JP2002169978A - Online shopping system and shopping method using the system - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Problem] To propose a shopping method that enables more efficient and diverse handling of special products in various places. SOLUTION: A producer's computer for inputting information relating to the sale of a product, a customer's computer for inputting information relating to a purchase of a product, and management of settlement of trading value between the customer and the producer. A computer for a financial company, a computer for a carrier, which manages the transport of products from a producer to a place designated by a customer, the computer for production, the computer for the customer, the computer for the financial company, An online shopping system is configured with a host computer that is connected to the carrier computer by a communication line, and that collects, organizes, and processes information input from each computer. Accordingly, it can be provided to each computer or can be queried from each computer.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an online shopping system for buying and selling products such as local specialties using a communication line, and a shopping method using the system. ,client,
An efficient online shopping system and an efficient online shopping system using a network in which computer terminals of a financial company involved in the settlement of trading value and a carrier company for transporting goods are connected to each other using a communication line such as the Internet. The object of the present invention is to provide a shopping method using the Internet.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a shopping method dealing with local specialty products, there is, for example, "Furusato Parcel" (registered trademark) implemented by a post office or the like.

In this shopping method, sales information is obtained from a producer who produces a special product, an application form that also serves as a transfer sheet for a post office is created, and the customer obtains the application form at a post office or the like. Fill in the necessary information and bring it to the post office transfer office together with the payment to complete the application procedure. After that, the application is notified to the producer by facsimile or the like, and the money is remitted to the transfer account of the producer. Then, a parcel transporter at the post office receives the ordered product from the producer, and delivers the product to the destination specified at the time of application using the normal transport route of the postal package.

[0004]

However, in such a shopping method using the transfer paper of the post office,
Although customers have the advantage of being able to order products and pay for them at the same time, producers plan sales and then create and print transfer papers and place them at post offices around the country. Inevitably, it has a disadvantage that it takes a long time to transmit sales information to customers.

[0005] The fact that the period from the sales plan to the customer order is long means that such a fresh product can be treated as a product, although there are many seasonal products in various local products. Is difficult, and
Since the quantity of such products that can be sold often depends greatly on the environment such as the climate, it takes a long time until the application is made even if the sales are planned. This was a risky shopping method for producers.

[0006] In addition, since the customer cannot place an order without obtaining the transfer paper on which the product is printed, there is a drawback that the application procedure is complicated. Since it is impossible to prepare catalogs and application forms for all products due to space and other factors, information on products is not sufficiently transmitted to customers, and the opportunity for customers to select desirable products is missed. I was

[0007] An object of the present invention is to completely solve the above-mentioned conventional problems encountered in the sale of products dealing with local specialty products, and to make it possible to handle more efficient and diverse products. Is to propose a method.

[0008] Further, in order to realize such a shopping method, a series of processes such as transmission of sales information of producers required for shopping, transmission of order information of customers, settlement of trading value, and transportation of goods are smoothly performed. To do so is to build a shopping system.

[0009]

In order to achieve the above object, an online shopping system according to the present invention comprises a computer for a producer for inputting information relating to the sale of a product, and an information input relating to the purchase of a product. Computer for a financial company that manages the settlement of trading value between the customer and the producer, and a carrier computer that manages the transfer of products from the producer to the location specified by the customer. A computer is connected to the production computer, the customer computer, the financial operator computer, and the carrier computer by a communication line, and collects, organizes, and processes information input from each computer. A host computer, and the information possessed by the host computer can be provided to each computer as necessary or It is characterized in that allows queries from computers.

[0010] This makes it possible for the host computer to centrally manage the information on the producer side and the information from the customer, and to transmit the information to the producer and the customer via a communication line. The transmission time of information on products such as products between the customer and the customer can be shortened, and special products in various places such as products can be handled as products.

Further, by connecting the host computer to a computer for a financial company or a computer for a carrier by means of a communication line, it is possible to automatically settle the price for the purchase and sale and to convey the product, which is efficient. Shopping becomes possible.

[0012] Further, as the information relating to the sale of the product in the present invention, a product classification for each product, a place of production of the product,
It has specific information such as selling price, sales quantity, selling time, producer or seller's address and contact information, and information related to the purchase of the product includes a search related to the specific information for specifying the product. By including the condition, it is possible for the customer to easily specify the desired product,
Shopping can be performed more smoothly.

Further, the host computer in the present invention has an ID number and a password for identifying each customer, and in connection with the ID number, the name, address, and financial account for settlement of the purchase price of the customer. By storing information about customers, such as numbers, credit card numbers, telephone / fax numbers, or e-mail addresses, it is possible to manage customer information in a unified manner in the host computer using ID numbers. Becomes

[0014] In addition, when the customer buys and sells using the ID number, the order status of the customer can be stored as a database in the host computer.
It can be used as a customer's purchase history.

Further, on the customer side, only by inputting the ID number, it is possible to save the trouble of inputting information necessary for purchase, such as a credit card number, for each order, thereby facilitating the order procedure. .

The information on the purchase of the product input from the customer computer according to the present invention includes the ID number and the password input in connection with the information, and the ID number stored in the host computer in advance. Only when the password and the password match each other, the host computer determines that it is valid and processes it, so that the ID provided for grasping the order status of the customer and simplifying the procedure by the customer.
The number and the password can be used for security management of the transaction as it is, and the burden on the host computer and the database included therein can be greatly reduced.

In the host computer of the present invention, the order of the product is sent to the computer for the producer and the request for transporting the product to the computer for the carrier based on the information on the purchase of the product from the computer for the customer. When transmitting each information, it is assumed that the payment of the payment required for the purchase of the product from the financial operator's computer is completed, and then the processing is executed, so that the payment is paid in advance. This makes it possible to carry out highly secure transactions, which is particularly advantageous for producers and carriers.

[0018] For the customer, the customer is paid in advance and there is a concern about non-delivery of goods and delivery of defective products. Regarding this, a company that provides an online shopping system having a host computer is responsible for the trust. By selecting possible producers and incorporating them as producers of the shopping system, it is possible to construct an online shopping system with a lighter administrative burden than a burden for avoiding unpaid customers from customers due to a postpaid system.

Further, in the present invention, since the communication line connecting the computer for the customer and the host computer is the Internet, it can be easily accessed from anywhere in the whole country or the whole world. This allows the customer to purchase various products without going to a specific window as in the past.

In addition, since the computer for a financial company according to the present invention is either a computer for credit inquiry of a debit card or a credit card, or a computer for requesting a wire transfer at a post office savings business center, a computer for a customer can be used. Just by inputting the financial account number or credit card number, etc., the host computer can obtain credit information from the customer's account etc. whether the purchase price can be paid to the financial company computer,
There is no need for complicated procedures such as transfer procedures at post office windows as in the past.

In particular, since the post office has traditionally been engaged in a product service dealing with local specialty products called “hometown parcels”, and has been performing post office savings operations equivalent to a financial business, the post office is The present invention is suitable as an organization for building the online shopping system.
In other words, it is possible to utilize existing assets such as ties to producers related to “hometown parcels” and business know-how, and has an advanced security system such as financial relations within the same post office organization. is there.

Further, the computer for the carrier of the present invention is a computer for managing the collection and delivery of postal parcels at the post office, so that the assets possessed by the post office can be effectively utilized and the security can be improved. It is possible to construct a highly reliable system.

Further, as information provided by the host computer of the present invention to the customer computer, order information from all customers within a certain period is totaled by the host computer, and the products are arranged in the order of increasing order quantity. By including the list, it is possible to automatically create various kinds of ranking information that are of interest to customers and producers, such as “Best 10 sales this month”, and distribute the ranking information to customers and the like.

Further, as the information provided by the host computer of the present invention to the customer computer, the information ordered by the same customer at the same time as the previous year at a specific time, such as Midsummer and New Year, is transmitted to the customer computer. By making the information modifiable as necessary and transmitting the modified information to the host computer as information relating to a new order, it is possible to reduce the trouble of the customer periodically requesting delivery. Also, if it is inappropriate to send the same item to the other party as in the previous year, it is possible to know in advance before a new order, which has many advantages for the customer.

Further, the host computer of the present invention comprises:
When an order is received from a customer computer, an order number is assigned, and a host computer, a computer for a producer, a computer for a customer, a computer for a financial company,
Communication of information about a specific order with the carrier computer is performed using the order number, so that it is possible to manage from the order to settlement of the price and delivery of the product with the same order number, for example, A customer can check the status of payment by a financial institution or the status of delivery of goods for each order placed by his or her company, even when accessing the host computer to check the status.
Procedures can be performed with the same single number, which is convenient for customers.

With the above-described shopping method using the online shopping system, it is possible to handle various products such as seasonal specialty products in various places more efficiently, which is advantageous for both producers and customers. This makes it possible to do a lot of shopping.

[0027]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An online shopping system according to the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram of the online shopping system of the present invention. Proponents involved in online shopping include producers who sell products, customers who purchase products, financial companies that intervene between producers and customers, and settle payments for purchases and sales. A carrier that collects products from producers and delivers them to destinations specified by customers, and a company that operates and manages a host computer related to the online shopping system (hereinafter, referred to as a “system company”). Consists of

Although the flow of information data between the respective entities in the online shopping system is various, the flow of information will be described with respect to a typical example. First, the producer provides information on the sale of the product to the system operator. Information about the sale of products includes product names,
Product classification (may be the name of vegetables, fruits, meat, etc., or may be a predetermined product code), place of production, sales price, sales quantity, sales time, producer or seller's address and contact information And so on.

The information may be transmitted from the producer to the host computer managed by the system operator by using the producer's computer, using a public line or the communication line such as the Internet, or by fax. , Etc., and can be sent to the system operator, and the staff of the system operator can separately input the information using a terminal connected to the host computer.

Further, in the information from the producer, even when there is no data of a specific item or there is no entry for some reason, the supplementary data can be input using the terminal connected to the host computer.

In the host computer, information relating to sales of products collected from each producer is organized as a database of sales products, and a sales management DB (database)
To be stored.

In addition, information relating to the sale of products is rewritten one by one according to changes in data from producers and the status of sales of products. For example, the current sellable quantity related to the sales quantity is The number is displayed so as to decrease sequentially according to the situation.

The operation management server, which performs the main processing of the host computer, can provide information to the customer at the present time based on data such as the current saleable quantity relating to the sales time and sales quantity of the sales product. Judgment is made as to whether or not the data is a product, data of a product for sale that can be provided is extracted from the sales management DB, list data on the product for sale is created, and transmitted to the WWW server.

This WWW server has a function of inputting customer information and a function of retrieving a product as described later, and stores a list of sales products obtained from the operation management server into data which can be viewed by the customer via the Internet. Formatted.

The customer accesses the WWW server which constitutes a part of the host computer by using the customer computer, and can view a list of products currently sold.

The WWW server has a product search function so that the customer can easily select and narrow down desired products when browsing the product list by the customer.

As an example of the product search function, as shown in FIG. 2, by inputting "prefecture" which is the production center of the product (product), a product classification corresponding to the type of the product, a desired price range, and the like. Then, a product having the corresponding condition is extracted from the product list, and is displayed as a product search result screen as shown in FIG.

The search conditions may be input directly by inputting characters and numbers, or by displaying a list of place names and the like and clicking on a corresponding condition from the list.

As a method for inputting information relating to the purchase of a product (product) by a customer, a product number may be directly input. By clicking, the clicked product may be determined to be a purchase desired product.

The data of the product desired to be purchased is held in a part of the WWW server, and the customer inputs information indicating the end of the product specification operation (for example, clicks an “order” icon).
If there is, a list of products to be purchased is created and displayed from the stored information.

The customer inputs the number of orders and cancels the desired product while looking at the list. When an additional order is to be placed, the screen is returned to a screen where a product can be designated.

When the desired merchandise and quantity are determined, the screen moves to an input screen for the destination of the merchandise. However, before inputting the destination, it is better to determine whether or not the customer information has already been entered, and if not, it is better to move to the customer information input screen.

It is unclear whether the order will be placed in this way even if the delivery destination is entered, and inputting the address is likely to take longer than other operations such as product selection. This is so as not to occupy the WWW server for a long time. At least a customer who enters customer information is expected to be more likely to complete an order.

The WWW server has a function of inputting customer information. As shown in FIG. 4, a screen for inputting user information as a customer is provided. According to the items on this screen, the customer's name, address, financial account number for settlement of purchase price, or credit card number , Telephone / fax number or e-mail address.

When the customer information is input, W
The WW server notifies the customer of the ID number, and as shown in FIG.
May be transmitted, or at that time, the customer may specify and input a password, and the input password may be used as a password corresponding to the ID number presented by the WWW server. The input of the customer information may be performed before the start of the order or after the product to be ordered is determined.

The customer information to which the ID number is assigned is stored in the customer database in the sales management DB through the operation management server, and all the order information specified by this ID number corresponds to the ID number of the customer database. The database is stored in a file or the like and indicates the purchase history of the customer.

When an order is placed after the customer information is entered, the ID number and the password are entered to identify the person and to provide information necessary for purchase such as a credit card number. Saves typing.

When all customer orders are completed, WWW
The server assigns an order number to each combination of the customer ID number, the ordered product number, the delivery destination, and the like, and transmits the number to the customer computer.

This order number is provided by the host computer,
The information communication related to the order is always attached to the computer for the producer, the computer for the customer, the computer for the financial company, and the computer for the carrier.

This makes it possible to manage the work status of the order with the same order number from the order to the settlement of the payment and the delivery of the product. Even when the payment status of the financial institution and the delivery status of the product are referred to each business operator or the host computer is accessed for reference, the same one number can be used for the reference.

When the customer completes the input of the delivery destination at the time of ordering, the WWW server uses the input information of the desired product, quantity, and delivery destination to settle the product payment price, delivery cost, and payment. Calculate and display the cost of the procedure and request final confirmation from the customer. Naturally, the WWW server holds a database necessary for calculating these costs and the like, or forms a network with such a database.

Based on the information (order) related to the purchase of the product of the customer, the operation management server, through the financial server,
Based on the financial account number or the credit card number entered by the customer, the financial company computer is requested to perform a credit inquiry and a payment procedure.

The financial company may be a bank, a credit company, or the like, but also includes a debit card authentication center that has been experimentally started in January 2001. In particular, the post office has both postal savings, which is the payment function required for online shopping, and postal parcels, which is the function of transporting goods. There is an advantage that information related to shopping can be managed.

When the operation management server, which is a part of the host computer, receives the payment completion information from the computer for the financial company, the operation management server reads out the order contents stored in the sales management DB with reference to the corresponding order number, and A request for ordering the product to the transporter's computer, and a request to the transport management computer, which is the transporter's computer for the transporter, to collect the product as a product and deliver it to the delivery destination.

At this time, the order request to the producer and the delivery request to the carrier may be made in real time, or batch processing is performed at regular time intervals, and the request items to the request destination are organized and integrated. If the producer does not have a computer, the producer server, which is a part of the host computer, is connected to the public line and the
X may be performed.

The main information flow in the online shopping system of the present invention has been described above. In addition to the above, by distributing the following various information to customers and the like, services with high customer satisfaction are provided. Can be provided.

For example, a host computer compiles order information from all customers within a certain period, and arranges the products in the order of the most ordered quantity such as “Best 10 sales this month” (see FIG. 2). ) Is distributed to customers or the like, or posted on the Internet of a WWW server.

Further, based on the purchase history information of the customer, the order information of the last year is distributed to the customer in a specific season such as Midsummer, New Year, etc., and a new order is urged.

In this case, the information ordered by the customer in the same period of the previous year is transmitted as a reference, and the customer can modify the information as necessary, and the modified information is used for the new order. When the information can be transmitted to the host computer, the trouble of inputting by the customer can be reduced.

Also, various information, such as cooking recipes relating to products (products), is transmitted from the producer, and the information is introduced to customers on the Internet, and the same information is enclosed with the products as necessary. Then, it is also possible to send it to a delivery destination.

The computer for the customer is not limited to the personal computer, but may be a mobile phone that can be connected to the Internet provided by NTT DoCoMo, Inc. or the like.

[0062]

According to the above-described online shopping system of the present invention, the host computer can centrally manage information on the producer side and information from the customer, and furthermore, the host computer can manage such information. Since the information is transmitted to the customer via the communication line, the time required to transmit information on products such as products between the producer and the customer can be reduced.

In addition, the above-described shopping method using the online shopping system makes it possible to handle various products such as seasonal specialty products in various places more efficiently, which is advantageous for both producers and customers. Shopping with lots of money becomes possible.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram of an online shopping system.

FIG. 2 is a setting screen for product search and the like.

FIG. 3 is a product search result screen.

FIG. 4 is an input flow of customer information.

[Explanation of symbols]

 None

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Claims (12)

[Claims] Claims: 1. A producer's computer for inputting information related to the sale of a product, a customer's computer for inputting information related to the purchase of a product, and settlement of the trading value between the customer and the producer. A computer for a financial company that manages; a computer for a carrier that manages the transport of products from a producer to a location specified by a customer; the computer for production, the computer for the customer, the computer for the financial company, and A host computer connected to the carrier business computer via a communication line, and collecting, organizing, and processing information input from each computer; and An online shopping system, which can be provided to computers or can be referred from each computer. 2. The information relating to the sale of the product is specified for each product such as a product classification, a production place of the product, a selling price, a sales quantity, a selling time, an address and a contact address of the producer or the seller. The online shopping system according to claim 1, further comprising information, wherein the information on the purchase of the product includes a search condition related to the specific information for specifying the product. 3. The host computer has an ID number and a password for identifying each customer, and in connection with the ID number, a name, an address, a financial account number or a financial account number for settlement of a purchase price. Credit card number, telephone /
2. The online shopping system according to claim 1, wherein information about the customer such as a facsimile number or an e-mail address is stored. 4. The host computer according to claim 1, wherein said information relating to the purchase of the product inputted from the customer computer is stored in the host computer in advance with an ID number and a password inputted in relation to said information. 2. The online shopping system according to claim 1, wherein only when the present ID number and the password match each other, it is determined to be valid and processed. 5. The host computer, based on information related to the purchase of a product from a customer's computer, receives information relating to a product order to a producer's computer and a product transport request to a carrier's computer. 2. The online shopping according to claim 1, wherein when transmitting the information, the information is acquired from the financial operator's computer when the payment for the purchase of the product is completed, and then the processing is executed. system. 6. The online shopping system according to claim 1, wherein the communication line connecting the customer computer and the host computer is the Internet. 7. The computer according to claim 1, wherein the computer for a financial company is one of a credit inquiry computer for a debit card and a credit card, and a computer for requesting a wire transfer at a post office savings business center.
Online shopping system described in. 8. The online shopping system according to claim 1, wherein the computer for the carrier is a computer for managing collection and delivery of postal packages at a post office. 9. The host computer, as information to be provided to the customer's computer, collects order information from all customers within a predetermined period by the host computer, and lists products in an order of increasing order quantity. The online shopping system according to claim 1, further comprising: 10. The host computer transmits, as information to be provided to the customer computer, information ordered by the same customer at the same time as the previous year at a specific time, such as Midsummer and New Year, and the customer computer sends the information to the customer computer. 2. The online shopping system according to claim 1, wherein the information can be modified as required, and the modified information is transmitted to a host computer as information relating to a new order. 11. The host computer assigns an order number when an order is received from a customer computer, and the host computer and a producer computer, a customer computer, a financial company computer,
2. The online shopping system according to claim 1, wherein communication of information on a specific order with the carrier computer is performed using the order number. 12. A shopping method using the online shopping system according to claim 1.