Abstract: A technique for determining and presenting marketing scenarios based on market characteristics are described herein. The technique includes receiving data regarding market environment and an expected change in the market environment. A number of market characteristics are calculated based on the collected data for a number of alternative marketing scenarios for addressing the change. A number of graphical objects corresponding to the marketing scenarios are displayed in a coordinate system to show correlation between a number of selected market characteristics. A number of additional components are assigned to the graphical objects to indicate additional characteristics of the presented marketing scenarios.

Abstract: A system to be installed on a merchandising unit having one or more inventory zones, one or more units of product, one or more product sensors, a mounting structure, and an electromagnetic signal processor. The one or more inventory zones can present the one or more units of product in several different arrangements. The one or more product sensors, each at least associated operatively with one of the one or more inventory zones, converts a sensed quantity of the one or more units of product into a respective analog electromagnetic signal. The mounting structure secures the one or more product sensors to the merchandising unit relative to the one or more units of product so that the one or more product sensors sense a quantity of the one or more units of product. The electromagnetic signal processor in communication with the one or more product sensors can sample output from the one or more product sensors periodically and converts the analog signal into a digital signal.

Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for communicating and processing market data. The market data may comprise quotes, orders, trades and/or statistics. A messaging structure allows for adding, re-ordering and/or expanding data, within the printable character set of any language. One or more delimiters are defined and used to delimit data elements within the message structure. The data is interpreted based on templates which may be disseminated prior to the sending of messages and used as an abstraction so that the meaning of data need not be conveyed in the message.

Abstract: Provided is a method and a GUI-based software application that acts as a wallet with network interconnectivity for enabling a user to securely and seamlessly conduct transactions with his or her online financial transaction program by means of a computer or a wireless handheld device without having to depend on an Internet browser.

Abstract: A VoIP relay integration management system including a service management application and a VoIP phone server that monitor and gather client interaction data between a client and a field agent. The system accepts a selection of service phone method, from a plurality of selection methods, for the field agent to use to call the client, and enables or disables the selection per the field agent. The system accepts, stores and schedules a task to be dispatched to the field agent, and calculates and displays a response time that includes a time from when the task is dispatched to the field agent to when the field agent generates a call. The system calculates and displays an average response time of all calls generated by the field agent, based on one or more of the field agent, an area of the task, a date of the task and a type of task.

Abstract: A system and method are provided for trading a tradable object. One example apparatus includes a microprocessor, a graphical user comprising a first screen region having a plurality of locations in the first screen region, each location corresponding to a price level along a first axis and a time along a second axis. The apparatus also comprises a user input device for sending a command to initiate placement of a timed trade order, and an indicator being dynamically displayed in one of the plurality locations of the first screen region and corresponding to the timed order. In one example embodiment, the indicator dynamically moves over time relative to the second axis indicating a time until the order will be automatically sent to a computerized matching process.

Abstract: A system and method for using derived account identifiers. The derived account identifiers are associated with a single permanent account identifier. Each derived account identifier is associated with a communication channel or portable consumer device.

Abstract: Systems and methods for energy management includes receiving parameters from commercial building management system components; generating a stochastic programming model of electric vehicles (EVs) as mobile energy storage (MES) for optimal planning, operation, and control purposes; and controlling operation of EVs according to the stochastic programming model to lower operating cost and carbon emission.

Abstract: A method for making an electronic payment system available to a plurality of users includes storing payment account information for a first user and biometric information of the first user. Before allowing the first user to make a payment with the first user's payment account, biometric information identifying the first user is received and compared to the stored biometric information of the first user. Biometric information of a second user, who is a family member of the first user, is stored to enable confirmation of the identity of the family member as a security measure in said electronic payment system.

Abstract: The invention provides a method for charitable fund raising. The method can include the initial operation of identifying a charitable cause in need of funding. A further operation is providing a plurality of flags to be displayed as a healing field. The display of the healing field can be linked to the charitable cause in need of funding. The healing field can also be displayed as part of a public awareness campaign. Finally, the flags that are displayed in the healing field can be sold, with the profits from the sale going to the charitable cause in need of funding.

Abstract: Managing foreign payments using separate conduits for messaging and payments. An originating depository financial institution can create an F3X message designating a fixed amount of foreign currency to be credited to, or debited from, a receiving depository financial institution. The originating depository financial institution transmits the F3X message to a domestic gateway operator via an ACH network. The domestic gateway operator then forwards the F3X message to a foreign gateway operator. Separately, the originating depository financial institution transmits a payment to the foreign gateway operator either directly or via a correspondent financial institution. The foreign gateway operator matches the payment to the F3X message and transmits the payment to the receiving depository financial institution.

Abstract: A method and computer program product for maintaining, on a first computing device, consumer identification and billing information concerning a user. A directory of ecommerce merchants is maintained on a second computing device. The first computing device and the second computing device are interfaced via a distributed computing network. The user is enabled to select an ecommerce merchant defined within the directory of ecommerce merchants. The order of goods/services from the selected ecommerce merchant to the user using the consumer identification and billing information maintained on the first computing device is facilitated.

Abstract: A method, system, and computer program product for autonomously rescheduling a future meeting in response to receiving a meeting cancellation notice of a previously scheduled meeting. A meeting rescheduling logic (MRL) of a server receives a cancellation of a scheduled meeting of an identified contact. The MRL may select a highest priority meeting from a plurality of meetings that has been flagged with an auto-move-up status. The MRL determines if all attendees of the selected meeting are available to attend the meeting at the open time slot of the identified contact's calendar. Upon determining that all attendees of the selected meeting are available at the open time slot, the MRL reschedules the selected meeting at the open time slot, and notifies all attendees. Additionally, the MRL may cancel a lower priority meeting of the attendees to accommodate moving a higher priority meeting into the open time slot.

Abstract: The present invention provides an Attachment alignment measurement system, method and tool, for identifying the level of Attachment Variance in a relationship between a caregiver and a subject (e.g. new member) in the social structure. Attachment Variance is the degree of alignment (or misalignment) between a subject's (e.g. new member) actual Attachment to the social structure compared with the Attachment of the subject as perceived by the caregiver.

Abstract: An instrument for measuring and presenting customer impressions of a company uses weighted response values of survey questions to develop a customer experience score and a customer interaction score. The two scores are added to produce a composite score. The three scores for a company may be presented with other score sets for other companies to provide a simple and consistent comparison of companies. When different businesses or even different industries have different customer experiences and interactions, weighting of response values can be adjusted to more accurately reflect the importance of that factor on the overall customer experience, which models customer satisfaction.

Abstract: A system and method for managing workorders from a single location is provided. The system includes functionality to create workorders, to transmit workorders to equipment at a job site, e.g., an agricultural field, and to log the results of a completed workorder.

Abstract: A method, computer program and single enterprise resource planning (ERP) system for procuring a product or service. The single ERP system includes an input for receiving information relating to product demand for a plurality of end users via a cooperative buying group, a predictive engine for accumulating the received product demand into a single demand schedule and an output for transmitting the single demand schedule to a manufacturer/original source of the product. An optimization engine is provided for receiving product availability information from the manufacturer/original source of the product by the cooperative buying group, and for determining one or more options for ordering the products. A procurement system is also included for providing the product availability information to the one or more options for ordering the products, for receiving one or more product orders, for ordering product from the manufacturer/original source of the product, and for managing shipping the product.

Abstract: Methods, systems, and computer readable media for peer-to-peer third party distribution of gift cards and associated transaction processing are disclosed. In one method, a peer-to-peer gift card transaction router and a peer-to-peer gift card transaction database are configurable to facilitate peer-to-peer transaction processing for gift cards issued by a gift card provider and distributed by a third party seller where the gift card provider and the third party seller negotiate an agreement with each other regarding gift card distribution. A record is created in the database corresponding to the agreement. When a gift card transaction occurs, the record in the database is accessed and used to communicate notification of the gift card transaction from the gift card provider to the third party seller.

Abstract: Techniques to automatically generate invoices for contracts, each of which may include any number of line items. Each contract line item may be associated with (1) a particular invoice plan that defines one or more applicable billing types (e.g., for non-recurring, recurring, and use charges) and any adjustments to the total billed amount, (2) a particular invoicing schedule that defines the timing for the invoice generation, (3) a particular account to which invoices are addressed, and (4) a flag to selectively enable automatic invoice generation. An invoice engine automatically generates invoices for a set of one or more contracts by processing each enabled line item of each contract based on the associated invoice plan and invoicing schedule to generate a set of one or more invoice line items for the contract line item. All invoice line items for each account are aggregated into an invoice for the account.

Abstract: Provided are techniques for defining a fulfillment path solution (FPS) comprising items undergoing an operational fulfillment process (OFP); wherein the FPS is associated with milestones to be fulfilled by the items as the items travel the OFP. Each milestone exerts a resistive force on each item. Calculating a plurality of sums, each sum corresponding to a particular item and each sum a total of all resistive forces exerted on the corresponding item by each of the milestones, wherein an item with a deadline closer to the current time is set to a higher resistive force than an item with a deadline farther from the current time; and increasing each resistive force on each item as a corresponding deadline approaches each item; wherein a higher sum indicates a need for more immediate attention.