JP2005263459A - Delivery time notification device, and delivery time notification program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a device, capable of clearly displaying time required till arrival of merchandise at a user when purchase of the merchandise is requested at a virtual store. <P>SOLUTION: In a virtual store control device 40 to control websites of virtual stores, an inventory database is provided for controlling inventory situations for different kinds of merchandise sold in the virtual stores by the warehouse. As a user visiting the website of the virtual store selects desired merchandise, the virtual store control device 40 computes and displays the number of days required for arrival of the selected merchandise at the user. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for notifying time required for delivery of a product.

With the expansion of the network environment, so-called Internet mail order sales performed in virtual stores have come to be widely used. Most of this type of mail order is generally conducted according to the following procedure. First, a user logs in to a virtual store site from his / her terminal. Then, a screen on which images, product names, prices, etc. of products handled at the virtual store are displayed. After selecting a desired product, the user presents personal information such as his / her name and address as appropriate. As a result, the purchase application procedure is completed, and after a predetermined settlement procedure, the product related to the application is delivered to the user's address by home delivery or the like. Operators of each virtual store have various ideas on how to select products and how to make payments in order to differentiate them from others in the same industry by improving user convenience. A technique for supporting the attempt has also been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
JP2001-195488

By the way, when purchasing a product using a virtual store, of course, the user cannot acquire the product at the same time as the purchase, and waits for the product for which the purchase application has been made to be delivered from the operator of the virtual store. You can only get the product. For this reason,
The time it takes for the product that you have applied for purchase to arrive is of great concern. However, in this type of virtual store, there is no such thing as clearly presenting the time required for delivery of a product when applying for purchase of the product.
The present invention has been devised under such a background, and when applying for purchase of a product in a virtual store, the time required for the product to reach the user can be clearly presented. An object is to provide such a device.

A delivery time notification device according to a preferred aspect of the present invention includes a stock information storage unit that stores a product identifier of each product and the number of stocks of each product in association with each other, and a query reception that receives a delivery query including the product identifier. Means for referring to the stock quantity stored in the stock information storage means in association with the product identifier included in the delivery inquiry, and judging whether the stock quantity is less than a predetermined quantity; And a response transmission means for transmitting a response to the effect that the product can be delivered within a preset normal delivery time when it is determined that the stock quantity is not less than a predetermined quantity.

In this aspect, the purchase application receiving means for receiving the purchase application for the product related to the delivery inquiry from the sender of the delivery inquiry, and the delivery instruction of the product related to the delivery inquiry is received when the purchase application is received. A delivery instruction transmitting means for sending to a predetermined device having jurisdiction over, a stock quantity updating means for updating the stock quantity stored in the stock information storage means in association with the product identifier included in the delivery inquiry, After the update, when the stock quantity falls below a predetermined quantity, it may further comprise a delivery instruction transmission means for transmitting a delivery instruction for the product related to the delivery inquiry to a predetermined device having jurisdiction over the delivery of the product. .

The inventory information storage means further stores a delivery time, which is a time required for the delivery to be completed after the delivery instruction is sent, in association with each product identifier, and the response sending means stores the inventory information. When it is determined that the number is less than a predetermined quantity, the delivery time stored in association with the product identifier included in the delivery inquiry is read from the inventory information storage unit, and the read delivery time and the normal delivery time are read And a response indicating that the product can be delivered within the time determined by the addition may be transmitted to the source of the delivery inquiry.

A delivery time notification device according to another preferred aspect of the present invention associates a plurality of addresses assumed as delivery destinations of goods with normal delivery times that are normal delivery times required for delivery to each address. Normal delivery time storage means for storing, inquiry receiving means for receiving a delivery inquiry including information for specifying the address of the delivery destination of the product, and normal delivery time stored in association with the address specified by the delivery inquiry A delivery time reading unit that reads from the normal delivery time storage unit; and a response transmission unit that transmits a response to the effect that the product can be delivered within the read normal delivery time.

A program which is another preferred aspect of the present invention is a computer apparatus comprising stock information storage means for storing the product identifier of each product and the number of stocks of each product in association with each other, and information communication means. A query reception process for receiving a delivery query including a product identifier via the communication unit, and a reference to the stock quantity stored in the stock information storage unit in association with the product identifier included in the delivery query, and the stock quantity Inventory determination processing for determining whether or not the inventory quantity is less than a predetermined quantity, and a response that the product can be delivered within a preset normal delivery time when it is determined that the inventory quantity is not less than the predetermined quantity A response transmission process for transmitting to a transmission inquiry source is executed.

A program that is another preferred aspect of the present invention is a program that stores a plurality of addresses assumed as delivery destinations of goods and normal delivery times that are normal delivery times required for delivery to each address in association with each other. Inquiry reception processing for receiving a delivery inquiry including information for specifying a delivery address of a product via the communication means in a computer device comprising delivery time storage means and information communication means, and by the delivery inquiry A delivery time reading process for reading the normal delivery time stored in association with the identified address from the normal delivery time storage means, and a response to the effect that the product can be delivered within the read normal delivery time. A response transmission process for transmitting to the source via the communication means is executed.

(First embodiment)
Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described.
The feature of the mail order system according to the first embodiment of the present invention is that the number of days required for delivery when a product is purchased is presented before accepting a purchase application for the product at a virtual store.
Here, before explaining the configuration and operation of the mail-order sales system, first, the distribution of commodities among the operators involved in the operation of the system will be described with reference to FIG.
As shown in FIG. 1, the operation of this system is performed by a system administrator, a warehouse manager, and a product manufacturer.
The system administrator is a business operator who maintains and manages the virtual store site. The system administrator solicits purchase applications for products from individuals or corporations (hereinafter referred to as “users”) who visit the virtual store, and notifies the warehouse manager of delivery instructions for the products related to the purchase applications. Also, the number of stocks of various products in the warehouse is ascertained at any time, and when a particular product is out of stock, a delivery instruction for that product is notified to the product manufacturer. In the following explanation, the state that the inventory of a specific product is no longer in the warehouse
Called “out of stock”.
The warehouse manager is a business operator who delivers goods related to the purchase application at each of the warehouses installed in two places in Tokyo and Osaka. When the system administrator is notified of the delivery instruction of the product, the warehouse manager delivers the product according to the instruction to the user who made the purchase application. When the warehouse manager delivers a plurality of products to the same user, the warehouse manager is supposed to deliver the products together in one mouth due to the problem of delivery cost.
The product manufacturer is a business operator who undertakes the manufacture of various products sold at virtual stores. When a product delivery instruction is notified from the system administrator, the product manufacturer delivers the product according to the delivery instruction immediately if it can be delivered to the warehouse. In that case, the number of days required for the delivery to be completed after the delivery instruction is notified differs depending on the type of the product. In the following explanation,
The number of days required from the delivery instruction being notified until the delivery of the product according to the instruction is referred to as “entry lead time”. On the other hand, if it is not possible to deliver immediately due to various circumstances, the system administrator will be notified in advance that the delivery of the product will be delayed and the scheduled delivery date, and the delivery will be completed by the notified scheduled delivery date. It has become. In the following description, a state where the product manufacturer cannot immediately deliver a specific product to the warehouse is referred to as a “out of stock state”.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of the mail order system according to the present embodiment. As shown in the figure, this system includes a user terminal 10, a warehouse management terminal 20, a manufacturer terminal 30, and a virtual store management device 40.
The user terminal 10 is a computer device that includes a CPU, ROM, RAM, hard disk, communication interface, mouse, keyboard, computer display, and the like, and is installed in a user's home or office. All users, after receiving a unique user ID and password by performing a predetermined registration procedure, access the virtual store site from their user terminals 10 and present their user ID and password. Thus, it is possible to apply for purchase of a desired product. In the above-described registration procedure, personal information such as the name (name), the address to which the purchased product is delivered, and the credit card number for settlement are presented. Such personal information is managed by the virtual store management device 40.
The warehouse management terminal 20 is a computer device having a CPU, ROM, RAM, hard disk, communication interface, mouse, keyboard, computer display, etc., and is located in a warehouse in Tokyo (hereinafter referred to as “Tokyo warehouse”) and in Osaka. Installed in each warehouse (hereinafter referred to as “Osaka Warehouse”). The warehouse managers of both warehouses understand the contents of the delivery instruction of the goods addressed to the respective warehouses by exchanging data with the virtual store management device 40 via the warehouse management terminal 20. .
The manufacturer terminal 30 is a computer device that includes a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, a communication interface, a hard disk, a computer display, and the like, and is installed in a factory of a product manufacturer. The product maker uses the maker terminal 30 to operate the virtual store management device 40.
I understand the contents of the delivery instructions addressed to me by exchanging data.

The virtual store management device 40 is a computer device that performs operations characteristic of the present embodiment, and is used by a system administrator.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the virtual store management device 40. As shown in the figure, the virtual store management device 40 includes a CPU 41, an IPL that controls the operation of each part of the device.
ROM 42 storing (initial program loader), RAM 43 used as a work area of CPU 41, hard disk 44, communication interface 45, mouse 4
6, a keyboard 47, a computer display 48, and the like. The hard disk 44 stores a product database 44a, an inventory database 44b, a delivery date database 44c, a user information database 44d, and a delivery time notification program 44e.

FIG. 4 is a data structure diagram of the product database 44a. The database collects a plurality of records corresponding to each product sold at a virtual store. One record constituting the database has fields of “identifier”, “name”, “price”, and “handling warehouse”. In the “identifier” field, a product identifier for uniquely identifying a product is stored. In the “name” field, the product name is stored. In the “price” field, the selling price of the product is stored. Stored in the “handling warehouse” field is handling warehouse information indicating a warehouse in which each product can be delivered from the product manufacturer. Among various products sold at virtual stores, there are some products that a product manufacturer can only deliver to either Tokyo Warehouse or Osaka Warehouse due to various circumstances. And if the stored content of this field is “Tokyo, Osaka”, the product manufacturer can deliver the product to either Tokyo warehouse or Osaka warehouse, but if it is “Tokyo” It can only be delivered to the Tokyo warehouse, and if it is “Osaka”, it can only be delivered to the Osaka warehouse. In other words, Tokyo warehouse
It is not possible to have an inventory of products whose stored contents of “Handling Warehouse” is “Osaka”, and Osaka Warehouse has an inventory of products whose stored contents of “Handling Warehouse” is “Tokyo”. You will not get.

FIG. 5 is a data structure diagram of the inventory database 44b. There are two databases: a database that manages the inventory status of the Tokyo warehouse (hereinafter referred to as “Tokyo inventory database” as appropriate) and a database that manages the inventory status of the Osaka warehouse (hereinafter referred to as “osaka inventory database” as appropriate). It is divided into two. The Tokyo inventory database collects a plurality of records corresponding to each product that can be delivered to the Tokyo warehouse, and the Osaka inventory database collects a plurality of records corresponding to each product that can be delivered to the Osaka warehouse.
As shown in FIG. 5, one record constituting this database has fields of “identifier”, “stock quantity”, “receipt lead time”, “out of stock”, and “scheduled arrival date”. Yes.
A product identifier is stored in the “identifier” field. In the “Stock quantity” field,
Store the number of items in stock. When the number of stock falls below 1 and becomes 0, it is considered that there is no stock, and a delivery instruction for the product is notified to the product manufacturer. In the “receipt lead time” field, a predetermined number of days is stored as the receipt lead time of each product. In the “out of stock” field, “1” is stored as a flag indicating that there is a stockout state. The “scheduled arrival date” field stores a scheduled arrival date when a product in a shortage state is received. The update procedure and timing of data stored in each of these fields will be described in detail later in the explanation of operation.

FIG. 6 is a data structure diagram of the delivery date database 44c. This database is a collection of a plurality of records corresponding to each address assumed as a delivery destination of a product. One record constituting this table has two fields of “address code” and “delivery days”. The “Delivery Days” field has two fields, “Tokyo Warehouse” and “Osaka Warehouse”.
Follows one field. In the “address code” field, an address code for uniquely identifying a prefecture and a municipality is stored. This address code will be described in further detail. In this embodiment, an address code is assigned to each address assumed as a delivery destination, and the number of days required for delivery of the product is calculated based on this address code. This address code is formed by combining an upper two-digit number string representing a prefecture and a lower three-digit number string representing a municipality in the prefecture. Note that the upper two-digit number string indicates a younger number in the prefecture located in the north. For example, “01” represents Hokkaido and “48” represents Okinawa. This address code is also used as a material for determining the principal jurisdiction warehouse that has jurisdiction over the delivery of goods in principle. In this equipment database, the address code for each address located in eastern Japan is the Tokyo warehouse. On the other hand, the address code of each address located in West Japan is set so that the Osaka warehouse is the principal jurisdiction warehouse. In the “Delivery Days” field, the number of days indicating the shortest delivery time when delivering from the Tokyo warehouse and Osaka warehouse to the municipality indicated by each address code (hereinafter referred to as “normal delivery days”). Remember).

The user information database 44d stores the personal information presented by each user during the registration process described above in association with the user ID and password issued to each user in exchange for the personal information. . The personal information of each user stored in this database includes
An address code corresponding to the address presented by each user is to be added.
The delivery time notification program 44e is a program that causes the CPU 41 to execute operations characteristic of the present embodiment.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. The operation of this embodiment can be broadly divided into inquiry product selection processing, jurisdiction warehouse determination processing, delivery time presentation processing, and purchase application processing.
FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing inquiry product selection processing.
This process is a process of selecting a product for which an inquiry about the number of days required for delivery is desired from various products sold at the virtual store, and the user moves his / her own user terminal 10 to the virtual store management device 40.
It starts when you connect to.
When the user terminal 10 is connected, the virtual store management device 40 transmits display data of a user ID / password request screen to the user terminal 10 (S100).
The user terminal 10 that has received the display data displays a user ID / password request screen (S110). On this screen, texts such as “Please enter your user ID and password” and an input field for user ID and password are displayed. The user enters his / her user ID and password in this input field. User terminal 10
Transmits the input user ID and password to the virtual store management device 40 (S120).
).

The CPU 41 of the virtual store management device 40 performs a predetermined authentication procedure based on the user ID and password received from the user terminal 10, and then stores the personal information associated with the user ID and password in the user information database 44d. Identifies the specified personal information from R
Read to the AM 43 (S130). Subsequently, a set of a product identifier, a product name, and a sales price is read for each product from the product database 44a, and display data of a product selection screen generated based on the contents is transmitted to the user terminal 10 (S140). .

The user terminal 10 that has received the display data displays a product selection screen (S150).
FIG. 8 shows a product selection screen. This screen has a product name that can be purchased at the virtual store, a product identifier (displayed as “application number” on the screen), a sales price, and a number input field for entering the number of each product purchased. A list of handled products arranged for each product is displayed. The user selects an arbitrary product from the handling product list on this screen, and inputs the purchase quantity in the quantity input column corresponding to the selected one or more products.

The user terminal 10 transmits each set of the product identifier and the purchase quantity of the product that has been input to the number input field to the virtual store management device 40 (S160). CPU of virtual store management device 40
41 stores each set of the product identifier and the purchased quantity in the RAM 43 (S170).
The inquiry product selection process is thus completed, and then the jurisdiction warehouse determination process is started.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing jurisdiction warehouse determination processing. This process is a process of determining a warehouse that will have jurisdiction over the delivery of the product selected on the product selection screen.
When each set of the product identifier and the number of purchases is stored in the RAM 43, the CPU 41 of the virtual store management device 40 identifies one or more records associated with the product identifier stored in the RAM 43 in Step 170 from the product database 44a. (S200). Subsequently, the “handling warehouse” field of the specified record or records is referred to (S210). As a result of the reference in this step, the first case where all the products selected on the product selection screen are handled in both the Tokyo warehouse and the Osaka warehouse, and the selected products only in the Tokyo warehouse The second case in which things handled and those handled only in the Osaka warehouse are mixed, and the third case where the selected goods include those handled in both warehouses and those handled only in the Tokyo warehouse And a fourth case in which the selected product includes items handled in both warehouses and items handled only in the Osaka warehouse. These 4
Depending on which of the two cases is applicable, the warehouse in charge of delivery is determined.

As a result of the reference in step 210, when all the products selected on the product selection screen are handled in both the Tokyo warehouse and the Osaka warehouse, the CPU 41 proceeds to step 130.
The address code included in the personal information read in is identified (S220). Then, the warehouse having jurisdiction over the delivery is determined as the principal jurisdiction warehouse that has been associated in advance with the address code identified in step 220 (S230). For example, if the address code of “01-001” stored in the top record of the database of FIG. 6 is specified in step 220, the warehouse having jurisdiction for delivery is the principal jurisdiction warehouse of this address located in eastern Japan. It will be decided in a certain Tokyo warehouse.

As a result of the reference in step 210, when the product selected on the product selection screen contains a product handled only in the Tokyo warehouse and a product handled only in the Osaka warehouse, the warehouse in charge of delivery can be determined. A response indicating that there was no response is transmitted to the user terminal 10 (S240).
When the user terminal 10 receives a response indicating that the warehouse in charge of delivery could not be determined, “If you want to know how many days it will take to reach you, please contact us directly.” The text and the e-mail address to be inquired are displayed.
As a result of the reference in step 210, when the products selected on the product selection screen include those handled in both warehouses and those handled only in the Tokyo warehouse, the warehouse in charge of delivery is designated as the Tokyo warehouse. (S250).
As a result of the reference in step 210, when the products selected on the product selection screen include those handled in both warehouses and those handled only in the Osaka warehouse, the warehouse in charge of delivery is designated as the Osaka warehouse. (S260).
When the warehouse in charge of delivery is determined to be either the Tokyo warehouse or the Osaka warehouse, the delivery time presentation process is started.

10 and 11 are flowcharts showing the delivery time presentation process. This process is a process of presenting the number of days required for the product selected on the product selection screen to reach the user.
When the warehouse having jurisdiction over the delivery is determined, the CPU 41 of the virtual store management device 40 specifies one inventory database to be referred to from both databases constituting the inventory database 44b (S300). That is, the Tokyo inventory database is specified when the warehouse in charge of delivery is determined to be the Tokyo warehouse in the controlled warehouse determination process, while the Osaka inventory database is specified when the warehouse is determined to be the Osaka warehouse.
The CPU 41 identifies one or a plurality of records associated with the product identifier stored in the RAM 43 in step 170 from the identified inventory database, and the stored contents of the “stock quantity” field are included in the identified records. It is determined whether there is a record that is “0” (S310).

When there is no record whose stored content in the “stock quantity” field is “0”, the CPU
41 identifies a record storing the same address code as that contained in the personal information read in step 130 from the delivery days database 44c (S320). Subsequently, the normal delivery days corresponding to the warehouse having jurisdiction over the delivery are read out from the “delivery days” field of the record (S330). Then, a response including the read normal delivery days is transmitted to the user terminal 10 (S340).
When there is a record whose stored contents in the “stock quantity” field is “0”, the CPU
41 further determines whether there is a record in which the storage content of the “out of stock” field is “1” in one or a plurality of records in which “0” is stored (S350).

When there is no record whose stored content in the “Missing product flag” field is “1”, C
The PU 41 performs the processing corresponding to Step 320 to Step 330 and reads the normal delivery days, and then the “41” of the record in which the storage content of the “out of stock flag” field is “1”.
The number of days stored in the “Receiving lead time” field is read (S360). Then, a response including the total number of days obtained by adding the number of days read in step 360 to the number of normal delivery days read in step 330 is transmitted to the user terminal 10 (S370).
When there is a record whose stored contents in the “out of stock flag” field is “1”, C
The PU 41 determines whether or not there is a record storing the scheduled arrival date in the “scheduled arrival date” field in one or a plurality of records in which “1” is stored (S380).

When the scheduled arrival date is stored in all the records, the latest scheduled arrival date is read out from each scheduled arrival date stored in the “arrival scheduled date” field. (S390). Then, the number of days from today (the date when the user terminal is connected) to the scheduled arrival date read in step 390 is calculated (S400). The CPU 41 reads the normal delivery days in accordance with the processing of steps 320 to 330, and transmits a response including the total days obtained by adding the days calculated in step 400 to the read normal delivery days to the user terminal 10 (S410). ).
On the other hand, when there is a record in which the scheduled arrival date is not stored, the CPU 41 transmits a response to the user terminal 10 indicating that the clear number of days required to reach the user's hand cannot be presented (
S420).

The user terminal 10 that has received the response from the virtual store management device 40 displays a response screen on the display.
FIG. 12 shows a response screen. In the upper part of this screen, a list showing the product name, the number of products purchased, the sales price, and the total price of the products selected on the product selection screen is displayed. Below that, "If you have purchased the above items, they will arrive at you within XX days from today."
Or a message such as “The purchased item contains the item to be ordered. It will take some time to reach you”. If you receive a response that includes the number of days, the former message is displayed,
If a response indicating that the number of days cannot be presented is received, the latter message is displayed. FIG. 12 shows a state in which the former message is displayed. Further, a button labeled “Apply for purchase” and a button labeled “Cancel purchase” are displayed at the bottom of the screen. The user performs an operation of moving the cursor to one of the buttons and selecting it.
When the button labeled “cancel purchase” is selected, the user terminal 10 releases the connection state with the virtual store management device 40 and ends the process. On the other hand, when the button “Apply for product purchase” is selected, the user terminal 10 sends a purchase application request to the virtual store management device 40.
Send to. When the virtual store management device 40 receives the purchase application request, the purchase application process is subsequently started.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the purchase application process. This process is a process for instructing delivery of a product related to a purchase application.
The CPU 41 of the virtual store management apparatus 40 that has received the purchase application request transmits a delivery instruction to the warehouse management terminal 20 of the warehouse that is responsible for the delivery of the product (S500). This delivery instruction includes each set of the product identifier and the number of purchases stored in the RAM 43 in step 170, and step 13.
It contains personal information read out with 0. Receiving the delivery instruction, the warehouse management terminal 20 displays the product identifier, each set of purchase quantity, and personal information (S510). By referring to this display content, the warehouse manager understands the product related to the purchase application, its quantity, and the delivery address. Then, those products are packed in one mouth and delivered. In addition, when there is no inventory of all or a part of the product related to the purchase application, delivery is performed after the product is delivered from the product manufacturer.

In addition, the CPU 41 of the virtual store management device 40 identifies one or more records associated with the product identifier stored in the RAM 43 in Step 170 from the inventory database 44b (S520). Next, the storage content of the “stock quantity” field of the identified record is updated to the number obtained by subtracting the number of purchases from the number stored in the field so far (S53).
0).
The CPU 41 refers to the “stock quantity” field of one or more records identified in step 520 and determines whether there is a record whose stock quantity is “0” (S540).
If there is no record whose stock quantity is “0”, the process is terminated as it is.

On the other hand, when there is a record whose stock quantity is “0”, the CPU 41 reads the product identifier from the record and displays a delivery instruction prompt screen on the computer display 48 (
S550). On this screen, a text with a content such as “The item with the product code XXXXXX is out of stock in the warehouse. Please notify the manufacturer of the delivery instruction” is displayed. A read product identifier, a delivery number input field, and a warehouse input field as a delivery destination are displayed. The system administrator inputs the number of deliveries and the warehouse as the delivery destination in each input field. When the number of deliveries and the delivery destination are input, the CPU 41 of the virtual store management device 40 transmits a delivery instruction to the manufacturer terminal 30 (S560). This delivery instruction includes a product identifier,
It contains the number of deliveries and a warehouse identifier that indicates the delivery destination warehouse.

The manufacturer terminal 30 that has received the delivery instruction displays the product identifier, the number of deliveries, and the warehouse identifier included in the delivery instruction (S570). By referring to the displayed contents, the staff of the product manufacturer understands the product related to the delivery instruction, its delivery quantity, and the warehouse as the delivery destination. And it confirms whether the delivery according to the delivery instruction can be performed immediately.
When delivery can be performed immediately, the product prepared according to the delivery quantity is immediately carried out to the warehouse designated as the delivery destination. The unloaded goods arrive at the warehouse in the number of days corresponding to the receipt lead time of the goods.

On the other hand, if the delivery instruction cannot be immediately responded due to reasons such as production being delayed, the manufacturer terminal 30 responds to a predetermined input operation by the staff of the product manufacturer, and the virtual store management device 4
A delivery delay response is transmitted to 0 (S580). This delivery delay response includes the product identifier and warehouse identifier of the product related to the delivery instruction. The CPU 41 of the virtual store management apparatus 40 that has received the delivery delay response specifies a record associated with the product identifier included in the response from the warehouse inventory database 44b indicated by the warehouse identifier included in the delivery delay response,
“1” is stored in the “out of stock” field of the identified record (S590).

After that, when the scheduled date for delivery according to the delivery instruction is determined by the product manufacturer, the manufacturer terminal 30 responds to a predetermined input operation by the product manufacturer's staff, and the virtual store management device 4
A delivery schedule notification is transmitted to 0 (S600). This delivery schedule notification includes a product identifier, a warehouse identifier, and a scheduled delivery date of a product related to the delivery instruction. The CPU 41 of the virtual store management device 40 that has received the delivery schedule notification specifies a record associated with the product identifier included in the notification from the warehouse inventory database 44b indicated by the warehouse identifier included in the delivery schedule notification, The scheduled arrival date included in the notification is stored in the “scheduled arrival date” field of the record (S610).

After the delivery schedule notification is transmitted, the product manufacturer performs the production work of the product according to the delivery instruction without delay, and completes the delivery of the product by the notified delivery scheduled date.
When the product is delivered from the product manufacturer to the warehouse, the warehouse management terminal 20 transmits a delivery completion notification to the virtual store management device 40 in response to a predetermined input operation by the warehouse manager (S620).
). This delivery completion notice contains the warehouse identifier of the own warehouse, the product identifier of the goods delivered to the own warehouse, and the delivery quantity. C of the virtual store management device 40 that received the delivery completion notification
The PU 41 updates the stored contents of the “stock quantity” field of the inventory database 44b in accordance with the delivery completion notification (S630). Specifically, the record associated with the product identifier included in the notification is identified from the warehouse inventory database 44b indicated by the warehouse identifier included in the delivery completion notification, and the “stock quantity” of the identified record is identified. In this field, the delivery quantity included in the notification is stored. Further, when “1” is stored in the “out of stock” field of this record, or when the scheduled arrival date is stored in the “scheduled arrival date” field, these are deleted.

According to the present embodiment described above, when a user accesses a virtual store site through his / her user terminal and selects a desired product on the product selection screen of the site, the number of days required for delivery of the selected product. Can be presented. Accordingly, it is possible to apply for the purchase of the product after understanding in advance when the product desired to be purchased will arrive at hand.

(Second Embodiment)
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the first embodiment, the user selects one or a plurality of products from the handling product list on the product selection screen, and then presents the number of days required for delivery of the selected product. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the number of delivery days when each product is delivered individually is displayed in the handling product list on the product selection screen.
As in the first embodiment, the mail-order sales system according to the present embodiment includes a user terminal 10, a warehouse management terminal 20, a manufacturer terminal 30, and a virtual store management device 40. This is the same as in the first embodiment.

The operation of this embodiment can be broadly divided into inquiry product selection processing, delivery time presentation processing, and purchase application processing, and the contents of the inquiry product selection processing are different from those of the first embodiment. Further, the jurisdiction warehouse determination process as shown in FIG. 9 is not performed.
FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing inquiry product selection processing. The inquiry product selection processing according to the present embodiment differs from the first embodiment in the processing after step 130.
The CPU 41 that has read out the personal information in step 130 specifies the principle jurisdiction warehouse associated with the address code included in the personal information (S131).
Subsequently, one stock database to be referred to is specified from both databases constituting the stock database 44b (S132). That is, if the Tokyo warehouse is identified in step 131, the Tokyo inventory database is identified, while if the Osaka warehouse is identified, the Osaka inventory database is identified.

The CPU 41 reads each product identifier from the specified stock database 44b (S1).
33). Subsequently, a set of a product name and a sales price associated with the product identifier read in step 133 is read from the product database 44a for each product (S134). Furthermore,
Based on the storage contents of the “stock quantity”, “entry lead time”, and “out of stock” fields of each record in the inventory database 44b, the stock status of each product is specified (S135). The specified stock status is one of “in stock”, “within 2 days of order”, and “order”. “In stock” indicates a state in which a number other than “0” is stored in the “stock quantity” field. On the other hand, “within 2 days of order” and “order” both indicate that “0” is stored in the “stock quantity” field. If the condition that “0” is stored in the field and two days or shorter days are stored in the “Receiving lead time” field is specified as “within 2 days of order”, It is distinguished from other states where the number of stocks is zero. Products with an inventory status of “in stock” can be delivered within the normal delivery period, and for products with an inventory status of “within 2 days of order”, 1 to 2 days from the normal delivery period. Delayed delivery is possible. For products specified as “order”, delivery will be delayed three days or more from the normal delivery days.

CPU41 which specified the stock condition of each goods produces | generates the display data of a goods selection screen, and transmits to the user terminal 10 (S136).
FIG. 15 shows a product selection screen. Unlike the same screen shown in FIG. 8, the individual stock status for each product is displayed in the product selection list on this screen. By referring to the displayed inventory status, the user individually understands the number of days required for delivery when making a purchase application at that time. As a result, if the product that was scheduled to be applied for purchase includes items that have an inventory status of "order" or "within 2 days of order", By removing these products from the product group related to the purchase application, the remaining products can be acquired with fewer delivery days.

(Other embodiments)
The present invention can be modified in various ways.
For example, in the above embodiment, the delivery instruction prompt screen is displayed when the number of stocks in the stock database becomes zero. On the other hand, the delivery instruction prompting screen may be displayed when the number falls below another predetermined inventory quantity such as 5 or 10.
In the above embodiment, the warehouses overseeing the delivery of merchandise are Tokyo warehouse and Osaka warehouse.
Although it was only a location, you may make it install more warehouses than this and provide the stock database corresponding to each warehouse in a virtual store management apparatus.
You may make it incorporate the calculation of the delivery days linked with the business day calendar of each warehouse or the product maker.
In the above embodiment, only the number of days required for the delivery of the product is presented. However, the information specified up to a unit (for example, distinction of “am” or “afternoon”, time, etc.) finer than the number of days You may make it show. In short, it is only necessary to present a numerical value quantitatively indicating the length of time from receipt of a purchase application for a product until the product reaches the user's hand before the purchase application.
In the above embodiment, the inventory database is configured as a data structure as shown in FIG. 5, and when all or part of the products for purchase application cannot be delivered in the normal delivery days, how many days are delayed from the normal delivery days. The calculation was based on the stored contents of the “out of stock” field and “scheduled arrival date” field of the database. On the other hand, you may make it respond only whether it can deliver in normal delivery days. In such a modification, one record in the inventory database is configured by two fields of “identifier” and “stock quantity”, and the “stock quantity” field of the record associated with the product selected on the product selection screen. "0"
If “0” is not stored, a response indicating that delivery can be made within the normal delivery days is sent to the user terminal. On the other hand, if “0” is stored, a response indicating that delivery is not possible within the normal delivery days is sent. To do. In another modification, one record in the inventory database is composed of three fields of “identifier”, “stock quantity”, and “scheduled arrival date”, and is associated with the product selected on the product selection screen. When “0” is stored in the “stock quantity” field of the record, the number of days from today (the date when the user terminal 10 is connected) to the scheduled arrival date and the normal delivery days are added together. You may make it transmit the response to the effect that it can deliver by the calculated | required number of days to a user terminal.

It is a figure explaining distribution of goods about this system. It is a block diagram which shows the whole structure of a mail order system. It is a hardware block diagram of a virtual store management apparatus. It is a data structure figure of a goods database. It is a data structure figure of an inventory database. It is a data structure figure of a delivery days database. It is a flowchart which shows inquiry goods selection processing. It is a product selection screen. It is a flowchart which shows jurisdiction warehouse determination processing. It is a flowchart which shows a delivery time presentation process. It is a flowchart which shows a delivery time presentation process. It is a response screen. It is a flowchart which shows a purchase application process. It is a flowchart which shows inquiry goods selection processing. It is a product selection screen.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... User terminal, 20 ... Warehouse management terminal, 30 ... Manufacturer terminal, 40 ... Virtual store management device, 40 ... Virtual store management device, 41 ... CPU, 42 ... ROM, 43 ... RAM, 44 ... Hard disk, 45 ... Communication Interface 46 ... Mouse 47 ... Keyboard 48 ... Computer display

Claims (6)

Stock information storage means for storing the product identifier of each product and the stock quantity of each product in association with each other;
Inquiry receiving means for receiving a delivery inquiry including a product identifier;
An inventory judging means for referring to the stock quantity stored in the stock information storage means in association with the product identifier included in the delivery inquiry, and judging whether the stock quantity is below a predetermined quantity;
A delivery device comprising: a response sending means for sending a response that the product can be delivered within a preset normal delivery time to the sender of the delivery inquiry when it is determined that the stock quantity is not less than a predetermined quantity Time notification device. The delivery time notification device according to claim 1,
A purchase application receiving means for receiving a purchase application for a product related to the delivery inquiry from a sender of the delivery inquiry;
When receiving the purchase application, a delivery instruction transmitting means for transmitting a delivery instruction for the product related to the delivery inquiry to a predetermined device having jurisdiction over delivery of the product;
Inventory quantity updating means for updating the inventory quantity stored in the inventory information storage means in association with the product identifier included in the delivery inquiry;
A delivery instruction sending means for sending a delivery instruction for a product related to the delivery inquiry to a prescribed device having jurisdiction over the delivery of the product when the stock quantity falls below a predetermined quantity after the update; Time notification device. The delivery time notification device according to claim 2,
The inventory information storage means includes
A delivery time, which is a time required for delivery to be completed after the delivery instruction is transmitted, is further stored in association with each product identifier;
The response transmission means includes
When it is determined that the stock quantity is below a predetermined quantity, the delivery time stored in association with the product identifier included in the delivery inquiry is read from the stock information storage means,
A delivery time notification device that adds up the read delivery time and the normal delivery time, and sends a response to the sender of the delivery inquiry that the product can be delivered within the time determined by the addition. Normal delivery time storage means for storing a plurality of addresses assumed as delivery destinations of the products and normal delivery times that are normal delivery times required for delivery to each address;
Inquiry receiving means for receiving a delivery inquiry including information for specifying a delivery address of the product,
A delivery time reading means for reading out the normal delivery time stored in association with the address specified by the delivery inquiry from the normal delivery time storage means;
A delivery time notification device comprising: a response transmission unit that sends a response to the effect that the product can be delivered within the read normal delivery time to the sender of the delivery inquiry. Stock information storage means for storing the product identifier of each product and the stock quantity of each product in association with each other;
A computer device comprising information communication means,
Inquiry reception processing for receiving a delivery inquiry including a product identifier via the communication means;
A stock determination process for referring to the stock quantity stored in the stock information storage means in association with the product identifier included in the delivery inquiry, and judging whether the stock quantity is below a predetermined quantity;
A program for executing a response transmission process for transmitting a response to the effect that a product can be delivered within a preset normal delivery time to the sender of the delivery inquiry when it is determined that the stock quantity is not less than a predetermined quantity . Normal delivery time storage means for storing a plurality of addresses assumed as delivery destinations of the products and normal delivery times that are normal delivery times required for delivery to each address;
A computer device comprising information communication means,
An inquiry reception process for receiving a delivery inquiry including information for specifying a delivery address of the product via the communication means;
A delivery time reading process for reading out the normal delivery time stored in association with the address specified by the delivery inquiry from the normal delivery time storage means;
A response transmission process for transmitting a response indicating that the product can be delivered within the read normal delivery time to the sender of the delivery inquiry via the communication means.

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