1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an improved shipping method and system for facilitating shipments and management thereof, and more particularly to such a system and method for facilitating a shipment of a package of items from a Sender to a Recipient through one of a multitude of shipping mechanisms.
2. Description of the Related Art
Individuals and companies rely heavily on the timely and accurate shipment of packages to both national and international destinations. Economic transactions, at one time mostly limited to local or regional transactions, have expanded in scope to include virtually every country in the world. Many factors have led to this, including consumer demand in one area for a product from another area, and the manufacturing of an item in a particular area to take advantage of local skills, resources, or labor rates. Accordingly, package shipments have become ever more important and frequent. The term “shipment” as used herein encompasses any flow of goods from a Sender to a Recipient, including returns of items to the Sender.
While some of the very largest companies may have their own systems for shipping packages, in general a Sender (i.e., the entity originating the shipment) that desires to ship a package to a destination will employ a designated shipping company, or shipper, to effect the delivery of the package. The terms “shipper” and “shipping mechanism” will be used interchangeably herein to refer to any entity or entities responsible for effecting shipment of packages. Such a Sender must take into account many factors. As an example, a Sender may desire to determine the optimal shipper and shipment method (e.g., air or ground) based on shipping cost, speed of delivery, the shipper's expertise in handling a particular type of shipment or destination, or other particularities associated with each shipper and shipment method. The term “shipping assignment” as used herein means a particular shipper/shipment method combination. The Sender must keep track of a myriad of shipment-specific details, as well. For example, the Sender must know where a particular shipment is to be dispatched; how many packages the shipment comprised; whether and when the shipment arrived at the destination; whether the shipment or parts of it were returned to the Sender; and how much in duties, taxes and/or customs fees need to be paid in connection with delivery or refunded upon return. Moreover, this information is desirable not just on a shipment basis, but on a package basis, and, if possible, on an item basis. The term “package” as used herein refers to a shipped container and its contents. The term “item” as used herein refers to individual products in a package. A package can be a box, crate, carton or a plurality of the same banded together as a single entity.
The prior art has addressed various aspects of these concerns. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,968,110 discloses a method for facilitating cross-border transactions in an electronic catalog environment. All order processing and order entry procedures originate at an order processor located in the destination country, and an affiliate in the destination country handles all customs issues. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,631,827 and 5,485,369 each disclose a system for automating transportation of goods. Rules are used to determine the most appropriate shipping method.
However, the prior art fails to provide a flexible solution for facilitating shipment of items in packages from one destination to another. For example, the prior art provides no flexible means for tracking individual items shipped via a shipper for handling returns or the like. This shortcoming is particularly problematic for international shipments that may be subject to the assessment of duties, taxes and/or customs fees.