WO2001073646A2

WO2001073646A2 - System and method of real-time electronic commerce

Info

Publication number: WO2001073646A2
Application number: PCT/US2001/003222
Authority: WO
Inventors: Peter F. Fox
Original assignee: Zulunet, Inc.
Priority date: 2000-03-28
Filing date: 2001-01-31
Publication date: 2001-10-04
Also published as: AU2001233197A1; WO2001073646A8

Abstract

A method and system of effecting a commercial transaction among a plurality of parties in a networked computer environment is disclosed. A host management server is connected via a publicly accessible communications network with a user and a plurality of service providers, which have been invited by the user. Each service provider owns or controls a commercial asset that is to be negotiated between the user and the service provider. A plurality of real-time communication channels are established between the user and plurality of service providers via the management host server to define an on-line, networked trade forum for negotiating commercial and legal terms contained in a template. The real-time communication channels prevent a respective service provider from learning any negotiation terms of respective other service providers that are in communication with the user within the on-line, networked trade forum. A legal repository, such as a database, maintains a record of any negotiated terms via the template.

Description

SYSTEM AND METHOD OF REAL-TIME ELECTRONIC COMMERCE

Field of the Invention

This invention relates to the field of electronic commerce, and more particularly, this invention relates to the field of electronic commerce that occurs with participants in real-time.

Background of the Invention The use of the Internet in everyday business has led to a greater market transparency between buyers of goods and services and owners of products and saleable assets, i.e., finished goods, financial instruments, including insurance, and transportation facilities. Asset owners have been able to gain more power and use it directly in their relationships with their ultimate buyers. More businesses are gravitating to the

Internet for directly connecting buyers and sellers of goods through many rapidly emerging electronic markets. This is especially relevant in the cargo charter industry, where shippers (buyers) and cargo carriers (sellers) can be brought together to facilitate charter services. Other business-to-business markets can only use a few catalogue products, which provide a standard means to interchange information. Thus, a limited amount of work will provide access to a large number of markets.

Business-to-business users of these catalogues are currently given access to a limited number of closed logistics and trade systems, e.g., FEDEX, UPS, USPS, and similar services. These users are also only given access to limited financial services, e.g., credit card, direct account transfer and fixed contract purchasing, none of which suit many of the demands of the business-to-business trade. Some supply chain integration is locked in the old world of paper documents and replicated in silicon, either through electronic data interexchange (EDI), or on the Internet. This process is not a real-time process and is complicated to use when multiple parties are involved.

For example, most on-line shopping sites are built on databases. A potential customer visits a web site and browses for a product by searching with a web browser as part of client software forming a user interface and through a database connected to the host processor acting as a web server. Payment is made by credit card after finding the product and entering a secure area of the web site. When the customer presses a submit or other button, the information is sent from the customer (user) or client's computer to a secure transaction server over the Internet in an encrypted fashion. The transaction server receives the encrypted information, decrypts it, and then verifies the account with the credit card company to ensure that the card is valid. The transaction server confirms the order back to the customer, also refreshing the web page, which can be printed by the customer. The transaction server also sends an order to a warehouse, which ships the product to the customer.

If an on-line shopping cart is used, then a "cookie" is positioned as a small piece of data on a customer's hard disk, which is used to identify that client or user station. Whenever the database is searched and the customer clicks on the item, then a new piece of data can be written to the cookie to identify the item. The cookie can be used to tell a web server what items to display on the page. When the items are actually bought, the items can be deleted from the cookie.

In an on-line auction, a seller completes an item form, indicating what item is to be auctioned, and then transmits the data to an auction site's database to create a record for the seller. A web page is created when a potential bidder accesses the database. The program or script takes information from the database to create the web page. When a potential bidder views the item via the web page and wants to bid on it, the bidder fills out a form to update the auction record in the database. When the web page describing the auction is updated, the new bid is reflected for all potential bidders. After a predetermined period of time, the auction closes and the database is queried to determine which bidder has the highest bid. The bidder and seller then contact each other privately to negotiate or arrange for shipping .

As a result, there is no open, real-time trade or web portal that provides a choice of logistics and finance options for buyers and sellers, such as shippers and cargo carriers, insurance companies, finance companies and associated service providers who use the Internet. Siimmary of the Invention

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a method and system of effecting a commercial transaction among a plurality of parties in a networked computer environment in real-time. It is still another object of the present invention to provide an on-line networked trade forum that can be user monitored for effecting a commercial transaction among a plurality of parties. It is still another object of the present invention to provide a method and system of effecting a commercial transaction among a plurality of parties in a networked computer environment in real-time, where a record of negotiated terms can be maintained. In accordance with the present invention, a method and system of effecting a commercial transaction among a plurality of parties in a networked computer environment are disclosed. The method comprises the step of a user inviting a plurality of different service providers that each own or control a commercial asset that is to be negotiated into an on-line, networked trade forum. Real-time communication channels are established between the user and each service provider that entered the on-line, networked trade forum. The communication channels prevent a respective service provider from learning any negotiation terms of respective other service providers that are communicating with the user within the on-line, networked trade forum. A record is maintained of the negotiated terms within a legal repository, which in one aspect of the present invention, is a database associated with a host management server, which together with other servers and trade services, form an Internet trade portal. The method also comprises the step of storing a template of negotiated legal and commercial terms within the legal repository. A sequence of negotiations can be recorded among the user and service providers within the template. The template can later be brought up in further negotiations that have been reconvened after a user, such as a shipper, and acting as a monitor, has terminated or closed negotiations.

The method can also comprise the step of identifying which service providers have an acceptable rating from a commercial rating service, and then inviting only those service providers that have the acceptable rating. At least one of the service providers can invite a plurality of service providers into the on-line, networked trade forum for negotiating another commercial asset that is operative with the original negotiated asset. For example, goods suppliers may contact other transport service providers, such as cargo carriers, and establish real-time communication channels for negotiating transport of the goods.

The user can also act as a moderator within the on-line, networked trade forum for controlling any negotiations among the user and service providers. The commercial asset can comprise one of manufactured goods, money used for credit, money used for insurance risk mitigation, or a physical transport mode to move any manufactured goods. A contract can be negotiated between the user and at least one service provider, and then the fulfillment of the contract terms can be tracked via the legal repository by bringing up the template, such as through a web browser, and viewing the template downstream in the time process.

In a system for effecting a commercial transaction among a plurality of parties, a management host server and a user station and plurality of service provider stations that have been invited by the user station are in communication via a publicly accessible communications network with the management host server. Each service provider station owns or controls a commercial asset that is to be negotiated between the user station and service provider station. A plurality of real-time communication channels are established between the user station and plurality of service provider stations via the management host server to define an on-line, networked trade forum for negotiating commercial and legal terms. The real-time communication channels prevent a respective service provider station from learning any negotiation terms of respective other service provider station that are in communication with the user station within the on-line, network trade forum. A legal repository maintains a record of any negotiated terms.

In one aspect of the present invention, a template of legal and commercial terms that have been negotiated, i.e., business arrangements and terms for conducting business, are stored within the legal repository. This template can express the legal and commercial terms of the business transaction. The template can be updated and changed during negotiations with the legal and commercial terms of a business transaction. If the user and service providers stop negotiations, and reconvene at a later time, the template will contain a written record of the previous negotiations. The template could be a number of different configurations as suggested to those skilled in the art, including a spreadsheet format.

In still another aspect of the present invention, a user interface is contained on the user station and has a browser for searching a database for commercial assets to be negotiated. The service provider can also include a browser for accessing various functions and services of the trade portal. The user can arrange for the commercial rating of the service provider through the user interface. Brief Description of the Drawings

Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description of the invention which follows, when considered in light of the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic, fragmentary drawing showing the international trade logistics of goods, transport and money or finance, which are integrated via business-to-business commerce with the sourcing, ordering and delivery of these services.

FIG. 2 is a schematic, block diagram showing the trade portal with the management host server and the networked connection between the on-line users and service providers.

FIG. 3 is a high level schematic, block diagram showing the management host server that works in conjunction with the storage manager (server) for the primary legal repository and replica legal repository, XML filters, and EDI translator service. FIG. 4 is another high level, schematic, block diagram showing the interrelationship among the management host server, user and service providers.

FIG. 5 is another schematic drawing showing the management host server and its connection to various users and service providers to integrate the electronic markets of goods, finance and insurance, transport and regulatory, e.g., customs.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart illustrating the functional flow of an example of the basic method of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a schematic, block diagram showing various client, e.g., user stations that have a user interface for access to the different electronic markets and legal repository. FIG. 8 shows another schematic block diagram of the information flow among various servers and applications in one aspect of the present invention.

FIG. 9 shows a graphical user interface (GUI) that is an example of what type of GUI could be used in the present invention.

Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments For purposes of this description, a shipper is defined as any person that organizes the movement of purchased goods. For example, a shipper could be a person working for an intermediary company that organizes the shipment of goods for others. A shipper could also be a person working for an organization that produces the goods for shipment, a person working for the organization that buys the goods, an individual selling goods, or an individual buying goods.

A service provider, on the other hand, is defined as any person owning or controlling an asset, where an asset is one of: (1) manufactured goods; (2) money used for credit or insurance risk mitigation; or (3) a physical transport mode used to move goods. In contrast to a service provider, a service is the use of assets by a service provider on behalf of a shipper. Throughout this description, the term "user" will refer to a shipper who uses the trade portal and system for locating goods and services, integrating goods, transport, finance and services, and even acting as a moderator for real-time negotiation.

The present invention is advantageous because it now provides a method and system of effecting a commercial transaction among a plurality of parties in a networked computer environment using real-time communication channels between a user, such as a shipper, and a number of invited service providers. FIG. 1 illustrates the three major areas of international trade logistics which are the key to the asset market, such as goods 10, transport 12 and money 14, e.g., finance/insurance. The present invention allows the integration of these electronic markets in the supply chain. Goods can be sourced, and ordered with appropriate financing and insurance, and then transported in delivery. The present invention provides an Internet trade portal 20, illustrated generally in the block diagram of FIG. 2, having aspects of a horizontal portal 20a and vertical portal 20b. The horizontal portal works with a user 22, e.g., shipper, who is on-line and has a user interface application 24 that interfaces with a host management server 26, which has an associated database, various associated functions and applications, such as a real-time Trade Forum, Trade File, Trade Link, Trade Alerts and Trade News, as will be explained in greater detail below. The Trade Portal also provides a vertical portal20b for locating goods and services with multi-party and Internet enabled service providers 30 that can network with the trade portal 20. The horizontal portal 20a aspect of the trade portal 20 integrates the process for goods, transport, finance and services, such as quoting, contracting, tracking and paying. The vertical portal 20b aspect allows a user to locate goods and services .

FIG. 3 illustrates a user 22 at a user station 22a that is in communication via the Internet 32 to the web server 34 that is part of the host management server 26, which includes a trade forum application 36 that establishes a trade forum for realtime exchange and negotiating. A storage manager and server 38 is operated and associated with a primary legal repository 40, e.g., database, and a replica legal repository 42, e.g., database, for redundancy in case the repository 40 is inoperative. The repository 40 contains information about service providers 30 and templates used for transacting and negotiating in business, as will be explained below. Extensible Markup Language (XML) filters, as known to those skilled in the art, connect to the repositories 40,42, and work in conjunction with Electronic Data Interexchange (EDI) translator service 46, which could receive signals and information from remote sources 46a (FIG. 7) . The

Electronic Data Interexchange translator service allows a transfer of information between organizations and machine-readable form in order to carry out business transactions, while also allowing translation services for inherent language differences. As is well known in EDI, the basic flow of information is the same as in conventional business except that electronic messages take the place of paper.

FIG. 4 illustrates yet another more detailed view of the trade portal 20, and the management host server 26 that is connected to the user station 22a having a client software for browsing the Internet and enabling software for connecting into the trade portal 20. For purposes of this description, the user station 22a is operated by a shipper who connects via the Internet to the trade portal 20 and management host server 26, and establishes real-time communication channels between the user and each service provider that is entered and on-line in a trade forum. The independent communication channels prevent a respective service provider from learning any negotiation terms of respective other service providers that are in communication with the user within the on-line, networked trade forum, and are shown by the dashed line configuration 21. A record of the negotiated terms are maintained within the legal repository 40 as part of a database. As illustrated, the service providers include service providers 30a of goods that have their computers at their stations connected to the management host server 26, service providers 30b for transport services that have their computers of their stations connected to the management host server, and service providers 30c for finance services. The finance service provider is not connected at this time in the example shown. Each of the illustrated service providers for goods has a realtime communication channel with the user, but cannot determine the negotiations of any other respective service provider that is linked into the on-line trade forum. When negotiations have been completed, one service provider 30a for goods that has come close to final negotiations with the user could invite service providers for transport services into the trade forum to discuss transport services and begin negotiations.

Separate communication channels as shown in dotted line 21a configuration are established.

The trade portal 20 includes the management host processor 26 that generates a web site, such as the Zulunet™ web site. The trade portal 20 offers other information services related to international trade domestic tracking, and related information in a similar manner how other Internet portals provide services directed to a specific group, such as women or college students.

Also, throughout this description, the term "Internet-enabled" or "trade-enabled" refers to an Internet or EDI system used by a third party, who has implemented a network interface specification for connections and communicating with the trade portal, and has accepted the commercial and contractual terms of linking its site into the trade portal and associated servers to allow the real-time trade. A network interface specification is a specification of the communications protocols and message formats used to support the interaction of Internet-enabled systems that connect to the trade portal. A trade link application 50 (FIG. 7) can be provided as a proprietary software code that provides a standardized interface, based on the network interface specification, to facilitate the connection of third party systems into the trade portal, while a trade file application 52, is a personalized, on-line and real-time application that allows a user to locate, order and manage goods, transport and finance in an integrated manner via the services of the trade portal 20.

FIG. 5 illustrates the management host server 26 as sending the appropriate HTML files to a user to bring up a main web page 54, which can direct a user to other web pages, such as finance and insurance web pages 56, where further information can be obtained about finance and insurance service providers. Web pages 58,60 relating to transport and goods can also be brought up by the user, giving information about the various service providers of those goods and transport services. It is also possible to bring up web pages about regulatory agencies, e.g., customs information. FIG. 6 illustrates an example of basic flow chart of a method that could be used with the present invention. FIG. 6 is only illustrative of various types and the flow of information that can occur in the process. Naturally, FIG. 6 is not limiting, but only represents one example of the method. For purposes of clarity, reference numerals begin with the number 100, and run sequentially.

The user initially starts (block 100) and connects via the Internet to the trade portal (block 102) . HTML codes are forwarded by the management host server, and the client software forming the user interface brings up a main web page for the "Zulunet™" trade portal. While connected to this trade portal, the user can search a database for commercial assets to be negotiated, which could include goods, transport, finance, insurance or other services, as suggested and known to those skilled in the art (block 104).

The user 22 then searches for relevant templates to be presented to service providers (block 106), or obtains a user prepared template. These templates contain legal and commercial forms, having terms that define the business relationship to be negotiated. The template also defines the business rules of the trade forum. The templates can be formed as a spreadsheet type form or other format that would express the various legal and commercial terms. The service providers 30 are then invited to the trade forum (block 108) and a real-time communication channel is established to each service provider (block 110) . The application software can vary as known to those skilled in the art for establishing the communication channels. An example is a software program entitled Net Meeting by Microsoft Corporation. Other examples are known to those skilled in the art. The service providers 30, as noted before, each own or control an asset to be negotiated. Typically, the user 22 will negotiate with various service providers for one asset or a plurality of different assets.

Portions of the template or the entire template are then presented before the service provider (block 112) via the service provider software interface that is Internet-enabled and operable with the trade portal. In some instances, it may not be necessary to have a service provider view an entire template, but only portions of the template that are relevant to the particular services are presented before the service provider .

Throughout the real-time communication, the user can act as a moderator during the negotiation of commercial and legal terms that define the template (block 114). The template is updated, or revised (block 116) , as negotiations continue, and if the negotiations are complete and a contract made (block 118), then the session is terminated (block 120) and the transaction is tracked via the template (block

122) . For example, a user or shipper can bring up the template and determine if a scheduled cargo carrier flight has been delayed or other problems have occurred in the shipment. Naturally, the management host server as part of the trade portal can contact a shipper or user if there is a problem, such as through e-mail, paging, cellular service, by phone operator, or other means known to those skilled in the art. The process then ends if there have been no problems (block 124). If negotiations are not complete (block 118), it is possible that the moderator (e.g., shipper) or other party desires to cancel the session and reconvene at a later time. Thus, a time is established to reconvene (block 126) and the session terminated (block 128) . The session is reconvened at the appointed time and date, and the template is brought up before the service providers and user (block 130) with the template defining the record of the negotiations that have previously occurred. Negotiation occurs again (block 132), and if a contract or other agreement consummated (block 134), the session is terminated (block 136) and the transaction is tracked via the template (block 138) as before, and then ended when completed (block 140) . If negotiations are not complete, then the steps of blocks 126 through 134 are repeated.

FIGS. 7 and 8 disclose in block, schematic format applications that are available through the trade portal via the main Zulunet web page or other means operative with the client software interface application.

This open, real-time trading system using the trade portal, allows many market participants to share information and coordinate the trade process and interactions among the goods, finance and transport markets. Equal participation by users in an open market allows the participants to cooperate to the extent of promoting the collective capability of the total market space, without removing the incentive to compete. In essence, a small number of companies, e.g., FEDEX and UPS, own significant percentages of the total market space through the use of proprietary and closed trading systems. The remainder of the market is fragmented among multiple small to medium companies. The trade portal 20 allows a major portion of the remainder of the market to be "de-fragmented" through the use of the open trading network system, which allows the electronic replication of the existing trade process and its related paper documents and associated overheads of duplication, rigid process and assumptions about relationships between market participants.

The trade portal 20 through which service providers can promote and sell the use of their assets and related services, creates a larger open market for all participants, than could be achieved through closed systems, as described before. Shippers can now electronically coordinate the purchasing of goods and related finance with the acquisition and management of transport facilities from origin to destination. The trade portal 20 allows coordination and purchase of goods, transport and finance by routing consistent information, entered once, between these markets. The open and publicly accessible trade portal acts as a funnel to attract a large part of the open trade logistics market and acts similar to an intelligent switch for coordinating the purchase of goods, transport and finance, by routing consistent information, entered once, between these markets.

A user, such as a shipper, can electronically navigate to service provider sites and view and respond to service offers from these service providers 30. The shipper can view and use market information, e.g., rates, schedules, news, competitor intelligence, etc., and locate and order goods in an Internet-enabled, service goods market, such as receive order related information from a buyer, who has ordered goods. The shipper can locate, order, and manage and track transport facilities in Internet-enabled transport markets, and locate, order and manage financial instruments in Internet-enabled finance markets or receive information relevant to the transport process from a buyer who has ordered financial instruments. The shipper can also send and receive information in the form of industry standard electronic documents to participants using traditional supply chain management systems, and store and retrieve a record of transactions used to complete a specific consignment.

Service providers 30 also have advantages of the present invention. A service provider is able to: (1) navigate all Internet-enabled sites that connect to the trade portal; (2) advertise new services and rates to shippers; (3) publish market information; (4) receive and respond to orders for finance, insurance and transport; (5) publish available inventory or financial services; and (6) publish status information in regard to the physical carriage of the consignment and the documentary milestones, e.g., letter of credit accepted, declared, insure secured, and other associated documents. They also have access to a greater market than possible than if the service providers developed their own closed systems. The service providers can have a better return on assets deployed, and direct access to shippers. They also have lower marketing overheads and lower implementation overheads.

Shippers now have access to open markets for transport and finance, enabling them a choice and therefore price and delivery option benefits. The trade portal coordinates related activities in the financial and transport electronic markets, allowing accuracy and efficiency through sharing common information, without re-entry between the three electronic markets of goods, finance and transport. A single point can be used to track the progress of a consignment through all phases of the supply chain. Use of the trade portal and its real-time communication, and use of the template, can drive transactions through the cooperating systems of the underlying service providers and generate more revenue from these systems. The trade portal can generate revenue, which could include: (1) advertising commissions; (2) membership fees; (3) usage fees for various services related to the trade network; and (4) information feed commissions. Service providers also establish intimate relationships with their customers when using the open trade system and trade portal. This openness can be reinforced by branding, product packaging rules and implemented business processes.

Service providers 30 also may elect to perform any role in the trade process they choose and may act on behalf of others. For example, a trade bank may perform the role of shipping clerk in regard to documentation on behalf of a shipper. Service providers 30 can also elect to have their own customers enjoy the benefits of the trade portal through connection to their specific service provider's portal. A service provider 30 could offer financial services and could have buyers and sellers, for example, shippers and cargo carriers, directly connected to its own Internet-enabled portal, but use goods, catalogues and transport services from other electronic markets. Any participant may join in any market, i.e., goods, finance and transport, and will automatically be given access to the other two markets in a coordinated manner .

FIG. 7 illustrates a high level schematic, block diagram of the trade portal in one aspect of the present invention. An operational web site for the trade portal would have a hierarchy of trade portal web pages, such as Zulunet web pages. An example of these web pages could include a splash page 150, such as shown in FIG. 9, a corporate web site page and, an individualized user home page 152 that is the interface for an individualized home office application via the trade portal. Other web pages and applications that can be selected include the trade forum 36, trade alerts 154, trade news 156, and trade link 50. Other web pages that are not shown in block diagram could include a charters entry screen page for chartering aircraft flights, a reservations entry screen for reserving cargo space on an aircraft, a third party entry screen, a network shopping home page, a catalog entry screen, a trade and finance home page to access data about trade and finance, a finance company entry screen, a network services home page, and/or services company entry screen. Naturally, these are only examples of different web pages and services that could be provided via the trade portal and associated web site. Each specified page is accessible from the page one higher in the hierarchy, as known to those skilled in the art. For instance, a home page 152 could provide access to the trade forum 36, trade alerts 154, trade news 156, and trade link applications 50.

Although not illustrated in detail, a trade reservations page could enter an initial trade network service that is wholly owned and operated by the trade portal operator. Other screens could be developed and hosted by third parties. It is an objective that such sites that develop the other screens and services should carry a certification mark to show users coming in through a third party site that they are within the trade portal community and provide them with access to other community sites. The home page application 152 for individual users provides an interface to all other services, as described in the following sections. The user can tailor the home page software to display elements of information to his/her specific needs [i.e., "personalization"].

An electronic market access component 160 (FIG. 7) forms a network link and allows users to access products and services provided by service providers. This electronic market access component is presented to network users as four sub-portals: (1) a trade shop application 162 provides access to a variety of electronic catalogue services; (2) a trade port application 164 gives access to a variety of transport services; (3) a trade bank application 166 provides access to a variety of financial and insurance services; and (4) a trade services application 168 gives access to a variety of ancillary service providers . The trade forum 26 provides the on-line, real-time, networked trading forum. The users 22, such as shippers, having located product through the electronic market access component 160, can negotiate with each other to conclude deals, translate these into formal contracts, and manage the ongoing process until the goods reach their final destination. At any point in time, a "moderator," such as the user, controls the rights of other participants in the particular on-line forum. Participants can be invited or "caused to exit" by the moderator, or leave voluntarily. The moderator is essentially the person representing the buyer of a product or service, at any point in time, and can control the rules of the on-line trade forum through the underlying application. The person performing the role of the moderator may change during the course of a real-world transaction, i.e., sourcing to fulfillment, but for the majority of the time would be the person representing the shipper. An individual on-line trade forum is unique to a single real-world transaction. The rules of any individual on-line trade forum are set by the application the moderator chooses to initiate within the on-line trade forum. The application with the template controls what the participant (s) may view and/or update. There is no relationship between any two trade forums but the system can support many trade forums that are active at the same time. This allows major buyers to tailor the system to their own needs, i.e., branding, validation rules, and process. A trade forum 36 contains four main functional areas: (1) the application space that contains the complete structured information set and rules for the trade; (2) a chat system that allows users to establish multiple independent on-line meetings enabling participants to communicate in an unstructured manner, e.g., free text, about the application area being negotiated; (3) a directory system that allows users, including service providers, to register themselves as participants and allows other users to locate them by user defined criteria; and (4) an interface to the trade file application 52 to facilitate the storage of legal records in the repository and the transmission of EDI documents.

Unlike a conventional supply chain management system based on the standardized trading documents, e.g., purchase orders, invoice, etc., the application space is divided into logical areas, e.g., parties, schedules, and similar related trade areas. Moving the mouse over different buttons on an interface will present the user with different interfaces, which are used to enter relevant data. Thus, about any part of the full trading process can be input at any time as a user and service provider negotiates and build up agreements about the various elements of the trade, which are then reflected in the template.

If a third party is connected to the trade portal via an EDI link or any other type of link, i.e., VAN or Internet, and requires a standard document set, then a user can request the production of such a document from the trade forum application 36. In this case, the trade forum application 36 will validate that the required information is submitted before executing a request.

A document exchange service, referred to as the trade file application 50, supports four primary functions: (1) registration, storage and maintenance of contractual arrangements and their associated on-line dialogues between participants, i.e., "the legal repository" 40; (2) translation of information from the legal repository 40 into standards based electronic documents, e.g., EDIFACT, ANSI, XML, etc.; (3) sending and receiving standards based electronic documents over communications facilities, e.g.,

Internet, EDI networks, etc.; and (4) translation of information from electronic documents that are received over the communications facilities, and submission of this information to the legal repository, and propagation of the information to the relevant forum. The contents of the legal repository that is part of the document exchange server are updated under the following circumstances. The application template is stored when a trade forum is initiated for trade. The updated state of an application template and the trade forum log is stored when: (a) a forum is terminated; (b) a participant leaves a forum permanently; (c) a participant joins a forum initially; (d) a contractual commitment is made; and (e) an event is recorded in the forum indicating the completion of a legal commitment, e.g., goods received. At the time, a standards based electronic document is sent to or received from the translator. The applications template can also be updated when a session is terminated to be reconvened at a future time and date. A market intelligence component, referred to before as trade news 156 (FIG. 7), consists of a number of third party information feeds that are related to the activities of the three main markets, i.e., goods, transport and finance. Users can select subsets of these information feeds to create their own individual service which is tailored to their specific needs.

As noted before, the user home page consists of four major elements, as also discussed below. A user can tailor elements of the information to his/her specific needs to allow "personalization". The trade link application 50 is an interface to trade-enabled markets for goods, transport and finance. Once a user has located a product or service, he/she can submit the information via the trade link application to the trade forum and enter a negotiation phase.

The trade file application 52 is the interface to the document exchange system, and displays the contents of the legal repository in a manner analogous to a filing cabinet. It allows a user to view contract commitments in timed sequence along with any associated forum logs. Users can drill down to an individual contract or log to view the entire contents. The system administrator for the trade portal, who could be located at an operations control center, on the other hand, can manage translator and network components of the document exchange.

The trade news 156 can provide an interface to the news feeds and market information. A user can dynamically select information content that is then

"pushed" into the interface as it is updated. The user can click on any item to drill down to view an increasing level of detail. The information will typically be derived from public electronic news vendors, e.g., Reuters, or from network enabled service providers, e.g., FX rates from a bank.

The user interface is a web-based interface used to locate and buy products and services, carry out on-line real-time contract negotiations, closure and fulfillment tracking.

FIG. 8 illustrates the flow of information between the various components as has been described above. Various boxes in the diagram correspond to different functions and applications as described before, which opened through user interaction.

The Site Navigation Dialogue application provides user with hypertext links through which they can navigate to underlying third party services and locate relevant products and services. The Product

Selection Dialogue application 172 (1) returns details of any product selected by the user to trigger a quotation process; or (2) returns details of products ordered within a third party site to trigger a fulfillment process; and (3) returns details of contracts formed by users so that the relevant inventory can be updated on a third party site.

The Contract Execution Dialogue application 174 allows a user to interact with the legal repository and (1) commit, store and track contracts in real-time; (2) receive information about events in the fulfillment process; and (3) send control messages to cause the legal repository to export legal documents to the EDI translator and network system. The Event Dialogue application 176 allows the trade forum application to present raw information to the trade alerts application 154. The Logistics Events and News Dialogue application 178 allows a personalization manager application 180 to present events and news information through a single interface to a user where the user has determined the categories of information and their presentation dynamically. All applications accessible within the trade portal 20 have a single consistent view of companies and individuals for the purpose of authenticating access to the individual components and for the purpose of identifying these parties uniquely as counter parties in on-line trading. For this reason there is a central directory service that can be used to synchronize company and personal records.

Referring once again to FIG. 3, the on-line trade forum 36 interfaces with the legal repository 40 by means of a real-time message protocol that isolates the trade forum 36 from the complexities of the legal repository. The storage manager and server 38 analyses messages and either stores or retrieves data from the legal repository within the context of the messages sent by the trade forum application 36.

An example of an initial entry to the user interface application is via a menu on the splash web page as illustrated in FIG. 9. Naturally, this is an example only of a web page that could be used, but is not limiting for the present invention, as any number of web page examples are possible as known to those skilled in the art. The term "Zulu" has been applied to the trade portal.

Selecting "myZulunet" corresponds to the opening user interface and will take the user to another screen or window, that acts as a "shell" in which all other applications run. The benefit is that all the application interfaces will respond to commands on the shell, e.g., minimize, maximize, close, etc.

FIG. 9 illustrates that the pull-down menu could include selections for Transport, Finance, Goods, Services, and general information about the trade portal, Zulunet Incorporated.

A trade link application could have the following functions: (1) to provide an outward hyperlink from the user interface to each of the home pages for the underlying web sites to enable users to search for goods and services; and (2) to provide an inward interface to transfer order details from a site to the trade forum as a means to initiate an on-line negotiation process.

Many modifications and other embodiments of the invention will come to the mind of one skilled in the art having the benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing descriptions and the associated drawings. Therefore, it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the specific embodiments disclosed, and that the modifications and embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of the dependent claims.

Claims

THAT WHICH IS CLAIMED IS:

1. A method of effecting a commercial transaction among a plurality of parties in a networked computer environment comprising the steps of: a user inviting into an on-line, networked trade forum a plurality of different service providers that each own or control a commercial asset that is to be negotiated; establishing real-time communication channels between the user and each service provider that entered the on-line, networked trade forum, which prevents a respective service provider from learning any negotiation terms of respective other service providers that are communicating with the user within the on-line, networked trade forum; and maintaining a record of the negotiated terms within a legal repository.

2. A method according to Claim 1, wherein the step of maintaining a record further comprises the step of storing a template of negotiated legal and commercial terms within the legal repository.

3. A method according to Claim 2, and further comprising the step of recording a sequence of negotiations among the user and service providers within the template.

4. A method according to Claim 1, and further comprising the step of identifying which service providers have an acceptable rating from a commercial rating service, and then inviting only those service providers that have an acceptable rating.

5. A method according to Claim 1, wherein said user comprises a shipper of goods.

6. A method according to Claim 1, wherein at least one of said service providers invites a plurality of service providers into the on-line, networked trade forum for negotiating another commercial asset that is operative with the original negotiated asset.

7. A method according to Claim 1, and further comprising the step of the user acting as a moderator within the on-line, networked trade forum for controlling any negotiations among the user and service providers within the on-line, networked trade forum.

8. A method according to Claim 1, wherein the commercial asset comprises one of manufactured goods, money used for credit, money used for insurance risk mitigation, or a physical transport mode to move any manufactured goods .

9. A method according to Claim 1, and further comprising the step of terminating the on-line, networked trade forum and establishing a time in which the on-line, trade forum will be reconvened.

10. A method according to Claim 1, and further comprising the step of negotiating a contract between the user and at least one service provider and then tracking the fulfillment of the contract terms via a template in the legal repository.

11. A method of effecting a commercial transaction among a plurality of parties in a networked computer environment comprising the steps of: a user searching a database for a commercial asset that is to be negotiated; the user inviting into an on-line, networked trade forum a plurality of different service providers that each own or control the commercial asset that is to be negotiated; establishing real-time communication channels between the user and each service provider that entered the on-line, networked trade forum, which prevent a respective service provider from learning any negotiation terms of respective other service providers that are communicating with the user within the on-line, networked trade forum; and maintaining a record of the negotiated terms within a legal repository.

12. A method according to Claim 11, wherein the step of maintaining a record further comprises the step of storing a template of negotiated legal and commercial terms within the legal repository.

13. A method according to Claim 12, and further comprising the step of recording a sequence of negotiations among the user and service providers within the template.

14. A method according to Claim 11, and further comprising the step of identifying which service providers have an acceptable rating from a commercial rating service, and then inviting only those service providers that have an acceptable rating.

15. A method according to Claim 11, wherein said user comprises a shipper of goods.

16. A method according to Claim 11, wherein at least one of said service providers invites a plurality of service providers into the on-line, networked trade forum for negotiating another commercial asset that is operative with the original negotiated asset.

17. A method according to Claim 11, and further comprising the step of the user acting as a moderator within the on-line, networked trade forum for controlling any negotiations among the user and service providers within the on-line, networked trade forum.

18. A method according to Claim 11, wherein the asset comprises one of a manufactured goods, money used for credit, money used for insurance risk itigation, or a physical transport mode to move any manufactured goods.

19. A method according to Claim 11, and further comprising the step of terminating the on-line, networked trade forum and establishing a time in which the on-line, trade forum will be reconvened.

20. A method according to Claim 11, and further comprising the step of negotiating a contract between the user and at least one service provider and then tracking the fulfillment of the contract terms via the legal repository.

21. A method of effecting a commercial transaction among a plurality of parties in a networked computer environment comprising the steps of: a user inviting into an on-line, networked trade forum a plurality of different service providers that each own or control a commercial asset that is to be negotiated; presenting a template before each service provider containing legal and commercial terms that define how a business transaction will be conducted; establishing real-time communication channels between the user and each service provider that entered the on-line, networked trade forum, which prevents a respective service provider from learning any negotiation terms of respective other service providers that are communicating with the user within the on-line, networked trade forum; recording a sequence of negotiations among the user and service providers within the template; and storing the template within a legal repository.

22. A method according to Claim 21, and further comprising the step of negotiating a contract between the user and at least one service provider and then tracking the fulfillment of the contract terms by viewing updated versions of the template that reflect how the contract terms are being fulfilled.

23. A method according to Claim 21, and further comprising the step of presenting only selected portions of a template before a service provider.

24. A method according to Claim 21, and further comprising the step of a user searching a database for the commercial asset that is to be negotiated.

25. A method according to Claim 21, and further comprising the step of the user acquiring a template from a database.

26. A method according to Claim 21, and further comprising the step of the user preparing a template that will be used in a business transaction.

27. A method according to Claim 21, and further comprising the step of identifying which service providers have an acceptable rating from a commercial rating service, and then inviting only those service providers that have an acceptable rating from the commercial rating service.

28. A method according to Claim 21, wherein said user comprises a shipper of goods.

29. A method according to Claim 21, wherein at least one of said service providers invites a plurality of service providers into the on-line, networked trade forum for negotiating another asset that is operative with the original negotiated asset.

30. A method according to Claim 21, and further comprising the step of the user acting as a moderator within the on-line, networked trade forum for controlling any negotiations within the on-line, networked trade forum.

31. A method according to Claim 21, wherein the commercial asset comprises one of a manufactured goods, money used for credit, money used for insurance risk mitigation, or a physical transport mode to move any manufactured goods.

32. A method according to Claim 21, and further comprising the step of terminating the on-line, networked trade forum and establishing a time in which the on-line, trade forum will be reconvened.

33. A method of effecting a commercial transaction among a plurality of parties in a networked computer environment comprising the steps of: a user inviting into an on-line, networked trade forum a plurality of different service providers that each own or control a commercial asset that is to be negotiated; presenting before each service provider a template containing legal and commercial terms that define how a business transaction will be conducted; establishing real-time communication channels between the user and each service provider that entered the on-line, networked trade forum, which prevents a respective service provider from learning any negotiation terms of respective other service providers that are communicating with the user within the online, networked trade forum; recording a sequence of negotiations among the user and service providers within the template; terminating the on-line, networked trade forum while establishing a time for reconvening the online, networked trade forum; storing the template within a legal repository.

34. A method according to Claim 33, and further comprising the step of presenting only selected portions of a template before a service provider.

35. A method according to Claim 33, and further comprising the step of a user searching a database for the commercial asset that is to be negotiated.

36. A method according to Claim 33, and further comprising the step of the user acquiring a template from a database.

37. A method according to Claim 33, and further comprising the step of the user preparing a template that will be used in a business transaction.

38. A method according to Claim 33, and further comprising the step of identifying which service providers have an acceptable rating from a commercial rating service, and then inviting only those service providers that have an acceptable rating.

39. A method according to Claim 33, wherein said user comprises a shipper of goods.

40. A method according to Claim 33, wherein at least one of said service providers invites a plurality of service providers into the on-line, networked trade forum for negotiating another asset that is operative with the original negotiated asset.

41. A method according to Claim 33, and further comprising the step of the user acting as a moderator within the on-line, networked trade forum for controlling any negotiations among the user and service providers within the on-line, networked trade forum.

42. A method according to Claim 33, wherein the commercial asset comprises one of a manufactured goods, money used for credit, money used for insurance risk mitigation, or a physical transport mode to move any manufactured goods.

43. A method according to Claim 33, and further comprising the step of negotiating a contract between the user and at least one service provider and then tracking the fulfillment of the contract terms by viewing updated versions of the template that reflect how the contract terms are being fulfilled.

44. A system for effecting a commercial transaction among a plurality of parties comprising: a management host server and a user station and plurality of service provider stations that have been invited by the user and are in communication via a publicly accessible communications network with the management host server, wherein each service provider station owns or controls a commercial asset that is to be negotiated between the user station and the service provider station; a plurality of real time communication channels established between the user station and plurality of service provider stations via the management host server to define an on-line, networked trade forum for negotiating commercial and legal terms, wherein said real time communication channels prevent a respective service provider from learning any negotiation terms of respective other service providers that are in communication with the user within the on-line, networked trade forum; and a legal repository for maintaining a record of any negotiated terms.

45. A system according to Claim 44, and further comprising a template of legal and commercial terms that have been negotiated and stored within the legal repository.

46. A system according to Claim 44, wherein the template expresses the legal and commercial terms of a business transaction.

47. A system according to Claim 44, wherein the template is updated during negotiations with the legal and commercial terms of a business transaction.

48. A system according to Claim 44, and further comprising a user interface on the user station having a browser for searching a database for a commercial asset to be negotiated.

49. A system according to Claim 44, and further comprising a user interface on the user station and operable for arranging for commercial rating of a service provider.

50. A system according to Claim 44, and wherein the user station comprises a shipper of goods.

51. A system according to Claim 44, and wherein the commercial asset further comprises one of manufactured goods, money used for credit, money used for insurance risk mitigation, or a physical transport mode to move any manufactured goods.

52. A system according to Claim 44, wherein the legal repository comprises a database.