Purchase from sellers of selection is enabled to be made through simple operations. Furthermore, prospective purchase events are distributed to sellers as needed. Demands of purchase candidates are retrieved. A trade information exchange method for achieving information exchange among multiple computers included in an information communication network: causes memory means to store reception conditions of sellers received from computers of the sellers; causes the memory means to store request information received from a computer of a purchaser; makes a first selection of choosing one or more sellers having reception conditions that conform to the request information; transmits the request information that does not include purchaser contact information to the computers of the sellers selected in the first selection, subsequently receives information indicating bids, makes a second selection of choosing one or more sellers according to the bids among limited sellers offering bids that can be successfully charged; and permits communication between the computers of the sellers selected in the second selection and the computer of the purchaser.

An order and delivery system deployed over a regional delivery area comprises a plurality of businesses defining a chain or franchise, with each business having an exclusive and limited sales territory associated therewith. A business may operate a plurality of delivery vehicles or mobile storefronts within a geographically defined market area, but not impede upon another business's territory. While orders associated with a physical delivery address may be validated using mapping software, orders that do not have a physical address, such as orders associated with pop-up events, are validated instead by geodata transmitted by a customer's wireless network device. Through the order and delivery system, regional delivery areas for multiple businesses can be managed through geofencing.

An automated store for storing and then distributing articles, including a housing for receiving closed shipping containers for storage, and for distributing articles retrieved from inside the shipping containers to an output of the housing. The housing further including entry means for controlling entry into the housing of closed shipping containers. Automated forming means form an opening in each of the plurality of the shipping containers, storing means for storing the opened shipping containers, computer controlled retrieving means for entering into selected ones of the opened shipping containers via the formed opening to retrieve an article and moving means for moving the retrieved articles to an output are further included in the housing.

Aspects of the disclosure provide a computer-implemented method and system for the assignment of roadside assistance service providers such as tow trucks to distressed vehicles/drivers requiring roadside assistance. The methods and systems may include a roadside assistance service provider system with a collection module, an assignment module, and a feedback module. The collection module collects roadside assistance service provider information and historical statistics from real-world information and stores the information in a database that may then be analyzed using particular rules and formulas. The assignment module assigns particular roadside assistance service providers to particular distressed vehicles/drivers based on one or more characteristics. The feedback module may provide near real-time cues to the tow truck driver's mobile device, such as alerting when the amount of time spent on a task exceeds a predefined threshold, flagging high priority tasks/assignments, providing a step-by-step checklist for the repair.

A method of remotely activating a transaction device includes receiving, at a computing system, a mobile device identifier from a mobile application executed on a mobile device. A selection of the transaction device is received from the application. The selection includes an identifier of the transaction device. A selection of a transaction amount related to purchase of a product is received from the application. An authorization request for a payment account associated with the mobile device is communicated to an issuer of the payment account. The authorization request is for a transaction of at least the transaction amount. An authorization approval for the transaction is received from the issuer and a signal to activate the transaction device to dispense the product is sent based on the identifier. The transaction device is deactivated upon dispensing the transaction amount and a receipt of the transaction is provided to the mobile device.

An order entry and order management network is disclosed. Event log data associated with a completed real order and relevant to a scenario is accessed by a computing device. A template is built for the scenario using the event log data. The template is modified as needed based upon predetermined specifications of the scenario. A simulated order is generated by applying the event log data to the template. A simulated workflow is initiated based upon the simulated order. The simulated workflow is a virtualized workflow monitored by the computing device to test the scenario. The computing device monitors network traffic associated with orders. The computing device communicates aspects of the event log data to systems of the order entry and order management network when the computing device identifies network traffic associated with the simulated order in order to process the simulated workflow and test the scenario.

Techniques for automated messaging are described. Some embodiments are particularly directed to techniques for automated business-to-consumer messaging leveraging social-networking information. In one embodiment, an apparatus may comprise a user profile component operative to retrieve a user profile associated with a user account for a messaging service and a messaging automation component operative to receive a messaging initiation from a messaging endpoint on a client device; and configure an automated response based on the user profile in response to the messaging initiation. Other embodiments are described and claimed.

A method and system for managing and automating the transactional processes between organizations that do business together using incompatible preexisting transactional systems. A centralized server manages transactions sent and received between the transactional systems of the organizations, and a software implemented messaging application communicates with the centralized server, both transmitting and receiving transactions from and to the transactional system of each organization, the result of which is improved automation of the transactional processes between organizations that do business together using incompatible preexisting transactional systems.

A method for automatically maintaining orders on a networked computer is described, comprising maintaining, by the networked computer, information on an order including one or more entries, said information being associated with at least one ordering entity, receiving, by the networked computer, data indicative of an update of the order from the at least one ordering entity via a network, processing the data by the networked computer, updating, by the networked computer, a summary of the order, and providing, by the networked computer, the summary to the at least one ordering entity via the network in response to a trigger. Furthermore, a network system enabling automatic maintenance of orders is described.

Exemplary systems and methods associated with generating conversations of electronic data exchanges. In particular, in one embodiment, a conversation generator determines whether records are related based on EDI data associated with a transaction, integrates the records based on associations within the EDI data, and generates a conversation that depicts the integrated EDI data associated with the transaction in a conversational format for viewing by a user. In other embodiments, an alert engine determines that there are errors in the conversation, such as missing or inconsistent data, and alerts a user accordingly.