JP2003256701A - Electronic commerce server and electronic commerce method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a reservation server for effectively managing unoccupied rooms and allowing customers to reserve the unoccupied room. <P>SOLUTION: The reservation server 1 provided from a hotel server 6 for reserving the unoccupied room, has an unoccupied room registering means 15a for recording at least an identifier of a hotel and the number of the unoccupied rooms in an unoccupied room information storage 16, a reservation reception means 15b for recording the reservation information on the unoccupied room in a reservation information storage 17, when there is the unoccupied room as a result of the reference to the unoccupied room information storage 16, a requesting means 15d for requesting the increase of the number of unoccupied rooms to the hotel server 6, and recording the same to a request storage 18 when there is no unoccupied room as the result of the reference to the unoccupied room information storage 16, and a request processing means 15e for recording the increased stock in the unoccupied room information storage 16 on the basis of the demand by the requesting means 15d, accepting the reservation of the unoccupied room, and recording the same in the reservation information storage 17. <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 an electronic commerce server and an electronic commerce method for making a reservation for a product provided by a product providing server.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, with the development of communication networks such as the Internet, commodity trading via communication networks has been widely used.

For example, a shopping mall operated by an electronic commerce server can be formed on a communication network, and products in the shopping mall can be purchased from a terminal connected to the communication network.

Services such as hotels, inns, transportation tickets, travel tours, etc. may be reserved and sold by merchandise transactions via such communication networks.

[0005]

However, in the conventional electronic commerce, when a product is provided, the supplier of the product inputs the inventory, and the sale of the product is ended when the inventory is sold out.

In particular, in the case of hotels and inns, vacant rooms are allocated in advance according to the sales routes such as shopping malls, travel agencies, telephone reception desks, etc., and they are sold as inventory of products. For this reason, if the vacant room is not properly allocated, the travel company may have in stock, but the shopping mall may be sold out and the sale of the product may be ended.

[0007] In this case, the customer has to search for a product inventory through a sales channel other than the shopping mall, and as a result, the hotel cannot effectively sell the room.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an electronic commerce server and an electronic commerce method for effective inventory management.

[0009]

In order to achieve the above object, a first feature of the present invention relates to an electronic commerce server that allows a user to make a reservation for a product provided by a product providing server. That is, in the electronic commerce server according to the first aspect of the present invention, the inventory information storage means for recording at least the product identifier and the inventory quantity in the inventory information storage device, and the inventory information storage device with reference to the inventory information storage device have inventory of the product. If there is no stock of the product by referring to the reservation receiving means for recording the reservation information about the product in the reservation information storage device and the stock information storage device, request the product providing server to increase the number of stocks of the product, and store the request. The apparatus includes requesting means for recording in the apparatus, and request processing means for recording the increased inventory in the inventory information storage device, receiving the reservation of the commodity, and recording it in the reservation information storage device based on the request from the requesting means.

Here, the "commodity" is a commodity provided by the commodity providing server and sold by the electronic commerce server, a transportation reservation, a hotel reservation, or the like. Further, the "stock" is a product that can be sold at the present time, excluding already sold products, among the products provided by the product providing server.

According to the product providing server according to the first aspect of the present invention, the product providing server side determines the number of stocks in advance and sells the products, but increases the number of stocks according to the reaction of the customer. You can Therefore, the product providing server can efficiently sell the product, and the customer can purchase the desired product by making a request to the product providing server even if the product is not in stock. Further, for example, when a hotel with a small number of rooms accepts a reservation for a room, it is possible to receive the reservation according to a request from a customer without setting the stock quantity in advance. Therefore, since the room can be sold through various sales channels, the room reservation can be accepted more effectively.

Further, a reservation information storage means for transmitting the reservation information recorded in the reservation information storage device to the product providing server and a reservation result receiving means for recording the reservation result may be provided. Thereby, the electronic commerce server can obtain the result of whether it is finally canceled or purchased when the reservation sale is performed, and it can be utilized for future sales activities.

Further, when the product is the plan provided by the plan providing server, the plan registration receiving means for receiving the registration of the plan from the plan providing server and registering the plan in the plan information storage device, and the plan registered in the plan information storage device A plan sales number management unit that manages the number of sales and a reward payment unit that pays a reward to the plan providing server that provided the plan based on the sales number of the plan may be provided. As a result, the plan providing server can obtain a reward according to the number of sales of the plan, so that a more attractive plan can be planned and sales to customers can be promoted.

A second feature of the present invention relates to an electronic commerce method for allowing a user to make a reservation for a product provided by a product providing server using the electronic commerce server. That is, in the electronic commerce method according to the second aspect of the present invention, an inventory information storage step of recording at least an identifier of a product and the number of stocks in the inventory information storage device by the electronic commerce server; If the product is in stock, the reservation acceptance step of recording reservation information about the product in the reservation information storage device by the electronic commerce server; and if the product is not in stock by referring to the inventory information storage device, the product provision server stores the product inventory. A request step of requesting an increase in the number by the electronic commerce server and recording it in the request storage device by the electronic commerce server, and recording the increased inventory in the inventory information storage device by the electronic commerce server based on the request by the request step, Reservations are accepted by the e-commerce server, and e-commerce transactions are stored in the reservation information storage device. And a request processing step of recording by chromatography server.

Further, there are provided a reservation information storing step in which the electronic commerce server transmits the reservation information recorded in the reservation information storage device to the product providing server, and a reservation result receiving step in which the electronic commerce server records the reservation result. May be.

Further, when the product is a plan provided by a plan providing server that plans a plan for promoting the sale of the product and provides the plan to the electronic commerce server, the plan providing server accepts the registration of the plan by the electronic commerce server to obtain the plan information. A plan registration acceptance step of registering in the storage device by the electronic commerce server, a plan sales number management step of managing the number of sales of the plan registered in the plan information storage device by the electronic commerce server, and a plan based on the number of sales of the plan. There may be provided a reward payment step of paying a reward to the plan providing server that has provided the.

[0017]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description of the drawings, the same or similar parts are denoted by the same or similar reference numerals.

In the present embodiment, an example of selling a hotel vacancy as a product to a customer will be described.

(First Embodiment) FIG. 1 shows a system configuration diagram of an electronic commerce system according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

The electronic commerce system according to the first embodiment of the present invention is a reservation system 3 for selling vacant rooms in a hotel.
And a hotel system 8 for providing a hotel vacancy, a first customer terminal 9a for booking and purchasing a hotel vacancy, a second customer terminal 9b ... The reservation system 3, the hotel system 8 and the customer terminal 9a are connected by the Internet 4 representing a data communication network.

The Internet 4 is an example of a general communication network, and in addition to the Internet, any communication network such as an intranet or personal computer communication may be used. Further, the reservation system 3, the hotel system 8, the first customer terminal 9a, and the second customer terminal 9b are connected via a gateway server, a proxy server, an access point of an Internet provider, a circuit switch, a modem, a terminal adapter, etc. There are also cases.

Further, the reservation system 3 and the hotel system 8
Are preferably connected by a telephone network 5 to enable FAX transmission.

The reservation system 3 comprises a reservation server 1 and a transmission server 2. The reservation server 1 is the hotel system 8
It is a server that sells the vacant room provided by the customer to the first customer terminal 9a, the second customer terminal 9b ... The sending server 2
It is a server that exchanges data with the hotel system 8 and communicates via the Internet 4 or telephone network 5 depending on the connection form of the hotel system 8.

The hotel system 8 includes a hotel server 6 and a FAX 7. Here, the hotel system 8
It is not necessary to provide both the hotel server 6 and the FAX 7, and either one may be used. Further, the reservation system 3 may be communicated using a telephone line via an operator or the like.

FIG. 2 shows a functional block diagram of the reservation server 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

The reservation server 1 includes an input device 11, an output device 12, a temporary storage device 13, a communication control device 14, a processing control device 15, a vacant room information storage device 16, and a reservation information storage device 1.
7. A request storage device 18 is provided.

The input device 11 is composed of buttons, a keyboard, a touch panel, an OCR, a voice, and other devices. The output device 12 is composed of a screen display device such as a CRT or LCD, or a device such as a printer for outputting on paper or the like, which outputs the result.

A ROM and a RAM are incorporated in the temporary storage device 13. The ROM functions as a program memory that stores a program executed in the process control device 15, and the RAM stores data and the like used during the program execution in the process control device 15,
It functions as a data memory used as a work area. The communication control device 14 is a control device for connecting to the Internet 4 in a wired or wireless manner. Specifically, it is a modem, a LAN card, a LAN board, or the like.

The vacant room information storage device 16 records information about the vacant room of the hotel managed by the reservation server 1.
The vacant room information storage device 16 records the hotel name, date, number of vacant rooms, price, and the like. Further, detailed information of the hotel such as the hotel address, introduction, facility in the hotel, address, telephone number, etc. may be recorded.

The reservation information storage device 17 stores information about reservations received from the first customer terminal 9a and the second customer terminal 9b. For example, information such as name, reserved hotel name, reserved date, price, etc. is recorded.

In the request storage device 18, when there is no vacant room in the vacant room information storage device 16, information about a request to increase the vacant room is recorded in the hotel system 8. For example, information such as the requester, the requested hotel, the date, and the number of days is recorded.

The processing control device 15 includes a vacant room registration means 15
a, reservation accepting means 15b, vacancy updating means 15c, request requesting means 15d, request processing means 15e, reservation information transmitting means 15f, reservation result receiving means 15g.

The vacant room registration means 15a is the hotel system 8
It is a means for registering the information regarding the vacancy provided by the hotel system 8 received from the vacancy information storage device 16.
Further, the hotel system 8 can additionally register the number of vacant rooms to increase the number of vacant rooms, or perform a closed setting so as not to accept a reservation or a request when, for example, a hotel room is sold out.

The reservation receiving means 15b refers to the vacancy information storage device 16 and if there is a vacancy (stock) in the hotel, the first
Of the customer terminal 9a, the second customer terminal 9b, ... For recording the reservation information in the reservation information storage device 17 for the vacant room.

The vacant room updating means 15c is the reservation acceptance means 15
It is a means for updating the number of vacant rooms in the vacant room information storage device 16 when the reservation is made by the step b.

The request means 15d refers to the vacancy information storage device 16 and if there is no vacant room in the hotel, the vacant room in the hotel system 8 according to the instructions from the first customer terminal 9a, the second customer terminal 9b. Is requested and recorded in the request storage device 18.

The request processing means 15e stores, for example, the vacant room in which the hotel system 8 has been increased, in the vacant room information storage device 16
, And further accepts the reservations of the first customer terminal 9a, the second customer terminal 9b ... Which requested the request, and records them in the reservation information storage device 17. Here, if the hotel side does not already have the stock, it may be set to be closed so as not to accept the reservation or the request.

The reservation information transmitting means 15f transfers the reservation information recorded in the reservation information storage device 17 to the hotel system 8
Is a means to send to. It may be transmitted by a paper medium such as FAX, or may be transmitted by an electronic medium such as a CSV file using an electronic mail.

The reservation record receiving means 15g is the reservation server 1
It is a means for receiving the results of the reservation in the hotel system 8. For example, the record of the customer staying, the customer canceling by telephone at a later date, or the customer not appearing on the staying day (called “No Show”) is recorded.

FIG. 3 shows a functional block diagram of the transmission server 2 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

The transmission server 2 includes an input device 21, an output device 22, a temporary storage device 23, a communication control device 24, a processing control device 25, a hotel contact storage device 26, and a transmission template storage device 27.

The input device 21 is composed of devices such as buttons, a keyboard, a touch panel, an OCR and a voice. The output device 22 is configured by a screen display device such as a CRT or LCD, or a device such as a printer for outputting on paper or the like, which outputs the result.

The temporary storage device 23 incorporates a ROM and a RAM. The ROM functions as a program memory that stores a program executed in the processing control device 25, and the RAM stores data and the like used during the program execution in the processing control device 25,
It functions as a data memory used as a work area. The communication control device 24 is a control device for connecting to the Internet 4 and the telephone line network 5 in a wired or wireless manner. Specifically, it is a modem, a LAN card, a LAN board, a FAX, or the like.

The hotel contact storage device 26 records the method of contact with the hotel system 8. For example, an e-mail address, a telephone number, a FAX transmission number, etc. In addition, when requesting a request, when contacting normally, etc.
The contact method may be changed according to various situations.

In the transmission template storage device 27, templates prepared according to the contents to be transmitted to the hotel system 8 are recorded. For example, by combining information such as the hotel name and date and time received from the reservation server 1 with the template recorded in the transmission template storage device 27, it is possible to form a message to be transmitted to the hotel system 8.

The processing control device 25 has the reservation information receiving means 2
5a, hotel contact acquisition means 25b, reservation information formation means 25c, mail transmission means 25d, FAX transmission means 25e
Is equipped with.

The reservation information receiving means 25a uses the hotel system 8 such as the hotel name, the date and time, the number of reserved rooms, and the name of the reservation person.
Is means for receiving information to be transmitted to the reservation server 1. The received information is recorded in the temporary storage device 23 or the like.

The hotel contact address acquisition means 25b is a means for referring to the hotel contact address storage device 26 and acquiring the method of contacting the hotel.

The reservation information forming means 25c is means for synthesizing the information received by the reservation information receiving means 25a with the template recorded in the transmission template storage device 27 to form a message to be transmitted to the hotel system 8.

The mail sending means 25d sends the document formed by the reservation information forming means 25c, when the hotel contact acquisition means 25b designates the sending method as electronic mail.
It is a means for transmitting to the hotel system 8 via the Internet 4.

The FAX transmission means 25e sends the document formed by the reservation information forming means 25c to the hotel system 8 via the telephone line network 5 when the transmission method is designated as FAX by the hotel contact acquisition means 25b. Is a means to send to.

FIG. 4 shows a flowchart of the electronic commerce method according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

First, in step S101, the vacant room registration means 15a accepts registration of a vacant room from the hotel system 8. Here, in step S102, the system status is set to "normal". When the status is "normal", reservations can be accepted from the first customer terminal 9a, the second customer terminal 9b ...

Next, when the reservation is accepted in step S103, the presence / absence of a vacant room is confirmed in step S104 by referring to the vacant room information storage device 16. If there is a vacant room, in step S105, the reservation reception means 15b.
The reservation is accepted by, and in step S106, the vacancy updating unit 15c reduces the number of vacant rooms registered in the vacant room information storage device 16 by one.

Further, in step S107, the transmission server 2 causes the hotel system 8 to perform step S105.
Send the reservation information booked in.

If it is determined in step S115 that the hotel system 8 has finished the sale, step S115 is performed.
At 116, change the status to "closed",
Avoid making reservations and requests. Until the sales end is registered from the hotel system 8, the status is "normal", so the reservation is accepted in step S103.

On the other hand, if there is no vacant room by the request means 15d in step S104, the number of vacant rooms registered in the vacant room information storage device 16 is decremented by 1 in step S108. At this time, the number of vacant rooms will take a negative value. Further, the status is changed to "request" for requesting the hotel to increase the number of vacant rooms, and in step S110, the request is made to increase the number of rooms via the transmission server 2.

In step S111, when the hotel system 8 increases the number of rooms, the request processing means 15e accepts the reservation, and further, step S113.
In step S1, the vacancy information storage device 16 is updated, and step S
At 114, the status is changed to "normal".

Next, in step S107, the reservation information is transmitted to the hotel system 8 and the processes of steps S107 to S116 are performed as in the normal reservation reception.

5 to 14 show examples of screens presented by the reservation server 1 according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is an example of a screen when searching for a hotel. Link L101 to member information on the frame,
Link L102 to information currently reserved by customers, link L1 to quick search that can be searched quickly for a limited period of time
03, a link L104 to a direct search that can search for vacant rooms in a long-term hotel, and a link L105 to a style search that can be searched according to the customer's purpose, hotel facilities, and the like.

On the direct search screen, check-in date, number of rooms, room type, number of rooms, accommodation charge,
Specify search items such as prefectures. Furthermore, when the request is included, the search results include the facilities that are not available on the scheduled check-in date, and it may be possible to stay overnight by making the request. You can also specify whether or not the card can be used. When these search items are input, the search is performed by clicking the search button B110.

The result of clicking the search button B110 in FIG. 5 is shown in FIG. Here, the hotel, the catch phrase, the address, the place, the price, and the like that correspond to the search condition are displayed. Furthermore, a “facility details” link L106 that links to a detailed description of the hotel is also displayed. Furthermore, when planning an accommodation plan and accepting a hotel reservation, a link to a screen explaining the plan in detail is provided. Here, as the accommodation charge, charges of a plurality of charge types such as a regular charge, a discounted charge, and a special charge of the member are displayed. This allows
It is possible to promote membership registration, hotel reservations, etc. to customers. Further, "Reserve" buttons B101a to B101
When h is displayed and these are clicked, a reservation screen is displayed.

FIG. 7 is an example of a screen showing a vacant room calendar displaying a list of when and for what price, for example, when staying at a hotel. even here,
"Detailed description" button B that links to the detailed description of the hotel
106 is provided. Further, when planning an accommodation plan and accepting a hotel reservation, a “plan detail” button B107 is provided to display a screen explaining the plan in detail.

Here, when there is a remaining room and a reservation is possible, a "Reserve" button B103 is displayed. In this case, the customer's reservation can be accepted promptly. If there are no remaining rooms, but a request can be made to the hotel, a "request" button B104 is displayed. In this case, if the hotel responds to the request, the customer's reservation will be accepted, but if the hotel does not respond to the request, the reservation will not be accepted. Furthermore, if it is set that the request cannot be accepted from the hotel, a "CLOSED" button B105 is displayed.

FIG. 8 is a screen displaying a detailed description of the hotel. For example, in FIG. 6, the “facility details” link L106 is clicked, and in FIG. 7, “facility details” is clicked.
When button B106 is clicked, FIG. 8 is displayed. In Figure 8, the name of the hotel, the catchphrase,
Address, telephone / FAX number, check-in / out time, record of opening / renovation, accommodation capacity, number of guest rooms, etc. are displayed as basic information of the hotel.

, "View map" link L106 for displaying the surrounding map, "PHOTO-1" for displaying the photo of the facility
A link L107 and the like are provided.

When planning an accommodation plan and accepting a hotel reservation, information on the plan is also displayed. Here, a "plan details" button B108 is provided,
A more detailed plan description is displayed. Also, when the "vacancy calendar" button B109 is clicked, a screen as shown in FIG. 7 is displayed.

Further, as the detailed information of the hotel, various kinds of hotel information such as room information, hotel characteristics, bath, meal, transportation, parking lot, guest room facilities, amenities and services are displayed. Furthermore, whether or not the card can be used, and if the hotel operates a home page, a link to the URL is also displayed.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a screen showing a detailed description of the plan. For example, in FIG. 6, a “plan details” link, and in FIG. 7, a “plan details” button B10
7 or FIG. 8, when the “plan details” button B108 is clicked, FIG. 9 is displayed. Here, for example, when a night view plan is planned, what kind of night view can be seen is described to make the customer interested. Here, a “facility details” button B111 is provided, and when clicked, a screen as shown in FIG. 8 is displayed. Furthermore, an "vacancy calendar" button B112 is provided, and when clicked, a screen as shown in FIG. 7 is displayed.

FIG. 10 is a screen displayed when the link L102 for "confirmation / cancellation" is clicked in FIG. Here, a reservation number that identifies a reservation, a facility name that is the name of a hotel to stay, a check-in date, the number of nights, a reservation status such as a reservation or a request are displayed. Further, detailed reservation information may be confirmed. If you want to cancel the reservation or request, you can also cancel from this screen.

FIG. 11 is an example of an input screen when a customer makes a reservation. Here, the customer inputs the name of the representative who will be staying, the name of the facility, the facility name, the plan name, the check-in date, the number of nights of stay, the estimated arrival time, the room name, the number of guests, and the like. In addition, you can enter whether you want a non-smoking room or a smoking room, reserve a parking lot, and so on. These input items may be changed according to the facilities of the hotel. In FIG. 11, when the reservation information is input,
Accommodation charges are estimated. If you want to apply the member fee for estimation, enter the member ID and password and click the "Estimate" button B113. To apply a non-member fee and make an estimate, click the "Estimate by non-member" button B114.

FIG. 12 is an example of a confirmation screen in which the reservation information is input and the charge is estimated in FIG. 11, for example. Here, the charges that apply to the customer are also displayed. When the “Return to list” button B115 is clicked, the screen (here, FIG. 11) before this screen is displayed is displayed again.

13 and 14 are views showing an example of a screen presented by the reservation server 1 to the hotel server 6.

FIG. 13 shows a screen for returning a room or increasing a room from the hotel server 6. Returning a room is a process of reducing the number of already registered rooms. However, if you have already made a reservation, you cannot register less than the number of reservations. Increasing the number of rooms is the process of further increasing the number of rooms and accepting reservations. For example, a case where the number of rooms is increased in response to a request from a customer is included.

In FIG. 13, the vacant room information storage device 16
Based on, the date, the number booked and the number requested have been displayed. Furthermore, a text box for entering the number of rooms to be registered this time is provided. Also, a check box is provided to put the request in the "CLOSED" state when the request cannot be accepted anymore. When the hotel server 6 inputs these pieces of information and clicks the confirmation button B116, the vacant room information storage device 16 of the reservation server 1 is updated.

FIG. 14 is a screen for inputting a reservation record from the hotel server 6. For example, if the check-in is performed according to the reservation, “check-in” is selected. If the check-in is canceled, “cancel” is selected. If the reservation is made but the check-in is not performed, “NoShow” is selected. When the confirmation button B117 is clicked, the reservation record information is received by the reservation server 1 by the reservation record receiving means 15g and stored in the reservation information storage device 17. It is preferable that this information be utilized for future marketing and hotel performance.

(Second Embodiment) FIG. 15 shows a system configuration diagram of an electronic commerce system according to a second embodiment. In the electronic commerce system according to the second embodiment, a plan providing server 32 that provides an accommodation plan is connected to the Internet 4. Further, the bank server 31 that performs payment settlement between the reservation server 1 and the plan providing server 32 is also connected to the Internet 4.

FIG. 16 shows a functional block diagram of the reservation server 1 according to the second embodiment.

In the reservation server 1 according to the second embodiment, a reservation information storage device 17 in which information about reservations received from the first customer terminal 9a and the second customer terminal 9b is recorded, and a plan is provided. A plan information storage device 19 in which the plan provided by the server 32 is recorded is provided.

Further, the processing control device 15 is provided with a plan registration receiving means 15h, a reservation receiving means 15i, a plan sales number managing means 15i, and a reward payment means 15j.

The plan registration receiving means 15h is means for receiving the registration of the plan from the plan providing server 32 and registering it in the plan information storage device 19.

The reservation accepting means 15b has a function similar to that of the first embodiment and is a means for reserving the plan information recorded in the plan information storage device 19.

The plan sales quantity managing means 15i is means for managing the sales quantity of the plans registered in the plan information storage device 19 for each of the provided plan providing servers 32.

The reward payment means 15j is means for paying a reward to the plan providing server 32 which has provided the plan, based on the number of sales of the plan managed by the plan sales number management means 15i. At this time, the transfer may be made directly via the bank server 31.

FIG. 17 shows a flowchart of the electronic commerce method according to the second embodiment.

First, in step S201, the plan registration receiving means 15h receives the registration of the plan from the plan providing server 32. The plan accepted in step S201 is
It is registered in the plan information storage device 19. The registered plan is published in step S203, and the application from the customer is accepted.

When the deadline is reached in step S204, the number of plans sold by the plan sales quantity management means 15i is calculated in step S205, and in step S206, the reward payment means 15j rewards the number of plans sold. The money is sent to the plan providing server 32.

In the second embodiment, the reward is paid to the plan provider according to the sale of the plan, so that it is possible to promote the provision of an attractive plan that is widely accepted by customers.

(Other Embodiments) As described above, the first and second embodiments of the present invention have been described.
The discussion and drawings forming a part of this disclosure should not be understood as limiting the invention. From this disclosure, various alternative embodiments, examples and operational techniques will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

For example, the request function described in the first embodiment and the plan planning function described in the second embodiment may be combined.

As described above, it goes without saying that the present invention includes various embodiments not described here. Therefore, the technical scope of the present invention is defined only by the matters specifying the invention according to the scope of claims reasonable from the above description.

[0093]

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an electronic commerce server and an electronic commerce method for effectively managing inventory.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram of an electronic commerce system according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of a reservation server according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram of a transmission / reception server according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an electronic commerce method according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is an example of a screen presented by the reservation server according to the first embodiment. (Part 1)

FIG. 6 is an example of a screen presented by the reservation server according to the first embodiment. (Part 2)

FIG. 7 is an example of a screen presented by the reservation server according to the first embodiment. (Part 3)

FIG. 8 is an example of a screen presented by the reservation server according to the first embodiment. (Part 4)

FIG. 9 is an example of a screen presented by the reservation server according to the first embodiment. (Part 5)

FIG. 10 is an example of a screen presented by the reservation server according to the first embodiment. (Part 6)

FIG. 11 is an example of a screen presented by the reservation server according to the first embodiment. (Part 7)

FIG. 12 is an example of a screen presented by the reservation server according to the first embodiment. (Part 8)

FIG. 13 is an example of a screen presented by the reservation server according to the first embodiment. (Part 9)

FIG. 14 is an example of a screen presented by the reservation server according to the first embodiment. (Part 10)

FIG. 15 is a system configuration diagram of an electronic commerce system according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 16 is a functional block diagram of a reservation server according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart of an electronic commerce method according to the second embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 reservation server 2 Send / receive server 3 reservation system 4 Internet 5 telephone network 6 Hotel server 7 FAX 8 Hotel system 9a, 9b Customer terminal 11,21 Input device 12, 22 Output device 13, 23 Temporary storage device 14, 24 Communication control device 15, 25 Processing control device 15a Vacancy registration means 15b Reservation acceptance means 15c Vacancy update means 15d Request means 15e Request processing means 15f Reservation information transmission means 15g Reservation record receiving means 15h Plan registration acceptance means 15i Plan sales number management means 15j Reward payment method 16 Vacancy information storage device 17 Reservation information storage device 18 Request storage device 25a Reservation information receiving means 25b Hotel contact information acquisition method 25c Reservation information forming means 25d E-mail sending method 25e FAX transmission means 26 Hotel Contact Storage 27 transmission template storage device 31 bank server 32 Plan providing server

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Atsushi Kurozuka             Moto Akasaka 1-1-8 Minato-ku, Tokyo             Inside the Tmark Travel

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. An electronic commerce server that allows a user to make a reservation for a product provided by a product providing server, comprising: inventory information storage means for recording at least the identifier of the product and the inventory quantity in an inventory information storage device; When there is an inventory of the product by referring to the inventory information storage device, a reservation receiving unit that records the reservation information of the product in the reservation information storage device, and the inventory of the product by referring to the inventory information storage device. If not, request means for requesting the commodity providing server to increase the stock quantity of the commodity and recording it in the request storage device, and recording the increased inventory in the stock information storage device based on the request by the request means. And a request processing unit that receives the reservation of the product and records the reservation in the reservation information storage device. 2. A reservation information storage unit for transmitting the reservation information recorded in the reservation information storage device to the product providing server, and a reservation record receiving unit for recording the reservation record. The electronic commerce server according to claim 1. 3. When the product is the plan provided by a plan providing server that plans a plan for promoting the sale of the product and provides the plan to the electronic commerce server, the registration of the plan is accepted from the plan providing server, Plan registration receiving means for registering in the plan information storage device, plan sales number management means for managing the sales number of the plan registered in the plan information storage device, and providing the plan based on the sales number of the plan 3. The electronic commerce server according to claim 1, further comprising a reward payment means for paying a reward to the plan providing server. 4. An electronic commerce method for allowing a user to make a reservation for a product provided from a product providing server using an electronic commerce server, wherein at least an identifier of the product and a stock quantity are stored in an inventory information storage device. A stock information storage step of recording by a server, and a reservation reception of recording the reservation information of the product in the reservation information storage device by the electronic commerce server when the product is in stock with reference to the stock information storage device. And a step of referring to the inventory information storage device, if the product is out of stock, the product provision server is requested by the electronic commerce server to increase the stock number of the product, and the request storage device is operated by the electronic commerce server Based on the request step to record and the request by the request step, the Is stored in the inventory information storage device by the electronic commerce server, a reservation for the product is accepted by the electronic commerce server, and the reservation information storage device is recorded by the electronic commerce server in a request processing step. E-commerce method to do. 5. A reservation information storing step in which the electronic commerce server transmits the reservation information recorded in the reservation information storage device to the product providing server, and a reservation in which the electronic commerce server records the reservation record. The electronic commerce method according to claim 4, further comprising a record receiving step. 6. If the product is a plan provided by a plan providing server that plans a plan for promoting the sale of the product and provides the plan to the electronic commerce server, registration of the plan is registered from the plan providing server to the electronic commerce. A plan registration acceptance step of receiving by the server and registered in the plan information storage device by the electronic commerce server; and a plan sales number management step of managing the sales number of the plan registered in the plan information storage device by the electronic commerce server. The electronic commerce according to claim 4 or 5, further comprising a reward payment step of paying a reward to the plan providing server that provided the plan based on the number of sales of the plan. Method.