WO2006062263A1

WO2006062263A1 - Server, system and method for online delivery managing

Info

Publication number: WO2006062263A1
Application number: PCT/KR2004/003211
Authority: WO
Inventors: Deok-Woo Kim
Original assignee: NEWRADIGM CO Ltd
Current assignee: NEWRADIGM CO Ltd
Priority date: 2004-12-08
Filing date: 2004-12-08
Publication date: 2006-06-15
Anticipated expiration: 2007-06-08

Abstract

Provided are a server, a system, and a method for managing delivery of merchandise on line. The method for managing delivery of merchandise on line includes steps of: identifying delivery destination information, retrieving a location of a warehouse, transmitting merchandise information, inputting purchase order information, and transmitting the purchase order information. The step of identifying delivery destination information is to identifying the information on delivery destination of the merchandise through the use of the information transmitted from the user terminal over the communication network. The step of retrieving a location of the warehouse is to retrieve the location of warehouse located in the neighborhood of the delivery destination. The step of transmitting merchandise information is to transmit information on merchandise in the retrieved warehouse to the user terminal. The step of inputting purchase order information is to receive the purchase order information from the user terminal. The step of transmitting the purchase order information is to transmit the purchase order information to a terminal of the warehouse terminal which is accessed through the communication network.

Description

[DESCRIPTION] [Invention Title]

SERVER, SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR ONLINE DELIVERY MANAGING [Technical Field] The present invention relates to a use of a telecommunication network, and more particularly to a server, a system, and a method for managing delivery of merchandise through a telecommunication network. [Background Art]

The recent expansion in use of the Internet has given birth to a variety of new business and expedited the successful growth of Internet start-ups. The advent of an on-line shopping mall using the Internet is one of these new developments in the industry. The existence of the on-line shopping mall provides an opportunity for a customer to purchase merchandise through the Internet without having to going to an off-line shopping mall, thereby making it possible for the on-line shopping mall to rapidly expand in recent years.

However, unlike a conventional off-line shopping mall, the on-line shopping mall has a disadvantage of requiring the customer to wait for the merchandise to be delivered to the customer for more than a day.

When a purchase order is placed with the on-line shopping mall for merchandise, it is practically possible to promptly deliver the merchandise if the merchandise is in stock. However, it additionally takes a considerable amount of time to secure and deliver the merchandise if it is not in stock.

Recently, a type of delivery called a post delivery system has been provided as a practical application in the on-line shopping mall. The post delivery system is employed by Morning 365 (http://www.morning365.com), an on-line book shopping mall. The post delivery system uses the immovable material-flow post, where an on-line shopping mall transports the merchandise to and a customer picks up the merchandise at the customer's convenient time from.

In most cases, the post delivery system has an advantage of freeing the customer from waiting for the merchandise at a customer's house or workplace. But, there is no considerable difference between the post delivery system and the other post delivery systems of its kind in the time taken from the time that the customer places an order to the time that the merchandise is delivered to the delivery post before final delivery of the merchandise to the customer. In a similar way, BOOKSETON (http://www.booksetong.com), a conventional on-line book shopping mall uses an off-line book as the delivery post, and from where the merchandise is delivered to the customer. The post delivery system employed by BOOKSETON is almost identical to the other post delivery systems of its kind in using the conventional off-line bookstore as the delivery post, thereby making no difference between them in the time from customer order to delivery to the customer. [Disclosure] [Technical Problem]

The present invention is contrived to solve problems with the conventional on-line post delivery system. An object of the present invention is to provide a merchandise delivery managing server, system and method capable of allowing a purchaser to speedily receive a merchandise using a telecommunication network. [Technical Solution]

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a merchandise delivery managing method for managing delivery of merchandise on line, comprising steps of: inputting information retrieving a location of a warehouse; and transmitting merchandise information.

In the above aspect, the step of inputting information is to allow a user terminal to input information on checked-for-purchase merchandise and delivery destination information through a telecommunication network. In addition, the step of retrieving the location of the warehouse is to retrieve the warehouse corresponding to the information on the checked-for-purchase merchandise and the delivery destination information which are input from the user terminal. In addition, the step of transmitting merchandise information is to transmit information on merchandise stocked in the retrieved warehouse corresponding to the information on the checked-for-purchase merchandise to the user terminal. In addition, the method for managing delivery of merchandise on line further includes a step of inputting purchase order information and a step of transmitting the purchase order information. In addition, the step of inputting the purchase order information is to allow the user terminal to input the purchase order information. In addition, the step of transmitting the purchase order information is to transmit the purchase order information to a terminal of the warehouse connected through the communication network.

In addition, the communication network may be the Internet. In this case, the delivery destination information may be identified using cookie information transmitted from the user terminal.

In addition, the delivery destination information may be identified by using user address information or destination information which is input from the user terminal.

In addition, the warehouse may include a movable warehouse. The merchandise information may include one or more of a quantity of in-stock merchandise and the estimated delivery time. In addition, the merchandise delivery managing server may include a communicating unit and a controlling unit.

In addition, the communicating unit may communicate with the user terminal and the terminal of the warehouse through the communication network. In addition, the controlling unit may retrieve the location of the warehouse corresponding to the information on the checked-for-purchase merchandise and the delivery destination information which are input from the user terminal through the communicating unit and transmit the information of the merchandise stocked in the searched warehouse to the user terminal. In addition, the controlling unit may receive the purchase order information from the user terminal and transmit the purchase order information to the terminal of the warehouse.

In addition, the merchandise delivery managing server may further include a storing unit storing the location of the warehouse. In addition, the storing unit may store the information on the in-stock merchandise according to the warehouse.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a merchandise delivery managing merchandise delivery managing system, comprising: a plurality of terminals installed in a warehouse; and an apparatus for managing delivery of merchandise.

In the above aspect, the terminal of the warehouse may be connected to the apparatus for managing delivery of merchandise through the communication network. In addition, the apparatus for managing delivery of merchandise may retrieve the location of the warehouse corresponding to the information on the checked-for-purchase merchandise and the delivery destination information which are transmitted from the user terminal connected through the communication network and transmits to the user terminal the information on the merchandise stocked in the retrieved warehouse, corresponding to the information on the checked-for-purchase merchandise. In addition, the apparatus for managing delivery of merchandise includes an apparatus for receiving the purchase order information from the user terminal and transmitting the purchase order information to the warehouse. [Advantageous Effects]

According to the above described configuration, a purchaser can receive the merchandise from a warehouse corresponding to the closest location to a purchaser's resident location or a designated location, so that the purchaser can receive the merchandise speedily. [Description of Drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram showing a merchandise delivery managing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram showing a merchandise delivery managing server according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram showing a merchandise delivery managing method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an example showing a list of in-stock merchandise which are identified by the merchandise delivery managing server as shown in FIG. 1

FIG. 5 is an example showing merchandise information displayed on a user terminal in an area A.

FIG. 6 is an example showing merchandise information displayed on a user terminal in an area B. [ Mode for Invention ]

Now, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram showing a merchandise delivery managing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 1, a merchandise delivery managing server 100 is connected to a user terminal 200 and a plurality of warehouse terminals 300.

The user terminal 200 is connected to a shopping mall Web site provided by the merchandise delivery managing server 100 through the Internet and inputting a description of merchandise to be purchased in accordance with the specified procedure required by the Web site. In case of an on-line shopping mall which is open only to its members, the merchandise delivery managing server 100 may request for a user authentication. The user terminal inputs information necessary for the user authentication, which is required by the merchandise delivery managing server 100. At such anon-line shopping mall, the merchandise can be purchased after the authentication process is completed.

The warehouse terminal 300 communicates with the merchandise delivery managing server 100. The warehouse terminal 300 stores information on merchandises stocked in each of warehouses 310 to 330 which are widely distributed over several areas and communicates with the merchandise delivery managing server 100 through the Internet.

The merchandise delivery managing server 100 retrieves the location of the warehouse corresponding to the information on the checked-for-purchase merchandise and the delivery destination information which are input from the user terminal 200. The warehouse is pre-set to correspond to the closest warehouse to delivery destination included in the delivery destination information. The merchandise delivery managing server 100 is set to retrieve a plural of closer warehouses to the delivery destination, as well as the closest warehouse to the delivery destination.

The delivery destination information may be input using cookie information transmitted from the user terminal, user information input during the authentication process, or positional information input directly by the user.

In case of using the cookie information, a location of the user terminal 200 which the user currently uses may be determined as the delivery destination after the position of the user terminal 200 is automatically identified. In case of using the user information input during the authentication process, an address registered with the merchandise delivery managing server 100 may be determined as the delivery destination. In case of using the positional information input directly from the user terminal, a place designated by the user may be determined as the delivery destination.

The warehouse may be an immovable warehouse, or a movable warehouse. The immovable warehouse may be an off-line shopping mall, such as a conventional bookstore.

The merchandise delivery managing server 100 checks if the retrieved warehouse stocks merchandise corresponding to the checked-for-purchase merchandise to generate information on in-stock merchandise and transmit the information on the in-stock merchandise to the user terminal. The information on the in-stock merchandise includes a quantity of the in-stock merchandise and/or the estimated delivery time. In this case, the user terminal 200 can independently transmit the information on the in-stock merchandise, with the out-of-stock merchandise and the in-stock merchandise being separately displayed. When the user terminal inputs purchasing information after confirming the information on the in-stock merchandise, the merchandise delivery managing server 100 performs a process of settling a bill and transmits the purchasing information to the warehouse terminal to deliver merchandise to the delivery destination.

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram showing a merchandise delivery managing server according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 2, the merchandise delivery managing server 100 includes a communicating unit 110, a controlling unit 120, and a storing unit 130.

The communicating 110 communicates with the user terminals and the warehouse terminals through the communication network. The controlling unit 120 retrieves the location of the warehouse corresponding to the information on the checked-for-purchase merchandise and the delivery destination information which are input from the user terminal through the communicating unit and transmits to the user terminal the information on merchandise stocked in the retrieved warehouse, corresponding to the information on the checked-for-purchase merchandise. The controlling unit 120 receives the purchasing information from the user terminal and transmits the purchasing information to the warehouse terminal.

The merchandise delivery managing server 100 may further include the storing unit 130 storing the location information on the warehouse. The storing unit 130 may store the information on in-stock merchandise according to the warehouse.

This is because the information on the in-stock merchandise may be periodically obtained from the warehouse terminal and stored in the merchandise delivery managing server. Also, the information on the in-stock merchandise, when necessary, may be obtained in real time from the warehouse terminal on request. FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram showing a merchandise delivery managing method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Firstly, Information on checked-for-purchase merchandise and delivery destination information is input from a user terminal connected through the communication network (S310).

As described above, the communication network may be the Internet. In this case, the delivery destination information may be input using cookie information transmitted from a user terminal. In addition, the delivery destination information may be input using user information or positional information input from the user terminal.

A location of a warehouse corresponding to the identified delivery destination information is retrieved, after the delivery destination included in the delivery destination information is identified (S320). The warehouse to be retrieved is pre-set to correspond to the warehouse closer to the delivery destination.

The warehouse may be retrieved from pre-stored data or may be inquired in real time. The warehouse may be an immovable warehouse such as an off-line shopping mall or a movable warehouse such as a movable delivery truck.

Information on merchandise stocked in the retrieved warehouse, corresponding to information on checked-for-purchase merchandise, is identified after the closest warehouse is retrieved (S330). The information on the in-stock merchandise may include a quantity of the in-stock merchandise and/or the estimated delivery time to the delivery destination. The information on the in-stock merchandise also may be retrieved form pre-stored data and inquired in real time.

The information on the in-stock merchandise is identified and the identified information on the in-stock merchandise is transmitted to the user terminal (S340). Purchasing information on merchandise to be purchased is input from the user terminal (S350).

Finally, the purchasing information is transmitted to a warehouse terminal of the above described warehouse connected through the communication network for delivery of the merchandise (S360).

The basic ideas of the present inventions to build a local warehouse segmented according to a geographical area and gather information on the access point which a customer's terminal accesses through the communication network and information on the estimated delivery destination. Thus, the local warehouse located closer to the estimated delivery destination may inform a customer of the status of the in-stock merchandise and the out-of-stock merchandise, so that it is possible to conveniently and speedily deliver the merchandise.

At this point, the local warehouse may deliver the merchandise to the customer according to the customer's purchase order information, or secure and keep the merchandise until the customer pick up it.

The on-line shopping mall according to the present invention provides information customized based on the customer's location or the designated delivery destination to the customer, thereby making it possible for the customer to speedily deliver the merchandise. The movable delivery vehicle may replace the local warehouse in order to drastically shorten the delivery time.

A space for stocking kind of merchandise may be secured within the movable delivery vehicle to deliver the merchandise to the customer as soon as it receives the purchase order information. Thus, it is possible to drastically shorten the delivery time.

In case of the merchandise greatly subject to changes in fashion, such as a book, about 500 kinds of books are enough to meet more than 50% of customer purchase orders. So, a stock of more or less 500 kinds of books on sale can meet more than 50% of the customer purchase orders. That means that it is possible to drastically shorten the delivery time for at least 50% of the customers. The conventional book shopping mall's average order-to-deliver time is more than 24 hours, which is drastically reduces by the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4, the merchandise delivery managing method according to the present invention is applied to a book shopping mall. FIG. 4 is an example showing a list of in-stock merchandise which are identified by the merchandise delivery managing server as shown in FIG. 1.

A customer "C" who resides in an area "A" and a customer "D" who resides in an area "B" access a Web site for managing delivery of merchandise. In addition to a main warehouse, warehouses are located in the areas "A" and "B".

An access point of the customer "C" is identified as the area "A", judging from information transmitted from the computer of the customer "C". Accordingly, merchandise information provided to the customer "C" is configured based on information on the warehouse located in the area "A".

In a case where a book " 1 " and a book "2" are in stock, a book "3" is in stock in the main warehouse, and a book "4" is out of stock, a merchandise delivery managing server is shown in FIG. 4.

FIG. 5 is an example showing merchandise information displayed on a user terminal in an area "A".

When the customer "C" in the area "A" selects and places an order for the book " 1 " according to the merchandise information displayed on the user terminal, the customer's merchandise can be more speedily delivered than at a conventional shopping mall. However, when selecting the book "3", the customer must further wait for more than 24 hours as before.

FIG. 6 is an example showing merchandise information displayed on a user terminal in an area "B".

Information generated based on the information on the inventory in the warehouse located in the area "B" is provided to the customer "D" as shown in FIG. 6. Accordingly, the customer receives the book "3" earlier than the customer "C", using the information on delivery of merchandise.

The merchandise delivery managing method according to the present invention is a major step toward providing the merchandise information optimized for the customer which differentiates it from the conventional shopping malls.

When a purchase order is placed for merchandise which is out of stock at the local warehouse, it is fulfilled in a way similar to the one used previously in fulfilling the purchase order for the out-of-stock merchandise. The local warehouse does not have to be immoveable. A movable vehicle may be used as the local warehouse. In this case, it is possible for the movable local warehouse to receive merchandise from the main warehouse and to deliver the merchandise to the customer location.

It is also possible for the customer to pick up the customer's merchandise at the local warehouse without having to waiting for the merchandise to be delivered to the customer. An existing off-line bookstore may be used as the local warehouse.

In the above described embodiments, the access point of the customer may be identified using a location which is arbitrarily designated by the customer, instead of using the cookie information transmitted from the customer's computer. For example, the delivery destination may be selected when the customer places a purchase order in the area "E" where the customer accesses the communication network, but the customer desires to receive the merchandise in the area "F."

In case of selecting the delivery destination, the resulting information may be provided to a customer after checking the inventory of the main warehouse and the inventory of the local warehouse located around the delivery destination. [Industrial Applicability]

In the conventional merchandise delivery managing system, uniform information on delivery time is provided to a customer, which is calculated based on the inventory of the main warehouse. According to the present invention, the inventory of the main warehouse and the inventory of the inventory of the local warehouses are checked in association with each other. The prompt and concurrent checking of the inventory of the main warehouse and the inventory of the local warehouses makes it possible to provide the delivery time information to the customer necessary, so that the merchandise can be more speedily delivered to a customer's delivery destination. While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the following claims.

Claims

[CLAIMS] [Claim 1 ]

A merchandise delivery managing method for managing delivery of merchandise on line, comprising steps of: allowing a user terminal to receive information on checked-for-purchase merchandise and information on delivery destination through the communication network; retrieving a location of a warehouse corresponding to the information on the checked-for-purchase merchandise and information on the delivery destination; and transmitting information on in-stock merchandise in the retrieved warehouse corresponding to the information on the checked-for-purchase merchandise to the user terminal.

[Claim 2] The merchandise delivery managing method according to claim 1, further comprising steps of: allowing the user terminal to receive purchase order information; and transmitting the purchase order information to a terminal of the warehouse which is accessed through the communication network.

[Claim 3]

The merchandise delivery managing method according to claim 2, wherein the communication network is the Internet.

[Claim 4]

The merchandise delivery managing method according to claim 3, wherein the information on the delivery destination is input using cookie information transmitted from the user terminal.

[Claim 5]

The merchandise delivery managing method according to claim 2, wherein the information on the delivery destination is input using user information.

[Claim 6] The merchandise delivery managing method according to claim 2, wherein the information on the delivery destination is input using positional information input directly by a user. [Claim 7]

The merchandise delivery managing method according to claim 2, wherein the warehouse includes a movable warehouse. [Claim 8]

The merchandise delivery managing method according to claim 2, wherein the information on the in-stock-merchandise includes one or more among a quantity of the in-stock-merchandise and estimated delivery time. [Claim 9]

A merchandise delivery managing server for managing delivery of merchandise on line, comprising: a communication unit communicating with a user terminal and a warehouse terminal over the telecommunication network; and a controlling unit retrieving a location of a warehouse corresponding to information on checked-for-purchase merchandise and information on delivery destination which are input from the user terminal, and transmitting information on in-stock merchandise in a warehouse corresponding to the information on the checked-for-purchase merchandise to the user terminal. [Claim 10]

The merchandise delivery managing server according to claim 9, wherein the controlling unit receives purchase order information from the user terminal and transmits the purchase order information to the warehouse terminal. [Claim 11 ]

The merchandise delivery managing server according to claim 10, further comprising a storing unit storing positional information on the warehouse.

[Claim 12]

The merchandise delivery managing server according to claim 11, wherein the storing unit stores information on merchandise according to the warehouse.

[Claim 13] The merchandise delivery managing server according to claim 10, wherein the communication network is the internet network.

[Claim 14]

The merchandise delivery managing server according to claim 13, wherein the delivery destination information is input using cookie information transmitted from the user terminal.

[Claim 15]

The merchandise delivery managing server according to claim 10, wherein delivery destination information on the merchandise is input using user information.

[Claim 16]

The merchandise delivery managing server according to claim 10, wherein the delivery destination information on the merchandise is input using positional information input directly from a user.

[Claim 17] The merchandise delivery managing server according to claim 10, wherein the warehouse includes a movable warehouse. [Claim 18]

The merchandise delivery managing merchandise delivery managing server according to claim 10, wherein the information on the in-stock-merchandise includes one or more among a quantity of the in-stock-merchandise and estimated delivery time. [Claim 19]

A merchandise delivery managing system for managing delivery of merchandise on line, comprising: a plurality of warehouse terminals accessing a telecommunication network; and a merchandise delivery managing server retrieving a location of a warehouse corresponding to information on checked-for-purchase merchandise and information on delivery destination input from a user terminal accessing the telecommunication network, transmitting information of in-stock merchandise in the retrieved warehouse to the user terminal, receiving purchase order information from the user terminal, and transmitting the purchase order information to the warehouse terminal.