U.S. patent application number 14/290578 was filed with the patent office on 2014-10-02 for purchasing system on internet and method thereof.
This patent application is currently assigned to LG CNS CO., LTD.. The applicant listed for this patent is LG CNS CO., LTD.. Invention is credited to Chin Tae KIM, Sung Yeob LEE, Tae Gyu LEE.
Application Number | 20140297448 14/290578 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 26637876 |
Filed Date | 2014-10-02 |
United States Patent
Application |
20140297448 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
KIM; Chin Tae ; et
al. |
October 2, 2014 |
PURCHASING SYSTEM ON INTERNET AND METHOD THEREOF
Abstract
The present invention relates to a technology for purchasing an
item to purchase automatically and jointly by using the internet,
in particular to a purchasing system and a method thereof on the
internet which is capable of economizing human and material
resources and lowering the unit cost of an item by performing all
processes from a notice of tender to an ordering automatically on
the internet and purchasing an item required for many companies and
establishments jointly.
Inventors: |
KIM; Chin Tae; (Gunpo-si,
KR) ; LEE; Sung Yeob; (Pyeongtaek-si, KR) ;
LEE; Tae Gyu; (Osan-si, KR) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
LG CNS CO., LTD. |
Seoul |
|
KR |
|
|
Assignee: |
LG CNS CO., LTD.
Seoul
KR
|
Family ID: |
26637876 |
Appl. No.: |
14/290578 |
Filed: |
May 29, 2014 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
|
|
|
|
|
|
Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
09837291 |
Apr 19, 2001 |
8762248 |
|
|
14290578 |
|
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
705/26.3 ;
705/26.35; 705/26.4; 705/26.81; 705/39 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06Q 30/0611 20130101;
G06Q 30/06 20130101; G06Q 20/38 20130101; G06Q 30/0601 20130101;
G06Q 40/04 20130101; G06Q 30/0635 20130101; G06Q 30/08 20130101;
G06Q 30/0609 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
705/26.3 ;
705/39; 705/26.4; 705/26.35; 705/26.81 |
International
Class: |
G06Q 20/38 20060101
G06Q020/38; G06Q 30/08 20060101 G06Q030/08; G06Q 30/06 20060101
G06Q030/06 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Apr 20, 2000 |
KR |
10-2000-0020977 |
Jun 28, 2000 |
KR |
10-2000-0035981 |
Claims
1. An automatic purchasing method on the internet, comprising:
determining whether companies applying for a new registration
satisfy a certain condition set in advance by screening the
companies automatically; registering the companies as cooperation
companies when the companies satisfy the certain condition set in
advance; and selecting a selected cooperation company by screening
the registered cooperation companies.
2. The automatic purchasing method on the internet according to
claim 1, wherein the company applying for the new registration
inputs information on a purchase site.
3. The automatic purchasing method on the internet according to
claim 2, wherein the inputted information comprises information
related to a "business registration number", an "establishment
date", a "certification quality standard", a "business type", a
"representative name", a "capital", a main product, or a present
employee state.
4. The automatic purchasing method on the internet according to
claim 1, wherein the selecting of a selected cooperation company
comprises: transmitting a quotation request to the cooperation
companies through the internet; receiving the quotation requests
responses from the cooperation companies; and determining whether
the quotation requests responses satisfy certain conditions by
performing an automatic screening.
5. The automatic purchasing method on the internet according to
claim 1, further comprising an ordering process comprising:
determining whether the selected cooperation company satisfies a
certain condition by performing a certification test about a
desired item; and ordering the desired item from the selected
cooperation company which passed the certification test.
6. The automatic purchasing method on the internet according to
claim 1, wherein the selected cooperation company is primarily
selected by quotation price offered by the cooperation
companies.
7. The automatic purchasing method on the internet according to
claim 1, wherein the automatic purchasing method on the internet
separately operates an external database for providing information
to the cooperation companies, and an internal database for managing
the information about the cooperation companies.
8. An automatic purchasing system on the internet, comprising: a
program for controlling the system's operations from a notice of
tender to placing an order through a web server; an internal
database for providing information related to a purchase in
accordance with the operation of the program; and an external
database for servicing information to cooperation companies in
accordance with the operation of the program.
9. The automatic purchasing system on the internet according to
claim 8, wherein the internal database stores confidential
information.
10. The automatic purchasing system on the internet according to
claim 8, wherein the internal database performs operations related
to purchases by passing through a database server.
11. The automatic purchasing system on the internet according to
claim 8, wherein the external database provides information to the
cooperation companies by passing through the database server.
12. The automatic purchasing system on the internet according to
claim 8, wherein the information related to the purchase comprises
at least one of a purchase principal, a purchase procedure, a
purchase item, a purchase inquiry, a company introduction, a
cooperation company registration and a quotation transmission.
13. A joint purchasing system on the internet, comprising: a
plurality of region terminals for inputting order information about
a purchase item required for a plurality of companies in a
prescribed region; a plurality of region servers for combining and
storing the order information from the plurality of region
terminals about the purchase item and transmitting the combined
order information through a communication network; and a main
server for performing a notice of tender for a joint purchasable
item when the combined order information about the purchase item is
transmitted from the region servers through the communication
network.
14. The joint purchasing system on the internet according to claim
13, wherein the joint purchasing system further comprises a parts
information database for providing the information related to the
purchasable items stored in advance to the cooperation companies
through the main server.
15. The joint purchasing system on the internet according to claim
13, wherein the main server performs the notice of tender privately
when the item is not purchasable jointly.
16. A joint purchasing method on the internet, comprising:
inputting a plurality of orders for an item to purchase;
transmitting the inputted orders to a main server; and performing a
notice of tender for the item, wherein the plurality of orders are
jointly tendered in the notice of tender to a plurality of
cooperation companies through the internet.
17. The joint purchasing method on the internet according to claim
16, wherein the performing of the notice of tender further
comprises performing a notice of tender privately when the item is
not purchasable jointly.
18. The joint purchasing method on the internet according to claim
16, wherein the orders are separately inputted from each
company.
19. The joint purchasing method on the internet according to claim
16, wherein prior to the transmitting of the inputted orders to the
main server, the inputted orders are stored on a corresponding
region server.
20. A method of matching vendors to buyers through a network,
comprising: identifying whether vendors satisfy minimum attributes;
registering the vendors that satisfy minimum attributes;
identifying a buyer's vendor selection criteria; notifying vendors
of the vendor selection criteria; accepting bids from vendors; and
selecting a selected vendor from the vendors that satisfy minimum
attributes according to one or more of the vendor selection
criteria.
21. The method of matching vendors to buyers through a network
according to claim 20, wherein the selection criteria comprises
geographic region, business type or price.
22. The method of matching vendors to buyers through a network
according to claim 20, further comprising notifying the selected
vendor of having been selected.
23. The method of matching vendors to buyers through a network
according to claim 22, wherein the notification is through one of
e-mail, file transfer protocol, integration technology, DCOM, XML,
CORBA, HTTP, wireless devices or instant messaging.
24. The method of matching vendors to buyers through a network
according to claim 20, wherein the buyer provides the vendor
selection criteria and a database stores registered vendors that
satisfy minimum attributes.
25. The method of matching vendors to buyers through a network
according to claim 24, wherein the buyer is prompted to input
selection criteria through one or more capture forms.
26. A network based sales generation system, comprising: a spatial
location engine to determine criteria of a buyer and attributes of
a plurality of vendors; a registering unit to register vendors
which satisfy set minimum attributes; a database containing
information regarding the registered vendors; an analyzing unit to
collect selection criteria from the buyer; and an engine to select
a qualified vendor for the buyer based on the database information
and selection criteria.
27. The network based sales generation system as claimed in claim
26, wherein the registering unit comprises a dynamically generated
application form to be completed by a vendor and compared to the
set minimum attributes and stored in the database if the vendor
meets or exceeds the minimum attributes.
28. The network based sales generation system as claimed in claim
26, further comprising: a vendor notification unit to notify
registered vendors of selection criteria entered by the buyer; and
a bid accepting unit to receive bids from the registered vendors,
wherein the bids are stored in the database, wherein one of the
bids and the selection criteria are capable of being jointly
tendered by a plurality of cooperating parties.
29. The network based sales generation system as claimed in claim
26, wherein the analyzing unit comprises a dynamically generated
application form to be completed by the buyer and submitted to the
engine, wherein the spatial location engine and the database use
the data from the completed dynamically generated application form
to select at least one qualified vendor.
30. A network based selection system, comprising: a first logic
unit to determine whether individual vendors meet a first set of
minimum attributes; and a second logic unit to determine a set of
at least one vendor based on a second set of input criteria being
applied to the individual vendors which meet the first set of
minimum attributes.
31. The network based selection system as claimed in claim 30,
wherein each of the logic units includes a prescribed application
program interface that allows rules and formulas contained inside
an algorithm to be distributed across a wide area network, and
wherein the interface defines a type of data and a format of data
that must be transferred to a distributed application over the wide
area network.
32. The network based selection system as claimed in claim 31,
wherein the interface is adapted to conform to existing logic
products or specific logic that serve as general purpose
algorithms.
33. The network based selection system as claimed in claim 31,
wherein the interface allows the system to integrate with other
protocols.
34. A method for selecting a first party for a second party for
engaging in a transaction, comprising: means for entering a request
identifying at least one criterion for a transaction by the second
party through a network; means for qualifying the first party to a
set of minimum attributes; means for identifying a qualified first
party to engage in the transaction based on at least one criterion;
means for providing an identification of the first and second
parties to engage in the transaction.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates to a technology for purchasing
a request item by using the internet, in particular to a purchasing
system on the internet and a method thereof.
[0003] 2. Background of the Related Art
[0004] In a tender purchasing method in the related art, a company
or an agency gives a public notice of a tender content such as an
item, a tender method, tender date, tender place, or required
documents, etc. After that, the responses to the tender are
screened by hand, a bidder is selected on the basis of the
screening result, and an order is placed.
[0005] Recently, the purchasing technology has been applied to the
internet where a notice of tender is performed and tender documents
are received over the internet. In other words, the notice of
tender or documents acceptance, etc. performed by hand in the
tender purchasing method in the related art is performed using the
internet.
[0006] The purchasing method in the related art has problems with
economic efficiency and time consumption due to human and material
resources requirements. In addition, while the purchasing method in
the related art using the internet can economize human and material
resources, numerous problems and/or disadvantages still exist. For
example, a bidder selection process still can not be performed
automatically, an efficient management function of a tender object
company is still insufficient, ordering must be separately
performed by each company or each establishment, and a lot of time
is consumed between the time of a tender to an actual order.
[0007] The above references are incorporated by reference herein
where appropriate for appropriate teachings of additional or
alternative details, features and/or technical background.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0008] An object of the invention is to solve at least the above
problems and/or disadvantages and to provide at least the
advantages described hereinafter.
[0009] Accordingly, the object of the present invention is to
provide an automatic purchasing method on the internet which is
capable of performing all processes from a notice of tender to
automatic ordering and purchasing.
[0010] Another object of the present invention is to provide an
automatic purchasing method on the internet for performing
automatically a bidder selection process.
[0011] In addition, another object of the present invention is to
provide an automatic purchasing method on the internet which
registers tender object companies in advance of tender offers, and
manages them with a membership system.
[0012] Another object of the present invention is to provide an
automatic purchasing method on the internet which is capable of
collectively ordering items required for companies and
establishments.
[0013] In order to achieve at least the above-described objects in
a whole or in part, an automatic purchasing method on the internet
in accordance with the present invention includes inputting
information for evaluating production items and capability of a
company applying for a new registration to a computer on the
internet, permitting the new registration by performing an
automatic screening with a program whether the company satisfies a
certain condition set in advance on the basis of the inputted
information, reporting a notice of tender for a purchase item on a
certain site on the internet or transmitting the notice of tender
collectively to registered cooperation companies through the
internet, inputting tender quotations from the registered
cooperation companies which submit a tender quotation, performing
an automatic screening and notifying a chosen company satisfying
the certain condition.
[0014] To further achieve the above-mentioned objects in a whole or
in part, an automatic purchasing system on the internet in
accordance with the present invention includes a web server for
connecting the cooperation companies to a buyer side through the
internet, a program for performing the operation from the notice of
tender to the ordering through the web server, an IPs (Interval
Participants) database for providing information related to the
operation of the program, an internal database for performing the
pertinent purchase related operation by through a database server
in accordance with the operation of the program, and an external
database for servicing various information to the cooperation
companies through the database server in accordance with the
operation of the program.
[0015] To further achieve the above-described objects in a whole or
in part, an automatic purchasing system on the internet in
accordance with the present invention includes a region terminal
for inputting order information about a purchase item required for
the establishment or company placed in a region, a region server
for storing the order information about the purchase item through a
communication network, a main server for performing a notice of
tender jointly when the order information about the purchase item
transmitted from the each region server is added up and the notice
of tender is performed to the each cooperation company through the
internet, a parts information database for servicing the
information related to the purchasable items stored in advance
through the main server.
[0016] To further achieve the above-described objects in a whole or
in part, an automatic purchasing method on the internet in
accordance with the present invention includes inputting the order
information of the item requested by the each establishment or
company through the terminal of the pertinent region, transmitting
the order information to the main server after storing the order
information inputted through the terminal of the each region to the
each region server, and performing the notice of tender jointly
when the item is purchasable jointly or privately when the item is
not purchasable jointly after adding the order information
transmitted from the each region server.
[0017] To further achieve the above-described objects in a whole or
in part, an automatic purchasing system on the internet includes a
program for controlling the system's operations from a notice of
tender to placing an order through a web server, an internal
database for providing information related to a purchase in
accordance with the operation of the program, and an external
database for servicing information to cooperation companies in
accordance with the operation of the program automatic purchasing
method on the internet includes determining whether companies
applying for a new registration satisfy a certain condition set in
advance by screening the companies automatically, registering the
companies as cooperation companies when the companies satisfy the
certain condition set in advance, and selecting a selected
cooperation company by screening the registered cooperation
companies.
[0018] To further achieve the above-described objects in a whole or
in part, a joint purchasing system on the internet includes a
plurality of region terminals for inputting order information about
a purchase item required for a plurality of companies in a
prescribed region, a plurality of region servers for combining and
storing the order information from the plurality of region
terminals about the purchase item and transmitting the combined
order information through a communication network, and a main
server for performing a notice of tender for a joint purchasable
item when the combined order information about the purchase item is
transmitted from the region servers through the communication
network.
[0019] To further achieve the above-described objects in a whole or
in part, a joint purchasing method on the internet includes
inputting a plurality of orders for an item to purchase,
transmitting the inputted orders to a main server, and performing a
notice of tender for the item, wherein the plurality of orders are
jointly tendered in the notice of tender to a plurality of
cooperation companies through the internet.
[0020] To further achieve the above-described objects in a whole or
in part, a method of matching vendors to buyers through a network
includes identifying whether vendors satisfy minimum attributes,
registering the vendors that satisfy minimum attributes,
identifying a buyer's vendor selection criteria, notifying vendors
of the vendor selection criteria, accepting bids from vendors, and
selecting a selected vendor from the vendors that satisfy minimum
attributes according to one or more of the vendor selection
criteria.
[0021] To further achieve the above-described objects in a whole or
in part, a network based sales generation system includes a spatial
location engine to determine criteria of a buyer and attributes of
a plurality of vendors, a registering unit to register vendors
which satisfy set minimum attributes, a database containing
information regarding the registered vendors, an analyzing unit to
collect selection criteria from the buyer, and an engine to select
a qualified vendor for the buyer based on the database information
and selection criteria.
[0022] To further achieve the above-described objects in a whole or
in part, a network based selection system includes a first logic
unit to determine whether individual vendors meet a first set of
minimum attributes, and a second logic unit to determine a set of
at least one vendor based on a second set of input criteria being
applied to the individual vendors which meet the first set of
minimum attributes.
[0023] To further achieve the above-described objects in a whole or
in part, a method for selecting a first party for a second party
for engaging in a transaction includes means for entering a request
identifying at least one criterion for a transaction by the second
party through a network, means for qualifying the first party to a
set of minimum attributes, means for identifying a qualified first
party to engage in the transaction based on at least one criterion,
means for providing an identification of the first and second
parties to engage in the transaction.
[0024] Additional advantages, objects, and features of the
invention will be set forth in part in the description which
follows and in part will become apparent to those having ordinary
skill in the art upon examination of the following or may be
learned from practice of the invention. The objects and advantages
of the invention may be realized and attained as particularly
pointed out in the appended claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0025] The invention will be described in detail with reference to
the following drawings in which like reference numerals refer to
like elements wherein:
[0026] FIG. 1A is a diagram illustrating a network based
system;
[0027] FIG. 1B is a flow chart illustrating an automatic purchasing
method on the internet circumstances in accordance with a preferred
embodiment of the present invention;
[0028] FIG. 2 illustrates a menu on a site for applying for a new
registration for a cooperation company;
[0029] FIG. 3 illustrates a menu on a site for inputting
information for a cooperation company;
[0030] FIGS. 4A-4C illustrate menus on the site for selectively
inputting the information of the cooperation company by
categories;
[0031] FIGS. 5 and 6 illustrate menus on the site for inputting
classified important items of the cooperation company;
[0032] FIG. 7 illustrates a menu on the site for amending the
inputted information of the cooperation company;
[0033] FIG. 8 illustrates a preferred embodiment of an automatic
purchasing system according to the present invention;
[0034] FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating blocks of a system
adapting a joint purchasing method in accordance with the present
invention;
[0035] FIG. 10 is a flow chart illustrating a joint purchasing
method in accordance with another preferred embodiment of the
present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0036] FIG. 1A shows a network-based system, preferably a web-based
system or other equivalent or similar system, for linking buyers
and vendors of goods and services according to prescribed criteria.
Referring to FIG. 1A, a first party 1, such as a buyer, establishes
the communication to the Internet 3 through an Internet service
provider (ISP) 2. From the Internet 3, the first party 1 can
establish communication with the network-based system 4. The
network-based system 4 preferably includes a server farm 4a, which
is made up of a plurality of servers containing instructions for
sorting through information provided by the first party 1, as well
as information provided by second parties, such as vendors. The
information provided by second parties could be stored in a
database 4b. Alternatively, a second party, such as party 2, could
provide their own database of information 7b and allow the
network-based application 4 to access that database through the
Internet 3 or could enter their own information into the
network-based application 4. Similarly, a different second party,
such as party 3, could link directly to the server farm 4a to allow
the network-based application 4 to access to party 3's database 8b
or to enter party 3's information into the network-based
application 4. In this scenario, it should be noted that any of the
parties party 1, party 2 and party 3 could be either a buyer or a
seller. Additionally, it should be noted that the Internet 3 could
be replaced by any computer network.
[0037] Functionality built inside the system preferably includes a
decision support tool that provides information typically used to
make a purchase decision, and a product selection and price
quotation system that preferably captures, analyzes and makes
decisions based on a set of domain-specific variables. The
network-based application could be connected to Internet sites,
allowing the sites to link directly to the centralized server farm
that serves as a host for the system's functionality and database.
The product selection and quotation system 4a can also be
distributed throughout a network of computers, thereby allowing
vendors to use it in their own Internet and intranet applications.
Open access to the production selection and quotation system is
available to these systems through a series of application
programmer interface (API) points. See, for example Building
Corporate Portals With XML (Enterprise Computing), Finkelstein,
Aiken, ISBN: 0079-137059 and COM and CORBA Side By Side
Architectures, Strategies, and Implementations, Pritchard, ISBN:
0201379457 which are incorporated in its entirety herein by
reference.
[0038] In a notice of tender on the internet situation, a tender
qualification can be provided to all parties connected without any
restriction. Parties with any level of order delivery capability
can join the tender, so a bidder as well as a buyer can waste time
and labor if the parties do not have sufficient order delivery
capability. Accordingly, in order to prevent the above-described
wastes of time and labor and perform an efficient tender, there is
a need to pre-qualify only companies satisfying a certain
condition, namely, having the supply capability required to fill a
particular tender offer.
[0039] In accordance with preferred embodiments, a "cooperation
company registration" item is installed on a purchasing site (e.g.,
home page) of the internet in order to make new companies apply for
a new registration. In particular, on the purchasing site of the
internet, there is a need to perform all processes from the notice
of tender to the ordering automatically on the internet to
purchasing items from qualified establishments or companies.
[0040] It will now be described in detail with reference to
accompanying FIG. 1B is a flowchart illustrating a preferred
embodiment of a purchasing method in internet circumstances
according to the present invention. As depicted in FIG. 1B, parties
are given access through the Internet in order to retrieve
purchasable items by referencing an Internet purchasing site in
step S1. After that, when companies apply for a new registration of
a "cooperation company" that is capable of joining tender by
inputting information required for the new registration in step S2.
The information required for the new registration and menu for
amending the information will now be described with reference to
FIGS. 2-7.
[0041] As depicted in FIGS. 2 and 3, "user name", "password", "name
of company" etc. can be inputted for the system and categorized
into categories such as a "new registration of cooperation company"
category, which in this case happens to be a sub category of
"cooperation company registration" category, and other information
such as "business registration number", "date of foundation",
"quality certification standard", "business type", "name of
representative", "capital", address of the head office, main
product, employment condition etc. can be inputted and categorized
in other categories within the system such as a "cooperation
company information" item which in this case happens to be another
sub category of the "cooperation company registration" category. As
depicted in FIGS. 4A-4C, other information such as registration of
cooperation company manufacturers, cooperation company contacts,
and sales statuses, etc. can be inputted and categorized in other
subcategories of the "cooperation company registration" category
within the system.
[0042] As depicted in FIGS. 5, 6 and 7, item classifications, such
as the ones mentioned above, can be inputted in more detail and all
the inputted information can be amended by a user through an input
site, such as the web site, by selecting a cooperation company
amendment item through the site depicted in FIG. 7.
[0043] Meanwhile, the buyer can screen new companies which have
applied for new registrations through the site. The buyer can
review the information entered by new registrants required for the
new registrations. After that, the buyer can evaluate the (new)
companies with a registration screening program on the basis of the
document screening and actual inspection results depending on
whether each (new) company satisfies a certain condition set in
advance by the (new) company registration screening program in step
S3. A buyer could, alternatively, not review the registrations and
proceed to tender directly to registered companies.
[0044] When each new company satisfies a certain condition in step
S3, which is preferably set in advance, in step S5 the company is
then registered as a cooperation company and is capable of joining
the tender. The result of the registration process is preferably
sent to the company which applied for registration as to their
approval or disapproval in step S6. If a new company which is
evaluated with the new registration screening program does not
satisfy the condition set in advance in step S3, the new company is
excluded from the cooperation company registration in step S4.
After the registration process is completed, newly registered
cooperation companies can then be included in the requests for
quotations (RFQ) that are transmitted to the registered cooperation
companies in step S7.
[0045] Meanwhile, when a buyer gives notice of tender, the buyer
can input a purchase condition of a request item, part or service
on the purchasing site in accordance with the present invention by
using the computer connected to the internet. For example,
information such as the title (example: screw for washing machine),
division (example: washing machine division), item (example:
screw), the buyer in charge, registration date, due date etc. can
be inputted on the purchasing site. Accordingly, the registered
companies interested in the tender can reference this information
and can consider proposing a bid on the tender. Other
non-registered parties may also be included if deemed. However, as
further incentive for registration, cooperation companies can also
be given the advantage of the notice of tender being automatically
transmitted to their e-mail address.
[0046] Also, when a cooperation company needs more detailed
information about a tender, the option of being able to select a
"purchase inquiry" item on the purchasing site can be offered, and
information regarding the tender can be displayed through the site.
In addition, an e-mail address of the person in charge of a
requested region can be displayed when provided, and if requested,
a detailed inquiry information can be transmitted through the site
to the e-mail address.
[0047] Each cooperation company, in addition to being able to check
the content of the notice of tender through the above-described
process, can also join the tender (e.g., fill out the RFQ) and
propose bids through the site transmitting bids electronically, for
example, by using a computer connected to the internet in step
S8.
[0048] Accordingly, the purchase site in accordance with the
present invention can screen requests for quotations transmitted
from the cooperation companies with a quotation screening program,
and preferably can select a cooperation company satisfying a
successful tender condition set in advance as the optimum
cooperation company in step S9. Also, selecting the optimum
cooperation company can be determined using many elements for
determining the screening point with the quotation screening
program, the optimum cooperation company can be selected by finding
desirable screening results by vesting more weight preferentially
to elements, which can be set in order of importance by a buyer,
such as a tender price, past contract execution faithfulness,
financial condition, technology ability, evaluation point of the
cooperation company, etc.
[0049] The buyer can preferably perform a certification test of the
item of tender of the optimum cooperation company selected through
the screening process and can judge whether the company and the
item of tender satisfies certain conditions in step S10. When the
item of tender of the selected cooperation company satisfy the
certain conditions and the buyer assents to the purchase, an item
purchase confirmation information notification is sent to the
selected cooperation company, and the buyer preferably makes a
trade contract with the selected cooperation company in step S12.
When the trade contract is made S12, the selected cooperation
company can then set the parameters for the contract such as a
supply schedule, supply quantity, delivery place, etc. S13.
Alternately, when the item of the selected cooperation company does
not satisfy the certain condition, the certification test is
re-performed in step S11. Each re-performed certification test can
vary at least one certain condition(s).
[0050] A system operating the preferred embodiment of the automatic
purchasing method according to the present invention preferably
uses two databases. One database can be an external database for
providing various information to the cooperation companies, and the
other database can be an internal database for selecting or
managing the cooperation companies, where confidential information
can be stored.
[0051] FIG. 8 illustrates a preferred embodiment of a construction
of a automatic purchasing system according to the present
invention. As shown in FIG. 8, on the internet, the preferred
embodiment of the automatic purchasing system has a web server 82
for connecting cooperation companies 81A, 81B, . . . , 81N to
buyers through the internet and a program 83 (e.g., application
program) for performing operations from the notice of tender to the
ordering through the web server 82, IPS (Interval Participants).
Databases 84A.about.84N are for providing information related to
the purchase in accordance with the operation of the program 83, an
internal database 86A is for performing the pertinent purchase
related business through the database server 85 in accordance with
the operation of the program 83, and an external database 86B is
for servicing various information to the cooperation companies
through the database server 85 in accordance with the operation of
the program 83.
[0052] Operations of the program 83 preferably begin with the web
server 82 contacting a buyer's computer in order to supply a
variety of information to the cooperation companies' computers 81A,
81B, 81N. After that, the program 83 can allow for the performance
of the functions from the notice of tender to the ordering through
the web server 82 of the buyer. For example, the program 83
performs the evaluation for the registration of potential
companies, receives and transmits quotations for the tender, checks
the quotations of the companies, and interfaces the quotation price
to a production system. In addition, the program 83 can transmit
e-mails or other types of direct correspondence automatically to
the cooperation companies in the tender and ordering, and can also
check whether the transmission has been received.
[0053] Meanwhile, an internal database 86A can perform the various
purchase related business through the database server 85 by
performing functions such as storing, calling, amending, and
deleting information related to the notice of tender to the
ordering. An external database 86B can provide various information
to the cooperation companies through the database server 85. For
example, the external database can store information related to the
technological ability of the cooperation companies, the actual
results of the bidder, the financial condition of the companies,
etc., and can provide the information to the cooperation companies
and the buyers.
[0054] The IPS (Interval Participants) databases 84A.about.84N
provide information related purchases in accordance with the
operation of the program 83. For example, the IPS databases
84A.about.84N can transmit information such as purchase principal,
purchase procedure, purchase item, purchase inquiry, company
introduction, cooperation company registration, etc. to the
cooperation company, and can respectively receive the corresponding
result.
[0055] To reduce an unit cost per item through the above-mentioned
processes, there can be a need to purchase the item jointly by the
plurality of companies or establishments regardless of their
individual locations. As depicted in FIG. 9, a preferred system for
joint purchasing in accordance with the present invention can have
region terminals 91A, 92A, 93A for inputting order information
about the purchase item required for the companies or
establishments located in each region and region servers 91B, 92B,
93B for storing the order information about the purchase item
(inputted through the region terminals 91A, 92A, 93A) and
transmitting the inputted order information through a communication
network. The system may also include a main server 94A for
notifying jointly the tender of the purchasable joint item or
notifying privately the tender of the item which is not to be
purchasable jointly when it performs the notice of tender to the
cooperation companies 96A, 96B, 96C through the internet 95 by
adding order information about the purchase item transmitted from
the region servers 91B, 92B, 93B. The system may also have a parts
information database 94B for servicing information related to the
tender purchasable item stored in advance through the main server
94A.
[0056] FIG. 10 is a flow chart illustrating a joint purchasing
method in accordance with another preferred embodiment of the
present invention. As depicted in FIG. 10, buyers in charge of the
establishments in each region can input order information using the
region terminals 91A, 92A, 93A in step S100, which may be in the
form of a computer. A buyer in charge can then input the order
information about the item to purchase after receiving information
related to the items for tender stored in advance on the parts
information database 94B. For example, when the buyer of A
establishment orders thirty thousand screws (e.g., screw
3.times.12) by using the region terminal 91A, the buyer of B
establishment orders twenty thousand of the screws (Screw
3.times.12) by using the region terminal 92A, the buyer of C
establishment orders ten thousand of the screws (Screw 3.times.12)
by using the region terminal 93A, each of the orders can be stored
in the each region server 91B, 92B, 93B in step S101. Then, the
purchase order information, and can be transmitted to the main
server 94A at a prescribed or certain time in step S102. After the
main server 94A receives the tender, it can then add the order
information about the purchase item transmitted from the each
region server 91B, 92B, 93B in step S103.
[0057] Next, the system can determine whether the same item has
previously or concurrently been ordered in step S104, and if so,
the additional orders of screws can be ordered in bulk with a
notice of tender for a total of fifty thousand of the screws
capable of being performed jointly in step S105. Alternately, when
the ordered item has not previously or concurrently been ordered,
the notice of tender for the item can be performed privately in
step S106.
[0058] Performing processes excluding the joint purchase are
preferably performed in the same manner as the preferred embodiment
of the present invention as shown in FIG. 1B. In other words, after
registering a company, a notice of tender can be performed for the
registered cooperation companies.
[0059] When the joint purchase condition is satisfied as described
above, the notice of tender can be performed jointly, the item
quotation request transmitted from the each cooperation company can
be screened, and a cooperation company can be selected.
[0060] As described above preferred embodiments of an automatic
purchasing method and apparatus in accordance with the present
invention have various advantages. In a preferred embodiment of an
automatic purchasing method on the internet or the like in
accordance with the present invention, all processes from the
notice of tender to the ordering can be performed on the internet
automatically, and accordingly it is possible to economize human
resources and material resources. In addition, in the automatic
purchasing method on the internet in accordance with preferred
embodiments of the present invention, all processes from the notice
of tender to the ordering can be performed on the internet
directly, conveniently and faster with quicker processing.
[0061] Also, in the automatic purchasing method and apparatus on
the internet in accordance with preferred embodiments of the
present invention, when the tender object companies are registered
in advance and are managed with a membership and/or membership
benefits, information needed mutually can be managed efficiently,
and accordingly the performance of the system can be improved. In
addition, in the automatic purchasing method on the internet
circumstances in accordance with the present invention, the unit
cost of the item can be reduced by jointly purchasing the item
requested from companies or establishments.
[0062] The foregoing embodiments and advantages are merely
exemplary and are not to be construed as limiting the present
invention. The present teaching can be readily applied to other
types of apparatuses. The description of the present invention is
intended to be illustrative, and not to limit the scope of the
claims. Many alternatives, modifications, and variations will be
apparent to those skilled in the art. In the claims,
means-plus-function clauses are intended to cover the structures
described herein as performing the recited function and not only
structural equivalents but also equivalent structures.
* * * * *