WO2001076427A1 - Method to make purchases, to handle, deliver and store foods and groceries and temporary storing facilities - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to methods in connection with the purchasing, handling, delivery and storage of foodstuffs and everyday commodities, in which the goods a) are ordered via an electronic network of Internet type, and a supplier portal to which only approved suppliers and approved purchasers have access with identifies identifiable by computer processing, b) are packed in carrier and/or containers and c) are delivered to the purchaser. The invention is characterised in that during handling, delivery and any storage at the customer's, the goods are in suspended carrier bags and/or containers.

Description

Method to make purchases, to handle, deliver and store foods and groceries and temporary storing facilities.

The present invention relates to methods in connection with the purchasing, handling, delivery and storage of foodstuffs and everyday commodities, and a temporary storage arrangement with spaces for storage.

The delivery of perishables to a purchaser's home address without the resident actually having to be at home to take delivery of the goods is an essential prerequisite for electronic trading in foodstuffs and everyday commodities. Most modern homes have limited facilities for storing large volumes of everyday commodities, so that the recurrent purchase of smaller quantities of goods at a time becomes unavoidable, that is to say a lot of time is spent purchasing and handling everyday commodities, very often under conditions not conducive to preserving the quality of goods. Crushing, storage and transport at incorrect temperatures, overturned carrier bags in the vehicle's luggage space are difficult to avoid with current methods of handling.

Below is a reminder of the advantages that e-commerce affords the consumer:

^■ Menu suggestion, possibly linked to a budgeted monthly cost. X Menu suggestion linked to balanced diet chart and budget. X Suggested improvement with reference to a balanced diet chart.

X Advice from dietician in the event of repeated, unbalanced ordering of foodstuffs with low nutritional value, so-called junk food. Promotes public health. X Separate undertaking for the delivery of baby food, which ensures an all-round, nutritionally correct and adequate diet.

X Purchasing statistics for various types of foodstuffs or everyday commodities, possibly linked to suggestions for cheaper, alternative offers. X Reminder functions if one suddenly appears to have forgotten something. X Other types of information of interest to the consumer can also be put out via the portal, linked to purchasing patterns, for example.

X Cheaper and less bulky packaging will be promoted, reducing the cost of goods. */ The consumer has time to read information on the content of goods in peace and quiet. -/ Purchase of perishables with a "short date" at reduced price, since the cold storage chain can be guaranteed in connection with the delivery. X More time for other things.

Consumer purchase of perishables on a spot market also becomes meaningful with efficient handling and delivery of goods ordered and where communication between purchaser and supplier can take place by mobile phone, for example.

The time that elapses between purchase order and delivery is shortened compared to the conventional method of handling in shops, which means that the throughput time for goods is reduced, and in addition to the cost savings achieved freshness and quality are also enhanced.

The large quantity of perishables that currently has to be scrapped owing to inefficient trading, that is to say inadequate facilities for effective communication between purchaser and seller can be significantly reduced with the technique according to the invention.

One obstacle to an expansion of e-commerce is the fact that the purchaser has to be at home waiting for delivery of the goods, or has to travel to a certain distribution centre in order to collect the goods ordered.

Attempts have hitherto been made to handle deliveries of everyday commodities in the emerging e-commerce basically in two ways. In both cases the purchaser orders the goods from a chosen supplier, who delivers the goods, either at a fixed time suggested by the purchaser, or to a locker placed outside the house. The first solution is based on the premise that somebody is at home at the time of delivery, the latter on the premise that space is available for the locker, which in practice has meant that the latter method could only be developed in suburban residential districts.

US-A-1 738 539 discloses a door with storage space accessible from both sides. The purpose of the door is to be able to place goods in the various divided spaces from the outside and/or inside, so that they are accessible to a person inside or outside the door. The idea of using an outer door as interim storage space for exchanging various goods and for various purposes is thus already known.

The present invention presupposes a break with the old habitual trading practice of collecting ones goods oneself. The ultimate object of the invention is to rationalise and ensure the quality of purchasing, handling and delivery routines for everyday commodities and foodstuffs. It must be possible to implement quality assurance in the handling of various categories of goods, such as an uninterrupted cold storage chain and generally careful handing of various goods.

The present invention opens up practical opportunities for an efficient and flourishing e-commerce, which can even allow for impulse buying and surprises.

In one example of efficient e-commerce the consumer might visit a common portal in the evening to place his orders for the following day. The orders may advantageously be added up in postcode groups or in manageable residential areas.

Everybody interested in delivery goods (and having authorisation) can visit the portal and specify the geographical area they might be interested in delivering to and can there rapidly and easily add up all the purchase orders on hand for various categories of goods. From each purchase order shown the prospective supplier can immediately get an idea of his own costs for delivery of the goods specified in the purchase order and can quickly see whether the price he needs to charge is sufficiently competitive to get the order. A lowest possible price is submitted for the volume of goods. At a certain it is decided who gets to deliver the various goods to the areas in question. The lowest price for a given quantity/quality gets the order. A delivery service used jointly by the suppliers delivers the goods ordered. It must be noted here that in many cases more than one supplier will receive orders for different goods/categories of goods in each order.

An auctioning method in connection with acceptance of purchase orders for categories of goods and residential areas will also be a possibility and easy to administer and implement. New, efficient enterprises with highly developed automation in the packaging and distribution stages will be established. Concentration on the trading described here means significantly lower set-up costs for suppliers than is the case at present, which is ultimately a prerequisite for a reduction in the price to the consumer.

With each purchase order taken a supplier receives detailed information on who is to receive what from the goods ordered, and packs and delivers the goods via the common ordering service before a certain time, for example 16.00 when many people begin to arrive home from school and work. Because the goods can be left and paid for without the customers being present and because the volumes will be large for a geographically small area, at least in built-up areas, the physical distribution costs can be minimised.

Even in country areas a similar method of delivery and direct trading between growers/food producers and consumers can result in significantly lower costs, since a further intermediate stage can be eliminated, that is to say the delivery of smaller volumes of goods over a larger geographical area can still be profitable for both parties. Even here, future small-scale enterprises in the flour milling, dairy and meat slaughter industries can be relevant and profitable. On producer portals, growers can communicate and trade directly with their customers.

The aims and objects of the invention described above are achieved in that the invention benefits from the characteristics specified in the claims.

It is proposed according to the invention that the residents, by way of a locker in an outer door, at least part of which is taken up by refrigerator and/or freezer compartments and which can be opened from outside only by authorised persons, take delivery of the everyday commodities ordered in packaging containers specially designed for the purpose, which as far as possible must be kept suspended the whole time, that is say also in the purchaser's home.

Security against unauthorised access to delivery spaces at the purchaser's home can be achieved in many different ways.

A delivery note can be left with the goods, from which the customer can check the goods he has received. Automatic settlement could be achieved through the use of a bar code system in connection with the delivery space.

The customer must be informed immediately when ordering of deliveries that cannot be accommodated in the door refrigerator. He then either changes the order or also gives consent for any or some of the goods to be placed outside the locker.

The invention also makes it possible for suppliers as well as the purchaser, to get up- to-date information on empty storage capacity in the door refrigerator, that is to say even if a certain proportion is already taken up by certain goods. This information regarding current storage capacity at each purchaser's is available "on-line" in each ordering procedure and is deducted when goods are ordered and purchase confirmed. The purchaser is therefore informed immediately if an item/packaging size ordered cannot be accommodated in the door refrigerator in view of orders/purchases already made.

If so desired, suppliers can be allowed to inspect empty storage capacity in the door locker, it being possible to provide the consumers with special offers, with a view, for example, to supplementing goods already ordered.

If the suppliers have a full overview of each order placed, it is possible to make a quick assessment of various possible meals that can be made with the orders in hand, and a quick enquiry can be made as to whether the number of meals can be increased by supplementing with any goods that the supplier still has left in stock.

The invention will be described in general terms below without reference to any examples of embodiments.

A door refrigerator should be as narrow as possible and take up as large a part of the surface area of the original door as possible. A width of 80 cm and a height of 200 cm will probably be feasible in most cases.

The depth should correspond to a litre milk carton, perhaps 18 cm lying down. The depth is limited to 25 cm, that is to say approximately 20 cm more than at present, provided that a modern, high-grade insulating material is used. If additional depth is located towards the non-opening direction, this will not result in any problem except that the door opening will be correspondingly narrower. This may be a problem in apartments for the handicapped but is otherwise acceptable.

The total volume with milk cartons lying down (width 18 cm) will be a good 250 litres, that is to say more than sufficient volume for two 15-litre shopping bags. If the depth is limited to an "upright milk carton" the corresponding volume will be 160 litres, that is entirely adequate. For design reasons, however, it is certainly not desirable to have a larger volume than necessary, which in turn demands an ingenious way of storing the goods in the space. At least two different basic solutions are possible:

a) To pack the goods for a certain address at the supplier's in packaging that will fit into the door refrigerator. This requires a recycling method with standardised packaging. b) To leave the deliveryman who delivers the goods to pack the door refrigerator efficiently, that is to say with the correct goods in compartments intended for the purpose.

According to the invention it is proposed that the door refrigerator be designed so that a number of carrier bags of relatively stable shape and/or containers are suspended in the door refrigerator. The carrier bags/the containers must be standardised and matched to the geometry of the door refrigerator. The supplier has a number of carrier bags/containers in the vehicle, which is also equipped with refrigeration and freezer compartments. The deliveryman packs the goods in the vehicle, carries or drives the goods in the carrier bags/the containers, takes out the empty carrier bags/the containers from the previous day, hangs up the full ones there, takes the empty ones with him and packs these for the next customer, and so on. When he arrives home, the customer carries the goods in the said carrier bags/containers into the kitchen, stows the goods in the cupboard and places the empty carrier bags/containers with empty and sorted packaging back in the door refrigerator.

The door refrigerator may be provided with a code lock, which the customer can change when he wishes. The door refrigerator must be equipped with a function, which means that it is automatically closed when it is empty.

Claims

1) Method for the purchase, handling and delivery of foodstuffs, in which the goods a) are ordered via an electronic network of Internet type, and a supplier portal to which only approved suppliers and approved purchasers have access with identities identifiable by computer processing, b) are packed in carrier bags and/or containers and c) are delivered to the customer, characterised in that during handling, delivery and any storage at the purchaser's, the goods are in suspended carrier bags and/or containers.

2. Method according to Claim 1, characterised in that ordered goods are delivered to a specially designed and lockable space in connection with an outer door, which space can be opened at least from the outside by approved suppliers, who leave foodstuffs with different cold storage requirements in different parts of the space.

3) Method according to Claim 2 and for allowing access to a storage space in an outer door, characterised in that access to the space for storing goods in the outer door is allowed only to the supplier who has a prepared purchase order accepted, access being in the form of an access code for the storage space.

4) Method according to Claim 3, characterised in that the access code is quoted and amended via the order computer in connection with the acceptance of new orders, that is to say when a new sales transaction has been agreed.

5) Method according to Claim 1 , characterised in that the purchaser puts out a purchase order to approved suppliers, on a "market portal" for example, which purchase order normally contains different categories and groups of goods, in which the purchaser indicates both the acceptable price and quality levels for the various goods/ groups of goods and the priority or first choice for a certain quality and certain price for each item, and where appropriate the latest acceptable time for delivery. 6) Method according to Claim 5, characterised in that the suppliers visit the market portal and submit their price quotation for the various goods, following which the majority of purchases are made on the existing offer and meeting customers required quality and price stipulations.

7) Method according to Claim 1 , characterised in that each purchase order is made "open" in such a way that nutritional value and meal combinations are disclosed for approved suppliers and possibly for welfare centres.

8) Arrangement for temporary storage of foodstuffs and other everyday commodities, and for the implementation of a method according to Claim 1, characterised by a specially designed and lockable space in connection with an outer door, which space can be opened at least from the outside by approved suppliers of everyday commodities, who have purchase orders accepted, and in which space there are specially designed hook arrangements for suspended storage of carrier bags and/or containers.