Commodity Redemption Volume Derivation for Locked-In Fuel Pricing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Consumers in retail markets face volatile commodity prices due to supply and demand dynamics, geopolitical events, and currency fluctuations, leading to inflated prices with limited alternatives for mitigation, and existing solutions like fuel cards are supplier-specific, logistically burdensome, and lack security.
Innovation Solution
A commodity management system allows users to purchase commodities for later delivery, autonomously determining redemption volume and location, ensuring real-time transactions without reliance on a single supplier, and incorporating fraud detection and proximity verification to enhance security and flexibility.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If consumers purchase commodities through retail markets, then they have access to commodity availability, but they face inflated prices due to volatility and lack alternatives for mitigation
Solution Approach 1:
The system allows consumers to pre-purchase commodities at locked-in prices before market fluctuations occur. The commodity availability data structure records purchases in advance, and the automated reconciliation system ensures these pre-purchased commodities are redeemed at the agreed prices, protecting consumers from subsequent price increases.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a third-party automated system that mediates between consumers and retailers. This intermediary autonomously reconciles transactions by matching pre-purchase requests with redemption transactions, ensuring consumers receive their commodities at predetermined prices while retailers are automatically compensated, without requiring direct negotiation or trust between the parties.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If fuel cards are used to mitigate price fluctuations, then consumers can access discounted fuel prices, but they face logistical burdens due to supplier-specific restrictions and limited security measures
Solution Approach 1:
The system creates a universal commodity purchase system that works across multiple retailers and commodity types, not limited to single-supplier fuel cards. The automated reconciliation system can handle transactions at any participating retailer by autonomously matching pre-purchases with redemptions, providing consumers with flexible, multi-retailer access while maintaining price protection.
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables consumers to independently manage their commodity purchases and redemptions without requiring supplier-specific cards or manual intervention. The automated reconciliation system self-manages the matching and settlement processes, allowing consumers to simply redeem commodities at any participating retailer while the system handles the complex reconciliation automatically.
3Loss of information
If manual reporting of commodity purchase quantity is implemented, then buyers can report purchases, but the system suffers from errors through fraud or mistakes and is not suitable for real-time operation
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements automated feedback loops where the reconciliation system continuously monitors and matches pre-purchase transactions with redemption transactions. This automated feedback mechanism ensures accurate tracking of commodity quantities by systematically verifying each transaction against the purchase records, eliminating manual reporting errors and fraud while operating in real-time.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual reporting mechanisms with automated electronic reconciliation systems. The system uses computer-based algorithms to automatically match transactions, calculate quantities, and reconcile accounts, substituting error-prone manual processes with reliable automated computing that operates in real-time without human intervention.
4Measurement precision
If system integrations with every possible seller are implemented, then accurate purchase tracking is possible, but the system complexity and deployment difficulty increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The system extracts the complex integration logic from individual retailer systems and consolidates it into a centralized automated reconciliation platform. Rather than requiring each retailer to implement complex tracking systems, the solution pulls transaction data from standard retail interfaces and performs sophisticated reconciliation centrally, reducing integration complexity at the point of sale while maintaining high measurement precision.
5Productivity
If real-time transaction processing is implemented, then retailers experience seamless transactions as typical sales, but the system must operate without degradation of experience while autonomously determining redemption volume
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-processing and storing purchase transaction data before redemption occurs. When a redemption transaction happens in real-time, the system simply matches it against pre-processed records, enabling instant processing without complex real-time calculations. This preliminary preparation allows autonomous derivation of redemption volumes to occur rapidly, maintaining seamless transaction experience for retailers.
Data Source
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AI summary
Systems, apparatuses, methods, and computer program products are disclosed for autonomously deriving consumption of fuel. An example method includes receiving a transaction request and determining a fuel pump location associated with a fuel pump identifier. The example method further includes determining a current price of a fuel type at the fuel pump terminal based on the fuel pump location and deriving a total fuel redemption volume based on the current price of the fuel type. The example method further includes updating a fuel availability data structure associated with a user account.