Order placement and receiving system, order placement and receiving method, and order placement and receiving device.

Abstract

To provide an order management system, order management method, and order management device that minimizes the work required to update product information provided by each company without compromising the independence of each company's website. [Solution] An order placement and receiving system 1, method, and apparatus comprising at least an order placement and receiving device 10, a purchasing terminal 12, a retailer terminal 13, and a product information provision device 20, wherein the order placement and receiving device 10 comprises a unit management means for managing units, a unit linking means for managing linkages between units, a product management means for managing product registration information, and a purchasing management means for managing the purchase of products added to the cart, and further comprises a URL creation means for creating an input URL for adding products to the cart, and the product information provision device 20 comprises means for providing a product information page in which the input URL is embedded, and when the input URL is clicked from the purchasing terminal 12, the product is added to the cart.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an order receiving and placing system, an order receiving and placing method, and an order receiving and placing apparatus. It should be noted that the term "goods" in the present specification shall include the provision of services.

Background Art

[0002] In recent years, the digitization of product catalogs has advanced, and many companies provide electronic catalogs on websites operated by themselves. However, in industries that have distribution channels where customers purchase products from manufacturers through dealers or the like, there arises a problem that the version of the catalog provided by the manufacturer differs from the version of the catalog provided by the dealer or the like. For example, indirect materials such as motors and bearings are aggregated from manufacturers that produce the indirect materials to specialized trading companies dealing with machine tools and the like, and are delivered to large, mid-tier, and small-to-medium manufacturers (purchasing enterprises) via dealers of machine tools and the like located in each region, which constitutes such a distribution channel.

[0003] In Patent Document 1, the applicants have proposed an electronic catalog providing apparatus comprising: a manufacturer catalog registration unit that registers an electronic catalog listing manufacturer's products; a commercial information posting permission unit that performs settings for permitting posting of commercial information in the registered manufacturer catalog; a manufacturer catalog usage permission unit that performs settings for permitting usage of the registered manufacturer catalog; a commercial information registration unit that registers a commercial information-attached manufacturer catalog, in which input commercial information is added to the manufacturer catalog, as an electronic catalog managed by the relevant trading company; a commercial information-attached manufacturer catalog usage permission unit that performs settings for permitting usage of the registered commercial information-attached manufacturer catalog; and a usage setting unit that sets the selected electronic catalog to be viewable by customers of the relevant dealer. According to this apparatus, when the manufacturer and the trading company update their respective electronic catalogs, the electronic catalog posted by the dealer is also automatically updated, so that it is unnecessary to individually update the electronic catalogs scattered among the respective users.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 6463216 [Overview of the Initiative] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0005] In a system where each company in the order placement and receiving route uses the same electronic catalog provisioning device, the problem of different versions of the electronic catalog is resolved. However, each company typically operates its own website, and when they update the product information on their website, they also need to update the product information on the electronic catalog provider. While it is conceivable to synchronize product information between the electronic catalog provider and each company's website, this would compromise the independence of each company's website.

[0006] The present invention aims to provide an order placement and receiving system, an order placement and receiving method, and an order placement and receiving device that can minimize the work required to update product information provided by each company without compromising the independence of each company's website. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The present invention is comprised of the following technical means. [1] An order placement and receiving system comprising at least an order placement and receiving device, a purchasing terminal, a retailer terminal, and a product information provision device, wherein the order placement and receiving device comprises unit management means for managing units that function as user accounts, unit linking means for managing linkages between units, product management means for managing product registration information, and purchasing management means for managing the purchase of products added to a cart, the order placement and receiving device or the product information provision device comprises URL creation means for creating an input URL for adding products to a cart, the product information provision device comprises means for providing a product information page in which the input URL is embedded, and when the input URL embedded in the product information page is clicked from the purchasing terminal, the product associated with the input URL is added to the cart. [2] The order placement and receiving system according to [1], characterized in that the unit management means has a function to assign a first unit type used by the purchasing terminal and a second unit type used by the sales terminal to the units, the unit linking means has a function to enable linking only between units of different unit types, and the purchasing management means has a function to enable transactions only between linked units. [3] The order placement and receiving system according to [2], characterized in that the unit management means includes a function to assign a third unit type used by a wholesale trading company terminal and a fourth unit type used by a manufacturer terminal to the unit; a function to enable the first unit type to link only with the second unit type; a function to enable the second unit type to link only with the first unit type, the third unit type and the fourth unit type; a function to enable the third unit type to link only with the second unit type and the fourth unit type; a function to enable the fourth unit type to link only with the second unit type and the third unit type; a function to send a linkage request from the retailer unit to the manufacturer unit only when a retailer unit to which the second unit type has been assigned has linked and a wholesale trading company unit to which the third unit type has been assigned has already linked with a manufacturer unit to which the fourth unit type has been assigned; and a function to establish a linkage between the retailer unit and the manufacturer unit when the manufacturer unit accepts the linkage request. [4] The ordering and receiving system according to [1], characterized in that the purchasing management means has a function to provide a bulk quote for the first product to the first and second retailers when the first product sold by the first retailer is added to the cart and the first product sold by the second retailer is added at the same time. [5] The order placement and receiving system according to [1], characterized in that the registration information of the product includes a unique identification code associated with the product, and the input URL includes the identification code in its address.

[0008] [6] The computer includes steps of registering units that function as user accounts, coordinating between units, and managing product registration information. An order processing method comprising the steps of: providing a shopping cart for purchasing products; creating an input URL for adding products to the cart; and, when the input URL is clicked by a specific user account, adding the products associated with the input URL to the user account's cart. An order placement and receiving device used in any of the order placement and receiving systems described in [7][1] to [5], comprising: a unit management means for managing units that function as user accounts; a unit linking means for managing linkages between units; a product management means for managing product registration information; a purchase management means for managing the purchase of products added to the cart; and a URL creation means for directly or indirectly creating an input URL for adding products to the cart. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an order placement and receiving system, an order placement and receiving method, and an order placement and receiving apparatus that can minimize the work required to update product information provided by each company without compromising the independence of each company's website. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0010] [Figure 1] This diagram shows the order and delivery route for purchasing goods in the machinery and tool sales industry. [Figure 2] This is a diagram showing the configuration of an order placement and receiving system in an example embodiment. [Figure 3] This is a flowchart showing the initial setup and product purchase process. [Figure 4] This is a diagram showing the unit registration screen on the order placement and receiving website. [Figure 5] This diagram illustrates the procurement relationship of product information in an example embodiment. [Figure 6] This diagram illustrates the process by which retailers and purchasing companies collaborate using unit linkage means. [Figure 7] (a) is an example of product information to be registered in the product database of the order server, and (b) is a product management screen used by the manufacturer in the embodiment example. [Figure 8] (a) is a page showing a list of dealers and manufacturers handling the products searched by the purchasing enterprise, and (b) is the enterprise details page of the manufacturer. [Figure 9] (a) is a page of the manufacturer's product list, and (b) is a page showing product information in the cart. [Figure 10] This is a diagram for explaining the URL for adding to cart embedded in the product introduction page provided on the manufacturer's site. [Figure 11] This is a page that displays a list of products added to the cart. [Modes for Carrying Out the Invention]

[0011] Modes for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, an example of an order placement and reception system for placing and receiving product orders online in the machine tool sales industry will be used for explanation.

[0012] <Configuration> FIG. 1 is a diagram showing order placement and reception routes for product purchasing in the machine tool sales industry according to an exemplary embodiment. Purchasing enterprises A, B... are business operators that purchase parts from manufacturers α1, α2.... A purchasing enterprise is a business operator (including individual business owners) that has transactions with a plurality of dealers, and creates devices by combining products (indirect materials) such as motors, bearings, and cylinders purchased from a plurality of manufacturers. When a purchasing enterprise can purchase a specific product from a plurality of dealers, there is a need to select the dealer with the best transaction conditions to conduct transactions.

[0013] Dealers Jia, Yi... purchase products from manufacturers through wholesale trading companies α, β.... The manufacturers handled by each wholesale trading company are different. Some manufacturers have transactions with a plurality of wholesale trading companies. For the sales price of products, dynamic pricing is adopted, which varies depending on the purchase volume, purchase timing, etc. of the purchasing enterprise. When the cooperation mediated by the wholesale trading company is established, the dealer can sell the manufacturer's products to the purchasing enterprise through the wholesale trading company.

[0014] The products manufactured by manufacturers α1, α2, etc. include products with one product type corresponding to one product number, but also include a considerable number of series products (hereinafter referred to as "series products") in the same series that have different product numbers depending on accessories and specifications. When purchasing a series product, it is not sufficient to only specify the product number; it is necessary to place an order after also specifying the accessories and specifications. Examples of product accessories include mounting brackets, mounting hardware, joints, and high-capacity batteries. Examples of product specifications include the total length, diameter, weight, material, load capacity, rotation speed, and pressure capacity of the product. The selling price of series products varies not only with accessories and specifications, but also with sales volume and other factors. Manufacturers produce paper catalogs to encourage customers to purchase their products, and they also publish electronic catalogs on their own websites.

[0015] Figure 2 is a diagram showing an order placement and reception system 1 according to an exemplary embodiment. As shown in Figure 2, the order placement and reception system 1 according to the present embodiment is composed of an order placement and reception server 10, an administrator terminal 11 used by the administrator of the order placement and reception server 10, purchasing terminals 12A... used by purchasing enterprises, dealer terminals 13A... used by dealers, wholesale company terminals 14A... used by wholesale trading companies, manufacturer terminals 15A... used by manufacturers, and manufacturer servers 20A.... Hereinafter, the notation "A..." may be omitted, and the devices may be referred to as the purchasing terminal 12, the dealer terminal 13, and the like. Note that although the example shown in Figure 2 illustrates a case where there is one order placement and reception server 10 and one administrator terminal 11, the configuration is not limited to this, and each may be configured with two or more units.

[0016] The order placement server 10 is, for example, a PC server and is an order placement device having a processing unit, a storage unit that stores the order placement program and product database, and a communication unit that enables communication via the Internet 2. The order placement server 10 is equipped with a website provisioning means that provides a web page of the order placement site 30 that can be accessed via the Internet 2. The order placement program includes a unit management means 31, a unit linking means 32, a product management means 33, a purchasing management means 34, and a URL creation means 35. Further details will be described later.

[0017] The administrator terminal 11 is an information terminal used by the administrator of the order placement and receiving server 10. Purchasing terminals 12A... are information terminals used by purchasing company personnel to place orders for goods at the order placement site 30. Retailer terminals 13A... are information terminals used by retailers to place and receive orders for goods at the order placement site 30. Wholesaler terminals 14A... are information terminals used by wholesalers to place and receive orders for goods at the order placement site 30. Manufacturer terminals 15A... are information terminals used by manufacturers to access the order placement site 30 and the manufacturer site 40A....

[0018] Figure 2 discloses an example in which the administrator terminal 11, purchasing terminal 12A, retailer terminal 13A, wholesaler terminal 14A, and manufacturer terminal 15A are configured using personal computers (hereinafter referred to as "PCs"), but is not limited to this, and can be configured using any information terminal that can run a web browser, such as a smartphone or tablet.

[0019] The manufacturer server 20A... is, for example, a PC server and is a product information providing device having a processing unit, a storage unit that stores a product management program, and a communication unit that enables communication via the Internet 2. The manufacturer server 20A... is equipped with a website providing means that provides product information web pages (including electronic catalogs) via the Internet 2. The product management program includes a product management means 41 and a URL embedding means 42. Further details will be described later.

[0020] <How to use> Figure 3 is a flowchart showing the initial setup and product purchase process. In the following, users of the purchasing terminal 12, retailer terminal 13, wholesaler terminal 14, and manufacturer terminal 15 may be referred to as "users."

[0021] [STEP 101] The system administrator executes the unit management means 31 from the administrator terminal 11 to create user accounts for using the order placement site 30. In this embodiment, an account called a unit is assigned to each person who applies to use the order placement site 30. An administrator and staff members can be assigned to each unit. Initially, when a unit is assigned, there is only one administrator in the unit, but the administrator can register one or more staff members. The additional staff members can use the order placement server 10 within the scope of their assigned permissions. Furthermore, when setting up branches, subunits can be set up from units, and in addition to administrators, one or more staff members can be registered in each subunit.

[0022] Figure 4 shows the unit registration screen on the order placement / receiving site 30. In this embodiment, the "unit type" can be selected as "unidentified," "manufacturer," "trading company," and "distributor," but other unit types may also be provided. When registering each unit, the unit type is specified by the administrator terminal 11, which determines the business type attribute of the unit and the transaction relationship. Each registered unit is assigned a unique unit code. The unit code is assigned automatically. The unit code can be changed by the user as long as it does not duplicate.

[0023] [STEP 102] Registered users can conduct transactions by linking with other users. Users can only link with other users belonging to a specific unit type different from their own. However, it is also possible to restrict transactions even after linking and set it to only allow information exchange. Note that user linking may also be performed after STEP 105 (product search).

[0024] Figure 5 is a diagram illustrating the order placement and receiving route in an example embodiment. The direction of the arrows indicates the direction of notification of the linkage request. For users whose unit type is set to "Manufacturer," transactions can be conducted with either a wholesale trading company with which linkage (1) has been established or a retailer with which linkage (2) has been established. For users whose unit type is set to "Wholesale Trading Company," transactions can be conducted with either a manufacturer with which linkage (1) has been established or a retailer with which linkage (3) has been established. For users whose unit type is set to "Retailer," transactions can be conducted with either a wholesale trading company with which linkage (3) has been established or a purchasing company with which linkage (4) has been established. For users whose unit type is set to "Unidentified," transactions can be conducted with all users with whom linkage has been established.

[0025] Figure 6 illustrates the process by which retailers and purchasing companies collaborate using the unit linkage means 32. If a purchasing company does not have a unit (account) in the order management system 1, an account is created by inviting the purchasing company from a distributor. Specifically, as shown in Figure 6(a), a distributor registered in the order management system 1 sends an invitation notification from the distributor terminal 13 to the purchasing company's email address. When the purchasing company that receives the email enters the necessary information for account creation into the application form, a unit for the purchasing company linked to the distributor that sent the invitation notification is created.

[0026] If a purchasing company has a unit (account) in the order management system 1, the purchasing company requests integration from the distributor. Specifically, as shown in Figure 6(b), when a purchasing company registered in the order management system 1 selects the distributor it wishes to integrate with from the purchasing terminal 12 and sends an integration request, an integration request notification is displayed on the screen of the distributor terminal 13 logged into the order management system 1. Once the distributor confirms the contents and approves the integration request, integration with the purchasing company's unit is established. Alternatively, the purchasing company may send an email containing the integration request to the distributor.

[0027] Once inter-unit collaboration between a purchasing company and a retailer is established using either method shown in Figures 6(a) and (b), the purchasing company can purchase products from manufacturers handled by the collaborating retailer. The purchasing company can collaborate with multiple retailers that handle the same product, enabling bulk quotation by the purchasing management system 34. Collaboration between purchasing companies and retailers can be established by linking them to the retailer's representatives registered by the administrator. For example, retailer representative A1 can be linked to purchasing company B1, and retailer representatives A2 and A3 can be linked to purchasing company B2. It is also possible to link and collaborate between subunits or representatives of a purchasing company and dealerships. For example, subunit X1 of the purchasing company can be linked to dealership A, and representative X2 of the purchasing company can be linked to dealerships B and C.

[0028] Figure 6 illustrates the collaboration method between purchasing companies and retailers, but the same process can be used for collaboration between retailers and wholesalers, and between wholesalers and manufacturers. Retailers can request collaboration from wholesalers, and upon approval by the wholesalers, the collaboration shown in (3) in Figure 5 can be established. Here, it is also possible to restrict transactions and limit the collaboration to information provision only. Wholesalers can request collaboration from manufacturers, and upon approval by the manufacturers, the collaboration shown in (1) in Figure 5 can be established. Here, it is also possible to restrict transactions and limit the collaboration to information provision only.

[0029] A retailer can request the collaboration described in (2) from a manufacturer whose collaboration as shown in (1) and (3) in Figure 5 has been established. In other words, a retailer cannot request the collaboration described in (2) if the collaboration as shown in (1) or (3) in Figure 5 has not been established. The collaboration described in (2) between the retailer and the manufacturer is established when the manufacturer approves the collaboration request. Once the collaboration described in (2) in Figure 5 is established, the shopping cart URL described later will become functional.

[0030] [STEP 103] The retailer registers product information by executing the product management means 33 from the retailer terminal 13. Figure 7(a) is an example of product information to be registered in the product database of the order server 10. The "System Code" field is where a unique identification code assigned to the order server 10 to identify the product is entered. The system code is automatically generated when product information is registered in the product database of the order server 10. The "Manufacturer Name" field is where the name of the manufacturer of the product is entered, either abbreviated or full name. The "Product Name" field is where the product name is entered, either abbreviated or full name. The "Model Number" field is where the model number corresponding to each product is entered. The "Product Code" field is where the code assigned internally by each manufacturer is entered. There is a one-to-one correspondence between the product code and the system code, and this is used to create a shopping cart URL to be embedded on each manufacturer's website. The "Price" field is where the "Retail Price" of each product is entered or left blank. If the "Price" field is left blank, "Inquire" will be displayed when adding to the cart.

[0031] In the "Manufacturer's Website" field, enter the URL of the manufacturer's website that introduces the product with the specified product name. The order placement system 1 does not have a page introducing product details on the order placement site 30. Instead, it links to a page on the manufacturer's website 40 that introduces product details, thus minimizing the amount of product information that needs to be registered. It is also possible to register information other than the example information in the product database.

[0032] Figure 7(b) shows the product management screen used by the manufacturer in the embodiment example. The product management screen displays a list of product information registered in the order management system 1. The "Secondary Use Permission" shown in the "Status" column indicates that the product information registered by the manufacturer can also be used by retailers. Clicking on the product name displayed in the "Product Name" column displays the product information page shown in Figure 7(c). The "Product No." column displays the system code that was automatically assigned when the product information was registered.

[0033] [STEP 104] When product information is registered, the URL creation means 35 automatically generates a cart addition URL for adding the product to the cart. An example of a cart addition URL is shown in the "Web Catalog URL" field on the page shown in Figure 7(c). The generated cart addition URL is embedded in the product description page on the manufacturer's site 40 by the URL embedding means 42 of the manufacturer's server 20. The embedding of the cart addition URL by the URL embedding means 42 may be performed automatically, or it may be performed by the administrator of the manufacturer's site 40 executing the URL embedding means 42. In this embodiment, when the URL creation means 35 generates a cart addition URL, the manufacturer's terminal 15A logged into the order placement site 30 is notified that a new cart addition URL has been generated, or an email is sent to the email address associated with the manufacturer's terminal 15A.

[0034] [STEP 105] The purchasing company accesses the order placement site 30 from the purchasing terminal 12 and searches for the products to be purchased. When the user enters information such as the manufacturer name, product name, and model number into the search field, the purchasing management means 34 displays the corresponding products in the search results display field. In this embodiment, two methods are provided: "search by company" and "search for products".

[0035] Figure 8(a) shows the search results page displayed when a purchasing company selects the "Find a Company" box and enters "Pliers" as the product name. Companies displayed as "Unapproved" in the "Purchase Partnership" column are potential retailers or other entities for new partnerships. Companies that have already partnered will display "Approved" in the "Purchase Partnership" column. Note that the button for requesting a partnership is only displayed on the retailer's company details page, not on the manufacturer's company details page.

[0036] When a purchasing company clicks on "m-manufacturer Co., Ltd.", the manufacturer's company details page shown in Figure 8(b) is displayed. Clicking on "Impact Wrench" located in the lower left corner of the same page displays the product introduction page shown in Figure 9(a) on the manufacturer's website 40A. In this embodiment, the page shown in Figure 8(b) is maintained while the page shown in Figure 9(a) is displayed in a separate tab. On the page shown in Figure 9(a), the model information has a URL for adding to the cart, which will be described later. Clicking on the model information transitions to the page showing the product information in the cart, as shown in Figure 9(b).

[0037] [STEP 106] Add the item to your cart using one of the following methods. (1) If a purchasing company can select products to purchase from the product information posted on the order placement site 30, it will add the products to its cart by clicking the "Add to Cart" button displayed on the order placement site 30 page. This is a typical e-commerce site method, and retailers can also set special prices for purchasing companies. (2) Purchasing companies can also add items to their cart on the order placement site 30 by clicking the cart addition URL embedded on the product page of the manufacturer's site 40. There is no need to return from the manufacturer's site 40 to the order placement site 30 to add items to the cart. On the page shown in Figure 9(a), the product can be added to the cart of the order placement system 1 by clicking the model information "SP-8141J" (see Figure 9(b)).

[0038] Figure 10 is a diagram illustrating the cart addition URL embedded in a product description page on the manufacturer's website 40A. The product description page has a cart addition URL embedded to add the product to the cart on the order processing server 10. The cart addition URL is automatically generated by the URL creation means 35. In the example in Figure 10, the system code corresponding to the product is entered in the "xxxx" part of "pi=xxxx" in the URL address. When a purchasing company accesses the manufacturer's website 40A and clicks on the string or image with the cart addition URL embedded displayed on the product description page, the impact wrench (model: SP-8141J) is added to the cart on the order processing server 10. In Figure 9, the cart addition URL is embedded in "SP-8141J" displayed in the model field, but for example, a cart image with the cart addition URL embedded could be displayed on the product description page.

[0039] [STEP107] If you need a quote for the items you've added to your cart, proceed to STEP108 (Quote); otherwise, proceed to STEP109 (Order). [STEP 108] If a purchasing company needs to inquire about the price of an item in their cart, they can check the price of that item by clicking the "Request a Quote" button. Here, if multiple retailers carry the same model of product saved in the cart, it is possible to request quotes from all of those retailers at once.

[0040] Figure 11 shows a page displaying a list of items added to the shopping cart. In Figure 11, of the four items in the cart, items 1 and 2 in the "No." column are the same model but have a price listed as "Inquiry," and are sold by different vendors. In this state, clicking the "Request Quote" button will request quotes from both H Sales Co., Ltd. and Y Sales Co., Ltd. at once. Alternatively, clicking the "Place Order" button will allow you to place an order for all items in the cart at once. As shown in Figure 11, when purchasing the same product from different vendors, a prompt will appear asking the purchasing company to confirm ordering the same product.

[0041] [STEP 109] If all items have fixed prices, or if price confirmation is not required for items that require price inquiry, the purchasing company can place an order for all items in the cart by clicking the "Place Order" button. It is also possible to place an order after requesting a quote and determining the prices of the items, by removing some items from the order.

[0042] According to the order placement and receiving system 1 of the embodiment described above, since detailed product information is not registered on the order placement and receiving site 30, the problem of discrepancies between the version of the electronic catalog provided by the manufacturer and the version of the product information that can be referenced on the order placement and receiving site 30 can be resolved. Furthermore, since the manufacturer's website 40 has an embedded URL for adding items to the cart on the order placement site 30, when viewing the manufacturer's website 40, simply clicking the cart addition URL will allow users to add the desired items to their cart without having to return to the order placement site 30 page and perform the cart addition operation.

[0043] Although preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above. Various modifications and improvements can be made to the above embodiments, and such modified or improved versions are also included in the technical scope of the present invention.

[0044] For example, in the embodiment, the URL creation means 35 is provided on the order placement site 30 side, but the URL creation means may also be provided on the manufacturer site 40 side. In this case, the URL creation means 35 on the order placement site 30 side functions as a means (for example, a means for providing a CSV file) that receives inquiries from the manufacturer site 40 and passes on a system code corresponding to the product code.

[0045] <Modified URL for adding to cart> In this embodiment, only the system code was added as associated information to the URL for adding items to the cart, but product information other than the system code may also be passed. For example, the URL for adding items to the cart may include information such as "mk=manufacturer name", "pr=product name", "mo=model name", and "mi=manufacturer code" as an identification code. Here, price information should not be included in the identification code due to the risk of tampering, and it is desirable to handle the price field as "inquiry" and request a quote.

[0046] In this configuration, products can be moved to the cart in Order Management System 1 using a cart URL created based on product information listed in the manufacturer's website product catalog. Furthermore, since there is no need to link system codes with product information, it is no longer mandatory for manufacturers to register product information in Order Management System 1, and it becomes possible to operate by having manufacturers register and update product information only on their website.

[0047] Furthermore, the model name for products with series part numbers is determined on the manufacturer's server based on the product parameters (series part number, etc.) selected by the purchasing company. The manufacturer's server can systematically generate the shopping cart URL by inserting the model name created based on the parameters selected by the purchasing company into "mo=model name" in the shopping cart URL. The information to be included in the shopping cart URL, "mk=manufacturer name", "pr=product name", "mo=model name", and "mi=manufacturer code", can be set in advance by the manufacturer. As described above, the manufacturer can independently perform the necessary system modifications to integrate with the order placement and receiving system 1, thereby significantly reducing the burden of system integration. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0048] 1…Order placement and receiving system 2…Internet 10…Order processing server (order processing device) 11…Administrator terminal 12…Purchasing terminals 13…Retail terminal 14…Wholesale trading company terminals 15…Manufacturer's terminals 20…Manufacturer server (product information provision device) 30… Order placement and receiving site 40... Manufacturer's website

Claims

1. An order placement and receiving system comprising at least an order placement and receiving device, a purchasing terminal, a retailer terminal, and a product information provision device, The order placement and receiving device, A unit management means for managing units that function as user accounts, A unit coordination means for managing coordination between units, A product management system for managing product registration information, It includes a purchasing management system for managing the purchase of items placed in the shopping cart, The order placement / receiving device or the product information provision device, It includes a URL creation means for creating an input URL for adding products to the shopping cart, The product information providing device includes means for providing a product information page in which the input URL is embedded, An order placement and receiving system characterized in that when the user clicks the input URL embedded on the product information page from the purchasing terminal, the product linked to the input URL is added to the shopping cart.

2. The unit management means has a function of assigning a first unit type used by the purchasing terminal and a second unit type used by the sales terminal to the unit. The aforementioned unit linking means has a function that enables linking only between units of different unit types. The order placement and receiving system according to claim 1, characterized in that the purchasing management means has a function that enables transactions only between linked units.

3. The unit management means has a function to assign a third unit type used by wholesale trading company terminals and a fourth unit type used by manufacturer terminals to the units. A function that allows the first unit type to be linked only with the second unit type, A function that allows the second unit type to be linked only with the first unit type, the third unit type, and the fourth unit type, A function that allows the third unit type to be linked only with the second unit type and the fourth unit type, A function that allows the fourth unit type to be linked only with the second unit type and the third unit type, A function to send a linkage request from the retailer unit to the manufacturer unit only when the retailer unit to which the second unit type is assigned is linked, and the wholesale trading company unit to which the third unit type is assigned is already linked with the manufacturer unit to which the fourth unit type is assigned. When the aforementioned manufacturer unit accepts the aforementioned cooperation request, a function is provided to establish cooperation between the aforementioned dealer unit and the aforementioned manufacturer unit, The order placement and receiving system according to claim 2, characterized by comprising the following features.

4. The ordering and receiving system according to claim 1, characterized in that the purchasing management means has a function to provide a bulk quote for the first product to the first and second retailers when the first product, whose price fluctuates and is sold by the first retailer, is added to the cart, and the first product, which is sold by the second retailer, is also added.

5. The registration information for the aforementioned product includes a unique identification code associated with the product. The order placement and receiving system according to claim 1, characterized in that the input URL includes the identification code within the address.

6. Computers Steps to register a unit that functions as a user account, Steps for coordinating between units, Steps for managing product registration information, Steps include providing a shopping cart for purchasing products, The steps include creating a URL for adding items to the shopping cart, When a specific user account clicks on the input URL, the process includes the step of adding the product associated with the input URL to the cart of that user account, A method for placing and receiving orders.

7. An order placement and receiving device used in the order placement and receiving system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, A unit management means for managing units that function as user accounts, A unit coordination means for managing coordination between units, A product management system for managing product registration information, A purchasing management system that manages the purchase of items added to the shopping cart, A device comprising a URL creation means for directly or indirectly creating an input URL for adding products to a shopping cart.

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