JP2001283063A - Electronic commercial transaction management server system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electronic commercial transaction management server system, by which a delivery method being optimum on the aspect of delivery expenditure is positively presented from the shop side to the ordering customer of an electronic commercial transaction, the consuming action characteristic of each customer is analyzed based on order contents data of the electronic commercial transaction and sales promoting information is individually transmitted. SOLUTION: The order reception and the delivery of merchandises are intensively managed by the server system in the electronic commercial transaction utilizing a computer network. The system is provided with a means for receiving order merchandise kind data inputted by each customer and delivery method data comprising one of a desired reception time and a desired reception place, a mean for deciding the delivery method being optimum on the aspect of delivery expenditure based on the order contents data and a means for presenting the optimum delivery method to the customer.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electronic commerce system that recommends an optimal delivery route in terms of delivery cost according to the contents of an order, and analyzes the consumption behavior characteristics of the customer from the contents of the order. And a server system for presenting sales promotion information individually.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, mail-order sales in which a consumer does not go to a store and purchase a product, but rather selects a product from a magazine, a television broadcast, a dedicated catalog, or the like, and places an order by telephone or facsimile has been popular. The orderer receives the goods delivered by courier at home, or receives the goods delivered through the distribution network of a convenience store at a nearby convenience store. By using mail-order sales, consumers who are busy with modern lifestyles can order items such as gift items and furniture for gifts from mail-order shops without going to department stores or furniture stores. A convenient time can be specified for the receiving time. Also, on the shop side, it is not possible to display a wide variety of products unless it is a large store with a very large area, but it is easy to present abundant products if it is like a catalog It is also possible to reduce operating costs and inventory management costs of retail stores.

In addition, recently, with the spread of Internet technology, so-called electronic commerce for ordering goods and making payments in virtual shops provided on Web sites has been increasing. By using this e-commerce and home delivery and convenience store merchandise distribution networks, manufacturers and agricultural producers have often accepted orders from final consumers and delivered products in many cases. . The types of commodities vary from agricultural products such as vegetables and rice to electric products such as personal computers. The reason that manufacturers and the like now directly conduct e-commerce for consumers is because it is possible to reduce the cost added by wholesalers and retailers and also reduce the distribution cost, so the virtual shop This is because, even if the cost for operation and electronic payment is expected to increase, products can be offered to consumers at lower prices in many cases.

[0004]

Reflecting such a situation, the types of products traded in virtual shops are increasing at an accelerating rate. As the amount and type of products received by courier and convenience stores has increased, it has become possible to assemble delivery methods that can reduce shipping costs. For example, consumers who frequently buy rice can save shipping costs by purchasing them all at once. In addition, if many orderers in nearby areas want to receive products at the same time, they can be delivered using a convenience store chain distribution channel that bundles them, so that the delivery cost per item will be lower. , Shipping rates can be reduced little by little for all orderers. However, hitherto, deciding a delivery route of a product in consideration of a delivery cost has not been performed very often. Or, if you can not be at home during the courier business hours, you simply specify a delivery route for each individual order according to the circumstances of the orderer, such as specifying a convenience store to receive at midnight. Was.

[0005] Marketing in e-commerce has conventionally been based on data such as the type of product ordered by a virtual shop user and the behavior on a Web network, ie, what kind of Web sites are frequently visited. Thus, it has been practiced to analyze the characteristics of consumption behavior and to send sales promotion information of contents that are likely to appeal individually to individual users. However, analyzing consumption behavior characteristics based on data on a product delivery method such as a method of receiving a product or a reception time greatly analyzes the consumption behavior characteristics of a consumer from such data on the reception of a product. Despite being able to do it, nothing was happening.

Accordingly, the present invention provides an e-commerce management server system which calculates an e-commerce customer based on the contents of an order and actively presents an optimal delivery method in terms of delivery cost from a shop. With the goal. Further, an electronic commerce management server system is provided which analyzes the consumption behavior characteristics of each customer based on the data of the order contents of the electronic commerce, especially data on the delivery method of the product, and individually sends sales promotion information to each customer. The purpose is to:

[0007]

Means for Solving the Problems A first invention of the present application for solving the above problems is a server system for centrally managing order reception and shipping of goods in electronic commerce using a computer network, A means for receiving order product type data entered by each customer and order content data including one of desired receiving time data and desired receiving location data, and optimal delivery in terms of delivery cost based on the order content data Means for determining the method and means for presenting the optimal delivery method to the customer.

A second invention is the server system according to the first invention, wherein the means for storing the order content data for each customer, and the consumption behavior characteristic for each customer based on the stored order content data. And means for outputting the analysis result.

A third invention is the server system according to the second invention, wherein the means for determining the optimum delivery method is based on the analysis result of the consumption behavior characteristic in addition to the order content data. It is characterized in that it is determined.

A fourth invention is the server system according to the second invention, wherein the sales promotion information is presented individually for each customer by reflecting the consumption behavior characteristic data for each customer which is the content of the analysis result. It is characterized by having means.

A fifth invention is a method for centrally managing the order reception and shipping of goods in electronic commerce using a computer network, wherein the order goods type data inputted by each customer and the desired goods to be received are provided. Receiving order content data including either time data or desired receiving location data, determining an optimal delivery method in terms of delivery costs based on the order content data, and And the step of presenting the same.

A sixth invention is a method for centrally managing order acceptance and shipping of goods in electronic commerce using a computer network according to the fifth invention, wherein the order content data is stored for each customer. And a step of analyzing consumption behavior characteristics of each customer based on the stored order content data, and a step of outputting the analysis result.

[0013] A seventh invention is a method for centrally managing the order reception and shipping of goods in electronic commerce using the computer network according to the sixth invention, wherein the step of deciding the optimum delivery method comprises: The determination is made based on the analysis result of the consumption behavior characteristic in addition to the order content data.

An eighth invention is a method for centrally managing the order acceptance and shipping of goods in electronic commerce using the computer network according to the sixth invention, wherein the contents of the analysis result are consumption for each customer. The method is characterized by having a step of presenting sales promotion information individually for each customer by reflecting the behavior characteristic data.

[0015]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS === Overall Configuration === An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In this embodiment, an example of a server system for centrally managing an electronic virtual shop on the Internet that handles primary agricultural products and processed foods will be described. The virtual shop operator shall be a virtual shop management specialist, separate from the product manufacturer. However, the scope of the present invention is not limited to shops that handle this type of product. Further, a form in which a maker or the like directly operates such a virtual shop may be used.

FIG. 1 shows a network configuration of this embodiment. The server 10 is connected to the Internet via a telephone line. The terminals 20 to 23 are also connected to the Internet via telephone lines. Terminal 20
Is a convenience store (hereinafter referred to as convenience store) chain C
Is one of the terminals of the business system of
The terminal 22 is one of the business system terminals of the courier company T, and the terminal 23 is one of the business system terminals of the product maker M of the virtual shop. Each of the terminals 20 to 23 is a CRT or an LCD, respectively.
And an input unit such as a keyboard and a mouse.

The server 10 is a computer serving as a central part of the system, and includes one or a plurality of personal computers or a computer main unit such as a workstation, a display unit, various input units, and the like. The server computer is a CP that controls each unit, transfers data, performs various calculations, and temporarily stores data.
U-based control means, input control means for controlling data input from terminals 20 to 23 via the Internet, and output control for controlling data output to terminals 20 to 23 via the Internet Means, and storage means for accumulating various data used as a basis for analyzing the consumption behavior characteristics of the customer and various data for managing the delivery status.

=== Description of Operation === <Commodity Distribution Stage> Next, the operation of the server system will be described. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a process from receiving an order for a product (supposed to be a vegetable) from the customer A in the virtual shop until the customer A receives the product (“product distribution stage”). In this embodiment, the virtual shop delivers the goods ordered by the customer A to a convenience store that belongs to the convenience store chain C near the customer A's residence or the customer A's residence based on the designation of the customer A. In the case of delivery to the place of residence, delivery is performed by courier service distribution of the courier service company T (route). When delivering to a convenience store, delivery is requested to the convenience store C and delivery is carried out through the distribution of the convenience store C (route), or delivery is requested to the courier service company T and delivered through the delivery service (route). In case of route and, you will receive the goods at the payment counter of the convenience store. Therefore, the virtual shop operating company pays the delivery fee to the courier service company T for the route and to the convenience store C for the route. In the case of the route, the virtual shop pays a settlement fee to the convenience store C. The virtual shop also charges each customer for a shipping fee reflecting the delivery fee in each case, in addition to the fee for the product itself.

It is assumed that the following discount contract has been concluded in advance for the delivery fee and settlement fee paid by the virtual shop to the courier company T and the convenience store chain C. That is, in the case of both home delivery distribution (route) and convenience store distribution (route), the same delivery route is used at a certain frequency or more every month, or the delivery of a large number of products at once (product May be an order from a plurality of customers). In addition, if products are delivered at the same convenience store at a certain frequency or more every month, the convenience store chain C has the advantage of increasing the opportunity for customers to purchase products at that store, so discount the settlement fee. .

First, the customer A connects to the Internet, accesses a site of an electronic virtual shop managed by the server 10, and selects an item to be ordered from merchandise in the shop (s101). The server 10 receives the input data and records the type of the ordered product and the date and time when the order was placed in the storage unit (s201). Next, the customer A inputs the number of ordered items and the desired receiving location, that is, "residential location" or "convenience store" (s102), and the server 10 receives this data and records it in the storage means (s202).

Next, the server 10 determines whether or not delivery at the convenience store counter is possible in consideration of the number, volume, weight, and the like of the products. If it is determined that it is not possible to hand over at a convenience store counter, it is recommended that you automatically pick up the product at your place of residence by courier. If it is determined that delivery at a convenience store is possible,
Based on the data such as the product type and quantity input by the customer, the delivery cost of each delivery route is calculated, and the delivery route with the lowest cost is determined (s203). The shipping cost charged to each customer reflects the delivery cost in proportion, so that the delivery route with the smallest delivery cost is the cheapest route for the customer.
The storage means of the server 10 stores in advance information such as the basic delivery charge of each route, the conditions of the above various discount contracts, and the amount of the discount, and the control means of the server 10 refers to the information and stores each information. Calculate route shipping costs,
A process for determining the minimum cost delivery route is performed.

For example, when there are many other orders from a customer who wants to receive the product at a location close to the customer's desired receiving location, a discount of the settlement fee paid to the convenience store C is given to each customer. On the other hand, a shipping route can be returned as a discount, so the delivery route is first a candidate. Next, the delivery charges of the courier service company T and the convenience store chain C recorded in the storage means are compared to determine which route has the minimum cost. In this case, the customer receives the merchandise at the convenience store regardless of either route, and the delivery route is not a problem for the customer.

If the same customer frequently places orders every month, fixing the delivery route to one of the delivery routes will reduce the delivery fee and settlement fee by the contract. In this case as well, it is recommended to calculate the delivery cost of each route through consideration of various discount data, and to fix the route to the route having the minimum cost (the receiving location for the customer). Also, in the case of a customer who always receives at a fixed time at a place of residence by route, the delivery route of the courier service is standardized, so it is also possible to contract with the shipping company T for the reduction of the delivery fee, which is also This can be reflected in lower shipping costs to customers. In these two examples, a recommended route is determined after analyzing the contents data of the order over a plurality of times. The detailed description of the analysis performed using the order history data will be described later.

The optimal delivery route determined in step s203 is unilaterally determined by the shop, so to speak, in consideration of only the delivery cost. Next, the recommended receiving place by this optimum delivery route is presented to the customer A (s103). In the case of the delivery route, the receiving place is the place of residence, and in the case of the route, it is the convenience store.
Specifically, "This product is a store of convenience store C
Shipping is the cheapest when picked up at the store,
what should I do? Is displayed on the computer screen of the customer A, and an option screen for selecting a receiving place is also displayed. The customer A selects a receiving place in consideration of his / her desired receiving time (s104). For example, if it is not possible to be located at the desired receiving place in the daytime, it is not possible to receive by courier service, so it is only necessary to select convenience store reception. If there is no problem about the desired pick-up time,
You can select the recommended receiving location. For customers, virtual shops that actively offer such low-cost shipping routes are very attractive. If the ordered product is fresh food, the quality will deteriorate over time, so the warranty period will be presented for convenience store receipts.

In step s104, when the customer A selects the receiving place, the ID number of the order and the contents of the order are automatically transmitted to the terminal 23 of the maker M. The maker M records this data and creates a shipping slip or the like based on this data. Further, the server 10 records the receiving location selected by the customer A and the delivery route to be delivered to that location in the storage means (s204). Thereafter, the server 10 proceeds with the delivery arrangement process using this delivery route, and the customer A receives the product at the designated receiving location (s105).

Next, the server 10 obtains information on the time at which the merchandise was actually received by one of the routes from the terminal 20 of the convenience store C or the terminal 22 of the transportation company T and records this in the storage means ( s205). This time does not need to be completely accurate, and may be described, for example, in units of 30 minutes. If it is not possible to obtain such information on the actual receiving time from a convenience store or a shipping company, the customer is required to input the desired receiving time in the step (s104) of selecting the receiving place. The data input here may be recorded in the storage means.

If possible, the information of the convenience store purchased at the time of receiving the product at the convenience store is obtained and recorded (s206). PO of convenience store
The information is received by the server 10 from the S system or the like via the terminal 20 of the convenience store C.

As described above, various data representing the order details of the customer A at the product distribution stage are stored in the storage means of the server. Table 1 shows an example of the stored data items and a method of digitizing the data of each of the items. These quantified data are used in the next consumption behavior analysis stage.

[0029]

[Table 1]

<Consumption Behavior Analysis / Individual Marketing Stage> Next, the consumption behavior characteristics of the customer are analyzed based on each data accumulated in the commodity distribution stage. FIG. 3 conceptually shows the contents of order history data stored in a database in which the contents of a product order of the customer A over a plurality of times are stored in chronological order.
It is assumed that the information that the customer A is a 23-year-old woman and Shimbashi is at home is obtained when a contract is made as a member of the virtual shop. Here, the analysis is performed using order content data for seven times, from the 15th to the 21st order. As the frequency of performing the analysis, it is most appropriate to perform the analysis periodically every seven or eight times as in this example, but it is also possible to perform the analysis every less or more times.

FIG. 4 shows the processing flow of the server from the consumption behavior analysis stage for the customer A to the individual marketing stage. Each step of FIG. 4 will be described in order with reference to FIG. First, the history data of the customer A is analyzed from the information of the order history database accumulated for each customer (s206). Specifically, the control means firstly calculates the standard deviation from the numerical data for each item, and examines the data variation. And events that occur very frequently (hereinafter referred to as "standard events")
And characteristic events which occur relatively rarely but are characteristic (hereinafter, referred to as “characteristic events”). These events are queried and matched with the consumer characteristic type data recorded in the storage means in advance. This type data of consumer characteristics includes various types (such as “housewife”) for each item such as “family composition”, “identity (housewife, professional, unemployed at home, etc.)” and “interest / interest”. And an order history pattern for determining that a certain customer belongs to each of these types.

Specifically, in the case of the customer A, it can be said that the variation is very small in the receiving place and the receiving area, and the variation is also relatively small in the receiving time. Most of them stay at home during the day, and place orders mostly at night
It's past 2 o'clock. The goods are picked up almost 100% at convenience stores closest to home. Looking at the ordered products, ordering foods that are staple foods such as vegetables and bread and foods that can be used as ingredients for cooking (hereinafter, “basic foods”) is a standard event, and the purchase of health foods is a characteristic It can be said that this is an event. Based on these information, it is determined that “there is a spouse or a child living together” for “family composition” and “housewife” for “status”. In addition, it is judged that "I am interested in the health management (of myself or a person living together)."

Based on the above analysis results, sales promotion information having individual contents is created and provided for each customer (s2).
07). This sales promotion information may be distributed by e-mail or the like via the Internet, or other means such as direct mail may be used. In the example of customer A, create advertisement information screen data for a new product, health food,
It is considered to be very effective if this is distributed via the Internet after 22 o'clock at night when the customer A frequently accesses the virtual shop. The new product need not be a product in the electronic virtual shop, but may be linked to product information of another shop. In addition, since the customer A has almost selected the delivery at the convenience store as the delivery route, the delivery fee discount by the convenience store chain C can be returned to the customer A as described above. Therefore, screen data including a message recommending that a product be received at a convenience store determined at least a certain number of times a month is created and transmitted.

If a good response to such individualized sales promotion information is obtained, it is recorded again in the order history database (s208). In the above example, if there is a purchase order for a new health food,
Execute and record the flow and use it as the basis for analysis. If a favorable response to the sales promotion information is not obtained, the process returns to the analysis step (s206) again to repeat the analysis and the individual marketing.

An example of analysis of consumption behavior characteristics and individual marketing for other customers will be described. FIG. 5 shows the contents of the order history of the customer B. For customer B, data on convenience store products purchased when the product was received at the convenience store is also recorded. It is known in advance that the customer's place of residence is Kiba and that his work location is Mizue. As a standard event of the consumption behavior characteristic of the customer B, first, the reception time is concentrated in the 17:00 to 19:00 hours. Second, regarding the relationship between the delivery route and the receiving place, it can be seen that the home delivery is used when receiving at the residence, and the convenience store is used when receiving at the office. From this, unless you order a very large product,
The information which recommends receiving goods at the convenience store which always belongs to the same convenience store chain is sent to the customer B. Then, the delivery fee discount from the convenience store chain can be returned to the customer B. Customer B
In analyzing the characteristic events of the consumer behavior characteristics, purchase data of other products at convenience stores is useful. Since the number of order cases used in this example is relatively small, it is not possible to read a certain trend, but if a large number of cases are accumulated, a specific trend can be extracted, so that trend was reflected. The sales promotion information may be delivered to the customer B.

FIG. 6 shows the order history data of the customer C, and FIG. 7 shows the order history data of the customer D. As in the case of the customer A, it is a standard event for the customer C to select the delivery by home delivery. Then, since the shipping cost can be reduced, the sales promotion information for recommending that the product be received by the same parcel delivery service more than a certain number of times a month is sent. Also, it can be seen that there is a strong tendency to select basic foods for ordered products. For example, if there is a service that can be discounted by buying a certain amount of rice in a batch, information recommending this is sent. It is presumed that the customer D is highly interested in a product with a high preference from the purchase contents of the convenience store product.

=== Variations and the like === In the above embodiment, the Internet was used as a communication line connecting the server and each terminal such as a customer computer.
A communication line such as a dedicated line other than the Internet may be used. In the above-described embodiment, of the three delivery routes, the one that minimizes the cost is calculated and recommended to the customer. Even if the number of candidate delivery routes, such as a delivery route for delivering a product, is further increased, the optimum delivery route can be determined in the same manner. In addition, when analyzing consumption behavior characteristics, a specialized analyst examines the output of statistically examined "standard events" and "characteristic events" to estimate the consumer image. By doing so, more accurate analysis can be performed.

[0038]

According to the present invention, an e-commerce orderer actively seeks an optimal delivery route in terms of delivery costs from the shop side, and presents a recommended reception place. An electronic commerce management server system is provided which analyzes the consumption behavior characteristics of each customer based on order content data of a commercial transaction and individually sends sales promotion information. According to this server system, the customer's order history stored in the database is analyzed in detail, so that the customer can be positively presented with a delivery route that minimizes the shipping cost, and the customer's consumption tendency and It is possible to present sales promotion information according to taste. The customer can use the information provided to plan an order plan with lower shipping costs. Further, with the sales promotion information, it is possible to obtain a choice of a product suitable for one's personal preference and the like, and to enjoy shopping more comfortably and efficiently.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a network configuration diagram illustrating an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating processing in a commodity distribution stage according to the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram conceptually showing the contents of order history data for a customer A of the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a process from a consumption behavior characteristic analysis to an individual marketing stage according to the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram conceptually showing the contents of order history data for a customer B of the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a diagram conceptually showing the contents of order history data for a customer C of the embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a diagram conceptually showing the contents of order history data for a customer D of the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 servers 20-23 terminals

Claims (8)

[Claims] An electronic commerce using a computer network is a server system for centrally managing the order reception and shipping of goods, the order goods type data inputted by each customer, the desired receiving time data and the desired receiving time. Means for receiving order content data including any one of the location data, means for determining an optimal delivery method in terms of delivery cost based on the order content data, and means for presenting this optimal delivery method to a customer. Server system having 2. The server system according to claim 1, wherein said order content data is stored for each customer.
It is characterized by having means for analyzing consumption behavior characteristics for each customer based on the accumulated order content data, and means for outputting the analysis result. 3. The server system according to claim 2, wherein the means for determining the optimum delivery method determines based on an analysis result of the consumption behavior characteristic in addition to the order content data. It is characterized by. 4. The server system according to claim 2, further comprising: means for presenting sales promotion information individually for each customer by reflecting consumption behavior characteristic data for each customer, which is the content of the analysis result. It is characterized by the following. 5. A method for centrally managing order reception and shipping of goods in electronic commerce using a computer network, wherein the order goods type data inputted by each customer, the desired receiving time data and the desired receiving place Receiving order content data including any one of the data, determining an optimal delivery method in terms of delivery cost based on the delivery method data, and presenting the customer with the optimal delivery method. How to have. 6. A method for centrally managing order acceptance and shipping of goods in electronic commerce using a computer network according to claim 5, wherein said order content data is stored for each customer, and The method includes a step of analyzing consumption behavior characteristics of each customer based on the accumulated order content data, and a step of outputting the analysis result. 7. A method for centrally managing order reception and shipment of goods in electronic commerce using a computer network according to claim 6, wherein the step of deciding the optimum delivery method comprises: The determination is made based on the analysis result of the consumption behavior characteristic in addition to the data. 8. A method for centrally managing order reception and shipping of goods in electronic commerce using a computer network according to claim 6, wherein the analysis result is consumption behavior characteristic data for each customer. To reflect
The present invention is characterized in that it has a step of presenting sales promotion information individually for each customer.