WO2002035404A1

WO2002035404A1 - Price inquiry method for electronic trade

Info

Publication number: WO2002035404A1
Application number: PCT/CN2000/000368
Authority: WO
Inventors: Hsunsen Chen; Lihsin Ma
Original assignee: Ibp Technology Co., Ltd.
Priority date: 2000-10-27
Filing date: 2000-10-27
Publication date: 2002-05-02
Also published as: WO2002035404A8; AU2001211263A1

Abstract

A price inquiry method for electronic trade used in an electronic trade system to facilitate the buyers and suppliers to make transaction, the electronic trade system having a product database having the specification data for the product which will be sold and trade data, the method comprising the following steps: a buyer inputs price inquiry data and presents first price inquiry data about a particular product to a supplier, the supplier, who can know the first price inquiry data, decides whether to make transaction based on the first price inquiry data or not to make transaction without accepting the first price inquiry data, and presents a first quoted price data; the buyer, who know the first quoted price data, decides whether to make transaction based on the first quoted price data or not to make transaction without accepting the first quoted price data, and presents a second price inquiry data; the above steps are repeated until the supplier and buyer make the transaction or one of the supplier and buyer cancels the transaction.

Description

Explanation book

Inquiry method for electronic transactions

The present invention relates to an inquiry method for electronic transactions, and more particularly, to an inquiry method for electronic transactions of plastic materials.

Background technique

In today's industrial materials, plastic materials have been applied to many uses, and even with the development of the plastic industry, plastic materials have gradually replaced traditional metal materials such as steel. As a result, plastic materials have become more diverse. Different types of plastic materials and plastic raw materials are usually replaceable. Therefore, the industry must make the best decision among multiple materials and multiple suppliers to produce the highest quality plastic products at the lowest cost.

As mentioned earlier, different plastic materials and different suppliers are usually substitutable, and different supply methods will also provide different prices to suppliers. Therefore, for buyers, it is usually necessary to go through complicated price comparison procedures to be able to purchase the required product at the lowest price. Furthermore, for suppliers, the same product also needs to provide different quotations due to different quantities, locations and payment methods. Therefore, for different buyers, the quotation process is very complicated. In particular, suppliers are unable to provide the best price based on the cost of the product to cope with market competition and lose trading opportunities.

In addition, the quotations of plastic materials change over time, so the database data must be updated at any time. For traditional transaction models, this process of updating data will be slow and time-consuming. Therefore, for the transaction of plastic materials, there is also a need to provide a system in which not only buyers can get real-time data, but also suppliers can change the good price and product content of plastic materials at any time.

In addition, for the traditional purchase process of plastic materials, the buyer usually completes the transaction through repeated inquiry and price comparison processes. In fact, for plastic materials, the plastic product is usually traded through distributors, that is, the manufacturer and supplier of the plastic material are different. Therefore, the buyer can usually make an inquiry with multiple suppliers to obtain the lowest purchase cost. But the traditional inquiry and price comparison process is quite complicated and time-consuming.

The Internet has developed into a very convenient electronic trading business medium, enabling consumers to purchase goods or services on the Internet. However, the current electronic trading system does not Provide appropriate mechanisms for interaction. Generally speaking, in a general electronic trading system, the buyer can only accept or reject the quotation data provided by the seller in one direction, and cannot make an inquiry request to the seller based on his own needs. However, in the traditional transaction process, the buyer and seller usually pass this inquiry process to complete the transaction.

Therefore, for buyers and suppliers of plastic materials, there is a need to provide a more convenient transaction method so that buyers and suppliers can obtain the best interaction.

Summary of invention

An object of the present invention is to provide an inquiry method for electronic transactions for trading commodities, in which the buyer can make multiple inquiries to suppliers to facilitate transaction completion.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an inquiry method for electronic transactions, which is applied to an electronic transaction system and is connected to the Internet to enable buyers and suppliers to conduct transactions conveniently.

The inquiry method for electronic transactions according to the present invention is applied in an electronic trading system to facilitate buyers and suppliers to conduct transactions, and the electronic trading system has a product database including specification data and transaction data of products to be traded, The credit transaction method of the electronic transaction includes:

Inputting inquiry data, the buyer submits a first inquiry data to a supplier for a specific product;

The supplier decides whether to conduct the transaction. The supplier can learn the first inquiry data through the electronic trading system, and decide to accept the first inquiry data for trading, or not accept the first inquiry data to cancel. Trade or submit a first quote data;

The buyer decides whether to trade or not. The buyer can learn the first quotation data through the electronic trading system and decide to accept the first quotation data for trading, or not accept the first quotation data to cancel the transaction or propose Second inquiry data; and

The foregoing steps are repeated until the supplier and the buyer conclude a transaction, or one of the supplier and the buyer cancels the transaction.

According to another feature of the present invention, the electronic transaction inquiry method further includes a query step for screening products similar to the product to be traded selected in the selection step from the transaction database.

According to another feature of the present invention, the electronic transaction inquiry method, wherein the electronic transaction system is connected to the Internet, and the buyer can communicate with the electronic through the Internet The trading systems interoperate.

According to another feature of the present invention, the electronic transaction inquiry method, wherein the product database of the electronic transaction system includes a sales price, a quantity, a supplier, a manufacturer, and the like of each product.

The inquiry method of the electronic transaction according to another feature of the present invention, wherein the transaction data of the electronic transaction system includes product specifications, suppliers, delivery methods, delivery locations, payment methods, quantity / unit price, and price currency and many more.

According to the inquiry method of the electronic transaction of the present invention, the buyer can negotiate the transaction data with the supplier multiple times, thus assisting the buyer to complete the transaction with the supplier, and the mode of this transaction is also similar to the typical common The transaction model is similar, which further helps traditional vendors and buyers complete transactions.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic flowchart of an electronic transaction method according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic flowchart of an inquiry part of the electronic transaction method according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic flowchart of a payment inquiry part of the electronic transaction method according to the present invention. Fig. 4 is a schematic flowchart of confirming a buyer's payment method according to the electronic transaction method of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic flowchart of an inquiry part of another embodiment of the electronic transaction method according to the present invention.

Figures 6-11 are examples of tables or webpage formats output by an electronic transaction method according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Examples

In order to make the above and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention more obvious, the following describes the preferred embodiments of the present invention in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

An embodiment of the present invention is an inquiry part 50 in an electronic transaction method 10, which is shown in FIG. 1. The electronic transaction method is applied to a product transaction, hereinafter A plastic material is used as an example to illustrate the present invention, but the electronic transaction method of the present invention is not limited to this plastic material. Those skilled in the art will be able to easily understand electronic trading systems, such as US Patent Nos. 5,970, 475, 5, 557, 518, and 5, 319, 542. Different electronic trading systems have been disclosed. The Internet conducts electronic transactions. The aforementioned patents are incorporated herein by reference. The electronic transaction method 10 of the present invention is applied to an electronic transaction system for trading plastic materials, wherein the electronic transaction system includes buyers, suppliers, and trading centers, and is connected to each other through the Internet. And the electronic trading system has a product database, which includes physical property data and transaction data of plastic products. Furthermore, the electronic transaction system is constructed in a computer system for electronic transactions, or it can only provide users with the function of querying products.

Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a flowchart of a method of electronic trading according to the present invention. When a buyer wants to purchase plastic materials, the buyer can access the homepage of the trading center of the electronic trading system of the present invention via the Internet. 110 (Homepage). The homepage of the trading center provides a selection function. The buyer (user) can determine the types of products to be traded in steps, such as plastics, processing equipment, and colorants / additives. In the electronic transaction method 10 according to the present invention, the first page of the transaction center 110 is divided into a plurality of similar steps to meet the needs of users. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the trading center provides three plastic-related trading items, which are plastic, processing equipment, and colorants / additives. The format of this front page is shown in FIG. 6 by way of example. ,

The buyer can click on individual keys in Fig. 6 to enter individual functions. In addition, the transaction center also provides the functions of the purchase contract inquiry 130 and the account inquiry 140. The buyer can enter the sale contract inquiry 130 to check the sale contract of the trading center.

As mentioned earlier, the homepage of the trading center provides three types of plastic-related trading items: plastics, processing equipment, and colorants / additives. In the following, plastic trading is taken as an example to explain the electronic trading method 10 of the present invention. When the buyer wants to trade plastics, the buyer can select the plastics trading area 120 on the homepage 110 of the trading center to conduct plastics trading.

After entering the plastic trading area 120, proceed to step 122, where the buyer must log in to the member data in order to proceed to step 126 to perform transactions, and if the buyer is not a member, proceed to step 124. In step 124, the buyer can decide whether to join the member, and if he joins the member, return to the plastic trading area 120, otherwise return to the home page 110.

In addition, the account inquiry 140 is used to inquire the buyer's transaction history in the trading center, and the step 140 also includes a member login step similar to the step 122 in order to confirm the membership, and return after the inquiry is completed. Home 110.

In step 126, the trading center will output FIG. 7 to facilitate the buyer's plastic trading. As shown in Figure 7, it is roughly divided into two parts, including the upper input form, the middle Part of the output form. In the upper input form, the buyer can enter query conditions, such as the type of plastic, shipping location, shipping time, and query keywords, etc., where the symbol indicates that the trading center provides a pull-down menu. In order to facilitate the buyer to enter the query data (the symbol "T" in the following also has the same function, this manual will not repeat it). After the buyer enters the search conditions, he can click the "GO" button, and the trading center will output its results in the table in the middle section. The table in the middle section will display the products in the product database that match the entered query conditions, and display the material, manufacturer, product name, specifications, color, supplier, delivery location, shipping time, And related transaction data such as minimum order.

After that, the buyer can click on the specific column on the form in the middle section (that is, click on the specific number in the "No." field in Figure 7) to determine the specific specifications of the product to be traded. , And their specific vendors. Then proceed to the next step 160. In this step 160, the transaction center of the present invention outputs the data of the product of the specific specification and its supplier in FIG. 8.

As shown in Figure 8, it is roughly divided into two parts, the upper part is the basic data part of the product, and the lower part is the transaction data part of the product of the specification. In the upper data part, you can click the "Similar physical product search" or "Physical property table" button to enter step 170, which is used for intelligent material selection, or query the physical data of the product, and then return to the homepage 110. The method for intelligent selection of materials is disclosed in another patent application No. 89119419 filed on September 20, 2000 by the inventor for a method for selecting intelligent products.

It is shown in the lower part that the step 160 further has four subsequent steps, and the buyer can determine the subsequent steps by the query result shown in FIG. 8. If the buyer decides to re-query the plastic, the buyer can click the "re-query" button and enter the step 126 to re-query the plastic. If the buyer needs to query the transaction history, click the "Account Search" button to proceed to step 140. In step 140, the buyer can query his own transaction records in the transaction center.

If the buyer accepts the transaction data of the supplier for the product of the specification, the buyer can click the "Order" button to proceed to step 162. If the buyer is not satisfied with the transaction data of the supplier for the product of the specification, the buyer can click the "inquiry" button to enter step 50.

In step 162, the buyer confirms whether to conduct a transaction again and if the buyer decides to conduct a transaction, the payment method of the transaction needs to be determined, and then the process proceeds to step 60. In step 60, The payment inquiry part 60 of the electronic transaction method 10 is used to inquire whether the buyer has sufficient payment capacity to complete the transaction, and this step will be described below. If the buyer passes the confirmation of the payment inquiry part 60, the buyer enters the order system of step 300 to complete the transaction, otherwise returns to the home page 110.

In step 50, the inquiry part 50 of the electronic transaction method 10 is used to provide a function of further inquiry between the buyer and the supplier. If the buyer and the supplier reach an agreement, the process proceeds to step 180, and the inquiry part 50 will be described later. In step 180, the buyer can further confirm the order, if it decides to conduct a transaction, it proceeds to step 60, otherwise it returns to step 126. As mentioned earlier, this step 60 is used to query whether the buyer has sufficient payment capacity to complete the transaction. If the buyer passes the confirmation of the payment inquiry part 60, the buyer enters the order system of step 300 to complete the transaction. Otherwise, it returns to the first page 110.

Please refer to FIG. 3, which shows a flowchart of the payment inquiry part 60 according to the present invention. Note that those skilled in the art will understand that the payment inquiry part 60 is a determination step for determining the purchase Whether the buyer has sufficient payment capacity to complete the transaction, if the buyer passes the payment inquiry part 60, the transaction is continued, otherwise the transaction is cancelled and the transaction center is returned to the homepage 110. After entering this step 60, first enter step 602 to confirm which method the buyer uses to pay. If a credit limit is selected, proceed to step 606. If other payment methods are selected, proceed to step 604. In this step 604, the buyer can further decide the payment method, such as (T / T, L / C), and then proceed to step 620. This step will be described later.

If the buyer selects the credit line for payment, the process proceeds to step 606, and then proceeds to step 610. In step 610, the transaction center is connected to a bank to confirm whether the buyer's credit limit is sufficient to conduct a transaction. If it is sufficient, proceed to step 626 to pass a credit query, otherwise proceed to step 612. In step 612, the trading center confirms whether the buyer's credit limit in the trading center is sufficient for trading. Please note that this credit limit is provided by the trading center. If it is sufficient, proceed to step 626, otherwise proceed to step 614. . In step 614, the buyer may choose to increase the credit line or apply for another payment method in order to conduct the transaction. If the buyer cannot increase the amount, the process proceeds to step 624, leaving the payment inquiry part and failing the payment inquiry. If the buyer chooses to increase the credit limit, the process proceeds to step 616. In step 616, the transaction center is connected to a bank, and the buyer requests to increase the credit limit, and then proceeds to step 618. In step 618, if the bank agrees, proceed to step 626, otherwise proceed to step 620. If the buyer chooses to apply for another payment method, the process proceeds to step 620. At this step W

In 620, the buyer can apply for other payment methods, such as (T / T, L / C), and fill in the form for other payment methods. Then, the process proceeds to step 622. In step 622, the transaction center confirms the other payment method, that is, receives a necessary reply or receives a payment within a limited time. If the confirmation is passed, it proceeds to step 626, otherwise it proceeds to step 624.

Please refer to FIG. 2, which shows a flowchart of the inquiry part 50 according to the present invention. After entering the step 50, the process proceeds to step 500 first. In step 500, the transaction center imports the product of the specific specification and the specific supplier data selected in the foregoing transaction process into the inquiry part 50, and the output form is shown in FIG.

Reference is now made to FIG. 9, where the data take-out part outputs the transaction data of the product of the specific specification selected by the buyer and its supplier through the trading center, and the buyer can respond to other transaction data and the The supplier makes an inquiry, and the required data includes the specifications of the product, the supplier, and other transaction data, which is hereinafter referred to as inquiry data. The items that the buyer can inquire with the supplier include the delivery method, the delivery location, the payment method, the quantity / unit price, the price currency, and so on. Through this mechanism, the buyer and the supplier can get better interaction and complete the best transaction. After the buyer decides the inquiry content, he can click the "send inquiry" button to enter the confirmation of the buyer's payment method section 80 to confirm the payment method used by the buyer when conducting the transaction. This step 550, otherwise proceed to step 502 to cancel the inquiry process. If the buyer wants to cancel the inquiry, click the "Cancel Inquiry" button, exit the inquiry part, and return to step 126. Part 80 of this method of confirming the buyer's payment method will be described later.

The step 500 further includes a plurality of determining steps to further confirm the inquiry data. The multiple determining steps are described as follows. After the inquiry data is input in step 500, the transaction center will display the inquiry data again, as shown in FIG. 10.

After the buyer confirms the inquiry data, he can click the three click buttons located at the bottom of Figure 10 to enter the next steps. If the buyer clicks the "Cancel Inquiry" button, the process proceeds to step 126 to continue to inquire the plastic to be traded.

If the buyer clicks the "confirm temporarily" button, the transaction center will store the inquiry data in an inquiry list, and the buyer can view the inquiry list in this step. If the buyer clicks the "View Inquiry List" button, it enters a step of displaying a list.

In the step of displaying the list, the transaction center outputs the inquiry list. Please note that the transaction center of the present invention may allow the buyer to make three inquiries for products of the same specification. The transaction The center outputs the inquiry list in FIG. 11. As shown in FIG. 11, when the buyer clicks the "modify" button or the "delete" button, the trading center will allow the buyer to modify the inquiry data and delete the inquiry data, respectively.

In step 550, the trading center notifies the supplier of the inquiry data of the buyer, and asks whether the supplier accepts the inquiry data of the buyer. If the supplier accepts the inquiry data, the process proceeds to step 560. Otherwise proceed to step 570. In the embodiment according to the present invention, the transaction center outputs the inquiry data to the data area of the supplier in the transaction center, so that the supplier can query the related inquiry data at any time.

In step 560, the supplier enters an acceptance inquiry and proceeds to step 562. In step 562, the trading center will notify the buyer to confirm the order. If the buyer allows the order to be confirmed, then the process proceeds to step 520, otherwise the process proceeds to step 564 to cancel the order and exit the inquiry part 50. In step 520, it is confirmed that the inquiry data is confirmed, and the buyer and the supplier may perform subsequent transaction steps on the inquiry data.

In this step 570, the supplier can decide whether to provide the quotation again, if not, go to step 576 to cancel the inquiry process, otherwise go to step 572. In step 572, the supplier re-enters the price data, and then proceeds to step 574. In step 574, the trading center will further ask the buyer whether to accept the new price of the supplier, if it agrees, go to step 562, otherwise go to step 578. In step 578, the buyer can decide whether to make an inquiry again. If he wants to make an inquiry again, go to step 580, otherwise go to step 576. In step 580, the buyer re-enters the inquiry data, and then proceeds to step 550. During this inquiry process, the buyer and the supplier can conduct multiple mutual inquiries and quotations, so that the final transaction can meet the needs of both parties.

Please refer to FIG. 4, which shows a flowchart of the method for confirming the buyer's payment method part 80 according to the present invention. After entering this step 80, first enter step 810. In step 810, the buyer can select the payment method used in the inquiry part 50. If he chooses to conduct a transaction with a credit line, the process proceeds to step 816; otherwise, the process proceeds to step 812. In this step 8U, the buyer chooses to pay in other ways, and then proceeds to step 814. The transaction center will notify the buyer of the payment data that needs to be prepared, and then return to step 550 of the inquiry section 50.

In step 816, the transaction center will query whether the buyer has a credit limit, and then proceeds to step 818. In step 818, the trading center will query whether the buyer has a bank credit line, if so, proceed to step 550, otherwise proceed to step 820. At this step In 820, the trading center will query whether the buyer has a credit limit of the trading center, if yes, go to step 550; otherwise, go to step 822.

In step 822, the trading center will ask whether the buyer must apply for a bank credit line. If the buyer does not apply, the transaction is cancelled and the process proceeds to step 110; otherwise, the process proceeds to step 824. In step 824, the buyer can directly fill in the application data of the credit line, and then enter the step

826. In step 826, the transaction center will connect to the bank, and output the application data to the bank, and then proceed to step 828. In step 828, the bank reviews the application data and decides whether to agree or not, if it agrees, it goes to step 550 of the inquiry part 50, otherwise it goes to step 830. In step 830, the transaction center will further ask the buyer whether to choose another payment method. If the buyer agrees, proceed to step 814, otherwise cancel the transaction and return to step 110.

Referring again to FIG. 5, there is shown an inquiry part 50a according to another embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the steps of the inquiry part 50a and the inquiry part 50 are substantially the same, except that in the inquiry part 50a, after the buyer's payment method 80 is confirmed, the process proceeds to step 510.

In step 510, the transaction center compares the inquiry data with the range set by the supplier, and if it matches, it proceeds to step 520, otherwise it proceeds to step 530. In step 520, it is indicated that the buyer and the supplier can perform subsequent transaction steps on the inquiry data through the inquiry data. In step 530, it is confirmed whether the supplier accepts the inquiry outside the range, if it is accepted, it proceeds to step 550, otherwise it proceeds to step 540. In step 540, the transaction center rejects the buyer's inquiry data and returns to step 500 to re-enter the inquiry data.

In addition, as shown in the figure, the electronic transaction method 10 of the present invention further includes a processing equipment transaction area 120 'and a colorant / additive transaction area 120 ". The steps 120' and 120" are similar to the step 120.

Although the present invention has been disclosed in the foregoing preferred embodiments, it is not intended to limit the present invention. Any person of ordinary skill in the art can make various changes without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. With modification. Therefore, the protection scope of the present invention shall be subject to the appended claims.

Claims

Rights request

1. An inquiry method for electronic transactions, which is applied in an electronic trading system to facilitate buyers and suppliers to conduct transactions, and the electronic trading system has a product database including specification data and transaction data of a product to be traded, wherein: Inquiry methods for electronic transactions include:

The supplier decides whether to conduct the transaction. The supplier can learn the first inquiry data through the electronic trading system, and decide to accept the first inquiry data for trading, or not accept the first inquiry data to cancel or Present a first quote data;

The buyer decides whether to conduct the transaction. The buyer can learn the first quotation data through the electronic trading system and decide to accept the first quotation data to conduct the transaction, or not to accept the first inquiry data to cancel the transaction or Submitting second inquiry data; and

2. The inquiry method for electronic transactions according to claim 1, further comprising a querying step for screening products similar to the specific product from the transaction database.

3. The inquiry method for electronic transactions according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the electronic trading system is connected to the Internet, and the buyer can interoperate with the electronic trading system through the Internet .

4. The inquiry method for an electronic transaction according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the product database of the electronic transaction system includes the sales price, quantity, supplier, manufacturer, etc. of each product.

5. The inquiry method for electronic transactions according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the products traded by the electronic transaction system are plastic materials.

6. The inquiry method for electronic transactions according to claim 1, wherein the inquiry data and the quotation data proposed by the buyer and the supplier are determined by a delivery method, a delivery place, a payment method, and a quantity / unit price. , And selected from a group of price currencies.

7. The inquiry method for electronic transactions according to claim 1, further comprising an inquiry range step, wherein the supplier further provides a preset range, and the buyer must submit the first inquiry data within the range.