JP2004504673A - Method and apparatus for processing and delivering information related to product cost and sales - Google Patents

Abstract

A system (100) and technique for receiving, storing, and analyzing product cost information is disclosed. Cost information is received from a plurality of customers (106A, 106B, 106N) and stored in a data repository (102). Analysis is performed on the cost information (210) to identify 212 cost saving opportunities for the customers (106A, 106B, 106N). Further, there is provided a system (100) for mediating the sale and purchase of goods between customers (106A, 106B, 106N). The situation where the customer (106A, 106B, 106N) obtains the product at a convenient price and therefore has the opportunity to sell the product to other customers (106A, 106B, 106N), and the customer (106A, 106B, 106N) An analysis is performed (1302) to allow the customer (106A, 106B, 106N) to identify situations in which he can advantageously purchase goods from other customers (106A, 106B, 106N). Sales offers and purchase offers are received from customers (106A, 106B, 106N) and matched (1306) according to price and terms. Payment and transportation of merchandise are arranged between customers (106A, 106B, 106N) presenting mutually matching orders and orders.

Description

[0001]
(Field of the Invention)
The present invention generally relates to the collection, analysis and distribution of information related to product sales. In particular, the present invention provides cost information relating to the prices and conditions at which products of a large sales supermarket can be obtained to identify available savings opportunities and opportunities to purchase and sell products at favorable prices and conditions. An improved method and apparatus for use by supermarkets and other food retailers for analysis.
[0002]
(Background of the Invention)
The manufacture and distribution of products, such as food and sundries, is constantly growing and improving with a wide variety of products available throughout the country. In addition, because product branding has resulted in a number of products having consistently uniform quality, customers may find that, for example, a large number of products delivered in Los Angeles, for example, of the same type, You could reasonably expect it to be exactly the same as the branded product.
[0003]
Often the same brand and the same type of product have come to have a broader and more uniform quality, so in many cases merchants do not care where the source of a brand's product is geographically You will want to get the product from wherever you can find it. However, there are differences in the prevailing conditions depending on the location, so that a difference in the geographical area may cause a difference in the price of the product. This difference in pricing offers significant opportunities for merchants. If a seller can get a lower price from a market farther away than the local market, the seller can obtain the product from a remote market and enjoy increased profit margins or better sell the product. Providing customers at lower prices can take advantage of lower costs, which can result in higher volume product sales. In addition, if the seller knows that the manufacturer or distributor has made lower prices available elsewhere in the country, it will negotiate that knowledge with the distributor or the manufacturer's local agent. May be used to derive lower cost or other concession terms from the distributor or manufacturer. However, in order to achieve lower costs by obtaining products from distant markets, merchants must include the transportation-related costs required to deliver products from their distant markets to themselves. You must have a clear knowledge of any relevant costs. This is especially true for grocery retailers, such as supermarkets, that handle a wide variety of products of various sizes and prices, and usually operate with a small margin of profit. Cost control is particularly important for such distributors.
[0004]
To obtain the best price and terms for a product, the merchant must have access to information about the available sources of the product and the terms under which the product is offered. At this time, the ease and speed at which merchants can gather information is usually limited. Typically, it takes effort and expense for a distributor to obtain cost information about a product located in a distant city, and if that information is available, the cost of the product can be reduced by other sources in the city being studied and other sources in the country. It may be difficult to determine the extent to which it is competing with suppliers in other cities. In addition, it takes time and time to obtain freight and other cost-related information that must be taken into account to determine the cost of products obtained from remote cities and transported to the merchant's location. Need to spend effort.
[0005]
In order to identify purchase and sale opportunities, it is useful to have a database of cost and product information that reflects the net cost of the product in various different geographic locations. It is also useful to perform statistical analysis on a database of products from different geographic locations to identify opportunities and provide competing pricing data to merchants in different locations. is there. However, considering competition, many merchants are reluctant to provide detailed pricing and cost information, fearing that they will be used by competitors. In order to motivate merchants to supply information to the database, it is desirable to keep individual merchant information secret. Furthermore, in order to make full use of the information, it is necessary to perform statistical analysis and other processing to retrieve data items that are useful to individual merchants.
[0006]
In addition to obtaining product cost information, you may want to make sure that your merchandise is It would also be useful to identify opportunities to buy from and sell to other merchants. It is often difficult to identify buying and selling opportunities due to the large number of different vendors and the distance between them.
[0007]
Controlling shipping costs is extremely important when buying and selling merchandise among merchants, especially food and household items of the type usually handled in supermarkets. Typically, supermarkets sell products at relatively low cost per unit weight or unit volume. Thus, shipping costs can be expected to be a significant factor in costs in determining the overall price of a product. It is also necessary for a seller such as a supermarket to know and manage the delivery time and adjust the time of the goods being transported. Merchants must be able to rely on delivering goods in a timely manner so that they can be delivered to customers on demand without having to have excessive inventory. For perishable items, sellers need to select a local supplier that is close enough to ship the item in a timely manner to prevent quality degradation and associated customer dissatisfaction. is there.
[0008]
Thus, in the art, in order to receive product cost information from a number of geographically distant sellers, keep each seller's information confidential, and provide useful cost information for each seller. There is a need for a system that can perform statistical analysis on a database of information and identify and provide opportunities for purchasing and selling products between merchants. The present invention also relates to a method of utilizing the system as outlined above and described in more detail below to more effectively match buyers, sellers and products in today's fast-paced business world.
[0009]
(Summary of the Invention)
A system according to one aspect of the invention includes a communication interface between a plurality of retail customers and a central data repository processing center. Each customer regularly uploads cost information to the data repository. The cost information describes the customer's cost of obtaining the product, and may also describe the customer's actual cost of the product that was purchased, or the cost of the customer's product to the customer. Conditions that have become available may be included. As each customer uploads cost information to the data repository, the information is stored in a database, identified for each product using means such as UPC codes, including manufacturer and product codes, and provided with that product information. Is identified for each customer. Customer information will be kept private and will only be released under customer consent, such as to other parties of the same customer organization. Once the cost information is stored in the database, statistical processing is performed on the cost information to obtain useful data for each customer.
[0010]
The customer interface allows the customer to communicate with the database to obtain a response to the query. The customer enters the product identification code and enters the generally available costs, including the best available price identified, the best buy, i.e., the best discount from the catalog price of the manufacturer identified, the average cost of the product, Obtain a wide variety of cost information about a product, such as the results of statistical analysis of product cost data, such as median cost and modest cost, and other useful information. The system further analyzes the customer's cost data and compares it with other customer's cost data to identify trading opportunities between customers. For each customer who has an excess of available products, the system uses two customers to help them identify purchase opportunities and understand the actual cost of obtaining the product. Calculate the delivery cost to all other customers in the sales transaction during The delivery price of the product will be notified in response to an inquiry by the customer.
[0011]
In addition, the system provides an analysis tool for analyzing trading opportunities, and an interface and data storage processing system for mediating trading between customers. The customer enters order or order conditions that he or she wishes to purchase or sell. This information is processed by the system, which matches orders and orders, arranges for shipping of products, and arranges payments between buyers and sellers.
[0012]
A more complete understanding of the present invention, as well as further features and advantages of the present invention, will be apparent from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings.
[0013]
(Detailed description)
FIG. 1 shows a cost information and merchandise trading system 100 according to the present invention. The system 100 includes a plurality of customer stations 106A. . . N includes a central data repository 102 that receives data via a customer interface 104 accessible by N. Customer interface 104 and customer stations 106A. . . Communication with 106N may suitably be achieved via the Internet or any other desired communication channel. Each customer station 106A. . . N periodically provides cost information to the data repository 102, the frequency of which typically ranges from once a day to once a week based on customer preferences. The cost information provided by the customer may suitably be provided by creating a file containing the cost information in a predetermined format and uploading the file to the data repository 102. Typically, the information includes a generic product code for the product and / or a customer product code, ie, a code defined by the customer for the product and used by the customer in identifying the product. Other information may include case weight per unit of product, volume per unit, on-hand inventory, inventory on order, catalog prices, discounts and timing of discounts, and the like. The timing of the discount is typically the start and end dates of the period during which the specified discount from the catalog price available to the customer is available. It also includes information related to the amount limit imposed on a particular discount. For example, it is conceivable to limit the number of units in which the seller of the customer can use the designated discount. The cost information may describe already completed sales transactions or available sales transactions. For a completed transaction, the cost information includes the product ID, such as a UPC code, the price paid, and the quantity purchased. In the case of a sales transaction that is available, the cost information includes the product ID, available price, and available amount. If the available prices differ depending on the quantity, e.g. if a discount according to the quantity is given or conversely a higher price has to be paid to get the additional quantity, the cost information is related to the respective quantity. Identify the price you want. Data repository 102 stores information in customer database 108.
[0014]
The data repository further includes a customer exclusion file that is created at the time of the customer's first registration with the system 100 and that is periodically updated thereafter. The customer exclusion file defines parameters for sharing customer information and buying and selling merchandise. For example, a customer may not want to sell goods to, or purchase goods from, a competitor in a particular region. Thus, the customer specifies that it can sell or purchase only to customers who are located beyond a certain minimum geographic distance. This information is stored in a customer exclusion file associated with the customer, limiting the sale or purchase offer entered by the customer from being made available to customers within a specified distance. The parameters of the customer exclusion file may further include any of a number of different restrictions, such as a list of designated customers that should not be allowed to trade, a list of categories of customers that are allowed to buy or sell, or a list of terms and conditions of sale. Is also good. For example, the customer exclusion file may include specifications regarding timing of delivery. They are intended to limit transactions only to customers who can guarantee delivery within a specified time, or who can engage in a category of delivery that is more likely to deliver within the desired time. Including instructions.
[0015]
An example of a change in delivery parameters is a reseller, i.e., a seller who can accept favorable prices from the manufacturer and choose to profit from favorable prices by selling to other distributors. It can happen in the case of Suppose a reseller agrees to sell a product from another distributor. In such a case, the reseller has the product in stock or plans to order the product from the manufacturer. If the reseller has the product in stock, it will be able to deliver the product to the buyer merchant without delay. When a reseller orders a product from a manufacturer, the manufacturer must wait for the product to be manufactured and shipped to the reseller. The reseller can then deliver the product to the buyer's merchant. Alternatively, the reseller may pick up the product from the manufacturer and then deliver the product to the buyer's merchant faster.
[0016]
Thus, in the case of a purchase from a reseller, the customer specifies whether he wants to restrict the purchase to products that are already in stock, or whether the reseller wants to restrict the products to be picked up from the distributor. Such designations increase the level of punctuality and reliability of on-time delivery, but limit the scope of purchase available.
[0017]
Each time information is uploaded to the database 108, the processing center 110 performs an analysis on the information in the database 108. Processing center 110 performs a statistical analysis on each product for which information was provided and calculates the mean, median, mode, variance, and other useful data. In addition, processing center 110 identifies cost information for each customer and compares it to cost information for other customers to identify purchase or sales opportunities for the customer. The processing center 110 accesses a shipping database 112 of shipping information that can be used to calculate shipping costs and delivery times for products in the database 108. For each customer, the processing center 110 retrieves the net cost of each product in the database, calculates shipping costs for that customer using the shipping information database 112, and delivers the product as well as deliver the product to that customer. Store the required delivery time. Customer station 106A. . . Each of 106N communicates with processor 110 via interface 104 to retrieve cost and delivery information for each of the various products.
[0018]
In addition, the processing center 110 operates to mediate offers of sales and purchase transactions between customers. For example, assume that customer station 106A has been used to communicate a sales offer to processing center 110. The sale offer preferably includes the amount available, the sale price to receive and the duration of the offer. The processing center 110 stores the details of the sales offer, including the identity of the customer and the terms of sale, in the trade transaction database 114. Customer station 106A. . . Each of 106N communicates with processor 110 to request information regarding available sales offers. For example, assume that customer station 106C has requested sales offer information for a specified product. The processing center 110 searches the sales transaction database 114 for sales offer information. The processing center 110 also retrieves shipping cost information and delivery information from the shipping information database 112 to identify delivery prices and possible delivery dates for the customer. Then, the processing center 110 transfers the requested information to the customer station 106C. To protect customer confidentiality, the identity of the entity making the offer is hidden. The user at station 106C selects an offer, enters the desired purchase volume, and enters into a sales transaction. The processing center 110 provides the final details of the sales transaction, such as the type of shipment, the date of shipment and the specified delivery date, etc. to the customer station 106C. The processing center 110 updates the balance account of the customer who operates the station 106A, and performs transfer processing between the customers.
[0019]
As another example, consider the case where customer station 106D was used to communicate a purchase offer to processing center 110. Preferably, the purchase offer includes the desired amount, the delivery price to be paid, and the duration of the offer. The processing center 110 retrieves the shipping costs and uses the shipping costs to calculate the seller's offer price required to produce the desired delivery price. For example, if the desired delivery price is $ 14.00 per unit quantity and the shipping fee is $ 2.00 per unit quantity, then the seller's offer price required to obtain the desired delivery price will be in units That is $ 12.00 per volume. Processing center 110 uses system 100 to calculate shipping costs for each of the various customers so that the offer price seen by each customer varies according to the shipping costs for shipping from each customer. The processing center 110 stores details of the purchase offer, including the customer's identity and purchase conditions, in the trade transaction database 114. Customer station 106A. . . Each of 106N communicates with processing center 110 to request information regarding available purchase offers. For example, assume that customer station 106F has requested purchase offer information for a specified product. Processing center 110 retrieves purchase offer information from trade transaction database 114 and forwards the requested information to customer station 106F. To protect customer confidentiality, the identity of the entity making the offer is hidden. The user at station 106C selects an offer, enters the desired purchase volume, and enters into a sales transaction. Processing center 110 provides final details of the sales transaction, such as, for example, shipping and delivery prices, to customer station 106D. The processing center 110 updates the balance account of the customer operating the stations 106D and 106F, and performs a transfer process between the customers.
[0020]
FIG. 2 illustrates a process 200 for collecting and processing cost information according to the present invention. Process 200 may suitably be employed by a cost information and trading system such as system 100 of FIG. At step 202, cost information is received from each of a plurality of customers. The cost information preferably reflects each sales transaction for one product. For example, a customer periodically submits cost information describing each sales transaction that occurred during a period. This information includes catalog prices, payment prices, volume discounts, shipping costs, delivery times, and other useful information. Alternatively, the customer could provide cost information each time a sales transaction ends. In step 204, cost information for each product is stored in a database. For each product, the cost information may suitably include the product ID, customer ID, catalog price, payment price, discount, origin location such as factory, manufacturer or intermediary warehouse, customer residence and shipping costs.
[0021]
Analysis is periodically performed on the cost information. In step 206, the cost information for each product is classified for each payment price, and the average, median and most frequent catalog prices and net prices are calculated and stored together with each product. At step 208, shipping cost information is retrieved and processed to calculate a delivery price for each customer for each product. In step 210, to identify opportunities for each customer. Perform analysis on cost information and shipping cost information. Existing opportunities would include, for example, the opportunity to purchase a product from another customer at a lower cost than would be obtained from a manufacturer or distributor. Alternatively, there may be an opportunity to take advantage of lower prices from the manufacturer or distributor and purchase the product for sale to other customers. Further analysis may be performed to assist customers in managing their products and sales transactions. For example, it may be considered that there is a future buying opportunity for a particular customer. Futures buying is a practice of responding to favorable prices by purchasing large quantities of products beyond the usual requirements. Factors in the analysis of futures buying opportunities include product shipping costs, storage costs, amount of savings to be realized, product spoilage, the amount of time required to sell a certain amount of product, and the product. The opportunity to resell is included. Futures buying opportunities are identified by comparing the price available to the customer to other prices available to other customers and comparing the realized savings to the cost of purchasing extra products. Will. In step 212, the cost information is analyzed and displayed in response to the customer inquiry.
[0022]
FIG. 3 shows a method 300 for connection and activity selection of a cost information and trading system according to the present invention. At step 302, a connection is established between the customer and an information repository containing cost and trade information previously collected, processed, and stored from the customer. The connection is made using a customer computer that communicates with the information repository via a communication medium such as the Internet or other desired communication medium. At step 304, a login form is presented to the customer. At step 306, the information repository receives login information from the customer. The login information will suitably include a customer identification code and a password. At step 308, an assessment is made whether the login information is accepted or rejected by the information repository. The reputation may suitably comprise a comparison with stored login information. If the login information does not pass the evaluation, the process proceeds to step 390, where the connection is broken. If the login information passes the evaluation, the process proceeds to step 310.
[0023]
At step 310, an initial selection form is presented to the customer, and the customer can select from options including cost information retrieval, trading analysis, or online trading. At step 312, in response to the customer's selection of the option, a subsequent form is presented, allowing the customer to make further selections.
[0024]
FIG. 4A shows an example of a login form 400 according to the present invention. Form 400 includes fields 402 and 404 for entering the customer's username and password.
[0025]
FIG. 4B shows an example of an initial selection form 450 that is presented if login using the form 400 of FIG. 4A is successful. Form 450 includes tabs 452-470 for selecting a class of activity. As shown here, the tab 452 is selected in the presented initial configuration, and as a result, buttons 472 to 278 for presenting various options available for information search are displayed. Selecting one of the buttons 472-478 will display an information screen as required by that selection, giving the opportunity to enter information such as sieving criteria and selecting a subsequent action. If another of the tabs 452-470 is selected, another screen presenting another option will be presented instead.
[0026]
FIG. 5 shows a process 500 for information retrieval according to the present invention. Process 500 is invoked in response to a corresponding selection from the form presented by the customer in step 312 of the process shown in FIG. At step 502, an initial information search selection form is presented to the customer. The selection form is sent to the customer's computer for display using an Internet browser. It may be in html form or a Java applet. The customer is given a choice of information to search, such as summary information reflecting the average cost of all customers providing information about a product, or detailed information reflecting the cost of each customer relating to that product. . Alternatively, the customer may choose to receive information about a category of products, such as all Kraft products. At step 504, the customer's selection is examined to determine what action to take. If the customer has elected to receive summary information, the process proceeds to step 506, where the customer is given the opportunity to enter the identification code of the product for which information is desired. Once the product identification code has been entered, the process proceeds to step 508, where information regarding the product for which the ID was entered is presented to the customer. This information includes the optimal catalog price, the optimal net price, the average, median, and mode net prices, as well as the number of customers who have entered information about the product. To enable the customer to determine whether the customer's price is conveniently comparable to the price available to other customers, the information is based on the prices and conditions available to the inquiring customer. May be further included.
[0027]
If the customer has elected to receive detailed information about the product, the process proceeds to step 510, where the customer is given the opportunity to enter the identification code of the product for which information is desired. Once the product identification code has been entered, the process proceeds to step 512 where relevant information regarding cost is presented for each customer receiving a discount from the catalog price of the product. This information includes the catalog price, net price, discount from the catalog, discount rate (%) from the catalog, and the start and end dates of the period during which the specified price can be used. The customer is given the opportunity to choose what information to view. Alternatively, the customer may choose to receive cost information for all customers who provide the information, or may choose to receive information about other merchants within the same organization. Large customers with multiple departments or locations may choose to receive information about all other departments or locations of the customer.
[0028]
If the customer has opted to receive information about a certain category of products, such as all products from a designated manufacturer, the process proceeds to step 514, where a list of all products in that category is provided with catalog prices, net prices, And information provided for each product, such as a start date and an end date of a period during which the product can be used under specified conditions. Additional information is also available, including the average, median, and modest prices for each product in the category, as well as the number of customers presenting the information.
[0029]
FIG. 6A shows an example of a form 600 that is used for searching and displaying information and that is suitably employed in the process 500 described in FIG. Form 600 displays averaged information for a product for which information is desired. The form 600 displayed here can be accessed by a web browser. html format, web pages, java applets or similar software constructs. Form 600 includes fields 602A and 602B for entering a product UPC. In this form 600, by providing a customer number field 604 and an item code field 606, an alternative product code can be input. The form 600 further includes a command button such as an input button 606. When information is input into the fields 602A and 602B and a product ID such as UPC is input by clicking an input button 606, the form 600 displays relevant information regarding the product. This information includes the product code 608, product description 610, optimal catalog price 612, optimal price 614, and average price 616, modest price 617, median price 618, and the number of customers who provide information about the product, in this case. Contains customer pricing statistics, including 76.
[0030]
FIG. 6B shows a form 620 used to display individual customer cost information for a desired product. Form 620 includes general product code entry fields 622A and 622B, and fields 624 and 626 for entering customer and item codes. Further, option selector buttons 628, 630 and 632 for selecting various display options are also included. Form 620 includes a display field 634, shown here as displaying customer cost information for the desired product to the customer reporting the discount from the catalog. By selecting various options, all customers reporting information about the product along with the catalog price, all customers belonging to a particular group, such as Albertson's and its members, reporting discount price information, It is also possible to select other information displays, such as and price statistics.
[0031]
FIG. 6C shows a form 635 displaying cost information for all items from the selected seller. The seller may be identified by entering the first five digits of the product UPC in the supplier's ID space 636 and selecting the desired set of statistics 637. Here, an item number, an item description, an optimal catalog price and a net price, and a start date and an end date of product handling are displayed.
[0032]
FIG. 6D shows a form 635 in which a new set of statistics 638 is displayed. Statistics include the average net price, mode net price and median net price for each product listed in the catalog, as well as the number of customers reporting data for each product.
[0033]
The system according to the present invention further provides the customer with the opportunity to list the product he or she wishes to buy or sell along with the conditions that he or she wishes to perform when making or selling the product. Make it easier for customers to buy and sell products. The system includes an analysis tool that facilitates resale of the item if desired. The resale of a product is a process whereby the resale retailer can obtain a favorable price from the manufacturer and then share the product with other retailers who are unable to obtain the same price and the same terms as the resale retailer. This is done if you choose to sell. Resellers can purchase goods from manufacturers and sell them to make a profit, while other retailers can sell goods at lower prices than available from manufacturers or suppliers, or at other convenient conditions. Can be obtained.
[0034]
FIG. 7 illustrates a process 700 for trading intermediation according to the present invention. At step 702, the customer establishes a connection to an information repository that includes cost information relating to the price and terms of the purchase or potential purchase of the product. In step 704, the cost information is displayed. At step 706, the customer is given the opportunity to submit sieving and classification information to control the information to be displayed and the order in which the information is displayed. For example, the customer is given the opportunity to enter the depth of purchase of the product, ie, a discount from the catalog price at which the product is available. Step 708 modifies the display in response to customer input. For example, if a customer enters a buy depth of 20%, the product catalog will be displayed along with the UPC, customer item number, description, quantity, catalog price, estimated or recommended selling price, buy quantity and buy rate (%). Is done. At step 710, the customer is given the opportunity to enter the sale. If the customer chooses to enter sales for a product listed in the catalog, the customer simply selects the product from the catalog and the process proceeds to step 712. In step 712, in response to the customer's selection, present a form including the customer's identity, the product to be offered for sale, which allows the customer to enter the desired sales terms and other information. Can be. Conditions include quantity and selling price. Other information is presented for verification from information previously entered by the customer. This information includes the start and end dates when the product should be available, weight, volume in cubic feet, pallet weight, minimum required truck traffic, and other information. This information can be modified or changed by the customer. In step 714, the shipping cost information and the delivery information are analyzed, and the cost of delivery to each customer and the time required for delivery to each customer are calculated. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step 716 where the sales offer information and shipping cost information is entered into a sales offer database accessible to the customer desiring to make the purchase.
[0035]
Returning now to step 710, if the customer wishes to offer a product not listed in the catalog, the customer makes the appropriate selection and the process proceeds to step 718 in response to the selection. . Step 718 presents the customer with a form that allows the customer to enter product information, such as the item code, the conditions the customer wants to offer the product for sale, and other information describing the product. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step 714.
[0036]
FIG. 8A illustrates an example of a form 800 used to analyze a customer's product when evaluating or planning a sales offer using the process of FIG. 700. Form 800 is shown here as displaying bargain information 802 to the inquiring customer. The term "bargain" as used in this case means a discount from the catalog price offered by the manufacturer or supplier to the seller. As shown, here, the bargain information 802 is classified according to the bargain depth of 20%. The buy depth is the difference between the catalog price and the net price to be paid to the seller. For example, a buy depth of 20% is typically a discount rate that allows the buyer customer to make enough money from this sale while offering the buyer customer a sufficiently attractive price. 20% is usually required to sell extra products to other customers. In the example shown, the USF Assorted Bar has a catalog price of $ 57.67, but is available to inquiring customers at a net price of $ 46.80. The difference between the net price and the catalog price, that is, the buying depth is $ 11.52 cents, which is 20% of the catalog price. This depth of purchase allows the customer to prove attractive to the buyer's customer, but to offer extra products to other customers at a price that would result in acceptable profit for the seller's customer. it can. Although a 20% buy depth is shown here, any desired buy depth can be entered using buy depth field 804. The buy rate (%) option is selected by clicking the Starting% Deal button 806. Other categorization or browsing options are also available and can be performed by clicking on the Starting @ Deal button 808, Total Weeks on Hand button 810 or View Top Traded Items button 812. In order to classify products in descending order of discount level, the classification options include a discount rate (%) from the catalog or a discount amount ($) from the catalog. Alternatively, the customer may wish to categorize the product according to the number of weeks that the product is at hand with the idea of considering whether to sell the product in stock. Also, a customer may wish to view the items that are most often traded. If a customer wants to create a sales offer for a product, the customer selects that product. Alternatively, if the customer wishes to offer a product not in the bargain information 802, the customer clicks button 814 and enters a sales offer.
[0037]
FIG. 8B shows an example of a form 816 used to enter information for a sales offer. The form 816 shown here contains information on the result of selecting a product from the list shown in FIG. 8A. Form 816 includes fields for displaying or entering other relevant information, such as a sales volume field 818 and a desired price field 820, and a net value field 822 available to the customer or a manufacturer's catalog price field 824. Including. Other fields are fields for displaying or entering product characteristics, such as the date on which the product is available or the volume and weight of the product. There is also a location selection area 826 that allows the customer to specify the location of the product for which the offer is for sale.
[0038]
The customer verifies the sales information by clicking on the "check data" button 827 and, if satisfied with the accuracy of the information, clicks the "sell offer" button 828 to present a sales offer. If the customer wants to stop selling, the customer clicks the “Clear / New” button 830.
[0039]
If the customer chooses to enter a sales offer for a product not on the list shown in FIG. 8A, a form similar to form 816 is presented, except that the customer must also enter a product code. When this is done, information that is characteristic of the product, such as weight and volume, is already filled in with default values, and the customer can modify those values as desired, and provide sales volume, desired price and other information. You can enter and offer to sell the product.
[0040]
FIG. 9 illustrates a process 900 for trading analysis according to the present invention. At step 902, cost information associated with the customer and the connecting customer as well as other products purchased or provided to those customers who are authorized to make a connection to the data repository. Establish a connection to the containing data repository. At step 904, the customer is given an opportunity to select information to consider, including a history of product buying and selling, the most frequently traded product, or the customer's own buying and selling history. If the customer chooses to review the product sales and cost history, the process proceeds to step 906, which presents a form for the customer to enter a product ID, such as a generic product code. Step 908 provides product pricing information to the customer in response to the customer entering the product ID. Returning to step 904, if the customer chooses to review the products that are most often bought and sold, the process proceeds to step 910, where the generic product code, product description, average catalog price, and average in the product trading transaction. Provide a list of products with information about each product, including selling prices. Returning to step 904, if the customer has chosen to review the customer's own trading history, the process proceeds to step 912, where a list of customer trading transactions is retrieved from the customer trading history information stored in the customer database. And present it to the customer. Information is presented for each product, including purchase price, purchase or sales volume, delivery date, and origin or destination. The customer trading information reflects the details of each executed sale or purchase in which the customer was involved. Sales or purchase information is entered into the customer database during the process of matching sales offers and orders, described below in connection with FIG.
[0041]
FIG. 10A shows an example of a form 1000 that can be used during operation of the process 900 of FIG. Form 1000 displays information related to previous product sales to assist the customer in identifying the appropriate selling price when offering the product. Form 1000 allows the user to enter a product ID in fields 1002A and 1002B using a generic product code, or a customer ID in field 1004 and a product ID in field 1006. When a product ID is entered, the form 1000 displays a product code 808 and a description 1010 along with a list 1012 of sales transaction information relating to the sale of the product. Listing 1012 includes the trade date and price for each trade. The customer reviews the sales transaction information to determine an acceptable price for the sales offer.
[0042]
FIG. 10B shows an example of a form 1014 that includes a display 1016 of information on the most reputed traded product. Display 1016 includes the product code and description for each product, as well as the average catalog and sales prices for each product sold. With this information, the customer can identify the price at which the product on display 1016 can be easily sold.
[0043]
FIG. 11 shows a process 1100 for purchasing intermediation according to the present invention. In step 1101, a connection is established between a customer and an information repository that stores sales offer information and ordering information received from the connecting customer and other customers accessing the information repository. At step 1102, the customer is given the opportunity to review the sales offer information, either by entering a product ID or choosing to check the list of products. If the customer chooses to enter a product ID, the process proceeds to step 1104, where the customer enters a product ID, such as a product code. In step 1106, in response to the customer entering the product code, the sales information database is examined to determine whether the product is listed in the sales information database. If the product is listed in the database, the process proceeds to step 1108 and retrieves the product's sales offer information from the database. At the same time, it displays information related to the customer's purchase opportunity for the product. Purchase opportunity information includes prices and terms at which customers can obtain products from manufacturers or distributors. Sales offer information includes information for each product sale offer, including the price at which the offer to sell the product is made, the quantity available, and the start and end dates of the availability period. At the same time, shipping information is also retrieved from the shipping database. Process the shipping information and offer price to calculate the delivery price for the customer who provided the input. At step 1110, the delivery price and other terms and descriptive information are displayed and the customer is given the opportunity to select a sales offer to enter an order to purchase the product. In response to the customer selecting the product, the process proceeds to step 1112, which presents a form listing the offer terms and other information along with the space for the customer to enter. The information displayed includes quantities per shipping unit, such as product code, product description, weight, volume, and minimum required trucking volume. The delivery price to the customer is also displayed. The customer is given the opportunity to enter the desired quantity and change the delivery price as desired. This may be performed by entering an adjustment value in an appropriate field. After the customer enters the desired information, in response to an agreement command from the customer, the process proceeds to step 1114, where the purchase offer is provided to a database for storage for matching with the sales offer. The details of the process of matching purchase and sale offers are described below in connection with the description of FIG.
[0044]
Returning to step 1106, if the product does not appear in the database, the process proceeds to step 1116, giving the customer an opportunity to enter a purchase offer where there is no sale offer. If the customer chooses to enter a purchase offer where there is no sale offer, the process proceeds to step 1118, which presents the customer with a form to enter the product code, product information and desired purchase terms. If the customer completes and agrees on the form, the process proceeds to step 1120, where a purchase offer is presented for matching with the sales offer.
[0045]
Alternatively, the customer may choose to review all sales offers as a whole or by screening according to criteria specified by the customer. It should be noted that sales offers entered by sellers who have restricted a customer from viewing seller information will not be available to that customer. In response to the customer's instruction to review all sales offers, the process proceeds to step 1122, where the opportunity to enter various screening criteria, preferably in a scrollable or other selectively viewable format. In addition, a format for displaying all items is presented. The sieving criteria may be a specific seller, such as Heinz, a new sales offer entered after the date and time offered by the customer, a product that allows the desired savings compared to the customer's current cost, or the customer has a specified level of inventory. Includes products that do not have more than goods. Once the screening criteria have been submitted by the customer, the process proceeds to step 1124, where the customer's cost information is retrieved, analyzed, and compared to information regarding the list of products. The displayed list of products is reduced to those that meet the presented criteria. If the customer wants to enter an order, the customer selects the desired product. Once the selection has been made by the customer, the process returns to step 1110.
[0046]
FIG. 12A shows a form 1000 for use when entering an order following the process of FIG. Form 1200 includes entry fields 1202A and 1202B for entering UPC or fields 1204 and 1206 for entering customer ID and customer product number.
[0047]
FIG. 12B shows a form 1208 displaying a list of available sales offers retrieved using the form 1200. A form 1208 shows a customer ID 1210, a generic product code 1212, and a product description 1214 along with other relevant information about the product. Further, form 1208 describes summary 1216 of the customer's current cost information. A display 1218 showing available sales offers is shown. For each sale offer, the start and end dates, delivery prices, quantities, and the degree of savings for the customer are listed. When entering an order, the customer may select one of the sales offers by double-clicking on the desired order. If listing 1218 does not include an order for the desired product, the customer clicks button 1220 to enter an order where there is no corresponding sales offer.
[0048]
FIG. 12C shows a form 1222 for inputting an order. Form 1222 is shown here as a result of selecting one product from form 1216 of FIG. 12B. The form 1222 includes a buyer-side customer ID 1224, a product description 1226, and a product UPC code 1228. In addition, form 1222 also lists a delivery price 1230 that would result from the sale offer, a field 1232 for entering the desired amount, and a delivery price 1230 for the customer to make an offer at a price other than the sale offer price. A price correction field 1234 is defined to allow the user to make corrections. Form 1222 also includes other relevant information about the product, including the conditions under which the buyer customer can obtain the product from the manufacturer or distributor. This information includes net price 1236, catalog price 1238, and availability start and end dates 1240 and 1242. In form 1222 of FIG. 12C, the price of the product available to the customer is $ 38.51, which does not represent any discount from the catalog price of $ 38.51. The delivery price to the customer at the offer price 1030 at which the offer is made is expected to be $ 31.30, which is a significant savings compared to the price available from the manufacturer or distributor.
[0049]
Form 1222 further includes buttons 1244-1250 for executing the command. If form 1222 is displayed in response to the customer choosing to enter an order where there is no sales offer, form 1222 does not include the product code, product description or delivery price, but instead includes the product code and Includes a field for entering the desired purchase price.
[0050]
FIG. 12D shows a form 1251 displaying a comprehensive list 1252 of available products. This form 1250 allows the user to enter parameters for sifting the displayed products so that the displayed products are limited to products of interest to the customer. Form 1250 includes a field 1254 for entering a seller ID to limit the product to a particular seller's product, fields 1256A and 1256B for searching for a particular product by entering a UPC, Fields 1258 and 1260 to limit the product to products that result in a savings rate or savings for the customer, a field 1262 to limit the product to products that have less than a specified number of weeks the customer has in stock, Includes a field 1264 for limiting the weekly designated amount to products for sale. In addition, form 1250 includes fields 1266 and 1268 to limit the displayed products to new products entered after a specified date and time. If the customer wishes to enter an order for the listed product, simply double-clicking on that product's entry will bring up a form similar to form 1222 of FIG. 12C.
[0051]
FIG. 13 illustrates a process 1300 for matching a sales offer and an order according to the present invention. Process 1300 operates to match a sales offer entered by a customer using the sales agent process 800 of FIG. 8 with an order entered using the purchase agent process 1100 of FIG. In step 1302, each order and sale offer in the trade transaction database is examined. At step 1304, each order and order for one product is assigned to a pool of orders. In step 1306, the sales offer and order are matched for each condition such as price, delivery time, and quantity. To match the sales offer with the order, the delivery cost is calculated to determine whether the delivery price that the buyer wants to pay is the price that the seller wants to receive. At step 1308, an order is taken to determine which orders and orders should be satisfied if the orders are not sufficient to satisfy all orders listing the same price and condition, or vice versa. Fulfill orders with matching conditions according to a priority system. The priority may be based, for example, on the order entry time, in which case the earlier entered order is assigned a higher priority. In step 1310, the details of the sales transaction are notified to each customer whose order successfully matches. At the same time, details of the sales transaction are added to the customer information database for each buyer customer whose order successfully matches. In step 1312, shipping arrangements for product delivery are performed. This may suitably be performed using the process shown in FIG. 16 below. At step 1314, payment arrangements are made between the buyer and seller. This is preferably performed by a third party deposit, the payment being made to a trust intermediary, who authorizes the shipment upon receipt of the fee and pays after confirming the delivery. In step 1316, each customer who entered an order for which no matching order was found is notified that the order cannot be fulfilled, and the best available conditions are announced.
[0052]
The system according to the invention also gains access to cost information, facilitates the buying and selling of products made available from various sources, and makes information available to customers based on parameters set by the customers. It is also possible. FIG. 14 illustrates a process 1400 for reporting pricing and product utilization according to the present invention. In step 1402, data related to the degree of use of a product is periodically received and stored in the available product database. At step 1404, in response to the customer's inquiry, based on the customer sieving criteria and cost information previously provided by the customer and stored in the customer database, inspect the data in the available merchandise database against the customer's needs. I do. Sieving criteria include products that will provide the desired savings as compared to the customer's current cost, customer on-hand inventory, and the like. Determining customer needs is based on current customer requirements and costs for a particular product. In step 1406, data matching the customer needs is presented to the customer. In addition, it suggests and presents the quantity to be purchased based on customer needs. At step 1408, the customer is given the opportunity to enter additional sieving criteria, such as a particular product ID, and the data presented is further restricted according to the criteria entered. Step 1410 provides the customer with an opportunity to place an order for the selected product in response to the customer's selection. At step 1412, if the customer places an order, purchase information is entered and the sales transaction is completed in a manner similar to that described above.
[0053]
FIG. 15 shows a display 1500 according to the present invention. The display 1500 shows a product list 1502 showing products that meet the customer's criteria, along with relevant information displayed for each product being presented. It also shows suggested purchase quantities for each product based on an analysis of customer needs. The display further indicates the screening criteria 1504 that was used to identify the product. These criteria include the savings incurred, the cash discount available, the maximum number of weeks of product already in the customer's inventory, and the number of days that the offered price can be used continuously. Further, UPC fields 1506A and 1506B for separating a specific product by UPC or a buyer code field 1508 for separating a product by a buyer's own product code are presented. Action buttons 1510 and 1512 are also presented. Button 1510 sorts the products by buyer product code, and button 1512 allows the user to enter an order for the highlighted product.
[0054]
FIG. 16 illustrates a process 1600 for organizing and consolidating shipments in accordance with the present invention. At step 1602, a matched set of orders and orders matched for order fulfillment are examined and shipping information is retrieved. At step 1604, the shipping information is reviewed to create an optimal package based on the source, destination, and nature of the item to be shipped, and the amount of the item per shipment. In step 1606, for each shipment, a package consisting of products for the minimum required transport amount of the truck is created, and a loading instruction is created. The loading order includes the source, the item to be shipped, the pickup time, the destination and the delivery time. In step 1608, a determination is made for each package as to how to select a carrier for the package. Possible choices include single sourcing, competitive bidding, or release on existing carrier contracts. In step 1610, the selection of a shipping company for each package is performed, preferably within 24 hours of creating the package. In step 1612, a loading instruction is generated for the shipping company selected for each package and issued to the shipping company. In step 1614, each package is tracked until delivery. At step 1616, to determine the optimal shipping arrangement, the outgoing packages consisting of goods less than the minimum required trucking volume are inspected. When determining shipping arrangements, multiple source and destination points are selected, taking into account efficient delivery routes, pickup and delivery times, delivery schedules, and consolidation possibilities. Consolidation is the transport of multiple arriving shipments to a central transfer point, such as a warehouse, for transfer to a shipment origin. In step 1618, a plurality of outgoing packages less than the minimum required trucking volume are organized as one package. At step 1620, for each package, a determination is made as to how to select a carrier for the package. Possible selection methods include single sourcing, competitive bidding, or release on existing carrier contracts. At step 1622, the selection of a shipping company for each package is performed, preferably within 24 hours of creating the package. In step 1624, a loading instruction is generated for the shipping company selected for the package and issued to the shipping company. In step 1626, each shipment is tracked until delivery.
[0055]
Although the present invention has been disclosed in terms of a presently preferred embodiment, it will be appreciated that a wide variety of implementations may be employed by those skilled in the art in accordance with the foregoing description and claims that follow. For example, the present invention could be implemented using different forms, fields, product identification codes, or sieving criteria than those shown here.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a cost information and trading system according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a process of collecting and processing cost information according to the present invention.
FIG. 3 illustrates a process for customer login and action selection according to the present invention.
FIG. 4A is a diagram showing an example of a login screen according to the present invention.
FIG. 4B is a diagram showing an example of an initial selection screen according to the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a process of information selection and retrieval according to the present invention.
FIG. 6A is a diagram showing an example of a format adopted in the process of FIG. 5;
FIG. 6B is a diagram showing an example of an additional format adopted in the process of FIG. 5;
FIG. 6C is a diagram showing an example of an additional format adopted in the process of FIG. 5;
FIG. 6D is a diagram showing an example of an additional format adopted in the process of FIG. 5;
FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a sales intermediation method according to the present invention.
FIG. 8A is a diagram showing an example of a format adopted in the process of FIG. 7;
FIG. 8B is a diagram showing an example of an additional format adopted in the process of FIG. 7;
FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a process of sales offer analysis according to the present invention.
FIG. 10A is a diagram showing an example of a format adopted in the process of FIG. 9;
FIG. 10B is a diagram showing an example of an additional format adopted in the process of FIG. 9;
FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a process of mediating a purchase offer according to the present invention.
FIG. 12A is a diagram showing an example of a format adopted in the process of FIG. 11;
FIG. 12B is a diagram showing an example of an additional format adopted in the process of FIG. 11;
FIG. 12C is a diagram showing an example of an additional format adopted in the process of FIG. 11;
FIG. 12D is a diagram showing an example of an additional format adopted in the process of FIG. 11;
FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a process of matching an order and an order according to the present invention.
FIG. 14 illustrates a process for reporting product and pricing utilization according to the present invention.
FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of a format adopted in the process of FIG.
FIG. 16 illustrates a process for creating and shipping a package according to the present invention.

Claims (21)

A cost information storage processing system,
A customer input interface for receiving customer cost information presented by a plurality of sending customers;
A data repository for storing cost information,
A processing center that analyzes cost information to identify cost saving opportunities for the receiving customer;
A customer output interface for supplying cost information and analysis results to a receiving customer;
A cost information storage processing system comprising: The processing center is operable to identify a cost difference between a price and a condition associated with a product purchase available to a receiving customer against prices and conditions stored in the data repository. Item 2. The system according to Item 1. The system of claim 2, wherein the processing center is operative to analyze shipping cost information to identify a delivery price of the item at each receiving customer's residence. The system of claim 3, wherein the processing center operates to calculate summary information for each product. The customer input interface is further operative to receive customer exclusion information from each sending customer, wherein the customer exclusion information includes criteria for allowing the receiving customer to view information presented by the sending customer. 5. The system according to claim 4, wherein the system is defined. The customer output interface operates to cause a receiving customer to specify a category of product for which cost information is desired, and the processing center assembles cost information for the product category and passes the information to the customer output interface. The system of claim 5, wherein the system is made available for viewing through. A cost information storage processing method,
Receiving cost information from each of the plurality of customers;
Storing cost information;
Receiving a customer inquiry from a customer;
Analyzing cost information to identify cost saving opportunities for customers;
Providing cost information and analysis results in response to a customer inquiry;
And a cost information storage processing method. The method of claim 7, wherein analyzing the cost information comprises receiving shipping information and using the shipping information to calculate a delivery price to a customer. The method of claim 8, wherein receiving the customer inquiry comprises receiving a product ID identifying a particular product for which information is desired. The method of claim 9, wherein analyzing the cost information comprises calculating cost information associated with an identified product, and providing the cost information and analysis results provides cost information to a customer. Method. The method of claim 10, wherein analyzing the cost information calculates an average price, a median price, and a mode price of the product. The method of claim 10, wherein analyzing the cost information identifies a lowest net cost of an identified product. The step of analyzing the cost information may include the customer's normal product requirements to identify the desired quantity of the product to be purchased and the customer's identification of the identified product, taking into account the customer's product acquisition and storage costs. The method of claim 10, further comprising analyzing available prices. 10. The method of claim 9, wherein receiving the customer inquiry comprises receiving sieving criteria, and providing the cost information and analysis results provides only information meeting the sieving criteria. the method of. 15. The method of claim 14, wherein the sieving criteria includes a time of delivery requirement. A method of mediating sales transactions,
Receiving sales offer information, including a desired selling price, for a product from a seller customer;
For each of the plurality of buyer customers, the delivery price is determined based on the desired selling price and the stored shipping information, including the cost of shipping the product from the seller customer to each of the plurality of buyer customers. Calculating,
Receiving an order from one or more of the plurality of buyer customers;
Matching the order with the sales offer;
Notifying the buyer and seller that a matching failure has occurred if there is no order matching the sale offer, and giving the seller and buyer the opportunity to change the terms of the sale offer or order;
Allocating the quantity to the order according to predetermined criteria, if the match was successful but there is not enough available to fill all the orders;
For all orders to which the quantity is assigned from the sales offer, notify the buyer and seller that the order and the order match, and the assigned quantity, arrange shipping from the seller to the buyer, And a process of arranging the transfer of a fee from the buyer to the seller;
A method for brokering a trading transaction, comprising: The transfer of the fee includes payment of the fee to the trust intermediary, approval of the delivery upon receipt of the notification that the intermediary has received the fee, and notification to the seller that the buyer has received the delivery. 17. The method according to claim 16, wherein the method is arranged by permitting the delivery of a fee. 18. The method of claim 17, wherein prior to receiving the sales offer information, providing previous sales transaction information to assist a seller in determining an appropriate sales offer price is performed. The described method. Prior to receiving the order, causing all of the plurality of buyer-side customers to review all available sales offers is performed, and causing the buyer-side customers to review the sales offers meets the screening criteria. 19. The method of claim 18, further comprising prompting each buyer customer to enter sieving criteria to display only sales offers to be made. The process of arranging the shipment involves extracting the shipping information from all matching sales offers and orders to identify the shipment, creating the best package to make up each shipment, selecting the shipping company for each package, and 20. The method of claim 19, comprising generating a shipping order and tracking each shipment until delivery. The process of creating an optimal package involves analyzing each shipment that is less than the minimum required trucking volume, and determining the starting point and purpose of the shipment that is less than the minimum required trucking volume in order to determine the optimal delivery route for dispatch. 21. The method of claim 20, including the step of identifying a point and organizing outgoing shipments less than the minimum required truck load into packages with the minimum required truck load.

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