JP2016009329A - Merchandise delivery system and merchandise delivery method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a system for delivering and carrying in a rack on which merchandise is preliminarily displayed or a merchandise box itself to a store and determining whether to install the rack on which the merchandise is preliminarily displayed or the merchandise box itself, or carry in only the merchandise.SOLUTION: A merchandise delivery method includes the steps of: receiving display merchandise data including a residual amount of the merchandise displayed on a merchandise display rack, from a sensor device installed on the merchandise display rack; updating the residual amount of merchandise of a data table on the basis of the display merchandise data; determining the necessity of delivery of the merchandise and the necessity of exchange of the merchandise display rack on the basis of the residual amount of merchandise; and transmitting the merchandise delivery data including the necessity of delivery of the merchandise and the necessity of exchange of the merchandise display rack to a second computing device.

Description

  The present invention relates to a merchandise delivery system and a merchandise delivery method. In particular, the present invention relates to a merchandise delivery system and a merchandise delivery method capable of delivering merchandise while the merchandise is displayed on a merchandise display shelf.

  In retail stores such as convenience stores, supermarkets, and drug stores, the headquarters that oversees the retail store regularly orders from the headquarters for each product type to a distribution center and delivers the products to the store. There are many.

  Each product is delivered from a distribution center to a retail store according to the type. Thereafter, the display of the delivered product employs a form in which a retail store employee or a delivery driver displays the product on the product display shelf for each type in the retail store.

JP-A-3-83162 JP-A-6-201248

  However, in the above display method, there is a problem that a transport container called a bait containing goods is temporarily placed in the store during business hours, and the store space is wasted. .

  In addition, there is a problem in that work for displaying the delivered product on a product display shelf installed in the store occurs, and personnel and work man-hours related to the work are taken.

  In addition, depending on the type of product, an indication from the head office that oversees the retail store may require the display of a product that is not normal (for example, in a drug store, anti-hay fever medicines are stored in the store in the spring season). Instructions to display in the most prominent position of the entrance). However, unless the instructions of the head office are thorough to the employees of the stores that display the products, there is a problem that each store has its own product display that does not comply with the instructions of the head office.

  As a method for solving such a problem, for example, the daily goods distribution method disclosed in Patent Document 1 is based on a command from the product ordering headquarters, which is a head office function, from a wholesaler manufacturer to a distribution center and each store. When the daily merchandise is flown with a delivery vehicle, it is transported using a wagon, and a wagon loaded with the merchandise is loaded in advance into a stocker arranged in each store, and the merchandise is temporarily stored.

  Moreover, the goods conveyance display method currently disclosed by patent document 2 has the display room which accommodates and displays goods, the 1st cooling device which enabled cooling of the display room in goods shipping place and a store, Prepare a showcase that is equipped with a second cooling device that can cool the display room on the vehicle and can be loaded onto and unloaded from the transport vehicle. After the products are displayed in the display room, It is loaded into a transport vehicle and transported while being cooled in the display room by the second cooling device. After arriving at the store, the showcase is lowered from the transport vehicle and installed in the store, and then the showcase is transported by the first cooling device. The display room is cooled and the products are displayed while being cooled.

  However, with these methods, the head office cannot manage the remaining amount of products delivered to the store. In some cases, it may be more efficient to display only the product on the display shelf of the store than to carry the product in units of wagons or showcases (for example, the product is sufficient on the display shelf of the store). In such a case, the methods described in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 cannot efficiently deal with such a case.

  The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and the object of the present invention is to manage the remaining amount of products and to deliver and carry a shelf or product box itself on which products are displayed in advance to a store. , Providing an efficient product delivery system and product delivery method that did not exist in the past by determining whether to install a shelf or product box itself on which the product is displayed, or to carry only the product There is to do.

  In order to solve the above problems, a product delivery system and a product delivery method according to the present invention are a product delivery system for managing delivery of products, the storage means storing the remaining amount of products, and the product display shelf Receiving means for receiving display merchandise data including the remaining amount of the merchandise displayed on the merchandise display shelf from the sensor device installed in the product, and based on the displayed merchandise data received by the receiving means, Update means for updating the product, determination means for determining necessity of delivery of the product and necessity of replacement of the product display shelf based on the remaining amount of the product updated by the update means, and the determination means And transmitting means for transmitting product delivery data including the determined necessity of delivery of the product and the necessity of replacement of the product display shelf.

  According to the product delivery system and the product delivery method according to the present invention, the product can be delivered to the store in a state where the product is displayed on the product display shelf or the product box in advance in the delivery center or the manufacturing factory. Further, according to the number of displayed products in the store, it is possible to determine whether to deliver only the products, or to deliver the product display shelf on which the products are displayed or the product box itself.

It is a figure which shows the example of a structure of the whole computer system which implement | achieves the goods delivery system which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the detailed example of the computing device which implement | achieves the goods delivery system which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the merchandise remaining amount update process which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the shelf goods data table which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the goods residual amount management data table which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the goods delivery instruction | indication process which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the goods data table which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the shop data table which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the goods display shelf data table which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the goods delivery list which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the jig | tool which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention.

<Definition of terms>
In this specification, the “product display shelf” means a shelf that is installed in a store such as a convenience store and on which products are displayed and that is exchangeable or non-exchangeable. The exchangeable shelf is a paper shelf such as cardboard, for example, and means a shelf in which the shelf itself can be exchanged in a state where products are displayed on the shelf. The non-replaceable shelf is, for example, a steel shelf, the shelf itself cannot be replaced, and means a shelf that needs to be replaced only with commodities. Further, “partition” means an area in which the above-mentioned product display shelves are divided within a predetermined range, and a “product box” that can display or store one or a plurality of products is installed in the partition. . That is, when one merchandise display shelf has a plurality of partitions, it has a plurality of merchandise boxes corresponding to the partitions.

  FIG. 1 shows an example of the overall configuration of a computer system that implements a product delivery system and a product delivery method according to an embodiment of the present invention. As a supplement, FIG. 1 shows a product to be delivered and collected and a product display shelf. The movement relationship is shown.

  The product delivery system according to the present embodiment includes a product delivery management device 1, a client computer 3, a sensor device 4, and a product delivery computer 6. The merchandise delivery management apparatus 1 is connected to a client computer 3 via a network 2 including a dedicated line or a public line such as the Internet. The merchandise delivery management apparatus 1 is connected to a merchandise delivery computer 6 via a network 5 including a dedicated line or a public line such as the Internet.

  The merchandise delivery management apparatus 1 is a main computing device that provides services of the merchandise delivery system according to the present embodiment. The merchandise delivery management apparatus 1 is installed in the management center, manages the remaining amount of merchandise based on the displayed merchandise data transmitted from the client computer 3, and sends merchandise delivery data to the merchandise delivery computer 6. Execute the process. The product delivery management apparatus 1 may be implemented by a single computer device or a plurality of computer devices.

  The client computer 3 is a computer terminal that is installed in each store and executes processing such as transmitting display product data received from a sensor device 4 described later to the product delivery management device 1. Details of the display merchandise data will be described later.

  The sensor device 4 is a device for monitoring the remaining amount of products installed in each product display shelf or each partition in each store. The sensor device 4 includes, for example, an optical displacement sensor or a length measurement sensor, and measures the distance between the back plate of the product display shelf and the displayed product to determine the remaining product amount. Also good. Further, the sensor device 4 may include a capacitance type pressure sensor, and may determine the remaining amount of the product by measuring the weight based on the distortion of the product display shelf. Furthermore, the sensor device 4 includes a video camera that captures an image of the product display shelf, and measures the number of displayed products or the distance between the back plate of the product display shelf and the displayed product from the captured image. The remaining product may be determined. Displayed product data is created from the product remaining amount measurement data monitored by the sensor device 4, the displayed product data is transmitted to the client computer 3 (wireless or wired), and the data is sent from the client computer 3 to the product delivery management device 1. Sent to. In addition, the method of measuring the distance between the back plate of the product display shelf and the displayed product described above is performed, for example, by installing a plurality of jigs 110 as shown in FIG. 11 at the last position of the displayed product. May be. The jig 110 includes an elastic body, and is arranged between the support member 112 installed in front of the shelf board 114 (left side in the drawing) and the support member 111 of the jig 110 by the force of the elastic body. Products can be pinched. Each time the displayed product is removed from the front, the jig 110 moves forward along the rail 116 by the force of the elastic body, so that the product on the back plate (not shown) side can be moved forward. The jig 110 increases the distance between the back plate of the merchandise display shelf and the displayed merchandise in accordance with the decrease in the remaining merchandise, so that the number of displayed merchandise can be measured. The measuring method will be described later.

  The merchandise delivery computer 6 is a computer terminal that is installed in a delivery center or a manufacturing factory, receives merchandise delivery data from the merchandise delivery management apparatus 1, and outputs a merchandise delivery list or the like based thereon. Details of the product delivery data and the product delivery list will be described later.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the movement of the commodity and the commodity display shelf is performed by displaying the commodity and / or the commodity at the distribution center or the manufacturing factory by the commodity delivery management device 1 transmitting the commodity delivery data to the commodity delivery computer 6. The merchandise display shelf in the finished state is shipped. The shipped products and / or product display shelves are delivered to each store. Instead of the delivered products and / or product display shelves, the product display shelves on which the products and / or products installed in the store are displayed are collected at a distribution center or a manufacturing factory.

  The client computer 3 and the product delivery computer 6 described above may be information terminal devices such as a personal computer, a workstation, and a PDA having a communication function. A computing device and an information terminal device are computing devices including a central processing unit (CPU), a memory, a storage device, and the like, and are centralized by a CPU processing a computer program stored in the memory or the storage device. It is controlled, and the processing according to the present embodiment can be executed to realize the function. Note that the above-described system configuration is for illustration, and does not limit the system configuration capable of executing the present embodiment.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 2, a detailed example of each computing device that implements the product delivery system and the product delivery method according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described.

  The merchandise delivery management apparatus 1 includes a communication unit 11, a control unit 12, a main storage unit 13, and an auxiliary storage unit 14, and these elements are connected via a system bus.

  The communication unit 11 transmits and receives data to and from the client computer 3 and the product delivery computer 6 connected via the networks 2 and 5, respectively.

  The control unit 12 is also called a central processing unit (CPU), performs control of each of the above-described constituent elements and data calculation, and reads various programs stored in the auxiliary storage unit 14 to the main storage unit 13 and executes them. To do. The main storage unit 13 is also called a main memory, and stores input data received by the merchandise delivery management apparatus 1, computer-executable instructions, data after arithmetic processing by the instructions, and the like.

  The auxiliary storage unit 14 is a storage device typified by a hard disk (HDD) and stores a database table 141 such as a remaining product management data table 500. Further, the auxiliary storage unit 14 stores a program (not shown) for causing the control unit 12 to execute various processes according to the present embodiment.

  The client computer 3 includes a communication unit 31, a control unit 32, a main storage unit 33, and an auxiliary storage unit 34, and these elements are connected via a system bus.

  The communication unit 31 transmits and receives data to and from the product delivery management device 1 connected via the network 2. The communication unit 31 receives data from the sensor device 4 wirelessly.

  The control unit 32 is a central processing unit, and controls each of the above components and calculates data.

  The main storage unit 33 is also called a main memory, and stores input data received by the client computer 3, computer-executable instructions, data after arithmetic processing by the instructions, and the like.

  The auxiliary storage unit 34 is a storage device such as a hard disk, and stores data received from the sensor device 4.

  The sensor device 4 includes a communication unit 41, a control unit 42, a main storage unit 43, an auxiliary storage unit 44, a pressure sensor 45, a displacement sensor 46, a length measurement sensor 47, and a video camera 48. Connected via system bus.

  The communication unit 41 transmits product remaining amount measurement data wirelessly (may be wired) to and from the client computer 3.

  The control unit 42 is a central processing unit, and controls each of the above components and calculates data.

  The main storage unit 43 is also called a main memory and stores data measured by the pressure sensor 45, the displacement sensor 46, the length measurement sensor 47, and / or the video camera 48.

  The auxiliary storage unit 44 is a storage device such as a hard disk, and stores a database table 441 such as a shelf product data table 400.

  The pressure sensor 45 is a sensor that employs a capacitance method or the like, and measures the weight from the distortion of the commodity display shelf on which the sensor device 4 is installed. The control unit 42 calculates the remaining amount of the merchandise displayed on the shelf based on the measurement information.

  The displacement sensor 46 and / or the length measurement sensor 47 is an optical sensor that employs a triangulation method or the like, and measures the distance between the back plate of the product display shelf and the displayed product. The control unit 42 calculates the remaining product amount based on the measurement information.

  The video camera 48 photographs the product display shelf. The control unit 42 calculates the remaining amount of the product based on the captured image (for example, the number of displayed products is determined from the captured image, or is displayed as the back plate of the product display shelf from the captured image. In this embodiment, a pressure sensor 45, a displacement sensor 46, a length measuring sensor 47, and a video camera 48 are used as sensor means of the sensor device 4. However, it is sufficient that at least one of them is provided.

  The merchandise delivery computer 6 includes a communication unit 61, a control unit 62, a main storage unit 63, an auxiliary storage unit 64, and an output unit 65, and these elements are connected via a system bus.

  The communication unit 61 transmits and receives data to and from the merchandise delivery management apparatus 1 connected via the network 5.

  The control unit 62 is a central processing unit, and controls each of the above components and calculates data.

  The main storage unit 63 is also called a main memory, and stores input data received by the client computer 3, computer-executable instructions, data after arithmetic processing by the instructions, and the like.

  The auxiliary storage unit 64 is a storage device such as a hard disk, and stores data received from the product delivery management device 1.

  The output unit 65 is an output device such as a printer, for example, and outputs the merchandise delivery management data received from the merchandise delivery management apparatus 1 (for example, on a paper medium on which delivery data is printed).

<Remaining product update processing>
Next, with reference to FIG. 3, a product remaining amount update process executed by the product delivery system and the product delivery method according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the following example, it is assumed that one type of product is displayed on one product display shelf. However, different products are displayed in each product box installed in a plurality of partitions constituting the product display shelf. It is good as well.

  First, in step S301, in the sensor device 4 installed in each product display shelf of each store, the weight of the product display shelf, the distance between the back plate of the product display shelf and the displayed product, or the number of displayed products (Hereinafter, “product remaining amount measurement data”) is measured by the pressure sensor 45, the displacement sensor 46, the length measurement sensor 47, and / or the video camera 48.

  Next, the control unit 42 of the sensor device 4 acquires a shelf product data record corresponding to the product display shelf in which the control device 42 is installed from the shelf product data table 400 (step S302).

  The shelf commodity data table 400 will be described with reference to FIG. The shelf product data table 400 includes items “store number”, “location number”, “shelf number”, “product number”, “shelf weight”, “product size”, “product weight”, “total weight”, and “display”. Number ”and each sensor device 4 has a record. The items “store number” and “location number” respectively identify the store where the sensor device 4 is installed and the location in the store (for example, the X-axis and Y-axis coordinates of the store). The item “shelf number” identifies a product display shelf that is unique in all stores. The item “product number” identifies the product displayed on the product display shelf in which the sensor device 4 is installed. The item “shelf weight” indicates the weight of the corresponding merchandise display shelf. The items “product size” and “product weight” respectively indicate the depth width and weight of each product displayed on the corresponding product display shelf. The item “gross weight” indicates the total weight of the product display shelf and the maximum number of products when the product is displayed on the product display shelf at the maximum. The item “number of displays” indicates the maximum number of products that can be displayed on the product display shelves installed in the corresponding store and place, and is set in advance according to the size of the products and the product display shelves. In addition, when the merchandise display shelf has a plurality of partitions and also manages the merchandise boxes installed in each partition, for example, the value “A1928844-01” is set to the shelf number shown in FIG. The following two digits may be used to identify and manage the product box installed in the partition. The shelf product data table 400 may include an item “product box number” for identifying a product box, uniquely identify the product box, and manage the product box in association with the product display shelf. In either case, a shelf product data record is provided for each product box installed in each partition of the product display shelf (the same applies to a product remaining amount management data table 500 and a product display shelf data table 900 described later).

Next, the control unit 42 calculates the number of displayed products based on the remaining product measurement data measured in step S301 (step S303). The number of displayed products is calculated from the weight of the display shelf included in the remaining product measurement data based on the items “product weight”, “shelf weight”, and “total weight” of the shelf product data record acquired in step S302. May be. In this case, the number of displayed products can be calculated by equation (1).
Number of displayed products =
(Total weight−shelf weight) / product weight− (measured weight−shelf weight) / product weight Formula (1)

The number of displayed products is calculated from the distance between the back plate of the product display shelf and the displayed product included in the remaining product measurement data based on the size of the product determined for each target product. May be. As described above, in the present embodiment, the distance between the back plate of the product display shelf and the displayed product increases as the product is removed from the display shelf, so the shelf product acquired in step S302. Based on the item “product size” of the data record, it may be calculated from the distance between the back plate of the product display shelf included in the product remaining amount measurement data and the displayed product. In this case, the number of displayed merchandise can be calculated by equation (2).
Number of displayed products =
Number of displays-Σ (distance L _i between product back shelf and displayed product / product size)
Formula (2)
Here, i represents the position (i = 1 to n) in the width direction of the merchandise display shelf of the displayed merchandise.

  In the sensor device 4, when the number of displayed products is determined by the video camera 48, the above-described processing for calculating the number of displayed products is not necessary, and the number of displayed products is determined based on the captured image data. You may comprise.

  The measurement of the remaining product measurement data and the calculation of the number of displayed products may be performed at a predetermined cycle (for example, every 10 hours). In addition, the predetermined cycle may vary depending on the characteristics of each product (for example, the sensor device 4 installed in the product display shelf on which frequently purchased products are displayed has a short cycle and is frequently purchased. The sensor device 4 installed on the merchandise display shelf on which merchandise not to be displayed is displayed has a longer period). Further, the remaining product measurement data may be transmitted to the client computer 3 so that the client computer 3 calculates the number of displayed products (in this case, the client computer 3 holds the shelf product data table 400). ). In this way, by changing the measurement cycle of the remaining product measurement data according to the characteristics of each product, it is possible to prevent out of stock of frequently purchased products, but not frequently purchased. For products, unnecessary data transmission can be prevented.

  Next, the communication unit 41 of the sensor device 4 sends the data including the number of displayed products, the store number, the place number, the product number, and the shelf number calculated in step S303 (hereinafter “displayed product data”) to the client computer 3. Transmit (step S304).

  When the display unit data transmitted in step S304 is received (step S305), the communication unit 31 of the client computer 3 transmits the display product data to the product delivery management device 1 (step S306). Part or all of the information such as the store number included in the display merchandise data transmitted to the merchandise delivery management apparatus 1 may be set by the client computer 3. In the present embodiment, the display product data received from the sensor device 4 by the client computer 3 is transmitted to the product delivery management device 1. However, the display product data is sent from the sensor device 4 to the product delivery management device 1. May be configured to transmit.

  When the communication unit 11 of the product delivery management device 1 receives the display product data (step S307), the control unit 12 updates the record of the product remaining amount management data table 500 based on the data (step S308).

  The merchandise remaining amount management data table 500 will be described with reference to FIG. The product remaining amount management data table 500 includes items “store number”, “location number”, “product number”, “remaining amount”, “shelf number”, “number of displays”, “threshold”, “shelf replacement threshold”, and It has a “delivery center number”, and has a record for each store, product display shelf or partition (product box), and product. The item “remaining amount” indicates the remaining amount of the commodity displayed on the commodity display shelf (commodity box) installed in the corresponding store and place, and the value is based on the display commodity data transmitted from the client computer 3. Is updated. The item “number of displays” indicates the maximum number of products that can be displayed on the product display shelves (product boxes) installed in the corresponding store and place, and the size of the products and product display shelves (product boxes). It is set in advance accordingly. The item “threshold value” is a value determined in advance for each product displayed on the product display shelf (product box) installed in the corresponding store and place, and when the remaining amount falls below this value, the product needs to be delivered. It shows that there is. The item “shelf replacement threshold” is a predetermined value for each product displayed on the product display shelves (product boxes) installed in the corresponding store and place. When the remaining amount falls below this value, the product is displayed. This indicates that the shelf (product box) itself needs to be replaced. The item “delivery center number” indicates a number for identifying a delivery center (manufacturing factory) that is a shipping source of the merchandise displayed on the merchandise display shelves installed in the corresponding store and place.

<Product delivery instruction processing>
Next, with reference to FIG. 6, the product delivery instruction process executed by the product delivery system and the product delivery method according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described. This process assumes that the merchandise delivery management apparatus 1 in the management center is performed at a predetermined timing for each of one or more delivery centers or manufacturing factories, but depending on the number of displayed merchandise. (For example, if the remaining amount of a specific product falls below a certain amount, the product must be delivered urgently, so this process is automatically performed when the amount falls below a certain amount. Executed). In the present embodiment, an example of executing a product delivery instruction process to a delivery center having a delivery center number “3857293” will be described.

  First, the control unit 12 of the merchandise delivery management apparatus 1 acquires a remaining merchandise management data record in which the item “delivery center number” has a value of “3857293” from the remaining merchandise management data table 500 (step S601). Since product delivery is performed collectively for each store, in this step, the items may be sorted in the order of the item “store number” of the product remaining amount management data record.

  Next, the control unit 12 acquires a corresponding product data record from the product data table 700 based on the product number included in the product remaining amount management data record acquired in step S601 (step S602). The product data table 700 will be described with reference to FIG.

  The product data table 700 includes items “product number”, “product name”, “unit price”, “special date (start)”, “special date (end)”, “special day threshold increase / decrease” and “customer threshold threshold increase / decrease”. And each product has a record. The items “special date (start)” and “special date (end)” require an increase / decrease in the item “threshold” of the product remaining amount management data table 500 at a specific time (season) according to the characteristics of the product. In this case, the period indicating the time (season) is shown. For example, if the product is a hay fever medicine, it is often necessary to have more inventory from February to the end of March than usual. In the case of such a product, “0201: (February 1)” and “0331: (March 31)” are set in the items “special day (start)” and “special day (end)”, respectively. In the item “special day threshold increase / decrease”, “+10” indicating that 10 threshold values need to be increased is set. The item “customer layer threshold increase / decrease” indicates an increase / decrease value when the item “threshold” included in the product remaining amount management data table 500 needs to be increased / decreased for each product in accordance with the customer layer preset for each store. Show. For example, if there are many women in their 20s and the headache medicines need to be stocked more than usual, the value “21010” is set (the first digit “2” is 20s). The second digit “1” indicates an increase in the threshold (“2” indicates a decrease in the threshold), and the third to fifth digits indicate the increase / decrease threshold. Note that the value of the item “threshold value” included in the product remaining amount management data table 500 may be set in advance in units of seasons, months, days, etc. In this case, the process of step S602 is performed. Each set threshold is configured to be acquired based on the season, month, and / or date to be executed.

  Next, the control unit 12 acquires the corresponding store data record from the store data table 800 based on the store number included in the product remaining amount management data record acquired in step S601 (step S603). The store data table 800 will be described with reference to FIG.

  The store data table 800 includes items “store number”, “store name”, and “customer segment”, and each store has a record. The item “customer segment” indicates a main customer segment of the corresponding store, and for example, “1: 20s male”, “2: 20s female”, and “3: 30s male” are set. .

  Next, the control unit 12 delivers the corresponding product (additional ordering) based on the product remaining amount management data record acquired in step S601, the product data record acquired in step S602, and the store data record acquired in step S603. Is determined whether it is necessary (step S604). Here, the determination is executed as follows.

  When the item “special date (start)” and “special date (end)” of the product data record is compared with the execution date of step S604, and the execution date is within the special period, the “special day threshold increase / decrease” The value is added to the item “threshold value” of the product remaining amount management data record.

  If the value of the item “customer segment” in the store data record and the value of the first digit of the item “customer segment threshold increase / decrease” in the product data record match, based on the second digit value of “customer segment threshold increase / decrease” (“1: Increase” and “2: Decrease”) The third to fifth digit values are added to or subtracted from the item “threshold value” of the product remaining amount management data record.

  The value of the item “remaining amount” of the remaining product management data record is compared with the added / subtracted “threshold” value, and if the remaining amount is equal to or less than the threshold, it is determined that the product needs to be delivered. . If it is determined that delivery is necessary, the process proceeds to the subsequent process. If not, the process returns to step S601 to execute the process for the subsequent record of the remaining product quantity management data record. In this way, it is possible to manage the remaining amount of the product with higher accuracy by increasing / decreasing the threshold of the remaining amount of the product according to the characteristics of the delivery product and / or according to the characteristics of the customer group of the corresponding store. Become.

  In step S605, the control unit 12 determines whether or not the shelf (product box) itself needs to be replaced for the product display shelf (or the product box installed in each partition) on which the corresponding product is displayed. In this determination, the value of the item “remaining amount” in the product remaining amount management data record is compared with the value of the item “shelf replacement threshold” to determine whether the remaining amount is equal to or less than the shelf replacement threshold. If it is determined that shelf exchange (commodity box exchange) is necessary, the process proceeds to step S606; otherwise, the process proceeds to step S607. Note that, instead of or in addition to the above-described comparison method between the remaining amount and the shelf replacement threshold value, by comparing the item “number of replacements” of the product display shelf data record with the “threshold value” (for example, If the value of the number of replacements is the same as the threshold value, it may be determined that replacement is necessary as soon as the durable consumption limit is exceeded, and whether or not shelves need to be replaced (necessity of product box replacement) may be determined. Moreover, when the necessity for shelf replacement is determined by the above-described method and it is determined that the shelf replacement is not necessary, the necessity for replacement of the product box installed in the partition of the product display shelf may be determined. .

  In the process of step S606, the corresponding record in the product display shelf data table 900 is updated based on the item “shelf number” of the product remaining amount management data record. The product display shelf data table 900 is a data table that manages information for determining whether or not a product display shelf (product box) that is uniquely managed in all stores needs to be discarded. The product display shelf data table 900 will be described with reference to FIG.

  The merchandise display shelf data table 900 includes items “shelf number”, “shelf model number”, “number of replacements”, “threshold”, and “use / non-use”, and merchandise display shelves (product boxes) installed in all stores. ) Each has a record. The item “shelf model number” indicates the model number of the product display shelf (product box), and product display shelves (product boxes) having the same value indicate the same product display shelf (product box). Yes. The item “number of times of replacement” is a value added each time the corresponding product display shelf (product box) itself is replaced. If this value exceeds an item “threshold” having a preset value, This means that the product display shelf (product box) needs to be discarded. If the item “threshold” is set to a maximum value such as “99” or a value such as NULL, the product display shelf (product box) cannot be replaced with the shelf (product box) itself. (For example, it is a steel product display shelf and the shelf itself is not replaced). The item “presence / absence of use” indicates whether or not the corresponding product display shelf (product box) is used in any store. When replacing the product display shelf (product box) itself, the shelf (product box) to be replaced is once collected at the distribution center or the manufacturing factory, and any product display shelf (product box) having the same shelf model number ) Is selected, and the shelf (product box) is newly exchanged for a store. The value of the item in the record corresponding to the collected product display shelf (product box) is updated to “0: Unused”, and the record in the record corresponding to the product display shelf (product box) newly exchanged to the store The value of the item is updated to “1: In use”.

  Returning to the description of the processing in step S606, the control unit 12 adds the item “number of replacements” of the corresponding product display shelf data record, and sets the item “use / non-use” to “0: unused”. Update records. In this way, by determining whether to deliver only the product or the product display shelf (product box) itself displaying the product depending on whether or not the displayed product is equal to or less than the predetermined number, It becomes possible to realize the delivery of goods at a higher rate while reducing the work man-hours. In addition, when a product display shelf (product box) is replaced, by managing the number of exchanges, for example, when a paper product display shelf (product box) is used, the durability of the product display shelf It is possible to appropriately determine whether or not the consumption limit is exceeded.

  Next, the control unit 12 determines the necessity of delivery of the product in step S604 based on the product remaining amount management data record acquired in step S601, and the necessity of shelf exchange (product box exchange) in step S606. Commodity delivery instruction data including the determination result of necessity is generated in the auxiliary storage unit 14. The merchandise delivery instruction data includes, for example, the following items, for each merchandise displayed on a merchandise display shelf (commodity box) installed in the store and place (only the merchandise determined to be delivered in step S604). A record is generated.

表１

Table 1

  For the calculation of the number of deliveries in Table 1 above, a value obtained by subtracting “remaining amount” from the item “number of displays” of the product remaining amount management data record acquired in step S601 is set. In step S602, the value is set. The items “special day threshold increase / decrease” and “customer threshold increase / decrease” in the acquired product data record may be increased or decreased.

  Regarding the setting of the alternative product display shelf number in Table 1 above, the item “use / non-use” of the product display shelf data record acquired in step S606 is “0: unused” and the item “number of replacements” is equal to or less than the “threshold value”. The shelf number of an arbitrary product display shelf (product box) having the same “shelf model number” as the product display shelf (product box) to be replaced may be set. Note that the item “Used” in the product display shelf data record of the product display shelf data table 900 corresponding to the alternative product display shelf is updated to “1: In use”. In this way, by selecting arbitrary product display shelves (product boxes) having the same shelf model number, the collected product display shelves (product boxes) can be reused.

  When the processing in steps S601 to S607 described above is executed for all the records of the corresponding product remaining amount management data record, the communication unit 11 uses the product delivery data generated in step S607 as the corresponding product delivery center. Is transmitted to the product delivery computer 6 installed in (step S608). When the communication unit 61 of the product delivery computer 6 receives the product delivery data, for example, the control unit 62 instructs the output unit 65 to output a product delivery list as shown in FIG. The product delivery list is configured to be output for each store where the product is delivered.

  As described above, the description of the product delivery system and the product delivery method according to the present embodiment has been described in detail, but the specific data structure such as the product remaining amount management data table 500 described in the embodiment is an exemplary one. However, changes may be made without departing from the scope of claims.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Merchandise delivery management apparatus 2 Network 3 Client computer 4 Sensor apparatus 5 Network 6 Merchandise delivery computer 110 Jig 111 Support member 112 Support member 114 Shelf board 116 Rail 400 Shelf product data table 500 Merchandise remaining quantity management data table 700 Product data table 800 Store data table 900 Product display shelf data table

Claims (9)

A method performed by a computing device for managing merchandise delivery, wherein the computing device stores a data table including remaining merchandise,
The method
Receiving display product data including the remaining amount of the product displayed on the product display shelf from a sensor device installed on the product display shelf;
Updating the product remaining amount of the data table based on the received display product data;
Determining whether the product needs to be delivered and whether the product display shelf needs to be replaced based on the updated product remaining amount;
Transmitting to the second computing device product delivery data including whether the product needs to be delivered and whether the product display shelf needs to be replaced. The data table further includes a first threshold;
The method according to claim 1, wherein the necessity of delivery of the product is determined by comparing the updated remaining product amount with the first threshold value. The data table further includes a second threshold;
The method according to claim 1, wherein whether or not the commodity display shelf needs to be replaced is determined by comparing the remaining amount of the updated commodity with the second threshold value.   The method according to claim 1, further comprising determining whether or not a product box installed in the partition of the product display shelf needs to be replaced based on the updated product remaining amount. The data table further includes a replacement number of the product display shelf and a third threshold value,
The necessity for replacement of the commodity display shelf and the necessity for replacement of the commodity box are further determined by comparing the number of replacements with the third threshold value. Method.   6. The method according to claim 5, further comprising the step of updating the number of exchanges based on whether or not the merchandise display shelf needs to be exchanged and / or whether or not the merchandise box needs to be exchanged. . A product delivery system for managing product delivery,
Storage means for storing the remaining amount of the product;
Receiving means for receiving display product data including the remaining amount of products displayed on the product display shelf from a sensor device installed on the product display shelf;
Updating means for updating the remaining amount of the product based on the display product data received by the receiving means;
Based on the remaining amount of the product updated by the updating unit, a determination unit that determines whether the product needs to be delivered and whether the product display shelf needs to be replaced;
A product delivery system comprising: transmission means for sending product delivery data including the necessity of delivery of the product determined by the determination means and the necessity of replacement of the product display shelf.   The program for making a computer perform the method as described in any one of Claims 1 thru | or 6.   A computer-readable storage medium storing the program according to claim 8.

Images