JP2011003079A - Dispatch support device and dispatch support system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a dispatch support device and a dispatch support system which adjust the number of additional copies of printed matters to perform stock control.SOLUTION: A dispatch support server 1 has: a storage part 11 which stores printed matter detail information 11C having a printing form of the printed matter and an additional copy history thereof and additional copy threshold information 11D which indicates the number of the minimum stocked copies, and is preliminarily determined for each piece of the printed matter; an additional copy determination means 10C which determines whether the additional copies of the printed matter are generated on the basis of the number of the dispatched copies of the printed matters and the number of the stocked copies of the printed matters; and a print instructing means 10D which determines an ordering destination for the additional copies on the basis of the number of branched copies, is computed from the printed matter detail information 11C, and gives instructions to generate the number of additional copies which cover deficiency with respect to the number of the dispatched copies on the basis of the determination performed by the additional copy determination means 10C.

Description

  The present invention relates to a shipping support apparatus and a shipping support system.

  In Patent Document 1, a document server that manages document data of a printed material, an inventory management server that manages inventory information of the printed material, a list of printed materials obtained from the document server and displayed, and a printed material desired by the user from the list. A printer that displays and displays the inventory of the product from the inventory management server, and also allows the user to select whether the printed matter is to be delivered from the inventory, printed on demand, or a combination thereof. A system is described in which a printed matter desired by a user is sent out according to a form selected by the user.

JP 2005-165722 A

  An object of the present invention is to provide a shipping support apparatus and a shipping support system that can manage inventory by adjusting the reprinting of printed matter.

[1] Storage means for storing detailed information including a printed form and a printing history of printed matter, reprint determining means for judging that reprinting of the printed matter is necessary when the number of copies of the printed matter is larger than the number of copies of the printed matter, and the reprinting When it is determined by the determining means that reprinting of the printed matter is necessary, a predetermined number is selected to select a printing instruction destination according to the number of copies to be printed that is insufficient from the number of copies to be shipped and the detailed information. And a print instruction unit that determines a print instruction destination by comparing the number of branch copies with the print instruction destination and instructs the print instruction destination to print the number of extra copies.

[2] The storage unit further stores reprint threshold information indicating a predetermined minimum number of stocks for each printed matter, and the reprint determination unit includes the details when the number of copies is less than the reprint threshold information and the details. The shipment support according to [1], wherein when the information matches a predetermined condition, it is determined that reprinting of the printed material is necessary, and the print instruction unit issues a print instruction to print the printed material of the number of branch copies. apparatus.

[3] The storage unit stores, as the detailed information, a revision history indicating a history of revision of the number of copies to be printed, and the reprint determination unit is configured to perform the reprint history based on the reprint history and the revision history of the detailed information. The dispatch support apparatus according to [2], wherein the number of reprint copies is increased or decreased.

[4] A reprint determination function for determining that reprinting of the printed matter is necessary when the number of copies of the printed matter is larger than the number of copies of the printed matter on a computer capable of referring to detailed information including the printing form and reprint history of the printed matter, and the reprinting When it is determined by the determining means that reprinting of the printed matter is necessary, a predetermined number is selected to select a printing instruction destination according to the number of copies to be printed that is insufficient from the number of copies to be shipped and the detailed information. A delivery support program for operating a print instruction function that determines a print instruction destination by comparing the number of branch copies with the print instruction destination and instructs the print instruction destination to print the number of extra copies.

  According to the invention which concerns on Claim 1 or 4, inventory can be managed by adjusting reprinting at the time of dispatch of printed matter.

  According to the invention which concerns on Claim 2, inventory can be managed by adjusting reprinting after dispatch of printed matter.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, inventory can be managed by adjusting reprinting based on the revision history of printed matter.

It is the schematic which shows the structural example of the dispatch assistance system which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is the schematic which shows the structural example of the dispatch assistance server which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is the schematic which shows the structural example of the printed matter detailed information which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is the schematic which shows the structural example of the pick-up list | wrist which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is the schematic which shows the other structural example of the pick-up list | wrist which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the operation example of the dispatch assistance system which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the other operation example of the dispatch assistance system which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the other operation example of the dispatch assistance system which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the other operation example of the dispatch assistance system which concerns on embodiment of this invention.

(Configuration of image forming system)
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration example of a shipping support system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  The shipping support system 100 is composed of electronic parts such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and a HDD (Hard Disk Drive) installed in the warehouse 100A to receive orders for printed materials and support shipping, as well as inventory management and reprinting of printed materials. A shipping support server 1 serving as a shipping support device that performs management, a printer 4 that prints a pick-up list 40 as a shipping instruction that describes the contents of instructions for packing the printed materials 20 and 50, and print information of the printed materials are stored. Print product print information database 3, printer 2 that prints print product 20 on demand using print information stored in print product print information database 3, and inventory shelf for stock management of print product 50 printed in advance by an external printing company or the like And 5. The pickup list 40 may be configured to be printed by the printer 2.

  The printed materials 20 and 50 are, for example, catalogs, etc., packed by the operator on the packing material 60 based on the contents of the pickup list 40, and delivered to the bases 100B and 100C that are the ordering sources. A plurality of types of packing materials 60 are prepared according to the number of printed materials to be packed. In addition, the printed materials 20 and 50 may be prepared in a plurality of types, but have the same contents.

  In addition, the shipping support server 1 is connected via the Internet 100D to a terminal device 100b installed at the site 100B as an ordering source and a terminal device 100c installed at the site 100C. The user places an order for a printed matter with respect to the shipping support server 1 by executing a predetermined operation in the terminal devices 100b and 100c.

  The terminal devices 100b and 100c operate based on an operation signal input from an operation unit such as a mouse or a keyboard, and are configured by electronic components such as a CPU and an HDD to process information, and an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display). An image is displayed on a display unit such as a panel.

  FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration example of the shipping support server according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  The shipping support server 1 includes a CPU and the like, controls each unit and executes various programs, a storage unit 11 including a storage device such as an HDD and a flash memory, and stores information, and the Internet 100D. The communication unit 12 communicates with the printer 2, the printed matter print information database 3, and the printer 4 through a network such as a LAN (Local Area Network).

  The control unit 10 operates a shipping support program 11A, which will be described later, to operate the shipping method determination unit 10A, the pickup list output control unit 10B, the reprint determination unit 10C, and the print instruction unit 10D.

  The shipping method determination means 10A stores the order information 11B received from the terminal devices 100b and 100c in the storage unit 11, confirms the contents of the order information 11B, and considers the inventory quantity of the printed matter 50 in the inventory shelf 5, It is determined whether to send out the printed matter from the inventory shelf 5, to newly print out the printed matter at the printer 4, or to request an external printing company to reprint. The pick-up list output control means 10B creates the pick-up list 40 based on the determination by the shipping method determination means 10A and instructs the printer 4 to print it. The reprinting determination means 10C determines the number of copies to be reprinted when the shipping method determination means 10A requests an external printing company to reprint, and when the stock of the printed matter 50 in the inventory shelf 5 meets a predetermined condition. Instructed a printing company to reprint. When the printed material 20 is required based on the determination by the shipping method determining unit 10A, the print instruction unit 10D acquires the corresponding print information from the printed material print information database 3 and instructs the printer 2 to print the printed material 20. .

  The storage unit 11 is a shipment support program 11A that causes the control unit 10 to operate as the above-described units, order information 11B received from the terminal devices 100b and 100c, and printed material details that are information indicating details of the printed material 50 on the inventory shelf 5. Information 11C and reprint threshold information 11D that is a threshold used when the reprint determination unit 10C determines reprint of the printed matter 50 are stored.

  FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration example of the printed detailed information according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  The printed material detailed information 11C includes a printed material name as an identifier for identifying a printed material such as a catalog, the number of pages indicating the number of pages of the printed material, a booklet indicating whether the printed material is in the form of a booklet, and the printed material printed information database 3 of the printed material. The storage location that indicates the storage location, the last reference date that indicates the date and time when the printed material inventory was last referenced, the version number that indicates the version number of the printed material that was revised, and the number of copies that indicate the number of copies of the printed material that was sent And post-processing indicating the content of post-processing applied to the printed material, paper indicating the type of paper specified for the printed material, and product sales date and time indicating the date and time when the product related to the printed material was sold. And a product expiration date indicating a time limit from the start of sales of products related to the printed matter to the end thereof.

  FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration example of a pickup list according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  The pickup lists 40a and 40b indicate the delivery destination of the ordering source, the order number received from the ordering source, the packing item indicating the type of the packing material, the pickup destination indicating the acquisition source of the printed matter, and the type of the printed matter to be acquired. A catalog name, and the number of copies indicating the number of copies to be obtained.

  In the example shown in FIG. 4, for example, there are boxes and bags as packing materials, and it is assumed that the box can pack 100 copies of printed matter and the bag can pack 99 copies or less of printed matter. Further, the case where the number of copies received is smaller than the number of stocks in the inventory shelf 5 is shown.

  FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing another configuration example of the pickup list according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  The pickup lists 40c and 40d are executed by the delivery destination of the ordering source, the order number received from the ordering source, the packing item indicating the type of the packing material, the pickup destination indicating the acquisition source of the printed matter, and the pickup destination printer. A print job ID, a catalog name indicating the type of printed material to be acquired, and a number of copies indicating the number of copies of the printed material to be acquired.

  In the example shown in FIG. 5, for example, the case where the number of copies received is larger than the number of stocks in the inventory shelf 5, and all the printed materials are printed by the printer 2 in order to save the trouble of picking up the printed materials from a plurality of places. is doing. Further, in order to improve the printing speed, the printed matter is printed by a different printer for each packing material, but may be printed by the same printer. In that case, sorting may be facilitated by generating printed materials for sorting for each shipping destination or packing material. If the installation positions of the printer 2 and the inventory shelf 5 are close and it is not time-consuming for the packing worker to pick up the printed matter, the printer 2 uses up the number of copies stored in the inventory shelf 5 and the printer 2 only has the shortage. It is good also as a system which prints the printed matter 20.

(Operation)
Hereinafter, the operation of the shipping support system according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  First, the user places an order for a printed material, for example, by requesting a catalog or the like as a printed material from the terminal devices 100b and 100c. The ordered content is transmitted to the shipping support server 1 via the Internet 100D.

  In the following description, an operation in which the shipping support server 1 receives an order and ships a printed matter and an operation instructing reprinting will be described.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an operation example of the shipping support system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  First, the shipping method determination means 10A receives orders for printed matter from the terminal devices 100b and 100c and stores them in the storage unit 11 as order information 11B (S10). Next, when a predetermined order deadline is reached (S11; Yes), the shipping method determination means 10A takes out the contents of the order information 11B (S12) and confirms the number of stocks in the inventory shelf 5 (S13).

  When the stock in the stock shelf 5 is equal to or greater than the number of copies of the order information in step S13 (S13; Yes), the shipping method determination means 10A sends the shipping method from the stock shelf 5, for example, as shown in FIG. (S14), the pickup list output control means 10B creates print information of the pickup lists 40a and 40b based on the determination of the shipping method determination means 10A (S15). Next, the printing company is instructed to reprint based on an after-mentioned stock copy confirmation algorithm (FIG. 8) (S16), and the created pickup list is printed (S17).

  When the stock in the inventory shelf 5 is less than the number of copies in the order information in step S13 (S13; No), the reprint determination unit 10C determines reprinting (S18) and determines whether or not to order reprinting from the printing company. The determination is made by a procedure (FIG. 7) described later (S19). When ordering reprints from the printing company (S19; Yes), orders reprinting from the printing company based on the order quantity confirmation algorithm described later (S20), and waits until the printed material is received from the printing company with the backorder information as a back order. (S21).

  When the reprint is not ordered from the printing company (S19; No), the shipping method determination means 10A uses a shipping method, for example, shipping using a printed matter 20 printed on demand in the printer 2, as shown in FIG. The method is determined (S22), and information on the number of copies that are lacking is recorded in a memory (not shown) of the shipping support server 1 (S23), and the print instruction unit 10D transmits a print instruction for the printed matter to the printer 2 (S24). The pickup list output control means 10B creates print information of the pickup lists 40c and 40d based on the determination by the delivery method determination means 10A (S25), and prints the pickup lists 40c and 40d in the printer 4 (S17). ).

  After the above operation, the packing operator prepares the packing material 60 according to the pickup lists 40a and 40b, or 40c and 40d, packs the printed material 20 and / or 50, and sends it to the shipping destination.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing another operation example of the shipping support system according to the embodiment of the present invention. This operation explains the details of step S19 in FIG. 6 in detail.

  First, the reprint determination means 10C acquires the detailed information of the corresponding printed material from the printed material detailed information 11C shown in FIG. 3 (S30). For example, when the number of pages is 2 or less, such as “printed material B” (S31; Yes), the number of branch copies as the number of copies to be selected for determining the print order destination is set to 1500 (S32), and the number of copies in stock is necessary. When the difference from the number of copies is equal to or greater than the number of branches (S33; Yes), the process proceeds to step S20. If the difference between the number of copies in stock and the required number of copies is smaller than the number of branch copies (S33; No), the process proceeds to step S22 and the printer 2 executes on-demand printing.

  Further, when the number of pages is larger than 2 (S31; No), and the printed material is in the form of a booklet, such as “printed material A” or “printed material C” (S34; Yes), the number of branch parts is set to 5000 (S35). Since the bookbinding process is required, the process proceeds to step S33 so that a larger number of copies are ordered from the printing company.

  In addition, when the printed material is not in the form of a booklet (S34; No) and the post-processing is not necessary as shown in FIG. 3, the post-processing can be supported by the printer 2 such as “N” or “punch hole”. If not (S36; No), the number of branch copies is set to 1 (S37), the branch copy number is set low so as to be ordered from the printing company, and the process proceeds to step S33.

  Further, when the post-processing can be supported by the printer 2 (S36; Yes) and the paper to be used for the printed material is specified and the printer 2 is a special paper that cannot be supported (S38; No), the printing company The number of branch parts is set low so as to place an order to 1 and the number of branch parts is set to 1 (S39).

  Further, when the paper to be used for the printed material is not designated or when the printer 2 can support such as “matte coat” (S38; Yes), the printer 2 can print by on-demand printing. The process proceeds to step S22 to execute.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing another example of the operation of the dispatch support system according to the embodiment of the present invention. This operation explains in detail the contents of the inventory copy confirmation algorithm shown in step S16 of FIG.

  First, the reprint determination means 10C confirms the number of copies of the printed material 50 in the inventory shelf 5 (S50), and acquires the reprint threshold information 11D and the printed material detailed information 11C (S51). Here, the reprint threshold information 11D is information on the threshold of the number of stocks that needs to be reprinted for each printed matter.

  Next, the reprint determination means 10C compares the number of copies in stock with a threshold value that requires reprinting, the number of copies in stock is equal to or less than the threshold value (S52; Yes), there is no revision since the last reprint (S53; Yes), and the last If it is within one week from reprinting (S54; Yes) and the number of branch parts is greater than 1 (S55; Yes), the printing company is instructed to reprint the number of branch parts (S56). The number of branch parts is determined by the method shown in FIG.

  Further, when the conditions in steps S52 to S55 are not satisfied (S52 to S55; No), it is regarded that the inventory is not reduced, the number of revisions is large, and the reprint interval is long, and reprinting is not performed (S57).

  FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing another example of the operation of the dispatch support system according to the embodiment of the present invention. This operation explains in detail the contents of the order quantity confirmation algorithm shown in step S20 of FIG.

  First, the reprint determining means 10C refers to the printed material detailed information 11C, and when the revision of the corresponding printed material is not from the last reprint (S60; Yes) and within one week from the last reprint (S61; Yes). It is regarded as a printed material that is stable with few revisions and has a short interval between reprints, and instructs the printing company to print twice the number of copies that are insufficient (S62).

  Also, when a period longer than one week has passed since the last reprint (S61; No), and within one month (S63; Yes), it is considered that the revision is stable and the reprint interval is not too long. The printing company is instructed to print 1.5 times the number of copies being made (S64). Further, when a period longer than one month has passed since the last reprint (S63; No), since the reprint interval is long but stable with few revisions, the printing company is instructed to print only the insufficient number of copies ( S65).

  Further, when there is a revision since the last reprint in step S60 (S60; No), the number of revisions is counted, and the revision is one time (S66; Yes), and within two weeks from the last revision (S67). Yes), it is assumed that revisions are frequently made, and the printing company is instructed to print the number of copies that are insufficient (S68). Also, when the revision is performed a plurality of times (S66; No), step S68 is executed.

  Also, when a period longer than two weeks has passed since the last revision (S67; No), it is revised, but the revision is considered to be less stable and 1.5 times the number of copies missing The printing company is instructed to print the number of copies (S69).

  After the print ordering operation described with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9, when a printed product is created, the packing worker enters the inventory shelf 5.

[Other embodiments]
The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, referring to the product release date / time of the printed material detailed information 11C, if the product release date / time is, for example, two weeks later, the version has been revised, and even if the number of copies in stock is not lower than the threshold, it is preceded. You may order stock. In addition, referring to the product expiration date, for a printed matter whose expiration date is approaching, the printing company is not instructed to print even at the time of reprinting, and only the insufficient printing is executed by on-demand printing by the printer 2. Also good.

  Further, the shipping method determination means 10A, the pickup list output control means 10B, the reprint determination means 10C, and the print instruction means 10D used in the above embodiment are stored in a storage unit in the apparatus from a storage medium such as a CD-ROM. Or may be downloaded from a server device connected to a network such as the Internet to a storage unit in the device. Moreover, you may implement | achieve part or all of the means used by the said embodiment by hardware, such as ASIC.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Shipment support server, 2 ... Printer, 3 ... Printed matter printing information database, 4 ... Printer, 5 ... Inventory shelf, 10 ... Control part, 10A ... Shipping method determination means, 10B ... Pickup list output control means, 10C ... Reprint determination Means, 10D ... Printing instruction means, 11 ... Storage section, 11A ... Dispatch support program, 11B ... Order information, 11C ... Detailed information on printed matter, 11D ... Reprint threshold information, 12 ... Communication portion, 20 ... Printed matter, 40 ... Pickup list, 40a ... pickup list, 40c ... pickup list, 50 ... printed matter, 60 ... packing material, 100 ... shipping support system, 100A ... warehouse, 100B ... base, 100C ... base, 100D ... internet, 100b ... terminal device, 100c ... terminal device

Claims (4)

Storage means for storing detailed information including a print form and a reprint history of a printed matter;
Reprint determination means for determining that reprinting of the printed matter is necessary when the number of copies of the printed matter is greater than the number of copies of the printed matter;
When it is determined by the reprinting determination means that reprinting of the printed matter is necessary, in order to select a printing instruction destination according to the number of reprinted copies that is insufficient from the number of copies to be shipped and the detailed information in advance. A print instruction means for determining a print instruction destination by comparing the size with a determined number of branch copies, and instructing the print instruction destination to print the number of extra copies;
A shipping support apparatus having The storage means further stores reprint threshold information indicating a predetermined minimum stock quantity for each printed matter,
The reprint determination means determines that reprinting of the printed matter is necessary when the number of copies in stock is smaller than the reprint threshold information and when the detailed information matches a predetermined condition,
The dispatch support apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the print instruction unit issues a print instruction so as to print the printed matter corresponding to the number of branch copies. The storage means stores a revision history indicating a history of further revision of the number of copies as the detailed information,
The dispatch support device according to claim 2, wherein the reprint determination unit increases or decreases the number of reprint copies based on the reprint history and the revision history of the detailed information. To a computer that can refer to detailed information including the print form and reprint history of printed matter,
Reprint determination function that determines that reprinting of the printed material is necessary when the number of copies of the printed material is greater than the number of copies of the printed material;
When it is determined by the reprinting determination means that reprinting of the printed matter is necessary, in order to select a printing instruction destination according to the number of reprinted copies that is insufficient from the number of copies to be shipped and the detailed information in advance. A delivery support program for operating a print instruction function for determining a print instruction destination by comparing the number of branch copies with a predetermined branch copy number and instructing the print instruction destination to print the number of extra copies.

Images