WO2003085569A1

WO2003085569A1 - Parts search method, parts search system, and information processing apparatus

Info

Publication number: WO2003085569A1
Application number: PCT/JP2002/003650
Authority: WO
Inventors: Tsuyosi Horigome
Original assignee: Bee Technologies Corporation
Priority date: 2002-04-11
Filing date: 2002-04-11
Publication date: 2003-10-16
Also published as: JPWO2003085569A1

Abstract

A parts search system includes a buyer terminal managed by a buyer desiring to purchase parts, a seller terminal having a goods information storage block for storing information on electronic parts sold by a seller and reply means for creating a reply file in accordance with the information stored in the goods information storage block upon an appraisal request from a manager server, transmission/reception means for transferring a parts table file received from the buyer terminal or the seller terminal to message processing means which will be detailed later and transferring an output from this message processing means to the buyer terminal and the seller terminal, and a manager server having message processing means for creating an appraisal request file for each part based on the parts table file received from the transmission/reception means, transmitting the file to the transmission/reception means, gathering statistics on reply files received from the transmission/reception means, and transferring the statistics to the transmission/reception means. A parts buyer can find an optimal parts seller in a short time and at a low cost.

Description

Description Part search method, part search system, and information processing device

The present invention relates to a component search method and a component search system for obtaining various components such as electronic components at low cost using a computer network such as the Internet, and an information processing apparatus necessary for implementing these methods and systems. About. Background art

Computers such as personal computers, commercial electronic devices, and home appliances are made up of a large number of electronic components, and the electronic components that make up these products, along with a small number of custom-made electronic components (such as ASICs), are used in many general-purpose applications. It is composed of electronic components (standard logic I (:, CPU for PC, etc.)).

Many of these general-purpose electronic components are sold by manufacturers, through trading companies and retail stores to purchasers of combi-use products, consumer electronics manufacturers, etc., and are sold in the same way as ordinary products. In some cases, facsimile and telephone calls are performed manually and with great effort and expense.

However, in recent years, the production cycle has been required to shorten the product cycle due to the shortening of the product cycle, the promotion of inventory-free management where products are infinitely available, and the reduction of product prices. Rationalization such as cost reduction is also required. As an effective solution, there has been interest in electronic commerce using computer networks such as the Internet.

Such e-commerce commences when a buyer who purchases a part accesses a website established by a seller of parts, such as a trading company, and applies for purchase through a form on a web page. The purchased parts are delivered to the buyer by the seller, and the buyer pays the price by bank transfer or the like. Complete.

By the way, in order to purchase the necessary parts in the e-commerce transaction, it was necessary to access the web site that sells each part and search and purchase for each part. For example, if the number of electronic components constituting a certain electronic circuit is 100, it is necessary to perform a maximum of 100 searches. In the case of general-purpose electronic components, components that fulfill the same function (equivalent products) are manufactured by multiple manufacturers, and each is sold through multiple sellers, which satisfies conditions such as price and delivery date. In order to purchase parts, they had to access and search all the websites established by these distributors. For example, assuming that the number of electronic components that make up a certain electronic circuit is 100, if there are no identical components, it would be necessary to access up to 100 Web sites.

For this reason, e-commerce can speed up the purchase process and reduce costs compared to the manual method, but when more types of parts are required, more time and labor are required, and There was a problem that the rationalization was insufficient. Therefore, the present invention provides a parts search method, a parts search system, and a data processing method required for implementing these methods and systems, which enable a part purchaser to search for an optimal parts seller in a short time and at low cost. It is intended to provide a device. Disclosure of the invention

That is, in the parts search method according to the present invention, when a parts purchaser sends a parts list file describing a parts list desired to be purchased to a manager server via a purchaser terminal, the manager server , Create a quote request file containing the quote request for each part from the parts list file and send it to the seller terminal, and the seller terminal sends the response file containing the quote for the quote request to the administrator server. After transmission, the administrator server tallies the received response files and transmits them to the buyer terminal. In addition, when compiling the response file, it may be possible to perform the aggregation according to the price and delivery date of the parts. You may be able to do. Here, the purchaser is a person who purchases parts from a set maker or its purchasing agent, etc., and the seller is a part manufacturer, a parts trading company, a parts sales agent, etc., and sells parts. Who do.

In this way, the administrator server requests the estimate and totals the estimate, so no matter how many parts there are, just access one website and send the parts list file, and the necessary parts Search · Can be purchased.

Also, a parts search system according to the present invention includes a purchaser terminal managed by a purchaser who wants to purchase parts, a seller terminal managed by a seller who wants to sell parts, a purchaser terminal, It has a seller terminal and an administrator server connected by a computer network, and the buyer terminal can receive information stored in the administrator server and transmit information to the administrator server. The administrator server 1 transmits the parts list file received from the buyer terminal and the sales terminal to the message processing unit described later, and outputs the output from the message processing unit to the buyer terminal. Creates an estimate request file for each part from the transmitting and receiving means to be transmitted to the seller terminal and the parts list file received from the transmitting and receiving means And a message processing means for summarizing the response files received from the transmitting and receiving means and transmitting the reply file to the transmitting and receiving means. A product information storage unit for storing information; and answer means for creating an answer file based on the information stored in the product information storage unit in response to an estimate request from the administrator server. And In addition, the message processing means may be configured to be able to count according to the price and delivery date of the part. Furthermore, the administrator server stores a member information storage unit that stores information related to buyers and sellers, and stores information related to parts transactions so that parts can be purchased and sold, as well as parts search. A transaction storage unit and a member management unit that performs member registration, member authentication, and billing operations associated with parts purchase, which are input from a purchaser terminal or a seller terminal, may be provided.

Further, the information processing apparatus according to the present invention is configured such that a parts table file is transmitted from another information processing apparatus. Receiving and transmitting the file to a message processing means to be described later, or transmitting the output from the message processing means to another information processing device, and estimating each part from a parts table file received from the transmitting and receiving means. A request file is created and transmitted to the transmission / reception means, and a message processing means for totalizing the response files received from the transmission / reception means and transmitting the response file to the transmission / reception means is provided. Also, the message means may be able to compile the response file according to the price and delivery date of the part. Further, the information processing device stores a member information storage unit that stores information related to the purchaser and the seller, and information about the transaction of the parts so that the parts can be purchased and sold as well as searching for the parts. A transaction storage unit and a member management unit that performs member registration, member authentication, and billing operations associated with parts purchase input from another information processing device may be provided.

By using such a component search system and information processing apparatus, the component search method according to the present invention can be executed. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of an example of a parts trading system including a parts search system according to the present invention as a subsystem, and FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an overall processing procedure of the parts trading system. It is. Fig. 3 is a diagram schematically showing the screen configuration of the homepage, Fig. 4 is a diagram schematically showing the screen configuration of the registration page, and Fig. 5 is a diagram of the registration completion page. It is a figure which shows a screen structure typically. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a BOM file, FIG. 7 is a diagram schematically showing a screen configuration of an authentication page, and FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a screen configuration of a quote request page. It is a figure which shows typically. Further, FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of an estimate request file, FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of an answer file, and FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram showing a screen configuration of an estimate result page. FIG. In addition, FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of an order file, and FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of an e-mail notifying a seller of an order. BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the entire configuration of a parts trading system 1 (hereinafter abbreviated as system 1) including a parts search system according to the present invention as a subsystem. After registering as a member, trade in parts through the intermediary of an administrator.

As shown in FIG. 1, the system 1 is composed of a buyer terminal B managed by a buyer, a seller terminal S managed by a seller, and an administrator server ( An information processing device, hereinafter abbreviated as an administrator server.) It is composed of A and the like, and the buyer terminal B and the seller terminal S and the administrator server A are connected to each other via the Internet I.

Next, the terminals B and S and the server A constituting the system 1 will be described in detail.

The purchaser terminal B is a personal computer with a WWW browsing function (browsing means, not shown). The buyer terminal B can browse and print the data stored in the server A through the Internet service. It is also possible to input data to the administrator server 1A via a form or e-mail provided on the web page.

The administrator server A includes an arithmetic device A1 for performing various calculations and a storage device A2 for storing various information. Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the storage device A2 includes various information storage units for storing information, various means for performing information processing, and the like, and the contents thereof will be described below. Here, the term “means” refers to a program stored in an executable form.

The member information storage unit A 2 a is used for information on member authentication, such as the ID and password of the buyer and seller, information on the attributes of the buyer and seller such as the name, company size, and industry, and payment of the product price. The related billing information and the like are stored.

The transaction storage unit A 2 b stores the parts list input from the buyer terminal B, Assault 50

It stores a search result table obtained by editing the answers from the above, and information on the transaction of parts, such as the purchase price of the parts and the purchase agency fee.

These storage units are, for example, text-based files such as XML files and CSV files stored in an XML database, and tables of a relational database.

The transmission / reception means A 2 c transmits and receives information to and from the buyer terminal B and the sales terminal S, and transmits the received information to the message processing means A 2 e described later, The output from e is sent to buyer terminal B and seller terminal S. The transmission / reception means A2c is actually a Web server program such as IIS or Apache, or a program obtained by adding middleware such as PHP and Tomeat.

The member management means A 2 d performs member registration, member authentication, and billing operations associated with parts purchase, which are input from the buyer terminal and the seller terminal.

The message processing means A 2 e creates an estimate request file for each part from the parts list file received from the transmission / reception means A 2 c, and transmits the request to the transmission / reception means A 2 c, The received response files are totaled and transmitted to the transmission / reception means A 2 c.

Note that the member management means A 2 d and the message processing means A 2 e are actually, for example, commands and stored procedures of an XML database or a relational database.

The seller terminal S includes an arithmetic device S1 for performing various calculations and a storage device S2 for storing various information and the like. In addition, the storage device S2 stores various information necessary for selling electronic components, such as a manufacturer, a model number, a size, a price, and a delivery date of the electronic components sold by the seller, for each component. It has a storage unit S2a and response means S2b for responding to the information from the product information storage unit S2 in response to an inquiry from the administrator server A. The product information storage unit S2a and the answering means S2b are actually a combination of a Web server program and a database. Leak 2/03650

7

The above-mentioned purchaser terminal B, administrator server A, and seller terminal S are various means provided in a normal personal computer or server, such as a means for displaying data on a monitor, a means for connecting to the Internet I, and It has hardware such as a monitor and a keyboard, which are provided in a normal computer and server.

Next, a flow of a series of processes from the registration of information to the acquisition of parts by the system 1 configured as described above will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the overall processing procedure, and the numbers in parentheses below correspond to the processing procedures described in FIG. Also, FIGS. 3 to 5, FIG. 7, FIG. 8, and FIG. 11 schematically show the web pages displayed on the monitor of the buyer terminal B. Fig. 9, Fig. 10, Fig. 10 and Fig. 12 are diagrams showing the structure of various files, and Fig. 13 schematically shows an e-mail displayed on the monitor of the seller terminal S. It is a thing.

(1) Register part information

The seller who wants to use the system 1 stores information on the parts that he / she wants to sell in the product information storage unit S2a. The stored information is updated successively by the seller in response to fluctuations in component prices.

(2) Member registration

First, the buyer or seller accesses the administrator server 1A from his / her own terminal and clicks the “member registration” button 3a provided on the homepage (see Fig. 3). The registration page (see Fig. 4) is displayed on the monitor.

Next, the purchaser or seller inputs individual information such as address and name, and authentication information such as ID and password in each field of the registration page (see Fig. 4), and displays it on the registration page (see Fig. 4). When you click the “Register” button 4a, the entered information is registered in the member information storage unit A2a, and a registration completion page (see Fig. 5) is displayed on the terminal monitor. Can be used.

(3) Creation and transmission of BOM files

First, the buyer purchases an electronic circuit CAD, electronic circuit diagram editor and circuit simulator. Designing and verifying electronic circuits and creating circuit diagrams.

Next, a parts table file is created from the circuit diagram, using the CAD function (macro instruction) and dedicated software to summarize the components described in the circuit diagram. The parts list file is, for example, an XML file as shown in Fig. 6, and as shown in this figure, information required for ordering parts, for example, the types of parts (resistors, capacitors) and their Information such as characteristics (lk Q, lOO p F) is described for each part. Using the parts table file created in this way, the following procedure is used to search for parts. · Purchase is made.

First, when the buyer accesses the homepage (see Fig. 3) from the buyer terminal B and clicks the "Quote 'Buy" button 3b on the screen, the authentication page (see Fig. 7) is displayed You. Then, after entering the ID and password for authentication, a quote request page (see Fig. 8) is displayed. Note that the quote request page (see Fig. 8) includes a BOM file entry field 8a, a “reference” button 8b, a set number input field 8c, a priority condition determination field 8d, and a “quotation” button 8e. And so on.

Next, the purchaser inputs the file name of the part file directly into the file input field 8a, or selects the part file using the “reference” button 8b and the common dialog. Then, select either “delivery date” or “price” in the priority condition determination column 8c, and enter the number of parts to be purchased.

Finally, click the “Estimate” button 8 e to send the BOM file to the administrator server A.

(4) Request for quote

When the administrator server A receives the parts list file via the transmission / reception means A 2 c, the message processing means A 2 e creates an estimate request file for each part, and transmits the estimate request file to the transmission / reception means A 2 e. 2 Send to seller terminal S via c. The quote request file is an XML file as shown in Fig. 9, and contains information on each part in addition to the quote number that identifies each quote request. (5) Estimate response

When the seller terminal S receives the quote request file, the response means S 2 b searches for the corresponding part from the information stored in the product information storage unit S 2 a and creates a response file. Send the response file to the administrator server A. The answer file is an XML file as shown in Fig. 10, and contains the quote number identifying each quote request, as well as the unit price and delivery date when the seller sells.

(6) Estimate estimation

When the administrator server A receives the response files (see FIG. 10) from the plurality of seller terminals S via the transmission / reception means A2c, the administrator server A totals the response files for each part by the message processing means A2e. Then, the totaling result is sent to the buyer terminal B as an estimation result page (see Fig. 11). In addition, on the estimation result page (see Fig. 11), the answers from each seller are sorted based on the priority conditions, and the displayed answer display section 1 1a and the “order” button 11b are displayed. Is provided. FIG. 11 (a) is a diagram showing a search result with priority given to price, and FIG. 11 (b) is a diagram showing a result of search with priority given to delivery date.

(7) Ordering parts

When the purchaser places an order according to the search result displayed in the answer display section 11a, clicking on the "order" button 1 lb, an order file (the 12th order) in which the terrorist is described for each part is displayed. Is sent to the administrator server A (see the figure). If the buyer is dissatisfied with the search results, he can click the "Redo" button 11c to search again.

(8) Send order mail

Upon receiving the order file (see FIG. 12) via the transmission / reception means A2c, the administrator server 1A creates an order mail (see FIG. 13) for each part by the message processing means A2e. The data is transmitted to the seller terminal S via the transmission / reception means A 2 c. In addition, the received order file is stored in the transaction storage unit A2b, and the billing information of the seller stored in the member information storage unit A2a is stored in the member management unit A2c. Leak 2/03650

10 Additional handling fee.

(9) Shipment of goods

The seller wraps and packs the parts based on the e-mail received and sends it to the buyer along with the bill.

(10) Payment

When the goods are received, the buyer pays the purchase price to the administrator by a certain period of time, and the administrator pays the seller a reduced amount of the commission to complete the transaction. Thus, the system 1 By using, regardless of the number of parts, it was possible to search and purchase the necessary parts simply by accessing one Web site and transmitting the parts list file.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made within the technical scope of the invention described in the claims.

For example, in the above embodiment, ordering of parts is performed using the system 1, but a system that only searches for parts may be used. In this case, the manager's income is based on the monthly dues, not the fees associated with individual transactions. Conversely, the system 1 may be provided with various settlement functions, for example, a function capable of performing a credit transfer or a bank transfer.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the transaction of the electronic component has been described. However, the system 1 can be used for the transaction of a mechanical component, a general-purpose component resin, and a metal material.

Further, the purchaser terminal B may be a dedicated terminal other than a personal computer, a game console, a portable PDA, or the like, and the various storage units and means of the administrator server 1A are distributed and arranged in a plurality of computer storage devices. It may be. In addition, the search speed can be further improved by providing a cache that stores the answers from sellers and searching the cache before asking the seller to search. Assault 50

11

Industrial applicability

According to the parts search method and the parts search system according to the present invention, when a part purchaser sends a parts list to the manager server via the purchaser terminal, the manager server estimates the parts from the seller of each part. , And the results are tabulated and reported, so that the optimal parts supplier can be searched in a short time and at low cost.

Claims

The scope of the claims

1. When the purchaser of the parts sends a parts list file containing a list of parts to be purchased to the supervisor through the purchaser terminal,

The administrator server creates an estimate request file in which an estimate request for each part is described from the parts list file and transmits the file to the seller terminal,

The seller terminal transmits, to the administrator server, an answer file in which a quote for the quote request is described,

The component search method, wherein the administrator server totals the received answer files and transmits the totaled answer files to the purchaser terminal.

2. The parts search method according to claim 1, wherein the answer files are totalized based on parts prices or delivery dates.

3. The parts search method according to claim 1, wherein the searched parts can be purchased and sold.

4. A buyer terminal managed by a buyer who wants to purchase a part, a seller terminal managed by a seller who wants to sell a part, and the buyer terminal and the seller terminal and a computer network. A parts search system comprising a connected administrator server,

The buyer terminal is

Browsing means capable of receiving information stored in the administrator server and transmitting information to the administrator server,

The administrator server is

The buyer terminal, a parts list file received from the sales terminal, a message transmitting means for transmitting the parts list file to be described later, and a transmitting / receiving means for transmitting an output from the message processing means to the buyer terminal, the seller terminal;

Create an estimate request file for each part from the parts table file received from the transmission / reception means, transmit the file to the transmission / reception means, and reply to the response received from the transmission / reception means. Message processing means for totalizing the file and transmitting it to the transmission / reception means, wherein the seller terminal comprises:

A product information storage unit that stores information on electronic components sold by the seller; and an answer file based on the information stored in the product information storage unit in response to an estimate request from the manager server. Answer means to create

A parts search system comprising:

5. The parts search system according to claim 4, wherein the message processing means totalizes the answer files based on the price or the delivery date of the parts.

6. If the admin server

A member information storage unit for storing information related to the buyer and the seller,

A transaction storage unit for storing information regarding the transaction of parts;

Claim 4 characterized by having member management means for registering members input from the purchaser terminal and seller terminal, authenticating members, and performing billing operations for parts purchases, etc. Parts search system.

7. Transmission / reception means for receiving a parts table file from another information processing device and transmitting it to a message processing means described later, or transmitting an output from the message processing means to another information processing device;

A message processing means that creates an estimate request file for each part from the parts list file received from the transmitting / receiving means and transmits it to the transmitting / receiving means, and also tallies the response files received from the transmitting / receiving means and transmits it to the transmitting / receiving means.

An information processing apparatus comprising:

8. The information processing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the message processing means totalizes the answer file based on a price or a delivery date of the part.

9. A member information storage unit for storing information related to the buyer and the seller;

Member management means for registering members input from the purchaser terminal or seller terminal, authenticating members, performing billing operations for parts purchase, etc. The information processing apparatus according to claim 7, comprising: