JP2006033000A - Consumables procurement server, consumables procurement system, consumables procurement program, recording medium and consumables procurement method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a consumables procurement server, a consumables procurement system, a consumables procurement program, a recording medium, and a consumables procurement method which can improve delivery efficiency of consumables procurement and reduce the burden on an environment due to delivery. <P>SOLUTION: The consumables procurement server 2 is connected to each of a plurality of client devices via a network to perform procurement of consumables of each of clients. The server 2 is provided with prediction operating means 12, 15 for predicting a stockout time of consumables, and/or a time of replacing the consumables from information about residual consumables or information about consumables impairment status which is to be transmitted from each of the plurality of client devices; searching means 12, 16 for searching users whose times predicted by the prediction operating means are within a predetermined period, from the user information; and plan forming means 12, 16 for forming routing plans in which the users searched by the searching means are designated as delivery destinations. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a consumables procurement server, a consumables procurement system, a consumables procurement program, a recording medium, and a consumable for procuring consumables for a client based on information from a plurality of client devices connected via a network. This is related to product procurement methods.

  Conventionally, in an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, a facsimile, or a complex machine thereof, a developer (such as toner or ink), a recording material (such as paper or film), or an image. Replacement / maintenance of consumables such as a carrier (photosensitive member, dielectric member, etc.) is frequently performed (for example, see Patent Document 1).

In general, the user (client) of the image forming apparatus confirms that the consumables in stock or the remaining amount falls below a certain amount, and supplies the consumables to the supplier (seller) that procures the consumables. Process the order. After receiving the order from the user, the dealer delivers the consumables.
Therefore, the user can manage the stock or remaining amount of consumables and process the order at the optimal timing while considering the size of the stock space for storing consumables so that the image forming apparatus can be used comfortably. It is necessary to do. Such management of consumables is a heavy burden on the user.

  In order to solve such a problem, in Patent Document 1 and the like, once the consumable unit price is set to be low according to the order quantity, and when the order quantity is equal to or larger than the predetermined quantity, the divided delivery is performed once. Discloses a system capable of ordering a large amount of consumables.

  Further, in Patent Document 2 and the like, a consumables out-of-stock time is predicted from sales history information of consumables (supplements) for a predetermined user, and the consumables are consumed when the predicted time approaches within a predetermined period. A system for guiding product ordering is disclosed.

JP 2003-281415 A JP 2002-157406 A

  The technology described in the above-mentioned patent document reduces the burden of consumables management for users to some extent by purchasing consumables collectively or receiving ordering guidance when consumables are likely to be insufficient. The delivery efficiency of the trader who performs the service is poor, and consideration has not been given to the conservation of environmental resources associated with the delivery.

  In other words, the above-described technology is a system that receives a user's order and delivers consumables to individual users. In principle, the delivery on the contractor side is performed as many times as the number of orders of the user. It was. For this reason, the delivery efficiency is deteriorated, and the delivery time and delivery cost are increased. Although consumables procurement is premised on promptly responding to user demands, efforts to reduce the environmental burden associated with delivery by the merchant actively improving delivery efficiency have not been sufficient. Here, the environmental load accompanying delivery is energy consumption of the transportation means at the time of delivery (such as gasoline consumption of the delivery vehicle).

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems. A consumables procurement server, a consumables procurement system, in which the delivery efficiency related to the procurement of consumables is improved and the environmental burden associated with the delivery is reduced. To provide a consumables procurement program, a recording medium, and a consumables procurement method.

  According to a first aspect of the present invention, a consumables procurement server is a consumables procurement server that is connected to a plurality of client devices via a network and procures consumables for a client, from the plurality of client devices. First storage means for storing user information to be transmitted; second storage means for storing remaining amount information or / and consumable deterioration state information transmitted from the plurality of client devices; Predicting calculation means for predicting a consumables out-of-stock time or / and a consumable replacement time from the information stored in the storage means, and a user whose time predicted by the prediction calculating means falls within a predetermined period Retrieval means for retrieving from the user information stored in one storage means, and plan formulation for formulating a patrol plan with the user retrieved by the retrieval means as a delivery destination Those with a stage, a.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the consumables procurement server according to the first aspect of the present invention, the user information includes used product information and consumable information.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a consumables procurement server according to the second aspect of the present invention, wherein the consumables information uses the types of a visual material, a recording material, and an image carrier used in an image forming apparatus. This information is related to the order quantity.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the consumables procurement server according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein the user information is delivery form information relating to delivery forms including divided deliveries. It is what has.

  Further, the consumables procurement server according to the invention described in claim 5 is the consumables procurement server according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the consumables are out of stock or / and the consumables are replaced by the prediction calculation means. Is provided with a recording means for recording the product information of the consumables predicted.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a consumables procurement server relating to a delivery destination included in the patrol plan formulated by the plan devising means in the invention according to any one of the first to fifth aspects. Display means for displaying user information, determination means for determining whether or not a consumable item has been ordered from the user related to the user information, and consumables order guidance or / and delivery based on the determination result of the determination means Guidance means for performing guidance.

  According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided a consumables procurement server according to the sixth aspect of the present invention, wherein consumables are stored in accordance with the guidance by the guiding means while storing standard unit price data of consumables. Consumables price determining means for determining the unit price of the ordered consumables based on the data set so that the price is reduced.

  According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a consumables procurement server according to the sixth or seventh aspect of the present invention, wherein a predetermined amount is provided to a user who has made an order in response to guidance by the guidance means. Points are added and stored in the first storage means.

  According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the consumables procurement server according to any one of the first to eighth aspects, the second storage means stores the remaining amount information of consumables and / or the consumables. The product deterioration state information is stored as time series data, and the prediction calculation means predicts the consumable stock out-of-stock time or / and the consumable goods replacement time based on the time series data.

  According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, a consumables procurement system includes the consumables procurement server according to any one of the first to ninth aspects and the plurality of client devices, and the consumables procurement A server and the plurality of client devices are connected via a network.

  According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided a consumables procurement program that causes each means in the consumables procurement server according to any one of the first to ninth aspects to function.

  A recording medium according to a twelfth aspect of the present invention records the consumables procurement program according to the eleventh aspect.

  A consumables procurement method according to a thirteenth aspect of the present invention is a consumables procurement method for conducting consumables procurement of a client using a consumables procurement server connected to a plurality of client devices via a network. A first storage step of storing user information transmitted from the plurality of client devices, and a second storage of consumable remaining amount information and / or consumable deterioration state information transmitted from the plurality of client devices. A storage step, a prediction calculation step of predicting a consumables inventory out-of-stock time or / and a consumable replacement time from the information stored in the second storage unit, and a time predicted by the prediction calculation unit within a predetermined period A search step for searching the user information stored in the first storage means from the user information, and the user searched by the search means as a delivery destination And the planning process to develop the field, but with a.

  According to a fourteenth aspect of the present invention, in the consumables procurement method according to the thirteenth aspect, the user information includes used product information and consumable information.

  According to a fifteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a consumables procurement method according to the fifteenth aspect of the present invention, wherein the consumables information includes the types of a visible image material, a recording material, an image carrier, and This information is related to the order quantity.

  According to a sixteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the consumables procurement method according to any one of the thirteenth to fifteenth aspects, wherein the user information is delivery form information relating to delivery forms including divided deliveries. It is what has.

  According to a seventeenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a consumables procurement method according to any one of the thirteenth to sixteenth aspects, wherein the consumables are out of stock or / and the consumables are replaced by the prediction calculation step. Is provided with a recording process for recording the commodity information of the consumables predicted.

  A consumables procurement method according to an invention of claim 18 relates to a delivery destination included in the patrol plan formulated by the plan formulation process in the invention of any one of claims 13 to 17. A display step for displaying user information, a determination step for determining whether or not a consumable item has been ordered from a user related to the user information, and a consumables order guidance or / and delivery based on a determination result of the determination step And a guidance process for performing guidance.

  According to a nineteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a consumables procurement method according to the eighteenth aspect of the present invention, wherein consumables ordered according to the guidance in the guidance step are stored while storing standard unit price data of the consumables. A consumables price determination step for determining the unit price of the ordered consumables based on the data set so that the price is reduced.

  According to a twentieth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a consumables procurement method according to the eighteenth or nineteenth aspect of the present invention, wherein a predetermined order is given to a user who has placed an order in response to the guidance in the guidance step. Points are added and stored.

  The consumables procurement method according to a twenty-first aspect of the present invention is the invention according to any one of the thirteenth to twentieth aspects, wherein the second storage step includes the consumables remaining amount information and / or the consumables. This is a step of storing product deterioration state information as time-series data, wherein the prediction calculation step is a step of predicting a consumables out-of-stock time or / and a consumable replacement time based on the time-series data. .

  The present invention predicts consumables out-of-stock time and consumables replacement time, searches for users whose predicted time is within a predetermined period, and formulates a patrol plan with the searched users as delivery destinations To do. This provides a consumables procurement server, a consumables procurement system, a consumables procurement program, a recording medium, and a consumables procurement method that improve the efficiency of delivery related to consumables procurement and reduce the environmental burden associated with delivery. can do.

Embodiment.
Hereinafter, the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In addition, in each figure, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the part which is the same or it corresponds, The duplication description is simplified or abbreviate | omitted suitably.

The overall configuration of the consumables procurement system 1 in the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
As shown in FIG. 1, the consumables procurement system 1 includes a consumables procurement system 2 and a plurality of client devices 3A and 3B connected via a network 4.

Each of the plurality of client devices 3A and 3B has information (user information) of a user who uses the image forming apparatus (product) and information indicating the remaining amount of consumables of the product (consumables remaining amount information). And information indicating the deterioration state of the consumables (consumable deterioration state information) and the like are transmitted to the consumables procurement server 2.
The consumables procurement server 2 determines when the consumables are out of stock (consumables are out of stock) or when the consumables are replaced (consumables replacement time) based on various information transmitted from the client devices 3A and 3B. Predict. Then, a user whose time is within a predetermined period is searched from a plurality of users, and an efficient patrol plan is formulated with the searched user as a delivery destination. Further, based on the patrol plan, delivery guidance and ordering guidance are transmitted to the user client devices 3A and 3B serving as delivery destinations.

The configuration of the consumables procurement server 2 will be described with reference to FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 2, the consumables procurement server 2 includes a communication control unit 11, a control unit 12, a program storage unit 13, a user information database 14, a prediction information management unit 15, a patrol plan management unit 16, a delivery / ordering guide. The management unit 17 and the order processing unit 18 are configured. These parts 11 to 18 are connected via a bus.

  The communication control unit 11 of the consumables procurement server 2 controls the data communication when performing data communication with the client devices 3 </ b> A and 3 </ b> B connected via the network 4. The control unit 12 includes a CPU, a RAM, and the like, and controls the units 11 to 18, transfers and calculates data, temporarily stores data, and the like based on a program stored in the program storage unit 13. Specifically, based on the program stored in the program storage unit 13, the control unit 12 predicts the consumables out-of-stock time and the consumables replacement time, and provides delivery guidance and ordering guidance based on an efficient patrol plan for the delivery destination. Execute processing etc.

  The program storage unit 13 stores various programs and data to be executed by the control unit 12. The program stored in the program storage unit 13 is for executing an OS program, prediction of consumables out-of-stock time and consumable replacement time, delivery guidance and ordering guidance processing based on an efficient patrol plan of the delivery destination, and the like. There is a consumables procurement program. As a recording medium for storing the consumables procurement program, optical, magnetic, and electrical recording media such as a flexible disk, a hard disk, a CD-ROM, a DVD-ROM, an MO, and a PC card can be used. Further, the consumables procurement program stored in the program storage unit 13 can be distributed via a network.

  In the user information database 14 as the first storage means, information on the user itself such as the user name and address, used product information such as the used product name, the type of consumables (product name / type), and consumption. Product quantity, consumable order date, consumable order quantity (order quantity), consumable delivery date, consumable delivery quantity, consumable delivery form (distinguish between split delivery and collective delivery), split delivery In this case, user information including consumables information such as the number of remaining divided deliveries and environmental points to be described later is stored.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the prediction information management unit 15 as the second storage means includes a consumable item remaining / deterioration state database 21, a consumable item information management database 22, a prediction time management database 23, a prediction information database 24, and the like. Composed. The prediction information management unit 15 also functions as a prediction calculation unit together with the consumables procurement program held in the control unit 12.

  The consumable item remaining amount / degradation state database 21 stores consumable item remaining amount information and consumable item deterioration state information transmitted from the client apparatuses 3A and 3B for each predetermined period for each user. Here, when one user uses a plurality of products, or when one product uses a plurality of consumables, the above-mentioned consumable remaining amount information and consumable deterioration state information are displayed. This is stored for each product used and each consumable. Consumables remaining amount information and consumables deterioration state information include signal information such as a toner remaining amount sensor, information on the number of copies (copy volume value), consumable replacement information such as the number of consumable replacements, and the like. Therefore, the client apparatuses 3A and 3B are connected to the image forming apparatus so as to be able to transmit data so that the consumable remaining amount information and the consumable deterioration state information can be directly acquired from the image forming apparatus. The device itself is preferred.

  The consumable information management database 22 is a consumable name, model, consumable code, product name (product number), number of units used, order date / time, order quantity, delivery date / time, delivery quantity registered in the user information database 14. Consumable information that is shared and unified for consumables such as a delivery form, and consumable information for each consumable mounted on each product are stored. The individual consumable information includes information related to a consumable code that is shared and unified, an identification code individually assigned to each consumable, delivery date / time, quantity delivered, number of replacements, replacement time, inventory, and the like.

  The predicted time management database 23 includes consumables remaining amount information and consumables deterioration state information stored in the consumables remaining amount / degradation state database 21, and consumables stored in the consumable information management database 22. The consumables out-of-stock time and the consumable replacement time of each consumable predicted from the management information such as the delivery quantity, the number of times of replacement, and the replacement time are stored.

The prediction information database 24 stores time series data of copy volume values (CV values) as data for predicting the consumable deterioration state, the use limit time, and the like. This will be described in detail later.
In order to increase the data accuracy of the prediction information database 24, in addition to the copy volume value, time series data of the number of copies for each copy size, each color, and each operation mode can be stored.

  Referring to FIG. 2, the traveling plan management unit 16 uses the consumables out-of-stock time and consumables replacement time stored in the prediction information storage unit 15 and the use in the user information stored in the user information database 14. From various information such as product information and consumables information, a user (user information) whose consumables out-of-stock time or consumable replacement time is within a predetermined period is searched and stored. Then, an efficient patrol plan for the delivery destination is formulated and stored with the searched user as the delivery destination. Further, based on the delivery form in the user information and the information (delivery form information) related to the remaining amount of divided deliveries, the order status (whether there is an ordered consumable) is determined and stored. . Thus, the traveling plan management unit 16 functions as a search unit and a plan formulation unit together with the consumables procurement program held in the control unit 12.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the delivery / order guidance management unit 17 serving as guidance means includes a delivery guidance information database 31, an order guidance information database 32, a consumable product information database 33, a consumable unit price / discount rate database 34, and an environmental point. The database 35 is configured. The environmental point database 35 is for adding environmental points to a user who wishes to deliver in accordance with the consumable delivery guidance. The delivery / order guidance management unit 17 creates delivery guidance and order guidance to be transmitted to the client devices 3 </ b> A and 3 </ b> B of the target user based on the order status (order status) stored in the tour plan management unit 16. . After that, the guides are stored in the delivery guide information database 31 or the order guide information database 32 and transmitted to the target client devices 3A and 3B.

  Referring to FIG. 2, order processing unit 18 receives delivery request information and order information transmitted from client devices 3A and 3B, and performs order processing. The order processing unit 18 collates the consumables that have been ordered with the tour plan stored in the tour plan management unit 16. As a result, when all orders are received for a plurality of users in the patrol plan, the patrol plan is transmitted as a delivery plan to a distribution center (not shown). On the other hand, if consumables that cannot be ordered for multiple users in the patrol plan are generated, an efficient patrol plan for the delivery destination of the consumables that have been ordered again is formulated, and the patrol plan Is sent to the distribution center as a delivery plan. At the same time, the type of consumables (product name / model), the quantity of consumables, the date and time of consumable ordering, the quantity of consumables ordered, the date and time of consumable delivery, and the consumables stored in the user information database 14 Information such as the quantity of goods delivered, the delivery form of consumables (split delivery or batch delivery), and the number of remaining deliveries is updated.

  Referring to FIG. 1, client devices 3A and 3B include an input unit for giving operation instructions including a keyboard, a mouse, a scanner, a data communication unit for performing data communication with the outside, a CRT, an LCD, a plasma display, and the like. It is used as a work area for a display unit comprising: a CPU that controls the entire apparatus; a recording medium that stores a program for operating the CPU; a recording medium drive that reads / rides data on the recording medium; RAM. Although not shown, the respective units are connected to each other via a bus. The client devices 3A and 3B do not necessarily have to be devices whose input units are locally connected to the terminal, and remote data communication between terminals such as a PHS or a remote terminal, or two-way data communication between the terminals. It may be a possible device. The data communication units of the client devices 3A and 3B are connected to a network such as ISDN, ADSL, and LAN, and perform data communication via a telephone line via a built-in modem. The recording media of the client devices 3A and 3B store various programs and data such as OS programs and application programs that can be executed by the CPU.

The consumables procurement system 1 configured as described above operates through the following steps.
First, when an image forming apparatus is sold to a user and the image forming apparatus is installed, user information is registered in the user information database 14 as initial information. User information includes user information such as user name, address, phone number (including corporations, etc.), product information such as product name, number of units used, product code, product number, and management. Information indicating the management status of the products used such as the name of the person in charge, the management department, the management floor, consumables information, etc. The consumable information is information such as the type of consumable (product name, type, etc.), product code, consumable code, order date / time, order quantity, delivery date / time, delivery quantity, delivery form, and the like.

  When information such as a product name and a product code is input to the consumables procurement server 2, consumables information necessary for each product is retrieved, and the retrieved consumables information is displayed on a display unit (not shown). Is displayed. Here, when there are a plurality of products used by the user, shared information (information on consumables shared as stock) is also registered. Since common consumables may be used even for products of different models, the presence / absence of management sharing is input as shared information regardless of the product name. If the stock is not shared, “No” is input as the shared information. Note that common consumables can be identified by information such as consumable codes.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing user information displayed on the display unit (display means) of the consumables procurement server 2.
Referring to FIG. 5, when there are a plurality of products used (product names A and B), the respective shared information (shared state) is input. The shared information input field may be provided in advance, or may be set to be displayed for the number of units when the number of units is input. The sharing of inventory can be set so as to be divided within the management department, can be set so as to be collectively performed by the management department, or can be set across the management departments. Based on the shared information and product information, necessary consumable information is retrieved and displayed.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing the consumable information displayed on the display unit (display means) of the consumables procurement server.
Referring to FIG. 6, the consumable information includes consumable name, model, product code, consumable code, product name (product No.), shared number, order date, order quantity, delivery date, delivery quantity, delivery form, etc. It consists of information. When a common consumables inventory is shared by a plurality of products, one consumable to be shared is displayed, and a plurality of used product names and product names are displayed. When the delivery form is divided delivery, the order quantity and the delivery quantity are registered. At this time, the delivery quantity is updated (added) every time the delivery is divided.
The product code is a code assigned depending on the type or type of consumables. The consumables code is a code attached to the consumables unified by sharing, and is an object to be ordered (a unit of purchase).

A control flow performed in the consumables procurement server 2 will be described with reference to FIG.
First, consumption transmitted from the client apparatuses 3A and 3B connected via the network 4 every predetermined period or every predetermined timing (for example, timing triggered by power-on). The remaining product information and the consumable deterioration state information are received by the consumables procurement server 2 (step S1).

After that, the consumables remaining amount information and the consumables deterioration state information are collated with the data in the user information database 14 and associated with the information regarding the user, the product, and the consumables, and the consumables remaining amount / degradation state database 21 (step S2). In the consumable remaining amount / degradation state database 21, data is stored for each consumable.
The data stored in the consumable remaining / degraded state database 21 is stored over time for each consumable and is stored in the prediction information database 24 as time-series data for each product at a predetermined interval (step S3). . When the time-series data for each product is added from the consumable remaining / deterioration state database 21, the prediction information database 24 is updated. Then, in the prediction information database 24, the consumables stock out time and the consumables replacement time are predicted based on the time series data.

  After that, the prediction information management unit 15 predicts the consumable use limit time based on the consumable remaining amount information and the consumable deterioration state information stored in the consumable remaining amount / degradation state database 21 (step S4). ). For example, when the consumable is a toner cartridge (development material), if the number of sheets that can be copied is set in advance, the use limit time of the toner cartridge can be predicted from the copy volume value.

In order to predict the use limit time with higher accuracy, it can be performed based on the number of copies for each copy size, each color, and each operation mode. For example, even if the copy area changes depending on the copy size, the amount of toner used can be accurately estimated by using time series data for each copy size. Furthermore, by acquiring information such as the image area and toner density for each copy, it is possible to estimate a more accurate toner usage amount. Thereby, the use limit time can be predicted with high accuracy.
Further, when the consumables remaining amount information is used as a signal of the toner remaining amount sensor, the use limit time can be determined when the signal output becomes a predetermined value or less.

FIG. 8 is a graph showing time-series data stored in the prediction information database 24 when the consumable is a photosensitive drum (image carrier). In FIG. 8, the horizontal axis indicates time, the vertical axis indicates a copy volume value, and solid lines A to C indicate photosensitive drums of different users.
The life of the photoconductor drum is determined by the rotation time of the photoconductor drum, the time for applying the high voltage to the photoconductor drum, etc. If the copy volume value shows almost the same time series change, the life of the photoconductor drum Can be expected to change in the same way. Therefore, in the case of FIG. 8, since the time series data of the photosensitive drum A and the photosensitive drum B are approximate, the expendable supplies replacement time for both the photosensitive drums A and B will be close.

  As the number of time-series data stored in the prediction information database 24 increases, the prediction accuracy of the consumable use limit time increases. Accordingly, the consumable information acquired by the consumables procurement system 1 is also added as time series data of the copy volume as needed, and the prediction information database 24 is updated.

Thereafter, inventory information obtained from consumables sharing information, delivery time, delivery quantity, delivery time, number of exchanges, etc. is obtained from the consumables information management database 22 (step S5). Then, the consumables out-of-stock time is predicted from the acquired consumables sharing information, inventory information, and the predicted expiration date of each consumable (step S6).
Here, the consumable item is not an individual consumable item, but a consumable item for each purchase unit based on the shared information. Therefore, when there is no sharing of the product on which the consumable is mounted, the consumable for each purchase unit is the same as the individual consumable, and the out-of-stock time is predicted from the inventory information. When consumables are shared, the out-of-stock time in the purchase unit is predicted from the prediction of each use limit time of the shared consumables and the inventory information in the purchase unit.

For example, if one of a number of shared products is predicted to reach the limit of use after one week, and another unit is predicted to reach the limit of use after two weeks, It is predicted that the consumables will be out of stock one week and two weeks later.
The inventory amount for the shared product is predetermined. For example, when there are five shared products, the consumable stock quantity is determined to be two. At this time, the stock quantity in the purchase unit is two, and the out-of-stock time is predicted so that the stock quantity is always two for the five shared products. The desired stock quantity for the user can be determined at the time of initial registration.
The predicted consumable stock out-of-stock time is stored in the predicted time management database 23 (step S7).

  Thereafter, the traveling plan management unit 16 searches the user information in the user information database 14 for information about the user whose predicted consumable stock out-of-stock time (or consumable replacement time) falls within a predetermined period. (Step S8). As described above, the same expendable item may be included multiple times in the forecast time due to sharing. In such a case, the number of consumables becomes plural and the user information becomes one.

  After that, an efficient patrol plan is set up with a plurality of users whose consumables out-of-stock time (or consumable replacement time) is within a predetermined period as a delivery destination (step S9). An efficient patrol plan for a delivery destination can be formulated by solving using a neural network called a Boltzmann machine.

  The tour plan obtained in step S9 is stored in the tour plan management database of the tour plan management unit 16 (step S10). Here, the patrol plan formulated in this way is intended to reduce the cost and environmental burden associated with the delivery of consumables. In order to realize delivery according to this patrol plan, it is necessary to ask the user as the delivery destination to deliver the consumables. Therefore, it is necessary to send delivery guidance and ordering guidance to the user.

Thereafter, the stock delivery status of the user who is the delivery destination is searched from the consumable information management database 22 (step S11). Here, the inventory delivery status is stored separately for each consumable in the purchase unit, divided delivery and collective delivery. If the inventory delivery status is batch delivery, the purchased product is delivered in bulk and there is no ordered consumable (consumable waiting for delivery). If the inventory delivery status is divided delivery, the presence / absence of ordered consumables is determined from the difference between the ordered quantity and the divided quantity.
In step S11, it is determined whether there is an ordered consumable. Specifically, the presence / absence of an ordered consumable is determined based on the inventory delivery status of the consumable at the delivery destination in the traveling plan described above.

As a result, when it is determined that there is no ordered consumable, the delivery / order guidance management unit 17 transmits the order guidance to the user's client device (step S12). Then, the ordering guide information is stored in the ordering guide information database 32 together with user information such as a user name and a delivery destination (step S13).
On the other hand, if it is determined that there is an ordered consumable, the delivery / order guidance management unit 17 transmits the delivery guidance to the user's client device (step S14). Then, the delivery guidance information is stored in the delivery guidance information database 31 together with user information such as the user name and delivery destination (step S15).

  Here, since the order guidance is for receiving an order for consumables, information such as a consumable replacement and consumables out-of-stock forecast time, consumable delivery schedule, etc., and consumable product information database 33 (recording means) Is sent to the client device as ordering guidance. In addition, the reduction amount of the environmental load at the time of consumable delivery due to the delivery efficiency is displayed in the ordering guide, and the purpose of the ordering guide for the purpose of reducing the environmental load is communicated to the user. As data indicating the environmental load, a simple LCA calculation value, a CO2 conversion value, a gasoline usage amount, or the like can be used.

  In addition, for the user who has ordered the consumables in response to the ordering guidance, the price of the consumables is reduced (the consumables price determination step) on the assumption that there has been cooperation in reducing the environmental load. ). Specifically, a price lower than the normal consumable unit price is set, or a discount rate is set and the price is set based on the discount rate. The consumable unit price and discount rate are set in consideration of the environmental load that can be reduced during delivery by an efficient patrol plan. For example, the fuel cost that can be reduced is set based on the data of the consumable unit price / discount rate database 34.

  On the other hand, since the delivery guidance is for consumables that have already been ordered, information on consumable replacement, consumables out-of-stock forecast time and delivery schedule is transmitted to the client device. Also in this case, the reduction amount of the environmental load at the time of consumable delivery due to the delivery efficiency is displayed on the delivery guide to inform the user of the purpose of this system for the purpose of reducing the environmental load. In the case of delivery guidance, since it is handled as an ordered product, the price reduction cannot be reflected in the purchase unit price. Instead, based on the environmental point database 35, environmental points corresponding to the reduction in the environmental load reduction are added to the user. The environmental point can be set so that it can be used as a discount point for the next purchase. By presenting such contents to the user, the user can further understand the purpose of the present system. The environmental points are stored in the user information database 14. The user information database 14 is updated when the user uses points at the next purchase or the like.

Next, a control flow relating to delivery / ordering will be described with reference to FIG.
When a user who has received a delivery guide or order guide makes a delivery request or order in response to the received guide, the delivery request or order information returned from the client device is received by the consumables procurement server 1. (Step S21).
Thereafter, the order processing unit 18 of the consumables procurement server 2 performs an order receiving process based on the returned delivery request and order information (step S22).

  Thereafter, the consumables that have been ordered are collated with the traveling plan stored in the traveling plan management unit 16, and the order status of the delivery destination that has sent the delivery guidance / order guidance is confirmed (step S23). Then, it is determined whether or not an order has been received at all delivery destinations to which the delivery guidance / ordering guidance has been sent (step S24). The order processing unit 18 also functions as a determination unit.

As a result, if it is determined that orders have been received from all delivery destinations, the tour plan stored in the tour plan database of the tour plan management unit 16 is transmitted to the distribution center as a delivery plan (step S25). .
After that, in the user information database 14, the type of consumables, the quantity of consumables, the order date of consumables, the order quantity of consumables, the date and time of consumable delivery, the quantity of consumables delivered, the delivery form of consumables (split delivery or batch delivery) The consumable information such as the remaining number of divided deliveries and the environmental points are updated (step S26).

On the other hand, when it is determined in step S24 that an order has been received from only a part of all the delivery destinations (when consumables that are not accepted orders are generated), the traveling plan management unit 16, the delivery destination data of the consumables for which the order is received is transmitted (step S27).
Thereafter, the tour plan management unit 16 formulates an efficient tour plan for the received delivery destination data again based on the delivery destination data for the consumables that have been ordered (step S28). Then, the newly developed tour plan is transmitted to the distribution center (step S29), and at the same time, the tour plan held in the tour plan database is updated to a new tour plan (step S30).
Thereafter, consumable information and environmental points are updated in the user information database 14 (step S26).

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the consumables stock out time and the consumables replacement time are predicted, a user whose predicted time is within a predetermined period is searched, and the searched user is searched. Develop a patrol plan using as a delivery destination. And suitable guidance is provided according to a user's use condition. As a result, it is possible to reduce the burden of consumables management on the user, improve the delivery efficiency related to the procurement of consumables, and reduce the environmental burden associated with delivery.

  It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the present embodiment, and it is obvious that the present embodiment can be modified as appropriate within the scope of the technical idea of the present invention, other than suggested in the present embodiment. is there. Further, the number, position, shape, and the like of the above-described constituent members are not limited to the present embodiment, and the number, position, shape, and the like that are suitable for implementing the present invention can be used.

It is a whole lineblock diagram showing the consumables procurement system in an embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the consumables procurement server in the consumables procurement system of FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the prediction information management part in the consumables procurement server of FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the delivery and ordering guidance management part in the consumables procurement server of FIG. It is the schematic which shows the user information displayed on the display part of the consumables procurement server of FIG. It is the schematic which shows the consumable goods information displayed on the display part of the consumable goods procurement server of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the control flow performed with the consumables procurement server of FIG. It is a graph which shows the time series data of consumables residual amount information and consumables deterioration state information. It is a flowchart which shows the control flow regarding delivery and ordering performed with the consumables procurement server of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

1 Consumables procurement system, 2 Consumables procurement server,
3A, 3B client device, 4 network,
11 communication control unit, 12 control unit, 13 program control unit,
14 user information database (first storage means),
15 Prediction information management unit (second storage means) 16 Travel plan management unit,
17 Delivery / Ordering Guidance Management Department (Guiding means) 18 Order Processing Department,
21 Consumables remaining / deterioration database,
22 Consumables information management database, 23 Forecast time management database,
24 prediction information database, 31 delivery guidance information database,
32 Ordering guidance information database,
33 Consumables product information database (recording means),
34 Consumables unit price / discount rate database, 35 Environmental point database.

Claims (21)

A consumables procurement server connected to a plurality of client devices via a network to procure consumables for clients.
First storage means for storing user information transmitted from the plurality of client devices;
Second storage means for storing consumable remaining amount information and / or consumable deterioration state information transmitted from the plurality of client devices;
Prediction calculation means for predicting the consumables out-of-stock time or / and the consumables replacement time from the information stored in the second storage means;
Search means for searching for a user whose time predicted by the prediction calculation means is within a predetermined period from the user information stored in the first storage means;
Plan formulation means for formulating a patrol plan with the user searched by the search means as a delivery destination;
Consumables procurement server characterized by comprising: The consumables procurement server according to claim 1, wherein the user information includes used product information and consumable information. 3. The consumables procurement server according to claim 2, wherein the consumables information is information relating to the type and order quantity of a visible image material, a recording material, and an image carrier used in the image forming apparatus. The consumables procurement server according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the user information includes delivery form information relating to delivery forms including divided deliveries. 5. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a recording unit configured to record product information of the consumables for which the consumables out-of-stock time and / or the consumables replacement time are predicted by the prediction calculation unit. The listed consumables procurement server. Display means for displaying user information relating to the delivery destination included in the patrol plan formulated by the plan formulation means;
Determining means for determining whether consumables are ordered from a user related to the user information;
Guidance means for performing consumables order guidance or / and delivery guidance based on the judgment result of the judgment means;
The consumables procurement server according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising: Consumables that store standard unit price data of consumables and determine the unit price of ordered consumables based on data set so that the price of consumables ordered in accordance with the guidance by the guiding means is reduced The consumables procurement server according to claim 6, further comprising price determination means. The consumption according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that a predetermined point is added to a user who placed an order in response to the guidance by the guidance means and stored in the first storage means. Product procurement server. The second storage means stores consumable remaining amount information or / and consumable deterioration state information as time series data,
The consumables procurement server according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the prediction calculation means predicts a consumables out-of-stock time or / and a consumables replacement time based on the time-series data. . The consumables procurement server according to any one of claims 1 to 9 and the plurality of client devices,
A consumables procurement system, wherein the consumables procurement server and the plurality of client devices are connected via a network. 10. A consumables procurement program for causing each means in the consumables procurement server according to claim 1 to function. 12. A recording medium on which the consumables procurement program according to claim 11 is recorded. A consumables procurement method that performs consumables procurement for clients using a consumables procurement server connected to a plurality of client devices via a network,
A first storage step of storing user information transmitted from the plurality of client devices;
A second storage step of storing consumable remaining amount information and / or consumable deterioration state information transmitted from the plurality of client devices;
A predictive calculation step of predicting the consumables stock out-of-stock time or / and the consumables replacement time from the information stored in the second storage means;
A search step of searching for a user whose time predicted by the prediction calculation means is within a predetermined period from the user information stored in the first storage means;
A planning process for formulating a patrol plan with the user searched by the search means as a delivery destination;
Consumables procurement method characterized by comprising: 14. The consumables procurement method according to claim 13, wherein the user information includes used product information and consumable information. 15. The consumable item procurement method according to claim 14, wherein the consumable item information is information related to a type and order quantity of a visible image material, a recording material, and an image carrier used in an image forming apparatus. The consumables procurement method according to any one of claims 13 to 15, wherein the user information includes delivery form information relating to delivery forms including divided deliveries. The recording process of recording the product information of the consumables for which the consumables out-of-stock time and / or the consumables replacement time are predicted by the prediction calculation step is provided. The consumables procurement method described. A display step for displaying user information relating to a delivery destination included in the patrol plan formulated by the plan formulation step;
A determination step of determining whether consumables are ordered from a user related to the user information;
A guidance step for performing consumables order guidance and / or delivery guidance based on the judgment result of the judgment step;
The consumables procurement method according to any one of claims 13 to 17, further comprising: Consumables that store standard unit price data of consumables and determine the unit price of ordered consumables based on data set so that the price of consumables ordered according to the guidance in the guidance process is reduced. The consumables procurement method according to claim 18, further comprising a price determination step. The consumables procurement method according to claim 18 or 19, wherein a predetermined point is added and stored for a user who has placed an order in response to the guidance in the guidance step. The second storage step is a step of storing the remaining amount information of consumables and / or the consumable deterioration state information as time series data,
The consumable according to any one of claims 13 to 20, wherein the predictive calculation step is a step of predicting a consumables out-of-stock time or / and a consumables replacement time based on the time series data. Product procurement method.

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