ITRM990198A1 - SYSTEM FOR THE DISTRIBUTION OF TOBACCO PRODUCTS. - Google Patents

Description

DESCRIPTION

The present invention relates to a system for the distribution of products for tobacconists.

In particular, the system according to the invention relates to the control of all phases of distribution of the aforementioned products from arrival in the storage warehouse to delivery to retailers.

The current method of processing products for tobacconists (for example packets of cigarettes, cigars and so on) provides for the collection of products to be delivered to retailers exclusively with the support / a paper document. This document, similar to common delivery notes, contains the list of products that the owner reseller must receive, with the relative quantities. The withdrawal of these quantities then takes place by walking through the distribution warehouse with the aforementioned document in hand, looking for each of the products indicated in the document itself according to the sequence shown therein, which does not necessarily correspond to the order of physical arrangement of the products. Once a certain product has been identified, the quantity is counted and the latter is placed in a special container or on a special support.

It is clear that in the distribution mode described above, the operator must continually shift his gaze from the sheet of paper to the placement area of the products sought and keep in mind the quantity to be withdrawn. It is therefore easy to run into reading errors. (reading a wrong line or omitting one or more lines) and withdrawal of the correct quantity (for example for distractions that alter the stored quantity, for confusion between the stored quantities relating to different products or for inversion of the memorized figures relating to the quantity to be taken). Furthermore, in the distribution procedure described above, the processing speed is strongly dependent on the operator's experience, as expert operators will have memorized the location of the various products, and on the operating time (in the sense that the continuous changes of focus in the visual search for a certain product on the document and in the warehouse they cause an accumulation of fatigue which slows down the distribution process). It should also be noted that, in order not to confuse the operators, the positioning of the products tends to always remain the same, regardless of considerations relating to the optimization of the paths and spaces of the warehouse as the demand for the various products varies. A further disadvantage of the known technique described above lies in the fact that the checks on the correct withdrawal of the requested products are carried out only when the list contained in the aforementioned document relating to a single retailer has been exhausted (and also, as is current use, at the end of the processing of the set of bills relating to a certain date). This implies that the control itself and any corrections require a considerable time, and on average even comparable with that used for the distribution itself.

The present invention solves the problems mentioned above, since it provides a system for the distribution of products for tobacconists, comprising:

- a host data import unit, suitable for transforming external operational data into information inside the distribution system; - a distribution management unit, arranged in cascade to said host data import unit,

- a control unit for the distribution process; And

- display means, suitable for showing information relating to said products.

Advantageous features of the present invention are provided in the dependent claims thereof.

A first advantage of the present invention is that of providing for the automated control of all the distribution operations by means of a specialized information system with specific programs and functions for the type of product treated.

A second advantage is then given by the presence of display means, which allow to drastically reduce the errors of the operators discussed with reference to the known art.

In addition to a punctual and effective support to operations carried out up to now manually, the present invention allows to. obtain considerable improvements in terms of time and quality of execution and human efforts necessary for the execution of the production process. In particular, the distribution system object of the present invention possesses properties of integrability, scalability, speed, accuracy, controllability, traceability, induced and intrinsic safety and reliability, as described below.

Integration into any existing reality. The distribution system object of the present invention can be composed in any shape, certainly respecting the geometries of the existing production spaces, due to the limits in the maximum connection distance (equal to about 1/2 Km) with flexible cable with a diameter of less than 6 mm and for the reduced distance of the display devices.

Scalability of implementation. The distribution system can be expanded to promptly adapt to changing production needs, without the need for redesign or restructuring.

Speed of the production process. The execution times of the production process are greatly reduced. To the reduction of. execution times of the elementary operations that make up the distribution process contribute to the following factors: (1) operators no longer have to read paper documents, thanks to the presence of display devices placed in correspondence with each product; (2) operators do not have to carry out operations in mind for the transformation of the quantities proposed; (3) the form of presentation of the data dynamically adapts to the situation to be treated; (4) the paths of the operators are dynamically optimized according to the loads and the frequency of the operations to be carried out.

Accuracy of the production process. The production process is significantly more accurate than the "traditional" execution. The following factors contribute to this improvement: (1) operators do not have to mentally memorize the quantities for withdrawals; (2) operators do not have to continually shift the point of attention of their gaze from one quantity to another, thanks to the presence of the aforementioned display devices; (3) the distance of the device for displaying the quantity from the physical location of the product does not allow accidental "product exchange" errors; (4) the size of the data presented on each display device does not allow for errors of interpretation; (5) the form of presentation, which does not require mental transformation of the quantity, does not allow for calculation errors; (6) any operator error is signaled, at the point in which it was committed, within a time interval of less than 2 seconds by means of an acoustic and visual signal; (7) all notable cases are automatically reported to operators in a non-confusing way.

Controllability of the production process. At any time it is possible to produce paper supports or terminal information regarding supply or remaining balances for each product, customer and operator. On the basis of the characteristics of these entities, forms of data aggregation are also possible, in order to facilitate checks by type of work.

Traceability of the production process. All operations performed on the system are parallel. recorded in a processing "log", by examining which it is possible to trace the circumstances and. to the operations carried out for each processing instant.

Intrinsic safety of the production process. The communication techniques between the various devices and the validation of information in transit are designed to ensure the impossibility of an error that cannot be instantly detected by the operators at the time of execution of the distribution operations. There are also automatic recovery mechanisms or alternative forms of execution, such as not to block the production cycle, for many of the possible anomalies.

The present invention will be described hereinafter through its preferred embodiments, presented by way of non-limiting example. Reference will be made to the figures of the annexed drawings, in which:

Figure 1 shows a block diagram relating to the various working units of the distribution process;

Figure 2 shows a block diagram describing the component of importing summary inventory and sales data; Figure 3 shows a block diagram describing the analytical sales data import component;

Figure 4 shows a flow chart that schematically illustrates the components that make up the actual distribution unit;

figure 5 shows a flow diagram relating to the operating mode in the case of distribution of multiple products for a single customer;

figure 6 shows a flow diagram relating to the operating mode in the case of distribution of a single product for multiple customers; figure 7 shows a distribution apparatus which can be associated with the distribution system object of the present invention; Figure 8 shows a structure of. product support of the distribution apparatus in figure 7; And

figure 9 shows a display unit of the distribution apparatus of figure 7.

The system according to the present invention can be advantageously associated with a distribution apparatus, which comprises:

- an information system, equipped with specific programs to manage a product distribution system;

- terminals connected to each other via a local network, by means of which operators can interact with said information system;

- printing units, managed, through said local network, by said information system;

- display devices, also managed, through said local network, by said information system.

Each operator interacts with the information system by means of terminals, through which he can select the parameters of the distribution system and its working methods, as described below. This interaction between terminal and operator can take place via keyboard, touch screen, voice input systems or bar code readers with which the terminal itself is equipped. These terminals are also equipped with devices for managing the operator access procedure to the information system. Such devices consist, for example, of a keyboard, for manual selection of the name and. any access code, in a magnetic, optical or barcode reader for reading a personal identification card, or in a voice input type system.

A display device is placed in close proximity to each type of fomible product, and displays information relating to the product itself, which varies according to the working mode and the parameters chosen by the operator from those manageable by the. informative system. The dimensions of the viewers of the display devices are designed in such a way as to be optimal for the type of function that the devices themselves fulfill as part of the distribution process. Each display device has various display attributes, managed by the information system, which include color display, flashing, left or right scrolling of the information displayed, and is also equipped with programmable frequency acoustic signaling systems. These attributes allow for timely reporting. and unequivocally any error deriving from the operators, and therefore, together with the aforementioned positioning of the display devices and the optimal dimensions of the viewers, keep the performance of the operators themselves high and, consequently, that of the distribution process, even for prolonged periods of time. .

The printing units produce different information on paper or similar media depending on the working mode and the parameters selected by the operator, even in various formats (for example labels).

With reference first of all to Figure 1, a block diagram is shown relating to the various processing stages of the distribution process.

A first unit represented in the figure is suitable for importing data from host. The purpose of this unit is to transform the operational data produced by the official information systems of the Italian Tobacco Authority (ETI) into information within the distribution system.

The aforesaid unit comprises in particular three components. A first component is suitable for importing summary inventory and sales data and relates to a first official file format model currently in use, the U1017 model. A second component is suitable for importing analytical sales data and is related to a second official file format model currently in use, the U13 model. The third component is finally able to verify the balance between the analytical data and the imported synthetic data.

These three components will be illustrated in greater detail below.

1) Component for importing summary warehouse and sales data As mentioned above, this component receives in input a file in the U1017 format containing the sales data for each product and for a single date. The purpose of this component is to convert the format of the data contained in this file into a format suitable for use by the distribution system.

Figure 2 shows in particular a block diagram which indicates the operations carried out in order to obtain the aforementioned conversion. With reference to this figure, the presence of a first control operation is noted which verifies the presence .0 less of syntactic and / or semantic anomalies. In the event of such anomalies in the imported data, the information relating to the discrepancies detected is produced on paper and on a special conversion "log". Such information can for example be complete information on the characteristics of the files, complete information on the record, information on the types of errors detected; and information on the instant in which the survey took place.

Subsequent operations that take place in the component in question are related to updating the historical database and the processing database.

2) Import component of analytical sales data

As mentioned above, this component receives a. file in U13 format containing sales data for each customer and for each product and relating to a single date. The purpose of this component is to convert the format of the data contained in this file into a format suitable for use by the distribution system.

Figure 3 shows a block diagram indicating the operations carried out in order to obtain the aforementioned conversion. With reference to this figure, the presence of a first control operation is also noted here, which verifies whether or not syntactic and / or semantic anomalies arise. In the event of such anomalies in the imported data, the information relating to the discrepancies detected will also be produced on paper and on a special conversion log. The information may be of the type described above with reference to the synthetic data import component.

A subsequent operation that occurs in the component in question relates to updating the processing database.

3) Quadrature component between analytical data and synthetic data

As mentioned above, this component checks the balance between the analytical data (analytical file U1017) and synthetic data (synthetic file U13). The comparison between these data takes place at each transmission of the same.

Returning to Figure 1, it is noted here that the host data import unit makes the received data available to subsequent units, relating to the actual distribution process, only where a perfect quadrature has been obtained, both in terms of quantity of product and by sales currency.

In particular, the host data import unit produces the following reports for each data transfer:

1. list of all converted supplies aggregated by product;

2. list of all converted supplies aggregated by customer;

3. quadrature control, for each single resale, of the analytical supplies and of the declared total; And

4. list of anomalies detected.

Again with reference to Figure 1, the distribution management unit arranged in cascade to the host data import unit will be described below, in turn composed of four components, described in detail below. In particular, a product configuration component, a customer configuration component, a distribution warehouse configuration component and a distribution component are provided.

1) Product configuration component

This component allows you to view all the attributes of the "product" entity that have been received from the host data import unit, to modify them and integrate them with other specific attributes of the distribution system. Through this it is also possible to create references in the system for new products or delete those no longer in use.

The component in question also allows you to create one or more associations between products and physical distribution structures. In other words, this allows the storage of the physical position relative to each product. In correspondence with this physical position, the supply quantities assigned to each customer will be automatically reported on said display means, in a clear and legible form. A first advantageous embodiment is such as to provide for the predetermined memorization of a plurality of product configurations as a function of specific distribution requirements. A second advantageous way of manufacturing allows the modification, during processing, of an existing configuration.

2) Customer configuration component

This component allows you to view all the attributes of the "customer" entity that have been received by the host data import unit, to modify them and integrate them with other specific attributes of the distribution system. Through this it is also possible to create references in the system for new customers or delete those no longer in use. The component in question also allows you to create one or more associations between customers and physical distribution structures. In other words, this allows the storage of the physical position relating to each customer. At that position. the supply quantities of each product assigned to a customer will be reported through said display means.

A first advantageous embodiment is such as to provide for the predetermined memorization of a plurality of customer configurations as a function of specific distribution needs. A second advantageous way of manufacturing allows the modification, during processing, of an existing configuration.

3) Configuration component of the distribution warehouse This component provides for the possibility of separate or simultaneous definition of settings according to a logic per customer and per product.

4) Distribution component

This component represents the central part of the entire distribution system. This allows you to carry out and control the operations of assigning products to customers based on the quantities requested by them. In particular, procedures are provided to support the most common distribution techniques in order to facilitate the operator in using the methods that, from time to time, are more convenient for carrying out the work. Once the operator has the necessary qualifications to make changes within the information system, he will be able to make autonomous choices on the use of the system in all the options it presents. In particular, it will be possible to determine characteristics such as the distribution method, the level of help that the system provides, the display methods, the set of products to operate on, the ordering of products, the set of customers on which to operate, the sorting of customers and the production of reports on the occurrence of particular events.

All the choices of each individual operator are stored and automatically available at the time of subsequent identification of the operator himself on the information system, even if access occurs from an operating terminal other than that normally used by the operator in question.

The following figure 4 shows a flow diagram which schematically illustrates the operating modes of the distribution component. In particular, an operator access function, a function for selecting a set of customers and a function for selecting a set of products are provided.

1) Operator access function

This function makes it possible to identify each individual operator by verifying their access rights and setting up their operating parameters. Access can be done using different methods: manual selection of the name and any access code, personal card (magnetic, bar code, proximity, etc.), voice input.

An advantageous embodiment provides that, at the time of access by a new operator, the automatic execution of a stock verification procedure is started for the incoming operator and an activity report is produced for the ceasing operator.

2) Selection function of a group of customers

This function allows you to select a certain subgroup within the overall customer database, according to one or a combination of the following criteria, delivery date, type of customer, type of goods transport, waiting list and priority of disposal.

3) Product selection function

This function allows you to select a certain subgroup, within the database of the overall requested products, according to one or a combination of the following criteria: delivery date, type of product, global quantity of products in distribution and disposal priority.

The system according to the present invention is such as to provide for the presence of three different types of product-customer distribution, namely a method of distributing multiple products for a single customer, a method of distributing single product for multiple customers and a method of distributing products. multiple for multiple customers.

Method of distributing multiple products for single customer fPm - Cs ~) In this mode, the operator chooses a single customer from the group selected as specified above and proposed on the operating terminal, and for this customer the quantities of the requested products are collected.

To allow distribution, the system must be set up by loading each active space intended for distribution with an adequate amount of product. To do this, the distribution system provides a manual or automatic loading procedure. The difference between manual procedure and automatic procedure is given by the fact that in the first the operator can arbitrarily define the quantity of product to be placed, while in the second this quantity is proposed by the system itself according to an optimization based on the following parameters:

1. dimensions of the product;

2. dimensions of the distribution space for each product;

3. statistical frequency of product request; And

4. arbitrary coefficient associated with each product in the configuration phase.

As part of this method, the distribution system may provide for the presence of three working methods, complementary to each other, as illustrated below.

^ Operating mode

A flow chart relating to this method is shown in Figure 5. In particular, the repetition of the operation of selecting a customer and the withdrawal of the quantities of products requested by the latter is envisaged, until the customers to be served are exhausted. Client selection can be done through one of the following methods:

1. manual selection via keyboard;

2. manual selection via touch-screen;

3. manual selection by voice command;

4. automatic selection by reading the bar code of the accompanying document (if present); or

5. automatic selection by the system, if set for synchronous processing on a pre-sorted list.

The quantities associated with the customer for each product are presented on display units arranged near the product itself. The methods of presenting the quantities on these display units, which may be specific to each product, are those chosen by the operator or those optimized automatically proposed by the system. The pieces can, for example, be expressed in the <cartons: sticks: packages> format and the weight in the <kg: grams> format.

Note that in the type of product-customer distribution in question, the distribution apparatus can be equipped with load cells for controlling the manual operations performed by the operators. This allows a real-time verification of the correctness of the single operation carried out by each operator, a correctness that can be verified on said display units. Thanks to this verification in real time, the controls, which have been mentioned with reference to the known art, are no longer necessary at the end of the preparation of the supply for a single customer or at the end of the processing of the set of bills relating to a certain date. This involves a considerable saving in time and the safety of a process with total quality certifiable with zero or known error.

Intermediate forms of display are also possible which exclude one or more of the information to be presented, for particular operations or operational convenience. In order to highlight particular situations, such as an error on the part of the operators in the withdrawal of a certain quantity of product, display attributes are also available on each display unit which may include the color of the numbers lit (even only on some digits between those on), flashing frequency (even only of some digits among those on), right or left scrolling of the information displayed and acoustic signal at programmable frequency. As already noted above, the presence of the display units and the attributes they are equipped with allows to drastically reduce human errors, as well as to significantly increase the efficiency of the distribution process.

On the operator's access terminal, in correspondence with each distribution request, the distribution data is presented in aggregate form. In particular, there are the following forms of aggregation on products:

1. total bill of exchange;

2. total by origin;

3. total by type of processing; And

4. total by processing sector.

Depending on the activated parameters, the system can produce, at the same time as the distribution phase, also printouts relating to the identification label of the picking lot, the list of picked products and the list of products for manual picking.

At the end of the distribution for each customer, all the progress indicators of the work for each operator are also updated on the screen. In particular, the following indicators are available:

1. processing time of the last customer;

2. average processing time per customer,

3. total number of clients worked with respect to the total number of clients to work; 4. total (numerical) of the processed products compared to the total of the products to be processed;

5. total (by weight) of the processed products compared to the total of the products to be processed;

6. overall processing time;

7. estimated residual processing time; And

8. processing time for the active operator.

Inventory control method

This mode allows, at any time; at the request of the operator or on the occasion of a change of operator, to display on the display units, in correspondence with each physical product, the quantity of the same that until that moment must still be available for distribution. It is possible to display on the display units, depending on the parameters set, one of the following calculation formulas for the remanence values:

1. difference between the total quantity present in the warehouse and that distributed up to the moment of the check;

2. difference between the quantity loaded in the space relating to the product and that distributed up to the moment of the check; And

3. difference between the quantity present in a whole carton of product and that distributed up to the moment of control.

The presentation forms available are usually pieces expressed in the format <cartons: sticks: packages> and weight expressed in the format <kg: grams>.

Also in this case, intermediate forms of display are possible.

they exclude one or more of the information to be presented, for particular operations or operational convenience. It is also possible to report to the system any discrepancies between the indicated value and the verified one, for example by using two buttons with the function of increasing and decreasing the current value.

Breakage control mode

This mode allows, at any time, at the request of the operator, to view on the display units, in correspondence with each physical product, the quantity of the same that has been declared unsaleable (for example because broken) with the appropriate procedure.

The forms of presentation available are also in this case pieces expressed in the format <cartons: sticks: packages> and weight expressed in the format <kg: grams>.

Here, too, intermediate forms of display will also be possible or reports to the system of any discrepancies between the indicated value and the verified one.

Single product distribution mode for multiple customers (Ps - Cm) In this mode the operator chooses a single product from the selected group as specified above and proposed on the operating terminal, and for this product the quantities are placed in the spaces reserved for each individual customer.

As part of this distribution method, the distribution system may provide for the working methods illustrated below.

Operative mode. A flow chart relating to this mode is shown in figure 6. In particular, the repetition of the selection operation of a product and its distribution is envisaged, until the products to be supplied are exhausted.

The selection of the product can take place through one of the methods set out at the time with reference to the operating mode of the previous case, with the only difference that the bar code (if present) will in this case be expected to be placed on the product and not on a document. Accompanying.

The quantities associated with the individual customers for the selected product are presented on the display devices located <1> in the vicinity of the customer. The form of presentation on the display unit, which can be specific to each. product, is the one chosen by the operator or the optimized one proposed automatically by the system. Examples of available presentation forms are usually given by the pieces expressed in the format <cartons: sticks: packages> and by the weight expressed in the format <kg: grams>.

As already mentioned several times, intermediate forms of display are also possible which exclude one or more of the information to be presented, for particular operations or operational convenience. In order to highlight particular situations, display attributes are also available on each display device which may include: color of the numbers lit (even only on some digits among those lit); flashing frequency (even if only a few digits are lit); left or right scrolling of the information displayed, and acoustic signal at programmable frequency.

Note that even in this type of customer product distribution, the distribution apparatus can be equipped with load cells for controlling the manual operations carried out by the operators and related display options on the display units, according to methods identical to those described with reference to the method of distributing multiple products for a single customer (Pm - Cs).

On the operator's access terminal, in correspondence with each distribution request, the distribution data is presented in aggregate form. In particular, there are the following forms of aggregation on the selected product:

1. grand total;

2. total by type of processing; And

3. total by processing sector.

Depending on the activated parameters, the system can produce, at the same time as the distribution phase, also the printouts relating to the identification label of the distributed product, to the list of customers supplied by product, to the list of customers not viewable for the selected product and to the bill of contents of the supply by customer.

At the end of the distribution for each product, all the progress indicators of the work for each operator are also updated on the screen. In particular, the following indicators are available;

1. processing time of the last product;

2. average processing time per product;

3. total number of clients worked with respect to the total number of clients to work; 4. total (numerical) of the products to be processed compared to the total of the products to be processed;

5. total (by weight) of the products to be processed compared to the total of the products to be processed;

6. overall processing time,

7. estimated residual processing time; And

8. processing time for the active operator.

System unloading

Upon completion of the distribution or in any case when requested, it is possible to download the spaces relating to customers, receiving the necessary support from the system.

This mode allows the display of useful information for the sequencing of containers for ejection from the distribution area.

In particular, the following indications are available:

1. customer code and customer name;

2. progressive direct discharge;

3. progressive reverse discharge; And

4. code of the transport and stopover tour within this

To highlight particular situations, display attributes are also available on each display unit that include: color of the numbers lit (even only on some digits among those lit) and flashing frequency.

Depending on the activated parameters, the system can also produce the following printouts at the same time as the unloading phase: 1. customer identification label;

2. list of downloaded customers;

3. delivery note; And

4. transport document.

Distribution method Multiple products for multiple customers (Pm - Cml In this mode the operator chooses a set of customers and products simultaneously and for these he / she picks up the quantities of the requested products. Using this operating procedure it is not necessary to set up or unloading of temporary storage facilities (typical of the two previous methods).

The customer can be selected indifferently through one of the following methods:

1. manual selection via keyboard;

2. manual selection via touch-screen;

3. manual selection by voice command;

4. automatic selection by reading the product barcode or accompanying document (if present); And

5. automatic selection by the system, if set for synchronous processing on a pre-sorted list.

The quantities associated with each customer, for each product to be supplied, are presented on video. The form of presentation on video, for each product, is the one chosen by the operator or the optimized one proposed automatically by the system.

The forms of presentation available are those already mentioned above.

Depending on the activated parameters, the system can produce the printouts relating to the identification label of the picking lot, the list of the products picked and the product list for manual picking.

At the end of the distribution relating to each product or customer, all the progress indicators of the work for each operator are also updated on the screen.

In particular, the following indicators are available:

1. processing time of the last product,

2. average processing time per product;

3. processing time of the last customer,

4. average processing time per customer;

5. total number of customers worked with respect to the total number of customers to be worked;

6. total (numerical) of the products to be processed compared to the total of the products to be processed;

7. total (by weight) of the products to be processed compared to the total of the products to be processed;

8. overall processing time;

9. estimated residual processing time; And

10. processing time for the active operator.

With reference again to the diagram in Figure 1, the process control unit will be described below. This unit includes components designed to ensure instant control of the work phases and statistical indications of performance and yield, in particular a component for monitoring the distribution situation, a component for statistical distribution analysis by operator, a component for statistical distribution analysis for product and a statistical analysis component of distribution per customer.

1) Distribution situation monitoring component

This component allows you to view, with periodic updates, the progress of the machining even remotely with respect to the machining area. The data is made available in both graphic and numerical format. Through the statistical parameters that the system processes and stores in its internal structures, it is also possible to have projection indications on the scheduled times for the end of operations as well as the simulation of changes according to the modification of operating conditions.

2) Component of statistical distribution analysis by operator

This component provides average information, trends or instantaneous values relating to the operations carried out by the distribution operators. For the purpose of extracting the results, the selection of the following parameters is envisaged:

1. single or multiple operator; And

2. date range.

3) Statistical analysis component of distribution by product

This component provides average information, trends or instantaneous values relating to the operations carried out and the quantities handled for each product. For the purposes of extracting the results, the selection of the following parameters is envisaged:

1. product or product class,

2. date range.

4) Component of statistical analysis of distribution by customer

This component allows you to have average indications, trends or instantaneous values relating to the operations carried out and the quantities handled for each customer. For the purpose of extracting the results, the selection of the following parameters is envisaged:

1. customer, customer class or geographical area,

2. date range.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention provide for the presence of a unit for managing damaged products and a unit for managing customer waiting lists.

Reference will be made hereinafter to the damaged (broken or unsalable) product management unit in figure 1. This unit allows you to keep a historical archive of all the findings of damage on the treated products. The periodic loading and unloading of these products from the warehouse is also permitted. It is then possible to obtain reports on the situation of the warehouse, on the amount in currency of unsaleable products and on the frequency of the problem for each product.

Finally, with reference to the customer waiting list management unit of figure 1, this allows the customer arrival sequence to be recorded on the system for the synchronous processing mode in distribution. This unit is integrated with the distribution units, and therefore allows the request and booking information to be transferred in a completely automatic way directly to the distribution areas, modifying the operators' processing lists and producing the documents necessary for processing and control. of the goods. It is possible, through some features of this unit, to obtain reports on the frequency of customer arrivals, on the temporal distribution of arrivals and on the average waiting time.

With reference to Figure 7, a host 1 is connected via a communication network 2 to control terminals 3 which manage the distribution of products 6 contained in equipped product support structures 4, equipped with display units 5. The control terminals 3 they may include a touch-screen display system, a central data processing unit, a keyboard, a mouse, a barcode reader, a microphone with relative headphones, a generic printer and a printer for labels.

With reference to Figure 8, each of the structures 4 also includes an equipped bar 401 bearing the display unit 5, separator uprights 402, housing compartments 403 for the products 6 and a load cell 404.

Finally, with reference to Figure 9, each of the display units 5 comprises a display 501, a keyboard 502 and an acoustic signaling system 503. The display units 5 are such as to comprise a local processing unit 504, schematically indicated, to in turn connected to the communication network 2, to the host 1 and to the control units 3. The display units can in particular show the information coming from the load cells 404 of the structures 4. Also these cells 404 are in fact connected to the control unit local processing 504.

The present invention has been described up to now with reference to preferred embodiments. It is to be understood that others are the. possible embodiments, all falling within the protection scope of the claims set out below.

Claims (23)

CLAIMS 1. System for the distribution of products for tobacconists, comprising: - a host data import unit, suitable for transforming external operational data into information inside the distribution system, - a distribution management unit, arranged in cascade to said data import from host; - a control unit for the distribution process; - display means, suitable for showing information relating to said products. 2. System for the distribution of products according to claim 1, characterized in that it further comprises: - a unit for handling damaged products; And - a customer waiting list management unit. 3. System for the distribution of products according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that said host data import unit comprises: - a component for importing summary inventory and sales data; And - a component for importing analytical sales data. 4. System for the distribution of products according to claim 3, characterized in that said component for importing synthetic warehouse and sales data provides for a syntactic and semantic control operation of said external operating input data. 5. System for the distribution of products according to claim 3 or 4, characterized by the fact that said import-analytical sales data component provides for a syntactic and semantic control operation of said external operating input data. 6. System for the distribution of products according to any one of claims 3 to 5, characterized in that said host data import unit comprises a component suitable for verifying the alignment between said analytical and synthetic data. 7. System for the distribution of products according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said distribution management unit comprises: - a product configuration component, - a customer configuration component; - a configuration component of the distribution warehouse; and - a distribution component. 8. System for the distribution of products according to claim 7, characterized in that said distribution component of said distribution management unit provides: - an operator access function; - a function for selecting a set of customers, e a selection function set of products. 9. System for the distribution of products according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that said distribution component of said distribution management unit provides: - a method of distributing multiple products for a single customer; - a single product distribution method for multiple customers; and - a method of distributing multiple products for multiple-customers. 10. System for the distribution of products according to claim 9, characterized in that said method of distributing multiple products for a single customer provides for the following working methods: - an operating method; - a method of controlling processing inventories; And - a method of checking stock breaks. 11. Product distribution system according to claim 10, characterized in that said operating mode of said multiple product distribution mode for single customer comprises: - a customer selection operation; - a display operation of the quantities associated with the customer for each product; And - an operation of presentation of distribution data in aggregate form. System for distributing products according to any one of claims 9 to 11, characterized in that said method of distributing multiple products for a single customer provides for both a manual and automatic loading procedure. System for distributing products according to any one of claims 9 to 12, characterized in that said method of distributing multiple products for a single customer provides for the presence) of load cells. 14. System for the distribution of products according to any one of claims 9 to 13, characterized in that said single product distribution mode for multiple customers provides an operating mode comprising (i) - a product selection operation, - a display operation of the quantities associated with individual customers for the selected product; And - an operation of presentation of distribution data in aggregate form. System for the distribution of products according to any one of the preceding claims, in which said display means have display attributes, managed by said control unit, suitable for signaling significant situations. System for distributing products according to any one of claims 9 to 15, characterized in that said single product distribution method for multiple customers provides for the presence of load cells. 17. System for the distribution of products according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said unit of. control of the distribution process includes: - a component for monitoring the distribution situation; - a component of statistical analysis of the distribution by operator; - a statistical analysis component of distribution by product; and - a statistical analysis component of the distribution by customer. 18. System for the distribution of products according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it is associated with a distribution apparatus, which comprises: - an information system, equipped with programs for the management of said system; - terminals connected to the network, through which operators interact with said information system; - printing units, controlled by said information system, said display means being controlled by said information system. 19. System for the distribution of products according to claim 18, characterized by the fact that said network-connected terminals include devices for managing the operator's access procedure to the information system. System for the distribution of products according to claim 18 or 19, wherein said distribution apparatus further comprises structures equipped for supporting products (4), managed by said terminals (3) connected to the network (2). Product distribution system according to claim 20, wherein each of said equipped product support structures (4) comprises a load cell (404). System for the distribution of products according to claim 20 or 21, wherein said display means (5) comprise: a display (501); a keyboard (502); And an acoustic signaling system (503). 23. System for the distribution of products for tobacconists substantially as described and shown in the figures of the annexed drawings.