System and method for sharing information among provider systems
A system is provided wherein information is provided once, and that information is provided to multiple provider systems. Information provided by a user is stored and implemented for each provider as needed. The information is provided by a user to a central server that distributes the information to one or more provider systems. In particular, the information is stored in a database and distributed to the provider system depending on the type of transaction. According to another aspect, a subset of the information is operated on as a group, and this subset is provided by a user on that basis. Because information is operated on as a group, related information may be easily transferred from the system to a provider.
1. A method for creating an online checkout process to enable a user to order from among a plurality of providers, comprising steps, performed by at least one computer, of:
assembling a set of checkout questions from the plurality of providers;
identifying related checkout questions and assigning each set of related checkout questions to a unique checkout object;
determining common checkout objects from providers of a like product or service;
assigning the common checkout objects to the like product or service;
assigning each non-common checkout object to a specific provider with which it is associated; and
assembling said checkout process comprising checkout questions, wherein the user is required to complete each question associated with a common object only once when ordering from any provider that offers the like product or service.
2. The method according to claim 1 further including the step of assigning at least one field to each object.
3. The method according to claim 2 further including the step of assigning at least one attribute to each field, the attribute comprising at least one of font, font color, font size, bold, italics, underline and sequence.
4. The method according to claim 1 wherein the step of determining common checkout objects includes concluding that a checkout object is common to first and second providers if each of the first and second providers require a question included in the object.
5. The method according to claim 1 wherein the providers of the like product or service are those that provide a newspaper product or service.
6. The method according to claim 1 wherein related checkout questions are checkout questions having similar characteristics.
7. The method according to claim 1 further including the step, before the step of identifying related checkout questions, of removing from consideration during the identifying step all unique questions.
8. An online system enabling transactions between a user and one or more of a plurality of providers, comprising at least one processor programmed to implement:
a database that stores objects, each object comprising a unique checkout question or a related set of checkout questions from said plurality of providers, wherein objects that are common to a plurality of providers of a like product or service are assigned to that product or service such that each checkout question associated with a common object is asked of the user only once regardless of a number of providers of the like product or service with which the user may wish to enter into a transaction;
an interface for receiving information from the user in response to said questions; and
said database further storing said information and providing said information to said one or more of the plurality of providers.
9. The system according to claim 8 , wherein said database is a relational database (RDBMS).
10. The system according to claim 8 , wherein the interface is a network interface coupled to a network including said one or more users and said plurality of providers.
11. An online system for assisting users engaged in a residence move in carrying out transactions with one or more of a plurality of providers, comprising at least one processor programmed to implement:
a database that stores objects, each object comprising a unique checkout question or a related set of checkout questions from said plurality of providers, wherein objects that are common to a plurality of providers of a like product or service are assigned to that product or service such that each checkout question associated with a common object is asked of the user only once regardless of a number of providers of the like product or service with which the user may wish to enter into a transaction;
an interface for receiving information from the user in response to said questions; and
said database further storing said information and providing said information to said one or more of the plurality of providers.
12. The system according to claim 11 , wherein said database is a relational database (RDBMS).
13. The system according to claim 11 , wherein the interface is a network interface coupled to a network including said one or more users and said plurality of providers.
14. The system according to claim 11 , wherein the like product or service includes a newspaper product or service.