DE10120369A1 - Processes for processing data over the Internet - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for processing data via the Internet comprising at least two clients (1, 2), a webserver (3) and at least one database server (4) for saving and retrieving data. According to said method, at least one first client (1) saves data to the database server (4) via the Internet using the webserver (3) and at least one second client (2), retrieves the data, preferably via the Internet, using the webserver (3). To achieve a rapid, simple and cost-effective transfer of information to and from a service provider, in particular a logistics service provider, the method is designed in such a way that an assignment takes place between the first client (1) and the data that has been saved to the database server (4) and also the second client (2), which retrieves the saved data and that the data of the first client (1) is assigned by means of the selection of the second client (2) using the first client (1).

Description

The invention relates to a method for processing data via the Internet at least two clients, a web server and at least one database server for storing and retrieving data, with at least a first client via the Internet stores data on the database server using the web server and where min at least a second client, preferably via the Internet using the web server Retrieves data.

Process for processing data over the Internet with at least two clients have been known for a long time. For example. transfer large customers over the Internet using electronic data transmission, usually using EDI - Electronic Data Interchange Data relating to orders and order processing directly to a service providers. The Eini is required for the use of electronic data transmission the format of the data to be transmitted, since the recipient of the data must be able to interpret them correctly. To design messages standardized formats such as EDI are therefore used. Therefore EDI can be defined as a media-free exchange of structured data, wel using electronic data transfer between applications involved communication partner, e.g. a customer and a service provider, be transferred.

However, an investment in EDI is not worthwhile for smaller customers, as the financial expenditure for the introduction of hardware and software solutions in Relation to the orders placed not counted. Accordingly, the transmission takes place many small orders, but for which the same tight deadlines as for Large orders exist, often in very poor quality. Generally done the transmission then namely handwritten and by fax, which leads to the fact that under certain circumstances important information is missing or that errors in the manual entry of the data happen that the handwritten Da are not legible. This results in an error-prone, quality risk the process. In addition to the increased data generated by manual entry Solution costs also arise from the necessary corrections to correct errors fix, high follow-up costs. All in all, this leads to high customer numbers satisfaction.  

This problem occurs especially in the logistics industry with shippers - customers - and logistics service providers - the service providers. The shippers are through The logistics service providers often have many different systems for order transmission and made available for order processing. Generally these are systems manual in nature, d. that is, manually filled out loading lists, waybills, freight forwarders transfer certificates etc. are included. Automated are less common Systems where the data is recorded in separate programs where where the data is loaded on diskettes and / or by means of electronic data transfer, but only very rarely using EDI, transfer and then further processed become. Accordingly, shippers have to depend on the individual Lo used logistics service providers handle different processing methods, IT programs etc. to have. This is extremely confusing and often leads to increased effort in order processing and thus at increased costs.

The present invention is therefore based on the object of a method for To indicate processing of data via the Internet of the type mentioned at the beginning, where a quick, easy and inexpensive information transfer to egg and by a service provider, in particular a logistics service provider is.

According to the invention, the above object is achieved by the process for processing processing of data over the Internet with the features of claim 1 ge solves. After that, the procedure in question is about processing data about the Internet designed and developed in such a way that an assignment between the first client and the data stored on the database server as well as the second client retrieving the stored data is done and that the assignment of Data of the first client by selecting the second client using the first Clients.

In the manner according to the invention, it has been recognized that, in deviation from the previous i practice Practices for processing data over the Internet are not all for large customers, but that it is also possible for smaller customers Data, especially order data, must be standardized electronically wear. The transmission of data over the Internet, with an association between  the respective clients, it also allows smaller customers who only have a generally available internet browser and access that To take advantage of electronic data transmission. Through this kind of data transmission sources of errors are minimized as far as possible, the quality of the Process is secured and a quick and easy information transfer averaging is possible. This leads to low and transaction related alone Costs.

With regard to a particularly high degree of independence of the service provider, the Selection of the second client by means of the first client, in particular to a group of second ones activated by means of the respective second client Clients be limited. The service provider could enable the respective customer to collect data, especially orders that are intended for him. This would enable the respective service provider, only with certain customers or Shippers to do business and so independently manage their customers limit.

With regard to a particularly simple acquisition of the data, the data could be based on at least one website using at least one data mask using the first Clients are captured. Such a, preferably standardized, data mask It also enables smaller customers to enter orders independently without having to do so incur costs for the establishment of such a recording measure.

As part of an individual data acquisition, the data mask could be individual be matched to the first and / or the second client. The customer and / or the service provider could therefore provide data that is tailored to their needs grasp or let grasp.

It would be a further advantage if the data mask was constructed using the respective could be changed towards the client. This would allow the data mask and thus, for example, the order template can be changed quickly and easily customer and / or service provider.  

With regard to a particularly comfortable embodiment, the transmission of the Data is automatically sent to the second client. This would be especially true with rules moderate and high number of orders conceivable, the customer a cut to the web server and / or the second client and receives his orders auto are automatically transmitted to the service provider. The automatic transmission of the Order data could then directly or via an in-house server of the service provider to the second client and in the order processing of the service provider. An in-house server is to be understood as the server of the LAN.

With a view to a particularly secure execution, the login and / or the Data transmission encrypted, preferably using SSL encryption - Secure socket layer encryption. However, it would also be conceivable that the encryption using any other protocol or Pro gram is done.

In a particularly preferred embodiment, the data of the Database on the database server in at least one other database be mirrored to at least one other database server. This means that one would have a backup of the data, on the other hand one would correspond the design of the system he improved accessibility of the system reached.

In terms of a particularly simple embodiment, the data could be queried from the database using SQL - Structured Query Language -. The Ab The data from the database could also be queried using any other query language.

The data could in a particularly advantageous manner by means of an EDI server be vertized so that an almost media-free further processing of the In formations can take place. Such a data transmission standard could, for example. ODETTE - Organization for Data Exchange by Teletransmission in Europe - how it is used, for example, in the European automotive industry. It could be anything However, any other data transmission standard can also be used.  

For unrestricted communication that is also industry-independent, to ensure that the data could be transferred using EDIFACT. before The selection for a ge suitable software for conversion, process control and data transfer. With a converter in the narrower sense, d. H. a format or structure converter, who Most of the time, additional tools are offered to manage and control the Serve transmission data. The converter and tools then form the converter system. The EDI server could then additionally send the data to the data from the second client software used can be adjusted.

The transmission of the data, preferably from the EDI server, to the second client could by means of a transmission protocol, in particular XML, FTP, OFTP, X.25, X.400 or the like. However, the data could also be from the EDI server are next transmitted to another server, from which they then to the second client are transmitted. With this additional server it could be deal with the service provider's in-house server. Such a standard Transmission protocol would be very universally applicable guarantee the service provider.

As part of a particularly practical implementation, the data could be in the form of an egg form, especially in the form of a customizable form are given. In particular, it would then be possible to confirm orders, Invoices and the like can be created particularly easily and without additional effort len.

The data could be processed further using software from the second client which, especially in the order entry. This would be a Switch off another source of error by not having to process it manually the data takes place. In addition, the change of orders already created would be particularly easy.

The data could also correspond to orders for moving objects ren. In particular, think of forwarding-specific processes, d. that is a customer - a shipper - the data - the order - for the transport of objects -  Goods - to a logistics service provider - a freight forwarder - and the freight forwarder Goods transported from one place to another.

With regard to a particularly practical embodiment, the objects could be a label, preferably a barcode, an identification number or the like, be marked. This would have the particular advantage that everyone's objects time can be found and that the course of the objects would be traceable.

In the context of another very practical embodiment, the indicator could tion and / or parts of the data and / or the entire data in the form of a label be issued. These labels would then simply be attached to the objects bringable, so that no additional errors by the manual transfer of the data respectively.

The data originally recorded and stored on the database server could then supplemented by data corresponding to the movement of the objects the. The movement data could use a detection device preferably a scanner, a mobile radio unit or the like. With egg A scanner would be able to collect the data, which would then be stored in a special Station transferred to a computer, transferred via the Internet and further processed be prepared. With a mobile radio unit - GSM, UMTS - there would be a transmission via an "SMS - Short Message Service Center" or another Service unit of a provider of the respective mobile operator, e.g. B. via SMS or FTP possible. The movement data could then be communicated servers are stored on the database server. The communication server could process the movement data and / or the movement data assign relevant data that correspond to an order.

With regard to a comfortable track and trace function, the movement data by means of the first client and / or the second client, in particular by means of of the respective in-house server.

With regard to the security of the system, the web server could use a Firewall and / or a DMZ - Demilitarized Zone - are protected. The firewall  is a combined hardware and software system for protecting a local network - LAN - with connection to the Internet from attacks from the Internet. For one For maximum security, the firewall could be supplemented by a DMZ, the one Host or a small network, which acts as a "neutral zone" between the LAN and the external public network, the Internet. The DMZ therefore protects the web server from direct access by users from outside and is therefore an optional and secure application to complement a firewall.

In view of a particularly great ease of use, an automati Checking and / or completing the data using at least one another database. This could, for example, in the form of an address book function lity, a storage of standard data, such as a matchcode for Em recipient addresses, frankings or the like, but also in an automatic assignment from places to postcodes.

The data could also be provided by additional data, in particular by dangerous goods data, be supplemented. This would make data collection easier again.

With regard to a particularly comfortable configuration, the first could and / or second clients statistics on the data and / or parts of the data will call. Through these statistics, it would be the customer and / or the service possible to develop corporate strategies and / or his Tailoring services specifically to the needs of each customer. It would also be possible for the customer, for example price and / or term information retrieve.

However, another service provider, preferably an e-shop, could also use a third client between the customer and service provider, so that the ge entire or parts of the data entered in the data mask to a third party Client can be transmitted via the Internet using another web server. That would be it is possible for an e-shop to send a Lo directly to a service provider service providers and the advantages of electronic data use transmission without additional recording effort or additional Errors arise from manual entry. In addition, the data could be on  another client are transmitted, in this case the shipper of the objects could be.

The entire and / or parts could be part of a track-and-trace function the data is accessed by other clients, namely by the customers of the e- Shops. With a view to particularly good data security, the data that through which other clients are accessed, by the second and / or the third Client be limited. This ensures that customers are only relevant to them and can retrieve certain data.

There are now several ways to teach the present invention advantageous to design and develop. This is on the one hand on the the subordinate claims and on the other hand to the following explanation of preferred embodiments of the invention process for processing data over the Internet using the drawing to refer. In conjunction with the explanation of the preferred embodiment Games of the method according to the invention are also in the Generally preferred refinements and developments of the teaching are explained.

In the drawing, the

Fig. 1 is a schematic representation, an embodiment ei ner system structure for use with the inventive SEN method for processing of data over the Internet,

Fig. 2 is a schematic representation, another execution example of a system structure for use with the method according OF INVENTION dung,

Fig. 3 in a schematic representation, the data flow of the exemplary embodiment of FIGS . 2 and

Fig. 4 in a schematic representation, the data flow of a wide ren embodiment of the method according to the invention.

As shown in FIG. 1 in a system structure for use with the method, the method for processing data over the Internet comprises two clients 1 , 2 , a web server 3 and a database server 4 for storing and retrieving data. By means of the first client 1 , a customer, namely a shipper, stores data via the Internet using the web server 3 on the database server 4 and by means of the second client 2 the data is then transmitted via the Internet by means of the web server 3 by the logistics service provider, namely a freight forwarder , primarily called.

According to the invention, there is an assignment between the first client 1 , the data stored on the database server 4 and the second client 2 retrieving the stored data. In addition, the data of the first client 1 are assigned by the selection of the second client 2 by means of the first client 1 . The shipper is part of a group of shippers who primarily store 1 data using one of the first clients and the freight forwarder is part of a group of freight forwarders who primarily retrieve 2 data using a second client. This means that there are a large number of first and second clients 1 , 2 , each of which is assigned to a specific shipper or a specific forwarding agent.

The selection of the second client 2 by means of the first client 1 is limited to a fixed group of second clients 1 enabled by means of the respective second client 2 . This enables the freight forwarder to only do business with certain customers or shippers and thus determine their own customer base. The data is recorded by means of the first client 1 via the Internet on a website in a data mask. The data mask is individually tailored to the shipping company so that it receives all the information it needs to process the order. The structure of the data mask can also be changed by the forwarding agent using the second client 2 , so that the data to be filled in by the shipper can be adapted at any time. The login of the first client 1 , the data transmission from the first client 1 to the web server 3 , the data transmission from the web server 3 to the database server 4 and to the second client 2 is carried out by means of SSL encryption.

The data in the database on the database server 4 are mirrored in another database on another database server - not shown here. The data from the database is queried using SQL.

The data is converted using an EDI server and the data is transferred using EDIFACT. By means of the EDI server 5 , the data are adapted to the software used by the second client 2 , so that the data are taken over directly in the order processing of the forwarding agent. The data is transmitted from the EDI server 5 to the second client 2 by means of FTP - File Transfer Protocol -.

To ensure the security of the data, the web server 3 is protected by a firewall 7 and a DMZ 8 .

Fig. 2 shows another embodiment of a system structure for use with the inventive method. The system structure of the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 1 is expanded in such a way that a track-and-trace function can be carried out. The data correspond to orders for moving objects, in this case goods. This means that the shipper sends goods through a freight forwarder. The goods are identified by means of an identification number which is attached to the goods in the form of an issued label. The movement data are now recorded by the freight forwarder in such a way that the identification number and the respective station at which the goods are located are transmitted to a communication server 9 by means of a mobile phone 6 via SMS and by means of the SMS center 10 of the respective mobile radio provider. The movement data are then stored on the database server 4 by means of the communication server 9 and are processed in such a way that the movement data can be assigned to the respective order data. Now the shipper can call up the movement data by means of the first client 1 and the freight forwarder can use the second client 2 and is thus informed at all times about the location of the goods.

FIG. 3 shows the data flow of the exemplary embodiment in FIG. 2. Here, who transmits the order data to the second client 2 by means of the system, ie the first client 1 , the web server 3 , the database server 4 and the EDI server 5 . The identification number of the goods is then transmitted to the recipient A of the goods by means of the second client 2 . Using this identification number, the recipient A can query movement data and thus the location of the goods from the database server 4 via the Internet. After delivery of the goods by means of a cell phone 6 via SMS and SMS center 10 of the cell phone provider, the freight forwarder now transmits the new movement data to the communication server 9 , the communication server 9 processing the movement data and assigning it to the order data.

Fig. 4 shows the data flow of another embodiment of the inventive method. An e-shop is interposed between the customer and service provider. So-called "deep linking" takes place. The customer who visits the e-shop now transmits data to a third client 11 via the Internet using the first client 1 and via a further web server (not shown here). A track-and-trace function takes place here via the third client 11 , namely the e-shop. The data recorded on the website of the e-shop is now automatically transmitted to a shop operator B, who carries out the merchandise management. Parts of the data, namely the relevant for forwarding data, who transmitted the method described by the third client 11 and / or through the shop operator B on the already be in Figs. 1 and FIG. 2.

Regarding further details, the general referenced my description.

Finally, it is expressly pointed out that the above described NEN exemplary embodiments only serve to discuss the claimed teaching, however, these are not restricted to the exemplary embodiments.

Claims (30)

1. Method for processing data via the Internet with at least two clients ( 1 , 2 ), a web server ( 3 ) and at least one database server ( 4 ) for storing and retrieving data, at least one first client ( 1 ) via the Internet using the web server ( 3 ) stores data on the database server ( 4 ) and at least one second client ( 2 ), preferably via the Internet using the web server ( 3 ), retrieves the data, characterized in that an assignment between the first client ( 1 ) and the data stored on the database server ( 4 ) and the second client ( 2 ) retrieving the stored data and that the assignment of the data of the first client ( 1 ) by the selection of the second client ( 2 ) by means of the first client ( 1 ) he follows. 2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the selection of the second client (2) by means of the first client (1) on fixed, activated in particular to a second through the respective client (2), group of first Cli ents (1 ) is limited. 3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the data are recorded on at least one website using at least one data mask using the first client ( 1 ). 4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that the data mask is individually tailored to the first and / or second client ( 1 , 2 ). 5. The method according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that the structure of the data mask is changed by means of the respective client ( 1 , 2 ). 6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the transmission of the data to the second client ( 2 ) takes place automatically. 7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that  the login and / or the data transmission is encrypted, preferably by means of a SSL encryption. 8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the data in the database on the database server ( 4 ) are mirrored in at least one further database on at least one further database server. 9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the data from the database is queried using SQL. 10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the data are converted by means of an EDI server ( 5 ). 11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that the transmission the data is made using EDIFACT. 12. The method according to claim 10 or 11, characterized in that by means of the EDI server ( 5 ) the data are adapted to the software used by the second client ( 2 ). 13. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 12 and possibly one of claims 9 to 11, characterized in that the transmission of the data, preferably from the EDI server ( 5 ), to the second client ( 2 ) by means of a transmission protocol, in particular XML , FTP, OFTP, X.25, X.400 or the like. 14. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 13, characterized in that the data or parts of the data in the form of a form, in particular an individual duell designable form. 15. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 14, characterized in that the data are processed further by means of the software of the second client ( 2 ), in particular are transferred in the order entry. 16. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 15, characterized in that  the data correspond to orders for moving objects. 17. The method according to claim 16, characterized in that the objects with means of a label, preferably a barcode, an identification number or the like. 18. The method according to claim 17, characterized in that the identifier tion and / or parts of the data and / or the entire data in the form of a label be issued. 19. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 18, characterized in that that the data originally stored by data related to the movements of the Objects correspond, are supplemented. 20. The method according to claim 19, characterized in that the movement data is detected by means of a detection device, preferably a scanner, a mobile phone ( 6 ) or the like. 21. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 20, characterized in that the movement data are stored on the database server ( 4 ) by means of a communication server ( 9 ). 22. The method according to claim 21, characterized in that the communication server ( 9 ) prepares the movement data and / or assigns the movement data to the relevant data which correspond to an order. 23. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 22, characterized in that the movement data are retrieved by means of the first client ( 1 ) and / or the second client ( 2 ). 24. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 23, characterized in that the web server ( 3 ) is protected by means of a firewall ( 7 ) and / or a DMZ ( 8 ). 25. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 24, characterized in that  an automatic review and / or completion of the data by means of at least at least one other database. 26. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 25, characterized in that the data are supplemented by additional data, in particular by dangerous goods data. 27. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 26, characterized in that statistics about the data and / or parts of the data are called up by means of the first and / or the second client ( 2 ). 28. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 27, characterized in that all or part of the data entered in the data mask of the first client ( 2 ) is transmitted to a third client ( 11 ) via the Internet by means of a further web server. 29. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 28, characterized in that the All and / or parts of the data can be accessed by other clients. 30. The method according to claim 29, characterized in that the data which are called up by further clients are restricted by the first and / or second client ( 1 , 2 ).