically coupled to the web server processor, and a consumer internet access device 60. Has a data input electrically coupled to the web server processor. The merchant website server 50 also controls the communications between the web server and the consumer internet device 60 over the internet and the communications between the web server and the program coordinator host system 40 over the internet. Contains server communication devices. In addition, the web server communication device may offer communication to the retailer host system 30. It is understood that the merchant website server disclosed in this embodiment may have alternative shapes in other embodiments. The shape of the merchant website server 50 disclosed in the present invention is not oriented to limit the myriad different shapes by which the merchant website server 50 may be implemented.

Service desk workstation 16 includes a personal computer running software that allows a retailer to access program coordinator host system 40. The retailer may access the applications that control the system and perform a number of functions depending on the level of safety assigned to the function and the safety clearance level of the retailer employee. Functions available for access from the service desk workstation 16 include balance questions,
Includes transfer points, point balance adjustments, point refunds, certificate issuance, merchandise orders, alternative identification additions / changes, customer card revocation / reissue, registration data entry, and registration data modification. Service desk workstation 16
Also transmits information about the new customer registration change to 44. Alternatively, the service desk workstation 16 can access the central database host system via the Internet or an intranet. Similarly,
The retailer may use the consumer internet access device 60 to access applications that control the system over the internet.
The connection can be accomplished by the loyalty program e-commerce web server 46 or the program administrator host system web server gateway 48. If the application controlling the system is accessed, the retailer may perform multiple functions depending on the level of safety assigned to the function and the safety clearance level of the retailer employee. Features available to retailers accessing the system via the Internet include balance questions, transmission points, point balancing, point refunds, certificate issuance, merchandise orders, alternate identification addition / modification, customer card Includes cancellation / reissue, registration data entry, and registration data modification.

The balance inquiry function provides consumers with the current account balance. The transmission point feature allows retailers to assist customers in organizing points between two customer accounts. The point balance adjustment feature provides the retailer clerk with the ability to correct the customer's point balance in the customer's account. The point refund function provides the retailer with a mechanism for discovering the points issued when the item is returned.

The certificate issuing function allows a program customer, such as those used by a retailer involved in the retailer, to issue a certificate. Certificates are printed with a pre-assigned serial number in a special dollar amount. When the certificate is physically distributed to the retailer, the host system 40 logs the serial number sent to each store and indicates status "D" indicating that the certificate has been distributed and is eligible for issuance. To flag each certificate. At the time of issuance, the certificate serial number is entered into the service desk workstation 16 and verified by the online point server 42 to determine the value and status of the certificate. To be issued, the status flag for the certificate number is "D" on the online point server 42.
Must be in a state. When a certificate is issued, the customer account is debited by the number of points it needs to purchase the certificate and a status flag on the certificate indicates that the certificate is issued online. It is changed to “I” on the point server 42. The status flag helps ensure that the certificate is used only once with respect to the face value.

When a certificate is being redeemed in exchange in exchange for a reduction in the price of a transaction (eg, a $ 10 certificate for a $ 10 off reduction in the price of goods), the cashier or customer may The serial number of the certificate must be entered into the participating retailer system 10,50. The participating retailer system 10, which is electrically coupled to the online point server 42 following the serial number entry,
50 sends a request to the online point server 42 to determine if the indicated certificate is issued and is a redeemable / valid certificate. The online point server 42 validates the certificate by indicating that the status of the certificate is "I" and is outstanding and the certificate has not been redeemed previously. For retailers, the authorization message is online point server 4
Certificates can be redeemed once sent to the retailer system involved by the two. The retailer can then reduce the amount paid on purchase by the par value of the certificate. The certificate redeemed has its status of the online point server 42 immediately changed to ("R"). The redeemed status removes the certificate from circulation and prevents it from being used again.

The merchandise ordering capability provides the ability to assist the customer in repurchasing points for catalog merchandise to the retailer. When a customer attempts to purchase a catalog item, the customer account is verified by the online points server 42 to ensure that the customer has a sufficient point total to redeem a particular catalog item. If the customer account has enough points, the total points will be debited in real time by the number of points required to purchase the selected catalog item. The Add / Modify Alternate Identification feature allows alternate identification numbers to be set and changed. The cancel / reissue customer card function closes an existing customer account and transfers points and customer information to the new customer account. The input registration data function allows the store to enter into the central database host system 44 demographic information of new program participants. Change registration data function in the store,
Cause demographic information of involved customers to change.

The in-store system controller 14 communicates directly with the in-store system point-of-sale information management device 12 and transmits a data file defining a product for sale in a retail store that is bonus, tax exempt and redeemable. Bonus product, repurchase product, and duty-free product data are transmitted from the retailer host system 30 to a data storage file in the in-store system controller 14 to update the in-store system controller data file for bonus, repurchase and other system data. The in-store system controller 14 can also perform the end of the day processing at the local level which transmits the sums daily to the online point server 42 for arbitration. Upon receipt of the acknowledgment from the online point server 42 that the total record was successfully received, the system controller 10 can retrieve the customer's activity and upload the customer file to the central database host system 44. This feature also advances the store opening date.

The online points server 42 handles all requests for point balance, renewals and redemptions in both the physical and internet domains. The online points server 42 maintains a customer file containing a plurality of consumer records for each customer involved in the points accumulation system program. The customer account file also contains a plurality of merchant records for each of a plurality of non-competitive retail merchants who support the program. The revolving clearance customer record has customer account data for each involved customer including at least the customer account number, the customer's total accumulated point value and a data file for storing the customer's profile information. .. The merchant record contains at least transaction activity information.

The online point server 42 stores detailed point activity data for the current business day in the transaction log file. The online point server 42 also transmits all relevant data to a central database host system 44 for batches that retrieves and updates it on a nightly basis. Online point server 42
Will maintain each transaction log file until the operational database 44 server returns the renewal file to the online point server 42 at which point the online point server will update the online customer database and perform a renewal process to clean up the corresponding transaction log file. To do.

The computing database host system 44 also supports data (in physical and Internet areas) in support of the online point server 42.
For example, it is treated as a master data storage that satisfies all non-real-time requirements (help desk, accounting, reporting, etc.). In addition, the compute database host system 44 meets all demands from in-store service desks and retailer web commerce servers to add and modify customer demographic data. On a nightly basis, the compute database host system 44 receives the transaction log file extract file from the online point server 42, updates the appropriate tables on the compute database host system 44, and creates a renewal file. Update file is online point server 42
The online point server 42 synchronizes the two-customer database in the program coordinator host system 40. The system includes the ability to perform a full file search to verify the two-customer database synchronization.

The retailer host system 30 and the merchant website server 50 are where the majority of the configuration data for bonus, redeemable and tax exempt merchandise is entered. In the present embodiment, the retailer host system 30 is used by the retailer in-store system controller 14 at each retail store for use throughout the consumer transaction.
It transmits the setting data that is lost. In another embodiment, the retailer host system 30 may be used by the merchant website server 5 for use throughout a consumer transaction.
The setting data for 0 is transmitted. The retailer host system 30 and the merchant website server 50 execute at least the following product setting functions, that is, duty-free product setting, bonus product setting, and daily product setting processing. The merchant website server 50 also performs the function of online interactive buyback setup. The retailer host system 30 also performs the function of in-store repurchase merchandise setting. The retailer host system 30 also receives transaction log files from the in-store system controller 14 and the service desk 16. Merchant host system 30 may also receive transaction log files from merchant website server 50. Some transaction log files may also be transmitted to the program manager host system 40.

The duty-free setting function defines products and departments to which program points cannot be given. Information regarding duty-free items is maintained on the merchant website server 50 and retailer host system 30. In this embodiment, this information must be downloaded from the host system 30 to the in-store system controller 14 database for in-store system transactions at retail outlets. In another embodiment, the retailer host system 30 transmits duty-free information to the merchant website server 50 for use throughout the consumer transaction. Although there is no requirement, in this particular embodiment, the bonus item setup process can assign a correct point value to the item and also assign a start / stop date and time that defines the period for which the item will remain in bonus status. The bonus item setup process also identifies the bonus point sponsor-retailer / merchant, program coordinator, and manufacturer. This information is maintained on the merchant website server 50 and retailer host system 30. Information on duty-free goods is also available in the in-store system controller 14 for use in individual retail stores.
Downloaded to database. The redemption item setup function assigns a negative point and dollar value to the item and a start / stop date and time that defines the period during which the item remains in the redemption status. In this particular embodiment, the point value for repurchasing the repurchase merchandise is -750 points. The reduction in the price of a redeemable item is-$ 1.20, assuming the purchased item has a price greater than or equal to $ 1.20. This information is maintained on the merchant website server 50 and retailer host system 30. For in-store system transactions at retail outlets, this information must be downloaded from the retailer host system 30 to the in-store system controller 14. The retailer host system 30 also includes an in-store system controller 1 at each retailer's location.
4 and end of day processing to extract activity for all customers from each store by receiving transaction log files from service desk 16. These daily activity files are uploaded to the retailer host 30 and / or the central database host system 44. It will be appreciated that the loyalty program e-commerce website 46 is also a retailer host system 3
The end-of-day processing is executed in the same manner as the end-of-day processing of 0. Merchant host system 30 and loyalty program e-commerce website 46 also provide batch communication of the collected data to host system 40.

The processing of transactions that occur in the physical or Internet domain can be carried out in two modes, one stage or two stages. 1 step or 2
Both processing modes of the stages include in-store system 10 and website server 50.
Occurs in the above internet and physical areas. The one-step transaction is a transaction in which the in-store system or website server 50 communicates with the host system once during the customer's transaction. One-tier communications are requests and permits involved in point renewal transactions where point repurchase opportunities are not selected. A two-step deal is when there is an automatic balance question at the beginning of the deal and point updates at the end of the deal.

FIG. 2 illustrates various functions that may be performed by the system via a merchant's online interactive website 200. The registration function 202 (further described in FIG. 4) is typically implemented by use of an interactive merchant website 50, or electronic form on the loyalty program e-commerce web difference 46.
The website user interface simply presents the electronic form and prompts the consumer to enter the requested information on the form. Upon completion of the format, or if consumer information was obtained from existing data, the data is transmitted to the program manager and checked for various editing rules for validity. If the data passes the edit check, the central database host system creates a new account and assigns that account a unique account number. In the present embodiment, the creation of a new account also triggers the card execution process 204 executed by the program administrator. This process physically pulls out and aligns the loyalty program card (typically plastic) with the correct account number assigned to the customer. The card is inserted into the mailpiece along with other program materials and sent to the customer via the postal service. It is understood that the card execution process can occur during the enrollment process or at any time thereafter and is triggered by a number of different functions or things.

For the purposes of the present invention, the Merchant Website Deal provides program personnel with the ability to view their individual loyalty account information through the Observed Account Information function 206. There are many optional ways of observing account information within the Observe Account Information function. One method is the "balance" option. The "Balance" option formats the point balance question transaction and for processing that request. The program administrator host system queries the point balance associated with that account and returns that information to the customer via the merchant website that displays the account balance to the consumer. Other methods are likewise
An "account" option that formats a request for consumer loyalty program account information and transmits the request to the program administrator host system. Online point server 42 in the program management host system 40
And the computing database host system 44 is a web server gateway 48.
Processing information retrieved through the information, which may include registration data, account status, obtained account-lifetime points, etc. Yet another method is to display on the website a transaction history for the requesting consumer account, which queries the program administrator host system and lists the recent transactions for the consumer account in summary form. Is an option. The history entry may include transactions made over the Internet as well as commerce transacted through physical areas in the store's retail network at point-of-sale devices or service desks. For each loyalty transaction, the information provided may include the date and time of the transaction, the name of the merchant, the amount purchased, and the points issued and / or redeemed. Any other method is "what is this" or "about (loyalty program name)"
Is a menu option called. This option, if selected, sends the user to a page with content that describes the features and benefits, the duration and conditions, and other relevant information belonging to the loyalty program. This may be a page within the merchant's website or a link to a loyalty program e-commerce web server. Program participants also have the option to observe the status of their order by selecting the observe order status icon 207.

The main function of the merchant website 200 is the product shopping / search function 208.
Is. The e-commerce merchant maintains a master file of products available for purchase, and the e-commerce application on the merchant website is an interactive home page with several options for viewing and exploring product information. Is equipped with. Interactive homepages by category or manufacturer
Products that can be displayed in alphabets, or the home page will allow customers to find information based on various criteria such as price, product manufacturer, product subcategory, SKU #, size, color, keywords, etc. Features can be suggested. Note that this feature can be accessed in a variety of ways from the home page of the interactive home page, depending on the listening requirements and merchant preferences. Regardless of the method the user uses to locate a particular product, options such as observing a detailed description of the product are typically available 210. If the merchant proposes bonus points for the purchase of the item, that information is also displayed in a detailed look at the product. Similarly, if a special discount is available for the product in the redemption of points, that information can also be displayed along with the event information, such as the effective date and time of the special offer.

If a consumer visiting an interactive home page on a merchant's website decides to purchase a product, an electronic “order format” is the ordering of product quality, size, color, etc. Additional details can be displayed to collect. When the order form is completed, the user interface has the option of moving the specified merchandise through a visual control device to a storage area of memory known as a "shopping cart" 212. The "shopping cart" function displays the specified product currently placed in the "shopping cart" according to the pricing information of each specified product. Bonus points can also be awarded for each designated item placed in the "shopping cart". Subtotal of ongoing currency costs (
Subtotals) are also maintained and displayed for each designated item. In one embodiment, the additional functionality generated by placing an item in a "shopping cart" provides the consumer with information that, in turn, can be retrieved and indicative of point balance via his or her merchant website. This is an incentive for the electronic point balance request to the program manager host system, which is transmitted to the home page displayed on the personal computer. This provides consumers with information useful in making purchase option buyback decisions. Consumers decide whether a sufficient point balance is available to buy a particular product unconditionally by redemption, or whether a partial discount on the exchange of point redemptions makes the proposed purchase feasible. can do. It should be noted that the point balance question function is used when the category or brand is selected or the consumer is a merchant website server 50.
It can be caused by other things in the shopping process, such as when logging on or on the loyalty program e-commerce web server 46. It should be noted that the timing of the questions performed by the balance question function is not important as long as they are performed before the process triggered to end the purchase. It should be noted that this point balance encompasses any points earned by partners of other involved merchants in the e-commerce area, or the physical store area. After the merchandise is moved to the shopping cart 212, the user has the option of continuing to observe the normally available products, observing the contents of the shopping cart 214 and modifying the contents of the shopping cart 226. As the user continues to shop, the preferred embodiment is a current summary of the starting point balance and total bonus points and the "genuine" points accumulated in the current transaction, and the item the consumer is currently in the shopping cart. If you buy a new balance that is planned to be displayed. As the contents of the shopping cart change, the point information is updated to reflect those changes 228.

The unique feature provided by the online interactive website of the present invention is that the merchant home page manager is rewarded with a program participant who may utilize him or her if the program participant chooses to participate in the loyalty program. With the option to alert consumer visitors to websites that are not identified as. The alert can also be in the form of a message that reflects the number of points that can be earned for the product or a special discount available to program participants only. Other examples may include merchant partner offers available to members only in other involved program merchants. Advertised merchant partner offers can be other e-commerce merchants, physical retail merchants, or both.

The shopping cart observation of the user interface places an order and purchase 21
A visual control device is typically displayed which provides the user with means indicating that they are prepared to complete 6. When the user completes that action, typically by clicking a button shown in the user interface, the website processor will include the sales tax and shipping charges to be paid, the total amount to be paid. Calculate and display. Prior to adding the shipping fee to the amount to be paid, the customer is prompted to select a shipping method, and once selected, the shipping fee is displayed and added to the total amount to be paid. Information is also displayed that outlines the total points earned in the order. A portion of the user interface displays additional electronic forms at the customer with the option to redeem the discount points for the order. Redemption of points is not necessarily associated with any special item in the order. It should be understood that various methods and rules for redeeming points can be applied at the discretion of the program manager and merchant. Information may also be available to the user indicating the number of points required to pay for the order in total. Also, the information indicating the minimum point repurchase amount can be specifically described along with the information indicating a certain increase in points available for repurchase. For example, a merchant may specify a minimum redemption of 5000 points and may also specify that points can be redeemed in blocks of 5000 points up to the total amount to be paid to Jiyumon. When the customer enters the number of points to buy back into the format, that amount is checked against the previously retrieved point balance. If point balance is not available, the customer is not allowed to buy back points. If the customer has sufficient point balance to fulfill the repurchase request, a debit to point balance (debit) is prepared and paid for transmission by the website processor to the program manager host system. The total amount to be updated is updated to reflect the reduced amount to be paid. If the customer does not have enough point balance to fulfill the request,
The user is informed about the situation and offers the opportunity to redeem a smaller number of points or to close and continue the order without point redemption. At this point, the merchant website processor prepares and displays the point update message. The point update message is sent to the program manager host while waiting for the user to complete the information indicating the point credit, point debit, bonus points, merchant ID number and customer ID number and to obtain the correct authorization of the transaction by the payment authorization service. Notify you that you are ready to send.

Once the point and currency combination is determined, the merchant website processor includes an electronic containing information indicating the amount of dollars to be paid for transmission to the credit or debit with which the merchant has a contract for the service. Prepare a payment authorization message. The user's credit card information can be extracted from the profile held by the merchant. If such information is extracted, the customer has the opportunity to validate their credit card number or enter a different credit card number. It should be noted that this profile may also include additional debiting and shipping information that may be displayed by electronic form defects and modified by the user. If a profile about the user is not available, the format is shown to accept the input of credit card information, and that information is the merchant's electronic commerce (e-commerce).
Enabled by the application. Debit and shipping information can be gathered via a form if it is not available via the profile. Once the credit card information, debit and shipping information is complete, the payment authorization request 218 is electronically transmitted to the credit / debit authorization service and validated by the system. The merchant e-commerce application processes the response and, if the response is correct, points issuance and / or redemption 22.
0, 222 and product order 224 continue processing the loyalty point information. If the payment authorization is denied, the user is notified of this situation and provided the opportunity to enter a different credit card number or to withdraw or cancel the transaction. It should be noted that as a block of the termination process, the merchant can also call an authentication routine to validate the purchase for shipping and / or debiting information. .

If the electronic payment authorization process results in the correct response, the merchant website processor transmits the point transaction information to the program manager host system. The host system updates the customer profile with the central database host system and responds to the merchant website processor. The Merchant Website Processor can cause the customer to display an overview of their point activity following the point balance update, where the overview is the starting point balance, regular points earned, bonus points earned, points redeemed. And information indicating the new point balance. Note that the customer account information stored in the central database host system is updated with this information, and it should be noted that this updated customer account information is for the participating merchants who have the retailer system networked to the host system. It is immediately available to all other retailer systems in the physical and internet areas.
No confirmation from the Program Manager host system is required by the website processor to proceed to the next step, and a person skilled in the art will be able to make a transaction if the connection to the Program Manager host system is unavailable for some reason. It will be appreciated that the connection is available and at that point the point update message may be temporarily stored in the website server data store until it can be transmitted again.

To complete the ordering process, the merchant also transmits completed orders to one or more suppliers and manages the merchandise execution process throughout the life of the process. Merchants can also execute orders from internal inventory. In the preferred embodiment, the product order 224 is automatically electronically transmitted to the order fulfillment entity, which can be an internal or external system. If the seller is external, one way to communicate this information in this embodiment is via EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) in display web order; alternatively, another way to communicate this information is batch. It can be by processing or manually, such as by printing Fuchs, e-mail, paper orders and sending them through the mail system. Once these product ordering processes are complete, the current transaction is complete and the user may be returned to any page within the website that the merchant has programmed into the website processor to return to the user.

The integration of a loyalty program into an online interactive website has functionality such as assigning rules for issuing points, and assigning bonus points for particular products, particular purchase levels, combinations of products, etc. 234. Request a mechanism. Merchants with online interactive websites typically manage site 238, promotional offers 236, advertising content, and maintain product catalog 230 as products are added, modified or deleted 232. It has a system that manages the pricing of those products. Bonus point allocations are integrated into the merchandise and event maintenance process. The point redemption rule is also defined by the functionality pre-formed by the website processor, ie the minimum number of points to be redeemed, the increase in points that can be redeemed, etc. Bonus points and special point buyback offers are also grouped into promotion entities and the date and time of the promotion's activity are also defined within this application.

With reference to FIG. 3, an overview of an embodiment of a computer-implemented transaction point accumulation system is shown, in which both the Internet and physical domain sides of the consumer transaction point accumulation system are shown, and the physical processing illustrated. Is a two-stage mode. In the physical domain, processing of the point accumulation system begins at the point of sale of the retailer's point-of-sale device when the customer begins to purchase retail products and services. At the beginning of a transaction 300, a retailer cashier uses a customer's account number to associate a magnetic stripe card reader with a point-of-sale device 302,
Input to the point-of-sale device of the in-store system using a keyboard or other data input device. Following entry of the customer's account number, the in-store system controller 14 requests the customer's current point balance 304 from the database 304 of the host system 40. The host system 40 processes the request and locates the customer's account record stored in the host system 40's database and sends the account record to the point of sale 306 via the in-store system controller 14. The customer record sent back to point-of-sale device 12 includes at least the customer's current accumulated point balance. The request for data by the in-store system 10 from the host system 40 and the transmission of customer account data from the host system 40 to the in-store system 10 are both waiting point information while the point-of-sale information management device 12 waits for input of a repurchasable product 308. It occurs in real time so that the customer's current accumulated point balance and account number can be saved in a temporary data storage device within the management device 12. The customer point balance is also temporarily stored in the controller 14 so that the points accumulated during the customer's transaction can be updated more quickly by updating the point balance temporarily stored in the controller 14. Remembered.

Following the capture of the customer's account record, referring to FIG. 3, the cashier enters the product number of the product being purchased by the customer via the scanner or keyboard 310, 312 to enter the in-store system controller 14 System controller 14 and point-of-sale management device 12 requesting the controller 14 to retrieve the item number of the item purchased in the master item file in the database 314 of
Are in communication. All possible purchase items should be stored in a master item file where they are cross-referenced with item numbers and status levels. The status level for each item stored in the in-store system database is tax exempt, redeemable, bonus or no status. First, the system checks to see if the item the customer is trying to purchase has tax exempt status 316. If the status is tax exempt, points cannot be awarded for the purchase of that particular item 318. The system then returns the point-of-sale device process to the product entry state 310 so that the retailer can enter the product number of the next product that is desired to be purchased. If the product the customer is trying to purchase is not referred to as a face-to-face product, the point-of-sale device is a "genuine"
The price of the item is added to the storage device leaving a total eligible for the calculation of point 320. Next, the system determines that the product the customer is trying to purchase has a bonus status 322.
Check to see if you have. If the item being purchased has a bonus status 324, the system processes the item being purchased as a bonus item and stores the bonus points as customer accumulated points stored in the temporary storage of the point-of-sale device. Add the balance sum. Then the system
Return the point-of-sale device process to product entry state 310 so that the retailer can enter the product number of the next product that is desired to be purchased.

If the item being purchased by the customer does not have a bonus status, the system checks to see if the item has a redeemable status 326. If an item does not have a redeemable status, it does not have a status 328 and the system allows the retailer to enter the item number of the next item that is desired to be purchased. Return the device process to the item input state 310. If the item has a redeemable status, the system informs the retailer about such status and if the customer wishes to redeem points for the reduction of the price of the item 330 purchased, the cashier may Ask to ask. In this embodiment, the customer may redeem 750 points for a $ 1.20 reduction in the redeemable item being purchased. $ 1.2 of the price of the redeemable product being purchased by the customer
If you are inclined to redeem points for a reduction of 0, the system will activate the point-of-sale device process so that the retailer can enter the item number of the next item desired to be purchased. Return to the input state 310. If the customer wishes to redeem 750 points for a $ 1.20 reduction in the price of the purchased redeemable item 332, the cashier will respond to the customer's acceptance of the point redemption of the purchase price option for sale Enter a unique code into the time information management device. Following acceptance of the point exchange option by the customer, the point-of-sale manager checks the balance of the customer's total points temporarily stored in temporary data store 334 of the point-of-sale manager. In particular, in this particular invention, the system checks to see if the customer account points total is greater than or equal to 750 points. If the points total is less than 750 points 334, the point-of-sale device displays an error message to the retailer, cancels the 750 points redemption option 338, and the system sells the next item the retailer wishes to purchase. The point-of-sale manager process is returned to the product entry state 310 so that a number can be entered. If the customer account point balance is greater than or equal to 750 points, the point-of-sale device determines that the price of the item being purchased is $ 1.2.
Check the in-store system controller database to determine if 336 is greater than or equal to zero. The price of the item being purchased is $ 1
． If less than 20, an error will be displayed to the retailer at the point of sale device and the system will allow Clark to enter the item number of the 338th item desired to be purchased. Then, the point-of-sale information management device process is returned to the product input state 310. If the price of the item being purchased is 340 greater than or equal to $ 1.20, the in-store system controller returns the item description to the point-of-sale device and 750 points temporarily stores the point-of-sale device. Debit the customer's accumulated point balance 340 stored in the device. The point-of-sale management device prints a debited point amount 342 from the customer's accumulated account balance on the description and / or customer receipt of the purchased item. Log file 3 for in-store system controller
At 44, buyback and bonus data is captured. The system then returns the point-of-sale manager process to the product entry state 310 so that Clark (salesperson) can enter the product number of the next product desired to be purchased.

Once all customer transaction products have been purchased, the retailer presses the total keys 310, 312 to indicate that the customer transaction is complete. Once the customer transaction is completed, the controller calculates the net points earned by the customer during the current sales visit 346. The retailer then determines if the order is 348 in preparation for delivery. If the order is not ready to be served, it allows the point-of-sale process to return to the product entry state 310 so that the retailer can enter the necessary data to serve the order. If the order is ready for offer, the retailer offers 350 the order and the point-of-sale unit renews the total net points earned and accumulated points new during the current sale visit. Calculate account balance 352. The point-of-sale device also sends an update message to the host containing the customer's points earned in the current transaction 352. The system host retrieves the point update transaction and returns an update message confirmation 354 to the in-store system controller and point of sale device. In the one-step or two-step mode, following the receipt of the point update response message from the host system, the point-of-sale device manages the starting point balance, the total points earned during the sales visit, and the price during the sales visit. Print a receipt for the customer that includes the total points redeemed for deduction and the transaction for that customer 358, including the new account point balance 356.

Referring to FIG. 4, an online interactive website registration process is disclosed. In general, the registration function is typically implemented by use of electronic forms on the merchant's interactive website or on the loyalty program e-commerce website of the program manager host system. The customer accesses the electronic form following the select view on the merchant's website or on the program administrator's website indicating that the customer wants to open a loyalty product account. The merchant website user interface then simply presents the electronic form and prompts the consumer to enter the formally requested information. Upon completion of the format,
Or, if the consumer information was obtained from existing data, the data is transmitted to the program manager host system and checked against various editing rules for validity. If the data passes the edit check, the program administrator host system creates a new account and assigns a unique account number to that account.

The registration function is initiated at the merchant's online interactive website by selecting the icon identifying registration option 400 or at the program administrator's loyalty program e-commerce website. Next, determine whether there is customer data 402 available to the merchant or program manager's loyalty program e-commerce website online interactive website server. If registration was initiated by the merchant's online interactive website and the customer has already provided the e-commerce merchant with name and demographic data for billing and / or shipping, that information is It is retrieved from the existing merchant customer database 413 and automatically used to populate the field in electronic form 404. If the customer has already provided name and demographic data to the e-commerce merchant, or if registration was initiated through the program manager's loyalty program e-commerce website, the customer data will not be available for searching. The customer must enter 411 the data in an electronic format provided by the merchant's online interactive website or by the program manager's website. Save the data entered in electronic form 41
And stored 413 in the merchant customer database. The registration data entered following automatic or manual completion of the electronic registration format is sent 408 to the program administrator's host database 406 where the information is processed for errors.
If there is a registration error 410, the customer is shown in electronic registration form 412 for additional data entry. If there are no registration errors, the new program account number is retrieved from the account number database 418, thereby creating 420 a new loyalty program account for the customer. The new account is maintained and stored in the customer database at the central host database 42
4.

Creating a new account triggers a card execution process that is automatically executed by the program administrator host system. This process physically pulls out the loyalty program card (typically plastic) 426 and matches it with the correct account number assigned to the customer. The card is inserted into the mailpiece along with other program material 428 and sent to the customer via the postal service 430. The successful creation of a new loyalty account also provides an electronic response (e) to the customer confirming the information received and the account number 422.
-Mail). The merchant website processor or program manager loyalty program e-commerce web server processor then returns the consumer to the calling home page 432.

FIG. 5 shows an overview of the process flow of the product shopping and browsing online searching option functions performed through the merchant online interactive website. From the merchant website 500, a customer has the option to select a product by multiple methods 502, including product category selection, keyboard search or product number search. Product selection by use of the Select Product Categories function 504 displays a list of products within a particular category and provides the option to select one of the products from the displayed list for viewing the particular product details 508. This feature also allows the consumer to perform additional searches for products by keyboard or item number.

If the customer chooses to search the interactive merchant website by keyboard or product number, the appropriate search criteria must be entered and transmitted in the appropriate search field. The merchant website processor searches for a product master file for products that meet the search criteria 512. If there is a match found in search criteria 514, the merchant website processor produces the information located for display on consumer internet access device 514. The consumer has the option to select one of the products from the list of located products to view 516 the product details. In addition to the identified item, the consumer also has the ability to perform an additional search for the product by keyboard or item number.

If a product is selected 518 from a list of products displayed from a keyboard or search by product number, then an interactive website is provided to consumers involved in the loyalty program when purchasing the product. Display a detailed description of the item, including the bonus points you earn. If a consumer decides to purchase a product, that product needs to be moved to a temporary data store, referred to as a "shopping cart" 520. The electronic "order format" may be displayed to collect additional details of the order, such as the quality, size, color, etc. of the item, before the item desired to be purchased may be moved to the "shopping cart." When the electronic order form is completed 524, the user interface provides an option, via the visual control, to move 528 the specified item to the “shopping cart”. The "shopping cart" observation displays the items currently placed in the "shopping cart" along with the pricing information 530. Bonus points are also
A subtotal of current and current currency costs attached to each item placed in the "shopping cart" is also maintained and displayed. The act of placing the item in the "shopping cart" sequentially searches for point balance 522 and points to the merchant website displayed to the consumer via his online interactive website 526 on his or her internet access device. An electronic point balance request can be triggered to the program manager host system that transmits the balance. It should be noted that the category or brand is selected as long as the balance question function is performed before the process being triggered to end the purchase-in the shopping process when the timing of the balance question is not important. It is triggered by something else. It should be noted that this point balance includes any points earned in the e-commerce area or in the physical store area with other involved partners.
After the merchandise is moved 528 to the "shopping cart", the user typically continues to observe the available products, observing 530 the contents of the "shopping cart" and modifying 530 the contents of the "shopping cart." As the user continues to shop, the preferred embodiment is a current overview of the total "bonus" points and "genuine" points accumulated in the starting point balance and manuscript transactions, and the current consumer shopping If a product in the “cart” 530 is purchased, the expected new balance is displayed. When the contents of the shopping cart are changed,
The point information is updated to reflect those changes.

At completion 532 of shopping, the user engages in end 534 of the purchase routine, which chooses to end the purchase and calculates and displays the total amount to be paid.
The total amount to be paid may or may not include sales tax and shipping charges to be paid. A summary of total points earned in the order is also displayed. In one embodiment of the end of the purchase routine detailed in FIG. 6, it begins within the shopping cart function 600. First, the user has the opportunity to observe the identified merchandise and the subtotal of the amount to be paid for the shopping cart. The customer then selects the shipping method and the shipping fee is calculated and displayed. If the customer indicates that they continue to complete the order and want to make payment 604, the system asks the user if they want to redeem points for an exchange for a discount at the time of purchase. If the customer indicates that they have finished the order and are not ready to make the payment, the user may again observe the identified merchandise on the shopping cart and the subtotal 602 of the amount to be paid. Have an opportunity. If the customer chooses to redeem points in the discount 606 exchange, the customer is prompted to enter the number of points to be redeemed and to initiate the redemption process 608. Customer point balance less than the number of points required to be redeemed 6
If 10, an error message is displayed to the customer and the routine re-initiates the customer asking if the customer wants to redeem points in exchange for a 606 discount at purchase. If the point balance is 610 greater than or equal to the number of points required to be redeemed, the system debits the customer point balance by the amount of points indicated and the sum to be paid by the appropriate amount. Debit commands are provided in the host database system to reduce the volume. Next, taxes, shipping charges, total amount to be paid, total points earned and redeemed are calculated and displayed 618. The system then queries the customer profile to determine if the customer's credit card and billing / shipping address information is available 620.
If the customer's credit card and billing / shipping address information is not available, the system requests credit card and billing information and accepts credit card and billing information from customer 626. If the customer's credit card and billing / shipping address information is available 620, it is retrieved from the customer profile database and valid by the customer 6
24. At this stage in the process, the customer is allowed to make changes to the retrieved customer data if necessary. After the credit card and billing / shipping information is entered 624 and 626, a credit payment transaction is initiated and sent to the credit authorization network 628. The customer also has a response from the credit authorization network. If the credit card transaction is not authorized 630, the customer is notified that payment authorization failed 632. The customer then has the option of entering 632 another credit card number. If the customer does not accept the option 634 to pay with another credit card, the contents of the shopping basket are temporarily stored and then the transaction is terminated so that the customer can re-engage in the transaction at a later date. The customer enters an alternative credit card number 632 and accepts an option 634 such as paying by an alternative credit card, and the new credit card number is invoiced to the customer so that its accuracy is valid 624. Display according to creation and shipping information. The system steps them through the validation of credit card information followed by the same processing steps described above.

If the credit card transaction is authorized 630, the merchant website processor contains both the number of points to be debited and the points to be credited to the program manager host system, The updated customer point transaction 640 is transmitted. The merchant website processor then automatically electronically transmits the product order to the order fulfillment entity, which may be internal or external system 542. The merchant website processor in connection with the order processing system also manages and monitors the product execution process throughout the life cycle of the process. The program manager host system updates the consumer account information with the updated point balance and consumer information and returns confirmation to the interactive home page 544. Interactive Website Homepage where customer start balance, points earned, points redeemed and deals 646
Then, the newly updated point balance can be displayed. The transaction is then terminated 648. When the consumer account information stored in the program administrator's host system central database is updated with this information,
The point and other consumer account information is immediately available to all other retailer systems networked to the program manager host system, both in the physical and Internet domains.

Referring to FIG. 7A, a self-service registration and maintenance (ERM) module 7
Example Process Flow for 00 illustrates process flow for employees involved in an employee service incentive / contract program. It is important to note that E
The RM module employee database is updated on a planned basis with new employees, employees leaving, changes in status, etc. This source can come from the company's payroll or human resources database. The self-service program is a website host from a browser where stakeholders have access to the ERM interactive website 702 from the corporate building (premise) over an intranet or extranet connection or via the public Internet. Started when accessing the system. When accessing the ERM interactive website, users are asked to determine if they are enrolled in the employee service incentive / contract program 706. The registered person is Site 7
Register the user ID and password in a form that is displayed as part of the ERM site home page to access 50. New employee or ERM
Employees not previously enrolled in the program are offered access to the site via a visual “button” for a “first time user” 708.

When the user interactively confirms the system that is the first time user by pressing “first time user”, the format is shown requesting basic information 710. In the present embodiment, the format includes at least the following fields with respect to inclusion of information, first name, last name and last four digits of employee social security number. If this information is located in the ERM employee database 714 to determine if the matching entry is located 712, the user enters the page on the site displaying the registration form. This format is ERM
It is pre-populated (pre-populated) with applicable information from database 716. This information may include stakeholder status, such as full-time employee vs. contract employee, supervisor match, work group, title, salary and profit information, etc. The stakeholder interactively sends the completed form to the web server, filling in any information missing from the profile on form 718. Referring to FIG. 7B, the web server application software validates the information sent and checks the information sent for error 722 and displays an error message if invalid information is entered and informs the interested parties. Causes incorrect or lost data 724 to be modified. When the data is validated 720 and no errors are found 722, the account number is retrieved from the ERM database 728 7
26 and assigned 726 to the account of the person concerned. The account number can also be displayed to the party and the party can be prompted to print the number. The account number can be used immediately within the ERM website or at any retail entity in the loyalty network associated with the employee service incentive / contract program. The registration data is saved 730 in the ERM program employee database 732 and also sent to the program manager host system 734, which is stored in the stakeholder database 736. A confirmation email with an account number and ERM and / or retail loyalty network program features may also be sent to interested parties 738. Optionally, the program administrator can issue a card encoded by the account number to the party 740 via the offline batch mode process, in which case the postal package with the card and other program material 742 enclosed. Is sent to the employee via the postal service mail process 744. The e-mail message also notifies the customer that they have been enrolled in the Employee Service Incentive / Contract Program and that the Employee Service Incentive / Contract Program Card may allow the customer to earn and redeem points in the employment and retail environment. can do.

When the registered person logs in 750, the user ID and password are E
Enabled for RM program database 752. If the user ID and password are valid, the page with the current party profile is automatically populated (populated) from the information stored on the ERM employee database 754. Stakeholders are required (within the rules established by the module)
Information from the 756 ERM module database can be reviewed and modified and sent for editing by the web application software 758. If the data is determined to be valid 760, the changes to the information from the ERM module database are saved to the ERM employee database 762 and sent to the program manager host system 764.

Referring to FIGS. 8a-8c, an example peer-to-peer product recognition process flow is shown. The peer-to-peer product recognition component of the employee contracts program provides stakeholders with the ability to recognize their peers regarding performance or behavior. The system is web-enabled for software applications that support this functionality to reside on a web server and may be accessed by a computer or other device with browser capability through the company's internal network, or a public network. . The person involved in the program sending the employee designation (nominator) may be the employee's peer or the employee's supervisor. Both Nominators and Nominees (Nominees) gain points instantly and are suitable for speculation prizes (sweep stakes prizes) in the form of additional points. Both the nominator and the nominee (nominee) must be registered in the employee contract system database and must have an account number to receive the point prize. Registered nominators are thereby enrolled in the Employee Services Incentive / Contract Program to be eligible to nominate peers for recognition.

Registered parties can access the website and register for nominations (recommendations) online. Nominations login to the system with their respective user ID and password 780 and select the name of a single peer (nominated) or 782 multiple peers nominated from the ERM program database 784. User who is (nominator)
To start with. If the profile of the nominated person exists on the database and is not registered as the nominated person, the nominated person can select the employee for the nomination. An unregistered employee does not accept points or has the confirmation email sent to his or her supervisor until the employee has an ERM program account ID. Also, if the nominee is not registered, the system will have the nominee's e-mail address available 78.
Search the employee data retrieved from the ERM program database 784 to determine if it is eight. If the nominee's e-mail address is available, an option is provided to send the remaining e-mail to the nominee, such as registering with the nominator program 790. If the nominee has no e-mail address available 788, they enroll in the employee service incentive / contract program by a manual, non-electronic method such as first-class mail 792 or internal mail. To be noticed. ER
The employee information returned and displayed from the M database 792 includes supervisor information for viewing by the nominator. If the nominee is enrolled in an employee service incentive / contract program, the nominator is required to select the cognitive category 796 and enter a verbatim description of employee achievement and recognition 798. The list of cognitive categories is stored as a parameter in the ERM program database. The workgroup manager has the ability to customize the recipient's workgroup-based nomination criteria.

Once the nominations have been entered and sent, a preview screen is displayed and the nominator is asked to confirm employee nomination information for accuracy 800. If the information identified is not valid 802, the nominator enters the necessary correction 804 for the information. If the confirmed information is valid 802, the employee nomination information is ERM.
It is saved 806 in the program database 808. Upon successful save to the database of nominations, the system enters the nominator and / or nominator into the bet (sweep stakes) 809 and the nominator enters the employee service incentive / contract program, as shown in FIG. 8B. Judge whether to be registered in. If the user is enrolled in the employee service incentive / contract program 810, a point issuance transaction for the account of the nominee is sent to the central online point server 812 at the program coordinator host system 814, and the employee's central account is Updated in real time to reflect the points earned on cognition. If the program coordinator host system updates the employee's central account,
The host system automatically sends the correct confirmation to the ERM system 816. ER
The M system then determines at the additional point transaction program coordinator host system 814 whether there are additional point transactions to send to the central online point server. If additional point transactions are required as in the case of team nominations, these additional point issue transactions are transmitted to the account of the nominee belonging to the central online point server 812. If there are no additional point transactions, point processing is completed 820. If the ERM system does not receive the transmission of the correct confirmation from the host system 816, the ERM system causes the program coordinator host system 814 to re-send to the central online point server 812 the data reflecting the points earned for the recognition 822. As a result, the employee's central account is updated in real time to reflect the points earned on cognition. Alternatively, the ERM system can queue transactions for storing / sending batches for later processing at 824.

Referring to FIG. 8C, the system sends an e-mail to employees, nominators and supervisors to advise on cognition and to confirm the number of points booked 826,828 to the account of the nominee. . Electronic copy of recognition certificate is e
-Attached to email 830, and nominee is a recognition paper certificate 834
A software application may be launched from the e-mail screen to view and / or print the. The certificate contains the category, verbatim information entered by the nominee, and all nomination information including nominator information. Referring to FIG. 8b, if the user is not enrolled in the employee service incentive / contract program 810, then the system determines if the employee e-mail address is available 838, as shown in FIG. 8c. . If an employee e-mail address is available, the system will e-mail the employee, nominator and program manager to advise on the cognition. Note that when an employee is not enrolled in the program, the system sends a confirmation e-mail to the manager's e-mailbox rather than the supervisor. If an employee email address is available,
The user is advised on the recognition by a manual, non-electronic method, such as first-class email or in-house email.

The three major functions included in the electronic peer-to-peer system are: (1)
There are management functions, (2) cognitive transmission, and (3) cognitive observation. Equivalent person-to-equivalent program management functions are (1) Add person concerned, (2) Update person profile, (3)
Examine existing certificates, (4) manual, non-electronic nomination processing for parties without access to the system, (5) program parameter configuration, and (6
) Includes speculation (bet) setting winner selection. The additional party functions are essentially the same as those described in Self-Service Registration and Profile Maintenance, except that the process is performed by a Program Manager or Human Resource Representative. As a component of the lock description, the user of this feature has a button to specify whether the employee is eligible to accept points as part of cognition. The update stakeholder profile function is also essentially the same as the function described above for self-service registration and profile maintenance, except that the process is performed by a program manager or human resource representative. The certificate scrutiny feature provides the administrator user with the ability to view a list of certificates by date range, nominator name and nominator name, based on input parameters provided by the user. It is a management process. The user specifies the parameters and presses the "send button" which is visible on the browser. A list of lighting prizes is displayed. The certificate is selected from the list, in which case an additional format displays detailed certificate information.

The administrative process for the peer-to-peer recognition certificate scrutiny function is detailed in FIG. Administrators log in to the system using their user ID and password 850. Next, the administrator searches the ERM database 854 for question formats for the prize criteria 852. The administrator then selects the certificate subset 856 from the certificates retrieved from the ERM database certificate table 858. The administrator then has the option to view and print the detailed certificate information and read-only format 862 or to add a nomination for the non-electronic / paper based nominator 864.

Additional forms within the management function include non-electronic party nominations, program parameters and sweep stakes settings and winner selections. The non-electronic party nomination form within the management function provides the option of adding new nominations to those parties who do not have a web browser and cannot access the contract program host application. The program parameter configuration format is a prize standard format that provides the user with the ability to input parameters for the program. Included are nominator points for prizes, nominator points for prizes and registration points for prizes. The management process for the peer-to-peer cognitive prize criteria entry function is detailed in FIG. Administrators log in to the system using their user ID and password 870. Next, the administrator searches the ERM module database 874 for a question format for the prize criteria input 872. Next, the administrator inputs criteria for prizes in the prize criteria input form 876. The prize criteria include points for prizes for nominators, nominees, and inputs to the program. The prize standard input in the prize standard input format is saved in the ERM databases 878 and 880.

The betting settings and winner selection format manage the ability to specifically state the number of betting winners selected in the betting points and the betting process for prizes, along with other rules that may apply to betting. It is provided to prepare the user. The format also provides the ability to enter a date range for the selection of potential winners. After all the necessary betting parameters have been entered, the user confirms the configuration and undertakes a winner selection process on the web server. This process picks up a randomly specified number of winners and displays a list on screen and triggers a point issuance transaction to an online points server. When a successful response is received from the online point server, an e-mail is sent to the winner, the database is updated and a winner report is generated. A form is also provided to return and examine every betting process winner. The management process for the peer-to-peer cognitive betting setting function is detailed in FIG. 11A. Administrators are their users I
Log in to the system using D and password 884. The manager then enters betting parameters 886,888 including at least points for prizes, rules applicable to betting, data range, number of winners. The administrator then observes and validates the betting parameters 890. The manager then undertakes a bet selection process 892, which sends parameters and selects a winner and displays the selected winner to manager 894. The bet winner is then saved in the data store 896. The administrator then formats the point issuance transaction for the bet winner and nominator 898 by retrieving and processing the data for the prize criteria 900 and the bet winner 902. Next, bet-winners and nominators 89
The point issuance transaction for 8 is sent to the central online points server 904 at the program coordinator host system 906, and the central accounts of the bet-winner and the nominator are updated in real time to reflect the points earned on the cognition. If the program coordinator host system updates the central accounts of the bet-winner and the nominator, the host system automatically transmits the correct confirmation to the ERM system 908. The ERM system determines if there are additional winners of the bet 910. If there are additional winners of the bet 910, the administrator formats the point issuance transaction for the bet winner and nominator 898 by retrieving and processing data for prize criteria 900 and bet winner 902. If there are no additional winners of the bet 910, the system will email the bet winner 912. The bet winner nominator receives the confirmation email 914 and the system creates bet winner reports 916, 918. If the ERM system does not receive the correct confirmation transmission from the host system 908, the ERM system determines that the program coordinator host system 8
At 14, the central online points server 904 attempts to re-send data reflecting the points earned on the cognition 920, so that the central accounts of the bet-winner and the nominator in real time to reflect the points earned on the cognition. Will be updated. Alternatively, the ERM system may later queue the transaction for storage / transmission of 922 batches.

Participants enrolled in the Employee Services Incentive / Contract Program can access a page that displays all cognitive nominations received or sent. By selecting a particular cognition from the list, interested parties
Cognitive details can be observed, including an electronic copy of the certificate.

An additional feature of the ERM program called Manager Discretionary Prizes allows managers enrolled in the program to grant prize recognition to registered employees. A manager responsible for multiple projects or campaigns may award a certain amount of points in each of those projects and within their budget. Managers can also be granted to employees who do not report. Similar to peer-to-peer programs, cognitive categories are assigned and custom descriptions are entered by the manager. Points are awarded in real-time and participants are confirmed via email. The prize history is maintained by the project and budget and is available for observation by the manager or manager.

Referring to FIG. 12, the management steps involved in the process of setting program criteria and budget information for the manager awareness module are disclosed. First,
The management team enters the program criteria in the campaign details screen 924. The program parameters include the start date and time of the program; the end date and time of the program; the maximum amount an employee can earn within this campaign / program; whether the prize category selection is displayed to the manager, and secondly, the award Whether to be required to be selected for prizes to be awarded; whether the option to add verbatim prize descriptions is displayed to the manager, and secondly, occupied (populated) with prizes to be awarded. ) Is required. The management team then enters the budget information associated with the program in the new budget screen 926. This includes the client budget description, as well as the expiry date of the budget funds. Every budget has a unique key for the budget, identified as the "budget id". A person can have multiple budgets. A budget can only have one budget owner at a given time,
However, the budget owner can change. For example, if a manager leaves, another manager takes over there. The budget will be transferred to the new manager as the budget owner. The budget has an assigned expiry date. It should be noted that the funds may expire at the same time as the program end date or thereafter. The management team then loads budget information into the system through the Budget Load screen 928, which includes batch files and online entry applications. In the batch file application, the management team chooses that campaign / promotion is updated and reported id, manager i
d, and load processes that automatically load each individual's budget.
Note: The management team can update this information automatically if budget updates are required. In online entry applications, the management team has the ability to automatically add reporting ids, manager ids, and budget amounts for a given campaign / promotion rather than using the batch file load process, as described above. have.

FIG. 13 illustrates the manager's discretionary prize process. The manager logs on to the ERM application using his unique ERM ID and password 930 and also selects the ability to enter into the manager awareness module 931, also referred to as the manager discretionary prize module. The manager fills in the assigned budget ID 932 and access to the budget and applications is enabled. The system then determines if the manager is authorized to dispense from budget 934. Only those managers who have been given a budgeted amount to give have access to the manager awareness module and associated toolkit, also referred to as the "distribution section". If the manager is not authorized to dispense from the budget 935, the manager is prompted to select the authorized budget ID 935 and is offered the opportunity to enter another budget ID number 933. If the manager is authorized to dispense from the budget 934, the manager is given access to the manager awareness module (dispensing section) 936.
Within the "Distribution" section, the manager also enables the following characteristics: budget to allocate prizes; current amount available; original budget amount; remaining amount, as well as budget expiry date 937. can do. The manager can then select any employees other than them for prize recognition 938 and enable the employee to be enrolled in the ERM program. If the employee's profile exists in the database and the employee is not registered 939, the manager can select the employee for nominations. Non-registered employees will not accept points if the employee does not have an ERM program account ID or have no e-mail in the nucleus sent to his or her supervisor. Also, if the employee is not registered, the system searches the employee data retrieved from the ERM program database to determine if the employee's email address is available 940. If the employee's e-mail address is available, the manager is given the option to send the rest of the e-mail to the employee for registration in program 941. If employees do not have an e-mail address, they are reminded to enroll in an employee service incentive / contract program by a manual, non-electronic method, such as first-class email or internal mail 942. . After the employee is selected for a prize, the manager can select the prize category, a description of the prize, and the amount of prize 945. The manager can also enter a verbatim description of why the person will win the prize 946. The prize category and description are based on the parameters requested by the client. The manager then has the opportunity to validate the information entered prior to granting 947 to the employee. The system also enables that the amount to be granted to the employee is less than or equal to the remaining budget amount and the maximum amount paid to the employee is not achieved 948. The manager then validates the remaining budget amount and maximum employee payment information 949. If this information is not valid, the manager has the opportunity to enter a correction to information 950 and then validate the entered information prior to granting to the employee. Once the remaining budget amount and maximum employee payment information is validated by manager 949, points are awarded to employees through a process very similar to that described above for peer-to-peer recognition. First, ER
The M database is updated with the recognition information 51. Then, if the user is enrolled in the employee service incentive / contract program, a point issuance transaction for the employee nominee count is sent to the central online point server 953 at the program coordinator host system 954, and the employee is The central account is updated in real time to reflect the points earned on cognition. If the program coordinator host system updates the employee's central account, the host system automatically takes over the ERM system 955.
Send the correct confirmation to. The ERM system then retrieves the project budget from the ERM database and adjusts the project budget according to the points issued to employee nominees 956.

Next, employees and managers 957,962 are advised to advise on cognition and check the number of points posted in the account of the nominee.
-Send an email. An electronic copy of the cognitive certificate is attached to the e-mail 958, and the employee nominee can launch a software application from the e-mail screen to view and / or print the cognitive paper certificate 959. . The generated certificate contains all nomination information, including the category, verbatim information entered by the nominator, and nominee information 960. After the certificate is created, the process ends 961. A history section is also available to managers for each budget assigned to them. If budget ownership changes from one manager to another throughout the campaign / program, the new manager is granting the manager; the employee; the date of the prize; the amount of the prize; and Has access to all of the historical information, such as prize categories and descriptions, if required and occupied. If the ERM system does not receive a correct confirmation transmission from the host system 955, the ERM system may be updated in real-time to update the employee's central account to reflect the points earned for cognition. Attempts to re-send to the online points server 963,964 the data reflecting the points earned for the cognition 963. Alternatively, the ERM system can queue transactions for storage / transmission of batches for later 964 processing.

The system also presents to the employees involved in the recommendation module the opportunity to identify the job applicant and attach an abstract for review by a work group within the company, an applicant recommended prize. Contains modules. The employee referred to accepts points for presenting information. If the applicant is hired within 6 months of the recommendation presentation, the mentioned employee is also accurate in terms of various rewards, including points, cash, prizes, etc.

An involved employee who wants to make a recommendation to initiate a job logs on to the ERM system and selects the recommend function. Stakeholders must be registered in the ERM system. The web server provides a format for entering basic information about the job applicant. The nomination form may also provide the opportunity to specify specific work groups, human resource scouts or representatives, special job titles or other relevant information. Formal zones are provided to add verbatim comments about the applicant. Employees have the opportunity to print a hard copy of the recommendation information if desired. Screen control options are provided with the ability to attach an electronic summary to the employee. This option provides an opportunity to direct the message to the appropriate employment manager and / or human resource representative to the parties operating and referring to the e-mail system. Other screen controls provide the ability to present the employee with recommendations that trigger some events. The recommendation ID is assigned to the job applicant's information and the recommendation is ERM
Saved in the database. The ERM program web server formats a point issuance record for the number of points specified by the parameters in the employee database, which can vary by location. A point transaction is sent to an online points server when it is booked in the employee's account to which the point refers.

After the recommendation is saved in the ERM database, the human resource representative or ERM program manager updates the status of the recommendation so that the application process continues. The recommendation system provides functions such as observing pending recommendations. The information displayed includes the recommendation ID, the name of the referring employee, the status of the recommendation (received, interviewed, not employed, employed, etc.), applicant's name,
And may include the title of the corresponding job to which the applicant is associated. The employee referred to has the option of observing his or her self-recommendation. The program manager periodically reviews the recommendation list and extracts applicants with a status of "hired". The recommendation ID is used to identify the employee who referred to the applicant and the compensation employed is processed for that employee.

The employee contract and incentive program also includes an employee anniversary prize module. Assuming that in this module the employee's hire anniversary date is stored in the employee database, the employee contract and incentive program will be responsible for pre-determined anniversary dates, such as 1 year, 3 years, 5 years of service, etc. You can give points to employees. In one embodiment, a human resources manager (“HR”) selects a group within the company, or a department, along with the month and year for processing for anniversary prizes (awards). The human resources manager may then observe a list of eligible parties, and for each eligible party, the human resources department may choose to observe detailed information. This information includes employee name and address information, SSN, department, company email address, e-mail address, supervisor name,
It may include the supervisor's email address, the supervisor's company email address, the anniversary date, the anniversary prize level, and the authorization instruction flag. Human resources enable the correct identification of all employees who were deemed eligible to demand service anniversary prizes. When all employees eligible for compensation within the workgroup have been identified, a key or screen control may be activated to create a prize for all authorized employees. E of celebration
-Mail messages can be sent to employees and supervisors. The e-mail message can direct the employee to a special page within the employee contract website that selects a reward. One of the rewards available is points. If the employee chooses points as a reward, the point issuance transaction is formatted and sent to the file program manager online points server and prize points are immediately posted to the account. If the employee chooses to redeem the prize reward, a shopping basket function is provided, including the ability to specify size, color, style and personalized information. After the reward selection is complete and the shopping information is specified, the order is captured and sent to the execution system for processing.

In supporting an ERM set (suite) of product modules designated to contract and reward employees, another component of employee contracts and incentive programs is the employee suggestion module. The employee suggestion module is adapted to encourage employee idea generation and then reward employees with points or other rewards for their contribution towards supporting organizational goals. In this module, individuals or teams can submit their ideas. The team presenting the idea can identify, for each team member, the percentage of engagement, and thus the payment of the prize. Also, there is automatic email notification to all individuals involved as idea status changes and different types of ideas are supported by the same suggestion module. The employee suggestion module
It also provides a comparison of future information against actual economic information. This compared information can be passed into the system for each idea, which can be used to compare with a cost benefit and revenue generation analysis matrix checkout table.
The module also provides dynamic help screens that guide stakeholders through various idea statuses, as well as the steps that occur throughout each status process.

Individuals or teams can submit their ideas online by accessing the Employee Suggestion Toolkit within the ERM system. The toolkit moves through the process of presenting, scrutinizing, approving or declining, and the process being performed, thus passing the progress status of the idea. FIG. 14 illustrates the process by which ideas are presented, examined, evaluated and carried out, and how points are awarded to the employee responsible for suggestion.

As shown in FIG. 14, an employee having an idea (presenter) starts the idea presenting process by logging in to the system with the user ID and the parameter 1000. The presenter then selects the option to present the idea,
This will access the suggestion module. The system is a web server and ER
Search the idea capture form from the M module database. The idea capture form provides the capture of idea data. Individuals or teams can present their ideas. If the team is presenting the idea, the representative is chosen to be the presenter. The presenter inputs predetermined idea information and employee information in the idea capture format. Idea information is at least the idea number (generated system); a short description of the idea; corporate purpose (eg: safety, driving performance, customers, finances); type of idea (eg: revenue generation, cost savings, intangibles) ); Readers (local or global); and adjuncts (e-mail window is automatically undertaken by the presenter as sending the adjunct). The employee information presented should be at least the primary presenter; if applicable, along with the percentage of their involvement used to determine prize payments, members of the team; and information indicating the coordinator selected. Can be included. The coordinator is selected by the presenter from the dropdown box 1008, and
The name of the coordinator retrieved from the RM module database 1010 is displayed.

Following presentation of the idea information and employee information via the idea capture form of transmission, an e-mail is automatically sent to the selected coordinator modifying them for the new idea 1012. The coordinator reviews the ideas submitted by e-mail regarding their eligibility to be involved in the program and ensures that they were not the dual ideas already submitted. The coordinator controls the presenter to collect any outstanding requirements as well as additional documentation. The coordinator also reviews the dollar or cost benefit information provided by the presenter and ensures that the appropriate idea type has been selected. If the coordinator feels that additional information or explanation is needed before the evaluator can pass it through, the coordinator marks the idea as a "change" that causes the presenter to edit and present the idea again. be able to.

Encouraging the presenter to collect any outstanding requirements as well as additional documentation, the coordinator first determines if the presented idea 1016 has the appropriate information. If the coordinator determines that there is inappropriate information,
The idea is flagged as "changed" 1018 and the coordinator notifies the presenter about the inadequacy 1020. The presenter then retrieves suggested information from the database and modifies and / or enhances the idea 1022 and ERs it.
It is stored in the M program database 1010. The e-mail will be automatically sent to the selected coordinator alerting them again about the changed new idea 1012. If the coordinator determines that there is appropriate information 1016, then the coordinator determines 1024 whether the presented idea is eligible to be involved. If the coordinator determines that the presented idea is not eligible to be involved, it will be flagged as unlicensed 1026 and the coordinator will not be eligible to engage the presented idea.
028 is notified to the presenter. If the coordinator determines that there is pertinent information 1016, then the coordinator may not have previously submitted the idea.
Judge whether it is 30 or not. If the coordinator determines that the idea has been previously presented, it is flagged as unapproved 1032 and the coordinator notifies the presenter that the presented idea was 1034 previously presented. If the coordinator determines that the idea has not been previously presented, then the coordinator updates the idea status from "coordinator scrutiny" to "rating" or "not authorized" and the updated status to ERM.
It is stored in the database 1040. Next, the coordinator makes additional comments,
That is, dollar profit information (for example: revenue accrual table); and cost profit information (
For example: cost analysis settlement slip 1042 is added and the added information is stored in the ERM program database 1040. The coordinator is then the evaluator 10
44 and store this information in the ERM database 1040. next,
An e-mail is automatically sent to the evaluator alerting them of the assigned idea 1046, as well as copied to the presenter 1048. The evaluator then examines, approves the submitted ideas, assigns an executive team / person 1050 and updates the idea status to "test / execute" and stores the updated status information in the ERM database 1052. The executive team will be presenter 1056 and coordinator 1 as a result of those being copied by email.
At 058, you will be notified via email of Idea 1054. Once the idea has been executed 1060, the coordinator updates the ERM program database with comments from the execution team, as well as notifying the presenter about the status 1062 of the idea. Also, the status of the idea is "Complete"
And stored in the ERM program database 1064.

Next, the prize coordinator is automatically notified via email that the ideas 1066, 1068 have been implemented. The prize coordinator then determines the prize payout amount for idea 1070 by considering the following aspects of the idea: rule structure of the suggestion program; cost-benefit analysis; revenue generation analysis; and other aspects as deemed appropriate. To do. Next, it is determined whether the presented idea is a team-based idea 1072. If the presented idea is not a team based idea 1074, the point update process (transaction) is formatted for all prize recipients 1078. If the presented idea is a team-based idea, the prize coordinator then reviews, updates and authorizes the prize percentage and point payouts for all team members and stores the data in the ERM program database 1076. The point update process is then formatted for all prize recipients 1078.

The point effect processing is then formatted for the suggester and transmitted in real time to the online point server at the program manager host system 1080 when posted to the employee's account in the online point server database 1080. In the present embodiment, the prize is a point. However, it will be appreciated that the prize may also be a merchandise item, a gift certificate, cash or the like. Special commodity vehicles can be selected by the client. Program Coordinator Host System If the online point server updates the employee's central account, the host system will confirm the correct ERM.
Transmit to system. The ERM system then determines if there is additional point processing at the program coordinator host system 1082 to send to the central online point server. If there is additional point processing,
A user enrolled in the employee service incentive / contract program sends additional points issuance processing to the central online points server 1086 for the account of the nominee. If there is no additional point processing, point processing has been completed and a congratulatory email has been provided to the presenter and it has been attached 1
You may also have a 088 electronic prize certificate. In the present embodiment, the attached certificate is a PDF file. It is understood that the attached certificate is
It can be in any electronic format that is attached to a mail and then accessed and printed from the user's workstation.
The coordinator is copied to the email 1090. If the ERM system does not receive the correct confirmation transmission from the host system 1084, the ERM system attempts to re-send the data reflecting the points earned for the cognition 1094 to the central online point server 1080 at the program coordinator host system, As a result, the central online point server database 10
The 82 employee accounts are updated in real time to reflect the points earned on cognition. Alternatively, the ERM system may later queue 1096 batch processes for storage / transmission.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of network connections showing various computer components of a system according to the present invention.

[Fig. 2]   It is a functional schematic diagram showing the system function of Internet e-commerce.

FIG. 3A is a flow chart showing a logical flow of an in-store point buyback system in accordance with the principles of the present invention.

FIG. 3B is a flow chart showing a logical flow of an in-store point buyback system in accordance with the principles of the present invention.

FIG. 3C is a flowchart showing a logical flow of an in-store point buyback system in accordance with the principles of the present invention.

FIG. 4A   4 is a flow chart showing the online registration process of the present invention.

FIG. 4B   4 is a flow chart showing the online registration process of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing a logical flow of shopping functionality within an interactive website portion of a system in accordance with the principles of the present invention.

FIG. 6A is a flow chart showing the logical flow of the end-of-purchase function within the interactive website portion of the system in accordance with the principles of the present invention.

FIG. 6B is a flow chart showing the logical flow of the end-of-purchase function within the interactive website portion of the system in accordance with the principles of the present invention.

FIG. 6C is a flow chart showing the logical flow of the end-of-purchase function within the interactive website portion of the system in accordance with the principles of the present invention.

FIG. 7A is a flow chart showing the logical flow of a self-service ERM registration process.

FIG. 7B is a flow chart showing the logical flow of the self-service ERM registration process.

FIG. 8A   6 is a flowchart showing a logical flow of peer-to-peer recognition.

FIG. 8B   6 is a flowchart showing a logical flow of peer-to-peer recognition.

FIG. 8C   6 is a flowchart showing a logical flow of peer-to-peer recognition.

FIG. 9 is a flow chart showing a peer-to-peer recognition certificate review process.

FIG. 10 is a flow chart illustrating a process for entering prize criteria for peer-to-peer recognition.

FIG. 11A is a flow chart illustrating a management process for setting peer-to-peer recognition bets.

FIG. 11B is a flow chart illustrating a management process for setting peer-to-peer recognition bets.

FIG. 12 illustrates a management process involved in shaping program criteria and budget information related to a manager's discretionary cognitive process.

FIG. 13A   6 is a flowchart illustrating a manager's discretionary recognition process.

FIG. 13B   6 is a flowchart illustrating a manager's discretionary recognition process.

FIG. 13C   6 is a flowchart illustrating a manager's discretionary recognition process.

FIG. 13D   6 is a flowchart illustrating a manager's discretionary recognition process.

FIG. 14A is a flow chart showing the logical flow of a process including the employee suggestion module of the ERM program.

FIG. 14B is a flow chart showing the logical flow of a process including the employee suggestion module of the ERM program.

FIG. 14C is a flow chart showing the logical flow of a process including the employee suggestion module of the ERM program.

FIG. 14D is a flow chart showing the logical flow of a process including the employee suggestion module of the ERM program.

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (81) Designated countries EP (AT, BE, CH, CY, DE, DK, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, IE, I T, LU, MC, NL, PT, SE, TR), OA (BF , BJ, CF, CG, CI, CM, GA, GN, GW, ML, MR, NE, SN, TD, TG), AP (GH, G M, KE, LS, MW, MZ, SD, SL, SZ, TZ , UG, ZW), EA (AM, AZ, BY, KG, KZ, MD, RU, TJ, TM), AE, AG, AL, AM, AT, AU, AZ, BA, BB, BG, BR, BY, B Z, CA, CH, CN, CO, CR, CU, CZ, DE , DK, DM, DZ, EE, ES, FI, GB, GD, GE, GH, GM, HR, HU, ID, IL, IN, I S, JP, KE, KG, KP, KR, KZ, LC, LK , LR, LS, LT, LU, LV, MA, MD, MG, MK, MN, MW, MX, MZ, NO, NZ, PL, P T, RO, RU, SD, SE, SG, SI, SK, SL , TJ, TM, TR, TT, TZ, UA, UG, US, UZ, VN, YU, ZA, ZW (72) Inventor Keller, Robert             55345, Minnesota, United States             Netonka, Clear Spring Road             5024 (72) Inventor Johnson, Barbara, A.             55328, Minnesota, United States             Rano, S. E. ， Fortisard               Street 4081 (72) Inventor Knus, Edward             55447, Minnesota, United States             Limas, Surtees Avenue             18105

Claims (18)

[Claims] 1. A computer in which a prize program participant earns points and instantly stores them in a centralized data store for transactions at any one of a plurality of point servers networked to a host incentive prize system. In a real-time transaction point accumulation system of execution, (a) at least one in-store server system, in which the point server includes (i) a point-of-sale information management system; (ii) at least one online interactive consumer website server And (iii) includes an interactive employee contract and incentive website server, and (b) a host incentive prize system is at least (i) a host processor; (ii) electrically coupled to the host processor. Medium data storage device,
The centralized data storage device includes a plurality of prize program participant records, each prize program participant record including at least one program participant point balance; (iii) the record from the point server. A host communication device electrically coupled to the host processor for receiving a request for the host processor to send at least one of the point balances to the point server; (c) the in-store server system. A customer website server, and the employee contract and incentive websites each process the transaction to determine points earned for the transaction, the point server further storing the centralized data storage device. Point balance The points earned at the end of the transaction are updated immediately by sending to the host processor in real time, and the points earned for the transaction are updated to create an updated point balance in a centralized data store. A computer-implemented real-time transaction point accumulation system characterized by being added to the balance. 2. The at least one online interactive consumer website server comprises at least: (a) a website processor; (b) a website data storage device electrically coupled to the website processor; and (c). ) Comprising a website communication device electrically coupled to said website processor for transmitting a request for prize program participant account data; said interactive website requesting said prize program participant account data and said Receives the prize program participant account data from a centralized data store and stores the data including prize point balance in a temporary data store, and the interactive website calculates points earned for each prize. And at the end of the deal rear Transmit the points earned in real time,
The computer-implemented real-time transaction point of claim 1, wherein the points earned for the transaction are added to the point balance to create an updated point balance in a centralized data store. Storage system. 3. The computer-implemented real-time transaction point accumulation system of claim 2, wherein the website processor determines the points earned based on the dollar amount of the current sale transaction. 4. The computer implemented method of claim 2, wherein each prize program participant record includes at least data representing the prize program participant point balance and the prize program participant account number. Real-time transaction point accumulation system. 5. A computer-implemented system in which an individual of the organization may be instantly awarded points to a centralized data store to achieve goals and present actions that may be desirable to the organization, comprising: (a) an organization server. (I) a website processor; (ii) a website data storage device electrically coupled to the website processor; (iii) electrically coupled to the website processor for interactive communication with the website processor; (B) a host incentive reward system is electrically coupled to the organization server, the host incentive reward system being at least (i) a host processor; (ii) to the host processor. Centralized data storage device electrically coupled,
The centralized data storage device includes a plurality of organizational membership records, each of the organizational membership records including at least one organizational membership reward point balance and an account identification number; (iii) the relationship from the organizational server. A host communication device electrically coupled to the host processor to receive a request for a personal record, the host communication device transmitting at least the reward point balance to the organization server upon receipt of a unique organization member identifier. In that case, the organization server interactively gives points to the designated member of the organization when requested by the organization nominator member as an incentive, and the given points are immediately transmitted to the centralized data storage device and redemption in the exchange of products Immediately available to the host incentive Characterized by being added to the points previously stored in the organizational designated member record to create an updated organizational member account point balance serving in a related retailer system networked to the remuneration system. Computer execution system. 6. The computer-implemented system according to claim 5, wherein the organization server immediately announces the designated member of the incentive and points to which the organization server has been granted. 7. The computer-implemented system of claim 6, wherein the immediate notice is transmitted by electronic mail. 8. The computer-implemented system of claim 7, wherein the transmitted email includes a hyperlink to a web page containing products and services available for online repurchase of the reward points. 9. The computer-implemented system of claim 6, wherein the immediate notice is immediately transmitted by mail on a keeper. 10. The organization server interactively grants an act currency to a designated nominee member at the request of a nominee member of the organization as a reward for a nominee who is presenting an action that the organization is encountering. The computer execution system according to claim 5, wherein: 11. The computer execution system according to claim 5, wherein the designated member of the organization is an employee of the organization and the member of the organization nominator is an employee of the organization. 12. The computer execution system according to claim 11, wherein the organization nominator member is an employee who supervises or manages an organization across the designated organization members. 13. The computer execution system according to claim 11, wherein the organization nominator member is an organized equivalent employee of the organization designated member. 14. The computer-implemented system of claim 5, wherein each said organizational membership record includes at least data indicative of said organizational membership account point balance and said organizational membership unique account number. 15. The computer-implemented system of claim 5, wherein each said organizational membership record includes at least data displaying a profile of said organizational membership. 16. An employee, wherein the individual is an employee and the organization is an employer of the employee, and the website data store is desired to be recorded in or involved in an employee relationship management program. The computer implemented system of claim 5, including a plurality of employee data records shown. 17. The computer-implemented system of claim 5, wherein the website processor includes an interactive web application that causes the employee relationship manager to record employees. 18. Employees by completing an electronic record format in which the interactive web application collects the employee's profile and stores the profile data for each of the employees in an associated employee data record. The computer execution system according to claim 17, wherein the program is recorded in the employee relationship management program.