JP2020187620A - Physical distribution management system, physical distribution management method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a physical distribution management system, a physical distribution management method, and a program, which can contribute to further reduction in delivery cost of a small lot commodity and efficiency.SOLUTION: A physical distribution management system can connect to a first database for managing operation state information including positions of delivery vehicles and availability of load-carrying platforms of the delivery vehicles, and a second database for managing positions of warehouses and stock status of commodities in the warehouses. The physical distribution management system includes: a warehouse selection section for selecting a warehouse located near a delivery destination of a commodity among warehouses which stocks the commodity ordered by a customer from the second database on the basis of an order from the customer; a vehicle selection section for selecting a delivery vehicle which is a delivery vehicle located near the warehouse extracted by the warehouse selection section from the first database and has a vacant space on a load-carrying platform; and a delivery request section for requesting delivery on the basis of the order from the customer to the delivery vehicle selected by the vehicle selection section.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a physical distribution management system, a physical distribution management method and a program.

In recent years, in e-commerce and the like, when an order for a certain product is received from a customer (dealer), a delivery destination is specified from a warehouse (delivery source) in which the product is in stock. Further, in order to reduce the distribution cost at that time, cost reduction measures such as sharing of transportation routes are made by delivering via a plurality of distribution bases.

According to Patent Document 1, when goods are transported to a destination via a plurality of bases, the request for immediate delivery of the goods to the destination is promptly responded to without particularly increasing the inventory amount of the downstream bases. The distribution management system that made it possible is disclosed. According to the same document, this distribution management system is transported from the core distribution center, which corresponds to the upstream and is the center of the distribution base, to the delivery destination via the distribution bases (satellite distribution centers) in each region corresponding to the downstream (satellite distribution center). See paragraph [0002]).

Patent Document 2 discloses a physical distribution management system that can surely reduce the cost related to physical distribution. Specifically, the logistics management system described in the same document causes a predetermined carrier to carry out proxy transportation of a relay section on a transportation route from a shipper to a consignee.

Patent Document 3 discloses a product delivery method selection system that enables immediate delivery by selecting the most suitable delivery method from a plurality of delivery methods when a consumer desires immediate delivery of a product by mail order or the like. Has been done.

Patent Document 4 discloses a delivery management method in which a delivery entity (for example, a delivery service provider) is automatically selected according to the location of the delivery destination.

Patent Document 5 provides an equipment exchange service system that can suppress the inventory amount for exchange, reduce the transportation cost of equipment, and suppress the cost for equipment exchange as a whole. The exchange service system is disclosed.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2005-060108 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2005-038173 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2003-208549 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2003-192136 Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-284755

The following analysis is given by the present invention. Further cost reduction of the distribution management system described in the background technology described above is required. However, for example, in the distribution management system of Patent Document 3, since the delivery means is selected from the viewpoint of immediate delivery, there is a problem that the delivery means having a low cost is not always selected.

Further, in the method of Patent Document 4, it is described that the delivery method is selected by referring to the delivery destination location, the delivery date and time, the delivery time, the inventory information of the warehouse, etc., but the delivery method is delivered by e-commerce or the like. No consideration is given to the delivery of small lots of cargo.

Further, in the equipment exchange service system of Patent Document 5, the shipping warehouse is determined to be close to the user's address, and the delivery company is selected according to the amount of the delivery charge between the warehouse and the user's address. Therefore, there is a problem that the delivery company is not selected in consideration of the position of the delivery vehicle and the vacancy of the loading platform, and it cannot be said that the optimum selection is made for the delivery company.

Further, in the method of Patent Document 2, it is necessary to use a plurality of carriers for delivering one cargo, and the carrier is arranged while constantly tracking the position of the cargo. For this reason, management is complicated and it is difficult to make accurate arrangements according to the situation. In addition, in order to track the cargo, for example, it is necessary to install sensors for detecting the passage of the cargo as shown in FIG. 2 of the same document at predetermined intervals along the transportation route, which increases the initial cost. There is a problem that it ends up.

An object of the present invention is to provide a physical distribution management system, a physical distribution management method and a program that can contribute to further reduction of delivery cost and efficiency of small lot products.

According to the first viewpoint, a first database for managing operation status information including the position of the delivery vehicle and the availability of the loading platform of the delivery vehicle, and a first database for managing the location of the warehouse and the inventory status of products in the warehouse. Of the warehouses that are connectable to and are in stock of the products ordered by the customer from the second database based on the order from the customer, the vicinity of the delivery destination of the products. From the warehouse selection unit that selects the warehouse located in, and the first database, a delivery vehicle that is located in the vicinity of the warehouse extracted by the warehouse selection unit and has a vacant loading platform is selected. A distribution management system including a vehicle selection unit and a delivery request unit that requests delivery based on an order from the customer to a delivery vehicle selected by the vehicle selection unit is provided.

According to the second viewpoint, the first database that manages the position of the delivery vehicle and the operation status information including the availability of the loading platform of the delivery vehicle, the location of the warehouse, and the inventory status of the products in the warehouse are managed. The delivery destination of the product in the warehouse in which the computer connectable to the second database stocks the product ordered by the customer from the second database based on the order from the customer. A logistics management method is provided that selects a warehouse located in the vicinity of. Further, the computer selects a delivery vehicle located in the vicinity of the selected warehouse from the first database and has a vacant loading platform. Further, the computer requests the selected delivery vehicle to deliver based on the order from the customer. The method is tied to a particular machine, a computer that connects to first and second databases and requests delivery based on customer orders.

According to the third viewpoint, a first database that manages the position of the delivery vehicle and the operation status information including the availability of the loading platform of the delivery vehicle, the location of the warehouse, and the inventory status of the products in the warehouse are managed. A process of selecting a warehouse in stock of products ordered by the customer from the second database based on an order from the customer on a computer connectable to the second database, and the second. A delivery vehicle located in the vicinity of the warehouse extracted from the database of 1 in the process of selecting the warehouse, which is selected by a process of selecting a delivery vehicle having a vacancy in the loading platform and a process of selecting the vehicle. A program is provided that causes the delivered delivery vehicle to execute a process of requesting delivery based on the order from the customer. This program is input to a computer device from an input device or from the outside via a communication interface, stored in a storage device, and drives a processor according to a predetermined step or process. Further, this program can display the processing result including the intermediate state step by step via the display device, if necessary, or can communicate with the outside via the communication interface. Computer devices for this purpose, for example, typically include a processor, a storage device, an input device, a communication interface, and, if necessary, a display device that can be connected to each other by a bus.

According to the present invention, it is possible to reduce the delivery cost of a product in a particularly small lot.

It is a figure which shows the structure of one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating operation of one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating operation of one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structure of the physical distribution management system of 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the information held in the operation management database referred to by the physical distribution management system of 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the information held in the inventory management database referred to by the physical distribution management system of 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the information held in the customer information database referred to by the physical distribution management system of 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which represented typically the positional relationship of a delivery vehicle and a warehouse grasped by the physical distribution management system of 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a flow chart which showed the operation of the physical distribution management system of 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating operation of 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a flow chart which showed the operation when the logistics management system of 1st Embodiment of this invention finds a plurality of target warehouses. It is a figure for demonstrating operation of 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating operation of 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structure of the computer which comprises the physical distribution management system of this invention.

First, an outline of one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. It should be noted that the drawing reference reference numerals added to this outline are added to each element for convenience as an example for assisting understanding, and the present invention is not intended to be limited to the illustrated embodiment. Further, the connecting line between blocks such as drawings referred to in the following description includes both bidirectional and unidirectional. The one-way arrow schematically shows the flow of the main signal (data), and does not exclude interactivity. The program is executed via a computer device, which includes, for example, a processor, a storage device, an input device, a communication interface, and, if necessary, a display device. Further, this computer device is configured to be able to communicate with an internal or external device (including a computer) via a communication interface regardless of whether it is wired or wireless. Further, although there are ports or interfaces at the input / output connection points of each block in the figure, they are not shown. Further, in the following description, "A and / or B" is used to mean at least one of A and B.

In one embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 1, the first and second databases 110 and 120 can be connected to the warehouse selection unit 130, the vehicle selection unit 140, and the delivery request unit 150. This can be realized by the distribution management system 100 including.

More specifically, the first database 110 manages operation status information including the position of the delivery vehicle and the availability of the loading platform of the delivery vehicle. The second database 120 manages the location of the warehouse and the inventory status of the goods in the warehouse.

Then, the warehouse selection unit 130 is located in the vicinity of the delivery destination of the product in the warehouse in which the product ordered by the customer is in stock from the second database based on the order from the customer. Select a warehouse. For example, when the goods ordered by the customer are stored in both the warehouse A and the warehouse B of FIG. 2, the warehouse selection unit 130 is located in the vicinity of the delivery destination of the corresponding goods among these warehouses. Select Warehouse A.

Then, the vehicle selection unit 140 selects a delivery vehicle located in the vicinity of the warehouse extracted by the warehouse selection unit 130 from the first database 110 and has a vacant loading platform. For example, the vehicle selection unit 140 selects a delivery vehicle b having a vacant loading platform from the vehicles a and b located near the warehouse A in FIG.

Then, the delivery request unit 150 requests the delivery vehicle selected by the vehicle selection unit 140 to deliver based on the order from the customer. As a result, as shown in FIG. 3, the vehicle b having a vacant loading platform heads for the warehouse A, loads the product requested by the delivery request unit 150, and then heads for the delivery destination.

As is clear from the above explanation, the distribution management system 100 selects a warehouse close to the delivery destination from the warehouses in which the ordered products are in stock, and is located in the vicinity of the warehouse. , Select a vehicle that can load goods. As is clear from FIG. 3, the distribution management system 100 of the present invention selects a combination of warehouse and vehicle that minimizes the distance between the delivery destination and the warehouse and also minimizes the distance between the warehouse and the vehicle. To do. As a result, it is possible to reduce the delivery cost and improve the efficiency of delivery, especially for small lot products.

[First Embodiment]
Subsequently, the first embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration of a physical distribution management system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. With reference to FIG. 4, a distribution management system 10 that can access an operation management DB (hereinafter, “DB” is an abbreviation for a database) 20, an inventory management DB 30, and a customer information DB 40 is shown. ..

The operation management DB 20 is a database that centrally manages operation status information such as the operation status of delivery vehicles operated by various delivery companies. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of information held in the operation management DB 20. In the example of FIG. 5, as the operation status information, an entry that can be managed in association with a vehicle ID, a delivery company, an operation status, an operation schedule, a delivery route, a vehicle type, a loading platform status, a delivery charge, and the like is shown. The operation status includes the position information of the vehicle acquired by the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) mounted on each vehicle. The vehicle ID is a license plate number or vehicle identification information used by the delivery company to identify the vehicle. The operation schedule is information indicating where the vehicle is heading in the future. The delivery route is information indicating a route for the vehicle to go to the destination. The type of vehicle is information indicating the type of vehicle according to the integrated amount, such as a 2-ton truck, a 4-ton truck, or a 10-ton truck. The loading platform status is information for determining the availability status of the loading platform and whether mixed loading is possible. The delivery charge indicates information such as a charter flight charge, a charge by size, and a delivery unit price. When the vehicle is moving, the operation status and the delivery route indicating the position information of the vehicle change. Therefore, the operation status and the delivery route will be described as being sequentially updated and reflected in the operation management DB 20.

The inventory management DB 30 is a database that centrally manages inventory information of products at distribution bases (hereinafter referred to as "warehouses") located all over the country. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of information held in the inventory management DB 30. In the example of FIG. 6, as inventory information, entries that can be managed in association with a product ID, a product name, a packing size, a warehouse ID, a warehouse location, inventory availability, quantity, and the like are shown. As the product ID, a JAN code (Japanese Article Number Code), an EAN code (EAN (European Article Number) Code), a UPC (Universal Product Code), or the like can be used. As for the packing size, in addition to the packing size information managed by e-commerce sites, etc., size information using the size and actual weight of the three sides of the vertical, horizontal, and height used in the charge calculation by the delivery company. May be used. Furthermore, if necessary, instead of the packing size information, the free space information of the loading platform required for delivering the corresponding product (hereinafter referred to as "required free space". It is called V _n according to the size of the product. Information expressed by variables) may be used. The warehouse ID is an ID for identifying the warehouse. The location of the warehouse may be the actual location, but if the management range of the distribution management system is all over Japan, it may be information on the nearest major cities such as Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Fukuoka, and Sapporo. Further, if the management range of the distribution management system is a specific area, it may be the latitude / longitude, the name of the municipality, or the name of a town or character below it. Further, in the example of FIG. 6, the presence / absence of inventory and the quantity are separated, but the presence / absence of inventory can be managed only by the quantity. In this case, when the quantity is 0, it may be treated as out of stock. As the presence / absence and quantity of the stock, those managed by using an RFID (Radio Frequency IDentifier) tag or a barcode attached to the product may be used. This makes it possible to manage inventories in real time each time a product is taken in or out of each warehouse.

The customer information DB 40 is a database that centrally manages information related to delivery received when a customer orders a product. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of information held in the customer information DB 40. In the example of FIG. 7, an entry that can be managed in association with a customer ID, a customer name, a product name desired to be delivered, a delivery address, a desired delivery date, a contact (email address), and the like is shown. Hereinafter, the information held in the customer information DB 40 is collectively referred to as "customer information".

Subsequently, the configuration of the physical distribution management system 10 that can be connected to the various databases will be described. With reference to FIG. 4, a configuration including an operation unit 11, a data extraction unit 12, a storage unit 13, and a determination unit 14 is shown.

The operation unit 11 is a device that receives an input operation from a person in charge of physical distribution management. As the operation unit 11, for example, a keyboard or a touch panel can be used.

The data extraction unit 12 extracts necessary data from the connection-destination database. As the data extraction unit 12, various database connection clients can be used.

The storage unit 13 is a device that stores the data extracted by the data extraction unit 12. As the storage unit 13, for example, a hard disk, a semiconductor memory, or the like can be used.

The determination unit 14 is composed of a CPU (central processing unit) that executes a program that makes a determination based on the data stored in the storage unit 13.

FIG. 8 is a diagram schematically showing the positional relationship between the delivery vehicle and the warehouse grasped by the physical distribution management system 10 of the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 8, the above-mentioned distribution management system 10 acquires information from the above database to store the positions of the delivery vehicles of each of the plurality of delivery companies, the availability of the loading platform, and the products. It is possible to grasp the location of the warehouse.

As will be described later, the determination unit 14 functions as the warehouse selection unit 130 and the vehicle selection unit 140 described above. Further, the determination unit 14 functions as the delivery request unit 150 by connecting to the system of each delivery company via the data extraction unit 12 and requesting the delivery. In FIG. 4, a display unit (not shown) such as a display panel is omitted. In addition, the logistics management system 10 can obtain operation routes and distance information by inputting departure points and arrival points by using a route search API (Application Programming Interface) provided by various vendors. ..

The distribution management system 10 may manage a part of the data stored in the various databases described above. For example, the physical distribution management system 10 may be able to directly receive vehicle position information from a vehicle having a communication function.

In addition to a physical computer, the physical distribution management system 10 can also be configured by a virtual machine (VM) that operates in various virtual environments. Further, the physical distribution management system 10 can be realized by a general personal computer, a tablet terminal, a smartphone or the like. In this case, the device corresponding to the distribution management system 10 can be carried by the local person in charge of the delivery company.

Subsequently, the operation of the present embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 9 is a flow chart showing the operation of the physical distribution management system 10 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 9, the operator first accepts the delivery request by telephone (step S1). Since the delivery request includes the contents corresponding to the customer information described above, the customer information is acquired (step S2). Further, the operator who receives the call registers new customer information in the customer information DB 40 via the operation unit 11 (step S3). It is also possible to accept delivery requests for products from e-mails or websites instead of telephones. In this case, step S2 can be omitted and step S3 can be automated by using an e-mail or the Internet requesting input of customer information in a predetermined input form.

When the registration in the customer information DB 40 is completed, the data extraction unit 12 of the distribution management system 10 connects to the inventory management DB 30 and acquires the inventory data related to the corresponding product by referring to the product name among the customer information input in step S3. (Step S4). When the notification of the update of the customer information DB 40 by the operator or the like is not sent to the distribution management system 10, the distribution management system 10 may be provided with a monitoring unit (not shown) that constantly monitors the update of the customer information DB 40.

In step S4, the data extraction unit 12 of the distribution management system 10 accesses the inventory management DB 30 and acquires the inventory status of the specific product in all the warehouses. Then, the data extraction unit 12 stores the acquired inventory data in the storage unit 13. When the above-mentioned monitoring unit is provided, the monitoring unit may monitor not only the customer information DB 40 but also the update of the operation management DB 20 and the inventory management DB 30.

Next, the determination unit 14 reads the inventory data stored in the storage unit 13 and confirms the inventory status (step S5). As a result of checking the inventory status by the determination unit 14, if it is determined that the warehouse is in stock, the warehouses in stock are listed (step S6), and the process proceeds to step S7. On the other hand, if it is determined that the product is out of stock, the process proceeds to step S9.

Next, the determination unit 14 accesses the customer information DB 40 via the data extraction unit 12 and acquires the delivery address of the corresponding customer information. The data (delivery address) acquired here is stored in the storage unit 13 in the same manner as the inventory data acquired in step S4. The determination unit 14 confirms whether or not there is an in-stock warehouse within a predetermined range (corresponding to the range of a circle having a radius of r1 km shown in FIG. 10) from the acquired delivery address (step S7). At that time, the determination unit 14 may calculate the distance between the delivery address and the warehouse by using the map information or the route search API.

As a result of the above confirmation, if there is a warehouse in stock within the predetermined range, the process proceeds to the next step S8, and if there is no warehouse in stock within the predetermined range, the process proceeds to step S9.

If the determination unit 14 determines that the item is out of stock in step S5, or if the determination unit 14 determines that there is no warehouse in stock around the delivery address in step S7, the process proceeds to step S9, respectively, and the determination unit 14 Notifies the customer of the delivery time (step S9). Specifically, the determination unit 14 sends an e-mail to the e-mail address of the corresponding customer information by e-mail to attach data in which the determination result is converted into text. Further, in addition to the transmission of the e-mail, the determination unit 14 may display the determination result on a display unit (not shown). As a result, the operator can also perform an operation such as notifying the customer by telephone that the product shipment will be delayed by telephone or the like.

On the other hand, when it is determined that the in-stock warehouse extracted in step S7 is around the delivery address, the determination unit 14 determines whether or not there are a plurality of target warehouses (step S8). If there is only one target warehouse, the process proceeds to step S10, and if there are a plurality of target warehouses, the process proceeds to step S17. The operation of the determination unit 14 up to this point corresponds to the operation of the warehouse selection unit 130 described above. That is, it can be said that the function of the warehouse selection unit 130 is realized by causing the processor that functions as the determination unit 14 to execute the program that realizes the function of the warehouse selection unit 130.

When there is only one target warehouse, the determination unit 14 refers to the vehicle position information and the vacancy information of the loading platform held in the operation management DB 20, and puts the product around the target warehouse specified in step S8. It is determined whether or not there is a vehicle that can be loaded (step S10). Specifically, the determination unit 14 determines whether there is a delivery vehicle capable of loading the product within a predetermined range (corresponding to the range of a circle having a radius of r2 km [r2 ≧ r1] shown in FIG. 10) from the delivery address. Judge whether or not. At that time, the determination unit 14 may calculate the distance between the delivery address and the vehicle by using the map information or the route search API.

It is preferable that the vehicle position information and the loading platform status held in the above-mentioned operation management DB 20 are updated at short intervals so as to reflect the latest information as much as possible. For example, the delivery company may update the operation management DB 20. As an example, each delivery company can collectively acquire the position information of vehicles operating based on GPS satellites using a dedicated terminal, and store the acquired position information in the operation management DB 20. .. Similarly, regarding the loading platform status, each delivery company collectively acquires the loading platform information by a camera or an infrared sensor installed on the loading platform of each vehicle using a dedicated terminal, and the acquired loading platform status information is collected in the operation management DB 20. It can take the form of storing in. Then, the monitoring unit or the like of the physical distribution management system 10 detects that the operation management DB 20 has been updated, so that it is possible to make a judgment using the latest vehicle position information.

As a result of the determination in step S10, if it is determined that there is a vehicle, the process proceeds to step S11, and if it is determined that there is no vehicle, the process proceeds to step S14. In a more desirable form, in step S10, the determination unit 14 replaces the determination centered on the delivery address with a predetermined range centered on the warehouse address (a circle having a radius r3 km shown in FIG. 10). It may be determined whether or not a vehicle exists within the range). Of course, it is also possible to adopt a configuration in which the vehicle is narrowed down by making both a judgment centered on the delivery address and a judgment centered on the warehouse address.

In addition, in the above-mentioned vehicle selection judgment, in addition to whether or not there is room in the loading platform of the relevant vehicle, it is confirmed whether or not it is a mixed-loading flight (transportation by sharing with other luggage), and priority is given to the mixed-loading flight. You may select it. By using a consolidated flight, it becomes possible to achieve further cost benefits.

Further, the determination unit 14 determines whether or not there are a plurality of delivery companies possessing the vehicle confirmed in step S10 (step S11). When there is only one delivery company, the determination unit 14 designates the delivery company that owns the vehicle and makes a delivery request (step S12). For this delivery request, for example, a method can be adopted in which the data extraction unit 12 requests by connecting to the system of each delivery company. Of course, other forms of making requests by telephone or e-mail can also be adopted.

On the other hand, when there are a plurality of delivery companies, the determination unit 14 accesses the operation management DB 20 via the data extraction unit 12 and acquires data on the delivery charges of each delivery company (step S13). Then, the determination unit 14 selects the most reasonable delivery company and makes a delivery request (step S12). For this determination, the delivery charge information of the operation management DB 20 and the packing size information of the inventory management DB 30 can be used.

On the other hand, when it is determined in step S10 that there is no vehicle around the warehouse, the determination unit 14 accesses the operation management DB 20 via the data extraction unit 12 and acquires the loading platform status information and the operation schedule data of the vehicle (step). S14). Subsequently, the determination unit 14 determines whether or not a vehicle having a vacant loading platform is scheduled to move to the vicinity of the warehouse based on the acquired operation schedule data and the map information stored in the storage unit 13 (). Step S15).

When it is determined that there is a plan to move to the vicinity of the warehouse (scheduled operation), the determination unit 14 proceeds to step S11 to select a delivery company and make a delivery request. In this way, even if there are no vehicles around the warehouse, or if there are vehicles around the warehouse but the loading platform is occupied, there are vehicles that will move to the vicinity of the warehouse in the future by referring to the operation schedule data. If so, a delivery request can be made to the vehicle. As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to make a delivery request (reservation) by taking into account the vehicle moving around the warehouse, which can contribute to cost reduction.

On the other hand, if it is determined that it is difficult to secure a vehicle with a vacant loading platform even when referring to the operation schedule data, the determination unit 14 accesses the operation management DB 20 via the data extraction unit 12 and each delivery company. Acquire the delivery charge data of the charter flight (chartered transportation) of (step S16). Subsequently, the process proceeds to step S12, and the determination unit 14 selects the delivery company with the most reasonable delivery fee by charter flight and makes a delivery request.

The operation related to the vehicle selection of the determination unit 14 up to this point corresponds to the operation of the vehicle selection unit 140 described above. That is, it can be said that the function of the vehicle selection unit 140 is realized by causing the processor that functions as the determination unit 14 to execute a program that realizes the function of the vehicle selection unit 140.

Subsequently, the operation of the distribution management system 10 when it is determined in step S8 of FIG. 9 that there are a plurality of target warehouses will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

As in step S10, the determination unit 14 first determines whether or not there is a vehicle capable of loading products around each warehouse (step S17). If it is determined that there is a vehicle, the process proceeds to the next step S18, and if it is determined that there is no vehicle, the process proceeds to step S14 described above. Since step S14 has already been explained, the explanation is omitted.

When it is determined that there is a vehicle capable of loading products around each warehouse, the determination unit 14 connects to the operation management DB 20 via the data extraction unit 12 and operates vehicle operation status data (vehicle position information data). And the loading platform status data is acquired (step S18). Then, the determination unit 14 narrows down the vehicles that can be delivered by the consolidated flight from the acquired data.

Next, the determination unit 14 calculates the mileage x between the warehouse positions extracted in step S7 from the positions of the vehicles narrowed down in step S18 (step S19). Subsequently, the determination unit 14 calculates the mileage y from the position of each warehouse to the position of the delivery destination (step S20).

The mileage in steps S19 and S20 can be calculated by using the map information and the route search API.

FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining a vehicle selection method based on the mileage in steps S19 to S21. For example, in step S19, the determination unit 14 calculates the distance x1 between the point P1 indicating the position of the vehicle a in FIG. 12 and the point P2 indicating the position of the warehouse A in FIG. 12, for example. Similarly, in step S20, the determination unit 14 calculates the distance y1 between the point P2 indicating the position of the warehouse A in FIG. 12 and the point P3 indicating the position of the delivery destination.

Note that FIG. 12 shows an example of calculating the travel route between one vehicle and one warehouse for convenience. For example, there are p vehicles narrowed down in step S18, and the area around the delivery address extracted in step S8. If there are q warehouses, there are n travel routes (multiplication value of p and q p × q = n). In this case, the number of mileage x calculated by the determination unit 14 is also n (x1, x2, ... Xn) (see FIG. 13). However, this does not apply when multiple vehicles exist at almost the same position and travel on the same route.

Further, the determination unit 14 extracts a combination of the mileage x calculated in step S19 and the mileage y calculated in step S20 in which the arrival place and the departure place are common, that is, using a common warehouse, and among the combinations. Select the travel route in which the total value z of x and y is the minimum value. Then, the vehicles at the positions corresponding to the start points of x of this traveling route are narrowed down (step S21). For example, when the travel route that minimizes the total value z is the route from P1p in FIG. 13 via P2q to P3, the determination unit 14 selects the vehicle x located at P1p.

Next, the determination unit 14 accesses the operation management DB 20 via the data extraction unit 12 and confirms the delivery company that owns the vehicles narrowed down in step S21 (step S22). Then, the determination unit 14 designates the delivery company that owns the vehicle and makes a delivery request (step S23).

As described above, even when there are a plurality of warehouses that store the products ordered by the customer, the one that can minimize the mileage z is selected from the combination of these warehouses and the nearest vehicle. As a result, the delivery cost of the product ordered by e-commerce or the like can be reduced.

Although each embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and further modifications, substitutions, and adjustments are made without departing from the basic technical idea of the present invention. Can be added. For example, the connection configuration between the devices, the configuration of each element, and the data representation form shown in each drawing are examples for assisting the understanding of the present invention, and are not limited to the configurations shown in these drawings. ..

Further, the procedure shown in the flowchart shown in the above embodiment is merely an example, and is not limited to the order shown in FIGS. 9 and 11. For example, the procedure for calculating x and y may be exchanged by exchanging steps S19 and S20. Further, the information in each database may be updated every time the vehicle moves or the inventory of the product changes, for example, but it may be updated to the latest information at the timing when the delivery request is received from the customer. ..

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the determination unit 14 has been described as making various determinations by referring to the acquired data from the database, but the determination unit 14 specifies the conditions of the data to be extracted to the database and makes an inquiry. The form can also be adopted. For example, the acquisition of data in steps S4 and S5 and the determination of inventory availability by the determination unit 14 can be replaced with a process in which the determination unit 14 inquires about the information of the warehouse in stock and receives the corresponding data from the operation management DB 20. ..

Further, the procedure shown in the above-described embodiment can be realized by a program that realizes the function of the computer (9000 in FIG. 14) that functions as the physical distribution management systems 10 and 100. Such a computer is exemplified in a configuration including a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 9010, a communication interface 9020, a memory 9030, and an auxiliary storage device 9040 in FIG. That is, the CPU 9010 in FIG. 14 may execute a data extraction program or a determination program to update each calculation parameter held in the auxiliary storage device 9040 or the like.

That is, each part (processing means, function) of the physical distribution management systems 10 and 100 shown in the above-described embodiment is a computer that causes a processor mounted on the physical distribution management system to execute each of the above-mentioned processes by using its hardware. It can be realized by a program.

Finally, a preferred embodiment of the present invention is summarized.
[First form]
(Refer to the logistics management system from the first viewpoint above)
[Second form]
The second database of the above-mentioned physical distribution management system stores information on the packing size of goods.
The vehicle selection unit may adopt a configuration in which the delivery vehicle is selected based on whether or not the delivery vehicle can store the product based on the packing size of the product and the availability of the loading platform of the delivery vehicle. ..
[Third form]
The vehicle selection unit of the distribution management system described above is a delivery vehicle located in the vicinity of the warehouse extracted by the warehouse selection unit, and in addition to being a delivery vehicle with a vacant loading platform, delivery of the product. It is possible to adopt a configuration in which a delivery vehicle located within a predetermined range centered on the tip is selected.
[Fourth form]
The vehicle selection unit of the above-mentioned distribution management system is a delivery vehicle located in the vicinity of the warehouse extracted by the warehouse selection unit, and instead of being a delivery vehicle having a vacant loading platform, the delivery of the product It is possible to adopt a configuration in which a delivery vehicle located within a predetermined range centered on the tip and has a vacant loading platform is selected.
[Fifth form]
The vehicle selection section of the above-mentioned logistics management system
The warehouse selection unit selects a plurality of warehouses as selection candidates and selects a plurality of warehouses.
The vehicle selection unit selects a delivery vehicle located in the vicinity of the plurality of warehouses and has a vacant loading platform.
The vehicle selection unit can adopt a configuration in which a delivery vehicle having a short mileage required for delivery is selected from the plurality of delivery vehicles.
[Sixth form]
(Refer to the logistics management method from the second viewpoint above)
[7th form]
(Refer to the program from the third viewpoint above)
The sixth to seventh forms can be developed into the second to fifth forms in the same manner as the first form.

The disclosures of the above patent documents shall be incorporated into this document by citation. Within the framework of the entire disclosure (including the scope of claims) of the present invention, it is possible to change or adjust the embodiments or examples based on the basic technical idea thereof. Further, within the framework of the disclosure of the present invention, various combinations or selections (parts) of various disclosure elements (including each element of each claim, each element of each embodiment or embodiment, each element of each drawing, etc.) (Including target deletion) is possible. That is, it goes without saying that the present invention includes all disclosure including claims, and various modifications and modifications that can be made by those skilled in the art in accordance with the technical idea. In particular, with respect to the numerical range described in this document, it should be interpreted that any numerical value or small range included in the range is specifically described even if there is no other description.

10,100 Logistics management system 11 Operation unit 12 Data extraction unit 13 Storage unit 14 Judgment unit 20 Operation management DB
30 Inventory management DB
40 Customer information DB
110 First database 120 Second database 130 Warehouse selection unit 140 Vehicle selection unit 150 Delivery request unit 9000 Computer 9010 CPU
9020 Communication interface 9030 Memory 9040 Auxiliary storage

Claims (10)

It is possible to connect to the first database that manages the operation status information including the position of the delivery vehicle and the availability of the loading platform of the delivery vehicle, and the second database that manages the location of the warehouse and the inventory status of the products in the warehouse. And
A warehouse selection unit that selects a warehouse located near the delivery destination of the product from the warehouses in stock of the products ordered by the customer from the second database based on the order from the customer. ,
A vehicle selection unit that selects a delivery vehicle located in the vicinity of the warehouse extracted by the warehouse selection unit from the first database and has a vacant loading platform, and a vehicle selection unit.
A delivery request unit that requests delivery based on an order from the customer to a delivery vehicle selected by the vehicle selection unit.
Logistics management system equipped with. The second database stores information about the packing size of goods.
The physical distribution management according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle selection unit selects the delivery vehicle based on whether or not the delivery vehicle can store the product based on the packing size of the product and the availability of the loading platform of the delivery vehicle. system. The vehicle selection unit is a delivery vehicle located in the vicinity of the warehouse extracted by the warehouse selection unit, and in addition to being a delivery vehicle with a vacant loading platform, the delivery destination of the product is the center. The distribution management system according to claim 1 or 2, which selects a delivery vehicle located within a predetermined range. The vehicle selection unit is a delivery vehicle located in the vicinity of the warehouse extracted by the warehouse selection unit, and instead of a delivery vehicle having a vacant loading platform, the delivery destination of the product is the center. The distribution management system according to claim 1 or 2, which selects a delivery vehicle located within a predetermined range and has a vacant loading platform. The warehouse selection unit selects a plurality of warehouses as selection candidates and selects a plurality of warehouses.
The vehicle selection unit selects delivery vehicles located in the vicinity of the plurality of warehouses and has a vacant loading platform.
The vehicle selection unit is a logistics management system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, which selects a delivery vehicle having a short mileage required for delivery from the plurality of delivery vehicles. Connected to a first database that manages the position of the delivery vehicle and operation status information including the availability of the loading platform of the delivery vehicle, and a second database that manages the location of the warehouse and the inventory status of products in the warehouse. Possible computers
Based on the order from the customer, the warehouse located near the delivery destination of the product is selected from the warehouses in stock of the products ordered by the customer from the second database.
From the first database, a delivery vehicle located in the vicinity of the selected warehouse and having a vacant loading platform is selected.
Request delivery based on the order from the customer to the selected delivery vehicle.
Logistics management method. The second database stores information about the packing size of goods.
Claim to select the delivery vehicle as a delivery vehicle having a vacancy in the loading platform based on whether or not the delivery vehicle can store the product based on the packing size of the product and the availability of the loading platform of the delivery vehicle. 6 logistics management methods. It is a delivery vehicle located near the warehouse extracted as a warehouse located near the delivery destination of the product, and in addition to being a delivery vehicle with a vacant loading platform, centering on the delivery destination of the product. The distribution management method according to claim 6 or 7, which selects a delivery vehicle located within a predetermined range. As the delivery vehicle with a vacant loading platform, the delivery vehicle located near the warehouse located near the delivery destination of the product is delivered instead of the delivery vehicle with a vacant loading platform. The distribution management method according to claim 6 or 7, wherein a delivery vehicle located within a predetermined range centered on the destination and having a vacant loading platform is selected. Connected to a first database that manages the position of the delivery vehicle and operation status information including the availability of the loading platform of the delivery vehicle, and a second database that manages the location of the warehouse and the inventory status of products in the warehouse. To a possible computer
Based on the order from the customer, the process of selecting the warehouse in stock of the products ordered by the customer from the second database, and
A process of selecting a delivery vehicle located in the vicinity of the warehouse extracted from the first database by the process of selecting the warehouse, and a process of selecting a delivery vehicle having a vacant loading platform.
The process of requesting delivery based on the order from the customer to the delivery vehicle selected in the process of selecting a vehicle, and the process of requesting delivery based on the order from the customer.
A program that executes.

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