Mobile App Product Tag Imaging for Retail Availability Tracking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional methods for managing unavailable products at retail locations involve manual, labor-intensive processes, leading to inefficiencies, increased labor costs, and potential losses due to misplaced paper slips and unclear product availability.
Innovation Solution
A mobile application and provisioning app system that allows users to image product tags, determine product availability, and receive notifications when products become available, enabling self-service and reducing labor costs by automating the raincheck process.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If manual paper slips are used to manage unavailable products, then product availability tracking is possible, but labor costs increase and operational efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables self-service by allowing customers to use mobile devices to scan product tags, check availability, and receive notifications automatically. This eliminates the need for store personnel to manually issue and track paper slips, as the mobile application handles the entire process independently.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical paper slip system with an electronic mobile application system. The mobile app captures product information via camera, communicates with remote servers to check availability, and manages notifications digitally, substituting physical paperwork with automated software processes.
2Reliability
If store personnel manually issue paper slips for unavailable products, then customer requests are recorded, but time is lost and labor costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by automatically checking product availability and sending notifications to customers before they need to inquire at the store. The mobile application proactively monitors inventory status and alerts customers when products become available, eliminating the need for manual follow-up.
Solution Approach 2:
The manual process of recording and tracking customer requests is replaced by an automated mobile application system that digitally captures requests, communicates with inventory databases, and manages notifications, significantly reducing both time and labor requirements.
3Loss of information
If hand-written paper slips are used to communicate product availability, then product information is conveyed, but data accuracy decreases and information loss occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses optical copying by capturing images of product tags through the mobile device camera. This digital copy of the product information is then processed and communicated electronically, eliminating manual transcription errors and ensuring accurate data transmission from the product label to the customer's device.
Solution Approach 2:
The manual writing and handling of paper slips is replaced by an electronic system that captures, stores, and transmits product information digitally through the mobile application, ensuring data accuracy is maintained throughout the information flow from product to customer.
4Reliability
If paper slips are provided to customers for future product availability, then purchase commitments are secured, but customer satisfaction decreases due to uncertainty
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements automated feedback loops where the mobile application continuously monitors product availability and sends real-time notifications to customers. This keeps customers informed of their purchase status and product availability, eliminating uncertainty and improving convenience while maintaining purchase commitments.
Solution Approach 2:
Customers use the mobile application to independently check the status of their product requests and receive automated notifications when products become available. This self-service capability eliminates the need to wait for manual updates from store personnel, significantly improving customer convenience and satisfaction.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods for product imaging and provisioning include a mobile application (app) installed on an imaging device, where the mobile app activates the imaging device to generate an image of a product tag associated with an unavailable product at a first location. The mobile app determines, based on the image, a product indicator associated with the unavailable product. A provisioning app, executing on a remote device, receives the product indicator associated with the unavailable product. The provisioning app also receives a user indicator associated with a first user and executes one or more product provisioning rules that determine, based on a product availability database and the user indicator, an availability result. The availability result indicates whether the unavailable product will be available to the first user. The provisioning app is further operable to send the availability result to the imaging device for presentation by the imaging device.