JP6621688B2 - Product sales management system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a merchandise sales management system for performing discount processing of merchandise price provided to a customer for merchandise sold by a merchandise sales company through a dealer and payment processing for refunding the discount amount to the dealer.

  Conventionally, in the sale of fuels such as gasoline, benefits such as discounts on merchandise prices and points are provided to customers at retail stores. In addition, when an oil yuan sales company purchases gasoline, etc., from a petroleum yuan sales company's affiliated credit card, cash returns or discounts on product prices according to the total purchase quantity or total purchase price for a certain period of time, etc. A service is available to receive benefits.

  Recently, oil entrepreneurs have expanded into business fields other than sales of regular products such as gasoline (for example, vehicle leasing and electrical retailing). Benefits such as discounts on product prices are provided, and a sales system for implementing such benefits has been proposed. For example, there is known a fuel sales system that sets a discount fee when a user purchases fuel at a service station according to the content of a lease contract that the user has made with a fuel sales company (see, for example, Patent Document 1). ).

JP 2014-38645 A

  In the fuel sales system described in Patent Document 1, each time a user purchases fuel at a service station (SS), the host computer of the fuel sales company sends the user's credit card number transmitted from the SS terminal and the lease contract. After referring to the database of the host computer storing the contents and confirming the contents of the lease contract, determining the discount grade to be applied to the user according to the contract conditions of the lease contract, and transmitting it to the SS terminal, The terminal is configured to set a discount unit price or a discount rate from a discount class and a discount fee table transmitted from the host computer, and calculate a final sales fee from the fixed price and the sales quantity.

  In this conventional system, it is necessary to go through many troublesome steps from when the SS terminal transmits the user's credit card number to the host computer until the final sales fee is calculated at the SS terminal. In particular, every time a user purchases fuel, the host computer must confirm the terms and conditions of the lease contract before the discount class can be determined, and only the discount class is transmitted from the host computer to the SS terminal. The final sales fee can be calculated after the discount rate table is set and the discount unit price or discount rate is set by itself. As a result, both the host computer and the SS terminal are heavily burdened, preventing rapid processing and delaying payment for the service station to the user.

  Further, the discount that the user can enjoy in the conventional system described in Patent Document 1 is provided by the SS, not by the fuel sales company, and the discount processing is also performed by the SS terminal at the store. Just complete. In the case of discounts offered to customers at events such as campaigns organized by fuel sales companies at SS, the discount amount will be transferred from the fuel sales company to the SS at a later date, especially if the SS is a corporation separate from the fuel sales company. The payment process to pay is required. However, in this conventional system, since such a settlement process cannot be performed, it is necessary to add another processing system.

  Therefore, the present invention provides a special discount for a product price when a business operator sells a predetermined product at a store to a specific customer who satisfies a predetermined transaction condition. Provide a merchandise sales management system that saves and simplifies the processing work and quickly executes it without adding a heavy burden to the conventional dealer system in order to carry out the checkout process for refunding the discount amount to the dealer. For the purpose.

The product sales management system of the present invention provides a special discount when an operator sells a predetermined product at a store to a specific customer who satisfies a predetermined transaction condition.
A business transaction information management server for storing special discount data,
A settlement information management server that performs a settlement process for refunding the discounted amount of the product price by the special discount to the dealer,
A dealer information terminal connected to the transaction information management server and the settlement information management server so as to communicate with each other;
The dealer terminal uses the identification number of the customer identification medium used by the specific customer in the transaction of the predetermined product at the dealer, and acquires the special discount data of the specific customer from the transaction information management server. Calculate the discount amount to be provided to a specific customer based on the special discount data, subtract the discount amount from the product price, settle the transaction of the specified product with the specific customer, and also transfer the discount amount to the settlement information management server Send
The settlement information management server is characterized in that the discount amount transmitted from the store terminal is totaled and the settlement amount to be paid back to the store from the operator is calculated.

  In an embodiment, the special discount data is stored in the transaction information management server with the identification number of the customer identification medium used by the specific customer as the identification number of the specific customer, and does not include the personal information of the specific customer. Configured as follows.

  In another embodiment, only the identification number of a specific customer among the data of the special discount stored in the transaction information management server is stored, the dealer terminal further connected to the dealer terminal, After referring to the store database for the identification number of the customer identification medium used by the customer in the transaction of a predetermined product at the store, the transaction information management server is requested for the special discount data related to the customer.

  In one embodiment, if the dealer terminal queries the dealer database for the identification number of the customer identification medium used by the customer, and there is a specific customer identification number that matches, the transaction information management Notify the server and request special discount data for the identification number of the customer identification medium.

  In another embodiment, if the dealer terminal queries the dealer database for the identification number of the customer identification medium used by the customer and there is no specific customer identification number that matches, the transaction information management server is Do not request discount data.

  In some embodiments, the merchant terminal determines whether to query the merchant database according to the type of customer identification medium used by the customer.

  In another embodiment, if the dealer terminal decides not to query the dealer database for the identification number of the customer identification medium used by the customer, it queries the transaction information management server for the identification number of the customer identification medium; Request special discount data for a specific customer identification number that matches it.

  In one embodiment, the store terminal transmits a discount amount directly to the settlement information management server for each transaction of a predetermined product with a specific customer.

  In another embodiment, the transaction information management server and the settlement information management server are connected so as to be able to communicate with each other, and the store terminal sends a discount amount to the transaction information management server for each transaction of a predetermined product with a specific customer. The transaction information management server transmits the discount amount to the settlement information management server.

  In yet another embodiment, the transaction information management server sends a discount amount to the settlement information management server in response to a request from the settlement information management server.

  In one embodiment, the dealer terminal transmits the transaction information to a transaction information management server for each transaction of a predetermined product with a specific customer, and the transaction information management server responds to the transaction information with a special information. Update discount data.

  In another embodiment, the customer identification medium information is the number of an electronic payment tool owned by a particular customer.

  In another embodiment, the information of the customer identification medium is a membership card number issued by a business operator and / or a store to a specific customer.

  As described above, according to the merchandise sales management system of the present invention, a special discount for the price of a predetermined product purchased at a store is provided to a specific customer who satisfies a predetermined transaction condition by the business operator, and a special When a company, not the dealer, bears the difference in the product price due to the discount, in order to settle it with the dealer, a specific customer uses the transaction information management server on the provider side to Using the identification number of the customer identification medium used in the transaction as the identification number of the customer, the special discount application conditions for each specific customer are stored in the database, and the dealer's terminal manages transaction information for each transaction with a specific customer It is configured so that it can be acquired from the server, and the discount amount of the special discount is aggregated by a dedicated settlement information management server and settled. As a result, not only the system on the operator side but also the conventional dealer system, without adding a heavy burden, the operator side server manages the special discount for the predetermined product price and its settlement process centrally, These processing operations can be executed quickly and with labor saving, simplification, improvement of service to customers, and improvement of customer profits.

  Furthermore, the special discount information required by the dealer terminal when a specific customer purchases a predetermined product is stored in a dedicated database on the basis of the customer identification number, separately from the customer information and information related to the specific transaction contract. Memory management. Therefore, the risk of leaking the personal information of a specific customer and the contents of a specific transaction contract to the outside through communication between the store system and the operator system is very low, and it is protected more reliably and highly. It is possible.

1 is an overall configuration diagram of a preferred embodiment of a merchandise sales management system to which the present invention is applied. The figure which shows an example of a data structure of a discount master database. The figure which shows an example of the receipt of the goods price printed and issued to a customer from a POS terminal. The figure which shows the structural example of sales data. The figure which shows the structural example of adjustment data. The figure which shows the output example of the form by a payment information management server. The flowchart explaining the discount process process of the goods price in the goods sales management system of FIG. The flowchart explaining the discount process process of the goods price in the goods sales management system of FIG. FIG. 2 is a flowchart for explaining a discount settlement process in the product sales management system of FIG. 1. The flow figure explaining the adjustment process of the discount in another embodiment. The flowchart explaining the adjustment process of the discount in another embodiment.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of a merchandise sales management system according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The system according to this embodiment is used when a business operator sells a predetermined product that is not a target of a specific transaction to a customer who has entered into a specific transaction satisfying a predetermined transaction condition through a store. A product sales management system for processing and managing discounts on product prices to be provided to the customer, and processing and managing the settlement of product prices performed with the dealers in accordance with the discounts.

  In the present embodiment, the business operator is a business operator who sells products to customers through a sales outlet, such as a former oil seller. The retail store is a retail store that handles a predetermined product sold by a partner company, such as a gas station for an oil product former seller. Here, the predetermined product refers to a normal product that is sold to general consumers by businesses and dealers, that is, petroleum-related products such as gasoline, light oil, and kerosene, and products specified by the business. The product specified by the business operator includes, for example, a product targeted for an event such as a campaign performed by the business operator. The specific transaction refers to, for example, a transaction for selling products other than the predetermined product so as to sell electricity to an electric user contracted by the business operator. The privilege associated with the specific transaction is, for example, a price discount service for the predetermined product, or provision of another product or service sold by a store.

  FIG. 1 shows the overall configuration of an embodiment of a merchandise sales management system to which the present invention is applied. In the merchandise sales management system of the present embodiment, the price discount for merchandise when selling a normal product of an operator will be described, but the present invention naturally includes the sale of the predetermined product other than the normal product. The same applies.

  The merchandise sales management system 1 in FIG. 1 includes a transaction information management server 2 constituting at least a part of the business system of the business operator, a store system 3 of the retail store, and a settlement of discounts related to the specific transaction. It is comprised from the adjustment information management server 4 which processes. The transaction information management server 2, the store system 3, and the settlement information management server 4 are connected to be communicable with each other via a network 5 formed of a dedicated line or a public line.

  In the present embodiment, the settlement information management server 4 is provided as a third party server different from the provider, separately from the provider system. In another embodiment, the settlement information management server 4 can be configured as a part of the business operator system. In any case, the transaction information management server 2 and the settlement information management server 4 can be directly connected to each other via the dedicated line 6 so as to be able to communicate with each other.

  The transaction information management server 2 includes a discount data management unit 21, a discount master database 22 connected to the discount data management unit, a transaction data management unit 23, and a transaction information database 24 connected to the transaction data management unit. And a communication unit 25. Communication between the transaction information management server 2, that is, the discount data management unit 21 and the transaction data management unit 23, and the outside (including other components of the business operator system) is performed via the communication unit 25. Information on the customer who has contracted the specific transaction and information on the contract content are stored in a specific transaction database (not shown) provided separately from the transaction information management server 2 of the provider system.

  In the present embodiment, the contract for the specific transaction is a provisional application for a contract online from the customer to the business operator, and the application is made in response to a notification of acceptance from the business operator (for example, e-mail, etc.) Based on the results of the review, the two parties will conclude. At the time of the provisional application, the customer describes an identification number of a customer identification medium used when purchasing a normal product at the store, and uses the identification number of the customer identification medium as the identification number of the customer. Stores the provisional application information in a database and stores it in the specific transaction database.

  The customer identification medium includes a credit card owned by the customer, a member such as a point card issued to the customer by the operator or the store for purchase of goods or use of services at the store. A card is preferred. The customer identification medium includes an electronic device equipped with a mobile phone, an IC tag, or the like having the function of a payment tool. The form of the customer identification medium is not limited to a card type such as a magnetic card or an IC card that has been conventionally used as an electronic payment tool. For example, a special shape such as a key holder type or a wristband type is used. It may be.

  The identification number of the customer identification medium is, for example, the credit card number when the customer identification medium is a credit card, the identification number when it is another electronic settlement tool, and the member registration number when it is a membership card. . These numbers have already been verified by customers when credit cards and other electronic payment tools are issued, and generally have a high level of security. In many cases, the membership card is issued to a customer who frequently uses a store, and at least a part of the customer's personal information is registered at the time of issuance, so that the identity verification can be easily performed.

  In the customer-specific data stored in the specific transaction database, in addition to the provisional application reception date and time, customer personal information (name, address, contact information, age, etc.) entered in the provisional application form, and customer identification It includes identification information such as media type and identification number, and the progress of subsequent contracts. The customer contact information preferably includes an email address such as email or mobile mail in addition to the telephone number (fixed and / or mobile phone). Furthermore, at the time of this application, in addition to the reception date and time, information necessary for execution of the specific transaction entered in this application form is added, and finally the examination result, contract conclusion, execution start date of the specific transaction, etc. are added Is done.

  The information necessary for execution of the specific transaction includes a payment method and conditions after a contract with the provider, and changes to information at the time of provisional application. When the specific transaction is an electricity supply contract, the customer's identification number (for example, “customer number”, “contract number” in Japan) has already been granted by the customer with the existing power supply company. , “Electric number”, etc.).

  Based on the data of a specific transaction contract customer stored in the specific transaction database, discount conditions for normal products are set for each customer. The discount condition is based on the contents of the specific transaction with the customer, the previous transaction status with the customer, the registration status in various events (for example, sales promotion campaign), etc. 2 and a customer management section (not shown) provided in addition to the settlement information management server 4. The specific transaction contract customers include the provisional application stage before the conclusion of the contract and the customers in the final application stage.

  The discount conditions for the regular product of the specific transaction contract customer thus determined are stored in the specific transaction database in correspondence with the identification number of each customer by the customer management unit, and the customer identification number and other discounts are stored. Along with the information necessary for application, it is transmitted to the discount data management unit 21 of the transaction information management server 2. The discount data management unit 21 causes the discount master database 22 to store information such as discount conditions for normal products received for each specific transaction contract customer.

  FIG. 2 shows a data configuration example of a discount master table for a specific transaction contract customer stored in the discount master database 22. In the example of the data configuration in the figure, each customer's discount data record includes a customer ID number that is the customer identification number, a type of customer identification medium used for normal product transactions, a discount unit price for each normal product, and the discount unit price. Are included in the fields of an upper limit quantity to which the discount can be applied, a period during which the discount is applied within the upper limit quantity, and a cumulative quantity of normal products purchased within the period. Regarding the purchase of regular products to be discounted, the cumulative number and / or the cumulative amount can be included in addition to the cumulative quantity as an element for determining the discount condition.

  In another embodiment, the factors for determining the discount condition may further include the transaction performance of goods and / or services provided to the customer other than the regular sale of goods at the dealership. For example, these products and services include “continuous inspection” (so-called vehicle inspection) for vehicles, inspection and maintenance / repair of vehicles, purchase of various oil products, and the like.

  The discount unit price shown in FIG. 2 is set based only on the specific transaction contract. As described above, different discount conditions can be added to the discount master table according to the customer's previous transaction status, registration status for various events, and the like. These additional discount conditions can be applied in duplicate to the discount conditions based on the specific transaction contract, or can be set to apply only one of them. In this embodiment, since discount conditions for customers of a specific transaction are centrally managed in the discount master table in a database separate from the contents of the specific transaction, the change can be easily made by the operator as needed. Can be done.

  As described above, the discount master database 22 stores only the customer identification number, the type of the customer identification medium, and the information related to the discount of the normal product. Therefore, there is no possibility that the personal information of the customer and the contents of the specific transaction contract are leaked or leaked from the transaction information management server 2 to the third party from the customer identification number, and the security of the data is ensured.

  The discount master table is periodically updated based on data of a specific transaction contract customer stored in the specific transaction database, and when customer data and discount conditions of the specific transaction database are changed, for example, Each time the discount period for the upper limit quantity ends, it is changed immediately or at any time. The discount master table is updated and / or changed when the customer management unit transmits an instruction to the discount data management unit 21 together with necessary update data or change data.

  The discount data management unit 21 further has a function of accessing the discount master database 22, searching for a specific customer from the discount master table, and extracting discount data such as a discount condition of the customer. As will be described later, this search and extraction is performed, for example, in response to an inquiry from the store system 3 using the identification number of the customer identification medium as a search key.

  The transaction data management unit 23 has a function of obtaining information about individual transactions of normal products with customers in a store from the store system 3, processing it, converting it into data, and storing it in the transaction information database 24. The individual transaction data stored in the transaction information database 24 can include not only transactions with the specific transaction contract customer but also transactions with general customers. Further, as will be described later, the transaction data management unit 23 has a function of extracting data necessary for the settlement of discounts for each dealer from the transaction information database 24 and supplying it to the settlement information management server 4. Can do.

  The dealer system 3 has one or a plurality of POS terminals 31 in order to process transactions such as payment when the customer purchases a normal product at the dealer. The POS terminal 31 has a built-in communication function for communicating with the transaction information management server 2 and the payment information management server 4 via the network 5. Further, the POS terminal has a built-in printing function for printing a receipt (receipt) issued in payment with a customer.

  The POS terminal 31 can be connected to a credit card business management server (not shown) by the communication function so that the customer can use the credit card to settle the product price at the store. Needless to say, the POS terminal can be used for settlement processing for a product or service other than a normal product at a store.

  Further, the store system 3 has a store database 32 connected to the POS terminal 31. The store database 32 specifies only a customer ID number field of the discount master table of the transaction information management server 2 for a specific transaction contract customer who uses a predetermined credit card designated by the operator as the customer identification medium. Stores and maintains a list of business contract customers. The predetermined credit card is, for example, a credit card issued by a credit card company with the business operator as a partner. The specific transaction contract customer list is stored in the store database 32 from the discount data management unit 21 of the transaction information management server 2 via the POS terminal 31.

  FIG. 3 shows an example of a receipt 33 issued when a store sells a normal product to a specific transaction contract customer. The receipt 33 is printed with a special credit indicating that it is a discount sale to a specific transaction contract customer paying by credit card, and the name of the regular product sold (“regular gasoline”), sales The volume, the normal unit price, the sales amount based on the normal unit price (1), the discount applied quantity, the discount unit price, the discount amount based on the discount unit price (2), and the actual payment amount of the customer are described.

  The POS terminal 31 has a function of creating sales data for each transaction of a regular product with a customer in the store and transmitting it to the transaction information management server 2. FIG. 4 shows a configuration example of the sales data. The sales data shown in the figure includes a dealer identification (ID) number given in advance to the dealer, a customer identification (ID) number of the customer who made the transaction, a product code of a regular product sold to the customer, a sales quantity, and sales. Composed of forehead. The sales amount is a sales amount (1) calculated based on a normal unit price even for a transaction with a specific transaction contract customer to whom a discount is applied.

  The sales data can be similarly created for general customers other than the specific transaction contract customer and transmitted to the transaction information management server 2. In this case, it is preferable that the sales data of the transaction to which the special discount based on the specific transaction contract is applied include information indicating that all or a part of the sales quantity is the target of the special discount. Such information can be added to the quantity field of the example data structure of FIG. 4, for example, or a separate field can be provided and added to it.

  The product quantity in the sales data to which the special discount is applied is reflected in the discount master table of the discount master database 22. When the discount data management unit 21 obtains the sales data from the transaction data management unit 23, the discount data management unit 21 searches the discount master table based on the customer identification number included therein, and calculates the cumulative quantity of data related to the specific transaction contract customer. Update.

  Further, the POS terminal 31 settles the discount amount of the product price with the business operator when the customer who intends to purchase the normal product at the store is a customer with a specific transaction contract and is eligible for discount application. Therefore, it has a function of creating settlement data necessary for the transaction and transmitting it to the transaction information management server 2 and the settlement information management server 4 respectively. FIG. 5 shows a configuration example of the settlement data. The settlement data in the figure is obtained from the dealer identification (ID) number of the dealer, the customer identification (ID) number of the customer who made the transaction, and the discount amount (2) calculated based on the special discount amount, that is, the discount unit price. Composed.

  Further, in the store database 32, separately from the sales data or by adding other information to the sales data, transaction information (sales amount, sales item, quantity thereof) with all customers in the store. , Unit price, sales date and time, settlement means, etc.) can be stored. Further, in the store database 32, the settlement data and customer information unique to the store can be stored. For storage management of these information, a transaction information management unit (not shown) can be provided in the store system 3.

  The settlement information management server 4 includes a settlement information processing unit 41, a settlement information database 42 connected to the settlement information processing unit, a settlement data output unit 43, and a communication unit 44. The settlement information processing unit 41 has a function of processing the settlement data received for each transaction with the customer from the POS terminal 31 of the store system 3 and storing it in the settlement information database 42. Further, the settlement information processing unit 41 has a function of performing settlement processing on the settlement data stored in the settlement information database 42 for each store based on the store ID number.

  In another embodiment, the settlement data is received for each transaction from the POS terminal 31 of the store system 3 by the transaction data management unit 23 of the transaction information management server 2 or for a certain period. The amount stored in 24 can be collectively sent to the settlement information management server 4 via the dedicated line 6 at an appropriate time. In addition, the settlement data processing unit 41 of the settlement information management server 4 accesses the transaction information management server 2 via the network 5 or the dedicated line 6 and stores the accumulated data for a certain period from the transaction information database 24. It can be acquired in bulk.

  The settlement process by the settlement information processing unit 41 calculates the sum of the discount amount (the special discount amount in FIG. 5) to which the special discount is applied for each store for each preset period (for example, every month) as the settlement amount. Is done by doing. The settlement data output unit 43 has a function of outputting the settlement amount calculated by the settlement information processing unit 41 for each store in a form that can be reported to the business operator.

  The report to the business operator is performed by, for example, printing a settlement amount for each store on an appropriate form using a printer and sending it to the business operator. FIG. 6 shows an example of such a form. In the form 45 of FIG. 6, for each store ID number, the date and time of each transaction to which the special discount is applied at the store, the customer identification number of each partner, the settlement amount of each transaction, and the total amount Is described. The form 45 for each store is also sent to the corresponding store.

  Further, in addition to or instead of the report based on the report, the report to the business operator is performed by making the settlement amount for each store into a data file and transmitting it to, for example, the store management unit of the business operator system. be able to. In any case, the business operator that has received the report of the settlement amount from the settlement information management server 4 pays the settlement amount to each dealer. The settlement amount can be paid directly from the business to the dealer, and when the settlement information management server 4 is operated and managed by a third party other than the business, it is paid through the third party. Can do.

  The communication unit 44 has a function of communicating with the transaction information management server 2 (and other part of the business operator system) and the store system 3 via the network 5. Further, the communication unit 44 can communicate with the communication unit 25 of the transaction information management server 2 through the dedicated line 6.

  In the following, in the product sales management system 1 of FIG. 1, when a customer purchases the normal product of the business operator by applying the special discount at a store, a process for discounting the product price provided to the customer Will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. Further, the process of discount amount settlement performed between the store and the company will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  First, a customer is registered in the specific transaction database of the operator system according to the specific transaction contract in order to purchase a regular product (for example, regular gasoline) of a petroleum product former seller who is the operator at a gasoline dealer. The credit card, which is the customer identification medium, is read by the POS terminal 31 of the store system 3 (step St1). The POS terminal 31 reads out necessary information from the credit card such as its type (issuer, partner, etc.), credit card number, etc., and determines whether or not it is the predetermined credit card (step St2). If the credit card is a predetermined credit card, the POS terminal 31 accesses the store database 32 and searches the specific transaction contract customer list for the presence or absence of a customer identification number that matches the credit card number (step St3). ).

  When a customer identification number that matches the credit card number exists in the specific transaction contract customer list, the POS terminal 31 extracts a discount condition related to the customer identification number from the discount master database 22 and sends it back. 5 is requested to the discount data management unit 21 of the transaction information management server 2 via step 5 (step St4). Upon receiving the request from the POS terminal 31, the discount data management unit 21 extracts the discount condition included in the data record related to the requested customer identification number from the discount master table in the discount master database 22, and transmits it via the network 5. To the POS terminal 31 (step St5). The discount condition transmitted to the POS terminal 31 may include the additional discount condition if it can be applied in duplicate with the special discount based on the specific transaction contract.

  The customer refuels a desired normal commodity, for example, regular gasoline, by himself / herself or through a store clerk after step St1 in which the POS terminal 31 reads the credit card number. When the refueled quantity is confirmed, it is input to the POS terminal 31 together with the normal product item automatically from the refueling machine or manually by the store clerk. By applying the discount conditions received from the transaction information management server 2 to these, the POS terminal calculates the sales amount, the discount amount, and the actual payment amount of the customer (step St6).

  The POS terminal 31 prints and outputs the calculated sales amount, discount amount, and customer payment amount on the customer receipt 33 illustrated in FIG. 3 (step St7). In the present embodiment, since the settlement of the transaction for the above-mentioned normal product is performed by credit card payment, the POS terminal 31 accesses the credit card company after step St1 and obtains the approval in advance, and then the credit card The payment amount is transmitted to the company and billed, and the payment is processed at the same time as receipt 33 is output. Thereby, the sales transaction of the normal goods between the store and the customer ends.

  In step St2, if the credit card is not a predetermined credit card, and in step St3, if there is no customer identification number that matches the credit card number in the specific transaction contract customer list, the POS terminal 31 The discount data management unit 21 of the transaction information management server 2 is requested to inquire whether a customer identification number that matches the credit card number exists in the discount master table (step St8). As a result of the inquiry, if there is a customer identification number that matches the credit card number (step St9), the discount data management unit 21 performs a data record related to the customer identification number from the discount master table according to step St5 described above. The discount conditions included in are extracted and transmitted to the POS terminal 31 via the network 5. Subsequent discount processing is as described above in relation to Step St6 and Step St7, and thus description thereof is omitted.

  If there is no customer identification number that matches the credit card number as a result of the inquiry in step St9, the customer of the inquired credit card number is not the specific transaction contract customer. The discount data management unit 21 notifies the POS terminal 31 via the network 5 that there is no customer identification number that matches the credit card number (step St10), and the POS terminal does not apply the special discount. Under normal transaction conditions, the sales amount of the normal product, and if there are discount conditions other than the special discount, the discount amount and the actual payment amount are calculated, and the transaction with the customer is settled (step St11).

  Furthermore, the POS terminal 31 creates sales data and settlement data for the settlement of the special discount performed with the business operator after Step St6, in parallel with or after Step St7 (Step S6). St12). As described above with reference to FIG. 4, the sales data includes a store identification (ID) number, a customer identification (ID) number, a product code of a normal product sold, a sales quantity, and a sales amount (1). It is composed of display of special discount application target. As described above with reference to FIG. 5, the settlement data includes a store identification (ID) number, a customer identification (ID) number, and a discount amount (2).

  The POS terminal 31 transmits the sales data and settlement data to the transaction information management server 2 and the settlement data to the settlement information management server 4 via the network 5 (step St13). In the transaction information management server 2, the transaction data management unit 23 processes the received sales data and settlement data and stores them in the transaction information database 24 (step St14). In the transaction information database 24, the sales data and the settlement data are stored and stored in a database for each dealer based on the dealer identification number together with the transaction date related to the data.

  Furthermore, in the transaction information management server 2, the transaction data management unit 23 transfers the sales data to the discount data management unit 21 in step St14. The discount data management unit 21 reflects the sales quantity in the sales data in the discount master table of the discount master database 22 (step St15). That is, the data record in the discount master table corresponding to the customer identification number in the sales data is searched, and the sales quantity is added to the cumulative quantity to be updated. When it is displayed in the sales data that only a part of the sales quantity is applicable for the special discount, only the sales quantity for the special discount is added to the cumulative quantity of the data record.

  In the settlement information management server 4, the settlement information processing unit 41 processes the settlement data and stores it in the settlement information database 42 (step St16). In the settlement information database 42, the settlement data is stored and stored in a database for each dealer based on the dealer identification number together with the date of transaction relating to the settlement data.

  The settlement information processing unit 41 aggregates the settlement data accumulated in the settlement information database 42 for a predetermined period for each store based on the store identification number, and calculates the total settlement amount for each store (step St17). . The predetermined period may be set variously according to an agreement between the business operator and each store, for example, in units of days, weeks, months, or years, and the counting process in step St17 may be performed periodically on a predetermined date. it can. Naturally, the aggregation process of step St17 can be performed irregularly as needed.

  The result of the summing process in step St17 is printed on a predetermined sheet in the form of the form 45 illustrated in FIG. 6 and / or output in an appropriate electronic data form from the settlement data output unit 43 (step St18). The form 45 of each store is sent to the corresponding store by mail or courier. The electronic data is transmitted to the transaction information management server 2 or another part of the business operator system via the network 5 or the dedicated line 6.

  The business operator pays the total payment amount for each period to each store based on the result of the calculation process of the payment data received from the payment information management server 4. The payment of the total payment amount for the period is not only made directly from the operator to each dealer, but also when the payment information management server 4 is operated by a third-party management company, You can also pay for it.

  The flowchart of FIG. 9 shows the special discount settlement process according to another embodiment. In the present embodiment, the settlement data created in step St12 of FIG. 8 is transmitted only from the POS terminal 31 together with the sales data to the transaction information management server 2 (step St19). In the transaction information management server 2, the transaction data management unit 23 processes the sales data and the settlement data in the same manner as Step St14 in FIG. 8 and stores it in the transaction information database 24 (Step St20). The sales data and settlement data are stored and stored in the transaction information database 24 in a database for each store based on the store identification number together with the date of the transaction related to the data.

  Further, the transaction data management unit 23 transfers the sales data to the discount data management unit 21 and transfers the settlement data to the settlement information management server 4 in step St20. The discount data management unit 21 reflects the sales quantity in the sales data in the discount master table of the discount master database 22 as in Step St15 of FIG. 8 (Step St21). That is, the data record in the discount master table corresponding to the customer identification number in the sales data is searched, and the total sales quantity is added or updated only by the amount to which the special discount is applied.

  In the settlement information management server 4, the settlement information processing unit 41 processes the settlement data and stores it in the settlement information database 42 (step St22), and the settlement data accumulated for a predetermined period is based on the store identification number. Aggregate by dealer, calculate the total settlement amount for each dealer (step St23), and the settlement data output unit 43 outputs the result in the form 45 and / or electronic data form of the form 45 (step St24). . Since the processes of step St22, step St23, and step St24 are the same as step St16, step St17, and step St18 of FIG. 8, detailed description thereof is omitted.

  In the embodiment of FIG. 9, in step St20, the settlement data of each transaction of the regular product at the store is transferred to the settlement information management server 4 every time it is received from the POS terminal 31, but in another embodiment, in another embodiment. The settlement data accumulated in the transaction information database 24 for a predetermined period can be collectively transferred to the settlement information management server 4. Here, the transfer timing to the settlement information management server 4 may be set so that at least the settlement information processing unit 41 is in time for the settlement data aggregation process. Further, the transaction data management unit 23 divides the period before the due date into a plurality of short periods for each aggregation process (for example, every 10 days for the aggregation process for one month). It is also possible to transfer the accumulated settlement data.

  The flowchart of FIG. 10 shows a discount settlement process in the still another embodiment of FIG. In this embodiment, the transaction data management unit 23 processes and stores the sales data and settlement data transmitted from the POS terminal 31 in the transaction information database 24 as in step St20 of FIG. Is transferred to the discount data management unit 21 (step St25). The discount data management unit 21 processes the sales data in the same manner as Step St21 in FIG. 9 and updates the discount master table in the discount master database 22.

  The settlement information processing unit 41 of the settlement information management server 4 accesses the transaction information management server 2 at an appropriate timing, and requests provision of the settlement data (step St26). In the transaction information management server 2, the transaction data management unit 23 extracts all the settlement data accumulated in the transaction information database since the previous provision to the settlement information processing unit 41 from the transaction information database 24. It transmits to the process part 41 (step St27).

  Here, the timing of access by the settlement information processing unit 41 may be set so as to meet at least the due date of the settlement processing of the settlement data by the settlement information processing unit 41. Further, the settlement information processing unit 41 divides a period before the due date into a plurality of short periods for each short period (for example, every 10 days for one month of the totaling process). It is also possible to access the transaction information management server 2 and transfer the settlement data stored in the short period.

  The settlement information processing unit 41 processes the received settlement data and stores it in the settlement information database 42 and totals the sales by store based on the store identification number to calculate the total settlement amount for each store ( Step St28). The processing in step St28 is the same as steps St16 and St17 in FIG. 8, and the subsequent processing is the same as step St18 in FIG. 8. Therefore, detailed description thereof is omitted.

  In another embodiment, the specific transaction contract customer is a so-called cash member who purchases a normal product by cash payment using a member card such as a point card issued by the business operator or a dealer. The product sales management system of the invention can be similarly applied. In this case, in the store database 32, in addition to the specific transaction contract customer using the predetermined credit card, the discount master of the transaction information management server 2 for the specific transaction contract customer of the cash member using the membership card. A specific transaction contract customer list including a customer ID number and a card type field in the table is stored.

  In this embodiment, the POS terminal 31 of the store system 3 reads the customer identification medium used by the customer in step St1 of FIG. If the read customer identification medium is the membership card, the POS terminal 31 accesses the store database 32 and searches the specific transaction contract customer list for the presence or absence of a customer identification number that matches the membership card number. To do. If there is a matching customer identification number, the POS terminal 31 extracts the discount condition related to the customer identification number from the discount master database 22 and sends it back through the network 5 as in step St4 of FIG. To the discount data management unit 21 of the transaction information management server 2.

  The discount data management unit 21 receives the request from the POS terminal 31 and receives the request from the discount master table of the discount master database 22 in the data record related to the requested customer identification number, as in step St5 of FIG. The conditions are extracted and transmitted to the POS terminal 31 via the network 5. As in step St6 of FIG. 7, the POS terminal 31 calculates and presents the sales amount, the discount amount, and the actual payment amount of the customer according to the refueled quantity, and the customer pays the product price in cash. Later, it is issued to the receipt 33. If the read customer identification medium is a credit card, the subsequent processing is the same as that after step St2 in FIG.

  In another embodiment, transaction information management is performed in the store database 32 for a specific transaction contract customer using the predetermined credit card, or in addition to a cash member specific transaction contract customer using the membership card. A discount table composed of the same data as the discount master table of the server 2 can be stored. The discount table in the store database 32 is updated substantially simultaneously when the discount master table in the transaction information management server 2 is updated.

  In this case, the POS terminal 31 reads the customer identification medium used by the customer, and if it is the predetermined credit card or the membership card, the POS terminal 31 accesses the store database 32 and adds the specific transaction contract customer list to the specific transaction contract customer list. Search for the customer identification number that matches the membership card number. If there is a matching customer identification number, the POS terminal 31 extracts the discount condition related to the customer identification number from the discount table of the store database 32, and the sales amount, discount amount, and Calculate the customer's actual payment amount. Since it is not necessary to access the discount data management unit 21 of the transaction information management server 2 via the network 5 and inquire about the discount conditions, the special discount processing can be performed at a higher speed and in a shorter time.

  In the case of the settlement by the predetermined credit card, the POS terminal 31 obtains the approval of the credit card company in advance as described above with reference to step St7 of FIG. At the same time, the sales amount, the discount amount, and the payment amount are printed on the receipt 33 for the customer and output. In the case of cash settlement, the POS terminal 31 presents the sales amount, the discount amount, and the payment amount of the customer, and issues it to the receipt 33 after the customer pays the commodity price in cash. If the read customer identification medium is a credit card other than the predetermined credit card, the subsequent processing is the same as that after step St8 in FIG.

  In each of the above-described embodiments, it goes without saying that the present invention can be similarly applied when a customer uses an electronic payment tool other than a credit card to purchase a normal product at a store. Further, the credit card used is exemplified by the first and third data records in the discount master table of FIG. 2 depending on whether or not the predetermined credit card is used. Thus, a difference can be provided in the discount conditions.

  The specific transaction contract customer may include a provisional application stage and / or a main application stage customer that has not yet concluded the contract for the specific transaction. In this case, in the discount master table, the type of the customer identification medium registered at the time of provisional application is recorded as the card type, and the identification number of the medium is recorded as the customer identification number, but the other fields remain blank. . Such a customer cannot receive the special discount when purchasing a regular product at a store, and the receipt in FIG. 3 is output with the special discount field blank, but he does not notice that. Or you may have forgotten.

  Therefore, the discount data management unit 21 that has received the inquiry of the customer identification number from the POS terminal 31 applies the present application when no data relating to the discount condition is recorded in the corresponding data record of the discount master table or after provisional application. Can be instructed to notify the POS terminal 31 and call attention to the customer. The customer can be alerted, for example, by printing a notice on the receipt and / or by displaying a notice image on the POS terminal 31 and / or by automatic voice guidance.

  Thus, according to the present invention, a special discount for the price of the predetermined product including a normal product sold at a store is provided to a customer who has concluded a specific transaction contract with the business operator, and Since the difference is to be borne by the business, not the dealer, in order to settle it with the dealer, the customer's server uses a customer identification medium used in the transaction of the predetermined product. Using the identification number as the identification number of the customer, the special discount application conditions for each customer are stored in the database, and the special discount application conditions are made available for each transaction with the customer from the dealer's system. The discount amount of the discount is aggregated by a server dedicated to the settlement process, and the settlement process is performed. As a result, the special discount for the predetermined product price and the settlement process are centrally managed by the server on the business entity system side without adding a heavy burden on the dealer system, and the processing work is labor-saving and simplified. And can be executed quickly.

  Further, special discount information required when a customer purchases the predetermined product at a sales store is stored in a dedicated discount master database based on the customer identification number, separately from the customer information and information on the specific transaction contract. Memory management. Therefore, the risk of leakage of customer's personal information and specific transaction contracts to the outside via data communication between the dealer system and the operator system is very low, and can be protected more reliably and highly. It is.

  The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above. However, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and it goes without saying that various modifications or changes may be made thereto. For example, as long as the customer identification number can identify the customer, the customer identification number is not limited to those relating to the above-mentioned electronic payment tools such as credit cards, point cards or cash membership cards. Authentication data for fingerprint authentication, palm print authentication, iris recognition, and vein authentication based on various numbers and physical characteristics of individuals.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Merchandise sales management system 2 Transaction information management server 3 Dealer system 4 Payment information management server 5 Network 6 Dedicated line 21 Discount data management part 22 Discount master database 23 Transaction data management part 24 Transaction information database 25 Communication part 31 POS terminal 32 Sales Store database 33 Receipt 41 Settlement information processing unit 42 Settlement information database 43 Settlement data output unit 44 Communication unit 45 Form

Claims (13)

A business transaction information management server for storing the special discount data for providing a special discount when the business operator sells a predetermined product at a store to a specific customer who satisfies a predetermined business condition. When,
A settlement information management server for performing a settlement process for refunding the discount amount of the product price due to the special discount to the store;
A dealer terminal of the dealer connected to the transaction information management server and the settlement information management server so as to communicate with each other;
The dealer terminal uses the identification number of the customer identification medium used by the specific customer in the transaction of the predetermined product at the dealer to obtain the special discount data of the specific customer from the transaction information management server. Obtaining and calculating the discount amount to be provided to the specific customer based on the acquired special discount data, and subtracting the discount amount from the product price to settle the transaction of the predetermined product with the specific customer And sending the discount amount to the settlement information management server,
The merchandise sales management system, wherein the settlement information management server sums up the discount amounts transmitted from the dealer terminal and calculates a settlement amount to be paid back to the dealer from the business operator.   The special discount data is stored in the transaction information management server with the identification number of the customer identification medium used by the specific customer as the identification number of the specific customer, and does not include personal information of the specific customer The merchandise sales management system according to claim 1, wherein the merchandise sales management system is configured as follows.   Stores only the identification number of the specific customer among the special discount data stored in the transaction information management server, and further comprises a store database connected to the store terminal, and the store terminal includes the store terminal After referring to the store database for an identification number of a customer identification medium used by the customer in the transaction of the predetermined product at the store, the transaction information management server is requested to request the special discount data related to the customer. The product sales management system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that When the dealer terminal queries the dealer database for the identification number of the customer identification medium used by the customer, there is a matching identification number of the specific customer.
The merchandise sales management system according to claim 3, wherein the transaction information management server is notified to that effect and the special discount data relating to the identification number of the customer identification medium is requested.   When the dealer terminal queries the dealer database for the identification number of the customer identification medium used by the customer, and there is no specific customer identification number that matches the identification number, the transaction information management server stores the transaction number management server. 5. The merchandise sales management system according to claim 3, wherein no special discount data is requested.   6. The merchandise sales according to claim 3, wherein the dealer terminal determines whether or not to query the dealer database according to a type of the customer identification medium used by the customer. Management system.   If the dealer terminal decides not to query the dealer database for the identification number of the customer identification medium used by the customer, it queries the transaction information management server for the identification number of the customer identification medium; 7. The merchandise sales management system according to claim 6, wherein the special discount data relating to the identification number of the specific customer that matches is requested.   The product according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the store terminal directly transmits the discount amount to the settlement information management server for each transaction of the predetermined product with the specific customer. Sales management system.   The transaction information management server and the settlement information management server are connected so as to be able to communicate with each other, and the dealer terminal uses the transaction information management server to calculate the discount amount for each transaction of the predetermined product with the specific customer. The merchandise sales management system according to claim 1, wherein the transaction information management server transmits the discount amount to the settlement information management server.   The merchandise sales management system according to claim 9, wherein the transaction information management server transmits the discount amount to the settlement information management server in response to a request from the settlement information management server.   The dealer terminal transmits the transaction information to the transaction information management server for each transaction of the predetermined product with the specific customer, and the transaction information management server responds to the transaction information with the special discount. The product sales management system according to claim 1, wherein the data is updated.   12. The merchandise sales management system according to claim 1, wherein the information on the customer identification medium is a number of an electronic payment tool owned by the specific customer.   12. The merchandise sales management according to claim 1, wherein the information of the customer identification medium is a membership card number issued to the specific customer by the business operator and / or the dealer. system.

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