Systems and methods for processing third-party returns

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11748761-B2
Application number	US-202117235669-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 20, 2021
Priority date	Apr 20, 2020
Publication date	Sep 5, 2023
Grant date	Sep 5, 2023

Abstract

In some embodiments, apparatuses and methods are provided herein useful to processing product returns. In some embodiments, a system for processing returns comprises a POS terminal located in a retail facility and configured to receive an order identifier associated with an online order that includes a product purchased from a third-party seller via the retailer's website, wherein the retail facility is a brick-and-mortar facility associated with the retailer, and wherein the third-party seller is not the retailer, and transmit, to a control circuit, the order identifier, a database configured to store order information, and the control circuit configured to receive the order identifier, determine the product, determine a refund amount for the product, determine a location to which the product should be returned, generate a return label, create a return transaction for the product, and transmit the return label, wherein the POS terminal is configured to print the return label.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A system for processing product returns, the system comprising:
a point-of-sale (POS) terminal, wherein the POS terminal is located in a retail facility, and wherein the POS terminal is configured to:
receive an order identifier, wherein the order identifier is associated with an online order that includes a product, wherein the product was purchased from a third-party seller via a retailer's website, wherein the retail facility is a brick-and-mortar facility associated with the retailer, and wherein the third-party seller is not the retailer;
present, via a display device of the POS terminal, a custody prompt, the custody prompt requesting an input of a confirmation that possession of the product has been transferred to the retailer;
receive, via a user input device of the POS terminal, selection of the custody prompt, the selection of the custody prompt serving as a confirmation that an employee of the retailer accepted the product and the possession of the product has been transferred to the retailer; and
transmit, to a control circuit, the order identifier and an indication of the selection of the custody prompt;

a database, wherein the database is configured to store order information; and
the control circuit, wherein the control circuit is communicatively coupled to the POS terminal, the control circuit configured to:
receive, from the POS terminal, the order identifier;
determine, based on accessing the database, the product;
determine, based on accessing the database, that the product is eligible to be returned;
determine, based on accessing the database, a refund amount for the product;
determine, based on accessing the database, a location to which the product should be returned;
generate, based on the location to which the product should be returned, a return label;
transmit a notification to a computing device of the third-party seller indicating that the product is being returned;
transmit, to the POS terminal, the return label;
transmit a signal to the database to update, in the database in response to receipt of the indication of the selection of the custody prompt, a custody flag, wherein the custody flag is associated with the product, and wherein the custody flag indicates the possession of the product by the retailer;
responsive to the update of the database to include the custody flag, trigger a start of a timer, the timer setting a predetermined threshold period of time for the third-party to issue a refund to a customer for the product returned to the retailer, wherein upon an expiration of the timer, the control circuit is programmed to issue the refund to the customer for the product returned to the retailer even if the third-party has not issued the refund to the customer for the product returned to the retailer;
permit the POS terminal to print the return label; and
prevent the POS terminal from printing the return label until the indication of the selection of the custody prompt is transmitted from the POS terminal to the control circuit.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the database is further configured to: store third-party seller information, wherein the third-party seller information includes return eligibility rules.

3. The system of claim 2 , wherein the return eligibility rules include one or more of return windows, return shipping fees, and restocking fees.

4. The system of claim 3 , wherein the determination that the product is eligible to be returned is based on the return windows, and wherein the determination of the refund amount is based on the return shipping fees and the restocking fees.

5. The system of claim 2 , wherein third-party sellers provide the third-party seller information to the database.

6. The system of claim 1 , wherein the control circuit is further configured to:
issue, based on the refund amount, a refund for the product.

7. The system of claim 6 , wherein the refund is issued after confirmation is received that third-party seller received the product.

8. The system of claim 1 , wherein the control circuit is further configured to:
receive, from the POS terminal, a request for the return label;
retrieve, based on the request for the return label, the return label, wherein the return label has previously been generated; and
retransmit, to the POS terminal, the return label.

9. The system of claim 1 , wherein selection of the custody prompt indicates that the return label has been printed, the return label has been placed on the product, and the product has been placed in a designated area.

10. A method for processing product returns, the method comprising:
storing, in a database, order information;
receiving, at a point-of-sale (POS) terminals, an order identifier, wherein the order identifier is associated with an online order that includes a product, wherein the product was purchased from a third-party seller via a retailer's website, wherein the POS terminal is located in a retail facility, wherein the retail facility is a brick-and-mortar facility associated with the retailer, and wherein the third-party seller is not the retailer;
transmitting, by the POS terminal to a control circuit, the order identifier;
receiving, by the control circuit from the POS terminal, the order identifier;
determining, by the control circuit based on accessing the database, the product;
determining, by the control circuit based on accessing the database, that the product is eligible to be returned;
determining, by the control circuit based on accessing the database, a refund amount for the product;
determining, by the control circuit based on accessing the database, a location to which the product should be returned;
generating, by the control circuit based on the location to which the product should be returned, a return label;
transmitting, by the control circuit, a notification to a computing device of the third-party seller indicating that the product is being returned;
transmitting, by the control circuit to the POS terminal, the return label; presenting, via a display device of the POS terminal, a custody prompt, the custody prompt requesting an input of a confirmation that possession of the product has been transferred to the retailer;
receiving, via a user input device of the POS terminal, selection of the custody prompt, the selection of the custody prompt serving as a confirmation that an employee of the retailer accepted the product and the possession of the product has been transferred to the retailer;
transmitting, by the POS terminal to the control circuit, an indication of the selection of the custody prompt;
by the control circuit:
transmitting a signal to the database to update, in the database in response to receipt of the indication of the selection of the custody prompt, a custody flag, wherein the custody flag is associated with the product, and wherein the custody flag indicates the possession of the product by the retailer;
responsive to the update of the database to include the custody flag, by the control circuit:
triggering a start of a timer, the timer setting a predetermined threshold period of time for the third-party to issue a refund to a customer for the product returned to the retailer; and
upon an expiration of the timer, issuing the refund to the customer for the product returned to the retailer even if the third-party has not issued the refund to the customer for the product returned to the retailer;

permitting, by the control circuit, the POS terminal to print the return label; and
preventing the POS terminal from printing the return label until the indication of the selection of the custody prompt is transmitted from the POS terminal to the control circuit.

Assignees

• Walmart Apollo Llc

Inventors

• Manmohan Maheer
• Humphrys Douglas E
• Shake Sid
• Lobo Charles Harry
• Pandey Tripuresh
• Huang Zhijian
• Mandavia Nivea
• Hulliberger Casey S
• Stanley Darren W

Classifications

• G06Q20/407 Primary

  Cancellation of a transaction · CPC title

• G06Q10/0837 Primary

  Return transactions · CPC title

• G06Q30/0639

  Locating goods or services, e.g. based on physical position of the goods or services within a shopping facility · CPC title

• G07F7/06

  by returnable containers {, i.e. reverse vending systems in which a user is rewarded for returning a container that serves as a token of value}, e.g. bottles · CPC title

• G06Q20/20

  Point-of-sale [POS] network systems · CPC title