Abstract:
A merchandise information providing method of obtaining merchandise information relating to merchandise from a manufacturer and providing the obtained merchandise information to a purchaser who purchases the merchandise includes: a purchase information storing step storing merchandise identification information identifying the merchandise that the purchaser purchases and purchaser identification information identifying the purchaser in a purchase information storing part in a mutually associating manner; a merchandise information obtaining step searching and obtaining merchandise information corresponding to the merchandise identification information from a merchandise information storing part having the merchandise information relating to the merchandise that the manufacturer provides; and a merchandise information providing step providing the obtained merchandise information to a terminal for the purchaser corresponding to the purchaser identification information.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    1. Field of the Invention  
           [0002]    The present invention relates to merchandise information providing methods, merchandise information providing programs, recording media therefor and merchandise information providing servers, and more particularly, to a merchandise information providing method of providing a purchaser who purchases merchandise with merchandise information relating to the merchandise, a merchandise information providing program, a recording medium for recording the program and a merchandise information providing server.  
           [0003]    2. Description of the Related Art  
           [0004]    For example, manufacturers that manufacture products sell the manufactured products to purchasers (users, hereinafter) as merchandise. When an problem such as a defect is found with the sold merchandise, it is necessary for the manufactures to recall the defective merchandise from the users so as to eliminate the problem by replacing a part or the like.  
           [0005]    Accordingly, when the problem is found with the sold merchandise, the manufactures have notified the users of the problem by using mass media such as newspapers, televisions and the like, and call for the recall of the defective merchandise to the users. The users have confirmed the problem notified by the manufacturers, and have asked the manufactures for eliminating the problem when the problem relates to the merchandise that the users have.  
           [0006]    There are various kinds of problem, from important problem to minor problem, of which the users should be notified. However, when notifying the users of the problem by using the mass media such as the newspapers, televisions and the like, it has been necessary for the manufactures to bear cost of such as advertising rate irrespective of a level of the problem. That is, there has been a problem of imbalance of cost with respect to the problem. Further, there has been a problem in that certainty of distributing information is low when notifying the users of the problem using the mass media.  
           [0007]    On the other hand, there has been a problem in that the users keep on using the merchandise having the problem such as a defect and second accident may occur when the users cannot confirm the problem notified by the manufactures. Additionally, although the users has been able to confirm the problem notified by the manufactures, it has been necessary for the users to confirm detailed information such as a model name in order to determine whether or not the problem relates to the merchandise that the users have.  
           [0008]    Furthermore, when the problem exist in particular merchandise that is manufactured in a particular term or by a particular factory, it has been necessary for the purchasers of the merchandise to check purchasing time or serial numbers in order to confirm whether or not the merchandise that the users purchased have the problem.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0009]    A general object of the present invention is to provide an improved and useful merchandise information providing method, merchandise information providing program, recording medium and merchandise information providing server in which the above-mentioned problems are eliminated.  
           [0010]    A more specific object of the present invention is to provide a merchandise information providing method, merchandise information providing program, recording medium and merchandise information providing server which are able to easily and positively provide purchasers of merchandise with merchandise information relating to the merchandise.  
           [0011]    In order to achieve the above-mentioned objects, there is provided according to one aspect of the present invention, a merchandise information providing method of obtaining merchandise information relating to merchandise from a manufacturer and providing the obtained merchandise information to a purchaser who purchases the merchandise, comprising: a purchase information storing step storing merchandise identification information identifying the merchandise that the purchaser purchases and purchaser identification information identifying the purchaser in a purchase information storing part in a mutually associating manner; a merchandise information obtaining step searching for and obtaining merchandise information corresponding to the merchandise identification information from a merchandise information storing part having the merchandise information relating to the merchandise that the manufacturer provides; and a merchandise information providing step providing the obtained merchandise information to a terminal for the purchaser corresponding to the purchaser identification information.  
           [0012]    Additionally, there is provided according to another aspect of the present invention, a merchandise information providing software program for causing a computer to perform the following steps: storing merchandise identification information identifying merchandise that a purchaser purchases and purchaser identification information identifying the purchaser in a purchase information storing part in a mutually associating manner; searching for and obtaining merchandise information corresponding to the merchandise identification information from a merchandise information storing part having the merchandise information relating to the merchandise that a manufacturer provides; and providing the obtained merchandise information to a terminal for the purchaser corresponding to the purchaser identification information.  
           [0013]    Additionally, there is provided according to another aspect of the present invention, a computer readable recording medium recording a merchandise information providing program for causing a computer to perform the following steps: storing merchandise identification information identifying merchandise that a purchaser purchases and purchaser identification information identifying the purchaser in a purchase information storing part in a mutually associating manner; searching for and obtaining merchandise information corresponding to the merchandise identification information from a merchandise information storing part having the merchandise information relating to the merchandise that a manufacturer provides; and providing the obtained merchandise information to a terminal for the purchaser corresponding to the purchaser identification information.  
           [0014]    Further, there is provided according to another aspect of the present invention, a merchandise information providing server that obtains merchandise information relating to merchandise from a manufacturer and provides the obtained merchandise information to a purchaser who purchases the merchandise, comprising: a purchase information storing part storing merchandise identification information identifying the merchandise that this purchaser purchases and purchaser identification information identifying the purchaser in a mutually associating manner; a merchandise information obtaining part searching for and obtaining merchandise information corresponding to the merchandise identification information from a merchandise information storing part having the merchandise information relating to the merchandise that the manufacturer provides; and a merchandise information providing step providing the obtained merchandise information to a terminal for the purchaser corresponding to the purchaser identification information.  
           [0015]    As mentioned above, according to the present invention, the manufacturer can improve certainty of information communication. In addition, the purchaser can easily and positively obtain the merchandise information relating to the merchandise that the purchaser purchased without being conscious of purchase history. Further, the third-party organization managing the purchase history of the purchaser can provide a novel service to at least the manufacture or the purchaser.  
           [0016]    For example, the third-party organization can obtain the merchandise information relating to the merchandise that the purchaser purchased from one or more manufacturer, and can provide the obtained merchandise information to the purchaser. Additionally, the third-party organization can easily manage the purchase history of the purchaser by collecting the merchandise identification information and the purchaser identification information from, for example, the store of the merchandise.  
           [0017]    Furthermore, according to the present invention, it is possible to determine whether or not the purchased merchandise has a problem by the date of purchase or the place of purchase when the merchandise manufactured in a particular term or by a particular factory has the problem.  
           [0018]    Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the following drawings. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0019]    [0019]FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of a system including a merchandise information providing server of the present invention;  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an embodiment of the merchandise information providing server;  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 3 is an example of a schematic diagram for explaining the principle of the present invention;  
         [0022]    [0022]FIG. 4 is a flow chart of a first embodiment of a merchandise information providing method of the present invention;  
         [0023]    [0023]FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of an example of a merchandise purchase history information DB;  
         [0024]    [0024]FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of an example of a recall information DB;  
         [0025]    [0025]FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of an example of a code conversion table;  
         [0026]    [0026]FIG. 8 is an illustrative drawing of an example of an inquiry result window;  
         [0027]    [0027]FIG. 9 is a flow chart of a second embodiment of the merchandise information providing method of the present invention;  
         [0028]    [0028]FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of another example of the recall information DB;  
         [0029]    [0029]FIG. 11 is a flow chart of a third embodiment of the merchandise information providing method of the present invention;  
         [0030]    [0030]FIG. 12 is a flow chart of an example of a merchandise purchase history information entry process;  
         [0031]    [0031]FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram of an example of a user information DB;  
         [0032]    [0032]FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram of an example of a part number information DB;  
         [0033]    [0033]FIG. 15 is a flow chart of an example of an entry process of recall information and code conversion information;  
         [0034]    [0034]FIG. 16 is a flow chart of an another example of the entry process of recall information and code conversion information;  
         [0035]    [0035]FIG. 17 is a flow chart for explaining the first half of a first embodiment of a recall information inquiry notification process;  
         [0036]    [0036]FIG. 18 is a flow chart for explaining the latter half of the first embodiment of the recall information inquiry notification process;  
         [0037]    [0037]FIG. 19 is a flow chart for explaining the first half of a second embodiment of the recall information inquiry•notification process;  
         [0038]    [0038]FIG. 20 is a flow chart for explaining the latter half of the second embodiment of the recall information inquiry•notification process;  
         [0039]    [0039]FIG. 21 is a flow chart for explaining the first half of a third embodiment of the recall information inquiry•notification process; and  
         [0040]    [0040]FIG. 22 is a flow chart for explaining the latter half of the third embodiment of the recall information inquiry•notification process.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0041]    Next, a description will be given of embodiments of the present invention, by referring to the drawings. It should be noted that in this embodiment, a description will be given of a case where the users are notified of the recall information as an example of the merchandise information, however, any information relating to the merchandise will be applicable.  
         [0042]    [0042]FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of a system including a merchandise information providing server of the present invention. In the system in FIG. 1, one or more user terminal  10 , one or more store terminal  11 , a merchandise information providing server  12  and one or more manufacturer server  13  are connected through a network  14  such as the Internet, for example.  
         [0043]    The user terminal  10  is operated by the user that purchased the merchandise, and has a function to communicate with the merchandise information providing server  12  through the network  14 . Additionally, the store terminal  11  is operated by a salesperson of a seller of the merchandise or a store that accepts credit cards, and has a function to communicate with the merchandise information providing server  12  through the network  14 .  
         [0044]    For example, when the network  14  is the Internet, the user terminal  10  and the store terminal  11  are the terminals that can access the Internet, and have a function to browse a Web page stored in the merchandise information providing server  12 .  
         [0045]    The manufacturer server  13  is managed by the manufacturer that manufactures electrical goods, furniture, or the like, and has recall information of manufactured merchandise. The manufacturer server  13  stores and manages the recall information in a recall information database (recall information DB, hereinafter).  
         [0046]    Additionally, the manufacturer server  13  has a function to communicate with the merchandise information providing server  12  through the network  14 . The manufacturer server  13  has a search function that searches the recall information from the recall information DB as the need arises.  
         [0047]    The merchandise information providing server  12  is managed by a third-party organization such as a consumer credit company or store. The merchandise information providing server  12  is provided with various information that is required in order to realize the merchandise information providing method of the present invention from the user terminal  10 , the store terminal  11  and the manufacturer server  13 .  
         [0048]    The merchandise information providing server  12  manages merchandise purchase history information of the users, and at the same time, has a function to obtain the recall information corresponding to a designated merchandise from the manufacturer server  13 . In addition, the merchandise information providing server  12  has a function to send the obtained recall information to the user terminal  11 . For example, when the network  14  is the Internet, the merchandise information providing server  12  has a function to send a Web page to the user terminal  10  and the store terminal  11 .  
         [0049]    The merchandise information providing server  12  is structured as shown in FIG. 2, for example. FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an embodiment of the merchandise information providing server. The merchandise information providing server  12  in FIG. 2 includes an input device  21 , a display device  22 , a drive device  23 , a recording medium  24 , an auxiliary memory device  25 , a memory device  26 , a processing device  27 , an interface device  28 , and a database (DB, hereinafter) that are mutually connected through a bus B.  
         [0050]    The input device  21  is structured by a keyboard and a mouse that are operated by a user of the merchandise information providing server  12 , and is used for inputting various operating signal to the merchandise information providing server  12 . The display device  22  displays various windows, data and the like that are necessary to operate the merchandise information providing server  12 . The interface device  28  is an interface for connecting the merchandise information providing server  12  with the network  14 , and is structured by such as a modem or router.  
         [0051]    The DB  29  stores various information required for realizing the merchandise information providing method of the present invention such as a user information DB, a part number DB, a merchandise purchase history information DB, a code conversion table, a recall information DB, for example. Additionally, a description will be given later of the user information DB, the part number DB, the merchandise purchase history information DB, the code conversion table, the recall information DB.  
         [0052]    A merchandise information providing program used by the merchandise information providing server  12  is provided by the recording medium such as a CD-ROM. As the recording medium  24 , various types of recording media can be used. For example, a recording medium that records information optically, electrically or magnetically such as a flexible disk, a magnetic optical disk (MO) and the like, and a semiconductor memory that records the information electrically such as ROM, a flash memory, and the like.  
         [0053]    The recording medium  24  recording the merchandise information providing program is set to the drive device  23 . Then, the merchandise information providing program is installed to the auxiliary memory device  25  from the recording medium  24  through the drive device  23 .  
         [0054]    The auxiliary memory device  25  stores a necessary file, data and the like as well as the installed merchandise information providing program. The memory device  26  reads the merchandise information providing program from the auxiliary memory device  25  when the merchandise information providing server  12  is started up, and stores the merchandise information providing program read. The processing device  27  performs a process relating to the merchandise information providing server  12  according to the merchandise information providing program that is read by and stored in the memory device  26 .  
         [0055]    In the following, a description will be given of a process of a system  1  that realizes the merchandise information providing method of the present invention. First, in order to facilitate understanding of the present invention, a description will be given of a principle of the present invention, referring to FIG. 3. FIG. 3 shows a schematic configuration for explaining the principle of the present invention.  
         [0056]    In step S 1 , a manufacturer  30  as an information sender enters the recall information in a recall information DB  31 . The manufacturer  30  may enter the recall information in the recall information DB  31  every predetermined term (a day, for example), or may enter the recall information in the recall information DB  31  every time the problem such as the defect is found with the merchandise sold.  
         [0057]    The recall information DB  31  includes fields such as a manufacturer code to recognize the manufacture, a merchandize code to recognize the merchandise, an problem, and the like. Further, a user, a consumer credit company and the like can access the recall information DB  31 .  
         [0058]    Additionally, a consumer credit company  32  as a merchandise purchase history manager enters the merchandise purchase history information in the merchandise purchase history information DB  33  and manages the merchandise purchase history information. The merchandise purchase history information DB  33  includes fields such as a user information, a merchandise code, a date of purchase, and the like. Further, the store or the store that accepts the credit cards, for example, provides the consumer credit company  32  with the user information, the merchandise code, the date of purchase and the like of the user that purchases the merchandise.  
         [0059]    In step S 2 , a user  34  as an information receiver operates the user terminal  10 , for example, and sends a recall information obtaining request to the consumer credit company  32 . The merchandise information providing server  12  proceeds to step S 3  subsequently to step S 2  when receiving the recall information acquisition request.  
         [0060]    The merchandise information providing server  12  of the consumer credit company  32  reads the merchandise purchase history information of the user that sent the recall information acquisition request from the merchandise purchase history information DB  33 , and searches the recall information DB  31  regarding the merchandise code included in the read merchandise purchase history information as a key information.  
         [0061]    When the same merchandise code as the merchandise code included in the merchandise purchase history information is stored in the recall information DB  31 , it is realized that the recall information is provided for the merchandise that the user purchased. On the other hand, when the same merchandise code as the merchandise code included in the merchandise purchase history information is not stored in the recall information DB  31 , it is realized that the recall information is not provided for the merchandise that the user purchased.  
         [0062]    For example, in FIG. 3, the problem “spontaneous combustion occurs when . . . ” is obtained when searching the recall information DB  31  using the merchandise code “asolf010” as the key information. Further, when the recall information is not provided for the merchandise having the merchandise code “solfa300”, the problem is not obtained when searching the recall information DB  31  using the merchandise code “solfa300” as the key information.  
         [0063]    After searching the recall information DB  31  using the all merchandise codes included in the merchandise purchase history information as the key information, the merchandise information providing server  12  of the consumer credit company  32  proceeds to step S 4  subsequently to step s 3 .  
         [0064]    In step S 4 , the merchandise information providing server  12  of the consumer credit company  32  sends a search result to the user terminal  10 , for example. The search result includes a name of merchandise for which the recall information is provided, the problem, and the like.  
         [0065]    Accordingly, the user can easily refer to or obtain the recall information relating to the merchandise purchased by the user without being conscious of the merchandise. In addition, since the user performs the recall information obtaining request at the user&#39;s own will, it is possible to reduce possibility of oversight of the recall information.  
         [0066]    Additionally, it is possible for the manufacturer  30  to improve the certainty of information communication to the user that purchased the merchandise relating to the recall information by disclosing the recall information to the consumer credit company  32 . Further, the consumer credit company  32  can provide a service of selecting and notifying the recall information relating to the merchandise that the user purchased. For this reason, it is possible for the consumer credit company  32  to differentiate itself from the other consumer credit companies.  
         [0067]    [0067]FIG. 4 is a flow chart of a first embodiment of the merchandise information providing method of the present invention. Step  10  is a merchandise purchase history information entry process. In step S 10 , the merchandise information providing server  12  receives the merchandise purchase history information from the store terminal  11 . The merchandise information providing server  12  enters the input merchandise purchase history information in a merchandise purchase history information DB  40  as shown in FIG. 5.  
         [0068]    [0068]FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of an example of the merchandise purchase history information DB. The merchandise purchase history information DB  40  in FIG. 5 includes fields such as an information number, a user code, a purchasing store, a manufacturer code, a local code, a date of purchase and the like. Further, the field “local code” is merchandise identification information used by the consumer credit company for identifying the merchandise.  
         [0069]    In step S 11 , the merchandise information providing server  12  receives defect information relating to the problem with the merchandise from the manufacturer server  13 . The merchandise information providing server  12  enters the input defect information in a recall information DB  41  as shown in FIG. 6 as the recall information.  
         [0070]    [0070]FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of an example of the recall information DB. The recall information DB  41  in FIG. 6 includes fields such as a manufacturer code, a global code, a name of merchandise, a serial number, a nature of problem, measures to be taken and the like. The field “global code” is merchandise identification information used by the manufacturer for identifying the merchandise. Additionally, the field “nature of problem” is the problem of the merchandise. Further, the field “measures to be taken” is measures to cope with the problem of the merchandise.  
         [0071]    The merchandise information providing server  12  converts the global code into the local code using a code conversion table  42  as shown in FIG. 7, when receiving the global code from the manufacturer server  13 . FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of an example of the code conversion table.  
         [0072]    The code conversion table  42  in FIG. 7 includes fields such as a local code and a global code. That is, the code conversion table  42  matches the local code to the global code. The merchandise information providing server  12  can convert the global code that is input by the manufacturer server  13  into the local code and can enter the local code to the recall information DB  41  by using the code conversion table  42 .  
         [0073]    Step  12  is a defect inquiry accepting process. In step S 12 , the merchandise information providing server  12  receives defect inquiry relating to the defect of the merchandise from the user terminal  10 . The merchandise information providing server  12  accepts the input defect inquiry. Further, the merchandise information providing server  12  obtains a user code of the user that input the defect inquiry by an authorization process or the like.  
         [0074]    In step S 13 , the merchandise information providing server  12  searches the merchandise purchase history information DB  40  using the user code obtained in step S 12  as the key information, and obtains the local code corresponding to the user code. That is, the merchandise information providing server  12  obtains the local code of the merchandise purchased by the user.  
         [0075]    The merchandise information providing server  12  converts the local code into the global code by using the code conversion table  42 . The merchandise information providing server  12  searches the recall information DB  41  by using the converted global code as the key information, and obtains the recall information corresponding to the global code. That is, the merchandise information providing server  12  obtains the recall information of the merchandise purchased by the user.  
         [0076]    In step S 14 , the merchandise information providing server  12  notifies the user terminal  10  of the recall information obtained in step S 13 . The user terminal  10  displays the notified recall information as the inquiry result as shown in FIG. 8.  
         [0077]    [0077]FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of an example of an inquiry result window. The inquiry result window  43  of FIG. 8 displays fields such as a name of merchandise, a manufacturer code, a date of purchase, a nature of problem, a store where the merchandise is purchased, measures to be taken and the like. That is, the recall information is displayed in the inquiry result window when the recall information is provided for the merchandise that the user purchase in the past. Accordingly, it is possible for the user to easily refer to or obtain the recall information of the merchandise purchased by the user.  
         [0078]    [0078]FIG. 9 is a flow chart of a second embodiment of the merchandise information providing method of the present invention. A merchandise purchase history information entry process of step S 20  is the same as the merchandise purchase history information entry process of step S 10 . Thus, a description thereof will be omitted. In step S 21 , the manufacturer server  13  receives defect information relating to problems with the merchandise. The manufacturer server  13  enters the input defect information in a recall information DB  44  as shown in FIG. 10 as the recall information. The manufacturer manages the recall information DB  44 .  
         [0079]    [0079]FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of another example of the recall information DB. The recall information DB  44  in FIG. 10 includes fields for a global code, a name of merchandise, a serial number, a nature of problem, measures to be taken and the like. Since the recall information DB  44  is managed by each manufacture, the recall information DB  44  does not include the field “manufacturer code” that is included in the recall information DB  41 .  
         [0080]    Further, a defect inquiry accepting process of step S 22  is the same as the defect inquiry accepting process of step S 12 . Thus, a description thereof will be omitted. In step S 23 , the merchandise information providing server  12  searches the merchandise purchase history information DB  40  using the user code obtained in step S 22  as the key information, and obtains the local code corresponding to the user code.  
         [0081]    The merchandise information providing server  12  converts the local code obtained into the global code by using the code conversion table  42 . The merchandise information providing server  12  can operate and refer to the recall information DB  44  that the manufacturer manages by using SQL (Structured Query Language), for example.  
         [0082]    Accordingly, the merchandise information providing server  12  can search the recall information DB  44  using the converted global code as the key information, and can obtain the recall information corresponding to the global code. That is, the merchandise information providing server  12  can obtain the recall information of the merchandise purchased by the user. Further, a recall information notification process of step S 24  is the same as a recall information notification process of step S 14 . Thus, a description thereof will be omitted.  
         [0083]    [0083]FIG. 11 is a flow chart of a third embodiment of the merchandise information providing method of the present invention. Further, a merchandise purchase history information entry process of step S 30  is the same as the merchandise purchase history information entry process of step S 10 . A recall information entry process of step S 31  is the same as a recall information entry process of step S 21 . A defect inquiry accepting process of step S 32  is the same as a defect inquiry accepting process of step S 12 . Thus, a description thereof will be omitted.  
         [0084]    In step S 33 , the merchandise information providing server  12  refers to the merchandise purchase history information DB  40 , and obtains the local code corresponding to the user code obtained in step S 32 . That is, the merchandise information providing server  12  obtains the local code of the merchandise purchased by the user.  
         [0085]    In step S 34 , the merchandise information providing server  12  converts the local code obtained into the global code by using the code conversion table  42 . The merchandise information providing server  12  inquires of the manufacturer the recall information by sending the global code to the manufacturer server  13  as a search condition.  
         [0086]    In step S 35 , the manufacturer server  13  searches the recall information DB  44  using the global code as the search condition (key information), and obtains the recall information corresponding to the global code as a search result. In step S 36 , the manufacturer server  13  sends the recall information obtained as the search result in step S 35  to the merchandise information providing server  12 .  
         [0087]    In step S 37 , the merchandise information providing server  12  notifies the user terminal  10  of the recall information received from the manufacturer server  13 . The user terminal  10  can display an inquiry result window  43  based on the recall information notified by the merchandise information providing server  12 . The user can easily refer to or obtain the recall information of the merchandise purchased by the user.  
         [0088]    In the following, a description will be given of flow charts in FIGS. 4, 9 and  11 . FIG. 12 is a flow chart of an example of the merchandise purchase history information entry process. In step S 40 , the store terminal  11  accepts merchandise purchase information. Then, the process mentioned above proceeds to step S 42  subsequently to step S 41 , the store terminal  11  obtains the user code included in the merchandise purchase information received in step S 40 , and determines whether or not the user code obtained exists in a user information DB  45  as shown in FIG. 13.  
         [0089]    [0089]FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram of an example of the user information DB. The user information DB of FIG. 13 includes fields such as a user code, a credit card number, an address, a telephone number, a secret identification code and the like.  
         [0090]    When the store terminal  11  determines that the user code obtained in step S 40  is not included in the user information DB  45  (No in step S 41 ), the store terminal  11  regards the user as an unregistered user, and proceeds to step S 42 . In step S 42 , the store terminal  11  enters the user information in the user information DB  45  and proceeds to step S 43 . Further, when the store terminal  11  determines that the user code obtained in step S 40  is included in the user information DB  45  (YES in step S 41 ), the store terminal  11  proceeds to step S 43 .  
         [0091]    In step S 43 , the user terminal  11  creates the merchandise purchase history information using the user information DB  45  and a part number information DB  46  as shown in FIG. 14. FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram of an example of the part number information DB. The part number information DB  46  in FIG. 14 includes fields such as a name of merchandise, a manufacturer code, a local code, and the like. Then, the store terminal  11  sends the created merchandise purchase history information to the merchandise information providing server  12 .  
         [0092]    In step S 44 , the merchandise information providing server  12  enters the merchandise purchase history information that is received from the store terminal  11  in the merchandise purchase history information DB  40 . Accordingly, the merchandise information providing server  12  can enter the merchandise purchase history of the user that purchased the merchandise in the merchandise purchase history information DB  40 .  
         [0093]    [0093]FIG. 15 is a flow chart showing an entry process for the recall information and the code conversion information. Further, the flow chart shows the merchandise information providing server  12  as including the recall information DB  41 , that is, the consumer credit company or the like manages the recall information DB  41 .  
         [0094]    In step S 50 , the merchandise information providing server  12  receives the global code from the manufacturer server  13 . The global code is the merchandise identification information used by the manufacture. For this reason, the merchandise information providing server  12  sets the local code so as to correspond to the global code, relates the input global code to the set local code, and enters the input global code and the set local code in the code conversion table  12 . Therefore, the merchandise information providing server  12  can manages the recall information by the local code corresponding to the global code used by the manufacture.  
         [0095]    In step S 51 , the merchandise information providing server  12  accepts the defect information relating to the problem with the merchandise from the manufacturer server  13 . The merchandise information providing server  12  enters the received defect information in the recall information DB  41  as the recall information.  
         [0096]    Accordingly, the merchandise information providing server  12  can enter the code conversion information in the code conversion table  42 , and at the same time, can enter the recall information in the recall information DB  41 .  
         [0097]    [0097]FIG. 16 is a flow chart of an another example of the entry process of the recall information and the code conversion information. Further, the flow chart in FIG. 16 shows an example in which the manufacturer server  13  includes the recall information DB  44 , that is, the manufacturer manages the recall information DB  44 .  
         [0098]    A code conversion table entry process of step S 55  is the same as the code conversion table entry process step of S 50 . Thus, an explanation thereof will be omitted. In step S 56 , the manufacturer server  13  accepts the defect information relating to the problem with the merchandise from the merchandise information providing server  12 . The manufacturer server  13  enters the input defect information in the recall information DB  44  as the recall information.  
         [0099]    Accordingly, the merchandise information providing server  12  can enter the code conversion information in the code conversion table  42 . In addition, the manufacturer server  13  can enter the recall information in the recall information DB  44 .  
         [0100]    [0100]FIGS. 17 and 18 are flow charts of a first embodiment of a recall information inquiry notification process. Further, FIG. 17 shows the first half of the recall information inquiry notification process, and FIG. 18 shows the latter half of the recall information inquiry notification process.  
         [0101]    In step S 60 , the merchandise information providing server  12  accepts the defect inquiry relating to the defect of the merchandise from the user terminal  10 . The merchandise information providing server  12  accepts the input defect inquiry. Further, the merchandise information providing server  12  obtains the user code of the user that input the defect inquiry by the authorization process or the like.  
         [0102]    In step S 61 , the merchandise information providing server  12  searches the merchandise purchase history information DB  40  using the user code obtained in step S 60  as the key information, and determines whether or not the merchandise purchase history information corresponding to the user code.  
         [0103]    When the merchandise information providing server  12  determines that the merchandise purchase history information corresponding to the user code exists (YES in step S 61 ), the merchandise information providing server  12  proceeds to step S 62 . In step S 62 , the merchandise information providing server  12  obtains the merchandise purchase history information corresponding to the user code, and proceeds to step S 63 . Further, when the merchandise information providing server  12  determines that the merchandise purchase history information corresponding to the user code does not exist (No in step S 61 ), the merchandise information providing server  12  notifies the user terminal  10  that the merchandise purchase history information does not exist, and ends the recall information inquiry notification process.  
         [0104]    In step S 63 , the merchandise information providing server  12  determines whether or not the code conversion table corresponding to the merchandise purchase history information obtained in step S 62  exists. Specifically, the merchandise information providing server  12  determines whether or not the local code included in the merchandise purchase history information is entered in the code conversion table  42 .  
         [0105]    When the merchandise information providing server  12  determines that the code conversion table corresponding to the obtained merchandise purchase history information exists (YES in step S 63 ), the merchandise information providing server  12  proceeds to step S 64 . In step S 64 , the merchandise information providing server  12  converts the local code included in the obtained merchandise purchase history information into the global code.  
         [0106]    In step S 65 , the merchandise information providing server  12  searches the recall information DB  41  using the global code converted in step S 64 , and obtains the recall information corresponding to the global code. The merchandise information providing server  12  records the recall information obtained in step S 65  in a temporary recording file  47 .  
         [0107]    When the recall information inquiry step of step S 65  is completed, or when the merchandise information providing server  12  determines that the code conversion table corresponding to the obtained merchandise purchase history information does not exist (No in step S 63 ), the merchandise information providing server  12  determines whether the process to be performed on the obtained merchandise purchase history information has ended, and repeats the processes S 63  through S 65  until the process to be performed on the obtained merchandise purchase history information ends.  
         [0108]    The merchandise information providing server  12  proceeds to step S 66  when the process to be performed on the obtained merchandise purchase history information has ended. In step S 66 , the merchandise information providing server  12  reads the recall information from the temporary recording file  47 , and provides the read recall information to the user terminal  10 . The user terminal  10  can display the notified recall information in the inquiry result window.  
         [0109]    [0109]FIGS. 19 and 20 are flow charts of a second embodiment of the recall information inquiry•notification process. Further, FIG. 19 shows the first half of the recall information inquiry notification process, and FIG. 20 shows the latter half of the recall information inquiry•notification process.  
         [0110]    The processes of steps S 70  through S 72  are the same as the processes of the steps S 60  through S 62 . Thus, an explanation thereof will be omitted. In step S 73 , the merchandise information providing server  12  refers to the manufacturer code in the merchandise purchase history information obtained in step S 72 , and determines the manufacturer on which the recall information inquiry process is performed.  
         [0111]    In step S 74 , the merchandise information providing server  12  selects the merchandise purchase history information corresponding to the manufacturer determined in step S 73  from the merchandise purchase history information obtained in step S 72 . Then, the merchandise information providing server  12  determines whether or not the code conversion table corresponding to the selected merchandise purchase history information exists.  
         [0112]    When the merchandise information providing server  12  determines that the code conversion table corresponding to the selected merchandise purchase history information exists (YES in S 74 ), the merchandise information providing server  12  proceeds to step S 75 . In step S 75 , the merchandise information providing server  12  converts the local code included in the selected merchandise purchase history information into the global code.  
         [0113]    Step S 76  is a recall information inquiry step. In step S 76 , the merchandise information providing server  12  searches the recall information DB  44  using the global code converted in step S 75 , and obtains the recall information corresponding to the global code. The merchandise information providing server  12  operates and inquire the recall information DB  44  that the manufacturer manages by using SQL, for example. The merchandise information providing server  12  records the recall information obtained in step S 76  in the temporary recording file  47 .  
         [0114]    When the recall information inquiry step of step S 76  has ended, or when the merchandise information providing server  12  determines that the code conversion table corresponding to the selected merchandise purchase history information does not exist (NO in step S 74 ), the merchandise information providing server  12  determines whether the process to the merchandise purchase history information selected in step S 74  has ended, and repeats the processes of steps S 74  through S 76  when the process to the selected merchandise purchase history information has not ended  
         [0115]    When the process to the selected merchandise purchase history information has ended, the merchandise information providing server  12  determines whether the process to the merchandise purchase history information obtained in step S 72  has ended, and repeats the processes of the steps S 73  through S 76  until the process to be performed on the obtained merchandise purchase history information ends.  
         [0116]    When the process to the merchandise purchase history information obtained in step S 72  has ended, the merchandise information providing server  12  reads the recall information from the temporary file  47 , and notifies the user terminal  10  of the read recall information. The user terminal  10  can display the inquiry result window  43  corresponding to the notified recall information.  
         [0117]    [0117]FIGS. 21 and 22 are flow charts of a third embodiment of the recall information inquiry notification process. Further, FIG. 21 shows the first half of the recall information inquiry•notification process, and FIG. 21 shows the latter half of the recall information inquiry•notification process.  
         [0118]    The processes of steps S 80  through S 83  are the same as the processes of the steps S 70  through S 73 . Thus, an explanation thereof will be omitted. In step S 84 , the merchandise information providing server  12  selects the merchandise purchase history information corresponding to the manufacturer determined in step S 83  from the merchandise purchase history information obtained in step S 82 , and determines whether or not the code conversion table corresponding to the selected merchandise purchase history information exists.  
         [0119]    When the merchandise information providing server  12  determines that the code conversion table corresponding to the selected merchandise purchase history information exists (YES in step S 84 ), the merchandise information providing server  12  proceeds to step S 85 . In step S 85 , the merchandise information providing server  12  converts the local code included in the selected merchandise purchase history information into the global code.  
         [0120]    In step S 86 , the merchandise information providing server  12  sends the global code converted in step S 85  to the manufacturer server  13  as the search condition, and inquires the manufacturer of the recall information. In step S 87 , the manufacturer server  13  accepts the global code from the merchandise information providing server  12  as the search condition.  
         [0121]    In step S 88 , the manufacturer server  13  searches the recall information DB  44  using the global code as the search condition (key information), and obtains the recall information corresponding to the global code. The manufacturer server  13  enters the recall information obtained in step S 88  in a temporary recording file  48 .  
         [0122]    Further, the manufacturer server  13  determines whether the process to all the global codes accepted in step S 87  has ended, and repeats the process of step S 88  when the process to all the global codes has not ended.  
         [0123]    In step S 89 , when the process to all the accepted global codes has ended, the manufacturer server  13  reads the recall information from the temporary recording file  48 , and sends the read recall information to the merchandise information providing server  12 .  
         [0124]    Step S 90  is a recall information answer accepting step. In step S 90 , the merchandise information providing server  12  accepts the recall information corresponding to the global code as the search condition from the manufacturer server  13 . The merchandise information providing server  12  enters the recall information accepted from the manufacturer server  13  in the temporary recording file  47 .  
         [0125]    When the recall information answer accepting step of step S 90  has ended, or when the merchandise information providing server  12  determines that the code conversion table corresponding to the selected merchandise purchase history information does not exist (No in step S 84 ), the merchandise information providing server  12  determines whether processes of steps S 83  through S 90  to the merchandise purchase history information obtained in step S 82  has ended, and repeats the processes of the steps S 83  through S 90  when the process to the selected merchandise purchase history information has not ended.  
         [0126]    When the processes to the merchandise purchase history information obtained in step S 82  have ended, the merchandise information providing server  12  reads the recall information from the temporary file  47 , and notifies the user terminal  10  of the read recall information. The user terminal  10  can display the inquiry result window  43  corresponding to the notified recall information.  
         [0127]    Further, in the flow charts of FIGS. 21 and 22, an explanation is given of a process in which the merchandise information providing server  12  sends the global codes as one collective set of search conditions to the manufacturer server  13 , and accepts the one collective set of recall information as the search results. However, the merchandise information providing server  12  may send the global codes as search conditions one by one, and may accept the recall information as search results one by one.  
         [0128]    The present invention is not limited to the specifically disclosed embodiments, and variations and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.  
         [0129]    The present application is based on Japanese priority application No. 2001-246655 filed on Aug. 15, 2001, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.