WO2021010914A1 - A digital platform that enables the meeting of textile manufacturers and wholesale buyers and increases the business volume of the industry - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention is a digital platform (1) consisting of a website and mobile applications that provide an increase in the business volume of the industry, enabling the meeting of textile manufacturers and customers who make wholesale purchases, wherein; comprising, a publicity unit (4) that promotes and advertises the companies using the digital platform (1), a routing unit (7) that enables the physical association of customers and companies by providing coordinate guidance services to the store locations of the companies and a logistics unit (13) that enables both manufacturers and customers to obtain a more affordable and low - cost transportation service, with the logistic companies serving the textile industry as members of the system.

Description

A DIGITAL PLATFORM THAT ENABLES THE MEETING OF TEXTILE

MANUFACTURERS AND WHOLESALE BUYERS AND INCREASES THE BUSINESS

VOLUME OF THE INDUSTRY

Technical Field

The invention relates to a digital platform developed with domestic production resources, consisting of a website and mobile applications that provide an increase in the business volume of the industry both domestically and internationally, enabling the meeting of textile manufacturers, domestic / foreign customers who make wholesale purchases from these companies, and cargo companies providing logistics services to this sector.

In particular, the invention is related to the digital platform, which involves companies engaged in the wholesale manufacture and sale of textiles, customers engaged in the wholesale purchase and sale of textiles, and companies engaged in cargo transportation in the textile sector.

Prior Art

In present, some of the companies try to promote their companies and their products with limited opportunities within the framework of their own opportunities, through their own websites or by using general applications as members of general e - commerce sites.

Currently, there is a lack of a platform that collects all textile manufacturers and wholesalers under a single roof, which is prepared according to the needs of the sector and will enable companies to promote their recognition both at home and in abroad, which will help companies to gain new customers by exhibiting their product ranges, a platform that is professionally managed and properly marketed in digital media and social media management.

In Turkey, there are tens of thousands of large and small companies that manufacture textiles. Except for some of these, which are institutionally and financially strong, companies do not have professional websites or digital platforms to introduce and promote themselves.

It is tried to be provided with the use of social media (which is also the media that a limited number of companies have and try to manage with amateur methods).

On the other hand, accessing the correct information on companies, to their contact and address info is almost impossible for most of the companies. The needs such as communicating with customers, sharing product information, sending instant notifications, etc. are tried to be provided by using instant messaging applications (Whatsapp, Messenger, Viber, Telegram, etc.) available on mobile phones.

There is no digital platform available that the customers, the foreign customers, in particular, can use to obtain address, contact and location information in order to find and communicate with the companies that produce products that are suitable for their needs.

Despite having so many high - quality manufacturing companies, the inability to seen forward in queries made through Internet search engines, and in fact, even in searches made with the name or brand of most companies, no trace can be found, causes many potential foreign customers to not recognize and make sufficient use of the textile manufacturing market in our country.

Companies have issues in terms of exports (and even in terms of selling to the domestic market). The main reasons for these are as follows:

> The accessibility and recognition of firms is limited.

> Most of the companies do not exist on the internet or the accurate information on them cannot be reached.

> Companies do not have efforts or investments in marketing, especially regarding online marketing and accessibility.

> While the use of social media is relatively common, properly using, keeping it up - to - date and management of all social media options is quite difficult and cannot be managed properly by most companies.

> Companies use online messaging applications in mobile environment, which is the inevitable option of today, to communicate with the customers. However, there are difficulties in communicating with some foreign customers because there are different applications preferred by the citizens of each country or allowed / restricted ones on a country basis.

> Although some companies have interpreters to communicate with foreign customers, it is difficult and costly to hire or work with interpreters in all languages. Therefore, when communication is required in a foreign language that the company do not have interpreters, they have difficulties or miss sales (even they may not be aware that they have missed a potential customer).

> Instant sharing of new products with customers cannot be done properly. For this purpose, online messaging applications that are not designed for this work definition and which do not have any product display feature are tried to be used, and different messaging groups are established for various customer segments to solve their issues. Yet, the message exchanges made through these public groups can be seen by all the customers of the company or rival companies and do not provide an appropriate medium for its purpose.

> Companies also use online messaging applications for bidding and bargaining and try to make sales by sharing photos and prices of their products from this medium. These sales cannot be properly followed up and an archive of their history cannot be kept.

> Either the companies do not have a customer tracking system or the customers are aimed to be followed by primitive methods through mobile phone listings.

> One of the major problems of the sector is the availability of a cost - effective and proper shipper to meet the logistics needs between the supplier and the location of the customer. The alternatives in the current structure are not fully known to the customer and the shipping cost places a very high burden on the product cost. This constitutes one of the important obstacles for the sector in the utilization of its export potential.

In a patent survey conducted in the database of the Turkish Patent authority, an application on the current technique with number 2018 / 06280 is found. The summary of this application is as follows:“The invention is a new electronic sales system provided via the website and mobile apps, wherein; characterized in comprising, entering the e - commerce platform (web, mobile application, etc.) by the customer, creating a membership record with the information entered fully, determining the products or product groups to be purchased according to one or more of the packages chosen by the customer or pre - created by the seller, payment of the determined products according to the wholesale package price, the sale of the determined series / package / product group / combination on the e - commerce platform at retail price, and selling the products offered for sale at the retail price and transferring the cost of the products to the customer. The invention is a novel electronic sales system, characterized by the fact that one or more of the specified products are sent to the customer at the request of the customer and subsequently the rest of the specified series / package / product group / combination is offered for sale at the e - commerce platform at retail price. The package determined by the customer in the said electronic sales system or pre - created by the seller is the combination package in the desired number, such as a pre - formed package of a product in a particular number and / or, one or more series of desired garments of specific frequencies or as many as desired and / or, a customer - specified package of a particular product with the same type, size, color or features and / or made up of 'clothing and accessories groups' combined by the customer according to their tastes and preferences, or 'combined' with fashion. The invention is, via implementing FIFO (First In First Out) method, characterized in that the products of the customer came first is sold by the platform as the first, the system will line up the customers who want to buy and sell products at the wholesale package price, plus the first person to sell their products first, and seeing the order of the customer during the purchase and sale."

As can be seen, the system relates to a sales system that enables the consumer to supply the product it needs and gain profit from this trade by being included in the marketing chain, a structure that can provide solutions to the disadvantages experienced in the above mentioned "textile manufacturing and wholesale transactions" or a platform that enables "textile manufacturers to meet with their customers engaged in wholesale purchases / sales and the transportation companies serving the sector" are not mentioned.

As a result, due to the above - mentioned drawbacks and the inadequacy of the existing solutions, an improvement in the technical field has been required.

The Purpose of Invention

The invention is intended to provide a structure with different technical features which, unlike the structures used in the present technique, brings a new development to this area.

The primary purpose of the invention is to ensure that manufacturers and wholesalers and transportation companies that provide logistics services to these companies and this sector meet with domestic and foreign customers engaged in wholesale purchases / sales and gather all parties on a single platform.

Another purpose of the invention, as well as providing services via the website, is to create a system that operates in multi - platform, an accessible medium for manufacturers and customers with offering applications developed on Android (Google) and iOS (Apple) platforms, in today's "world of digitization in every field."

Another purpose of the invention is to prevent the inaccessibility of companies to the foreign customers via preparing the platform in Arabic and Russian considering the intensive use of Turkish market in these countries, and in English to make it accessible to worldwide communication, along with Turkish. Another purpose of the invention is to enable companies to get results much faster and increase their customer numbers by taking part in such a system equipped with solutions precisely for their needs, instead of taking part in other "general purpose platforms" on the internet, thanks to this platform explicitly prepared for the sector.

Another purpose of the invention is to ensure that companies can be reached worldwide through effective publicity channels that they cannot provide with their own means, thanks to the investments and the dissemination efforts of this platform, such as "participation in international fairs, social media promotions, and internet advertisements." In this way, companies will be able to direct their concentration to manufacture, quality production, and customer satisfaction as they should be, and they will be able to increase their profitability by leaving their efforts to be on the internet, stand out, dealing with social media management, etc. to this system of the invention, which will do this job professionally.

Another purpose of the invention is, due to the categorical product display feature of the platform, to enable companies to stand out in Turkish, English, Arabic, and Russian in the searches made in internet search engines without the need for any effort. With the SEO (Search Engine Optimization) studies to be performed, the advertisements to be given over the internet, the social media studies (through all social media channels used by the industry) and the links to be taken and provided as a platform, the platform will made prominent in the internet world. Accordingly, member companies will also benefit from this privilege.

Another purpose of the invention is to ensure that customers can find the company that manufactures the product they want with using separate categories and that they can quickly identify the companies that are most suitable for their purposes with the filtering features provided on this platform explicitly designed for the industry.

In the system of the invention, besides the contact information of companies, their address information and locations will also be on the platform, so that customers can plan their manufacturer visits in advance, or during their visits to a specific region, they can view the manufacturers in that region on the map, filter them according to their needs and get directions to where they want. In this way, they will be able to access all small and large companies that they tried to reach, even though they could not track them on the internet before. This will enable small and medium - sized companies to grow while allowing large firms to retain their customers and strengthen their corporate structures. Therefore, this system will increase the market shares of all the companies engaged in textile manufacturing in Turkey. Thanks to the online chat (online instant messaging) feature on the platform, there will be no need for different messaging applications that previously varied depending on countries, and all messaging activities will be carried out via a single platform. Therefore, there will be no issues experienced where the company or the customer cannot communicate due to the messaging applications that they do not use / cannot use or prefer to use.

Another purpose of the invention is to increase the business volume of textile sector in Turkey by using domestic capital, domestic production resources, and initiating local entrepreneurship.

Another purpose of the invention is to enable companies to present their new products and up - to - date product information on these such as photographs, list prices, stock information, etc., in addition to the categorical product display feature. In addition to the "public showcase" feature that will be open to all, the "private showcase" feature will also allow companies to notify only the customers they choose about the products they want. In fact, via the ability to create more than one showcase, the opportunity to offer different products to various customer segments will be provided. Therefore, this function, which is provided to be realized through "instant mobile messaging applications" in the current structure, will be accomplished in a more structured and institutional way, and will be easier to manage for the companies and will be more straightforward and understandable for the customers. Besides, the problems encountered because the messaging applications used in the current structure are not specific to this issue (all companies and customers corresponding in the same environment, unwanted correspondence can be seen by other parties, receiving and sending offers on the common platform, etc.) will disappear. In this way, customers will have access to up - to - date product information more straightforward and quickly, and their purchases from Turkish manufacturers will be increased.

In addition to the showcase features to be provided, the customer who wants to contact any company regarding any product in the showcase or a completely independent manner may request an offer, and the records of these offer negotiations will be recorded in the system, and the history of these communications will be kept. Moreover, it will be ensured that the textile industry will manage the bidding process in a standardized structure by creating the systems for bid requests, preparing a bid, and tracking the bid history.

In addition to the features of the showcase to be provided, companies will be provided with a more accurate production planning and stock follow - up, with a sub - system that will allow the new models to be released to the customer, putting the products for voting and according to the responses and evaluations to be collected, or the production amount to be adjusted.

With the online translation service to be provided as integrated with the online chat feature of the platform, it will be possible to instantly correspond and trade with the foreign customer in their language on the platform. In this way, the loss of customers due to the language barrier can be prevented, as well as many potential foreign customers will be acquired. From the customers' perspective, the gates of the Turkish market will be fully opened by providing access to all manufacturers.

With the system of the invention, it will be easier for both companies to follow their customers and for customers to their favorite companies, and they will have a supplier / customer list that is not limited to cell phone listings, which can be accessed both via the web and via mobile phones, that they will be able to follow these lists easily. Since the customers will be able to add and remove their preferred companies to their lists by registering and scoring their favorite companies and take notes about these companies, as their opportunities to work with companies that are suitable for their preferences will increase and they can choose and follow the company that manufactures quality products and provides the service the customer required, they will be able to work with Turkish manufacturers more efficiently, and this will increase the volume in doing business with Turkey. Because the changing addresses and contact information and locations of the manufacturers can be obtained up - to - date by all customers who are members of the platform, the problems of losing track of the company as previously experienced will no longer exist.

With the system of the invention, transportation companies will also be included in the system so as to be part of the solution to the logistics needs of the industry, thus, the transportation solutions between all points of Turkey and overseas sales points will be offered to both companies and customers. So that the invention will contribute in reducing the transportation costs of the industry and indirectly increasing the business volume.

The shipping companies will also be able to reach extensive domestic and international customers by registering the places of operation of mutual transportation on a country and city basis, and by specifying the type of transportation they offer between these points, and the transportation units and the transportation prices if they wish. With this method, more shipping companies will be accessible in the system, and both shipping companies will increase their business volumes and customers' costs will tend to reduce over time due to the competitive environment. This will also indirectly increase the volume of business. In order to meet the above - mentioned objectives, the invention is a "digital platform" consisting of "website and mobile applications" that enable textile manufacturers and wholesale buyers to meet and increase business volume, wherein; comprising,

• a "multi - language unit" that provides foreign language support,

• a "publicity unit" that promotes and advertises the companies using the digital platform,

• a "highlighting unit" that enables firms to be featured in internet search engines via the digital platform,

• a "categorical listing unit" that provides categorical product listing and listing of companies' productions based on product groups,

• a "routing unit" that enables the physical association of customers and companies by providing coordinate guidance services to the store locations of the companies,

• a "wholesale product bidding unit" specially designed for the textile industry, which is prepared for use in wholesale manufacturing and sales processes and enables the follow - up and keeping the history of the bulk bid preparation processes carried out by the company or by the customer,

• an "online chat unit" that enables companies and customers to benefit from instant messaging services on a single platform, without the need for any other platform or application, and without being affected by mobile application restrictions and bans in some countries,

• an "online translation unit" that allows both parties (customers and companies) to communicate in their own language instantaneously through the online translation service without interruption and without the language barrier,

• a "showcase unit" that enables companies to share their product portfolios with their preferred customers with up - to - date price and stock information, and to offer various products to different customers by creating more than one separate showcase,

• a "new model evaluation unit" that will enable manufacturers to present their newest models to the customer's taste, to their voting and to decide whether releasing the model or adjusting the production amount according to the reactions and evaluations to be collected, • a "catalog unit" that enables companies that are saved and added to favorites by customers, or customers that are saved to showcase lists created by companies, to follow the business parties with the designed directory infrastructure quickly and to be accessible at all times,

• a "logistics unit" that enables both manufacturers and customers to obtain a more affordable and low - cost transportation service, with the logistic companies serving the textile industry as members of the system,

• a "shipping proposal unit" that will allow price negotiation between logistic companies and customers.

The structural and characteristic features and all advantages of the invention outlined in the drawings below and in the detailed description made by referring these figures will be understood clearly, therefore the evaluation should be made by taking these figures and detailed explanation into consideration.

Brief Description of the Figures

Figure 1, is the general representation of the system of the invention.

The drawings do not necessarily have to be scaled, and the details that are not necessary to understand the invention may be neglected. Other than that, elements that are substantially identical, or at least have substantially identical functions, are denoted by the same number.

Reference Numbers

1. Digital platform

2. Web and mobile application unit

3. Multi - language unit

4. Publicity Unit

5. Highlighting Unit

6. Categorical listing unit

7. Routing unit

8. Wholesale product bidding unit

9. Online chat unit

10. Showcase unit 11. Online translation unit

12. Catalog unit

13. Logistics unit

14. Shipping proposal unit

15. New model evaluation unit

Detailed Description of the Invention

In this detailed description, preferred structures of the invention are explained only for a better understanding of the subject matter and without any restrictive effect.

The invention relates to a digital platform (1) consisting of a website and mobile applications that provide an increase in the business volume of the industry both domestically and internationally, enabling the meeting of textile manufacturers and customers who make wholesale purchases.

The invention relates to a digital platform (1) which is accessible from the web and mobile application unit (2) via Android (Google) and iOS (Apple) applications. Turkish, Arabic, Russian, and English language support is available through the multi - language unit (3) on the digital platform (1). By means of the publicity unit (4), the promotion of companies using the digital platform (1) is provided and the effective digital environment ensures that the companies concentrate on production and quality rather than promotion.

By means of the highlighting unit (5), internet prominence expenses that are outside the company's area of expertise and require time and investment costs are covered by the common digital platform (1) (within the membership, without additional fees).

Through the categorical listing unit (6), categorical product listing is ensured and companies' productions are listed based on product groups. The categorical listing unit (6) includes categorization and filtering options only for the textile industry.

By means of the routing unit (7), the physical association of customers and companies are enabled by providing coordinate guidance services to the store locations of the companies The wholesale product offering unit (8), specially designed for the textile industry, is prepared for use in wholesale manufacturing and sales processes and enables the follow - up and keeping the history of the bulk bid preparation processes carried out by the company or by the customer,

An online chat unit (9) that enables companies and customers to benefit from instant messaging services on a single platform, without the need for any other platform or application, and without being affected by mobile application restrictions and bans in some countries. In the online translation unit (11), it is ensured that both parties can communicate in their own language instantaneously through the online translation service without any interruption or language barrier.

A showcase unit (10) enables companies to share their product portfolios with their preferred customers with up - to - date price and stock information, and to offer various products to different customers by creating more than one separate showcase. While the public showcase feature is a feature encountered on other platforms, the private showcase feature is a feature shared only with customers selected by the company, unlike other marketplace applications.

In the catalog unit (12), via the membership feature, companies that are saved and added to favorites by customers, or customers that are saved to showcase listings created by companies are enabled to follow the business parties with the designed directory infrastructure quickly and to be accessible at all times. In the logistics unit (13), it is ensured that the logistic companies serving the industry are members of the system and the most suitable transporters - customers match are found, whereas, in the shipping proposal unit (14), it is ensured that both manufacturers and customers receive more affordable and low - cost transportation services by ensuring that logistic companies and customers who buy / sell wholesale products receive offers on transportation services. New model evaluation unit (15) enables manufacturers to increase their productivity by making production and inventory planning more accurate by presenting the new models they plan to produce to their customers' liking.

Claims

1. The invention is a digital platform (1) consisting of a website and mobile applications that provide an increase in the business volume of the industry, enabling the meeting of textile manufacturers and customers who make wholesale purchases, wherein; comprising,

• a multi - language unit (3) that provides foreign language support,

• a publicity unit (4) that promotes and advertises the companies using the digital platform (1),

• a highlighting unit (5) that enables firms to perform the necessary operations to be featured in internet search engines via the digital platform,

• a categorical listing unit (6) that provides categorical product listing and listing of companies' productions based on product groups,

• a routing unit (7) that enables the physical association of customers and companies by providing coordinate guidance services to the store locations of the companies,

• a wholesale product bidding unit (8) specially designed for the textile industry, which is prepared for use in wholesale manufacturing and sales processes and enables the follow - up and keeping the history of the bulk bid preparation processes carried out by the company or by the customer,

• an online chat unit (9) that enables companies and customers to benefit from instant messaging services on a single platform, without the need for any other platform or application, and without being affected by mobile application restrictions and bans in some countries,

• an online translation unit (11) that allows both parties to communicate in their own language instantaneously through the online translation service without interruption and without the language barrier,

• a showcase unit (10) that enables companies to share their product portfolios with their preferred customers with up - to - date price and stock information, and to offer various products to different customers by creating more than one separate showcase,

• a catalog unit (12) that enables companies that are saved and added to favorites by customers, or customers that are saved to showcase lists created by companies, to follow the business parties with the designed directory infrastructure quickly and to be accessible at all times,

• a logistics unit (13) that enables both manufacturers and customers to obtain a more affordable and low - cost transportation service, with the logistic companies serving the textile industry as members of the system.

2. The invention is a digital platform (1) according to Claim 1 , wherein; comprising a web and mobile application unit (2) provides digital access via the web site, or Android and iOS applications.

3. The invention is a digital platform (1) according to Claim 1 , wherein; comprising shipping proposal unit (14) which will allow price negotiation between logistic companies and customers.

4. The invention is a digital platform (1) according to Claim 1 , wherein; comprising a new model evaluation unit (15) that will enable manufacturers to present their newest models to the customer's taste, to their voting and to decide whether releasing the model or adjusting the production amount according to the reactions and evaluations to be collected.