JP2002133290A - Method for supporting electronic commercial transaction and system for supporting electronic commercial transaction - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method and system for supporting electronic commercial transaction which can find a shop selling goods, which is suited for user's request condition, by using communication network by an easy operation in a short time. SOLUTION: An electronic commercial transaction service site 1 collects commodity information at regular intervals from a plurality of shop sites 2 prepared on communication network L, stores them as database 1a and updates it. The user searches the shop sites 2, which can sell the commodities, in the database 1 according to the requested condition of the commodities containing requested number of the commodities through a communication terminal 3, and the result information on the search is distributed to the user's communication terminal 3.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method and a support system for supporting electronic commerce in which business can be performed between a consumer and a company via a communication network.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Recently, due to the rapid spread of the Internet, many companies have opened Web pages on their own servers or rental servers, and introduced company information, products, etc.
We carry out electronic commerce.

In this e-commerce, the consumer does not go to the store to purchase the product by hand, so the consumer can make various specifications, appearances, stock quantities, selling prices, etc. of the desired product. Try to find a lot of information using tools. In particular, when there are a plurality of trading sites for the same product, it is a consumer's psychology to try to select a place where the product price or shipping cost is low.

[0004]

However, since competition between companies on the Internet is intensifying today, consumers must browse a large number of company pages and compare prices and service contents. In some cases, it may take an unexpected time to determine the purchaser and finally order the product or the like.

[0005] On the other hand, there is a method of narrowing down the dealers by using search engines provided by various information sites. However, since general search engines are not specialized for commercial transactions,
Even if you can narrow down to a few companies for the same product, you have to open each page and check the contents afterwards. In addition, there is a problem that a sufficient result cannot be obtained because the search key is not appropriate.

[0006] In addition, since there are many types of products to be handled, there is a device devised so that products can be searched in the site.
If there are many colleagues, it also takes time to select a purchase destination. In order to be able to search this site,
For example, there is a bookstore site. Consumers first check the site's search engine to determine if a book is about to be purchased,
Consider whether the book is in stock, its price, shipping cost, and the number of days before delivery, etc. to determine if it is appropriate. Repeat the same survey on other bookstore sites and compare with other stores. Then, select a bookstore that meets your criteria. It is a general method to determine a purchaser in such a flow.

[0007] By using electronic commerce, consumers can obtain commodities without going to a store, but on the other hand, it takes a lot of time to determine a purchaser as described above. That is the current situation. Many e-commerce users strongly desire the arrival of a system that does not take long to order a product and that makes it easier to understand the specifications and features of the product.

[0008] The present invention has been made in response to such a demand, and a store or the like that sells a product or the like that meets the user's desired conditions can be shortened by a simple operation using a communication network. I was able to find it on time,
An electronic commerce support method and a support system are provided.

A second object of the present invention is to provide an electronic commerce support system which can easily create an electronic catalog in a predetermined format in an electronic commerce page established by a store for merchandise. It is in.

[0010]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electronic commerce support method, comprising the steps of: providing a sales price and stock information from an electronic commerce service site provided on a communication network; An e-commerce support system that distributes at least the handled product information to a user has the following features.

That is, in this support method, the electronic commerce service site collects information on merchandise at regular intervals from a plurality of dealer sites provided on the communication network, and stores and updates the database as a database.
A process in which a user searches a database for a store site where the product can be sold based on the search condition of the product requested through the communication terminal from the database, and distributes the search result information to the user's communication terminal; To help e-commerce for users.

Further, the electronic commerce support system according to the second aspect of the present invention includes a plurality of affiliated store sites which respectively store and store handled product information including at least sales price and stock information, and an electronic commerce service site. , A system configured to be connected via a communication network,
It has the following features.

The e-commerce service site collects the product information stored and stored at a plurality of contracted affiliated store sites at regular intervals, and sells the product information collected to the product inventory management database. Update automatically for each store. Then, the service site allows the user accessed through the communication terminal to input a product purchase condition including a desired purchase number of the product, and then, a partner store site capable of selling the product satisfying the input condition. From the merchandise inventory management database, and delivers search result information including access information to the store site to the user's communication terminal.

[0014] This product information is the We for electronic catalog
In the case of the b-page screen, information can be collected targeting a specific tag in the screen data, so that the traveling function of the store site can be easily realized.

As described above, in the electronic commerce support method or system according to the first or second aspect, the electronic commerce service site searches for information of a plurality of affiliated store sites on the communication network at regular intervals. In addition, available product information including inventory information is constantly collected and stored in a product inventory management database. As a result, the latest product information that can be sold by the affiliated store is collected in the product inventory management database.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the electronic commerce service site includes a catalog information database in which various manufacturer's merchandise information is registered in advance, and stores and stores an electronic catalog creation program. When there is a request for downloading, an electronic catalog creation program is downloaded. After downloading the electronic catalog creation program at the affiliated dealer site, after fetching desired information from the catalog information database, a product electronic catalog can be created by incorporating the selling price and stock information at the dealer side. Like that.

A self-employed person who has no organizational power to create a catalog on his own can easily create an electronic catalog. After fetching desired electronic catalog information from an e-commerce service site, price information and stock information are input to create an e-catalog that can be used for e-commerce.
This series of steps is performed using an electronic catalog creation program downloaded from an electronic commerce service site.

In the recording medium according to the present invention, a step of taking in desired product catalog information via a communication network from a catalog information database arranged on a communication network and registering product information of various manufacturers, and A step of allowing at least the sales price and the stock information to be input to the product catalog information from the communication terminal and incorporating the same; and a step of associating the input sales price and the stock information with the obtained product catalog information to obtain an electronic form in a predetermined format. An electronic catalog creation program including at least a step of creating a catalog is recorded as computer-readable information.

In the recording medium according to the present invention, an electronic catalog creation program further comprising a communication program for accessing a catalog information database is recorded as computer-readable information.

[0020]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a system diagram showing an example of the configuration of the electronic commerce support system.

The system S comprises an electronic commerce service site 1 having a product inventory management database 1a and a catalog information database 1b, and a plurality of affiliated store sites 2
And a user's communication terminal 3, each of which is configured to be connectable via a communication network L.

Here, the affiliated stores include companies, stores, etc. that sell various products and services. In the following, dealers handling electronic components are exemplified as partner dealers, but are not limited to these, and for example, electric appliances,
It may be a company or the like that performs a business of selling goods such as books and office supplies, or a service providing business such as construction contracting and real estate brokerage.

The merchandise inventory management database 1a provided in the electronic commerce service site 1 stores and stores the store attributes and merchandise information of affiliated stores. The store attribute includes a store name, a telephone number, an address, and the like, and is stored at the stage when the store contracts with the service site 1. The product information includes the latest product that the store can handle. At least the stock information and the selling price.

Further, in the catalog information database 1b, a catalog provided by a maker or the like which is a product manufacturer is digitized and registered. Specifically, the information includes a photograph, a specification, and a feature of the product. The catalog information database 1b may be updated at the same time as the electronic catalog information of the maker or the like is updated by mirroring so that the latest product information is always maintained.

In such a system S, the electronic commerce service site 1 searches the merchandise inventory management database 1a based on the desired purchase condition input and transmitted by the user via the communication terminal 3, and matches the desired condition. A matching partner store can be searched, and the result can be provided to the communication terminal 3 of the user.

In order to realize this search function, the electronic commerce service site 1 has a commodity inventory management database 1a.
Has a function of updating at regular intervals. That is, a search patrol robot function for patrol the shop site 2 to collect information so that the user can request a search at any time is provided, and the latest information collected by the patrol robot is reflected in the product inventory management database 1a. Let me.

Further, the e-commerce service site 1
A page creation tool (electronic catalog creation program) is provided so that a dealer can easily add an electronic catalog page to a commercial transaction page established by the dealer.

The three functions of the electronic commerce service site 1 will be described with reference to FIG. 2 (touring robot function), FIG. 3 (search function), and FIG. Will be described.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the operation of the traveling robot function for traveling around the affiliated store site 2 and collecting information in the electronic commerce service site 1.

The e-commerce service site 1 circulates a plurality of affiliated store sites 2 and 2 at a predetermined cycle, and obtains inventory information or electronic inventory information described in an electronic catalog page in a commercial page in each of the store sites 2 and 2. Collected product information such as selling price is collected, and the collected information is stored in the product inventory management database 1a (101, 102).

The electronic catalog page is in HTML (Hyper
Text Markup Language) or XML (Extensible Markup)
Screen data described in a Web page creation language such as Language) is displayed by operating Web browsing software. The service site 1 searches for a specific tag in the screen data and collects information. The tag is not actually displayed characters or images, but is control information provided in the grammar of the Web page creation language to identify them. The tag is a kind of number tag that can be defined by the page creator according to the attributes and contents of characters and the like to be actually displayed.

For example, "stock information" is defined as a tag in the stock information data, and "sale price" is defined as a tag in the sales price data. And service site 1
Finds these specific tags and collects necessary inventory information and sales prices.

As described above, the electronic catalog page of the affiliated store site 2 only needs to be created based on rules common to all affiliated store sites 2. Therefore, it is not necessary to use a common screen layout or screen format.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the search function performed by the user based on a request from the communication terminal 2.

When a user accesses the e-commerce service site 1 from the communication terminal 3 and inputs and transmits search conditions such as a desired purchase condition from a page or the like provided for a consumer, the service site 1 The product inventory management database 1a is searched based on the condition. If the corresponding information is found, the result is returned to the communication terminal 3 and displayed on the screen. The user refers to this information or connects to the store site 2 to start an actual transaction (above, 201 to 206).

If a search request is made to the service site 1 by inputting even search conditions, the service site 1 selects an affiliated store that matches the condition. Therefore, the user needs to browse the electronic catalog pages of the plurality of store sites 1 one by one. You do n’t need to open up and judge whether it meets your requirements.
The purchaser can be determined in a very short time.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the electronic catalog creation program provided by the service site 1 to the affiliated store.

When the electronic commerce service site 1 is accessed from the store site 2 and a download of the program is requested from a page or the like provided for the store, the service site 1 distributes the program. Dealer site 2
Now, let's run this program,
An electronic catalog page is created while extracting necessary catalogs from the catalog information database 1b provided in the database and inputting sales price and stock information (above, 301 to 307).

As described above, when an electronic catalog page is created based on the program provided by the service site 1, the tag determined by the service site 1 is always used, so that information leakage by the traveling robot does not occur. For example, it is possible to avoid such a mistake that the tag "stock information" is mistakenly referred to as "the number of stocks" in the electronic catalog page of the store made by the store and the stock information data cannot be collected at the time of patrol.

Also, by using this program, a self-employed person who has no organizational ability or technical ability to create an electronic catalog on his own can easily create a Web page screen for the electronic catalog. That is, for the retailer,
This program is useful as a Web page generator.

Next, referring to a specific example of a Web page screen provided by the electronic commerce service site 1, details of a store search performed by the user and an electronic catalog page performed by the store will be described.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a hierarchical structure of the electronic commerce support page 10 established by the service site 1. This e-commerce support page 10 is a consumer page 1 that allows a user to search for a store by inputting search conditions.
1 and a page 12 for a store for creating an electronic catalog, from which a program 13 for creating an electronic catalog can be downloaded. The electronic commerce support page 10 is not limited to such a hierarchical structure or the following screen configuration, but may be any as long as the user can at least search and create an electronic catalog at the store site 2.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the screen configuration of the consumer page 11.

The consumer page 11 has a product selection screen 11a for selecting a product type and a search screen 11b for inputting search conditions.
When the user inputs a product type and search conditions from this screen 11 displayed by clicking, and clicks a search button 11c, the input contents are notified to the service site 1. Here, the search condition is such that, for example, a price upper limit value, a desired number of purchases, and a product type can be selectively input.

When the e-commerce service site 1 receives the search condition, as described in the description of FIG. 3, the store information that matches the search condition is extracted from the commodity inventory management database 1a, and the obtained search result is obtained. The data is distributed to the communication terminal 3 of the user. FIG. 7 shows an example of a distributed search result screen.

The consumer page 11 contains, as a search result, a catalog 11d of products that match the conditions desired by the user.
Then, information 11e of the dealer handling the product is displayed. The product catalog 11d displays photos, specifications, features, and the like of the product, and the store information 11e displays a list of store names, contact information, stock quantities, sales prices, and the like. The display of the store name or the like may be clicked to link to the store site 2.

Since the information of the dealers narrowed down by the search condition is displayed in a list, the user can finally determine the purchase destination by comparing the selling prices and the like of the plurality of dealers. As in a general search engine, the user can search for an optimal store by changing search conditions in various ways or performing a refined search.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a screen configuration of the page 12 for a store.

The store page 12 has an electronic catalog creation program / download button 12a and a catalog list screen 12b, and a store user operates the page 12 to create an electronic catalog page.

First, a download button 12a is clicked to download an electronic catalog creation program, and then the electronic catalog creation program is operated.
To open. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 9, both the store page 12 and the electronic catalog creation page 13 are opened in a multi-window form.

Then, the merchandise to be handled at the store is selected from the catalog list and dragged and dropped to the electronic catalog creation page 13 side, and the corresponding catalog information is obtained from the catalog information database 1b of the service site 1. Is taken out, and the catalog information is distributed to the store site 2 side. Next, create inventory information button 1
By clicking on 3a, it becomes possible to input stock information and sales price corresponding to the distributed catalog.

As described above, catalogs are sequentially created, and an electronic catalog page of the store is created. FIG. 10 shows a screen example of the created electronic catalog page 20. This page 20 includes a catalog portion such as a photograph and a specification, and a stock information portion such as a stock quantity and a selling price, and is referred to by many consumers.

Although the contents of the catalog information database 1b are fetched here while communicating with the service site 1, compact catalog information may be combined with the electronic catalog creation program.
In this way, an electronic catalog can be created even in an offline state where the electronic catalog is not connected to the communication network L. Of course, only the inventory information creation function of the electronic catalog creation program may be operated offline.

Further, since the stock information on the electronic catalog page 20 changes daily, the electronic catalog creation program is linked from the existing inventory management system running on the store site 2 to the inventory management system. May be periodically reflected on the electronic catalog page.

[0056]

As can be understood from the above description, according to the electronic commerce support method or the support system according to claim 1 or 2, the electronic commerce service site changes the partner store site every predetermined time. Since the latest merchandise information handled by the dealer is collected and registered and updated in the database, the user can always obtain the latest merchandise information that can be sold by the affiliated dealer. As a result, the user can quickly determine the purchaser of the product and start a commercial transaction.

Further, if the information of the dealers narrowed down by the search condition is displayed in a list, the user can finally determine the purchaser while comparing the selling prices and the like of the multiple dealers. . As in a general search engine, the user can search for an optimal store by changing search conditions in various ways or performing a refined search.

According to the electronic commerce support system according to the third aspect, since the electronic commerce service site provides the electronic catalog creation program to the affiliated store site, the store can easily produce the electronic catalog page. be able to. If this program is used, the tag determined by the service site will be used without fail, so that it is possible to avoid information leakage of the traveling robot.

That is, in the self-made Web page, the heading of the tag to be used as the affiliated store may be specified by mistake. High information collection becomes possible.

Further, if this program is used, a self-employed person who has no organizational ability or technical ability to create an electronic catalog on his own can easily create a Web page for the electronic catalog. In other words, it is useful as a Web page generator, and has a great merit for dealers.

Since the electronic catalog creation program is recorded on the recording medium according to the fourth and fifth aspects, an electronic catalog can be created at any time by installing the program in a terminal using this medium. According to the program of the fourth aspect, it is possible to create an electronic catalog without connecting to a communication network, and even a terminal having no communication function can create a catalog. Conversely, since the communication software is incorporated in the program according to the fifth aspect, the catalog can be extracted from the catalog information database while communicating with the service site.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a system diagram showing an example of a configuration of an electronic commerce support system of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a basic operation of a traveling robot function in an electronic commerce service site.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a basic operation of a search function.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of an electronic catalog creation program.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a hierarchical structure of an e-commerce support page established by an e-commerce service site.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a screen (for search condition input) configuration of a page for consumers.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen (for displaying search results) of a page for consumers.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a screen configuration of a page for a store.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of creating an electronic catalog using an electronic catalog creation program.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of an electronic catalog page created by an electronic catalog creation program.

[Explanation of symbols]

 S electronic commerce support system 1 electronic commerce service site 1a product inventory management database 1b catalog information database 2 dealer site 3 communication terminal L communication network

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Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. An electronic commerce support system for distributing product information including at least sales price and stock information to a user from an electronic commerce service site provided on a communication network, wherein the electronic commerce service site comprises: A process of collecting, storing and updating product information at regular intervals from a plurality of dealer sites provided on the communication network, and retrieving the product requested by the user via the communication terminal. Based on the conditions, search for a dealer site where the product can be sold from the database and distribute the search result information to the user's communication terminal to execute e-commerce for the user. Method. 2. An electronic commerce service site and a plurality of affiliated store sites, each of which stores and stores handled product information including at least sales price and stock information, via a communication network. The electronic commerce service site collects product information stored and stored at a plurality of contracted affiliated store sites at regular intervals, and stores the product information at the store. A product inventory management database that is automatically updated every time, and a user who accesses via a communication terminal inputs search conditions for products, and a partner store site that can sell products that meet the input conditions A function of searching the commodity inventory management database and distributing search result information including access information to a store site to a user's communication terminal E-commerce support system comprising a. 3. The electronic commerce service site according to claim 2, wherein the electronic commerce service site includes a catalog information database in which various manufacturer's merchandise information is registered in advance, and stores and stores an electronic catalog creation program. When there is a request to download the catalog creation program, the user is required to download the electronic catalog creation program. At the affiliated dealer site, after downloading the electronic catalog creation program, the user retrieves the desired information from the catalog information database and sells it. An e-commerce support system that can create a product electronic catalog by incorporating sales prices and stock information at stores. 4. A catalog information database, which is arranged on a communication network and registers merchandise information of various manufacturers,
Fetching desired product catalog information via a communication network; inputting sales price and stock information at least from a communication terminal to the fetched product catalog information; incorporating the fetched product catalog information; A step of creating an electronic catalog in a predetermined format by associating the input sales price with the stock information and recording the electronic catalog creation program as computer-readable information. 5. A recording medium according to claim 4, wherein the electronic catalog creation program further includes a communication program for accessing a catalog information database, the computer-readable recording medium recording the electronic catalog creation program as computer-readable information.