Instant Rebate Engine Data Normalization
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing systems face challenges in providing instant rebates for energy-saving products due to the inconsistency in data formats from various utility companies, leading to inefficiencies in rebate eligibility checks and delayed validation processes.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that normalize customer and rebate data from multiple utility companies, store persistent and runtime rebate rules, and apply these rules to generate rebate profiles, enabling instant eligibility checks and streamlined rebate validation before transactions are completed.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If data from multiple utility companies is processed without normalization, then data processing speed is maintained, but data format inconsistency leads to rebate eligibility validation delays and system inefficiency
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by implementing a normalization subsystem that pre-processes and standardizes utility company data formats before they are used for rebate eligibility validation. This upfront normalization of customer account data, energy consumption data, and rebate program data eliminates format inconsistencies that would otherwise cause validation delays, thereby improving productivity without compromising system complexity
2Loss of time
If rebate eligibility is checked after transaction completion, then system complexity is reduced, but customer wait time increases and user experience deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary action by conducting rebate eligibility validation before transaction completion. The normalization subsystem prepares customer and rebate data in advance, and the eligibility validation engine checks compatibility between customer accounts and rebate programs prior to purchase finalization. This preemptive validation eliminates customer wait time after transaction, improving the time parameter while the pre-established data structures manage system complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary normalization subsystem that mediates between raw utility company data and the rebate eligibility validation engine. This intermediary layer standardizes data formats and prepares eligibility information in advance, enabling instant validation checks that reduce customer wait time while isolating the complexity of data standardization from the core validation logic
3Productivity
If utility company data formats are standardized through normalization, then rebate processing efficiency improves, but data processing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The normalization subsystem applies preliminary action by pre-processing utility company data to establish consistent formats for customer accounts, energy consumption, and rebate programs. This upfront standardization enables faster rebate processing by eliminating format conversion delays during actual validation, improving productivity while concentrating normalization complexity in a dedicated subsystem that operates independently from the core validation engine
Data Source
AI summary
Systems, methods, and apparatus are disclosed for providing instant rebates before a transaction is completed. This involves ingest of customer and rebate data from two or more utilities, where the data is parsed and normalized into a standard format across all of the utilities. The customer data is then stored in an accounts database, while the rebate data is further processed along with utility rebate rules to determine a set of rebate eligibilities for a variety of scenarios. The resulting rebate profiles can be stored in a rebates database and linked to corresponding customer account data in the accounts database. Third-party frontends can then request rebate eligibility based on a customer identifier and retail channel, and various services can work in tandem to query the rebated database and return a set of eligibilities with so little latency that the eligibility check appears instant from a customer's standpoint.