JP2003162770A - Merchandise information management system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a merchandise information management system (POS system) for implementing not only merchandise management or sales management but also a service to a customer by effectively using a data base in which merchandise information is stored. <P>SOLUTION: This merchandise information managing system having a data base in which merchandise information related with merchandise is stored is provided with POS terminal for reading the merchandise identification information of merchandise to be purchased by a customer, an input part for inputting an electronic mail address applied to the customer, and a data base control part for storing the merchandise information related with merchandise to be specified by the merchandise identification information read by the POS terminal into the data base while making it correspond to the electronic mail address to be inputted by the input part. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a product information management system having a database in which product information related to products is stored, and more particularly, a system for managing product information related to products specified by product identification information read by a POS terminal. Regarding

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in order to carry out product management and sales management, it is necessary to use a P
An OS (Point of Sale) system is used. P
The OS system includes a bar code reading device such as a bar code scanner, and the reading device converts a bar code (product identification information such as a product code) from a product (the product itself or a price tag or packaging thereof). Read). Product information of the product specified by the read product identification information (date, store name, product name,
The unit price, the number of pieces, and the like (also referred to as shopping data) are sequentially stored (stored) in a database provided in a store or a database provided at a different place such as a center via a communication line.

[0003]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional POS system, the product information stored in the database is not managed for each customer (shopper).
Therefore, although the database can be used for product management and sales management, there is a problem in that it is not possible to provide services to customers.

An object of the present invention is to provide a product information management system (POS system) so that product information stored in a database can be managed for each customer, so that not only product management and sales management but also service to customers is provided. It is also intended to enable effective use of the database in which product information is stored.

[0005]

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention is a product information management system having a database in which product information regarding products is stored, and product identification information of products purchased by customers. A POS terminal for reading a product, an input unit for inputting an e-mail address given to a customer, and product information regarding a product specified by the product identification information read by the POS terminal in the database by the input unit. A database control unit is stored which is stored in association with an input e-mail address.

According to the present invention, the product information management system (POS system) can manage the product information stored in the database for each customer. This makes it possible to use the database not only for product management and sales management, but also for customer service. That is, it is possible to effectively use the database in which the product information is stored.

[0007] In the above-mentioned product information management system, for example, the database control unit may use the input unit to input points to the database for the product specified by the product identification information read by the POS terminal. Store in association with the email address. In this way, more customers will come to the store for points, and since it can be differentiated from other stores, it can be expected to lock in fixed customers.

In the above-mentioned product information management system, for example, the database control unit stores the points in the database by adding the points to the points stored in advance. By doing so, it becomes possible to accumulate points, and it becomes possible to exchange products or services according to the accumulated points.

In the above-mentioned product information management system, for example, a search section for searching a customer's electronic mail address satisfying a predetermined search condition from the database, and a customer's electronic mail address searched by the search section, And a transmission unit for transmitting a predetermined e-mail.

In the product information management system, for example, based on the product information stored in the database, there is provided an analysis unit for analyzing the taste of the product for each customer, and the transmission unit is provided with the predetermined electronic mail. As an e-mail, an e-mail reflecting the preference of the customer of the e-mail transmission destination for the product analyzed by the analysis unit is transmitted. By doing so, it becomes possible to send the product guide according to the customer.

In the above-mentioned product information management system, for example, the product information includes a date and time (a product purchase date and time), and the search unit uses the database as an electronic mail address of a customer who satisfies the predetermined search condition. The e-mail address of the customer who purchased the product in a predetermined period is searched, and the transmission unit determines that the e-mail address of the customer searched by the search unit is the predetermined e-mail, Send product information about products purchased during the period.

In this way, a new service to the customer is made using the above-mentioned database (commodity information regarding a commodity purchased by the customer in a predetermined period, and history information of the purchased commodity based on the commodity information is edited. It is possible to provide a service for providing things). Also,
By being able to provide such new services, it can be differentiated from other stores, and it can be expected to lock in fixed customers.

In the above-mentioned product information management system, for example, the product information regarding the product specified by the electronic mail address for notifying the electronic mail address given to the customer and the identification information read by the POS terminal is identified. The printer further includes a printer that prints the identification information of the product information for printing on the receipt.

In this way, even if the e-mail address given to the customer cannot be entered at the cash register,
At any time later, the customer can enter the identification number of the product information printed on the receipt from the portable information terminal or home PC (personal computer) in the title part of the e-mail or the text part of the e-mail. You can notify your e-mail address by sending it to the e-mail address printed on the receipt.

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An example in which the product information management system of the present invention is applied to a POS system will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic system configuration diagram of a POS system. FIG. 2 is a hardware configuration diagram of the POS terminal and the portable information terminal.

The POS system according to this embodiment is
As shown in FIG. 1, the cash register 100 has substantially the same configuration as the conventional POS system and is provided in the store A (the cash register A.
-1 and cash register A-2) and cash register 10 provided in store B
0 (cash register B-1) and a database server 200 provided in the center.

Each cashier 100 is provided with a POS terminal 110. The POS terminal 110, as shown in FIG.
A CPU 111 that controls the entire operation and the CPU 11
1, a keyboard 112, connected via a bus, etc.
A display 113, a printer 114 for printing receipts, a cash drawer 115, a bar code reading device 116, an electronic mail address input unit 117, a storage device 118 and the like are provided.

The bar code reading device 116 determines the product identification information (bar code, that is, the bar code, that is, the bar code, that is, the bar code from the product purchased by the customer at the cash register (the product itself or the price tag or packaging thereof).
It is a device for reading the barcode of the product code of the product). The product information (sales date, sales store name, sales product name, sales unit price, sales quantity, etc.) regarding the product specified by the product identification information read from the product by each POS terminal 110 (specifically, the barcode reading device 116) is Similarly to the known POS system, the data is transmitted to the database server 200 provided in the center via the store server 300 and the communication line. The product information may be temporarily stored in a storage unit such as a database provided in the store and then transmitted to the database server 200 at a predetermined timing.

The electronic mail address input unit 117 is a device for inputting an electronic mail address given to a customer who purchases a product to the POS terminal 110 at the cash register. As the email address input unit 117,
For example, a communication device capable of wirelessly performing data communication with a portable information terminal 130 carried by a customer and acquiring an email address from the portable information terminal 130 (for example,
Communication device by Bluetooth) is used. Bluetooth (Bluetooth) is a wireless communication technology for mobile information devices, and currently uses 2.45 GHz band radio waves to exchange data at a speed of 1 Mbps.

The storage device 118 is a hard disk device or the like, and as shown in FIG. 3, it is an application that realizes the function of acquiring an electronic mail address by Bluetooth.
Tooth email address receiving application is installed.

The portable information terminal 130 is a portable information terminal such as a mobile phone, a laptop computer or a PDA carried by a customer. As shown in FIG. 2, the CPU 131 which controls the whole operation thereof and the CPU 131. Operator input / output unit 1 such as a keyset connected via a bus
32, a mail address storage unit 133, an external device communication unit 134, a storage device 135, and the like.

The mail address storage unit 133 is an electronic mail address given to a customer who carries the portable information terminal 130 (this is customer identification information for uniquely identifying the customer and a destination of a predetermined electronic mail). Function)
Is stored. As the mail address storage unit 133, for example, a storage device such as a flash memory or a ROM is used.

The external device communication section 134 is used for the POS terminal 1.
10 is a device (for example, a communication device using Bluetooth) for wirelessly performing data communication with 10, and reads an electronic mail address from the mail address storage unit 133,
It is adapted to be transmitted to the POS terminal 110.

The storage device 135 is a flash memory, a hard disk device, etc., and realizes a Bluetooth function.
Multiple apps are installed as luetooth apps. Examples of such a plurality of applications include an address book exchange application with another portable information terminal 130, a profile exchange application, and an email address transmission application (indicated as application n in FIG. 3).

The center includes a database server 200 for performing data communication with each POS terminal 110 via a store server 300 and a communication line. As shown in FIG. 4, the database server 200 includes a control unit 201 including a CPU and a predetermined program, and a keyboard 202, a display 203, and a line connection I / O connected to the control unit 201 via a bus or the like. F20
4, an Internet connection I / F 205, and a database 206 built on a storage device such as a hard disk device.

The database 206 is stored in each POS terminal 11
It is a database that stores product information related to a product identified by product identification information read from the product by 0, and at least an email address, product information (also referred to as shopping data), and points (specific product or service Exchange value with, value equivalent to cash, or
(Points to which a specific value such as a value indicating a discount amount is given)) (see the upper right table of FIG. 1 and FIG. 5).

That is, product information and points are stored in the database 206 in association with electronic mail addresses, and the control unit 201 uses the specific electronic mail addresses from the database 206 as keys to store the product information and points. It is possible to read out product information and points associated with an email address. The database 206 may be configured as a file including those items.

An internet server (not shown) such as a WWW server is connected to the database 206 via an internet connection I / F 205, and products stored in the database 206 from an information terminal such as a personal computer via the internet. Information can be browsed.

The control unit 201 stores in the database 206
Functions as a database control unit that stores the product information related to the product identified by the product identification information read by the POS terminal 110 in association with the electronic mail address (such as the electronic mail address input by the electronic mail address input unit 117). To do.

The control unit 201 also controls the database 20.
6, points for the product specified by the product identification information read by the POS terminal 110 are stored in association with an electronic mail address (such as an electronic mail address input by the electronic mail address input unit 117) (for example, It also functions as a database control unit (stored in addition to points stored in advance).

The control unit 201 also controls the database 20.
6 also functions as a search unit that searches for an electronic mail address of a customer who satisfies a predetermined search condition (for example, an electronic mail address of a customer who purchased a product in a predetermined period such as the past month or half a year). In addition, the control unit 201 also functions as an analysis unit that analyzes the taste of a product for each customer based on the product information stored in the database 206.

Further, the control unit 201 uses a predetermined e-mail (for example, an e-mail that reflects the customer's preference for the product analyzed by the analysis unit, or a predetermined e-mail to the customer's e-mail address searched by the search unit). , Also functions as a transmission unit for transmitting e-mails in which the product information regarding the products purchased by the customer in a predetermined period is an e-mail text or an attached file).

Next, an outline of the POS system having the above configuration will be described with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIG. 1, in this POS system, a server 200 for accumulating customer data (data in which product information and points are associated with electronic mail addresses) is installed in the center.

The server 200 is a distributed POS terminal 11
It is a database server that receives product information from 0 and creates and updates the database 206 using an electronic mail address as a key. The server 200 is connected to the Internet. Each POS terminal 110 is connected to the database server 200 via a network.

The procedure for storing shopping data in the database 206 is as follows. (1) The POS terminal 11 is a wireless or wired POS terminal 11 that can be used when paying for shopping.
Connect with 0. The POS terminal 110 side is the portable information terminal 1
The electronic mail address given to the customer (shopper, product purchaser) is received from 30. Each customer operates the portable information terminal 130 carried (owned) by himself / herself to transmit the e-mail address to the POS terminal 110.

As shown in FIG. 2, the portable information terminal 130.
The functions include a telephone function and a personal information terminal function, as well as functions such as data communication with other devices. The communication means of the portable information terminal 130 is mainly an electronic mail using the wireless means (Bluetooth, PHS communication, etc.). Send the address.
The POS terminal 110 stores the received electronic mail address.

(2) The POS terminal 110 totals the product data of the purchases, and then the electronic mail address accumulated together with the data details (product name, number, price, date and time) is stored in the database server via the store server 300. 20
Send to 0.

(3) The database server 200 stores the detailed data information of the shopping in the database 206 using the electronic mail address as a key. The customer database 206 is configured with an electronic mail address as a key, as shown in the upper right table of FIG. 1 and FIG. If the electronic mail address transmitted from the portable information terminal 130 does not exist in the customer database 206, new data regarding the electronic mail address is created. If it already exists in the customer database, it will be added as data in it.

When the items of the customer database 206 are provided with points accumulated, and the conditions such as the amount of data transmitted, the purchase of a specific product, the specific sale period, etc. are satisfied, the points according to the corresponding conditions are satisfied. It is designed to add numbers.

Further, the customer database 206 is searched using the e-mail address as a key, and the number of purchased products within a specific period such as one month or one week is analyzed, and the conditions for sale or the conditions for introducing new products are met. Sometimes, a guide mail is sent to an e-mail address that has matching data.

Further, the purchase information for each e-mail address in the customer database 206 is sent as an e-mail to each e-mail address as purchase information collected for a fixed period of one month or one year.

As described above, by having the customer database having the electronic mail address as a key, the database 206 directly associated with the portable information terminal 130 is provided.
By storing the product information in the database 206 using the electronic mail address obtained from the portable information terminal 130 as a key, the following effects can be obtained.

(1) A shopper can obtain merchandise information (shopping data), merchandise guidance, and point points simply by presenting an e-mail address using the portable information terminal 130, which is likely to be carried around. .

(2) Since the store side can analyze tastes, selling points, etc. by accumulating product information (shopping data) using an electronic mail address as a management unit for each individual customer (shopping customer) You can send product information. In addition, it is possible to differentiate and secure fixed customers. In addition, we can expect new customers.

Further, by having a customer database having an electronic mail address as a key, the customer (shopper) can
Simply present your e-mail address using the mobile information terminal 130 that you will always carry with you,
Product information (shopping data), product information, without the need to show various credit cards and without entering a PIN
You can get points. Further, it is not necessary to register any information about the customer in advance in the customer database.

Next, the operation of the POS system having the above configuration will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 6 shows P
6 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the OS system. The operation of the POS system when a customer who visits the store B purchases a product will be described below. In the figure, a rectangle surrounded by a dotted line represents an operation flow in the POS terminal 110 and the portable information terminal 130, and a rectangle surrounded by a solid line represents a flow of each application. Dotted arrows represent controls and data to the application generated by the operation. The zigzag arrow is the PO from the portable information terminal 130.
It represents an electronic mail address sent to the S terminal 110.

At the cashier 100, the cashier of the store B is
The POS terminal 110 (bar code reading device 116) reads the product identification information from the product purchased by the customer (the product itself or its price tag, packaging, etc.) (S90). The display 113 displays the product name and price of the product specified by the read product identification information. The displayed product name and price are read from a file (file stored in the storage device 118 of the POS terminal 110, the store server 300, etc.) in which the product identification information is associated with the product name and price. is there.

When the cashier finishes the settlement for the product purchased by the customer (S91), the cashier inputs the e-mail address given to the customer to the POS terminal 110. Specifically, the cashier is a portable information terminal 1 carried by the customer.
Data communication with 30 wirelessly (Bluetooth),
The following processing is performed in order to obtain the electronic mail address given to the customer whose settlement has been completed from the portable information terminal 130 carried by the customer.

First, the cashier asks the customer for P from the portable information terminal 130 (e-mail address storage unit 133).
Prompt the OS terminal 110 to send an e-mail address. At the same time, the cashier pushes down the e-mail address reception key provided on the POS terminal 110 or the like (S100).

As the e-mail address reception key, a settlement end key which is pushed down at the end of the cashier settlement can also be used. When this reception key is pressed, the POS terminal 110
Starts the process by executing the Bluetooth mail address receiving application (S101) and sets Bluetooth as an object server (S102). Then, at the time of the first communication (for example, when it is a new shopping and the communication between the POS terminal 110 and the portable information terminal 130 is the first time or after the second time, a certain number of days have passed since the last time. When it is necessary to newly perform communication (for example, when a new communication is required), the bus key is required to be authenticated, and the bus key request screen is displayed (S10).
3).

The cashier who browses the bus key request screen inputs a predetermined bus key (an arbitrary four-digit number) from the keyboard 112 or the like (S104). Do not enter this number on the POS terminal 110
It can also be automatically sent as a 4-digit number unique to the. If the four-digit number is attached to a position visible to the customer who operates the portable information terminal 130 (for example, attached to the cash register), the same bus key can be input on the portable information terminal 130. The bus key is stored in the internal memory of the POS terminal 110 if it is input for the first time, and hence the input of the bus key can be omitted thereafter.

On the other hand, the customer urged by the cashier calls the menu screen from the stand-by state of the portable information terminal 130 carried by the customer in order to send the e-mail address (S200), and uses the Bluetooth from the menu screen. Communication is selected (S201), and the object client is selected as the Bluetooth setting (S202). These selections are made by selecting according to the selection screen displayed on the display screen (display) of the portable information terminal 130. The same applies to subsequent selections on the portable information terminal 130 side. When the Bluetooth communication is selected, the portable information terminal 130 starts the process by executing the Bluetooth application or the mail address transmission application (S203).

When the object client is selected (S202), Bluetooth is set as the object client (S204), and when the customer depresses the search button of the portable information terminal 130 (S205), the Bluetooth application can communicate. A Bluetooth device is searched for and a list of detected devices is displayed on the display screen (S206). When the customer selects the corresponding POS terminal (that is, the POS terminal installed at the cashier who made the payment) from the list (S207), the POS terminal 110
Communication with begins.

Then, at the time of the first communication (for example, when the shopping is a new shopping and the communication between the corresponding POS terminal and the portable information terminal is the first time, or after the second time, a certain number of days from the previous time are set. When a new communication is required after the elapse of time), it is necessary to input the bus key to perform authentication, so the bus key request screen is displayed (S2).
08).

The customer who browses the bus key request screen must input a predetermined bus key (an arbitrary four-digit number, the same bus key that is input to the POS terminal 110 in S104) from the operator input / output unit 132 or the like. Becomes (S
209). If the bus key is input for the first time, it is stored in the internal memory of the portable information terminal 130, so that the input of the bus key can be omitted thereafter.

As described above, the same bus key is input on the POS terminal 110 and the portable information terminal 130 (S10).
4, S209), and authentication is established (S105, S210)
When the registration of the Bluetooth devices of each other is completed, the portable information terminal 130 displays a selection screen (screen of what to select with the Bluetooth application) including an e-mail address transmission (button) on its display (S211). When the e-mail address transmission (button) is selected on the selection screen (S212), the processing is started by executing the e-mail address transmission application (S213) (S214).

As a result, the portable information terminal 130 reads the electronic mail address from the electronic mail address storage unit 133 by the external device communication unit 134 and wirelessly transmits it to the POS terminal 110 (S215). That is, the e-mail address given to the customer is input from the portable information terminal 130 to the POS terminal 110.

The POS terminal 110 receives the electronic mail address transmitted from the portable information terminal 130 by the electronic mail address input unit 102 (S106) and stores it in its own predetermined storage unit (S107). Then, by ending the communication, a series of operations for acquiring the electronic mail address is completed.

The operation on the portable information terminal 130 side is Bluetooth
As described above, one of the functions of h is the configuration in which the email address transmission application exists, but as with the POS terminal 110 side, Blue
If configured with a single application that sends an email address with tooth, it can be realized as one operation that combines the three operations of pressing the search button from the Bluetooth selection in FIG.
Also, the operation of selecting to send an email address can be omitted. That is, it is possible to perform operations by selecting a menu, selecting a mail address transmission by Bluetooth, selecting a corresponding POS terminal, and inputting a bus key as necessary.

Next, as shown in FIG. 7, the POS terminal 110 displays product information (sales date, sales store name, sales product name, sales unit price, sales quantity) regarding products specified by the product identification information read from the products. Etc.) and the e-mail address stored in its own predetermined storage unit (the e-mail address entered from the portable information terminal 130 to the POS terminal 110, that is, the e-mail address given to the customer). , The database server 20 provided in the center via the store server 300 and the communication line
It is transmitted to 0 (S300). The product information and the e-mail address may be temporarily stored in a storage unit such as a database provided in the store and then transmitted to the database server 200 at a predetermined timing.

The database server 200 receives the product information and the electronic mail address transmitted from the POS terminal 110 via the line connection I / F 204 (S30).
1). The database server 200 searches the database 206 using the received e-mail address as a key to check whether the received e-mail address is already stored in the database 206 (S302).

If the corresponding e-mail address is retrieved (S303: Yes), the database server 200
Is stored in the database 206 by the database control unit.
In step S3, the product information received from the POS terminal 110 is stored in association with the retrieved electronic mail address.
04).

On the other hand, when the corresponding e-mail address is not retrieved (S303: No), the database server 200 causes the database control unit to store the product information received from the POS terminal 110 in the database 206 from the POS terminal 110. It is stored in association with the received e-mail address (S305). That is, in this case, since the electronic mail address is not stored in the database 206, the newly received electronic mail address is additionally stored, and the product information is stored in association with the electronic mail address.

As described above, the product information stored in the database 206 can be managed for each customer (specifically, for each electronic mail address given to the customer). Therefore, the database 206 can be used not only for product management and sales management, but also for service to customers,
It is possible to effectively use the database that stores the product information.

As a service to the customer, for example,
There are the following: The database 206 is searched for an electronic mail address of a customer who satisfies a predetermined search condition (for example, an electronic mail address of a customer who purchased the product in a predetermined period such as the past month or half a year), and the electronic mail of the searched customer is searched. A shopping history providing service that sends a predetermined e-mail to an e-mail address.

The predetermined e-mail may be, for example, an e-mail that reflects the customer's preference for the product analyzed by the analysis unit, or product information regarding a product purchased by the customer in a predetermined period (purchasing based on product information). It may be an electronic mail in which the history information of the product or the like may be used) as the body of the mail or the attached file.

In the above embodiment, the database 20 is used.
Although the example in which 6 is provided in the center has been described, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the database 206 may be provided in the store A or the store B, or may be provided in another place. Good.

In the above embodiment, as the electronic mail address input unit 117, data communication is carried out wirelessly with the portable information terminal 130 such as a portable telephone or a portable terminal carried by the customer, and the portable information terminal. An example of using a communication device (a communication device using Bluetooth) capable of obtaining an email address from 130 has been described. The present invention is not limited to this, and the electronic mail address input unit 11 is not limited thereto.
7, data communication is carried out by infrared rays with the portable information terminal 130 carried by the customer, and the portable information terminal 13
A communication device that can acquire an e-mail address from 0 may be used.

For example, an infrared port is provided in each of the POS terminal 110 and the portable information terminal 130, and at the stage of transmitting an electronic mail address from the portable information terminal 130 to the POS terminal 110, the infrared ports are matched with each other. In this case, the application configuration and operation flow of the electronic mail address acquisition are basically the same as those in FIGS. 3 and 6 except for the bluetooth search part and the authentication part.

Further, as the e-mail address input section 117, data communication is carried out with the portable information terminal 130 carried by the customer by wire (via a communication cable), and the e-mail address is transmitted from the portable information terminal 130. You may use the communication apparatus which can acquire.

For example, from the portable information terminal 130 to the POS
At the stage of sending the e-mail address to the terminal 110, P
The OS terminal 110 and the portable information terminal 130 are connected by a communication cable, and the e-mail address is acquired from the portable information terminal 130. The POS terminal 110 contains an application having a function of acquiring an electronic mail address.

In this case, the portable information terminal 130 contains an application for transmitting an electronic mail address as one application. POS terminal 110 and portable information terminal 130
As a connection form with, it is possible to connect a communication cable with a connector extending from the POS terminal 110 to the connector of the portable information terminal 130.

As a connection form between the POS terminal 110 and the portable information terminal 130, the portable information terminal 130 is fitted into a cradle connected to the POS terminal 110 via a cable or the like, and the contact points of the portable information terminal 130 are connected. It is also conceivable to contact the contacts of the cradle. In this case, the application configuration and operation flow of the electronic mail address acquisition are basically the same as those in FIGS. 3 and 6 except for the bluetooth search part and the authentication part.

As the electronic mail address input unit 117, as shown in FIG. 8, a key set 117a connected to the POS terminal 110 wirelessly or by wire may be used. The email address entered from the key set 117a is displayed on the display unit 117b for confirmation.

The e-mail address input section 117 has a character recognition application on the receiving side, and receives the image data of the receipt by a cellular phone / terminal equipped with a camera or a PC and transmits the image, and the receiving side receives it. The identification number may be obtained by recognizing the identification number with the character recognition application from the image.

As the electronic mail address input section 117, a card (IC card, magnetic card, etc.) in which an electronic mail address given to a customer is recorded,
You may use the card reader which reads the e-mail address given to the customer.

In the above embodiment, an example in which the customer carries the portable information terminal 130 at the cash register (that is, an example in which the customer's e-mail address can be entered at the cash register) has been described.

However, the customer does not always carry the portable information terminal 130, and even if he / she inputs the electronic mail address from the key set 117a, the customer does not remember his / her own electronic mail address. Sometimes. Therefore, the e-mail address may not be entered at the cash register. In such cases,
Get an email address as follows:

That is, for customers who do not carry the portable information terminal 130 or who do not remember their own e-mail address, the printer 114 uses the e-mail address of the store ( Print (issue) the receipt with the email address for notifying the shop of the email address given to the customer and the product information identification number (unique identification number in place of the customer's email address). Shi) Hand it over to the customer. At the same time, the product information related to the product purchased by the customer is stored as temporary data in the storage device 118 of the POS terminal 110 in association with the identification number of the product information printed on the receipt.

Such a customer can use the portable information terminal 130, a home PC (personal computer), or the like to identify the identification number of the product information printed on the receipt or the title portion of the e-mail from the portable information terminal 130 or the home PC (personal computer). Enter it in the body of the email and send it to the email address printed on the receipt (the email address of the shop).

The predetermined computer on the store side receives the e-mail containing the identification information of the product information, and thereby the identification number of the product information and the e-mail address of the sender (that is,
You will receive the email address given to the customer). The predetermined computer on the store side searches the temporary data for the identification number of the product information using the identification number of the received product information as a key, and if there is the corresponding identification number, it is associated with the corresponding identification number. The product information and the e-mail address are sent to the database server 200. After that, the same processing as that described with reference to FIG. 7 is performed.

[Others] The present invention can be specified as follows. (Supplementary Note 1) A product information management system having a database in which product information about products is stored, the POS terminal reading product identification information of a product purchased by a customer,
An input unit for inputting an electronic mail address given to a customer, and an electronic mail address for inputting, in the database, product information relating to a product specified by the product identification information read by the POS terminal. And a database control unit that stores the information in association with the product information management system. (Supplementary Note 2) The database control unit stores, in the database, points for the product specified by the product identification information read by the POS terminal in association with the email address input by the input unit. The product information management system according to attachment 1. (Supplementary note 3) The product information management system according to supplementary note 2, wherein the database control unit stores the points in the database by adding the points to a point stored in advance. (Supplementary Note 4) A search unit that searches a customer's e-mail address satisfying a predetermined search condition from the database,
4. The product information management system according to any one of appendices 1 to 3, further comprising: a transmission unit that transmits a predetermined email to the email address of the customer searched by the search unit. (Supplementary Note 5) An analysis unit that analyzes the preference for a product for each customer based on the product information stored in the database is provided, and the transmission unit uses the predetermined e-mail as the e-mail destination customer. 5. The product information management system according to attachment 4, which transmits an e-mail reflecting the preference for the product analyzed by the analysis unit. (Supplementary Note 6) The product information includes date and time, and the search unit searches the database for an electronic mail address of a customer who purchased the product during a predetermined period, as an electronic mail address of a customer who satisfies the predetermined search condition. Then, the transmission unit transmits, as the predetermined email, product information regarding a product purchased by the customer in the predetermined period, to the email address of the customer searched by the search unit. Item information management system described in. (Supplementary Note 7) E-mail address for notifying the e-mail address given to the customer and identification information of product information for identifying product information related to the product specified by the identification information read by the POS terminal. Appendix 1 further comprising a printer for printing the receipt
Item information management system described in.

The present invention can be embodied in various other forms without departing from the spirit or the main characteristics thereof. Therefore, the above embodiments are merely examples in all respects, and should not be construed as restrictive.

[0085]

As described above, according to the present invention,
In a product information management system (POS system), by managing product information stored in a database for each customer, not only product management and sales management, but also service to customers, that is, It is possible to effectively use the database that stores product information.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a system configuration example of a POS system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining a hardware configuration example of a POS terminal and a portable information terminal used in the POS system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining an application configuration example for transmitting (inputting) an electronic mail address from a portable information terminal to a POS terminal in a POS system which is an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a hardware configuration example of a database server used in the POS system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining a configuration example of a database managed by a database server used in the POS system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the POS system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the database server used in the POS system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of an electronic mail address input unit used in the POS system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining an example of a receipt printed in the POS system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

100 cash register 110 POS terminal 111 CPU 112 keyboard 113 display 114 printer 115 cash drawer 116 Bar code reader 117 E-mail address input section 118 storage device 130 Portable information terminal 131 CPU 132 Operator input / output unit 133 E-mail address storage 134 External device communication section 135 storage 200 database server 201 control unit 202 keyboard 203 display 204 Line connection I / F 205 Internet connection I / F 206 database 300 store server

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI theme code (reference) G06F 17/60 506 G06F 17/60 506 (72) Inventor Hoshinao Izaki 4 Ueodachu Nakagawa, Kawasaki-shi, Kanagawa Chome 1-1 Fujitsu Ltd. (72) Inventor Hideo Kamada 4 Kamikodanaka, Nakahara-ku, Kawasaki-shi, Kanagawa 4-1-1 1-1 Fujitsu Ltd. (72) Shunji Sakane Ueda Naka, Nakazaki-ku, Kawasaki, Kanagawa 1-1-1, Fujitsu Limited (72) Inventor Katsumi Ide 4-1-1, Kamiotanaka, Nakahara-ku, Kawasaki-shi, Kanagawa In-house Fujitsu Limited (72) Kazumasa Komatsu 1-1-15, Dogenzaka, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo No. 3 Life Consultant Co., Ltd. F term (reference) 3E042 AA01 BA17 CC04 CD04 EA03 EA08

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A product information management system having a database storing product information about products, wherein a POS terminal for reading product identification information of a product purchased by a customer and an e-mail address given to the customer are input. And a database control unit that stores, in the database, product information related to a product identified by the product identification information read by the POS terminal in association with an email address input by the input unit. A product information management system equipped. 2. The database control unit stores, in the database, points for a product specified by the product identification information read by the POS terminal in association with an email address input by the input unit. The product information management system according to claim 1. 3. A search unit that searches a customer's email address that satisfies a predetermined search condition from the database, and sends a predetermined email to the customer email address searched by the search unit. The product information management system according to claim 1, further comprising a transmission unit. 4. An analysis unit that analyzes the preference for a product for each customer based on the product information stored in the database, wherein the transmission unit uses the e-mail transmission destination of the e-mail as the predetermined e-mail. Sending an email that reflects the customer's preference for the product analyzed by the analysis unit,
The product information management system according to claim 3. 5. The product information includes a date and time, and the search unit uses, as an electronic mail address of a customer who satisfies the predetermined search condition, an electronic mail address of a customer who purchased the product from the database in a predetermined period. Searching, the transmitting unit transmits, to the electronic mail address of the customer searched by the searching unit, product information regarding a product purchased by the customer in the predetermined period as the predetermined email. Item 3 product information management system.