JP2023149213A - Management device, management method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a management device, a management method, and a program for considering purchase of a specific product on an EC site.SOLUTION: In a transaction management system, a packaging support unit of a sales support server comprises a specification determination unit which determines respective specifications of one or more comparisons which are delivered together with a packaging material for packaging an article and are used to determine a state of the article. The specification determination unit determines the respective specifications of the one or more comparisons on the basis of a type of the article, a delivery distance of the article, a time required for delivery of the article, a weather at a delivery destination of the article, an attribute of a sender of the article, an attribute of a receiver of the article, an attribute of a deliverer of the article, and at least one of a pattern and a color of a surface of the packaging material, or combinations thereof.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 10

Description

The present invention relates to a management device, a management method, and a program.

Patent Document 1 discloses an EC server that provides an environment in which evaluations according to product genres are posted.
(Prior art document)
(Patent document)
(Patent Document 1) International Publication No. 2017/094169

For example, the matters that users who access an EC site place importance on when purchasing products sold on the EC site differ from user to user. However, according to the EC server disclosed in Patent Document 1, a user who is considering purchasing a specific product can quickly select evaluations that are important to the user from among the evaluations posted for the product. difficult to find.

In a first aspect of the invention, a determining device is provided. The above-described determination device includes, for example, a specification determination unit that determines specifications for each of one or more comparison targets that are delivered together with packaging materials for packaging the article and used to determine the condition of the article. In the above determination device, the specification determining unit determines, for example, (i) the type of article, (ii) the distance to which the article is to be delivered, (iii) the time required to deliver the article, (iv) the weather at the destination of the article, (v) Attributes of the sender of the goods, (vi) Attributes of the recipient of the goods, (vii) Attributes of the shipper of the goods, and (viii) At least one of the pattern and color of the surface of the packaging material, and The specifications of each of the one or more comparison targets are determined based on the combination of the following.

In the above determination device, the specifications of each of the one or more comparison controls include (i) the type of determination target of each of the one or more comparison controls, (ii) the size, shape, and pattern of each of the one or more comparison controls. and (iii) at least one of each of one or more comparative hardnesses. In the above determination device, each of the one or more comparison controls may be arranged on a part of the surface of the packaging material or at least a part of the contents housed inside the packaging material. The above determination device may include a placement determination unit that determines the position or range in the packaging material for each of the one or more comparison targets. In the above determination device, the packaging material may include at least one of a box, a partition member, a packaging material, and a cushioning material.

In the above determination device, the specification determining unit may determine the attributes of the sender based on evaluations of other items or the sender by recipients of other items shipped by the sender in the past. In the above determination device, the specification determining unit may determine the recipient's attributes based on the recipient's evaluation of other items received in the past. In the above determination device, the specification determining unit may determine attributes of the deliverer based on evaluations of other goods or deliverers by senders or recipients of other goods delivered by the deliverer in the past. .

In the above determination device, the state of the article is determined based on, for example, a comparison result between the article and at least one of the size, shape, pattern, color, and hardness of each of one or more comparison targets. In the above determination device, the condition of the article includes, for example, at least one of the appearance condition of the article and the delivery condition of the article. The state of the appearance of the article includes, for example, at least one of the size, degree of bending, and color of the article.

In a second aspect of the invention, a determining method is provided. Each step of the above determination method is executed by, for example, a computer. The above determination method includes, for example, a specification determination step of determining the specifications of each of one or more comparison targets that are delivered together with packaging materials for packaging the article and are used to determine the condition of the article. In the above determination method, the specification determination stage includes, for example, (i) the type of goods, (ii) the distance to which the goods will be delivered, (iii) the time required to deliver the goods, (iv) the weather at the delivery destination of the goods, (v) Attributes of the sender of the goods, (vi) Attributes of the recipient of the goods, (vii) Attributes of the shipper of the goods, and (viii) At least one of the pattern and color of the surface of the packaging material, and determining the specifications of each of the one or more comparators based on the combination of.

In a third aspect of the present invention, a program is provided. The above program may be a program for causing a computer to function as the determining device according to the first aspect. The above program may be a program for causing a computer to execute the determination method according to the second aspect. A computer readable medium storing the above program may be provided. Computer readable media may be non-transitory computer readable media. The computer readable medium may be a computer readable recording medium.

Note that the above summary of the invention does not list all the necessary features of the invention. Furthermore, subcombinations of these features may also constitute inventions.

1 schematically shows an example of a system configuration of a transaction management system 100. An example of the internal configuration of the production robot 120 is schematically shown. An example of information collection processing in the management server 110 is schematically shown. An example of the internal configuration of the transaction management section 112 is schematically shown. An example of a product explanation screen for products on sale is schematically shown. An example of a product evaluation input screen after completion of delivery is schematically shown. Another example of the product evaluation input screen after completion of delivery is schematically shown. An example of the internal configuration of the EC site management section 422 is schematically shown. An example of the internal configuration of the evaluation acquisition unit 462 is schematically shown. An example of the internal configuration of the sales support server 180 is schematically shown. An example of the internal configuration of the sales promotion support department 1020 is schematically shown. An example of the content of an instruction indicated by instruction data is schematically shown. Another example of the content of the instruction indicated by the instruction data will be schematically shown. An example of the internal configuration of the packaging support section 1040 is schematically shown. An example of the data structure of a data table 1500 is schematically shown. An example of a system configuration of a computer 3000 is schematically shown.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described through embodiments of the invention, but the following embodiments do not limit the invention according to the claims. Furthermore, not all combinations of features described in the embodiments are essential to the solution of the invention. In addition, in the drawings, the same or similar parts may be given the same reference numerals and redundant explanations may be omitted.

(Overview of transaction management system 100)
FIG. 1 schematically shows an example of a system configuration of a transaction management system 100. In this embodiment, the transaction management system 100 includes, for example, a management server 110. In this embodiment, the management server 110 includes, for example, a transaction management section 112 and a distribution management section 114.

The transaction management system 100 may further include at least one of a production robot 120, a fruit sorting system 140, and a distribution system 160. In this embodiment, the production robot 120 includes, for example, a base unit 130, one or more moving units 132 (sometimes simply referred to as one or more), one or more imaging units 134, and one or more sensor unit 136 and one or more work units 138.

In this embodiment, the transaction management system 100 includes, for example, a sales support server 180. Transaction management system 100 may include a management server 110 and a sales support server 180. The owner or operator of management server 110 and the owner or operator of sales support server 180 may be the same or different. The management server 110 and the sales support server 180 may operate on the same physical machine or virtual machine, or may operate on different physical machines or virtual machines.

In this embodiment, details of the transaction management system 100 will be explained using an example in which the transaction management system 100 manages transactions of the products 12 and 14. In this embodiment, the details of the transaction management system 100 will be explained using an example in which the product 14 is the same or similar type of product to the product 12, or a product produced by the producer 20 of the product 12. be done.

Further, in this embodiment, details of the transaction management system 100 will be explained using an example in which the products 12 and 14 are (i) fresh foods, or (ii) agricultural products, marine products, or livestock products. Examples of fresh foods include fruits and vegetables, fresh flowers, seafood, and meat. Examples of agricultural products include grains, vegetables, fruits, tea, flowering plants, mushrooms, and mycelia. However, the products 12 and 14 are not limited to fresh foods, agricultural products, marine products, or livestock products.

In the transaction of the product 12 and the product 14, the producer 20 produces the product 12 and the product 14. The producer 20 transfers the produced products 12 and 14 to the consumer 40 with or without charge. Producer 20 may transfer products 12 and 14 to consumers 40 through one or more distributors 30 . In this case, for example, the producer 20 first transfers the products 12 and 14 to the distributor 30, with or without charge. Next, the distributor 30 transfers the products 12 and 14 to the consumer 40, with or without charge.

In this embodiment, the producer 20 performs various operations to produce the products 12 and 14. Producer 20 may be a natural person or an organization. An organization may or may not have legal personality. Producer 20 may access management server 110 using communication terminal 22 . For example, the producer 20 uses the communication terminal 22 to transmit information indicating records of various operations related to the products 12 and 14 to the management server 110. The producer 20 may use the production robot 120 to produce the products 12 and 14.

In this embodiment, the distributor 30 mediates transactions between the producer 20 and the consumer 40. Examples of the distributor 30 include a transport company, a warehouse company, a wholesaler, a retailer, and the like. A producer group composed of a plurality of producers 20 may function not only as producers 20 but also as distributors 30. Examples of producer organizations include collection and shipping organizations and cooperatives.

In this embodiment, the consumer 40 receives the products 12 and 14 from the producer 20 or the distributor 30 for a fee or for free. Consumer 40 uses or consumes product 12 and product 14. Consumer 40 may inspect or evaluate products 12 and 14 before using or consuming products 12 and 14. Consumer 40 may inspect or evaluate product 12 and product 14 after using or consuming product 12 and product 14 .

(Overview of information processing in transaction management system 100)
An example of information processing in the transaction management system 100 is based on a case where a consumer 44, which is an example of the consumer 40, purchases the product 12, and then a consumer 46, which is another example of the consumer 40, purchases the product 14. is explained. In this embodiment, the transaction management system 100 collects various data during the transaction process of the product 12. Transaction management system 100 may perform processing to support the collection of the data described above.

Various data collected in the transaction of the product 12 is used in the transaction of the product 14. In one embodiment, the transaction management system 100 transmits data regarding the evaluation of the product 12 or the producer 20 (sometimes simply referred to as evaluation information regarding the product 12) collected in the transaction of the product 12 to the product 14. Processing is performed to present the product to the consumer 46 who is considering purchasing the product. In other embodiments, the transaction management system 100 performs processing to determine the selling point of the product 14 based on the characteristics of the product 14 that is the subject of a current or future transaction and the evaluation of the product 12. . Further, the transaction management system 100 executes processing for notifying the sales promotion information of the product 14 to the consumer 46 who is likely to be interested in the sales points of the product 14.

Evaluation information regarding a product (sometimes simply referred to as product evaluation information) may be information indicating the type and quality of the product. For example, the product evaluation information includes information indicating the type of the product and information indicating the evaluation of the product. The product evaluation information may be information in which the type of the product is associated with the evaluation of the product. The type of product may be identified by the item of the product. The product item may be the name of the product type. The evaluation of the product may be an evaluation of the quality of the product. The quality of a product is determined, for example, based on various characteristics regarding the product. According to this embodiment, since the transaction management system 100 acquires evaluation information regarding the product 12 at multiple points in the transaction process of the product 12, the quality of the product 12 at the time of production or shipping can be evaluated more accurately.

The producer 20 may be evaluated based on the evaluation regarding the product 12, or may be evaluated based on the evaluation regarding the producer 20. In this embodiment, for the purpose of simplifying the explanation, details of information processing in the transaction management system 100 will be explained using a case where the consumer 44 evaluates the product 12 as an example.

In this embodiment, the transaction management system 100 acquires evaluation information regarding the product 12 at multiple points in time during the transaction process of the product 12. For example, the transaction management system 100 stores evaluation information regarding the product 12 at the time of inspection or evaluation of the product 12, at the time of production or shipping of the product 12, and at a specific point in the distribution process of the product 12. get.

In particular, fresh foods, agricultural products, marine products, livestock products, and the like are more likely to deteriorate in quality than, for example, industrial products. Therefore, the quality may deteriorate after the product is shipped by the producer 20 until it reaches the consumer 40 (sometimes referred to as the distribution process).

(Summary of evaluation information)
The evaluation information regarding the product 12 includes (i) data indicating subjective evaluation results based on the results of sensory tests of the product 12 by the producer 20, the distributor 30, or the consumer 40, and (ii) data indicating the subjective evaluation results of the product 12 by various sensors. Examples include data showing objective evaluation results based on measurement results, etc. The above-mentioned sensors include (i) a sensor placed on at least one of the one or more production robots 120, (ii) a sensor placed on the production site, and (iii) a sensor placed on at least a portion of the one or more distributors 30. Examples include a sensor placed in the fruit sorting system 140 or distribution system to be used, and (iv) a sensor placed in the communication terminal 22, communication terminal 32, or communication terminal 42.

Examples of the above-mentioned sensors include (i) a measuring device for measuring the characteristics of the product 12, and (ii) a measuring device for measuring the state of the surrounding environment of the product 12. Examples of the surrounding environment of the product 12 include the production environment of the product 12 and the distribution environment of the product 12. When the products 12 and 14 are fresh foods, agricultural products, marine products, or livestock products, examples of the production environment of the products 12 include a growing place, a hunting ground, and the like. When the product 12 is an agricultural product, examples of the production environment for the product 12 include a field, a culture medium, and the like. When the product 12 is a livestock product, examples of the production environment for the product 12 include a ranch, a livestock barn, and the like. When the product 12 is a marine product, examples of the production environment for the product 12 include a fish farm, a fishing ground, and the like.

The above sensor may be a simple measurement kit for various physical properties. Examples of simple measurement kits include materials that change color depending on various physical properties. Examples of the above-mentioned physical properties include temperature and humidity.

For example, a material that changes color depending on temperature (sometimes referred to as a temperature indicator) can be used as a simple temperature measurement kit. Examples of the form of the temperature indicating material include labels, stickers, and tapes. The simple temperature measurement kit may be an irreversible temperature indicator. Irreversible temperature indicating materials change color when a certain temperature is reached, and once the color changes, it does not return to its original color. Thereby, for example, the maximum value or minimum value of the temperature during delivery can be easily measured.

The characteristics of the product 12 include (i) at least one of the external shape, pattern, color, and gloss of the product 12, (ii) at least one of the size and mass of the product 12, and (iii) the hardness and elasticity of the product 12. (iv) the amount of at least one of radiation and aroma components emitted from the product 12; and (v) the content of a specific component contained in the product 12. Examples of specific components include hydrogen ions, moisture, nutritional components, and functional components. Examples of nutritional components or functional components include sugars, proteins, lipids, dietary fibers, glutamic acid, sodium ions, potassium ions, calcium ions, magnesium ions, nitrate ions, phosphate ions, vitamins, and amino acids. Examples of the above-mentioned various sensors include an image sensor, a three-dimensional scanner, a hardness meter, a dosimeter, an odor sensor, a pH meter, a moisture meter, a sugar meter, a taste sensor, and the like.

The conditions of the environment surrounding the product 12 (sometimes referred to as the production environment) during the production process of the product 12 include (i) the temperature, illuminance, and/or pressure of the environment surrounding the product 12; (ii) the state of the environment surrounding the product 12; and (iii) the type and/or amount of materials and/or energy input in the production process. Examples of the above-mentioned specific components include water, hydrogen ions, nutrients required for the growth of the product 12, and the like. When the product 12 is an agricultural product, examples of nutrients required for the growth of the product 12 include nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and potassium. Examples of the above-mentioned various sensors include a thermometer, an illuminance meter, a pressure meter, a hygrometer, a pH meter, a nitrogen concentration meter, a phosphoric acid concentration meter, a potassium concentration meter, and the like.

The conditions of the environment surrounding the product 12 (sometimes referred to as the distribution environment) during the distribution process of the product 12 include (i) the temperature, illuminance, and/or pressure of the environment surrounding the product 12; (ii) the state of the environment surrounding the product 12; At least one selected from the group consisting of (iii) acceleration (for example, shock, vibration, etc.) applied to the product 12 during the distribution process is exemplified. Examples of the above-mentioned specific components include one or more substances selected from the group consisting of water, oxygen, carbon dioxide, and ethylene. Examples of the various sensors mentioned above include a thermometer, illumination meter, pressure meter, hygrometer, pH meter, oxygen concentration meter, carbon dioxide concentration meter, ethylene concentration meter, and accelerometer.

Evaluation information regarding the product 12 is transmitted to the management server 110 from, for example, the communication terminal 22 used by the producer 20 or various sensors (for example, the imaging unit 134 or the sensor unit 136) disposed on the production robot 120. Sent. Evaluation information regarding the product 12 is transmitted to the management server 110, for example, from various sensors arranged in a fruit sorting system 140 or a distribution system used by at least a portion of one or more distributors 30. Evaluation information regarding the product 12 is transmitted to the management server 110 from a communication terminal 32 used by the distributor 30, for example. Evaluation information regarding the product 12 is transmitted to the management server 110 from the communication terminal 42 used by the consumer 40, for example.

(Structure of evaluation information)
In this embodiment, the transaction management system 100 stores basic information about each product and evaluation information about each product in association with each other. Examples of the basic information of each product include identification information of each product, information indicating the type of each product, information indicating the producer of each product, and information indicating the production date or shipping date of each product. In this embodiment, the evaluation information for each product includes information indicating the evaluation for each of a plurality of items (sometimes referred to as evaluation items) regarding each product. For example, the evaluation information for each product is configured to be able to store evaluations for each of P evaluation items (P is an integer of 2 or more).

In this embodiment, P evaluation items (P is an integer of 2 or more) are classified into a plurality of categories (sometimes referred to as evaluation categories). The above categories include (i) size or mass categories, (ii) appearance categories, (iii) taste categories, (iv) texture related categories, (v) contained ingredient categories, and (vi) freshness. (vii) classification regarding ease of use or consumption; (viii) classification regarding production process; (ix) classification regarding environmental load; (x) classification regarding regional contribution; and (xi) classification regarding price. .

The classification regarding size or mass includes, for example, evaluation items regarding size, evaluation items regarding mass, and the like. The categories related to appearance include, for example, evaluation items related to shape, evaluation items related to the presence or absence of scratches, evaluation items related to color and luster, evaluation items related to cleanliness, and the like. The taste-related categories include, for example, sweetness-related evaluation items, salty-related evaluation items, sourness-related evaluation items, bitterness-related evaluation items, umami-related evaluation items, deliciousness-related evaluation items, and the like. The classification regarding texture includes, for example, evaluation items regarding hardness, evaluation items regarding crispness, evaluation items regarding moisture content, and the like. The classification regarding contained components includes, for example, evaluation items regarding the content of nutritional components, evaluation items regarding the content of aroma components, evaluation items regarding the content of functional components, and the like.

The categories related to freshness include, for example, evaluation items related to the number of days that have passed since the production date or the shipping date. The classification regarding ease of use or consumption includes, for example, evaluation items regarding ease of cooking. Categories related to production processes include, for example, evaluation items regarding whether or not chemical fertilizers are used and/or how they are used, evaluation items regarding whether or not pesticides are used and/or how they are used, and evaluations regarding whether or not organic cultivation or pesticide-free cultivation is certified. Contains items, etc.

Classification regarding environmental impact includes, for example, whether or not at least one of chemical fertilizers and chemical pesticides is used, evaluation items regarding the type and/or amount of at least one of chemical fertilizers and chemical pesticides used in the cultivation process, and carbon dioxide emissions. This includes evaluation items related to quantity and how to dispose of agricultural materials. The classification related to regional contribution includes, for example, evaluation items related to guidance or training for new farmers or producers with little experience, evaluation items related to contribution to local food culture, etc. Classifications related to price include, for example, evaluation items related to cost performance, evaluation items related to relative price of similar products, and the like.

(Summary of each part of transaction management system 100)
In this embodiment, the communication terminal 22, the communication terminal 32, and the communication terminal 42 are used by the producer 20, the distributor 30, and the consumer 40, respectively. Each of the communication terminals 22, 32, and 42 sends and receives information to and from the management server 110 via a communication network (not shown).

Examples of the communication terminal 22, the communication terminal 32, and the communication terminal 42 include a personal computer, a mobile terminal, and the like. Examples of mobile terminals include mobile phones, smart phones, PDAs, tablets, notebook computers or laptop computers, wearable computers, and the like.

Communication terminal 22 , communication terminal 32 , and communication terminal 42 may function as a user interface when producer 20 , distributor 30 , or consumer 40 accesses transaction management system 100 . The producer 20 may use the communication terminal 22 to transmit information indicating various measurement results regarding the state of the production environment described above to the management server 110. The producer 20 may use the communication terminal 22 to transmit evaluation information regarding the products 12 and 14 to the management server 110. The distributor 30 may use the communication terminal 32 to transmit information indicating various measurement results regarding the state of the distribution environment described above to the management server 110. The distributor 30 may use the communication terminal 32 to transmit evaluation information regarding the products 12 and 14 to the management server 110. The consumer 40 may use the communication terminal 42 to transmit evaluation information regarding the products 12 and 14 to the management server 110. The consumer 40 may use the communication terminal 42 to obtain various information including evaluation information regarding the products 12 and 14 from the management server 110.

Note that the above communication network may be a transmission path for wired communication, a transmission path for wireless communication, or a combination of a transmission path for wireless communication and a transmission path for wired communication. Communication networks may include wireless packet communication networks, the Internet, P2P networks, leased lines, VPNs, power line communication lines, and the like. The communication network may include (i) a mobile communication network such as a cellular phone network; (ii) a wireless MAN (e.g., WiMAX®); a wireless LAN (e.g., WiFi®); ), Bluetooth (registered trademark), Zigbee (registered trademark), NFC (Near Field Communication), and other wireless communication networks. Wireless LAN, Bluetooth (registered trademark), Zigbee (registered trademark), and NFC may be examples of short-range wireless communication.

In this embodiment, the management server 110 manages transactions of various products. The management server 110 also manages distribution of various products.

In this embodiment, the transaction management unit 112 manages transactions of various products. For example, the transaction management unit 112 collects various data during the transaction process of the product 12. The transaction management unit 112 may execute processing to support the collection of the above data. For example, the transaction management unit 112 supports or mediates the transaction of the product 14 using various data collected in the transaction of the product 12. The transaction management unit 112 may determine the evaluation for the product 14 based on the evaluation for one or more products 12. The transaction management unit 112 may transmit information indicating the evaluation of the product 14 to the communication terminal 42 used by the consumer 40 who is considering purchasing the product 14. The transaction management unit 112 may transmit information indicating the evaluation of the product 14 to the communication terminal 42 used by the consumer 40 that matches the characteristics of the product 14. Details of the transaction management section 112 will be described later.

In this embodiment, the distribution management unit 114 manages distribution of one or more products. The distribution management unit 114 manages, for example, the state of each of one or more products during at least part of the distribution process of the product.

In one embodiment, the distribution management unit 114 acquires information (sometimes referred to as distribution status information) indicating the state of the product 12 during at least part of the distribution process of the product 12. Examples of the distribution status information include information indicating the characteristics of the product 12 during the distribution process, information indicating the state of the distribution environment of the product 12, and the like.

The distribution management unit 114 may acquire, from the fruit sorting system 140, information indicating the measurement results of the products 12 by various sensors arranged in the fruit sorting system 140. For example, the distribution management unit 114 may control a control device (not shown) that controls the fruit sorting system 140 to measure a mass meter and/or a sugar content meter disposed in a fruit sorting machine constituting the fruit sorting system 140. Get information showing the results. The distribution management unit 114 receives image data of an image of the product 12 captured by a camera installed in a fruit sorting machine that constitutes the fruit sorting system 140 from a control device (not shown) that controls the fruit sorting system 140. You may obtain it.

The distribution management unit 114 may acquire from the distribution system 160 information indicating the measurement results of the product 12 by various sensors arranged in the distribution system 160. For example, the distribution management unit 114 acquires information indicating the measurement results of acceleration sensors arranged on trucks that constitute the distribution system 160 from a control device (not shown) that controls the distribution system 160. The distribution management unit 114 acquires image data of an image of the product 12 captured by a camera disposed in a warehouse management system that constitutes the distribution system 160 from a control device (not shown) that controls the distribution system 160. It's okay.

In another embodiment, the distribution management unit 114 manages a period (sometimes referred to as a distribution period) between the production date or shipping date of the product 12 and the inspection date or evaluation date of the product 12 by the consumer 40. ) (sometimes referred to as distribution period information) is acquired. For example, the distribution management unit 114 acquires information (sometimes referred to as production information) indicating the production date or shipping date of the product 12. The distribution management section 114 may acquire production information from the communication terminal 22 or the production robot 120. The distribution management unit 114 also acquires information (sometimes referred to as inspection information) indicating the date of inspection or evaluation of the product 12 by the consumer 44. The distribution management section 114 may acquire inspection information from the communication terminal 42 . The distribution management unit 114 may determine the length of the distribution period based on the inspection date or evaluation date of the product 12 indicated by the inspection information and the production date or shipping date of the product 12 indicated by the production information. Thereby, the distribution management unit 114 can acquire distribution period information.

The distribution management unit 114 may store identification information for identifying each of one or more products in association with at least one of distribution status information and distribution period information of each product. For example, in response to a request from the transaction management section 112, the distribution management section 114 extracts distribution status information and/or distribution period information regarding the product that matches the request, and transmits the extracted information to the transaction management section 112. do.

In this embodiment, the production robot 120 produces products 12 and 14. The production robot 120 may have an autonomous movement function. The production robot 120 may have a communication function. For example, the production robot 120 sends and receives information to and from the management server 110 via a communication network. The production robot 120 may transmit information indicating records of various operations related to the products 12 and 14 to the management server 110 via the communication network. The production robot 120 may transmit information indicating various measurement results regarding the state of the production environment described above to the management server 110 via the communication network. Details of the production robot 120 and its parts will be described later.

In this embodiment, the fruit sorting system 140 sorts the products 12 and 14. For example, if the products 12 and 14 are agricultural products, the fruit sorting system 140 sorts the products 12 and 14 according to quality, size, mass, and the like. The fruit sorting system 140 includes various sensors for measuring the quality, size, mass, etc. of the products 12 and 14. The above-mentioned sensor may include an image sensor that captures an image of the appearance of the product 12 and the product 14. The fruit sorting system 140 may transmit information indicating measurement results by various sensors to the management server 110 via a communication network.

In this embodiment, the distribution system 160 stores and transports the products 12 and 14. The logistics system 160 includes various sensors that measure at least one of the states of the products 12 and 14 and the state of the surrounding environment of the products 12 and 14 while the products 12 and 14 are being stored and transported. The above-mentioned sensor may include an image sensor that captures an image of the appearance of the product 12 and the product 14. The logistics system 160 may transmit information indicating measurement results by various sensors to the management server 110 via a communication network.

In this embodiment, the sales support server 180 supports the sales of the product 12 or the product 14 by the supplier of the product 12 or the product 14. Examples of suppliers of the product 12 or the product 14 include the producer 20, the distributor 30, and the like. Details of the sales support server 180 will be described later.

(Specific configuration of each part of transaction management system 100)
Each part of the transaction management system 100 may be realized by hardware, may be realized by software, or may be realized by both hardware and software. At least a portion of each part of the transaction management system 100 may be realized by a single server or by a plurality of servers. At least a portion of each part of the transaction management system 100 may be realized on a virtual machine or a cloud system. At least a portion of each part of the transaction management system 100 may be realized by a personal computer or a mobile terminal. Examples of the mobile terminal include a mobile phone, a smartphone, a PDA, a tablet, a notebook or laptop computer, a wearable computer, and the like. Each part of transaction management system 100 may utilize distributed ledger technology such as blockchain or a distributed network to store information.

When at least some of the components constituting the transaction management system 100 are realized by software, the components realized by the software prescribe the operations related to the components in an information processing device with a general configuration. This may be realized by activating the software or program. The information processing device with the above general configuration includes (i) a data processing device having a processor such as a CPU or GPU, a ROM, a RAM, a communication interface, etc., and (ii) a keyboard, pointing device, touch panel, camera, and voice input. (iii) output devices such as display devices, audio output devices, vibration devices, and (iv) storage devices (external) such as memory, HDD, and SSD. (including a storage device).

In the information processing device having the general configuration described above, the data processing device or storage device may store the software or program described above. The above-mentioned software or program is executed by a processor, thereby causing the above-mentioned information processing device to execute the operation specified by the software or program. The above software or program may be stored on a non-transitory computer-readable recording medium. The above software or program may be a program for causing a computer to function as the transaction management system 100 or a part thereof. The above software or program may be a program for causing a computer to execute information processing in transaction management system 100 or a part thereof.

In one embodiment, the above information processing may be a management method for managing evaluations of articles. The above management method includes, for example, an evaluation information acquisition step of acquiring evaluation information indicating an evaluation result for at least one of P items (P is an integer of 2 or more) regarding the article. The above management method includes, for example, a viewer information acquisition step of acquiring viewer information indicating behavioral characteristics, interests, or preferences of a viewer who views evaluations of an item. For example, the above management method is based on the viewer information acquired in the viewer information acquisition stage, and Q items (Q is a positive integer less than or equal to P) are presented to the viewer from among P items. ). The operating entity at each stage of the above management method may be a computer.

In other embodiments, the above information processing may be a management method for managing evaluations of articles. The above management method includes, for example, an evaluation information acquisition step of acquiring evaluation information indicating the result of evaluation for at least one of P items (P is an integer of 2 or more) regarding the article. The above management method includes, for example, a second item evaluation step of calculating evaluation values for each of the P items based on one or more pieces of evaluation information regarding the article acquired in the evaluation information acquisition step. In the above management method, for example, based on the evaluation value for each of the P items calculated in the second item evaluation stage, Q items (Q is a positive integer less than or equal to P). The above management method, for example, refers to a recipient information storage device that stores one or more recipient information indicating the behavioral characteristics, interests, or preferences of one or more recipients who can receive information about the item. The second item determining step includes a recipient extracting step of extracting recipients who have behavioral characteristics, interests, or preferences related to the Q items determined in the second item determining step. The above management method includes, for example, a generation step of determining the evaluation of the article using Q items and generating information about the article including information indicating the evaluation of the article. The above management method includes, for example, a transmission step of transmitting information regarding the article to the communication terminal of the recipient extracted in the recipient extraction step. The operating entity at each stage of the above management method may be a computer.

In yet another embodiment, the above information processing may be a management method for managing evaluations of articles. The above management method, for example, supports the input of evaluation results of the first product by the consumer into the communication terminal of the consumer who received the first product, used or consumed the first product that was traded in the past. and a step of transmitting input assistance data for input assistance. The above management method includes, for example, a support data generation step of generating input support data. The above management method includes, for example, (i) distribution status information indicating the state of the first article in at least a part of the distribution process of the first article; and (ii) the point of production or shipping of the first article and the demand for the first article. The method includes a distribution information acquisition step of acquiring at least one of distribution period information indicating the length of the period between the time of inspection or the time of evaluation of the first article by the person. In the above-mentioned management method, for example, the support data generation unit may be configured to determine whether a consumer has received a The method includes determining the type of one or more evaluation items for evaluating the article. The operating entity at each stage of the above management method may be a computer.

In yet another embodiment, the above information processing may be a management method for managing evaluations of articles. The above-mentioned management method includes, for example, an evaluation storage step of storing evaluation information indicating evaluation of the article. The above management method includes, for example, obtaining first evaluation information indicating the evaluation results for the first product by a consumer who has received the first product traded in the past, or who has used or consumed the first product. 1 evaluation information acquisition stage. The above management method includes, for example, (i) distribution status information indicating the state of the first article in at least a part of the distribution process of the first article; and (ii) the point of production or shipping of the first article and the demand for the first article. The method includes a distribution information acquisition step of acquiring at least one of distribution period information indicating the length of the period between the time of inspection or the time of evaluation of the first article by the person. In the above management method, in the first evaluation information acquisition step, for example, (a) at least one of the condition of the first article indicated by the distribution state information and the length of the period indicated by the distribution period information is determined in advance; The method includes the step of determining to store the first evaluation information in the evaluation storage unit if the condition is met. In the above management method, in the first evaluation information acquisition step, for example, (b) at least one of the condition of the first article indicated by the distribution state information and the length of the period indicated by the distribution period information is determined in advance. If the conditions are not met, (i) at least a part of the evaluation result indicated by the first evaluation information is not stored in the evaluation storage device, (ii) at least a part of the evaluation result indicated by the first evaluation information is corrected. or (iii) the first evaluation information and information indicating that at least a part of the evaluation result indicated by the first evaluation information may not be valid are stored in the evaluation storage device in association with each other. Including the step of deciding. The operating entity at each stage of the above management method may be a computer.

In yet another embodiment, the above information processing may be an information generation method for generating information used for advertising or sales promotion of products. The above-mentioned information generation method includes, for example, an evaluation information acquisition step of acquiring evaluation information indicating the result of evaluation of the product by the supplier of the product for each of one or more evaluation items. The above information generation method includes, for example, an evaluation item determination step of determining an evaluation item to be used for advertising or sales promotion among one or more evaluation items based on the evaluation information acquired in the evaluation information acquisition step. The above information generation method includes, for example, an evaluation item determination step with reference to a first wording storage device that stores each of one or more evaluation items in association with one or more wordings used for advertising or sales promotion. The method includes a word extraction step of extracting at least one word associated with the evaluation item determined in step. The operating entity at each stage of the above management method may be a computer.

In yet another embodiment, the above information processing may be a determination method for determining specifications for comparison. In the above determination method, the comparison control is, for example, delivered together with packaging materials for packaging the article, and is used to determine the condition of the article. The above determination method includes, for example, a specification determination step of determining the specifications of each of one or more comparison targets. In the above determination method, the specification determination stage includes, for example, (i) the type of goods, (ii) the distance to which the goods will be delivered, (iii) the time required to deliver the goods, (iv) the weather at the delivery destination of the goods, (v) Attributes of the sender of the goods, (vi) Attributes of the recipient of the goods, (vii) Attributes of the shipper of the goods, and (viii) At least one of the pattern and color of the surface of the packaging material, and determining the specifications of each of the one or more comparators based on the combination of.

The time required to deliver the article may be a typical value of the time or may be a predicted value. The weather at the delivery destination of the article may be typical weather at the time of delivery or may be a predicted value.

The product 12 may be an example of an article or a first article. The product 14 may be an example of an article or a second article. The second article may be of the same or similar type as the first article, or may be an article supplied by the same supplier as the first article. Producer 20 may be an example of a supplier. Some of the distributors 30 may be an example of suppliers. Some of the distributors 30 may be examples of consumers, viewers, or recipients. Consumer 40 may be an example of a consumer, viewer, or recipient. Consumer 44 may be an example of a consumer. Consumer 46 may be an example of a viewer or recipient.

Transaction management system 100 may be an example of a management device. Management server 110 may be an example of a management device. Transaction management section 112 may be an example of a management device. The distribution management section 114 may be an example of a distribution information acquisition section, a production information acquisition section, or an inspection information acquisition section. The date of production may be an example of the point in time of production. The shipping date may be an example of the shipping point. The inspection date may be an example of the time of inspection. The evaluation date may be an example of the evaluation time point. Inspection information and production information may be examples of distribution period information.

Transaction management system 100 may be an example of an information generating device or a determining device. Sales support server 180 may be an example of an information generation device or a determination device. A supplier of product 12 or product 14 may be an example of a shipper of the product. Producer 20 may be an example of a shipper of goods. Distributor 30 may be an example of a sender of goods or a recipient of goods. Consumer 40 may be an example of a recipient of the item. The owner or operator of logistics system 160 may be an example of a shipper of goods.

(An example of another embodiment)
In this embodiment, the transaction management system 100 acquires information indicating various measurement results regarding the state of the production environment of the product 12 and/or the product 14 from the production robot 120 as an example. An example was explained. However, the transaction management system 100 is not limited to this embodiment. In another embodiment, the transaction management system 100 acquires information indicating the measurement results of the above-described fixed sensors placed in the production environment.

In the present embodiment, an example of the transaction management system 100 has been described using a case where the producer 20 ships a product and the consumer 40 receives the product. In this case, a distributor 30, a fruit sorting system 140, and a distribution system 160 intervene in the distribution process. However, the usage environment of the transaction management system 100 is not limited to this embodiment. As described above, examples of the distributor 30 include a manufacturer's organization, a transportation company, a warehouse company, a wholesaler, a retailer, and the like. In other embodiments, transaction management system 100 may be utilized, for example, where a manufacturer's organization ships merchandise and a wholesaler or retailer receives merchandise. In this case, the producer group may use the fruit sorting system 140 to transmit various information regarding products to be shipped to the management server 110. Note that the organization that ships the product may have the same configuration as the producer 20. A wholesaler or retailer receiving goods may have a similar configuration as consumer 40.

FIG. 2 schematically shows an example of the internal configuration of the production robot 120. As described in connection with FIG. 1, in this embodiment, the production robot 120 includes a base unit 130, a movement unit 132, an imaging unit 134, a sensor unit 136, and a work unit 138. As shown in FIG. 2, in this embodiment, the production robot 120 further includes a control unit 220, one or more power supply units 230, one or more vibration damping units 250, and one or more balance adjustment units 280. .

In this embodiment, the production robot 120 may be a work machine that performs any work. The production robot 120 performs various agricultural work, monitoring work, etc., for example. Production robot 120 may be fixed or mobile. The production robot 120 may have an autonomous traveling function or an autonomous navigation function, and may be operated by remote control, or may be operated by a worker who gets on the production robot 120. It is preferable that the production robot 120 is an unmanned working machine having an autonomous running function or an autonomous navigation function.

Production robot 120 may be a small robot. For example, the volume of each production robot 120 may be 2 m ³ or less, 1 m ³ or less, 0.5 m ³ or less, or 0.25 m ³ or less. This allows the production robot 120 to freely move around the production site. As a result, for example, the production robot 120 can observe the product being produced even from angles that are difficult for humans to observe.

In this embodiment, the base unit 130 holds a moving unit 132, an imaging unit 134, a sensor unit 136, a working unit 138, a control unit 220, a power supply unit 230, a vibration damping unit 250, and a balance adjustment unit 280. In this embodiment, the base unit 130 detachably holds at least one of the moving unit 132, the imaging unit 134, the sensor unit 136, the working unit 138, the vibration damping unit 250, and the balance adjustment unit 280. This allows the production robot 120 to handle multiple different types of work.

In this embodiment, the base unit 130 includes a control unit 220 and a power supply unit 230. The control unit 220 and the power supply unit 230 may be built into the base unit 130. At least one of the control unit 220 and the power supply unit 230 may be removably disposed on the base unit 130. In one embodiment, at least one of the control unit 220 and the power supply unit 230 is removably disposed inside the base unit 130. In other embodiments, at least one of the control unit 220 and the power supply unit 230 is removably disposed outside the base unit 130.

In this embodiment, the moving unit 132 moves the production robot 120. The motive power of the mobile unit 132 may be electric power, an internal combustion engine, or a steam engine. For example, the movement unit 132 converts the electric power supplied from the power supply unit 230 into motive power to move the production robot 120. In this embodiment, the mobile unit 132 may include a built-in power source that generates power using electric power supplied from the power supply unit 230. Examples of the power source include a motor, an actuator, and the like.

In one embodiment, mobile unit 132 includes wheels for moving on land and a power source to drive the wheels. In other embodiments, the mobile unit 132 includes a track for moving on land and a power source to drive the track. In yet other embodiments, the movement unit 132 may include a screw for movement on or under water and a power source to drive the screw. The moving unit 132 may further include a buoyancy material for obtaining buoyancy. In yet other embodiments, mobile unit 132 may include a propeller for moving in the air and a power source to drive the propeller. Mobile unit 132 may further include a balloon or air bladder for floating in the air.

In this embodiment, the imaging unit 134 images various subjects. For example, the imaging unit 134 captures at least one of (i) the product 12 and/or the product 14, (iv) the surrounding environment of the product 12 and/or the product 14, (iii) the producer 20, and (iv) the production robot 120. image one. An example of the surrounding environment of the product 12 and/or product 14 is inside or around a production site. When the product 12 and/or the product 14 is an agricultural product, the imaging unit 134 images the soil or medium where the product 12 and/or the product 14 is grown as the surrounding environment of the product 12 and/or the product 14. It's fine.

In one embodiment, the imaging unit 134 is removably disposed outside the base unit 130. In other embodiments, imaging unit 134 is located in another unit. For example, imaging unit 134 is incorporated into work unit 138. Imaging unit 134 may be incorporated into control unit 220.

The imaging unit 134 may be arranged at the front of the base unit 130 in the direction of travel, or may be arranged at the rear of the base unit 130 in the direction of travel. The imaging unit 134 may be placed on the side of the production robot 120. The imaging unit 134 may be arranged on the upper surface of the base unit 130 or may be arranged on the lower surface of the base unit 130. The imaging unit 134 may include an illumination section that emits illumination light. An example of the illumination unit is a light.

In this embodiment, the imaging unit 134 captures at least one of a still image and a moving image. The imaging unit 134 is preferably capable of capturing moving images. The imaging unit 134 may be a visible light camera or an infrared camera. The imaging unit 134 may include a manipulator and an imaging device attached to the tip of the manipulator. The manipulator can direct the imaging device in any direction using the power supplied from the power supply unit 230.

The data of the image captured by the imaging unit 134 may be stored in the storage device of the production robot 120 or may be transmitted to the management server 110. The production robot 120 may analyze the data of the image captured by the imaging unit 134 and transmit the analysis result to the management server 110.

In this embodiment, the sensor unit 136 measures various physical quantities. For example, the sensor unit 136 measures at least one of a physical quantity related to the producer 20, a physical quantity related to the production robot 120, a physical quantity related to the product 12 and/or the product 14, and a physical quantity related to the surrounding environment of the product 12 and/or the product 14. . Thereby, information regarding the growing environment of the product 12 and/or the product 14 can be acquired.

Examples of physical quantities related to the product 12 and/or product 14 include color, gloss, shape, pattern, size, weight or mass, composition, content of specific components, hardness, elasticity, etc. of each product. Examples of physical quantities related to the surrounding environment of the product 12 and/or product 14 include information related to the culture medium, information related to the atmosphere, information related to the intensity of light, and the like. Examples of information regarding the medium include pH, temperature, moisture content, particle size distribution, hardness, and components contained in the medium, bacteria and viruses. Examples of components contained in the medium include organic matter (carbon), nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, calcium, sulfur, iron, manganese, boron, zinc, molybdenum, copper, and chlorine. Examples of information regarding the atmosphere include temperature, atmospheric pressure, humidity, carbon dioxide concentration, nitrogen concentration, oxygen concentration, ethylene concentration, wind direction, and air volume.

In one embodiment, the sensor unit 136 is removably disposed outside the base unit 130. In other embodiments, sensor unit 136 is located in another unit. For example, sensor unit 136 is incorporated into work unit 138. Sensor unit 136 may be integrated into control unit 220.

The measurement results of the sensor unit 136 may be stored in the storage device of the production robot 120 or may be transmitted to the management server 110. The production robot 120 may analyze the measurement results of the sensor unit 136 and send the analysis results to the management server 110.

In this embodiment, the work unit 138 may be an attachment specialized for a particular work. According to this embodiment, a work unit 138 depending on the application is attached to the base unit 130. This allows the production robot 120 to perform multiple different types of work.

When the products 12 and 14 are agricultural products, the work unit 138 may be an attachment for agricultural work. In this embodiment, the work unit 138 may be a unit specialized in one or more agricultural operations. The work unit 138 includes a chemical spraying device for exterminating pests, a fertilizer dispersing device for spraying fertilizer, a gas dispersing device for distributing gas, a ridge-making device, a seedling dropping device, a seeding device, a tilling device, and a pruning device for removing unnecessary branches and leaves. A manipulator that has a jig for picking agricultural products, a manipulator that has a jig for picking agricultural products, a mowing device (for example, a mowing device for abandoned fields), a watering device, a bird and beast threat device (for example, a voice, Examples include a device that uses light to intimidate birds and animals), a thinning device, a flower thinning device, a fruit tree thinning device, and a bagging device (for example, a bagging device for fruit trees).

In this embodiment, the work unit 138 is detachably held on the base unit 130. The work unit 138 may include a built-in power source that generates power for driving the work unit 138 using electric power supplied from the power supply unit 230. Examples of the power source include a motor, an actuator, and the like.

In this embodiment, the work unit 138 includes an information processing device that executes the firmware 294 and controls the work unit 138. The above information processing device may be a processor such as a CPU or a GPU. The above information processing device includes (i) a data processing device having a processor such as a CPU or GPU, a ROM, a RAM, a communication interface, etc., and (ii) a keyboard, a pointing device, a touch panel, a camera, a voice input device, and a gesture input device. , various sensors, GPS receivers, and other input devices; (iii) display devices, audio output devices, vibration devices, and other output devices; and (iv) memory, HDD, SSD, and other storage devices (including external storage devices). ).

The latest version of firmware 294 is managed by, for example, the management server 110. Management server 110 transmits the latest version of firmware 294 to work unit 138 or control unit 220, for example, in response to a request from work unit 138 or control unit 220. This allows the work unit 138 or the control unit 220 to update the firmware 294.

In this embodiment, the control unit 220 controls the production robot 120. In one embodiment, control unit 220 communicates with each unit and controls the operation of the unit depending on the type of unit. Control unit 220 may control the operation of one or more units depending on the combination of multiple units.

For example, control unit 220 communicates with at least one of movement unit 132, work unit 138, and balancing unit 280. The communication method may be wired communication or wireless communication. When the communication method between the control unit 220 and other units is wired communication, the base unit 130 uses a communication path (sometimes called a bus) to transmit information between the control unit 220 and the other units. ). The above communication path may be an example of a communication unit.

In other embodiments, the control unit 220 communicates with the management server 110 and sends information regarding the production robot 120 to the management server 110. For example, the control unit 220 acquires position information of the production robot 120 and transmits the position information to the management server 110. According to another example, the control unit 220 associates the position information of the production robot 120 with the information acquired by the sensor unit 136 at the position indicated by the position information, and transmits the associated information to the management server 110.

In this embodiment, the control unit 220 includes an information processing device that executes a control program 222 and controls the production robot 120. The above information processing device may be a processor such as a CPU or a GPU. The above information processing device includes (i) a data processing device having a processor such as a CPU or GPU, a ROM, a RAM, a communication interface, etc., and (ii) a keyboard, a pointing device, a touch panel, a camera, a voice input device, and a gesture input device. , various sensors, GPS receivers, and other input devices; (iii) display devices, audio output devices, vibration devices, and other output devices; and (iv) memory, HDD, SSD, and other storage devices (including external storage devices). ).

In this embodiment, the control program 222 may operate on the OS 224. One or more control programs 222 may run on one or more OSs 224. The OS 224 controls the production robot 120 via one or more drivers 226 for controlling various hardware included in the production robot 120. For example, the OS 224 recognizes a specific unit (eg, mobile unit 132, work unit 138, etc.) and controls the operation of the unit via a specific driver 226. By updating at least one of the control program 222, the OS 224, and the driver 226, for example, the production robot 120 can use a new unit, or the production robot 120 can use the unit efficiently. do.

The latest version of the control program 222, OS 224, and driver 226 are managed by the management server 110, for example. For example, the management server 110 transmits at least one of the latest version of the control program 222, the OS 224, and the driver 226 to the control unit 220 in response to a request from the control unit 220. Thereby, the control unit 220 can update at least one of the control program 222, the OS 224, and the driver 226.

The position information may be information indicating the position of the production robot 120, and the contents and acquisition method of the position information are not particularly limited. The control unit 220 may specify the position of the production robot 120 using any self-position estimation method. Control unit 220 may receive the GPS signal and determine the position of production robot 120 based on the GPS signal. The control unit 220 receives beacon signals from beacon transmitters installed around production sites (for example, farm fields, ranches, livestock barns, aquaculture farms, fishing grounds, and hunting grounds), and performs control based on the beacon signals. , the location of the production robot 120 may be determined. The position of the production robot 120 may be determined based on the radio wave intensity. The control unit 220 analyzes the image of the surroundings of the production robot 120 taken by the imaging unit 134, and identifies the position of the production robot 120 from the angles formed by the production robot 120 and a plurality of landmarks whose positions are known. Good too.

The control unit 220 may acquire information for controlling the production robot 120 from the management server 110. The information for controlling the production robot 120 may be information regarding the work that the production robot 120 is about to perform. The information for controlling the production robot 120 may be control data uploaded to the management server 110 by the know-how provider. The information for controlling the production robot 120 may be data indicating the output result of control data uploaded to the management server 110 by the know-how provider. The control unit 220 may control operations of units related to the information based on the information acquired from the management server 110.

In this embodiment, the power supply unit 230 supplies power to at least one of the movement unit 132, the work unit 138, and the balance adjustment unit 280 to drive the unit. The power supply unit 230 may supply power to at least one of the vibration damping unit 250, the imaging unit 134, and the sensor unit 136.

In this embodiment, the vibration damping unit 250 controls vibration. For example, the vibration damping unit 250 controls vibrations of at least one of the imaging unit 134, the sensor unit 136, and the work unit 138. Vibration damping unit 250 may control vibrations according to instructions from control unit 220. The vibration damping unit 250 may include a power source that generates power for driving the vibration damping unit 250 using electric power supplied from the power supply unit 230. Examples of the power source include a motor, an actuator, and the like.

In this embodiment, the balance adjustment unit 280 has a weight. Balance adjustment unit 280 is detachably held by base unit 130. Depending on the weight of the unit attached to the base unit 130 and the position of its center of gravity, the weight balance of the production robot 120 may become poor, making the production robot 120 unstable. Therefore, by mounting the balance adjustment unit 280 at an appropriate position on the base unit 130, the weight balance of the production robot 120 can be adjusted.

The balance adjustment unit 280 may be a manipulator with a weight at its tip. By changing the relative position between the weight and the base unit 130 by the manipulator, the position of the center of gravity of the production robot 120 can be changed.

FIG. 3 schematically shows an example of information collection processing in the management server 110. As shown in FIG. 3, the transaction management unit 112 of the management server 110 acquires various types of information regarding the evaluation of the product 12 at multiple points in the process of trading the product 12. As mentioned above, examples of the evaluation of the product 12 include (i) a subjective evaluation based on the results of a sensory test of the product 12, and (ii) an objective evaluation based on the measurement results of the product 12 using various sensors. be done.

In this embodiment, the transaction management unit 112 acquires information regarding evaluation in the production process (sometimes referred to as supply-side evaluation information). For example, the transaction management unit 112 acquires information regarding the characteristics of the product 12 during the production process of the product 12 and/or information regarding the production environment of the product 12 as the supply side evaluation information. The transaction management unit 112 may acquire production information indicating the production date or shipping date of the product 12.

In one embodiment, the transaction management unit 112 acquires supplier evaluation information from the communication terminal 22 used by the producer 20. For example, the producer 20 follows the guidance of the evaluation input screen displayed on the display device of the communication terminal 22 and inputs an evaluation for each of the one or more evaluation items displayed on the evaluation input screen. The producer 20 may input a subjective evaluation for each evaluation item regarding the product 12 being produced or the product 12 to be shipped. The producer 20 may operate the communication terminal 22 to transmit information indicating the above evaluation results to the management server 110. Thereby, the transaction management unit 112 can acquire information indicating the evaluation result of the product 12 by the producer 20.

The producer 20 may transmit information regarding the production environment of the product 12 to the management server 110 by operating the communication terminal 22 using the same procedure. Further, the producer 20 may transmit production information to the management server 110 using the same procedure. Note that the method for acquiring the supplier evaluation information and/or production information by the transaction management unit 112 is not limited to this embodiment.

In another embodiment, the transaction management unit 112 acquires supplier evaluation information from the production robot 120 used by the producer 20. For example, the production robot 120 measures various characteristics regarding the product 12 using various sensors arranged on the production robot 120. The production robot 120 may transmit information indicating the measurement results to the management server 110. Thereby, the transaction management unit 112 can acquire information regarding the characteristics of the product 12 during the production process (for example, at the time of production or at the time of shipping).

The production robot 120 may transmit information regarding the production environment of the product 12 to the management server 110 using a similar procedure. Furthermore, the production robot 120 may transmit the production information of the product 12 to the management server 110 using the same procedure. Note that the method for acquiring the supplier evaluation information and/or production information by the transaction management unit 112 is not limited to this embodiment.

In this embodiment, the transaction management unit 112 acquires the above-mentioned distribution status information. For example, the transaction management unit 112 acquires information regarding the characteristics of the product 12 during the distribution process and/or information regarding the distribution environment of the product 12 as the distribution state information.

In one embodiment, the transaction management unit 112 acquires distribution status information from the communication terminal 32 used by the distributor 30. The distributor 30 may input and transmit a subjective evaluation for each evaluation item regarding the product 12 during the distribution process, using the same procedure as that in which the producer 20 inputs and transmits the supplier evaluation information. As described above, in the management server 110, the distribution status information is managed by the distribution management section 114. In this case, the transaction management unit 112 accesses the distribution management unit 114 as necessary to acquire information indicating the evaluation results of the product 12 by the distributor 30 and/or information regarding the distribution environment of the product 12. be able to. Note that the method for acquiring distribution status information by the transaction management unit 112 is not limited to this embodiment.

In another embodiment, the transaction management unit 112 acquires distribution status information from at least one of the fruit sorting system 140 and the distribution system 160. The fruit sorting system 140 and/or the distribution system 160 may acquire and transmit the distribution status information using the same procedure as the procedure in which the production robot 120 acquires and transmits the supplier evaluation information. As described above, in the management server 110, the distribution status information is managed by the distribution management section 114. In this case, the transaction management unit 112 can obtain information regarding the characteristics of the product in the distribution process and/or information regarding the distribution environment of the product 12 by accessing the distribution management unit 114 as necessary. Note that the method for acquiring distribution status information is not limited to this embodiment.

In this embodiment, the transaction management unit 112 acquires information regarding the evaluation by the consumer 44 who received the product 12 (sometimes referred to as demand-side evaluation information). For example, the transaction management unit 112 acquires information regarding the characteristics of the product 12 on the inspection date or evaluation date of the product 12 as the demand-side evaluation information. The transaction management unit 112 may acquire inspection information indicating the inspection date or evaluation date of the product 12.

The inspection date and/or evaluation date may be the same day as the receipt date of the product 12, or may be a day after the receipt date of the product 12. The inspection date may be the date on which the consumer 44 receives the product 12, or may be the date on which the consumer 44 uses or consumes the product 12. The evaluation date may be the date when the consumer 44 uses or consumes the product 12, or the date when the consumer 44 inputs the evaluation regarding the product 12 into the transaction management system 100.

The transaction management unit 112 may acquire supplier evaluation information from the communication terminal 42 used by the consumer 44. For example, the consumer 44 follows the guidance of the evaluation input screen displayed on the display device of the communication terminal 42 and inputs an evaluation for each of the one or more evaluation items displayed on the evaluation input screen. The consumer 44 may input a subjective evaluation for each evaluation item regarding the product 12 to be evaluated. The consumer 44 may operate the communication terminal 42 to transmit information indicating the above evaluation results to the management server 110. Thereby, the transaction management unit 112 can acquire information indicating the evaluation result of the product 12 by the consumer 44. Furthermore, the consumer 44 may transmit inspection information to the management server 110 using the same procedure. Note that the method for acquiring the demand-side evaluation information and/or inspection information by the transaction management unit 112 is not limited to this embodiment.

The transaction management section 112 may output production information and inspection information to the distribution management section 114. The distribution management unit 114 may determine the length of the distribution period based on the inspection date or evaluation date of the product 12 indicated by the inspection information and the production date or shipping date of the product 12 indicated by the production information. The distribution management unit 114 may store distribution period information indicating the length of the distribution period. The transaction management section 112 may access the distribution management section 114 to obtain distribution period information of the product 12.

(An example of another embodiment)
As mentioned above, the transaction management system 100 may also be utilized, for example, when a manufacturer's organization ships merchandise and a wholesaler or retailer receives the merchandise. In this case, the transaction management unit 112 may acquire the supplier evaluation information from the fruit sorting system 140 used by the producer group, for example. Further, the transaction management unit 112 may acquire demand side evaluation information from the communication terminal 32 used by a wholesaler or retailer, for example.

The supplier evaluation information may be an example of evaluation information or second evaluation information. The demand side evaluation information may be an example of evaluation information or first evaluation information.

FIG. 4 schematically shows an example of the internal configuration of the transaction management section 112. In this embodiment, the transaction management section 112 includes a sales management section 420, a customer management section 440, and an evaluation management section 460. In this embodiment, the sales management section 420 includes an EC site management section 422, an input section 424, an order management section 426, and a product management section 428. In this embodiment, the customer management section 440 includes a user information acquisition section 442 and a user information storage section 444. In this embodiment, the evaluation management section 460 includes an evaluation acquisition section 462, an evaluation correction section 464, and an evaluation information storage section 466.

In this embodiment, the sales management section 420 manages sales of one or more products. The sales management department 420 may sell products through various sales channels. Examples of sales channels include stores, mail order, and electronic commerce sites (sometimes referred to as EC sites).

In this embodiment, the EC site management unit 422 manages an electronic commerce site (sometimes referred to as an EC site) for mediating transactions of one or more products. The EC site management unit 422 may manage information regarding images, specifications, prices, etc. of each of one or more products. The EC site management unit 422 may manage screen data of each product explanation screen for one or more products. Details of the EC site management section 422 will be described later.

In this embodiment, the input unit 424 accepts input of orders from sales channels other than the EC site. For example, a mail order operator accepts an order from a person who wishes to purchase a product, and inputs information indicating the contents of the order into the input unit 424 via an input device such as a keyboard, touch panel, or microphone. As a result, the above order input is accepted.

In this embodiment, the order management section 426 manages orders for each of one or more products handled by the sales management section 420. In one embodiment, the order management unit 426 manages orders accepted by the EC site management unit 422. In other embodiments, order management unit 426 manages orders received by input unit 424 .

In this embodiment, the product management unit 428 manages the inventory of one or more products. The product management unit 428 may manage payments for products for which orders have been accepted. The product management unit 428 may manage the shipping of products for which orders have been accepted. The product management unit 428 may manage the delivery of shipped products.

In this embodiment, the customer management unit 440 manages various information regarding users of the transaction management system 100. Examples of users of the transaction management system 100 include producers 20, distributors 30, and consumers 40.

In one embodiment, a producer 20 who produced a previously traded product 12, a distributor 30 who brokered a transaction for the product 12, and/or a consumer 44 who purchased the product 12 utilizes the transaction management system 100. and input the evaluation for product 12. In another embodiment, a consumer 46 considering purchasing product 14 utilizes transaction management system 100 to view a product description screen for product 14 . For example, the consumer 46 views the evaluation of the product 14 included in the product explanation screen and considers purchasing the product 14. In yet other embodiments, consumer 40 who is a potential customer of product 14 receives various notifications from transaction management system 100. For example, the consumer 40 obtains information regarding the product 14 through the above notification. The information regarding the product 14 includes, for example, information regarding the evaluation of the product 14. The consumer 40 considers purchasing the product 14, for example, with reference to the evaluation of the product 14.

In this embodiment, the user information acquisition unit 442 acquires various types of information regarding users of the transaction management system 100. For example, the user information acquisition unit 442 acquires information indicating behavioral characteristics (sometimes referred to as competencies), interests, or preferences (sometimes referred to as user information) of one or more users. . The behavior characteristic indicates, for example, a pattern (sometimes referred to as a behavior pattern) of behavior, thought, attitude, etc. characteristically possessed by each user. The behavioral characteristics may be information indicating what kind of behavior, thought, or attitude each user takes in what situations. The behavior characteristic may be information in which a situation in which the user is placed is associated with the user's behavior, thoughts, or attitude in the situation.

In one embodiment, the user information acquisition unit 442 acquires the usage history of the EC site operated by the EC site management unit 422 as user information after obtaining consent from each user. Examples of the usage history of the EC site include search history, browsing history, and purchase history. In another embodiment, the user information acquisition unit 442 obtains the consent of each user and then retrieves (i) website browsing history and/or (ii) website browsing history recorded in the communication terminal used by each user. Obtain search history of sites or keywords as user information.

Note that the user information may include various types of information other than information indicating each user's behavioral characteristics, interests, or preferences. For example, the user information may include information regarding the location of a place where each user produces products (sometimes referred to as a production site), the region to which the production site belongs, and the like.

The user information acquisition unit 442 may estimate the behavioral characteristics, interests, and/or preferences of each user by analyzing the usage history of the EC site, the browsing history of the website, the search history of websites or keywords, and the like. The user information acquisition unit 442 may acquire information indicating the estimation results of behavioral characteristics, interests, and/or preferences as user information.

In this embodiment, the user information storage unit 444 stores the user information acquired by the user information acquisition unit 442. For example, the user information storage unit 444 stores, for each of one or more users, identification information for identifying the user and user information of the user in association with each other. In response to a request from the sales management section 420 and/or the evaluation management section 460, the user information storage section 444 may extract user information of a user matching the request. The user information storage section 444 may output the extracted user information to the sales management section 420 and/or the evaluation management section 460.

In this embodiment, the evaluation management unit 460 manages evaluations for each of one or more products. The evaluation management unit 460 manages the acquisition of evaluations for each of one or more products. The evaluation management unit 460 manages the use of evaluations for each of one or more products.

In this embodiment, the evaluation acquisition unit 462 manages information regarding evaluations for each of one or more products. In one embodiment, the evaluation acquisition unit 462 acquires information regarding evaluations for each of one or more products. In another embodiment, the evaluation acquisition unit 462 generates various types of information using information regarding evaluations for each of one or more products. Details of the evaluation acquisition unit 462 will be described later.

In this embodiment, the evaluation correction unit 464 corrects the evaluation for each of the one or more products acquired by the evaluation acquisition unit 462. For example, if the condition of the product at the time of production or shipping is significantly different from the condition of the product at the time of inspection or evaluation, the evaluation by the consumer 40 may not accurately represent the condition of the product.

Therefore, in this embodiment, the evaluation correction unit 464 corrects the evaluation by the consumer 40. For example, when the consumer 44 evaluates the product 12 that was traded in the past, the evaluation acquisition unit 462 acquires demand-side evaluation information indicating the consumer's 44 evaluation of the product 12. The evaluation correction unit 464 acquires demand-side evaluation information from the evaluation acquisition unit 462, for example. As described above, the demand-side evaluation information includes information indicating the results of evaluation for one or more evaluation items regarding the product 12.

The evaluation correction unit 464 also acquires distribution status information and distribution period information from the distribution management unit 114. As described above, examples of the distribution status information include information indicating the characteristics of the product 12 during the distribution process, information indicating the state of the distribution environment of the product 12, and the like. The evaluation correction unit 464 may acquire production information and/or inspection information. The evaluation correction unit 464 may calculate the length of the distribution period based on production information and inspection information.

The evaluation correction unit 464 corrects the evaluation result for at least one of the one or more evaluation items (for example, P evaluation items) regarding the product 12 indicated by the demand-side evaluation information acquired by the evaluation acquisition unit 462. . The evaluation correction unit 464 may correct the evaluation result for at least one of the one or more evaluation items regarding the product 12 based on the inspection date or evaluation date of the product 12 indicated by the inspection information. The evaluation correction unit 464 may correct the evaluation result for at least one of the one or more evaluation items regarding the product 12 based on the length of the distribution period.

For example, if at least one of the condition of the product 12 in the distribution process indicated by the above-mentioned distribution state information and the length of the distribution period indicated by the distribution period information does not match a predetermined condition, the evaluation correction unit 464 corrects the evaluation result for at least one of the one or more evaluation items regarding the product 12 indicated by the demand-side evaluation information acquired by the evaluation acquisition unit 462. Examples of the above predetermined conditions include a condition that the condition of the product 12 during the distribution process is worse than a predetermined condition, a condition that the length of the distribution period is greater than a predetermined value, etc. be done.

The evaluation correction unit 464 is configured, for example, to determine the value indicated by (i) at least one of the production area and item of the product 12, (ii) the state of the product 12 during at least a part of the distribution process of the product 12, and (iii) distribution period information. Correct the evaluation result for at least one of the one or more evaluation items regarding the product 12 indicated by the demand-side evaluation information acquired by the evaluation acquisition unit 462 based on at least one selected from the group consisting of length of period. . The evaluation correction unit 464 determines (a) at least one of the production area and item of the product 12, (b) the condition of the product 12 during at least part of the distribution process of the product 12, and the length of the period indicated by the distribution period information. The evaluation result for at least one of the one or more evaluation items regarding the product 12 indicated by the demand-side evaluation information acquired by the evaluation acquisition unit 462 may be corrected based on at least one of the following.

For example, if the product 12 is a fresh food product, agricultural product, marine product, or livestock product, depending on the production area and/or item of the product 12, the quality may deteriorate compared to products from other production areas and/or other items. Sometimes it's easy. Therefore, when the production area of the product 12 is a predetermined production area, the evaluation correction unit 464 corrects the evaluation result so that the evaluation for the predetermined evaluation item is better than the evaluation by the consumer 44. good. When the item of the product 12 is a predetermined item, the evaluation correction unit 464 may correct the evaluation result so that the evaluation for the specific evaluation item is better than the evaluation by the consumer 44.

The above specific evaluation items may be determined based on the production area or item of the product 12. The correspondence between the production area or item of the product 12 and the evaluation item to be corrected may be determined in advance.

For example, if the condition of the product 12 during at least part of the distribution process of the product 12 is poor, the quality of the product 12 is likely to deteriorate. In particular, depending on the production area or item of the product 12, if the condition of the product 12 during at least part of the distribution process of the product 12 is poor, the quality of the product 12 will greatly deteriorate. Further, it is expected that the degree of deterioration of the quality of the product 12 will be greater as the condition of the product 12 during the distribution process is poorer. Therefore, the evaluation correction unit 464 may correct the evaluation results so that the worse the condition of the product 12 during the distribution process, the better the evaluation for a specific evaluation item is than the evaluation by the consumer 44.

The above specific evaluation items may be determined based on the production area or item of the product 12. The correspondence between the production area or item of the product 12 and the evaluation item to be corrected may be determined in advance. The above-described specific evaluation items may be determined based on items that were poor during the distribution process among the conditions of the product 12. The correspondence between items representing the condition of the product 12 and evaluation items to be corrected may be determined in advance.

For example, if the distribution period of the product 12 is long, the quality of the product 12 is likely to deteriorate. In particular, depending on the production area or item of the product 12, if the distribution period of the product 12 is long, the quality of the product 12 will greatly deteriorate. Furthermore, it is expected that the degree of deterioration in the quality of the product 12 will increase as the distribution period of the product 12 increases. Therefore, the evaluation correction unit 464 may correct the evaluation results so that the longer the distribution period of the product 12, the better the evaluation for a specific evaluation item is than the evaluation by the consumer 44.

The above specific evaluation items may be determined based on the production area or item of the product 12. The correspondence between the production area or item of the product 12 and the evaluation item to be corrected may be determined in advance. The above specific evaluation items may be determined based on the length of the distribution period of the product 12. The correspondence between the length of the distribution period and the evaluation item to be corrected may be determined in advance.

The evaluation correction unit 464 may store information indicating the corrected evaluation result in the evaluation information storage unit 466 as an evaluation for the product 12. Note that if the condition of the product 12 during the distribution process or the length of the distribution period meets the above predetermined conditions, the evaluation acquisition unit 462 obtains demand-side evaluation information indicating the evaluation of the product 12 by the consumer 44. may be stored in the evaluation information storage section 466 as the evaluation for the product 12.

Sales management department 420 may be an example of a management device. The EC site management unit 422 may be an example of a management device. The user information acquisition unit 442 may be an example of a viewer information acquisition unit or a recipient information acquisition unit. The user information storage section 444 may be an example of a viewer information storage section or a recipient information storage section. User information may be an example of viewer information or recipient information. The evaluation management unit 460 may be an example of a management device or a support unit. The evaluation acquisition unit 462 may be an example of a management device or a support unit. The evaluation correction unit 464 may be an example of a correction unit. The evaluation information storage section 466 may be an example of an evaluation storage section.

FIG. 5 schematically shows an example of a product explanation screen for products on sale. An example of the product explanation screen generation process by the EC site management unit 422 will be explained using FIG. 5. In this embodiment, the EC site management unit 422 adjusts the content displayed on the product explanation screen according to the behavioral characteristics, interests, or preferences of the viewer. For example, the EC site management unit 422 determines evaluation items used to evaluate the product on the product explanation screen according to the behavioral characteristics, interests, or preferences of the viewer.

As described above, evaluation items used for product evaluation can be classified into a plurality of evaluation categories. The EC site management unit 422 may determine the above-mentioned evaluation items by determining the evaluation category used to evaluate the product on the product explanation screen according to the behavioral characteristics, interests, or preferences of the viewer. The EC site management unit 422 may determine evaluation categories and evaluation items according to the behavioral characteristics, interests, or preferences of the viewer.

In FIG. 5, a product explanation screen 540 shows an example of a product explanation screen for the product 14 when the first consumer 40 views the EC site. Similarly, the product explanation screen 560 shows an example of the product explanation screen for the product 14 when the second consumer 40 views the EC site. In this embodiment, the second consumer 40 is a consumer 40 who has different behavioral characteristics, interests, or preferences from the first consumer 40.

As shown in FIG. 5, the product description screen 540 includes a product description text 542, a product image 544, and a product evaluation image 546. Further, the product description screen 560 includes a product description text 542, a product image 544, and a product evaluation image 566.

In this embodiment, the product explanation text 542 may be text for explaining the characteristics, specifications, price, etc. of the product 14. The product image 544 may be a photograph or an illustration of the product 14.

In this embodiment, the product evaluation image 546 includes, for example, the characteristics of the product 14 when the product 14 is evaluated using evaluation category A, evaluation category B, evaluation category C, evaluation category D, evaluation category E, and evaluation category F. Contains a graph showing. The above graph shows, for example, the evaluation value of the product 14 in each evaluation category. The product evaluation image 546 shows, for example, the evaluation value ( (sometimes referred to as the overall score).

On the other hand, the product evaluation image 566 is a graph showing the characteristics of the product 14 when the product 14 is evaluated using, for example, evaluation category H, evaluation category B, evaluation category J, evaluation category K, evaluation category D, and evaluation category F. including. The above graph shows, for example, the evaluation value of the product 14 in each evaluation category. For example, the product evaluation image 546 shows the evaluation value ( (sometimes referred to as the overall score).

In the product evaluation image 546 and the product evaluation image 566, the evaluation items for deriving the evaluation value of each evaluation category may be calculated based on the evaluation values of all evaluation items constituting each evaluation category. It may be calculated based on the evaluation values of some of the evaluation items that constitute the classification. Some of the above evaluation items may be determined based on at least one of the behavioral characteristics, interests, and preferences of the consumer 40 viewing the product explanation screen.

In the product evaluation image 546 and the product evaluation image 566, the arrangement of each evaluation category in the graph showing the characteristics of the product 14 may be determined based on (i) a predetermined rule, or (ii) a product description screen. It may be determined based on at least one of the behavioral characteristics, interests, and preferences of the browsing consumer 40. Examples of the predetermined rules include the order of the names of each evaluation category, the magnitude of the evaluation value of each evaluation category, and the like. The arrangement of each evaluation category in the graph showing the characteristics of the product 14 is based on, for example, the correspondence between the degree of matching with the behavioral characteristics, interests, and preferences of the consumer 40 viewing the product explanation screen, or the order of the degree, and the arrangement in the graph. Determined based on relationships.

According to this embodiment, the evaluation items used to evaluate the product on the product explanation screen are adjusted according to the behavioral characteristics, interests, or preferences of the user viewing the product explanation screen. This allows the user to quickly obtain the information they need. As a result, the efficiency of product transactions is improved.

The evaluation items for deriving the evaluation value of each evaluation category in the graph showing the characteristics of the product 14 may be an example of Q items. The total score may be an example of the evaluation value of the article.

FIG. 6 schematically shows an example of a product evaluation input screen after completion of delivery. An example of the evaluation input screen generation process by the evaluation acquisition unit 462 will be explained using FIG. 6. In this embodiment, the evaluation acquisition unit 462 determines the type of evaluation item displayed on the evaluation input screen based on at least one of the condition of the product during the distribution process and the length of the distribution period. The evaluation acquisition unit 462 determines the types of evaluation items displayed on the evaluation input screen based on predetermined settings and/or the item of the product, the condition of the product during the distribution process, and/or the length of the distribution period. You may.

In FIG. 6, an evaluation input screen 620 shows an example of an evaluation input screen that is presented to the consumer 44 who inputs an evaluation for the product 12 when the product 12 is in good condition during the distribution process. Similarly, the evaluation input screen 640 shows an example of an evaluation input screen that is presented to the consumer 44 who inputs an evaluation for the product 12 when the condition of the product 12 during the distribution process is not good.

As shown in FIG. 6, the evaluation input screen 620 includes an input form 622 for inputting an evaluation regarding evaluation category A, and an input form 624 for inputting an evaluation regarding evaluation category B. In the evaluation input screen 620, an input form 622 includes input fields for inputting evaluation items Aa, evaluation items Ab, and evaluation items Ac. Similarly, input fields for inputting evaluation item Ba, evaluation item Bb, and evaluation item Bc are arranged in the input form 624. Examples of input fields include text fields, text areas, check boxes, radio buttons, and pull-down boxes.

On the other hand, the evaluation input screen 640 includes an input form 642 for inputting an evaluation regarding evaluation category A, and an input form 644 for inputting an evaluation regarding evaluation category C. In the evaluation input screen 640, an input form 642 includes input fields for inputting evaluation items Aa, evaluation items Ad, and evaluation items Af. Similarly, the input form 644 includes input fields for inputting evaluation item Ca, evaluation item Cb, and evaluation item Cc. Examples of input fields include text fields, text areas, check boxes, radio buttons, and pull-down boxes.

In this embodiment, the evaluation input screen 640 differs from the evaluation input screen 620 in that it does not include an input form for inputting evaluations regarding evaluation category B. In addition, in the input form 642 for inputting the evaluation regarding evaluation category A on the evaluation input screen 640, instead of the input field for inputting evaluation item Ab and evaluation item Ac, evaluation item Ad and evaluation item Af are input. This differs from the input form 622 for inputting the evaluation regarding evaluation category A on the evaluation input screen 620 in that an input field for the evaluation is arranged.

According to the present embodiment, the evaluation items displayed on the evaluation input screen are adjusted depending on the state of the product to be evaluated in the distribution process or the length of the distribution period. This reduces the input burden on the user. Furthermore, since input/output of unnecessary data is suppressed, the load on the management server 110 is reduced.

FIG. 7 schematically shows another example of the product evaluation input screen after completion of delivery. In FIG. 7, an evaluation input screen 740 shows an example of an evaluation input screen that is presented to the consumer 44 who inputs an evaluation for the product 12 when the condition of the product 12 during the distribution process is not good.

In this embodiment, the evaluation input screen 740 differs from the evaluation input screen 640 in that it includes an input form 744 for inputting evaluations regarding evaluation category B. In this embodiment, a message 750 is displayed on the input form 744 indicating that it is not necessary to input an evaluation regarding evaluation category B. Input form 744 may display a message 750 indicating the reason why input of evaluation regarding evaluation category B is unnecessary.

FIG. 8 schematically shows an example of the internal configuration of the EC site management section 422. As described above, in this embodiment, an example of the EC site management unit 422 is taken as an example where the EC site management unit 422 uses various data collected in the transaction of the product 12 for the transaction of the product 14. explained. In this embodiment, for the purpose of simplifying the explanation, the case where the item and producer of the product 12 and the item and producer of the product 14 are the same is taken as an example. Details of each part will be explained. As described above, the relationship between the products 12 and 14 is not limited to this embodiment.

In this embodiment, the EC site management section 422 includes a transaction support section 820, a matching support section 840, and a data transmission section 860. In this embodiment, the transaction support unit 820 includes an evaluation information extraction unit 822, a user information extraction unit 824, a first item determination unit 826, a first item evaluation unit 828, a product evaluation unit 830, and a transaction screen generation unit 832. In this embodiment, the matching support unit 840 includes a second item evaluation unit 842, a second item determination unit 844, a recipient extraction unit 846, and a notification generation unit 848.

The transaction support unit 820 supports transaction of products on the EC site. For example, the transaction support unit 820 generates screen data for various screens (sometimes referred to as transaction screens) used for product transactions. Examples of transaction screens include a product search screen, product description screen, product purchase screen, and payment screen. The transaction support unit 820 may support product transactions by managing evaluations of products. For example, the transaction support unit 820 generates screen data for a product explanation screen for presenting an evaluation of the product to the viewer.

In this embodiment, the evaluation information extraction unit 822 acquires evaluation information regarding the product 12. For example, the evaluation information extraction unit 822 accesses the evaluation information storage unit 466 and extracts one or more pieces of evaluation information regarding one or more products 12 traded in the past. As described above, the evaluation information regarding the product 12 indicates the evaluation result for at least one of the P evaluation items (P is an integer of 2 or more) regarding the product 12. Furthermore, in the transaction management system 100, the P evaluation items are classified into a plurality of evaluation categories.

The user information extraction unit 824 acquires user information of users accessing the EC site. For example, the user information extraction unit 824 accesses the user information storage unit 444 and extracts user information regarding the user accessing the EC site. As described above, user information includes information indicating the behavioral characteristics, interests, or preferences of the user.

In the present embodiment, the first item determining unit 826 selects Q ( Q is a positive integer less than or equal to P.) Determine the evaluation items. For example, the correspondence between at least one of the user's behavioral characteristics, interests, and preferences and the evaluation items used to generate the product explanation screen is determined in advance. The first item determining unit 826 determines the Q used to generate the product explanation screen based on at least one of behavioral characteristics, interests, and preferences indicated by the user information acquired by the user information extracting unit 824 and the above correspondence relationship. Determine evaluation items.

The Q evaluation items are used, for example, to derive the evaluation value of the product 14 in generating the product explanation screen. The evaluation value of the product 14 indicates the degree of evaluation of the product 14. The evaluation value of the product 14 may be expressed as a continuous numerical value or may be expressed as a graded classification. The evaluation value of the product 14 can be determined, for example, by generating a graph displayed in the product evaluation image 546 and/or by generating a total score displayed in the product evaluation image 546 on the product explanation screen 540 described in relation to FIG. Used to calculate.

The first item determining unit 826 selects one or more evaluation categories to be used for generating the product explanation screen from among the plurality of evaluation categories based on at least one of the user's behavioral characteristics, interests, and preferences indicated by the user information. Determine. For example, the correspondence between at least one of the user's behavioral characteristics, interests, and preferences and the evaluation category used to generate the product explanation screen is determined in advance. The first item determining unit 826 determines the first item used to generate the product explanation screen based on at least one of behavioral characteristics, interests, and preferences indicated by the user information acquired by the user information extracting unit 824 and the above-mentioned correspondence relationship. Determine the above evaluation categories. This determines the evaluation category used to present the evaluation to the user.

Similarly, the first item determining unit 826 selects from the group consisting of (i) the type of product 14, (ii) the user's instructions, and (iii) the behavioral characteristics, interests, and preferences of the viewer indicated by the user information. One or more evaluation categories to be used for generating the product explanation screen may be determined from among the plurality of evaluation categories based on at least one of the evaluation categories. This determines the evaluation category used to present the evaluation to the user.

For each of the one or more evaluation categories used to generate the product explanation screen, the first item determination unit 826 selects the evaluation item used to generate the product explanation screen from among the one or more evaluation items included in each evaluation category. By determining this, Q evaluation items may be determined. The first item determination unit 826 selects Q evaluation items including one or more evaluation items included in one or more evaluation categories based on at least one of the user's behavioral characteristics, interests, and preferences indicated by the user information. You may decide.

In the present embodiment, the first item evaluation unit 828 calculates evaluation values for each of the above Q evaluation items based on one or more evaluation information regarding the product 12 acquired by the evaluation information extraction unit 822. For example, the first item evaluation unit 828 calculates the evaluation value for each evaluation item by calculating the statistical value of the evaluation value for each evaluation item included in one or more pieces of evaluation information. Examples of statistical values include average values and median values. In one or more pieces of evaluation information, when the evaluation value of a specific evaluation item is expressed by stepwise classification, the first item evaluation unit 828 calculates the above statistical value by replacing each classification with a numerical value. good.

The first item evaluation unit 828 may calculate an evaluation value for each of the one or more evaluation categories determined by the first item evaluation unit 828. For example, the first item evaluation unit 828 calculates the evaluation value for each evaluation category by calculating the statistical value of one or more evaluation items included in each evaluation category. Examples of statistical values include average values and median values. In one or more evaluation categories, if the evaluation value of a specific evaluation item is expressed in stepwise categories, the first item evaluation unit 828 calculates the above statistical value by replacing each category with a numerical value. good.

In the present embodiment, the product evaluation unit 830 evaluates the product 12 based on the evaluation value for each of the Q evaluation items calculated by the first item evaluation unit 828 and the weight assigned to each of the Q evaluation items. Calculate the overall evaluation value. The comprehensive score described in relation to FIG. 5 may be an example of a comprehensive evaluation value of the product 12.

The product evaluation unit 830 may determine the weight value to be assigned to each of the Q items based on at least one of the user's behavioral characteristics, interests, and preferences indicated by the user information. For example, the product evaluation unit 830 determines that the weight value assigned to at least one of the one or more items related to the user's behavioral characteristics, interests, and/or preferences is not related to the user's behavioral characteristics, interests, and/or preferences. The value of each weight is determined to be greater than at least one of the one or more items.

The product evaluation unit 830 may determine the value of each weight such that the greater the user's interest and/or preference, the greater the weight value assigned to the item related to the interest and/or preference. . The product evaluation unit 830 determines the value of each weight so that the greater the tendency of the user to take a particular action, thought, or attitude, the greater the value of the weight assigned to the item related to the particular action, thought, or attitude. may be determined.

For example, when the product 12 is an agricultural product, the balance of tastes such as sourness and sweetness, texture, etc. differ depending on the variety. Therefore, the product evaluation unit 830 determines the weight value to be assigned to each of the Q items according to the user's preference for taste and/or texture. For example, the product evaluation unit 830 determines the weight value to be assigned to each of the Q items such that the weight value becomes larger as the item matches the user's preference for taste and/or texture.

More specifically, the product evaluation unit 830 calculates the Q based on the user's evaluation of the taste and/or texture of agricultural products that are the same or similar to the product 12 and that the user has traded in the past. Determine the weight value assigned to each of the items. The product evaluation unit 830 may determine the value of the weight assigned to at least one of the Q items such that the higher the evaluation of the item in the user's past evaluations, the greater the weight.

The product evaluation unit 830 estimates the user's evaluation of the taste and/or texture of agricultural products of the same or similar variety as the product 12, and assigns the product to each of the Q items based on the estimated evaluation. A weight value may also be determined. For example, the product evaluation unit 830 determines the reference value for evaluation for each product type based on evaluations of product A and product B from a plurality of users. The product evaluation unit 830 also obtains user X's evaluation of product A. The product evaluation unit 830 estimates user X's evaluation of product B based on user X's evaluation of product A, the evaluation reference value for product A, and the evaluation reference value for product B.

For example, if product 12 is strawberries of variety B, and the evaluation of the sweetness of strawberries of variety A and variety B is expressed on a 10-point scale from 0 to 9, user X's evaluation of the sweetness of variety A is 3. , when the standard value for evaluating the sweetness of variety A is 5, the product evaluation unit 830 estimates that user X tends to evaluate the sweetness of strawberries as low. Therefore, when the standard value for evaluating the sweetness of variety B strawberries is 8, the product evaluation unit 830 sets a value smaller than 8 (for example, 5 to 6) as the estimated value of user X's evaluation of the sweetness of variety A. ) is output. Similarly, the product evaluation unit 830 estimates user X's evaluation of each item regarding taste and/or texture.

For example, the product evaluation unit 830 assigns a value to each of the Q items such that the larger the estimated value of user Determine the weight value to be assigned. The product evaluation unit 830 determines that the greater the deviation between the estimated value of user , a weight value to be assigned to each of the Q items may be determined. Thereby, the product evaluation unit 830 can, for example, assign a value according to the user's preference as the weight of each item based on the history of evaluations of agricultural products that the user has eaten or purchased in the past. can.

Similarly, the product evaluation unit 830 may determine the weight value to be assigned to each of the Q items based on the characteristics in the production process of agricultural products purchased by the user in the past. For example, if the frequency with which a user purchases organic agricultural products is greater than a predetermined value, the product evaluation unit 830 assigns a weight to an item regarding whether or not chemical fertilizers and/or pesticides are used in the production process, and the amount used. The value of the weight assigned to each of the Q items is determined so that Q becomes large.

The product evaluation unit 830 may determine the weight value to be assigned to each of the Q items based on the use of the product 12. For example, the quality required for strawberries for raw consumption is different from that for strawberries for jam. For strawberries to be eaten raw, good appearance and freshness are important. On the other hand, when it comes to strawberries for jam, low price is important. Therefore, the product evaluation unit 830 determines the weight value to be assigned to each of the Q items such that, for example, the more important the item is for the purpose of the product 12, the larger the weight value is.

In this embodiment, the transaction screen generation unit 832 generates screen data for various transaction screens. The transaction screen generation unit 832 may generate data (sometimes referred to as screen data) for displaying a product explanation screen for explaining the product 14 on the communication terminal 42 of the consumer 46. For example, the transaction screen generation unit 832 generates a product explanation screen 540 and a product explanation screen 560.

More specifically, the transaction screen generation unit 832 generates a transaction screen based on the one or more evaluation categories determined by the first item determination unit 826 and the evaluation value of each evaluation category regarding the product 12 determined by the first item evaluation unit 828. Then, data for causing the communication terminal 42 to draw a graph showing the characteristics of the product 14 (that is, the product 12) is generated. The transaction screen generation unit 832 also generates a screen for causing the communication terminal 42 to draw the overall score of the product 14 (that is, the product 12) based on the overall evaluation value of the product 12 determined by the product evaluation unit 830. Generate data. As described above, each evaluation category regarding product 12 is information related to Q evaluation items regarding product 12, and the evaluation value of each evaluation category is related to the evaluation value for each of the Q evaluation items. This is the information that will be used.

In this embodiment, the matching support unit 840 supports the transaction of the product 14 by matching the product 14 or the producer 20 with one or more users. For example, the matching support unit 840 selects potential candidates matching the characteristics of the product 14 or the producer 20 from one or more users based on the demand-side evaluation information regarding the product 12 and/or the supply-side evaluation information regarding the product 14. Extract unique customers. The matching support unit 840 notifies the extracted user of information regarding the product 14. The information regarding the product 14 may include information regarding the evaluation of the product 14.

Note that, as described above, in this embodiment, an example of the matching support unit 840 will be explained using a case where the item and producer of the product 12 and the item and producer of the product 14 are the same. Further, in the present embodiment, for the purpose of simplifying the explanation, the matching support unit 840 selects the product 14 or the producer 20 from among one or more users based on the demand side evaluation information regarding the product 12. An example of the matching support unit 840 will be explained by taking as an example a case where potential customers matching characteristics are extracted. As described above, the matching support unit 840 is not limited to this embodiment.

In the present embodiment, the second item evaluation unit 842 calculates the evaluation value for each of the P evaluation items regarding the product 12 based on the one or more evaluation information regarding the product 12 acquired by the evaluation information extraction unit 822. The second item evaluation unit 842 may calculate evaluation values for each of the P evaluation items regarding the product 12 using the same procedure as the first item evaluation unit 828.

In the present embodiment, the second item determining unit 844 determines the evaluation of the product 12 from among the P evaluation items based on the evaluation values for each of the P evaluation items calculated by the second item evaluation unit 842. Q evaluation items (Q is a positive integer less than or equal to P) to be used in the determination are determined. The Q evaluation items are determined, for example, for the purpose of promoting sales of the product 14.

In one embodiment, the second item determination unit 844 compares the evaluation values of each of the P evaluation items and determines Q evaluation items in descending order of evaluation value. In another embodiment, the second item determining unit 844 selects S evaluation items of predetermined types (S is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1 and less than P) and the second item determining unit 842 calculates the evaluation items. Q evaluation items consisting of T evaluation items (T is a positive integer calculated as PS) selected based on the evaluated evaluation values are determined. T evaluation items may be determined from the evaluation items other than the S evaluation items in descending order of evaluation value.

In this embodiment, the recipient extraction unit 846 extracts users who can become customers of the product 14 from among the one or more users who can receive information about the product 14. For example, the recipient extraction unit 846 refers to the user information storage unit 444 and extracts users who have behavioral characteristics, interests, or preferences related to the Q evaluation items determined by the second item determination unit 844. The recipient extraction unit 846 refers to the user information storage unit 444 and extracts users who do not have behavioral characteristics, interests, or preferences related to evaluation items other than the Q evaluation items determined by the second item determination unit 844. You may. The recipient extraction unit 846 refers to the user information storage unit 444 and determines whether (i) the recipient has behavioral characteristics, interests, or preferences related to the Q evaluation items determined by the second item determination unit 844, and (ii) Users who do not have behavioral characteristics, interests, or preferences related to evaluation items other than the Q evaluation items determined by the second item determination unit 844 may be extracted.

For example, when product 14 is compared with other products, when the appearance of product 14 is evaluated low and the taste and texture of product 14 are evaluated high, the second item evaluation unit 842 selects Q evaluation items. , select taste and texture. The recipient extraction unit 846 extracts users who are highly particular about taste and texture and/or users who are less particular about appearance from one or more users as potential customers of the product 14.

In this embodiment, the notification generation unit 848 generates information (sometimes referred to as notification information) regarding the product 14 to be notified to the user extracted by the recipient extraction unit 846. For example, the notification generation unit 848 determines the evaluation of the product 14 using the Q evaluation items determined by the second item evaluation unit 842. The notification generation unit 848 may determine the evaluation for the product 14 using the same procedure as the product evaluation unit 830. Further, the notification generation unit 848 generates notification information including information indicating the evaluation of the product 14. The notification generation unit 848 may generate notification information using the same procedure as the transaction screen generation unit 832. The notification information may include the URL of the EC site or the URL of the product description page of the product 14.

In this embodiment, the data transmitter 860 transmits the notification information generated by the notification generator 848. The data transmitter 860 transmits the above notification information, for example, to the communication terminal used by the user extracted by the recipient extractor 846.

Transaction support unit 820 may be an example of a management device. The evaluation information extraction unit 822 may be an example of an evaluation information acquisition unit. The user information extraction unit 824 may be an example of a viewer information acquisition unit. The product evaluation section 830 may be an example of a product evaluation section. The notification generation unit 848 may be an example of a generation unit. Data transmitter 860 may be an example of a transmitter. A user who accesses an EC site may be an example of a viewer who views evaluations of products. The comprehensive evaluation value of the product 12 may be an example of the evaluation value of an article.

FIG. 9 schematically shows an example of the internal configuration of the evaluation acquisition unit 462. In this embodiment, the evaluation acquisition section 462 includes a distribution state determination section 912 and a distribution period determination section 914. In this embodiment, the evaluation acquisition section 462 includes an evaluation support section 920. In this embodiment, the evaluation support section 920 includes an input item determination section 922, an input screen generation section 924, and an input screen transmission section 926. In this embodiment, the evaluation acquisition section 462 includes a supply side evaluation acquisition section 932, a demand side evaluation acquisition section 934, and an evaluation data control section 936. In this embodiment, the evaluation acquisition unit 462 includes a deviation determination unit 942 and a deviation notification unit 944.

In this embodiment, the distribution state determination unit 912 acquires distribution state information for each of one or more products 12 that have been traded in the past. For example, the distribution status determination unit 912 accesses the distribution management unit 114 and acquires one or more distribution status information. The distribution state determining unit 912 determines the distribution state of the product 12 based on the state of the product 12 in the distribution process indicated by the distribution state information of each of the one or more products 12 traded in the past. For example, the distribution status determination unit 912 expresses the status of the product 12 during the distribution process using continuous numerical values or stepwise classification. For example, the distribution state determining unit 912 calculates the statistical value of the state of the product 12 indicated by one or more pieces of distribution state information, and based on the statistical value, the state of the product 12 in the distribution process is determined by a continuous numerical value or a step-by-step method. Expressed by classification.

In this embodiment, the distribution period determining unit 914 acquires distribution period information for each of one or more products 12 traded in the past. For example, the distribution status determination unit 912 accesses the distribution management unit 114 and acquires one or more distribution period information. The distribution period determination unit 914 may acquire production information and inspection information as the distribution period information. The distribution period determining unit 914 determines the length of the distribution period of the product 12 based on the length of the distribution period indicated by the distribution period information of each of the one or more products 12 traded in the past. For example, the distribution period determining unit 914 expresses the length of the distribution period of the product 12 using continuous numerical values or stepwise classification. For example, the distribution period determining unit 914 calculates a statistical value of the length of the distribution period of the product 12 indicated by one or more pieces of distribution period information, and determines the length of the distribution period of the product 12 continuously based on the statistical value. Expressed by numerical values or stepwise classification.

In this embodiment, the evaluation support unit 920 supports input of evaluation results for the product 12 by the consumer 44 . For example, the evaluation support unit 920 generates screen data for the evaluation input screen described in relation to FIGS. 6 and 7. The evaluation support unit 920 transmits the screen data of the evaluation input screen to the communication terminal 42 of the consumer 44. The screen data of the evaluation input screen may be data for causing the communication terminal 42 of the consumer 44 to display an evaluation input screen for inputting an evaluation of the product 12.

In this embodiment, the input item determining unit 922 determines the evaluation items for which the consumer 44 is requested to input an evaluation on the evaluation input screen. For example, the input item determining unit 922 determines whether the consumer 44 has selected the product 12 based on at least one of the state of the product 12 indicated by the distribution status information and the length of the distribution period of the product 12 indicated by the distribution period information. Determine the type of one or more evaluation items to be evaluated.

In one embodiment, when the condition of the product 12 is worse than a predetermined standard, the input item determination unit 922 compares the condition of the product 12 with a case where the condition of the product 12 is better than a predetermined standard. Then, the types of one or more evaluation items are determined so that the number of evaluation items for the consumer 44 to evaluate the product 12 is reduced. In another embodiment, if the length of the distribution period of the product 12 is greater than a predetermined value, the input item determination unit 922 determines that the length of the distribution period of the product 12 is greater than the predetermined value. The types of one or more evaluation items are determined so that the number of evaluation items for the consumer 44 to evaluate the product 12 is smaller than when the number of evaluation items is small. This reduces the input burden on the consumer 44.

The input item determining unit 922 determines at least one of the state of the product 12 indicated by the distribution status information, the length of the distribution period of the product 12 indicated by the distribution period information, and at least one of the production area and item of the product 12. Based on this, the type of one or more evaluation items for the consumer 44 to evaluate the product 12 may be determined. For example, if the production area of the product 12 matches or is included in a predetermined region, the input item determining unit 922 determines the type of one or more evaluation items using the same procedure as described above. . For example, if the item of product 12 matches or is included in a predetermined item, the input item determining unit 922 determines the type of one or more evaluation items using a procedure similar to the above-described procedure. .

In this embodiment, the input screen generation unit 924 generates screen data for an evaluation input screen. In this embodiment, the input screen transmitter 926 transmits screen data of the evaluation input screen to the communication terminal 42 of the consumer 44. As described above, the evaluation input screen is a screen for the consumer 44 to input evaluation results for the product 12, and supports input of evaluation results for each of the one or more items determined by the input item determination unit 922. This is a screen for

In this embodiment, the supplier evaluation acquisition unit 932 acquires supplier evaluation information. As described in relation to FIG. 3, the supplier evaluation acquisition unit 932 acquires supplier evaluation information from the communication terminal 22 or the product 12, for example. As described above, the supply-side evaluation information includes, for example, information indicating the evaluation result of the product 12 by the producer 20.

In this embodiment, the demand side evaluation acquisition unit 934 acquires demand side evaluation information. As described in relation to FIG. 3, the demand-side evaluation acquisition unit 934 acquires demand-side evaluation information from the communication terminal 42, for example. As described above, the demand-side evaluation information includes, for example, information indicating the evaluation result of the product 12 by the consumer 44.

In this embodiment, the evaluation data control unit 936 controls the output destination of the supply-side evaluation information and the demand-side evaluation information. For example, the evaluation data control unit 936 acquires supplier evaluation information from the supplier evaluation acquisition unit 932 and stores the supplier evaluation information in the evaluation information storage unit 466. For example, the evaluation data control unit 936 acquires demand-side evaluation information from the demand-side evaluation acquisition unit 934 and outputs the demand-side evaluation information to the evaluation correction unit 464 or the evaluation information storage unit 466.

For example, (a) if at least one of the condition of the product 12 indicated by the distribution state information and the length of the distribution period of the product 12 indicated by the distribution period information matches a predetermined condition, the evaluation data control unit 936 decides to store the demand side evaluation information in the evaluation information storage section 466. In this case, the evaluation data control unit 936 outputs the demand-side evaluation information to the evaluation information storage unit 466. Examples of the above predetermined conditions include a condition that the condition of the product 12 during the distribution process is worse than a predetermined condition, a condition that the length of the distribution period is greater than a predetermined value, etc. be done.

On the other hand, (b) if at least one of the condition of the product 12 indicated by the distribution status information and the length of the distribution period of the product 12 indicated by the distribution period information does not meet the above predetermined conditions, the demand side There is a possibility that at least some of the evaluation results indicated by the evaluation information are not valid. Therefore, the evaluation data control unit 936 (i) does not store at least a part of the evaluation results indicated by the demand-side evaluation information in the evaluation information storage unit 466, and (ii) at least part of the evaluation results indicated by the demand-side evaluation information. or (iii) correlating the demand-side evaluation information with information indicating that at least part of the evaluation results indicated by the demand-side evaluation information may not be valid. It is decided to store it in the storage unit 466.

If it is determined not to store at least a part of the evaluation result indicated by the demand-side evaluation information in the evaluation information storage unit 466, the evaluation data control unit 936 deletes a part of the demand-side evaluation information and then stores the evaluation result indicated by the demand-side evaluation information. The demand side evaluation information is output to the evaluation information storage section 466. As a result, demand-side evaluation information from which a portion of the evaluation results have been deleted is stored in the evaluation information storage section 466. The evaluation data control unit 936 does not need to output the demand-side evaluation information to the evaluation information storage unit 466.

When it is determined to correct at least a portion of the evaluation result indicated by the demand-side evaluation information, the evaluation data control unit 936 outputs the demand-side evaluation information to the evaluation correction unit 464. In this case, the evaluation correction unit 464 corrects at least a portion of the evaluation result indicated by the demand-side evaluation information, and stores information indicating the corrected evaluation result in the evaluation information storage unit 466.

When it is determined that the demand-side evaluation information and information indicating that at least part of the evaluation results indicated by the demand-side evaluation information may not be valid are stored in the evaluation information storage unit 466 in association with each other. , the evaluation data control unit 936 outputs the demand side evaluation information to the evaluation information storage unit 466. In addition, the evaluation data control unit 936 associates the demand-side evaluation information with information indicating that at least a part of the evaluation result indicated by the demand-side evaluation information may not be valid, and sends the evaluation data control unit 936 to the evaluation information storage unit 466 Store in.

In the present embodiment, the deviation determination unit 942 determines in advance the degree of deviation between the evaluation results based on the supply-side evaluation information and the evaluation results based on the demand-side evaluation information for each of one or more items for evaluating the product 12. It is determined whether or not the amount exceeds the specified level. Further, when the deviation determining unit 942 determines that the degree of deviation exceeds a predetermined degree, the deviation notification unit 944 determines the condition of the product 12 indicated by the distribution status information and the product indicated by the distribution period information. At least one of the producer 20 and the consumer 44 is notified of information indicating at least one of the lengths of the twelve distribution periods.

The distribution state determination unit 912 may be an example of a distribution information acquisition unit. The distribution period determination unit 914 may be an example of a distribution information acquisition unit. The evaluation support unit 920 may be an example of a support unit. The input item determining section 922 may be an example of an evaluation item determining section. The input screen generation section 924 may be an example of a support data generation section or a screen generation section. The input screen transmitter 926 may be an example of a support data transmitter. The supply side evaluation acquisition section 932 may be an example of a second evaluation information acquisition section. The demand side evaluation acquisition unit 934 may be an example of a first evaluation information acquisition unit. The evaluation data control section 936 may be an example of a first evaluation information acquisition section. The deviation determination section 942 may be an example of a deviation degree determination section. The deviation notification section 944 may be an example of a notification section. The evaluation input screen may be an example of an input screen. The screen data of the evaluation input screen may be an example of input support data or input screen data.

FIG. 10 schematically shows an example of the internal configuration of the sales support server 180. In this embodiment, the sales support server 180 includes a sales promotion support section 1020 and a packaging support section 1040.

In this embodiment, the details of sales support processing by the sales support server 180 will be explained using the case where the seller 50 sells the product 12 as an example. Examples of the seller 50 of the product 12 include the producer 20 and the distributor 30.

(Support processing for creating advertising materials or sales promotion materials)
In one embodiment, the seller 50 of the product 12 creates or creates (sometimes simply referred to as creating) advertising or promotional materials for the product 12 for the purpose of advertising or promoting the product 12. . The advertising material or sales promotion material may be POP (Point of Purchase advertising). POP may be a tangible object such as a poster, or may be an intangible object such as video data.

In this case, the sales promotion support unit 1020 supports creation of advertising materials or sales promotion materials by generating information used for advertising or sales promotion of the product 12. For example, the sales promotion support unit 1020 supports the design of advertising materials or sales promotion materials, and outputs data of the advertising materials or sales promotion materials (sometimes referred to as advertising data). The seller 50 can create an in-store advertisement 1022 using the advertisement data output from the sales promotion support section 1020. Details of the sales promotion support department 1020 will be described later.

(Packing work support processing)
In other embodiments, when consumer 44 purchases product 12, seller 50 of product 12 packages product 12 into box 1052 and ships the packaged product 12 to consumer 44. The product 12 is delivered using the distribution system 160, for example.

At this time, the seller 50 ships one or more evaluation samples 1054 to the consumer 44 along with the product 12. The seller 50 may ship a simple measurement kit for the various physical properties described above to the consumer 44, along with the product 12 and one or more evaluation samples 1054.

Evaluation sample 1054 is used to determine the condition of product 12. The evaluation sample 1054 may be a tangible object different from the product 12. The evaluation sample 1054 may be printed or pasted on the surface of the box 1052, or may be housed inside the box 1052.

Examples of the state of the product 12 include at least one of the appearance state of the product 12 and the delivery state of the product 12. In this embodiment, the state of the appearance of the product 12 means various states regarding the surface of the product 12.

Examples of the appearance state of the product 12 include at least one of the size, bending pattern, and color of the product. For example, in the case of commercial vegetables or fruits, the grade of the product 12 may be determined based on the size, degree of bending, pattern, and/or color of the product 12. The purchaser of the product 12 can judge the grade of the product 12 based on the evaluation result by evaluating at least one of the size, bending pattern, and color of the product 12 using the evaluation sample 1054. can.

Another example of the external appearance of the product 12 is the hardness of the product 12. The hardness of the product 12 may be the hardness of the surface of the product 12. Hardness may be expressed by modulus of elasticity. In particular, when the product 12 is a food product, the hardness of the product 12 is preferably expressed by the elastic modulus of the product 12.

For example, when the product 12 is a fresh food, the freshness of the product 12 and the hardness of the product 12 have a certain degree of correlation. For example, when the product 12 is seafood, vegetables, fruit, meat, etc., as the product 12 becomes less fresh or ripened, the product 12 may become less elastic and softer. By evaluating the hardness of the product 12 using the evaluation sample 1054, the purchaser of the product 12 can judge the freshness of the product 12 based on the evaluation result. For example, if the product 12 is a vegetable or fruit, the product 12 may become softer as the product 12 becomes more ripe. By evaluating the hardness of the product 12 using the evaluation sample 1054, the purchaser of the product 12 can determine when the product 12 is ready to eat based on the evaluation result.

The state of delivery of the product 12 is exemplified by the state of at least one of temperature and humidity during the delivery period of the product 12. The delivery state of the product 12 may be at least one of the maximum value and minimum value of the temperature at the time of delivery of the product 12, or may be at least one of the maximum value and minimum value of the humidity at the time of delivery of the product 12. good.

The evaluation sample 1054 for determining the appearance condition of the product 12 includes (i) a linear scale or a grid scale with one or more scales, and (ii) one or more curved lines each having a unique curvature. (iii) a color chart on which one or more color samples or pattern samples are arranged, (iv) a hardness scale on which one or more resins or gels are arranged, each having a specific hardness or softness, etc. is exemplified. The hardness or softness of the above resin or gel may be expressed by hardness or elastic modulus. A plurality of types of evaluation samples 1054 may be prepared according to the standards of the product 12.

The linear scale and the grid scale are used, for example, to determine the size, shape, or degree of curvature of the product 12. The curvature scale is used, for example, to determine the shape or degree of curvature of the product 12. The hardness scale is used, for example, to determine the hardness or elastic modulus of the product 12. The color chart is used, for example, to determine the pattern or color of the product 12.

In the evaluation sample 1054, at least one of the above linear scale, grid scale, curvature scale, and hardness scale may be a colored scale. Thereby, for example, the transaction management unit 112 analyzes images of the product 12 placed in the vicinity of the colored scale, and from a single image, determines (i) at least one of the color and pattern of the product 12; (ii) at least one of the size, shape, and hardness of the product 12 can be determined;

A single scale may be assigned a single color, or a single scale may be assigned multiple colors. The color of the colored scale described above may be determined based on the type of product 12. The color of the above colored scale may be determined based on the color when the product 12 is in good condition or the color when the product 12 is in bad condition.

Examples of the evaluation sample 1054 for determining the delivery status of the product 12 include a material whose color changes depending on temperature, a material whose color changes depending on humidity, and the like. The material whose color changes with temperature may be an irreversible temperature-indicating material. The evaluation sample 1054 may include a plurality of irreversible temperature-indicating materials having different temperature-indicating regions. The material whose color changes depending on humidity may be an irreversible humidity indicating material. The evaluation sample 1054 may include a plurality of irreversible humidity indicating materials having different hygrometer ranges.

A plurality of types of evaluation samples 1054 may be shipped to the consumer 44 depending on the circumstances at the time of shipping or packaging. For example, if the product 12 is a product that easily discolors, such as a banana, multiple types of color charts will be shipped. For example, a color chart with a wide variety of green color samples, a color chart with a wide variety of yellow color samples, and a color chart with a wide variety of brown color samples are shipped.

The condition of the product 12 is determined, for example, based on a comparison result between the product 12 and at least one of the size, shape, pattern, color, and hardness of each of the one or more evaluation samples 1054. When the condition of the product 12 is determined based on the comparison result between the product 12 and at least one of the size, shape, pattern, and color of each of the one or more evaluation samples 1054, the condition of the product 12 is determined by, for example, The determination is made by the computer or the consumer 44 analyzing images of the products 12 placed near each of the one or more evaluation samples 1054.

According to one embodiment, when consumer 44 receives box 1052, consumer 44 opens box 1052 and removes item 12. For example, the consumer 44 places the product 12 near the evaluation sample 1054 and uses the camera function of the communication terminal 42 to take an image of the product 12 and the evaluation sample 1054. For example, the consumer 44 uses the communication terminal 42 to transmit data of an image of the product 12 and the evaluation sample 1054 (sometimes referred to as image data) to the management server 110.

When the management server 110 acquires the image data, for example, the evaluation management unit 460 of the transaction management unit 112 analyzes the image data and evaluates at least one of the size, shape, pattern, color, and hardness of the product 12. do. Thereby, the size of the product 12, the degree of curvature of the product 12, and the color gloss or discoloration of the product 12 can be evaluated.

According to other embodiments, when consumer 44 receives box 1052, consumer 44 opens box 1052 and removes item 12. The consumer 44 compares the product 12 and the evaluation sample 1054, and uses the communication terminal 42, for example, to collect data (sometimes referred to as evaluation data) indicating the comparison result between the product 12 and the evaluation sample 1054. ) is sent to the management server 110. When the management server 110 acquires the image data, the evaluation management section 460 of the transaction management section 112 stores the evaluation data in the evaluation information storage section 466, for example. The evaluation management section 460 may analyze the evaluation data as necessary and store the analysis results in the evaluation information storage section 466.

In this case, the packaging support unit 1040 supports selection, creation, and/or packaging of the evaluation sample 1054. For example, the packaging support unit 1040 determines the specifications of the evaluation sample 1054. The specifications of the evaluation sample 1054 include (i) the type of the evaluation sample 1054 to be judged, (ii) at least one of the size, shape, pattern, and color of the evaluation sample 1054, and (iii) the hardness of the evaluation sample 1054. , at least one of the following is exemplified.

Furthermore, the packing support unit 1040 determines the position or range where the evaluation sample 1054 is placed (sometimes referred to as the position or range of the evaluation sample 1054 in the box 1052) when packaging the product 12 and the evaluation sample 1054. do. The position or range in which the evaluation sample 1054 is placed is (i) a part of the surface of the box 1052, (ii) at least one of the articles (sometimes referred to as stored items) stored inside the box 1052. Examples include: Examples of the stored items include guide documents, letters, message cards, and delivery documents.

In one embodiment, the evaluation sample 1054 is placed on the outer surface of the box 1052. In other embodiments, the evaluation sample 1054 is placed on the inner surface of the box 1052. In yet another embodiment, the evaluation sample 1054 is placed on the surface of the portion where the members constituting the box 1052 overlap. For example, if a lid and a flap (sometimes referred to as a top flap) are arranged on the top of the box 1052, the evaluation sample 1054 is the outer surface of the top flap or the lid. placed on the inner surface of the Note that the outer surface of the lid may be an example of the outer surface of the box 1052. The inner surface of the top flap may be an example of the inner surface of the box 1052.

The packaging support unit 1040 outputs the specifications of the evaluation sample 1054 and/or data (sometimes referred to as instruction data) indicating the position or range where the evaluation sample 1054 is placed. The seller 50 can use the advertisement data output from the packaging support unit 1040 to package the product 12 using a box 1052 in which an appropriate evaluation sample 1054 is placed in an appropriate position or range. Details of the packaging support section 1040 will be described later.

The product 12 may be an example of an article. Seller 50 may be an example of a shipper. Consumer 44 may be an example of a recipient. Box 1052 may be an example of packaging material. Evaluation sample 1054 may be an example of one or more comparison controls. The advertisement data of the in-store advertisement 1022 may be an example of information used for advertisement or sales promotion of a product.

(An example of another embodiment)
In the present embodiment, an example of the sales support server 180 or the evaluation sample 1054 has been described using the case where the box 1052 is used as an example of the packaging material. However, the sales support server 180 or the evaluation sample 1054 is not limited to this embodiment. In other embodiments, at least one of a partition member, a wrapping material, and a cushioning material may be used as a packaging material instead of or together with the box 1052. In this case, the evaluation sample 1054 may be placed on at least one of the partition member, the packaging material, and the cushioning material.

FIG. 11 schematically shows an example of the internal configuration of the sales promotion support section 1020. In this embodiment, the details of the sales promotion support section 1020 will be explained by taking as an example a case where the sales promotion support section 1020 generates advertising data for an in-store advertisement 1022, which is an example of advertising materials or sales promotion materials for the product 12.

In this embodiment, the sales promotion support unit 1020 includes a user information acquisition unit 1122, a target attribute determination unit 1124, an evaluation information acquisition unit 1132, an evaluation item determination unit 1134, an advertisement data generation unit 1140, and a storage unit 1160. Equipped with In this embodiment, the advertisement data generation section 1140 includes an appeal mode determination section 1142, a text extraction section 1144, a layout extraction section 1146, an image extraction section 1148, a candidate presentation section 1152, and an advertisement determination section 1154. . In this embodiment, the storage unit 1160 includes a wording template database 1162, a layout template database 1164, an item image database 1166, and a background image database 1168.

In this embodiment, the user information acquisition unit 1122 collects various types of information regarding the target of the in-store advertisement 1022 for the product 12. For example, the user information acquisition unit 1122 collects various types of information regarding users related to the product 12 or the in-store advertisement 1022. Users related to product 12 or in-store advertisement 1022 are those who (i) have purchased product 12 or a product of the same or similar type as product 12 (sometimes referred to as the same type of product) in the past; (ii) a user who is a customer of a store etc. where the in-store advertisement 1022 is posted; and (iii) a user who is relatively likely to visit the store etc. where the in-store advertisement 1022 is posted.

A user who is relatively likely to visit a store etc. where the in-store advertisement 1022 is posted is defined as (i) the distance between the store etc. where the in-store advertisement 1022 is posted and the user's home is greater than a predetermined value; An example of a small user is (ii) a user whose distance between a store etc. where the in-store advertisement 1022 is posted and a facility etc. that the user regularly or frequently visits is smaller than a predetermined value. Facilities that the user regularly or frequently visits include (i) facilities of the organization to which the user belongs, and (ii) facilities located on the route between the user's home and the facility of the organization to which the user belongs. Examples include. Examples of organizations to which the user belongs include companies, schools, and companies that provide services of which the user is a member. Examples of facilities placed on the route include stations, commercial facilities located near stations, and the like. These pieces of information are, for example, acquired in advance by the user information acquisition unit 442 and stored in the user information storage unit 444.

For example, the user information acquisition unit 1122 refers to the user information storage unit 444 of the customer management unit 440 and acquires user information of a user related to the product 12 or the in-store advertisement 1022. As mentioned above, user information includes (i) information indicating each user's behavioral characteristics, interests, or preferences, (ii) each user's EC site usage history, (iii) each user's website browsing history, and /or includes search history, etc. For example, the user information acquisition unit 1122 refers to the evaluation information storage unit 466 of the evaluation management unit 460 and acquires the past evaluation history of the user. The user information acquisition unit 1122 outputs the information acquired from each unit to the target attribute determination unit 1124, for example.

In this embodiment, the target attribute determination unit 1124 determines the attributes of the advertisement or sales promotion target. For example, the target attribute determination unit 1124 first extracts at least some of the users associated with the above-described product 12 or in-store advertisement 1022 as targets of the product 12. Next, the target attribute determining unit 1124 determines characteristics common to the users extracted as targets (sometimes referred to as target attributes).

In one embodiment, the target attribute determination unit 1124 analyzes the information acquired by the user information acquisition unit 1122, targeting the user associated with the product 12 or the in-store advertisement 1022 described above, and sets the target user as the target user. Determine common characteristics. In other embodiments, the target attribute determination unit 1124 may determine to target some users who have common characteristics among the users associated with the above-mentioned products 12 or in-store advertisements 1022. In this case, the target attribute determination unit 1124 determines the above-mentioned common characteristic as the target attribute.

The target attribute determining unit 1124 may extract one or some of the one or more evaluation items described above as an attribute of the target. For example, the target attribute determination unit 1124 extracts an evaluation item that matches the characteristics of the target from among the one or more evaluation items described above as the attribute of the target. This facilitates matching of the characteristics of the target user and the characteristics of the product 12.

The target attribute determining unit 1124 outputs information indicating the determined attributes of the target to, for example, the evaluation item determining unit 1134. Target attribute determining section 1124 may output information indicating the determined attribute of the target to advertising data generating section 1140.

In this embodiment, the evaluation information acquisition unit 1132 collects various types of information regarding the advertised product 12. For example, the evaluation information acquisition unit 1132 refers to the evaluation information storage unit 466 of the evaluation management unit 460 and determines whether the supplier of the product 12 (the producer 20 or the distributor 30) ) acquires evaluation information indicating the result of evaluating the product 12. The evaluation information acquisition unit 1132 outputs the acquired evaluation information to the evaluation item determination unit 1134.

In this embodiment, the evaluation item determining unit 1134 determines, among the characteristics of the product 12, the characteristics that are expected to have a high appeal effect. The evaluation item determining unit 1134 may determine the above characteristics by extracting at least one evaluation item that is expected to have a high appeal effect from among the one or more evaluation items described above. For example, the evaluation item determination unit 1134 determines at least one evaluation item characteristic of the product based on the evaluation information acquired by the evaluation information acquisition unit 1132. For example, the evaluation item determining unit 1134 determines at least one evaluation item that is expected to have an appealing effect on the target, based on the target attributes determined by the target attribute determining unit 1124.

In one embodiment, the evaluation item determination unit 1134 determines an evaluation item to be used for advertising or sales promotion from among the one or more evaluation items based on the evaluation information acquired by the evaluation information acquisition unit 1132. For example, the evaluation item determination unit 1134 selects an evaluation item for which a more positive evaluation than a predetermined standard is obtained among one or more evaluation items regarding the product 12 as an evaluation item that is expected to have a high appeal effect. Extract. The evaluation item determining unit 1134 extracts an evaluation item for which a more negative evaluation than a predetermined standard has been obtained from among the one or more evaluation items regarding the product 12 as an evaluation item for supplementary improvement of the appeal effect. You may.

In another embodiment, the evaluation item determining unit 1134 determines evaluation items to be used for advertising or sales promotion based on the target attributes determined by the target attribute determining unit 1124. For example, the evaluation item determining unit 1134 extracts, from among one or more evaluation items, an evaluation item in which the degree of interest shown by the target is greater than a predetermined standard as an evaluation item that is expected to have a high appeal effect. .

In yet another embodiment, the evaluation item determining unit 1134 performs an evaluation for use in advertising or sales promotion based on the evaluation information acquired by the evaluation information acquiring unit 1132 and the target attributes determined by the target attribute determining unit 1124. Decide on items. For example, the evaluation item determination unit 1134 determines whether (i) one or more evaluation items regarding the product 12 are evaluated more positively than a predetermined standard, and (ii) the target Evaluation items in which the degree of interest shown by the person is greater than a predetermined standard are extracted as evaluation items that are expected to have a high appeal effect. As a result, among the one or more evaluation items, an evaluation item that is characteristic of the product and is expected to have an appealing effect on the target can be determined as an evaluation item to be used for advertising or sales promotion.

The evaluation item determination unit 1134 indicates at least one evaluation item determined as an evaluation item used for advertising or sales promotion among the one or more evaluation items described above (for example, P evaluation items). The information is output to advertisement data generation section 1140. The number of at least one evaluation item may be less than P. An upper limit may be set for the number of output evaluation items. If an upper limit is set on the number of evaluation items to be output, the evaluation item determining unit 1134 may adjust the threshold for extracting the evaluation items so as to satisfy the condition regarding the upper limit of the evaluation item.

(Overview of advertising data generation unit 1140)
In this embodiment, the advertisement data generation unit 1140 generates advertisement data for the in-store advertisement 1022. The advertisement data generation unit 1140 determines the appeal expression of the in-store advertisement 1022 based on the evaluation items determined by the evaluation item determination unit 1134. Examples of appeal expressions include text and/or design.

Examples of the design include (i) at least one of the size, shape, pattern, and color of the wording, (ii) a photograph or illustration corresponding to the wording, and (iii) a layout of the wording and the photograph or illustration. Examples of the photo or illustration corresponding to the wording include a photo or illustration that matches the impression of the wording, a photo or illustration that emphasizes the impression of the wording, a photo or illustration that reminds people of events related to the wording, and the like.

In the present embodiment, the advertisement data generation unit 1140, for example, (i) from the provider of the product 12 (for example, the producer 20, the distributor 30, the seller 50, etc.) to the purchaser of the product 12 (for example, (distributor 30, seller 50, consumer 40)) and (ii) the sensitivity or degree of interest of the purchaser of the product 12 to various information. Decide on expression.

For example, consider a case where tomato producer A wants to appeal to tomato purchasers as having high sugar content and completely pesticide-free cultivation. On the other hand, the degree of sensitivity or interest in various types of information may differ depending on the customer base of the store. For the purpose of simplifying the understanding of the advertising data generation procedure in the advertising data generation unit 1140, we will take as an example a case where many of the customers of store B are interested in the size, color, and taste of tomatoes. The details of the procedure for generating advertisement data used in this section will be explained.

As described above, the transaction management unit 112 acquires information indicating various evaluations regarding tomatoes produced by producer A at the time of production or shipment of tomatoes, or at a specific point in the distribution process of tomatoes. In this case, it is possible that the tomatoes produced by Producer A are given a higher rating in the evaluation item related to "sugar content" included in the "taste" evaluation category compared to tomatoes produced by other producers. Highly sexual. Similarly, regarding tomatoes produced by Producer A, the evaluation item regarding "use of at least one of chemical fertilizers and chemical pesticides" included in the evaluation category of "Environmental load" includes tomatoes produced by other producers. There is a high possibility that it will be given a higher evaluation compared to

The advertising data generation unit 1140 first accesses the transaction management unit 112 and analyzes various evaluations regarding tomatoes produced by producer A, thereby determining the selling points of the tomatoes. For example, the advertisement data generation unit 1140 determines that the selling points of tomatoes produced by producer A are "high sugar content" and "completely pesticide-free cultivation."

Next, since the customers of store B are interested in the size, color, and taste of tomatoes, the advertising data generation unit 1140 generates "high sugar content" and "completely pesticide-free cultivation" characteristics related to taste. They decide to create an advertisement that will most prominently feature the characteristic "high sugar content." Further, the advertisement data generation unit 1140 determines to create an advertisement in which the feature of "completely pesticide-free cultivation" is explained in association with the size and/or color of tomatoes.

For example, the advertisement data generation unit 1140 displays content related to sugar content in a large size in the most conspicuous part, and explains how difficult it is to produce a bright red color while maintaining the size while being pesticide-free. Create a POP advertisement displaying a story to tell how the person overcame the difficulty. The advertisement data generation unit 1140 may generate a POP advertisement that further displays a message telling the consumer how to use tomatoes. The advertisement data generation unit 1140 may create the above-mentioned POP advertisement by employing keywords according to the season, keywords related to trends in the world, and the like.

(Summary of each part of advertising data generation unit 1140)
As shown in FIG. 11, in this embodiment, the advertisement data generation section 1140 includes an appeal mode determination section 1142, a wording extraction section 1144, a layout extraction section 1146, an image extraction section 1148, a candidate presentation section 1152, and an advertisement determination unit 1154. The advertisement data described above is created by information processing in each part of the advertisement data generation section 1140.

In this embodiment, the appeal mode determining unit 1142 determines the appeal mode (sometimes referred to as an appeal pattern) of the in-store advertisement 1022. The appeal mode determining unit 1142 determines the appeal mode based on at least one of the evaluation information acquired by the evaluation information acquisition unit 1132 and information indicating the target attribute determined by the target attribute determining unit 1124. For example, the appeal mode determining unit 1142 determines the appeal mode based on at least one evaluation item output by the evaluation item determining unit 1134. As described above, the evaluation item determination unit 1134 performs at least one evaluation based on at least one of the evaluation information acquired by the evaluation information acquisition unit 1132 and the information indicating the attributes of the target determined by the target attribute determination unit 1124. Output items.

The appeal mode includes (i) a mode of appealing based on the image associated with the wording of the evaluation item determined by the evaluation item determining unit 1134 (sometimes referred to as an image appeal type); (ii) an aspect of appealing based on the image associated with the wording of the evaluation item determined by the evaluation item determining unit 1134; An example is a mode in which appeal is made based on the meaning of the wording of the evaluation item itself determined by (sometimes referred to as an impact appeal type). Note that the appeal aspect is not limited to the above aspect.

For example, when an evaluation item related to "season" or "freshness" is input from the evaluation item determining unit 1134, the appeal mode determining unit 1142 determines to create an image-appealing in-store advertisement 1022. Images associated with the wording of the above evaluation items include events related to the current season or the season in which product 12 is in season, dishes related to the current season or the season in which product 12 is in season, and representative dishes using product 12. Examples include typical dishes.

For example, when the evaluation item determination unit 1134 inputs an evaluation item related to “taste,” “texture,” or “cost performance,” the appeal mode determination unit 1142 decides to create an impact-based in-store advertisement 1022. decide. Examples of the meaning of the wording of the evaluation item include "sweet" and "crunchy."

The appeal aspect determination unit 1142 outputs information indicating the determined appeal aspect to the wording extraction unit 1144, for example. The appeal mode determining unit 1142 may output information indicating the determined appeal mode to the layout extracting unit 1146. The appeal aspect determination unit 1142 may output information indicating the determined appeal aspect to the image extraction unit 1148.

In this embodiment, the wording extracting unit 1144 determines the appealing wording (sometimes referred to as a catchphrase, catchphrase, etc.) to be used in the in-store advertisement 1022. The wording extraction unit 1144 determines the appeal wording used in the in-store advertisement 1022, for example, based on the evaluation items determined by the evaluation item determining unit 1134.

In one embodiment, the wording extracting unit 1144 refers to the wording template database 1162 and extracts at least one wording associated with the evaluation item determined by the evaluation item determining unit 1134 as a candidate for the appealing wording (simply called the appealing wording). ). As will be described later, the wording template database 1162 stores each of one or more evaluation items in association with one or more wordings used for advertising or sales promotion.

In another embodiment, the wording extraction unit 1144 refers to the wording template database 1162 and extracts at least one wording associated with the product type of the product 12 as an appeal wording. As will be described later, the wording template database 1162 stores one or more product types in association with one or more wordings used for advertising or sales promotion.

In yet another embodiment, the wording extraction unit 1144 refers to the wording template database 1162 and extracts at least one wording that is associated with the evaluation item determined by the evaluation item determining unit 1134 and the product type of the product 12. At least one attached wording is extracted as an appeal wording. In this case, multiple phrases are extracted as appeal phrases. At least one of the plurality of words may be a word associated with the evaluation item determined by the evaluation item determination unit 1134.

In this embodiment, the wording extraction unit 1144 may extract at least one wording based on the appeal aspect determined by the appeal aspect determining unit 1142. Thereby, the word extraction unit 1144 can narrow down the number of words to be extracted. For example, when an image-based appeal mode is determined, the wording extraction unit 1144 preferentially extracts emotional wording. For example, when an impact appeal type appeal mode is determined, the wording extracting unit 1144 preferentially extracts wording that urges attention.

In this embodiment, the layout extraction unit 1146 determines the layout of the in-store advertisement 1022. The layout extraction unit 1146 determines the layout of the in-store advertisement 1022, for example, based on the evaluation items determined by the evaluation item determination unit 1134.

For example, the layout extraction unit 1146 refers to the layout template database 1164 and selects at least one layout associated with the evaluation item determined by the evaluation item determination unit 1134 as a layout candidate (simply referred to as layout) for the in-store advertisement 1022. ). As will be described later, the layout template database 1164 stores one or more evaluation items in association with one or more layouts related to advertising materials or sales promotion materials.

In this embodiment, the layout extraction unit 1146 may extract at least one layout based on the appeal aspect determined by the appeal aspect determination unit 1142. This allows the layout extraction unit 1146 to narrow down the number of layouts to be extracted.

In this embodiment, the image extraction unit 1148 determines an image to be used in the in-store advertisement 1022. The image extraction unit 1148 determines an image to be used in the in-store advertisement 1022, for example, based on the evaluation item determined by the evaluation item determination unit 1134. The image may be a moving image or a still image. The still image may be a photograph or an illustration.

For example, the image extraction unit 1148 refers to at least one of the item image database 1166 and the background image database 1168, and adds at least one image associated with the evaluation item determined by the evaluation item determination unit 1134 to the in-store advertisement 1022. The images are extracted as image candidates (sometimes simply referred to as images) to be used. As will be described later, the item image database 1166 and the background image database 1168 store one or more evaluation items in association with one or more images used for advertising or sales promotion.

In this embodiment, the image extraction unit 1148 may extract at least one image based on the appeal aspect determined by the appeal aspect determination unit 1142. This allows the image extraction unit 1148 to narrow down the number of images to be extracted.

In this embodiment, the candidate presentation unit 1152 generates candidates for the in-store advertisement 1022. The candidate presenting unit 1152 may present the candidate to the seller 50. For example, the candidate presentation unit 1152 presents the candidate to the seller 50 by transmitting data of the candidate for the in-store advertisement 1022 to a communication terminal used by the seller 50.

Candidate presentation section 1152 generates one or more candidates for in-store advertisement 1022 based on at least one appeal wording extracted by wording extraction section 1144 and at least one layout extracted by layout extraction section 1146. The candidate presentation unit 1152 selects the in-store information based on at least one appeal wording extracted by the wording extraction unit 1144, at least one layout extracted by the layout extraction unit 1146, and at least one image extracted by the image extraction unit 1148. One or more candidates for advertisements 1022 may be generated.

In this embodiment, the advertisement determining unit 1154 determines the in-store advertisement 1022 based on one of the one or more candidates generated by the candidate presenting unit 1152. For example, the advertisement determining unit 1154 determines one of the one or more candidates generated by the candidate presenting unit 1152 as the original draft of the in-store advertisement 1022, based on an instruction from the seller 50 who has been presented with one or more candidates. . The advertisement determining unit 1154 corrects the draft of the in-store advertisement 1022 based on an instruction from the seller 50, for example, and completes the in-store advertisement 1022. The advertisement determining unit 1154 may output the data of the completed in-store advertisement 1022 to an information processing terminal used by the seller 50.

In this embodiment, the storage unit 1160 stores various types of information. In one embodiment, the storage unit 1160 stores various types of information used for information processing in the sales promotion support unit 1020. In another embodiment, the storage unit 1160 stores various types of information generated by information processing in the sales promotion support unit 1020.

In this embodiment, the wording template database 1162 stores, for example, each of one or more evaluation items and one or more wordings used for advertisement or sales promotion in association with each other. The wording model database 1162 stores, for example, each of one or more product types in association with one or more wordings used for advertising or sales promotion.

In this embodiment, the layout template database 1164 stores, for example, each of one or more evaluation items in association with one or more layouts related to advertising materials or sales promotion materials. In this embodiment, the item image database 1166 stores, for example, an image of each of one or more products. The item image database 1166 may store, for each of one or more products, one or more evaluation items in association with one or more images of the product. In this embodiment, the background image database 1168 stores, for example, each of one or more evaluation items in association with one or more background images used for advertising or sales promotion.

The wording template database 1162 may be an example of a first wording storage section or a second wording storage section. A user associated with a product 12 or in-store advertisement 1022 may be an example of a target for the advertisement or the promotion. In-store advertisement 1022 may be an example of advertising material or sales promotion material for a product. The appeal wording may be an example of wording.

(An example of another embodiment)
In the present embodiment, the wording extracting unit 1144 determines a catchphrase or catchphrase based on the appeal mode determined by the appeal mode determining unit 1142, and the layout extracting unit 1146 determines the catch phrase based on the appeal mode determining unit 1142. An example of the sales promotion support unit 1020 has been described using as an example a case where the layout is determined based on the aspect. However, the sales promotion support department 1020 is not limited to this embodiment. In other embodiments, the sales promotion support unit 1020 may not include the appeal mode determining unit 1142.

In the present embodiment, an example of the sales promotion support unit 1020 has been described using a case where the wording extraction unit 1144 extracts one or more appeal wordings by referring to data stored in the wording template database 1162. However, the sales promotion support department 1020 is not limited to this embodiment.

In another embodiment, the wording extracting unit 1144 inputs the evaluation item determined by the evaluation item determining unit 1134 into the learned estimation model, and uses at least one wording outputted by the estimation model for the above-mentioned appeal. Good wording suggestions. The word extraction unit 1144 inputs the evaluation item indicated by the evaluation information acquired by the evaluation information acquisition unit 1132 and/or the evaluation item indicating the target attribute determined by the target attribute determination unit 1124 into the learned estimation model. Then, at least one wording outputted by the estimation model may be used as a candidate for the above-mentioned appeal wording.

The above estimation model indicates, for example, the appeal wording used in in-store advertisements created in the past, the evaluation of the product in the in-store advertisement by the supplier of the product, and/or the attributes of the target of the in-store advertisement. It is created by executing machine learning using training data associated with evaluation items. The estimation model learning method is not limited to the method described above.

In the present embodiment, an example of the sales promotion support unit 1020 has been described using an example in which the layout extraction unit 1146 extracts one or more layouts by referring to data stored in the layout template database 1164. However, the sales promotion support department 1020 is not limited to this embodiment.

In another embodiment, the layout extraction unit 1146 inputs the evaluation items determined by the evaluation item determination unit 1134 into the learned estimation model, and converts at least one layout outputted by the estimation model into the above-mentioned layout. It is a good candidate for The layout extraction unit 1146 inputs into the learned estimation model the evaluation item indicated by the evaluation information acquired by the evaluation information acquisition unit 1132 and/or the evaluation item indicating the target attribute determined by the target attribute determination unit 1124. Then, at least one layout output by the estimation model may be used as the above-described layout candidate.

The above estimation model is based on, for example, the layout used in in-store advertisements created in the past, the evaluation of the product in the in-store advertisement by the supplier of the product, and/or the evaluation indicating the attributes of the target of the in-store advertisement. It is created by executing machine learning using training data associated with items. The estimation model learning method is not limited to the method described above.

In this embodiment, an example in which the image extraction unit 1148 extracts one or more images by referring to data stored in the item image database 1166 and the background image database 1168 is taken as an example of the sales promotion support unit 1020. explained. However, the sales promotion support department 1020 is not limited to this embodiment.

In another embodiment, the image extraction unit 1148 inputs the evaluation item determined by the evaluation item determination unit 1134 into the learned estimation model, and converts at least one image outputted by the estimation model into the above-mentioned image. It is a good candidate for The image extraction unit 1148 inputs the evaluation item indicated by the evaluation information acquired by the evaluation information acquisition unit 1132 and/or the evaluation item indicating the target attribute determined by the target attribute determination unit 1124 into the learned estimation model. Then, at least one image output by the estimation model may be used as the above-mentioned image candidate.

The above estimation model may be based on, for example, an image used in an in-store advertisement created in the past, an evaluation of the product in the in-store advertisement by the supplier of the product, and/or an evaluation indicating the attributes of the target of the in-store advertisement. It is created by executing machine learning using training data associated with items. The estimation model learning method is not limited to the method described above.

FIG. 12 schematically shows an example of the contents of the instruction indicated by the instruction data. As described in connection with FIG. 10, the instruction data indicates the specifications of the evaluation sample 1054 and/or the position or range in which the evaluation sample 1054 is placed. FIG. 12 schematically shows a specific example of the position or range (sometimes referred to as a presentation mode) in which the evaluation sample 1054 indicated by the instruction data is arranged.

According to one embodiment, the instruction data indicates that the evaluation specimen 1054 should be printed or affixed to the box 1052 in the manner shown in the presentation manner 1222. According to presentation mode 1222, evaluation sample 1054 is placed on the outer surface of the top flap of box 1052. In this case, since the evaluation sample 1054 is protected by the lid of the box 1052, the evaluation sample 1054 is prevented from being soiled. Further, the evaluation sample 1054 is prevented from being soiled by the product 12 or dirt or mud adhering to the product 12.

According to other embodiments, the instruction data indicates that the evaluation sample 1054 should be printed or affixed to the box 1052 in the manner shown in the presentation manner 1224. According to presentation mode 1224, evaluation sample 1054 is placed on the inner surface of the top flap of box 1052. In this case, since the evaluation sample 1054 is protected by the lid of the box 1052, the evaluation sample 1054 is prevented from being soiled. Further, when the evaluation sample 1054 is placed as a part of the simple measurement kit, the simple measurement kit can measure the internal state of the box 1052 more accurately.

According to yet other embodiments, the instruction data indicates that the evaluation sample 1054 is to be printed or affixed to the box 1052 in the manner shown in the presentation manner 1226. According to presentation mode 1226, evaluation sample 1054 is placed on the outer surface of box 1052. In this case, the consumer 44 can easily place the product 12 near the evaluation sample 1054.

FIG. 13 schematically shows another example of the contents of the instruction indicated by the instruction data. According to this embodiment, the instruction data indicates that the first evaluation sample 1054 should be enclosed with the product 12 inside the box 1052. In this embodiment, the evaluation sample 1054 is printed or pasted on a part of the enclosed document 1320, which is a document enclosed with the product 12 inside the box 1052, for example. Further, the instruction data indicates that the simple temperature measurement kit 1330 in which the second evaluation sample 1054 is arranged should be enclosed with the product 12 inside the box 1052. In this case, a simple temperature measurement kit 1330 is enclosed with the product 12 inside the box 1052 along with an enclosed document 1320 on which the evaluation sample 1054 is arranged.

As shown in the specific example related to FIGS. 12 and 13, the seller 50 packs the product 12 in accordance with the instructions from the packaging support department 1040, and packs the appropriate evaluation sample 1054 into the box 1052. Can be placed in the appropriate position. In this way, the packing support section 1040 can support the packing work of the product 12.

FIG. 14 schematically shows an example of the internal configuration of the packaging support section 1040. In the present embodiment, the packaging support section 1040 includes an order information acquisition section 1422, a user information acquisition section 1424, an evaluation information acquisition section 1426, a specification determination section 1442, a placement determination section 1444, and a decision criteria storage section 1446. Equipped with

In this embodiment, the order information acquisition unit 1422 accesses the order management unit 426 of the sales management unit 420, for example, and acquires various information related to the product 12 to be shipped. For example, the order information acquisition unit 1422 may determine the type of product 12, the producer 20 that produced the product 12, the distributor 30 that distributed the product 12, the operator of the logistics system 160 that delivers the product 12 (referred to as a delivery person) ), the shipping source of the product 12, the shipping destination of the product 12, and other information is acquired.

In this embodiment, the user information acquisition unit 1424 refers to the user information storage unit 444 of the customer management unit 440, for example, and acquires various information regarding users related to the product 12. Users related to the product 12 include the producer 20 who produced the product 12, the distributor 30 who distributed the product 12, the operator of the logistics system 160 that delivers the product 12, and the consumer 44 who purchased the product 12. Illustrated.

In this embodiment, the evaluation information acquisition unit 1426 refers to the evaluation information storage unit 466 of the evaluation management unit 460, for example, and acquires various information regarding the user related to the product 12. Users related to the product 12 include the producer 20 who produced the product 12, the distributor 30 who distributed the product 12, the operator of the logistics system 160 that delivers the product 12, and the consumer 44 who purchased the product 12. Illustrated.

In this embodiment, the specification determination unit 1442 determines the specifications of each of the one or more evaluation samples 1054 that are delivered to the consumer 44 together with the product 12. The specification determination unit 1442 determines the specifications of each of the one or more evaluation samples 1054, for example, based on the determination criteria stored in the determination criteria storage unit 1446.

As mentioned above, one or more evaluation samples 1054 are shipped with the box 1052 and are used to determine the condition of the item 12. Therefore, by delivering the evaluation sample 1054 with appropriate specifications together with the box 1052, the condition of the product 12 can be appropriately determined.

For example, the specification determining unit 1442 determines (i) the type of product 12, (ii) the distance to which the product 12 is to be delivered, (iii) the time required to deliver the product 12, (iv) the weather at the delivery destination of the product 12, ( v) attributes of the seller 50 who ships the product 12; (vi) attributes of the consumer 44 who receives the product 12; (vii) attributes of the carrier who delivers the product 12; and (viii) a pattern on the surface of the box 1052. The specifications of each of the one or more evaluation samples 1054 are determined based on at least one of the colors and the combination thereof.

The time required for delivery of the product 12 may be a typical value of the time or may be a predicted value. The time required to deliver the product 12 may be determined based on the delivery method of the product 12. The weather at the delivery destination of the product 12 may be typical weather at the time the product 12 is delivered, or may be a predicted value. Examples of weather include weather, temperature, and humidity. Examples of the deliverer's attributes include the care with which goods are handled and the track record of delivering easily damaged goods.

The specifications of each of the one or more evaluation samples 1054 include (i) the type of judgment target of each of the one or more evaluation samples 1054, (ii) the size, shape, pattern, and color of each of the one or more evaluation samples 1054. and (iii) at least one hardness of each of the one or more evaluation samples 1054.

The specification determining unit 1442 determines the attributes of the seller 50, for example, based on evaluations of other items or the seller 50 by recipients of other items shipped by the seller 50 in the past. The specification determining unit 1442 determines the attributes of the consumer 44, for example, based on the consumer's 44 evaluations of other goods that the consumer 44 has received in the past. The specification determining unit 1442 determines the attributes of the deliverer, for example, based on evaluations of other products or deliverers by sellers or consumers of other products delivered by the deliverer in the past.

In the present embodiment, the placement determining unit 1444 determines the position or range in the box 1052 of each of the one or more evaluation samples 1054 to be delivered to the consumer 44 together with the product 12. The placement determining unit 1444 determines the position or range of one or more evaluation samples 1054 in each box 1052 based on the determination criteria stored in the determination criteria storage unit 1446, for example.

As mentioned above, in one embodiment, evaluation specimen 1054 is placed on a portion of the surface of box 1052. Furthermore, in another embodiment, the evaluation sample 1054 is placed on at least a portion of the contents housed inside the box 1052.

In the present embodiment, the determination criteria storage unit 1446 stores information indicating criteria for the specification determination unit 1442 to determine the specifications of each of the one or more evaluation samples 1054 to be delivered to the consumer 44 together with the product 12. . In one embodiment, the determination criteria storage unit 1446 stores information indicating criteria for the specification determination unit 1442 to determine the specifications of each of the one or more evaluation samples 1054 to be delivered to the consumer 44 together with the product 12. . In another embodiment, the placement determining unit 1444 stores information indicating criteria for determining the position or range in the box 1052 for each of the one or more evaluation samples 1054 to be delivered to the consumer 44 with the product 12. .

The decision criteria storage unit 1446 stores, for example, the type of the product 12 and the type of each specification of one or more evaluation samples 1054 delivered to the consumer 44 together with the product 12 in association with each other. Thereby, the specification determining unit 1442 can determine one or more evaluation samples 1054 to be delivered to the consumer 44 together with the product 12 based on the type of the product 12.

For example, if the product 12 is a product that easily discolors due to time or external force, the determination criteria storage unit 1446 associates information indicating the type of the product 12 with information indicating a color sample from which the degree of discoloration of the product 12 can be determined. Attach and store. The color sample that can be used to determine the degree of discoloration of the product 12 may be a combination of a plurality of color samples. For example, the determination criteria storage unit 1446 stores information indicating the type of product 12, identification information of a color sample regarding the original color or preferred color of product 12, and identification information of a color sample regarding the color of product 12 after discoloration. Store in association.

The determination criteria storage unit 1446 stores, for example, the type of packaging material and the position of each of the one or more evaluation samples 1054 in the packaging material in association with each other. The decision criteria storage unit 1446 may store the type of packaging material and the position where the evaluation sample 1054 can be placed in the packaging material in association with each other. Thereby, the specification determining unit 1442 can determine the arrangement of each of the one or more evaluation samples 1054 in the packaging material based on the type of the packaging material.

FIG. 15 schematically shows an example of the data structure of a data table 1500. The data table 1500 may be an example of a decision criterion stored in the decision criterion storage section 1446. In one embodiment, data table 1500 is used to determine the type of evaluation sample 1054. In other embodiments, data table 1500 is used to determine the placement of evaluation specimens 1054 in box 1052.

In this embodiment, the data table 1500 stores a product type 1520, an evaluation sample type 1540, and an arrangement 1560 of the evaluation sample 1054 in association with each other. The arrangement 1560 includes the position of the evaluation sample 1054 in the box 1052 (sometimes referred to as the presentation position), and the means for arranging the evaluation sample 1054 at the presentation position (sometimes referred to as the arrangement mode). Examples include.

The arrangement of the evaluation sample 1054 includes a method of printing the specified evaluation sample 1054 in the box 1052, a method of preparing a box 1052 on which the specified evaluation sample 1054 is printed, and a method of placing the specified evaluation sample 1054 in the box 1052. Examples include a method of pasting, a method of preparing a box 1052 to which the designated evaluation sample 1054 is pasted, and a method of enclosing the designated evaluation sample 1054 in the box 1052.

Examples of the presentation position of the evaluation sample 1054 include a portion of the surface of the box 1052 and at least a portion of the enclosed materials. Examples of enclosed materials include various documents and various simple measurement kits.

FIG. 16 illustrates an example computer 3000 in which aspects of the invention may be implemented, in whole or in part. At least a portion of transaction management system 100 may be implemented by computer 3000. For example, management server 110 is realized by computer 3000. For example, the control unit 220 of the production robot 120 is realized by the computer 3000. For example, sales support server 180 is realized by computer 3000. For example, the control device of the fruit sorting system 140 is realized by the computer 3000. For example, the control device of the physical distribution system 160 is realized by the computer 3000. Further, at least a portion of communication terminal 22, communication terminal 32, and communication terminal 42 may be realized by computer 3000.

The program installed on the computer 3000 causes the computer 3000 to function as an operation associated with a device according to an embodiment of the present invention or as one or more “parts” of the device, or to perform the operation or the one or more “parts” of the device. and/or the computer 3000 may be caused to perform a process or a step of a process according to an embodiment of the present invention. Such programs may be executed by CPU 3012 to cause computer 3000 to perform certain operations associated with some or all of the blocks in the flowcharts and block diagrams described herein.

A computer 3000 according to this embodiment includes a CPU 3012, a RAM 3014, a GPU 3016, and a display device 3018, which are interconnected by a host controller 3010. The computer 3000 also includes input/output units such as a communication interface 3022, a hard disk drive 3024, a DVD-ROM drive 3026, and an IC card drive, which are connected to the host controller 3010 via an input/output controller 3020. The computer also includes legacy input/output units, such as ROM 3030 and keyboard 3042, which are connected to input/output controller 3020 via input/output chip 3040.

The CPU 3012 operates according to programs stored in the ROM 3030 and RAM 3014, thereby controlling each unit. GPU 3016 obtains the image data generated by CPU 3012, such as in a frame buffer provided in RAM 3014 or within itself, and causes the image data to be displayed on display device 3018.

Communication interface 3022 communicates with other electronic devices via a network. Hard disk drive 3024 stores programs and data used by CPU 3012 within computer 3000. The DVD-ROM drive 3026 reads programs or data from the DVD-ROM 3001 and provides the programs or data to the hard disk drive 3024 via the RAM 3014. The IC card drive reads programs and data from and/or writes programs and data to the IC card.

ROM 3030 stores therein programs such as a boot program executed by computer 3000 upon activation and/or programs dependent on the computer 3000 hardware. I/O chip 3040 may also connect various I/O units to I/O controller 3020 via parallel ports, serial ports, keyboard ports, mouse ports, etc.

A program is provided by a computer readable storage medium such as a DVD-ROM 3001 or an IC card. The program is read from a computer-readable storage medium, installed on hard disk drive 3024, RAM 3014, or ROM 3030, which are also examples of computer-readable storage medium, and executed by CPU 3012. The information processing described in these programs is read by the computer 3000 and provides coordination between the programs and the various types of hardware resources described above. An apparatus or method may be configured to implement the operation or processing of information according to the use of computer 3000.

For example, when communication is executed between the computer 3000 and an external device, the CPU 3012 executes a communication program loaded into the RAM 3014 and sends communication processing to the communication interface 3022 based on the processing written in the communication program. You may give orders. The communication interface 3022 reads transmission data stored in a transmission buffer area provided in a recording medium such as a RAM 3014, a hard disk drive 3024, a DVD-ROM 3001, or an IC card under the control of the CPU 3012, and transmits the read transmission data. Data is transmitted to the network, or received data received from the network is written to a reception buffer area provided on the recording medium.

Further, the CPU 3012 causes the RAM 3014 to read all or a necessary part of the files or databases stored in external recording media such as the hard disk drive 3024, DVD-ROM drive 3026 (DVD-ROM 3001), and IC card. Various types of processing may be performed on data on RAM 3014. CPU 3012 may then write the processed data back to an external storage medium.

Various types of information, such as various types of programs, data, tables, and databases, may be stored on a recording medium and subjected to information processing. The CPU 3012 performs various types of operations, information processing, conditional determination, conditional branching, unconditional branching, and information retrieval on the data read from the RAM 3014 as described elsewhere in this disclosure and specified by the instruction sequence of the program. Various types of processing may be performed, including /substitutions, etc., and the results are written back to RAM 3014. Further, the CPU 3012 may search for information in a file in a recording medium, a database, or the like. For example, when a plurality of entries are stored in a recording medium, each having an attribute value of a first attribute associated with an attribute value of a second attribute, the CPU 3012 selects the first entry from among the plurality of entries. Search for an entry whose attribute value matches the specified condition, read the attribute value of the second attribute stored in the entry, and then set the attribute value to the first attribute that satisfies the predetermined condition. An attribute value of the associated second attribute may be obtained.

The programs or software modules described above may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium on or near computer 3000. Also, a storage medium such as a hard disk or RAM provided in a server system connected to a dedicated communication network or the Internet can be used as a computer-readable storage medium, thereby allowing the above-mentioned program to be transmitted over the network. Provided to computer 3000.

Although the present invention has been described above using the embodiments, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the range described in the above embodiments. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes or improvements can be made to the embodiments described above. Moreover, matters described with respect to a particular embodiment can be applied to other embodiments within a technically consistent range. It is clear from the claims that such modifications or improvements may be included within the technical scope of the present invention.

The order of execution of each process, such as the operation, procedure, step, and stage in the apparatus, system, program, and method shown in the claims, specification, and drawings, is specifically defined as "before" or "before". It should be noted that they can be implemented in any order unless the output of the previous process is used in the subsequent process. Even if the claims, specifications, and operational flows in the drawings are explained using "first," "next," etc. for convenience, this does not mean that it is essential to carry out the operations in this order. It's not a thing.

For example, the following items are disclosed in this specification. Note that each step of the control method shown below may be executed by a computer.
(Item A-1)
A management device for managing evaluation of goods,
an evaluation information acquisition unit that acquires evaluation information indicating an evaluation result for at least one of P items (P is an integer of 2 or more) regarding the article;
a viewer information acquisition unit that acquires viewer information indicating behavioral characteristics, interests, or preferences of a viewer who views the evaluation of the item;
Based on the viewer information acquired by the viewer information acquisition unit, from among the P items, Q items (Q is P a first item determining unit that determines the item (the following positive integer);
A management device comprising:
(Item A-2)
The P items related to the above goods are classified into multiple categories,
The first item determining unit presents the evaluation to the viewer from among the plurality of categories based on at least one of the behavioral characteristics, interests, and preferences of the viewer indicated by the viewer information. determining one or more categories to be used for;
Management device described in item A-1.
(Item A-3)
The P items related to the above goods are classified into multiple categories,
The first item determining section above is
Based on at least one selected from the group consisting of the type of the article, instructions of the viewer, and behavioral characteristics, interests, and preferences of the viewer indicated by the viewer information, determine one or more categories to be used in presenting the evaluation to the viewer,
determining the Q items including one or more items included in the one or more categories based on at least one of the behavioral characteristics, interests, and preferences of the viewer indicated by the viewer information;
Management device described in item A-1.
(Item A-4)
a first item evaluation unit that calculates an evaluation value for each of the Q items based on the one or more evaluation information regarding the article acquired by the evaluation information acquisition unit;
an article evaluation section that calculates an evaluation value of the article based on the evaluation value for each of the Q items calculated by the first item evaluation section and the weight assigned to each of the Q items;
further comprising,
The management device described in any one of items A-1 to A-3.
(Item A-5)
The article evaluation unit determines the weight value to be assigned to each of the Q items based on at least one of the behavioral characteristics, interests, and preferences of the viewer indicated by the viewer information.
Management device described in item A-4.
(Item A-6)
The evaluation information acquisition section mentioned above is
A first evaluation indicating the result of evaluation of at least one of the P items regarding the first product by a consumer who received the first product traded in the past or used or consumed the first product. a first evaluation information acquisition unit that acquires information;
a distribution information acquisition unit that acquires distribution status information indicating the condition of the first article during at least part of the distribution process of the first article;
a correction unit that corrects the evaluation result for at least one of the P items regarding the first article indicated by the first evaluation information, based on the condition of the first article indicated by the distribution state information;
further comprising,
The management device according to any one of items A-1 to A-5.
(Item A-7)
The evaluation information acquisition section mentioned above is
A first evaluation indicating the result of evaluation of at least one of the P items regarding the first product by a consumer who received the first product traded in the past or used or consumed the first product. a first evaluation information acquisition unit that acquires information;
an inspection information acquisition unit that acquires inspection information indicating the time of inspection or evaluation of the first article by the consumer;
Correction for correcting the evaluation result for at least one of the P items regarding the first article indicated by the first evaluation information, based on the inspection time or evaluation time of the first article indicated by the inspection information Department and
further comprising,
The management device according to any one of items A-1 to A-5.
(Item A-8)
further comprising a production information acquisition unit that acquires production information indicating the production point or shipping point of the first article,
The correction unit is based on the length of the period between the time of production or shipping of the first article indicated by the production information and the time of inspection or evaluation of the first article indicated by the inspection information. , correcting the evaluation result for at least one of the P items regarding the first article indicated by the first evaluation information;
Management device described in item A-7.
(Item A-9)
The first article is a fresh food product, an agricultural product, a marine product, or a livestock product,
The correction unit corrects the evaluation result for at least one of the P items regarding the first article indicated by the first evaluation information, further based on at least one of the production area and the item of the first article. ,
The management device according to any one of items A-6 to A-8.
(Item A-10)
A management device for managing evaluation of goods,
an evaluation information acquisition unit that acquires evaluation information indicating the result of evaluation for at least one of P items (P is an integer of 2 or more) regarding the article;
a second item evaluation unit that calculates an evaluation value for each of the P items based on the one or more evaluation information regarding the article acquired by the evaluation information acquisition unit;
Based on the evaluation value for each of the P items calculated by the second item evaluation unit, Q items (Q is a positive value less than or equal to P) are used to determine the evaluation of the item from among the P items. a second item determining unit that determines the item (which is an integer of );
With reference to the recipient information storage unit storing one or more recipient information indicating the behavioral characteristics, interests, or preferences of one or more recipients who can receive information regarding the item, the second item determining unit a recipient extraction unit that extracts recipients who have behavioral characteristics, interests, or preferences related to the determined Q items;
a generation unit that determines an evaluation for the article using the Q items and generates information regarding the article including information indicating the evaluation for the article;
a transmitting unit that transmits information regarding the item to the communication terminal of the recipient extracted by the recipient extracting unit;
A management device comprising:
(Item A-11)
A program for causing a computer to function as a management device according to any one of items A-1 to A-10.
(Item A-12)
A management method for managing evaluation of goods, the method comprising:
an evaluation information acquisition step of acquiring evaluation information indicating an evaluation result for at least one of P items (P is an integer of 2 or more) regarding the article;
a viewer information acquisition step of acquiring viewer information indicating the behavioral characteristics, interests, or preferences of the viewer who views the evaluation of the item;
Based on the viewer information acquired in the viewer information acquisition step, Q items (Q is a positive integer less than or equal to P) are presented to the viewer from among the P items. a first item determination step of determining an item;
A management method that has

For example, the following items are disclosed in this specification. Note that each step of the control method shown below may be executed by a computer.
(Item B-1)
A management device for managing evaluation of goods,
a support unit that supports input of evaluation results for the first product by a consumer who has received the first product traded in the past or used or consumed the first product;
Equipped with
The above support department is
(i) distribution status information indicating the state of the first article during at least part of the distribution process of the first article; and (ii) the time of production or shipping of the first article and the time of the first article by the consumer. a distribution information acquisition unit that acquires at least one of distribution period information indicating the length of the period between the inspection point or the evaluation point of one article;
One or more items for the consumer to evaluate the first article based on at least one of the condition of the first article indicated by the distribution state information and the length of the period indicated by the distribution period information. an evaluation item determination unit that determines the type of item;
a support data generation unit that generates input support data for supporting the customer in inputting evaluation results for each of the one or more items determined by the evaluation item determination unit;
a support data transmitter that transmits the input support data to the communication terminal of the consumer;
has,
Management device.
(Item B-2)
The evaluation item determining unit is configured to determine at least one of the condition of the first article indicated by the distribution state information, the length of the period indicated by the distribution period information, and at least the production area and item of the first article. and determining the type of one or more items for the consumer to evaluate the first article based on the first item.
Management device described in item B-1.
(Item B-3)
The above evaluation item determination section is
If the condition of the first article indicated by the distribution status information is worse than a predetermined standard, or if the length of the period indicated by the distribution period information is greater than a predetermined value for,
If the condition of the first article indicated by the distribution status information is better than a predetermined standard, or if the length of the period indicated by the distribution period information is smaller than a predetermined value In order to reduce the number of evaluation items of 1 or more above,
determining the type of one or more evaluation items above;
Management device described in item B-1 or item B-2.
(Item B-4)
The above support department is
a screen generation unit that generates input screen data for generating an input screen for the consumer to input evaluation results for the first article;
has,
The management device according to any one of items B-1 to B-3.
(Item B-5)
A management device for managing evaluation of goods,
an evaluation storage unit that stores evaluation information indicating the evaluation of the article;
a first evaluation information acquisition unit that acquires first evaluation information indicating an evaluation result of the first article by a consumer who has received the first article traded in the past or used or consumed the first article; ,
(i) distribution status information indicating the state of the first article during at least part of the distribution process of the first article; and (ii) the time of production or shipping of the first article and the time of the first article by the consumer. a distribution information acquisition unit that acquires at least one of distribution period information indicating the length of the period between the inspection point or the evaluation point of one article;
Equipped with
The first evaluation information acquisition unit is
(a) If at least one of the condition of the first article indicated by the distribution state information and the length of the period indicated by the distribution period information match a predetermined condition, the first evaluation information is Decide to store it in the evaluation storage section above,
(b) If at least one of the condition of the first article indicated by the distribution state information and the length of the period indicated by the distribution period information does not meet the predetermined conditions, (i) (ii) correcting at least a part of the evaluation result indicated by the first evaluation information; or (iii) the first evaluation result indicated by the first evaluation information. determining that evaluation information and information indicating that at least a part of the evaluation result indicated by the first evaluation information may not be valid are stored in the evaluation storage unit in association with each other;
Management device.
(Item B-6)
If at least one of the state of the first article indicated by the distribution state information and the length of the period indicated by the distribution period information does not meet the predetermined conditions,
(i) at least one of the origin and item of the first product; (ii) the state of the first product during at least part of the distribution process of the first product; and (iii) the period indicated by the distribution period information. a correction unit that corrects the evaluation result for at least one of the one or more evaluation items regarding the first article indicated by the first evaluation information, based on at least one selected from the group consisting of the length;
further comprising,
Management device described in item B-5.
(Item B-7)
The state of the first article is selected from the group consisting of acceleration applied to the first article, temperature and illuminance of the environment surrounding the first article, and concentration of a specific substance in the environment surrounding the first article. including at least one
The management device according to any one of items B-1 to B-6.
(Item B-8)
The specific substance is one or more substances selected from the group consisting of water, oxygen, carbon dioxide, and ethylene.
Management device described in item B-7.
(Item B-9)
a second evaluation information acquisition unit that acquires second evaluation information indicating an evaluation result for the first article by a supplier who produced or transferred the first article;
Regarding each of the one or more items for evaluating the first article, does the degree of deviation between the evaluation results based on the second evaluation information and the evaluation results based on the first evaluation information exceed a predetermined degree? a deviation degree determination unit that determines whether or not the
further comprising,
The management device according to any one of items B-1 to B-8.
(Item B-10)
If the deviation degree determination unit determines that the deviation degree exceeds a predetermined degree, the condition of the first article indicated by the distribution state information and the period indicated by the distribution period information are determined. a notification unit that notifies at least one of the supplier and the consumer of information indicating at least one of the length;
further comprising,
The management device according to any one of items B-1 to B-9.
(Item B-11)
A program for causing a computer to function as the information processing device according to any one of items B-1 to B-10.
(Item B-12)
A management method for managing evaluation of goods, the method comprising:
Input support for assisting the consumer in inputting evaluation results for the first product into the communication terminal of the consumer who received the first product traded in the past or used or consumed the first product. an auxiliary data transmission stage for transmitting data;
a support data generation step of generating the input support data;
(i) distribution status information indicating the state of the first article during at least part of the distribution process of the first article; and (ii) the time of production or shipping of the first article and the time of the first article by the consumer. a distribution information acquisition step of acquiring at least one of distribution period information indicating the length of the period between the inspection point or the evaluation point of one article;
has
The above support data generation stage is
One or more items for the consumer to evaluate the first article based on at least one of the condition of the first article indicated by the distribution state information and the length of the period indicated by the distribution period information. a stage of determining the types of evaluation items;
including,
Management method.

12 Product 14 Product 20 Producer 22 Communication terminal 30 Distributor 32 Communication terminal 40 Consumer 42 Communication terminal 44 Consumer 46 Consumer 50 Seller 100 Transaction management system 110 Management server 112 Transaction management department 114 Distribution management department 120 Production robot 130 Base unit 132 Mobile unit 134 Imaging unit 136 Sensor unit 138 Work unit 140 Fruit sorting system 160 Logistics system 180 Sales support server 220 Control unit 222 Control program 224 OS
226 Driver 230 Power supply unit 250 Vibration damping unit 280 Balance adjustment unit 294 Firmware 420 Sales management department 422 EC site management department 424 Input section 426 Order management department 428 Product management department 440 Customer management department 442 User information acquisition section 444 User information storage section 460 Evaluation management section 462 Evaluation acquisition section 464 Evaluation correction section 466 Evaluation information storage section 540 Product description screen 542 Product description text 544 Product image 546 Product evaluation image 560 Product description screen 566 Product evaluation image 620 Evaluation input screen 622 Input form 624 Input form 640 Evaluation input screen 642 Input form 644 Input form 740 Evaluation input screen 744 Input form 750 Message 820 Transaction support section 822 Evaluation information extraction section 824 User information extraction section 826 1st item determination section 828 1st item evaluation section 830 Product evaluation section 832 Transaction screen generation section 840 Matching support section 842 Second item evaluation section 844 Second item determination section 846 Recipient extraction section 848 Notification generation section 860 Data transmission section 912 Distribution status determination section 914 Distribution period determination section 920 Evaluation support section 922 Input items Determination unit 924 Input screen generation unit 926 Input screen transmission unit 932 Supply side evaluation acquisition unit 934 Demand side evaluation acquisition unit 936 Evaluation data control unit 942 Deviation determination unit 944 Deviation notification unit 1020 Sales promotion support department 1022 In-store advertisement 1040 Packaging support department 1052 Box 1054 Evaluation sample 1122 User information acquisition unit 1124 Target attribute determination unit 1132 Evaluation information acquisition unit 1134 Evaluation item determination unit 1140 Advertising data generation unit 1142 Appeal mode determination unit 1144 Word extraction unit 1146 Layout extraction unit 1148 Image extraction unit 1152 Candidate presentation unit 1154 Advertisement determining section 1160 Storage section 1162 Wording template database 1164 Layout template database 1166 Item image database 1168 Background image database 1222 Presentation mode 1224 Presentation mode 1226 Presentation mode 1320 Enclosed documents 1330 Simple temperature measurement kit 1422 Order information acquisition section 1424 User information acquisition section 1426 Evaluation information acquisition unit 1442 Specification determination unit 1444 Layout determination unit 1446 Determination criteria storage unit 1500 Data table 1520 Product type 1540 Evaluation sample type 1560 Layout 3000 Computer 3001 DVD-ROM
3010 Host controller 3012 CPU
3014 RAM
3016 GPU
3018 Display device 3020 Input/output controller 3022 Communication interface 3024 Hard disk drive 3026 DVD-ROM drive 3030 ROM
3040 Input/output chip 3042 Keyboard

Claims (12)

comprising a specification determining unit that determines the specifications of each of one or more comparison targets that are delivered together with packaging materials for packaging the article and used to determine the condition of the article;
The specification determining unit is
(i) the type of said goods; (ii) the distance over which said goods are to be delivered; (iii) the time required for said goods to be delivered; (iv) the weather at the destination of said goods; (v) the person sending said goods. (vi) attributes of the recipient of the article, (vii) attributes of the shipper of the article, and (viii) at least one of the pattern and color of the surface of the packaging material, and combinations thereof. ,
determining specifications for each of the one or more comparison controls;
decision device. The specifications for each of the one or more comparisons are:
(i) the type of target to be determined for each of the one or more comparison controls;
(ii) at least one of the size, shape, pattern, and color of each of the one or more comparison controls, and
(iii) the hardness of each of the one or more comparative controls;
including at least one of
The determining device according to claim 1. Each of the one or more comparisons is
A part of the surface of the packaging material, or
Disposed on at least a portion of the contents housed inside the packaging material,
The determination device according to claim 1 or claim 2. Further comprising a placement determining unit that determines a position or range in the packaging material for each of the one or more comparison targets,
The determining device according to claim 3. The packaging material includes at least one of a box, a partition member, a packaging material, and a cushioning material.
The determining device according to any one of claims 1 to 4. The specification determining unit is
determining the attributes of the sender based on evaluations of the other items or the sender by recipients of other items shipped by the sender in the past;
The determining device according to any one of claims 1 to 5. The specification determining unit is
determining the attributes of the recipient based on the recipient's evaluation of other items received by the recipient in the past;
The determining device according to any one of claims 1 to 6. The specification determining unit is
determining the attributes of the delivery person based on evaluations of the other items or the delivery person by senders or recipients of other items that the delivery person has delivered in the past;
The determining device according to any one of claims 1 to 7. The condition of the article is determined based on a comparison result between the article and at least one of the size, shape, pattern, color, and hardness of each of the one or more comparison controls.
The determining device according to any one of claims 1 to 8. The condition of the article includes at least one of the appearance condition of the article and the delivery condition of the article,
The state of the appearance of the article includes at least one of the size, degree of bending, and color of the article.
The determining device according to any one of claims 1 to 9. A program for causing a computer to function as the determining device according to any one of claims 1 to 9. a specification determining step in which a computer determines specifications for each of one or more comparators delivered with packaging materials for packaging the article and used to determine the condition of the article;
has
The specification determination stage includes:
(i) the type of said goods; (ii) the distance over which said goods are to be delivered; (iii) the time required for said goods to be delivered; (iv) the weather at the destination of said goods; (v) the person sending said goods. (vi) attributes of the recipient of the article, (vii) attributes of the shipper of the article, and (viii) at least one of the pattern and color of the surface of the packaging material, and combinations thereof. , determining specifications for each of the one or more comparison controls;
including,
How to decide.