Inventory sales system and method

Abstract

A computer system and method of facilitating a sale which permits inventory information to be used in connection with a technology enabled selling (TES) system to facilitate a sale. The inventory information may be used during configuration of an item to be sold to a customer in a manner which allows the sales representative to more easily sell items from inventory if desired.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method, comprising:
 receiving, at a first computer system communicatively coupled to a computer network, information indicative of a query submitted by a user using a second computer system that is also communicatively coupled to the network, said query regarding a product, wherein the first computer system comprises a processor communicatively coupled to a memory and to a database storing inventory information, the memory storing processor executable instructions, which instructions, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to:   determine, based on information contained in the database, a plurality of sets of product options associated with the product;   determine, based on information contained in the database, first product options within the sets of product options that correspond to one or more existing products in inventory and second product options that do not correspond to one or more existing products in inventory;   prepare a first presentation view of the plurality of sets of product options associated with the product and an image of the product, wherein the first product options within the sets of product options that correspond to one or more existing products in inventory are activated and second product options that do not correspond to one or more existing products in inventory are deactivated; and   provide, from the first computer system to the second computer system, for display via a user interface at the second computer system, the first presentation view.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor, further cause the processor to determine a price of the product; and provide the price in the first presentation view. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor, further cause the processor to alter displayed product options in response to user selection of one of the first product options within the sets of product options that correspond to one or more existing products in inventory. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor, further cause the processor to monitor to determine whether a selection of one of the first product options within the sets of product options that correspond to one or more existing products in inventory has been received from the user. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor, further cause the processor to identify from inventory a particular product that closely matches the selected one of the first product options within the sets of product options; and provide information regarding the particular product for display via the user interface at the second computer system. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor, further cause the processor to provide a summary of the queried product in the first presentation view. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor, further cause the processor to provide a photo of the queried product in the first presentation view. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the activated and deactivated product options are differentiated in first presentation view. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the deactivated product options are omitted from the first presentation view. 
     
     
         10 . A method, comprising:
 receiving, at a first computer system communicatively coupled to a computer network, information indicative of a query submitted by a user using a second computer system that is also communicatively coupled to the network, said query regarding a product, wherein the first computer system comprises a processor communicatively coupled to a memory and to a database storing inventory information, the memory storing processor executable instructions, which instructions, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to:   determine, based on information contained in the database, a plurality of product options associated with the product;   prepare a first presentation view of the plurality of product options associated with the product;   provide, from the first computer system to the second computer system, for display via a user interface at the second computer system, the first presentation view; and   in response to receipt of a selection of one or more of the plurality of product options made by the user via the user interface at the second computer system, identify a product existing in inventory that closely matches the selected one or more options; prepare a second presentation view of an image of the identified product existing in inventory; and provide, from the first computer system to the second computer system, for display via the user interface at the second computer system, the second presentation view.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein a summary of the queried product is included in the second presentation view. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein a photo of the queried product for is included in the second presentation view. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein a price of the queried product is included in the second presentation view. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor, further cause the processor to monitor to determine whether a new option selection has been received from the second computer system. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor, further cause the processor to identify a product that closely matches the selected one or more options and the new option within the inventory; and provide information regarding the identified product for presentation via the user interface at the second computer system. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor, further cause the processor to deactivate a product option not included in the inventory. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the deactivation comprises differentiating between a product option associated with a product existing in inventory and the deactivated product option when providing a list of product options via the user interface at the second computer system. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the deactivation comprises removing the deactivated product option from a list of product options. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein in response to receipt of a new option selection from the user, the instructions, when executed by the processor, further cause the processor to identify a product that closely matches the selected one or more options and the new option within the inventory; and provide information regarding the identified product for presentation via the user interface at the second computer system. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor, further cause the processor to determine which product options of the product are included in the inventory. 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein identification of the product that closely matches the selected one or more options within the inventory is based on values assigned to the selected one or more options. 
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 21 , wherein the values are assigned when the selection of one or more options is received. 
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 21 , wherein the user assigns the values. 
     
     
         24 . A computer system comprising a processor and a memory communicatively coupled to the processor, the memory storing instructions, which instructions when executed by the processor cause the processor to prepare and present, responsive to inquiries therefor, iterative presentation views of inventory-based product information, wherein the inventory-based product information of each presentation view is constrained to include only those products in inventory that satisfy iterative customer selections of product options received by the computer system and the memory further stores inventory and product option information for use by the processor. 
     
     
         25 . The computer system of  claim 24 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor, further cause the processor to include product prices in the presentation views. 
     
     
         26 . The computer system of  claim 25 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor, further cause the processor to alter displayed product information in a subsequent one of the presentation views in response to user selection of one or more product options within a present one of the presentation views. 
     
     
         27 . The computer system of  claim 24 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor, further cause the processor to provide images of the products in the presentation views. 
     
     
         28 . A computer system, comprising: a processor and a memory communicatively coupled to the processor, the memory having stored therein product inventory information related to an inventory of a selling entity, option information related to products, and processor executable instructions, which instructions, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to provide a user interface configured to receive product option selections specifying desired options for one or more products, determine products within the inventory that most closely satisfy the specified product option selections, prepare a presentation view of the products within the inventory determined to most closely satisfy the specified product option selections, and present the presentation view via a computer display commutatively coupled to the processor. 
     
     
         29 . The computer system of  claim 28 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor, further cause the processor to iteratively update the presentation view in response to respective iterative product option selections received via the user interface. 
     
     
         30 . The computer system of  claim 28 , wherein the products included in the presentation view are presented in a ranked order according to how closely each respective product satisfies the specified product option selections.