JP2002056244A - Ordering and order receiving method using electronic mail - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To permit online ordering only in the utilizing environment of electronic mail even to a user restricted for the utilization of a Web environmental and to provide respective functions for approving order contents, ordering for plural users including an additional user, transmitting a purchase budget amount or cumulative purchase amount within a fixed period and ordering using an ordering history in the past. SOLUTION: In the ordering and order receiving method composed of an orderer and an order recipient in an environment capable of utilizing electronic mail, the ordering information of an article is stored in the attached file of mail on the side of orderer and this file is converted into a prescribed language form and transmitted to the order recipient. The order recipient converts the attached file of received mail again, extracts order receiving data and performs stock allocating and forwarding instructing. Concerning all orders or order equal to or higher than a fixed amount, the approval of an authorized person is defined as an order receiving condition. The registered orderer permits ordering for plural users by registering the additional orderer and facilitates purchase budget management or the like and re-ordering based on the order history in the past is made possible.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electronic mail (E-mail) system for ordering and receiving orders for various products used in offices.
(E-mail) to quickly deliver the ordered goods to the orderer. More specifically, the present invention relates to an order receiving method in which order information and order confirmation information are created as data on general-purpose spreadsheet software, and are automatically converted into a predetermined language format and then transmitted and received by e-mail.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, there has been remarkable spread and development of the Internet and information network systems using the same. For ordering goods, the Internet and the like are used instead of the conventional method of using telephones and faxes. There is a shift to electronic commerce (e-commerce) such as online shopping and online trading.

[0003] In the field of office supplies, at present, a user selects a product selected by referring to a catalog to a sales agency or an order receiving center (hereinafter, simply referred to as an agency) by fax, using an order sheet. 2. Description of the Related Art A system has been established in which a user confirms an order and instructs a user to ship a product. There is also a method of using a CD-ROM as an electronic catalog instead of a catalog of printed matter.

Recently, a pre-registered user accesses a homepage from a WWW server of an agency using a WWW browser and the Internet, browses a catalog on a member's homepage and a product search screen, and orders a product online. Has been implemented. Further, there has been proposed a system in which a user enters an ordered product in an e-mail text or an attached file, transmits an e-mail to a distributor, and the distributor performs order processing according to the received mail.

[0005]

According to the order receiving / ordering system using the Internet Web environment or e-mail described above, it is possible to easily place an order from a personal computer on a desk. This can greatly reduce the labor for ordering.
However, when the orderer is a company, the use of the Internet is often restricted from the viewpoint of network security, and the WWW is established by a firewall.
Countermeasures to prevent unauthorized intrusion from outside via a server are generally adopted.

In order to reduce the communication cost, UUCP (Unix-to-Unix Copy Prog
ram), a program using a group of programs cannot connect to the Internet via dial-up IP.
WW cannot be used. As described above, depending on the orderer, it may not be possible to place an order using the Web environment via the Internet in a normal E-commerce procedure. To make this possible, the entire system must be reconfigured. Or had to change security settings.

Further, in the conventional ordering method using e-mail, the order receiving side opens a mail text or an attached file created by various mailers (mail software), and again receives the order data for order processing. Operations such as inputting and performing data conversion for processing are required.
Since these operations must be performed for each order, the work is very complicated.

[0008] In addition, when a person in charge of ordering a company or the like makes an order using an e-mail and the amount of one order becomes considerably high, a supervisor or an accountant in charge of the order before actually placing the order. It is desired that some kind of approval process be intervened by the user, but the conventional ordering method does not consider an efficient approval function integrated with the ordering function. Furthermore,
If it is possible for the orderer to know the total purchase amount over a certain period of time for each order, it is desirable in terms of future purchase planning and budget management, but in the past it was appropriate and effective for that purpose There is no current method available.

In addition, in the conventional ordering method, it is general that a single user orders a product used by the user and the ordered product is delivered to the user. There is a demand that one department wants one department to collect its own and another department's portion, or order only another department's portion and deliver it individually to each department. In such a case, conventionally, each department is required to be in an environment in which the ordering system can be used individually. Specifically, it is necessary that the terminal of each department has an ordering program. Become. For this reason, there has been a large problem in terms of cost. Also, if you re-order the same order as before,
Conventionally, a user has to input the same ordering information as before, and there has been a demand for the user to avoid complicated input operations.

Therefore, an object of the invention described in claims 1 to 4 is to make it possible to easily place an order even for a user who has a restriction on the use of the Internet Web environment, and that the order receiving party can efficiently execute the order receiving process. An object of the present invention is to provide an ordering method which can be executed quickly. Claims 5-7
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the invention described in (1) is to provide an ordering method in which an approval function for order contents is enhanced.

An object of the invention described in claim 8 is that the purchase budget amount for a certain period, the current purchase amount,
It is an object of the present invention to provide an order receiving / ordering method in which a cumulative purchase price for a certain period is transmitted to at least an orderer, thereby facilitating planning of a purchase plan and budget management. An object of the invention described in claim 9 is to provide a receiving / ordering method in which a single ordering program enables a certain user to place an order for another user, and substantially enables ordering by a plurality of users. It is in. It is still another object of the present invention to provide an order receiving / ordering method in which past order history can be used as it is to facilitate input operation at the time of ordering.

[0012]

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an order receiving system comprising an orderer and an orderer in an environment where e-mail can be used. The side stores the order information of the product in the attached file of the e-mail, and automatically converts the order information stored in the attached file into a predetermined language format, transmits the e-mail to the contractor, and sends the e-mail to the contractor. The side automatically re-converts the order information in the attached file of the received e-mail, extracts the order data, allocates the stock, and then issues a shipping instruction.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the order receiving party writes the order receiving information including the order receiving data and the inventory allocation result in the body of the e-mail and stores it in the attached file. At the same time, the order confirmation information in the attached file is automatically converted into a predetermined language format and returned to the orderer.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided the first or second aspect.
In the invention described above, the orderer creates order information for a product using a spreadsheet software template distributed in advance by the orderer, and stores the order information in an attached file.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the predetermined language format is an XML (Extensible Markup Language) format.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, the orderer sets in advance the approver who approves the contents of the order and registers the approver with the orderer. In advance, the order receiving party who receives the order information transmits the order information to the approver, and when the approval by the approver is obtained, the order content included in the order information is validated and the order receiving party performs the order processing. Is what you do.

A sixth aspect of the present invention is characterized in that, in the fifth aspect of the invention, approval by an approver is always required regardless of the amount of one order.

The invention according to claim 7 is characterized in that, in the invention according to claim 5, when one order amount is equal to or more than a set amount, approval by an approver is required.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to any one of the fifth to seventh aspects, the orderer accepting the order receives a purchase budget amount for a predetermined period preset by the orderer, This purchase price and the total purchase price for a certain period are transmitted to at least the orderer by e-mail.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to any one of the first to eighth aspects, the registered orderer sets another additional orderer in advance and sets the additional orderer information. Is sent to the ordering party, and the ordering party registers the additional ordering party information and transmits this additional ordering party information to the ordering party that has already been registered, and the ordering party imports the information into its own terminal, so that the ordering party has already registered. This enables the orderer to perform order processing for additional orderers.

[0021] According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to any one of the first to ninth aspects, the orderer and the orderer store past order information as a history. When the orderer selects ordering information, reordering and reordering based on the ordering information are made possible.

[0022]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In this embodiment, the present invention is mainly applied to an office supplies ordering system. However, there is no particular limitation on the nature and type of goods (including services) to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 1 is a conceptual configuration diagram of the entire system according to the embodiment. In FIG. 1, 100A,.
, 100N is a user as an orderer, and is a concept that includes individuals as well as corporations such as companies.

Each user (hereinafter referred to for convenience as 100) has a mail server 101 and a plurality of information communication terminals 102 connected to the mail server 101.
It has. Here, the information communication terminal 102 is generally a desktop or notebook (laptop) personal computer having a communication function, but may be a portable information terminal that can be used in a so-called mobile environment. However, these information communication terminals 102 are composed of at least a mailer and general-purpose spreadsheet software (for example, “Excel” of Microsoft Corporation).
And the data input to the template as XML (Ex
Software to convert tensible MarkupLanguage files (for example, InfoMaker's "iMaker for Exce
l ”etc.). XML is a well-known HTML (Hypertex) as a description language of a homepage.
t Markup Language), which can be used for data communication between computers, and is known as a language with excellent data expressiveness and expandability.

Reference numeral 103 denotes a template of the spreadsheet software, and an order sheet 1032 described later created by the terminal 102 based on the template 103.
Is transmitted from the mail server 101 as an attached file of an e-mail. Also,
If the user 100 is a company, the mail server 10
1 and the terminal 102 are connected to an in-house LAN such as Ethernet (registered trademark) in combination with a WWW server or a proxy server.
(Local Area Network) can also be configured, but since the network inside the user is not the gist of the present invention,
Its configuration is omitted from description. Even when the user 100 is an individual or a small office and does not have the mail server 101, the user 100 may be connected to the mail server of the provider via the communication line 200 described below.

The communication line 200 is connected to the IS
It is composed of public lines such as DN lines and analog telephone lines, and the Internet. Reference numeral 300 denotes a sales agency or order center as an order receiving party to which the product is ordered, or a headquarters of an operator (company) of the entire ordering system that supervises the sales agency. In this embodiment, the reference numeral 300 will be described as an agent for convenience, but a so-called sales agent is provided for each district in the entire system, and an operator of an ordering system that supervises them is present. And The operator has a backbone system 303 described later.

The agent 300 has a mail server 301,
An order processing terminal 302 for the operator and a core system 303 as a computer system for performing inventory allocation (inventory confirmation) processing are provided. The mail server 301 is configured to receive an e-mail (including an attached file in XML format) transmitted from the user 100, re-convert the data into order data in a predetermined format by a built-in program, and send the data to the core system 303. I have. In addition, the terminal 302 and the mail server 301
3 stores the order confirmation information including the stock allocation result of the ordered product in the attached file of the spreadsheet software and also writes it in the body of the e-mail, and attaches the attached file converted to the XML format to the body of the e-mail to send the e-mail of the user 100. Reply to address.

The core system 303 allocates inventory based on order data sent from the mail server 301, and the distribution server 401 of the distribution center 400 issues a shipping instruction according to the result. If there is no stock, the order confirmation information of the e-mail returned via the mail server 301 includes information to that effect.

Here, if some of the ordered products are out of stock, the user 100 waits for the replenishment of the stock shortage and then ships after all the stocks have been collected, or It is conceivable to offer options such as to ship only the existing ordered products for the time being, excluding the order of existing products, to cancel the order of the products with insufficient stock, or to supplement the products with insufficient stock with substitutes. Also, the presentation of these options and the intention of the user 100 with respect to them can be performed by exchanging electronic mail between the agency 300 and the user 100. In the distribution center 400, the corresponding product instructed to be shipped from the distribution server 401 is carried out of the warehouse 402, loaded on the vehicle 403, and delivered to the user 100.

Next, the spreadsheet template 103 used by the user 100 in this embodiment will be described. First, the template 103 is provided to a user 100 registered in advance as a member of the ordering system by downloading it from a system operator's homepage together with an ordering program for using the system, or , Provided by a system operator in an appropriate medium (CD-ROM, floppy (registered trademark) disk, or the like). User 1
At 00, a catalog of the handled product which is a printed matter is also distributed. The user 100 installs the template 103 together with the ordering program on the terminal 102 of the user 100 before using the present system.

After the installation is completed, the template 10
3, open a user information storage sheet 1033 described later,
The user code and the agency code given at the time of enrollment are input, and the transmission button in the sheet 1033 is pressed. User 10
The terminal 102 of No. 0 converts the data input to the user information storage sheet 1033 into the XML format by the predetermined conversion software, and then automatically transmits the data to the mail server 301 of the agency 300 as an attached file of the e-mail.

The mail server 301 automatically re-converts the attached file of the received mail to decode the user information and sends it to the backbone system 303 to save it. At the same time, the operator assigns and issues an ordering ID and an ordering password to the user information, and returns these data to the user 100 as an e-mail attached file. At that time, the numbered ordering ID and ordering password are also stored in the core system 303. When the user 100 reads the attached file, the ordering system can be used thereafter.

The specific configuration of the template 103 will be described with reference to FIG. 2. The template 103 includes a product master 1031, an order sheet 1032, the user information storage sheet 1033, an order data management sheet 1034, a purchase history It has at least a sheet 1035 and, if necessary, a catalog-type ordering sheet called My Catalog 1036. Hereinafter, information stored or input in each sheet will be described.

First, the product master 1031 includes an order code (product code) of a product handled by the present system,
The attributes of a product name, a list price, a product classification, and an environmental mark (eco mark, green mark, etc.) are stored. The order sheet 1032 is used by the user 100 to input an order code, an order quantity, an item code, a line description (comment for each order code), and a desired delivery date of a product at the time of ordering. It is provided in.
Note that the order code and the order quantity are essential input items.

The user information storage sheet 1033 stores a user code, an agency code, an ordering ID, an ordering password, the name of an ordering person, and the mail address. The order data management sheet 1034 stores and manages an order number issued by the agency every time an order is placed. The purchase history sheet 1035 is for recording and managing the names of products purchased in the past, their quantities, the number of purchases, and the like. Further, it is possible to create a user-specific My Catalog 1036 listing the standard products ordered frequently by each user 100, and to simply store the order information in the order sheet 1032 simply by inputting the order quantity in this sheet. It is possible.

Next, a rough flow of order processing and order processing in the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG.
, The left side is the processing of the user 100 as the orderer,
The right side is the agent 300 and the distribution center 400 that are the contractors.
Side processing.

First, the user 100 starts a spreadsheet software template 103 from his / her terminal 102 by an ordering program in order to use this system (U
1) The order sheet 1032 is selected from among them (U2). While looking at the printed product catalog distributed in advance, enter the order code, order quantity,
Order information such as a subject code, a description of a line, and a desired delivery date is input (U3). At that time, if the macro function of the spreadsheet software is used, the product master 103 can be input simply by inputting the order code.
1 is automatically collated and the product name is placed on the order sheet 1032.
Can be displayed. Then, the user clicks the send button in the sheet to perform an e-mail transmission operation (U
4).

As a result, the mailer is activated at the terminal 102, and the order information input to the order sheet 1032 is added to the user information (user code, agency code, name of the person in charge of order,
The same email address is added, and the data is created as an attached file of the email. Further, the attached file is automatically converted to the XML format by the conversion software, attached to the body of the e-mail, and automatically transmitted to the agency 300.

At the agency 300, after receiving the e-mail, the attached file is re-converted into a predetermined data format (D1), the order data is extracted, and inventory is allocated (D2). The processing when the stock is insufficient is as described above, and the user's intention is confirmed by exchanging an e-mail or the like with the user 100 as necessary. Here, the description will be made assuming that all the ordered products are in stock.

The agent 300 fills in the e-mail body, for example, the stock allocation result, fills in the e-mail body with a list of ordered products and the purchase price for order confirmation by the user 100, and stores it in the attached file. Is converted into the XML format and transmitted to the ordering person of the user 100 (D3). Here, as described later,
If the user 100 requires approval by a person other than himself / herself for each order, the e-mail address of this approver is registered in the agency 300 in advance, and when the ordering person places an order, the agent 300 An electronic mail may be sent to the approver, and after receiving the approval, the order receiving process may be performed. Agency 300 with XML file attached
The user 100 receiving the reply e-mail confirms the order received from the contents of the e-mail (U5).

On the other hand, in the agency 300, the core system 30
3 and the order information is entered (D4). Next, a distribution server 401 in the distribution center 400 as a client connected to the core system 303 via the dedicated line 305.
Gives a shipping instruction (D5). When the shipping instruction is given, the ordered product is delivered to the user 100 at a predetermined date and time (D6), and the user 100 receives the product (U6).

After a series of order processing is completed, the user 100 creates the order data management sheet 1034 and the purchase history sheet 1035 by reading the attached file received in step U5 described above, and stores it in the terminal 102 or the like. Go. This facilitates management of the order / purchase status. In this embodiment, the method of settlement of the commodity price is not described. However, for example, a method of collectively deducting the purchase price for a certain period from the designated account of the user 100 may be adopted.

Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described.
This embodiment relates to an approval function for allowing a third party to approve the contents of an order before the user 100 actually places an order.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a process for registering the approval function on the user 100 side and the agency 300 (in this embodiment, the operator of the ordering system). This registration process is executed by an ordering program installed in the terminal 102 and a program of a server or a core system of the operator of the present system. Hereinafter, a description will be given with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

Here, if the user 100 has not been registered as a user of this ordering system, the approval function is registered as a part of the "initial registration or application" process in the user registration. If the user 100 has already been registered, an approval function is registered as a part of the “user information update” process. First, the user 100 sets his / her user information (U11 in FIG. 4). As the setting input screen, for example, at the time of initial registration, an input screen as shown in FIG. 5 is used. Note that almost the same setting input screen is used when updating user information. These input screens are activated by an ordering program installed in the terminal 102 of the user 100.

The user information input to the screen shown in FIG. 5 includes a user code, an agency code (dealer code), the name of an ordering person, the mail address of the ordering person, the SMTP server name, the port number, and the like. . In addition,
The user code and the agency code are notified to the user 100 at the time of enrollment prior to the initial registration. Also, the user 100
Sets information on an approver to have his or her ordering person approve the contents of his or her order as approver information (U
12). The approver is, for example, a supervisor of a department to which the orderer belongs or an accountant.

As the approver information, there is information on the necessity of approval first. That is, the user 100 can select "direct order", "approver order (always require approval)", and "approver order (approval is required when the order amount is equal to or more than a certain amount)". "Direct order" is an order form that does not require approval, "Approver order (always requires approval)" is an order form that always requires approval regardless of the order amount, and "Approver order (when the order amount is "Approval required" is an order form that requires approval when the order amount exceeds the set amount. This set amount can be arbitrarily input as shown in the figure. Furthermore,
Approver information includes an approver name, a department name, and a mail address.

These pieces of information are recorded in the above-mentioned user information storage sheet 1033. When the user 100 clicks the “save & send” button, the information is recorded in his / her own terminal 102 and converted into the XML format and then sent to the e-mail. Mail server 3 of the system operator as an attached file
01 (U13, D11). The system operator opens the attached file of the received mail, and registers the user information and the approver information of FIG. 5 in the core system 303 (D1
2). The processing on the system operator side described below is
Each of them is automatically executed by a program of the mail server 301 or the backbone system 303, but may be artificially performed by an operator.

Next, on the system operator side, whether the user is in the “initial registration” stage or the “user information update” stage (this information is stored in the e-mail sent from the user 100 or its attached file) (D13), and if it is "initial registration", a user information file (XML file) is created (D14). This file includes the ordering ID, ordering password, and the like assigned to the user 100 as described above, and the user 100 can use the system as a registered user by reading the file into the terminal 102. And information to be included. In the case of “user information update”, step D14 is passed.

Next, the system operator sets the user 100
Create and send an e-mail to the approver (D1
5). Here, if the user 100 is “initial registration”, the user information file created in step D14 is transmitted as an attached file. FIG. 6 shows the content of the e-mail addressed to the user “initial registration” 100, and FIG. 7 shows the content of the e-mail addressed to the approver.

"Initial registration" upon receiving the e-mail of FIG.
After confirming the contents (U14), the user 100 reads the user information file (XML file) on the screen of FIG. 8 and can use this system as a registered user (U15, U16). A confirmation e-mail is sent from the system operator to the user 100 of "user information update", but the attached file is not sent, so this file reading process is not performed. The approver is shown in FIG.
Then, the user confirms the contents of the e-mail and obtains the user information, that the user has been set as an approver, approval conditions (order form), the set amount, and the like.

Next, when the approval function is changed, the user 100 displays the approver information (information about the approver, the order form and the set amount) on the "user information update" setting input screen (substantially the same as in FIG. 5). Change). When the "Save &Send" button is clicked after that, the information is transmitted to the mail server 301 on the system operator side as in the case of "Initial registration", and the system operator registers the updated information in the core system 303. Further, the updated information is transmitted as an e-mail to the user 100 and the approver, and confirmation of each is requested. The approval function can be deleted by the user 100 selecting “direct order” on the setting input screen of “update user information” and transmitting it to the system operator.

Next, the part relating to the approval function in the actual order processing and order receiving processing after the registration of the approval function is described below.
This will be described with reference to the flowchart, the terminal screen display on the user side, and the contents of the e-mail transmitted and received. The contents of the processing described here are executed when the e-mail transmission operation (U4) as the user-side processing and the e-mail reception / conversion (D4) as the agent-side processing in FIG. .

In the flowchart shown in FIG. 9, an XML including user information, order information, and the like from the user 100 is included.
When an e-mail with a file in the format is transmitted (U4), the system operator performs reception processing and conversion processing (D1), extracts received data, and temporarily registers ordering information in a server. (D21). Subsequently, the purchase price of the ordered product is calculated (D22).

Next, based on the already registered approval function, if the order is the above-mentioned "approver order (always require approval)" or "the approver order ( Approval request mail such as that shown in FIG. 10 is sent to the approver (D2).
3, D24). If the order type is “direct order” other than the above and approval is not required, the process immediately shifts to the stock allocation process (D29).

The e-mail shown in FIG. 10 includes the orderer, individual order items, quantity, purchase price, purchase budget amount per month,
The purchase amount for this month (cumulative), the purchase amount this time, etc. are described.
An XML format approval file is attached to this e-mail. It should be noted that FIG.
As shown in FIG. 1, an e-mail is sent to the approver to the effect that approval has been requested (D25, U4 ').

Thus, every time an order is placed by the user 100, the purchase budget amount for a certain period, for example, one month,
By notifying at least the user 100 of the total purchase amount of the month and the current purchase amount by e-mail,
For the user 100, there is an advantage that the planning of the purchase plan and the budget management thereafter become easy, and the administrative burden associated therewith is reduced. Note that the purchase budget amount within the certain period described above is set by the user 100 at the time of user registration, and is registered in the core system 303 in advance as a part of user information.

When the approver opens the approval file after receiving the e-mail shown in FIG. 10 (R21, R22), the approval program is activated and an approval request order selection screen shown in FIG. 12 appears on the terminal. When a plurality of approval requests are made to the same approver, information is displayed on the selection screen of FIG. 12 by the number of approval requests.

When a desired approval request is selected from this selection screen, a worksheet of spreadsheet software in which order contents are described is read, and an approval screen as shown in FIG. 13 is displayed. Here, the approver changes the order contents (including addition)
Is determined (R23), and if a change is necessary,
For example, the quantity is changed (including order cancellation by setting the quantity to 0) for each item line of the ordered item on the approval screen. When an item is added, the item and the quantity are entered in the detail line (R24). In the case where the approver changes the quantity or adds a new item, the fact that the change or addition has been made is added to an approval mail or the like described later.

Thereafter, the approver determines whether the final order contents are approved or not approved (R25).
Click the "Approve" button on the approval screen of No. 3, and if all items cannot be approved, click the "Reject" button. By this operation, an approval mail or a non-approval mail is transmitted to the agency 300 side (R26, R27).
In addition, the above approval file is attached to these e-mails, and this approval file can be an approval file where the original order contents are approved as it is, an approval file changed / added by the approver, or a non-approval file File (for convenience, this is also referred to as an approval file).

The system operator receives the approval mail or the non-approval mail (D26). If the mail is an approval mail, the attached file is opened and the order information of step D21 (order information temporarily registered) is opened based on the order information. ) Is updated and the order information of the item whose quantity is other than 0 is registered in the core system 303 as final order data (D27, D27).
28). Then, after performing inventory allocation (D2
9), the user (orderer) 1 sends an e-mail as shown in FIG.
00 (D30).

If the mail is a non-approval mail, the temporarily registered order information is deleted (D31), and an e-mail indicating that the contents of the order have been rejected (canceled) is sent as shown in FIG. Send to the user (orderer) 100 (D3
2). If the order is approved, the process shifts to shipping instructions. The user (orderer) 100 confirms whether or not an order can be accepted based on the contents of these e-mails (U5), and if an order is received, the product waits for delivery.

Next, still another embodiment of the present invention will be described. In this embodiment, a single order program allows one user (department) to place an order for another user. As a result, a plurality of users can place an order. Therefore, here, this function is referred to as a multiple user ordering function for convenience. That is, one registered user (department) can register another department as an additional user, so that one department can place an order for another department.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing the registration processing of the multiple user ordering function of the present embodiment. First, the already registered user A calls a setting change submenu as shown in FIG. 17 on the terminal as a part of the “user information update” process, and selects “register additional user information” (U31). ). Thereby, an additional user application screen as shown in FIG. 18 is displayed on the terminal.
Sets and inputs the user code, department name, orderer name, and mail address of another user (department) B to be registered as an additional user (additional orderer) as additional user information (U32). The user code of the additional user B is the user code of the registered user A (in this example, “10000005”).
01 ”), for example,“ 1000000050 ”
2 ". The user code of the additional user can be arbitrarily set on the user side.

When the user A sets and inputs the additional user information shown in FIG. 18, and clicks on "save &send", the additional user information is transmitted as an e-mail to the system operator (U33). The transmitted information also includes approver information (approver information of user A). The system operator receives the mail (D41), and registers the additional user information in the core system 303 including the approver information (D41).
42).

Next, the system operator creates an additional user information file (XML file) (D43). This file includes the ordering ID and the ordering password assigned to the additional user B in the same manner as the user information file in step D14 in FIG. By reading,
Includes information for setting user B as an additional user.

Thereafter, the system operator creates an e-mail as shown in FIG. 19, attaches the additional user information file, and sends it to the user A (D44). User A receives the e-mail and confirms the contents (U34), and reads the attached file on the screen shown in FIG. 20 (U35), so that user A can order up to additional user B thereafter. .

In the case of changing the additional user information (changing the department name, the person in charge of ordering, and the mail address), in the above example, the user A selects “update additional user information” from the screen of FIG. Screen, a user code of a target additional user (for example, additional user B) is selected from a pull-down menu. Then overwrite the change information and click "Update"
By clicking, the updated additional user information is transmitted to the system operator. The system operator updates the additional user information of the core system 303 with this additional user information. Further, to delete an additional user, the target additional user may be displayed on the screen of FIG. 21 and “Delete” may be clicked.

When a new order is placed, a user code including the original user A and the additional user B is displayed as a pull-down menu on the ordering screen as shown in FIG. 22. If a desired user code is selected, the user code is displayed. It will be processed as an order by the user. Although only two user codes are shown in FIG. 22, the original user A
Are displayed, and user codes for a plurality of additional users registered as additional users are displayed. By repeatedly selecting and ordering user codes, ordering for a plurality of users can be performed. For example, when the user A places an order for the user A and the additional user B, the delivery destination of the product is the user A and the additional user B, respectively.

Another function of the ordering method according to the present invention is a reordering process from past ordering data.
That is, the past order data is stored as a history on the user 100 side, and when the user 100 places an order, FIG.
By calling an order selection screen like this, a list of past order contents by each user is displayed. When the user 100 selects a past order from this list, the content is displayed on a screen (not shown), and if the same order content is acceptable, the user can click the “Reorder” button in FIG. The order of the item and the quantity is executed.

In this case, it is preferable to enable the change, addition, change of the quantity, etc. of the item. In this way, when the user places an order for the same content as in the past, it is not necessary to start from the selection of a product, and the ordering operation is greatly simplified. If it is not necessary to save the past order history, "delete" may be selected in FIG.

[0072]

As described above, according to the first to fourth aspects of the present invention, an environment in which an electronic mail can be used even by a user who is restricted from using the Internet Web environment from the viewpoint of security and the like. If you have it, you can order and purchase the desired product online using normal PC operation. Therefore, there is no need to change the settings of the security system in the company. In addition, since the software prepared by the user only needs to be a general-purpose mailer, spreadsheet software, and conversion software, the economic burden is small.

Further, the order information and the order confirmation information stored in the attached file of the e-mail are automatically converted into, for example, an XML format and then transmitted to extract the data. This eliminates the need to transcribe or convert data every time, thereby reducing labor and prompt order processing. Further, since the ordering data can be stored on a digital basis on both the ordering side and the order receiving side, it is possible to realize a system which can be easily used for managing the purchase history and the results of marketing.

According to the inventions described in claims 5 to 7, by deciding approval or non-approval for each order, wasteful expenses can be prevented, and the purchase budget can be effectively used. . According to the invention described in claim 8, it is possible to facilitate the planning of the purchase plan and the budget management by the orderer, and it is possible to reduce the burden on the orderer involved in these tasks.

According to the ninth aspect of the present invention,
Even when only a single user (department) has an ordering program, by registering an additional user (additional orderer), it is possible to place orders for a plurality of users including other departments. Therefore, it is not necessary to install an ordering program for each department, so that the burden on the user is reduced and the cost can be reduced.

According to the tenth aspect of the present invention, the input operation becomes easy when ordering the same contents as in the past,
This has the effect of reducing the burden on the user.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a conceptual system configuration diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a template according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a rough flow of order processing and order receiving processing in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating registration processing of an approval function according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of an input screen at the time of initial registration.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of an e-mail when user registration is completed.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of an e-mail when an approver is set.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of a screen when reading user registration information.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a main part of order processing and order processing including an approval function.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of an e-mail requesting approval.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram of an e-mail for reporting an approval request.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram of an approval request order selection screen.

FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram of the contents of an approval file.

FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram of an e-mail for reporting an approval result.

FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram of an electronic mail for reporting an approval result.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart illustrating registration processing of an additional user.

FIG. 17 is an explanatory diagram of a setting change submenu screen.

FIG. 18 is an explanatory diagram of a setting and input screen of additional user information.

FIG. 19 is an explanatory diagram of an e-mail sent to an additional user.

FIG. 20 is an explanatory diagram of a screen when reading additional user information.

FIG. 21 is an explanatory diagram of an input screen at the time of updating additional user information.

FIG. 22 is an explanatory diagram of an input screen when a new order is placed.

FIG. 23 is an explanatory diagram of a screen at the time of reordering.

FIG. 24 is an explanatory diagram of a screen at the time of reordering.

[Explanation of symbols]

 100, 100A, 100N User (Orderer) 101 Mail Server 102 Information Communication Terminal 103 Template 1031 Product Master 1032 Order Sheet 1033 User Information Storage Sheet 1034 Order Data Management Sheet 1035 Purchase History Sheet 1036 My Catalog 200 Communication Line 300 Agent (Orders) 301) mail server 302 order receiving terminal 303 backbone system 305 dedicated line 400 distribution center 401 distribution server 402 warehouse 403 vehicle

Claims (10)

[Claims] In an ordering system comprising an orderer and a contractor in an environment where an e-mail can be used, the orderer stores order information of a product in an attached file of the e-mail and attaches the attached information. The order information stored in the file is automatically converted into a predetermined language format, and an e-mail is sent to the contractor. The contractor automatically reorders the order information in the attached file of the received e-mail. A receiving and ordering method using electronic mail, wherein the order is converted, the order data is extracted, inventory is allocated, and then a shipping instruction is issued. 2. The order receiving method using electronic mail according to claim 1, wherein the order receiving party writes the order receiving information including the order receiving data and the inventory allocation result in the text of the electronic mail and stores it in an attached file. And an order receiving method using electronic mail, wherein the order confirmation information in the attached file is automatically converted into a predetermined language format and returned to the orderer. 3. An order receiving / ordering method using e-mail according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the orderer creates order information of the product using a spreadsheet software template distributed in advance by the orderer. And storing the ordering information in an attached file. 4. The receiving and ordering method using electronic mail according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined language format is an XML format. How to place an order. 5. An order receiving method using e-mail according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the orderer sets in advance the approver who approves the contents of the order and registers the approver with the orderer. In addition, the order receiving party who receives the order information transmits the order information to the approver, and when approval by the approver is obtained, the order content included in the order information is validated and the order receiving party processes the order. Ordering method using e-mail. 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the approval by the approver is always required regardless of the amount of one order. Received ordering method. 7. An electronic mail receiving / ordering method according to claim 5, wherein an approval by an approver is required when an order amount is equal to or more than a set amount. Ordering method using. 8. An order receiving method using e-mail according to any one of claims 5 to 7, wherein the orderer accepting the order receives a purchase budget amount for a predetermined period preset by the orderer. And an order receiving method using electronic mail, wherein the current purchase amount and the total purchase amount for a certain period are transmitted to at least the orderer by electronic mail. 9. The order receiving method using e-mail according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the registered orderer sets another additional orderer in advance and sets the additional orderer. The information is sent to the contractor, and the contractor registers the additional orderer information and transmits the additional orderer information to the registered orderer, and the orderer takes in the own terminal, so that the orderer is already registered. An ordering process using e-mail, wherein the ordering process can be performed by the additional orderer for the additional orderer. 10. An order receiving / ordering method using an electronic mail according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein past order information is stored as a history by an orderer and a contractor. A reordering and reordering based on the ordering information made possible by the orderer selecting the ordering information.