JP2002024655A - Selling support system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make performable efficient business activity by allowing a selling person to be able to suitably refer to stock information recorded in a host computer in real time even from the outside of the office. SOLUTION: A stock managing system sues the host computer to sequentially update and record information such as stock, ordering, order receiving based on information inputted from the outside. A portable telephone for communication using a packet communication network is allowed to connect to the host computer through the Internet, and stock information recorded in the host computer can be displayed on an image of the portable telephone.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a system for managing inventory of goods and the like using a host computer installed at a specific place. The present invention relates to a sales support system that enables a user to refer to the information in a real manner, thereby enabling efficient sales activities.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, orders for mechanical parts, electric parts, etc.
Conventionally, a slip was used, but due to inefficiency, a system for receiving an order at any time by data transmission (EDI) from a customer has been widely adopted. On the other hand, the sales clerk (sales staff) who visits a customer to receive an order for a product, the method conventionally used to check the stock status of the product requested by the customer, order information, order information, etc., has returned to its own company. Sales representative has online terminal host computer inventory,
It is a method of confirming data such as an order received and ordering, or requesting the sales assistant of the company to confirm these data by using a mobile phone or the like from whereabouts.

[0003]

However, in the above-described conventional method of checking stocks, the person in charge returns to the company once and checks it, or requests a sales assistant to access a host computer for stock management. Since the results of the survey are received and reported to the customer, it takes time to check the status of the stock and the like, and it is not possible to respond quickly to the customer's request, and there is a risk of losing business opportunities.

On the other hand, recently, almost all orders, confirmations, and communications from customers are made by e-mail. Each time these e-mails are received, data such as inventory, orders, orders, and the like recorded in the host computer are sequentially stored. If the inventory management system is configured to be updated, even if the inventory amount, order backlog, order backlog, etc. are checked in advance, the data is updated at the time of customer visit, and based on incorrect information There were times when you did business. In particular, if a salesperson visits a customer directly before going to work or goes home after visiting the customer, not only will the response to the customer's request be delayed, but also the ordered product must be delivered by the specified delivery date. There were serious problems such as being unable to deliver. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to enable a sales clerk who is out of the office to know inventory data and the like of a host computer in real time from the destination.

[0005]

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention employs the following configuration. That is, a sales support system according to the present invention is a inventory management system using a host computer that sequentially updates and records inventory information and the like based on information input from the outside. The host computer can be connected to the Internet, and necessary information such as inventory information recorded in the host computer can be displayed on an image of the mobile phone.

According to the sales support system of the present invention,
Since the sales person can check the stock information and the like recorded in the host computer of the company in real time from the mobile phone by using the image of the mobile phone, it is possible to accurately and promptly respond to customer requests.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described below. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a sales support system according to the present invention. As a mobile phone 1 using a packet communication network, for example, a commercially available i-mode mobile phone (NTTDoCoMo) is used. In the figure, 2
Is a host computer, and as a backbone system of the host using the computer, a series of processes of [order registration-stock allocation-shipping instruction-shipping completed-shipment] and [procurement (stocking) -stock registration] are performed in real time. A system that is updated with is adopted.

[0008] Reference numeral 3 in FIG. 1 denotes an existing office server (groupware server) for referring to mail, transmitting, referring to a schedule, and the like. A mobile phone server (i-mode server) 4 and a personal computer Internet server 5 are provided to connect the host computer 2 and the office server 3.

[0009] Each sales representative in Japan carries the i-mode portable telephone 1, and uses the portable telephone carried by each person to connect with the host computer 2 and office via the i-mode server 4 via the Internet. The server 3 can be accessed. In addition, an overseas base can access the host computer 2 and the office server 3 via an Internet server. Then, the real information (for example, inventory, orders, orders, inquiries, etc.) of the host computer 2 can be directly confirmed on the mobile phone 1 or the personal computer 6 at the overseas base. Furthermore, by connecting them to the office server 3, mails can be referred to, and if necessary, the mails can be handled without delay.

[0010] The mobile phone 1 using packet communication is used as a mobile terminal because the communication fee is low, the price of the phone itself is lower than other mobile terminals, the weight is light, and the input method is key. This is because there are advantages such as simplicity of input operation and no need for terminal application. The greatest feature is that it is possible to use two roles of a telephone and a mobile terminal. There are many types of mobile phones of this type, which are commercially available, and can be used as terminal equipment as soon as they are purchased. In addition, mobile phones
Since the screen is small and can be used in a palm, there is also an advantage that a confidential matter is less likely to be seen by a third party.

[0011] On the other hand, it is advantageous to construct this sales support system by using existing host system technology. As described above, by constructing the system using the conventional host system technology, the system development cost is low, and the system can be constructed and operated in a short period of time. That is,
Generally, it is possible to construct online processing of a mainframe under the Internet / intranet environment. In this case, the operation can be easily shifted to online processing in the current mainframe. In addition, since a conventional host-based construction technology (for example, COBOL language) can be used, there is no need to learn a new construction technology. Further, in the future, it is estimated that OPEN-based technology will undergo a drastic change in accordance with Internet-related technological innovation. It is irrelevant to the change, and even if the level of the host is upgraded, it can be dealt with immediately by only recompiling the processing program.

Next, the function of this system will be specifically described. In order to externally check information such as inventory, orders, orders, and the like of the host computer 2 using this system, first, the corresponding product name is input using the mobile phone 1. The input of the product name at the time of the inventory inquiry may be performed by inputting the product name (actual product name or code number, etc.) of the product in a range that can be understood from the first character. For example, when a mechanical part or an electronic part is a product, the type is extremely large and there are many similar product names (a character string representing the product name is several tens of digits). It is impossible to enter all. Therefore, when the actual product name (real product name or code name) is, for example, “ABC123456789”, first, “A
"BC12" and a few digits in a range that can be recognized first, for example, 5 digits (the number is not limited to this, and may be 5 digits or more or less than 5 digits).

Then, the product name of the input value (a range that can be known from the beginning) is compared with the product name of the host information in units of one digit from the head of the product name, and a search is performed by the host computer. For example, when the product name of the input value is 5 digits of “ABC12”, and the product name of the host information is in the state of Table 1, the comparison is performed from the first 5 digits.

[0014]

[Table 1]

In general, even if the information on host stock, orders, and orders is enormous (for example, about several tens of thousands), the above method makes it relatively easy to search for host information having the same value. By the above comparison, the number of searches for host information of a predetermined digit from the beginning is limited to n (for example, 50),
When the n-th search is completed, n
Search item names are displayed. This is to shorten the response time.

If the desired product name is not displayed on the screen of the mobile phone, a search instruction is continuously issued and the search is executed again. Thus, after the n-th product is continuously searched, it is displayed on the screen of the mobile phone in the same manner as described above. For example, when the four digits of “ABC1” are input, if the product name of the host information is in the state of Table 2, search and display on the screen are performed as shown in the table.

[0017]

[Table 2]

If the product name recorded as the host information has a maximum of N digits (for example, 30 digits), it cannot be displayed as one line on the screen of the cellular phone because of the large number of digits. Therefore, the present system is provided with a screen shift function that can shift the display screen right and left by one key operation. This is because it takes too much time to move the display screen from left to right by key operation, and this is performed efficiently. For example, when the product name of the search result is as shown in Table 3, the display of the first screen after the search is as shown in Table 4, and the screen after performing one key operation of the right shift function is as shown in Table 5. become. Then, the left shift function 1
When the key operation is performed, the display screen is as shown in Table 6.

[0019]

[Table 3]

[0020]

[Table 4]

[0021]

[Table 5]

[0022]

[Table 6]

Further, this system is provided with a screen display switching function that allows a display switch between a screen showing search results and a detail screen showing details of the product by one key operation. That is, the display can be switched from the search result screen to the detail screen and from the detail screen to the search result screen by one key operation. For example, if the search result screen is as shown in Table 7, its detailed screen is as shown in Table 8. In Table 8, “base” indicates a code of a region, a branch office, or the like, and “group” indicates a code of a group to which the person in charge belongs. According to Table 8, it can be seen that the total stock quantity of the product is 1000 pieces, and among them, 500 pieces are in a free state where the sales destination is not determined.
For these 500 pieces, the delivery procedure can be taken immediately if requested.

[0024]

[Table 7]

[0025]

[Table 8]

Since the number of characters displayed on the screen is limited, a display item selection function is provided so that only the minimum necessary items can be displayed when the search result screen is displayed. That is, as exemplified in Table 9, the display screen has a display item selection frame, and v
By attaching a symbol, only the item with the v symbol is displayed on the screen. Further, not all items with a v mark are displayed, but only information having a value other than 0 is retrieved and displayed. This is to increase the speed of screen display and to make the display screen easier to see.

[0027]

[Table 9]

Since the unit price of each product is also important data in commercial transactions, it is possible to select whether or not to display it. This is to prevent the customer from knowing the unit price when looking into the screen. The person in charge
At the destination, the display contents of these screens are compared with the customer's request, and free products are allocated or shortages are ordered. The contents of these instructions are simultaneously input and recorded in the host computer.

Since the sales support system can directly know the stock information and the like of the host computer using a lightweight portable telephone, the sales clerk can quickly respond to customer requests and inquiries while visiting the customer. Can respond. As described above, instead of searching for all the information that satisfies the extraction condition by one inquiry operation, the number of search results to be displayed for one search operation is set in advance, and the search result is set to the set value n. Then, the search result is transmitted to the mobile phone, and thereafter, each time a re-search instruction is issued on the mobile phone, the same search is continuously performed, and the result is transmitted to the mobile phone. If the required item value is zero, skipping is performed to search for the next information, so that a reduction in response speed can be prevented even when the types of products are enormous.

According to this system, in Japan, inventory information and the like can be known in real time anywhere within the communication range of a mobile phone. It is possible to connect and operate this system anywhere.

[0031]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the sales support system of the present invention, necessary information such as inventory information recorded in the host computer can be known in real time at a place where the user is away from home. You can do extremely effective business activities. Since a commercially available mobile phone for packet communication is used as the mobile terminal, the initial cost is low and the mobile terminal can be used as a mobile terminal immediately after purchase. In addition, since this type of mobile phone is lightweight, it is convenient to carry, and has a great advantage that it is easy to operate and can use both a telephone and a mobile terminal. Furthermore, confidentiality is maintained because it is used in the palm,
Moreover, no special installation place is required.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a sales support system of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 mobile phone 2 host computer 3 office server 4 i-mode server 5 Fire Wall

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An inventory management system using a host computer for sequentially updating and recording inventory information and the like based on information input from the outside, wherein a mobile telephone communicating using a packet communication network is connected to the host computer via the Internet. A sales support system, wherein connection is possible, and necessary information such as inventory information recorded in the host computer can be displayed on an image of the mobile phone. 2. The number of pieces of information to be searched by a single command from a mobile phone can be set in advance. When the number of searches reaches the set number, the search information is transmitted to the mobile phone, and a search command is issued again. 2. The sales support system according to claim 1, wherein the search and transmission are continuously performed for each set number. 3. The sales support system according to claim 1, wherein a screen showing a search result and a detail screen showing detailed contents of a corresponding product can be switched by one key operation of the mobile phone.