JP2001344444A - Automobile sale support system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an automobile sale support system which enables a customer who buys an automobile to know stock information on one or more dealers at home and speedily obtain a detailed written estimate of a desired vehicle and also enables the dealers to increase chances to sell their automobiles in stock. SOLUTION: Information processing terminals which store stock information on the automobile dealers are installed at the dealers and enabled to send and receive their stock information to and from a server which stores the information. When a customer makes a request for a written estimate, the written estimate is generated by using not only the stock information on the dealer, but also stock information on other dealers stored on the server and the written estimate is e-mailed 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 automobile sales support system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in the sale of automobiles, a car to be sold is exhibited at an exhibition hall of a car dealer, and a customer who wishes to purchase a car visits an automobile dealer near a house and exhibits. This was done by selecting a favorite car from the many cars displayed at the venue and negotiating a contract with the sales clerk.However, there are many problems with such a conventional sales method. I was For example, there are many cases where a favorite car does not exist in an exhibition hall of a store visited, and in such a case, it is necessary to go to another exhibition hall. Large stores with huge exhibition halls are less likely to have such inconveniences, but in this case customers have to roam the vast exhibition halls to find their favorite vehicles,
After a long walk, I often found my favorite car.

[0003] In general, in a large car dealership, a database is used to store the stock information of the cars owned by the company, and the database is searched using a computer to search for the vehicle desired by the customer. Can be checked in a short time, but the inventory owned by one retailer is limited,
Also in this case, if the desired vehicle cannot be found, it is necessary to go out to another dealer.

[0004] On the other hand, with the spread of the Internet in recent years, a homepage on which the company's stock information is posted is provided on the Internet, and when the customer accesses this homepage, the stock information of the store can be obtained without visiting the exhibition hall. Some systems have been introduced. However, even with such a system, since the stock information posted on the homepage is limited to the stock range of one dealer, there is a high possibility that the customer cannot find the desired vehicle. Needed to find the same homepage and repeat the process of accessing it again. Also, if the customer finds the desired vehicle, the customer wants a detailed estimate that shows the total amount required to purchase the vehicle, but such websites only include the vehicle body price or the estimated total amount For this reason, if a detailed estimate is desired, it has been necessary to have the dealer send it separately by facsimile or mail.

[0005] Some homepages of automobile information magazines and the like include inventory data of a plurality of automobile dealers. Such a homepage includes a vehicle described in comparison with a website of one dealer. There is a high possibility that the desired vehicle can be found because there are many types of vehicles.However, in terms of estimation, as in the case of the above, only the vehicle body price or the approximate total price can be known. The request could not be met.

[0006] Quotations available on such a homepage are in the form of only letters and numbers, similar to those issued at conventional stores, but customers who request a quote or the like while looking at the homepage are not available. Since the actual vehicle cannot be seen, the image of the vehicle described in the quote and the image of the actual vehicle to be purchased may not match.

[0007] In addition, the inventory data posted on the homepage as described above is updated on a daily basis at the earliest.
Since it is usually performed in a batch process of several days to several weeks at a late place, even if the customer finds the desired vehicle, the vehicle may have already been sold at that time .

[0008] Further, the information items relating to the vehicle posted on the homepage of the automobile information magazine as described above can be used in common with the information items published in the magazine. In order for magazines to list their inventory information, it is necessary to rework the information items related to vehicles in the inventory information of their databases to the information items published in automobile information magazines, which is very troublesome. Met.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and a customer who wants to purchase a car can visit one dealer or a number of dealers while staying at home. Get real-time inventory information,
In addition, it is possible to quickly obtain a detailed quote that shows the total amount to be paid at the time of purchase and the appearance of the vehicle to be purchased, so that dealers can visit customers who do not visit It is an object of the present invention to provide a car sales support system that can easily provide its own inventory information to customers who do not browse and can increase sales opportunities.

[0010]

The invention according to claim 1 is
An information processing terminal installed at each of a plurality of car dealers and an information aggregation management device that aggregates and manages the inventory information of the plurality of car dealers are connected via a communication means. The information processing terminal includes an input unit for inputting various information related to the vehicle, a display unit for displaying the input information and the like, a store inventory storage unit for storing the inventory information of the vehicle in the store,
Transmitting means for transmitting the information stored in the store inventory storage means to the information aggregation management device; search means for searching for information relating to the automobile desired by the customer; A transmission requesting unit for requesting transmission, and a quotation creating unit for creating a quotation based on the input information and the inventory information, the information aggregation management device includes:
A total inventory storage unit that collectively stores the inventory information of the plurality of car dealers transmitted by the transmission unit of the information processing terminal; and an all inventory storage unit that stores the inventory information in response to a request from the information processing terminal. Transmission means for transmitting the inventory information stored in the store inventory storage means or the total inventory storage means, and searches for information relating to the automobile desired by the customer, and the transmission request means The present invention relates to an automobile sales support system configured to request the information aggregation management device to transmit information found by the search means.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information processing terminal having a function of connecting to the Internet installed at each of a plurality of car dealers, and storing and storing inventory information of the plurality of car dealers on the Internet. An automobile sales support system comprising an information providing server provided in the form of a homepage, wherein the information processing terminal includes an input unit for inputting various types of information regarding the automobile, and a display for displaying the input information and the like. Means, store inventory storing means for storing inventory information of cars in the store, search means for searching for information on automobiles desired by the customer from the shop inventory storage means, and store information stored in the shop inventory storage means. Transmitting means for transmitting inventory information to the information providing server; transmission requesting means for requesting the information providing server to transmit inventory information; The information providing server transmits the stock information stored in response to the request from the information processing terminal to the information processing terminal. The present invention relates to an automobile sales support system comprising means.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the information providing server receives a request for quotation from a customer when the request is made on a homepage, and sends the request to an information processing terminal of a store that owns the corresponding vehicle. The information processing terminal is provided with an estimate request transmitting unit that transmits information indicating that there has been an estimate request by e-mail, and the information processing terminal transmits the estimate written by the estimate preparation unit to the customer by e-mail. 3. A car sales support system according to claim 2, further comprising a quotation transmitting means for providing the quotation.

[0013] The invention according to claim 4 is characterized in that the estimate creation means is configured to calculate a total cost required for acquiring a vehicle including various costs unique to each automobile dealer such as a procedure agency cost. The present invention relates to an automobile sales support system according to any one of claims 1 to 3. The invention according to claim 5 relates to the car sales support system according to claim 3, wherein the quote transmitted by the electronic mail includes image data of the vehicle. The invention according to claim 6 is characterized in that the transmission means provided in the information processing terminal is configured to transmit the update information when the stock information is updated by the input means. A vehicle sales support system according to any one of 1 to 5. The invention according to claim 7 is characterized in that the information processing terminal is provided with a conversion means for converting an information item relating to the vehicle of the inventory information stored in the store inventory storage means into an information item published in an automobile information magazine. A vehicle sales support system according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an automobile sales support system in which an information processing terminal is installed in a car dealership, and the information processing terminal manages its own inventory. Input means for inputting information, display means for displaying input information and the like, store inventory storage means for storing inventory information of automobiles at dealers, and retrieval means for searching for information on automobiles desired by customers And estimate conversion means for generating an estimate based on the input information and the inventory information, and conversion means for converting an information item relating to the vehicle in the inventory information stored in the store inventory storage means into an information item published in an automobile information magazine. The present invention relates to an automobile sales support system, which is provided.

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of a car sales support system according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram schematically showing an overall configuration of a system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The car sales support system according to the first embodiment of the present invention includes information processing terminals (1) installed in a plurality of car dealers (A), (B), and (C), respectively, and inventory information of the plurality of car dealers. And an information aggregation management device (2) that aggregates and manages the information via a communication unit (3). In the system of the first embodiment, the communication means (3)
A public communication line composed of PSTN or ISDN or a dedicated communication line is used as the information, and information of one information aggregation management device (2) is shared by a plurality of information processing terminals (1) via such a line. A LAN or WAN is formed.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram schematically showing the configuration of the information processing terminal (1). The information processing terminal (1) has a CP
Logical operation circuit composed of U, RAM, ROM, etc. (11)
And input means (12) comprising a keyboard, a mouse, etc.
And external memory consisting of HD, FD, MO, etc. (13)
And a computer having an output means (14) such as a printer and a display means (15) such as a display such as a CRT, and the external memory (13) stores and stores a database of the car inventory information at the store. Acts as store inventory storage means. The logical operation circuit (1
The CPU of 1) is an internal memory or an external memory (1).
3) a transmitting unit that operates based on a predetermined program stored in advance and transmits the information stored in the store inventory storing unit to the information aggregation management device (2); Searching means, transmission requesting means for requesting the information aggregation management device (2) to transmit inventory information, quote creating means for creating a quote based on input information and inventory information, and inventory stored in the store inventory storage means. It functions as a conversion means for converting the information item relating to the vehicle of the information into an information item published in an automobile information magazine.

The information aggregation management device (2) is installed in a headquarters (D) or the like that supervises and manages a plurality of car dealers (A), (B) and (C) and transmits information to the information processing terminal (1). It serves as a server to provide, and its configuration is basically the same as the information processing terminal (1) shown in FIG.
The processing speed of the CPU is faster than that of the information processing terminal (1), and a large-capacity external memory (13) is used. It acts as a total inventory storage unit that collectively stores the inventory information of the automobile dealers in a database and stores them.
Further, the CPU of the logical operation circuit (11) operates based on a predetermined program stored in the internal memory or the external memory (13) in advance, and responds to a request from the transmission request means of the information processing terminal (1). Thus, it can function as a transmitting means for transmitting the stock information stored in the total stock storing means.

In the store inventory storage means of the information processing terminal (1), detailed information on the purchased vehicle input by the input means (12) when the dealer purchases the vehicle is stored, and this input information is accumulated. As a result, inventory information on the car owned by the dealer is formed. Information input by the input means (12) includes a vehicle name, a grade, a shape, a mission / automatic classification, a color, a mileage,
Vehicle information including equipment, model, chassis number, model designation and classification, etc., vehicle price, year, acquisition tax, vehicle type, engine classification, displacement, vehicle inspection date, domestic / foreign vehicle,
Estimation condition setting information, which is a condition for creating an estimate at the time of negotiation, which includes a registration code and whether or not a vehicle inspection and inspection cost has changed, and image data of a vehicle taken in from a digital camera are included.

The information as described above is stored in the store inventory storage means of the information processing terminal (1) installed in each store, and transmitted to the information aggregation management device (2) by the transmission means. Then, the transmitted information is stored in the total inventory storage means of the information aggregation management device (2), and is used as a common inventory database for each store. The transmission of the inventory information by the transmission means can be performed collectively at regular intervals. However, when the inventory information is updated by the input means (12), the update information is transmitted to the information aggregation management device (2). In this case, it is possible to update the stock information stored in all the stock storage means in real time.

The retrieval means of the information processing terminal (1) is a means for retrieving information relating to the automobile desired by the customer from the inventory information stored in the store inventory storage means and the total inventory storage means. Requesting the information aggregation management device (2) to transmit the information found by the means, and transmitting the information aggregation management device (2) to the information processing terminal (1) based on the request. Send Thus, each store reads out not only its own inventory information but also other companies' inventory information stored in the all inventory storage means of the information aggregation management device (2) from the information processing terminal (1) and displays the display information (15). , And present it to the customer, and store the stock information of other companies stored in the information aggregation management device (2) in the information processing terminal (1) of the company.
And use this information to create a quote.

[0021] The quote creating means is operated by the CPU according to a predetermined program stored in a memory based on the stock information already input and the newly input information when a quote request is received from a customer. This is a means for creating a detailed estimate by performing processing, and an example of the operation of the system of the first embodiment in creating an estimate will be described below.

First, the customer goes to the store (A) and informs the clerk of the contents of the desired vehicle.
Is operated, the logical operation circuit (11) displays the display means (1).
5) A search screen is displayed. Then, the clerk operates the input means (12) on this screen to input a condition desired by the customer as a search condition. The information entered here as search conditions is: car name, body price (desired price), year (desired year), car type, displacement, uninspected, driving, mileage,
Color, mission, region.

When the search condition is inputted, the stock information on the corresponding vehicle is read from the store stock storage means or the total stock storage means by the operation of the search means, transmission request means and transmission means of the above-mentioned logic operation circuit (11). The information is displayed on the display means (15) of the information processing terminal (1) in the form of a list. The clerk shows the customer the information (list) displayed on the screen of the display means (15), selects the desired vehicle from the information, and clicks on the row of the selected vehicle with the mouse (input means). Then, on the screen, all of the above-mentioned vehicle information, information on the vehicle body price, the model year, the displacement, the vehicle inspection date and the vehicle image data among the estimation condition setting information are displayed.

When the customer is satisfied with the displayed contents,
The clerk displays the vehicle information and the estimation condition setting information on display means (1
Display on the screen of 5). On this screen, the input information is displayed as it is for the vehicle information and the estimation condition setting information which have been input in advance, but it is information that cannot be understood without asking the customer on the spot, that is, information that cannot be input in advance and estimation Information on trade-in, vehicle tax processing (change to other prefecture numbers), and payment method (cash / loan), which are necessary information, can be entered on this screen. If the vehicle information and the estimation condition setting information have not been input yet, they can be input on this screen.

After inputting the three pieces of information of the presence or absence of trade-in, vehicle tax processing, and payment method, the clerk then reads out a detailed estimate creation screen, and sets conditions for the detailed estimate on this screen. This detailed estimate creation screen has a vehicle sales price setting section consisting of vehicle sales price, discount, vehicle inspection inspection cost, special specification price, certified remodeling cost, long run guarantee, procedure agency fee, deposit legal fee, consumption tax A vehicle sales total display section for displaying the total vehicle sales based on the setting of each item of the vehicle sales price setting section, a trade-in vehicle setting section including trade-in vehicle price and trade-in remaining debt, Various expenses setting section consisting of agency expenses and statutory custody expenses,
A cash payment total display unit is provided for displaying the total cash payment based on the settings of the setting units.

The agency fee items include registration filing costs, unpaid liability, unpaid automobile tax, notarization, administrative scrivener fees, garage certification costs, loan handling costs, trade-in procedures, assessment fees, delivery costs, Carry-on agency fee, land transportation fee, demolition fee, erasure fee, and other costs are divided into items, and statutory custody items are acquisition tax, automobile tax, weight tax, auto liability insurance, voluntary insurance, registration notification fee, garage certification Expenses, trade-in fees, Orico Safety (credit sales company handling costs), JAF membership fees, number designation fees, and other statutory costs.

As a result of the negotiation with the customer, each item displayed on the detailed estimate creation screen is input by the clerk,
The calculation processing is performed by the CPU according to a predetermined program based on the setting input to each setting unit by the estimate creation means, and as a result of the processing, the total vehicle sales is displayed on the total vehicle sales display unit, and the total cash payment is displayed on the total cash payment display unit. The total amount is displayed. The total amount of cash paid is calculated as "total vehicle sales-
It is calculated by the formula of "Trade-in car price + Trade-in car balance".

If the customer wants to pay by loan, another loan setting screen can be read out on the screen to set the loan payment conditions according to the customer's wishes. Details of information, information on the liability insurance and voluntary insurance, and information on the purchaser can also be input from another screen.

When the creation of the detailed estimate by the estimate creating means is completed, the vehicle information and the image data of the vehicle read by the search means are combined with the display items of the detailed estimate creating screen by the processing of the logical operation circuit (11). Then, it is output from the output means (14) as an estimate (see FIG. 3) and passed to the customer.

As described above, in the system according to the present invention, the store reads the information of the vehicle desired by the customer from the information information terminal (1) as well as the inventory information of other companies from the information processing terminal (1). , It is possible for the customer to find the desired vehicle without having to go to another store again even if there is no desired vehicle at the store visited. Further, at the time of negotiation, the customer can know not only the price of the vehicle itself but also an estimate of the total amount to be paid, so that sales negotiations can be facilitated.

If the vehicle selected by the customer is not a stock vehicle of the company, the dealer buys the vehicle from another company that owns the vehicle at a competitor price set lower than the selling price to the customer. And sell it to customers. In this case, the dealer who actually sold the vehicle to the customer will benefit from the difference between the same company price and the selling price to the customer and the agency fee, and other companies that sold the vehicle to the dealer will sell directly to the customer. The advantage is that inventory vehicles can be sold to customers who do not visit the company but have less profit than they do.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram schematically showing an overall configuration of a system according to the second embodiment of the present invention. The car sales support system according to the second embodiment of the present invention includes the Internet (4) installed in each of a plurality of car dealers.
An information processing terminal (1) having a function of connecting to a car, an information providing server (7) for collecting and storing inventory information of the plurality of car dealers, and providing the information to the Internet (4) in the form of a homepage (5); And a plurality of information processing terminals (1) can be connected to the Internet (4) via a public communication line such as PSTN or ISDN or a dedicated line.

On the Internet (4), WWW (Worl
d Wide Web) has been built, and this WWW
By transferring data using P (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol) and describing the screen in HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language), it is possible to easily search and display information.

The customer who wishes to purchase a car has stock information of a plurality of car dealers posted from an information terminal (6) such as a personal computer at home through the Internet (3) using a WWW browser. The user can access the homepage (5), whereby the user can search the homepage for information on his / her desired vehicle from among the stock information stored in the information providing server (7), and search his / her own information terminal (6). ) Can be displayed on the display screen.

The information processing terminal (1) is basically the same as that of the system of the first embodiment shown in FIG.
Logical operation circuit composed of PU, RAM, ROM, etc. (11)
And input means (12) comprising a keyboard, a mouse, etc.
And external memory consisting of HD, FD, MO, etc. (13)
And a computer having an output means (14) such as a printer and a display means (15) such as a display such as a CRT, and the external memory (13) stores and stores a database of the car inventory information at the store. Acts as store inventory storage means. The logical operation circuit (1
The CPU of 1) is an internal memory or an external memory (1).
3) operating based on a predetermined program stored in advance, searching means for searching for information on a car desired by the customer, quote creating means for creating a quote based on input information and stock information, and store stock storing means. Transmission means for transmitting the stored inventory information to the information providing server (7), transmission request means for requesting the information providing server (7) to transmit the inventory information, and a quote created by the quote creating means. It functions as a quotation transmitting means for transmitting to the customer by e-mail, and a converting means for converting an information item relating to the vehicle in the inventory information stored in the store inventory storing means into an information item published in an automobile information magazine.

The information providing server (7) plays a role of providing information to the information processing terminal (1) and the information terminal (6), and has basically the configuration shown in FIG. The same as the processing terminal (1), but the processing speed of the CPU is faster than that of the information processing terminal (1).
3) is a large-capacity one, and the external memory (13) collectively stores the inventory information of a plurality of car dealers transmitted by the transmission means of the information processing terminal (1) in a database. This information is provided in the form of a homepage (5) when a request (a request for posting a homepage) transmitted via a public line or a dedicated line including the PSTN or ISDN is received. The CPU of the logical operation circuit (11) operates based on a predetermined program stored in the internal memory or the external memory (13) in advance, and stores the stock information stored in the external memory (13) on the homepage (5). Search means for searching on the screen of (1), transmitting means for transmitting inventory information stored in the external memory (13) to the information processing terminal (1) in response to a request from the information processing terminal (1) When a request for quotation from a customer is present on the screen of the homepage (5), the request is received and transmitted to the information processing terminal (1) of the dealer who owns the corresponding vehicle (the vehicle for which quotation is desired). It functions as an estimate request transmitting means for transmitting information indicating that an estimate request has been sent by e-mail.

In the store inventory storage means of the information processing terminal (1), detailed information on the purchased vehicle input by the input means (12) when the dealer purchases the vehicle is stored, and this input information is accumulated. As a result, inventory information on the car owned by the dealer is formed. The information input by the input means (12) is the same as that described in the first embodiment, and the input information is stored in the store inventory of the information processing terminal (1) installed in each store. Stored in the means. The input information is also transmitted to and stored in the information providing server (7) by the transmission means, so that when the customer accesses the homepage (5), the newly input inventory information is stored in the homepage (5). Will be provided in the form described in.

The transmission of the inventory information by the transmission means can be performed collectively at regular intervals.
When the stock information is updated by 2), the updated information is sent to the information providing server (7) and the homepage (5)
, And in this case, the inventory information posted on the homepage (5) can be updated in real time.

The search means is means for searching for information on a car desired by the customer from the stock information stored in the store stock storage means when the customer visits a store and requests a quote. The search means enables the store to find desired vehicle information by searching the stock information stored in the store stock storage means for vehicles owned by the store. Here, as a result of the search by the search means, if the vehicle desired by the customer is a vehicle not in the company's inventory, the information processing terminal (1) accesses the homepage (5) via the Internet (4). By searching information on the vehicle desired by the customer from the stock information stored in the information providing server (7) on the homepage, and displaying the information on the display means (15) of the information processing terminal (1), Can be presented with the information. When transmission of the vehicle information is requested to the information providing server (7) by the transmission requesting means, the transmitting means of the information providing server (7) is stored in the external memory (13) in response to the request. The information on the stock being stored is transmitted to the information processing terminal (1), and the transmitted information is stored in the memory of the information processing terminal (1). That is, the store can download the stock information of another company stored in the information providing server (7) to its own information processing terminal (1), and create a quotation using this information.

As in the case of the first embodiment, when the customer requests a quote, the estimate creation means stores the information in the memory in advance based on the stock information already input and the newly input information. This is a means for creating a detailed estimate by performing arithmetic processing by the CPU according to a stored predetermined program. Here, the stock information used for creating the estimate may be either stock information of the company stored in advance in the information processing terminal (1) or stock information of another company downloaded from the information providing server (7). Is.

An example of the operation of the system according to the second embodiment in creating an estimate will be described below. First, a customer who wishes to purchase a car accesses a homepage (5) in which inventory information of a plurality of car dealers is posted from an information terminal (6) such as a personal computer at home through the Internet (3), From the stock information stored in the information providing server (7), information on the vehicle desired by the user is searched on the homepage. When the desired vehicle is found, a request for a quote for the found desired vehicle is sent to the homepage (5). This is performed by means such as clicking the screen. Then, the estimate request transmitting means of the information providing server (7) receives the information signal related to the estimate request from the customer, and sends the estimate request to the information processing terminal (1) of the dealer who owns the corresponding vehicle. Send the information to the effect by e-mail.

In the homepage (5) provided by the information providing server (7), the customer can display his / her personal information such as his / her name and age on the screen and conditions such as budget, payment method / number of times, and down payment. (Estimation conditions), whether or not trade-in, vehicle tax processing is provided on the screen, and the information entered from this screen is sent to the information processing terminal (1) by e-mail with an information signal related to the estimate request Sent to

When an e-mail of information indicating that an estimate request has been received is received by the information processing terminal (1), the clerk at the dealer will set the information processing terminal for the corresponding vehicle (vehicle for which the estimate request is made). An estimate is created using the estimate creation means of (1). The procedure for creating an estimate by this estimate creating means is basically the same as that described for the system of the first embodiment, except that the system of the first embodiment does not set conditions for a detailed estimate. While the system is performed while listening to the customer directly, the system of the second embodiment is based on information input by the customer on the screen of the homepage (5) and transmitted by e-mail. However, since all the conditions shown in the first embodiment are not always input by the customer on the screen of the homepage (5), the items that have not been input are left blank or
Alternatively, the store creates a quotation by inputting general conditions based on the transmitted personal information.

When the sales clerk finishes creating the quote by the quote creating means, the sales clerk sends the quote created by the quote creating means to the customer information terminal by e-mail via the Internet (4) by the quote sending means. Send to (6).
The transmitted estimate includes image data of the vehicle.

As described above, according to the system of the second embodiment, a customer can obtain a detailed quotation of his / her desired car without visiting a store, and the quotation request can be made on the screen of the homepage. Since the quotation is sent by e-mail, even a person who is not good at negotiating with the clerk can easily request a quotation. It is also possible to send a quote by e-mail to a visitor later.

Note that the above-described series of operations is performed when the customer requests a quote using the Internet, but the system of the second embodiment is similar to that of the first embodiment. Of course, it is also possible to use it when visiting, and in this case, the method described in the paragraph (0039) is used.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram schematically showing an overall configuration of a system according to the third embodiment of the present invention. The car sales support system according to the third embodiment of the present invention is a so-called stand-alone system that manages its own inventory using an information processing terminal (1) installed in a car dealer (D).

The information processing terminal (1) in the car sales support system of the third embodiment is also basically the same as that of the system of the first embodiment shown in FIG.
A logical operation circuit (11) composed of a RAM, a ROM, etc .; input means (12) composed of a keyboard, a mouse, etc .;
An external memory (13) composed of D, FD, MO, etc., an output unit (14) composed of a printer or the like, and a computer equipped with a display unit (15) composed of a display such as a CRT. It functions as a store inventory storage unit that stores the inventory information of the automobiles at the store in a database. Also, the CP of the logical operation circuit (11)
U operates based on a predetermined program stored in the internal memory or the external memory (13) in advance, and creates a quotation based on input means and stock information, search means for searching for information on automobiles desired by the customer. It acts as a conversion means for converting the information items relating to the vehicle in the stock information stored in the quotation creation means and the store inventory storage means into information items published in an automobile information magazine.

The store information storage means of the information processing terminal (1) stores detailed information on the purchased vehicle input by the input means (12) when the dealer purchases the vehicle, and stores the input information. As a result, inventory information on the car owned by the dealer is formed. The information input by the input means (12) is the same as that described in the first embodiment, and the input information is stored in the store inventory storage means of the information processing terminal (1) installed at the store. It is memorized.

The search means is means for searching, when a customer visits a store and requests a quotation, information on a car desired by the customer from the stock information stored in the store stock storage means. By this means, the dealer can find desired vehicle information by searching the inventory information stored in the store inventory storage means for vehicles owned by the dealer. Based on the stock information stored in the store inventory storage means and the newly input information when the customer requests a quote, the quote creation means is executed by the CPU according to a predetermined program stored in the memory in advance. This is a means for creating a detailed estimate by performing arithmetic processing.

The method of creating an estimate in the system according to the third embodiment is performed using only the stock information stored in the store stock storage means of the information processing terminal (1) of the company. This is the same as that described in the system of the embodiment.

In the systems according to the first to third embodiments described above, the information items relating to the vehicle in the inventory information stored in the store inventory storage means are changed to the information items published in the automobile information magazine based on a predetermined program. Conversion means for conversion is provided. In a system for estimating or selling such as the system according to the present invention, since it is necessary to specify a vehicle by finely classifying the specifications and equipment of the vehicle, the vehicle classification (information item ) Is about 10 items, but the classification of vehicles (information items) published in automobile information magazines is generally coarse because it is narrowed down to 4 to 5 items due to space limitations. Therefore, the classifications of the two do not match, and the information stored in the system cannot be used as it is as the publication information. The conversion means in the present invention is provided to eliminate such inconvenience.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining an example of the operation of the conversion means. The information items relating to the vehicle in the stock information stored in the store stock storage means shown in the upper table of FIG.
It is converted by the conversion means into information items published in the automobile information magazine shown in the lower table. The processing performed by the conversion means is integration of the same vehicle information, integration of items, deletion of unnecessary items, and conversion of the content of the items. The integration of the same vehicle information means that, for example, in the inventory information stored in the store inventory storage means, even if the same vehicle, it is necessary to distinguish the same vehicle in terms of inventory management, so that all vehicles have different numbers (No.) one by one. However, since this distinction is not necessary in the information published in the automobile information magazine, all the same vehicles are converted (integrated) into the same information contents. In addition, the item integration is a process of integrating a plurality of information items of the store inventory storage unit into one to be an information item of an automobile information magazine. This is a process of deleting an item that is not necessary as an information item of the automobile information magazine. The conversion of the item description content is, for example, the information stored as a code (number) in the store inventory storage means is converted into a specific vehicle name (laurel). It is processing such as conversion.

Before carrying out the above-mentioned conversion work, the dealer reads out the inventory information (including the image data of the vehicle) stored in the store inventory storage means, and reads out the vehicle information which the vehicle wants to publish in the automobile information magazine. Select Then, the information converted by the conversion means is stored in a storage medium such as an MO together with the image data of the vehicle or sent to an editorial unit or the like which creates an automobile information magazine by e-mail, and the data for magazine publication as it is, Alternatively, it is used as data for posting on the company's homepage.

[0055]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the dealer can obtain the information on the vehicle desired by the customer from the information processing terminal as well as the inventory information of other companies from the information processing terminal. Can read the information and make business negotiations with the customer based on this, so that even if there is no desired vehicle at the dealer visiting, the customer can find the desired vehicle without having to go to another dealer again In addition, dealers are given the opportunity to sell their own stock vehicles to customers who visit other companies, so inventory can be easily drained. Moreover,
Since the stock information of another company can be directly downloaded to the information processing terminal of the company and used for creating the quote, the trouble of inputting data at the time of creating the quote can be omitted. According to the invention according to claim 2, even if the store does not own the vehicle desired by the customer, the store accesses the homepage from the information processing terminal via the Internet to access the stock information stored in the information providing server. It is possible to search the stock information of other companies related to the vehicle desired by the customer from the homepage and present the information to the customer, and to download the information to its own information processing terminal and Since it can be used for creation, it is possible to save the trouble of inputting data when creating an estimate. In addition, customers who visit other dealers are given an opportunity to sell their own stock vehicles, so that the stock can be easily drained.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, a customer can obtain a quotation of a desired automobile without visiting a store, and a request for quotation can be made on a screen of a homepage. Since the quotation is sent by e-mail, even a person who is not good at negotiating directly with the clerk can easily request a quotation. According to the invention according to claim 4, since the customer can know not only the price of the vehicle body but also the estimate of the total amount to be actually paid, it is possible to easily and accurately determine the purchase of the vehicle. According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, since the estimate transmitted by e-mail includes the image data of the vehicle, the vehicle described in the estimate and the user can be used without actually looking at the actual vehicle. Can easily match the image of the actual vehicle to be purchased. According to the invention of claim 6, since the customer can know the stock information in real time, when a desired vehicle is found, there is a problem that the vehicle has already been sold at that time. Absent. According to the invention according to claim 7,
The dealer can save the trouble of reworking the information items related to the vehicle in the inventory information of the database of the company in accordance with the information items published in the automobile information magazine. According to the invention according to claim 8, in a so-called stand-alone system, it is possible to save the trouble of reworking the information items relating to the vehicle in the inventory information of the own company database in accordance with the information items published in the automobile information magazine.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram schematically showing an overall configuration of a system according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram schematically illustrating a configuration of an information processing terminal, an information aggregation management device, and an information providing server.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an estimate written using the system according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram schematically showing an overall configuration of a system according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram schematically showing an overall configuration of a system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of an operation of a conversion unit.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Information processing terminal 2 Information aggregation management device 3 Communication means 4 Internet 5 Homepage 6 Information terminal 7 Information providing server 11 Logical operation circuit 12 Input means 13 External memory 14 Output means 15 Display means A, B, C, D

[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] April 24, 2001 (2001.4.2
4)

[Procedure amendment 1]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] Claims

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

[Claims]

[Procedure amendment 2]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0010

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

[0010]

The invention according to claim 1 is
An information processing terminal installed at each of a plurality of car dealers and an information aggregation management device that aggregates and manages the inventory information of the plurality of car dealers are connected via a communication means. The information processing terminal includes an input unit for inputting various information related to the vehicle, a display unit for displaying the input information and the like, a store inventory storage unit for storing the inventory information of the vehicle in the store,
Transmitting means for transmitting the information stored in the store inventory storage means to the information aggregation management device; search means for searching for information relating to the automobile desired by the customer; Transmission requesting means for requesting transmission, and quote creation means for creating a quote based on newly inputted input information and already entered stock information, the information aggregation management device comprises: A total inventory storage unit that collectively stores the inventory information of a plurality of car dealers transmitted from the information processing terminal; and an inventory information stored in the all inventory storage unit in response to a request from the information processing terminal. Transmitting means for transmitting, and the searching means searches information stored in the store stock storing means or the total stock storing means for information on a car desired by the customer, Means configured to request transmission of information found by the search means to the information aggregation management apparatus, other companies stored in the information aggregation management apparatus
Download the inventory information to your own information processing terminal,
It is not possible to create a quote using the information
That related to vehicle sales support system, characterized in that.

[Procedure amendment 3]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0011

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information processing terminal having a function of connecting to the Internet installed at each of a plurality of car dealers, and storing and storing inventory information of the plurality of car dealers on the Internet. An automobile sales support system comprising an information providing server provided in the form of a homepage, wherein the information processing terminal includes an input unit for inputting various types of information regarding the automobile, and a display for displaying the input information and the like. Means, store inventory storing means for storing inventory information of cars in the store, search means for searching for information on automobiles desired by the customer from the shop inventory storage means, and store information stored in the shop inventory storage means. transmission means for transmitting the inventory information to the information providing server, a transmission request means for requesting transmission of the inventory information to the information providing server, the new Input information is input to and already entered
The information providing server transmits the stored inventory information to the information processing terminal in response to a request from the information processing terminal. It becomes a transmitting means, information Hisage
The other company's inventory information stored in the server
Download to the processing terminal and use this information to make a quote
The present invention relates to a car sales support system characterized in that it is possible to create a car sales support system.

[Procedure amendment 4]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0014

[Correction method] Deleted

[Procedure amendment 5]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0056

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

According to the third aspect of the present invention, a customer can obtain a quotation of a desired automobile without visiting a store, and a request for quotation can be made on a screen of a homepage. Since the quotation is sent by e-mail, even a person who is not good at negotiating directly with the clerk can easily request a quotation. According to the invention according to claim 4, since the customer can know not only the price of the vehicle body but also the estimate of the total amount to be actually paid, it is possible to easily and accurately determine the purchase of the vehicle. According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, since the estimate transmitted by e-mail includes the image data of the vehicle, the vehicle described in the estimate and the user can be used without actually looking at the actual vehicle. Can easily match the image of the actual vehicle to be purchased. According to the invention of claim 6, since the customer can know the stock information in real time, when a desired vehicle is found, there is a problem that the vehicle has already been sold at that time. Absent. According to the invention according to claim 7,
The dealer can save the trouble of reworking the information items related to the vehicle in the inventory information of the database of the company in accordance with the information items published in the automobile information magazine.

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. An information processing terminal installed at each of a plurality of car dealers and an information aggregation management device that aggregates and manages inventory information of the plurality of car dealers are connected via communication means. An automobile sales support system, wherein the information processing terminal includes an input unit for inputting various types of information related to an automobile, a display unit for displaying input information and the like, and a store for storing inventory information of the automobile at a dealer. Inventory storage means, transmission means for transmitting the information stored in the store inventory storage means to the information aggregation management device, and search means for searching for information on automobiles desired by customers,
A transmission request unit for requesting the information aggregation management device to transmit inventory information; and a quote creation unit for creating a quote based on the input information and the inventory information. All inventory storage means for collectively storing inventory information of a plurality of car dealers transmitted from the terminal, and transmission for transmitting inventory information stored in all inventory storage means in response to a request from the information processing terminal Means, and the search means searches for information on a car desired by the customer from the information stored in the store inventory storage means or the total inventory storage means, and the transmission request means is found by the search means. A vehicle sales support system configured to request transmission of the information to the information aggregation management device. 2. An information processing terminal having a function of connecting to the Internet installed at each of a plurality of car dealers, and stock information of the plurality of car dealers are collectively stored and provided to the Internet in the form of a homepage. An automobile sales support system comprising an information providing server, wherein the information processing terminal includes an input unit for inputting various information related to the automobile, a display unit for displaying the input information, and the like. A store inventory storing means for storing inventory information of the vehicle, a search means for searching for information relating to a vehicle desired by the customer from the store inventory storage means; and providing the inventory information stored in the store inventory storage means to the information. Transmission means for transmitting to the server, transmission request means for requesting the information providing server to transmit inventory information, and input information and inventory information. The information providing server includes a transmitting unit that transmits the stock information stored in response to a request from the information processing terminal to the information processing terminal. An automobile sales support system characterized by the following. 3. The information providing server receives an estimate request from a customer when it is on a homepage,
Estimation request transmission means for transmitting, by e-mail, information indicating that an estimate request has been made to the information processing terminal of the dealer who owns the corresponding vehicle, and the information processing terminal has
3. The car sales support system according to claim 2, further comprising a quote transmitting unit for transmitting the quote created by the quote creating unit to the customer by e-mail. 4. The system according to claim 1, wherein said estimate creating means is configured to calculate a total cost required for acquiring the vehicle including various costs unique to each automobile dealer, such as an agency fee. 4. A car sales support system according to any one of claims 1 to 3. 5. The car sales support system according to claim 3, wherein the quote transmitted by the electronic mail includes image data of the vehicle. 6. The information processing terminal according to claim 1, wherein the transmission means included in the information processing terminal is configured to transmit the update information when the stock information is updated by the input means. An automobile sales support system according to any of the above. 7. The information processing terminal further comprises a conversion unit for converting an information item relating to the vehicle of the inventory information stored in the store inventory storage unit into an information item published in an automobile information magazine. The vehicle sales support system according to claim 1. 8. An information processing terminal is installed at a car dealer,
An automobile sales support system that manages the inventory of the company by the information processing terminal, wherein the information processing terminal is an input unit for inputting various information related to the vehicle, and a display unit for displaying input information and the like. Store inventory storage means for storing vehicle inventory information at a dealership; search means for searching for information on a vehicle desired by a customer; estimate production means for producing a quote based on input information and inventory information; A vehicle sales support system comprising: a conversion unit for converting an information item related to the vehicle in the inventory information stored in the unit into an information item published in an automobile information magazine.