WO2011087357A2

WO2011087357A2 - System and method for a centralized and coordinated end-to-end trading platform

Info

Publication number: WO2011087357A2
Application number: PCT/MY2010/000236
Authority: WO
Inventors: Woon Wee Chen; Ahmad Asmadi; Abdul Wahid Shamsul Anuar; Choo Khai Lim; Soo Ho Lee; Fairuz Anwar Muhammad
Original assignee: Mimos Bhd
Current assignee: Mimos Bhd
Priority date: 2010-01-14
Filing date: 2010-10-29
Publication date: 2011-07-21
Anticipated expiration: 2012-07-14
Also published as: MY147283A; WO2011087357A3

Abstract

The present invention provides a system for a centralized and coordinated end-to-end trading platform (1) in a computer readable medium. The system comprises a presentation layer (10) as user interface, where user requests and transactions are performed; an application layer (20) where business processes and logics are carried out, and where the user requests and transactions are processed; a service delivery layer (30), which allows other types of applications to be plugged in to the trading platform; and a persistence layer (40) where the servers and databases reside, wherein access to the servers and databases is controlled in the service delivery layer (30) by subscription. The application layer (20) provides the interface between the presentation layer (10) and the service delivery layer (30); and wherein the service delivery layer (30) provides the interface between the application layer (20) and the persistence layer (40). A method for a centralized and coordinated end-to-end trading platform (1) is also provided herewith.

Description

System and Method for a Centralized and Coordinated End-to-End

Trading Platform

Field of the Invention

[0001] The present invention generally relates to a web-based trading platform, and in particular to a centralized and coordinated web-based end-to-end trading system and method of carrying out the same.

Background

[0002] Electronic commerce or e-commerce can be defined as a way to conduct business transactions, such as the buying and selling of goods and services over electronic systems, such as the internet or other computer networks. The processes in electronic commerce comprise enabling customers to access product information, select items to purchase, purchase items securely, and have the purchase settled financially.

[0003] The history of e-commerce dates back to 1970s with the emergence of EDI

(Electronic Data interchange), which was a set of standards developed at that time as a medium for conducting business transactions and structured information exchange between organizations by electronic means.

[0004] Generally, e-commerce can be divided into four categories: B2B (Business-to

Business), B2C (Business-to-Consumer), C2B (Consumer-to-Business) and C2C (Consumer- to-Consumer). There are some other less common forms of e-commerce, which involve transactions with government, such as G2G (Government-to-Government), G2B (Government-to-Business), B2G (Business-to-Government), G2C (Government-to-Citizen) and C2G (Citizen-to-Government).

[0005] B2B or Business-to-Business covers business transactions conducted electronically between two companies, such as between manufacturer and distributor or between wholesaler and retailer. B2C or Business-to-Customer involves business activities of companies serving end consumers with products and/or services electronically. C2C or Customer-to-Customer covers electronically facilitated interactions and transactions between consumers through the intermediation of a third parly. C2B or Customer-to-Business involves a system in which consumers offer goods and/or services to companies with a third party as intermediary, and companies pay them. Another facet of the C2B e-commerce is that of the consumers post messages online that invite companies to bid on the goods and/or services that consumers need. In this case, the consumers will review the bids and selects the company with the best offer (reverse auction).

[0006] As of today, the largest e-commerce sector is still B2B (Business-to-

Business). The reason being that the volume of B2B transactions will always be much higher than the transaction volume of any other e-commerce sector. For example, in a typical supply chain, there will always be more B2B transactions, including the sales of sub-component and raw materials, as compared to the B2C transactions. Most of the time, there will only be one B2C transaction at the end of a supply chain, which is the sale of the finished or end products to the consumers. Nevertheless, there has been a significant growth in B2C, as well as in C2C e-commerce sector, for the past few years.

[0007] However, besides its notable growth in popularity over the last decade, the current e-commerce system is still facing some important issues. Most of the current e- commerce solutions are still focused on the manual operation, such that the buyers and sellers still need to interact manually. In other words, some of the negotiations still have to be done manually or possibly offline. This method has disadvantages in terms of cost, efficiency and time consumption. Summary

[0008] The following presents a simplified summary to provide a basic understanding of the present invention. This summaiy is not an extensive overview of the invention and is not intended to identify key features of the invention. Rather, it is to present some of the inventive concepts of this invention in a generalized form as a prelude to the detailed description that is to follow.

[0009] The present invention provides a system and method for a centralized and coordinated end-to-end trading platform. According to one aspect of the invention, the trading platform comprises of a presentation layer as user interface, where user requests and transactions are performed; an application layer where business processes and logics are earned out, and where the user requests and transactions are processed; a service delivery layer, which allows other types of applications to be plugged in to the trading platform and a persistence layer where the servers and databases reside, wherein access to the servers and databases is controlled in the service delivery layer by subscription; and wherein the application layer provides the interface between the presentation layer and the service delivery layer; and wherein the service delivery layer provides the interface between the application layer and the service delivery layer.

[0010] In one embodiment of the present invention, the application layer further comprises of raw material, processed material, final product and services modules, which enable goods handling of various types. [0011] In another embodiment of the present invention, the application layer further comprises of intelligent matching module for appropriate matching of goods, services, demands and supplies, and intelligent reporting module for viewing transactions summary for a business.

[0012] In yet another embodiment of the present invention, the application layer further comprises logistic module, which enables storage and transportation handling of goods.

[0013] In another embodiment of the present invention, the application layer further comprises sector information, promotion centre and forum modules, which uses semantics to match news and information based on user's profile or behavior; enables users to interact with each other faster from the user interface; and enables users to form online communities with similar interests.

[0014] In yet another embodiment of the present invention, the application layer further comprises member access module for registering members to the trading platform, wherein the members further comprises of five different categories: an administrator, a shop owner, a secondary shop user, a shopper and a visitor.

[0015] According to another aspect of the invention, the method for a centralized and coordinated end-to-end trading platform comprises of enabling interaction with users and performing users requests and transactions through a presentation layer; passing the user requests and transactions performed in the presentation layer to an application layer to be processed; allowing other types of applications to be plugged in to the trading platform and controlling access to servers and databases residing in a persistence layer by subscription through a service delivery layer.

[0016] In one embodiment of the present invention, the method further comprises enabling goods handling of various types through the use of raw material, processed material, final product and services modules of the application layer.

[0017] In another embodiment of the present invention, the method further comprises enabling appropriate matching of goods, services, demands and supplies through the use of intelligent matching module of the application layer and enabling view of the transactions summary for business through the use of intelligent reporting module, wherein both module reside in the application layer.

[0018] In yet another embodiment of the present invention, the method further comprises enabling storage and transportation handling of goods through the use of logistic module of the application layer. [0019] In another embodiment of the present invention, the method further comprises using semantics to match news and information based on user's profile or behavior; enabling users to interact with each other faster from the user interface; and enabling users to form online communities with similar interests, through the use of sector information, promotion centre and forum modules of the application layer. [0020] In yet another embodiment of the present invention, the method further comprises enabling registration of members to the trading platform through the use of member access module of the application layer, wherein the members further comprise of five different categories: an administrator, a shop owner, a secondary shop user, a shopper and a visitor. [0021] The objectives and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of embodiments thereof in connection with the accompanying drawings. Brief Description of the Drawings

[0022] Preferred embodiments according to the present invention will now be described with reference to the figures accompanied herein, in which like reference numerals denote like elements. [0023] FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of a centralized and coordinated end-to-end trading platform according to one embodiment of the present invention;

[0024] FIG. 2 illustrates a workflow diagram for an administrator in the centralized and coordinated end-to-end trading platform according to one embodiment of the present invention; [0025] FIG. 3 illustrates a workflow diagram for a shop owner and a secondary shop user in the centralized and coordinated end-to-end trading platform according to one embodiment of the present invention;

[0026] FIG. 4 illustrates a workflow diagram for a shopper in the centralized and coordinated end-to-end trading platform according to one embodiment of the present invention; and

[0027] FIG. 5 illustrates a workflow diagram for a visitor in the centralized and coordinated end-to-end trading platform according to one embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description [0028] Embodiments of the present invention shall now be described in detail, with reference to the attached drawings. It is to be understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended, such alterations and further modifications in the illustrated device, and such further applications of the principles of the invention as illustrated therein being contemplated as would normally occur to one skilled in the art to which the invention relates.

[0029] FIG. I shows a block diagram of a centralized and coordinated end-to-end trading platform 1 in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. The trading platform 1 is a web-based application that provides an e-commerce solution for companies to sell their products on the Internet. With the trading platform 1, people from various groups can meet and collaborate by demanding or supplying goods to fulfill certain needs, such as agriculture activities. [0030] The groups of people who meet and collaborate in the trading platform 1 can be divided into two categories, i.e. upstream and downstream people. Upstream people are the agriculture enabler who provides inputs for agriculture activity such as fertilizers, seeds, machineries, etc. On the other end are the downstream people who market the agriculture outputs such as raw material, processed material and finished product. [0031] As shown in FIG. 1, the trading platform 1 comprises a Presentation Layer 10, an Application Layer 20, a Service Delivery Layer 30 and a Persistence Layer 40.

[0032] Presentation Layer 10 is the highest level of the trading platform 1, which is basically the user interface of the application. The Presentation layer 10 enables interactions between the users and the trading platform 1 through electronic devices, such as computer and mobile phone.

[0033] The Application Layer 20 is where the core business processes and logics are carried out, as well as where the user transactions are processed. Requests and transactions performed at the Presentation Layer 10 are passed to the Application Layer 20 to be processed. Application Layer 20 interacts with the Service Delivery Layer 30 in order to store the transactions to the database. The Application Layer 20 further acts as the interface between the Presentation Layer 10 and the Service Delivery Layer 30, i.e. front-end and back-end.

[0034] The Application Layer 20 comprises of many different modules, wherein each module serves a specific function. Examples of the modules include a Coordinator module 201, a Member Access module 202, a Promotion Centre module 203, a Sector Information module 204, a Forum module 205, an Inventory module 206, a Logistic module 207, a Raw Material module 208, a Processed Material module 209, a Final Product module 210, a Services module 211, an E-cart module 212, an E-procurement module 213, a Scoring System module 214, an Intelligent Matching module 215, an Intelligent Reporting module 216, a Dashboard module 217, a Future Booking module 218, a Frequent List module 219 and a Help module 220.

[0035] The Coordinator module 201 is provided as the administrative centre of the system for monitoring and managing overall performance of the trading platform 1. Member access is granted using the Member Access module 202. The members are generally divided into five categories: an Administrator 50, a Shop Owner 60, a Secondary Shop User 70, a Shopper 80 and a Visitor 90.

[0036] The Promotion Centre 203, Sector Information 204 and Forum 205 modules provide an information portal allowing members to share information about demands and supplies of goods and/or services. The Promotion Center 203 provides channels allowing shop owners to advertise their products and promotions. Depending on the need, it is possible that the Promotion Center 203 may allow members of other categories to post their request for seeking goods and services with their offers. The Sector information 204 may be available from newspapers, reports, journals, blogs and etc. The Forum 205 provides members a discussion platform for sharing and feedback information in relation to products, sellers and the like.

[0037] The information provided through the trading platform 1 is useful in helping members' decision-making. The Promotion Centre 203 and Sector Information 204 module use semantics to match news and information based on member's profile or behaviour. News and information displayed in the Sector Information module 204 could come from newspapers, reports, journals, blogs, etc. The Promotion Centre module 203 provides medium for members especially the Shop Owners 60 to advertise their products. The Forum module 205 enables members to form online communities with similar interests and efficiently facilitates interaction among members of the trading platform 1. The Forum module 205 also supports sending and receiving private messages to/from the members of the trading platform 1.

[0038] The Inventory module 206 assists the Shop Owner 60 and/or Secondary Shop

User 70 in handling stocks, whereas the Logistic module 207 facilitates storage and transportation handling of goods. The goods include raw material, processed material, final product and services and each is handled in its specific module respectively; Raw Material module 208, Processed Material module 209, Final Product module 210 and Services module 211.

[0039] When a purchase is desired, the E-cart 212 and E-procurement module 213 can come into use. The E-cart module 212 is used as a virtual shopping basket where members add goods for buying. The E-cart module also facilitates secure payments for B2B, B2C ad C2C electronic commerce using either credit card, direct debit or manual bank-in. The options of telegraphic transfer, letter of credit and partial payment are not supported by the system. The E-procurement module 213 serves as a virtual manager, which manages the business transactions in a centralized manner; including the creation and handling of quotations, orders, invoices as well as deliveries.

[0040] Based on the transactions captured, members are able to understand market demands and supplies through the Scoring System module 214. The Scoring System module 214 enables members to rate the Shoppers 80, the Shop Owners 60 as well as the goods and services. The information on the most popular or the best-selling products, together with the shoppers' ratings, will be displayed for the benefits of members' decision-making. The use of the Scoring system module 214 offers value-added services for the members, on top of the information available in the Promotion Centre 203, Sector Information 204 and Forum 205 modules, since the ratings given by the members of the trading platform 1 will show the level of individuals' appreciation towards a particular product, shop owner or shopper. [0041] Further analysis can be done with the help of the Intelligent Matching 215 and the Intelligent Reporting module 216. The Intelligent Matching module 215 enables appropriate matching of goods and services, as well as demands and supplies, for the Shop Owners 60 to make decision. The overall transactions summary for a business conducted in the trading platform 1 can be viewed using the Intelligent Reporting module 216. These two modules offer solution to overcome the disadvantages of the existing e-commerce systems for lacking of reporting features and business matching tools.

[0042] Members may use the Dashboard module 217 to view all the related information of transactions. The Future Booking module 218 is useful for handling goods and services for upcoming needs e.g. seasonal goods. Members also can have their favorite list of buyers, sellers or goods/services utilizing the Frequent List module 219. Extensive online help is also available for the members through the use of the Help module 220.

[0043] FIGs. 2-5 illustrate the workflows for the Administrator 50, the Shop Owner

60 and Secondary Shop User 70, the Shopper 80 and the Visitor 90 respectively. Each member is able to navigate the trading platform 1 as permitted by the specific user rights assigned to the category the member is belong to.

[0044] FIG. 2 is a workflow diagram of the Administrator 50 in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. The Administrator 50 manages the system in a centralized manner. Some of the modules managed by the Administrator 50 include the Member Access module 202, Promotion Centre module 203, Sector Information module 204, Forum module 205 and Scoring System module 214. After logging in 501 to the trading platform 1, the Administrator 50 is able to publish news and information 502, manage member access 503 and also view sales summary 504. However, the Administrator 50 is not able to perform any business transactions such as buying and selling goods. [0045] FIG. 3 shows a workflow diagram of the Shop Owner 60 and the Secondaiy

Shop User 70 in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. The Shop Owner 60 and the Secondary Shop User 70 have to first register as member 601 in the trading platform 1, if not yet done, before logging in. When the Shop Owner 60 proceeds to log in 602 to the trading platform 1. Several tasks can be carried out by the Shop Owner 60: getting information about demands and supplies of goods 604, utilizing intelligent matching 605, utilizing intelligent reporting 606, tracking stocks in inventory 607, authorizing access 608 to Secondary Shop User 70 and registering 609 new Secondaiy Shop User 70. In either one of the tasks 604, 605 and 606 available to the Shop Owner 60, when the Shop Owner 60 is interested in certain goods 610, the Shop Owner 60 is able to purchase the available goods 611. Thereafter, the Shop Owner 60 may score the purchased goods 612. Whether any purchase is concluded at the step 611, the Shop Owner 60 is able to view purchasing summary 614. When tracking stocks 607 are desired by the Shop Owner 60, the Shop Owner 60 is able to view sales summary 61 . The Shop Owner 60 also has the rights to manage self, e-procurement, e-cart, future booking, inventory and logistic, using the available appropriate module. Operations 608 and 609 are provided for managing the Secondaiy Shop Users 70 created by the Shop Owner 60. In operation 609, the Shop Owner 60 may further be provided with appropriate features for managing the Secondary Shop User 60.

[0046] Similarly, the Secondary Shop User 70 is also able to navigate the trading platform 1 as permitted by their user rights, which are specified by their Shop Owner 60. The Secondary Shop User 70 is not provided with any options/features to authorize Secondary Shop User 70 and register new Secondary Shop User 60.

[0047] FIG. 4 shows a workflow diagram of the Shopper 80 in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. The Shopper 80 has to first register as a member 801 in the trading platform 1, if not yet done, before logging in 802. The Shopper 80 is able to carry out several tasks in the trading platform 1: getting information about demands and supplies of goods 803, utilizing intelligent matching 804 and utilizing intelligent reporting 805. The Shopper 80 is then able to purchase available goods 806 when it is desired. The Shopper 80 may then score the purchased goods 807 and a purchasing summary will be presented 808 afterwards. The Shopper 80 also has the rights to manage self, e-cart, and register as the Shop Owner 60, if they wish, using the available appropriate module.

[0048] FIG. 5 shows a workflow of the Visitor 90 in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. The Visitor 90 is only able to get post information about demands and supplies of goods 901 from/in the trading platform 1. The trading platform 1 will prompt the Visitor 90 whether to register as a user or not at step 902. The Visitor 90 may then register himself as a member 902 using the Member Access module 201 when it is desired, and this option is however optional.

[0049] The third level in the trading platform 1 is the Service Delivery Layer 30, which provides the interface between the Application Layer 20 and the Persistence Layer 40. The Service Delivery Layer 30 also allows other types of applications to be added onto the trading platform 1, when any expansion on the trading platform 1 is desired. For example, when a new application complementing the logics currently employed in the Application Layer 20 is made available, it can be deployed on the Service Delivery Layer 30. The new application may include remote applications hosted by a third party. For example, the trading platform 1 may deploy a subscription service application that is provided by an external hosting party. The Service Delivery Layer 30 is also adapted to control access to hardware resources on the Persistence Layer 40. Services of the Service Delivery Layer 30 may include a Subscription service 301, a Metering service 302, a Security service 303 and a Semantic service 304, for example, which can be provided locally or from other third party providers. [0050] Briefly, the Subscription service 301 manages user subscriptions for the : trading platform 1. The Metering service 302 manages the transactions between the users' trading. The transactions in monetary terms may require going through a financial institution, an e-money facility or the like. The Security service 303 applies necessary security measures to protect the entire platform 1. The Semantic service 304 is adapted for acquiring and tracking information that may be of the users' interest. The information can be specific and detailed information, such as information on the most popular application used on the platform 1, the source of clients' request, etc. Other services such as ordering services 305, access control service 306 and provisioning services 307 may also be deployed in the Service Delivery Layer 30 without limiting the scope of the present invention. It is understood that these services may provide others features and functions that are not described herewith for simplicity. These services may be proprietary to the trading platform 1 or any adaptable services that are well known in the art. Further, the aforementioned services in the Service Delivery Layer 30 is provided herewith for illustration purpose only, it is possible that the Service Delivery Layer 30 may include other services not mentioned herewith.

[0051] The lowest level in the trading platform 1 is the Persistence Layer 40. Servers and databases are located in this layer 40 mainly for storing the data. The access to these resources is controlled at the Service Delivery Layer 30 through subscription. The Persistence Layer 40 may comprise a Relational Database management System (RDBMS), application database, domain specific ontology database and the like.

[0052] While specific embodiments have been described and illustrated, it is understood that many changes, modifications, variations and combinations thereof could be made to the present invention without departing from the scope of the invention.

Claims

1. A system for a centralized and coordinated end-to-end trading platform (1) in a computer readable medium, the system comprises of: a presentation layer (10) as user interface, where user requests and transactions are performed; an application layer (20) where business processes and logics are carried out, and where the user requests and transactions are processed; a service delivery layer (30), which allows other types of applications to be plugged in to the trading platform (1); and a persistence layer (40) where the servers and databases reside, wherein access to the servers and databases is controlled in the service delivery layer (30) by subscription; wherein the application layer (20) provides the interface between the presentation layer (10) and the service delivery layer (30); and wherein the service delivery layer (30) provides the interface between the application layer (20) and the persistence layer (40).

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the application layer (20) interacts with the service delivery layer (30) to save the transactions in the database.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the application layer (20) further comprises of raw material (208), processed material (209), final product (210) and services (21 1 ) modules, which enable goods handling of various types.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the application layer (20) further comprises of intelligent matching module (215), which enables appropriate matching of goods and services, demands and supplies.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the application layer (20) further comprises of intelligent reporting module (216), which enables view of the transactions summary for a business.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the application layer (20) further comprises logistic module (207), which enables storage and transportation handling of goods.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the application layer (20) further comprises sector information (204), promotion centre (203) and forum (205) modules, which uses semantics to match news and information based on user's profile or behavior; enables users to interact with each other faster from the user interface; and enables users to form online communities with similar interests.

8. The system of claim 1 , wherein the application layer (20) further comprises member access module (202), which enables registration of members to the trading platform.

9. The system of claim 8 wherein the members comprise of five different categories; an administrator (50), a shop owner (60), a secondary shop user (70), a shopper (80) and a visitor (90).

10. A method for a centralized and coordinated end-to-end trading platform (1), the method comprises of: enabling interaction with users and performing users requests and transactions through a presentation layer (10); passing the users requests and transactions performed in the presentation layer (10) to an application layer (20) to be processed; allowing other types of applications to be plugged in to the trading platfonn (1) and controlling access to servers and databases residing in a persistence layer (40) by subscription through a service delivery layer (30).

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the method further comprises saving the users requests and transactions in the database through the interaction between the application layer (20) and the service delivery layer (30).

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the method further comprises enabling goods handling of various types through the use of raw material (208), processed material (209), final product (210) and services (21 1) modules of the application layer (20).

13. The method of claim 10, wherein the method further comprises enabling appropriate matching of goods and services, demands and supplies through the use of intelligent matching module (215) of the application layer (20).

14. The method of claim 10, wherein the method further comprises enabling view of the transactions summary for a business through the use of intelligent reporting module (216) of the application layer (20).

15. The method of claim 10, wherein the method further comprises enabling storage and transportation handling of goods through the use of logistic module (207) of the application layer (20).

16. The method of claim 10, wherein the method further comprises using semantics to match news and information based on user's profile or behavior; enabling users to interact with each other faster from the user interface; and enabling users to form online communities with similar interests, through the use of sector information (204), promotion centre (203) and forum (205) modules of the application layer (20).

17. The method of claim 10, wherein the method further comprises enabling registration of members to the trading platform through the use of member access module (202) of the application layer (20).

18. The method of claim 17 wherein the members comprise of five different categories; an administrator (50), a shop owner (60), a secondary shop user (70), a shopper (80) and a visitor (90).