WO2001077956A1 - Systems and methods for aligning interests in an on-line business-to-business exchange - Google Patents

Systems and methods for aligning interests in an on-line business-to-business exchange Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2001077956A1
WO2001077956A1 PCT/US2001/011147 US0111147W WO0177956A1 WO 2001077956 A1 WO2001077956 A1 WO 2001077956A1 US 0111147 W US0111147 W US 0111147W WO 0177956 A1 WO0177956 A1 WO 0177956A1
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WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
buyer
seller
set forth
exchange
payment
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/US2001/011147
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
Alex E. Suarez
Original Assignee
Meritspan Holdings, Inc.
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Meritspan Holdings, Inc. filed Critical Meritspan Holdings, Inc.
Priority to AU2001253182A priority Critical patent/AU2001253182A1/en
Publication of WO2001077956A1 publication Critical patent/WO2001077956A1/en

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Classifications

    • GPHYSICS
    • G06COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06QINFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • G06Q20/00Payment architectures, schemes or protocols
    • G06Q20/08Payment architectures
    • G06Q20/12Payment architectures specially adapted for electronic shopping systems
    • GPHYSICS
    • G06COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06QINFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • G06Q20/00Payment architectures, schemes or protocols
    • G06Q20/02Payment architectures, schemes or protocols involving a neutral party, e.g. certification authority, notary or trusted third party [TTP]
    • GPHYSICS
    • G06COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06QINFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • G06Q20/00Payment architectures, schemes or protocols
    • G06Q20/04Payment circuits
    • GPHYSICS
    • G06COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06QINFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • G06Q30/00Commerce
    • G06Q30/02Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising

Definitions

  • this invention relates generally to systems and methods for providing on-line business-to-business exchanges and, more particularly, to systems and methods for providing a secure environment for facilitating payments in an on-line exchange.
  • this invention relates generally to systems and methods for providing on-line business-to-business exchanges and, more particularly, to systems and methods for enabling price negotiations in an on-line exchange.
  • this invention relates generally to systems and methods for providing on-line business-to- business exchanges and, more particularly, to systems and methods for aligning interests of members and the on-line exchange.
  • the Internet facilitates commerce by reducing the cost of conducting business.
  • Many sites are business-to-consumer (B2C) sites in that they are aimed at selling goods or services to the general consuming public.
  • Other sites on the Internet in contrast, are business-to- business (B2B) sites in that they are geared toward commerce that is transacted between two businesses.
  • VerticalNet uses advertising auctions to drive commerce revenue and has an industry-trade show orientation.
  • the site charges advertisers for appearing on storefronts with advertisers being able to request proposals and to bid for certain products.
  • the site derives revenue from storefront ads, sponsorships, buttons, banners, and job listings and also through a percentage of auctions.
  • VerticalNet has a number of industry- focused Internet communities where business can be conducted, such as in Advance Technologies, Communications, Environmental, Food and Packaging, Food Service/Hospitality, Healthcare and Science, Manufacturing and Metals, Process, Public Sector, Service, and Textiles And Apparel.
  • Ariba Ariba provides a B2B commerce platform for managing buying, selling, and marketplace commerce processes.
  • the B2B platform includes procurement, marketplace, dynamic trade, and collaborative commerce applications.
  • the platform also includes a number of interchangeable components, such as Catalog and Content, Reporting and Analysis, Supplier Enablement and Messaging and Integration.
  • the B2B sites on the Internet are aggregators for buyers and sellers. For instance, with VerticalNet, not only does the site offer business-to-business exchanges for a plurality of industries, but each ofthe industries has a number of buyers and sellers. The large number of buyers and sellers in many B2B sites renders many of the sites impersonal and difficult to traverse. The B2B sites also encourage commoditization whereby products are sold in large quantities, at relatively fixed prices, and with low margins. The B2B sites on the Internet have generally tended to take much ofthe personal contact between companies out ofthe transaction. The personal contact, however, is an important facet of a business relationship.
  • B2B sites that have greater allowance for personal interaction and personal preferences and to enable negotiations on price and value in tandem.
  • Another shortcoming of many B2B sites is the way in which payments are conducted.
  • many B2B sites rely on conventional methods of paying for goods or services, such as with credit cards or some form of a check.
  • This type of payment requires the buyer to transmit sensitive financial information through the Internet to the B2B site for effecting payment.
  • many businesses also have concerns about transmitting their sensitive financial information over the Internet.
  • the lack of a more secure method of paying for goods or services is a deterrent to conducting business through a B2B site.
  • B2B sites require companies to substantially alter their internal procedures for purchasing or selling goods and services. For instance, companies may have certain policies regarding the approval of a purchase which some B2B sites cannot accommodate. As another example, a seller may wish to offer a special price to one particular seller based on a special relationship the two companies share. Conversely, a buyer may wish to request a special price in light ofthe buyer agreeing to a delay in a prior order for goods. In general, many ofthe B2B sites do not accommodate and in fact prevent many businesses from generating goodwill with their business partners and from developing special relationships or negotiating discounts. Pricing and terms negotiated at the point of sale do not enable users to react to circumstances prevalent in the past, present, or promised in the future.
  • One way in which sellers accommodate the special relationships between different buyers is through a number of price lists.
  • One group of buyers receives a standard price for goods and services while a second group of buyers receives a different price for the same goods or services.
  • the seller may have a number of additional groups of sellers with each group being presented with a different price list. While these multiple price lists reflect the different types of relationships a seller may have with different buyers, the need to have multiple price lists greatly increases the complexity ofthe B2B site. These multiple price lists are difficult to maintain and implement and thus increase the cost of doing business. These varied price lists are inherently dated when published and cannot change with real time changes in circumstances.
  • B2B sites are aggregators in that they bring many buyers together with many sellers.
  • the B2B sites in one sense serve as a matchmaker and also reduce the cost of a transaction, thereby encouraging use ofthe B2B site.
  • Much ofthe incentive to go through the B2B site dissipates.
  • the two companies may decide to conduct business through a second B2B site which places less of a load on the transaction, may decide to simply conduct business off- line, or may conduct commerce directly between the two companies.
  • many buyers are motivated to purchase from sites with the lowest prices and the lowest transaction fees. These same buyers are usually unwilling and unmotivated to sell their products or services in the same buyer centric oriented portals.
  • the B2B sites are primarily targeted toward the mid-sized to large size companies.
  • the invention addresses the problems above by providing systems and methods for facilitating payments over the Internet.
  • the preferred systems are business-to-business exchanges on the Internet which allow sellers to post catalogs and allow buyers to review and purchase items. After the seller and buyer have formulated terms of a transaction, the exchange transmits payment transaction information to a payment facilitator.
  • the payment facilitator is connected to the exchange through a communication link that is outside ofthe Internet, such as a fractional TI line. Because the payment transaction information is transmitted over this communication link and not through the Internet, the exchange creates a more secure environment for conducting commerce.
  • the exchange may promptly notify the payment facilitator to effect a payment to the seller from the buyer or, alternatively, the exchange may instruct the payment facilitator to make the payment at a date in the future.
  • the buyer preferably has the flexibility of indicating when the payment should be made, such as in 30, 60, or 90 days or on a specific date.
  • the buyer preferably has the ability to delay the payment.
  • the exchange notifies the seller that the buyer has postponed the payment date. The exchange therefore empowers buyers to respond to financial pressures by setting or altering the date when payment occurs.
  • the exchange is targeted toward an affinity group, such as Hispanics.
  • the exchange recruits Hispanic owned or affiliated businesses as well as entities that desire to conduct business with Hispanic businesses.
  • the payment facilitators are banks and include national banks, regional banks, and local banks. The banks are connected directly to the exchange through the fractional TI line or other communication link.
  • the banks receive DDA numbers from buyers and are able to effect payments through Automated Clearing House (ACH) transactions, Fedwire, or in other such ways.
  • ACH Automated Clearing House
  • the buyers preferably open accounts with the banks so that the payments can be effected outside ofthe
  • the invention addresses the problems above by providing systems and methods for allowing buyers and sellers to negotiate over purchase prices over the Internet.
  • the systems comprise exchanges through which sellers post their catalogs and the purchase prices.
  • the buyers are able to order items through the exchange and request discounts off the purchase price.
  • the discounts may comprise a percentage off the price or may be a flat fee discount.
  • the exchange forwards to the seller an identification ofthe items, any desired discount, and preferably also the identity ofthe buyer.
  • the seller then has the ability to accept the buyer's offer, to formulate a counter-offer which is forwarded to the buyer through the exchange, or to reject the buyer's offer.
  • the exchange further assists by facilitating shipment and a transfer of a payment from the buyer to the seller.
  • the exchange is a business-to-business exchange and is one that is targeted to an affinity group, such as Hispanics.
  • the exchange also allows buyers and sellers to negotiate and agree upon other terms of the transaction, such as the mode of shipping, type of shipping, insurance, payment method, and purchase date.
  • the invention addresses the problems above by providing systems and methods for providing incentives for entities to transact commerce through an Internet exchange. The methods involve inviting a select group of entities to enroll in an incentive ownership plan. These entities may be selected according to any suitable criteria.
  • the exchange may seek entities capable of building a critical mass for the success ofthe exchange.
  • the entities that are selected and agree to the ownership plan are issued stock options in the exchange which vest based on the activities allocated to the entities.
  • the activities may be the sales or purchases ofthe entity through the exchange, referrals made by the entity, sales ofthe entity's referrals, or some other indicator.
  • the entity has a certain amount of stock options that become vested.
  • no sales, purchases, or referrals are generated the stock options expire without vesting.
  • the exchange aligns the interests ofthe member entities with that ofthe exchange.
  • the member entities have a partial ownership interest in the exchange whereby they are able to profit from the success ofthe exchange. Furthermore, by tying the vesting of stock options and the size ofthe ownership interest to their
  • Figure 1 is a block diagram of a system according to a preferred embodiment ofthe invention, which will be referred to as HispanB2B.com;
  • Figure 2 is a flow diagram illustrating a data flow according to the preferred embodiment ofthe invention.
  • Figure 3 is a flow chart of a method of company registration
  • Figures 4(A) to 4(C) depict exemplary screen shots of interfaces for joining HispanB2B.com;
  • Figure 5 is a flow chart of a member registration method
  • Figure 6 is a flow chart of a member approval method
  • Figure 7 is a flow chart of a registered user creation method
  • Figure 8 is a flow chart of a user registration method
  • Figure 9 is a screen shot of a login interface
  • Figure 10 is a screen shot of a main page interface to HispanB2B.com;
  • Figure 11 is a screen shot of a "HispanWorld” interface
  • Figures 12(A) to 12(D) are screen shots of interfaces allowing for the searching, posting of job openings, and uploading of resumes;
  • Figure 13 is a screen shot of an Associate Directory interface;
  • Figure 14 is a screen shot of an interface showing the results of a search in the
  • Figure 15 is a screen shot of an interface showing a Member Directory
  • Figure 16 is a screen shot of an interface showing the results of a search in the Member Directory
  • Figure 17 is a screen shot of an interface showing a HispanNavigator search tool
  • Figure 18 is a screen shot of an interface showing a listing of Technology Members
  • Figure 19 is a screen shot of an interface showing a member's catalog
  • Figure 20 is a screen shot of an interface depicting a catalog search tool and search results
  • Figure 21 is a flow chart of an item entry method
  • Figure 22 is a flow chart of an order status pending process
  • Figure 23 is a flow chart of a seller partner order process
  • Figure 24 is a flow chart of an order shipment process
  • Figures 25(A) to (G) are screen shots and flow diagrams illustrating Shopping Truck functionality
  • Figures 26(A) to (I) are screen shots and flow diagrams illustrating Choose Your Discount functionality
  • Figure 27 is an exemplary screen shot depicting Choose Your Discount functionality presented to a Buyer
  • Figure 28 is an exemplary screen shot depicting Choose Your Discount functionality presented to a Seller
  • Figure 29 is a flow chart of a buyer approval process
  • Figure 30 is a screen shot of an interface showing Internet Free Payment functionality
  • Figure 31 is a screen shot of a login interface for approving a transaction
  • Figure 32 is a screen shot of an Internet Free Payment interface showing one level of authorization
  • Figures 33(A) to (E) are screen shots and flow diagrams depicting IFP functionality
  • Figure 34 is a screen shot of an interface providing a personalized experience in HispanB2B.com;
  • Figures 35(A) and (B) are screen shots of an interface showing pending orders;
  • Figure 36 is a screen shot of an interface depicting reports available through the system of Figure 1 ;
  • Figure 37 is a screen shot of an interface providing order summary information.
  • Systems and methods according to the invention facilitate B2B e-commerce.
  • the systems and methods provide a vertical market place for a plurality of industries to conduct business and furthermore provide a horizontal procurement fulfillment aspect.
  • the systems and methods are targeted toward a particular affinity group within the general population, initially targeting all Hispanics. It should be understood that while the invention will be described with reference to a Hispanic B2B site or portal, the invention is not limited to Hispanics but may be adapted to other ethnic groups or to the population in general.
  • the systems and methods ofthe invention also preferably develop a sense of community with some of its business members, such as by offering access to a separate related portal, preferably called HispanWorld, offering information on news, travel, chat, e-mail, sports, music, art, health, kids, history, charity, village, and hall of fame directed toward the targeted member group, such as Hispanics.
  • a separate related portal preferably called HispanWorld
  • the systems and methods ofthe invention provide a number of advantages over conventional B2B sites, B2C sites, portals, and other businesses conducting business on or through the Internet.
  • One of these advantages is for businesses to select buyers or sellers by industry, by affinity, by products, or by a catalog search.
  • the systems and methods provide a virtual business marketplace where companies may be categorized and searched by sector, size, ownership, management, employee-make-up, as well as other factors. For instance, businesses can search based on member profiles, member press releases, site press releases, or by an associate directory.
  • the systems and methods also allow for the posting of jobs or resumes and an explanation of a company's fulfillment capabilities. Some companies may be allowed to shop directly in the industry verticals, list and update their catalog items, process and track orders/shipments, effect payments, and negotiate the purchase price at the moment in time when the decision to sell and buy is made.
  • Another advantage ofthe systems and methods according to the invention is the ability of members to personalize their experience in conducting business through the Internet.
  • frequent users can construct their own private "Cyber Business Neighborhood” housed by companies or other entities that they conduct business with or seek to conduct business.
  • This neighborhood of vendors is depicted in a city-like setting.
  • members can go to their "MyHispanB2B" site and view only those companies that are of interest to that particular member.
  • a search engine called HispanNavigator, will allow users to search and/or to select their neighbors on the basis of industry, sales, volume, ownership, management, and/or cultural affinity.
  • the systems and methods according to the invention also integrate well with existing internal policies within members ofthe B2B site. For instance, the systems and methods allow for purchases to require approval from upper management. Additionally, whereas many B2B sites present fixed prices or only nominally accommodate negotiation over price, systems and methods according to the invention allow buyers to choose a discount for a purchase. This discount is communicated to a seller which then has the option of accepting the discount or providing a counter-offer. The negotiation may continue until an agreed upon price has been reached. This ability to choose your discount allows users to react to immediate circumstances ofthe real world. Sellers of good and services no longer need to provide multiple price lists for multiple buyers but instead may maintain and respect the secrecy of pricing between themselves and sellers.
  • Both buyers and sellers have the ability to raise or lower prices in reaction to such things as positive publicity, press testimonials, changes in guarantees, promised future referrals, employee/staff referrals, friendships, and other intangibles such as goodwill.
  • true real-time interactivity with respect to pricing prevalent in the real business world, is available and replicated through the systems and methods ofthe invention.
  • a new value paradigm is thus created with an e-mail interface to enable real-time communication at the point of sale.
  • the systems and methods according to the invention also eliminate concerns many businesses have with conducting business through the Internet.
  • the systems and methods according to the invention allow for a more secure method of paying for goods and services.
  • the systems and methods ofthe invention employ payment facilitators, such as banks, for effecting payments between the buyers and sellers.
  • the buyer need not enter sensitive financial information, such as credit card information stored "in” the Internet and hosted in a "secure” hosting environment, but instead can complete a transaction through a payment "outside” ofthe Internet or “free” of real and perceived security risks.
  • the buyers establish depository accounts with the payment facilitator which stores the sensitive financial information ofthe buyer in a secure location inaccessible through the Internet.
  • the payment facilitator a bank, then effects payment through a seamless transaction, which is channeled through bank-to-bank in the Federal wire system, such as through Automated Clearing House (ACH) or Fed wire transfers. Any security breach in the payment process would occur in the banking system and not through the more vulnerable, hackable Internet system.
  • ACH Automated Clearing House
  • the systems and methods also preferably provide an order/shipment tracking function.
  • the tracking function may relate to shipping via truck, plane, boat, or other business suggestive route and allows members to check on the status of a shipment.
  • the members can be alerted when the goods have been shipped, such as through a flashing truck, plane, or boat symbol and can also be notified when the goods have been delivered, such as also through a flashing boat, plane, or truck symbol.
  • this flashing symbol appears in the member's "MyHispanB2B" page and is placed next to the seller's building (corporate logo) within the animated Business Cyber Neighborhood (BCN).
  • BCN animated Business Cyber Neighborhood
  • One advantage ofthe payment methods according to the invention is that members have greater flexibility in how and when payment is effected. Buyers can indicate how far off payment should be completed, such as within thirty days, or may specify a certain date for when the payment should be completed. Additionally, a common practice in non e- commerce business is for companies to "ride the trade.” The Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of a given company may determine that they need to delay payment to all or certain venders for various financial reasons and may therefore modify previously ordered payment terms. The systems and methods according to the invention accommodate this common practice by allowing buyers to delay payment, even after the initial terms ofthe payment were defined.
  • CFO Chief Financial Officer
  • the invention replicates payment practices in the real business world while automating the process in a more efficient cost effective fashion.
  • the systems and methods according to the invention provide incentives for members to transact business through the site and to continue to transact business through this site.
  • the members or more preferably a sub-group ofthe members, are offered an extra incentive to conduct business through the site.
  • This extra incentive in the preferred embodiment is the potential to derive a partial ownership in the overall B2B site.
  • Members typically pay a fee to have their membership in the HispanBiz community or to otherwise participate as a member in the B2B site.
  • the qualifying members are able to evolve from Members to Partners (M2P) (formerly known as "Rent To Hold") or stockholders in the HispanB2B site.
  • M2P Members to Partners
  • the interests of members and the stockholders are aligned in a legal scaleable network marketing-like platform with clear and fair incentives to channel revenue through the site and refer future members to the site.
  • the members are preferably issued stock options which can be vested only through the members' own sales through the site (not through the payment of membership fees), through referrals to the site, or through purchases made by the member. It should be understood that the stock options may be vested in other yet evolving ways to create an incentive for members to conduct business through this site.
  • stock options are the preferred vehicle for providing rights in the site, it should be understood that the invention may include other vehicles, such as warrants.
  • the systems and methods ofthe invention provide a B2B site that offers access to private equity capital.
  • the private equity in the preferred embodiment is designed to help finance Internet and non-Internet capabilities and business expansion for emerging generally undercapitalized Hispanic-owned businesses. This financing will create proprietary incentives to participate in the B2B site according to the invention.
  • the systems and methods provide an automated investment selection process for selecting certain members for private equity. This automated process shortens and filters the evaluation process. Psychological profiling within a multi-stage questionnaire enables the selection ofthe "best ofthe best" candidates for private equity investments. The automated selection process may involve monitoring the performance and hyper-growth ofthe member businesses to identify those businesses that can benefit from additional expansion capital.
  • This evaluation identifies businesses that could use the additional capital to expand their distribution capabilities, restructure capital, open new locations, enhance their technology to enable increases in efficiencies and integrate into legacy systems when desirable.
  • the desired outcome would include more efficient sales increases without bricks and mortar, upgrades in management teams, or to otherwise spur and enable hyper growth.
  • the access to private equity may also be directed later to non-members (sellers/buyers club) and allow these companies or entities to become stronger, larger, and full members ofthe B2B site.
  • the psychological profiling allows the systems and methods to generate desirable prospects utilizing a Capital Evaluator Filter.
  • an in-house Advocator is selected to help candidates compile information, enhance business plans, and co-present to the investment committees of a selected Allied Partner Funds (APF).
  • APF Allied Partner Funds
  • At least one member of the board of directors or the senior management team of a business entity practicing the invention will serve on the investment committee or the Advisory Board of an APF to help influence outcomes, help negotiate term sheets, and generate higher valuations for our private equity capital candidates.
  • PrivateEquityCap is therefore unique in that the B2B site first acts as a filter selecting only the best of breed candidates. After the best of breed candidates are identified, they are invited to make a presentation or send an "invited prescreened" business plan.
  • an in-house Advocator is assigned to better prepare for a co-presentation to a pre-selected/"pre-sold" APF's.
  • the role of Advocator is not unlike that of a corporate lender "pitching" corporate borrowers to a bank's loan committee.
  • the role of aggregating the demand for capital with the supply, (selected APF's) a traditional determinant of price, in an Internet/automated/B2B platform will add value to both constituencies and generate higher quality filtered deal flow, more rapid evaluations/fundings, higher valuations, better terms, "growth monitored/based fundings" (initial and sequential), and generally better outcomes for all concerned.
  • a system 10 according to a preferred embodiment ofthe invention will now be described with reference to Figure 1.
  • Buyers B and sellers S are able to access the system 10 through a network, which is preferably the Internet 12.
  • the buyer's system and seller's system do not form part ofthe present invention and are accordingly only represented by a browser and firewall.
  • the system 10 preferably provides access to any type of product or device, such as computers, mobile radiotelephones, personal data assistants (PDAs), etc.
  • PDAs personal data assistants
  • the system 10 also communicates with payment facilitators PF.
  • the seller S maintains a catalog of goods or services on the system 10 and interacts with buyers B through the system 10.
  • the buyers B select and purchase products through the system 10 and are able to pay for the products and services through the system 10 and payment facilitator PF.
  • the system 10 includes a firewall to the Internet 12, an HTTP server 24 for communicating through the Internet 12, and a secure socket link 26 for providing secure communications.
  • the system 10 also includes a web server 28 for handling communications through the Internet 12 and for providing access to a relational database 32.
  • a marketplace server 30 communicates with the payment facilitator PF and also communicates with buyers B, sellers S and other entities through the Internet 12. The marketplace server 30 also accesses the relational database 32.
  • the relational database 32 contains HispanB2B content, founder profiles, and job listings as well as buyer profiles, transaction records, and seller catalogs.
  • the buyers B can review the seller's catalogs and exchange order and payment information with the system 10. After the buyers B and sellers S agree upon the terms of a transaction, the buyer B provides payment information to the system 10.
  • the buyer B and seller S have three options in how the goods or services may be purchased, such as through a credit card company (as a less secure alternative to IFP), through IFP, or through some other non-automated traditional payment method.
  • the payment information and transaction information is sent from the system 10 the payment facilitator PF, if it is engaged.
  • the system 10 also exchanges shipping status information with public and private carriers C, if one is necessary.
  • the system 10 also includes an accounting system 42 for receiving transaction summaries and for storing financial data and reconciled transactional data.
  • the system 10 includes a site administration server 44 allowing for the management of user and content information stored at the site 10.
  • the system 10 includes customer support 48 for receiving both customer and transaction information.
  • the customer support 48 may be both on-line as well as off-line.
  • the system 10 defines its constituents as a Founding Partner, a Partner, a member ofthe Buyers B Club, or a member of a Sellers S Club.
  • the Founding Partners and members pay a membership fee to be part ofthe system 10. They have the capability of buying and placing goods and services for sale through the system 10 to qualified buyers B and to collect and make payments through Internet Free Payment methods, which will be described below in more detail.
  • the Founding Partners and Partners are able to provide content through a Press Release section ofthe site and to post job openings.
  • the Partners are listed in the Members Directory and Founding Partners are featured on a rotating basis in the HispanB2B Profiles section of this site.
  • the members of the Buyers Club are invited to join by members to facilitate sales to small retailers, restaurants, and other small buyers.
  • the members ofthe Sellers club will be able to sell their products and/or services (without product catalog integration) through the site with the integration of a sales brochure to feature a company's products and services, capabilities, reputation, etc. Both these memberships are intended for smaller businesses with annual sales of less than $10 million.
  • the Buyers Club members are able to submit payments through the Internet Free Payment methods, as well as through other types of payment.
  • the Buyers Club members are listed in the Associate Directory and the Sellers Club members are listed in the Members Directory. In most cases, these smaller Club members will be introduced or sponsored by larger Members or Partners.
  • the site operated by the system 10 preferably has more than one level of categorization of its visitors.
  • One type of visitor is an unregistered visitor about whom no information has been collected other than its behavior at the site. Unregistered users are only able to access public and other non-login areas ofthe site.
  • Another type of visitor is a registered company who has filled out a corporate profile.
  • a registered guest is another type of visitor who has filled out an individual profile under the umbrella of a registered company.
  • a buyer is another type of visitor and is one that has joined as a Founding Partner or a Buyer's Club member.
  • a seller is yet another type of visitor and is one that has joined as a Founding Partner or a Sellers Club member.
  • the system 10 acquires company information, user information, and financial information on the registrant.
  • the company information includes such items as the company name, categories and sub-categories of industry, contact information, affinity with respect to ownership, chairman, CEO, president, and employees, company background, and related companies.
  • the user information includes the name, employer, title, and contact information for each ofthe registered individuals.
  • the financial information includes the headquarters, division, company bill-to address, ship-to address, ship-from address, annual sales, accounts payable contact information, credit references, depository institution, credit card merchant account information for sellers, standard terms and conditions of sales for sellers and buyers, employee identification number EIN, and Dun and Bradstreet number.
  • IFP Internet Free Payment
  • the primary registered entity on the site associated with the system 10 is a company.
  • a company can refer to a single business entity, including partnerships, sole proprietorships, S or C corporation, and divisions of larger corporations. All interactions with the site is preferably at the level ofthe company. For example, registered users may purchase goods but can do so only in the name of and under the account ofthe registered buyer company for which they work.
  • the system 10 creates a company record and a company administrator account.
  • the system 10 uses the company record as the primary identifier for all activities performed by all users associated with that company. For example, all ship-to location data for a buyer company is related to the company and not to any individual user account. Similarly, all orders submitted by a buyer is related to the buyer company and not to the registered user.
  • the system 10 uses the company administrator account as the administrative account for the registered company.
  • the system 10 includes a registration function so that visitors to the site can enter and submit company registration information.
  • Company registrations are submitted by employees or authorized agents of companies and a successful registration will result in the system 10 establishing a corporate and a company administrator account for the company, if one does not already exist.
  • a method 50 of registering with the system 10 will now be described with reference to Figure 3.
  • the method 50 begins at 52 with the visitor submitting a company profile and then at 54 with a company administrator profile.
  • the visitor submits these profiles to the system 10.
  • the web server 28 within the system 10 then creates a company profile and stores the profile in the company database 32 at 56 and stores the administrator profile in the user database 32 at 57.
  • the system 10 grants the company access to restricted areas ofthe site.
  • Figures 4(A) to 4(C) show exemplary screen shots whereby a visitor can submit company information in order to register with the system 10.
  • the system 10 includes a Buyers club registration function that enables prospective buyers to enter and submit registration information. Buyer registrations are submitted by employees or authorized agents of companies. The successful buyer registration will result in the system 10 establishing a corporate and a company administrator account for the company, if one does not already exist. New buyer registrations have all features ofthe company registration described above with reference to Figure 3 and will initially be given a "pending" status as a registered guest, which will not allow the company to access the buyer's club marketplace.
  • the system 10 allows personnel to view a list of registered but pending approval companies so that these personnel can either approve or deny the buyer's club registration.
  • the system 10 also includes a Sellers Club registration function that enables prospective Sellers Club members to enter and submit registration information. Seller Club registrations are submitted by employees or authorized agents of companies. The successful Seller Club registration will result in the system 10 establishing a corporate and a Company Administrator account in the relational database 32 for the company. New Sellers Club registrations have all features ofthe Company registration above, and will be initially given a "Pending" status as a Registered Guest that will prevent the new selling company from accessing the system 10. The system 10 allows personnel to view a list of registered, but pending approval, companies.
  • Personnel associated with operation ofthe system 10 open and review a seller registration and either approve or deny the Seller Club registration. Once the Seller Club membership is approved, the Seller Club member is allowed to fully access the Sellers Club features. During the approval process, the Seller Club member is able to see the status of their account. In order to be approved as a Sellers Club member, the applicant must have been approved by one ofthe payment facilitators PF, such as a bank.
  • the payment facilitators PF such as a bank.
  • the system 10 further includes a Partner registration function that enables prospective Partners to enter and submit registration information.
  • Partner registrations are submitted by employees or authorized agents of companies.
  • the successful Partner registration will result in the system 10 establishing a corporate and a Company Administrator account in the relational database 32 for the company.
  • New Partner registrations have all features ofthe Company registration above, and will be initially given a "pending" status that will prevent the selling company from accessing the system 10.
  • the system 10 allows personnel to view a list of registered, but pending approval, companies.
  • the personnel associated with operating the system 10 open and view a Partner registration and either approve or deny the Partner registration.
  • Once the Partner is approved, the Partner is allowed to fully access the HispanB2B Partner features. During the approval process, the Partner is able to see the status of their account.
  • a method 60 by which a member, such as a buyer, seller or partner, registers with the system 10 will now be described with reference to Figure 5.
  • the prospective member submits a company profile and then at 62 submits a company administrator profile.
  • the prospective member must agree to conditions and ethics at 63 before submitting the application at 64.
  • the system 10 stores a company profile in the database 32 and at 66 stores the administrator profile in the database 32.
  • the prospective member can input a company user profile and submit the profile at 69.
  • the system 10 stores the company user profile in the relational database 32 at 66 and then at 67 determines whether any additional company user profiles should be created. After the prospective member has submitted all of the company user profiles, the system 10 then performs an approval process at 70.
  • the member approval process 70 will now be described with reference to Figure 6.
  • the information submitted by the prospective member is reviewed.
  • an inquiry is made as to whether or not the prospective member has established a banking relationship, such as with one ofthe affiliated banks PF associated with the system 10. If a banking relationship has not been established, then the prospective member is contacted at 73.
  • membership payment is authorized and then at 75 an inquiry is made as to whether the registration is approved.
  • the system 10 updates the database 32 and at 78 the member is granted access. If the prospective member is denied, then at 76 the applicant is contacted.
  • a method 80 of creating a registered user will now be described with reference to Figure 7.
  • a user name, password, and e-mail address is created for a user and at 82 a role or number of roles is selected for the user.
  • the company approver submits this information to the system 10, which then e-mails the new user with a registration URL at 84.
  • a system 10 updates the company database at 85 and the user database at 86. If additional users need to be created, as determined at 87, then the company approver inputs the next user name, password, and e-mail address at 81. After all users have been created, the user creation method 80 exits at 88.
  • a method 90 of registering a user will now be described with reference to Figure 8.
  • the user logs in with the administrator-supplied user name and password.
  • the user completes a user profile and submits the profile at 93.
  • the system 10 updates the user database 32 at 94 with the user profile and then grants the registered user access to the site at 95.
  • a registered user can be assigned one or more roles by a company approver.
  • One role can be a content approver which grants permission to maintain content on the site.
  • the content includes catalog items and non-profile company information, such as press releases and job postings.
  • Another type of role is an order approver, which grants permission to maintain and approve all aspects ofthe order process, including catalog prices, price negotiation, and order entry.
  • a third type of role that may be granted to a registered user is a transaction approver.
  • the transaction approver supervises and approves all aspects ofthe marketplace related to completing transactions, including final order approval and settlement.
  • a member is requested to log-in to the site.
  • Current members enter the user name and password whereas potential members are offered an opportunity to request more information about the HispanB2B.com site.
  • visitors are presented with the interface shown in Figure 10.
  • the HispanB2B.com site allows business to be conducted in vertical industries, such as technology, manufacturing, transportation, food, retail, construction, telecommunications, wholesale, financial services, and services. It should be understood that these listings of industries are merely exemplary and that additional or fewer industries may be offered by the invention.
  • the multivertical/muti- industry flexibility platform is important to stress the affinity orientation versus an industry limiting focus. The member may click on a particular industry, such as technology, to view companies that are technology members.
  • Visitors can also obtain additional information about the site through a number of links, which could be placed on the interface shown in Figure 10, including "How It Works,” “B2B Overview,” “Support,” “Site Map,” and “Legal.”
  • An example of an interface for HispanWorld is shown in Figure 13. From this interface, members can link to a Hispan Hall of Fame, a Hispan Village, Hispan Charity, Hispan History, Hispan kids, Hispan Health,
  • Hispan World interface shown in Figure 11 depicts flags of Spanish and Portuguese speaking countries. These flags represent links whereby members can obtain specific information related to those countries, or individuals having an affinity towards those countries, or other such information.
  • FIG. 12(A) illustrates an example of an interface in which a job opening is posted
  • Figure 12(C) illustrates an interface in which a search for a job opening is conducted.
  • visitors to the site can upload a resume.
  • the system 10 provides at least two searchable company directories.
  • a first type of directory is an associate directory which contains basic company information in a listing format. The information includes the company name, address, and contact information.
  • An example of an associate directory is shown in Figure 13.
  • members are able to search based on company name as well as by company industry or sub-industry. For example, a search of all automotive companies results in the companies shown in the interface in Figure 14.
  • Another type of searchable company directory is the member directory.
  • the member directory contains the company name, contact information, affinity, company background, company industry and sub-industry, and financial information on all members.
  • members can search for a particular member company by name or perform an advanced search.
  • a member can search by company name, affinity, company background, industry or sub-industry, location, and financial information.
  • An example ofthe search results for an advanced search is shown in the interface depicted in Figure 16.
  • a search can also be performed through a "HispanNavigator" link. When this link is selected, the system 10 allows a user to search by keyword, product ID, or product category.
  • An example of a "HispanNavigator" interface is shown in Figure 17.
  • a user can search by affinity or technology with an example ofthe results for the search of Mexican and technology being shown in Figure 18.
  • the user can obtain a member catalog for that company, as shown in Figure 19.
  • the site 10 has an on-line storefront logo for each seller.
  • the storefront logo allows the seller to control the product catalog creation and maintenance, product category normalization, pricing, buyer approval, order approval and status updates, and receipt of payment.
  • the product catalog can contain any number of products or services, but is preferably limited to a certain number, such as one thousand products or services with charges being applied for increased catalog capacity.
  • the product catalog contains information on the goods or services being offered by the seller, such as the product name, standard product category, seller SKU, descriptions ofthe goods or services both short and long, graphics, as well as additional user-defined attributes.
  • the catalog maintenance and creation is performed on-line by the content approvers.
  • the system 10 has a catalog search engine whereby members can search by seller partner name, product name, and seller partner SKU. Also, the catalog search allows members to search by assignment of each item to one or more standard product categories or UNSPSC categories.
  • An example ofthe results of a search of all catalogs for paper is shown in Figure 20.
  • the results of a catalog search provides the seller partner name, product name, seller partner SKU, short description, or buyer-specific price. The member is able to doubleclick on a product in the listing and obtain a detailed catalog entry for that product. If a catalog search results in a just a single item, the system 10 returns a single-page display ofthe item containing all ofthe above-mentioned information as well as a long description and a product graphic.
  • the system 10 defines an order as a single transaction between a single buyer and a single partner.
  • the order can include the buyer account ID, seller account ID, buyer purchase order number, seller invoice number, creation date, order status, line items with quantities and prices, order total, requested discount, terms, payment method, special instructions, and comments.
  • the buyer clicks on a select button for an item and the system 10 adds the item to a new or existing order for the seller partner of that product. If the buyer wishes to add items to an existing order, the buyer creates a new order or selects a saved or open order so that all items selected from the seller partner's catalog are entered into the correct order.
  • a method 100 of entering an item will be described with reference to Figure 21.
  • a buyer selects an item and the desired quantity.
  • the system 10 determines whether an order exists for that seller, and if not, creates a new order at 104. If an order already exists, then at 103 the system 10 presents the buyer with a list of orders and their status from which to select.
  • the buyer may create a new order or select one ofthe existing orders.
  • the buyer then adds the item to the order at 105.
  • the buyer submits the order for approval by the buyer's transaction approver. If the approver approves the order, the system 10 submits the order to the seller partner and the seller partner begins the approval process.
  • a method 110 of submitting the buyer's order to the seller will now be described with reference to Figure 22.
  • the method 119 begins at 110 with the buyer creating an order and submitting the order at 112.
  • the buyer at 111 may also choose a discount, preferably called Choose Your Discount, which will be described in more detail below.
  • the buyer creates the order the order has a status of open and after the buyer submits the order the order has a status of buyer pending.
  • the system 10 places the order in the database 32.
  • the buyer transaction administrator reviews the order and determines at 115 whether the order should be approved for submission. If the order is not approved, then at 116 the order is rejected and at 117 the system 10 sends the submitter the rejection notice.
  • the system 10 updates the status ofthe order to submitted and at 119 sends a notice to the submitter that the order has been submitted.
  • the system 10 sends the order to the sellers queue and at 121 notifies the seller ofthe order.
  • a method 130 by which the seller processes orders will now be described with reference to Figure 23.
  • the order is placed in the relational database 32 and at 132 the seller receives the order in the seller's queue.
  • the seller sends a request through the system 10 to the buyer for shipping information and the status ofthe order is updated to "accepted shipping details pending.” If shipping information is complete, then at 139 the order is approved and at 140 the seller sends an acceptance to the buyer through the system 10. The system 10 then updates the status ofthe order in the relational database as "accepted awaiting shipment.”
  • the interface has a symbol for "Logistics," which can relate to a Shopping Truck, Shopping Plane, and Shopping Boat.
  • Logistics can relate to a Shopping Truck, Shopping Plane, and Shopping Boat.
  • the member buyer can obtain all shipping information (if made available by seller) and status updates on any order. For instance, for each order a member can obtain information on the ship-to address, shipping carrier, shipping tracking number, ship-buy date, shipped date, shipping weight, and shipping charges.
  • An example of an interface provided by the system 10 upon selecting the shopping truck link is shown in Figure 25(A).
  • the Shopping Truck symbol as well as the Shopping Plane or Shopping Boat symbols preferably flash or otherwise indicate a change in status relative to the shipment of the goods.
  • the shopping truck is placed on the Buyers and Sellers MyHispanB2B page when the goods have shipped and flash when the goods have arrived.
  • a flow chart of a preferred method 200 of operation for the shopping truck will now be described with reference to Figure 25(B).
  • a supplier enters a purchase order which serves as a reference number, such as for UPS.
  • the user accesses an order status screen, such as the one shown in Figure 25(C), and at 206 clicks on a button to check the shipment status.
  • the system 10 displays a shipment tracking screen, such as the one shown in Figure 25(D), through which a user can enter a tracking number and/or the zip code for that order.
  • the system 10 sends the necessary information to the shipping carrier, such as the carriers internal order number or reference number.
  • the carrier streams status information back to the system 10.
  • the shipment status information is shown at 215, 216, or 217. If only one record was returned, then at 215 the system 10 displays the shipment status for that one record, such as the status page shown in Figure 25(E). If more than one record was returned, then at 216 the system 10 provides a shipment status page for all records, such as the status page shown in Figure 25(F). If no records were returned, then at 217 the system 10 informs the user that no shipment information was available, such as through the screen shown in Figure 25(G).
  • UPS the carrier
  • the invention may be implemented with other carriers in addition to or instead of UPS.
  • the system 10 may initiate shipment in response to an order.
  • the system 10 preferably allows sellers to price their goods in a number of ways.
  • Each seller may have standard price sheets for its product catalog which are completely configurable by the seller partner. These price sheets may include quantity discounts and may also be targeted to only select buyers. As a result, a seller partner may have a number of price sheets which are associated with different groups of buyers.
  • Figure 26(A) illustrates a preferred process by which buyers and sellers may negotiate over terms of an agreement.
  • an agent from the buyer and also an agent from the seller negotiate over the terms ofthe agreement, such as the price, shipping cost, delivery date, transaction fee, payment period, and tax. Once the buyer and seller come to an agreement, the terms ofthe agreement are then sent to the buyer for upper-level approval.
  • the system 10 preferably provides the buyer and seller with various e-mails throughout the negotiation period. For instance, the seller receives an e-mail from the system 10 from the buyer agent in response to a first offer from the buyer. Also, a buyer's approver receives an e-mail through the system 10 from the buyer or seller's agent requesting approval of a negotiated requisition. The system 10 also provides e-mails to the buyer's or seller's agent during on-going negotiations with counter offers from the opposing party. Once an agreement has been reached, the system 10 notifies the buyer or seller that the other party has accepted the terms ofthe last offer.
  • the system 10 provides an e-mail to the buyer's agent from the buyer's approver when the approver cancels a transaction or a separate e-mail when the approver approves ofthe transaction.
  • the preferred pricing option is to allow for negotiated prices.
  • a method 160 by which prices are negotiated between the buyer and seller will now be described with reference to Figure 26(B).
  • the buyer creates an order for goods or services from a seller partner.
  • the system 10 gives the buyer an order confirmation interface, such as the one shown in Figure 32(C). The buyer can then enter the "Choose Your Discount" functionality.
  • the system 10 determines if the buyer is trying to purchase goods or services from more than one seller and, if so, notify the buyer that the Choose Your Discount functionality is not available. An example of a screen shot giving the buyer such a warning is shown in Figure 26(D).
  • the system 10 determines whether the seller allows an order discount. The system 10 may make this inquiry in response to the buyer selecting a discount, such as the discount link shown in the interface in Figure 10.
  • the buyer selects an order discount percent and submits the order at 164.
  • An example of an interface in which a buyer inserted a desired discount is shown in Figure 26(E).
  • the buyer receives a Transaction Order number and details ofthe goods or services being purchased, such as the subtotal, estimated tax, estimated shipping, and estimated total.
  • the buyer also receives the most recent "offer on the table," any counter-offer terms, and option buttons.
  • the buyer is preferably able to negotiate on the discount percentage, shipping cost, shipping method, shipping cost payor, delivery period, transaction fee paid by seller, actual transaction fee percentage charged by the system 10, transaction payment method, payment period, and tax percentage. While the invention preferably allows the buyer to input a desired discount, it should be understood that the buyer can input other discounts, such as a flat dollar amount.
  • the system updates the database 32 with the order and provides the buyer with an interface confirming receipt of the "Choose Your Discount" offer, such as through the interface shown in Figure 26(F).
  • the seller reviews the order and determines at 167 whether to accept the discount.
  • the system 10 notifies the seller of a pending Transaction Order via an email that contains a URL link to access information on the Transaction Order.
  • the link takes the seller to a Transaction Negotiation screen, such as the one shown in Figure 26(G), which shows the Transaction Order number, details on the goods or services being purchased, a seller member trading contact, proposed amendments to the sales/delivery terms, counter-offer data entry fields, and option buttons.
  • the option buttons allow the seller to accept the offer, reject/ offer/cancel the offer, or view negotiation history. If the seller rejects the order/discount, then at 168 the system 10 forwards the rejection to the buyer with comments. If the order is approved by the seller, then the system 10 at 169 updates the status ofthe order as accepted shipping details pending, emails the buyer, and takes the seller to a Confirmation Notification interface, such as a screen shot similar to the one shown in Figure 26(F).
  • the buyer and seller are preferably able to follow the history ofthe negotiations by selecting a "View Negotiation History” button, as shown in Figure 26(G).
  • An example of a history for a negotiation is shown in Figure 26(H).
  • the Negotiation History screen offers a view in reverse chronological order ofthe history of a negotiation from a buyer's original counteroffer to the current "offer on the table.”
  • the buyer and seller are also preferably able to receive a summary ofthe transaction through a "Transaction Summary" button.
  • An example of a transaction summary is shown in Figure 26(1).
  • the buyer or seller can view their active orders and preferably can re-sort the listing by using the column headings as sort criteria, such as by transaction number, party, status, and last action.
  • the negotiation history interface shown in Figure 26(1) is well-suited to be a day-to-day entry point to the system 10 by the buyers and sellers. Through this interface, the buyer or seller can go directly to one ofthe transactions by selecting one ofthe transaction number links.
  • FIG. 27 An example of a Transaction Negotiation screen which has fields completed by a buyer is shown in Figure 27. As shown in this example, the buyer is requesting a discount percentage of 5.5%. After this offer has been formulated and submitted, the seller receives a transaction negotiation screen such as the one shown in Figure 28 which allows the seller to formulate a counter-offer through the counter-offer data entry fields.
  • the buyer accesses the buyer database 32 and submits an application with a seller at 172. All buyers begin with a status of rejected with all sellers.
  • the seller reviews the application for that buyer and determines at 174 whether to accept the buyer. If the buyer is not accepted, the buyer remains rejected at 175 and the seller notifies the buyer through the system 10 at 176. If the seller accepts the buyer, then at 177 the seller assigns the buyer a price sheet or negotiates prices with the buyer, with these prices being provided to the system 10.
  • the system 10 updates the status ofthe buyer to approved and at 179 sends an acceptance notification to the buyer.
  • the system 10 prompts the buyer for a payment method.
  • the system 10 preferably provides a number of options to the buyer including, but not limited to, payment by credit card, payment by purchase order, and an Internet Free Payment method, which will be described below in more detail.
  • An example of an interface by which the buyer indicates the payment method is shown in Figure 30.
  • the system 10 then requires any upper level dual approval and requires the log in of that person as shown in Figure 31.
  • the person is presented with status of an order and the approval ofthe lower level person. For example, as shown by the interface in Figure 32, the user may be presented with the status ofthe order and indicate approval by John Smith.
  • the first approver's password is received and authenticated and stored at the hosting facility.
  • the second approver's password is only received, authenticated, and stored in a non-Internet accessible bank server.
  • a "Dual Payment Initiation" system is created which further safeguards users against fraud risk.
  • the buyer If the buyer selects an option to pay by credit card, the buyer enters the credit card information and provides this information to the system 10. Some buyers, however, may be unwilling to provide this information to the system 10 since this sensitive financial information must travel through the Internet and is stored at the system 10.
  • the system 10 alleviates some of these concerns by providing the IFP method.
  • IFP Through IFP, buyers and seller partners can create, approve, and settle transactions via the system 10.
  • the system 10 charges a transaction fee which will vary by institution and payment method, such as a charge on a per-transaction basis as a percentage of sales.
  • This system 10 supports reporting and/or aggregation of transaction amounts by buyer and seller so that fees can be charged to the appropriate entity.
  • the IFP method offered by the system 10 is free to the buyers and sellers if a two percent transaction fee is paid.
  • the system offers incentives to the buyers and sellers to adopt this method.
  • the IFP method involves Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) between the buyers and sellers.
  • EFT Electronic Funds Transfer
  • the buyers and the sellers are both account holders with the same PF whereby the EFT is intra-PF, such as intra-bank.
  • the IFP can be accomplished through automated clearing house (ACH) transactions between the PFs.
  • ACH automated clearing house
  • the payment facilitator PF initiates the ACH transactions.
  • the buyer sets up an account name and a member number is established. All assigned DDA and ABA numbers are established and stored in the partner bank(s). Partner banks are segregated into two categories, originators of ACH transfers and receivers of ACH transfers.
  • All buyers must establish a depository relationship with an originating bank. All sellers must establish a relationship with a receiver bank.
  • the buyer also establishes with the payment facilitator PF transaction criteria such as default account override, future dating of transactions, and comments. Furthermore, the buyer establishes with the payment facilitator PF transaction approvals, including transaction hold, transaction release, transaction update, transaction delete, and transaction approve.
  • the payment facilitator PF also allows for pending transaction updates, transaction deletion of both approved and unapproved orders, transaction submission, transaction status inquiries, ACH reporting, and transaction pending notification to sellers.
  • the system 10 supports electronic funds transfer transactions using the depository institution information submitted during the buyer and seller registration. With credit card processing, the system 10 provides for authorization, settlement, and crediting of accounts. The system 10 preferably also supports purchasing cards as well as future developed methods of payment.
  • the marketplace server 32 includes an ACH module 32A.
  • the ACH module 32A is able to generate NACHA transactions and send these transactions to a payment facilitator PF, such as the buyers bank.
  • the ACH module 32A is also able to receive NACHA acknowledgments 192 from the payment facilitators, formulate and send NACHA enquiries 194 and receive NACHA responses 193.
  • the Internet Free Payment method the transfer of funds is effected through the ACH network through the Federal Reserve FR and is not executed through the Internet 12.
  • the system 10 is connected to the payment facilitators through a secure link, such as a fractional TI line or any secure non-Internet accessible wire or wire-less link, which is placed outside of the Internet.
  • a secure link such as a fractional TI line or any secure non-Internet accessible wire or wire-less link, which is placed outside of the Internet.
  • the system 10 decides whether the method of payment is via IFP. If not, then the system 10 generates invoices for each supplier at 232. At 233, the system 10 determines whether payment is via credit card, in which case the credit card information is transmitted to the supplier via purchase order at 235. If the transaction payment method is via invoice, then at 234 the invoice is transmitted to the supplier. At 236, the system 10 processes the transaction for the transaction fee due for use ofthe system 10. In the preferred embodiment, the transaction fee is collected via IFP.
  • the system 10 If the transaction payment method is IFP, as determined at 231 , then at 240 the system 10 generates an e-mail to the buyer-IFP approver, provides an IFP-approver screen at 241, and at 242 determines whether approval has been obtained. The transaction has the status of "Payment Authorization Pending" until the approval has been obtained. If the approval has been obtained from the buyer-IFP approver, the system 10 at 244 next determines whether any additional IFP approval is needed. If so, the system 10 returns to 240 by generating an e- mail to the next buyer-IFP approver.
  • the system 10 at 246 generates 2 pairs of IFP instructions at 246, calculates a transaction fee at 247, generates a transaction-fee debit from the seller's account with a credit to the account associated with the system 10 at 249, and transmits the transaction-fee debit/credit data to the payee partner bank at 251.
  • the payee partner bank at 253 performs data mapping by translating data from the system 10 into data required by ACH.
  • the payee partner bank formats ACH-required data and creates an ACH-compliant file, at 257 performs book- transfer debit from seller to credit the system 10 account, and at 260 the buyer, seller, and system 10 reconcile their respective accounts.
  • the system 10 generates transaction-cost debit request from the buyer account and credit request for seller account at 262.
  • the system 10 transmits the transaction-cost debit/credit data to the payor partner bank over a dedicated, secure, non-Internet conduit.
  • the payor partner bank translates the data into data required by ACH, formats ACH- required data and creates an ACH-compliant file at 268, and then determines whether an intra-bank or inter-bank transfer is required at 270.
  • the payor partner bank debits the buyer's account and credits the seller's account after a specified time at 272.
  • the payor partner bank transmits ACH-compliant instructions to debit buyer's account and credit seller's account after the specified time.
  • the method 230 for IFP has dual approval requiring authorizations from two agents ofthe buyer. Accordingly, each of these agents is presented with basic details ofthe transaction in question, such as a member ofthe buyer's accounting department or financial officer. Only after authorization has been received from both agents will the system 10 proceed to transmit instructions to the appropriate PF. If the buyer does not intend to pay the transaction costs via IFP, then this dual-approval stage is not required. Regardless of the payment method chosen for the transaction costs, on the other hand, all transaction fees are collected via IFP if the seller utilizes the IFP application. As mentioned above, the system 10 generates two pairs of instructions at 246. The first pair of instructions generated represent the transaction fee, which is the amount levied by the system 10 against the seller. The second pair of instructions is the transaction cost which is the amount owed to the seller by the buyer for the goods and/or services purchased through the system 10.
  • the ACH network requires that debit and credit requests be sent simultaneously. Accordingly, a credit is issued in the receiving account whether funds exist in the debit account or if they are not available. If the funds are not available, then the ACH network obligates the originating bank to cover these short falls. The originating bank therefore takes some risk in initiating ACH transactions.
  • the system 10 may be associated with only one PF and both the buyer and the seller have to have accounts with that one PF in order to do IFP. According to this aspect, the PF can easily verify that a given debit account has the sufficient funds before issuing a credit to another account. If the funds are not available, the PF would simply inform the buyer and the seller that the transaction could not be completed and the parties are free to select another payment method.
  • the system 10 may have more than one PF but will allocate risks between the two PFs. For instance, a first PF may be guaranteed a sufficient amount of business with low-risk buyers in order to justify some higher-risk buyers. This one PF may have 90% of Fortune 500 companies, and in return, agree to have 10% of its transactions with selected Hispanic buyers. According to this second aspect, one PF would receive all ofthe ACH transactions for mainly low risk buyers and one or more PFs may be associated with the sellers for processing the low risk credits associated with the transactions. Thus, the segregation of risk in an optimal fashion enhances the value proposition for buyer, seller, and the designated PF's.
  • a buyer can request that payment be made by the Internet Free Payment method and provide information on the partner bank, DDA number, and date for when the transaction should be completed.
  • the buyer must pay on the transferred payment term date negotiated in Choose Your Discount (CYD).
  • CYD Choose Your Discount
  • buyer may change the CYD "imported" date (48 hours prior to that date) to a later (or earlier) date. This change in CYD payment terms is communicated via email to the seller although the new payment date is not disclosed in the message.
  • the buyer changes the CYD payment terms, the buyer is said to be "riding the trade.”
  • Figure 33(D) is an example of an interface for receiving the buyer member IFP approver's authorization. After authorization has been received from all necessary IFP approvers, the system 10 then sends a new set of instructions to the PF. Since each IFP transmission is tracked using the transaction order number, subsequent transmissions using this number are treated by the system as replacement instructions. These subsequent transmissions therefore overwrite any previous instructions that were received by the system 10 or instructions sent to the PFs. As mentioned above, any effort to "ride the trade” prompts the system 10 to alert the seller that a chance in payment terms has occurred, however, no further information is provided to the seller other than an alert that the initial payment terms have changed.
  • Figure 33(E) illustrates a flow chart of a preferred method 280 by which a buyer can "ride the trade.”
  • the buyer can elect to ride the trade at 283. If the buyer does not elect to ride the trade, the buyer returns to the site at 284. If the buyer does decide to ride the trade, then at 285 the system 10 provides the buyer with the IFP- approver screen and the buyer enters his/her username and password. After the system 10 authenticates the IFP approver at 286, the IFP approver alters the payment period at 287 and at 288 confirms and submits new instructions. At 289, the system 10 generates transaction cost-debit request from the buyer's account and credit request for seller's account.
  • a member ofthe site can select the "MyHispanB2B" link on the main page and be presented with their "MyHispanB2B" page, such as the one shown in Figure 34.
  • This page represents companies that the member frequently engages in commerce with or seeks to engage in commerce with.
  • a member has placed Kilpatrick Stockton LLP, Coca-Cola, Clarus, and BNSE in their own personal neighborhood.
  • the interface shown in Figure 34 is preferably designed so that buildings or other landmarks are matched with the company that it represents, such as the building housing the headquarters of Coca-Cola represents Coca-Cola in the interface shown in Figure 34.
  • a green shopping truck shown next to Coca-Cola represents that a shipment has occurred on goods ordered from Coca-Cola.
  • a yellow truck would illustrate an "in transit status" with location finding logistics.
  • a red truck would alert the user that shipment has arrived.
  • the shipment departure, transit location, and arrival are therefore available on a real-time interactive basis to keep the user informed and in "command" of numerous shipments which may be prevalent in the hypergrowth/hyper active Internet business world.
  • the members may be presented their own MyHispanB2B page in other ways other than through activating a link. For instance, the members may all enter the same URL and through cookies or other suitable technology, the site presents their own personalized MyHispanB2B page to each respective member.
  • the MyHispanB2B page allows members to see and interact with only those companies that are of interest to that member, thereby making the experience much more personalized and avoiding a great deal of unnecessary information.
  • This interface also allows a member to pre-select vendors and be one click away from their on-line catalogs.
  • the MyHispanB2B interface has a template with fields for desired logos. In general, a user selects companies for the "Cyber Business Neighborhood" and then places the logos of these companies in desired fields ofthe template. The system 10 maintains all member logos in a database.
  • the MyHispanB2B page holds an image of a city and in this city are predefined "slots" for corporate logos to be held.
  • This list is shown to the buyer wishing to build their custom interface.
  • the buyer selects other suppliers they wish to perform business with and assign them a slot to be placed on the city screen. Thereafter, when the user selects his/her MyHispanB2B page, the city image is shown with the desired company logos.
  • a batch process that runs on the system 10 orders the images on the city based on the user's selection. This gives each buyer the ability to display particular suppliers in a choice centric manner. The buyers then have the ability to click the logos to take the user into that pre-select, perhaps frequently visited supplier's catalog.
  • the MyHispanB2B interface can be customized in any suitable way.
  • the system 10 may present the member with city page which the member may fill by clicking and dragging desired buildings and corporate logos. Additionally, the system 10 may present members with a plurality of city pages to select from as a desired background city page. These city pages may correspond to representative known cities with an affinity appeal for the user. For instance, members that focus their business with Cuban-American owned businesses may have the option of selecting a Havana looking city as their desired virtual city for their MyHispanB2B interface.
  • the system 10 is preferably associated with a source of private equity capital.
  • the system 10 has a Capital Evaluator Filter (CEF) that provides a simple and fast on-line process for filtering deal flow, better valuations, and more rapid monitored based (through on-line tracking of revenue growth) fundings.
  • CEF Capital Evaluator Filter
  • the CEF rapidly identifies and analyzes candidates through a question and answer process, such as one initiated by a member to the market maker, system 10, or one initiated by the system 10.
  • the site undertakes an intermediary role associated with the system 10 and provides access to private equity and venture capital for established and/or emerging firms, such as Hispanic-owned or managed firms.
  • Privat@quityCap simply aggregates the (Hispanic or any minority owned small) business need (the demand) for equity capital with a select few private equity funds (the supply) and facilitates the expansion of Hispanic or any minority owned business commerce in general and within the Internet specifically.
  • the Privat@quityCap is therefore a significant differentiator/empowerment tool for constituents ofthe system 10.
  • the Privat@quityCap provides a number of advantages and benefits to its participants. For one, buyers have access to better capitalized, technology enabled venders more capable of performing and competing in the New Economy. The Sellers benefit from ready capital to strengthen balance sheets, lower debt services, enhance technology, and respond to the hyper growth potential/problem associated with Internet sales and market to market links. Candidates for equity capital benefit from the assignment of an in-house
  • Allied Partner Funds receive a desirable volume of filtered deal flow with enhanced candidates better able to perform during evaluations and after funding.
  • Privat@quityCap will be to connect in a hyper-efficient manner the supply and demand for equity capital to raise the value proposition for all concerned.
  • These strategic alliances with a group of experienced and established venture, LBO, and private equity funds offer immediate proprietary access to "smart capital" to prospects invited through the HispanB2B.com web site.
  • a recently announced private equity fund in formation and sponsored by the US Hispanic Chamber of Commerce may also be included as one ofthe APFs.
  • members can have their interests aligned with that ofHispanB2B.com.
  • the members can be invited to participate in an incentive ownership plan based on any suitable criteria, such as to all members, just to a select group of members designed to spur use ofHispanB2B.com, or to a group of sellers, buyers, partners, or AFPs.
  • Each entity enrolled in the incentive ownership plan is issued stock options in the entity which owns the exchange, which vest based on some measure of performance. The performance may be sales or purchases ofthe entity through the exchange, referrals made by the entity, sales ofthe entity's referrals, or some other parameter.
  • the incentive ownership plan can be any plan that vests stock options based on a measure of performance.
  • the incentive ownership plan is open to members only with buyers and sellers excluded.
  • the incentive ownership plan defines different classes or groups of entities based on the size of the business in order to provide proper incentives to each entity. For example, the level of performance necessary for a larger companies to vest stock options is greater than levels for smaller companies in light ofthe greater volume of business that the larger companies can potentially route through the exchange. The larger companies however should receive a greater benefit from meeting their performance goals recognizing their greater contribution than that of smaller companies.
  • Silver performers generate at least one ofthe following: 1% of sales or 1% of their procurement dollars are channeled through the site, or three members are introduced and become members ofthe portal.
  • Gold performers could have as their benchmark 2.5% of their sales or procurement dollars through the portal or must introduce five new members that join the portal.
  • Platinum performers could be required to generate 5% of their sales or procurement dollars through the portal or must introduce seven members that join the portal.
  • Membership fees would differ for the enrolled entities with some entities having a $50,000 fee, other entities at $100,000, a third group at $200,000, and a final group at $250,000. Thus, small companies may elect for enrolling at the $50,000 fee while the largest group of companies may enroll at the $250,000 fee.
  • the reward for a given level of performance, such as a silver performer accordingly varies with the amount ofthe membership fee, yet holds the same benchmark percentage.
  • the system 10 also allows sellers to offer special discounts, such as discounts at the end of each quarter. For instance, sellers can place their goods or services for sale at a special discounted price which is good for only a limited period of time, such as during the last week or day of a fiscal quarter. Alternatively, the sellers may place a certain number of goods or amount of services up for auction, such as only at the end of a fiscal quarter.
  • special discounts such as discounts at the end of each fiscal quarter.
  • the sellers select a Quarterly Trader (QT) link, which could be placed on the main interface shown in Figure 10, at which point the system 10 prompts the seller to input the amount of goods or services, the type of discount applied to the goods or services, as well as indicate buyers that are eligible for the special discount.
  • the seller submits this information to the system 10 which then forwards a QT notice to each qualified buyer.
  • Buyers may also post reverse auctions for products or services with larger quantities than normal.
  • QT is preferably limited to four times per year when unique circumstances and motivations are prevalent, buyers will benefit from lower prices and sellers will benefit from unloading stale inventory, replacing a lost sale, or exceeding sales projections.
  • the system 10 also provides other functionality to the Buyers, Sellers, Partners, and visitors. Upon selection of one of these banks, the member can apply on-line for an account or can contact the banking partner directly.
  • the system 10 provides reporting functionality to the members. Members can access this reporting functionality through a "Reporting" link, which could be placed on the main interface shown in Figure 10.
  • Figure 36 provides an example of an interface presented to a member upon selection ofthe reporting link.

Abstract

A business-to-business exchange on the Internet enables a buyer (B) to request a discount, such as a percentage discount or a fixed amount. The exchange takes the payment transaction information and sends it to a payment facilitator (PF) over a direct communication link outside of the Internet so that payment to the seller (S) may be effected. By transmitting the payment transaction information over the link outside of the Internet, the exchange allows commerce to be conducted in a more secure environment. The exchange invites a select group of the buyers (B) or sellers (S) to enrol in a plan that grants them partial ownership in the exchange and issues warrants to those buyers (B) or sellers (S) who agree to the terms of the ownership plan. The warrants vest based on activities through the exchange that reallocated to each entity.

Description

SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR ALIGNING INTERESTS IN AN ON-LINE BUSINESS-TO-BUSINESS EXCHANGE
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
According to one aspect, this invention relates generally to systems and methods for providing on-line business-to-business exchanges and, more particularly, to systems and methods for providing a secure environment for facilitating payments in an on-line exchange. According to a second aspect, this invention relates generally to systems and methods for providing on-line business-to-business exchanges and, more particularly, to systems and methods for enabling price negotiations in an on-line exchange. According to a third aspect, this invention relates generally to systems and methods for providing on-line business-to- business exchanges and, more particularly, to systems and methods for aligning interests of members and the on-line exchange.
BACKGROUND
The Internet facilitates commerce by reducing the cost of conducting business. Many sites are business-to-consumer (B2C) sites in that they are aimed at selling goods or services to the general consuming public. Other sites on the Internet, in contrast, are business-to- business (B2B) sites in that they are geared toward commerce that is transacted between two businesses.
There are many B2B sites on the Internet. One ofthe more well known sites is VerticalNet.com ("VerticalNet"). VerticalNet uses advertising auctions to drive commerce revenue and has an industry-trade show orientation. The site charges advertisers for appearing on storefronts with advertisers being able to request proposals and to bid for certain products. The site derives revenue from storefront ads, sponsorships, buttons, banners, and job listings and also through a percentage of auctions. VerticalNet has a number of industry- focused Internet communities where business can be conducted, such as in Advance Technologies, Communications, Environmental, Food and Packaging, Food Service/Hospitality, Healthcare and Science, Manufacturing and Metals, Process, Public Sector, Service, and Textiles And Apparel. Another well-known B2B site is at Ariba.com ("Ariba")- Ariba provides a B2B commerce platform for managing buying, selling, and marketplace commerce processes. The B2B platform includes procurement, marketplace, dynamic trade, and collaborative commerce applications. The platform also includes a number of interchangeable components, such as Catalog and Content, Reporting and Analysis, Supplier Enablement and Messaging and Integration.
In general, the B2B sites on the Internet are aggregators for buyers and sellers. For instance, with VerticalNet, not only does the site offer business-to-business exchanges for a plurality of industries, but each ofthe industries has a number of buyers and sellers. The large number of buyers and sellers in many B2B sites renders many of the sites impersonal and difficult to traverse. The B2B sites also encourage commoditization whereby products are sold in large quantities, at relatively fixed prices, and with low margins. The B2B sites on the Internet have generally tended to take much ofthe personal contact between companies out ofthe transaction. The personal contact, however, is an important facet of a business relationship. A need therefore exists for B2B sites that have greater allowance for personal interaction and personal preferences and to enable negotiations on price and value in tandem. Another shortcoming of many B2B sites is the way in which payments are conducted. As with most B2C sites, many B2B sites rely on conventional methods of paying for goods or services, such as with credit cards or some form of a check. This type of payment, however, requires the buyer to transmit sensitive financial information through the Internet to the B2B site for effecting payment. For the same reason that many consumers are reluctant to transmit their personal financial information over the Internet, many businesses also have concerns about transmitting their sensitive financial information over the Internet. For some B2B sites, the lack of a more secure method of paying for goods or services is a deterrent to conducting business through a B2B site.
Another shortcoming of many B2B sites is that they require companies to substantially alter their internal procedures for purchasing or selling goods and services. For instance, companies may have certain policies regarding the approval of a purchase which some B2B sites cannot accommodate. As another example, a seller may wish to offer a special price to one particular seller based on a special relationship the two companies share. Conversely, a buyer may wish to request a special price in light ofthe buyer agreeing to a delay in a prior order for goods. In general, many ofthe B2B sites do not accommodate and in fact prevent many businesses from generating goodwill with their business partners and from developing special relationships or negotiating discounts. Pricing and terms negotiated at the point of sale do not enable users to react to circumstances prevalent in the past, present, or promised in the future.
One way in which sellers accommodate the special relationships between different buyers is through a number of price lists. One group of buyers receives a standard price for goods and services while a second group of buyers receives a different price for the same goods or services. The seller may have a number of additional groups of sellers with each group being presented with a different price list. While these multiple price lists reflect the different types of relationships a seller may have with different buyers, the need to have multiple price lists greatly increases the complexity ofthe B2B site. These multiple price lists are difficult to maintain and implement and thus increase the cost of doing business. These varied price lists are inherently dated when published and cannot change with real time changes in circumstances.
As discussed above, many B2B sites are aggregators in that they bring many buyers together with many sellers. The B2B sites in one sense serve as a matchmaker and also reduce the cost of a transaction, thereby encouraging use ofthe B2B site. Once a buyer has been paired with a particular seller, much ofthe incentive to go through the B2B site dissipates. The two companies may decide to conduct business through a second B2B site which places less of a load on the transaction, may decide to simply conduct business off- line, or may conduct commerce directly between the two companies. Thus, many companies that may have at one time had an incentive to conduct business through a B2B site may leave the site. Additionally, many buyers are motivated to purchase from sites with the lowest prices and the lowest transaction fees. These same buyers are usually unwilling and unmotivated to sell their products or services in the same buyer centric oriented portals. The B2B sites are primarily targeted toward the mid-sized to large size companies.
These companies have the resources to devote toward developing their on-line catalogs and toward interfacing with the B2B site. Some ofthe mid-size companies and smaller companies, on the other hand, lack sufficient funding to take advantage of a B2B site. Additional impediments include limited or "slow" access to private equity capital to resolve the "rapid" capital needs of companies engaged in the hyper growth sales world ofthe
Internet. A need therefore exists for allowing more companies to benefit from the services offered through an impartial market maker B2B sites capable of aligning the interest of buyers, sellers, and companies of diverse sizes and industries.
SUMMARY According to a first aspect, the invention addresses the problems above by providing systems and methods for facilitating payments over the Internet. The preferred systems are business-to-business exchanges on the Internet which allow sellers to post catalogs and allow buyers to review and purchase items. After the seller and buyer have formulated terms of a transaction, the exchange transmits payment transaction information to a payment facilitator. The payment facilitator is connected to the exchange through a communication link that is outside ofthe Internet, such as a fractional TI line. Because the payment transaction information is transmitted over this communication link and not through the Internet, the exchange creates a more secure environment for conducting commerce.
The exchange may promptly notify the payment facilitator to effect a payment to the seller from the buyer or, alternatively, the exchange may instruct the payment facilitator to make the payment at a date in the future. The buyer preferably has the flexibility of indicating when the payment should be made, such as in 30, 60, or 90 days or on a specific date. Furthermore, even after the payment date has been set by the buyer, the buyer preferably has the ability to delay the payment. When the buyer does elect to delay payment, the exchange notifies the seller that the buyer has postponed the payment date. The exchange therefore empowers buyers to respond to financial pressures by setting or altering the date when payment occurs.
In the preferred embodiment, the exchange is targeted toward an affinity group, such as Hispanics. The exchange recruits Hispanic owned or affiliated businesses as well as entities that desire to conduct business with Hispanic businesses. The payment facilitators are banks and include national banks, regional banks, and local banks. The banks are connected directly to the exchange through the fractional TI line or other communication link. The banks receive DDA numbers from buyers and are able to effect payments through Automated Clearing House (ACH) transactions, Fedwire, or in other such ways. The buyers preferably open accounts with the banks so that the payments can be effected outside ofthe
Internet in a more secure manner.
According to a second aspect, the invention addresses the problems above by providing systems and methods for allowing buyers and sellers to negotiate over purchase prices over the Internet. The systems comprise exchanges through which sellers post their catalogs and the purchase prices. The buyers are able to order items through the exchange and request discounts off the purchase price. The discounts may comprise a percentage off the price or may be a flat fee discount. In either event, the exchange forwards to the seller an identification ofthe items, any desired discount, and preferably also the identity ofthe buyer. The seller then has the ability to accept the buyer's offer, to formulate a counter-offer which is forwarded to the buyer through the exchange, or to reject the buyer's offer. After the buyer and the seller agree upon the terms of a transaction, the exchange further assists by facilitating shipment and a transfer of a payment from the buyer to the seller. In the preferred embodiment, the exchange is a business-to-business exchange and is one that is targeted to an affinity group, such as Hispanics. In addition to the negotiated prices, the exchange also allows buyers and sellers to negotiate and agree upon other terms of the transaction, such as the mode of shipping, type of shipping, insurance, payment method, and purchase date. According to a third aspect, the invention addresses the problems above by providing systems and methods for providing incentives for entities to transact commerce through an Internet exchange. The methods involve inviting a select group of entities to enroll in an incentive ownership plan. These entities may be selected according to any suitable criteria. For instance, the exchange may seek entities capable of building a critical mass for the success ofthe exchange. The entities that are selected and agree to the ownership plan are issued stock options in the exchange which vest based on the activities allocated to the entities. The activities may be the sales or purchases ofthe entity through the exchange, referrals made by the entity, sales ofthe entity's referrals, or some other indicator. Thus, if one of the selected entity has sales that exceed some threshold level, then the entity has a certain amount of stock options that become vested. Conversely, if no sales, purchases, or referrals are generated the stock options expire without vesting.
By issuing stock options to entities, the exchange aligns the interests ofthe member entities with that ofthe exchange. The member entities have a partial ownership interest in the exchange whereby they are able to profit from the success ofthe exchange. Furthermore, by tying the vesting of stock options and the size ofthe ownership interest to their
"performance" at the exchange, the member entities have an incentive to direct as much commerce as possible through the exchange. The process of granting these stock options from a private company without a formal stock offering, not easily accomplished if intended for a consumer non-accredited audience, has been resolved by granting the stock options "institutionally" to accredited corporate entities.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and form a part ofthe specification, illustrate preferred embodiments ofthe present invention and, together with the description, disclose the principles ofthe invention. In the drawings:
Figure 1 is a block diagram of a system according to a preferred embodiment ofthe invention, which will be referred to as HispanB2B.com;
Figure 2 is a flow diagram illustrating a data flow according to the preferred embodiment ofthe invention;
Figure 3 is a flow chart of a method of company registration;
Figures 4(A) to 4(C) depict exemplary screen shots of interfaces for joining HispanB2B.com;
Figure 5 is a flow chart of a member registration method;
Figure 6 is a flow chart of a member approval method;
Figure 7 is a flow chart of a registered user creation method;
Figure 8 is a flow chart of a user registration method; Figure 9 is a screen shot of a login interface;
Figure 10 is a screen shot of a main page interface to HispanB2B.com;
Figure 11 is a screen shot of a "HispanWorld" interface;
Figures 12(A) to 12(D) are screen shots of interfaces allowing for the searching, posting of job openings, and uploading of resumes; Figure 13 is a screen shot of an Associate Directory interface;
Figure 14 is a screen shot of an interface showing the results of a search in the
Associate Directory;
Figure 15 is a screen shot of an interface showing a Member Directory;
Figure 16 is a screen shot of an interface showing the results of a search in the Member Directory;
Figure 17 is a screen shot of an interface showing a HispanNavigator search tool;
Figure 18 is a screen shot of an interface showing a listing of Technology Members;
Figure 19 is a screen shot of an interface showing a member's catalog; Figure 20 is a screen shot of an interface depicting a catalog search tool and search results;
Figure 21 is a flow chart of an item entry method;
Figure 22 is a flow chart of an order status pending process; Figure 23 is a flow chart of a seller partner order process;
Figure 24 is a flow chart of an order shipment process;
Figures 25(A) to (G) are screen shots and flow diagrams illustrating Shopping Truck functionality;
Figures 26(A) to (I) are screen shots and flow diagrams illustrating Choose Your Discount functionality;
Figure 27 is an exemplary screen shot depicting Choose Your Discount functionality presented to a Buyer;
Figure 28 is an exemplary screen shot depicting Choose Your Discount functionality presented to a Seller; Figure 29 is a flow chart of a buyer approval process;
Figure 30 is a screen shot of an interface showing Internet Free Payment functionality;
Figure 31 is a screen shot of a login interface for approving a transaction;
Figure 32 is a screen shot of an Internet Free Payment interface showing one level of authorization;
Figures 33(A) to (E) are screen shots and flow diagrams depicting IFP functionality;
Figure 34 is a screen shot of an interface providing a personalized experience in HispanB2B.com;
Figures 35(A) and (B) are screen shots of an interface showing pending orders; Figure 36 is a screen shot of an interface depicting reports available through the system of Figure 1 ; and
Figure 37 is a screen shot of an interface providing order summary information.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION Reference will now be made in detail to preferred embodiments ofthe invention, non- limiting examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. I. OVERVIEW
Systems and methods according to the invention facilitate B2B e-commerce. The systems and methods provide a vertical market place for a plurality of industries to conduct business and furthermore provide a horizontal procurement fulfillment aspect. In a preferred embodiment ofthe invention, the systems and methods are targeted toward a particular affinity group within the general population, initially targeting all Hispanics. It should be understood that while the invention will be described with reference to a Hispanic B2B site or portal, the invention is not limited to Hispanics but may be adapted to other ethnic groups or to the population in general. The systems and methods ofthe invention also preferably develop a sense of community with some of its business members, such as by offering access to a separate related portal, preferably called HispanWorld, offering information on news, travel, chat, e-mail, sports, music, art, health, kids, history, charity, village, and hall of fame directed toward the targeted member group, such as Hispanics.
The systems and methods ofthe invention provide a number of advantages over conventional B2B sites, B2C sites, portals, and other businesses conducting business on or through the Internet. One of these advantages is for businesses to select buyers or sellers by industry, by affinity, by products, or by a catalog search. The systems and methods provide a virtual business marketplace where companies may be categorized and searched by sector, size, ownership, management, employee-make-up, as well as other factors. For instance, businesses can search based on member profiles, member press releases, site press releases, or by an associate directory. The systems and methods also allow for the posting of jobs or resumes and an explanation of a company's fulfillment capabilities. Some companies may be allowed to shop directly in the industry verticals, list and update their catalog items, process and track orders/shipments, effect payments, and negotiate the purchase price at the moment in time when the decision to sell and buy is made.
Another advantage ofthe systems and methods according to the invention is the ability of members to personalize their experience in conducting business through the Internet. In the preferred embodiment, frequent users can construct their own private "Cyber Business Neighborhood" housed by companies or other entities that they conduct business with or seek to conduct business. This neighborhood of vendors is depicted in a city-like setting. Thus, members can go to their "MyHispanB2B" site and view only those companies that are of interest to that particular member. A search engine, called HispanNavigator, will allow users to search and/or to select their neighbors on the basis of industry, sales, volume, ownership, management, and/or cultural affinity.
The systems and methods according to the invention also integrate well with existing internal policies within members ofthe B2B site. For instance, the systems and methods allow for purchases to require approval from upper management. Additionally, whereas many B2B sites present fixed prices or only nominally accommodate negotiation over price, systems and methods according to the invention allow buyers to choose a discount for a purchase. This discount is communicated to a seller which then has the option of accepting the discount or providing a counter-offer. The negotiation may continue until an agreed upon price has been reached. This ability to choose your discount allows users to react to immediate circumstances ofthe real world. Sellers of good and services no longer need to provide multiple price lists for multiple buyers but instead may maintain and respect the secrecy of pricing between themselves and sellers. Both buyers and sellers have the ability to raise or lower prices in reaction to such things as positive publicity, press testimonials, changes in guarantees, promised future referrals, employee/staff referrals, friendships, and other intangibles such as goodwill. Thus, true real-time interactivity with respect to pricing, prevalent in the real business world, is available and replicated through the systems and methods ofthe invention. A new value paradigm is thus created with an e-mail interface to enable real-time communication at the point of sale. The systems and methods according to the invention also eliminate concerns many businesses have with conducting business through the Internet. The systems and methods according to the invention allow for a more secure method of paying for goods and services. The systems and methods ofthe invention employ payment facilitators, such as banks, for effecting payments between the buyers and sellers. During a purchase, the buyer need not enter sensitive financial information, such as credit card information stored "in" the Internet and hosted in a "secure" hosting environment, but instead can complete a transaction through a payment "outside" ofthe Internet or "free" of real and perceived security risks. In the preferred embodiment, the buyers establish depository accounts with the payment facilitator which stores the sensitive financial information ofthe buyer in a secure location inaccessible through the Internet. The payment facilitator, a bank, then effects payment through a seamless transaction, which is channeled through bank-to-bank in the Federal wire system, such as through Automated Clearing House (ACH) or Fed wire transfers. Any security breach in the payment process would occur in the banking system and not through the more vulnerable, hackable Internet system. All data relating to payments will be stored in a bank "outside" ofthe Internet. The systems and methods permit the user ofthe IFP to benefit from the full complement of conventional banking services. Without the interface ofthe systems and methods, the user must take additional steps to benefit from the conventional banking services.
The systems and methods also preferably provide an order/shipment tracking function. The tracking function may relate to shipping via truck, plane, boat, or other business suggestive route and allows members to check on the status of a shipment. The members can be alerted when the goods have been shipped, such as through a flashing truck, plane, or boat symbol and can also be notified when the goods have been delivered, such as also through a flashing boat, plane, or truck symbol. In the preferred embodiment, this flashing symbol appears in the member's "MyHispanB2B" page and is placed next to the seller's building (corporate logo) within the animated Business Cyber Neighborhood (BCN). The systems and methods deliver increased efficiency by automating a system of notification. One advantage ofthe payment methods according to the invention is that members have greater flexibility in how and when payment is effected. Buyers can indicate how far off payment should be completed, such as within thirty days, or may specify a certain date for when the payment should be completed. Additionally, a common practice in non e- commerce business is for companies to "ride the trade." The Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of a given company may determine that they need to delay payment to all or certain venders for various financial reasons and may therefore modify previously ordered payment terms. The systems and methods according to the invention accommodate this common practice by allowing buyers to delay payment, even after the initial terms ofthe payment were defined. For instance, if the buyer initially indicated that payment would occur on the thirtieth day, the buyer could at the twenty-ninth day delay payment to the fifteenth ofthe following month. In this example, the seller would receive notice that the terms ofthe payment have changed but would not necessarily receive notice of when payment would actually occur. Thus, the invention replicates payment practices in the real business world while automating the process in a more efficient cost effective fashion.
Unlike many other B2B sites, the systems and methods according to the invention provide incentives for members to transact business through the site and to continue to transact business through this site. The members, or more preferably a sub-group ofthe members, are offered an extra incentive to conduct business through the site. This extra incentive in the preferred embodiment is the potential to derive a partial ownership in the overall B2B site. Members typically pay a fee to have their membership in the HispanBiz community or to otherwise participate as a member in the B2B site. The qualifying members are able to evolve from Members to Partners (M2P) (formerly known as "Rent To Hold") or stockholders in the HispanB2B site. As a result, the interests of members and the stockholders are aligned in a legal scaleable network marketing-like platform with clear and fair incentives to channel revenue through the site and refer future members to the site. The members are preferably issued stock options which can be vested only through the members' own sales through the site (not through the payment of membership fees), through referrals to the site, or through purchases made by the member. It should be understood that the stock options may be vested in other yet evolving ways to create an incentive for members to conduct business through this site. Furthermore, while stock options are the preferred vehicle for providing rights in the site, it should be understood that the invention may include other vehicles, such as warrants.
According to yet a further aspect of the invention, the systems and methods ofthe invention provide a B2B site that offers access to private equity capital. The private equity in the preferred embodiment is designed to help finance Internet and non-Internet capabilities and business expansion for emerging generally undercapitalized Hispanic-owned businesses. This financing will create proprietary incentives to participate in the B2B site according to the invention. Moreover, the systems and methods provide an automated investment selection process for selecting certain members for private equity. This automated process shortens and filters the evaluation process. Psychological profiling within a multi-stage questionnaire enables the selection ofthe "best ofthe best" candidates for private equity investments. The automated selection process may involve monitoring the performance and hyper-growth ofthe member businesses to identify those businesses that can benefit from additional expansion capital. This evaluation identifies businesses that could use the additional capital to expand their distribution capabilities, restructure capital, open new locations, enhance their technology to enable increases in efficiencies and integrate into legacy systems when desirable. The desired outcome would include more efficient sales increases without bricks and mortar, upgrades in management teams, or to otherwise spur and enable hyper growth. The access to private equity may also be directed later to non-members (sellers/buyers club) and allow these companies or entities to become stronger, larger, and full members ofthe B2B site. The psychological profiling allows the systems and methods to generate desirable prospects utilizing a Capital Evaluator Filter.
According to the preferred methods ofthe invention, an in-house Advocator is selected to help candidates compile information, enhance business plans, and co-present to the investment committees of a selected Allied Partner Funds (APF). At least one member of the board of directors or the senior management team of a business entity practicing the invention will serve on the investment committee or the Advisory Board of an APF to help influence outcomes, help negotiate term sheets, and generate higher valuations for our private equity capital candidates. PrivateEquityCap is therefore unique in that the B2B site first acts as a filter selecting only the best of breed candidates. After the best of breed candidates are identified, they are invited to make a presentation or send an "invited prescreened" business plan. Once selected as a candidate, an in-house Advocator is assigned to better prepare for a co-presentation to a pre-selected/"pre-sold" APF's. The role of Advocator is not unlike that of a corporate lender "pitching" corporate borrowers to a bank's loan committee. The role of aggregating the demand for capital with the supply, (selected APF's) a traditional determinant of price, in an Internet/automated/B2B platform will add value to both constituencies and generate higher quality filtered deal flow, more rapid evaluations/fundings, higher valuations, better terms, "growth monitored/based fundings" (initial and sequential), and generally better outcomes for all concerned.
II. SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE
A system 10 according to a preferred embodiment ofthe invention will now be described with reference to Figure 1. Buyers B and sellers S are able to access the system 10 through a network, which is preferably the Internet 12. The buyer's system and seller's system do not form part ofthe present invention and are accordingly only represented by a browser and firewall. The system 10 preferably provides access to any type of product or device, such as computers, mobile radiotelephones, personal data assistants (PDAs), etc. The system 10 also communicates with payment facilitators PF. In general, the seller S maintains a catalog of goods or services on the system 10 and interacts with buyers B through the system 10. The buyers B select and purchase products through the system 10 and are able to pay for the products and services through the system 10 and payment facilitator PF. The system 10 includes a firewall to the Internet 12, an HTTP server 24 for communicating through the Internet 12, and a secure socket link 26 for providing secure communications. The system 10 also includes a web server 28 for handling communications through the Internet 12 and for providing access to a relational database 32. A marketplace server 30 communicates with the payment facilitator PF and also communicates with buyers B, sellers S and other entities through the Internet 12. The marketplace server 30 also accesses the relational database 32.
A logical flow associated with the system 10 will now be described with reference to Figure 2. The relational database 32 contains HispanB2B content, founder profiles, and job listings as well as buyer profiles, transaction records, and seller catalogs. The buyers B can review the seller's catalogs and exchange order and payment information with the system 10. After the buyers B and sellers S agree upon the terms of a transaction, the buyer B provides payment information to the system 10. The buyer B and seller S have three options in how the goods or services may be purchased, such as through a credit card company (as a less secure alternative to IFP), through IFP, or through some other non-automated traditional payment method. The payment information and transaction information is sent from the system 10 the payment facilitator PF, if it is engaged. The system 10 also exchanges shipping status information with public and private carriers C, if one is necessary. In addition to the web server 28 and marketplace server 30, the system 10 also includes an accounting system 42 for receiving transaction summaries and for storing financial data and reconciled transactional data. The system 10 includes a site administration server 44 allowing for the management of user and content information stored at the site 10. Furthermore, the system 10 includes customer support 48 for receiving both customer and transaction information. The customer support 48 may be both on-line as well as off-line.
III. CONSTITUENTS AND VISITORS
In the preferred site operated by the system 10, the system 10 defines its constituents as a Founding Partner, a Partner, a member ofthe Buyers B Club, or a member of a Sellers S Club. The Founding Partners and members pay a membership fee to be part ofthe system 10. They have the capability of buying and placing goods and services for sale through the system 10 to qualified buyers B and to collect and make payments through Internet Free Payment methods, which will be described below in more detail. The Founding Partners and Partners are able to provide content through a Press Release section ofthe site and to post job openings. The Partners are listed in the Members Directory and Founding Partners are featured on a rotating basis in the HispanB2B Profiles section of this site. These video taped interviews are later archived and accessible to prospects and non-members. The members of the Buyers Club are invited to join by members to facilitate sales to small retailers, restaurants, and other small buyers. The members ofthe Sellers club will be able to sell their products and/or services (without product catalog integration) through the site with the integration of a sales brochure to feature a company's products and services, capabilities, reputation, etc. Both these memberships are intended for smaller businesses with annual sales of less than $10 million. The Buyers Club members are able to submit payments through the Internet Free Payment methods, as well as through other types of payment. The Buyers Club members are listed in the Associate Directory and the Sellers Club members are listed in the Members Directory. In most cases, these smaller Club members will be introduced or sponsored by larger Members or Partners. The site operated by the system 10 preferably has more than one level of categorization of its visitors. One type of visitor is an unregistered visitor about whom no information has been collected other than its behavior at the site. Unregistered users are only able to access public and other non-login areas ofthe site. Another type of visitor is a registered company who has filled out a corporate profile. A registered guest is another type of visitor who has filled out an individual profile under the umbrella of a registered company. A buyer is another type of visitor and is one that has joined as a Founding Partner or a Buyer's Club member. A seller is yet another type of visitor and is one that has joined as a Founding Partner or a Sellers Club member.
Through a registration process, the system 10 acquires company information, user information, and financial information on the registrant. The company information includes such items as the company name, categories and sub-categories of industry, contact information, affinity with respect to ownership, chairman, CEO, president, and employees, company background, and related companies. The user information includes the name, employer, title, and contact information for each ofthe registered individuals. The financial information includes the headquarters, division, company bill-to address, ship-to address, ship-from address, annual sales, accounts payable contact information, credit references, depository institution, credit card merchant account information for sellers, standard terms and conditions of sales for sellers and buyers, employee identification number EIN, and Dun and Bradstreet number. For those registrants participating in the Internet Free Payment (IFP) methods ofthe system 10, the registrants also need to supply information to designated banking partners to establish depository relationships to enable IFP.
IV. REGISTRATION
The primary registered entity on the site associated with the system 10 is a company. A company can refer to a single business entity, including partnerships, sole proprietorships, S or C corporation, and divisions of larger corporations. All interactions with the site is preferably at the level ofthe company. For example, registered users may purchase goods but can do so only in the name of and under the account ofthe registered buyer company for which they work. After an entity registers, the system 10 creates a company record and a company administrator account. The system 10 uses the company record as the primary identifier for all activities performed by all users associated with that company. For example, all ship-to location data for a buyer company is related to the company and not to any individual user account. Similarly, all orders submitted by a buyer is related to the buyer company and not to the registered user. The system 10 uses the company administrator account as the administrative account for the registered company.
The system 10 includes a registration function so that visitors to the site can enter and submit company registration information. Company registrations are submitted by employees or authorized agents of companies and a successful registration will result in the system 10 establishing a corporate and a company administrator account for the company, if one does not already exist. A method 50 of registering with the system 10 will now be described with reference to Figure 3. The method 50 begins at 52 with the visitor submitting a company profile and then at 54 with a company administrator profile. At 55, the visitor submits these profiles to the system 10. The web server 28 within the system 10 then creates a company profile and stores the profile in the company database 32 at 56 and stores the administrator profile in the user database 32 at 57. At 58, the system 10 grants the company access to restricted areas ofthe site. Figures 4(A) to 4(C) show exemplary screen shots whereby a visitor can submit company information in order to register with the system 10. The system 10 includes a Buyers club registration function that enables prospective buyers to enter and submit registration information. Buyer registrations are submitted by employees or authorized agents of companies. The successful buyer registration will result in the system 10 establishing a corporate and a company administrator account for the company, if one does not already exist. New buyer registrations have all features ofthe company registration described above with reference to Figure 3 and will initially be given a "pending" status as a registered guest, which will not allow the company to access the buyer's club marketplace. The system 10 allows personnel to view a list of registered but pending approval companies so that these personnel can either approve or deny the buyer's club registration. Once the buyer is approved, the buyer is allowed to fully access the Buyers Club features. During the approval process, the buyer is able to see the status of their account. The system 10 also includes a Sellers Club registration function that enables prospective Sellers Club members to enter and submit registration information. Seller Club registrations are submitted by employees or authorized agents of companies. The successful Seller Club registration will result in the system 10 establishing a corporate and a Company Administrator account in the relational database 32 for the company. New Sellers Club registrations have all features ofthe Company registration above, and will be initially given a "Pending" status as a Registered Guest that will prevent the new selling company from accessing the system 10. The system 10 allows personnel to view a list of registered, but pending approval, companies. Personnel associated with operation ofthe system 10 open and review a seller registration and either approve or deny the Seller Club registration. Once the Seller Club membership is approved, the Seller Club member is allowed to fully access the Sellers Club features. During the approval process, the Seller Club member is able to see the status of their account. In order to be approved as a Sellers Club member, the applicant must have been approved by one ofthe payment facilitators PF, such as a bank.
The system 10 further includes a Partner registration function that enables prospective Partners to enter and submit registration information. Partner registrations are submitted by employees or authorized agents of companies. The successful Partner registration will result in the system 10 establishing a corporate and a Company Administrator account in the relational database 32 for the company. New Partner registrations have all features ofthe Company registration above, and will be initially given a "pending" status that will prevent the selling company from accessing the system 10. The system 10 allows personnel to view a list of registered, but pending approval, companies. The personnel associated with operating the system 10 open and view a Partner registration and either approve or deny the Partner registration. Once the Partner is approved, the Partner is allowed to fully access the HispanB2B Partner features. During the approval process, the Partner is able to see the status of their account.
A method 60 by which a member, such as a buyer, seller or partner, registers with the system 10 will now be described with reference to Figure 5. At 61, the prospective member submits a company profile and then at 62 submits a company administrator profile. The prospective member must agree to conditions and ethics at 63 before submitting the application at 64. At 65, the system 10 stores a company profile in the database 32 and at 66 stores the administrator profile in the database 32. At 68, the prospective member can input a company user profile and submit the profile at 69. The system 10 stores the company user profile in the relational database 32 at 66 and then at 67 determines whether any additional company user profiles should be created. After the prospective member has submitted all of the company user profiles, the system 10 then performs an approval process at 70.
The member approval process 70 will now be described with reference to Figure 6. At 71, the information submitted by the prospective member is reviewed. At 72, an inquiry is made as to whether or not the prospective member has established a banking relationship, such as with one ofthe affiliated banks PF associated with the system 10. If a banking relationship has not been established, then the prospective member is contacted at 73. At 74, membership payment is authorized and then at 75 an inquiry is made as to whether the registration is approved. On the other hand, if the prospective member is approved, then at 77 the system 10 updates the database 32 and at 78 the member is granted access. If the prospective member is denied, then at 76 the applicant is contacted.
Once a company is registered as a buyer, seller, or partner, the company approver is allowed to create additional registered users. A method 80 of creating a registered user will now be described with reference to Figure 7. At 81, a user name, password, and e-mail address is created for a user and at 82 a role or number of roles is selected for the user. At 83, the company approver submits this information to the system 10, which then e-mails the new user with a registration URL at 84. A system 10 updates the company database at 85 and the user database at 86. If additional users need to be created, as determined at 87, then the company approver inputs the next user name, password, and e-mail address at 81. After all users have been created, the user creation method 80 exits at 88.
A method 90 of registering a user will now be described with reference to Figure 8. At 91 , the user logs in with the administrator-supplied user name and password. At 92, the user completes a user profile and submits the profile at 93. The system 10 updates the user database 32 at 94 with the user profile and then grants the registered user access to the site at 95.
A registered user can be assigned one or more roles by a company approver. One role can be a content approver which grants permission to maintain content on the site. The content includes catalog items and non-profile company information, such as press releases and job postings. Another type of role is an order approver, which grants permission to maintain and approve all aspects ofthe order process, including catalog prices, price negotiation, and order entry. A third type of role that may be granted to a registered user is a transaction approver. The transaction approver supervises and approves all aspects ofthe marketplace related to completing transactions, including final order approval and settlement.
V. LOG-IN
With reference to Figure 9, a member is requested to log-in to the site. Current members enter the user name and password whereas potential members are offered an opportunity to request more information about the HispanB2B.com site. After logging-in, visitors are presented with the interface shown in Figure 10. As represented by symbols arranged in a vertical direction on the left side, the HispanB2B.com site allows business to be conducted in vertical industries, such as technology, manufacturing, transportation, food, retail, construction, telecommunications, wholesale, financial services, and services. It should be understood that these listings of industries are merely exemplary and that additional or fewer industries may be offered by the invention. The multivertical/muti- industry flexibility platform is important to stress the affinity orientation versus an industry limiting focus. The member may click on a particular industry, such as technology, to view companies that are technology members.
Visitors can also obtain additional information about the site through a number of links, which could be placed on the interface shown in Figure 10, including "How It Works," "B2B Overview," "Support," "Site Map," and "Legal." An example of an interface for HispanWorld is shown in Figure 13. From this interface, members can link to a Hispan Hall of Fame, a Hispan Village, Hispan Charity, Hispan History, Hispan Kids, Hispan Health,
Hispan Music, Hispan Sports, Hispan News, Hispan Travel, Hispan Chat, Hispan E-mail, and
Hispan Art. Along a horizontal direction, the HispanWorld interface shown in Figure 11 depicts flags of Spanish and Portuguese speaking countries. These flags represent links whereby members can obtain specific information related to those countries, or individuals having an affinity towards those countries, or other such information.
Visitors can also obtain additional information on various topics related to the site by clicking on one ofthe links, which could be provided along the top ofthe interface shown in Figure 10, including "About Us," "Business Model," "Member Info," and "Contact Us." From a "HispanJob Listings" link, which could be provided on the interface shown in Figure 10, the member can search for jobs or post a position, as shown in Figure 12(A). Figure 12(B) illustrates an example of an interface in which a job opening is posted and Figure 12(C) illustrates an interface in which a search for a job opening is conducted. As shown in Figure 12(D), visitors to the site can upload a resume.
VI. SEARCH
The system 10 provides at least two searchable company directories. A first type of directory is an associate directory which contains basic company information in a listing format. The information includes the company name, address, and contact information. An example of an associate directory is shown in Figure 13. Through the associate directory interface, members are able to search based on company name as well as by company industry or sub-industry. For example, a search of all automotive companies results in the companies shown in the interface in Figure 14. Another type of searchable company directory is the member directory. By clicking on the "Member Directory" link, which could be provided on the main interface shown in Figure 10, the member is presented with the interface shown in Figure 15. The member directory contains the company name, contact information, affinity, company background, company industry and sub-industry, and financial information on all members. Through the member directory, members can search for a particular member company by name or perform an advanced search. Through the advanced search, a member can search by company name, affinity, company background, industry or sub-industry, location, and financial information. An example ofthe search results for an advanced search is shown in the interface depicted in Figure 16. In addition to the associate directory and member directory, a search can also be performed through a "HispanNavigator" link. When this link is selected, the system 10 allows a user to search by keyword, product ID, or product category. An example of a "HispanNavigator" interface is shown in Figure 17. As shown in this example, a user can search by affinity or technology with an example ofthe results for the search of Mexican and technology being shown in Figure 18. Upon selecting one ofthe companies listed as a result of a search through HispanNavigator, the user can obtain a member catalog for that company, as shown in Figure 19.
VII. STOREFRONT
The site 10 has an on-line storefront logo for each seller. The storefront logo allows the seller to control the product catalog creation and maintenance, product category normalization, pricing, buyer approval, order approval and status updates, and receipt of payment. The product catalog can contain any number of products or services, but is preferably limited to a certain number, such as one thousand products or services with charges being applied for increased catalog capacity. The product catalog contains information on the goods or services being offered by the seller, such as the product name, standard product category, seller SKU, descriptions ofthe goods or services both short and long, graphics, as well as additional user-defined attributes. The catalog maintenance and creation is performed on-line by the content approvers.
The system 10 has a catalog search engine whereby members can search by seller partner name, product name, and seller partner SKU. Also, the catalog search allows members to search by assignment of each item to one or more standard product categories or UNSPSC categories. An example ofthe results of a search of all catalogs for paper is shown in Figure 20. The results of a catalog search provides the seller partner name, product name, seller partner SKU, short description, or buyer-specific price. The member is able to doubleclick on a product in the listing and obtain a detailed catalog entry for that product. If a catalog search results in a just a single item, the system 10 returns a single-page display ofthe item containing all ofthe above-mentioned information as well as a long description and a product graphic.
VIII. ORDER The system 10 defines an order as a single transaction between a single buyer and a single partner. The order can include the buyer account ID, seller account ID, buyer purchase order number, seller invoice number, creation date, order status, line items with quantities and prices, order total, requested discount, terms, payment method, special instructions, and comments.
In order to select items for purchase, the buyer clicks on a select button for an item and the system 10 adds the item to a new or existing order for the seller partner of that product. If the buyer wishes to add items to an existing order, the buyer creates a new order or selects a saved or open order so that all items selected from the seller partner's catalog are entered into the correct order. A method 100 of entering an item will be described with reference to Figure 21. At 101, a buyer selects an item and the desired quantity. At 102, the system 10 determines whether an order exists for that seller, and if not, creates a new order at 104. If an order already exists, then at 103 the system 10 presents the buyer with a list of orders and their status from which to select. The buyer may create a new order or select one ofthe existing orders. The buyer then adds the item to the order at 105. Once the buyer has created an order for a single seller partner, the buyer submits the order for approval by the buyer's transaction approver. If the approver approves the order, the system 10 submits the order to the seller partner and the seller partner begins the approval process.
A method 110 of submitting the buyer's order to the seller will now be described with reference to Figure 22. The method 119 begins at 110 with the buyer creating an order and submitting the order at 112. The buyer at 111 may also choose a discount, preferably called Choose Your Discount, which will be described in more detail below. After the buyer creates the order the order has a status of open and after the buyer submits the order the order has a status of buyer pending. At 113, the system 10 places the order in the database 32. At 114, the buyer transaction administrator reviews the order and determines at 115 whether the order should be approved for submission. If the order is not approved, then at 116 the order is rejected and at 117 the system 10 sends the submitter the rejection notice. If the order has been approved, then at 118 the system 10 updates the status ofthe order to submitted and at 119 sends a notice to the submitter that the order has been submitted. At 120, the system 10 sends the order to the sellers queue and at 121 notifies the seller ofthe order.
A method 130 by which the seller processes orders will now be described with reference to Figure 23. At 131, the order is placed in the relational database 32 and at 132 the seller receives the order in the seller's queue. The seller reviews the order at 133 and decides whether to accept the order at 134. If the order is rejected, then at 135 the order is given a status of rejected and the system 10 forwards the sellers rejection to the buyer. If the order is accepted, then at 137 an inquiry is made as to whether shipping information is complete. If shipping information is incomplete, then at 138 the seller sends a request through the system 10 to the buyer for shipping information and the status ofthe order is updated to "accepted shipping details pending." If shipping information is complete, then at 139 the order is approved and at 140 the seller sends an acceptance to the buyer through the system 10. The system 10 then updates the status ofthe order in the relational database as "accepted awaiting shipment."
Along a right side ofthe interface shown in Figure 10, the interface has a symbol for "Logistics," which can relate to a Shopping Truck, Shopping Plane, and Shopping Boat. By selecting one of these links, the member buyer can obtain all shipping information (if made available by seller) and status updates on any order. For instance, for each order a member can obtain information on the ship-to address, shipping carrier, shipping tracking number, ship-buy date, shipped date, shipping weight, and shipping charges. An example of an interface provided by the system 10 upon selecting the shopping truck link is shown in Figure 25(A). The Shopping Truck symbol as well as the Shopping Plane or Shopping Boat symbols preferably flash or otherwise indicate a change in status relative to the shipment of the goods. For example, the shopping truck is placed on the Buyers and Sellers MyHispanB2B page when the goods have shipped and flash when the goods have arrived. A flow chart of a preferred method 200 of operation for the shopping truck will now be described with reference to Figure 25(B). At 202, a supplier enters a purchase order which serves as a reference number, such as for UPS. At 204, the user accesses an order status screen, such as the one shown in Figure 25(C), and at 206 clicks on a button to check the shipment status. The system 10 then displays a shipment tracking screen, such as the one shown in Figure 25(D), through which a user can enter a tracking number and/or the zip code for that order. At 210, the system 10 sends the necessary information to the shipping carrier, such as the carriers internal order number or reference number. At 212, the carrier streams status information back to the system 10. After all ofthe records have been returned, as determined by the system at 214, then the shipment status information is shown at 215, 216, or 217. If only one record was returned, then at 215 the system 10 displays the shipment status for that one record, such as the status page shown in Figure 25(E). If more than one record was returned, then at 216 the system 10 provides a shipment status page for all records, such as the status page shown in Figure 25(F). If no records were returned, then at 217 the system 10 informs the user that no shipment information was available, such as through the screen shown in Figure 25(G).
While the invention has been described with reference to UPS as the carrier, it should be understood that the invention may be implemented with other carriers in addition to or instead of UPS. Preferably, as part ofthe ordering process, not only can the shipping information be obtained through the system 10 but also the system 10 may initiate shipment in response to an order.
X. CHOOSE YOUR DISCOUNT The system 10 preferably allows sellers to price their goods in a number of ways.
One option offered by the system 10 is to have price sheets. Each seller may have standard price sheets for its product catalog which are completely configurable by the seller partner. These price sheets may include quantity discounts and may also be targeted to only select buyers. As a result, a seller partner may have a number of price sheets which are associated with different groups of buyers.
Figure 26(A) illustrates a preferred process by which buyers and sellers may negotiate over terms of an agreement. As represented in this diagram, an agent from the buyer and also an agent from the seller negotiate over the terms ofthe agreement, such as the price, shipping cost, delivery date, transaction fee, payment period, and tax. Once the buyer and seller come to an agreement, the terms ofthe agreement are then sent to the buyer for upper-level approval.
The system 10 preferably provides the buyer and seller with various e-mails throughout the negotiation period. For instance, the seller receives an e-mail from the system 10 from the buyer agent in response to a first offer from the buyer. Also, a buyer's approver receives an e-mail through the system 10 from the buyer or seller's agent requesting approval of a negotiated requisition. The system 10 also provides e-mails to the buyer's or seller's agent during on-going negotiations with counter offers from the opposing party. Once an agreement has been reached, the system 10 notifies the buyer or seller that the other party has accepted the terms ofthe last offer. Also, the system 10 provides an e-mail to the buyer's agent from the buyer's approver when the approver cancels a transaction or a separate e-mail when the approver approves ofthe transaction. As discussed above, the preferred pricing option is to allow for negotiated prices. A method 160 by which prices are negotiated between the buyer and seller will now be described with reference to Figure 26(B). At 161, the buyer creates an order for goods or services from a seller partner. Once the order is received, the system 10 gives the buyer an order confirmation interface, such as the one shown in Figure 32(C). The buyer can then enter the "Choose Your Discount" functionality. The system 10 determines if the buyer is trying to purchase goods or services from more than one seller and, if so, notify the buyer that the Choose Your Discount functionality is not available. An example of a screen shot giving the buyer such a warning is shown in Figure 26(D). At 162, the system 10 determines whether the seller allows an order discount. The system 10 may make this inquiry in response to the buyer selecting a discount, such as the discount link shown in the interface in Figure 10. At 163, the buyer selects an order discount percent and submits the order at 164. An example of an interface in which a buyer inserted a desired discount is shown in Figure 26(E). Through the interface shown in Figure 26(E), the buyer receives a Transaction Order number and details ofthe goods or services being purchased, such as the subtotal, estimated tax, estimated shipping, and estimated total. The buyer also receives the most recent "offer on the table," any counter-offer terms, and option buttons. The buyer is preferably able to negotiate on the discount percentage, shipping cost, shipping method, shipping cost payor, delivery period, transaction fee paid by seller, actual transaction fee percentage charged by the system 10, transaction payment method, payment period, and tax percentage. While the invention preferably allows the buyer to input a desired discount, it should be understood that the buyer can input other discounts, such as a flat dollar amount. At 165, the system updates the database 32 with the order and provides the buyer with an interface confirming receipt of the "Choose Your Discount" offer, such as through the interface shown in Figure 26(F). At 166, the seller reviews the order and determines at 167 whether to accept the discount. The system 10 notifies the seller of a pending Transaction Order via an email that contains a URL link to access information on the Transaction Order. The link takes the seller to a Transaction Negotiation screen, such as the one shown in Figure 26(G), which shows the Transaction Order number, details on the goods or services being purchased, a seller member trading contact, proposed amendments to the sales/delivery terms, counter-offer data entry fields, and option buttons. The option buttons allow the seller to accept the offer, reject/ offer/cancel the offer, or view negotiation history. If the seller rejects the order/discount, then at 168 the system 10 forwards the rejection to the buyer with comments. If the order is approved by the seller, then the system 10 at 169 updates the status ofthe order as accepted shipping details pending, emails the buyer, and takes the seller to a Confirmation Notification interface, such as a screen shot similar to the one shown in Figure 26(F).
The buyer and seller are preferably able to follow the history ofthe negotiations by selecting a "View Negotiation History" button, as shown in Figure 26(G). An example of a history for a negotiation is shown in Figure 26(H). The Negotiation History screen offers a view in reverse chronological order ofthe history of a negotiation from a buyer's original counteroffer to the current "offer on the table."
The buyer and seller are also preferably able to receive a summary ofthe transaction through a "Transaction Summary" button. An example of a transaction summary is shown in Figure 26(1). The buyer or seller can view their active orders and preferably can re-sort the listing by using the column headings as sort criteria, such as by transaction number, party, status, and last action. The negotiation history interface shown in Figure 26(1) is well-suited to be a day-to-day entry point to the system 10 by the buyers and sellers. Through this interface, the buyer or seller can go directly to one ofthe transactions by selecting one ofthe transaction number links.
An example of a Transaction Negotiation screen which has fields completed by a buyer is shown in Figure 27. As shown in this example, the buyer is requesting a discount percentage of 5.5%. After this offer has been formulated and submitted, the seller receives a transaction negotiation screen such as the one shown in Figure 28 which allows the seller to formulate a counter-offer through the counter-offer data entry fields.
Before a buyer can submit an order to a seller partner, the buyer must be approved by the seller partner. A method 170 of approving a buyer will now be described with reference to Figure 29. At 171, the buyer accesses the buyer database 32 and submits an application with a seller at 172. All buyers begin with a status of rejected with all sellers. At 173, the seller reviews the application for that buyer and determines at 174 whether to accept the buyer. If the buyer is not accepted, the buyer remains rejected at 175 and the seller notifies the buyer through the system 10 at 176. If the seller accepts the buyer, then at 177 the seller assigns the buyer a price sheet or negotiates prices with the buyer, with these prices being provided to the system 10. At 178, the system 10 updates the status ofthe buyer to approved and at 179 sends an acceptance notification to the buyer. XI. PURCHASE/PAYMENT
After the buyer and seller agree upon the terms of an order, the system 10 prompts the buyer for a payment method. The system 10 preferably provides a number of options to the buyer including, but not limited to, payment by credit card, payment by purchase order, and an Internet Free Payment method, which will be described below in more detail. An example of an interface by which the buyer indicates the payment method is shown in Figure 30. After the buyer inserts the appropriate information on how payment will be effected, the system 10 then requires any upper level dual approval and requires the log in of that person as shown in Figure 31. After this upper level person logs in, the person is presented with status of an order and the approval ofthe lower level person. For example, as shown by the interface in Figure 32, the user may be presented with the status ofthe order and indicate approval by John Smith. The first approver's password is received and authenticated and stored at the hosting facility. The second approver's password is only received, authenticated, and stored in a non-Internet accessible bank server. Thus, a "Dual Payment Initiation" system is created which further safeguards users against fraud risk.
If the buyer selects an option to pay by credit card, the buyer enters the credit card information and provides this information to the system 10. Some buyers, however, may be unwilling to provide this information to the system 10 since this sensitive financial information must travel through the Internet and is stored at the system 10. The system 10 alleviates some of these concerns by providing the IFP method. Through IFP, buyers and seller partners can create, approve, and settle transactions via the system 10. The system 10 charges a transaction fee which will vary by institution and payment method, such as a charge on a per-transaction basis as a percentage of sales. This system 10 supports reporting and/or aggregation of transaction amounts by buyer and seller so that fees can be charged to the appropriate entity. In the preferred embodiment, the IFP method offered by the system 10 is free to the buyers and sellers if a two percent transaction fee is paid. Although buyers and sellers are not required to use the IFP method, the system offers incentives to the buyers and sellers to adopt this method.
The IFP method involves Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) between the buyers and sellers. In one aspect, the buyers and the sellers are both account holders with the same PF whereby the EFT is intra-PF, such as intra-bank. When the buyer and seller have accounts at different PFs, then the IFP can be accomplished through automated clearing house (ACH) transactions between the PFs. From the depository institution information submitted during buyer and seller registration, the payment facilitator PF initiates the ACH transactions. During the set up of an account, the buyer sets up an account name and a member number is established. All assigned DDA and ABA numbers are established and stored in the partner bank(s). Partner banks are segregated into two categories, originators of ACH transfers and receivers of ACH transfers. All buyers must establish a depository relationship with an originating bank. All sellers must establish a relationship with a receiver bank. The buyer also establishes with the payment facilitator PF transaction criteria such as default account override, future dating of transactions, and comments. Furthermore, the buyer establishes with the payment facilitator PF transaction approvals, including transaction hold, transaction release, transaction update, transaction delete, and transaction approve. The payment facilitator PF also allows for pending transaction updates, transaction deletion of both approved and unapproved orders, transaction submission, transaction status inquiries, ACH reporting, and transaction pending notification to sellers.
In addition to ACH transactions, the system 10 supports electronic funds transfer transactions using the depository institution information submitted during the buyer and seller registration. With credit card processing, the system 10 provides for authorization, settlement, and crediting of accounts. The system 10 preferably also supports purchasing cards as well as future developed methods of payment.
With reference to Figure 33(A), the marketplace server 32 includes an ACH module 32A. The ACH module 32A is able to generate NACHA transactions and send these transactions to a payment facilitator PF, such as the buyers bank. The ACH module 32A is also able to receive NACHA acknowledgments 192 from the payment facilitators, formulate and send NACHA enquiries 194 and receive NACHA responses 193. With the Internet Free Payment method, the transfer of funds is effected through the ACH network through the Federal Reserve FR and is not executed through the Internet 12. The system 10 is connected to the payment facilitators through a secure link, such as a fractional TI line or any secure non-Internet accessible wire or wire-less link, which is placed outside of the Internet. As a result, buyers and sellers can conduct business in a more secure manner. Member numbers with dual password protection are transmitted through the TI line to the bank to be decoded into DDA and ABA numbers with debit/credit instructions.
A flow chart of a method 230 of operation for IFP will now be described with reference to Figures 33(B) and 33(C). At 231, the system 10 decides whether the method of payment is via IFP. If not, then the system 10 generates invoices for each supplier at 232. At 233, the system 10 determines whether payment is via credit card, in which case the credit card information is transmitted to the supplier via purchase order at 235. If the transaction payment method is via invoice, then at 234 the invoice is transmitted to the supplier. At 236, the system 10 processes the transaction for the transaction fee due for use ofthe system 10. In the preferred embodiment, the transaction fee is collected via IFP.
If the transaction payment method is IFP, as determined at 231 , then at 240 the system 10 generates an e-mail to the buyer-IFP approver, provides an IFP-approver screen at 241, and at 242 determines whether approval has been obtained. The transaction has the status of "Payment Authorization Pending" until the approval has been obtained. If the approval has been obtained from the buyer-IFP approver, the system 10 at 244 next determines whether any additional IFP approval is needed. If so, the system 10 returns to 240 by generating an e- mail to the next buyer-IFP approver. Once all levels of approval have been obtained, the system 10 at 246 generates 2 pairs of IFP instructions at 246, calculates a transaction fee at 247, generates a transaction-fee debit from the seller's account with a credit to the account associated with the system 10 at 249, and transmits the transaction-fee debit/credit data to the payee partner bank at 251. The payee partner bank at 253 performs data mapping by translating data from the system 10 into data required by ACH. At 255, the payee partner bank formats ACH-required data and creates an ACH-compliant file, at 257 performs book- transfer debit from seller to credit the system 10 account, and at 260 the buyer, seller, and system 10 reconcile their respective accounts.
The system 10 generates transaction-cost debit request from the buyer account and credit request for seller account at 262. At 264, the system 10 transmits the transaction-cost debit/credit data to the payor partner bank over a dedicated, secure, non-Internet conduit. At 266, the payor partner bank translates the data into data required by ACH, formats ACH- required data and creates an ACH-compliant file at 268, and then determines whether an intra-bank or inter-bank transfer is required at 270. For intra-bank transfer, the payor partner bank debits the buyer's account and credits the seller's account after a specified time at 272. For an inter-bank transfer, the payor partner bank transmits ACH-compliant instructions to debit buyer's account and credit seller's account after the specified time. After either the book transfer at 272 or the ACH transmittal at 274, the buyer, seller, and system 10 reconcile their respective accounts at 260. The method 230 for IFP has dual approval requiring authorizations from two agents ofthe buyer. Accordingly, each of these agents is presented with basic details ofthe transaction in question, such as a member ofthe buyer's accounting department or financial officer. Only after authorization has been received from both agents will the system 10 proceed to transmit instructions to the appropriate PF. If the buyer does not intend to pay the transaction costs via IFP, then this dual-approval stage is not required. Regardless of the payment method chosen for the transaction costs, on the other hand, all transaction fees are collected via IFP if the seller utilizes the IFP application. As mentioned above, the system 10 generates two pairs of instructions at 246. The first pair of instructions generated represent the transaction fee, which is the amount levied by the system 10 against the seller. The second pair of instructions is the transaction cost which is the amount owed to the seller by the buyer for the goods and/or services purchased through the system 10.
The ACH network requires that debit and credit requests be sent simultaneously. Accordingly, a credit is issued in the receiving account whether funds exist in the debit account or if they are not available. If the funds are not available, then the ACH network obligates the originating bank to cover these short falls. The originating bank therefore takes some risk in initiating ACH transactions. In a first aspect ofthe invention, the system 10 may be associated with only one PF and both the buyer and the seller have to have accounts with that one PF in order to do IFP. According to this aspect, the PF can easily verify that a given debit account has the sufficient funds before issuing a credit to another account. If the funds are not available, the PF would simply inform the buyer and the seller that the transaction could not be completed and the parties are free to select another payment method.
According to another aspect, the system 10 may have more than one PF but will allocate risks between the two PFs. For instance, a first PF may be guaranteed a sufficient amount of business with low-risk buyers in order to justify some higher-risk buyers. This one PF may have 90% of Fortune 500 companies, and in return, agree to have 10% of its transactions with selected Hispanic buyers. According to this second aspect, one PF would receive all ofthe ACH transactions for mainly low risk buyers and one or more PFs may be associated with the sellers for processing the low risk credits associated with the transactions. Thus, the segregation of risk in an optimal fashion enhances the value proposition for buyer, seller, and the designated PF's. As shown in Figure 38, a buyer can request that payment be made by the Internet Free Payment method and provide information on the partner bank, DDA number, and date for when the transaction should be completed. As for the date, the buyer must pay on the transferred payment term date negotiated in Choose Your Discount (CYD). If "riding the trade" is desired, buyer may change the CYD "imported" date (48 hours prior to that date) to a later (or earlier) date. This change in CYD payment terms is communicated via email to the seller although the new payment date is not disclosed in the message. When the buyer changes the CYD payment terms, the buyer is said to be "riding the trade."
In order to "ride the trade" the buyer member IFP approvers must approve ofthe changes in the payment terms before a new set of IFP instructions are generated by the system 10. Figure 33(D) is an example of an interface for receiving the buyer member IFP approver's authorization. After authorization has been received from all necessary IFP approvers, the system 10 then sends a new set of instructions to the PF. Since each IFP transmission is tracked using the transaction order number, subsequent transmissions using this number are treated by the system as replacement instructions. These subsequent transmissions therefore overwrite any previous instructions that were received by the system 10 or instructions sent to the PFs. As mentioned above, any effort to "ride the trade" prompts the system 10 to alert the seller that a chance in payment terms has occurred, however, no further information is provided to the seller other than an alert that the initial payment terms have changed.
Figure 33(E) illustrates a flow chart of a preferred method 280 by which a buyer can "ride the trade." With reference to Figure 33(E), after the buyer goes through the transaction status screen and the IFP status screen at 282, the buyer can elect to ride the trade at 283. If the buyer does not elect to ride the trade, the buyer returns to the site at 284. If the buyer does decide to ride the trade, then at 285 the system 10 provides the buyer with the IFP- approver screen and the buyer enters his/her username and password. After the system 10 authenticates the IFP approver at 286, the IFP approver alters the payment period at 287 and at 288 confirms and submits new instructions. At 289, the system 10 generates transaction cost-debit request from the buyer's account and credit request for seller's account.
XII. CUSTOMIZED INTERFACE
A member ofthe site can select the "MyHispanB2B" link on the main page and be presented with their "MyHispanB2B" page, such as the one shown in Figure 34. This page represents companies that the member frequently engages in commerce with or seeks to engage in commerce with. In this example, a member has placed Kilpatrick Stockton LLP, Coca-Cola, Clarus, and BNSE in their own personal neighborhood. The interface shown in Figure 34 is preferably designed so that buildings or other landmarks are matched with the company that it represents, such as the building housing the headquarters of Coca-Cola represents Coca-Cola in the interface shown in Figure 34. As an example, a green shopping truck shown next to Coca-Cola represents that a shipment has occurred on goods ordered from Coca-Cola. A yellow truck would illustrate an "in transit status" with location finding logistics. A red truck would alert the user that shipment has arrived. The shipment departure, transit location, and arrival are therefore available on a real-time interactive basis to keep the user informed and in "command" of numerous shipments which may be prevalent in the hypergrowth/hyper active Internet business world. It should be understood that the members may be presented their own MyHispanB2B page in other ways other than through activating a link. For instance, the members may all enter the same URL and through cookies or other suitable technology, the site presents their own personalized MyHispanB2B page to each respective member. The MyHispanB2B page allows members to see and interact with only those companies that are of interest to that member, thereby making the experience much more personalized and avoiding a great deal of unnecessary information. This interface also allows a member to pre-select vendors and be one click away from their on-line catalogs. In the preferred embodiment, the MyHispanB2B interface has a template with fields for desired logos. In general, a user selects companies for the "Cyber Business Neighborhood" and then places the logos of these companies in desired fields ofthe template. The system 10 maintains all member logos in a database. The MyHispanB2B page holds an image of a city and in this city are predefined "slots" for corporate logos to be held. This list is shown to the buyer wishing to build their custom interface. The buyer selects other suppliers they wish to perform business with and assign them a slot to be placed on the city screen. Thereafter, when the user selects his/her MyHispanB2B page, the city image is shown with the desired company logos. A batch process that runs on the system 10 orders the images on the city based on the user's selection. This gives each buyer the ability to display particular suppliers in a choice centric manner. The buyers then have the ability to click the logos to take the user into that pre-select, perhaps frequently visited supplier's catalog. The MyHispanB2B interface can be customized in any suitable way. For example, instead of having a city page with slots for corporate logos, the system 10 may present the member with city page which the member may fill by clicking and dragging desired buildings and corporate logos. Additionally, the system 10 may present members with a plurality of city pages to select from as a desired background city page. These city pages may correspond to representative known cities with an affinity appeal for the user. For instance, members that focus their business with Cuban-American owned businesses may have the option of selecting a Havana looking city as their desired virtual city for their MyHispanB2B interface.
XIII. PRIVATE EQUITY CAPITAL
As mentioned above, the system 10 is preferably associated with a source of private equity capital. The system 10 has a Capital Evaluator Filter (CEF) that provides a simple and fast on-line process for filtering deal flow, better valuations, and more rapid monitored based (through on-line tracking of revenue growth) fundings. The CEF rapidly identifies and analyzes candidates through a question and answer process, such as one initiated by a member to the market maker, system 10, or one initiated by the system 10.
Through Privat@quityCap, the site undertakes an intermediary role associated with the system 10 and provides access to private equity and venture capital for established and/or emerging firms, such as Hispanic-owned or managed firms. Privat@quityCap simply aggregates the (Hispanic or any minority owned small) business need (the demand) for equity capital with a select few private equity funds (the supply) and facilitates the expansion of Hispanic or any minority owned business commerce in general and within the Internet specifically. The Privat@quityCap is therefore a significant differentiator/empowerment tool for constituents ofthe system 10.
The Privat@quityCap provides a number of advantages and benefits to its participants. For one, buyers have access to better capitalized, technology enabled venders more capable of performing and competing in the New Economy. The Sellers benefit from ready capital to strengthen balance sheets, lower debt services, enhance technology, and respond to the hyper growth potential/problem associated with Internet sales and market to market links. Candidates for equity capital benefit from the assignment of an in-house
Advocator which should lead to more rapid answers, higher valuations, and better outcomes.
Allied Partner Funds (APFs) receive a desirable volume of filtered deal flow with enhanced candidates better able to perform during evaluations and after funding. As a maker or aggregator of a digital expansion capital market, Privat@quityCap will be to connect in a hyper-efficient manner the supply and demand for equity capital to raise the value proposition for all concerned. In order to better serve divergent market needs, such as start-ups, small market, middle market, late stage, mezzanine, and LBOs, Privat@quityCap preferably will initially serve as a conduit for already established APFs. These strategic alliances with a group of experienced and established venture, LBO, and private equity funds offer immediate proprietary access to "smart capital" to prospects invited through the HispanB2B.com web site. A recently announced private equity fund in formation and sponsored by the US Hispanic Chamber of Commerce may also be included as one ofthe APFs.
XIV. MEMBER TO PARTNER - M2P (Previously known as "Rent To Hold") According to another aspect ofthe invention, members can have their interests aligned with that ofHispanB2B.com. The members can be invited to participate in an incentive ownership plan based on any suitable criteria, such as to all members, just to a select group of members designed to spur use ofHispanB2B.com, or to a group of sellers, buyers, partners, or AFPs. Each entity enrolled in the incentive ownership plan is issued stock options in the entity which owns the exchange, which vest based on some measure of performance. The performance may be sales or purchases ofthe entity through the exchange, referrals made by the entity, sales ofthe entity's referrals, or some other parameter.
The incentive ownership plan can be any plan that vests stock options based on a measure of performance. In the preferred embodiment, the incentive ownership plan is open to members only with buyers and sellers excluded. The incentive ownership plan defines different classes or groups of entities based on the size of the business in order to provide proper incentives to each entity. For example, the level of performance necessary for a larger companies to vest stock options is greater than levels for smaller companies in light ofthe greater volume of business that the larger companies can potentially route through the exchange. The larger companies however should receive a greater benefit from meeting their performance goals recognizing their greater contribution than that of smaller companies.
One possible way of establishing the different levels of performance is by establishing three revenue target levels, namely silver, gold, and platinum performers. Silver performers generate at least one ofthe following: 1% of sales or 1% of their procurement dollars are channeled through the site, or three members are introduced and become members ofthe portal. Gold performers could have as their benchmark 2.5% of their sales or procurement dollars through the portal or must introduce five new members that join the portal. Platinum performers could be required to generate 5% of their sales or procurement dollars through the portal or must introduce seven members that join the portal.
Membership fees would differ for the enrolled entities with some entities having a $50,000 fee, other entities at $100,000, a third group at $200,000, and a final group at $250,000. Thus, small companies may elect for enrolling at the $50,000 fee while the largest group of companies may enroll at the $250,000 fee. The reward for a given level of performance, such as a silver performer, accordingly varies with the amount ofthe membership fee, yet holds the same benchmark percentage.
A chart showing an exemplary set of performance levels and rewards for each membership fee is set forth below. It should be understood that the amounts shown can be altered based on the application ofthe invention.
Figure imgf000036_0001
For all classes or categories of entities enrolled in the incentive ownership plan, all stock option grants expire within twelve months of grant dates. Also, rather than allocating credit to just buyers or sellers, both buyers and sellers receive credit on their established targets with respect to the same transaction. Stock option grants may only be vested or earned through the generation of transaction revenue or referred members which pay the appropriate membership fees. Advertising revenue paid by members to the portal may be utilized to achieve some or all of their incentive performance targets in lieu of transaction revenue. Different stock option grant levels will apply to reflect different revenue generation capabilities prevalent in a $250,000 membership fee verses the current minimum of $50,000. The legal efficient manner in which these securities are "sold" without an offering prospectus involves a proprietary Accredited Targeting Method (ATM). All consumer, non-corporate, non-accredited, non-members, are simply excluded from solicitation.
XV. QUARTERLY TRADER
The system 10 also allows sellers to offer special discounts, such as discounts at the end of each quarter. For instance, sellers can place their goods or services for sale at a special discounted price which is good for only a limited period of time, such as during the last week or day of a fiscal quarter. Alternatively, the sellers may place a certain number of goods or amount of services up for auction, such as only at the end of a fiscal quarter. The ability to tie special discounts to the end of each fiscal quarter is referred to as quarterly trader functionality in the system 10. The sellers select a Quarterly Trader (QT) link, which could be placed on the main interface shown in Figure 10, at which point the system 10 prompts the seller to input the amount of goods or services, the type of discount applied to the goods or services, as well as indicate buyers that are eligible for the special discount. The seller submits this information to the system 10 which then forwards a QT notice to each qualified buyer. Buyers may also post reverse auctions for products or services with larger quantities than normal. QT is preferably limited to four times per year when unique circumstances and motivations are prevalent, buyers will benefit from lower prices and sellers will benefit from unloading stale inventory, replacing a lost sale, or exceeding sales projections. The placement of products or services "on the QT" last call auction table, will limit the commoditization window to only four voluntary times per year. Thus, the real and perceived commoditization risk for suppliers is resolved and the interest ofthe buyer, the seller, the large, and the small is balanced and managed uniquely by an objective, impartial market maker.
XVI. SYSTEM FUNCTIONALITY The system 10 also provides other functionality to the Buyers, Sellers, Partners, and visitors. Upon selection of one of these banks, the member can apply on-line for an account or can contact the banking partner directly.
Members can also obtain information on any pending orders by selecting a "Check Your Discount" link, which could be placed on the main interface shown in Figure 10. An example of a "Check Your Discount" interface is shown in Figures 35(A) and 35(B).
The system 10 provides reporting functionality to the members. Members can access this reporting functionality through a "Reporting" link, which could be placed on the main interface shown in Figure 10. Figure 36 provides an example of an interface presented to a member upon selection ofthe reporting link.
Through a "Summary" link, which could be placed on the main interface shown in Figure 10, members can obtain a summary of all orders through the system 10. An example of an interface providing order summary status is shown in Figure 37.
The foregoing description ofthe preferred embodiments ofthe invention has been presented only for the purpose of illustration and description and is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in light ofthe above teaching.
The embodiments were chosen and described in order to explain the principles ofthe invention and their practical application so as to enable others skilled in the art to utilize the invention and various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.

Claims

CLAIMS A method of facilitating commerce over the Internet between a buyer and a seller, comprising: posting a catalog of seller items on the Internet; allowing the buyer to view the catalog through the Internet; receiving from the buyer an offer to purchase at least one ofthe items from the seller; receiving from the seller an acceptance ofthe offer; receiving terms of payment for the purchase by the buyer; establishing a communication link with a payment facilitator, the communication link being outside ofthe Internet; and transferring at least some of the payment terms over the communication link to the payment facilitator to effect a payment from the buyer to the seller; whereby payment terms are transferred in a more secure manner over the communication link and not over the Internet to the payment facilitator.
2. The method as set forth in claim 1, wherein the establishing comprises connecting through a direct communication link.
3. The method as set forth in claim 1, wherein the connecting comprises connecting through a fractional TI line.
4. The method as set forth in claim 1 , wherein the transferring of at least some ofthe payment terms comprises transmitting buyer account information.
5. The method as set forth in claim 4, wherein the transmitting comprises transmitting a buyer DDA number.
6. The method as set forth in claim 1 , further comprising receiving from the buyer a desired date for when the seller should be paid.
7. The method as set forth in claim 6, further comprising receiving from the buyer a request to delay payment after the desired date and delaying payment until a subsequent time.
8. The method as set forth in claim 7, further comprising notifying the seller that the buyer requested that the payment be delayed.
9. The method as set forth in claim 1 , further comprising enabling the buyer to establish an account with the payment facilitator.
10. A business-to-business exchange on the Internet, comprising: a web server for receiving requests for seller catalogs over the Internet and for delivering the seller catalogs over the Internet; a marketplace server for obtaining terms of a transaction between a buyer and a seller, the terms ofthe transaction including payment transaction information; wherein the marketplace server transmits the payment transaction information to a payment facilitator over a communication link to effect payment to the seller from the buyer, the communication link being outside ofthe Internet.
11. The business-to-business exchange as set forth in claim 10, wherein the communication link comprises a direct communication link between the marketplace server and the payment facilitator.
12. The business-to-business exchange as set forth in claim 11, wherein the direct communication link comprises a fractional TI line.
13. The business-to-business exchange as set forth in claim 10, wherein the marketplace server transmits a buyer DDA number to the payment facilitator over the communication link.
14. The business-to-business exchange as set forth in claim 10, wherein the terms of the transaction received by the marketplace server includes a payment date.
15. The business-to-business exchange as set forth in claim 14, wherein the marketplace server receives a request by the buyer to delay payment beyond the payment date.
16. The business-to-business exchange as set forth in claim 15, wherein the marketplace server generates a notification that is transmitted to the seller to inform the seller of the delayed payment.
17. A method of providing a business-to-business exchange on the Internet, comprising: recruiting buyers and sellers of an affinity group to the business-to-business exchange; allowing buyers to obtain information on seller items through the Internet; enabling buyers and sellers to enter into transactions for the sale of items; affiliating payment facilitators with the business-to-business exchange, the payment facilitators being connected to the business-to-business exchange through a communication link outside ofthe Internet; and effecting payments to the sellers from the buyers through at least one ofthe payment facilitators; wherein the effecting payments comprises transmitting payment transaction information from the business-to-business exchange to one ofthe payment facilitators over the communication link outside of the Internet.
18. The method as set forth in claim 17, wherein the effecting payments comprises initiating a bank to bank transfer.
19. The method as set forth in claim 17, wherein the affinity group comprises Hispanics.
20. The method as set forth in claim 17, wherein the payment facilitators include banks.
21. A method of facilitating commerce between a buyer and a seller, comprising: providing on the Internet a catalog of items available for purchase from a seller; posting on the Internet a purchase price for the items; receiving from a buyer through the Internet an identification of at least one item desired by the buyer; receiving through the Internet a discount desired from the buyer on the purchase ofthe item; forwarding through the Internet the identification ofthe item and the desired discount to the seller; allowing the seller and the buyer to reach an agreed upon price for the item; and enabling the buyer to pay the seller for the item.
22. The method as set forth in claim 21 , wherein the allowing the seller and buyer to reach an agreed upon price comprises enabling the seller to generate a counter offer or to accept the desired discount from the buyer.
23. The method as set forth in claim 21, wherein the receiving ofthe desired discount comprises receiving a percentage discount.
24. The method as set forth in claim 21, wherein the receiving ofthe desired discount comprises receiving a flat amount discount.
25. The method as set forth in claim 21, wherein the allowing ofthe buyer and the seller to reach the agreed upon price comprises entering the purchase price posted on the Internet.
26. The method as set forth in claim 21 , wherein the allowing of the buyer and the seller to reach the agreed upon price comprises entering the discount desired by the buyer.
27. The method as set forth in claim 21, wherein the allowing ofthe buyer and the seller to reach the agreed upon price comprises entering a negotiated price different than the purchase price posted on the Internet and different than the discount desired by the buyer.
28. The method as set forth in claim 21, further comprising allowing the buyer and the seller to agree upon shipment information.
29. The method as set forth in claim 21, further comprising checking if the seller allows order discounts.
30. An exchange on the Internet, comprising: a web server for receiving requests for seller catalogs over the Internet and for delivering the seller catalogs over the Internet, the seller catalogs including purchase prices for items; and a marketplace server for receiving an identification of items and a desired discount from a buyer, the marketplace server forwarding the identification ofthe items and the desired discount to the seller; wherein the marketplace server allows the seller and the buyer to reach an agreed upon price for the items and enables the buyer to pay the seller for the items.
31. The exchange as set forth in claim 30, wherein the marketplace server checks if the seller allows an order discount before forwarding to the seller the discount desired by the buyer.
32. The exchange as set forth in claim 30, wherein the exchange comprises a business-to-business exchange.
33. The exchange as set forth in claim 30, wherein the web server posts catalogs of Hispanic businesses.
34. The exchange as set forth in claim 30, wherein the marketplace server receives the desired discount in the form of a percentage off the purchase price.
35. The exchange as set forth in claim 30, wherein the marketplace server receives the desired discount in the form of a flat amount.
36. The exchange as set forth in claim 30, wherein the agreed upon price received by the marketplace server is the purchase price posted by the web server.
37. The exchange as set forth in claim 30, wherein the agreed upon price received by the marketplace server includes the discount desired by the buyer.
38. The exchange as set forth in claim 30, wherein the agreed upon price received by the marketplace server is a negotiated price different than the purchase price posted on the Internet and different than the discount desired by the buyer.
39. The exchange as set forth in claim 30, wherein the marketplace server further receives shipping information agreed upon by the buyer and the seller.
40. A method of providing entities incentives to conduct business through an Internet exchange, comprising: charging entities to participate in the exchange; inviting a select group ofthe entities to enroll in an ownership plan, the entities that enroll forming a sub-set of all entities; issuing warrants to the sub-set of entities that enroll in the ownership plan; monitoring activities allocated to the sub-set of entities; and granting rights in the Internet exchange based on the activities that are allocated to the sub-set of entities; wherein the granting of rights provides the entities with the incentives to conduct business through the exchange.
41. The method as set forth in claim 40, wherein the charging entities comprises charging sellers fees to post their catalogs with the exchange.
42. The method as set forth in claim 40, wherein the charging entities comprises charging buyers fees to purchase items through the exchange.
43. The method as set forth in claim 40, wherein the inviting the select group comprises inviting certain sellers to enroll in the ownership plan.
44. The method as set forth in claim 40, wherein the inviting the select group comprises inviting certain buyers to enroll in the ownership plan.
45. The method as set forth in claim 40, wherein the monitoring activities allocated to the sub-set of entities comprises tracking sales associated with an entity.
46. The method as set forth in claim 45, wherein the vesting comprises vesting the warrants if the sales exceed a threshold amount.
47. The method as set forth in claim 1, wherein the monitoring activities allocated to the sub-set of entities comprises tracking referrals made by an entity.
48. The method as set forth in claim 47, wherein the vesting comprises vesting the warrants if the number of referrals exceeds a threshold number.
49. The method as set forth in claim 1, wherein the monitoring activities allocated to the sub-set of entities comprises tracking sales of referrals made by an entity.
50. The method as set forth in claim 49, wherein the vesting comprises vesting the warrants if the sales ofthe referrals exceed a threshold amount.
51. The method as set forth in claim 40, wherein the monitoring occurs over multiple periods of time and the vesting occurs based on the activities during each of those multiple periods of time.
52. The method as set forth in claim 40, wherein the granting of rights comprises granting stock options.
53. The method as set forth in claim 40, wherein the granting of rights comprises granting warrants.
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Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
AU2002332981B2 (en) * 2001-10-23 2008-02-21 Finestyle Holdings Pty Ltd Method and system for effecting payment for goods and/or services
JP2017037591A (en) * 2015-08-14 2017-02-16 エヌ・ティ・ティ・コムウェア株式会社 Settlement processing device, settlement system, user registration method, and program

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