JP2008217174A - Code management system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To confirm identify of each piece of merchandise shown by in-store codes which are separately imparted and used among a plurality of stores without being unified at a retail store chain side. <P>SOLUTION: A retail store server 31 accepts designation of an in-store code imparted to retrieval object merchandise, and retrieves a chain side merchandise chart number corresponding to the accepted in-store code by referring to a retail chain merchandise master DB31a, and transmits retrieval request information including the retrieved chain side merchandise chart number, and outputs the retrieval result information from a code management server 10. Also, the code management server 10 accepts retrieval request information from the retail store server 31, and retrieves code management information including the chain side merchandise chart number included in the accepted retrieval request information by referring to a code management DB 11, and extracts a part or whole part of the code management information, and transmits a part or whole part of the code management information as retrieval result information to the retial store server 31. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a code management server that performs code management to identify the same product among products that are individually assigned an in-store code in each retail chain, and a manufacturer that is managed by a manufacturer that produces or manufactures the product. The present invention relates to a code management system including a product server.

  Conventionally, in a store such as a supermarket, a POS system that collects information for grasping the sales status of each product by reading a POS code such as a barcode attached to a product desired to be purchased has been provided. Widely used (see, for example, Patent Document 1-2).

JP 2005-165629 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-228021

  However, in the conventional POS system described above, the information obtained by the POS code is an in-store code unique to each store. The chain store generally uses the international standard code format called JAN (EAN) code, but since the corresponding in-store codes for registered products are used separately, they are sold at each chain store. There is a problem in that the identity of a product cannot be determined, and for example, the sales situation of a product cannot be smoothly summarized.

  Although it is conceivable to construct a POS system in which the in-store code is unified, enormous costs and time are required to construct such a POS system, resulting in a lot of economic waste. .

  The present invention solves the above-described problems, and makes it possible to easily confirm the identity of each product indicated by an in-store code that is separately assigned and used between a plurality of stores without being unified. With the goal.

    The code management system of the present invention includes a code management server that performs code management to identify the same product among products that are individually assigned an in-store code in each retail chain, and a retail chain that is managed in the retail chain. A chain management product provided in a retail chain in association with an in-store code and a product chart code of a product to which the in-store code is assigned. A retail store management DB that stores retail store management information including a medical record code, an in-store code receiving unit that receives designation of an in-store code assigned to a search target product, and an in-store code that is received by the in-store code receiving unit Corresponding chain side product chart code A chain-side product chart search means for searching with reference to the store management DB; a search request information transmission means for sending search request information including the chain-side product chart code searched by the chain-side product chart code search means; Search result information output means for outputting search result information from a code management server, wherein the code management server includes the product chart code and an in-store code assigned to each product indicated by the product chart code in each retail chain A code management DB that stores code management information including a chain-side product chart code corresponding to the product chart code, a search request reception unit that receives search request information from the search request information transmission unit, and the search request Chain side product chart code included in the search request information received by the receiving means A code management information search / extraction means for searching for code management information including the code management DB and extracting a part or all of the searched code management information; and the code management extracted by the code management information search / extraction means Search result information transmitting means for transmitting a part or all of the information as the search result information.

  By configuring as described above, each merchandise indicated by the in-store code that is separately given and used among multiple stores without using the in-store code used by the retail chain as a key. Can be easily confirmed. Accordingly, it is possible to smoothly aggregate sales statuses among a plurality of stores.

  The code management information includes an application period of an in-store code and an application period of a chain-side product chart code, and the retail chain server includes a date reception unit that accepts designation of a search date, and searches for a chain-side product chart code The means searches for a chain side product chart code associated with the application period including the date received by the date reception unit among the chain side product chart codes corresponding to the in-store code received by the in-store code reception unit. The search request information transmission means transmits search request information including the chain side product chart code searched by the product identification code search means and the date received by the date reception means, and the code management information search extraction means includes , Of the chain side product chart codes included in the search request information Or it may be a search constitutes a code management information including the chain side products chart code is the application period in which the date is associated contained in the search request information.

  The code management server includes manufacturer management information acquisition means for acquiring manufacturer management information including a product chart code assigned to the product by a manufacturer that manufactured or manufactured the product, and manufacturer management information acquired by the manufacturer management information acquisition means. May be configured to include manufacturer management information registering means for registering in the code management DB.

  The code management server acquires retail store management information including an in-store code and a chain-side product chart code of a product to which the in-store code is assigned from each retail chain server managed in each retail chain. Corresponding to the product chart code registered corresponding to the chain side product chart code acquired by the retail store management information acquisition means among the information chart and the product chart code registered in the code management DB In-store code registration means for registering the in-store code acquired by the retail store management information acquisition means may be included.

  The code management server applies the in-store code in association with the product chart code corresponding to the chain-side product chart code acquired by the retail store management information acquisition means among the product chart codes registered in the code management DB. An application period setting unit that registers or updates the period may be included.

  The code management information may further include a retail chain name indicating a retail chain to which an in-store code is assigned. Further, the code management information may further include a product name of a product to which a product identification code is assigned.

  According to the present invention, on the retail chain side, the identity of each product indicated by the in-store code that is separately assigned and used between a plurality of stores without being unified using the in-store code used by the customer as a key Can be easily confirmed.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a code management system 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the code management system 100 includes a code management server 10, a product master server 20, retail store servers 31 to 3N (N: an arbitrary positive integer), and manufacturer product servers 51 and 52. Including. The code management server 10, the product master server 20, the retail store servers 31 to 3N, and the manufacturer product servers 51 and 52 are each connected to a communication network 40 such as the Internet.

  The code management server 10, the product master server 20, the retail store servers 31 to 3N, and the manufacturer product servers 51 and 52 are each configured by an information processing device such as a WWW server.

  The code management server 10 is, for example, a server managed by a system administrator of the code management system 100. When the product is produced or manufactured, a product identification code (for example, JAN code) given to the product or each retail store It manages the in-store code used in.

  The code management server 10 includes a code management DB 11 that stores code management information and a manufacturer production management DB 12 that stores manufacturer production management information. The code management information is information for managing the relationship between the product identification code and the in-store code used in each retail store. The manufacturer production management information includes the product identification code given to the product by the manufacturer when the product is produced or manufactured, the product name of the product indicated by the product identification code, and the name of the manufacturer that produced or manufactured the product. Including. The code management DB 11 and the manufacturer production management DB 12 may be inside or outside the code management server 10. Also, the manufacturer production management information is periodically transmitted from the manufacturer product servers 51 and 52 managed by the manufacturers A and B, for example, to the code management server 10 via the communication network and accumulated in the manufacturer production management DB 12. The

  The merchandise master server 20 includes a merchandise master DB 21 in which a merchandise master including various information related to the merchandise such as merchandise history information including the production history and distribution history of the merchandise is stored. The product master includes a product master number for uniquely identifying the product and a product identification code assigned to the product. The product master DB 21 may be inside or outside the product master server 20.

  Each of the retail store servers 31 to 3N is managed by, for example, a retail chain manager who manages each of the retail chains A to X, and stores the POS information used in each of the retail chains A to X. 3Na is provided. The retail store servers 31 to 3N are installed, for example, in the retail chains A to X, respectively. Although not shown in the retail store servers 31 to 3N, a POS register used in each of the retail chains A to X (a register installed at a purchase amount payment place, for example, for a POS system attached to a product) Various functions such as reading a bar code (an example of a POS code: hereinafter referred to as a POS bar code) and printing purchase contents on a receipt using a product name and a product price specified based on the POS bar code Or a computer that performs POS data intra processing before the processing of the retail store servers 31 to 3N.

  The manufacturer product servers 51 and 52 are managed by manufacturers A and B that produce or manufacture products, respectively, and a manufacturer management DB 51a that stores manufacturer product management information including various information related to products that are produced or manufactured and shipped. , 52a. The manufacturer product management information includes a product name, a JAN code (meaning “product identification code” in this example) assigned to the product by the manufacturer A when the product is produced or manufactured, and a product master number (product An example of a master code), a manufacturer code, and an application period are associated with each other. The manufacturer code is a code that is uniquely assigned to each product produced or manufactured by each manufacturer. The manufacturer code may be a specific standard format such as the JAN format, or may have a format unique to the manufacturer. There may be. The manufacturer management DBs 51a and 52a may be inside or outside the manufacturer product servers 51 and 52, respectively. In this example, the two maker product servers 51 and 52 are provided. However, any number of maker product servers may be provided.

  FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of POS information stored in the retail chain product master DB 31a included in the retail store server 31 installed in the retail chain A. As shown in FIG. 2, the POS information includes a product name, an in-store code, a chain-side product chart number (an example of a chain-side product chart code), and a product price. The in-store code may be a specific standard format such as a JAN format, or may have a store-specific format. The in-store code is a POS code that is currently used in association with a predetermined product in the POS system in the corresponding retail chain A. The merchandise chart number on the chain side is a code that is uniquely assigned to each merchandise by each retail chain, and may be a specific standard format such as the JAN format, or a format unique to the retail chain. May be.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the names of products such as canned foods A and seasonings A and / or supplier names (manufacturer names) are set as the product names. Moreover, the price of the sales unit for every number and weight is set to the price.

  The POS information is stored in each retail chain product master DB 31a to 3Na provided in each retail store server 31 to 3N. Further, POS information may be set with different in-store codes or different chain side product chart numbers even for the same product, depending on the POS system employed in each store.

  FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the chart management information stored in the code management DB 11. As shown in FIG. 3, the chart management information is information in which a product chart number, a chain-side product chart number, and an application period are associated with each other. The application period means the period that is applied to the product with the relevant chain side medical record number, and if it is still applied, the period end date cannot be determined, so “continuing use (applied)” Is set. The application period may be managed not in units of days but in units of months, weeks, hours, minutes, and seconds. The chart management information is created for each retail chain and stored in the code management DB 11. The chart management information shown in FIG. 3 is an example corresponding to the retail chain A. This chain side product chart number is acquired from each of the retail store servers 31 to 3N together with the corresponding product chart number, for example, periodically (for example, every day) for those that have been set or changed (including cancellation of use).

  FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of code management information stored in the code management DB 11. As shown in FIG. 4, the code management information is information in which a product name, a product chart number, a retail chain name, an in-store code, and an application period are associated with each other. The application period means the period applied to the product with the corresponding in-store code, and if it is still applied, the period end date cannot be determined, so “continuing use (applied)” is set. . The application period may be managed not in units of days but in units of months, weeks, hours, minutes, and seconds.

  3 and 4, the code management information and the chart management information are described separately. However, the code management information includes the chart management information because it can be associated with the retail chain name and the product chart number. It is good.

Next, the operation of the code management system 100 of this example will be described.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of code management information registration processing executed by the code management server 10 in the code management system 100 of the present example. The code management information registration process is executed, for example, when instructed by an operator of the code management server 10 or periodically (for example, once a day in the early morning or late at night).

  In the code management information registration process, the code management server 10 firstly, manufacturer production management information that has been newly registered (registered since the last acquisition) among the manufacturer production management information stored in the manufacturer production management DB 12. Is read (step S101).

  Next, the code management server 10 newly registers the product name and product chart number included in the acquired manufacturer production management information in the corresponding item of the code management information stored in the code management DB 11 (step S102). .

  Next, the code management server 10 acquires POS information newly registered (registered after the previous acquisition) and POS information whose registration has been deleted from each of the retail store servers 31 to 3N (step S103). ). In step S103, only the product chart number, the chain side product chart number, and the in-store code may be acquired from the POS information. In this example, the registration date and the registration deletion date of the POS information are also acquired in step S103.

  In the case of new registration, the code management server 10 associates with the product chart number acquired in step S103, and if the in-store code included in the POS information acquired in step S103 is new. The in-store code is registered and the beginning of the application period is registered. If the chain-side product chart number included in the POS information acquired in step S103 is new, the chain-side product chart number is registered and the application period Is registered (step S104). In addition, in the case of final registration, the code management server 10 cancels the use of the in-store code included in the POS information acquired in step S103 in association with the product chart number acquired in step S103. If it is, the end of the applicable period is registered in association with the in-store code, and if the chain-side product chart number included in the POS information acquired in step S103 is discontinued, the chain-side product chart The end of the application period is registered in association with the number (step S104).

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a product search process executed by the code management system 100 of this example. Here, a case will be described as an example where a product that is sold with a separate in-store code assigned to each retail chain is searched based on the in-store code specified by the operator of the retail store server 31.

  In the merchandise search process, the retail store server 31 receives an in-store code (for example, “A0008791”) input by the operator by operating the input device included in the retail store server 31 (step S201). In addition, the retail store server 31 accepts a search target date (for example, October 15, 2006) input by an operator by operating an input device included in the retail store server 31 (step S202).

  Next, the retail store server 31 refers to the retail chain product master DB 31a, is associated with the in-store code received in step S101, and includes the date received in step S202 during the application period. The product chart number (for example, “Y0005568”) is searched and extracted (step S203).

  Then, the retail store server 31 transmits the search request information including the searched chain side product chart number and the search target date received in Step S202 to the code management server 10 via the communication network 40 (Step S202). S204).

  The code management server 10 receives the search request information from the retail store server 31, and receives the chain side product chart number and the search target date included in the received search request information (step S205).

  Next, the code management server 10 refers to the code management DB 11 and applies the product chart number (for example, K000457) associated with the chain-side product chart number received in step S205 and the date received in step S205. The code management information included in the period is searched and extracted (step S206). Then, the code management server 10 transmits the search result (searched code management information) to the retail store server 31 via the communication network 40 (step S207).

  The retail store server 31 receives the code management information that is the search result from the code management server 10, generates the search result screen information based on the received code management information, A search result screen indicated by the search result screen information is displayed (step S208). For example, as shown in FIG. 7, the search result screen includes a search condition display area 201 for displaying search conditions and a search result display area 202 for displaying search results.

  FIG. 7 shows an example of a search result when the chain side product chart number “Y0005568” and the date “October 15, 2006” are designated as the search conditions. As shown in FIG. 7, as a search result, the product chart number corresponding to the chain side product chart number “Y0005568” is the product chart number “K000457”, and the product indicated by the product chart number “K000457” is the product name “canned” “A”, and on the designated date “October 15”, it is shown that separate in-store codes were used in the five retail chains A, B, D, F, and H, respectively. As a result of the search, the product with the product name “canned A” to which the manufacturer code “X0003457” is assigned by the manufacturer A is assigned the JAN code “000123” on October 15, 2006, and each retail chain A , B, D, F, and H, it can be confirmed that the in-store code displayed in the area 202 was applied and sold.

  In the above example, the date is accepted in step S202. However, for example, as shown in FIG. 8, a range of dates to be searched may be accepted. In this case, the retail store server 31 refers to the retail chain product master DB 31a, is associated with the in-store code received in step S101, and includes the date range received in step S202 during the application period. The side product chart number is searched and extracted (step S203). Further, the retail store server 31 obtains the search request information including the searched chain side product chart number and the search target date range received in step S202. It transmits toward the code management server 10 via 40 (step S204). The code management server 10 refers to the code management DB 11 and is associated with the chain-side product chart number accepted in step S205, and the code management information including the date range accepted in step S205 during the application period Are retrieved and extracted (step S206). The search result screen displayed on the retail store server 31 is as shown in FIG. 9, for example.

  FIG. 9 shows an example of a search result when the in-store code “A0008971” and the date range “October 15-18, 2006” are designated as the search conditions. As shown in FIG. 9, as a search result, the corresponding product chart number is the product chart number “K000457”, the product indicated by the product chart number is the product name “canned A”, and 15 days in the retail chain A It is shown that separate in-store codes were applied between the 16th and 18th, and that the same in-store code was used for the other four retail chains B, D, F, and H during the specified period. Has been. As a result of this search, the product with the product name “canned A” to which the in-store code “A0008971” is assigned is the retail chain A, B, D, F, H on October 15th to 18th, 2006. It can be confirmed that the in-store code displayed in 202 is applied and sold.

  In the above example, a part of the code management information is extracted and displayed on the search result screen. However, the entire code management information may be extracted and displayed on the search result screen. In the above example, the search result screen is displayed. However, the search result screen may be printed, or the search result may be output by voice.

  As described above, in the above-described embodiment, the retail store server 31 accepts designation of an in-store code given to a search target product, and sets a chain-side product chart number corresponding to the accepted in-store code. The search is performed with reference to the retail chain product master DB 31a, the search request information including the searched chain side product chart number is transmitted, and the search result information from the code management server 10 is output (for example, displayed). . In addition, the code management server 109 includes code management including a product chart number, an in-store code assigned to the product indicated by the product chart number in each retail chain, and a chain-side product chart number corresponding to the product chart number. A code management DB 11 for storing information is received, search request information from the retail store server 31 is received, and code management information including the chain side product chart number included in the received search request information is referred to the code management DB 11. A configuration is adopted in which a part or all of the retrieved code management information is retrieved, and a part or all of the extracted code management information is transmitted to the retail store server 31 as retrieval result information. Therefore, on the retail chain side, using the in-store code used at the store as a key, the identity of each product indicated by the in-store code that is separately assigned and used among a plurality of stores without being unified You will be able to confirm. Accordingly, it is possible to smoothly aggregate sales statuses among a plurality of stores.

  In the above-described embodiment, the code management information includes the application period of the in-store code and the application period of the chain-side product chart code, accepts the designation of the date to be searched by the retail store server 31, and the received in-store code Search for the chain-side product chart number associated with the applicable period including the received date from the corresponding chain-side product chart number, and send the search request information including the searched chain-side product chart number and the received date The code management server 10 includes the chain side product chart number associated with the application period including the date included in the search request information among the chain side product chart numbers included in the search request information. Since it is configured to search for code management information, the corresponding product chart number is specified on the specified date. It can be extracted by searching the instrument Accord which was applied to products, so the identity of the goods in the retail chains in the specified date can be easily confirmed. Specifically, for example, it can be easily confirmed that “the product A indicated by the corresponding product chart number was sold in the retail chains A, B, and C on the designated day”. .

  In the embodiment described above, the code management server 10 acquires maker management information including a product chart number assigned to the product by the manufacturer that manufactured or manufactured the product, and the acquired maker management information is stored in the code management DB 11a. Therefore, when a new product chart number is assigned, the new product chart number and product name can be registered in the code management DB 11.

  In the above-described embodiment, the code management server 10 includes the in-store code and the chain-side product chart number of the product to which the in-store code is assigned from each retail store server 31 managed in each retail chain. Each retail store server 31 acquires retail store management information and associates it with the product chart number registered corresponding to the acquired chain side product chart number among the product chart numbers registered in the code management DB 11a. Since the in-store code obtained from is registered, when a new in-store code is assigned to each retail chain, or when the product to which the in-store code is applied is changed, a new chain side product chart number is created for each retail chain. When a product is added to the chain side medical record number, It is possible to appropriately update the code management information in the management DB 11.

  Moreover, in embodiment mentioned above, the code management server 10 respond | corresponds to the product chart number corresponding to the chain side product chart number acquired from each retail store server 31 among the product chart numbers registered in the code management DB 11a. In addition, the application period of the in-store code is registered or updated, so when a new in-store code is given in each retail chain, or when the product to which the in-store code is applied is changed, a new one is created in each retail chain. When the chain-side product chart number is assigned to the item or when the applicable product of the chain-side product chart number is changed, the application period in the code management information of the code management DB 11 can be appropriately updated.

  In the above-described embodiment, the in-store code is used. However, the code management information is a figure that is given to the product indicated by the product identification code in each retail chain instead of the in-store code or together with the in-store code. The code may be included. That is, a graphic code that is used privately in each retail chain may be used instead of or together with the in-store code.

  According to the present invention, on the retail chain side, the identity of each product indicated by the in-store code that is separately assigned and used among a plurality of stores without being unified is easily confirmed using the in-store code as a key. Useful for.

It is a block diagram which shows the example of a structure of the code management system which concerns on one embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of POS information. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of medical chart management information. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of code management information. It is a flowchart which shows the example of a code management information registration process. It is a flowchart which shows the example of goods search processing. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of a search result screen. It is a flowchart which shows the example of goods search processing. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of a search result screen.

Explanation of symbols

10 Code management server 11 Code management DB
20 Product Master Server 31 to 3N Retail Store Server 40 Communication Network 51, 52 Manufacturer Product Server 100 Code Management System

Claims (7)

A code management system including a code management server that performs code management to identify the same product among products that are individually assigned an in-store code in each retail chain, and a retail chain server that is managed in the retail chain Because
The retail chain server is
A retail store management DB that stores retail store management information including an in-store code and a chain-side product chart code that is assigned in the retail chain in association with the product chart code of the product to which the in-store code is assigned;
An in-store code receiving means for receiving the specification of the in-store code given to the search target product;
Chain-side product chart code search means for searching for a chain-side product chart code corresponding to the in-store code received by the in-store code receiving means with reference to the retail store management DB;
Search request information transmitting means for transmitting search request information including the chain side product chart code searched by the chain side product chart search means;
Search result information output means for outputting search result information from the code management server,
The code management server
A code management DB that stores code management information including the product chart code, an in-store code given to each product in the retail chain to the product indicated by the product chart code, and a chain side product chart code corresponding to the product chart code When,
Search request accepting means for accepting search request information from the search request information transmitting means;
The code management information including the chain side product chart code included in the search request information received by the search request receiving means is searched with reference to the code management DB, and a part or all of the searched code management information is retrieved. Code management information retrieval and extraction means for extracting;
A search result information transmitting means for transmitting a part or all of the code management information extracted by the code management information search and extraction means as the search result information. The code management information includes an in-store code application period and a chain-side product chart code application period,
The retail chain server includes a date receiving unit that receives designation of a date to be searched,
The chain side product chart code search means is a chain side associated with the application period including the date received by the date reception means among the chain side product chart codes corresponding to the in-store code received by the in-store code reception means. Search the product chart code,
The search request information transmitting means transmits search request information including a chain side product chart code searched by the product identification code search means and a date received by the date receiving means,
The code management information search / extraction means includes a chain-side product chart associated with the application period including the date included in the search request information among the chain-side product chart codes included in the search request information. The code management system according to claim 1, wherein code management information including a code is searched. The code management server
Manufacturer management information acquisition means for acquiring manufacturer management information including a product chart code attached to the product by the manufacturer that produced or manufactured the product;
The code management system according to claim 1, further comprising manufacturer management information registration means for registering manufacturer management information acquired by the manufacturer management information acquisition means in the code management DB. The code management server
Retail store management information acquisition means for acquiring retail store management information including an in-store code and a chain-side product chart code of a product to which the in-store code is assigned, from each retail chain server managed in each retail chain;
Of the merchandise chart codes registered in the code management DB, the retail shop management is associated with the merchandise chart code registered corresponding to the chain-side merchandise chart code acquired by the retail store management information acquisition means. The code management system according to claim 3, further comprising: an in-store code registration unit that registers the in-store code acquired by the information acquisition unit. The code management server
The application period of the in-store code is registered or updated in association with the product chart code corresponding to the chain side product chart code acquired by the retail store management information acquisition means among the product chart codes registered in the code management DB. The code management system according to claim 4, further comprising an application period setting unit. The code management system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the code management information includes a retail chain name indicating a retail chain to which an in-store code is assigned. The code management system according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the code management information includes a product name of a product to which a product identification code is assigned.

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