JP2001344487A - Method and system for electronic purchase using internet - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve the problem that the labor for the generation of order forms, purchase ordering management, expendicutre management, etc., can not be saved in an office by the sharing of data since an in-office purchase acknowledging procedure and an order procedure using the Internet are separated before. SOLUTION: This electronic purchase method has a step (203) wherein a purchaser connects a personal computer to the Internet to electronically generate a purchase application form having information on a desired article or service to be purchased and send it to a person who has acknowledging right through the Internet, a step (205) wherein the person who has the acknowledging right connects a personal computer to the Internet to acknowledge the purchase application form through the Internet, and a step (206) wherein an order form is electronically generated according to the information of the acknowledged purchase application form and sends to the seller of the article or service through the Internet.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention generally relates to an electronic purchasing method and an electronic purchasing system for purchasing or selling goods and services via the Internet. More specifically, the present invention relates to an electronic purchasing method and an electronic purchasing system in which a purchase approval procedure in a company or an organization and an order procedure via the Internet can be performed in the same system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Electronic processing of orders and orders for production raw materials and the like of companies is extremely advanced, which contributes to reduction of production costs of companies. However, orders for personal computers and printers, other office equipment and their consumables, office supplies and office supplies such as stationery, and services such as education, hotel accommodation, air tickets, etc. -Orders and purchases have low unit prices and a very wide variety of products.Each company can use its own electronic processing system for purchasing systems, compared to the cost reduction associated with efficiency. The investment tends to be too large.

[0003] For this reason, many companies purchase such goods and services at spots, and it is difficult to effectively negotiate prices with sellers of the goods or services. In addition, merchandise or service sellers also had limitations in developing new sales channels and business opportunities.

[0004]

[0005] If a recent form of electronic commerce using the Internet is used, the conventional commerce goes beyond the one-to-one relationship in which the buyer and the seller are limited to a certain relationship, and the buyer and the seller are changed. A relationship can be created all over Japan where multiple people can participate in commercial transactions at the same time.

[0005] The use of such commerce using the Internet enables commerce beyond conventional limits, and allows buyers to reduce costs and obtain products and services that meet their needs. New sales channels and business opportunities can be obtained.

[0006] However, conventional business transactions using the Internet are not electronically linked to purchase approval procedures in a company. Therefore, companies use their own approval procedures when purchasing goods and services. According to such a conventional system, the internal purchase approval procedure and the order procedure via the Internet are separated, so that the creation of purchase orders, purchase order management, expense management, etc. can be done by sharing data to reduce labor within the company. Had problems that could not be done.

[0007] Further, in the conventional business transaction using the Internet, a seller of a product or service owns a unique server, and the product or service information is provided from the server to the Internet. With such provision of product information via the Internet, buyers cannot find sellers with optimal conditions unless all servers are surfed online using a search engine or the like and compared. For this reason, there is a problem in terms of efficiency in terms of purchasing goods and services under optimal conditions.
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an electronic purchasing system and an electronic purchasing method using the Internet, which solve the above-mentioned conventional problems.

[0008]

In order to achieve this object, the present invention provides an electronic purchasing method using the Internet, in which a purchaser connects to the Internet and obtains a purchase application form having information on a desired product or service. It is created electronically and notified to the authorized person via the Internet, the authorized person approves the purchase application via the Internet, and places the purchase order based on the information of the approved purchase application. An electronic purchasing method is provided that includes electronically creating and notifying a purchase order to a seller of a product or service via the Internet.

According to the above-described electronic purchasing method of the present invention, the creation and approval of a purchase application form and the creation and notification of an order form based on the approval can be performed on the same system via the Internet. It is possible to save labor in purchasing procedures and to make purchasing management and expense management more efficient.

The present invention also relates to an electronic purchasing method using the Internet, wherein an electronic purchasing system having a server, a catalog database containing information on goods or services, and a member database containing information on purchasing members and sales members is provided. Connected to the Internet, a user who can notify a person who has the authority to approve a purchase application containing information on a desired product or service through an electronic purchasing system connected to the Internet And a person who can approve a requisition submitted by the user through the electronic purchasing system provided by the user, based on the information of the goods or services of the requisition approved by the person who can approve the requisition. Electronically created order forms to sales members via electronic That notifies through the purchase system provides electronic purchase method comprising the steps.

Further, according to the present invention, in an electronic purchasing method using the Internet, a seller connects to the Internet and uploads information of goods or services desired to be sold to a catalog database on the Internet, and the buyer can use the Internet via the Internet. A purchase order received electronically after approval by a person having approval authority for a desired product or service is received via the Internet, and the seller confirms the acceptance of the purchase order to the purchaser via the Internet. An electronic purchasing method having each step of notifying is provided.

Further, the present invention provides a server connected to the Internet, a database storing prices of a plurality of goods or services connected to the server and information of sellers of the goods or services, and Means for accessing the database and inputting desired conditions, searching for information in the database and displaying information on candidates for goods or services to the purchaser via the Internet in accordance with the desired conditions; A means for notifying a person having approval authority of a purchase approval application indicating the quantity and price of a desired product or service via the Internet, and a means for allowing the person having approval authority to approve the purchase approval application via the Internet And an order form showing the quantity and price of the goods or services you wish to purchase. Means for creating electronically based on the received information, means for notifying the seller of the product or service via the Internet, and means for the seller receiving the order to provide an order confirmation guide for the product or service on the Internet. And a means for notifying a purchaser via the Internet and a means for the purchaser to confirm the order confirmation guide sent via the Internet. Further, the present invention provides, in a computer-readable storage medium of a computer system having a server connected to the Internet, catalog data including information on goods or services, information on purchasing members of goods or services, and purchasing by purchasing members. Electronically create a purchase application form that includes information on a person who has the authority to approve and information on a sales member of a product or service and information on a product or service that the buyer wants to purchase via the Internet. And a program for performing a step of notifying a purchase application form to a person having the approval authority via the Internet through a computer system, and a program for performing the purchase application through the Internet Computer approval steps A program to be executed by the system, a step of electronically creating an order form based on the information of the approved purchase application form by a computer system, and a step of notifying the order form to the seller via the Internet. And a storage medium for storing a program executed by a computer system. Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to FIG. 1, an outline of an electronic purchasing system 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown. The electronic purchasing system 100 is the Internet 10
1 connected to the web server 102a and the application server 1 connected to the web server 102a
02b and a database server 102c connected to the application server 102b. These servers are connected to a catalog database 103a of goods and services, a member database 103b, and a storage device 103c that stores other information and a computer program of the electronic purchasing system 100. The web server 102a is a server that has been certified by a third-party certificate authority (for example, VeriSign, Inc.) to prevent spoofing. This server and client (a purchasing member user, a person who has authorization authority, and a sales member) ) Is transmitted via the Internet 101 using SSL (Secure Socket Layer, for browsers) or S / MINE (for e-mail) using encryption capable of preventing eavesdropping and tampering for security. Perform by communication. Although not shown, the electronic purchasing system 100 has a terminal connected to a server for operation by an operation manager.

Purchasing members (company or organization) A, B, and C are connected to LANs from personal computers in the company or organization.
Or, Internet 101 by dial-up connection
The electronic purchase system 100 can be accessed via the. As the personal computers of the purchasing members A, B and C, for example, the free space of the hard disk is 50 MB or more,
4. The memory is 64 MB or more, and Microsoft Internet Explorer version 5.
0 may be used.

[0015] Sales member X, Y, Z of goods or services
Can access the electronic purchasing system 100 from a personal computer via the Internet 101 by LAN or dial-up connection. Sales member X,
The Y and Z personal computers may be, for example, those having a hard disk free space of 50 MB or more, a memory of 64 MB or more, and using Microsoft Internet Explorer version 5.0 as a browser.

In FIG. 1, for the sake of simplicity, purchasing members (company or organization) A, B, and C and sales members (sales company, etc.) X, Y, and Z are three companies (or three companies, respectively).
) Are shown, but in actuality, the size may be several hundred companies (or hundreds) or more. Although FIG. 1 shows only one personal computer of the purchasing members A, B, and C accessing the electronic purchasing system 100 via the Internet for the sake of simplicity of the drawing, each purchasing member A, Dozens or more employees per user B or C exist as users or persons in charge, and the electronic purchasing system 10 via the Internet 101 through a LAN or dial-up connection within the company.
0 can be accessed with their own personal computer. Further, there is one or several persons (administrators or management departments) having the approval authority for each of the purchasing members A, B, and C, and the persons having this approval authority also have a corporate LAN or dial-up connection via the Internet 101. Thus, the user can access the electronic purchasing system 100 with his / her personal computer. Further, FIG. 1 shows one personal computer for each sales member X, Y, Z for the sake of simplicity, but in reality, several tens or more personal computers for each sales member are connected to the electronic purchasing system 100 via the Internet. It is connected via 101 and a plurality of persons in charge can operate at the same time.

The purchasing member A of the electronic purchasing system 100,
If necessary, the members B, C and the sales members X, Y, Z may be registered as members only if they have a certain level of credit or more by a preliminary examination of the administrator of the electronic purchasing system 100. An electronic purchasing system 1 is provided to a user of a company or an organization registered as a purchasing member and a person having approval authority.
From 00, a unique ID and password are given. Each of the sales members X, Y, and Z of the product or service is also given a unique ID and password at the time of member registration. Thereafter, the electronic purchasing system 100 authenticates the member using the ID and the password.

Referring to FIG. 2, the electronic purchasing system 10
0 shows the outline of the flow of transactions and purchase procedures. First, the electronic purchasing system 100 is connected to a personal computer of each member on the Internet 101 via, for example, www. XXXX. The connection is possible with the URL address “com”. Next, the sales member X sends the catalog information of his / her product or service to the electronic purchasing system 1.
00 is uploaded to the catalog database 103a (step 201). This catalog upload is performed, for example, by operating a screen as shown in FIG. The sales member X may set a special price discount rate for the special purchase member regarding the prices of the products and services in this catalog. For example, by operating the screen shown in FIG. 4, the sales member X classifies the purchase members into general or customer ranks A to J,
A discount rate (for example, 11 discount rates in 5% increments from 5% to 55% from the list price) is set according to this classification, and the purchasing member sets the catalog database 103.
When viewing the price of the product or service of the sales member X from a, a discounted price obtained by giving a special discount to the purchasing member may be presented in addition to the fixed price. As a result, prices reflecting the relationship between the sales member X and the purchase member (for example, a discount contract relationship) can be individually set in the catalog database. The individual discounted price is displayed only for the discounted members and cannot be seen by other members.

If the sales member X has received a quote request for goods or services from the purchasing member A via the electronic purchasing system 100, the quote sheet in which necessary information such as the quoted price and delivery date is entered. E-purchasing system 1
00, and can be sent to the purchasing member A via the electronic purchasing system 100 (step 202).

The user of the purchasing member A (for example, a person in charge at the site) accesses the electronic purchasing system 100 via the Internet and opens a purchasing member main menu as shown in FIG. In the main menu for purchasing members in FIG. 16, there are icons of purchase request (including creation of purchase application, status check, request for quotation), purchase approval icon, analysis icon (including price analysis and purchase analysis), database icon (Including regular catalog and product database search), user registration application icon, list icon (including creation and updating of product selection form, quote request form, quote form, purchase application form, purchase budget form, equipment registration form, etc.) It is included. In addition, according to the ID at the time of login, FIG.
There are restrictions on the menus available above. For example,
The purchase approval icon can be used only by the person who has the ID of the person who has the approval authority in the company of the purchase member A. Each form in the list icon can use only the ID of the authorized person of the management department of the purchasing member A. The user of purchasing member A (for example,
The person in charge at the site uses the database icon in FIG. 16 to search for a desired product or service using the catalog database 103a of the electronic purchasing system 100 (step 203 in FIG. 2).

When a regular catalog is selected from the database icons shown in FIG. 16, a screen as shown in FIG. 5, for example, is displayed to the user for searching the catalog database 103a of the electronic purchasing system 100. The user of the purchasing member A clicks the icon i in the screen of FIG. 5 that displays the category of the product or service to enter a screen of more detailed information of the product or service group classified by category. it can. Enter necessary conditions in the lower part of the screen of FIG.
The product or service in 3a may be searched.

When a product database search in the database icon of FIG. 16 is selected, for example, a screen as shown in FIG. 6 is displayed to the user, and the electronic purchasing system 1 is displayed.
00, a product or service in the catalog database 103a can be searched. If there is a quote, the details of the quote from the sales member can be displayed by clicking the quote display button at the top of the search screen in FIG. In the middle of the screen, there are columns for inputting a product name, a maker model number, a maker name, a sales company, a product classification (JAN) code, a discounted price range (yen), and a keyword. For example, a search result obtained by inputting a specific number to the manufacturer model number is shown in the lower part of the screen. FIG. 6 shows that there are three products that hit the input maker model number.

The search result display columns in FIG. 6 are, from the left, a selection box, a JAN code comparison button, a detail display button, a maker name, a maker model number, a product name, a list price, a discounted price, a discount rate, a sales destination, and a delivery date. , And a column of product specifications are displayed. Usually, the merchandise or service items are displayed from the top column to the bottom in ascending order of the price in the column of the discounted price. Items from the manufacturer name to the discounted price can be sorted. Click the JAN comparison button to compare the JAN codes. Further, by clicking the button for detailed display, detailed information of the product can be viewed. In this way, the merchandise desired to be purchased can be compared and examined in the catalog database 103a, and compared with the estimated price and delivery date information of the quotation from the sales member. The user can click the selection box on the left side of the screen in FIG. 6 and enter a check mark to select a product on that line.

Next, FIG. 7 shows an example screen of the electronic purchase application form created in step 204 of FIG. FIG.
In the upper part of the purchase application form creation screen shown in FIG. 7, there is a confirmed commodity take-in button. When this button is clicked, the commodity selected in FIG. 6 is taken in the lower part of the screen of FIG. In the lower part of the screen of FIG. 7, a deletion box, application number, product name, part number-model number, maker, sales company (sales member), list price, discounted price, quantity, unit, amount, desired delivery date, remarks, and quotation display are displayed. , And data on the product selected above is automatically filled in here. The user enters the columns of the quantity of the selected product and the desired delivery date manually. When the user inputs the quantity, the amount and the applied amount are automatically calculated and displayed on the purchase application form in the screen of FIG. Clicking the delete button deletes the product on that line from the purchase application form. A change in the amount due to the deletion is automatically reflected in the amount displayed on the screen. By clicking an add button in the middle part of the screen in FIG. 7, it is possible to add a product manually entered in the middle part in the lower part. The price of the product thus added is also calculated and automatically reflected in the amount of the application amount on the screen.

On the right side of the screen in FIG. 7, the date, name and affiliation are automatically displayed from the ID registration information of the user of the purchasing member A. If the user clicks an application form transmission button in the upper left of the screen in FIG. 7, a person who has registered the purchase approval authority with respect to the user who created this purchase application form (for example, a manager at the site of the user) The purchase application form is sent to the address via the electronic purchasing system 100.

For example, a hierarchy is provided for the purchase approval in accordance with the amount of the application amount in the purchase application form, and when a purchasing member user can place an order alone without approval, if a user having one approval authority has Single-level approval (ie only site-level approvals), multi-level approvers of higher-level approvals (ie two sites, site and administrative) ) May be divided. It should be noted that, in accordance with the amount of the application or when the creator of the purchase application has the approval authority alone, an order form may be automatically created directly from the purchase application form.

Referring again to FIG. 2, the electronic purchasing system 100 enters an in-house approval procedure for the purchase application created as described above (step 205). FIG. 8 shows a purchase application created by the method described above with reference to FIG. A person who has the approval authority of the purchasing member A (for example, an administrator at the site of the user)
When the user clicks the approval button on the upper left of the purchase application form in FIG. 8 on the electronic purchasing system 100, the registered imprint of the approver is displayed together with the approval date and time in the corresponding place in the upper right column of the purchase application form. . The purchase application form is sent via the electronic purchasing system 100 to the next-level approval authority, if any. In the case of one-level approval, the user can automatically create an order form from the approved purchase application as described later. If the person who has the approval authority does not approve the purchase application form, add a comment in the comment column at the bottom of the screen in FIG. 8 and click the disavow button at the top left of the screen.
The application form is returned to the user (applicant) via the electronic purchasing system 100.

It is assumed that the next level of approval is performed in the form of settlement in the management department (purchasing department), for example. The purchase application form approved by the person who has the approval authority at the site is sent to the management department via the electronic purchasing system 100 by changing the name to, for example, a settlement application form as shown in FIG. When the person who has the approval authority in the management department clicks the approval button on the upper left of the settlement application form shown in the screen of FIG. 9 on the electronic purchasing system 100, the registered imprint of the approval authority is registered in the corresponding place in the upper right column. Is displayed together with the settlement date and time and sent to the next approval authority. If the authorized person is the final approval authority, the completed application form is sent to the completed database in the electronic purchasing system 100.

The applicant (user) or the person in charge can always grasp the state of waiting for approval of the purchase application form or the settlement application form by viewing a list screen of the electronic purchasing system 100, for example, as shown in FIG. When the applicant (user) or the person in charge opens the completed database and clicks a button for creating a purchase order at the upper left of the completed payment application shown in the screen of FIG. 11, for example, an order form as shown in FIG. It is created automatically using the data that has been settled.

On the left side of the order form on the screen of FIG. 12, the address, company name, person in charge, telephone number, and the like of the destination sales member X are displayed using data registered in the electronic purchasing system 100 in advance. In the center is the delivery location address, company name, contact name,
The telephone and fax numbers can also be displayed in pre-registered data or can be changed and entered each time. On the right side, the address, company name, person in charge, telephone number, fax number and the like of the user of the purchasing member A registered in advance are also displayed.
In the lower part of the order form in FIG. 12, the order item number, product name, manufacturer, product number-model number, quantity,
The unit, price, consumption tax, total amount, delivery date, and remarks are automatically imported and displayed. Next, the user or the person in charge of the purchasing member A clicks the transmission button on the upper left of the order form on the screen of FIG. 12 to send this order form to the destination sales member X via the electronic purchasing system 100 (FIG. 2). Step 206).

Referring again to FIG. 2, the sales member X receives the order form via the electronic purchasing system 100, checks the contents of the order, checks the stock of the ordered product, and if necessary, purchase member A.
After investigating the presence or absence of the credit of the purchase member A, a notification of the acceptance of the order is sent to the sender of the purchasing member A via the electronic purchasing system 100 (step 207). Further, the sales member X sends a delivery guide of the product of the order form to the sender of the purchase member A via the electronic purchase system 100 (step 208).
The user of the purchasing member A confirms the order reception response and the delivery guidance through the electronic purchasing system 100 (step 209).

The schematic flow of the electronic purchasing system 100 has been described with reference to FIG. In the electronic purchasing system according to the present invention, all of the product catalogs, in-house approval procedures and order / order receiving procedures necessary for purchasing are completed in the electronic purchasing system 100. The sending and receiving of quote requests, application forms and order forms using conventional documents are all performed electronically in the electronic purchasing system 100. Therefore, the cost for creating, sending, and storing documents can be reduced. When the electronic document to be processed or confirmed is sent in the electronic purchasing system 100, the destination registered in the electronic purchasing system 100 is E-mail.
The notification by e-mail may be automatically performed using the e-mail address (for example, the e-mail address of the member company). That is, the electronic purchasing system 100
When the electronic order form is sent to the sales member X, the electronic purchasing system 100 automatically sends an e-mail with the following words to the registered e-mail address of the sales member X: "You ( X) You have received your order form. Click here (URL address of electronic procurement system 100) and process the order form. "

Next, referring to FIGS. 13 and 14, the workflow of the purchasing procedure in the electronic purchasing system 100 will be described in more detail. The workflow in the electronic purchasing system 100 shown in FIG. 13 is such that a user of the purchasing member A at the upper left enters a predetermined ID and password into the electronic purchasing system 10.
The process starts by inputting a login screen 1301 of “0”.
When the ID and the password are input, for example, the above-described menu screen 1302 shown in FIG. 16 for the purchasing member A is displayed. When the status check in the screen of FIG. 16 is selected, menus such as an estimate request list screen 1303, a purchase application list screen 1304, a purchase approval waiting list screen 1305, and the like are displayed. When the user selects the quote request list screen 1303, a list of quote requests created and sent by the user so far is displayed together with its status (whether a response is waiting or a response has been received).

When a new request for quotation is made, the quotation request data is input to the screen 1306 of the quotation request form, and the sales request is sent to the sales member X via the electronic purchasing system 100.
307 can be sent. At the same time, the electronic purchasing system 100 automatically informs the e-mail 1308 that the quote request has been sent to the e-mail address of the person in charge of the sales member X registered in advance. Note that the user can go to the product search screen 1315 as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 from the quote request screen 1306, for example, and search for the product as described above.

The person in charge of the sales member X is notified by e-mail 1308 that the request for quotation has been sent to the company within the electronic purchasing system 100, and the electronic purchasing system 1
When an ID and a password are input on the login screen 1309 of 00, a menu screen 1310 of the sales member X is displayed. From this menu, select an unanswered quotation request form from the quotation request / response list 1311 and enter the quotation response entry screen 13
Open 12. This quote answer entry screen 1312 captures quote request data 1307 from purchasing member A.
Then, the sales response data 1313 of the sales member X is displayed on the screen 1
312, the user of the purchasing member A is given the electronic purchasing system 10
Answer via 0. The data for which the quote was answered is sent to the quote answer reference screen 131 via the quote request / answer list 1311.
4 can be seen.

The user of the purchasing member A can use the quote request list screen 1303 to display the sales member X's quoted data 131
It is possible to go to the quote request / quotation screen 1316 displaying 3 and examine the quote response data.

After selecting the purchase application list screen 1304, the user of the purchasing member A can go to the purchase application form creation screen 1317 as shown in FIG. 7, for example. This screen 13
In 17, a purchase application can be created using the product data selected from the product search screen 1315 or the quote response data selected from the quote request / quotation screen. The purchase application data 1318 is sent to a person who has the authority to approve the purchase of the user of the purchasing member A (for example, an on-site manager) to apply for approval. The purchase request data 1318 is sent to the approver, and at the same time, an e-mail 1319 notifying the registered e-mail address of the approver that the purchase application form to be processed has been sent to the electronic purchasing system 100.
Will be sent.

When the person having the approval authority is informed of the existence of the application form to be approved by the e-mail as described above, his / her own ID is displayed on the login screen 1301 of the electronic purchasing system 100.
D and a password, select a purchase approval icon from a menu screen 1302 as shown in FIG. 16, go to a purchase approval waiting list screen 1305, and enter a purchase application waiting for approval as shown in FIG. The application approval procedure is performed by opening the screen 1320. When approving (if there are multiple persons to approve the purchase application, each approver will submit 1317, 1318,
1319, 1305, and 1320, and the final approver approves), the approved purchase request data 1321 is sent to the purchase application form screen 1323, and the user inputs the approved purchase application form from the purchase application list screen 1304. You can check the contents.

The purchase application form approved at the site as described above is transferred to the purchase management section workflow shown in FIG. Purchasing member A
The user (person in charge) of the purchase management department enters his / her ID and password on the login screen 1301 of the electronic purchasing system 100, enters the menu 1324 of the purchase management department, and looks at the purchase application list screen 1325 from the site. Can be. Then, a payment form 1326 is created from the purchase application form 1323 approved at the site.

When the settlement form 1326 is created, the approved data at the site of the purchase application form 1323 is used. Alternatively, the user (person in charge) of the purchasing department performs product search 1315
The request for quotation 1306 may be performed again to find a product under more optimal conditions (for example, at a lower price), and a payment statement 1326 may be created from the product data. The settlement document data 1327 created in this way is sent to a person having the approval authority in the purchasing department. Electronic purchasing system 10 at the same time
0 informs a pre-registered e-mail address of a person having the approval authority that there is a settlement document to be processed, and urges the electronic purchasing system 100 to access and process the settlement.

A person who has the approval authority in the purchase management department passes through a login screen 1301, a menu screen 1324, and a payment approval waiting list screen 1329 of the electronic purchasing system 100, for example, a payment application form screen 1330 as shown in FIG.
Open and make a payment. If there are a plurality of approvers, the procedure is repeated in the order of approval as in the case of the purchase application form approval described above. The settlement data 1331 that has been approved by the final approver is displayed on the settlement statement display screen 1332.

The user (person in charge) of the purchase management section goes from the settlement statement list screen 1333 to the settlement statement display screen 1332 in order to confirm the processing contents of the settlement statement. This screen 1332 may be, for example, a screen as shown in FIG. FIG.
1. Click the above-mentioned order form creation button to create an order form. Then, an order form is automatically created using the payment data 1331. FIG. 12 is an example of an automatically created order form. Clicking the send button on the order form screen 1334 of FIG.
335 is sent via the electronic purchasing system 100. At the same time, the electronic purchasing system 100 sends an e-mail 1336 to the e-mail address of the person in charge of the sales member X registered in advance, as described above, to notify that the order has been received and to prompt the processing of the order.

The person in charge of the sales member X is the electronic purchasing system 1
Go to the order list screen 1337 via the login screen 1309 and the menu screen 1310 of 00, look at the order form including the order data, confirm necessary inventory and credit, and then confirm the order acceptance. Is input to the screen 1338, and the order data 1339 including the order reception response confirmation information is returned to the sales member A via the electronic purchasing system 100.
Order response reference screen 1340 from order list screen 1337
Can also go.

The purchasing member A can confirm the response from the sales company X on the order form display screen 1342 from the order form list screen 1341 and, when the merchandise is delivered from the sales company X, deliver the product (or Inspection) input can be made on the input screen 1343.

The details of the electronic purchasing method and the electronic purchasing system of the present invention have been described above. Next, an outline of the overall functions of the electronic purchasing system 100 will be described with reference to the menu screen of the electronic purchasing system of one embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 1501 is the electronic purchasing system 100
Screen and corresponds to the homepage on the Internet. This top screen 1501 is open to the public on the Internet 101 in addition to members and can be accessed. An introduction to a site that displays advantages, restrictions, and disclaimers of using the electronic purchasing system 100, a contact address, and the like are displayed. From this top screen 1501, it is possible to go to an online sign-up screen 1502 for member application and a login screen 1503 for members and operators. By using the online sign-up screen 1502, a member application can be made online. For those who wish to apply for membership, the electronic purchasing system 100
After agreeing to the terms and conditions of use, necessary information such as corporate information of the member applicant is input, and then an ID and a password are given to the member applicant. However, the electronic purchasing system 10
Until an operator becomes a formal member after the examination of the 0 operator, the member is treated as a temporary member, and the menu that can be used may be restricted. For example, a temporary member may be restricted from using the in-house approval procedure.

When an ID and a password are entered on the log-in screen 1503, a purchasing member menu 1505, a selling member menu 1506, and an operation manager menu 1507 are displayed via the whole menu 1504 according to the type of the inputted ID. From the general menu 1504, the user goes to the member information update menu 1508, and the member can also change the password, change the address, change the telephone number, and edit the data profile.

In the purchasing member menu 1505, available functions among the functions described below differ depending on the input ID. That is, the superior approval function is limited to the person having the ID of the authorized person. Purchasing member menu 150
5 includes product search function, usage guidance function, product comparison function, your (discounted price) price display function, basket display function, advertisement display function, purchase application function, superior approval function, order and response confirmation function, order It has a cancellation function, an order history display function, an order history reorder function, an acceptance input and acceptance notice issuing function, and an order information download function.

As described above, the product search function can perform a product number search, a manufacturer name specified search, a product name specified search, a product model number specified search, a classification code specified search, and a price range specified search. Each search condition can be searched by an AND condition or by an OR condition. The products can be displayed in order of price with the product comparison function. The other price display function is a function for displaying the individual discounted price presented by the sales member to the purchase member. The usage guidance function describes how to use each function displayed in the purchasing member menu 1505, and displays notes and operation methods so that even a first-time member can use the functions. The advertisement display function is a function of displaying an advertisement described later on a screen. The basket display function temporarily stores information on a product to be searched and purchased. The processing at the time of ordering is simplified by storing the information from the time when a plurality of searches are repeatedly performed to select a plurality of products to the time when the products are purchased collectively. The ordering function can also be purchased from products stored in baskets, and can be ordered to various sales members at once. At this time, the delivery destination of the product or service can be designated from the delivery destinations registered in advance by the member. In addition, the delivery destination can be changed and designated each time an order is placed.

The ordered information is registered with the sales member, and is in a state of waiting for an order acceptance response from the sales member. When the sales member responds to the reception, the order is confirmed, and the order and response confirmation function can be used to confirm the delivery date and the delivery quantity from the sales member. The order cancellation function is a function for canceling an order placed by a purchasing member, and registers order cancellation information with a sales member. The registered order cancellation information is considered to have been accepted when the sales member accepted the order cancellation. After shipment or delivery, it will be a return application instead of an order cancellation. The order history function can refer to each product, sales member, date, and price, and can refer to the purchase route of the product. You can use this to reorder. The acceptance input / inspection machine notification function performs an acceptance process, an acceptance process, and a notification process for goods received by order number.

The order information download function is a function based on the premise that information ordered by a purchasing member is analyzed by Excel (trademark of Microsoft Corporation) or RDB (relational database) and used for management. The information specified from among the information provided from 100 is downloaded to the member's personal computer or the like.
The profile of the designated information can be registered for each member, and the designated information can be temporarily changed and downloaded.

A member who has been authenticated using the ID of the sales member on the login screen 1503 is provided with a sales member menu 1506.
Is displayed. The sales member menu 1506 has a usage guide, an order confirmation and delivery note issuing function, an order data download function, a catalog updating function, a price list updating function, an acceptance notice receiving function, a bill issuing function, and the like.

The order confirmation / delivery note issuance function registers the status of order acceptance, shipment, and delivery for each order number with reference to the registered purchaser's order information. Can reply to orders, reply to delivery dates, and issue delivery notes. Information such as the delivery destination can be displayed on the browser for each order number, and the delivery note can be printed using the print function of the browser.

The order data download function is a function based on the premise that the information ordered by the sales member is utilized in Excel, RDB, or the like. Download to a computer etc. The profile of the designated information can be registered for each member, and the designated information can be temporarily changed and downloaded.
The catalog file update function updates the catalog information after the sales member uploads catalog information of a product to be sold in the electronic purchasing system 100 to the electronic purchasing system 100. The price list update function is used when updating the price of a product in a catalog. The acceptance notice receiving function receives the acceptance of the delivered goods from the purchasing member. Invoicing function can print invoices using the print function of the browser

When the ID of the administrator of the electronic purchasing system 100 is input to the log-in screen 1503, the operation proceeds to the administrator menu 1507. The administrator menu 1507 has a catalog download function, an advertisement registration function, an error log output / reference function, and the like. The catalog download function downloads catalog contents uploaded from a sales member to the electronic purchasing system 100. The contents of the downloaded contents are confirmed visually.
The advertisement registration function registers, changes, and deletes advertisements to be posted in banner advertisements (displayed at the top or bottom of each screen for a certain period of time) in response to a request from a sales member. Manages image size, display time, etc. Issuing an invoice for each sales member who has placed an advertisement using the billing function for advertising.

The following functions can be added to the electronic purchasing system 100, for example. Set sales registration function: A sales member registers a set configuration of a product to be sold in the set configuration. When the purchasing member searches for a product registered in the set, the registered set product is displayed.
Examples are a set product of a personal computer and a printer, a set product of a printer, a toner cartridge, and a printer cable, and a set product of a digital camera and a scanner. Planner sales function: When a purchasing member specifies a product to be purchased, recommends a product that is deemed necessary from a product summary. For example, a LAN card or office software is simultaneously recommended to a personal computer purchasing member.

Bidding function: a purchasing member registers information for bidding, notifies a designated sales member or a registered sales member of a bid, and the bidding sales member places a bid. The purchasing member who sponsored the bid opens the bid and notifies the selling member who has bid the result. The purchasing member purchases the specified product from the winning selling member. Auction function: The sales member registers the product to be listed in the auction,
Specify the amount within the period during which the purchasing member is registered. The sales member confirms the result of the auction application after the elapse of the designated period, notifies the buyer who has won the auction, and sells the product. The operation manager searches for a product for sale in the auction, and deletes the auction for an inappropriate product. Reverse auction function: The product desired by the purchasing member is posted in the reverse auction, and the lowest price at which the sales member who has confirmed that is available is registered. After the specified period has elapsed, the sales member purchases the desired product from the sales member who has offered the lowest price. The operation manager searches for a desired product and deletes an inappropriate product. Bank settlement function: A purchasing member and a sales member have previously registered settlement with a bank in advance via a bank, and are used to settle transactions between member companies licensed by the bank. Courier support function: Prints the delivery destination of the product shipping information according to the format of the invoice used by Takkyubin (registered trademark). Automatically calculates the basic shipping fee for each region from the shipping information delivery destination and the sales member's company information. Based on the courier service reception number, the loading location information of the delivered product from the sales member is sent to the purchasing member.

[0057]

According to the electronic purchasing method and the electronic purchasing system of the present invention, the creation and approval of a purchase application form and the creation and transmission of an order form based on the approval can be performed on the same system via the Internet. In addition, labor saving of purchasing procedures in a company or an organization and efficiency of purchasing management and expense management can be achieved.

According to the present invention, a purchase application form is electronically transmitted to an approval authority, an order form is created electronically based on the purchase approval of the approval authority, and the order form is sent to the Internet. After that, it can be transmitted to the seller of the desired product or service. Therefore, in the present invention, the purchase approval procedure and the ordering procedure in a company or an organization are electronically linked via the Internet, and labor saving can be achieved by data sharing. In addition, data sharing is useful for labor saving in purchase order management and expense management within a company or organization.

According to the present invention, since information on goods or services is stored in the database, the purchaser can search the database and display candidates meeting desired conditions. You can look like a catalog. Therefore, there is no need to surf the Internet site of a company that provides goods and services to collect necessary information, and it is possible to efficiently collect information on goods or services for purchase.

Further, according to the present invention, the buyer can send a quote request to the seller of the product or service via the Internet, and the seller who has received the quote request gives the user a quote describing the estimated price and delivery date. Can be sent via the Internet. Therefore, it is possible to request a quote from the seller at any time other than the general product or service information stored in the database, and to obtain or obtain the product or service information in a more flexible and adaptive manner for both the buyer and the seller. Can be provided.

Further, according to the present invention, a seller can set the price of his or her own goods or services for each purchaser. Therefore, flexible price setting based on the relationship between the seller and the buyer is possible.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing an electronic purchasing system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an outline of a procedure flow of the electronic purchasing system according to the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a product catalog upload screen of the electronic purchasing system according to the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a view showing a customer rank input screen for setting a discount price in the electronic purchasing system according to the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a view showing a catalog database search screen of the electronic purchasing system according to the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a view showing a result screen of a catalog database search of the electronic purchasing system according to the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a view showing a purchase application form creation screen of the electronic purchasing system according to the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a view showing a purchase application form approval screen of the electronic purchasing system according to the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a view showing a payment application form approval screen of the electronic purchasing system according to the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a view showing a payment statement list screen of the electronic purchasing system according to the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a screen for creating an order form from a settlement application form of the electronic purchasing system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an order form screen of the electronic purchasing system according to the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing in detail a flow of a purchasing procedure (site) of the electronic purchasing system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing in detail a flow of a purchasing procedure (administrative department) of the electronic purchasing system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a diagram schematically showing overall functions of an electronic purchasing system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 16 is a view showing a main menu screen of a purchasing member of the electronic purchasing system according to the embodiment of the present invention;

[Explanation of symbols]

 A, B, C Purchasing members X, Y, Z Sales members 100 Electronic purchasing system 101 Internet 102a Web server 102b Application server 102c Database server 103a Catalog database 103b Member database 103c Storage device

Claims (21)

[Claims] In an electronic purchasing method using the Internet, a purchaser connects to the Internet and electronically creates a purchase application form having information on a desired product or service, and sends the purchase application form to a person who has the authority to approve the Internet. A person having the approval authority connects to the Internet to approve the purchase application via the Internet, and electronically creates an order based on the information of the approved purchase application; An electronic purchasing method including the steps of notifying a seller of the product or service of the order form via the Internet. 2. When a purchaser inputs desired conditions for goods or services via the Internet, the buyer searches a catalog database of goods or services connected to the Internet and sends the search result to the buyer via the Internet. 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of:
Electronic purchasing method described. 3. When a buyer obtains information on a price of a product or service via the Internet, the method includes a step of presenting a specific discount price of a seller of the product or service to the specific buyer. The electronic purchasing method according to claim 1. 4. An electronic purchasing method using the Internet, comprising: an electronic purchasing system having a server, a catalog database containing information on goods or services, and a member database containing information on purchasing members and sales members. A user capable of notifying a person having approval authority of a purchase application having information on a desired product or service via the electronic purchasing system connected to the Internet, A person capable of approving the purchase application submitted by the user via the electronic purchasing system connected to the Internet, and the purchase application approved by the person capable of approving the purchase application A purchase order created electronically based on the information in
Notifying the sales member via the electronic purchasing system connected to the Internet. 5. The electronic system according to claim 4, further comprising the step of searching for a product or service in the catalog database when the purchasing member inputs predetermined conditions, and presenting the search result to the purchasing member via the Internet. Purchase method. 6. The method according to claim 4, further comprising the step of the sales member presenting a special discount price to the specific purchase member for the goods or services in the catalog database.
Electronic purchasing method described. 7. In an electronic purchasing method using the Internet, a seller connects to the Internet and uploads information on a desired product or service to a catalog database on the Internet. The seller receives, via the Internet, an order form created electronically after being approved by a person having the approval authority for the goods or services, and the seller receives, via the Internet, a response to the receipt confirmation of the order form via the Internet. An electronic purchasing method having each step of notifying the buyer. 8. The electronic purchasing method according to claim 7, further comprising a step in which the seller presents a discount price for a price of a product or service uploaded to the catalog database to the specific buyer. 9. The method according to claim 9, wherein the seller receives a quote request for the goods or services from the buyer via the Internet, and notifies the buyer of the quote about the goods or services via the Internet. The electronic purchasing method according to claim 7. 10. A server connected to the Internet, a database storing information on prices of a plurality of goods or services connected to the server and sellers of the goods or services, and Means for accessing a database and inputting desired conditions, searching the information in the database, and displaying information of candidates for goods or services according to the desired conditions to the buyer via the Internet,
Means for notifying, via the Internet, a purchase approval application indicating the quantity and price of the goods or services desired by the purchaser to the person having the approval authority, Means for approving an application for approval, means for electronically creating an order form indicating the quantity and price of the approved goods or services to be purchased based on the approved information, and Means for notifying the seller of the goods or services via the Internet, and the seller of the goods or services receiving the order form receiving the order confirmation response of the desired goods or services via the Internet, And a means for the buyer to confirm the order confirmation response via the Internet. Beam. 11. A means for the purchaser to notify the seller of the product or service of the product or service via the Internet to the seller of the quote of the product or service; The electronic purchasing system according to claim 10, further comprising: means for notifying the buyer of the quote via the Internet; and means for the buyer to confirm the quote received via the Internet. 12. The method according to claim 10, further comprising means for allowing the buyer to search, compare, or select a price or delivery term of a product or service from the database or the quote via the Internet. Electronic purchasing system. 13. A means for receiving the order form, a means for notifying the buyer of a delivery guide of goods or services via the Internet, and a means for allowing the buyer to confirm the delivery guide via the Internet. The electronic purchasing system according to claim 10, comprising: 14. The system according to claim 13, further comprising means for allowing the purchaser to check the approval status, the order confirmation response reception status, the estimate report reception status, or the delivery guide reception status via the Internet. Electronic purchasing system. 15. The purchaser according to claim 10, wherein the purchaser is a user in a company or organization registered in advance, and the person having the approval authority is a person registered in the company or organization of the purchaser in advance. Electronic purchasing system. 16. A method including means for supplying the order information of a product or service for each product or service, for each company or organization to which a purchaser belongs, or for each seller, via the Internet. Item 15. The electronic purchasing system according to Item 15. 17. The server is a server that has been authenticated by a third-party certification authority in advance, and the seller, the purchaser, and the person having the authorization authority have a password and an ID.
The electronic purchase according to claim 10, further comprising means for performing authentication in D, and exchanging information between the server and the seller, the purchaser, and the person having the authorization authority via the Internet by encrypting the information. system. 18. The electronic purchasing system according to claim 12, further comprising means for allowing the seller to input information on goods or services into the database and update the information. 19. A means for the purchaser to perform acceptance input of goods or services, a notice of acceptance via the Internet and a notice of return of goods via the Internet, and a notice by the seller for acceptance of goods or services via the Internet. 11. The electronic purchasing system according to claim 10, further comprising means for receiving and receiving a return notice via the Internet and issuing a bill. 20. A method in which the seller presents a discount price setting of a product or service to a specific buyer via the Internet, and sets the discount price as the price of the specific buyer of the product or service. The electronic purchasing system according to claim 10, comprising: 21. A computer-readable storage medium of a computer system having a server connected to the Internet, comprising: catalog data including information on goods or services; information on a purchasing member of the goods or services; Electronically transmits information of a person who has the authority to approve the purchase, member data including information of a sales member of the product or service, and a purchase application form having information of a product or service desired by the buyer via the Internet. A program that performs a step of creating in a computer system by a computer system, a program that performs a step of notifying the purchase application form to a person having the approval authority via the Internet, and a person having the approval authority Said purchase requisition via the Internet A program that performs a step of approving a purchase order by a computer system, a program that performs a step of electronically creating a purchase order based on the information of the approved purchase requisition form, and a program that executes the order form on the Internet. And a program for performing the step of notifying the seller via a computer system via a computer system.