WO2001095224A1

WO2001095224A1 - Interactive business matching and promotion

Info

Publication number: WO2001095224A1
Application number: PCT/US2001/018646
Authority: WO
Inventors: Myrna Z. Weiss; Jon A. Gilbert
Original assignee: I B Net, Ltd.
Priority date: 2000-06-09
Filing date: 2001-06-11
Publication date: 2001-12-13
Also published as: AU2001268282A1

Abstract

A method and system that automatically facilitates an international e-commerce business transaction between a buyer and a seller of products and services by matching and linking the parties based on certain specified parameters. A first user creates a customer trading profile and second user creates a trade listing. The contents of the trading profile are compared with the contents of the trade listing. If a match is determined then a message is transmitted to the first user via e-mail. The first user is also given access to detailed information concerning the trade listing and certain company validation and financial information of the second user in order to complete a secure transaction over the network.

Description

INTERACTIVE BUSINESS MATCHING AND PROMOTION

TECHNICAL FIELD

The invention relates generally to a new business-to-business international e- commerce system. In particular, the invention relates to a system that automatically matches customers and facilitates transactions between them.

BACKGROUND

In traditional business environments buyers and sellers are often limited by time and cost constraints whenever they attempt to arrange a business transaction. For example, whenever a seller of goods is interested in conducting a_. business transaction, the market place must be searched for a potential buyer for its goods or services. One disadvantage in this scheme is the cost in both time and money expended in searching and identifying a buyer. Another drawback occurs when a match between the buyer and seller is not optimal. For example, the buyer may not be willing to negotiate a higher price for the item. In another scenario, a buyer interested in purchasing a particular good or service will often research the market for a potential seller. Again, a large amount of time and money is spent in identifying a potential seller. Sometimes, as a consequence of an inadequate search, a match between a buyer and seller may not occur. This results in not only a lost business opportunity but also an expenditure of valuable resources that are not recoverable. Further, even if a match between a buyer and seller does occur, there is still some uncertainty over the background of the company and details surrounding the payment process

There is a need for a computer-based system that can automatically search the marketplace and facilitate the matching of buyers and sellers of goods and services. It should perform the search in a cost effective and efficient manner. The system should maintain a database where customers interested in selling goods and services can enter their trade offerings. It should also maintain a database that allows customers interested in buying goods and services to create a trading profile that reflects these business interests. The system should then provide a mechanism capable of scanning and comparing the contents of the two databases for a match between buyers and sellers and then alerting the buyer when a match occurs. The database should also contain the profiles of the companies that are registered in the system. This will help a customer evaluate a company and reduce any uncertainty before entering into a potential business transaction with a particular company. The system should also facilitate the actual business transaction by offering both a secure online payment environment and a price determination mechanism.

SUMMARY

In general, the invention provides a method and apparatus that automatically facilitates an international e-commerce business transaction between a buyer and a seller of products and services by matching and linking the parties based on certain specified parameters.

In one aspect, the invention includes a method of accepting input from a first user to set a customer trading profile, storing the input from the first user in a first system database, accepting input from a second user to create a trade listing for a product or service, storing the input from the second user the second system database, comparing the trading profile with the trade listing using a plurality of criteria, determining whether a match exists with respect to the trading profile and the trade listing, transmitting a message to the first user using e-mail if a match exists, providing the first user access to detailed information concerning the trade listing, providing the first user certain company validation and financial information regarding the second user, and allowing the first user to complete secure transactions with the second user over the network. In one embodiment, the input from the second user is utilized to create the trade listing in a trade posting entry, wherein trade posting entry is stored in the second system database. In another embodiment, the input from the second user is utilized to create a trade listing in a catalog entry, wherein catalog entry is stored in the second system database. In a third embodiment, the input from the second user is utilized to create a trade listing in an auction entry which is stored in the second system database. The method also includes comparing the trade listing to the customer trading profile to determine whether a match exists.

In another aspect, the aforesaid method may be practiced utilizing an appropriately programmed computer which is suitably programmed to perform the improved method.

In still another aspect, the invention includes a computer system for promoting business transactions using an interactive computer network. The system includes elements for accepting input from a first user to create a customer trading profile, elements for storing the input from the first user in a first system database, elements for accepting input from a second user to create a trade listing, elements for storing the input from the second user in a second system database, elements for comparing the customer trading profile with the trade listings using a plurality of criteria, elements for determining whether a match exists with respect to the customer trading profile and the trade listing, elements for transmitting a message to the first user using e-mail if a match exists, elements for providing the first user access to detailed information concerning the trade listing, elements for providing the first user certain company validation and financial information regarding the second user, and elements for allowing the first user to complete secure transactions with the second user over the network.

The details of embodiments of the invention are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features, objects, and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the description and drawings, and from the claims.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

Fig. 1 illustrates Customer Flow Diagram for a Customer Trading System.

Fig. 2 illustrates an embodiment of the Customer Trading System connected to a network.

Figs. 3A-B illustrates screen shot implementations of the View Activity Web Pages.

Fig. 4 illustrates a screen shot implementation of an Trade Posting Details Web Page.

Fig. 5 illustrates a screen shot implementation of a Company Info Web Page.

Fig. 6 illustrates a screen shot implementation of a Contact Company Web Page.

Figs. 7A-B illustrates a screen shot implementation of a Customer Trading Profile Web Pages.

Fig. 8 illustrates a screen shot implementation of a Create Posting Web Page.

Fig. 9 illustrates a screen shot implementation of an Trade Posting Activity Report Web Page.

Like reference symbols in the various drawings indicate like elements. DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFFERED EMBODIMENTS

Fig. 1. Illustrates a Customer Flow diagram based on the Customer Trading System. In this particular embodiment of the invention, Customer A 100 is a buyer of goods and services and Customer B 101 is a seller of goods and services, and both are interested in entering into a business transaction. Customer A can create a Trading Profile 102 reflecting certain criteria related to buying goods and services, such as price, delivery time, product name, keyword, product model, geographic market interests, quantities, supplier/buyer credit risk, and other criteria. Similarly, Customer B may post a Trading Opportunity 103 including criteria related to products offered for sale and available to interested buyers. Alternatively, Customer B may post the products and services into the Catalog/ Auction database 106 or to the 3rd party database 107.

The Customer Trading System automatically scans 105 the contents of these databases according to specified parameters and determines whether a new match exists between the criteria in the Customer Trading Profile and the criteria in the Trading Posting database, the Catalog/ Auction database, or a 3rd party database. If a match is found, then Customer A is notified at 104, using various alerting mechanisms including email receipt, pager notification, cell phone or PDA alert. The alert notifies Customer A that a match has occurred between their Customer Trading Profile and a Trade Listing. This signifies that a product and service Customer A was seeking to purchase is now available for consideration.

In response to the alert, Customer A can logon 108 to the Customer Trading System and view a display of his Customer Trading Activity and the number of matches currently in the system. Customer A may also, at 114, use the Internet to gain access to the system on his own initiative. A Customer A interested in viewing the Customer Trading Activity of Matching Products can simply click at 109 on the Customer Trading name. Customer A can also click on a particular Product Name in the list for further Product Details 110. If Customer A is still interested in purchasing the product after viewing the product details, then two options are available at 111. Under the first option 112, Customer A can either conduct the transaction online and purchase the product in a secure environment or conduct the transaction offline. Under the second option 113, Customer A can review the Profile and Validation Level of Customer B before entering into the business transaction with Customer B. If Customer A decides to enter into a business transaction with Customer B, online, at 112, the system provides support for the exchange by facilitating the determination of the exchange price and by offering several payment processing options.

In a particular embodiment of the invention, the Customer Trading System operates in a network environment illustrated in the network diagram of Fig. 2. The Internet 201 provides a communications interface 216 between the Customers 200 and the Web site 202. The logon process 203 allows customers to logon to the system through the Internet. After the logon process, the customer interested in selling a product or service can create a trade posting, for example a catalog or auction 217 for the product entry. The product entry is posted at 204 onto the Trade Postings database 206. A Distribution Engine 219 handles the Trade Posting 206 database as well as the Auctions 207, and Catalog 205 and 208 databases. Alternatively, a third party can post a product entry through the importation of an Electronic Trading Opportunity (ETO) 220, which is stored in the Trade Posting database 206. Catalog databases 208 are also linked to the system through an XML interface.

A customer interested in buying goods and services may create a Customer Trading Profile 209 reflecting the customer's need for a certain product or service. This Customer Trading Profile 209 will be used to alert the customer whenever a match exists between the Customer Trading Profile and a corresponding Trade Listing in the Trade Postings 206, catalogs 205 and 208 or auction 207 databases.

The Trade Matching Engine component 210 of the Customer Trading system automatically scans the various databases within the Distribution Engine 219 for matches between a customer's Trading Profile and the various Trade Listings posted and stored by other customers. If a match exists, then the match is routed at 218 to the Customer Trading Activity Match list 212. The customer is then alerted of the match through e-mail or other equivalent notification mechanism 211. In response, the customer could then logon to the system and view a list of the Customer Trading Matches 212. If the customer selects a particular match at 219, then the details 213 of the Trade Listing, representing the product or service the customer was seeking, can be viewed. The customer now has the option of reviewing the Custom Profile and validation levels before deciding whether to enter into a business transaction with the customer at 214. However, if the customer does decide to make a deal and enter into a business transaction, then the system provides at 215 a Transaction Engine Component which among other functions gives the customer the option of either a secure online transaction environment or conducting the transaction offline.

As Figs. 1 and 2 illustrate, the Customer Trading System consists of several components. One component is the Distribution Engine comprised of various databases including the Trade Postings, Electronic Trade Opportunities, Catalogs, and Auctions databases. Another component is the Customer Trading Profile database, containing the business interests of a customer. The Trade Matching Engine component is responsible for scanning the criteria found in the Customer Trading Profile and the criteria found in the databases of the Distribution Engine and determining whether there is a match between the two sources. If a match is found, the Trade Matching Engine automatically generates an alert to the customer, provides a display of the matches suitable for review, and a link to the product details. Another component is the Company or Customer Profile database consisting of demographics and validation information of the companies or customers that are registered to use the system. The Transaction Engine component 215 facilitates the business transaction between the parties by providing pricing determinations and payment options.

Products and services are posted into the Distribution Engine as three distinct offerings: Trade Posting / Electronic Trade Opportunity (ETO), Catalog, and Auction. Trade Postings are posted into the Customer Trading Distribution Engine through a set form, or are imported as an Electronic Trade Opportunity (ETO). Each Trade Posting contains specific fields of information used by the Trade Matching Engine in order to route the opportunity to interested customers based on their Customer Trading Profile. Trade Postings are also used as a Request for Proposal (RFP) and Request for Quote (RFQ). A Trade Posting can be customized for specific industries by adding additional fields and parameters. A customized version, for real estate, for example includes fields for lot size and location of the property, opportunity classifications specific for commercial real estate, and tax information. These custom fields are tied into corresponding custom fields in the Customer Trading Profile in order to achieve precision in the Matching algorithm. Trade Posting fields include but are not limited to "Title" such as a Computer; "Trade Type" such as whether the item is listed for buying or selling; a "Posting Period" which indicates the date the Trade Posting was created; "Classification" indicating whether the item is, for example, a product or service; "Product Industry" indicating with which industry the item is associated; "Product Code" which gives the user the option of specifying at least one different industry identification code; a "Product Description"; and a "Valid Date" indicating when date the Trade Posting expires. Several optional fields can include, but are not limited to, whether the price for the item is fixed or negotiable; the currency type involved; the quantity of the goods; the harmonized code classification of the product; and payment and delivery terms.

Electronic Trade Opportunities (ETO) are Trade Postings from third parties imported into the Customer Trading Distribution Engine and routed automatically to interested buyers and sellers. In addition, Trade Postings created by subscribers into the Distribution Engine are transmitted to appropriate ETO systems to provide maximum distribution of customer Trade Posting. A centralized Listserv is established in order to integrate the ETO's into one system. A Listserv is a small program that automatically redistributes e-mail to names on a mailing list. Users can subscribe to a mailing list by sending an e-mail note to a mailing list they learn about; Listserv will automatically add the name and distribute future e-mail postings to every subscriber.

Customers can post or import products into Catalogs. The Catalog can be stored in the system, as well as third party, databases that are integrated into the Customer Trading Distribution system using XML. The Customer Trading Distribution system then routes Catalog items to interested customers based on fields in the Catalog item that match a customer's Customer Trading Profile. Catalog items can be customized for specific industries by adding additional fields and parameters. These custom fields are tied into the matching custom fields in the Customer Trading Profile to effect precision, industry specific, matching. Catalog items can include fields such as Country of origin, Product type, Product Title, Industry classification, Product sub-category, Product price, etc.

Products and services can be posted into auctions and/or moved from Catalogs into an Auction. The Customer Trading Distribution Engine supports various auction types. In the Open Cry type, bids increase based on the defined bidding increment. The highest bidder wins as long as the reserve price has been met. The Dutch type is a descending price seller's auction to effect the immediate sale of goods and services. Each bid is a winning bid as long as it is at or above the seller's reserve price. Under the Reverse type, it is a buyer's auction where sellers submit bids, with the lowest bid being accepted by the buyer. Under the Sealed Bid type, bids and bidding history are not displayed to the public. All auctions support the option to bid for multiple or partial lots. The Customer Trading Distribution then routes auction items to interested customers based on fields in the auction item that match a customer Customer Trading Profile. Auction items can be customized for specific industries by adding additional fields and parameters. These custom fields are tied into matching custom fields in the Customer Trading Profile to bring precision, industry specific, matching. Auction items include fields such as Country of origin, Auction Type, Product type, Product Title, Industry classification, etc.

The heart of Customer Trading System is the Customer Trading Profile database component. It allows customers to set up Customer Trading Profile(s) that match against Trade Postings, Catalog items and Auctions based on the customer's specific interests. Once matched, the customer is automatically alerted to the matching trade product(s). The customer easily sets a Customer Trading Profile by assigning it a title and filling in the fields in the form. Customer Trading Profile parameters include, but are not limited to, a Product field and Keyword(s) using the Boolean logic operatives (NOT, AND, OR) to more efficiently target keyword searches; a Geography field including a country of origin and target markets; a Product Information field such as trade type (buy or sell); a type of sale field (Trade opportunity, Catalog, Auction); a field for the Product Industry; a field for the price or price range; a field indicating the availability of the product; and a validation level indicating the level of company or customer that is acceptable. The system also allows customized fields specific to particular industry (for example, the size of a building).

The Trade Matching Engine component compares all the posted products in the Distribution Engine against a customer's Customer Trading Profile(s), and then routes any matching products to the customer. A communications alert (e-mail, PDA message, page, fax, etc) is sent to the customer summarizing any new matches to specific Customer Trading Alerts. The customer then links to the Web site to view the matches in his Customer Trading Profile. Whenever the customer logs onto the system, a list of his Customer Trading Alerts is displayed with the number of matches currently in the system. The customer then reviews these matches online. There are two aspects to viewing a display of products that match Customer Trading Profiles. First, matching products are displayed in a summary format to allow a customer to quickly determine their interest. The organization and information displayed in the summary is flexible and may be variable, including, for example, how the display is organized (by buy / sell categorization) or by product type (Trade Posting, Catalog, Auction). It may also include Summary information options such as product name, price, current bid, country of origin, industry, and/or date. The second aspect consists of clicking on the product name, which causes details of the product to be displayed. These details include but are not limited to the full product information stored in the product database (such as description, price, picture, product number, etc.); an Icon to link to the company or customer profile of the company or customer that posted the product, including demographics, size, financial risk analysis, etc.; options to buy the product, place a bid or negotiate with the seller using a secure contact form; and an icon that links the currency converter to the price field.

The Customer Profile database component provides critical information that is used by potential new customers to evaluate doing business with each other. The customer profile can include demographic information and validation information.

Validation information can be used in a Customer Trading Profile or product posting so that the Customer Trading System only matches buyers and sellers that have a mutually acceptable validation level. Each Customer Trading customer registers (their company) when they join the service. Information gathered through the company registration is used to create the base of the Company Profile. The Company Profile can be viewed by other members to evaluate a potential customer, can be linked to trusted third parties for company validation or financial analysis, and can be used to target electronic advertising and promotions. Company Profiles can be customized for specific industries by adding additional fields and parameters.

The demographic information portion of the Company Profile database is acquired during the customer registration. This information may include the following fields: Country, Company name, Address, Telephone, Fax, Title, Industry, Year established, Number of employees, Annual sales, Major trading markets (countries, regions), and/or Professional affiliations (i.e. Chamber of Commerce, Trade Association, etc.). These Key fields of information can be linked to data from trusted third parties to validate the registration information. The information stored in the validation portion of the Company Profile database is also acquired during the registration process. When a customer signs up for Customer Trading Alerts, there is an option to select a validation level. A subscriber can apply for, or upgrade, their validation level at anytime. Validation levels are stored in the Customer Database table and can be displayed as part of the Customer Profile. As a base level of validation, all customers must have a valid e-mail address. Customers can then optionally select additional levels of validation as outlined below. The system offers three optional levels of validation. A validated customer can setup additional accounts for the same company at the same validation level. The customer is responsible for revoking any validation or certificates that are issued.

For Level 1 validation, key demographic information in the customer's company profile, that was provided during registration, is independently verified by a trusted third party such as Dun & Bradstreet, a Chamber of Commerce, bank, etc. The trusted third party confirms that the company is a legal, active entity in the stated country and address, and confirms, also, the following key information: Industry; Type of company (public, private, government, etc.), Year established, Number of employees, Annual sales, and/or Key officers.

Level 2 Validation includes all the elements of a Level 1 Validation with the addition that the company has a financial risk analysis score based on information provided by a trusted third party. This score is developed in conjunction with the third party and is based on different criteria for specific industries, countries and customers. Elements that can make up the financial score include: credit rating, financial references, timeliness of deliveries, payment history, financial statements, ISO ratings, etc. This information can be queried on a real-time basis for the latest data.

Level 3 Validation is the highest level of validation and in appropriate jurisdictions may act as a legal certificate for electronic transactions. Level 3 includes all the elements of Level 2 Validation and requires independent personal verification through a trusted third part of the individual and the company they represent. Once verified, the individual is issued an X509 v3 digital certificate. Personal validation includes confirming employment and authorization for the person to purchase or sell goods on behalf of their company. Once issued, the digital certificate links to real-time financial data for financial risk analysis. The Transaction Engine is made up of Pricing and Payment Processing elements. Under the Pricing element, once the Trade Matching Engine matches buyers and sellers, a price for the products / services must be determined. The Customer Trading System supports the following mechanisms: Fixed price, Discount price based on volume purchase, relationships or validation score, Ascending bid price, Descending bid price, and Negotiation through secured messaging. Additional charges for sales tax, VAT, shipping, insurance, etc. can also be determined as part of the transaction. Using the Payment Processing element, once a price has been agreed upon, the Customer Trading System can process charges between two customers. Payment and backend processing options include, but are not limited to: Credit card payments through merchant accounts, Electronic Funds Transfer, and Checks / Money Orders. Payments can be processed through a backend interchange of data using a variety of protocols including: MQ Series, EDI standards, ERP interface for SAP, JD Edwards, and others

Several embodiments have been discussed above in the context of a customer flow diagram in Fig. 1. and the network architecture/flow diagram in Fig. 2. A further embodiment of the Customer Trading System will be described with reference to several screen shots beginning with Fig. 3A. Referring to Fig. 3 A, the system alerts the customer whenever Matches exist. In response to the alert, the customer may access the system through the Internet and then proceed to logon to the system. Upon successful logon, the system will display a View Activity web page, as shown in Fig. 3 A. The web page displays the results of any matches between the customer's Customer Trading Profile and the Trade Listings found in the Distribution Engine. This page can also be displayed by clicking on the menu bar item 307 entitled "View Activity". Within each of the displayed categories, the display is further organized under the heading by "Customer Trading" and "Total Matches". Four products are shown under the "Customer Trading" column. The first is the "Computer Buyers" 302 product displaying a total of 13 matches for postings 306. The second product displayed is the "Computer Sellers" product 304 displaying a total of 87 matches 308: 85 matches from the Trade Posting database and 1 from the Catalog item database and 1 from the Auction database. The third product displayed is "Outdoor Apparel" 305 displaying a total of 22 matches, 21 from the Trade Posting database, and 1 from the Auction database. The fourth product displayed is "Scooters" displaying a total of 7 matches; 4 matches from the Trade Posting database and 3 from the Catalog database. The fields and layout of the screen are flexible and can be customized for a particular application or industry.

The customer can view Matching Trade Listings for a particular Customer Trading Alert by simply clicking on the particular product under the Customer Trading heading. Fig. 3B illustrates a screen shot of an implementation of a web page that a customer receives when a particular product under the Customer Trading Profile column is selected. In this example, the "Computer Buyers" product 302 was selected from the Customer Trading Profile. The total number of Trade Postings that match the Customer Trading Profile of "Computer Buyers" is displayed 315. This number is the same number displayed on the previous web page 3A under the "Computer Buyers" Customer Trading Profile product heading. In one implementation, the display can be organized by "Item" 308, by "Origin" 309, and by "Date Posted" 310. The web page also contains navigation buttons including a "Next" button 311 which allows the user to view the next display of items, a "Last Page" button 312 which advances the user to the last page of a multi-page display, and a "Back" button which allows the user to return to the last page being viewed. In this example, only 10 out of the 13 total Matching Trade Listings are displayed 314 on the web page. In order to view the next 10 items, the user needs to click on the "Next" button 311 to receive the next web page displaying the remaining items.

If the customer is interested in viewing the details of a particular "Item", he can simply click on a particular product under the "Item" column of the "View Activity" web page, as shown in Fig. 3B. If the customer clicks on a product item, then a "Trade Posting Detail" web page is displayed as shown in Fig. 4. The web page displays an embodiment of a Trade Posting. Each screen displays one product 400. Each row 403 details the product by listing the fields from the Trade Posting database. As discussed above, these fields can be customized to a specific industry. However, these fields must reflect the same fields contained in the Customer Trading Profile database.

Once the customer reviews the Trade Posting for a particular product or service, the system provides several options. Before the customer decides to enter into a business transaction with the company offering the product, the Company Profile can be viewed by clicking on the "Company Info" icon 401. Fig. 5 illustrates a screen shot of an implementation of a web page displaying the Company Profile. Each company interested in using the system must provide certain information 500 during the registration process, which is entered into the Company Profile Database. If the customer is satisfied with the information in the Company Profile, he can then proceed to make a deal with the company and enter into a business transaction. The customer can then contact the company by clicking on the "Contact Company" icon 402 (Fig. 4). Fig. 6 illustrates a screen shot of an implementation of a web page containing a company contact form. The customer can enter information relevant to the transaction in a "Message" text box 600. Once the customer completes the message box and is ready to transmit the information to the company, a "Send" button 601 can be clicked. .

The system allows the customer to create an individual Customer Trading Profile for the products and services they are interested in buying. Fig. 7A illustrates a screen shot of an implementation of a Manage Customer Tradings web page. The customer simply has to click on the "Set Customer Trading" menu item 700 to create the Customer trading Profile web page. The customer is given the option to delete a Customer Trading Profile by selecting the appropriate "Delete" check box 701. As discussed above, the Trade Matching Engine component of the system automatically scans the Trade Postings, Catalogs and Auction and the Customer Trading Profile databases and searches for a match between the several databases.

If the customer decides to update a particular item in the Customer Trading Profile, then he simply clicks the item under "Customer Trading Name". Fig. 7B illustrates a screen shot of a web page that displays the Customer Trading Profile of one particular item, in this case, "Computer Buyers". There are certain fields that are optional and others that are mandatory. However, the fields in the Customer Trading Profile will be the same as those in the Trade Posting, Catalogs and Auction databases. As discussed above these fields can be customized based on the specific items or industry. In this embodiment, the "Customer Trading Name" field 704 is a text box 705 that contains the item "Computer Buyers". The "Interest" field 706 has mutually exclusive settings. In other words, either the "Looking to Buy" or the "Looking to Sell" option can be selected but not both. The "Category" field 707 also provides a mutually exclusive selection. The "Keyword" fields 709 are fields that increase matching precision. A customer who has a product or service that he wants to sell can post these items onto the Trade Posting database. The customer simply clicks on the "Create Trade Posting" menu item 800 and the web page, such as that of Fig. 8, is displayed. As discussed above, the fields 801 in the Trade Posting screen will be similar to those in the Customer Trading Profile database. The Customer Trading System also has the capability of generating reports detailing the activity for each Trade Posting. The user simply has to click on the "View Activity " menu item 900. Fig. 9 illustrates an embodiment of a web page displaying an "Activity Report". The "Name" field 901 displays the title of the Trade Posting, the "Matches" field 902 represents the number of times a product matched a Customer Trading Alert, the "Views" field 903 is the number of page views of the Trade Posting, both from Customer Alert and a general search, and the "Inquiries" field 904 is the number of inquires received for the product.

A number of embodiments of the invention have been described. Nevertheless, it will be understood that various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, other embodiments are within the scope of the following claims.

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. A method for promoting business transactions using an interactive computer network, the method comprising: accepting input from a first user to create a customer trading profile; storing the input from the first user in a first system database; accepting input from a second user to create a trade listing; storing the input from the second user in a second system database; comparing the trading profile with the trade listing using a plurality of criteria; determining whether a match exists with respect to the trading profile and the trade listing; transmitting a message to the first user using e-mail if a match exists; providing the first user access to detailed information concerning the trade listing; providing the first user certain company validation and financial information regarding the second user; and allowing the first user to complete secure transactions with the second user over the network.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising creating, from the input from the second user, a trade listing in a catalog entry, and storing the catalog entry in the second system database.

3. The method of claim 2 further wherein the comparing step compares the trade listing to the trading profile to determine whether a match exists.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising creating, from the input from the second user, a trade listing in an auction entry, and storing the auction entry in the second system database.

5. A computer program residing on a computer-readable medium for promoting business transactions using an interactive computer network, comprising instructions for causing a computer system adapted to a network to: accept input from a first user to create a customer trading profile; store the input from the first user in a first system database; accept input from a second user to create a trade listing; store the input from the second user in a second system database; compare the trading profile with the trade listing using a plurality of criteria; determine whether a match exists with respect to the trading profile and the trade listing; transmit a message to the first user using e-mail if a match exists; provide the first user access to detailed information concerning the trade listing; provide the first user certain company validation and financial information regarding the second user; allow the first user to complete secure transactions with the second user over the network.

6. A computer system for promoting business transactions using an interactive computer network, comprising: means for accepting input from a first user to create a customer trading profile; means for storing the input from the first user in a first system database; means for accepting input from a second user to create a trade listing; means for storing the input from the second user in a second system database; means for comparing the trading profile with the trade listing using a plurality of criteria; means for determining whether a match exists with respect to the trading profile and the trade listing; means for transmitting a message to the first user using e-mail if a match exists; means for providing the first user access to detailed information concerning the trade listing; means for providing the first user certain company validation and financial information regarding the second user; means for allowing the first user to complete secure transactions with the second user over the network.