Mobile Device Wish List System for Retail Inventory Management

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Solution Overview

Problem

There is a need for systems and methods to facilitate the creation and management of product wish lists at stores, allowing customers to indicate desired items for stocking and enabling retailers to understand customer preferences for inventory management.

Innovation Solution

A method and system that allows customers to connect to a store's wireless local area network, select items, determine prices and taxes based on location, and update product wish lists, with the ability to order and offer items for sale, using a mobile device for mobile checkout and inventory management.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Loss of time

If stores manually track customer product interests, then customer preferences can be recorded, but the process is time-consuming and inefficient

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvetime to track customer preferencesVSAvoidefficiency of preference tracking

Core Design Contradiction:

Loss of timeVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent replaces manual mechanical tracking methods with an automated electronic system that uses mobile devices, wireless networks, and database technology to automatically capture and process customer product interests, eliminating the need for manual data collection and analysis

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

Solution Approach 2:

The system enables customers to automatically indicate their product interests through their mobile devices without requiring store staff intervention. The automated system processes these indications and updates the wish list database independently, allowing the system to serve itself in tracking customer preferences

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

2Reliability

If stores implement comprehensive inventory management systems, then inventory accuracy improves, but system complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveinventory accuracyVSAvoidsystem complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The mobile device system performs multiple functions including product scanning, wish list management, mobile checkout, and inventory tracking within a single integrated platform, reducing the need for separate specialized systems while maintaining comprehensive inventory management capabilities

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Solution Approach 2:

The system introduces a centralized wish list database as an intermediary layer between customer preferences and inventory management, simplifying the complexity by providing a single point of data aggregation that can be accessed by multiple store systems without requiring direct complex interactions between them

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Data Source

PatentUS10846782B2Method, system, and computer-readable medium for a carry item wish list

Publication Date: 2020.11.24 WALMART APOLLO LLC

AI summary

Various embodiments include a method. The method can comprise receiving form a user a request to stock an item at a store at a location. In many embodiments, the method can include updating a product wish list for the store by at least one of adding the item to the product wish list for the store at the location, or increasing a count for the item on the product wish list for the store at the location, if the item is already on the product wish list. The method can further comprise ordering the item and offering the item for sale at the store at the location. Other embodiments of related methods and systems are also provided.