JP2003223575A - Estimation creation system of printed material and implementation method of order-issuing and order- receiving process - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a system used for creating an estimation of production expense for a printed material through a network, and having a structure capable of rapidly providing a correct estimation for a customer, and allowing work saving for both the customer and an agency. <P>SOLUTION: A certification code recording means and a price adjustment means for every customer are provided for an administrating computer provided with an estimation creation means for printed material production expense. When the certification code of a customer inputted through the network coincides with a code recorded in the certification code recording means, an estimation specific to the customer is created by the production expense estimation means and the price adjustment means for every customer and reported to the customer. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a system for generating an estimate of the cost of producing printed matter via a network, and a method for executing ordering / ordering processing using the system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When requesting a trader to create various printed materials such as books, booklets, and pamphlets, first, the supplier visits the customer and decides the processing specifications of the printed material through a meeting. Then, the vendor issued a quotation according to the processing specifications, submitted it to the customer, and the customer who confirmed the preparation cost issued a formal order request to the vendor, and the ordering process was performed. .

In the conventional procedure, the customer waits for the quotation issued by the trader to make an order request, so that it takes a few days at the earliest from the request for a quote to the trader to the formal order. However, the ordering party lacked promptness and convenience. In recent years, the functions of information transmission tools such as personal computers and printers have dramatically improved, and the environment has become so that customers can create simple printed materials themselves. Is coming. However, when a customer creates a printed matter by himself, even if it is a simple one, it often takes unnecessary time and high cost depending on the type of printed matter such as color copy, and in the end, it is labor saving for the customer. Not not. Moreover, it is the actual situation that even the trader misses the opportunity to receive orders for printed materials.

By the way, in order to calculate the production cost of printed matter,
Complex calculation formulas that incorporate different price adjustment rates according to design specifications such as the design of printed matter, the difficulty of printing, and finishing methods are used, and the selling price may be adjusted according to the transaction record with the customer. Therefore, it takes labor and time for the trader to issue the quotation, which is one of the reasons why it is not possible to promptly respond to the customer. Recently, there is a place where a quote request form for printed materials is posted on the Internet homepage, and the process of accepting a quote is performed by e-mail, but even with this process, there is no trouble for the vendor to create the quote. ,Also,
The customer cannot understand the preparation cost until a response is received from the vendor, and does not respond to the customer's request for speedy quotation.

In view of the above problems of the prior art, the present invention configures a quotation generation system that allows a customer who requests the preparation of printed matter to quickly obtain an accurate quotation, and performs ordering and ordering of printed matter. The task is to improve the efficiency and labor saving of the paperwork of both the customer and the trader.

[0006]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention is a system for generating an estimate of the cost of producing a printed matter via a network. If the customer's authentication code input via the network is matched with the code recorded in the authentication code recording means, the price adjustment means and the price adjustment means for each customer are used to uniquely identify the customer. It is characterized in that it is arranged to generate a quote.

Further, the method of executing the ordering / ordering process of the printed matter according to the present invention includes a computer (customer computer) of the person who orders the production of the printed matter, a computer (ordering computer) of the person who receives the order, and the cost of producing the printed matter. This is a method for connecting and receiving a management computer equipped with a quotation generation means to a network for ordering and ordering printed materials, wherein an authentication code and printed matter creation specification data for each customer are sent from the customer computer to the management computer. The input step and the management computer generate estimate data based on the input print production specification data, display and output the estimate data on the customer computer, and the management data that specifies the generated estimate data is the customer data. The steps entered from the computer to the management computer and the management code The computer records the quotation data in the quotation data recording means together with the input management data, the step of inputting the management data from the order receiving computer to the management computer, and the management computer responds to the input management data. Reading the estimated data from the estimated data recording means, and displaying and outputting the estimated data on the order receiving computer.

According to the present invention, the customer can quickly obtain an appropriate estimate without waiting for the visit of the trader, and the trader automatically creates a quote and notifies the customer without manual calculation. It is possible to improve the efficiency of the paperwork of both parties.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows the configuration of an estimate generation system according to the present invention. In the figure, reference numeral 1 is a computer terminal, 2 is a management computer, and 3 is the Internet. The computer terminal 1 is a computer of a contractor who creates printed matter and an orderer who is a customer thereof.
In the figure, a computer terminal 1A of a company A that is an ordering company and a computer terminal 1a of company a that is a customer thereof, and a computer terminal 1B of a company B that is an ordering company and a computer terminal 1b of company b that is a customer thereof are respectively shown. A mode is shown in which the management computer 2 can be accessed via the Internet 3.

As the computer terminal 1, it is possible to use a personal computer equipped with a keyboard and a mouse as data input means, a display as data display means, etc. and having a Web browser function and being able to use the Internet. In addition, a mobile terminal capable of sending and receiving and displaying data by connecting to the Internet is also available. The management computer 2 functions as a Web server and also functions according to its operation program, such as a means for controlling access to only a specific person, a means for generating an estimate of printed matter production cost, an means for issuing an estimate, a means for transferring data, etc. The system is provided with a function of managing the data files of both companies A and B stored in the recording means. The data files of both the A and B companies recorded in the management computer 2 consist of customer management data, printing device price data, printing material price data, printing process price list data, quotation data, order data, etc. Are stored in the storage area of A and B, and both companies A and B can access and update only their own data files. In addition, the customer is company A
For example, a company can obtain an estimate based on the data of a trader registered in the customer management data.

The order receiving / ordering process using the quote generation system having the above-mentioned configuration is described in the following, "environment setting",
It is performed through each processing stage of “estimation processing” and “order processing”.

(Environmental setting) For environmental setting, the company A or company B creates or updates its own data file stored in the management computer 2, and the customer a or company b accesses the management computer 2. This is a process to put an estimate in a state where it can be created. As shown in FIG. 2, "setting of printing material and processing, unit price information of service", "setting of compatible printing equipment", "adjustment of customer's transaction price" Each processing of "set value" and "access to customer / issue password" is performed.

Here, when the company A or company B accesses the management computer 2 from the computer terminals 1A and 1B of its own company via the Internet 3 to set the environment,
A screen for inputting the authentication code and password is displayed on the computer terminals 1A and 1B. When the authentication code and password are input and the send button is clicked, the input data is registered in the management computer 2. Authenticate whether or not. Then, when the data matches the registered data, only the data file of the inputted trader can be referred to or processed.

In the setting of printing material, processing, and unit price information of services, printing material price data and printing entire process price list data are input or updated among the information necessary for generating an estimate of printed matter production cost. To enter or update data,
The data file recorded in the management computer 2 is displayed on the computer terminal 1 of the trader. FIG. 4 shows a paper database display screen of the printing material price data. In this screen, the paper name, brand, manufacturer, size, and price information can be entered and set, and the display screen is displayed on the computer terminal 1. When the closing operation is performed, the set data is transmitted to the management computer 2 and stored in the recording area of the management computer 2. Further, the printing entire process price list data is price data of each processing step in the manufacturing process of the printed matter such as production, plate making, paper, printing, processing, bookbinding, and transportation, and as shown in FIG. Each process has a price table that sets the price increase / decrease rate depending on the difference in the created quantity. On the screen shown in Fig. 3, enter the price table and update /
When you click the send button, the set data is sent to the management computer 2 and the management computer 2
Stored in the recording area of. In addition, the printing all-process price list data also includes a premium rate table in the case of performing premium processing in each processing step.

In the setting of the corresponding printing device, the price data for each printing device is input or updated among the information necessary for generating the estimate of the printed matter production cost.

The adjustment value of the customer's transaction price is set by
This is done by entering the cumulative adjustment rate of customer management data. FIG. 5 shows a display screen of customer management data displayed on the computer terminal 1 of the trader. On this screen, customer information such as customer code, customer name, address, contact information, and e-mail address, and user ID that is an authentication code given to each customer by the vendor
The password can be registered, and the price adjustment rate for each printing process can be entered. After entering the necessary information and clicking the save button, the customer information including the authentication code and price adjustment rate will be displayed on the computer terminal 1.
Is transmitted to the management computer 2 via the Internet 3 and stored in the data recording area in the management computer 2 of the dealer.

Access and password issuance to customers
This is a process in which the vendor notifies the customer of the user ID and password registered in the customer management data by using the information transmission means such as e-mail or facsimile. An estimate can be created by accessing the computer 2.

(Quotation process) A customer who obtains a user ID and password from a trader and is permitted to access the management computer 2 can obtain a quote for a printed matter using his or her own computer terminal 1. In the quotation process,
As shown in FIG. 6, "selection of type of printed matter", "setting of specifications", "setting of printing device", "accumulation of estimated price", "determination of device and price", "setting of specification and estimated price" Each processing of "record" and "order request" is performed.

When a customer accesses the management computer 2 from the computer terminal 1, first, the computer terminal 1 displays a screen for inputting an authentication code and a password. When the customer inputs the authentication code and the password and clicks the send button, the management computer 2 authenticates whether the input data is the access of the person registered in the customer management data of each trader. Then, when it matches the registered data, it is possible to estimate and integrate based on the data file of the trader.

A management computer 2 is provided to the accessing customer.
When the permission of the quotation is granted, the computer terminal 1
A basic specification setting screen as shown in FIG. 7 is displayed.
If you select or enter each item column of the type, size, and paper selection method of the printed matter displayed on the screen as appropriate, and click the Next button, the specifications according to the type of the printed matter as shown in FIG. The input screen is displayed. The figure shows the input screen for the propeller specifications. The quantity in the same screen is the item for directly inputting numerical data, and the size, paper, number of print colors, finishing and delivery destination are items for selecting and inputting the data displayed in the pull-down menu. The data entered in the material price data and the printing process price list data are displayed. Paper type, continuous amount, color input field, number of printing colors front, back, special color input field, finishing finish, processing, surface, binding, binding input field,
In addition, a selection input field for a printing device is provided at the bottom of the screen.

Among these items, size, quantity, summary,
The continuous amount, the number of print colors, and the bookbinding are indispensable input items. When data is input in the required items and the estimate execution button is clicked, the specification confirmation screen as shown in FIG. 9 is displayed on the computer terminal 1. On the right half of the screen is a comment display field.If the above-mentioned required items are not entered, it will be displayed that there is an item that has not been entered in the field, and you will not be able to quote. Is urged to. Further, when the specification change column is clicked, the display screen shown in FIG. 8 is displayed again, and the processing specification can be changed.

After confirming the specifications, when the integration execution button is clicked, the cost generation and integration processing of each process is performed by the estimate generation means of the management computer 2, and the calculation result is transmitted to the computer terminal 1 together with the specification details. It is displayed in the screen as shown in FIG. At this time, if there is a surplus processing item in the specification entered by the customer, the surcharge rate is added to the processing price to adjust the price, and in the case of the customer who has registered the adjustment value of the transaction price, it is registered. The price is adjusted by adding the adjustment rate to the processing price or the total price. Therefore, the displayed quotation result is substantially the same as when the vendor manually calculates the quotation, and the customer can quickly obtain an appropriate quotation.

The customer who confirms the displayed quotation result is
If you want to get a quotation when the quantity or printing machine is changed,
Clicking the specification change column on the screen returns to the display screen shown in FIG. 8 and the processing specification can be changed. After confirming the specifications, when the totalization is performed again, the management computer 2 calculates the cost with the changed specifications and performs the totalization process, and transmits the calculation result to the computer terminal 1, which is shown in FIG. A screen displaying the estimated results before and after the specification change is displayed and output. In the figure, five quotation results with different specifications can be displayed, but since the quotation results are displayed side by side, the customer is operating the terminal to compare the prices depending on the specifications. It can be done easily on the spot.

When the estimate confirmation button in the screens shown in FIGS. 10 and 11 is clicked after the estimate result is displayed, the estimate integration save screen as shown in FIG. 12 is displayed on the computer terminal 1, After entering the data in the customer management number, quotation date, plan name, and product name fields on the screen, click the confirmation button, and the quotation results and specification data will be used as management data along with the management data entered in the fields above. It is stored in the recording area of the computer 2.
At the same time, the management computer 2 notifies the computer terminal 1 of the trader by e-mail that the estimation result has been saved. In addition, the customer notifies the trader of the order request in which the recorded estimation result is specified in the management data by e-mail or the like, and the procedure of the estimation process is completed.

(Order Processing) In the order processing, first, the trader who receives the order request from the customer accesses the management computer 2 from the computer terminal 1 and specifies the corresponding estimation result from the management data notified by the customer. , The price data and the specification data are read from the quotation data in the management computer 2 and displayed on the computer terminal 1.
Then, after verifying the contents of the order, the computer terminal 1 issues a definitive estimate and notifies the customer of this through an information transmission means such as e-mail or facsimile. When the customer who confirms the definitive quotation informs the vendor of the formal ordering request, the vendor accesses the management computer 2 from the computer terminal 1 and the management computer 2 sends the specification data of the corresponding quotation result. The data is transferred to the computer terminal 1, and the transferred data is taken into the processing system to create a printed matter.

It should be noted that the illustrated form is an example, and the system of the present invention can be applied to various forms of order placement and receipt between a printer and a customer.

[0027]

According to the present invention, a customer who requests the creation of a printed matter can quickly obtain an appropriate estimate through the network, and a trader accepts an estimate.
Creation and notification processing can be automatically performed, and both office work efficiency and labor saving can be achieved.

[Brief description of drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a processing flow of environment setting of the estimate generation system.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a display screen when performing price table input processing.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a display screen when a paper data input process is performed.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a display screen when performing customer data input processing.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an estimation processing flow of an estimation generation system.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a display screen when performing a basic specification setting process of a printed matter.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a display screen when performing specification setting processing for each type of printed matter.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a specification confirmation display screen of a printed matter.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an estimation result display screen.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an estimation result display screen when specifications are changed.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a display screen when an estimation result is saved.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an order receiving process flow of the quotation generation system.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 computer terminal 2 management computer 3 Internet

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A system for generating an estimate of a printed matter production cost via a network, comprising a customer authentication code recording means, a production cost estimate means, and a price adjustment means for each customer, which is inputted via the network. A printed matter quotation generation system configured to generate a customer-specific quotation by the production cost estimation means and the customer-specific price adjustment means when the customer's certification code matches the code recorded in the certification code recording means. . 2. A network of a computer of a person who orders print products (customer computer), a computer of a person who receives the order (a computer for ordering), and a management computer equipped with a means for generating an estimate of the cost of creating printed products. A method for connecting and receiving orders for printed matter, in which the step of inputting the authentication code and the printed matter creation specification data for each customer from the customer computer to the management computer and the management computer are input. The steps of generating quotation data based on the printed matter creation specification data and displaying and outputting it on the customer computer; the step of inputting management data that specifies the generated quotation data from the customer computer to the management computer; The computer estimates with the entered management data. The step of recording the data in the estimation data recording means, the step of inputting the management data from the order receiving computer to the management computer, and the management computer reading out the estimation data corresponding to the input management data from the estimation data recording means. ,
A step of displaying and outputting this on an order receiving computer;