Automated Parcel Retrieval System for Cancelled Orders
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Solution Overview
Problem
Third-party sellers face challenges in retrieving parcels associated with cancelled orders due to delayed notifications from fulfillment companies, leading to wasted resources and decreased customer goodwill, as existing systems lack efficient methods for automatic and intelligent parcel retrieval from parcel/mail carriers.
Innovation Solution
A computer-implemented system that generates a unique identifier combining order and waybill numbers, detects cancellations, and automatically notifies carriers to cancel shipments, ensuring efficient retrieval of parcels without seller intervention, and communicates with customers to reject deliveries.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If third-party sellers manually contact parcel carriers to retrieve cancelled orders, then they can attempt to recover packages, but they waste significant time and resources due to delayed notification from fulfillment companies
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by automatically detecting order cancellations through integration with fulfillment company APIs and proactively notifying parcel carriers before the seller needs to manually intervene. This advance detection and notification eliminates the time delay between cancellation and retrieval initiation, while ensuring reliable package recovery through automated tracking.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary automated retrieval system that acts as a bridge between fulfillment companies, parcel carriers, and sellers. This intermediary system receives cancellation notifications from fulfillment companies, processes retrieval requests, and communicates with carriers to intercept packages, eliminating the need for sellers to directly contact carriers and reducing both time loss and improving retrieval reliability.
2Reliability
If third-party sellers manually contact parcel carriers to retrieve cancelled orders, then they can attempt to recover packages, but the process requires significant manual effort and resources
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements self-service by enabling automated retrieval operations that execute without seller intervention. The system automatically detects cancellations, generates retrieval requests, tracks packages through carrier networks, and notifies sellers of outcomes. This self-service automation maintains high retrieval success rates while eliminating manual effort, as the system independently manages the entire retrieval process.
Solution Approach 2:
The automated retrieval system serves as an intermediary that handles all manual operations between sellers and carriers. It manages communication with fulfillment companies for cancellation detection, interfaces with parcel carriers for package interception, and provides sellers with automated status updates. This intermediary layer eliminates manual seller involvement while ensuring reliable package recovery through professionalized automated processes.
3Productivity
If fulfillment companies use existing systems to notify sellers of cancelled orders, then they can maintain their current operations, but the notification is delayed and lacks integration with parcel carriers
Solution Approach 1:
The system achieves multi-functionality by integrating multiple capabilities into a single platform: it detects cancellations through fulfillment company APIs, manages parcel carrier communications, tracks package locations, and notifies sellers of outcomes. This universal system improves notification speed by consolidating functions while managing integration complexity through standardized API interfaces that work across different fulfillment companies and carriers.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary integration work by establishing API connections with fulfillment companies and parcel carriers in advance. Once integrated, it automatically detects cancellations and initiates retrieval processes without requiring complex real-time negotiations or manual system configurations. This preliminary setup enables fast notifications while keeping ongoing operations simple, as the integration framework is already in place.
4Productivity
If third-party sellers lack integration with parcel carriers, then they can maintain simpler operations, but they cannot efficiently retrieve packages from carrier networks
Solution Approach 1:
The automated retrieval system acts as an intermediary that provides sellers with carrier integration capabilities without requiring the sellers themselves to implement complex integration. The system establishes and maintains API connections with parcel carriers, translating seller retrieval requests into carrier-specific protocols and formats. This intermediary approach enables efficient package retrieval while keeping seller operations simple, as the integration complexity is contained within the retrieval system rather than the seller's infrastructure.
Data Source
AI summary
A computer-implemented systems and methods for automatic and intelligent parcel retrieval are disclosed. The computer-implemented system comprises a database, a memory storing instructions, and at least one processor configured to receive an order number, to receive from a seller a waybill number associated with the order number and a carrier delivering a package, to generate a unique identifier that may include the order number and the way bill number, to detect a cancellation of the order number, to determine a tracking number in the unique identifier based on the cancellation of the order number, to send a notification to the carrier delivering the package based on the unique identifier, to receive from the carrier a reverse tracking number confirming the cancel shipment of the package, and to send a notification to the seller including the reverse tracking number.