JP7105457B2 - DISTRIBUTION INVENTORY INFORMATION PROVISION SYSTEM, METHOD AND PROGRAM - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a distribution inventory information providing system, and more particularly to a system that generates and provides distribution inventory information based on information obtained from a traceability system. "Distribution inventory" refers to inventory held by traders in the process of product distribution, such as wholesalers and retailers.

A “traceability system” is a mechanism that enables us to understand the movement of goods by keeping records of the handling of goods. Prior art documents related to this mechanism include, for example, "Food Traceability Guidelines" (Patent Document 1) issued as part of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries' project.
However, no system has been proposed that generates and provides distribution inventory information based on information acquired from this traceability system.

"Food Traceability System Introduction Guide (Food Traceability Guidelines", "Food Traceability System Introduction Guide" Revision Committee, March 2008, 2nd edition, 2nd printing

An object of the present invention is to realize a system that generates and provides distribution inventory information based on information acquired from a traceability system.

In order to solve this problem, in the distribution inventory information providing system of the present invention, the designated business ID and product ID are selected from the correspondence information for chain traceability updated in real time by the traceability system in the storage unit. a retrieval unit for extracting correspondence information for multiple chain traceability including; In addition, in order to provide the information acquisition device with inventory quantity information for each product and each business operator, the number of associated information for chain traceability extracted by this search unit is generated for each business operator furthest downstream. and a processing unit for processing.

According to this, the search unit extracts only the correspondence information for chain traceability related to the specific product purchased or sold by the specific business operator. Then, by the processing unit, the number of associated information (that is, the number of products identification units (individuals or lots)) are aggregated, and inventory quantity information for each product and each business operator is generated. The inventory quantity information by product and by business operator is the inventory quantity in identification units (individuals or lots) of products, and represents the inventory quantity currently held by each business operator.

In place of the processing of aggregating the number of associated information for the plurality of chain traceability for each of the most downstream business operators, the product quantity corresponding to the above-mentioned association information for chain traceability is calculated for each of the most downstream business operators. may be aggregated. In this case, the inventory quantity information by product and by business operator is the inventory quantity of the product, and represents the inventory quantity currently held by each business operator. In this case, the inventory quantity may represent the number of products such as 1 or 2, or the quantity of products such as 1 kg or 2 kg.

Further, the information acquisition device may also serve as the information request device, and the reception unit may use the business ID of the business operator who is the user of the information request device as the specified business operator ID. In this case, since the search unit extracts only the association information containing the operator ID of the user of the information requesting device, the association information to be processed is purchased or sold by the operator corresponding to the operator ID. It is only the correspondence information of the identification unit that has been used. Therefore, the inventory information that the business operator, who is the user of the information requesting device, can know is only about the identification unit purchased or sold by the business operator, and is owned by the business operator upstream from the business operator. This realizes a filtering function that makes it impossible to know the inventory that is in stock and the inventory that the business operator does not handle.

According to the present invention, it is possible to realize a system that generates and provides distribution inventory information based on information acquired from a traceability system.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the system configuration of an embodiment of the invention. FIG. 2 is a data structure diagram of association information for chain traceability shown in FIG. 1 (first embodiment). FIG. 3 is a data structure diagram of inventory quantity information for each product and each business operator generated based on the correspondence information in FIG. 2 (first embodiment). FIG. 4 is a data structure diagram of the distribution inventory total amount information by product generated based on the correspondence information of FIG. 2 (first embodiment). FIG. 5 is a data structure diagram of association information for chain traceability shown in FIG. 1 (second embodiment). FIG. 6 is a data structure diagram of inventory quantity information for each product and each business operator generated based on the correspondence information in FIG. 5 (second embodiment). FIG. 7 is a data structure diagram of information on the total distribution inventory quantity for each product generated based on the correspondence information in FIG. 5 (second embodiment). FIG. 8 is a configuration diagram of an inventory list. FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing a modification of the embodiment shown in FIG. FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing another embodiment of an inventory information providing system. FIG. 11 is a data structure diagram of product delivery information stored in the product delivery information DB of FIG. FIG. 12 is a flowchart of processing executed by the inventory information generation unit in FIG.

[First embodiment]
Embodiments of the present invention will be described below. In the following description, the terms defined in the "Food Traceability Guidelines" listed in Non-Patent Document 1 are used as appropriate. However, the present invention can also be applied to products other than foods.

FIG. 1 shows an overall configuration diagram of the system. The distribution stock information providing system 10 is configured to transmit and receive information to and from the traceability system 20 and the information request terminal 30 .

The traceability system 20 records linking information for chain traceability in the storage unit. Correlation information for chain traceability is information that makes it possible to grasp the movement of products through businesses at each stage of production, processing, processing, wholesale, retail, etc., and is one step upstream for each business. It is configured by linking business operators (suppliers) with business operators one step downstream (sales destinations). The traceability system 20 serves as a center that acquires real-time information on the movement of products from each business operator, and based on the information, always updates the matching information for chain traceability to real-time information and centrally manages it.

The distribution stock information providing system comprises a reception section 1, a search section 2 and a processing section 3. The reception unit 1 transmits and receives information to and from the information request terminal 30 via the communication device. The search unit 2 accesses a database storing correspondence information for chain traceability. The processing unit 3 generates inventory information based on the matching information acquired by the searching unit 2 and passes it to the receiving unit 1 . The operations of the units 1, 2, and 3 are implemented by the processor executing programs. All information used for processing by each unit 1, 2, 3 is read from the storage area of the storage device. All the information processed by each unit 1, 2, 3 is stored in the storage area of the storage device.

When the traceability system 20 and the distribution/inventory information providing system 10 are processes executed on the same computer, information is exchanged between them via a storage area. When the traceability system 20 and the distribution/inventory information providing system 10 are processes executed on different computers, information is exchanged between them via a communication device.

The information requesting terminal 30 is a terminal that requests the distribution inventory information providing system 10 to provide inventory information. There are a plurality of information request terminals 30 that communicate with the distribution inventory information providing system 10, corresponding to a plurality of users.

In this embodiment, the correspondence information for chain traceability has the data structure shown in FIG. That is, for each identification unit ID, each business operator ID from the business operator ID of the business operator furthest upstream to the business operator ID of the business operator most downstream is directly or indirectly linked. The product ID is directly or indirectly associated with the identification unit ID. The identification unit is a unit used by the traceability system to identify products, and may be a lot or an individual/individual product. The identification unit ID is an identification symbol for distinguishing one identification unit from other identification units. The product ID is an identification symbol for distinguishing product items, and corresponds to a JAN code or the like.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. The reception unit 1 receives the company ID and the product ID from the information request terminal 30 and passes the received company ID and product ID to the search unit 2 . This business operator ID is assumed to correspond to the business operator who is the user of the information request terminal 30 . The product ID is the product ID specified by the user to the information request terminal 30 .

The search unit 2 extracts a plurality of pieces of association information including both the business operator ID and the product ID passed from the reception unit 1 from among the association information for chain traceability stored in the storage unit, and processes them. Hand over to Section 3.

The processing unit 3 aggregates the number of pieces of association information having the common operator ID of the most downstream operator for each operator ID of the most downstream operator, and Inventory quantity information for each product and each business operator ( FIG. 3 ) is generated by associating the corresponding product ID, the company ID of the most downstream business operator, and the total number, and is passed to the reception unit 1 . The inventory quantity information by product and by business operator is the inventory quantity of the product corresponding to the product ID in an identification unit (individual product or lot), and represents the inventory quantity held by the business operator corresponding to the business ID.

In addition, the processing unit 3 aggregates the total number of the associated information passed from the search unit 2, and generates information (FIG. 4) on the total distribution inventory quantity for each product that associates the corresponding product ID with the aggregated number. pass to 1. Alternatively, the processing unit 3 aggregates the inventory quantity information for each business by product of each business operator, associates the corresponding product ID with the aggregated number, generates total circulation inventory information for each product, and passes it to the reception unit 1. good too. The information on the total distribution inventory quantity by product indicates the total distribution quantity of the identification unit (product individual product or lot) of the product corresponding to the product ID.

The reception unit 1 transmits the information on the inventory quantity by product and by business operator and the information on the total distribution inventory quantity by product passed from the processing unit 3 to the information requesting terminal 30 of the request source. If the information on the business name corresponding to the business ID can be acquired, the reception unit 1 may also transmit the business name corresponding to the business ID.

The information requesting terminal 30 outputs the information on the number of items in stock for each business operator and the information on the total number of items in circulation for each product received from the distribution inventory information providing system 10 to an output device. If information on the product name corresponding to the product ID can be acquired, the product name corresponding to the product ID may be output together.

The user of the information requesting terminal 30 can know the inventory quantity information for each product and each business operator and the distribution inventory total quantity information for each product of the product corresponding to the designated product ID.

In addition, since the search unit 2 extracts only the association information including the operator ID of the user of the information request terminal 30, the association information to be processed is purchased by the operator corresponding to the operator ID. It is only the correspondence information of sold identification units. Therefore, the inventory information that the business operator, who is the user of the information requesting terminal 30, can know is only about the identification unit purchased or sold by the business operator, and the inventory information is owned by the business operator upstream from the business operator. A filtering function is realized that makes it impossible to know about the inventory that is in stock and the inventory that the business operator does not handle.

[Second embodiment]
Next, a second embodiment of the invention will be described. Since the system configuration of FIG. 1 described in the first embodiment is the same, the description is omitted.

In this embodiment, the correspondence information for chain traceability has the data structure shown in FIG. That is, for each identification unit ID, each business operator ID from the business operator ID of the business operator furthest upstream to the business operator ID of the business operator most downstream is directly or indirectly linked. The product ID and product quantity are directly or indirectly associated with the identification unit ID. The product quantity indicates the quantity of products contained in a lot, which is an identification unit. The number of products may be one or two, or may be 1 kg or 2 kg.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. The reception unit 1 receives the company ID and the product ID from the information request terminal 30 and passes the received company ID and product ID to the search unit 2 . This business operator ID is assumed to correspond to the business operator who is the user of the information request terminal 30 . The product ID is the product ID specified by the user of the terminal 30 to the information requesting terminal 30 .

The search unit 2 extracts a plurality of pieces of association information including both the business operator ID and the product ID passed from the reception unit 1 from among the association information for chain traceability stored in the storage unit, and processes them. Hand over to Section 3.

The processing unit 3 aggregates the quantity of products of the association information having the common business ID of the most downstream business operator for each business ID of the most downstream business operator for the correspondence information passed from the search unit 2. Then, it generates inventory quantity information (FIG. 6) for each product and company by associating the corresponding product ID, the company ID of the most downstream company, and the total quantity, and passes it to the reception unit 1 . The inventory quantity information by product and by business operator is the inventory quantity of the product corresponding to the product ID, and indicates the inventory quantity held by the business operator corresponding to the business ID.

In addition, the processing unit 3 aggregates the product quantities of all of the associated information passed from the search unit 2, and generates distribution inventory total quantity information (Fig. 7) for each product that associates the corresponding product IDs with the total quantities. It is generated and passed to the reception unit 1. Alternatively, the processing unit 3 aggregates the inventory quantity information by product and by business of each business, associates the corresponding product ID with the total quantity, generates the information on the total distribution inventory by product, and passes it to the reception unit 1. good too. The total distribution inventory quantity information by product indicates the total distribution quantity of the product corresponding to the product ID.

The reception unit 1 transmits the information on the inventory quantity by product and by business operator and the information on the total distribution inventory quantity by product passed from the processing unit 3 to the information requesting terminal 30 of the request source. If the information on the business name corresponding to the business ID can be acquired, the reception unit 1 may also transmit the business name corresponding to the business ID.

The information requesting terminal 30 outputs the information on the quantity of inventory for each product and each business operator received from the distribution inventory information providing system 10 and the information on the total quantity of distribution inventory for each product to the output device. If information on the product name corresponding to the product ID can be obtained, the information requesting terminal 30 may output the product name corresponding to the product ID as well.

The user of the information requesting terminal 30 can know the inventory quantity information for each product and each business operator and the distribution inventory total quantity information for each product of the product corresponding to the designated product ID. In addition, according to the present embodiment, even if the identification unit of the association information for chain traceability is a lot, the product quantity can be known as the inventory quantity information for each business operator per product and the total distribution inventory quantity information for each product. can be done.

[Modifications of First and Second Embodiments]
(1) Hereinafter, the general term for "inventory quantity information by product and by business operator" and "total circulation inventory information by product" will be collectively referred to as "circulation inventory information". Here, in the first embodiment and the second embodiment, the business operator, who is the user of the information request terminal 30, is configured to view only the distribution inventory information of the products purchased or sold by the company. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the user of the information requesting terminal 30 may be configured to view distribution inventory information of products purchased or sold by other businesses. The user may be a consumer. In this case, the reception unit 1 may be configured to receive the company ID and product ID of any company from the information request terminal 30 and pass the received company ID and product ID to the search unit 2 .

By configuring in this way, the user of this system can know the distribution inventory information of any business. Stock information can be used as a reference for stock trading.

(2) In addition, in the first and second embodiments, pull-type distribution is performed in which distribution stock information is provided in response to a request from the information request terminal 30 . However, the distribution stock information may be pushed from the distribution stock information providing system 10 to the information request terminal 30 without being limited to this.

(3) In addition, in the first and second embodiments, the information request terminal 30 also serves as an information acquisition device that acquires distribution inventory information. However, the configuration is not limited to this, and an information acquisition device other than the information requesting device 30 may acquire distribution inventory information. The "information acquisition device" is sufficient as long as it is a device that acquires distribution inventory information, and it does not matter whether it is a terminal or an external server. Also, an "information requesting device" may be provided in place of the "information requesting terminal". The "information requesting device" is sufficient as long as it is a device that requests distribution inventory information, and it does not matter whether it is a terminal or an external server.

According to each of the embodiments described above, it is possible to realize a system that provides merchandise distribution inventory information based on the association information for chain traceability managed by the traceability system. By knowing the information on the number of inventories for each product and each company and the information on the total number of distribution inventories for each product, the company, which is a manufacturer, can time production timing and prevent wasteful production and disposal. Businesses in the distribution process can measure the timing of purchases, and can prevent wasteful purchases and disposal. Conversely, there is no loss of sales opportunities such as sold-out. In addition, production costs and distribution costs can be reduced through planned production or purchase. It is also possible to link the automatic ordering system according to the situation of the distribution inventory quantity downstream, and it is also possible to reduce the management cost. Furthermore, by analyzing the fluctuations in distribution inventory at each business, it becomes possible to utilize it as big data. If the matching information for chain traceability is linked to the final consumer's ID, it will be possible to propose appropriate products by analyzing the final consumer's product preferences and purchase timing. In addition, since it is possible to know who the purchaser is, collection at the time of product recall is facilitated. In addition, since it is possible to know where the current inventory of a specific product is, it is possible to provide guidance on where to purchase the product in response to an inquiry about the product.
In the above, as a method of incorporating the ID of the final consumer into the association information for chain traceability, the following can be considered. For example, at the time of checkout at the cash register, the store-side system acquires the identification unit ID of the product, acquires the final consumer ID, and traces the transaction information including the linkage between the identification unit ID and the final consumer ID. By transmitting it to the system, it becomes possible to incorporate it into the correspondence information. Here, it is conceivable that the product identification unit ID is acquired from an information holding unit such as a QR code (registered trademark). Also, it is conceivable that the final consumer ID is obtained from a personal information source such as a point card or credit card. Also, when purchasing at an online shop, the final consumer ID may be acquired from a personal information source such as a user login ID managed by the online shop or the shopping mall to which the online shop belongs.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. For example, the search unit and processing unit may be part of the traceability system. Correlation information for chain traceability may use information copied to a storage unit external to the traceability system. Business operators may include those involved in the transfer of the goods themselves, such as transportation and packaging.

[Provision of date and time information]
It is convenient for wholesalers and retailers, if they can know the products with the old date of manufacture or the products with the old date of arrival in their inventories, because they can easily ship the old products first. In addition, manufacturers, wholesalers, etc. will be able to know where old products are located and replace or dispose of them. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 5, the association information for chain traceability is associated with the date and time information T when the identification unit was delivered to the business operator for each business ID that handled each identification unit. there is In the case of the most upstream operator (manufacturer), T is the date and time of manufacture. In FIG. 1, when an information request terminal 30 designates a product ID and a company ID and requests an inventory list of the product, the distribution/stock information providing system 10 performs the following processing.

The receiving unit 1 receives a request for an inventory list from the information requesting terminal, and passes the specified product ID and company ID along with the request to the searching unit 2 . The search unit 2 searches for a record in which the product ID obtained from the reception unit 1 matches and the business ID matches the business ID of the most downstream business from the association information for chain traceability. The search unit 2 retrieves the product ID, the identification unit ID, the manufacturing date and time linked to the most upstream business operator ID, and the arrival date and time linked to the most downstream business operator ID from each record hit as a result. Extract associations with .

Then, the search unit 2 lists the extracted information for each identification unit ID to generate an inventory list shown in FIG. The processing unit 3 passes the stock list generated by the searching unit 2 to the receiving unit 1 . The reception unit 1 transmits the inventory list to the information requesting terminal 30 that requested the inventory list. The information requesting terminal 30 displays the stock list received from the reception unit 1 on the display device. By viewing the inventory list, the business operator who has operated the information request terminal 30 can easily know the identification units that are older in production or arrival in the inventory of the company or the inventory of other companies distributed by the company. Therefore, the company can ship the identification units that are manufactured or received earlier in the company's inventory. In addition, by having business operators know the inventories of other companies, manufacturers can, for example, know which wholesalers and retail stores have old products among their own products, so they can replace old products with new ones. When retailer B, which is different from retailer A, ships products, A's old inventory can be used by B (in cases where the expiration date is not a concern), thereby reducing waste and making effective use of goods. can be done.

[Consumer management by traceability system]
In FIG. 1, the traceability system 20 includes a storage unit 21 storing correspondence information for chain traceability, and an update unit 22 updating the correspondence information. The operation of the updating unit 22 is realized by the processing device of the traceability system 20 executing a program. The update unit 22 receives information representing the shipment or arrival of the product from the information registration terminal 40 (product ID, identification unit ID, business ID or consumer ID of the destination of shipment or delivery, date and time of shipment or date of arrival, and association) is received, the association information with the matching identification unit ID is updated. That is, the updating unit 22 adds the received business operator ID or consumer ID to the most downstream record of the association information with the matching identification unit ID, and adds the received shipping information to the business operator ID or consumer ID. The date and time or arrival date and time T are linked. If a consumer ID is added to the furthest downstream of the associated information, the distribution inventory information providing system 10 considers that identification unit to be in the hands of the consumer and does not count it as the inventory of the business operator.

When the business owns the inventory, the information registration terminal 40 inputs information to the traceability system 20 indicating that the identification unit has changed from the business ID of the business to the consumer ID of the business. Just do it. As a result, the traceability system 20 adds the consumer ID of the business operator to the furthest downstream of the association information of the identification unit. Therefore, the distribution inventory information providing system 10 calculates the correct inventory quantity assuming that the inventory of the company has decreased.

[Cooperation with transaction management system]
FIG. 9 shows a modification of the first and second embodiments. The traceability system 20 communicates with the transaction management system 50 instead of communicating with the information registration terminal 40 described above. Other configurations are the same as in FIG.
The distribution inventory information providing system 10, the traceability system 20, and the transaction management system 50 do not necessarily have to be independent network nodes. For example, the distribution inventory information providing system 10, the traceability system 20, and the transaction management system 50 may each be a program unit. Communication between units can be achieved by passing data between programs.

The transaction management system 50 has an order processing function, a shipping/delivery processing function, and a slip issuing processing function. Each function is implemented by a computer executing a program.
The order processing function receives from an external terminal an instruction to order a product from a business operator or a consumer to the first business operator, and processes the order instruction. In addition, the order processing function determines whether or not it is necessary to further order the product from the first business operator to the second upstream business operator, and if it is necessary to order the second business operator, Execute the processing of the order.

The shipping/delivery processing function manages the shipping status of the products by the supplier to whom the order is placed. In addition, the shipping/delivery processing function manages the delivery status of the product to the ordering company or consumer. The shipping/delivery processing function, when a product is delivered from the ordering party to the business operator or consumer who placed the order, the business ID or consumer ID of the delivery destination, the product ID of the delivered product, and the relevant The identification unit ID of the product and the date and time of delivery are acquired from an external terminal, and these pieces of information are associated and stored in the storage unit. The transaction management system 50 reads out these pieces of information from the storage section at a predetermined timing, and delivers them to the updating section 22 of the traceability system 20 .

The update unit 22 acquires the association between the product ID, the identification unit ID, the business ID or consumer ID of the delivery destination, and the arrival date and time from the transaction management system 50, and establishes the association with the matching identification unit ID. Information is searched, and the company ID or consumer ID received this time is added to the association information and updated.
The slip issuing processing function issues a purchase order (ordering slip) from a product ordering party to a ordering party, an invoice (billing slip) and a delivery slip (delivery slip) from a product ordering party to the ordering party. As described above, when an ordering business operator or consumer instructs a first business operator to place an order for a product, and the first business operator orders the product to a second upstream business operator. , the slip issuing processing function not only processes the transaction slips between the first business operator and the business operator or consumer who instructed the order first, but also orders from the first business operator to the second upstream business operator. Automatically issue transaction slips for

[Other inventory information providing systems]
The invention described below relates to a system for providing information on inventory quantities that fluctuate due to distribution of merchandise.
For example, the producer can grasp the quantity of products delivered from the producer to the wholesaler. However, the producer may not be able to ascertain the delivery destination and quantity of the products subsequently delivered from the wholesaler to the retailer. An object of the present invention is to make it possible to understand the inventory distribution of delivered products after the direct delivery destination.

An embodiment is shown in FIG. In the transaction of company A, company B, company C, and company D, the transaction between company A and company B is managed by the transaction management system 201 between companies AB. Similarly, transactions between company B and company C are managed by the transaction management system 202 between companies BC. Similarly, transactions between company B and company D are managed by the BD company transaction management system 203 . Each of the transaction management systems 201-203 sends the product ID, manufacturing lot ID, delivery quantity, delivery route information, and delivery date and time of the product delivered based on the inter-company transaction to the inventory information providing system 100. Send each. Each transaction management system 201-203 is operated by a computer executing a program. Communication between each transaction management system 201-203 and the inventory information providing system 100 is performed through the Internet or the like. Each transaction management system 201-203 is an independent system with different specifications, and the specifications of data to be transmitted to the inventory information providing system 100 are also different for each system.

The inventory information providing system 100 includes system adapters 101 to 103, a recording processing unit 104, a product delivery information DB 105, an inventory information generating unit 106, and an inventory information providing I/F 107. The system adapters 101-103, the recording processing unit 104, the inventory information generating unit 106, and the inventory information providing I/F are realized by executing programs on a computer. The product delivery information DB 105 is a database provided in a storage device.

System adapters 101-103 receive data transmitted from each transaction management system 201-203. Receipt of data occurs via a communication device. The AB system adapter 101 understands the specifications of the data transmitted from the AB intercompany transaction management system 201, and from the data, the product ID, production lot ID, delivery quantity, information indicating the delivery route, and delivery Information indicating the date and time is extracted, and product delivery information associated with this information is handed over to the recording processing unit 104 . Similarly, the BC system adapter 102 understands the specifications of the data transmitted from the BC intercompany transaction management system 202, and from the data, information indicating the product ID, manufacturing lot ID, delivery quantity, delivery route, Then, it extracts the information indicating the delivery date and time, and delivers the product delivery information associated with this information to the recording processing unit 104 . Similarly, the BD system adapter 103 understands the specifications of the data transmitted from the BD intercompany transaction management system 203, and from the data, information indicating the product ID, manufacturing lot ID, delivery quantity, delivery route, Then, it extracts the information indicating the delivery date and time, and delivers the product delivery information associated with this information to the recording processing unit 104 .

The recording processing unit 104 accumulates the product delivery information acquired from each system adapter 101 to 103 in the product delivery information DB 105 . FIG. 11 shows an example of product delivery information accumulated in the product delivery information DB 105. As shown in FIG. Here, as shown in the lower part of FIG. 10, company A delivers 100 products to company B, then company B delivers 50 products to company C, and company B delivers 40 products to company D. Suppose you have delivered.

In this case, the product delivery information indicated by symbol ab in FIG. The breakdown is that 100 products with product ID p001 are delivered from Company A to Company B at 12:00 on June 1st.

11 is transmitted from the BC intercompany transaction management system 202 and stored in the product delivery information DB 105 . The breakdown is that 50 products with product ID p001 are delivered from company B to company C at 18:00 on June 1st.

11 is transmitted from the BD intercompany transaction management system 203 and stored in the product delivery information DB 105. FIG. The breakdown is that 40 products with product ID p001 are delivered from company B to company D at 9:00 on June 2nd. Other products p002 and the like are similarly accumulated in the product delivery information DB 105 according to delivery results.

As mentioned earlier, the inter-company transaction management systems 201-203 do not share information with inter-company transaction management systems, and are operated in the form of closed systems. On the other hand, the inventory information providing system 100 is operated as an open system that collects and processes information from each closed system.

The inventory information generation unit 106 refers to the product delivery information accumulated in the product delivery information DB 105, and for the products shipped by the specified company, to show the distribution of inventory in companies downstream from the specified company. Calculate the inventory quantity of each company.

This operation is shown in FIG. For the purpose of explanation, it is assumed that the product delivery information shown in FIG. 11 is used as a premise, and product p001 shipped by company A is designated as a processing target. First, the inventory information generation unit 106 selects the product delivery information (record) ab with the specified company A as the delivery source for the specified product p001, and sets the delivery quantity of 100 pieces of the record ab to the delivery of the record. It is set as the stock quantity of company B (S1).

Subsequently, the inventory information generation unit 106 inspects the records in chronological order of delivery date and time from the previously selected record ab, and the specified product p001 is delivered by company B, which is the delivery destination of the previously selected record ab. Select the original records bc and bd (YES in S2 and S3).

Subsequently, the inventory information generation unit 106 subtracts the delivery quantity of 50 pieces of the selected record bc from the inventory quantity of company B, the delivery source of the record bc, and the inventory quantity of company C, the delivery destination of the record bc. set to Also, the delivery quantity of 40 pieces of the selected record bd is subtracted from the inventory quantity of company B, the delivery source of the record bd, and set to the inventory quantity of company D, the delivery destination of the record bd (S4). After that, the inventory information generator 106 repeats the processing from S2. In the example of FIG. 11, there is no record whose delivery source is Company C or Company D, which is the delivery destination of the previously selected record, so the process is terminated (NO in S2 and S3). As a result, the inventory quantity of the 100 products p001 delivered by company A is calculated as 10 for company B (100-50-40), 50 for company C, and 40 for company D.

The inventory information providing I/F 107 provides a user interface to the external inventory information requesting device 300 . Communication between the inventory information providing I/F 107 and the inventory information requesting device 300 is performed via a communication device and the Internet. The inventory information providing I/F 107 authenticates users of the inventory information requesting device 300 who use the inventory information providing system 100 . Here, A company is authenticated as a user. After that, the inventory information providing I/F 107 receives the designation of the product whose inventory is to be checked and the information request operation from the inventory information requesting device 300 . Here, p001 is specified as the product ID. The inventory information providing I/F 107, which has received the information request operation from the inventory information requesting device 300, delivers the authenticated identifier of company A and the specified product ID to the inventory information generation unit 106, and instructs the generation of inventory information. .

The inventory information generation unit 106 that has received the instruction calculates the inventory quantity distributed to each company as described above, and passes it to the inventory information provision I/F 107 . According to the example shown in FIG. 11, the inventory information generation unit 106 determines that the 100 products p001 shipped by company A are in inventory of 10 products p001 of company B, 50 products of company C, and 40 products of company D. The stock information indicating that the stock is available is passed to the stock information providing I/F 107 .

The inventory information provision I/F 107 formats the inventory information acquired from the inventory information generation unit 106 and transmits it to the inventory information requesting device 300 of the request source. The user of the inventory information requesting device 300 can know the downstream inventory distribution of the products shipped by the company, which can be useful for future product procurement planning.

According to this embodiment, by collecting transaction information managed by a plurality of closed systems with different specifications in an inventory information providing system as an open system, not only the company's inventory that can be grasped by the closed system but also downstream You can know the distribution of inventory including distribution destinations.

In addition, the inventory information providing I/F 107 may indicate to the delivery destination the current inventory quantity held by the delivery source. In this case, the inventory information providing I/F 107 receives from the inventory information requesting device 300 the identifier of the company authenticated as the user of the inventory information requesting device and the specification of the product ID. Here, it is assumed that p001 is received as the product ID and the identifier of company C is received as the user identifier. The inventory information generation unit 106 searches the product delivery information DB 105 for a record bc of product delivery information in which the product ID is p001 and the delivery destination indicated in the delivery route is Company C. The inventory information generation unit 106 determines the delivery source company indicated in the delivery route of the retrieved record bc, and reads out the inventory quantity p001 set for the delivery source company from the storage device. Then, the inventory information generation unit 106 passes the read inventory quantity to the inventory information provision I/F 107 . The inventory information providing I/F 107 transmits the inventory quantity handed over from the inventory information generating unit 106 to the inventory information requesting device 300 that requested the information.

The stock quantity of p001 held by company B can be calculated by the stock quantity calculation process shown in FIG. In this case, the record ab in which company B is the delivery destination indicated in the delivery route for the product p001 may be processed in step S1.

In this way, the delivery destination company can know the inventory quantity of the product held by the delivery source company, which is useful as a reference for measuring the timing of purchase. In addition, the inventory information providing system 100 acquires the inventory quantity of the product owned by the manufacturer from the transaction management system, thereby making it possible to indicate the inventory quantity to the downstream delivery destination through the inventory information request device 300. . In this case as well, downstream companies can know how much inventory the manufacturer has, which can be used as a reference for timing purchases.

1 reception unit 2 search unit 3 processing unit 10 distribution inventory information providing system 20 traceability system 21 storage unit 22 updating unit 30 information request terminal 40 information registration terminal 50 transaction management system 100 inventory information providing system 101, 102, 103 system adapter 104 record Processing unit 105 Product delivery information DB
106 Inventory information generation unit 107 Inventory information provision I/F
201, 202, 203 intercompany transaction management system 300 inventory information request device

Claims (3)

A system for providing an inventory quantity of an item to a requesting device, comprising:
a first system adapter compatible with a first system for managing a first business-to-business transaction and receiving first product delivery information from the system;
a second system adapter compatible with a second system for managing a second business-to-business transaction and receiving second product delivery information from the system;
a recording processing unit that accumulates the first product delivery information and the second product delivery information in a product delivery information DB;
Based on the delivery route and the delivery quantity of the product P included in the first product delivery information accumulated in the product delivery information DB, the delivery quantity is set to the inventory quantity of the delivery destination B indicated in the delivery route. After that, based on the delivery route and the delivery quantity of the product P contained in the second product delivery information accumulated in the product delivery information DB, the delivery quantity is calculated as the inventory quantity of the delivery source B indicated in the delivery route. an inventory information generation unit that calculates the inventory quantities of B and C by subtracting from and setting the delivery quantity to the inventory quantity of delivery destination C indicated on the delivery route;
An inventory information providing I/F for providing the inventory quantity calculated by the inventory information generating unit to the requesting device. A method of providing an inventory quantity of an item to a requesting device, comprising:
the processor
adapting to and receiving first product delivery information from a first system managing a first business-to-business transaction;
adapting to and receiving second product delivery information from a second system for managing a second business-to-business transaction;
a step of accumulating the first product delivery information and the second product delivery information in a product delivery information DB;
Based on the delivery route and the delivery quantity of the product P included in the first product delivery information accumulated in the product delivery information DB, the delivery quantity is set to the inventory quantity of the delivery destination B indicated in the delivery route. a step;
Based on the delivery route and the delivery quantity of the product P contained in the second product delivery information accumulated in the product delivery information DB, the delivery quantity is subtracted from the inventory quantity of the delivery source B indicated in the delivery route. and calculating the stock quantity of B and C by setting the delivery quantity to the stock quantity of delivery destination C indicated on the delivery route;
and providing the calculated inventory quantity to the requesting device. A program for providing an inventory quantity of an item to a requesting device, comprising:
adapting to and receiving first product delivery information from a first system managing a first business-to-business transaction;
adapting to and receiving second product delivery information from a second system for managing a second business-to-business transaction;
a step of accumulating the first product delivery information and the second product delivery information in a product delivery information DB;
Based on the delivery route and the delivery quantity of the product P included in the first product delivery information accumulated in the product delivery information DB, the delivery quantity is set to the inventory quantity of the delivery destination B indicated in the delivery route. a step;
Based on the delivery route and the delivery quantity of the product P included in the second product delivery information accumulated in the product delivery information DB, the delivery quantity is subtracted from the inventory quantity of the delivery source B indicated in the delivery route. and calculating the stock quantity of B and C by setting the delivery quantity to the stock quantity of delivery destination C indicated on the delivery route;
and a step of providing the calculated inventory quantity to the requesting device.

Images