WO2001098858A2

WO2001098858A2 - Product management system and method

Info

Publication number: WO2001098858A2
Application number: PCT/KR2001/001075
Authority: WO
Inventors: Ung-Ryeol Lee
Original assignee: Samsung Corporation
Priority date: 2000-06-23
Filing date: 2001-06-22
Publication date: 2001-12-27
Also published as: WO2001098858A3; KR20020001036A; AU6638401A; KR100376246B1

Abstract

Disclosed is a product management system which comprises a consumer information database for storing order contracts and execution states of the order contracts; a product information database for storing categories and volumes of present products; a product management server for providing the categories and volumes of the present products to the consumer, transmitting the order contract to the consumer terminal, storing the order contract in the consumer information database, and providing information on a delivery of the ordered products and changes of the product volume; a product volume-calculating server for receiving the ordered product volume and the consumer's product volume, comparing the two product volumes, storing the difference of comparison in the consumer information database, and requesting the consumer to resettle the difference; and a payment server for firstly paying according to the order contract and secondly paying according to the resettlement request.

Description

Product Management System and Method

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION (a) Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a product management system and

method. More specifically, the present invention relates to a system and

method for managing products on the network.

(b) Description of the Related Art

As electronics and communication engineering have developed,

network systems for successfully dealing with spatial and time gaps between

persons have also developed. Further, computers and databases all over the

world have been connected via networks because of the development of the

Internet so that many users have become able to access and utilize the

computers and databases.

This development of the network techniques has enabled many off¬

line tasks to be executed on the network. Among the tasks, systems for

executing product management tasks on the networks have already been

developed.

However, in the conventional product management systems on the

network, no product management system is provided for detecting and

managing increased or decreased product volumes caused by the nature of

the products or users' mistakes when the products are transferred or moved

in an off-line manner. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide a product

management system and method for detecting and managing increased or

decreased product volumes caused by the nature of the products or users'

mistakes when the products are transferred or moved in an off-line manner.

In one aspect of the present invention, in a product management

system using a consumer's terminal for transmitting information by

accessing a network and a consumer's measurer, a product management

system comprises: a consumer information database for storing consumer

information including order contracts for ordering products and execution states of the order contracts; a product information database for storing

categories and volumes of present products; a product management server for providing the categories and volumes of the present products to the consumer, transmitting the order contract to the consumer's terminal, storing

the completed order contract in the consumer information database, and

providing information on a delivery of the products ordered according to the

order contract and changes of the product volume generated while

transferring the products to the consumer via the consumer's terminal; a

product volume-calculating server for receiving the ordered product volume

and the consumer's product volume input by the consumer's measurer,

comparing the ordered product volume with the consumer's product volume,

storing the difference of comparison results in the consumer information

database, and requesting the consumer to resettle as much as the amount of the difference; and a payment server for firstly paying according to the order

contract and secondly paying as much as the amount of money according to

the resettlement request.

In another aspect of the present invention, in a product

management method using a consumer's terminal for transmitting

information by accessing a network and a consumer's measurer, a product

management method comprises: transmitting an order contract and enabling

the consumer to input information including categories and volumes of

desired products to corresponding items to draw up an order contract; requesting a first payment according to the order contract and checking an

execution state of the first payment; and determining a second payment state using a difference between an ordered product volume and a consumer's product volume measured by the consumer's measurer, and

requesting the second payment state.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and

constitute a part of the specification, illustrate an embodiment of the

invention, and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles

of the invention:

FIG. 1 shows a brief block diagram for describing the point of the

present invention;

FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of a product management system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 3 shows a flow chart of a product management method

according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

In the following detailed description, only the preferred embodiment of the invention has been shown and described, simply by way of illustration

of the best mode contemplated by the inventor(s) of carrying out the invention. As will be realized, the invention is capable of modification in

various obvious respects, all without departing from the invention.

Accordingly, the drawings and description are to be regarded as illustrative in nature, and not restrictive.

FIG. 1 shows a brief block diagram for describing the point of the present invention. As shown, when a consumer 100 provides an order to a

product management system 200 and pays for it, the product management system 200 notifies a provider 300 of this information. When the provider 300

generates a delivery order, a delivery product measurer measures a product

volume and transmits measurement results to the consumer 100, and this

information is stored in the product management system 200. In this instance,

the provider 300 stores the product volume generated at the time of a

delivery order and the product volume input from the delivery product

measurer in the product management system 200.

When the consumer 100 receives and measures the desired product and stores the same in the product management system 200, the product

management system 200 compares the product volume at the time of

delivery order with the product volume measured by the consumer 100,

resettles according to comparison differences, calculates the difference

between the product volume input by the delivery product measurer and the

product volume measured by the consumer, and calculates accurate product volume in stock.

Referring to the drawings, a preferred embodiment according to the

present invention will be described in detail.

FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of a product management system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

As shown, the product management system using a consumer's

terminal 100, a consumer's measurer 110, a provider's measurer 310, a

consumer's account server 410 and a provider's account server 420

comprises a consumer information database 210, a product information

database 220, a product management server 230, a product volume- calculating server 240 and a payment server 250.

The consumer information database 210 stores consumers' log-in

information, consumers' transaction identifications (TID) for the use of credit

cards, order contracts for ordering products, and execution states of the

order contracts. Here, the TID is used to approve using the consumers'

account numbers, passwords and credit card numbers for security of

financial information. Also, the execution states of the order contracts represent processes of transferring the products to the consumers according

to product categories, volumes and prices provided to the order contracts,

and corresponding payment states.

The product information database 220 stores categories and

volumes of current products.

The product management server 230 transmits an order contract to a consumer terminal 100 in order for the consumer to draw up a contract, and

stores the order contract in the consumer information database 210. Also,

the product management server 230 provides the consumer terminal 100 with information on the delivery of the products ordered according to the

order contract, and changes of the product volumes generated while transferring the products to the consumer. To perform this function, the

product management server 230 as a web server provides hypertext markup language (HTML) web documents. The product volume-calculating server 240 receives a first product

volume ordered by the product management server 230, a second product

volume input by a provider's measurer 310 at the time of a delivery and a

third product volume input by a consumer's measurer 110, compares the first

product volume with the third one to request a resettlement from the

consumer of as much as the amount of a corresponding difference, subtracts

the second product volume from the product volume in stock to calculate a

present product volume in stock and update the product information

database, and compares the second product volume with the third one to calculate the corresponding difference as a loss cost and stores the

difference in the product information database.

In this instance, the ordered products are initially settled after the

consumer inputs required information on the order contract and transmits the

same to the product management server 230, and the product volume-

calculating server 240 checks that money is provided to a provider's account

server 420 according to a credit card or cash payment by the consumer. In

the case of the above-noted initial settlement, 95% of the price of the products ordered by the consumer is requested in order to prepare a

probable difference between the first and third product volumes at the time of resettlement. After this, the resettlement is executed to settle the difference

of the product volume generated because of volatile products or transportation mistakes.

The payment server 250 transfers the corresponding money to the

provider's account server 420 from the consumer's account server 410

according to the order contract, and transfers money between the provider's

account server 420 and the consumer's account server 410 according to the

resettlement request transmitted by the product volume-calculating server

240. In this instance, in the case the first product volume is greater than the

third one, for example, when the consumer orders one hundred ton of

products, the first product volume is one hundred tons, and only ninety-five

tons of the products are initially settled, and when the third product volume

input by a next consumer's measurer 110 is ninety-seven tons, the consumer settles two tons of the products to the provider and pays for the

same. If the third product volume input by the consumer's measurer 110 is

one hundred and one tons, the product volume-calculating server 240

requests that the consumer resettle for six tons of the products to the

provider.

Also, when the total volume in stock is 1 ,000 tons, the ordered

product volume is 100 tons, the second product volume at the time of a delivery is 99 tons, and the third product volume is 95 tons, the actual

volume in stock is 901 tons. However, since the actual third product volume

transferred to the consumer is 95 tons, only the money for the 95 tons of the products is paid, and hence the remaining 4 tons are processed as a loss. Therefore, the product volume-calculating server 240 calculates present

volume in stock and generated loss cost and stores the same in the product information database 220.

In the preferred embodiment, the provider's measurer 310 and

consumers' measurers 110 can wirelessly access the network via the

Bluetooth that uses an infrared data association (IrDA) port or a 2.4GHz

band.

When the consumer desires to resettle using a credit card, the

payment server 250 reads the TID of the corresponding consumer from the

consumer information database 210 and transmits the TID to a payment

authentication server 430, the payment authentication server 430 that stores

information on the consumers' credit cards checks whether the TID is a correct one, and transfers money to the provider's account server 420 from

the consumer's account server 410 using the consumer's card information.

As described above, the payment authentication server 430 is used to

maintain the security of the consumer's credit card information. Also, in the

case the consumer resettles using cash, the payment server 250 transfers

resettlement money to the provider's account server 420 from the

consumer's account server.

FIG. 3 shows a flow chart of a product management method according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

As shown, the product management method comprises: authenticating a consumer in step S310, drawing up an order contract in step S320, executing a first payment in step S330, receiving the product volume from the provider measurer 310 and the consumer measurer 110 in step

S340, determining a second payment in step S350, determining a second

payment method in step S360, paying with cash in step S370, and paying with a credit card in step S380.

When the consumer accesses the network using the terminal 100

and transmits the consumer's log-in information to the product management

server 230 so as to access the product management server 230, the product

management server 230 compares this log-in information with the

consumer's log-in information stored in the consumer information database

210, and when the two kinds of information are matched, the product

management server 230 allows the consumer's log-in in step S310. The consumer receives the log-in allowance, receives a web

document including product information provided by the product

management server 230, reviews the same, and requests a transmission of

the order contract from the product management server 230, the product

management server 230 transmits the order contract stored in the consumer

information database 210 to the consumer so that the consumer may input

information to corresponding items via the terminal 100 in step S320.

When receiving the order contract from the consumer, the product management server 230 stores the order contract in the consumer

information database 210, and transmits the ordering information including the product categories and order quantity to the product volume-calculating

server 240 and the payment server 250, the payment server 250 checks whether the money corresponding to 95% of the ordered products is deposited to the provider account server 420 by the consumer so as to

check an execution of the first payment, and transmits checking results to the product volume-calculating server in step S330.

After receiving the ordering information and the first payment

information respectively from the product management server 230 and the

payment server 250, the product volume-calculating server 240 receives a

first product volume that is the volume of the ordered products, a second

product volume that is the volume of the products input by the provider's

measurer 310 at the time of delivery and a third product volume that is the

volume of the product input by the consumer's measurer 110, compares the first product volume with the third one, transmits a request for the consumer

to resettle a difference between the first and third product volumes to the

product volume-calculating server 240, compares the second product volume

with the third one, calculates present product volumes as much as the

amount of the difference, and updates the product volume database in step

S340.

If the first product volume is greater or equal to the third one, the

payment server 250 completes the corresponding payment and stores this information in the consumer information database 210. If the first product

volume is less than the third one, the payment server 250 displays a second payment request and a second payment method to the consumer via the

consumer terminal 100 in step S350. In this instance, the payment server 250 selects either cash or credit card as the second payment method in step

S360. When the consumer selects cash as the payment method according

to the second payment request and inputs the consumer's bank account

number, the payment server 250 transfers money to the provider's account

server 420 from the account server that stores the consumer's account using

the consumer's account number in step S370.

Also, when the consumer selects a credit card as the payment

method according to the second payment request, the payment server 250

transmits the TID stored in the consumer information database 210 to the

payment authentication server 430 so that the payment authentication server 430 may authenticate the TID, and when the TID is authenticated, the

payment authentication server 430 transfers the money to the provider's

account server 420 from the consumer's account server 410 using the

stored consumer's credit card information in step S380.

While this invention has been described in connection with what is

presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is

to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed

embodiments, but, on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications

and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

For example, the described servers can be implemented in the hardware or software methods. The consumer and provider's measurers can

be connected to the network in wire and wireless manners.

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. In a product management system using a consumer's terminal for

transmitting information by accessing a network and a consumer's measurer,

a product management system comprising:

a consumer information database for storing consumer information

including order contracts for ordering products and execution states of the

order contracts;

a product information database for storing categories and volumes of present products;

a product management server for providing the categories and

volumes of the present products to the consumer, transmitting the order contract to the consumer's terminal, storing the completed order contract in

the consumer information database, and providing information on a delivery

of the products ordered according to the order contract and changes of the product volume generated while transferring the products to the consumer

via the consumer's terminal;

a product volume-calculating server for receiving the ordered

product volume and the consumer's product volume input by the consumer's

measurer, comparing the ordered product volume with the consumer's

product volume, storing the difference of comparison results in the consumer

information database, and requesting the consumer to resettle as much as

the amount of the difference; and

a payment server for firstly paying according to the order contract and secondly paying as much as the amount of money according to the

resettlement request.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the consumer information

database further stores the consumer's log-in information, and when the

consumer inputs log-in information via the consumer's terminal to transmit

the log-in information to the product management server, the product

management server determines the consumer's log-in states using the log-in

information.

3. The system of claim 1 or 2, wherein the product management

server is a web server for supporting web documents.

4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the payment server pays for a

predetermined portion of the ordered volume of the order contract at the time

of the first payment.

5. The system of claim 1 , wherein the system further comprises a

provider's measurer for measuring the product volume at a time of delivery,

and the product volume-calculating server subtracts the provider's product

volume input by the provider's measurer from the present product volume in

stock, updates the product volume in stock, and stores updated results in the

product information database.

6. The system of claim 1 or 5, wherein the product volume-

calculating server subtracts the consumer's product volume from the

provider's product volume, processes the subtraction results as a loss cost,

and stores processed results in the product information database.

7. The system of claim 1 , wherein the consumer information

database stores transaction identifications (TID), and when the consumer

desires to use a credit card as a payment method, the payment server

transmits the TID to a payment authentication server and transfers money to

the provider's account server from a consumer's account server using the

consumer's credit card information provided by the payment authentication

server.

8. The system of claim 1 or 5, wherein the consumer's measurer

and the provider's measurer comprise a wireless network accessing device.

9. In a product management method using a consumer's terminal

for transmitting information by accessing a network and a consumer's

measurer, a product management method comprising: transmitting an order contract and enabling the consumer to input

information including categories and volumes of desired products to corresponding items to draw up an order contract; requesting a first payment according to the order contract and

checking an execution state of the first payment; and

determining a second payment state using a difference between

an ordered product volume and a consumer's product volume measured by

the consumer's measurer, and requesting the second payment state.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the method further comprises:

authenticating the consumer's log-in using the consumer's log-in information

transmitted via the consumer's terminal.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the method further comprises:

calculating a present product volume in stock using a provider's product

volume, the provider's product volume being measured by a provider's

measurer for measuring the provider's product volume provided by a

provider.

12. The method of claim 9 or 11 , wherein the method further comprises processing a difference between the provider's product volume

and the consumer's product volume.