JP2002049745A - System, device and method for centralized job processing - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To accelerate job processing, to reduce costs and to suitably process plural demand cases when these cases are received from one client. SOLUTION: Base terminal equipment 14 sends the demand case from the client to a centralized job processor 10 in the form of electronic data. A job flow system 20 of the centralized job processor 10 is provided with plural job process functions. A dispatcher 22 makes the job flow system 20 start a job processing function, corresponding to the demand case. The job flow system 20 is provided with a compound simultaneous decision process. When plural demand cases are received from one client, this decision process decides whether these cases are compound processing cases or simultaneous processing cases. Concerning the compound processing cases, after one demand case, the other demand case is processed. Concerning the simultaneous processing cases, plural cases are processed simultaneously and parallel. Telephone confirmations or the like are simultaneously performed, while utilizing synchronous processing nodes.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a centralized business processing system used for a company or the like having a contract relationship with a large number of customers and for processing business procedures such as contract change. The invention is typically used in life insurance business processes.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Life insurance contracts have the characteristic that they last for a long period corresponding to the life cycle of a customer. During this long-term contract, various procedures relating to payment, contract modification, and the like occur. Procedures under such a contract are called maintenance procedures.

[0003] Life insurance companies have a large number of customers,
Large life insurance companies have millions to 10 millions of contracts. It is necessary to process requests for various maintenance procedures arising from such a large number of contracts reliably and efficiently.

In an example of a conventional maintenance procedure business system,
Branches as business processing bases are distributed throughout the country. Regional offices are located above regional offices, and national offices are headquartered. Although these branch offices, branch offices, and head offices share information using a distributed client-server type online system, documents of the procedure request matter are forwarded and processed on a logistics basis.

[0005] Specifically, customer billing documents are received at a branch. The branch has authority to handle some maintenance procedures. The remaining maintenance procedure claims will be forwarded by logistics from branch to branch office. Branch offices have broader authority than branch offices but cannot process all documents. Therefore, some documents are processed at the branch office, and the remaining documents are sent to the head office. In addition, special and complicated cases are forwarded to the head office because the branch and branch offices cannot determine a reliable processing method.

At the head office, basically, all cases can be processed. However, some of the documents sent by logistics
Some documents are incomplete. In that case, the bill is forwarded from the head office to the branch office via the branch office. Then, the branch resolves the insufficiency of the document in response to the customer and forwards the document to the head office again.

[0007]

The above-mentioned conventional system employs a distributed system in which the processing capacity is partially given to the branch office and the branch office, while presuming the distribution of documents.
This distributed system shortens the lead time for some procedures. However, billing documents processed at the head office are time-consuming because the billing documents are transported by physical distribution. If any inadequate documents are found at the head office,
Document round-trip time between branches is required. It is desired that these processing times be reduced as much as possible.

[0008] Further, in a system premised on the distribution of billed documents, every time a document is forwarded, it is necessary to confirm receipt / delivery and sort to a person in charge, and it is desired to reduce the handling work as much as possible.

[0009] Further, during the time lag due to the document distribution, there is a possibility that the master file of the contract is updated on the online information system side. Therefore, every time a document is received, it is necessary to input a punch into the online system to inquire about the contract contents. It is desirable to reduce such a work burden.

[0010] In addition to eliminating disadvantages of document distribution, business processing systems are required to have high ability to respond to environmental changes. In consideration of the expansion of the recruitment channel and the future response of new financial products, it is desired to provide a system that can flexibly cope with not only the current business but also the addition or change of business processing.

Further, as described above, the insurance company carries out various security procedures for a large number of in-force policies. for that reason,
It is strongly desired to reduce the operation and maintenance costs per case, including eliminating the disadvantages of document distribution. This point is also desired in the trend of lower loading of new products.

[0012] Further, in the form in which the work is distributed to the branch offices and branch offices, there is a disadvantage that the burden of education on the business staff arranged nationwide is large and the education cost is large.

[0013] As a further object of the present invention, as described below, there is a need to improve business processing when a plurality of billing documents are received from one customer at a time.

In life insurance and the like, since various maintenance procedures are performed through a long-term contract, a plurality of claim documents may be received from one customer. This includes not only a case where a plurality of billing documents are accepted for one contract, but also a case where a plurality of billing documents are accepted for a plurality of contracts. The latter is a case where, for example, a request document for a contract of a plurality of persons constituting a family is received. The frequency of simultaneous receipt of multiple billing documents is expected to reach about 20%.

[0015] Such a procedure is, for the customer,
Looks like a single procedure with a life insurance company. However, in practice, a plurality of security procedures are respectively performed corresponding to a plurality of requests. Some of the plurality of maintenance procedures require the order of business processing. In other words, if you do not leave after performing one procedure, you may not be able to perform the next procedure. It is desirable to improve the certainty of the procedures in the required order.

In the maintenance procedure, the customer is confirmed by telephone and the result of the maintenance procedure is notified. When multiple maintenance procedures are disjointed, the above confirmations and notifications are also disjointed. The customer will have to respond to phone confirmations and receive notifications multiple times in connection with a single bill. If confirmation and notification can be performed collectively, it is considered that the trouble of the customer can be reduced, the customer service can be improved, and the trouble on the business processing side can also be reduced. It is desirable to realize such a function under the condition of managing a large number of contracts and various maintenance operations.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a technique capable of eliminating disadvantages of the conventional document distribution, having high flexibility, and reducing business processing costs.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a technique capable of improving business processing for a plurality of billing documents from one customer.

The object of the present invention is achieved by a combination of features described in the independent claims. The dependent claims define further advantageous embodiments of the present invention.

[0020]

Means for Solving the Problems (1) One aspect of the present invention relates to a centralized business processing system used for a company having a contract relationship with a large number of customers and for processing business procedures such as contract change. A centralized business processing system is provided at a plurality of bases for accepting billing cases of business procedures from customers, and a terminal device for transmitting billing case data, and a centralized business for receiving billing cases from the plurality of bases and centrally processing the billing cases. And a processing device. The centralized business processing device has a plurality of business process functions respectively corresponding to various billing cases, and a business flow system that progresses processing of a billing case along a business process corresponding to a billing case of a business procedure from a customer. And a process starting unit having an interface function with the business flow system and starting the business process function corresponding to the billing matter in the business flow system.

According to the present invention, the document of the billing case is sent to the centralized processing unit in the form of data. Therefore, it is possible to release the restrictions associated with the physical distribution of the documents, speed up the procedure, and reduce the handling work involved in the delivery of the documents. In addition, defects in documents can be detected at an early stage, and the response to the defects can be expedited.

Further, according to the present invention, the centralized business processing system is provided with a business flow system having a business process function corresponding to each of various billing cases. The establishment, addition, and change of procedures can be dealt with by the establishment, addition, and change of business process functions. Therefore, it is possible to flexibly respond to a change in business processing.

Further, according to the present invention, the above-described reduction of the physical distribution and the related business can be reduced, and further, the business cost can be reduced by the efficient business processing that selectively uses a plurality of business process functions prepared in advance. Can be reduced.

Further, according to the present invention, it is possible to configure a system in which work is performed by business workers in a localized environment on the central office side, and education of these workers is also performed. Advanced education and tasks can be simplified and standardized.

Preferably, the terminal device at the base digitizes the bill received from the customer using a reading device such as a scanner. By sending the image data of the billing document to the centralized business processing device, various processes using the original form of the document can be executed by the centralized business processing device. In particular,
Life insurance claims are required to be stamped and signed by hand. By using the image data, the central processing unit can perform appropriate processing such as collation on these components requiring the original form.

The terminal device at the base is, for example, a computer device fixedly arranged at a branch office of a company.
It is not limited to this. The terminal device may be, for example, a portable terminal, and the portable terminal communicates directly with the central processing unit via a branch or the like. A dedicated online system may be used for communication between the base and the centralized processing device, or the Internet may be used.

In the present invention, the business to be processed is, for example, a business related to a maintenance procedure of a life insurance company. In addition, the business to be processed may be a new contract solicitation (including a solicitation visit) and an acceptance process. The tasks to be processed are not limited to these.

(2) The centralized business processing system according to one aspect of the present invention includes a composite processing determining means. The composite processing determination means includes:
When multiple invoices are obtained for one customer,
After the completion of one billing case, it is determined whether or not the plurality of billing cases corresponds to a composite processing case in which another billing case is to be processed.

Preferably, the composite processing determination means is provided as a composite determination process of the same form as the business process. The process activation unit activates the composite judgment process when a plurality of billing cases are acquired for one customer, and further according to the judgment result of the composite judgment process, a plurality of business processes corresponding to the composite processing case, By starting sequentially after the completion of one business process so that the next business process is performed, the proper order processing of the composite processing item is realized.

Preferably, when one billing matter is acquired for one customer, the process starting means directly activates a business process corresponding to the billing matter, and a plurality of billing matters are acquired for one customer. When it is done, the composite judgment process is started.

According to the present invention, it is possible to automatically determine that a composite processing case, that is, a plurality of billing cases to be processed in a fixed order has been received. Then, the composite processing items are executed and managed in association with each other. As a result, it is possible to reliably process the complex processing cases in the required order.

Further, according to the present invention, a plurality of business processes corresponding to a plurality of billing cases are sequentially activated, and they are connected in series to process a complex processing case. In contrast to such a configuration, a configuration in which a dedicated long process corresponding to a complex processing item is prepared may be considered. However, if there is a change in the processing of the billing matter, in addition to the business process for the single matter, all the processes of the complex processing matter must also be changed. In the case of the present invention, since the consolidation method is adopted, when a change in processing occurs for one case, only the corresponding business process needs to be changed. Therefore, the advantage that the maintainability of the system is good is obtained.

In the present invention, the means for judging a composite processing item is configured in the same manner as the business process, and is a part of the business flow system which is an application of the workflow system. Then, in accordance with the number of the acquired billing cases, the process of the business flow system is switched between starting a business process and starting a determination process. Therefore, it is possible to appropriately cope with the complex processing case by utilizing the high flexibility of the business flow system.

(3) In a preferred aspect of the present invention, each of the plurality of business processes is constituted by a plurality of processing nodes for achieving processing of a corresponding bill.
The business process corresponding to the composite processing matter has a next matter start node at the end of the plurality of processing nodes. The business flow system starts the next business process corresponding to the composite processing case when one business process corresponding to the composite processing case reaches the next case start node.

[0035] The plurality of processing nodes may include a telephone confirmation node for a customer. Preferably, in the telephone confirmation node, it is possible to confirm the contents of the billing matter to be processed at a later stage of the billing matter currently being processed as a composite processing matter, and collectively the telephone confirmations of the billing matter being currently processed and the billing matter at a later stage. Do.

According to the present invention, the next item start node is set at the end of the business process. When the business process reaches the next matter function node, the next matter to be compounded is requested, and the business process for the matter is started. Therefore, based on the technology of the workflow system, with a simple configuration in which a next case function node is provided in the process, it is possible to connect a plurality of processes and realize the proper order processing of the composite processing case.

Further, according to the present invention, the telephone confirmation node of the business process can confirm not only the telephone currently being processed but also the telephone of the case to be processed subsequently. In other words, in a composite processing item that is processed at a different time in order, simultaneous processing can be realized for telephone confirmation. From the viewpoint of the customer, since the telephone confirmation for one billing can be received at a time, the trouble of telephone response is reduced. Therefore, the serviceability to the customer can be improved. Also, the labor on the business processing side can be reduced. In particular, in the present invention, since the subsequent case is confirmed in the case on the front side, the simultaneous telephone confirmation can be performed at an early stage, and the serviceability can be improved also in this regard.

Preferably, the system according to the present invention is arranged such that, when the telephone confirmation at the telephone confirmation node is unsuccessful, the processing of the telephone confirmation node is executed again after waiting.
The telephone confirmation of the billing matter currently being processed and the billing matter in the subsequent stage are simultaneously executed again. As a result, the advantage of simultaneous telephone confirmation in a composite processing case can be reliably utilized.

(4) The centralized business processing system according to one aspect of the present invention includes simultaneous processing determination means. Simultaneous processing determination means,
When multiple invoices are obtained for one customer,
It is determined whether the plurality of billing cases correspond to simultaneous processing cases to be processed concurrently and simultaneously.

Preferably, the simultaneous processing judging means is provided as a simultaneous judging process in the same form as the business process. The process activation unit activates the simultaneous determination process when a plurality of billing matters are acquired for one customer, and further activates a plurality of business processes corresponding to the simultaneous processing matter according to the determination result of the simultaneous determination process. I do. The business flow system synchronizes the processing timings of at least some of the business processes.

Preferably, when one billing matter is acquired for one customer, the process starting means directly activates a business process corresponding to the billing matter, and a plurality of billing matters are acquired for one customer. When this is done, the simultaneous determination process is started.

According to the present invention, it is possible to automatically determine that a simultaneous processing case, that is, a plurality of billing cases to be processed simultaneously in parallel is received. Simultaneous processing items are executed and managed in association with each other. Then, the business process is advanced by the business flow system such that the processing timings of at least some of the business processes are synchronized. Synchronization of processing timing is performed, for example, with respect to telephone confirmation and notification to a customer. As described above, according to the present invention, simultaneous processing items can be efficiently processed in a short period of time. By synchronizing the processing timing, the labor of the customer can be reduced, the serviceability can be improved, and the labor on the business processing side can be reduced.

According to the present invention, a plurality of business processes corresponding to a plurality of billing cases are simultaneously advanced,
Process the simultaneous processing matter. In contrast to these configurations,
A configuration in which a dedicated parallel processing process corresponding to a simultaneous processing item is prepared is also conceivable. However, when a change occurs in the processing of the billing matter, all the processes of the simultaneous processing matter must be changed in addition to the business process for the single matter. In the case of the present invention, one business process is used for independent processing or used for simultaneous processing with another process, that is, the business process is selectively used. Therefore, when the process is changed for one case, only the corresponding business process needs to be changed, and the advantage that the maintainability of the system is good is obtained.

In the present invention, the means for judging simultaneous processing items is configured in the same manner as the business process, and is a part of the business flow system which is an application of the workflow system. Then, in accordance with the number of the acquired billing cases, the process of the business flow system is switched between starting a business process and starting a determination process. Therefore, it is possible to appropriately deal with the simultaneous processing item by utilizing the high flexibility of the business flow system.

(5) In a preferred aspect of the present invention, each of the plurality of business processes is constituted by a plurality of processing nodes for achieving processing of a corresponding bill.
The business process corresponding to the simultaneous processing item has a synchronous processing node among a plurality of processing nodes. The business flow system synchronizes the processing timings of the synchronous processing nodes when a plurality of business processes corresponding to the simultaneous processing item are performed in parallel.

[0046] The synchronization processing node may include a telephone confirmation node for a customer. When the telephone confirmation by the telephone confirmation node is unsuccessful, the system may cause the telephone confirmation nodes in the plurality of business processes to be simultaneously executed again.

[0047] The synchronous processing node may include a processing node for sending out a procedure processing result addressed to a customer.

According to the present invention, when a plurality of business processes for a synchronous processing item proceed in parallel, the synchronous processing nodes provided in the business processes are used. For example, telephone confirmation for a customer can be performed simultaneously in a plurality of business processes. In addition, a processing result notification to a customer can be issued simultaneously by a plurality of business processes. According to the present invention, it is possible to reliably manage and implement such a synchronization process, thereby reducing the trouble of the customer, improving the customer service, and reducing the trouble on the business processing side.

According to the present invention, when the telephone confirmation at the telephone confirmation node is unsuccessful, the processing of the telephone confirmation node in a plurality of business processes is simultaneously executed again. A predetermined reconfirmation time or confirmation interval may be set. For example, even when a customer is absent, simultaneous confirmation can be performed again. Therefore, the advantage of the synchronous processing node of the present invention can be reliably utilized. (6) The centralized business processing system according to one aspect of the present invention includes a composite simultaneous determination unit. The composite simultaneous determination means determines whether, when a plurality of billing cases are acquired for one customer, the plurality of billing cases correspond to a composite processing case in which another billing case is to be processed after one billing case And whether it corresponds to a simultaneous processing item that should be processed concurrently,
Is determined.

Preferably, the composite simultaneous processing determination means uses a composite simultaneous determination table for sorting a combination of a plurality of billing cases into a simultaneous processing case, a composite processing case, and others.

Preferably, the complex simultaneous processing judging means is prepared as a complex simultaneous judging process of the same form as the business process. The process starting means includes:
When a plurality of billing cases are acquired for one customer, the composite judgment process is started. Further, the process activation means, based on the determination result of the composite simultaneous determination process, when the plurality of billing matter is a composite processing matter, a plurality of business processes corresponding to those billing matter,
After the completion of one business process, it is sequentially activated so that the next business process is performed. Further, when the plurality of billing cases are simultaneous processing cases, the process starting means starts up a plurality of business processes corresponding to the billing cases so as to be processed in parallel.

Preferably, when one billing matter is acquired for one customer, the process starting means directly activates a business process corresponding to the billing matter, and a plurality of billing matters are acquired for one customer. When this is done, the composite simultaneous determination process is started.

According to the present invention, the functions of the composite processing item and the simultaneous processing item described above are incorporated into one system. Therefore, both of those functions are obtained.

Further, in the present invention, a composite processing item, a simultaneous processing item, and other items are determined using the composite simultaneous determination table. Even when a new type of conservation procedure is set, such a new type of procedure can be flexibly handled by changing the table.

(7) The present invention is not limited to the above-described centralized business processing system. Another aspect of the invention is
For example, it is a centralized business processing device, a centralized business processing method, or a medium recording a program for realizing the method.

The above summary of the present invention does not list all of the necessary features of the present invention, and sub-combinations of these features may also be included in the present invention.

[0057]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, the present invention will be described through embodiments of the present invention. However, the following embodiments do not limit the claimed invention and have the features described in the embodiments. Not all combinations are essential to the solution of the invention.

FIG. 1 shows the overall configuration of the centralized business processing system 1. In the present embodiment, the present invention is applied to maintenance work of a life insurance company. As described above, the maintenance work refers to the work of procedures that occur in connection with the contract, such as payment and contract change. However, the present invention may be applied to services other than maintenance services, for example, new contract services (such as contact with customers (such as services related to recruitment visits) and related consent processes). May be applied.

As shown in FIG. 1, the centralized business processing device 10
Are connected to the base terminal device 14 via the center collection and delivery server 12. The base terminal device 14 is provided at a procedure reception window such as a branch of a life insurance company scattered throughout the country. The procedure reception desk receives a request document for the maintenance procedure from the customer. The base terminal device 14 has a scanner as a document reading device. The billing document is converted into image data by the scanner. Further, characters and the like written on the document are encoded using a character recognition function. These image data and code data are sent to the center collection and delivery server 12 as billing case information. The center collection and delivery server 12 transfers the billing case information to the centralized business processing device 10. The centralized business processing device 10 performs business processing based on the received billing case information.

The base terminal device 14 may be a portable terminal carried by a salesperson or the like. The mobile terminal may communicate with the center via the branch, or may communicate with the center without passing through the branch.

The centralized processing unit 10 is connected via a host gateway server 16 to a host system 18 for storing a master file. The host system 18 keeps a master file of all contracts. When business processing is performed by the centralized business processing apparatus 10, the master file is rewritten according to the business processing.

FIG. 2 shows the configuration of the centralized business processing device 10. The business flow system 20 is an application of a so-called workflow system (workflow engine, workflow system body). Business flow system 20
Defines various business processes, whereby the business flow system 20 has various business process functions. Each of these business processes corresponds to a specific billing matter.

Each business process is composed of a plurality of nodes (squares) as shown in the figure. By sequentially executing the processing of each node along with the business process, the processing of the billing matter is achieved. However, the business flow system 20
Instead of actually processing the billing matter information, it has a role to proceed with the processing along with the business process. This will be described later.

The dispatcher 22 corresponds to the process starting means of the present invention, and is a part of the external interface function of the centralized operation processing device 10. The dispatcher 22
It has an interface function with the business flow system 20. When the billing matter is acquired, the dispatcher 22 causes the business flow system 22 to activate a business process corresponding to the billing matter.

The business support database 24 stores billing case information. The business support database 24 is provided in a form that goes out of the business flow system 20, that is, is provided separately. The billing case information is information sent from the base. As described above, the billing case information includes the image data of the billing document and the code data obtained from the image data. At each node of the business process, the billing case information in the business support database 24 is processed.

The case management data recording database 26
Manage the status of various billing items in the business process. That is, it manages information such as how far the billing matter has progressed in the business process and in what state. The case management data recording database 26 is also provided outside the business flow system 20 in a format similar to the business support database 24.

The application server 28 has application software used in each node of the business process. An appropriate application is provided to a client terminal or the like as needed at each node.

The work list server 30 has a so-called mailbox function. The work list server 30
It is used for exchanging information on a case between the business flow system 20 and the application server 28 located outside the business flow system 20. The transfer of the billing matter from one node of the business process to another is realized via the worklist server 30.

FIG. 3 shows the functions and relationships of the business flow system 20, dispatcher 22, business support database 24, case management data recording base 26, application server 28, and work list server 30.

FIG. 3 shows an example of a typical business process related to the business flow system 20. The business process is a distribution (host inquiry) node, inspection node,
It has a secondary inspection node, an authentication node, and a host processing (master file update) node. The distribution node and the host processing node are mechanical (automatic) by the business processing device.
Processing is performed. In the inspection node, the secondary inspection node, and the authentication node, a person in charge operates a terminal device to perform business processing.

At the distribution node, online inquiry to the host system is automatically performed based on the billing case information (code data) obtained from the base, and data necessary for business processing is taken in from the master file. Further, although omitted in the figure, a process of allocating the billing matter to an appropriate node in the process is performed. At the inspection node, basic inspection work is performed. The basic inspection work includes collation of the bill image with input items and inspection of necessary documents. In the secondary inspection, mutual inspection (internal restraint meaning) for the correction input by the inspector is performed, and in the authentication, the requirements are confirmed and settled according to the contents of the procedure such as high payment.
The host process is the final update process, and automatically (mechanically) the master file stored in the host system.
Update processing is performed.

Assume that a billing case corresponding to the business process of FIG. 3 is provided from the center collection and delivery server 12 to the centralized business processing device 10. At this time, the dispatcher 22 identifies the billing matter and activates the business process of FIG. 3 corresponding to the billing matter in the business flow system 20.

When the business process starts, the business flow system 20 advances the bill to be processed to the first node, the distribution node. The billing matter is put in a work list transmission / reception box of the work list server 30 in a push format.

Here, the billing case information (image and code) itself is stored in the business support database 24 and does not operate on the business process. What moves on the business process is mainly information for specifying a billing matter. Therefore, in the present embodiment, information for moving a node and a worklist server along a process is referred to as case identification information.

In response to the entry of the item specifying information into the first worklist server, the application server 28 functions as a distribution activity as an application. The master file corresponding to the billing case is referred to the host system 18, necessary data is fetched, and given to the billing case information in the business support database 24. This process is performed automatically as described above.

When the processing of the distribution node ends, the information in the work list server is rewritten by the distribution activity so that the end of the processing can be recognized. For example, a flag indicating the end of the process is set or marked (the same applies to the subsequent nodes). In response, the business flow system 20 moves the case identification information from the work list transmission / reception box of the distribution node to the work list transmission / reception box of the inspection node.

The operator in charge of the check node operates the client terminal to check the billing matter specified by the billing specification information in the work list transmission / reception box. This is realized by an inspection activity using an application provided from the application server 28. The inspection process is performed using the billing case information in the business support database 24. Further, information indicating that the inspection has been performed is recorded in the case management data recording database 26 as status information of the billing case.

When the processing of the billing case in the worklist transmission / reception box of the inspection node is completed, the business flow system 20 transmits the billing case identification information from the worklist transmission / reception box of the inspection node to the worklist transmission / reception of the secondary inspection node. Move to box. This shifts the business process to the secondary inspection node.

In the secondary inspection node and the authentication node, similarly to the inspection node, the outgoing business support database 24
The process using the application of the application server 28 is performed on the case management data recording base 26. However, work is performed by different workers in each node.

When the processing of the authentication node is completed, the case specifying information is transferred to the work list transmission / reception box of the host processing node. In response, the application server 28
The host processing activity works on the side. An update process for accessing the host system 18 and reflecting the processing result of the billing matter in the master file is performed. When the processing of the matter in the transmission / reception box of the host process ends, the business flow system 20 ends the business process for the case.

The basic business process flow in the present embodiment has been described with reference to FIG.

Here, in a general workflow system, information to be processed moves on a business process. For this reason, it is difficult to refer to a matter in the workflow system from outside or to control the matter from outside, and to realize such processing, a significant change of the workflow system is required.

On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the case identification information moves on the workflow system. The case information that is actually processed is in a business support database outside the workflow system. Then, the processing of the case information is also performed by the application server outside the workflow system. This makes it possible to refer to and control case information during the process of the workflow system and to share information between cases with a simple configuration.

In order to obtain the above advantages, a work list server is preferably used in the present embodiment. At each node in the process, the case identification information is entered from the workflow system into the worklist transmission / reception box. The application server looks at the send / receive box and performs necessary processing of the corresponding node outside the workflow system. When the processing is completed, the case identification information is returned to the workflow system, and the process proceeds to the next node. That is, the work list server implements the case transfer between the workflow system and the application server via the case identification information.

Note that some information such as the billing date and time may move on the process together with the case identification information. These pieces of information are conveniently used when displaying the contents of the work list transmission / reception box.

The business process shown in FIG. 3 is one of a plurality of business processes prepared in the business flow system 20. In the present embodiment, various business processes shown in FIG. 4 are prepared. Some of these include distribution, inspection, secondary inspection, authentication, and host processing, as shown in FIG. 3, and some have other nodes. In addition, as shown in FIG.
It can be broadly divided into payment, contract change and general purpose. The general purpose is a process that does not specify a task, such as for inquiring about the contents of a case in response to a request from a central processing unit or a base. Others
In addition to these business processes, a determination process for determining a composite processing item and a simultaneous processing item is provided in the business flow system 20 as described later.

Further, a large number of billing cases are sent to the centralized business processing apparatus 10 one after another from branch offices nationwide, and business processes corresponding to the billing cases are started. Therefore,
Several billing cases move on the business process of FIG.

FIG. 5 is an example of a business processing screen used in the centralized business processing apparatus 10 (in the drawing, the image of the billing document is partially omitted and simplified, the same applies hereinafter). FIG. 5 shows a screen displayed on the terminal in the inspection node of FIG. In the left half of the screen,
An image of the billing document filled in by the customer is displayed. In the right half of the screen, the code data read from the image data by the character recognition function and the result of querying the master file of the host system based on the data are displayed. The inspection operator compares the two to check for differences.

Returning to the description of FIG.
Has an input support unit 32, an authentication / authority management unit 34, a case management tool 36, and an operation management unit 38. The input support unit 32 provides an interface for supporting input work by each worker. The authentication / authority management unit 34 manages authentication qualifications and work authorities of each worker. The case management tool 36 performs interruption control such as suspension and cancellation of the case being processed. The operation management unit 38 has functions such as distributing a program to each unit in the apparatus and confirming the operation state of the system.

The centralized business processing device 10 has an external interface unit 40. External interface unit 40
Is the location notification unit 4 in addition to the dispatcher 22 described above.
2, including a defect management unit 44, a print server 46, a host link server 48, and a host / existing operation system file transfer unit 50.

[0091] The site notification unit 42 is
Various kinds of information are notified to the base terminal device 14 via the. The response information of the case inquiry is also notified by the base notification unit 42.

The defect management unit 44 manages, when a defect of a billing document is found in the business process, the defect and information for eliminating the defect. The information for notifying the defect is sent to the base terminal device 14, and the data of the document in which the defect has been resolved is received from the base terminal 14.

The print server 46 manages a print process of billing case information and the like. The host link server 48 realizes link with the host system 18 via the host gateway server 16. With this function, the master file of the host 18 is referred to, and the processing result of the billing matter is reflected in the master file. The host / existing operation system file transfer unit 50 has a data transfer function such as input support and system configuration definition.

As another configuration, the centralized business processing device 1
0 is basic software 52 such as OS and operation basic software 5
Has four. As a configuration for a client terminal operated by an operator, an application client 5
6. Basic software 6 such as client base 58 and OS
0 is prepared. Although not shown in FIG. 1, business work is performed by a large number of workers, that is, a large number of client terminals.

Next, a function of processing a complex processing case and a simultaneous processing case, which is characteristic of the present embodiment, will be described.

A plurality of billing documents may be accepted from one customer, and such a plurality of cases include a compound processing case and a simultaneous processing case. The composite processing case is a plurality of cases that are dependent on each other and should be processed in a determined order, that is, a plurality of cases that should be processed after another billing case after one billing case. Simultaneously-processed cases are a plurality of cases having no dependency relationship, and should be processed simultaneously in parallel from the viewpoint of business efficiency. As described below, the present system has a function of executing and managing such a complex processing matter and a simultaneous processing matter in association with each other, which is not implemented in a normal workflow product.

FIG. 6 shows a composite simultaneous judging process for automatically judging a composite processing item and a simultaneous processing item. This composite simultaneous determination process has the same form as the above-described business process group, and is provided in the business flow system 20.

When one billing matter is acquired for one customer (single matter), the dispatcher 22 directly activates a business process corresponding to the billing matter.
On the other hand, when a plurality of billing cases are acquired for one customer, the dispatcher 22 starts the composite simultaneous determination process of FIG.

Note that the plurality of billing cases include a plurality of cases relating to the same contract and a plurality of cases relating to another contract.
The latter are, for example, a procedure for changing the contract of the customer himself and a procedure for changing the contract of his / her family.

In the composite simultaneous judgment process shown in FIG. 6, a plurality of bills of one customer are first advanced to the machine judgment node and put in the work list transmission / reception box of the machine judgment node. The machine determination activity provided by the application server 28 uses a composite simultaneous determination table to determine which of multiple billing cases belongs to (i) multiple processing cases, (ii) simultaneous processing cases, and (iii) other exception cases. Is determined. In the determination process, the determination table is referred to using information for specifying the billing case, such as a security number and a processing code.

The machine judgment activity records the judgment result in the business support database 24. The business support database 24 is provided with a management folder. Using this management folder, items that have a complex relationship and a simultaneous relationship with each other are linked and managed. In the management folder, data such as a case management number, a security number, a business code, a composite simultaneous classification, a simultaneous status classification, a composite status classification, a composite order, and a folder number can be written.

FIGS. 7 to 9 show examples of the composite simultaneous determination table. FIG. 7 shows a combination of billing cases to be classified as a combined processing case, FIG. 8 shows a combination of billing cases to be classified as a simultaneous processing case, and FIG. 9 shows a billing case to be classified as an exceptional case. Shows the combination of Items. Exceptions include special cases (combinations) and include typographical errors such as double submission of the same billing document.

In each of FIGS. 7 to 9, two tables of “same contract” and “different contract” are shown.
“Same contract” refers to multiple bills for the same contract, and “separate contract” refers to multiple bills for different contracts, such as a contract for the customer and a contract for the family. is there.

FIGS. 7 to 9 show determination tables for combinations of two cases. On the other hand, the table may be configured so that a combination of three or more cases can be determined. Further, the determination regarding the combination of three or more cases may be left to a person determination described later.

Further, in an actual system, it is preferable that the composite simultaneous determination table is constituted by two types of tables shown in FIGS. Preferably, the composite simultaneous determination table includes the composite determination table of FIG. 7 and the exception determination table of FIG. Combinations of cases not included in these tables are determined to be simultaneous processing cases.

Furthermore, the above two types of tables may be used as follows when determining three or more case combinations. Create a pair of any two cases from three or more cases. When not all pairs correspond to FIGS. 7 and 9,
All items are processed at the same time. If not, compound or exception processing is performed using human judgment or the like.

Returning to FIG. 6, when the processing of the machine determination activity is completed, the business flow system 20 advances the matter identification information of the billed matter (a set of billed matters) to the workflow start node, and transmits and receives the work list of the workflow function node. Put the billing item in the box. Also, some specific billing cases are advanced from the machine decision node to the person decision node.

The billing case proceeding to the person determination node is a billing case determined to be combined or simultaneous and includes a specific person determination process such as name change. Claims to proceed to the person determination are also predetermined.

In the person determination node, the composite / simultaneous determination is performed by the operator. Here, the person determination activity asks the worker how the billing matter should be processed (combined / simultaneous). The operator inputs the judgment using the terminal. An Item management folder is created according to the input judgment. Even if the matter is determined to be complex or simultaneous by the machine judgment node, it may be transferred to an exception matter.

When three or more billing cases are acquired, cases of the same contract and cases of different contracts may be mixed. For example, a combination of two billing cases for one contract of the customer himself and one billing case for a contract of the customer's family can be considered. Such a mixed type billing case is also sent to the person determination node. In the person determination node, a plurality of billing cases are appropriately divided by an operator, and after the division, judgments such as compound and simultaneous are added.

The billing matter for which the processing of the above-mentioned person determination node has been completed is advanced by the business flow system 20 to the workflow activation node. When the billing matter proceeds to the workflow start node and enters the work list transmission / reception box, the workflow start activity instructs the dispatcher 22 to start a business process corresponding to the billing matter.

Upon receiving the activation instruction, the dispatcher 22 activates a plurality of business processes corresponding to the combination of billing cases. At the time of activation, the composite / simultaneous determination result stored in the case management folder of the business support database 24 is referred to by the workflow activation activity.

When the combination of billing cases corresponds to a complex processing case, the dispatcher 22 performs processing in accordance with a predetermined proper order, that is, the next business process is performed after the completion of one business process.
Sequentially activates a plurality of business processes based on an instruction of a workflow activation activity in each business flow.
Also, if the combination of billing matter corresponds to the simultaneous processing matter,
The dispatcher 22 simultaneously activates a plurality of business processes corresponding to the billing cases.

If the combination of billing cases corresponds to an exceptional case, a general-purpose exception process is started. And
The document of the billing matter is printed by the print server on the printer in the head office section. The headquarters section processes the billing documents manually and then inputs the completion of the relevant process (general exception) (export the item outside the workflow, return it after processing).

FIG. 10 shows the flow of the composite processing.
First, the first business process in the composite order is started by the dispatcher 22, and the business process is advanced by the business flow system 20. A next matter start node is provided at the last part of the business process. This start node functions when the billing matter corresponds to the composite processing matter. In the next case start node, the business support database 24 is referred to, and another case associated with the billing case being processed is obtained. As a result, a case to be processed next in the composite order is determined. Then, the business process corresponding to the next matter is started by the dispatcher 22.

It is assumed that the processing of the last case to be combined is advanced, and the processing of the case reaches the next case start node. At this time, the case management folder of the business support database 24 is referred to, and it is determined that all the complex processes have been completed. Thus, the processing of the composite processing matter is completed.

In the present embodiment, a next matter start node is basically set at the end of all business processes. In addition, each business process handles the processing of a single matter,
It is shared by the processing of the composite processing matter and the processing of the simultaneous processing matter described later. However, the next matter start node functions only when the billing matter is the target of compound processing. That is, it functions only when a business process is serially connected to another business process. Therefore, in the description and drawings other than the composite processing,
The next matter start node is omitted.

FIG. 11 shows the flow of the simultaneous processing.
In the simultaneous processing, the dispatcher 22 simultaneously activates a plurality of business processes. The business flow system 20
These business processes are advanced in parallel.

Synchronous processing nodes are defined in the business process. The synchronous processing node functions when the billing matter corresponds to the simultaneous processing matter. The synchronous processing nodes are, for example, a telephone confirmation node, a host processing node, a defect notification node, a customer-addressed result sending node, and the like.

Before reaching the synchronous processing node, a plurality of business processes are progressing independently, and they may be shifted from each other. In the synchronous processing node, the processing timings of the synchronous processing nodes in the plurality of business processes are synchronized by waiting for a plurality of billing items that are being processed in parallel. For example, telephone confirmation for a customer is performed collectively for a plurality of billing cases. The queuing is realized by using a queuing node provided before the synchronization processing node, as described later.

After the synchronization processing node, a plurality of processes are performed in parallel. A plurality of synchronous processing nodes may be set in a business process. In this case, the next synchronization processing node waits again and performs the synchronization processing.

Next, FIG. 12 shows the flow of the simultaneous processing more specifically. The queuing of a plurality of processes will be described with reference to FIG. When the number of synchronous processing cases is three or more, only some of the cases may have the same synchronous processing node. The processing in this case is also shown in FIG.

FIG. 12 shows three business processes that are simultaneously processed. A telephone confirmation node is set in the upper two business processes, and a telephone confirmation waiting node is set before the telephone confirmation node. On the other hand, no telephone confirmation node is set in the bottom business process.
Further, a host processing node is set for all three processes, and the same expectation matching node is set before the host processing node. The above-described telephone confirmation node and host processing node are one form of a synchronous processing node.

In the processing of FIG. 12, when one billing matter reaches the telephone confirmation waiting node, the number N (= 3) of billing matters to be simultaneously processed is referred to by referring to the case management folder of the business support database 24. Is done. When the total number of cases that have reached the telephone confirmation waiting node and the expectation matching node has reached the simultaneous processing number N, it is determined that synchronization has been completed. In the upper two business processes, the billing matter is advanced to the telephone confirmation node. As a result, the telephone confirmation of the two cases is performed at the same time.

When the telephone confirmation is completed, the billing case proceeds to the simultaneous waiting node. Thereby, the billing cases of the three business processes reach the same expectation matching node. Since the meeting has been completed, the three billing cases proceed to the host processing node. As a result, the host process is performed at a synchronized timing in the three processes.

As described above, in the present embodiment, with a relatively simple configuration in which a waiting node is provided in a business process, it is possible to reliably synchronize some timings of a plurality of processes to be processed in parallel. Then, a synchronous process corresponding to a part of the process (the telephone confirmation node in FIG. 12)
, The synchronization process can be appropriately performed using another waiting node.

In the present embodiment, each business process is shared for processing a single case, processing a combined case, and processing a simultaneous case. However, the queuing nodes (simultaneous queuing nodes and telephone confirmation queuing nodes) function only when the billing matter is to be processed simultaneously. Therefore, in the description and drawings other than the simultaneous processing, the waiting node is omitted.

Next, the simultaneous telephone confirmation in the composite processing will be described. As described above, a plurality of business processes are sequentially executed for a composite processing matter. When a plurality of business processes have a telephone confirmation node, telephone confirmation is performed in each of the telephone confirmation nodes, and as a result, a plurality of telephone confirmations are performed for the customer. However, it is desirable to perform the telephone confirmation at once in order to reduce the trouble of the customer. Therefore, in the present embodiment, simultaneous telephone confirmation is realized in the composite processing as follows.

FIG. 13 shows the simultaneous telephone confirmation in the composite processing. FIG. 13 shows the business process of the matter currently being processed. The matter currently being processed is the first matter among a plurality of matters related as a compound processing target.

When the billing matter reaches the telephone confirmation node,
As described above, the case identification information is put in the work list transmission / reception box. The billing matter is retrieved and processed by the telephone confirmation activity of the application server 28. A screen for phone confirmation is displayed on the client terminal,
The person in charge is asked to confirm the phone.

Here, the telephone confirmation activity refers to the business support database 24 to confirm a case associated with the case currently being processed, that is, a case to be processed at a later stage of the case currently being processed. If more than two cases are associated, all subsequent cases are confirmed. Then, the telephone confirmation activity determines whether or not the contents of each of the subsequent cases require telephone confirmation. If the telephone confirmation of the subsequent matter is necessary, the telephone confirmation terminal screen indicates the succeeding matter in addition to the matter currently being processed. On the screen, the contents of the telephone confirmation are displayed. If necessary, information on the succeeding case is displayed on the screen, for example, according to an instruction from the person in charge.

The person in charge looks at the screen on which a plurality of cases are displayed, and collectively confirms the calls of those cases. When the person in charge inputs the telephone confirmation result, the confirmation result is recorded in the business support database 24. Of course, the confirmation results are recorded for both the case information currently being processed and the succeeding case information. In addition, the history of the telephone confirmation is recorded in the case management data recording database 26.

When the telephone confirmation is completed, the business flow system 20 advances the billing matter to the next node. When the billing matter reaches the next matter starting node, the dispatcher 22 is instructed to start. The dispatcher 22 starts a business process corresponding to the next billing matter.

In the latter business process, the fact that the telephone confirmation has already been completed is taken over using the business support database. Therefore, the task flow system 20 passes the telephone confirmation node and advances the billing matter to the next node. Thereby, telephone confirmation is omitted.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, simultaneous processing can be realized even in composite processing. From the viewpoint of the customer, since the telephone confirmation for one billing can be received at a time, the trouble of telephone response is reduced. Therefore, the serviceability to the customer can be improved. Also, the labor on the business processing side can be reduced.

FIG. 14 to FIG. 16 show examples of screens displayed on the worker terminal when processing a compound and simultaneous processing case. FIG. 14 shows an inspection screen of a certain billing matter. When the displayed billing matter is linked to another matter (combined or simultaneous processing matter), a “simultaneous” or “composite” button is displayed as shown in the upper right of the screen in FIG. . In the example of FIG. 14, a “simultaneous” button is displayed.

When the operator clicks on the "simultaneous button", a button indicating another case being processed simultaneously is displayed as shown in FIG. 15 (upper right of the screen, arrow mark).
Although one button is shown in FIG. 15, when the number of simultaneous processes is three or more, the number of buttons corresponding to the number is displayed.

When the worker clicks the button of the simultaneous case, the bill image of the clicked case is displayed as shown in FIG. Documents (such as seal seals) may be shared between multiple and simultaneous cases, so that it is useful for business work to be able to refer to the document image of another case.

FIG. 17 shows an example of a screen for synchronous telephone confirmation displayed in the simultaneous processing. As shown,
At the same time, a list of cases that should be confirmed by phone is displayed.

FIG. 18 shows an example of a header sheet when the data of the composite and simultaneous cases is printed. As shown in the figure, information on related cases linked as combined and simultaneous is printed together on a header sheet.

In addition to the above, the present system is configured so that the management information, the contents of the case, the attached documents, and the progress status can be referred to for the related cases at the same time.

Next, the telephone confirmation processing in the business process, in particular, its recall function will be further described. The centralized business processing device supports reliable execution of telephone communication to the customer himself / herself.

FIG. 19 shows an example of the telephone confirmation process. Here, a single matter is processed. The billing matter for which the check processing at the check node has been completed is advanced to the single telephone check node. However, cases that do not require telephone confirmation are directly forwarded to the host processing node.

At the single telephone confirmation node, the worker
Check the display on the terminal screen and confirm the call to the customer.
For example, in a payment-related maintenance procedure, a person's will is confirmed by telephone. The matter for which the telephone confirmation has been completed is advanced to the host processing node via the authentication node.

In the case where the customer is absent, the bill is forwarded to the telephone confirmation waiting node. In the telephone confirmation standby node, a scheduled recall (re-call) time is set.
Instead of the scheduled time, a period until the recall may be set. When the recall time arrives, the billing matter is again advanced to the single telephone confirmation node. Thereby, the telephone contact instruction is displayed on the terminal screen of the person in charge. The person in charge checks the telephone according to the instructions on the screen.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the system side integrally manages the recall schedule, so that it is possible to reliably prevent a telephone leak, etc., and to perform a reliable telephone confirmation.

When shifting to the telephone confirmation standby node, the telephone confirmation response data is stored in the business support database 24.
Is stored in For example, when the customer is absent, the content of the conversation with the customer's family is recorded. When the telephone confirmation instruction for reconfirmation is displayed, the response data is also displayed. As a result, even when another person in charge performs reconfirmation due to the absence of a person in charge or the like, appropriate telephone confirmation based on the response process can be performed.

FIG. 20 is an example of a screen displayed on the terminal in telephone confirmation. As shown in the figure, when the telephone confirmation is not completed, a recall time is set, and a response history is recorded.

FIG. 21 shows another example of the telephone confirmation processing, in which a simultaneous processing item is processed. Among a plurality of cases to be processed simultaneously, a case that does not require telephone confirmation is sent directly from the inspection node to the same expectation matching node. On the other hand, a case requiring telephone confirmation is sent to a telephone confirmation waiting node.

At the telephone confirmation waiting node, waiting for synchronous telephone confirmation is performed. At this time, the following processing is performed in consideration of the possibility that cases that do not require telephone confirmation are mixed in the simultaneous processing target. First, the number N of cases to be processed simultaneously is acquired. Then, when the total number of cases located in the telephone confirmation waiting mode and the simultaneous waiting node reaches the above-mentioned number N of cases to be processed, it is determined that synchronization has been completed. In short, it is determined that the synchronization has been completed when all the cases to be synchronized reach the telephone confirmation waiting node or the simultaneous waiting node.

When the synchronization is completed, the billing matter is transferred from the telephone confirmation waiting node to the synchronous telephone confirmation node. The telephone contact instruction is displayed on the terminal screen of the person in charge. This instruction indicates a plurality of cases to be processed simultaneously. According to this instruction, the person in charge confirms the telephone calls of a plurality of cases collectively. At this time, detailed information and attached information of the related matter are also referred to on the screen according to the instruction of the person in charge.

When the telephone confirmation is completed, the billing matter is transferred to the simultaneous waiting node via the authentication node. At the simultaneous waiting node, if all the cases to be processed simultaneously are available, those cases are transferred to the host processing node or the defect notification node. Also here, the synchronization process is performed as a result of the queuing by the queuing node.

On the other hand, if the simultaneous telephone confirmation is not completed (for example, the absence of a customer), the case to be confirmed is transferred to the telephone confirmation standby node. The processing of the standby node is basically the same as in the case of a single matter. That is, the scheduled recall time is set, and the response history is recorded. Then, when the scheduled recall time arrives, the billing matter is transferred to the telephone confirmation waiting node, whereby the synchronous telephone confirmation is performed again. As is clear from the above, in this loop, a plurality of items are moved together.

As described above, in the present embodiment, a plurality of telephone confirmations can be collectively performed for simultaneous processing items. Even when telephone confirmation of some cases is unnecessary, synchronization confirmation can be reliably performed by a simple configuration having a simultaneous waiting node.

Next, the recall function in the composite processing will be described. Also in the composite processing, the recall processing shown in FIG. 19 is performed. That is, if the telephone confirmation at the telephone confirmation node is not completed, the billing matter is advanced to the telephone confirmation standby node. In the telephone confirmation standby node, a scheduled recall (re-call) time is set. When the recall time arrives, the billing item is advanced again to the single telephone confirmation node, and the telephone confirmation is performed again.

Here, in the present embodiment, as described above, in the composite processing,
The phone confirmation of the first matter and the subsequent matter is performed collectively. This simultaneous confirmation is also performed at the time of recall. That is, at the telephone confirmation node after the standby node, information on the case currently being processed and the succeeding case is displayed on the terminal screen for telephone confirmation. Phone confirmation of those cases is performed by the person in charge.

As described above, the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described.

According to the present embodiment, as a basic advantage, since the document of the billing case is sent to the centralized business processing device in the form of data (electronic data, etc.), it is free from the restrictions associated with the distribution of documents. Is done. As a result, the procedure can be speeded up, and the handling work accompanying the delivery of the documents can be reduced. In addition, defects in documents can be detected at an early stage, and the response to the defects can be expedited.

According to the present embodiment, a business flow system having business process functions corresponding to various billing cases is provided. The establishment, addition, and change of procedures can be dealt with by the establishment, addition, and change of business process functions. Therefore, it is possible to flexibly respond to a change in business processing.

Further, according to the present embodiment, the above-described reduction of the physical distribution and the related business can be reduced, and the business operation can be efficiently performed by selectively using a plurality of business process functions prepared in advance. Costs can be reduced.

Further, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to configure a system in which work is performed by business workers in a localized environment on the centralized office side, and education of those workers is also performed. Advanced education and tasks can be simplified and standardized.

Further, according to the present embodiment, a composite processing matter and a simultaneous processing matter can be automatically determined, and the cases can be correlated and appropriately processed and managed. A configuration in which automatic determination is performed and processing is performed as described in the above embodiment may also be included in the scope of the present invention.

In this embodiment, a dedicated business process is not prepared for the composite processing item and the simultaneous processing item. Instead, by connecting a plurality of business processes in series and in parallel, a business process for a compound and simultaneous processing item is realized. When the business process of a certain billing item is changed, the corresponding business process may be changed. There is no need to perform operations such as changing dedicated processes for combined processing and simultaneous processing. Therefore, it is possible to flexibly cope with a change in the business process and to obtain an advantage that the maintainability of the system is good.

In this embodiment, the means for determining a composite processing item and a simultaneous processing item is configured in the same manner as a business process, and is a part of a business flow system which is an application of a workflow system. Then, in accordance with the number of the acquired billing cases, the process of the business flow system is switched between starting a business process and starting a determination process. Therefore, it is possible to appropriately deal with the complex processing case and the simultaneous processing case by utilizing the high flexibility of the business flow system.

In the present embodiment, a composite processing item, a simultaneous processing item, and other items are determined using the composite simultaneous determination table. Even when a new type of conservation procedure is set, such a new type of procedure can be flexibly handled by changing the table.

Here, referring to the result of analyzing the actual number of billing cases, about 5/6 of the total cases are single cases. The remaining approximately 1/6 of billing cases are accepted from one customer together with other cases. Most of the combinations of a plurality of cases are automatically sorted into the composite processing case or the simultaneous processing case using the composite simultaneous determination table. A small number of cases are used for human judgment. There are only a few cases that are handled as exceptions. According to this embodiment, most cases can be processed using the business flow system, and business processing efficiency can be improved.

According to the present embodiment, the next matter start node installed at the end of the business process is used.
Based on the technology of the workflow system, a simple configuration in which a next matter function node is provided in the process enables a plurality of processes to be connected to realize the proper order processing of the complex processing matter.

Further, according to the embodiment, when a plurality of business processes for simultaneous processing items proceed in parallel, a synchronous processing node is used for the business processes. The synchronization processing node is, for example, a telephone confirmation node. The synchronous processing node can be used to reliably manage and implement the synchronous processing, thereby reducing the labor of the customer, improving the customer service, and the labor on the business operation side.

Further, according to the present embodiment, when the telephone confirmation at the telephone confirmation node is unsuccessful, the recall time is set, and the processing of the telephone confirmation node is executed again simultaneously. Therefore, the advantages of the synchronous processing can be reliably utilized.

Further, according to the present embodiment, in the combined processing, the telephone confirmation of a plurality of cases can be collectively performed by introducing the confirmation process of the subsequent case. Since the labor of the customer can be saved, the serviceability can be improved. Also, the labor on the business processing side can be reduced. In particular, since the subsequent case is confirmed in the case on the front side, simultaneous telephone confirmation can be performed at an early stage,
In this respect, serviceability can be improved.

Further, according to the present embodiment, even in the composite processing, when the telephone confirmation is unsuccessful, the simultaneous telephone confirmation can be performed again. As a result, the advantage of simultaneous telephone confirmation in a composite processing case can be reliably utilized.

As described above, the present invention has been described using the embodiments. However, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the scope described in the above embodiments. Various changes or improvements can be added to the above embodiment. It should be noted that such modified or improved embodiments may be included in the technical scope of the present invention.
It is clear from the description of the claims.

[0173]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, the business procedure can be sped up and the business processing cost can be reduced. Further, it is possible to provide a system that can flexibly respond to a change in business processing. Further, it is possible to provide a system capable of appropriately processing a composite processing item and a simultaneous processing item.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a centralized business processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of a centralized business processing device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing functions of a business flow system and related configurations.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a business process defined in a business flow system.

5 is an example of a screen displayed on a worker terminal in the centralized work processing device of FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a composite simultaneous determination process.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a composite simultaneous determination table used in the composite simultaneous determination process, particularly a composite determination table.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a composite simultaneous determination table used in the composite simultaneous determination process, particularly a simultaneous determination table.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a composite simultaneous determination table used in the composite simultaneous determination process, particularly an exception determination table.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the flow of a composite process.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a flow of simultaneous processing.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of a flow of simultaneous processing.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a simultaneous telephone confirmation function in the composite processing.

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen displayed on the worker terminal in the simultaneous processing.

FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen displayed on the worker terminal in the simultaneous processing.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the worker terminal in the simultaneous processing.

FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen displayed on the worker terminal in the simultaneous processing.

FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating a header sheet when a simultaneous processing item is output from a printer.

FIG. 19 is a diagram showing a telephone confirmation process of a single matter.

FIG. 20 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the worker terminal in the telephone confirmation processing.

FIG. 21 is a diagram showing a telephone confirmation process of a simultaneous processing item.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 10 centralized business processing device 14 customer terminal device 18 host system 20 business flow system 22 dispatcher 24 business support database 26 case management data recording database 28 application server 30 worklist server

Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Kiyocho Tanaka 2-5-2-5 Nakanoshima, Kita-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka F-term in Sumitomo Life Insurance Company (reference) 5B049 AA06 BB00 BB46 DD05 GG04 5B055 CA00 CC16 EE02

Claims (22)

[Claims] 1. A centralized business processing system for processing business procedures such as contract changes, which is used by companies having a contract relationship with a large number of customers, and is deployed at a plurality of bases that accept billing requests for business procedures from customers. And a centralized business processing device that receives the billing cases from the plurality of bases and centrally processes the billing cases. A business flow system that has a plurality of corresponding business process functions, and has a function of interfacing with the business flow system, wherein the business flow system proceeds with the processing of a billing matter along a business process corresponding to a billing case of a business procedure from a customer; A process starting means for starting a business process function corresponding to a billing matter in the business flow system. Business processing system. 2. The centralized business processing system according to claim 1, wherein when a plurality of billing cases are acquired for one customer,
A centralized business processing system, comprising: a composite processing determination unit that determines whether or not the plurality of billing cases corresponds to a composite processing case to process another billing case after the completion of one billing case. 3. The centralized business processing system according to claim 2, wherein the composite processing determination unit is provided as a composite determination process of the same form as the business process, and the process activation unit is a single customer. Invokes the composite judgment process when a plurality of billing cases are obtained with respect to, and further according to the judgment result of the composite judgment process, a plurality of business processes corresponding to the composite processing case, after the end of one business process, the next A centralized business processing system characterized by realizing proper sequence processing of complex processing cases by sequentially starting so that business processes are performed. 4. The centralized business processing system according to claim 3, wherein, when one billing matter is acquired for one customer, the business process corresponding to the billing matter is directly launched. A centralized business processing system for activating the composite judgment process when a plurality of billing cases are acquired for one customer; 5. The centralized business processing system according to claim 3, wherein each of the plurality of business processes includes a plurality of processing nodes for achieving processing of a corresponding billing matter, and The business process corresponding to the matter has a next matter start node at the end of the plurality of processing nodes, and the business flow system, when one business process corresponding to the composite processing matter reaches the next matter start node,
A centralized business processing system characterized by starting the next business process corresponding to a compound processing matter. 6. The centralized business processing system according to claim 5, wherein the plurality of processing nodes include a telephone confirmation node for a customer. 7. The centralized business processing system according to claim 6, wherein the telephone confirmation node is capable of confirming the contents of a billing matter to be processed at a later stage of the billing matter currently being processed as a complex processing matter. A centralized business processing system characterized by being able to collectively check the billing case and the subsequent billing case. 8. The centralized business processing system according to claim 7, wherein when the telephone confirmation at the telephone confirmation node is unsuccessful, the processing of the telephone confirmation node is executed again after waiting, so that the current processing is performed. A centralized business processing system characterized in that telephone confirmation of a billing matter and a subsequent billing matter are simultaneously executed again. 9. The centralized business processing system according to claim 1, wherein when a plurality of billing cases are acquired for one customer,
A centralized business processing system comprising a simultaneous processing determining means for determining whether the plurality of billing cases correspond to simultaneous processing cases to be processed simultaneously. 10. The centralized business processing system according to claim 9, wherein said simultaneous processing determination means is provided as a simultaneous determination process of the same form as said business process, and said process activation means is provided for one customer. Invoking the simultaneous determination process when a plurality of billing matters are acquired with respect to, further according to the determination result of the simultaneous determination process, launching a plurality of business processes corresponding to the simultaneous processing matter, the business flow system, A centralized business processing system, wherein the processing timing of at least a part of a business process is synchronized. 11. The centralized business processing system according to claim 10, wherein the process starting means directly starts a business process corresponding to the billing item when one billing item is acquired for one customer. A centralized business processing system that activates the simultaneous determination process when a plurality of billing cases are acquired for one customer; 12. The centralized business processing system according to claim 10, wherein each of the plurality of business processes is configured by a plurality of processing nodes for achieving processing of a corresponding billing matter, and wherein the simultaneous processing is performed. The business process corresponding to the matter has a synchronization processing node among the plurality of processing nodes, and the business flow system is configured to execute the plurality of business processes corresponding to the simultaneous processing matter in parallel when the synchronization processing node is advanced. A centralized business processing system characterized by synchronizing processing timing. 13. The centralized business processing system according to claim 12, wherein said synchronous processing node includes a telephone confirmation node for a customer. 14. The centralized business processing system according to claim 13, wherein when the telephone confirmation at the telephone confirmation node is unsuccessful, the processing of the telephone confirmation nodes in the plurality of business processes is executed again simultaneously. And centralized business processing system. 15. The centralized business processing system according to claim 12, wherein said synchronous processing node includes a processing node related to sending out a procedure processing result addressed to a customer. 16. The centralized business processing system according to claim 1, wherein when a plurality of billing cases are acquired for one customer,
Whether these multiple billing cases correspond to multiple processing cases that should be processed after another billing case, and whether they correspond to simultaneous processing cases that should be processed concurrently at the same time A centralized business processing system, comprising: a composite simultaneous processing determination unit for determining whether or not to execute the process. 17. The centralized business processing system according to claim 16, wherein said composite simultaneous processing determination means is a composite simultaneous determination for sorting a combination of a plurality of billing cases into a simultaneous processing case, a composite processing case, and others. A centralized business processing system characterized by using a table. 18. The centralized business processing system according to claim 16, wherein said composite simultaneous processing determination means is provided as a composite simultaneous determination process having the same form as said business process, When a plurality of billing matters are acquired for the customer, the compound determination process is started, and the process start unit further determines that the plurality of billing matters are a composite processing matter based on the determination result of the composite simultaneous determination process. In some cases, a plurality of business processes corresponding to the billing matter are sequentially started so that the next business process is performed after the end of one business process, and when the plurality of billing matters are simultaneous processing cases, Is a centralized business processing system characterized in that a plurality of business processes corresponding to the billing cases are started so as to be processed in parallel. 19. The centralized business processing system according to claim 18, wherein said process initiating means directly activates a business process corresponding to the billing item when one billing item is acquired for one customer. A centralized business processing system for activating the composite simultaneous determination process when a plurality of billing cases are acquired for one customer; 20. A centralized business processing device used for a company or the like having a contract relationship with a large number of customers to process business procedures such as contract change, and has a plurality of business process functions respectively corresponding to various billing cases. When data for a billing case is sent from terminal devices deployed at multiple locations that accept billing cases for business procedures from customers, the billing case can be processed according to the business process corresponding to the received billing case. A business flow system that progresses processing; and a process activation unit that has an interface function with the business flow system and activates a business process function corresponding to the billing matter in the business flow system. Business processing equipment. 21. A centralized business processing method used for a company or the like having a contract relationship with a large number of customers to process business procedures such as a contract change, etc., which is deployed at a plurality of bases that accept billing cases for business procedures from customers. Collecting billing matter data from the selected terminal device, and selecting and starting the business process corresponding to the customer's billing matter from a plurality of business processes respectively corresponding to various billing matters prepared in advance And a step of proceeding the processing of the billing matter along the activated business process. 22. A recording medium storing a computer-executable program, wherein the program is a program for processing a business procedure such as a contract change in a company having a contract relationship with many customers. The program, when data of a billing matter of a business procedure is acquired from a customer, from a plurality of business processes respectively corresponding to various billing matters prepared in advance, a business process corresponding to a billing matter of a customer. A computer-readable recording medium characterized by causing the computer to execute a step of selecting and activating and a step of proceeding with processing of a billing matter along the activated business process.