US 8,204,799 B1Granted

System and method for combining fulfillment of customer orders from merchants in computer-facilitated marketplaces

AssigneeAmazon Technologies, Inc.

InventorsJason Murray, Joel Shepherd, Mark Griffith

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Abstract

Combining fulfillment of customer orders from merchants in computer-facilitated marketplaces. An order management system may include a virtual shopping cart interface that may be used with a number of merchants. Each merchant may be registered to receive fulfillment services from a fulfillment services provider for inventory items the merchant offers in commerce. The virtual shopping cart interface may be configured to receive requests to indicate various items within a virtual shopping cart corresponding to a customer. Different inventory items offered by different merchants may be placed within the virtual shopping cart. In response to the customer's request to finalize an order, the order management system may instruct the fulfillment services provider to ship the items in the virtual shopping cart to the customer. A single shipment may include items offered by several different merchants, and each of the merchants may be the merchant of record for its respective inventory item.

Claims30

Dependent claims

A system, comprising:

a memory configured to store instructions;
and
one or more processors coupled to said memory;
wherein said instructions are executable by at least one of said one or more processors to implement an order management system;
wherein said order management system is configured to implement a virtual shopping cart interface configured for use with each of a plurality of merchants, wherein each given one of said plurality of merchants is registered to receive inventory fulfillment services provided by a fulfillment services provider for inventory items offered in commerce by said given merchant, wherein the fulfillment services provider is distinct from said plurality of merchants, wherein the inventory fulfillment services include shipping the inventory items to customers, and wherein at least two of said plurality of merchants are configured to present their own independent respective shopping interfaces, which each support the virtual shopping cart interface, to said customers;
wherein said virtual shopping cart interface is configured to receive requests on behalf of a given one of said customers to indicate two or more of said inventory items respectively offered by two or more different ones of said merchants within a virtual shopping cart managed by said virtual shopping cart interface, wherein said virtual shopping cart corresponds to said given customer;
and
wherein, in response to receiving a request to finalize an order on behalf of said given customer, said order management system is configured to instruct said fulfillment services provider to ship said two or more inventory items to said given customer in one or more shipments, wherein at least one of said one or more shipments comprises inventory items offered by said two or more different merchants, and wherein each of said two or more different merchants is a merchant of record for its respective offered inventory item.

5 more elements

A computer-implemented method, comprising:

performing, by one or more computers:
an order management system presenting a virtual shopping cart interface to each of a plurality of merchants, wherein each given one of said plurality of merchants is registered to receive inventory fulfillment services provided by a fulfillment services provider for inventory items offered in commerce by said given merchant, wherein the fulfillment services provider is distinct from said plurality of merchants, wherein the inventory fulfillment services include shipping the inventory items to customers, and wherein at least two of said plurality of merchants are configured to present their own independent respective shopping interfaces, which each support the virtual shopping cart interface, to said customers;
said virtual shopping cart interface receiving requests on behalf of a given one of said customers to indicate two or more of said inventory items respectively offered by two or more different ones of said merchants within a virtual shopping cart managed by said virtual shopping cart interface, wherein said virtual shopping cart corresponds to said given customer;
and
in response to receiving a request to finalize an order on behalf of said given customer, said order management system instructing said fulfillment services provider to ship said two or more inventory items to said given customer in one or more shipments, wherein at least one of said one or more shipments comprises inventory items offered by said two or more different merchants, and wherein each of said two or more different merchants is a merchant of record for its respective offered inventory item.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.