Real-time internet capable device information interchange for coordinated queuing at locations
Among other things, a central server maintains information representative of requests communicated through the Internet from devices at request locations. Each of the requests represents a proposed reservation for services to be managed by devices at delivery locations.
1. An apparatus comprising a central server system that hosts a platform to interact with two or more point-of-sale systems of two or more physical retail stores and to interact with a device of a representative of two or more of the physical retail stores that are under common ownership, the central server system comprising:
a processor,
a communication device coupled to a communication network,
a database, and
storage containing instructions executable by the processor to cause:
an application programming interface of the server system to receive, at successive times, updated inventory information from the point-of-sale systems of the two or more physical retail stores electronically through the communication network, the updated inventory information identifying items in inventory at each of the respective physical retail stores as of each of the successive times, the updated inventory information reflecting, as of each of the successive times, items transferred from inventory of the respective physical retail stores and items transferred from a supplier into inventory of the respective physical retail stores,
the updated inventory information received from the point-of-sale systems of the two or more physical retail stores including (a) supplier information that identifies the supplier of the items transferred into inventory of the respective physical retail stores and indicates availability of the suppliers' items at the respective physical retail stores, and (b) other information about the suppliers' items,
the supplier being enabled to showcase its items by participating passively in the platform by virtue of (c) the supplier transferring items into inventory of the respective physical retail stores and (d) the updated inventory information being received from the point of sale systems of the two or more physical retail stores,
the database of the central server system configured to maintain current inventory information for items in inventory at the two or more physical retail stores, to update the current inventory information based on the received updated inventory information, the current inventory information indicating the availability of the supplier's items at the respective physical retail stores, and the other information about the supplier's items, and
the central server system configured to make available through the communication network to the device of the representative of the two or more physical retail stores under common ownership current inventory information, maintained in the database of the central server system, for items in inventory at the two or more physical retail stores, to enable the representative of the two or more physical retail stores to view and manage inventories of the supplier's items across the two or more physical retail stores under common ownership.
2. The apparatus of claim 1 in which the server system is to serve information to devices of customers of the physical retail stores to be presented on the devices through pages of a user interface, the served information identifying items available in inventory at the respective physical retail stores based on the inventory information maintained in the database and based on the updated information from the point-of-sale systems.
3. The apparatus of claim 2 in which the information to be presented on the devices through pages of the user interface includes information about units of a given item available in inventory at two or more physical retail stores.
4. The apparatus of claim 3 in which the information about units of a given item available in inventory at two or more physical retail stores comprises competitor prices.
5. The apparatus of claim 2 in which the information to be presented on the devices through pages of the user interface includes information specific to each of the physical retail stores.
6. The apparatus of claim 5 in which the information specific to each of the physical retail stores includes a location of the physical retail store and information about items in inventory at the physical retail store.
7. The apparatus of claim 6 in which the information about items in inventory comprise prices of the items.
8. The apparatus of claim 2 in which the server serves the pages as webpages to browsers running on the devices of the customers.
9. The apparatus of claim 2 in which the server serves the pages to native applications running on the devices of the customers.
10. The apparatus of claim 2 in which the inventory comprises products subject to regulatory control.
11. The apparatus of claim 2 in which the server system is to receive reservations from customers through the communication network from the devices.
12. The apparatus of claim 2 in which the competitor physical retail stores are controlled independently of one another.
13. The apparatus of claim 1 in which the updated inventory information reflects items received from suppliers into inventory of the respective physical retail stores.
14. The apparatus of claim 1 in which units in inventory at two of the retail stores are of the same items.
15. The apparatus of claim 1 in which the items transferred from inventory to customers of the respective physical retail stores are accounted for by transactions recorded in the point of sale system.