JP2020087027A - Ordering apparatus and program - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an ordering apparatus and a program that can suppress customer estrangement due to a loss of selling opportunity.SOLUTION: An ordering apparatus comprises: extracting means that extracts a commodity purchased by a customer sectioned into a specific rank from storage means storing sales data including a breakdown of commodities purchased by the customer for each customer sectioned into a plurality of stages of rank as a priority commodity; ordering means that determines an ordered number of the commodity on the basis of a sales result of each commodity derived from the sales data of the storage means, and that performs ordering at predetermined first ordering timing; and control means that increases the ordered number or ordering frequency of the priority commodity ordered by the ordering means on the basis of the sales result of the priority commodity derived from the sales data of the customer sectioned into the specific rank.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 11

Description

Embodiments of the present invention relate to an ordering device and a program.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in retail stores such as supermarkets, a system for automatically placing an order for each product has been introduced based on the stock status of products and past sales results. For example, conventionally, a technique has been proposed in which the number of ordered products is determined by taking into consideration variable conditions such as events in the sales area.

By the way, in the above-mentioned retail store, the loss of the sales opportunity due to the lack of goods may cause the customer to leave the other retail store. In particular, when a good customer is separated, it is a great loss for the retail store. However, in the conventional technology, since the number of orders is determined based on the sales performance of the entire store (commodity), no particular consideration is given to the ordering of products purchased by a specific layer such as a good customer. Therefore, for example, when a customer who belongs to a specific layer usually purchases a product that is often purchased by a customer who belongs to another layer, the product may be out of stock.

The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide an ordering device and a program capable of suppressing customer separation due to loss of sales opportunities.

The ordering device of the embodiment, for each customer classified into a plurality of ranks, from the storage means that stores the sales data including the breakdown of the product purchased by the customer, the product purchased by the customer classified into a specific rank Based on the sales record of each product derived from the sales data of the storage device, and the ordering device for placing an order at a predetermined first ordering timing. And a control means for increasing the number of orders or the order frequency of the priority product ordered by the ordering means, based on the sales performance of the priority product derived from the sales data of the customers classified into the specific ranks, Equipped with.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a configuration of an automatic ordering system according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an example of the external configuration of the POS terminal according to the embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a configuration of an electrical system of the POS terminal according to the embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of an electrical system of the store computer according to the embodiment. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the data configuration of the rank setting file according to the embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of the member management file according to the embodiment. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a configuration of an electrical system of the ordering device according to the embodiment. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of the sales record file according to the embodiment. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of a good customer purchase product file according to the embodiment. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of the ordering device according to the embodiment. FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing an example of an automatic ordering process executed by the ordering device according to the embodiment.

Hereinafter, embodiments of an ordering device and a program according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described below.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the automatic ordering system 1. As shown in FIG. 1, the automatic ordering system 1 includes a plurality of POS (Point Of Sales) terminals 2, a store computer 3, and an ordering device 4. The POS terminal 2, the store computer 3, and the ordering device 4 are communicably connected via a network N1 such as a LAN (Local Area Network).

The POS terminal 2 is a terminal that is provided at a settlement place and is used by a cashier to perform sales processing, and has a configuration shown in FIG. Here, FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an example of an external configuration of the POS terminal 2. In the POS terminal 2, a keyboard 202 is provided on the upper surface side of the main body 201, a drawer 203 is provided on the lower side of the main body 201 so that it can be pulled out, and a display unit 204 is provided on the back side of the main body 201. There is. Further, the POS terminal 2 accepts the insertion of a member card, which is a magnetic card, and exchanges data with the member card. The card reader/writer 205 optically reads the product code attached to the product. A code scanner 206 or the like is connected.

The electrical system of such a POS terminal 2 is configured as shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a configuration of an electrical system of the POS terminal 2. The POS terminal 2 is a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), etc. that stores various control programs for executing sales processing and the like described later in cooperation with the CPU. A control unit 21 having a computer configuration is provided. Further, the POS terminal 2 can execute online communication with the external device such as the store computer 3 via the network N1 from the communication interface (I/F) 23 connected via the bus 22. Is configured.

The control unit 21 is connected to the keyboard 202, the display unit 204, the card reader/writer 205, and the code scanner 206 described above via the bus 22 and the I/O device control unit 24. A printer 25, which is a receipt/journal printer, is connected to the control unit 21. The printer 25 is a printer that prints the contents of a transaction (sales process, etc.) performed on the POS terminal 2 on receipt paper and journal paper under the control of the control unit 21. It is provided outside.

Next, the store computer 3 will be described. The store computer 3 is in charge of controlling the POS terminal 2 as a whole, and its electrical system is configured as shown in FIG. 4, for example. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a configuration of an electric system of the store computer 3. The store computer 3 includes a control unit 31 having a computer configuration including a CPU, ROM, RAM and the like. In addition, the store computer 3 can execute online communication with the external devices such as the POS terminal 2 and the ordering device 4 via the network N1 from the communication interface 33 connected via the bus 32. It is configured.

A keyboard 35, a display 36, a printer 37, and a hard disk drive device (hereinafter referred to as HDD) 38 are connected to the control unit 31 via a bus 32 and an I/O device control unit 34.

The HDD 38 stores various control programs for operating the CPU of the control unit 31, a product master file F1, a store sales file F2, a rank setting file F3, a member management file F4, and the like. The product master file F1 is a file that stores product information such as product names and unit prices in association with product codes.

The store sales file F2 is a file that stores sales data transmitted from each POS terminal 2. Here, the sales data is an example of transaction information indicating a breakdown of transactions performed by the customer. The store sales file F2 is associated with a transaction number for identifying a transaction performed by each of the POS terminals 2 and stores sales data indicating a breakdown of the transaction. The sales data includes, for example, the product code, unit price, quantity, and total amount (payment amount) of each product purchased by the customer, as well as the date and time when the transaction was made. Further, for example, when the member number is read during the transaction, the member number is recorded in the sales data.

The rank setting file F3 is a file that stores information related to the setting of the rank in association with the rank of the member. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of the rank setting file F3. As shown in FIG. 5, the rank setting file F3 stores performance conditions, privilege contents, and the like in association with each rank.

Here, the rank is information indicating the grades of members classified according to sales results and the like. FIG. 6 shows an example in which the rank is set to three levels of “1”, “2”, and “3”, and the higher the value, the higher the rank.

In the performance condition, a sales performance condition for promoting or maintaining the corresponding rank is set. For example, in the performance condition of rank "2", the number of transactions is 20 or more or the purchase amount is 200,000 yen or more as a condition for promotion to rank "2" or maintenance of rank "2". Is set. Further, for example, in the performance condition of rank "3", the number of transactions is 30 times or more or the purchase amount is 300,000 yen or more as a condition for promotion to rank "3" or maintaining rank "3". Is set. It should be noted that the rank "1" is the rank at the time of initial member registration, and thus the performance condition is not required.

In addition, the content of the privilege given according to the rank is set in the privilege content. The privilege content can be arbitrarily set regardless of the content. For example, the discount rate of the product may be changed according to the rank. Further, for example, in the case of providing a service in which service points are provided according to the amount of payment of a customer (member), the form of giving service points may be changed according to the rank.

The member management file F4 is a file that stores the rank of the member in association with the member number of each member. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of the member management file F4. As shown in FIG. 7, the member management file F4 stores the rank set for the member having the member number in association with the member number of each member.

Here, an operation performed by the POS terminal 2 (control unit 21) and the store computer 3 (control unit 31) when the product is purchased at the store will be described. For example, when the product code attached to the product is read by the code scanner 206 of the POS terminal 2, the POS terminal 2 inquires the read product code to the store computer 3. On the other hand, the store computer 3 searches the product master file F1 in response to the inquiry from the POS terminal 2, reads out the product information corresponding to the applicable product code, and sends it to the POS terminal 2.

Further, the POS terminal 2 receives the product name, unit price, etc. from the store computer 3, and performs departmental registration and display on the display unit 204 based on the inquired product code and the received product name, unit price, etc., and the printer 25. Then, the printing process is performed, and the registered sales data (sales data) is transmitted to the store computer 3. Further, in the POS terminal 2, when the member number is read via the card reader/writer 205 when the product is purchased, the sales data including the member number is transmitted to the store computer 3.

The store computer 3, which has received the sales data from the POS terminal 2, registers the sales data in the store sales file F2. In addition, the store computer 3 extracts sales data performed during a predetermined period from the store sales file F2, and based on the number and contents of the extracted sales data, the sales record such as the number of transactions and the total amount of payment is a member ( Derived for each member number). Then, the store computer 3 determines the rank of the performance condition satisfying the sales performance for each member based on the rank setting file F3, and sets the determined rank in association with the corresponding member of the member management file F4.

Next, the ordering device 4 will be described. The ordering device 4 is in charge of ordering control of the products sold in the store, and its electrical system is configured as shown in FIG. 7, for example. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a configuration of an electrical system of the ordering device 4. The ordering device 4 includes a control unit 41 having a computer configuration including a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and the like. Further, the ordering device 4 is configured to be able to mutually execute online communication from the communication interface 43 connected via the bus 42 to an external device such as the store computer 3 via the network N1. .. Further, the ordering device 4 is configured to be able to mutually perform online communication with a customer device (not shown) that is an ordering destination of the product via the network N1.

A keyboard 45, a display 46, and an HDD 47 are connected to the control unit 41 via a bus 42 and an I/O device control unit 44.

The HDD 47 stores various control programs for operating the CPU of the control unit 41, a sales performance file F5, a good customer purchase merchandise file F6, an ordering cycle file F7, and the like.

The sales record file F5 is a file that stores the sales record of each product for each day. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of the sales record file F5. As shown in FIG. 8, the sales record file F5 stores the sales points, the sales amount, the number of customers, and the like of each product by day in association with the product code of each product. Here, the number of customers stores the number of customers (nonmembers and members) who have purchased the product of the product code. In the present embodiment, the daily sales performance of each product is summed up, but the present invention is not limited to this, and may be summed up on a weekly basis.

The good customer purchase product file F6 is a file that stores the products purchased by the good customers. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of the good customer purchase product file F6. As shown in FIG. 9, the good customer purchase product file F6 stores the number of sales, the amount of sales, the number of customers, and the like in association with the product code extracted from the sales data of the good customers.

Here, a good customer means a customer who has a good sales record for the store, that is, a member with a higher rank. In the present embodiment, members of rank “3” are treated as excellent customers, but members of rank “2” or higher may be defined as excellent customers. Further, even if the rank system for classifying the members is different, the member of the higher rank is defined as a good customer. In the following, customers other than excellent customers (non-members and members with ranks “1” and “2”) are also referred to as general customers.

The number of excellent customers stores the number of excellent customers who have purchased the product of the corresponding product code. In addition, in FIG. 9, the sales performance of the products purchased by the excellent customers is summed up according to the data structure of the sales performance file F5 by day, but the present invention is not limited to this, and is summed up on a weekly basis. You may do so.

The ordering cycle file F7 is a file that stores a cycle of ordering each product. Specifically, the ordering cycle file F7 stores the ordering cycle and the like in association with the product code of each product. Here, the order cycle is information for instructing an interval and timing for ordering products. For example, in the case of a product ordered once a week, the day of the week is set as the order cycle. Further, for example, in the case of a product ordered on a daily basis, information instructing daily ordering is set as an ordering cycle. It should be noted that the ordering cycle is preferably set based on the past sales record of the products.

Further, the ordering device 4 includes a tallying unit 411 and an order processing unit 412 as functional units related to automatic ordering, as shown in FIG. Here, FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of the ordering device 4. Note that one or both of the totaling unit 411 and the order processing unit 412 may be a software function unit realized by a processor such as a CPU mounted in the control unit 41 executing a program of the HDD 47. .. Further, one or both of the totaling unit 411 and the order processing unit 412 may be a hardware function unit realized by a processor such as an ASIC.

The tallying unit 411 is an example of an extracting unit. The tallying unit 411 tallies the sales results of each product based on the sales data stored in the store sales file F2. For example, the tallying unit 411 tallies the daily sales results of each product from the sales data stored in the store sales file F2 and stores the results in the sales results file F5. In addition, for example, the tallying unit 411 determines that among the sales data stored in the store sales file F2, the sales data including the member numbers of the excellent members (members of rank “3”) stored in the member management file F4 is excellent. The product code of each product purchased by the member is extracted. Then, the tallying unit 411 tallies the daily sales results of the respective extracted products based on the sales data including the member numbers of the excellent members, and stores them in the excellent customer purchase product file F6.

In the present embodiment, the aggregation result including the sales amount of the excellent customers is registered in the sales result file F5, but only the aggregation result of the sales amount of the non-members and general customers excluding the excellent customers is the sales result file. Alternatively, the registration may be performed in F5. Further, the totaling unit 411 may be configured to derive the ordering cycle of each product from the store sales file F2, the sales record file F5, etc. by using a known technique. In this case, the derived ordering cycle is stored in the ordering cycle file F7.

The order processing unit 412 is an example of an ordering unit and a control unit. The order processing unit 412 automatically orders products to be sold at the store based on the sales record file F5, the good customer purchase product file F6, the order cycle file F7, and the like.

Specifically, the order processing unit 412 purchases during the order cycle set in the order cycle file F7 based on the daily sales results (sales score, etc.) of each product stored in the sales result file F5. The number of ordered products is estimated as the number of ordered products. Here, the method of predicting the number of orders is not particularly limited, and for example, a publicly known technology related to demand forecast or the like can be used. Further, the number of orders may be predicted by taking other information such as inventory information of each product into consideration.

In addition, the order processing unit 412 performs control (hereinafter referred to as priority control) for preferentially ordering the products purchased by the good customers based on the sales results of the respective products stored in the good customer purchase product file F6. .. Here, "priority" refers to the number of orders and the order frequency of products (hereinafter referred to as priority products) stored in the good customer purchase product file F6, the number of orders of the same product derived from the order cycle file F7, and It means increasing the order frequency. The priority control method is not particularly limited, and various methods can be adopted.

For example, the order processing unit 412 compares the number of sales of the priority product stored in the good customer purchase product file F6 with the number of sales of the same product as the priority product stored in the sales result file F5. Then, the order processing unit 412 multiplies or adds the correction coefficient (provided that the value is 1 or more) derived according to the ratio or the difference between both sales points to the order number of the corresponding product to determine the order number of the priority product. increase. Here, it is preferable that the correction coefficient increase the increase number as the ratio of the sales points of the priority products increases or the difference decreases. In other words, it is preferable to increase the increase number of products for which the ratio of the purchase number of the priority customer is large. The comparison of the sales results may be performed by comparing the sales results on the representative date or by comparing the sales results for a period corresponding to the ordering cycle. Further, the coefficient may be derived using other sales results (sales amount, number of customers).

Further, for example, the order processing unit 412 derives the daily change amount of the sales points based on the daily sales results of the priority items stored in the high-quality customer purchase item file F6, and the increase in the sales points becomes remarkable. Derive trends such as days of the week and timing. Then, the order processing unit 412 determines the order quantity and order timing of the priority product based on the derived transition tendency. The ordering timing determined here is independent of the ordering cycle of the ordering cycle file F7. Therefore, the order frequency of the priority product is higher (higher) than the order frequency of the non-priority product. It should be noted that a transition tendency similar to the above may be derived for the same product stored in the sales record file F5, and when the transition tendency is different from the transition tendency of the priority product, the ordering timing for the priority product may be determined. Good.

When the order processing unit 412 determines the number of orders for each product by the above-described processing, the order processing unit 412 sends the order information to the customer terminal in the order cycle set in the order cycle file F7, thereby automatically ordering the product. Specifically, the order processing unit 412 transmits the order information including the product code of the product and the number of orders of the product to the supplier terminal at a timing corresponding to the order cycle of the product. Further, when the ordering timing for the priority product is determined in the above-described priority processing, the ordering information is transmitted at a timing independent of the normal ordering cycle.

Note that the order processing unit 412 may be configured to perform priority control on all the products stored in the good customer purchase product file F6, or may be configured to perform priority control on some products. In the latter case, for example, the order processing unit 412 determines that, among the products stored in the excellent customer purchase product file F6, any or all of the sales points, the sales amount, and the number of customers included in the sales record exceed a threshold value. A product that satisfies a predetermined condition may be a target of priority control.

Next, the processing executed by the ordering device 4 will be described. FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing an example of the automatic ordering process executed by the ordering device 4 (order processing unit 412). In this process, a mode in which the number of ordered products is increased as priority control will be described.

First, the order processing unit 412 determines the number of orders for each product based on the sales record of each product stored in the sales record file F5 and the order cycle stored in the order cycle file F7 (step S11).

Subsequently, the order processing unit 412 determines the number of orders based on the ratio of the sales record of the priority product stored in the good customer purchase product file F6 and the sales record of the corresponding same product stored in the sales record file F5. A correction coefficient for increasing is derived (step S12). Next, the order processing unit 412 increases the order number by correcting the order number of the priority product using the correction coefficient derived in step S12 (step S13).

Subsequently, the order processing unit 412 automatically orders the products by transmitting the order information instructing the order quantity of each product to the customer's device based on the order cycle set in the order cycle file F7 (step). S14).

As described above, the ordering device 4 of the present embodiment is excellent in that it is classified into a specific rank (rank “3”) from the store sales file F2 that stores the sales data of each member that is classified into a plurality of ranks. The priority product purchased by the customer is extracted and registered in the excellent customer purchase product file F6. Further, the ordering device 4 determines the number of orders for the product based on the sales record of each product derived from the sales data stored in the store sales file F2, and based on the ordering timing stored in the ordering cycle file F7. Place an order for each product. In addition, the ordering device 4 increases the number of orders or the order frequency of the priority product based on the sales result of the priority product derived from the sales data of the excellent customer.

This prevents the product from becoming out of stock even if the general customer purchases a large amount of products (priority products) that are usually purchased by good customers. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the separation of good customers due to the loss of sales opportunities.

Although the embodiments of the invention have been described above, these embodiments are presented as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, replacements, and changes can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. These embodiments and their modifications are included in the scope and gist of the invention, and are also included in the invention described in the claims and the scope equivalent thereto.

For example, in the above-described embodiment, the form in which the purchase product of the member having the highest rank among the ranks of the plurality of stages is preferentially ordered has been described, but the rank to be the priority control target is arbitrarily set. It is possible. For example, it is possible to preferentially place an order for a product purchased by a member of rank "3" among the ranks of five stages. Further, for example, it is possible to preferentially order the purchased products of the members of the ranks “3” and “4” among the five ranks.

In this way, by configuring so that an arbitrary rank can be set as a priority control target, it is possible to prevent not only good customers but also customers belonging to various layers from customer separation due to loss of sales opportunities. it can.

In the above embodiment, the store computer 3 sets the rank of the customer (member), but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, another device such as the ordering device 4 may set the rank. Further, although the store computer 3 stores and manages the store sales file F2, the rank setting file F3, and the member management file F4 in the above embodiment, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, another device such as the ordering device 4 may store and manage any or all of these files.

In the above embodiment, the ordering device 4 stores and manages the sales record file F5, the good customer purchase product file F6, and the ordering cycle file F7. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, any or all of these files may be stored and managed by another device connected to the network N1.

Further, in the above embodiment, the ordering device 4 orders the product, but the invention is not limited to this, and a device such as the store computer 3 may place the order. For example, when the store computer 3 places an order for a product, the store computer 3 stores the sales result file F5, the good customer purchase product file F6, and the order cycle file F7, and also the functional units of the totaling unit 411 and the order processing unit 412. With the above, the same processing as that of the ordering apparatus 4 can be performed. Further, the ordering device for ordering products is not limited to a single configuration, and may be a cloud configuration configured by a plurality of information processing devices connected to the network.

The program executed by the ordering device 4 of the above-described embodiment is provided in advance by being installed in a recording medium included in the ordering device 4, but the present invention is not limited to this, and a file in an installable format or an executable format Alternatively, the program may be recorded and provided on a computer-readable recording medium such as a CD-ROM, a flexible disk (FD), a CD-R, a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk). Further, the recording medium is not limited to a medium independent of a computer or an embedded system, but includes a recording medium in which a program transmitted via a LAN, the Internet or the like is downloaded and stored or temporarily stored.

Further, the program executed by the ordering device 4 of the above-described embodiment may be stored in a computer connected to a network such as the Internet and provided by downloading via the network. It may be configured to be provided or distributed via.

1 Automatic ordering system 2 POS terminal 3 Store computer 4 Ordering device 41 Control unit 411 Aggregation unit 412 Order processing unit F5 Sales record file F6 Good customer purchase product file F7 Order cycle file

Japanese Patent No. 2735213

Claims (6)

For each customer classified into a plurality of ranks, an extraction to extract a product purchased by a customer classified into a specific rank as a priority product from a storage unit that stores sales data including a breakdown of products purchased by the customer. Means and
Ordering means for determining the number of orders for the product based on the sales record of each product derived from the sales data of the storage means, and for placing an order at a predetermined first ordering timing;
Based on the sales performance of the priority product derived from the sales data of the customer classified into the specific rank, the control means for increasing the number of orders or the order frequency of the priority product ordered by the ordering means,
Ordering device equipped with. The ordering device according to claim 1, wherein the extraction unit extracts, as the priority product, a product purchased by a customer classified into the highest rank. The control means includes a sales record of the priority product derived from the sales data of the customers classified into the specific rank, and a sales record of the same product as the priority product derived from the sales data of the storage device. The ordering apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the ordering unit increases the number of orders of the priority product ordered by the ordering unit based on a ratio or a difference. The control unit determines the second ordering timing for ordering the priority product based on the trend of the sales performance of the priority product derived from the sales data of the customers classified into the specific rank. The ordering device described in 2. The ordering device according to claim 1, wherein the rank of the customer is set based on the sales record of the customer, and the higher the sales record, the higher the rank. Computer of ordering device,
For each customer classified into a plurality of ranks, an extraction to extract a product purchased by a customer classified into a specific rank as a priority product from a storage unit that stores sales data including a breakdown of products purchased by the customer. Means and
Ordering means for determining the number of orders for the product based on the sales record of each product derived from the sales data of the storage means, and for placing an order at a predetermined first ordering timing;
Based on the sales performance of the priority product derived from the sales data of the customer classified into the specific rank, the control means for increasing the number of orders or the order frequency of the priority product ordered by the ordering means,
And program to function.

Images