FR3061584A1 - METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR MANAGING STOCKS OF PRESS ARTICLES AT DIFFERENT POINTS OF SALE - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method of counting press articles at different physical outlets or kiosks. According to the invention, the server periodically generates from the complete database, a simplified global file, the server periodically entering into communication with each kiosk terminal to transmit to each kiosk terminal which stores it in its memory card, the simplified subscription file and for the kiosk terminal to transmit to the server its local sales files from the previous period elapsed, the server periodically updating the complete database according to the information collected from the local sales files of the various terminals kiosks.

Description

Holder (s): simplified.

VDJ MANAGEMENT Joint stock company

O Extension request (s):

(® Agent (s): IP TRUST.

FR 3 061 584 - A1 (54) METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR MANAGING STOCKS OF PRESS ARTICLES AT DIFFERENT POINTS OF SALE.

(57) The present invention relates to a method of counting press articles at various physical outlets or kiosks.

According to the invention, the server periodically generates from the complete database, a simplified global file, the server entering periodically into communication with each kiosk terminal to transmit to each kiosk terminal which stores it in its memory card, the simplified subscription file and for the kiosk terminal to transmit its local sales files for the previous period to the server, the server periodically updating the complete database based on information gathered from the local sales files of the various terminals kiosks.

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METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR MANAGING STOCK OF PRESS ITEMS AT DIFFERENT POINTS OF SALE

Field of the invention

The present invention relates to the field of the press and more particularly that of the management of stocks of press articles distributed in different physical retail outlets, which will be called kiosks in the following.

The invention particularly relates to the implementation of a method of counting press articles present in kiosks, from the count of the withdrawal of press articles by users from different kiosks.

This process thus makes it possible to know in real time the stocks of different press articles at different points of sale, and thus gives the possibility to the distributors of these press articles to replenish certain kiosks if necessary and to adapt the quantity of articles press to distribute to each kiosk according to the trends emerging from the analysis of stocks in progress.

State of the art and its drawbacks

Document US 8117095 relates to a system and method for tracking, controlling, optimizing and managing the delivery to consumers and to retail outlets of perishable and time sensitive goods, such as newspapers, periodicals and promotional documents for consumers, subscribers and non-subscribers.

This system involves a web server, a database server and portable computers, cooperating to optimize a delivery route which is displayed on the deliverers' laptops and further capable of collecting information along the route. . The information collected is communicated to the database for billing, reporting and analysis. System functionality includes tracking of deliveries made, delivery planning tools, sequencing distribution points along a trip or route, and capturing signatures of managers receiving goods.

This system thus allows an optimization of the delivery route of the products but is ineffective for improving the management of stocks of the products delivered.

International application WO02099583 relates to a system designed for the sale of magazines with a bar code. This system includes a distributor and a reseller. The distributor provides at least one magazine with a barcode to the reseller, who sells the magazine by sale by scanning the magazine, thereby generating information relating to commercial payment which can be transmitted to the distributor. This system allows electronic exchange of data relating to the sale of the magazine by scan between a central site and several remote users. This system includes a central server; at least one database installed on the server, which contains data representing information associated with the payment of the reseller of at least one magazine sale based on the scan of the magazine barcode. The database also contains at least one product price, a UPC code, a bipad number, product availability, a product and publishing distributor, and at least one remote computer terminal equipped with an input device for produce input data, and an output device. The remote terminal is connected to the central server so as to allow data transmission between the central server and the remote terminal.

This system thus makes it possible to know the number of magazines sold by distributor thanks to the bar code affixed on the magazine.

However, this system is dependent on the presence on the magazine of a bar code responding to a particular formalism so that the magazine can be identified, so that its distributor can be recognized, which makes this system hermetic to magazines containing codes bars not responding to this formalism or to magazines carrying other means of identification than a bar code.

It is also dependent on the quality of the remote connection between the kiosk and the remote server in order to correctly record the sales made by the kiosk.

In addition, this system is ineffective for retaining customers at a particular point of sale or kiosk and thus perpetuating the network of kiosks in a city. It has no impact on the cultural heritage of a district or a city and on the conservation of social ties.

Solution proposed by the invention

In order to remedy these drawbacks, the invention relates, according to its most general acceptance, to a method of counting press articles at various physical outlets or kiosks, from the count of the withdrawal of these articles by users from different kiosks.

According to the invention, the method comprises:

- respective identifiers for each user of the system, such as a QR code, barcode or electronic chip for the readers of user identifiers located respectively within the various kiosks of the system

- kiosk terminals each provided:

* a means of communication with the corresponding identifier reader * means of communication with a GSM, wifi and 3G network * a communication interface with a kiosk user including computer objects presenting information corresponding to the identifier read by the reader and generating a local sales file each time the identifier is read, the local sales file comprising a means of identifying the kiosk, a means of identifying the user and information on the item (s) press recovered by the user * from a memory card capable of storing local sales files

- a remote server provided with a memory card for storing a detailed database on users and their subscriptions

- mobile terminals of users each provided with means of communication with a GSM, wifi and 3G network

According to the invention, the server periodically generates from the complete database, a simplified global file containing a succession of groups of characters separated two by two by a space, the positioning of each group of digits in the succession of groups of digits, corresponding to a user identifier mentioned in the database, and including a character representative of the number of different press articles to which the user is subscribed, a character representative of the type of daily newspaper to which the user subscribes, a representative character of the subscription status.

The server periodically enters into communication with each kiosk terminal to transmit to each kiosk terminal which stores it in its memory card, the simplified subscription file and so that the kiosk terminal transmits its local sales files for the period to the server. previous past.

The server periodically updates the complete database based on the information collected from the local sales files of the various kiosk terminals.

The server generated punctually the emission of a message on the mobile terminal of a user having modified his subscription after the last period has elapsed and before the periodic entry into communication with each kiosk terminal so that the user can be supplied with daily even if the subscription was provisioned after the simplified file was last updated and the kiosk terminal is located in a non-connectivity area preventing it from connecting to the server.

According to other interesting features of the invention:

the server and the kiosk terminals communicate via a terminal located close to the server and provided with means of communication with a GSM, wifi and 3G network

- the local sales files are of SMS type and transmitted to the server terminal

- the simplified qlobal file is of type text

Detailed description of an embodiment

The invention relates to a system and a method making it possible to count the sales of different types of press articles made by different kiosks and to know for each kiosk periodically, the number of press articles present in real time or periodically, this number being communicated to the distributor of the press article for each kiosk so that it adjusts the number of articles to be delivered later according to the trend released by the sales made.

In addition, via a subscription card to a particular kiosk, the system and method according to the invention allow the loyalty of the clientele at points of sale constituting the cultural heritage and the social bond of a district or of a city, that these kiosks are located in areas with high as well as low connectivity.

To achieve these objectives, the system according

The invention includes:

subscription cards for the various users and consumers of press articles, in the form of physical cards bearing respective identifiers for each user of the system, of the QR code, barcode or electronic chip type

- readers of user identifiers, of the scanner type, located respectively within the different kiosks of the system, capable of reading the identifier displayed on the subscription cards, kiosk terminals, of the fixed terminal or mobile type such as a tablet or smartphone each with:

* a means of communication with the scanner of the corresponding kiosk * means of communication with a GSM, wifi and 3G network * of a communication interface with a kiosk user including computer objects presenting information corresponding to the identifier read by the reader and generating a local sales file each time the identifier is read, the local sales file comprising a means of identifying the kiosk, a means of identifying the user and information on the item (s) ) of press recovered by the user. The is preferably of SMS type and very small local sales file. It can for example be a series of characters: "number identifying the sales kiosk" "number identifying the user" "number identifying the first daily newspaper retrieved", possibly "number identifying the nth daily newspaper retrieved". It is transmitted in real time when the kiosk is located in an area with sufficient connectivity.

* a memory card capable of storing local sales files

a remote server provided with a memory card for storing a detailed database on the users and their subscriptions, associated with a mobile terminal of the smart phone type disposed near the server and provided with means of communication with the server of preferably via a wifi network and with kiosk terminals preferably via a GSM network

- mobile terminals of users each provided with means of communication with a GSM, wifi and 3G network, of the smartphone or tablet type.

According to the invention, the server periodically generates from the complete database, a simplified global file containing a succession of groups of characters XY ₁ ... Y _i ... Y _x l or XY ₁ ... Y _i ... Y _x 0 separated two by two by a space, the positioning of each group of characters in the succession of groups of characters, corresponding to a user identifier mentioned in the database, and including a character representative of the number of different press articles to which the user has subscribed, a character representative of the type of daily newspaper to which the user is subscribed, a character representative of the status of the subscription (supplied: 1 or not supplied: 0). For example, the sequence of characters "212131" positioned in 10 ^th in the simplified global file, will correspond to the information of user number 10 of the complete database, who is subscribed to two press articles (figure 2), to know “12”: Liberation® and “13”: Le Monde®, and whose subscription is supplied (figure 1).

This file is preferably of type text (extension txt). Its constitution in the form of a succession of groups of characters separated by a space endows it with a reduced size ensuring fast transmission even for a large number of subscribers and / or kiosk, and even in areas of low connectivity, via the 3G or 4G network when the latter is available, failing this via the wifi network, and again failing this via the GSM network.

The kiosk terminal interface is configured to intelligibly display the name of the daily newspaper to which the user is subscribed and the status of his subscription contained in the group of characters corresponding to the user in the simplified file. This interface will display a computer object allowing the kiosk to indicate that the newspaper has been picked up by the user, a computer object capable of modifying the local sales file and indicate for this user the newspaper that has been picked up.

The system provides for a periodic update of the simplified files loaded on kiosk terminals, thus making it possible to integrate into this file the modifications which have occurred in the subscriptions of the users during the past period (for example 24 hours) either due to the user. who replenished their subscription during this period with online payment on a dedicated website (or on an application loaded on their smartphone) or directly with the kiosk operator via the kiosk terminal and a means of payment in communication with the latter, either due to the withdrawal of daily newspaper (s) by a user within a kiosk.

For this purpose, the server periodically, for example each night has a fixed time, or in real time:

- integrates into the database the subscription modifications which have occurred in an elapsed period due to the replenishment of user accounts,

- on this same occasion, kiosk terminals which were unable to transmit their local sales files in real time due to a problem with connectivity to the communication networks, transmit these local sales files to the server which integrates the corresponding data in its database and in the simplified file

- once the account replenishment data for all users and the local sales files for all kiosk terminals have been retrieved by the server, it updates in real time or periodically based on the information received, the simplified file

- when the simplified file is updated, the server enters into communication with each kiosk terminal to transmit to each kiosk terminal which stores it in its memory card, the simplified updated subscription file.

The preferred embodiment for the communication between the server and the kiosk terminals is a periodic communication rather than in real time to alleviate the problem of connectivity that some kiosks may encounter. For this purpose, the entry into communication of the server with the kiosk terminals will be carried out periodically and at a time when the probability that the kiosk terminals are in an area with correct connectivity is greater than 90% (for example at night hours at which the kiosks left the kiosk and are located at their home), which guarantees a good transmission to each of the kiosk terminals of the simplified subscription file and a good transmission of the local sales files of each kiosk terminal to the server for the previous elapsed period.

The system also provides a solution to take into account the replenishment by a user of his subscription made after the last update, and allow daily even with connectivity.

To this end, the transmission of a message on the user to retrieve their kiosk in a weak server area occasionally generates a mobile terminal for a user who has modified their subscription after the last period has elapsed and before the periodic entry in communication with each kiosk terminal.

The user can present this message to the kiosk and retrieve their daily newspaper.

π

Newspaper distributors may be equipped with terminals in communication with the server and know by kiosk, the number of press articles removed daily. Knowing the number of press articles supplied to each booth, they can deduce the number of unsold items and schedule future press article deliveries accordingly.

Claims (5)

Claims 1. Method for counting press articles distributed in different physical points of sale or kiosks, from the count of the withdrawal of press articles by users from different kiosks, the method comprising: - respective identifiers for each user of the system, such as a QR code, barcode or electronic chip for the identifiers readers located respectively within the various kiosks of the system - kiosk terminals each provided: * a means of communication with the corresponding identifier reader * means of communication with a GSM, wifi and 3G network * a communication interface with a kiosk user including computer objects presenting information corresponding to the identifier read by the reader and generating a local sales file each time the identifier is read, the sales file comprising a means of identifying the kiosk, a means of identifying the user and information on the press article (s) recovered by the user * from a memory card capable of storing local sales files - a remote server provided with a memory card for storing a detailed database on users and their subscriptions - mobile terminals of users each provided with means of communication with a GSM, wifi and 3G network, a process in which the server periodically generates from the complete database, a simplified global file containing a succession of groups of separate characters two by two with a space, the positioning of each group of digits in the succession of groups of digits, corresponding to a user identifier mentioned in the database, and including a character representative of the number of different press articles at which the user is subscribed, a character representative of the type of daily newspaper to which the user is subscribed, a character representative of the status of the subscription, in which the server periodically enters into communication with each kiosk terminal to transmit to each kiosk terminal which stores it in its memory card, the simplified subscription file and so that the termi kiosk nal transmits its local sales files for the previous period to the server, and in which the server periodically updates the complete database based on the information collected from the local sales files of the various kiosk terminals. 2. Method according to claim 1, in which the server punctually generates the emission of a message on the mobile terminal of a user having modified his subscription after the last period has elapsed and before the periodic entry into communication with each terminal of kiosk so that the user can be supplied on a daily basis even if the supply of his subscription was made after the last update of the simplified file and the kiosk terminal is located in a non-connectivity area preventing him from connecting to the server. 3. Method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the server and the kiosk terminals communicate via a terminal disposed near the server of the same type as the kiosk terminals. 4. Method according to claim 3, in which the kiosk terminals are of the smart phone type and local sales files are of the SMS type and transmitted to the server terminal. 5. Method according to one of the preceding claims, in which the simplified global file is of text type.