Method of and apparatus for commodity selling intermediation, and computer product

The commodity selling intermediation apparatus includes a main control unit that causes a customer to input order information related to a plurality of commodities, compares totals of the prices of the plurality of ordered commodities in the shops with each other with reference to a shop commodity information database to show the customer the totals, causes the customer to select one of the shops as a selling agent, and places an order to the shop selected by the customer through a network on the basis of order contents of the commodities.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a technology which can improve the facilities for customers when a plurality of commodities are purchased on an on-line system and which can contribute to a reduction in purchase price.

2. Description of the Related Art

In recent years, with the development of the internet, on-line shopping services in which commodities are purchased through the internet have become popular. For this reason, in a company which develops on-line shopping, more development is desired in the facilities of on-line shopping, which will become even more widespread in the future.

In a conventional on-line shopping system, a customer accesses an on-line shopping server through the internet to order a desired commodity from a commodity list. When a shop receives this order, the shop assigns delivery of the commodity to a forwarding agent. In this manner, the commodity is delivered to the customer by the forwarding agent several days later. In addition, the purchase price of the commodity is paid on the basis of settlement information input when the order is made.

In the conventional on-line shopping system, when a commodity is single purchased, a consumer compares the selling prices of the commodity in a plurality of on-line shops, and often purchases the commodity having the lowest price. Therefore, from the viewpoint of the purchase of a single commodity, since consumers can easily compare selling prices with each other in the on-line shopping system, it can be said that the on-line shopping system is a method which has high facilities for consumers, and which can allow the purchase of commodities at low prices.

However, since an on-line shop is always compared with other shops with respect to selling prices, the shop may so excessively promote sales in the shop that the shop takes a risk of limitless low-price competition.

In addition, a customer can easily compare the prices of a single commodity. However, in a conventional on-line shopping system, when a consumer purchases a plurality of commodities such as necessities at once, facilities may be poor, and the costs may be high. More specifically, when a plurality of commodities are purchased at once, operations for summing the prices of the plurality of commodities must be respectively performed in shops. Therefore, the operations are very cumbersome for the shops.

For this reason, many consumers always purchase pluralities of commodities in one on-line shop without comparing totals of the prices in multiple shops with each other. Therefore, consumers may let the chance to purchase a commodity at a low cost slip.

In the conventional on-line shopping system, since the shop side has the right to select forwarding agents in the transportation of commodities, shops often assign transportation to the same respective forwarding agents, because of transaction conditions inherent to the shops. However, in recent years, each forwarding agent normally reviews their transportation fee system and service contents to obtain customers. For this reason, there is a risk that a customer may miss a good opportunity to select a forwarding agent which can give a low transportation fee to the customer.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of this invention to provide a method of, and apparatus for, commodity selling intermediation which can improve the facilities of a customer when the customer purchases a plurality of commodities on an on-line system, and which can contribute to a reduction in purchase price. It is another object of this invention to provide a computer that contains instructions which, when executed on a computer, realizes the method according to the present invention on the computer.

According to one aspect of this invention, a customer inputs order information related to a plurality of commodities; the commodity selling prices of a plurality of shops is referred to, and totals of the prices of the plurality of ordered commodities in the representative shops are compared with each other, and the totals are displayed to the customer. The customer selects one of the shops as a selling agent. An order is placed to the shop selected by the customer through a network on the basis of order contents of the commodities.

According to another aspect of this invention, order information related to the plurality of commodities designated by the customer is transmitted to a server connected through a network. Commodity selling prices which are transmitted from the server in accordance with the transmitted order information are received in a state in which at least some of the prices of the plurality of commodities are concealed, and the totals of the prices of the plurality of commodities are shown. The received commodity selling prices which have at least some of the prices of the plurality of commodities concealed, and the totals of the prices shown are displayed.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Embodiments of a method of, and apparatus for, commodity selling intermediation, and a computer product according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1is a block diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of the present invention.FIG. 1shows a commodity selling intermediation system in which customer clients1001to100n, shop clients3001to300m, forwarding agent clients4001to400s, and a commodity selling intermediation apparatus500are connected to the internet200. InFIG. 1, for the sake of convenience in description, communication devices (terminal adapters, routers, fire walls, and the like) required for internet connection are omitted.

The customer clients1001to100nare n computers installed on customer sides of shops in which commodities are sold in an on-line system, and access the commodity selling intermediation apparatus500(to be described later) through the internet200according to the TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol). Each of the customer clients1001to100nis constituted by a computer body, a display, a keyboard, a mouse, and the like.

The customer clients1001to100nare used to select the commodities, to input settlement information, and the like. In addition, the customer clients1001to100ncomprise mailers (not shown) and browsers, respectively. The mailer provides a function for transmitting/receiving electronic mails through a mail server (not shown).

In transmission/reception of electronic mail, SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) and POP3 (Post Office Protocol version 3) are used. The browsers are computer programs for browsing various screens (seeFIGS. 15 to 23) provided by the commodity selling intermediation apparatus500.

The shop clients3001to300mare m computers installed in shops in which commodities are sold in an on-line system, and access the commodity selling intermediation apparatus500through the internet200according to the TCP/IP. Each of the shop clients3001to300mis constituted by a computer body, a display, a keyboard, a mouse, and the like. The shop clients3001to300mare used for registration of commodity information to the commodity selling intermediation apparatus500, reception of order information, and the like. In this case, in the shop, not only on-line sales of commodities, but also face-to-face sales are performed.

The forwarding agent clients4001to400sare s computers installed in forwarding agents, respectively, and access the commodity selling intermediation apparatus500(to be described later) through the internet200according to the TCP/IP. Each of the forwarding agent clients4001to400sis constituted by a computer body, a display, a keyboard, a mouse, and the like.

The forwarding agent clients4001to400sare used for registration of forwarding agent information, assignment of transportation, and the like. The forwarding agent is a company for transporting a commodity of a shop, which receives an on-line order of a commodity from a customer, to the customer. When a shop has a unique transportation system, the process of transporting a commodity may be executed on the shop side without assigning transportation to a forwarding agent.

The commodity selling intermediation apparatus500comprises a function of showing a plurality of commodities dealt by m shops corresponding to the shop clients3001to300mto a customer through the internet200, and showing the respective totals of the prices of commodities desired to be purchased. In general, the selling prices of the commodities in shops are different from each other depending on buying routes or selling strategies. In this case, the totals of the prices of commodities which are desired to be purchased are different from each other depending on the shops.

The commodity selling intermediation apparatus500has a function of causing a customer to select a shop serving as a selling agent from a plurality of shops, and executing an ordering process to the selected shop through the internet200. In addition, the commodity selling intermediation apparatus500has a function of executing a process of requesting a forwarding agent through the internet200to transport a commodity from the shop to a client.

In the commodity selling intermediation apparatus500, a communication control unit510controls communication between the customer clients1001to100n, the shop clients3001to300m, and the forwarding agent clients4001to400sthrough the internet200according to the TCP/IP. A control unit520performs various control operations for realizing a commodity selling intermediation function.

More specifically, the control unit520is constituted by a main control unit530, a mail control unit540, a registration control unit550, and a screen generation unit560. The main control unit530executes control related to commodity selling intermediation. The detailed operation of the main control unit530will be described later. The mail control unit540controls transmission/reception of electronic mail. The registration control unit550executes control related to information registration of various databases (to be described later). The screen generation unit560generates various screens (to be described later) (see transportationFIGS. 15 to 23). A bus570connects the respective units of the commodity selling intermediation apparatus500.

A commodity information database600is a database having commodity information related to all commodities sold through an on-line system by m shops corresponding to the shop clients3001to300m. More specifically, the commodity information database600, as shown inFIG. 2, comprises fields including “JAN (Japan Article Number) code”, “trade name”, “maker code”, “manufacturers recommended retail price”, “commodity image”, “commodity category code”, “commodity size”, “commodity weight”, “combination flag”, and “quantity”.

The “JAN code” is a code for uniquely discriminating commodities of respective makers, and is information related to a 13-digit number corresponding to a bar code added to each commodity. The “trade name” is information related to the name of a commodity. The “maker code” is information related to codes for distinguishing makers which manufacture commodities from each other. The “the manufacturers recommended retail price” is information related to sticker prices (fixed prices) desired by makers of the commodities. The “commodity image” is information related to image files of the commodities.

The “commodity category code” is information related to the categories of the commodities. The “commodity size” is information related to the sizes (length+width+height) of the commodities. The “commodity weight” is information related to the weights of the commodities. The “combination flag” is a flag representing whether the commodities are constituted by a combination of a plurality of commodities or not. The “quantity” is information related to the number of commodities when a plurality of commodities are sold at once.

Returning toFIG. 1, a commodity category information database610is a database in which pieces of commodity category information representing the categories of the commodities are stored. More specifically, the commodity category information database610, as shown inFIG. 3, comprises fields, or the like, such as “commodity category code” (seeFIG. 2) for distinguishing the categories of the commodities from each other, “commodity category” related to the categories, and “reference”. The “commodity category code” corresponds to the “commodity category code” of the commodity information database600.

Returning toFIG. 1, a maker information database620is a database in which maker information related to the makers of the commodities is stored. More specifically, the maker information database620, as shown inFIG. 4, comprises fields, or the like, such as “maker code” (seeFIG. 2), “maker name” related to the names of the makers, and “address” related to the addresses of the makers. The “maker code” corresponds to the “maker code” of the commodity information database600.

Returning toFIG. 1, a shop information database630is a database in which pieces of shop information of shops corresponding to the shop clients3001to300mare stored. More specifically, the shop information database630, as shown inFIG. 5, comprises fields, or the like, such as “shop code” for distinguishing shops from each other, “shop name” related to the names of the shops, “shop municipal code” corresponding to the addresses of the shops, “address” related to the addresses of the shops, and “telephone number” related to the telephone numbers of the shops.

Returning toFIG. 1, a person-in-charge-of-shop information database640is a database in which person-in-charge-of-shop information related to persons in charge of on-line sales in the shops is stored. More specifically, the person-in-charge-of-shop information database640, as shown inFIG. 6, comprises fields, or the like, such as “shop code” for distinguishing shops from each other, “person-in-charge ID” for distinguishing persons in charge of on-line sales in the shops from each other, “section-in-charge name” related to the names of sections in charge of on-line sales, “person-in-charge name” related to the names of persons in charge, “telephone number” related to the telephone numbers of sections in charge, and “E-mail” related to the electronic mail addresses of the persons in charge. The “shop code” corresponds to the “shop code” of the shop information database630.

Returning toFIG. 1, a shop commodity information database650is a database in which shop pieces of commodity information related to pieces of commodity information in shops are stored. More specifically, as shown inFIG. 7, the shop commodity information database650comprises fields, or the like, such as “shop code” for distinguishing shops from each other, and “JAN code” (seeFIG. 2) which is information related to 13-digit numbers corresponding bar codes added to commodities. The “shop code” corresponds to the “shop code” of the shop information database630. The “JAN code” corresponds to the “JAN code” of the commodity information database600.

In addition, the shop commodity information database650comprises fields, or the like, such as “selling price” related to the selling prices (actual selling prices) of the commodities in the shops, “update date” related to dates on which pieces of commodity information are updated, “the number of stocks” related to the number of commodities in store in the shops, and “order flag” (1: order is necessary, 0: order is unnecessary) representing whether an order of the commodities to a maker is required or not.

When the number of stocks is equal to or smaller than a preset threshold value, the order is required, and the “order flag” is set to be 1. For example, it is assumed that order point information serving as a reference point at which an order is placed is managed as data corresponding to the threshold value. In this case, the number of stocks and the order point are compared with each other, so that it can be determined whether the order is required or not.

Returning toFIG. 1, a transportation consignment information database660is a database in which shop transportation information related to transportation structures (transportation structures obtained by unique transportation systems or transportation structures obtained by assignment to forwarding agents) of commodities in shops is stored. More specifically, the shop transportation information database660, as shown inFIG. 8, comprises fields, or the like, such as “shop code” for distinguishing shops from each other, “municipal code” representing areas in which the shops can deliver commodities, “transportation fee” related to transportation fees when the unique transportation system is used, and “transportation possible/impossible flag” (1: possible, 0: impossible) representing whether transportation of commodities can be performed by the unique transportation system or not. The “shop code” corresponds to “shop code” of the shop information database630.

Returning toFIG. 1, an order slip header information database670is a database in which order slip header information, related to header information of order slips formed when commodities are ordered by a customer, is stored. More specifically, the order slip header information database670, as shown inFIG. 9, comprises fields, or the like, such as “order number” added to each order, “input date” related to dates on which pieces of order information are input, “customer ID” for distinguishing customers (orders) from each other, and “shop code” for distinguishing shops from each other.

In addition, the order slip header information database670comprises fields of “customer municipal code” corresponding to the addresses of customers, “scheduled time and data for collection” related to scheduled time and date for collection of commodities by a forwarding agent, “scheduled time and date for delivery” related to desired time and date for delivery of commodities, “total of prices of commodities” related to totals of the prices of the ordered commodities, “total size of commodities” related to a total size of the ordered commodities, “total weight of commodities” related to a total weight of the ordered commodities, “forwarding agent code” for distinguishing forwarding agents in charge of transportation of the commodities from each other, “transportation fee” related to transportation fees paid for transportation of the commodities, and “reference”. The “shop code” corresponds to the “shop code” of the shop information database630.

Returning toFIG. 1, an order slip body information database680is a database in which order slip body information related to body information of the order slips is stored. More specifically, the order slip body information database680, as shown inFIG. 10, comprises fields, or the like, such as “order number” added to each order, the above “JAN code”, “selling price” related to selling prices of ordered commodities, “commodity size” related to the sizes of the commodities, and “commodity weight” related to the weights of the commodities. The “JAN code” corresponds to the “JAN code” of the commodity information database600, and the “JAN code” of the shop commodity information database650.

Returning toFIG. 1, a transportation information database690is a database in which transportation information related to transportation of ordered commodities is stored. More specifically, the transportation information database690, as shown inFIG. 11, comprises fields of “order number” added to each order, “shop municipal code” related to the addresses of shops with which orders are placed, and “forwarding agent code” for distinguishing forwarding agents in charge of transportation of commodities from each other. The “order number” corresponds to the “order number” of the order slip header information database670, and the “order number” of the order slip body information database680.

In addition, the transportation information database690comprises fields of “service code” for distinguishing service forms of transportation from each other, “transportation fee” related to the transportation fees of the commodities, “scheduled time and data for collection” related to scheduled time and date on which the forwarding agents collect the commodities from the shops, “scheduled time and date for delivery” related to scheduled time and date for delivering the commodities to customers, and “reference”. The “scheduled time and date for collection” corresponds to the “scheduled time and date for collection” of the order slip header information of database670.

Returning toFIG. 1, a customer information database700is a database in which pieces of customer information related to customers corresponding to the customer clients1001to100nare stored. More specifically, as shown inFIG. 12, the customer information database700comprises fields, or the like, such as “customer ID” for distinguishing customers from each shop from each other, “password” used at the access time to the commodity selling intermediation apparatus500, “name” related to the names of the customers, “address” related to the addresses of the customers, “telephone number” related to the telephone numbers of the customers, “customer municipal code” related to the addresses of the customers, and “E-mail” related to the electronic mail addresses of the customers.

Returning toFIG. 1, a forwarding agent information database710is a database in which forwarding agent information related to forwarding agents in charge of transportation of commodities from shops to customers is stored. More specifically, the forwarding agent information database710, as shown inFIG. 13, comprises fields of “forwarding agent code” for distinguishing the forwarding agents from each other, “forwarding agent name” related to the names of the forwarding agents, and “address” related to the addresses of the forwarding agents.

The forwarding agent information database710comprises fields of “telephone number” related to the telephone numbers of the forwarding agents, “shop municipal code” corresponding to the addresses of the shops, “customer municipal code” corresponding to the addresses of the customers, “size” related to the sizes of the commodities (packages), “weight” related to the weights of the commodities (packages), and “transportation fee” related to transportation fees paid when the commodities (“size” and “weight”) are transported from an address corresponding to the “shop municipal code” to an address corresponding to the “customer municipal code”.

In the forwarding agent information database710, for each forwarding agent, there exists data the amount of which corresponds to the number of combinations of the “shop municipal code”, the “customer municipal code”, the “size”, and the “weight”. In this embodiment, when a forwarding agent provides a plurality of transportation services using different types of trucks or motorcycles (motorcycle service) and the like having different carrying capacities, transportation service codes for distinguishing the transportation services from each other may be given to the forwarding agent information database710to set different transportation fees for different transportation services.

The pieces of information of the commodity information database600, the commodity category information database610, the transportation fee information database620, the shop information database630, the person-in-charge-of-shop information database640, the shop commodity information database650, the shop transportation information database660, and the forwarding agent information database710are registered in advance prior to a reception process performed by a customer. The pieces of information of the order slip header information database670and the order slip body information database680are registered each time an order is placed by a customer. In addition, the information of the transportation information database690is registered each time an order including delivery using a forwarding agent is received from a customer.

An operation of this embodiment described above will be described below with reference to the flow chart shown inFIG. 14, and with reference toFIGS. 15 to 24. In step SA1shown inFIG. 14, the main control unit530of the commodity selling intermediation apparatus500determines whether an order request (access) is transmitted from one customer client of the customer clients1001to100nthrough the internet200. When the order request is not transmitted, the main control unit530determines the decision result as “No” and repeats the process.

For example, when the order request is transmitted from the customer client1001, the main control unit530determines the decision result in step SA1as “Yes”. In step SA2, the main control unit530displays the commodity list screen800shown inFIG. 15on a display unit (not shown) of the customer client1001, with reference to the commodity information database600(seeFIG. 2).

On the commodity list screen800, a list of commodities sold by shops in an on-line system is displayed. More specifically, in the commodity list screen800, trade names, JAN codes, the manufacturers recommended retail prices (fixed prices), check boxes for order, select boxes for the number of ordered commodities, and a commodity selection button801are displayed. In step SA3, when the main control unit530determines whether the commodity selection button801is depressed or not, the main control unit530determines the result as “No”, and repeats the determination, until the commodity selection button801is depressed.

A customer operates the customer client1001to check a check box for an order corresponding to a commodity to be ordered from the commodity list displayed on the commodity list screen800. After the quantity is selected, the commodity selection button801is depressed. In this manner, the main control unit530determines the decision result in step SA3as “Yes”.

In another embodiment, as a screen for causing a customer to select a commodity, in place of the commodity list screen800shown inFIG. 15, a commodity list screen810shown inFIG. 16may be used. The commodity list screen810is a screen for causing a customer to select a commodity like a leaflet, and the images811to813of the commodities and the manufacturers recommended retail prices corresponding to the commodities are displayed with an arrangement which is like the arrangement in the space of the leaflet.

Returning toFIG. 14, in step SA4, the main control unit530searches the commodity information database600(seeFIG. 2) and the shop commodity information database650(seeFIG. 7) for the manufacturers recommended retail price information and selling prices in the shops dealing the commodity by using the JAN code corresponding to a commodity selected on the commodity list screen800(seeFIG. 15) as a key. On the basis of the searching result, a ship selling price list screen820shown inFIG. 17is displayed on the display unit (not shown) of the customer client1001.

On the ship selling price list screen820, the manufacturers recommended retail prices of the commodities ordered by a customer, selling prices in the respective shops (in FIG.14, P supermarket, S store, and Q chain drugstore), totals of prices in the shops, and shop selection buttons821to823corresponding to the shops are displayed.

Some of the selling prices in each of the shops are intentionally concealed. This is because advantageous commodities (commodities of which discount percentages are high) for the shops and disadvantageous commodities (commodities of which discount percentages are low) for the shops vary due to different buying routes and different selling strategies. More specifically, this has an objective showoff showing a customer company's effort, and a decrease in discount percentage may be presented as a total of prices without showing a customer the above variations. Therefore, the customer can select a shop with which the customer must place an order while considering the comparison result of the totals of the prices of commodities in the shops and the favors of the shops.

Returning toFIG. 14, in step SA5, the main control unit530determines whether one shop selection button of the shop selection buttons821to823shown inFIG. 17is depressed or not. The main control unit530determines the decision result as “No” and repeats the determination, until the shop selection button is depressed.

It is assumed that “S store” (a total of prices: 2480 yen) having the smallest price total is selected as the receiver of an order, from the options of P supermarket, S store, and Q chain drugstore, on the ship selling price list screen820. In this case, the customer depresses the shop selection button822corresponding to the S store. In this manner, the main control unit530determines the result in step SA5shown inFIG. 14as “Yes”.

In step SA6, the main control unit530displays a customer information input screen830shown inFIG. 18on the display unit (not shown) of the customer client1001. On the customer information input screen830, order commodity information831related to commodities ordered by a customer, a customer information input column832used for input customer information, such as the name of a customer, an address, a telephone number, an electronic mail address, desired time and date for delivery of a commodity, and a total-of-prices display button833for displaying a total of prices including a transportation fee are displayed.

Returning toFIG. 14, in step SA7, the main control unit530determines whether the total-of-prices display button833is depressed or not. The main control unit530determines the result as “No”, and repeats the determination, until the total-of-prices display button833is depressed. After customer information is input to the customer information input column832by a customer, when the total-of-prices display button833is depressed, the main control unit530determines the result in step SA7as “Yes”.

In this embodiment, prior to the display of the customer information input screen830, a log-in process for inputting customer ID/password of a customer is executed. After customer information is acquired from the customer information database700(seeFIG. 12) by using the customer ID/password as a key, the customer information may be displayed on the customer information input screen830.

In step SA8, the main control unit530displays a content confirmation screen for causing a customer to confirm order contents and input customer information on the display unit (not shown) of the customer client1001. More specifically, when a transportation possible/impossible flag of the shop transportation information database660(seeFIG. 8) is “1” (transportation can be performed by a unique transportation system) with respect to a shop serving as the receiver of an order, the main control unit530displays the content confirmation screen840shown inFIG. 19on the display unit (not shown) of the customer client1001. On the content confirmation screen840, order commodity information841, customer information842, and a content confirmation button843are displayed.

On the other hand, when the transportation possible/impossible flag of the shop transportation information database660(seeFIG. 8) is “0” (transportation cannot be performed by a unique transportation system, i.e., a transportation structure obtained by a forwarding agent) with respect to a shop serving as the receiver of an order, the main control unit530displays a content confirmation screen850shown inFIG. 20on the display unit (not shown) of the customer client1001. On the content confirmation screen850, order commodity information851, customer information852, and a content confirmation button853are displayed.

Returning toFIG. 14, in step SA9, the main control unit530determines whether the content confirmation button843or853(FIG. 19orFIG. 20) is depressed or not. The main control unit530determines the result as “No”, and repeats the determination, until the content confirmation button843or853is depressed. The content confirmation screen850(seeFIG. 20) is displayed on the display unit of the customer client1001. When the content confirmation button853is depressed by the customer, the main control unit530determines the result in step SA9as “Yes”.

In step SA10, the main control unit530displays a forwarding agent list screen860shown inFIG. 21on the display unit (not shown) of the customer client1001. More specifically, the main control unit530searches the forwarding agent information database710by using a shop municipal code (seeFIG. 5) of a shop serving as a receiver of an order, and a customer municipal code (seeFIG. 12) corresponding to a customer, as keys. The main control unit530displays a forwarding agent list screen860(seeFIG. 21) constituted by order commodity information861, customer information862, forwarding agent information863based on a searching result, and assignment buttons864to866, on the display unit (not shown) of the customer client1001.

The forwarding agent information863is constituted by a place to make contact, a transportation route, a transportation fee, and a total of the prices of ordered commodities including a delivery fee for each of forwarding agents (inFIG. 21, forwarding agent A, forwarding agent B, and forwarding agent C) to which transportation of a commodity is assigned. The assignment buttons864to866are arranged in accordance with the forwarding agents, and are buttons for selecting forwarding agents to which transportation of commodities is assigned from a plurality of forwarding agents in consideration of transportation fees or the like. When the content confirmation button843shown inFIG. 19is depressed, i.e., when a transportation system unique to a selling shop is used, an external forwarding agent need not be selected, and step SA10and step SA11are skipped.

Returning toFIG. 14, in step SA11, the main control unit530determines whether one assignment button of the assignment buttons864to866(seeFIG. 21) is depressed or not. The main control unit530determines the result as “No”, and repeats the determination, until the assignment button is depressed. For example, when forwarding agent B is selected by a customer, and when the assignment button865is depressed, the main control unit530determines the decision result in step SA11as “Yes”.

In step SA12, the main control unit530displays a final confirmation screen870, as shown inFIG. 22, on the display unit of the customer client1001. On the final confirmation screen870, order commodity information, customer information, forwarding agent information, amount-of-paid information, and a final confirmation button871are displayed. The final confirmation screen870is a screen for causing a customer to finally confirm an order. In this embodiment, the association or the like of a forwarding agent may be displayed on the final confirmation screen870.

ReturningFIG. 14, in step SA13, the main control unit530determines whether the final confirmation button871(seeFIG. 22) is depressed or not. The main control unit530determines the result as “No”, and repeats the determination until the final confirmation button871is depressed. After the customer confirms that order contents, customer information, and the like are correct by the final confirmation screen870, the customer depresses the final confirmation button871. In this manner, the main control unit530determines the result in step SA13as “Yes”. The main control unit530registers the transportation information in the transportation information database690(seeFIG. 11).

In step SA14, the main control unit530displays a settlement information input screen880shown inFIG. 23on the display unit of the customer client1001. The settlement information input screen880is a screen for causing a customer to input commodity settlement information (for example, credit card information of the customer). On the settlement information input screen880, order commodity information881, customer information882, forwarding agent information883, a settlement information input column884, and a pay button885are displayed.

The settlement information input column884is a column for inputting the number of a credit card used by the customer to pay the price related to the order, the name of the credit card, and the term of validity.

Returning toFIG. 14, in step SA15, the main control unit530determines whether the pay button885(seeFIG. 23) is depressed or not. The main control unit530determines the result as “No”, and repeats the determination until the pay button885is depressed. When the pay button885is depressed after the settlement information is input to the settlement information input column884, the main control unit530determines the result in step SA15as “Yes”.

In step SA16, the main control unit530stores the pieces of information in the order slip header information database670(seeFIG. 9) and the order slip body information database680(seeFIG. 10) on the basis of the settlement information input screen880(seeFIG. 23). The main control unit530executes an ordering process of encoding and transmitting these pieces of information to, for example, the shop client3001, through the internet200as order information.

The main control unit530also encodes and transmits the customer information882and the forwarding agent information883, shown inFIG. 23, to the shop client3001through the internet200. In this manner, in a shop (S store) corresponding to the shop client3001, an order slip, a transportation slip, and the like are formed on the basis of the received information, and classification of ordered commodities and a packaging operation are performed.

Returning toFIG. 14, in step SA17, the mail control unit540(seeFIG. 1) forms the order confirmation mail890shown inFIG. 24and transmits the order confirmation mail890to a customer (orderer) through the internet200. The order confirmation mail890is an electronic mail notifying the customer of order contents, a total of prices, a delivery fee, settlement information, a scheduled date for delivery of the order, and the like to confirm the order.

Returning toFIG. 14, in step SA18, the main control unit530acquires transportation information related to the order from the transportation information database690(seeFIG. 11), transmits the transportation information to, for example, the forwarding agent client4001through the internet200, and executes a correction request process of requesting collection of commodities of a shop. In this manner, in a forwarding agent corresponding to the forwarding agent client4001, the commodities are collected at the scheduled time and date for collection in the shop, and a transportation process is executed.

Returning toFIG. 14, in step SA19, the main control unit530determines whether today is the scheduled date for delivery with reference to the scheduled date for delivery shown inFIG. 11. If the scheduled date has not yet occurred, the main control unit530determines the result as “No” to repeat the decision. When the scheduled date for delivery of the commodity does occur, in step SA20, the main control unit530send an inquiry regarding the delivery state (the presence/absence of delay or the like) of the commodity to the forwarding agent client4001through an electronic mail or the like before the scheduled time for delivery.

When the delivery state is on schedule, the forwarding agent client4001notifies the commodity selling intermediation apparatus500that the delivery state is on schedule through an electronic mail or the like. On the other hand, if there is a delay regarding the scheduled time for delivery, the forwarding agent client4001notifies the commodity selling intermediation apparatus500of a reason for delay, and the latest scheduled time for delivery, through an electronic mail.

In step SA21, on the basis of the electronic mail from the forwarding agent client4001, the main control unit530determines whether delivery of a commodity to be delivered today is delayed or not. When the decision result is “No”, the process in step SA23is executed.

On the other hand, when the determination result in step SA21is “Yes”, in step SA22, the mail control unit540forms a delivery delay mail895, as shown inFIG. 25, in which a letter of apology, a reason for delay of delivery, and the latest scheduled time and date for delivery are described, and transmits the delivery delay mail895to the customer client1001through the internet200. When the delivery delay mail895is received by the customer client1001, the customer recognizes that the delivery is delayed, and also learns the updated time and date for delivery. When the commodity is delivered to the customer, the forwarding agent client4001notifies the commodity selling intermediation apparatus500that the commodity is delivered to the customer through an electronic mail.

In step SA23, after the main control unit530recognizes the arrival of the commodity by the electronic mail, a request process is executed requesting a cost (total of the prices of commodities+transportation fee) related to the order of commodities from a credit company on the basis of the settlement information (credit card information) input by the customer. In step SA24, the main control unit530executes a payment process of paying the transportation fee to the forwarding agent.

As described above, according to this embodiment, with reference to commodity selling prices (see the shop commodity information database650) of a plurality of shops which sell commodities through the internet200, totals of the prices of a plurality of commodities ordered by a customer are compared with each other between the shops and shown to the customer (seeFIG. 17), and one shop is selected as a selling agent by the customer to place an order with the shop (seeFIG. 17). For this reason, the totals of prices can be easily compared with each other between the plurality of shops, and the present invention can improve the facilities for the customer and can contribute to reductions of the purchase prices of the commodities.

Moreover, as shown inFIG. 17, since totals of prices are shown to a customer such that at least some of commodity selling prices of a plurality of commodities are concealed, an opportunity to reveal low prices as totals of prices can be given to shops independently of the differences between the commodity prices of the shops caused by the difference between commodity buying routes or selling strategies, and excessive low-price competition between the shops can be prevented.

Furthermore, as shown inFIG. 21, transportation fees of a plurality of forwarding agents related to transportation of a plurality of ordered commodities are compared with each other and shown to a customer, and one forwarding agent is selected as a transportation assignee by the customer. The transportation of the ordered commodities is assigned to the selected forwarding agent through the internet200. For this reason, the customer can receive the merits of lower transportation fees.

Moreover, an inquiry regarding the delivery state of the commodity is sent to the forwarding agent through the internet200before the scheduled time and date for delivery of the commodity included in the order information. When the delivery schedule is changed, the customer is notified that the delivery schedule is changed through the internet200. For this reason, a notice is made only when notification regarding a situation such as delayed delivery must be given to the customer, and the quality of customer service can be improved.

Furthermore, commodity selling price information, which is transmitted from the commodity selling intermediation apparatus500in accordance with order information transmitted to the commodity selling intermediation apparatus500, and which has at least some of the individual process of the plurality of commodities concealed, and the totals of the prices of the plurality of commodities are received by the customer client1001. As shown inFIG. 15, the received commodity selling prices in which some of the individual prices of the plurality of commodities are concealed, and the totals of the prices are shown, are displayed on the display unit (not shown) of the customer client1001. For this reason, an opportunity to reveal low prices as totals of prices can be given to shops independently of the differences between the individual commodity prices of the shops caused by the difference between commodity buying routes or selling strategies, and excessive low-price competition between the shops can be prevented.

Although this embodiment according to the present invention has been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings, the claimed invention is not limited to this embodiment, and changes in design or the like which are made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention is included in the present invention.

Types of services provided by this invention are not limited to the tangible goods as explained in this embodiment, but may include, for example, combinations of services such as modes of transportation and accommodations. If, for instance, travel including a combination of transportation and accommodations is selected as one of the services, a client can specify a transportation mode such as a train or an airplane, and can further specify, for example, a limited express if traveling by train. The client can also specify accommodations of any class and a location thereof. When one of such services is selected, tickets, coupons, or some other related documents are delivered to the client to utilize the service. The ticket or the like may be provided with an ID number to identify the ticket, or the ticket may be transmitted to the client in an electronic manner.

Also, for example, a commodity selling intermediation program for realizing the function of the commodity selling intermediation apparatus500described above may be recorded on a computer readable recording medium1000as shown inFIG. 26, and the commodity selling intermediation program recorded on the recording medium1000may be loaded on a computer900as shown inFIG. 26and executed, so that the function of the commodity selling intermediation apparatus500may be realized.

The computer900shown inFIG. 26is constituted by a CPU910for executing the commodity selling intermediation program, an input device920such as a keyboard or a mouse, a ROM (Read Only Memory)930for storing various data, a RAM (Random Access Memory)940for storing operation parameters or the like, a reading device950for reading the commodity selling intermediation program from the recording medium1000, an output device960such as a display or a printer, and a bus BU for connecting these components to each other.

The CPU910loads the commodity selling intermediation program recorded on the recording medium1000through the reading device950and executes the commodity selling intermediation program to execute a series of processes related to the intermediation of commodity sales. The recording medium1000includes a portable recording medium such as an optical disk, a floppy disk, or a hard disk as a matter of course, and also includes a transmission medium such as a network for temporarily recording and holding data.

As has been described above, according to the present invention, with reference to commodity selling prices of a plurality of shops which sell commodities, totals of the prices of a plurality of commodities ordered by a customer are compared with each other between the shops and shown to the customer, and one shop is selected as a selling agent by the customer to place an order placed with the shop. For this reason, the totals of prices can be easily compared with each other between the plurality of shops, and the present invention can advantageously improve the facilities for the customer and contribute to reductions of the purchase prices of the commodities.

Moreover, since commodity selling prices of a plurality of commodities are shown to a customer such that at least some of the commodity selling prices are concealed, an opportunity to reveal low prices as totals of prices can advantageously be given to shops independently of the differences between the individual commodity prices of the shops caused by the difference between commodity buying routes or selling strategies, and excessive low-price competition between the shops can be advantageously prevented.

Furthermore, transportation fees of a plurality of forwarding agents related to transportation of a plurality of ordered commodities are compared with each other and shown to a customer, and one forwarding agent is selected as a transportation assignee by the customer. Transportation of the ordered commodities is assigned to the selected forwarding agent through the network. For this reason, the customer can advantageously receive the merits of lower transportation fees.

Moreover, an inquiry regarding the delivery state of a commodity is sent to a forwarding agent through a network before the scheduled time and date for delivery of the commodity included in the order information. When the delivery schedule is changed, the customer is notified that the delivery schedule is changed. For this reason, a notice is made only when notification regarding a situation such as delayed delivery must be given to the customer, and the quality of customer service can be advantageously improved.

Furthermore, commodity selling prices which are transmitted from a server in accordance with order information transmitted to the server, and which have at least some of the individual prices of the plurality of commodities concealed, and the totals of the prices of the plurality of commodities, are received, and the received commodity selling prices which have some of the individual prices of the plurality of commodities concealed, and the totals of the prices, are displayed. For this reason, an opportunity to reveal low prices as totals of prices can be given to shops independently of the differences between the individual commodity prices of the shops caused by the difference between commodity buying routes or selling strategies, and excessive low-price competition between the shops can be advantageously prevented.