JP2008040878A - Print order acceptance device, method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a print order acceptance device, method, and program constructing a work flow over respective companies and generating an estimate of the constructed work flow without requiring a skilled person in charge. <P>SOLUTION: A client requests an estimate to an order reception site. When accepting the estimation request, the order reception site constructs a work flow from process definitions registered by print companies and presents the estimate based on the constructed work flow to the client. The client selects or changes the estimate (a work flow is reconstructed in the order reception site when the client changes the estimate) and places an order to the order reception site for printed matters. When accepting the order for printed matters, the order reception site instructs production to respective print companies in charge of processes in the work flow and manages processes of the print companies. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a print order receiving apparatus, method, and program, and in particular, a print order receiving apparatus that is connected to a customer terminal and a printing company terminal via a network, accepts orders for printed materials from customers, and instructs the printing company to produce printed materials. , Methods and programs.

  Conventionally, in order to place an order for printed matter from a printing company in the printing industry, the procedure is as follows. The customer informs the printing company of the contents of the order and requests a price estimate. At this time, the customer requests a price estimate from a plurality of printing companies. Next, the printing company estimates the fee based on the contents of the order, creates an estimate, and submits it to the customer. Then, the customer determines which printing company to place an order by comparing the quotations submitted by a plurality of printing companies.

  In recent years, connection between computers via a network has become common, and in the printing industry as well, using such network technology, ordering of printed matter between a customer and a printing company, and printed matter performed at a printing company. A technique for easily managing a creation workflow is disclosed.

  For example, there is a workflow management system that manages the schedule of a workflow for creating printed matter (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  Furthermore, for example, a work information notification management system, a program, and a storage medium in the printing industry that efficiently notify that there is a work instruction or work report between a customer, a printing company, and a subcontractor in a workflow for creating printed matter (For example, refer to Patent Document 2).

  Further, for example, in a workflow for creating a printed matter, there is an efficient use of print resources in a job flow in which jobs are efficiently allocated to a plurality of apparatuses and output results are integrated (see, for example, Patent Document 3). .

  Furthermore, for example, there is an order system, an order processing method, and a computer program that enable an orderer to efficiently select an optimum company from among a large number of order candidate printing companies (see, for example, Patent Document 4).

  Furthermore, for example, there are a printing system, a server, a client, a printing method, a storage medium, and a program that can estimate a printing fee according to the type of printing data transmitted from a customer (for example, Patent Document 5). reference.).

  Furthermore, for example, each printing company registers information on the characteristics and cost of the printing device, and in response to the customer's estimate, an order for a printed matter that can be ordered from the cheapest printing company from the estimated information of the printing company having a suitable printing device. There is a trial calculation, an estimate, and an order processing system for ordering (see, for example, Patent Document 6).

Furthermore, for example, by publishing an available print schedule and receiving an order, it is possible to efficiently accept an order that matches the availability of the printing machine, and the operation of the printing machine that can increase the operating rate of the printing machine There are a management system, a program, and a recording medium (see, for example, Patent Document 7).
JP-A-11-110453 JP 2003-233665 A Special table 2003-533825 gazette JP 2003-16322 A JP 2003-22173 A JP 2002-297935 A JP 2002-297852 A

  However, in the conventional workflow for creating printed materials, all processes from ordering printed materials to printing and delivery are grouped for each printing company, and the customer can freely combine the subdivided processes to build a workflow. It is impossible to receive orders in units of processes, and customers can only place orders in units of printing companies.

  In addition, because the reason why orders cannot be received in process units is that automation / efficiency, etc. have been developed in the process according to its own standards, the level of automation / efficiency varies depending on the process. There is also a technical reason that the print creation workflow was not standardized.

  Therefore, the present invention provides a print order receiving apparatus, method, and program capable of constructing a workflow that spans between companies and capable of creating an estimate for the constructed workflow without requiring a skilled person in charge. For the purpose.

  In order to achieve the above object, the invention of claim 1 constructs a workflow for producing a printed material composed of a plurality of types of processes based on conditions from a customer, and receives an order for production of the printed material from the customer. In the printing order receiving apparatus, a registration means for registering a process definition indicating information on the process for each printing company that executes the process, and a type of process that meets the condition based on the condition of production of the printed matter from the customer And a virtual workflow creation means for creating a virtual workflow consisting of the processing order, a process search means for searching a process conforming to the virtual workflow created by the virtual workflow creation means from a process definition registered in the registration means, Based on the virtual workflow and the process that matches the virtual workflow searched by the process search means, the condition is met A workflow construction means for constructing a workflow, an estimate calculation means for calculating an estimate of the workflow constructed by the workflow construction means, and an estimate presentation means for presenting the estimate of the workflow calculated by the estimate computation means to the customer It is characterized by doing.

  Further, in the invention of claim 2, in the invention of claim 1, when the process search means searches for a plurality of processes, the workflow construction means constructs a plurality of workflows that match the conditions, and the estimation calculation The means calculates an estimate for each workflow, and the estimate presenting means presents the estimate for each workflow to the customer.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect of the present invention, the order receiving means for receiving an order for the production of the printed matter by the workflow selected by the customer from the plurality of workflows presented by the estimate presenting means, and the order receiving means The production instruction means for instructing production to the printing company in charge of each process for constructing the ordered workflow, and the report of the progress of the work from the printing company instructed to produce by the production instruction means, It further comprises progress status presenting means for presenting the progress status to the customer.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the process definition includes use devices, workers, work procedures, resources used, work hours, expenses, schedules, and geographic information in the process of the printing company. The estimate calculation means calculates work time / work cost for each process based on various information shown in the process definition, and calculates storage time, cost / delivery time and cost between processes. And

  Further, the invention of claim 5 further comprises analysis means for analyzing the workflow based on the production result of the workflow and the evaluation of the workflow from the customer who ordered the workflow. The workflow construction unit constructs the workflow with reference to an analysis result by the analysis unit.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a print order receiving method for constructing a workflow for producing a printed matter composed of a plurality of types of processes based on conditions from a customer and receiving an order for the production of the printed matter from the customer. The registration means registers a process definition indicating information about the process for each printing company that executes the process, and the virtual workflow creation means is based on the production conditions of the printed matter from the customer, and the types of processes that meet the condition And the process search means searches the process definition that matches the created virtual workflow from the process definition registered in the registration means, and the workflow construction means searches the virtual workflow and the searched Based on the process that conforms to the virtual workflow, a workflow that conforms to the above conditions is constructed, Estimates of the serial was constructed workflow calculated, estimated presenting means characterized in that it presents an estimate of the workflow the calculated to the customer.

  Further, in the invention of claim 7, in the invention of claim 6, when the process search means searches for a plurality of processes, the workflow construction means constructs a plurality of workflows that match the conditions, and the estimation calculation The means calculates an estimate for each workflow, and the estimate presenting means presents the estimate for each workflow to the customer.

  The invention according to claim 8 is the invention according to claim 7, wherein the order receiving means receives an order for production of printed matter by the workflow selected by the customer from the plurality of presented workflows, and the production instruction means receives the order received by the workflow. The printing company in charge of each process constructing the production is instructed to produce, and the progress presentation means accepts the report of the work progress from the printing company that instructed the production, and the progress of the work is sent to the customer. It is characterized by presenting it.

  The invention of claim 9 is the invention of claim 6, wherein the process definition includes use equipment, worker, work procedure, use resource, work time, cost, schedule, geographical information in the process in the printing company. The estimate calculation means calculates work time / work cost for each process based on various information shown in the process definition, and calculates storage time, cost / delivery time and cost between processes. And

  The invention of claim 10 is the invention of claim 9, wherein the analyzing means analyzes the workflow based on the production result of the workflow and the evaluation of the workflow from the customer who ordered the workflow, and the workflow The constructing means constructs the workflow with reference to the result of the analysis.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a print order receiving program for constructing a workflow for producing a printed material comprising a plurality of types of processes based on conditions from a customer and receiving an order for production of the printed material from the customer. , A process of registering a process definition indicating information related to the process for each printing company that executes the process, and a virtual process consisting of a process type and a process order that meet the conditions based on the conditions for producing printed matter from the customer Based on the process of creating a workflow, the process of searching for a process that matches the created virtual workflow from the registered process definition, and the process that matches the virtual workflow and the searched virtual workflow, the condition is satisfied. A process for constructing a compatible workflow, a process for calculating an estimate of the constructed workflow, and the calculation And the estimate of the workflow, wherein the operating and processing to be presented to the customer computer.

  Further, in the invention of claim 12, in the invention of claim 11, when a plurality of processes are searched from the registered process definition, a process of constructing a plurality of workflows that match the conditions, A process for calculating an estimate and a process for presenting an estimate for each workflow to the customer are operated by a computer.

  Further, the invention of claim 13 is the process of claim 12, wherein a process of receiving an order for production of printed matter by the workflow selected by the customer from the plurality of presented workflows, and each step of constructing the ordered workflow A process for instructing a printing company in charge of production, and a process for receiving a report on the progress of work from the printing company instructing the production and presenting the progress of the work to the computer. It is characterized by operating.

  Further, the invention of claim 14 is the invention of claim 11, wherein the process definition includes use equipment, worker, work procedure, use resource, work time, cost, schedule, geographical information in the process in the printing company. When calculating the workflow estimate, calculate work time / work cost for each process based on various information shown in the process definition, and calculate storage time, cost / delivery time and cost between processes. The processing is performed by a computer.

  According to a fifteenth aspect of the invention, in the eleventh aspect of the invention, the process of analyzing the workflow based on the production result of the workflow and the evaluation of the workflow from the customer who ordered the workflow, and the analysis The computer is caused to operate a process for constructing the workflow with reference to an analysis result.

  According to the present invention, it becomes possible to freely combine processes subdivided by customers themselves, and it is possible to construct not only orders received in units of printing companies but also workflows spanning each company. , There is an effect that it is possible to increase the possibility of fitting to the customer's request.

  Furthermore, according to the present invention, it is possible to improve the estimation accuracy even if it is not a skilled person in charge, and it is possible to avoid orders that are disadvantageous by formulating and clearly indicating the change of the partition price. The effect of becoming.

  Furthermore, according to the present invention, it is possible to present the current progress state to the customer and to reconstruct the workflow even after receiving an order.

  Furthermore, according to the present invention, analysis based on data that is more than a simple numerical value becomes possible, and it is used for analysis for improving the accuracy of estimation by promoting the efficiency of workflow based on the recording of plans and results. It can be used for business analysis.

  Embodiments of a print order receiving apparatus, method, and program according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  In the present invention, JDF [Job Definition Format], which is a common instruction standardized and integrated throughout all printing processes, is used so that one job can efficiently flow through each printing process. By writing instructions for every process from design work to delivery related to printed matter production in this JDF format instruction, one work can be managed with one instruction.

  FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram showing an example of a print order receiving system 2 in a printing business using a print order receiving apparatus 1 according to the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a printing order receiving apparatus 1 according to the present invention, a customer terminal 3 provided on the customer side, and a printing company terminal 4 provided on the printing company side are connected via a network 5. .

  A web browser is incorporated in the customer terminal 3 and the printing company terminal 4, and the customer terminal 3 and the printing company terminal 4 have a display, a keyboard and a main body as in a general computer. A RAM, a disk device, a communication interface for connecting to the network 5 and the like are provided.

  The print order receiving apparatus 1 includes a communication unit 6, a Web server unit 7, a database 8, a prototype creation unit 9, a process retrieval unit 10, a workflow construction unit 11, an estimate calculation unit 12, an order reception unit 13, a production instruction unit 14, and a progress confirmation unit. 15, comprising analysis means 16.

  The print order receiving apparatus 1 can be realized by a general Web server in terms of hardware, and the processing functions of each component are exhibited by executing the print order receiving apparatus program according to the present invention on the Web server. . Each processing function can be configured by hardware construction using an IC or the like, and one processing function can be resident for each application server.

  The communication unit 6 is a communication interface for connecting to the network 5, and exchange of communication with the customer terminal 3 and the printing company terminal 4 is performed via the communication unit 6.

  The Web server means 7 accumulates Web pages such as HTML to be transmitted to the customer terminal 3 and the printing company terminal 4 that access the print order receiving apparatus 1 using a protocol such as HTTP. Alternatively, processing for transmitting these Web pages is performed in response to a request from the Web browser of the printing company terminal 4. For the customer terminal 3, a website that accepts an estimate request from the customer, presents an estimate to the customer, accepts an order for a printed matter from the customer, and the like (hereinafter, this website is referred to as an order receiving site). Send).

  The database 8 registers process definitions indicating information such as process performance, billing, and input / output registered from the printing company terminal 4.

  The prototype creation means 9 performs a process of creating a virtual workflow (hereinafter referred to as a prototype) composed of process types and process processing orders that meet the customer's conditions.

  The process search means 10 searches for a process that matches the prototype created by the prototype creation means 9 based on the process definition registered in the database 8 (ie, an actual process that matches the process included in the prototype). Do.

  The workflow construction unit 11 performs a process of constructing a workflow that matches the customer's condition from the process searched by the process search unit 10.

  The estimate calculation means 12 performs a process of automatically calculating an estimate from the workflow process information constructed by the workflow construction means 11. In addition, when each process is geographically dispersed, storage of work-in-process and delivery costs are also calculated.

  The order receiving means 13 performs processing for receiving an order from a customer.

  When the order receiving unit 13 receives an order from a customer, the production instruction unit 14 performs a process of instructing the production to the printing company in charge of each process.

  The progress confirmation unit 15 performs processing for confirming the production progress of the printing company.

  The analysis means 16 performs processing for analyzing the workflow actually used in production. The analysis result by the analysis means 16 is fed back to the workflow construction means, and the workflow construction means 11 uses the analysis result for future workflow construction.

  Next, the order receiving site provided to the customer by the print order receiving apparatus 1 will be described with reference to FIG.

  When accessed by the customer, the print order receiving apparatus 1 transmits a top page, which is the entrance of the order receiving site, to the customer. As shown in FIG. 2, the customer provides a dynamic service to the print order receiving device through a static service (for example, customer authentication, request / selection / change of quotation, ordering, progress confirmation, etc.) arranged in the top page. (For example, workflow construction, analysis, production instruction / process management) is requested.

  For example, when a customer requests a request for an estimate, the prototype creation means 9, the process search means 10, the workflow construction means 11 and the estimate calculation means 12 are activated, and each printing company (printing company A, printing company B, The workflow is constructed from the process definition registered by the printing company C,..., The estimate based on the constructed workflow is posted on the order receiving site, and the customer can select the estimate posted on the order receiving site.

  Further, when the customer is not satisfied with the quote posted, it is possible to request a change in the estimate. When the customer requests a change in the quote, the prototype creation means 9, the process search means 10, and the workflow construction means 11 can be requested. Then, the estimate calculation means 12 is activated to reconstruct the workflow, and an estimate based on the reconstructed workflow is posted on the order receiving site.

  When the customer agrees with the quote posted and places an order for the printed matter, the order receiving means 13 is activated to accept the order for the printed matter from the customer, the production instruction means 14 is activated, Production instructions are given to each printing company in charge of the process, and process management of the printing company is performed. Here, while the printing company is producing printed matter, the customer can request confirmation of progress information of the process, and when the customer requests confirmation of progress information, the progress confirmation means 15 is activated. Then, the process progress information is posted on the order receiving site, and the customer can check the progress information.

  Then, when the produced printed matter is delivered to the customer, the customer evaluates the result of the printed matter through the order receiving site, the analysis means 16 is activated, and the database together with the workflow actually performing these evaluations. The information in the database is fed back in the subsequent workflow construction to promote the efficiency of the workflow.

  Next, an order procedure for printed matter performed in the print order receiving apparatus 1 will be described with reference to FIG.

  The customer requests an estimate from the order receiving site. The order receiving site that accepts the request for quotation constructs a workflow from the process definition registered by the printing company A, the process definition registered by the printing company B, and the process definition registered by the printing company C, and the constructed workflow Present a quote based on The customer selects or changes the estimate (if the change is made, the workflow is reconstructed at the order receiving site) and orders the printed matter from the order receiving site. The order receiving site that accepts the order for the printed matter gives a production instruction to each printing company in charge of the process in the workflow, and manages the process of the printing company.

  In FIG. 3, since printing company A is in charge of the first process, while printing company A is working on the first process, the first process is managed and the first process is completed. Since the printing company B is in charge of the second process, the second company manages the second process while the printing company B is working on the second process. Since the third process is in charge, the third process is managed while the printing company C is working on the third process.

  While a printing company is working on a process, if a customer requests confirmation of process progress information from the order receiving site, the order receiving site that has received a request for confirmation of process progress information has been performed until now. Present process control to customers.

  When the printing company finishes the work of all processes, the printed matter is delivered to the customer. The customer evaluates the result of the printed matter through the order receiving site, and the evaluation is made into a database together with the actually performed workflow.

  Next, the flow of processing on the order receiving site from when the customer requests an estimate of the printed matter to when the printed matter is ordered will be described with reference to FIG.

  When the customer requests an estimate from the order receiving site, the customer specifies a condition relating to the printed matter (hereinafter referred to as an estimate condition). Specifically, the request contents (type of printed matter, data to be submitted, etc.) and the request conditions (cost, delivery date, quality, finishing condition, etc.) are input as estimation conditions. A priority order (weighting) can also be designated for each input estimation condition.

  When the order receiving site accepts the estimate condition together with the request for the estimate, the prototype creating means 9 is activated and creates a prototype based on the accepted estimate condition and the process definition registered by the printing company.

  When the prototype creation means 9 creates a prototype, the process retrieval means 10 is activated and searches for an actual process for constructing a workflow from the process definition according to the created prototype.

  When the process search means 10 searches for a process according to a prototype, the workflow construction means 11 is activated and constructs a workflow that matches the customer's conditions from the searched process.

  When the workflow construction unit 11 constructs a workflow, the estimation calculation unit 12 is activated, and an estimate is automatically calculated from the information of the constructed workflow process.

  When the estimate calculation means 12 calculates the estimate, the order receiving site presents the estimate to the customer.

  The customer reviews the quotes presented and makes a choice of quotes. If the customer does not agree with the result of examining the estimate, the customer can request to change the estimate by changing the estimate condition.

  If the customer is satisfied as a result of examining the estimate, the customer places an order for the printed matter at the order receiving site. At this time, the order receiving means 13 is activated at the order accepting site and accepts the order for the printed matter from the customer.

  When the order receiving means 13 accepts the order for the printed matter, the production instruction means 14 is activated, generates a job based on the workflow, and gives a production instruction to the printing company in charge of each process. Each printing company follows the instruction. Started production of printed materials.

  Next, the process definition registered by the printing company will be described with reference to FIG.

  The printing company registers a basic unit printing process (hereinafter simply referred to as a process) when producing printed matter from a printing apparatus owned by the printing company as a process definition in the database. Specifically, as process information, process type, identification information (ID / name / affiliation (company, department), etc.), process information (device / worker / work procedure / resource, etc.), workflow information (input / output / Registration information, etc.), performance information (working time / cost, etc.), schedule and geographic information.

  As shown in FIG. 5A, the state of the intermediate product in the previous process and the necessary new raw materials are registered as “input” of the workflow information, and the state of the intermediate product generated by the process is registered in the workflow. Register as information "output".

  It should be registered as a separate process because the work time and cost change when the “device”, “worker”, and “work procedure” in the process information change.

  The schedule may be externally referenced as another database table.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 5B, a plurality of processes can be connected and registered as one process.

  Therefore, a process that matches the customer's conditions can be searched based on each of the above-described information, and a workflow that matches the customer's conditions can be finally constructed.

  Next, an operation performed by each processing function of the print order receiving apparatus 1 when estimating the printed material will be described with reference to FIG.

  When an estimate is requested from a customer, the prototype creating means 9 accepts an estimate condition together with an estimate request, and creates a prototype that matches the accepted estimate condition.

  The process search means 10 sets process search conditions that match the prototype created by the prototype creation means 9 and searches for processes and schedules that match the set search conditions based on the process definitions registered in the database 8.

  The workflow construction unit 11 constructs a workflow by combining the processes retrieved by the process retrieval unit 10 in the order that matches the estimation conditions.

  The estimate calculation means 12 calculates an estimate (cost / delivery date) from the workflow constructed by the workflow construction means 11.

  The workflow construction unit 11 determines whether the estimate calculated by the estimate calculation unit 12 matches the request condition (cost / delivery date) of the estimate condition, and outputs the estimate of the workflow determined to be compatible to the customer.

  Next, the construction of the workflow will be described with reference to FIG.

  The prototype creating means 9 that has received the estimate condition creates a prototype that matches the estimate condition with reference to the process type of the process definition registered in the database 8. In FIG. 7, a prototype in which a virtual process 1, a virtual process 2, and a virtual process 3 are connected is created.

  The process search means 10 searches for a process that matches the prototype created by the prototype creation means 9 with reference to the process information / performance information / schedule of the process definition registered in the database 8. In FIG. 7, a process that matches the type of the virtual process 1 constituting the prototype is searched from the database 8, and a process that matches the type of the virtual process 2 is searched from the database 8. The process matching the process 3 is searched from the database 8.

  The workflow construction unit 11 constructs a workflow that matches the estimation conditions by combining the search results retrieved by the process retrieval unit 10. In FIG. 7, a workflow is constructed in which the actual process 1, the actual process 2, and the actual process 3 that match the estimation condition from the process search result are connected.

  The estimate calculation means 12 calculates an estimate from the workflow process information constructed by the workflow construction means 11.

  Next, estimation calculation will be described with reference to FIG.

  As an example, an estimation of a workflow constructed from Step 1, Step 2, and Step 3 as shown in FIG. 8 will be described.

  In this workflow, Step 1 and Step 2 are performed by the printing company A, delivery to the printing company B is performed after the completion of the step 2, and Step 3 is performed by the printing company B. In this workflow, work-in-process 1-2 (an incomplete product in the middle of the production process) is generated between process 1 and process 2, and work-in-process 2- 3 occurs.

  The estimation calculation means 12 calculates the work time / work cost (including labor cost, equipment operating cost, material cost, consumables cost, etc.) of each process in consideration of process performance information and process schedule (vacant time etc.) To do. In FIG. 8, the working time / working cost of the process 1, the working time / working cost of the process 2, and the working time / working cost of the process 3 are calculated.

  Further, the estimate calculation means 12 considers the geographical information of each process, and calculates the storage time, storage cost / delivery time, and delivery cost of the work in process when the processes are geographically separated. In FIG. 8, the storage time, storage cost / delivery time, and delivery cost of the work in progress 1-2, and the storage time, storage cost / delivery time, and delivery cost of the work in progress 2-3 are calculated.

  Then, the estimate calculation means 12 calculates the delivery date of the printed matter by summing up the work time of the process 1, the process 2 and the process 3 and the storage time / delivery time of the work in progress 1-2 and the work in progress 2-3. Calculate the cost of the printed matter by summing up the work costs of process 1, process 2 and process 3 and the storage costs and delivery costs of work in progress 1-2 and work in progress 2-3, and estimate the calculated delivery date / cost As presented to the customer.

  Next, selection of an estimate performed by a customer will be described with reference to FIG.

  When the estimate is calculated, the order receiving site transmits a Web page (hereinafter referred to as an estimate page) 17 as shown in FIG. 9 to the customer terminal 3, and the customer terminal 3 displays the estimate page 17 transmitted from the order receiving site. To display. The estimate page 17 includes the type of process for constructing the workflow, the actual process that matches each type of process (that is, the process searched by the process search means 10), the working time of the actual process, and the cost of the actual process. Further, the total work time obtained by summing up the work time of each process, the delivery date of the printed matter, and the total cost obtained by summing up the costs of each process are displayed.

  In the estimate page 17 shown in FIG. 9, since “process 1A” is set as the type of “process 1”, the working time / cost of “process 1A” is displayed, and “process 2A” is displayed as the type of “process 2”. ”Is displayed, the work time / cost of“ Process 2A ”is displayed, and since“ Process 3A ”is set as the type of“ Process 3 ”, the work time / cost of“ Process 3A ”is displayed. The total work time, delivery date, and total cost in the workflow of “process 1A” → “process 2A” → “process 3A” are displayed.

  The customer confirms the process contents, delivery date, and cost of the workflow displayed on the estimate page 17, and confirms whether or not this workflow meets the requested estimate condition. Here, if the customer is satisfied with the estimate, operating the “order” button displayed on the estimate page or the like will place an order for the creation of the printed matter by this workflow to the order receiving site.

  Also, if the customer is not satisfied with this estimate, it can be changed to another process. For example, in the type of “process 1” on the estimation page 17 shown in FIG. 9, if “process 1A” is changed to “process 1B”, the work time of “process 1B” is displayed from the display of the work time / cost of “process 1A”. Change to display of cost, and change to display of total work time, delivery date, and total cost in the workflow of “process 1B” → “process 2A” → “process 3A”.

  In this manner, an actual process can be selected for each process type, and as a result, the customer can set a desired process in units of processes.

  Next, the flow of processing from the order of printed matter to delivery will be described with reference to FIG.

  When a customer places an order for a printed matter from an order receiving site (workflow is printing company A → printing company B → printing company C), the ordering site accepts an order from the customer, and printing company A, printing company B, and printing company C The printing company A starts the process according to the instruction from the order receiving site. The printing company A reports the progress status of the work of the process to the order receiving site. When the process ends, the printing company A reports the end of the process to the order receiving site and conveys the intermediate product to the printing company B.

  When the intermediate product is conveyed to the printing company B, the printing company B starts the process according to the instruction from the order receiving site. The printing company B reports the progress status of the process work to the order receiving site. When the process ends, the printing company B reports the end of the process to the order receiving site, and conveys the intermediate product to the printing company C.

  When the intermediate product is conveyed to the printing company C, the printing company C starts the process in accordance with an instruction from the order receiving site. The printing company C reports the progress status of the work of the process to the order receiving site, and delivers the printed matter when the process is completed.

  In addition, the customer can check the progress of production of printed matter, and if a defect or the like occurs, the customer can request a re-estimation and re-order from the order receiving site.

  In other words, the printing company performing the process reports the progress status as needed, so that the customer can check the progress status of the production of printed matter in real time at the order receiving site.

  Next, workflow analysis will be described with reference to FIG.

  Along with the production result of the workflow actually performed, a customer evaluation for the workflow is made into a database, and the analysis means 16 analyzes the estimation accuracy, the efficiency of the process scheduling, and the like based on the information and the process definition. Then, the workflow construction unit 11 constructs a workflow with reference to the analysis result of the analysis unit.

  Next, a specific example of processing from an estimate request to delivery of printed matter will be described with reference to FIGS.

  As shown in FIG. 12, Company A's “Submission” process definition and “Prepress” process definition, Company B's “Submission” process definition and “Prepress” process definition, and Company C's “Color printing”. Process definition of company D, "monochrome printing" process definition of company E, "color printing" process definition and process definition of "monochrome printing" of company E, process definition of "binding" and process of "delivery" of company F The process definition of “bookbinding” and the process definition of “delivery” of Company G are registered in the database 8.

  The customer requests the order receiving site for an estimate request under the following estimate conditions.

<< Estimation conditions >>
・ Type of printed material: Brochure (cover: color printing, text: monochrome printing)
・ Cost: 1 million yen ・ Delivery date: March 31 When the order receiving site accepts an estimate request, it creates a prototype that meets the above-mentioned estimate conditions.

"prototype"
-1st process: submission-2nd process: plate making-3rd process: printing cover and text (parallel work)
-Fourth process: bookbinding-Fifth process: delivery The order receiving site searches the database 8 for an actual process that matches the prototype process described above.

<The actual process searched>
・ Submission: Company A “Submission”, Company B “Submission”
・ Plate making: Company A's “plate making”, Company B's “plate making”
・ Cover printing: “Color printing” by Company C, “Color printing” by Company E
-Text printing: “Monochrome printing” by Company D, “Monochrome printing” by Company E
-Bookbinding: F bookbinding "F", G company "bookbinding"
・ Delivery: “Delivery” by Company F, “Delivery” by Company G
The order receiving site constructs a workflow that matches the estimated conditions by combining the retrieved actual processes. As shown in FIG. 13, the “plate making” of company B, “monochrome printing” of company E, and “delivery” of company G that are determined not to meet the estimation conditions are not constructed in the workflow.

  The order receiving site calculates the estimated delivery date and cost of all process combinations from the constructed workflow.

《Estimating workflow》
1. Company A “Draft” → Company A “Prepress” → Company C “Cover printing (color)” → Company D “Text printing (monochrome)” → Company F “Bookbinding” → Company F “ Delivery "
2. Company A's “Submission” → Company A ’s “Prepress” → Company E ’s “Cover Print (Color)” → Company D’ s “Print Text (Monochrome)” → Company F ’s “Bookbinding” Delivery "
3. Company A “Draft” → Company A “Prepress” → Company C “Cover printing (color)” → Company D “Text printing (monochrome)” → Company G “Bookbinding” → Company F “ Delivery "
4). Company A's "Submission"-> Company A's "Prepress"-> Company E's "Cover Print (Color)"-> Company D's "Text Print (Monochrome)"-> Company G's "Bookbinding" Delivery "
5. Company B “Submission” → Company A “Prepress” → Company C “Cover printing (color)” → Company D “Text printing (monochrome)” → Company F “Bookbinding” → Company F “ Delivery "
6). Company B “Submission” → Company A “Prepress” → Company E “Cover printing (color)” → Company D “Text printing (monochrome)” → Company F “Bookbinding” → Company F “ Delivery "
7). “Submission” of Company B → “Plate Making” of Company A → “Printing of Cover (Color)” of Company C → “Printing of Text (Monochrome)” of Company D → “Bookbinding” of Company G → “ Delivery "
8). Company B “Submission” → Company A “Prepress” → Company E “Cover printing (color)” → Company D “Text printing (monochrome)” → Company G “Bookbinding” → Company F “ Delivery "
The order receiving site presents the calculated estimate to the customer.

  The customer selects an estimate while examining the estimate presented from the order receiving site. That is, the customer selects a workflow to order from 1 to 8 of the above workflows. In FIG. 14, the workflow 1 (Company A's “Draft” → Company A ’s “Prepress” → Company C ’s “Cover Print (Color)” → Company D’ s “Print Text (Monochrome)” → Company F ’s “ “Bookbinding” → “delivery” of company F) is selected.

  The customer places an order for the production of the printed matter according to the determined workflow.

  When receiving the order from the customer, the order receiving site generates a job based on the ordered workflow.

  When the order receiving site generates a job, the order receiving site gives a process instruction to the printing company in charge of each process. In FIG. 15, an instruction for “Draft” and “Prepress” steps is given to Company A, an instruction for a “Cover Print (Color)” step is given to Company C, and “ The process of “printing text (monochrome)” is instructed, and the processes of “binding” and “delivery” are instructed to company F. And the printed matter produced from the F company to the customer is delivered.

  The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above and shown in the drawings, and can be implemented with appropriate modifications within a range not changing the gist thereof.

1 is a system configuration diagram showing an example of a print order receiving system in a printing business using a print order receiving apparatus according to the present invention. It is a figure explaining the order receiving site which a printing order receiving apparatus provides with respect to a customer. It is a figure explaining the order procedure of the printed matter performed with a printing order receiving apparatus. It is a figure explaining the flow of a process on the order reception site from a customer's request for the estimate of a printed matter to the order of a printed matter. It is a figure explaining the process definition registered by a printing company. It is a figure explaining the operation | movement which each processing function of the printing order receiving apparatus at the time of estimating the printed matter performs. It is a figure explaining construction of a workflow. It is a figure explaining calculation of an estimate. It is a figure explaining selection of the estimate which a customer performs. It is a figure explaining the flow of processing from ordering of printed matter to delivery. It is a figure explaining the analysis of a workflow. It is a figure explaining the specific example of the process from an estimate request to delivery of printed matter. It is a figure explaining the specific example of the process from an estimate request to delivery of printed matter. It is a figure explaining the specific example of the process from an estimate request to delivery of printed matter. It is a figure explaining the specific example of the process from an estimate request to delivery of printed matter.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Print order receiving apparatus 2 Print order receiving system 3 Customer terminal 4 Printing company terminal 5 Network 6 Communication means 7 Web server means 8 Database 9 Prototype creation means 10 Process search means 11 Workflow construction means 12 Estimate calculation means 13 Order receiving means 14 Production instruction means 15 Progress confirmation means 16 Analysis means 17 Estimate page

Claims (15)

In a print order receiving apparatus that builds a workflow for producing a printed matter composed of a plurality of types of processes based on conditions from a customer and receives an order for production of the printed matter from the customer,
Registration means for registering a process definition indicating information about the process for each printing company that executes the process;
Virtual workflow creation means for creating a virtual workflow composed of the types of processes and the processing order that meet the conditions based on the conditions of production of printed matter from the customer;
A process search means for searching from the process definition registered in the registration means for a process that matches the virtual workflow created by the virtual workflow creation means;
Workflow construction means for constructing a workflow that matches the conditions based on the virtual workflow and a process that matches the virtual workflow searched by the process search means;
An estimate calculation means for calculating an estimate of the workflow constructed by the workflow construction means;
A print order receiving apparatus, comprising: an estimate presentation unit that presents an estimate of a workflow calculated by the estimate calculation unit to the customer. When the process search means searches for a plurality of processes,
The workflow construction means includes
Build multiple workflows that meet the above conditions,
The estimate calculation means is:
Calculate an estimate for each workflow,
The estimate presenting means is:
The print order receiving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an estimate for each workflow is presented to the customer. Order receiving means for receiving an order for production of printed matter by the workflow selected by the customer from the plurality of workflows presented by the estimate presenting means;
Production instruction means for instructing production to a printing company in charge of each process of building a workflow ordered by the order receiving means;
And further comprising: progress status presentation means for accepting a report on the progress status of the work from the printing company instructed to produce by the production instruction means, and presenting the progress status of the work to the customer. Item 3. The print order receiving apparatus according to Item 2. The process definition is
Indicate equipment used, workers, work procedures, resources used, work hours, expenses, schedule, geographical information in the process in the printing company,
The estimate calculation means is:
2. The printing according to claim 1, wherein work time / work cost for each process is calculated based on various information shown in the process definition, and storage time, cost / delivery time and cost between processes are calculated. Order receiving equipment. Analysis means for analyzing the workflow based on the production result of the workflow and the evaluation of the workflow from the customer who ordered the workflow;
The workflow construction means includes
The print order receiving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the workflow is constructed with reference to an analysis result by the analysis unit. In a print order receiving method for constructing a workflow for producing a printed matter composed of a plurality of types of processes based on conditions from a customer and receiving an order for production of the printed matter from the customer,
The registration means registers a process definition indicating information on the process for each printing company that executes the process,
Based on the production conditions of the printed matter from the customer, the virtual workflow creation means creates a virtual workflow consisting of the types of processes and the processing order that meet the conditions,
The process search means searches for a process that matches the created virtual workflow from the process definition registered in the registration means,
The workflow construction means constructs a workflow that matches the condition based on the virtual workflow and the process that matches the searched virtual workflow,
The estimate calculation means calculates an estimate of the constructed workflow,
A print order receiving method, wherein the estimate presenting means presents the calculated workflow estimate to the customer. When the process search means searches for a plurality of processes,
The workflow construction means includes
Build multiple workflows that meet the above conditions,
The estimate calculation means is:
Calculate an estimate for each workflow,
The estimate presenting means is:
The print order receiving method according to claim 6, wherein an estimate for each workflow is presented to the customer. The order receiving means receives an order for production of printed matter by the workflow selected by the customer from the plurality of workflows presented,
The production instruction means instructs the production to the printing company in charge of each process for constructing the ordered workflow,
The print order receiving method according to claim 7, wherein a progress status presentation unit receives a report of the progress status of the work from the printing company that instructed the production, and presents the progress status of the work to the customer. The process definition is
Indicate equipment used, workers, work procedures, resources used, work hours, expenses, schedule, geographical information in the process in the printing company,
The estimate calculation means is:
7. The printing according to claim 6, wherein work time / work cost for each process is calculated based on various information indicated in the process definition, and storage time, cost / delivery time and cost between processes are calculated. Ordering method. The analysis means analyzes the workflow based on the production result of the workflow and the evaluation of the workflow from the customer who ordered the workflow,
The workflow construction means includes
The print order receiving method according to claim 9, wherein the workflow is constructed with reference to a result of the analysis. In a print order receiving program that builds a workflow for producing a printed matter consisting of a plurality of types of processes based on conditions from a customer and receives an order for production of the printed matter from the customer,
A process of registering a process definition indicating information about the process for each printing company that executes the process;
Based on the production conditions of the printed matter from the customer, a process of creating a virtual workflow consisting of the types of processes and the processing order that meet the conditions;
A process of searching the registered process definition for a process that matches the created virtual workflow;
A process of constructing a workflow that meets the conditions based on the virtual workflow and the process that matches the searched virtual workflow;
A process for calculating an estimate of the constructed workflow;
A printing order receiving program which causes a computer to operate a process of presenting the calculated workflow estimate to the customer. When searching a plurality of processes from the registered process definition,
Processing to construct a plurality of workflows that meet the above conditions;
A process for calculating an estimate for each workflow;
12. The print order receiving program according to claim 11, further comprising: causing a computer to execute a process of presenting an estimate for each workflow to the customer. A process of receiving an order for production of printed matter by the workflow selected by the customer from the plurality of presented workflows;
Processing for instructing production to a printing company in charge of each process for constructing the ordered workflow;
13. The print order according to claim 12, wherein a report of a progress status of the work from the printing company which has instructed the production is received, and a process of presenting the progress status of the work to the customer is caused to operate on a computer. program. The process definition is
Indicate equipment used, workers, work procedures, resources used, work hours, expenses, schedule, geographical information in the process in the printing company,
Processing for calculating work time / work cost for each process based on various information shown in the process definition and calculating storage time / cost / delivery time / cost between processes when calculating the estimate of the workflow The print order receiving program according to claim 11, wherein the computer is operated by a computer. A process of analyzing the workflow based on a production result of the workflow and an evaluation of the workflow from the customer who ordered the workflow;
12. The print order receiving program according to claim 11, further comprising: causing a computer to operate a process of constructing the workflow with reference to an analysis result of the analysis.

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