Importance

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Abstract

A system and method for processing product movement requests including orders and returns while maintaining a real-time accounting of product locations includes a network, a first communication link connecting a first location to the network, a second communication link connecting a second location to the network, and an information manager coupled to the network. The information manager includes a database of product information. The information manager responds to a product order from the first location by sending an order acknowledgement confirmation message over the network to the first location, causing the second location to send an order acknowledgement card and the ordered product to the first location, and updating the database to indicate that the ordered product was received by the first location upon return receipt of the order acknowledgement card. The information manager also responds to a request to return product from the first location by sending a return confirmation message over the network to the first location, sending a return acknowledgement card to the first location, and updating the database to indicate that the return product was received by the second location upon return receipt of the return acknowledgement card and receipt of the returned product at the second location. The information manager thus tracks the movement and last known location of the products and maintains in the database a confirmed last known location for each product in the system.

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First Claim