Classifications

• • G—PHYSICS
  • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
  • G06Q—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • G06Q30/00—Commerce
  • G06Q30/06—Buying, selling or leasing transactions
  • G06Q30/0601—Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
  • G06Q—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • G06Q30/00—Commerce
  • G06Q30/06—Buying, selling or leasing transactions

Definitions

• the present invention relates generally to an internet accessible computer system to conduct business to business operations, in particular, to an internet accessible computer system to conduct business to business operations among a plurality of buyer companies and a plurality of seller companies and securitizing the operating profits of the plurality of seller companies.
• B2B business-to-business
• SMEs small and medium enterprises
• Fig. 1 where a traditional way 100 of a business operation between a seller or supply company A (12) and a buyer company B (14) before the emergency of the B2B markets is illustrated.
• the seller or supply company A (12) sells and delivers goods valued at, e.g. $1M, to the buyer company B (14) perhaps after a long negotiation between the two parties.
• the buyer company B (14) makes a payment for the value of the goods, here $1M, to the seller or supply company A (12) in cash or cash equivalents such as a check.
• FIG. 2 illustrates a business transaction 200 between a seller or supply company A (22) and a buyer company B (24) with the help of current B2B markets.
• Seller or supply company A (22) releases information about its products at step 27 to an e-commerce platform 26, such as Google®, Yahoo®, or eBay®, which can be found and got by anyone who logons to the platform 26 such as buyer company B (24) at step 29.
• Seller or company A (22) and buyer company B (24) can negotiate and reach an agreement electronically through the platform 26. Then goods valued at, e.g. $1M, is delivered to the buyer company B (24) at step 21.
• the buyer company B (24) then makes a payment for the value of the goods, here $1M, to the seller or supply company A (22) in cash or cash equivalents such as a check or a wire transfer.
• buyer company B (24) or seller company A (22) or both would pay a commission to the platform 26 at step 25.
• Both buyer company B (24) and seller company A (22) may also pay a membership or subscription fee to the platform 26 as well.
• platform 26 is more or less functioning as an open information exchange platform. While it is true that users including SMEs have benefited tremendously from the information flow and efficiency offered by such "open” e- platforms, it may cause the unnecessary disclosure of trading information including the product price, the buyer's information, the trading scale, to unwanted third parties. For instance, the disclosure of the price information for products might cause unwanted competition between the platform members, which will counteract the positive effect brought by the B2B platform. More specifically, for instance, most B2B e-commerce platforms take an "open platform” approach, which allows SMEs (or any user) to register and compete for businesses when they pay for the standard membership or transaction fees. The openness of the Internet allows SMEs to market their products and attract new customers. In general it works as followed:
• Step 1 suppliers register on an e-commerce platform and post the product information, such as product name, specification and price thereon;
• Step 2 buyers log on to the e-commerce platform and search for wanted products;
• Step 3 buyers find desired products and make an offer;
• Step 4 suppliers who offer the lowest prices often win the deal.
• the levels of credit support and liquidity required in a securitization may be a function of the requirements set by the rating agencies based on their analysis of the quality of the underlying assets and the structure of the securities in light of the probable rates of default and recovery on the underlying assets. Because traditional general obligation debt is backed by the credit of the entire operating company, and the operating company is subject to a wide range of risks in the market place, an operating company seeking to issue highly-rated general obligations may be required to maintain relatively higher levels of capital and liquidity than in a securitization transaction in which the risk can be segregated to the performance of particular assets.
• Securitization transactions include "cash flow” or "market value” transactions.
• a “cash flow” securitization the securities issued in the transaction are paid from roughly matching payments expected to be received on the underlying assets.
• market value the ability to repay the securities depends on the sufficiency of, and ability to realize upon, the value of the underlying assets. For example, in a typical "market value” transaction, the initial offering raises enough cash to pay coupon payments, and the final terminating payment is financed by selling the assets to third parties.
• these types of securitization transactions based on the value of the underlying assets.
• the present invention in one aspect, relates to a method for using an internet accessible computer system to conduct business to business operations among a plurality of buyer companies and a plurality of seller companies.
• the method includes the steps of registering each of the plurality of seller companies with an internet accessible computer system, wherein each of the plurality of seller companies sells goods to a corresponding one of the plurality of buyer companies, and the corresponding one buyer company makes payment for the goods sold by that seller company, and registering each of the plurality of buyer companies with the internet accessible computer system, wherein the registration of each of the plurality of buyer companies depends on the registration of its corresponding seller company.
• the method further includes the step of issuing by a business entity in control of the internet accessible computer system at the beginning of a fiscal year, time To, a number N cs of convertible preference shares to the plurality of seller companies, wherein the N cs convertible shares are convertible to N rs ordinary shares of the business entity over a period of time T counting from time T 0 according to the following formula:
• N cs (PAE x L)/SPo, wherein the ordinary shares of the business entity are publicly traded in a capital market, the period of time T is divided into a predetermined number L of fiscal years, PAE is the projected annual after-tax earning that the plurality of seller companies would make from the sales of the goods to the plurality of buyer companies over the period of time T, and SPo is the stock price per share for the ordinary shares of the business entity averaged over a predetermined time period around time To.
• NVs (AE 1 , SP 1 ) C 0 [ ⁇ W ⁇ Ek/SP,], wherein Co is a predetermined constant, and NV 8 is calculated from the following relationship:
• N' rs Min (Co [ ⁇ W ⁇ E k /SPJ, ⁇ WN CS (k)x ⁇ 1+ i_ k ).
• no number N cs of convertible preference shares is issued to the plurality of seller companies at the time of the ith year if AE 1 is smaller than zero. Furthermore, no number N 1 ⁇ of convertible preference shares is converted to ordinary shares of the business entity at the ith year by the plurality of seller companies if E 1 is below a predetermined threshold.
• the rights and interests to the not converted NO 1 C 8 number of ordinary shares of the business entity at the ith year by the plurality of seller companies, which satisfies the following relationship: NO 1 C 8 ⁇ WINL Ck)XO 1+ Lk - C 0 [ ⁇ W ⁇ Ek/SPJ , are forfeited by the plurality of seller companies.
• the number NV 8 of convertible preference shares is delivered to the plurality of seller companies according to their contributions to the after-tax earnings E 1 , E 2 , . . . E 1 , respectively.
• the present invention in another aspect, relates to an internet accessible computer system to conduct business to business operations among a plurality of buyer companies and a plurality of seller companies.
• the system includes at least one buyer client system; at least one computer server coupled to a database for storing data; and a network connecting said at least one seller client system and said at least one buyer client system to said at least one computer server, wherein said at least one computer server is programmed for: registering each of the plurality of seller companies with the internet accessible computer system, wherein each of the plurality of seller companies sells goods to a corresponding one of the plurality of buyer companies, and the corresponding one buyer company makes payment for the goods sold by that seller company; registering each of the plurality of buyer companies with the internet accessible computer system, wherein the registration of each of the plurality of buyer companies depends on the registration of its corresponding seller company; when a business entity in control of the internet accessible computer system issues, at the beginning of a fiscal year, time To, a number N cs of convertible preference shares to the plurality of seller companies, wherein the N cs convertible shares are convertible to N rs ordinary shares of the business entity over a period of time T counting from time T 0
• N cs (PAE x L)/SPo, wherein the ordinary shares of the business entity are publicly traded in a capital market, the period of time T is divided into a predetermined number L of fiscal years, PAE is the projected annual after-tax earning that the plurality of seller companies would make from the sales of the goods to the plurality of buyer companies over the period of time T, and SPo is the stock price per share for the ordinary shares of the business entity averaged over a predetermined time period around time To; when cash or cash equivalents payments are received by the business entity from the plurality of buyer companies, wherein the cash or cash equivalents payment are made by the plurality of buyer companies for goods sold by the plurality of corresponding seller companies to the plurality of buyer companies, respectively, making book entries on the computer server for all the cash or cash equivalents payments received and storing corresponding records of the book entries in the database; aggregating in every fiscal year over the period of time T by the computer server all the cash or cash equivalents payments received from the plurality of buyer companies into a first amount, (Mi
• AE 1 E 1 - E 1-1 ; calculating by the computer server a function N' rs (AE 1 , SP 1 ) that satisfies the following conditions: dN'xs (AE 1 , SP 1 ) / SAE 1 > 0, and
• SNVs (AE 1 , SP 1 ) / SSP 1 ⁇ 0, wherein SP 1 is the market stock price per share for the ordinary shares of the business entity averaged over a predetermined time period around time of the ith year; calculating by the computer server, N'rs, the total number of ordinary shares of the business entity converted for the ith year for the plurality of seller companies from the following relationship:
• N'rs Min (NVs (AE 1 , SP 1 ), ⁇ tiN cs (k)x ⁇ 1+ i_ k ); and when N'rs ordinary shares of the business entity of the ith year are delivered to the plurality of seller companies, making book entries on the computer server for the delivered NV 8 ordinary shares of the business entity and storing corresponding records of the book entries in the database.
• N'rs (AE 1 , SP 1 ) is in the form of
• N' rs (AE 1 , SP 1 ) C 0 [ ⁇ W ⁇ Ek/SP,], wherein Co is a predetermined constant, and said at least one computer server is programmed for calculating NV 8 from the following relationship:
• N' rs Min (Co [ ⁇ W ⁇ E k /SPJ, ⁇ WN CS (k)x ⁇ 1+ i_ k ).
• the present invention in a further aspect, relates to a method for using an internet accessible computer system to conduct business to business operations among a plurality of buyer companies and a plurality of seller companies.
• the method includes the steps of registering each of the plurality of seller companies with an internet accessible computer system, wherein each of the plurality of seller companies sells goods to a corresponding one of the plurality of buyer companies, and the corresponding one buyer company makes payment for the goods sold by that seller company; and registering each of the plurality of buyer companies with the internet accessible computer system, wherein the registration of each of the plurality of buyer companies depends on the registration of its corresponding seller company.
• the method further includes the step of issuing by a business entity in control of the internet accessible computer system at the beginning of a first predetermined time period t ls time To, a number N cs of convertible preference shares to the plurality of seller companies, wherein the N cs convertible shares are convertible to N rs ordinary shares of the business entity over a period of time T counting from time To according to the following formula:
• PAE is the projected annual after-tax earning that the plurality of seller companies would make from the sales of the goods to the plurality of buyer companies over the period of time T
• SPo is the stock price per share for the ordinary shares of the business entity averaged over a second predetermined time period t 2 around time To.
• the method further includes the steps of calculating by the computer server the earning growth, AE 1 , of the ith first predetermined time period ti from the immediate first predetermined time period t ls the (i-l)th first predetermined time period ti, by the following formula:
• N 1 ⁇ (AE 1 , SP 1 ) that satisfies the following conditions: dN'xs (AE 1 , SP 1 ) / SAE 1 > 0, and dNU ⁇ E,, SP 1 ) / 0SP 1 ⁇ 0, wherein SP 1 is the market stock price per share for the ordinary shares of the business entity averaged over a predetermined time period around time of the ith first predetermined time period t ls and NV 8 is the total number of ordinary shares of the business entity converted at the ith first predetermined time period ti by the plurality of seller companies.
• N' rs (AE 1 , SP 1 ) is in the form of
• NVs (AE 1 , SP 1 ) C 0 [ ⁇ W ⁇ Ek/SP,], wherein Co is a predetermined constant.
• the number NV 8 of convertible preference shares that is converted and delivered to the plurality of seller companies for the ith first predetermined time period ti is determined by the following relationship:
• Ks Mm (C 0 [ ⁇ W ⁇ E k /SPJ, ⁇ WN ⁇ (k)x ⁇ 1+1 . k ).
• no number N cs of convertible preference shares is issued to the plurality of seller companies for the ith first predetermined time period ti if AE 1 is smaller than zero.
• no number N 1 ⁇ of convertible preference shares is converted to ordinary shares of the business entity for the ith first predetermined time period ti by the plurality of seller companies if E 1 is below a predetermined threshold.
• the not converted NO 1 Cs number of ordinary shares of the business entity for the ith first predetermined time period ti by the plurality of seller companies is vested in a second business entity, wherein the second business entity is an intermediary between the business entity and the plurality of seller companies.
• the relationship of the second business entity and the business entity is defined by a first agreement
• the relationship of the second business entity and the plurality of seller companies is defined by a second agreement that has terms different than that of the first agreement.
• the first predetermined time period ti is one of a year, a fiscal year, a half year, a half fiscal year, a quarter, a fiscal quarter, a month, and a fiscal month.
• the number NV 8 of convertible preference shares is delivered to the plurality of seller companies according to their contributions to the after-tax earnings Ei, E 2 , . . . E 1 , respectively.
• FIG. 1 is a block diagram of parties and cash flows in a traditional commercial transaction.
• FIG. 2 is a block diagram of parties and cash flows in a commercial transaction conducted with help from an existing e-commerce platform.
• FIG. 3 is a block diagram of parties and cash flows in a commercial transaction with help from an inventive e-commerce platform according to one embodiment of the present invention.
• FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary network environment in which an inventive e-commerce platform according to one embodiment of the present invention in communication with one or more seller client systems associated with a plurality of seller companies and one or more buyer client systems associated with a plurality of buyer companies through a net work, such as the Internet.
• FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating a procedure for registering a seller company and a buyer company, wherein the seller company sells goods to a corresponding buyer company, and the corresponding buyer company makes payment for the goods sold by that seller company, according to one embodiment of the present invention.
• FIG. 5A is a flow diagram illustrating a sub-procedure of the procedure for registering a seller company and a buyer company, wherein the seller company sells goods to a corresponding buyer company, and the corresponding buyer company makes payment for the goods sold by that seller company, as shown in FIG. 5, according to one embodiment of the present invention.
• FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating a procedure for a registered seller company to conduct business operation using an inventive e-commerce platform according to one embodiment of the present invention.
• FIG. 7 is a flow diagram illustrating a procedure for a registered buyer company to conduct business operation using an inventive e-commerce platform according to one embodiment of the present invention.
• FIG. 8 is a flow diagram illustrating a procedure for a registered seller company and a registered corresponding buyer company to conduct business operation using an inventive e-commerce platform according to one embodiment of the present invention.
• FIG. 10 illustrates a curve showing the derivative of the function of NV 8.
• FIG. 12 illustrates a curve showing the derivative of the function of NV 8
• FIG. 13 is a table illustrating various information associated with interactions among several parties according to one embodiment of the present invention.
• FIG. 14 is a table illustrating various possible choices of parameters ((X 1 ⁇ .
• FIG. 15 is a table illustrating various information associated with interactions among several parties according to one embodiment of the present invention.
• FIG. 3 first, where a block diagram of parties and cash flows in a commercial transaction with help from an inventive e-commerce platform according to one embodiment of the present invention is shown, company or companies 322 are sellers of goods, and company or companies 324 are corresponding buyers in an internet- intermediated B2B marketplace through an e-commerce platform 326.
• seller company 322 registers with the e-commerce platform 326 in a procedure 301
• buyer company 324 registers with the e-commerce platform 326 in a procedure 303. Registration procedures 301, 303 are further discussed infra.
• Seller company 322 and buyer company 324 utilize the e-commerce platform 326 to negotiate and agree upon a purchase of goods with certain value M 1 , such as $1M, which amount is chosen purely arbitrarily for exemplary purpose only, by buyer company 324 from seller company 322.
• M 1 such as $1M
• the purchases of goods by buyer company 324 and acceptance of the delivery of goods from seller company 322 create cash receivables, notes or other rights to corresponding payment in the amount of Mi, here $1M, that are owned by the seller company 322.
• Buyer company 324 makes a payment of $1M in the form of cash or cash equivalents such as check, web-check, wire transfer in procedure 313 to the e-commerce platform 326.
• a payment in the amount of M 2 is made by the e-commerce platform 326 to seller company 322 in procedure 315, and the second amount (Mi-M 2 ) of the payment Mi is retained by business entity 318 in procedure 317, which controls the e-commerce platform 326.
• R tax 0 unless it is specified otherwise.
• Business entity 318 offers its common or ordinary shares to public capital markets 325 , where the ordinary shares of business entity 318 are traded and backed by the cash flow 323. [0057] In addition to making the payment in the amount of M 2 to seller company 322 through the e-commerce platform 326, business entity 318 also issues a number of convertible preferred shares to seller company 322 at procedure 31, which can be converted into a number of ordinary shares of business entity 318 according to certain rules, terms, formulas and procedures as further discussed infra.
• a second business entity 320 can be optionally utilized as an intermediary between business entity 318 and seller company or companies 322.
• the second business entity 320 manages the issuing of convertible preferred shares ("cps") to seller company and converting a number of convertible preferred shares to a number of ordinary shares of business entity 318 to seller company with certain financial terms ("FT") in procedure 321.
• cps convertible preferred shares
• FT financial terms
• seller company 322 may have immediate access to the capital markets 325 by selling, borrowing against, taking other alike financial transactions on the number of ordinary shares of business entity 318 at procedure 324, which may not only allow seller company 322 to have access to the capital markets 325 to support its growth and other needs, but also enjoy the potential returns by the capital markets 325 through the business entity 318 as such a business and financial vehicle.
• business entity 318 with its inventive e-commerce platform
• Business entity 318 that is connected through the Internet to and accessible by the participated buyers and sellers may provide business operation and management for these SMEs at to-date unseen efficiencies, as well as acting as a connecting channel between the marketplace and the capital markets.
• Business entity 318 with its inventive e-commerce platform 326 may provide access to securitization as a financing vehicle, further enhancing the access to credit and the capital markets by these SMEs.
• the present invention in another aspect, relates to an internet accessible computer system 400 to conduct business to business operations among a plurality of buyer companies and a plurality of seller/supplier companies.
• the system 400 includes at least one buyer client system 422 associated with at least one buyer company, said at least one seller client system 424 associated with at least one seller company, at least one computer server 426 coupled to a database 428 for storing data, and a network 401 connecting at least one seller client system 424 and at least one buyer client system 422 to at least one computer server 426.
• the network 401 is the Internet or at least a part of the Internet.
• the internet accessible computer system 400 can be utilized to conduct business to business operations among a plurality of buyer companies and a plurality of seller companies.
• FIG. 5 where a flow diagram illustrating a procedure 500 for registering a seller company and/or a buyer company to the e-commerce platform or computer server 426 is shown, the seller company sells goods to a corresponding buyer company, and the corresponding buyer company makes payment for the goods sold by that seller company.
• a seller/supplier company and/or a buyer company logs on to the e-commerce platform or computer server 426 through a seller client system 424 and/or a buyer client system 422 by the network 401.
• seller/supplier company and/or buyer company fills in the registration form, where a number of questions requesting information that at least includes general business information such as products, annual sales, business partners, etc., business bank account information, and user account information for identification and communication.
• the filled up registration form is submitted by seller/supplier company and/or buyer company as applicant(s) to the computer server 426.
• authenticating and auditing is conducted on the applicant(s), being a seller/supplier company or a buyer company.
• computer server 426 checks the result of the authenticating and auditing process: if the result is negative (i.e., the applicant fails to pass the authenticating and auditing process), a notification to the effect is generated and sent to the applicant at step 515 by computer server 426; or if the result is positive (i.e., the applicant passes the authenticating and auditing process), computer server 426 at step 511 creates a confidential, unique identification number ("UID") and a corresponding user account for the applicant. [0068] After computer server 426 at step 511 creates a confidential, unique identifier ("UID") and a corresponding user account for the applicant, at step 513, a notification to the effect is generated and sent to the applicant by computer server 426.
• UID confidential, unique identification number
• the applicant receives the notification, and can start to use its UID and user account to conduct business as further described infra.
• the seller company can provide its unique, confidential business UID to its corresponding buyer company, to facilitate the registration of the corresponding buyer company or buyer companies as further described infra. If the seller company has a plurality of buyer companies, for examples, buyers A, B and C, the seller company would register three times to secure three UIDs for buyers A, B and C, respectively,
• the authenticating and auditing process may be conducted fully or at least partially by computer server 426. Referring now to both FIG. 5 and FIG. 5 A, according to one embodiment of the present invention, the authenticating and auditing process includes at step 551, it is checked whether the applicant is a buyer company.
• step 553 computer server 426 checks whether there is a corresponding seller company that exists for the buyer company applicant. If there is no corresponding seller company that exists for the buyer company applicant, the registration process continues to step 515, at which a notification of failing to pass is generated and sent to the applicant by computer server 426 as discussed above. If there is a corresponding seller company that exists for the buyer company applicant, at step 555, computer server 426 further checks whether the corresponding seller company has successfully registered with the computer server 426, which can be done, for example, by asking the buyer applicant to provide the corresponding seller company's UID.
• the registration process for the buyer company applicant continues to step 509.
• the registration process for the buyer company applicant continues to step 515, at which a notification of failing to pass is generated and sent to the applicant by computer server 426 as discussed above.
• the registration of a buyer company depends on the registration of its corresponding seller company. That is, a buyer company may not be able to register with the e-commerce platform if its corresponding seller company is not able to successfully register with the e-commerce platform.
• the registration of a seller company also depends on the existence of its corresponding buyer company/companies. In other words, a seller company may also not be able to register, or maintain the registration if it has registered, with the e- commerce platform if its corresponding buyer company/companies are not able to successfully register with the e-commerce platform.
• a seller/supplier company may have one buyer company or a plurality of buyer companies.
• the seller/supplier company may have different pricing scheme for each buyer.
• the registration procedure implemented by the e-commerce platform discussed above ensures that there is a pairing of a buyer and a corresponding seller through a "virtual channel" identified by the UID of the seller company such that no other buyers of this seller company would be able to see the transaction information related to this particular buyer and the seller, which will be further revisited infra.
• authenticating and auditing process may be conducted partially by professionals who may pay on-site visit and/check buyer/seller companies, review related financial data, record, and materials, review legal documents, etc., in a process that often refers to as "due diligence.”
• FIG. 6 a flow diagram illustrating a procedure 600 for a registered seller company to conduct business operation, more specifically, product management, by utilizing the e-commerce platform or computer server 426 is shown.
• a seller/supplier company logs on to the e-commerce platform or computer server 426 through a seller client system 424 by the network 401 with its UID and password.
• a seller or supplier user interface (“SUI") is presented to the seller company by computer server 426, which allows the seller company at step 604 to choose a product catalog that contains products the seller company offers to its buyers.
• computer server 426 displays product tree, which contains data related to the products of the product catalog and stored in database 428, on the SUI to the seller company.
• the seller company may edit current product catalog, or add new line/catalog of products or add new product(s) to an existing line/catalog of products.
• the seller company may choose the option to "add new product catalog” that allows the seller company to add a new line/catalog of products that can be offered to its buyers through the SUI.
• computer server 426 displays a catalog structure on the SUI to the seller company to allow information to be entered through the SUI.
• the seller company may add one or more new catalogs through the SUI.
• computer server 426 receives the information regarding one or more new catalogs which is entered by the seller company through the SUI and stores it in database 428 accordingly.
• the seller company may choose a catalog displayed on the SUI.
• the seller company may further choose the option of "add new products" that allows the seller company to add new products that can be offered to its buyers to the chosen catalog.
• computer server 426 displays products structure for the chosen catalog on the SUI to the seller company to allow information to be entered through the SUI.
• the seller company may enter information for one or more new products into the chosen catalog through the SUI.
• the seller company submits the entered information for one or more new products into the chosen catalog through the SUI to computer server 426, which at step 617 receives the entered information for one or more new products into the chosen catalog through the SUI and stores it in database 428 accordingly.
• step 618 the seller company completes the procedure 600 and logs off.
• the seller/supplier may post a wide spectrum of product information that public in general and trading partner(s) of the seller company in particular are interested in.
• the product information may include information related to inventory, pricing, use, introduction, etc.
• the pricing information normally includes two types of prices for a particular product: a discounted price and a reference price.
• the discounted price is given to the e-commerce platform provider by the seller to allow the seller to provide its products to the e- commerce platform at a discounted price, or wholesale price, which is only internally viewable by the e-commerce platform, which in turn would offer the seller's product to the users of the e-commerce platform in a general product catalog that is accessible by all users of the e-commerce platform.
• the reference price is given to the seller's buyer(s), which can only be viewed by the seller's buyer(s) who is given the seller's UID, which will be further discussed infra.
• the seller can negotiate a final price for a particular product with a buyer via the e-commerce platform.
• the e-commerce platform automatically adjusts available inventory capacity for the products involved. Meanwhile the seller can update the inventory for the products using the procedure discussed above in connection with FIG. 6.
• FIG. 7 a flow diagram illustrating a procedure 700 for a registered buyer company to conduct business operation, more specifically, product ordering, by utilizing the e-commerce platform or computer server 426 is shown.
• a buyer company logs on to the e-commerce platform or computer server 426 through a buyer client system 422 by the network 401 with its UID and password.
• the buyer company switches to a buyer page presented by computer server 426, which also displays a buyer user interface ("BUI") at step 705 to allow the buyer company to choose whether the buyer company wants to search for product in a general product catalog that is accessible by all users of the e-commerce platform or to search a product catalog that is offered by a seller company to whom the buyer company is a trading partner, i.e., the buyer company buys products from the seller company, has the seller company's UID, and has an existing relationship with the seller company.
• BAI buyer user interface
• the buyer company wants to search for product in a general product catalog that is accessible by all users of the e-commerce platform, then at step 712, the buyer company searches for products from the "virtual" general product catalog. If the buyer company finds product or products it wants, at step 714, the buyer company adds the product(s) into a shopping cart offered by the BUI. [0096] If the buyer company wants to search for product in a product catalog that is offered by a seller company to whom the buyer company is a trading partner, then at step 706, the buyer company enters a proper seller (or supplier) company's UID to identify itself to the e-commerce platform as a trading partner of that seller company. If no proper seller company's UID is entered, the buyer company is directed to step 712 to continue the procedure.
• step 707 If a proper seller company's UID is entered, the buyer company is directed to step 707, where in response, computer server 426 displays the product catalog(s) of that seller company on the BUI to the buyer company. [0098] At step 708, the buyer company may choose a particular product catalog from the available product catalogs of the seller company.
• computer server 426 displays detailed product information for products in that particular product catalog on the BUI to the buyer company to help the buyer company make informed choice of product(s) [0099]
• the buyer company chooses product(s) it wants through the SUI.
• the buyer company adds the product(s) into a shopping cart offered by the BUI.
• step 716 the buyer company enters its shipping address through the
• FIG. 8 a flow diagram illustrating a procedure 800 for a registered seller company and a corresponding registered buyer company to conduct business operation, more specifically, to perform a complete trading process, by utilizing the inventive e-commerce platform or computer server 426 is shown, which in general an be divided into three phases, an order phase 800A, a shipping phase 800B, and a payment phase 800C. Some of the steps disclosed below have been also discussed in more details in sections set forth above.
• a buyer company logs on to the e- commerce platform or computer server 426 through a buyer client system 422 by the network 401 with its UID and password.
• step 804 the buyer company finds and chooses product(s) it wants through a corresponding SUI.
• step 806 the buyer company places an order for the product(s) and submits its order to computer server 426.
• computer server 426 receives the order, makes proper book entries for the order, stores relevant information in database 428, and notifies a corresponding seller/supplier company.
• the seller company receives the notification and negotiate a contract at least partially online with the buyer, which can be done by using communication tools such as emails, voice over IP, skype, e-fax, and the like.
• the seller company and the buyer company reach an agreement with specific terms regarding the order, at step 810, the seller company sends a confirmation to computer server 426.
• the final contracts and related documents are stored in the computer server 426 in electronic formats.
• step 811 in response, computer server 426 receives the order confirmation, makes proper book entries for the order confirmation, stores relevant information in database 428, and notifies the buyer company.
• the buyer company receives the order confirmation from computer server 426 and waits for product delivery that is done in shipping phase 800B.
• the seller company ships the products to the buyer and sends a notification to computer server 426, which may also be sent to the buyer company at the same time or separately.
• computer server 426 receives the shipping confirmation, makes proper book entries for the shipping confirmation, stores relevant information in database 428, and notifies the buyer company.
• the buyer company receives the shipping confirmation from computer server 426 and waits for the physical delivery of the products. The buyer company may also receive the shipping notification from the seller company. [00114] At step 824, the buyer company receives the physical delivery of the products. [00115] Once the buyer company makes completes a physical inspection of the delivered goods, at step 826, the buyer company sends a confirmation of delivery to computer server 426 at step 828, which may also be sent to the seller company at the same time or separately. [00116] At step 829, computer server 426 receives the confirmation of delivery, makes proper book entries for the confirmation of delivery, stores relevant information in database 428, and notifies the seller company.
• the seller company receives the confirmation of delivery from computer server 426.
• the seller company may also receive the confirmation of delivery from the buyer company. Now the seller company waits for payment that is done in payment phase 800C.
• the seller company sends a confirmation of payment to computer server 426 at step 828.
• computer server 426 receives the confirmation of payment, makes proper book entries for the confirmation of payment, and stores relevant information in database 428.
• computer server 426 may send a notification of closed transaction to the buyer company, which completes the transaction illustrated as the payment phase 800C, and hence the whole procedure 800.
• One aspect of the present invention relates to issuing by business entity
• N cs of convertible preference shares to the plurality of seller companies in consideration of the after tax earnings retained by business entity 318 from these seller companies.
• business entity 318 would issue a number N cs of convertible preference shares to the plurality of seller companies, where the N cs convertible shares are convertible to N rs ordinary shares of the business entity over a period of time T counting from time To, according to the following formula:
• N cs (PAE x L)/SPo, where the ordinary shares of the business entity are publicly traded in a capital market, the period of time T is divided into a predetermined number L of fiscal years, PAE is the projected annual after-tax earning that the plurality of seller companies would make from the sales of the goods to the plurality of buyer companies over the period of time T, and SPo is the stock price per share for the ordinary shares of the business entity averaged over a predetermined time period around time To.
• these 66.67M convertible preference shares may be converted a number of ordinary shares of the business entity 318 over 10 years subjecting to a maximum number N rs , which is determined by the following formula:
• N rs the number of ordinary shares of the business entity 318 over the period of time T converted from N cs convertible preference shares issued to the plurality of seller companies is no greater than the maximum number N rs , and also at any given ith year, the number of ordinary shares of the business entity 318 over that year converted by the plurality of seller companies is no greater than N cs (i) x (X 1 .
• Table II provides 5 (five) different exemplary sets of ((X 1 ⁇ , where the set of ((X 1 ⁇ given in row 3 counting from top of Table II is disclosed above, providing a choice of spreading convertible shares over the 10 years period with potentially more shares available at the early years, the set of ((X 1 ⁇ given in row 4 counting from top of Table II is disclosed above, providing a choice of spreading convertible shares over the 10 years period with a potentially even distribution, and the set of ((X 1 ⁇ given in row 5 counting from top of Table II is disclosed above, providing a choice of spreading convertible shares over the 10 years period every other year.
• each seller company may be able to access to the capital market where the business entity 318 is listed and may be motivated to develop a loyal relationship with the business entity 318 and conduct more transactions through the e-commerce platform. To a certain degree, each seller company becomes an investor in the business entity 318 and thus expects returns from its investments in the business entity 318 — the operating profits retained by the business entity 318. In particular, if the operating profits of a seller company grow over time, the seller company would expect more convertible preference shares can be converted.
• the business entity would hope, and the seller company would expect less convertible preference shares may be converted but its expectation of return would still be met.
• a seller company has an expectation of return in terms of stocks in the amount of $500,000 for a given year
• the stock price of the ordinary shares of the business entity 318 is $50, that expectation of return would be met if there were 10,000 convertible preference shares to be converted; however, if the stock price of the ordinary shares of the business entity 318 is $500, that expectation of return would be met if there were only 1,000 convertible preference shares to be converted.
• the challenge is to develop such a model and method that can balance all these and other factors that sometimes are acting against each other. [00132]
• the present invention provides a model and method that answers this challenge.
• E 1 is the after-tax earning that the plurality of seller companies would make from the sales of the goods to the plurality of corresponding buyer companies over the ith fiscal year; and making book entries on the computer server 426 for all the cash or cash equivalents payments made and storing corresponding records of the book entries in the database 428 coupled with the computer server 426.
• a processor of the computer server 426 is programmed for calculating the earning growth, AE 1 , of the ith year from the immediate prior year, the (i- l)th year, by the following formula:
• N' rs (AE 1 , SP 1 ) is a function of variable SP 1 , and when SP 1 increases, N' rs (AE 1 , SP 1 ) decreases accordingly.
• N'rs (AE 1 , SP 1 ) is proportional to (SP 1 ) "1 , where r is a positive number.
• N'rs (AE 1 , SP 1 ) and SP 1 represents that, when the stock price of the ordinary shares of the business entity 318 is higher than that is expected when the number of convertible preference shares is issued to the plurality of seller companies, the expectation of return could be met by less number of convertible preference shares that may be converted by the seller company.
• the total number of ordinary shares of the business entity 318 converted for the ith year for the plurality of seller companies, NV 8 is calculated by the computer server 426 from the following relationship:
• N' rs (AE 1 , SP 1 ) can be in the form of
• N'rs (AE 1 , SP 1 ) is in the form of
• N' rs (AE 1 , SP 1 ) C 0 [ ⁇ W ⁇ Ek/SP,], wherein Co is a predetermined positive constant, and NV 8 is calculated from the following relationship:
• the plurality of seller company may have up to 1OM convertible preference shares that may be converted at the end of the second fiscal year, none of them will be converted because the plurality of seller companies does not meet the expected threshold of annual operating profits, here $300M. Accordingly, in general, another rule is implemented by the computer server 426 that if E 1 is below a predetermined threshold, no number NV 8 of convertible preference shares is converted to ordinary shares of the business entity at the end of the ith fiscal year by the plurality of seller companies. [00156] Moreover, the rights and interests to the not converted NO 1 C 8 number of convertible preference shares at the end of the ith fiscal year by the plurality of seller companies, which satisfies the following relationship: NO 1 Cs , are forfeited by the plurality of seller companies.
• a second business entity 320 can be optionally utilized as an intermediary between business entity 318 and seller company or companies 322.
• the second business entity 320 manages the issuing of convertible preferred shares("cps") to seller company, which may be governed by a first agreement between the business entity 318 and the second business entity 320, and converting a number of convertible preferred shares to a number of ordinary shares of business entity 318 to seller company with certain financial terms ("FT") in procedure 321, which may be governed by a second agreement between the seller company and the second business entity 320.
• the second agreement normally has terms different than that of the first agreement.
• the second agreement may contain certain financial terms and rules as discussed above.
• the not converted number of convertible preference shares of the business entity 318 for any given predetermined time period ti by the plurality of seller companies can be vested in the second business entity 320.
• the second business entity 320 may also offer to purchase back the convertible preference shares of the business entity 318 from the plurality of seller companies at the par value of the convertible preference shares according to an arrangement between the second business entity 320 and the business entity 318, and possibly the second agreement between the second business entity 320 and the plurality of seller companies.
• a fiscal year is used as a predetermined time period, or a first predetermined time period, which can be one of a year, a fiscal year, a half year, a half fiscal year, a quarter, a fiscal quarter, a month, and a fiscal month.
• a pooling of operating profits from a plurality of seller companies is illustrated, the present invention can be practiced by counting each individual seller company, both of which the computer server 426 with its associated infrastructure is implemented to execute.
• the inventive e-commerce platform has several unique features: first, the inventive e-commerce platform is a rather "completely closed" platform that only opens to SMEs that register with the platform and pass the strict market entry auditing process. Second, there is a dedicated virtual channel to connect a registered buyer with a corresponding registered seller/supplier. And thirdly, the platform interacts with both registered buyers and registered suppliers as a market maker.
• the platform allows registered buyers and registered suppliers to safely move their transactions from offline to online with efficiencies previously unforeseen but at the same time, it keeps all sensitive trade information, such as invoices, contracts, etc, in a confidential database of the platform, which saves the cost for SMEs as they do not need to implement their own e-commerce portal.
• the present invention in one aspect, relates to a method for using an internet accessible computer system to conduct business to business operations among a plurality of buyer companies and a plurality of seller companies.
• the method includes the steps of registering each of the plurality of seller companies with an internet accessible computer system, wherein each of the plurality of seller companies sells goods to a corresponding one of the plurality of buyer companies, and the corresponding one buyer company makes payment for the goods sold by that seller company, and registering each of the plurality of buyer companies with the internet accessible computer system, wherein the registration of each of the plurality of buyer companies depends on the registration of its corresponding seller company.
• N cs (PAE x L)/SPo
• N'rs Min (NVs (AE 1 , SP 1 ), ⁇ WN CS (k)x ⁇ 1+ i_ k ); and delivering N' rs ordinary shares of the business entity of the ith year to the plurality of seller companies.
• N'rs is in the form of
• NVs (AE 1 , SP 1 ) C 0 [ ⁇ W ⁇ Ek/SP,], wherein Co is a predetermined constant, and N' rs is then calculated from the following relationship:
• N' rs Min (Co [ ⁇ W ⁇ E k /SPJ, ⁇ WN CS (k)x ⁇ 1+ i_ k ).
• no number N cs of convertible preference shares is issued to the plurality of seller companies at the time of the ith year if AE 1 is smaller than zero. Furthermore, no number N'rs of convertible preference shares is converted to ordinary shares of the business entity at the ith year by the plurality of seller companies if E 1 is below a predetermined threshold.
• the number NV 8 of convertible preference shares is delivered to the plurality of seller companies according to their contributions to the after-tax earnings E 1 , E 2 , . . . E 1 , respectively.
• the present invention in another aspect, relates to an internet accessible computer system to conduct business to business operations among a plurality of buyer companies and a plurality of seller companies.
• the system includes at least one buyer client system; at least one computer server coupled to a database for storing data; and a network connecting said at least one seller client system and said at least one buyer client system to said at least one computer server, wherein said at least one computer server is programmed for: registering each of the plurality of seller companies with the internet accessible computer system, wherein each of the plurality of seller companies sells goods to a corresponding one of the plurality of buyer companies, and the corresponding one buyer company makes payment for the goods sold by that seller company; registering each of the plurality of buyer companies with the internet accessible computer system, wherein the registration of each of the plurality of buyer companies depends on the registration of its corresponding seller company; when a business entity in control of the internet accessible computer system issues, at the beginning of a fiscal year, time To, a number N cs of convertible preference shares to
• AE 1 E 1 - E 1 . ! ; calculating by the computer server a function NV 8 (AE 1 , SP 1 ) that satisfies the following conditions: ⁇ NVs (AE 1 , SP 1 ) / SAE 1 > O, and
• SNVs (AE 1 , SP 1 ) / SSP 1 ⁇ O, wherein SP 1 is the market stock price per share for the ordinary shares of the business entity averaged over a predetermined time period around time of the ith year; calculating by the computer server, N'rs, the total number of ordinary shares of the business entity converted for the ith year for the plurality of seller companies from the following relationship:
• N' rs Min (N' ra (AE 1 , SP 1 ), E 1 ⁇ 1 N c8 (k)x ⁇ 1+1 . k ); and when N'rs ordinary shares of the business entity of the ith year are delivered to the plurality of seller companies, making book entries on the computer server for the delivered NV 8 ordinary shares of the business entity and storing corresponding records of the book entries in the database.
• NV 8 (AE 1 , SP 1 ) is in the form of
• N' rs (AE 1 , SP 1 ) C 0 [ ⁇ W ⁇ Ek/SP,], wherein Co is a predetermined constant, and said at least one computer server is programmed for calculating NV 8 from the following relationship:
• K 8 Mm (C 0 [ ⁇ W ⁇ E k /SPJ, ⁇ tiN C8 (k)x ⁇ 1+1 . k ).
• the present invention in a further aspect, relates to a method for using an internet accessible computer system to conduct business to business operations among a plurality of buyer companies and a plurality of seller companies.
• the method includes the steps of registering each of the plurality of seller companies with an internet accessible computer system, wherein each of the plurality of seller companies sells goods to a corresponding one of the plurality of buyer companies, and the corresponding one buyer company makes payment for the goods sold by that seller company; and registering each of the plurality of buyer companies with the internet accessible computer system, wherein the registration of each of the plurality of buyer companies depends on the registration of its corresponding seller company.
• the method further includes the step of issuing by a business entity in control of the internet accessible computer system at the beginning of a first predetermined time period t ls time T 0 , a number N cs of convertible preference shares to the plurality of seller companies, wherein the N cs convertible shares are convertible to N rs ordinary shares of the business entity over a period of time T counting from time T 0 according to the following formula:
• PAE is the projected annual after-tax earning that the plurality of seller companies would make from the sales of the goods to the plurality of buyer companies over the period of time T
• SPo is the stock price per share for the ordinary shares of the business entity averaged over a second predetermined time period t 2 around time To.
• the method further includes the steps of calculating by the computer server the earning growth, AE 1 , of the ith first predetermined time period ti from the immediate first predetermined time period t ls the (i-l)th first predetermined time period ti, by the following formula:
• AE 1 E 1 - E 1-1 ; and completing the issuance and delivery of NV 8 ordinary shares of the business entity at the ith first predetermined time period ti to the plurality of seller companies according to a function N' rs (AE 1 , SP 1 ) that satisfies the following conditions: ⁇ NVs (AE 1 , SP 1 ) / SAE 1 > 0, and
• N' rs (AE 1 , SP 1 ) is in the form of
• N' rs (AE 1 , SP 1 ) C 0 [ ⁇ W ⁇ Ek/SP,], wherein Co is a predetermined constant.
• the number NV 8 of convertible preference shares that is converted and delivered to the plurality of seller companies for the ith first predetermined time period ti is determined by the following relationship:
• N' rs Min (Co [ ⁇ W ⁇ E k /SPJ, ⁇ WN CS (k)x ⁇ 1+ i_ k ).
• no number N cs of convertible preference shares is issued to the plurality of seller companies for the ith first predetermined time period ti if AE 1 is smaller than zero.
• no number N'rs of convertible preference shares is converted to ordinary shares of the business entity for the ith first predetermined time period ti by the plurality of seller companies if E 1 is below a predetermined threshold.
• the not converted NO 1 Cs number of ordinary shares of the business entity for the ith first predetermined time period ti by the plurality of seller companies is vested in a second business entity, wherein the second business entity is an intermediary between the business entity and the plurality of seller companies.
• the relationship of the second business entity and the business entity is defined by a first agreement
• the relationship of the second business entity and the plurality of seller companies is defined by a second agreement that has terms different than that of the first agreement.
• the first predetermined time period ti is one of a year, a fiscal year, a half year, a half fiscal year, a quarter, a fiscal quarter, a month, and a fiscal month.
• the number N 1 ⁇ of convertible preference shares is delivered to the plurality of seller companies according to their contributions to the after-tax earnings E 1 , E 2 , . . . E 1 , respectively.
• the present invention in a yet another aspect, relates to an internet accessible computer system to conduct business to business operations among a plurality of buyer companies and a plurality of seller companies.
• the system includes at least one seller client system; at least one buyer client system; at least one computer server coupled to a database for storing data; and a network connecting said at least one seller client system and said at least one buyer client system to said at least one computer server, wherein said at least one computer server is programmed for: registering each of the plurality of seller companies with the internet accessible computer system, wherein each of the plurality of seller companies sells goods to a corresponding one of the plurality of buyer companies, and the corresponding one buyer company makes payment for the goods sold by that seller company; registering each of the plurality of buyer companies with the internet accessible computer system, wherein the registration of each of the plurality of buyer companies depends on the registration of its corresponding seller company; when a business entity in control of the internet accessible computer system issues, at the beginning of a first predetermined time period t ls time To, a number N cs of convertible preference shares to the plurality of seller companies, wherein the N cs convertible shares are convertible to N rs ordinary shares of the business entity
• AE 1 E 1 - E 1-1 ; calculating by the computer server a function N' rs (AE 1 , SP 1 ) that satisfies the following conditions: dN'xs (AE 1 , SP 1 ) / SAE 1 > 0, and
• SNVs (AE 1 , SP 1 ) / SSP 1 ⁇ 0, wherein SP 1 is the market stock price per share for the ordinary shares of the business entity averaged over a predetermined time period around time of the ith first predetermined time period ti; calculating by the computer server, N'rs, the total number of ordinary shares of the business entity converted for the ith first predetermined time period ti for the plurality of seller companies from the following relationship:
• N' rs Min (NVs (AE 1 , SP 1 ), ⁇ tiN cs (k)x ⁇ 1+ i_ k ); and when N' rs ordinary shares of the business entity of the ith first predetermined time period ti are delivered to the plurality of seller companies, making book entries on the computer server for the delivered NV 8 ordinary shares of the business entity and storing corresponding records of the book entries in the database.
• N' rs (AE 1 , SP 1 ) is in the form of
• NVs (AE 1 , SP 1 ) C 0 [ ⁇ W ⁇ Ek/SP,], wherein Co is a predetermined constant.
• the number NV 8 of convertible preference shares that is converted and delivered to the plurality of seller companies for the ith first predetermined time period ti is determined by the following relationship:
• N' rs Min (Co [ ⁇ W ⁇ E k /SPJ, ⁇ WN CS (k)x ⁇ 1+ i_ k ).
• said at least one computer server is further programmed for registering each of the plurality of seller companies with the internet accessible computer system in the steps of: providing a registration form to one of the plurality of seller companies for collecting certain information; receiving the filled registration form said seller company, wherein said seller company identifies a corresponding buyer company to which said seller company sells goods and receives payments for the goods sold; auditing said seller company based on the collected information against a set of first predetermined conditions; authenticating said seller company if said seller company passes the auditing step; creating a unique identifier (UID) and a user account; and notifying said seller company by email.
• UID unique identifier
• said at least one computer server is further programmed for registering each of the plurality of seller companies with the internet accessible computer system in the steps of: notifying said seller company if said seller company fails to pass the auditing step; providing said seller company a notification listing why said seller company fails to pass the auditing step; and instructing said seller company to resubmit the registration with updated information.
• said at least one computer server is further programmed for registering each of the plurality of buyer companies with the internet accessible computer system in the steps of: providing a registration form to one of the plurality of buyer companies for collecting certain information; receiving the filled registration form said buyer company, wherein said buyer company identifies a corresponding seller company to which said buyer company receives goods and makes payments for the goods received; checking whether said corresponding seller company has successfully registered with the internet accessible computer system and identified said buyer company in said corresponding seller company's registration form; if the step of checking is positive, then auditing said buyer company based on the collected information against a set of second predetermined conditions; authenticating said buyer company if said buyer company passes the auditing step; creating a unique identifier (UID) and a user account; notifying said buyer company by email; and notifying said seller company by email that said buyer company has successfully registered with the internet accessible computer system.
• UID unique identifier
• said at least one computer server is programmed for registering each of the plurality of buyer companies with the internet accessible computer system in the steps of: notifying said buyer company if the step of checking is negative; and instructing said buyer company to resubmit the registration with updated information.
• Said at least one computer server is further programmed for registering each of the plurality of buyer companies with the internet accessible computer system in the steps of: notifying said buyer company if said buyer company fails to pass the auditing step; providing said buyer company a notification listing why said buyer company fails to pass the auditing step; and instructing said buyer company to resubmit the registration with updated information.
• the first predetermined time period ti is one of a year, a fiscal year, a half year, a half fiscal year, a quarter, a fiscal quarter, a month, and a fiscal month.
• the present invention in a further aspect, relates to a computer-readable medium storing instructions which, when executed by a processor, cause an internet accessible computer system to perform a method for conducting business to business operations among a plurality of buyer companies and a plurality of seller companies.
• the method comprises the steps of: registering each of the plurality of seller companies with the internet accessible computer system, wherein each of the plurality of seller companies sells goods to a corresponding one of the plurality of buyer companies, and the corresponding one buyer company makes payment for the goods sold by that seller company; registering each of the plurality of buyer companies with the internet accessible computer system, wherein the registration of each of the plurality of buyer companies depends on the registration of its corresponding seller company; when a business entity in control of the internet accessible computer system issues, at the beginning of a first predetermined time period t ls time To, a number N cs of convertible preference shares to the plurality of seller companies, wherein the N cs convertible shares are convertible to N rs ordinary shares of the business entity over a period of time T counting from time To, calculating the number N cs according to the following formula:
• PAE is the projected annual after-tax earning that the plurality of seller companies would make from the sales of the goods to the plurality of buyer companies over the period of time T
• SP 0 is the stock price per share for the ordinary shares of the business entity averaged over a second predetermined time period t 2 around time To; when cash or cash equivalents payments are received by the business entity from the plurality of buyer companies, wherein the cash or cash equivalents payment are made by the plurality of buyer companies for goods sold by the plurality of corresponding seller companies to the plurality of buyer companies, respectively, making book entries on the computer server for all the cash or cash equivalents payments received and storing corresponding records of the book entries in the database; aggregating in every first predetermined time period ti over the period of
• AE 1 E 1 - E 1-1 ; calculating by the computer server a function N' rs (AE 1 , SP 1 ) that satisfies the following conditions: SNVs (AE 1 , SP 1 ) Z dAE 1 > 0,
• NVs Min (NVs (AE 1 , SP 1 ), ⁇ WN C8 (k)x ⁇ 1+ i_ k ); and when NV 8 ordinary shares of the business entity at the ith first predetermined time period ti are delivered to the plurality of seller companies, making book entries on the computer server for the delivered NV 8 ordinary shares of the business entity and storing corresponding records of the book entries in the database.
• the method further comprises the steps of: providing a registration form to one of the plurality of seller companies for collecting certain information; receiving the filled registration form said seller company, wherein said seller company identifies a corresponding buyer company to which said seller company sells goods and receives payments for the goods sold; auditing said seller company based on the collected information against a set of first predetermined conditions; authenticating said seller company if said seller company passes the auditing step; creating a unique identifier (UID) and a user account; and notifying said seller company by email.
• UID unique identifier
• the method further comprises the steps of: notifying said seller company if said seller company fails to pass the auditing step; providing said seller company a notification listing why said seller company fails to pass the auditing step; and instructing said seller company to resubmit the registration with updated information.
• the method further comprises the steps of: providing a registration form to one of the plurality of buyer companies for collecting certain information; receiving the filled registration form said buyer company, wherein said buyer company identifies a corresponding seller company to which said buyer company receives goods and makes payments for the goods received; checking whether said corresponding seller company has successfully registered with the internet accessible computer system and identified said buyer company in said corresponding seller company's registration form; if the step of checking is positive, then auditing said buyer company based on the collected information against a set of second predetermined conditions; authenticating said buyer company if said buyer company passes the auditing step; creating a unique identifier (UID) and a user account; notifying said buyer company by email; and notifying said seller company by email that said buyer company has successfully registered with the internet accessible computer system.
• the method further comprises the steps of: notifying said buyer company if the step of checking is negative; and instructing said buyer company to resubmit the registration with updated information.
• the method further comprises the steps of: notifying said buyer company if said buyer company fails to pass the auditing step; providing said buyer company a notification listing why said buyer company fails to pass the auditing step; and instructing said buyer company to resubmit the registration with updated information.
• the number NV 8 of convertible preference shares that is converted and delivered to the plurality of seller companies for the ith first predetermined time period ti is determined by the following relationship:
• the present invention in another aspect, relates to a computer-readable medium storing instructions which, when executed by a processor, cause an internet accessible computer system to perform a method for conducting business to business operations among a plurality of buyer companies and a plurality of seller companies.
• the method comprises the steps of: registering each of the plurality of seller companies with the internet accessible computer system, wherein each of the plurality of seller companies sells goods to a corresponding one of the plurality of buyer companies, and the corresponding one buyer company makes payment for the goods sold by that seller company; registering each of the plurality of buyer companies with the internet accessible computer system, wherein the registration of each of the plurality of buyer companies depends on the registration of its corresponding seller company; when a business entity in control of the internet accessible computer system issues, at the beginning of a fiscal year, time To, a number N cs of convertible preference shares to the plurality of seller companies, wherein the N cs convertible shares are convertible to N rs ordinary shares of the business entity over a period of time T counting from time To, calculating the number N cs according to the following formula:
• N cs (PAE x L)/SPo, wherein the ordinary shares of the business entity are publicly traded in a capital market, the period of time T is divided into a predetermined number L of fiscal years, PAE is the projected annual after-tax earning that the plurality of seller companies would make from the sales of the goods to the plurality of buyer companies over the period of time T, and SPo is the stock price per share for the ordinary shares of the business entity averaged over a predetermined time period around time To; when cash or cash equivalents payments are received by the business entity from the plurality of buyer companies, wherein the cash or cash equivalents payment are made by the plurality of buyer companies for goods sold by the plurality of corresponding seller companies to the plurality of buyer companies, respectively, making book entries on the computer server for all the cash or cash equivalents payments received and storing corresponding records of the book entries in the database; aggregating in every fiscal year over the period of time T by the computer server all the cash or cash equivalents payments received from the plurality of buyer companies into a first amount, (Mi
• NVs Min (NVs (AE 1 , SP 1 ), ⁇ WN CS (k)x ⁇ 1+ i_ k ); and when NV 8 ordinary shares of the business entity of the ith year are delivered to the plurality of seller companies, making book entries on the computer server for the delivered NV 8 ordinary shares of the business entity and storing corresponding records of the book entries in the database.
• the present invention in yet another aspect, relates to a method for using an internet accessible computer system to conduct business to business operations among a plurality of buyer companies and a plurality of seller companies.
• the method further comprises the steps of calculating the earning growth, Ae 1 , for the ith first predetermined time period ti from the immediate prior year, the (i-l)th first predetermined time period ti by the following formula:
• Ae 1 Q 1 - Q 1 -I, ' and completing the issuance and delivery of n' rs ordinary shares of the business entity for the ith first predetermined time period ti to the seller company according to a function n' rs (Ae 1 , SP 1 ) that satisfies:
• the number n' rs of convertible preference shares is issued and delivered to the seller company for the ith first predetermined time period ti is determined by the following relationship:
• no number n cs of convertible preference shares is issued to the seller company for the ith first predetermined time period ti if the Ae 1 is smaller than zero.
• no n' rs number of convertible preference shares is converted to ordinary shares of the business entity for the ith first predetermined time period ti by the seller company if the Q 1 is below a predetermined threshold.
• the first predetermined time period ti is one of a year, a fiscal year, a half year, a half fiscal year, a quarter, a fiscal quarter, a month, and a fiscal month.
• the present invention in yet another aspect, relates to an internet accessible computer system to conduct business to business operations among a plurality of buyer companies and a plurality of seller companies.
• Ae 1 ⁇ e 1-1 ; calculating by the computer server a function n' rs (Ae 1 , SP 1 ) that satisfies the following conditions: eN' rs (Ae 1 , SP 1 ) / SAe 1 > 0, and
• n' rs ordinary shares of the business entity for the ith first predetermined time period ti are delivered to the seller company, making book entries on the computer server for the delivered n' rs ordinary shares of the business entity and storing corresponding records of the book entries in the database.
• the first predetermined time period ti is one of a year, a fiscal year, a half year, a half fiscal year, a quarter, a fiscal quarter, a month, and a fiscal month.
• the present invention in a further aspect, relates to a computer-readable medium storing instructions which, when executed by a processor, cause an internet accessible computer system to perform a method for conducting business to business operations between a buyer company and a seller company.
• Ae 1 ⁇ e 1-1 ; calculating by the computer server a function n' rs (Ae 1 , SP 1 ) that satisfies the following conditions:
• the first predetermined time period ti is one of a year, a fiscal year, a half year, a half fiscal year, a quarter, a fiscal quarter, a month, and a fiscal month.

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