JP2001350954A - Method for ordering merchandise via communication network - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make profit by ordering merchandise via a communication network. SOLUTION: In this method, a seller positioned between a merchandise purchaser (consumer) and a merchandise supplier respectively independently operates a sales site and a purchase site, gets the difference between a retail price and a purchase price as profit and orders the merchandise through the communication network. A customer transits a conditional purchase application including a merchandise purchase price to the first server system 12 from a client computer 16 via a communication network 10. The second server system 18 transits a conditional purchase application including a price that is lower than the retail price to a plurality of supplier computers 22 via the communication network. The seller managing the first and second server systems purchases merchandise that is answered by the supplier computers and has the best condition and gets the difference between its retail price and its purchase price as profit.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a method for ordering goods via a communication network such as the Internet.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Business model patents are suddenly getting close. In particular, with the dawn of the year 2000, the degree of attention has risen sharply.

[0003] A business model patent covers an invention that embodies a new business method using technical means such as a computer system and a network.

[0004] The business method itself is not a technical idea and therefore is not subject to patents, but it expresses business ideas so that they can be actually used using computer system or network technical means. If you apply for a patent, you can become a patent.

[0005] At present, businesses that do not use computer systems or networks at all are rare, so any new business method may be patentable.

[0006] As for the contents of business model patents, those related to e-commerce (e-commerce) and financial business (bank, insurance, securities) are currently receiving the most attention, and they are the center of business model patents.

[0007] US Patent No. 5,794,207 discloses a so-called reverse auction patent in which consumers specify purchase conditions. That is, the consumer sends the conditions of the desired product to the mediator's server via the Internet. The mediator transmits the above conditions to a plurality of sellers.

[0008] Each seller presents an estimate directly to the consumer from the above conditions, and the consumer compares the estimate of each company and selects a product that meets the desired conditions.

The specification describes, as application examples, application to purchase of air tickets, reservation of hotels, purchase of new cars, contracts for automobile insurance, and the like.

[0010]

In the reverse auction intermediary system patent described above, the consumer pays the merchandise directly to the seller using a credit card. It is understood that they are only collecting brokerage fees.

[0011] As described above, it is considered that the broker makes a profit by collecting the brokerage fee. However, in this reverse auction business model patent, since the quote is directly presented to the consumer from the seller, Profit cannot be aggressively made more than brokerage fees.

[0012] The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and provides a method of ordering goods through a communication network in which an intermediary or an intermediate seller can positively make a profit. The purpose is to do.

[0013]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, an intermediate dealer operates a sales site and a purchase site independently, and sells goods through a communication network that records the difference between the sales price and the purchase price as profit. Provide a way to place an order.

According to the present invention, there is provided a method of ordering a product via a communication network, wherein information for specifying a product purchaser including a product purchaser identifier is input to a client computer, and a condition including a purchase price is provided. A purchase request is input to the client computer, and information specifying the product purchaser and a first request for the conditional purchase request are transmitted to a first server system via a communication network, and control of the first server system is performed. Under the first
Receiving a request, entering a conditional purchase offer including a purchase price lower than the purchase price into a second server system, transmitting a second request for the conditional purchase offer to a supplier computer via the communication network, The second computer under the control of the supplier computer;
Receiving a request, entering information identifying a product supplier, including a product supplier identifier, into the supplier computer, and submitting a conditional product supply application including a product supply price with content that matches the second request to the supplier computer. Input to a computer, transmitting the information specifying the commodity supplier and the third request for the conditional commodity supply application to the second server system via the communication network, under the control of the second server system; Receiving a third request under the control of the second server system, transmitting a response to the effect that the third request is accepted to the supplier computer via the communication network, Sending a response to the effect that the first request is accepted to the client computer via the communication network under the control of That, how to order is provided a product via a communications network, characterized in that.

[0015] The seller operates the first server system at the sales site, and operates the second server system at the purchase site. It is important that the sales and purchase sites are independent, not linked to each other.

That is, the terms first and second server systems used in this specification do not require that the computers be physically independent, and the sites managed by them operate independently without being linked to each other. It includes a server system.

[0017]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a block diagram of a system for achieving the method of the present invention. The seller 5 has a first server system 12 and a second server system 18. First and second server systems 12,
18 has memories 14 and 20, respectively.

These first and second server systems 1
The first and second server systems 12 and 18 may be installed in the company of the seller 5 or may use servers of an Internet service provider who has contracted.

Preferably, the first server system 12 and the second server system 18 are independent. However, the first and second server systems 12, 18 do not necessarily need to be physically independent as computers.

For example, a server that manages a sales site using the same computer is called a first server system 12, and a server that manages a purchase site is a second server system 18.
Let's call it.

The first server system 12 is a server system for managing a sales site, which is a unique domain, and has a plurality of client computers 16a, 16b, 1 installed via the Internet 10 for a product purchaser.
6c,..., 16n.

The second server system 18 is a server system for managing a purchasing site, which is a unique domain, and includes a plurality of supplier computers 22a, 22b, and 2 installed under the goods supplier via the Internet 10.
, 22n.

The merchandise ordering method of the present invention will be described below with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIGS. In the sales site, the seller 5 discloses products to be sold on the homepage.

The types of products are not particularly limited, but include, for example, crude drugs, herbal medicines, pharmaceuticals, quasi-drugs, health foods, cosmetics, and the like. Publish without putting.

For example, the client computer 16
If the client or customer in which a is installed wants to purchase a product, information identifying the product purchaser including the product purchaser's identifier (ID) is input to the client computer 16a in step S2. The information for specifying the product purchaser includes a user ID, a password, a name, an address, a telephone number, and the like.

The information for specifying the purchaser of the product is input on a company data input screen as shown in FIG. 5 on the homepage. After inputting necessary items and clicking a send button, a user ID and a password are issued.

Next, in step S4, a conditional purchase application including the purchase price is sent to the client computer 16.
Input to a. For example, on the screen shown in FIG.
Enter the desired purchase price and product specifications for demanding herbs.

When the transmission button is clicked after the necessary items are input, information for specifying the purchaser of the product and a request for a conditional purchase application are transmitted to the first server system 12 via the Internet 10 (step S6).

The first server system 12 receives this request in step S8, and displays this request on the homepage screen. In step S9, the seller determines that this request is OK.
Is determined.

That is, after requesting the contents of the customer's request and the purchase price, it is determined whether or not the company has the stock of the product, or if the stock is available, whether or not the stock matches the requested sales price. I do.

If the determination is affirmative, the process proceeds to step S26 in FIG. 4, and a response to the effect that this request is accepted is transmitted to the client computer 16a.

If the determination in step S9 is negative, the flow advances to step S10 to input a conditional purchase application to the second server system 18. The conditional purchase offer includes a purchase price that is lower than the requested or specified purchase price. This is because the seller 5 needs to record the difference between the purchase price and the purchase price as profit.

The program of steps S2 to S8 is stored in the memory 14 of the first server system 12.
Is stored in

At the purchase site managed by the second server system 18, the purchase information is disclosed on a homepage, and suitable products are purchased from all over the world.

That is, on the homepage of the purchase site,
First, a screen as shown in FIG. 7 is displayed. When the user clicks "to the detailed information page", detailed contents of the product purchase information as shown in FIG. 8 are displayed.

After reading the delivery contract in FIG. 7, if the user clicks on "Agree", the process proceeds to an information page for issuing a user ID and a password as shown in FIG. After inputting the necessary items in FIG. 9, when the transmission is clicked, the user ID and the password are issued.

After inputting the conditional purchase application in the second server system 18 in step S10 of FIG. 2, when the transmission on the screen is clicked, the request for the conditional purchase application is transmitted via the Internet 10 to the supplier computer 22a. , 22b, 22c,..., 22n (step S12).

Next, in step S14 of FIG. 3, this request is transmitted to the supplier computers 22a, 22b, 22.
, 22n receive and display this request on their respective computer screens.

If the goods supplier on which the supplier computer 22b is installed wants to supply goods meeting this request, in step S16 the identifier of the goods supplier (I
D) and information specifying the goods supplier including the password is input to the supplier computer 22b.

Next, the process proceeds to step S18, where a conditional product supply application including the product supply price is input to the supplier computer 22b on the screen shown in FIG. When the transmission button is clicked, a request for a conditional product supply application is transmitted to the second server system 18 via the Internet 10 in step S20.

In step S22, the second server system 18
After receiving this request, Merchant 5 determines whether to accept this conditional product supply application, ie, whether to purchase the product.

When the purchase of the goods is determined, a response to the effect of accepting the request for a conditional supply of goods is transmitted to the supplier computer 22b via the Internet 10 (step S24).

The programs of steps S10 to S24 are stored in the memory 20 of the second server system 18.

Next, the process proceeds to step S26 in FIG. 4, and the seller 5 sends a response to the client computer 16a by the first server system 12 via the Internet 10 to the effect that the above-mentioned request for conditional purchase application is accepted.
Send to

In step S28, the seller 5 pays the merchandise supplier, and in step S30, the merchant purchaser pays the seller 5 operating the first and second server systems 12, 18. .

For these payments, any method such as a credit card, a transfer, or a settlement at the time of product delivery can be adopted. In addition, any method of delivery such as home delivery, airmail, truck, etc., can be adopted for the delivery of goods.

For example, when the product is a crude drug, the purchaser of the product on which the client computers 16a to 16n are installed is, for example, a pharmaceutical specialist or a crude drug specialist.
The goods supplier is the supplier computer 22a-22n
Includes crude drug exporters in China, Korea, etc.

[0048]

As described in detail above, in the commodity ordering method of the present invention, the sales site and the purchase site for the products are operated independently, so that the seller can purchase and sell the product (retail price). This is a very useful business method because the difference from the price can be recorded as profit.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram for implementing a method of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart (part 1) of the method of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart (part 2) of the method of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart (part 3) of the method of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an input screen of company data on a sales site.

FIG. 6 is a screen for inputting a conditional purchase application at a sales site.

FIG. 7 is a top page of a purchasing site.

FIG. 8 is a screen showing details of product purchase information.

FIG. 9 is a supplier information input screen on a purchase site.

FIG. 10 is a screen showing product supply information on a purchase site.

[Explanation of symbols]

 5 Seller 10 Internet 12 First server system 14, 20 Memory 16a-16n Client computer 18 Second server system 22a-22n Supplier computer

Claims (3)

[Claims] Claims 1. A method for ordering goods via a communication network, comprising the steps of: entering information identifying a goods purchaser, including a goods purchaser identifier, into a client computer; The information is input to the client computer, and the information for identifying the product purchaser and the first request for the conditional purchase application are transmitted to a first server system via a communication network, under the control of the first server system. Receiving the first request, inputting a conditional purchase application including a purchase price lower than the purchase price to a second server system, and transmitting a second request for the conditional purchase application to a supplier computer via the communication network; Transmitting and receiving the second request under the control of the supplier computer; Inputting information specifying a product supplier including a child into the supplier computer, inputting a conditional product supply application including a product supply price having a content matching the second request into the supplier computer, Transmitting information specifying a person and a third request for the conditional product supply application to the second server system via the communication network, receiving the third request under the control of the second server system, Under the control of the second server system, a response to the effect that the third request is accepted is transmitted to the supplier computer via the communication network, and the first server system is controlled under the control of the first server system. Transmitting a response to the effect that the request is accepted to the client computer via the communication network. How to order the goods through the network. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first server system and the second server system are independent of each other. 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the commodity is selected from the group consisting of crude drugs, Chinese medicine, medicines, quasi-drugs, health foods, and cosmetics.