JP2003176029A - Inventory control device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To change the quantity of inventory in each base, following the demand estimation, while maintaining the right quantity of inventory in each base at an appropriate level without partiality in a multiple-unit inventory control device in a commodity sales network having several inventory bases. <P>SOLUTION: A floating inventory reserve means 0311 determines the inventory consuming condition of an inventory base on the basis of an estimation gap degree showing an estimation value of a gap of the demand estimation. When the inventory is not enough in the base in charge, a customer order is changed to reserve the inventory in a base having enough inventory. An estimation gap degree computing means 0312 computes the estimation gap degree by estimating a gap of the demand estimation of an area in charge on the basis of the commodity delivery results of the inventory base. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an inventory control device for realizing integrated inventory management in a product sales network having a plurality of inventory bases.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a merchandise sales network having a plurality of inventory bases, it is basically necessary to first predict the demand in the area in charge of delivery for each base and then determine the inventory quantity for each base and receive an order from the customer. Inventories were made for the inventory bases in charge of the customer's location area, and the bases in charge carried out product shipment and delivery to customers.

When there is no stock at the base in charge at the time of receiving an order, the base is treated as out-of-stock, or the order is transferred to another base as a response in an emergency. Inventory can be allocated to other sites by transferring orders, and product shipping and customer delivery can be performed on behalf of the site in charge to avoid missing items.

It is common for the person in charge to select an alternative base and to reserve inventory when a product is out of stock, but the person in charge generally has experience and intuition. A means for automatically taking the number of days into consideration has also been proposed ("Multiple inventory location allocation device based on order data": JP-A-5-101082).

[0005]

However, in such a conventional inventory control mode for a plurality of inventory bases, there are some problems as described below.

First, the demand forecast is not always accurate, and there is often a deviation from the actual shipment amount.
Therefore, there is a shortage of inventory because demand exceeds expectations at one base, and at the other hand, there is a bias in inventory between bases such that demand does not grow as expected and the inventory accumulates. In the conventional form of inventory control, if the stock runs out, you can correct the bias a little by transferring the order to another base, but conversely, until the stock runs out, the stock bias between the bases can be corrected. I can't correct it.

As a result, the exhaustion of inventory does not proceed as planned in accordance with the demand forecast, and various operations related to inventory management such as ordering goods, receiving and shipping, and storing are affected by the uncertainty of demand. There were many obstacles in orderly and smoothly proceeding.

[0008] Further, in order to determine an appropriate amount of inventory at each base, it is necessary to estimate the demand for each area as accurately as possible, but the prediction for each area is compared with the case where the whole is collectively predicted. Highly accurate prediction is generally difficult due to statistical reasons such as a small population. This difference becomes more remarkable as the number of bases increases and the area is subdivided.

Therefore, in order to cover the low prediction accuracy, it is necessary to take a large amount of safety stock at each base. As a result, when all the stock quantities are added together, the total stock quantity is an appropriate level from the overall viewpoint. There is a problem that it greatly exceeds.

Further, when the demand forecast deviates from the actual situation, it may be necessary to advance the ordering or arrange the inventory movement between the bases accordingly. It was difficult to take appropriate measures based on rational grounds because there was no means to objectively grasp the gap.

[0011]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention is directed to an inventory management device for inventory management in a merchandise sales network having a plurality of inventory bases. The inventory table that manages the sales area, the area definition table that manages the sales area's responsible base and the transfer deliverable base, and the forecast deviation that manages the forecast deviation degree that represents the estimated value of the deviation between the demand forecast and the actual demand of the sales area The inventory status of each inventory base is judged from the inventory table, and if the base in charge is out of stock, the dynamic inventory allocation means that allocates the customer order to the stocked base, and the product shipment amount in the sales area. A demand forecast table that manages forecast values, a shipment record table that manages the actual value of the amount of goods shipped from inventory bases, and ordering information that manages information related to ordering operations for stock replenishment at inventory bases. Is a multi-site inventory control apparatus comprising a predicted deviance calculation means for calculating the predicted deviance from Buru.

[0012] As a result, the customer order to the base where the actual demand exceeds the forecast and falls into the inventory shortage is dynamically transferred to the base with a sufficient inventory because the actual demand does not increase as much as the forecast, so the inventory of each base is reduced. It is possible to correct the excess or deficiency or bias and maintain the amount at an appropriate level, and to change it according to the demand forecast.

Further, according to the present invention, the difference in number of days between the estimated order date for inventory replenishment, which is calculated by assuming that the demand will change as predicted, and the estimated date for ordering inventory replenishment, which is estimated from the shipping record, is the degree of deviation. As a characteristic, a multi-site inventory control device that collectively outputs this to a display device for each product is featured. As a result, the person in charge can objectively grasp the excess or deficiency or unevenness of the inventory at each base while mutually comparing them.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a product sales network which is a premise of the present embodiment. There are four delivery areas, which are called area A, area B, area C, and area D, respectively. Further, there are inventory bases in charge of product delivery in the respective delivery areas, which are referred to as base A, base B, base C, and base D, respectively. Each inventory base holds an amount of inventory according to the expected demand of the area in charge, and delivers products according to the order from the customer. Orders from customers are collectively processed by the order center.

In the order receiving center, the delivery area is specified from the location information of the customer, and normally the stocked area is allocated from the site in charge of the area to instruct the product shipment. At the site in charge, the product is shipped according to the instructions, and the product is delivered to the customer. If there is no inventory at the site in charge, or if there is a shortage of the inventory even if there is inventory, the order is transferred, inventory is allocated from another site, and shipping is instructed. At the base that received the shipping instruction, transfer delivery is performed to the area not in charge according to the instruction contents. In the present embodiment, the inventory bases (sales areas) are set at four locations A to B, but the present invention can be similarly applied even if the number of inventory bases (sales areas) is five or more. Further, even in a sales form in which customer orders are received at each site, the present invention can be similarly applied as long as the received orders are temporarily aggregated and inventory is allocated.

FIG. 2 is a network configuration diagram of an order processing system for processing customer orders, including the multi-site inventory control device of this embodiment. The customer terminal 0201
It is a telephone, a fax machine, an internet terminal, or the like, and is connected to the order receiving terminal device 0203 in the order receiving center through a public line network 0202 such as a telephone line or the internet. The order receiving terminal device 0203 is connected to the multi-site inventory control device 0204 of the present invention via a network.

Further, a multi-site inventory control device 02
04 is an inventory management device 0205 that manages the inventory of each inventory base
Networked with 0208. Order information of each customer is transmitted from each customer terminal device 0201 to the order receiving terminal device 0203 via the public line network 0202. Order terminal device 0203
Then, order data is created by performing preprocessing such as specifying the delivery area from the customer information. The order data is transmitted to the multi-site inventory control device 0204 and stored in its database. In addition, the inventory management device 0205
The shipment results and inventory information in 0208 are also transmitted to the multi-site inventory control device 0204 via the network and stored in the database.

FIG. 3 is a multi-site inventory control device 02.
It is a figure which shows the structure of 04. The multi-site inventory control device 0204 is a computer system and includes a processing device 0310, a storage device 0320 connected to the processing device 0310, an input device 0330, a display device 0340, and an output device 0350. The processing device 0310 is also connected to the network 0360. Storage device 03
20 is an order table 03 that stores order information from customers
21, inventory table 03 that stores the inventory data of each inventory base
22, area definition table 0323 that defines the area in charge of each inventory site and transfer deliverable area, and forecast deviation table 032 that manages the deviation between the demand forecast and actual results of products for each location
4, demand forecast table 0325 that manages the product demand forecast value for each base, shipment record table 0326 that manages the shipment record of the product for each base, and order that stores information necessary for ordering work for product replenishment It is composed of an information table 0327.

The input device 0330 is a device used by a person in charge to operate the multi-site inventory control device 0204. The display device 0340 is a device for displaying processing results of the multi-site inventory control device 0204, such as inventory allocation results and demand forecast deviation determination results. The output device 0350 is a device that prints these display information in a form.

In the memory of the processing device 0310, a dynamic stock allocation means for dynamically carrying out stock allocation according to the stock status of the stock location.
0311 and a forecast deviation degree calculating means 0312 for calculating the magnitude of the difference between the demand forecast and the actual condition of the product are stored as a program and executed by the processing device 0310. Work area 03
13 is a dynamic inventory allocation means 0311 and a forecast deviation degree calculation means 0312
It is an area on the memory used as a work area of. It should be noted that a program including at least the dynamic inventory allocation unit 0311 and the predicted deviation degree calculation unit 0312 is stored in a storage medium, and is read into the processing device 0310 via a drive device of this storage medium connected to the processing device 0310, or Other computer drives,
It is transmitted to the multi-site inventory control device 0204 via the network 0360, stored in the processing device 0310, and stored in the processing device 03.
It is possible to carry out by 10.

FIG. 4 is a process flow chart showing an outline of the process of the dynamic inventory allocation means 0311. Dynamic inventory allocation means 0311
When the order data is received from the order receiving terminal device 0203 via the network (step 0401), the processing for determining the delivery base for the order is performed (step 0402).
Here, inventory table 0322 and area definition table 032
3. Referring to the forecast deviation degree table 0324, if the assigned base is a priority candidate and there is no inventory at the assigned base or if the inventory is full, other bases will be added as candidates and the optimum allocation destination will be added. decide.

In the inventory allocation processing 0403, inventory allocation is performed for the base selected in the allocation base determination processing. Specifically, the product shipping instruction is transmitted to the inventory management device at the relevant site via the network, and the inventory table is sent according to the allocation result.
Update 0322. Further, the allocation result is added to the order data and stored in the order table 0321, and the allocation result is transmitted to the order receiving terminal device 0203 via the network. In addition, when the result of the delivery site determination process is “no site available for allocation”,
A shipping instruction to the inventory management device and updating of the inventory table are not performed, and the order receiving terminal device 0203 is notified that allocation is impossible (out of stock).

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of data in the order table 0321. The order table has one order as one line, the product code 0501 of the ordered product, its quantity 0502,
Customer code 0503, area code 050 indicating the location of the customer
4. An allocation result 0505 that stores the result of inventory allocation, and an allocation location 0506 that stores the site code of the site to which the inventory is allocated. Of these, the product code 0501, the quantity 0502, the customer code 0503, and the area code 0504 are information transmitted from the order receiving terminal device, and other allocation result 0505 and allocation location 05
06 is information determined by the dynamic inventory allocation means 0311.

In this embodiment, the customer area code is determined by the order processing terminal, but the customer area may be determined by the multi-site inventory control device 0204. However, in that case, the customer area table for managing the customer area information is stored in the storage device 0320.
Will be included in.

FIG. 6 is a processing flow chart showing an outline of processing of allocation site determination processing 0402 which is a subroutine of the dynamic inventory allocation means 0311. First, in step 0601, the area definition table 0323 is referred to, and the area code 0503 of the order data is searched for a responsible site of the corresponding area. FIG. 7 shows a data example of the area definition table 0323. This is a two-dimensional matrix of bases and areas, and each element of the matrix stores one of data that means charge (∘), transfer is possible (○), and transfer is not possible (×). For example, in FIG. 7, the combination of the area A and the base A is ⊚, which means that the base A is the area A in charge. The combination of the area A and the base B is ◯, which means that the base B can transfer and deliver to the area A. Further, the combination of the area C and the base D is x, which means that transfer delivery cannot be performed because the area C is too far from the base D.

Returning to FIG. 6, the description of the allocation site determination processing 0402 will be continued. For example, in step 0601, as the order data, the data 0506 in FIG.
When the sample data of FIG. 7 is given as the area definition table 0323, the site B is acquired as the responsible site. Note that, unless otherwise specified, the data 0506 in FIG. 5 and the area definition table in FIG.
The operation example will be described using the data shown in. Further, other data tables in the storage device 0320, which will be sequentially described in the following drawings, will also be used in the following operation description of the data examples of the drawings.

Next, at step 0602, it is checked with reference to the inventory table whether or not there is an ordered product at the site in charge. FIG. 8 shows an example of data in the inventory table 0322. The inventory table 0322 is obtained by collecting the inventory data held by the inventory management system of each inventory base via the network and consolidating them into one. The product code 0801 is the product code of the stock product. There is a field of the inventory quantity 0802 for each product code, and the inventory quantity is stored in each field separately for each site.

Returning to FIG. 6, the description of the allocation site determination processing 0402 will be continued. In step 0602, the presence / absence of inventory at the site in charge is checked, and if the result is “no inventory”, the flow proceeds to step 0603. In step 0603, the transfer site search process when the product is out of stock is executed, the result is saved in the work area, and the process is terminated. The outline of this processing will be described later. On the other hand, if the stock quantity is determined to be “in stock” in step 0602, the process proceeds to step 0604, and the predicted deviation degree table 0324 is referenced to acquire the predicted deviation degree for the combination of the assigned base and the ordered product.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of data of the predicted deviation degree table 0324. The forecast discrepancy is a numerical value that represents the magnitude of the discrepancy between the forecast of product demand and the actual situation. In the forecast deviation degree table 0324, at least one of the scheduled order date 0903 from the demand forecast, the estimated order date 0904 from the shipping record, and the difference 0905 between the two is set for each combination of the product code 0901 and the base code 0902.
Is stored. The scheduled ordering date 0903 from the demand forecast is the date when the next scheduled date for ordering products to the supplier or factory for inventory replenishment is calculated on the assumption that the demand will change as forecasted.

This is calculated in the forecast deviation degree calculating means 0312 described below with reference to the demand forecast table 0325 and the order information table 0327. The estimated order date 0904 from the shipment record is also the scheduled date for the next product order,
It is a date estimated based on the product shipment record from the previous product replenishment to the latest time. This is also the forecast deviation degree calculation means 0312
In, demand forecast table 0325, shipment record table 03
26, calculated with reference to the order information table 0327. The order date difference 0904 is the difference between these two estimated order dates.

If the difference between the order dates is positive, it means that the estimated order date based on the shipping record is later than the planned order date based on the demand forecast. In this case, it can be inferred that the actual consumption of demand is slower than expected, so that the inventory is consumed slowly and the inventory at the relevant site has a margin. The larger the value, the greater the margin. On the contrary, if the difference in ordering date is positive, it means that the scheduled ordering date calculated from the demand forecast is later,
It can be inferred that the stock at the relevant base is in short supply because the actual demand growth is larger than expected and the stock is exhausted quickly. The larger the value (absolute value), the greater the degree of shortage.

Returning to FIG. 6, the description of the allocation site determination processing 0402 will be continued. In step 0604, for example, if the forecast deviation degree table 0324 is referred to for the combination of the product X and the site B in charge, the scheduled ordering date from the demand forecast is “11/1.
5 ”, the estimated order date“ 11/9 ”from the shipping record, and the order date difference“ −6 days ”are obtained (data 0906 in FIG. 9). This means that the base B has a much shorter than expected (required amount for 6 days) inventory because the demand for the product X is larger than expected. Next, at step 0605, it is judged whether or not the difference between the order dates is negative, that is, whether or not there is an inventory shortage. If it is not negative, that is, if the inventory is not insufficient, the site in charge is saved as the allocation site in the work area and the process ends. If the difference in ordering date is negative, that is, if the inventory is insufficient, consider order transfer to another site that has sufficient inventory.

First, at step 0607, one transferable site is selected by referring to the area definition table 0323.
Next, in step 0608, the predicted deviation degree table 0324 is referred to,
Acquires the predicted divergence for the combination of the selected base and ordered product. In step 0609, it is checked that the difference between the order dates of the selected bases is positive, that is, there is a margin in inventory, and that the inventory table 0322 is referred to and there is actually an inventory that can be allocated. If these two conditions are satisfied, the process proceeds to step 0611, the selected site is saved as a processing result in the work area, and the process ends. In this case, in the subsequent inventory allocation processing 0403, the inventory of other bases other than the base in charge is allocated and transfer delivery is performed.

On the other hand, when the determination condition is not satisfied in step 0609, the process proceeds to step 0610. Step 0610
Then, it is determined whether or not there is a candidate base that has not been selected, and if there is a candidate base, the process returns to step 0607 to repeat the processing. If there is no candidate base, the process proceeds to step 0606, the base in charge is stored in the work area as the processing result, and the processing is ended. This means that there is not enough stock at the assigned base, but no transfer is possible because there is no other base that can be transferred.

Next, the "retrieval process for out-of-stock transfer site" in step 0603, which is the process when there is no stock at the site in charge, will be described. This is a process to search for another transferable site, similar to the process described above when there is inventory,
The fact that there is sufficient inventory is not a necessary condition for transfer, and if there are no other candidates, even if the base has insufficient inventory, if there is available inventory, it is selected as the transfer destination. Further, if the transfer base is not found even after the search, since no base including the responsible base can be allocated, the fact that “no allocation base is available” is stored in the work area and the process ends.

The above is the outline of the allocation site determination processing 0402. For example, for the order data 0506 (delivering 10 products X to the customer b201 in area B) in FIG.
When 02 is operated, the base in charge starts from the predicted deviation of "-6 days"
It determines that B is out of stock and searches for other bases, and base A (“+2 days”) or base C (“+
5 days ") is obtained as a processing result. Note that in Step 0605 and Step 0609 for determining whether the inventory is excessive or insufficient, in the embodiment, the determination is simply performed by using only the order date code. It is also possible to set a reference value in 1 and to make a determination based on whether or not the reference value is exceeded. By doing so, it is possible to exclude from the processing targets the bases that have a small difference in order date and may be regarded as an error range. For example, if the reference value for determining the inventory margin is 3 days in the above example, the base C is selected as the transfer base.

FIG. 10 is a process flow chart showing an outline of the process of the predicted deviation degree calculating means 0312. Prediction deviation degree calculation means
0312 is a demand forecast table 0325 and a shipping record table 032.
6. The predicted deviation degree is calculated with reference to the order information table 0327, and the result is stored in the predicted deviation degree table 0324. Before describing the flow of the processing in FIG. 6, the configuration of each of these data tables will be described.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of data of the demand forecast table 0325. The demand forecast table 0325 stores a daily forecasted sales amount 1103 for each combination of the product code 1101 and the site code 1102. FIG. 12 shows the shipment record table 0326.
It is a figure which shows the example of data. In the shipment record table 0326, the shipment record 1203 for each day is stored for each combination of the product code 1201 and the site code 1202. In the example of FIG. 12, the fields after 11/6 of the shipping record are blank, which means that the shipping records after that are not obtained in this example.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of data in the order information table 0327. The ordering information table 0327 shows the last replenishment date 1303 for each combination of the product code 1301 and the site code 1302,
An initial stock quantity 1304 and an order point 1305 are stored. Last refill date
1303 means the latest date when the product was replenished from the supplier or factory. The initial stock amount 1304 means the stock amount immediately after the previous replenishment. The ordering point 1304 means the lower limit value of the stock quantity that triggers the ordering of products. The amount of inventory decreases with the shipment of products starting from the initial inventory, and when the ordering point is cut off, an order is placed to replenish the inventory with the supplier or factory.

Returning to FIG. 10, the description of the processing of the predicted deviation degree calculating means 0312 will be continued. First, in step 1001, the scheduled ordering date from the demand forecast is calculated. This is calculated mechanically by subtracting the sales forecast quantity of the demand forecast table 0235 from the initial inventory quantity of the relevant product and the relevant base from the previous inventory replenishment date as the date advances by one day. You can The estimated sales date is subtracted, and the date when the order point is cut off for the first time becomes the scheduled order date. Then step 1002
At, the estimated ordering date is calculated from the shipping record. This is to calculate the next order date by estimating the true demand in consideration of the shipping record up to the present time. Unlike the calculation of the scheduled ordering date based on the demand forecast, since there is an uncertain factor of demand estimation, the calculation method is not fixed and various methods are conceivable. In the present invention, the calculation method is not particularly limited, and any method may be used, but in the present embodiment, as one example thereof, demand using a prediction straight line obtained by interpolating shipping results by the least squares method The estimation method of is used.

FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram of the demand estimation method in this embodiment. First, the cumulative value of shipping results is plotted on a graph plane in which the vertical axis represents the product quantity and the horizontal axis represents the time axis (date) starting from the previous ordering date. Next, a straight line that interpolates each point of the cumulative shipment record is obtained by the least squares method, and is extended and drawn on the graph plane to a portion beyond the interpolation portion.
The extended portion of this interpolation line (dotted line in the figure) is the demand estimation portion.

As described above, this is a very simple method, but the accuracy of estimation can be further improved by correcting this result by using the unique information in the delivery area or the base, the original demand forecast data, and the like. . Anyway, if the demand can be estimated by some means, the order date can be easily calculated. In the case of the present embodiment, the difference between the initial stock amount and the ordering point on the previous replenishment date is calculated, and the point on the interpolation line where the cumulative shipment amount exceeds this is obtained. The date at that point becomes the order date.

Returning to FIG. 10, the description of the processing of the predicted deviation degree calculating means 0312 will be continued. In step 1003, the difference between the estimated ordering date based on the previously calculated demand forecast and the estimated ordering date based on the shipping record is calculated. In step 1004, all the calculation results are stored in the corresponding fields of the predicted deviation degree table 0324, and the whole processing is ended.

The processing flow of the predicted deviation degree calculating means 0312 in FIG. 10 is for one combination of product and base. Actually, this process is executed for all combinations of products and bases. Further, the execution timing of the predicted deviation degree calculation means 0312 may be the execution timing of the dynamic inventory allocation means 0311 when the order or the number of bases is not so large, but if it is inconvenient because it takes too much processing time etc. Has
It is executed every day after the ordering work is completed, or it is executed on a specific execution day such as every Wednesday. In any case, the execution timing is determined in advance, and the predicted deviation degree calculating unit calculates the predicted deviation degree according to the timing.

In the predictive deviation degree calculating means 0312,
The calculated deviation degree may not only be stored in the predicted deviation degree table 0324, but also the calculation result may be output to the display device 0340 at the same time. FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a display example of the predicted deviation degree. For a particular product (here, product X),
The deviation of the scheduled ordering date at each site is displayed in a graph format. As a result, by showing the inventory exhaustion status of each site such as lack of inventory or excess inventory with an objective and easy-to-understand index such as the difference in ordering date, the person in charge can easily compare inventory between sites to facilitate inventory status. It will be possible to grasp. Using this as a judgment factor, the person in charge can reasonably plan such things as placing an order ahead of time with suppliers or factories and moving inventory from a base with sufficient inventory to a base with insufficient inventory.

FIG. 16 is an example of inventory transition for a certain site and a certain product when the multi-site inventory control device of the present invention is used. Graph shows demand forecast (1601), planned inventory transition based on demand forecast (1602), shipment record (1603), actual inventory transition (1604) Are shown respectively. Below, the relationship between these graphs will be described along with the transition of time. It should be noted that the calculation of the predicted divergence is not performed for each allocation, but according to a predetermined schedule, points A, B, and
It shall be carried out in C and D.

First, the first degree of prediction deviation from the origin of the time axis
Up to the point A, which is the calculation point for the first time, the shipment record exceeds the demand forecast and grows. As a result, inventory will be exhausted sooner than planned, resulting in a shortage of inventory. Therefore, after point A, customer orders in the area in charge are transferred to another site by the control of this device, so the shipment record is point B.
Will level off and there will be no change in inventory. At point B, the shipping record and the demand forecast become almost equal, and as a result of calculation of the forecast deviation degree by this device, it is determined that the inventory amount is sufficient. Therefore, after that, this site will process orders for the area in charge as before. As a result, the shipment record once again exceeds the demand forecast, and the inventory quantity becomes insufficient. Therefore, after the point C, transfer delivery is performed again, and the shipping record and the inventory amount are adjusted. As a result, at point D, the shipping record and the demand forecast balance again, so that the transfer is canceled and the normal operation is performed thereafter. Finally, at point E, the stock quantity cuts off the order point as originally planned, and an order for stock replenishment is made here. By the way, the actual demand was as shown in Graph 1605. If we were to accept all of this demand at our site, inventory would be consumed much faster than planned, so the timing to cut the order point would have been greatly advanced.

However, this device determines whether the inventory at each location is excessive or insufficient, and when the inventory is insufficient, transfers the order to another location with sufficient inventory (transfer On), and when the inventory shortage is resolved, transfers the inventory. By appropriately switching transfer On and transfer Off, such as stopping the transfer (transfer Off), the shipment amount can be adjusted to meet the demand forecast, and the inventory can be maintained in an appropriate state. From the above, by using this device, it is possible to maintain the inventory at all bases at an appropriate level with no excess or deficiency or bias. If the shipment volume of the base is regarded as the temporary demand of the area in charge, the demand forecast is accurately made, that is, the inventory is not optimized by actually matching the forecast, but this device is It can be considered as a means to realize inventory optimization by adjusting the demand itself to the forecast by manipulating the demand.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, when the stock of the base in charge runs out, the order is transferred to another base to prevent out-of-stock items, and the demand forecast and the shipment record are deviated. The inventory of each base is estimated from the above, and the orders for the bases with insufficient stock are automatically transferred to the bases with sufficient inventory, so the stock of each base is maintained at an appropriate level without excess or deficiency or bias. can do. As a result, the inventory volume changes as planned in line with the demand forecast, making it easy to schedule various operations related to inventory management, such as ordering for inventory replenishment and storage of inventory, which in turn facilitates operations.
It can contribute to efficiency improvement. In addition, even if the demand forecast deviates from the actual demand, the demand forecast can be "applied" by adjusting the shipping volume to the forecast, so if the total demand can be accurately estimated, it is possible to predict the individual areas. Has the advantage of not requiring high precision. This is particularly effective when the number of bases is large and the area is subdivided.

Further, according to the present embodiment, the deviation of the demand forecast is converted into the deviation of the next scheduled ordering date to the supplier or factory and presented to the person in charge, so that the person in charge can compare the bases and exhaust stock. The situation can be grasped objectively. This makes it easier for the person in charge to make an earlier order or to make a decision such as inventory movement between bases, which is also effective for supporting the person in charge of decision making.

[0051]

According to the present invention, it is possible to carry out inventory management at a plurality of sites more efficiently.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a product sales network which is a premise of an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of an entire network according to the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of a multi-site inventory control device according to the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a processing flow chart showing a schematic processing procedure of a dynamic inventory allocation unit of the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of data of an order table according to the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a processing flow diagram illustrating a schematic processing procedure of allocation site determination processing according to the embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of data of an area definition table according to the embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of data of an inventory table of the embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of data of a predicted deviation degree table according to the embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a processing flow chart showing a schematic processing procedure of a predicted deviation degree calculating unit of the embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of data of a demand prediction table according to the embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of data of a shipping record table of the embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of data of an order information table according to the embodiment.

FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram of a demand estimation method based on a shipment record of the embodiment.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a display example of a predicted deviation degree according to the embodiment.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an example of inventory control according to the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

0310: processing device, 0311: dynamic inventory allocation means, 0
312: predicted deviation degree calculating means, 0313: work area, 0320: storage device, 0321: order table,
0322: inventory table, 0323: area definition table, 0324: forecast deviation degree table, 0325: demand forecast table, 0326: shipping record table, 0327:
Order information table, 0330: input device, 0340: display device, 0350: output device, 0360: network

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Takeichi Maruyama             5-2-1 Omika-cho, Hitachi City, Ibaraki Prefecture             Information Control Systems Division, Hitachi, Ltd.             Within (72) Inventor Kiki Koki             1099 Ozenji, Aso-ku, Kawasaki City, Kanagawa Prefecture             Ceremony company Hitachi Systems Development Laboratory

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An inventory management device for managing inventory at a plurality of inventory bases capable of storing products, wherein a predetermined inventory base of the plurality of inventory bases satisfies a time or distance condition, Means for grasping the transferable inventory base of the product, means for predicting the delivery amount of the product from the predetermined inventory base, and means for measuring the actual delivery amount of the product from the predetermined inventory base A means for comparing the predicted delivery amount with the measured actual delivery amount, and as a result of the comparison, if the actual delivery amount is more than a predetermined reference value and is greater than the delivery amount, the transfer And a means for outputting a transfer instruction of a quantity of the product according to the stock status of any of the transferable stock bases from any of the possible stock bases to the predetermined stock base. Inventory control device according to claim. 2. The inventory management device according to claim 1, wherein the output unit is one of the transferable inventory bases.
An inventory management device, which outputs the transfer instruction from an inventory base whose inventory amount is larger than a predetermined amount to the predetermined inventory base. 3. The inventory management device according to claim 1, wherein the output unit outputs a transfer instruction of a larger quantity of goods in the stock base where the stock can be transferred, the stock base having a larger stock quantity. Inventory management device. 4. The inventory management device according to claim 1, wherein the output unit is one of the transferable inventory bases.
An inventory management device, which outputs a P transfer instruction to a predetermined inventory base from an inventory base whose predicted delivery volume is smaller than an actual delivery volume by a predetermined amount or more.