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MarketMaster is intended to be a configurable and customizable system providing support to mobile company service reps (CSRs). MarketMaster is an open system, incorporating data communications services using any combination of wireless, wired, or direct connection technologies for the management of customers and inventory on the road.

MarketMaster will provide the following capabilities to CSRs:

¤ Customer status reports

¤ Inventory management at customer locations

¤ Product replenishment and order tracking

¤ On-truck inventory management

¤ Previous customer delivery and payment reference information

¤ File reports, order fulfillment, and invoicing information

¤ Receive messages and updates from the company central system

¤ Add customers-of-opportunity to the system

The system will operate seamlessly with the corporate central system. However, if required, the MarketMaster system will allow users to:

¤ Maintain Customer, Manufacturer, and Product Information

¤ Maintain Route information

¤ Generate Reports

¤ Synchronize information with the corporate system

¤ Assign delivery stops to CSRs

¤ Manage order and invoice information

The emphasis of the MarketMaster system will be on providing convenience and complete functionality to CSRs using PalmOS-based handheld devices. Functions described in this integrated system are all configurable for a particular installation; for example, a customer may only want to use the status report feature.

MarketMaster is optimized for use with the Symbol Technologies SPT 1500 or SPT 1700 barcode scanners, based on the Palm OS.

II. System Architecture

MarketMaster employs a very flexible and scalable architecture to bridge the gap between the Customer Service Rep and corporate system (see figure 1 below). The major segments of this architecture are the CSR Handheld, Handheld-to-server communications, Server-to-Corporate system connectivity, and the optional Client services.

MarketMaster will encompass as many stable technologies as reasonably required to integrate the CSR with the rest of the corporate system. The CSR will use a PalmOS based device as a data collection tool. This may be a Palm, Symbol Technologies, or other compatible device, with or without integrated barcode scanning capabilities.

The Data Collection device will communicate with the rest of the system (using the standard TCP/IP protocol) either wirelessly or via wired connections.

a. Wireless connections can be implemented using direct cell connections or connections through cell phones (either by infrared or cabled connection). These connections can be carried by the CSR, but may suffer from cellular connection availability.

If the cell connection is implemented using the delivery truck base station, then these limitations may be overcome. Requirements for implementation are a direct connection to the truck communications equipment, or a small network (cradle or Spectrum-24 based) within the truck connecting the handheld to the cellular equipment.

b. Wired connections can be implemented using a detachable palm modem. This requires the use of an ISR to bridge the handheld to the internet.

c. Finally, the CSR can connect using a direct-to-network cradle for the handheld, where the cradles would be located at the corporate site. A variation of this approach would be to use Spectrum 24 RF communications to connect to the network at the corporate site. The advantage of this last approach would be the elimination of waiting for an available cradle.

Having achieved connectivity to the MarketMaster Server, the system will use the RiverBed Technologies Scout Sync system to flow data from the handheld into the rest of the system, and to return any data updates on the handheld. This is called syncing the handheld.

Note that the handheld may be synced at any time of day, and multiple times per day if required. For example, a CSR may be scanning inventory as it is loaded onto his truck. At the end of the loading process, he may wish to perform a sync in order to update the corporate systems information as to what inventory he is carrying. Similarly, at the end of a day, he may wish to count the remaining truck inventory and sync that data to the corporate system through the MarketMaster software.

Normally, a batch conduit will be used to pass data between the MarketMaster database and the corporate system. This is done separately from the handheld sync operation in order to perform the sync as quickly as possible. The batch process can be scheduled to run as often as desired. Batch processes can also be used to schedule reports on a repeating basis.

Some minimum amount of administration for the Scout Sync software is required; for example, new users may need to be added to the system. MarketMaster itself is capable of running without user intervention, depending on the completeness of the corporate system data.

However, MarketMaster is fully capable of being set up and controlled by users at client workstations. For example, users may have to enter route information, or request reports. In fact, MarketMaster can operate without any corporate connection at all.

Because MarketMaster is based on an NT-Server architecture, it can be scaled up as required. Multiple Scout Servers can be added to the system as required. The system will be compatible with SQL Server, Oracle, and Sybase. Demonstration and small-scale versions of the system may use Access.

Figure 1. MarketMaster System Architecture

III. Hardware and Software Requirements

A full list of hardware components to the system depends on the connectivity solution(s) selected. A minimum system will include:

Palm-based handheld devices for the CSRs in the field
Ethernet cradles for syncing on the network
A Windows NT or 2000 server to host the MarketMaster server-based applications
Windows 98 or NT client workstations as required
A Windows NT Network

For optimal performance, the database system (Oracle, SQL Server, Sybase) should be hosted on a server separate from the MarketMaster server.

Third-party software utilized includes:

Aether Scout Sync

Database Server Software

PumaTech Runtime

Many parts of the MarketMaster system consist of standard screens and forms. Areas that will require certain customization include:

CSR Report Forms

Corporate System Integration

IV. System Data Flow

The following is a high-level diagram of the cyclic flow of data between the various components of MarketMaster and the external corporate system. Note that not all stages in the information flow pertain to all customers.

Note that while the illustrated cycle assumes a daily basis, the actual reporting and delivery cycle can take any amount of time desired. For example, a CRM may be on the road and send back data on a weekly basis if that is appropriate. Furthermore, a CRM need never actually be on the corporate site to perform any syncing or data transfer activity.

MarketMaster can be set up to support different mixes of the data flow cycle. Stage 1 above corresponds to a start-of-the-day phase, where initial information such as route and starting on-truck inventory is exchanged. Stage 2 represents the normal daily activities of customer calls, including the filing of reports and product replenishment. Stage 3 represents the final end-of-day return of the truck to a corporate location, to offload remaining inventory and file final reports. These stages, while representing a implementatio MarketMaster er, do not have to be connected in this particular way, or even implemented at all in a particular MarketMaster installation.

Diagram Components:

Custom Link between Corporate System and MarketMaster Server: Since each installation of MarketMaster can be unique, this link can take many different forms. Types of links that are often created include the following:

Direct database access using ODBC

Middleware access (i.e., IBM MQ)

Export and Import of CSV files

One-way access (i.e., email of reports)

In cases where there is no such link, or where the link is one-way, users running at client workstations will enter the data described below.

When MarketMaster and a corporate system share data, the data shared may be structured as follows:

Data retrieved from corporate system by OrderMaster:

Customer

Product

Manufacturer

Purchase Order

Payment Status

Inventory

Routing Information

Messages and notifications

Data passed to corporate system from MarketMaster:

New Customer Information

Invoice

Customer Status Report

Inventory

Contact information

This data reflects the data also being passed from the MarketMaster server to the CSR handheld databases.

Sync to handheld from MarketMaster Server: This process passes the data received from the corporate system or entered from user workstations to the CRM handhelds. Since each handheld is identified with a particular CRM, only the data associated with the individual CRM is passed to each handheld (i.e., route information, customer list).

On-Truck Inventory Data: If inventory is counted as it is loaded on a delivery or service truck, that inventory count may be returned to the MarketMaster server and from there to the corporate system via a syncing operation after the truck is loaded.

Status Report/Invoice/Inventory (from CRM Delivery/Customer Call): As the CRM works through a set of calls, he may choose to update the corporate system after each call. Equally, he may choose to update at the end of a day or week. All data entered will be retained in the CRM handheld until transferred to the MarketMaster server; thereafter, the data will still be retained on the handheld for an adjustable period of time, based on company and CRM requirements.

Messages (to the CRM Delivery/Customer Call): Each time the CRM connects with the MarketMaster server, any messages queued up for the CRM will be transmitted and appear on the handheld. The CRM may connect only to receive these messages if there is no other data to be sent.

Status Reports/Invoices/Inventory (from CRM Handheld at End of Day): The CRM may choose to batch up data created from all calls during the day (or week, or any period of time) and transmit them all at once.

V. Database

The MarketMaster database is composed of standard and custom elements, based on customer report and corporate interfacing requirements. The following table lists those database elements know to be required by the full MarketMaster system.