JP2023159577A - Information processing apparatus, information processing method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

To achieve a platform that manages a series of processing from reception, by an order recipient, of an order of a predetermined commodity stored in a warehouse and placed by an orderer until delivery of the predetermined commodity from the warehouse to a destination designated by the orderer.SOLUTION: A unified management unit 66 stores, in an integrated DB 71, commodity information on a plurality of types of commodities, warehouse information on a warehouse including inventory information, orderer information on the transaction of a predetermined commodity, and order recipient information on the transaction of the predetermined commodity, and performs unified management of the information. A commodity transaction control unit 67 controls processing related to the transaction of the predetermined commodity between an orderer H and an order recipient J based on an operation for an orderer terminal 2 made by the orderer H and an operation for a terminal 3 of a person in charge of order reception made by a person in charge of order reception JT, by using at least part of the commodity information, warehouse information, orderer information, and order recipient information stored in the integrated DB 71.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

The present invention relates to an information processing device, an information processing method, and a program.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a platform has been proposed for conducting transactions between an orderer who places an order for a product and an order taker who accepts the order (for example, see Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2010-102391

However, in recent years, the following demands have been raised, but it is not possible to meet these demands only with conventional techniques including Patent Document 1.
In other words, we have realized a platform that manages a series of processes from the time the order taker receives the order to the orderer's delivery of the designated product from the base to the orderer's order for a specified product stored as inventory at the base. There has always been a desire to change the
However, the situation is such that conventional techniques alone, including Patent Document 1, cannot meet such demands.

The present invention was made in view of the above situation, and is a platform for conducting transactions between an orderer and an order receiver, and is a platform for conducting transactions between an orderer and an order receiver, and is a platform for conducting transactions between an orderer and an order receiver. The objective is to realize a platform that manages a series of processes from the time an order taker receives an order to the delivery of a predetermined product from a base to the orderer.

To achieve the above object, an information processing device according to one embodiment of the present invention includes:
In response to an order by an orderer for one or more specified products among multiple types of products stored as inventory at a base, until the order receiver accepts the order and the specified product is delivered from the base to the orderer. In order to manage a series of processes, product information regarding each of the plurality of types of products, base information regarding the base including inventory information, orderer information regarding the orderer regarding the transaction of the predetermined product, and the predetermined product central management means for storing and centrally managing the order recipient information regarding the order recipient regarding the transaction in a predetermined database;
Using at least a part of the product information, the base information, the orderer information, and the orderer information stored in the predetermined database, the orderer operates the orderer terminal and the orderer receives the order. a product, etc. transaction control means that controls the execution of processing related to the transaction of the predetermined product between the orderer and the order receiver based on at least one of the operations on the customer terminal;
Equipped with

An information processing method and a program according to one embodiment of the present invention correspond to the above-described information processing apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention.

According to the present invention, it is possible to realize a platform for conducting transactions between an orderer and an order receiver, which satisfies the interests of three parties: the orderer, the order receiver, and the platform provider. The purpose is to

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an overview of this service that can be realized by an information processing system to which a server according to an embodiment of the information processing device of the present invention is applied, in comparison with a conventional service. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of an information processing system to which the present service of FIG. 1 is applied, that is, an information processing system to which a server according to an embodiment of the information processing apparatus of the present invention is applied. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of a server in the information processing system shown in FIG. 2. FIG. FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the server in FIG. 3 that constitutes the information processing system in FIG. 2; FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a screen provided by the service of FIG. 1 to which the server having the functional configuration of FIG. 4 is applied, which is presented when an orderer performs an ordering operation. A diagram showing an example of a screen provided by the service shown in FIG. 1 to which the server with the functional configuration shown in FIG. 4 is applied, which is different from that shown in FIG. It is. This is an example of a screen provided by the service shown in FIG. 1 to which the server with the functional configuration shown in FIG. FIG.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

First, with reference to FIG. 1, an overview of a service (hereinafter referred to as "this service") that can be realized by an information processing system to which a server 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied will be described.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an overview of this service that can be realized by an information processing system to which a server according to an embodiment of the information processing apparatus of the present invention is applied, in comparison with a conventional service.

In this service, when Party A who wishes to provide products such as furniture places an order with Party B, such as the manufacturer of the product, Party B accepts the order and provides (deliveries) the product to Party B. There is. In other words, Party A performs the work of placing an order with Party B (hereinafter referred to as "ordering work"). Party B performs the work of accepting orders for the relevant order (hereinafter referred to as "order work"), and the work of providing (delivery) the ordered products to Party B from the warehouse (base) (hereinafter referred to as "providing work") )I do.
Here, party A who performs product ordering operations will be referred to as "orderer H" hereinafter. On the other hand, Party B, such as a manufacturer that performs order-receiving and provision services for the product, is hereinafter referred to as "Orderer J."
Among order takers J, the person who serves as the liaison with orderer H and mainly handles order work is hereinafter referred to as "order taker JT", and the person assigned to the warehouse and performs provision work is hereinafter referred to as "warehouse worker JS". .

In order to facilitate understanding of this service, an outline of a conventional service performed based on the above-mentioned premise is shown in FIG. 1(A).
As shown in FIG. 1(A), in the conventional service, in step SK1, an orderer H sends an order to his own terminal (for example, orderer terminal 2 in FIG. 2, which will be described later) for ordering work for a predetermined product. By inputting various necessary information and transmitting it to the orderer J side, an order for a predetermined product is placed.
In step SK2, as part of the order-receiving work, the order-receiving person JT transmits the order details (order quantity, delivery schedule, etc.) for the specified product to the order-receiver J based on various information sent from the orderer H. The information is input into the managed ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) system JE.
In step SK3, the (order person JT or) warehouse worker JS accesses the ERP system JE and confirms the details of the order for the predetermined product.
In step SK4, (order taker JT or) warehouse worker JS inputs a delivery plan based on the order details into the delivery system JH managed by order taker J as part of the provision work, so that the predetermined product can be delivered. Arrangements were made for the delivery (provision) of.
As a result, the predetermined products are collected at the warehouse (base) of the orderer J, and the predetermined products are directly delivered to the delivery destination specified by the orderer H, or the predetermined products are transported to an affiliated warehouse.

Such conventional services have had the following problems.
In other words, there was a problem that it was difficult for order taker J to manage his company's ERP system JE, or in other words, it was difficult for order taker JT to use.
In this way, since the ERP system JE is difficult for order taker JT to use, he sometimes gives instructions to warehouse staff JS over the phone without inputting information in step SK2, resulting in inefficiency in order taking and provision work. There were issues with problems such as mistakes.

In order to solve these problems, as shown in Figure 1 (B), this service provides information on ordering operations on the orderer H side and information on ordering operations and provision operations on the orderer J side for a given product. , are stored in a comprehensive DB 71 managed by the service provider and are collectively managed.
In other words, in response to orderer H placing an order for one or more predetermined products among multiple types of products stored as inventory in a warehouse (base), orderer J receives the order and orders the predetermined product from orderer H from the warehouse. In order to manage a series of processes up to delivery to the destination specified by The orderer information and the orderer information regarding the orderer J regarding the transaction of a predetermined product are stored in the comprehensive DB 71 and centrally managed.

As a result, in this service, the flow shown in FIG. 1(B) can be realized as a flow in which order receiving operations and provision operations are efficient and troubles such as mistakes are less likely to occur.
That is, as shown in FIG. 1(B), in this service, in step SN1, orderer H sends an order to his own terminal (for example, orderer terminal 2 in FIG. 2, which will be described later) for ordering work for a predetermined product. By inputting various necessary information into the comprehensive DB 71, orders for predetermined products are placed.
Here, as shown in FIG. 1(B), the comprehensive DB 71 is connected to the ERP system JE of the contractor J using a predetermined API, and can exchange various information with the ERP system JE.
Therefore, the service provider's server (for example, server 1 in FIG. 2, which will be described later) receives information input from orderer H and stored in the comprehensive DB 71, and information provided by API from order taker J's ERP system JE. Based on the above information, information indicating the order details (order quantity, delivery schedule, etc.) for a given product (information that was previously manually input into the ERP system JE by the order person JT) is automatically generated and stored in the comprehensive DB 71. can be stored and managed.
That is, in step SN2, the order-taking person JT comprehensively collects information indicating the order details (order quantity, delivery schedule, etc.) for a predetermined product without performing the time-consuming operation of inputting information as in step SK2. You can check by accessing DB71.
Information indicating the order details (order quantity, delivery schedule, etc.) for a predetermined product is provided from the comprehensive DB 71 to the ERP system JE of the order taker J using an API.
In step SN3, the warehouse worker JS accesses the ERP system JE, confirms the order details for the specified product, and makes arrangements for delivery (provision) of the specified product as in the past.

In this way, in this service, information on the orderer H side and information on the orderer J side (including not only information related to transactions but also information related to warehouses, etc.) are unified in the comprehensive DB 71 managed by the service provider. Stored and managed in a very centralized manner.
This makes it possible to provide various services other than the service shown in FIG. 1(B) as this service.

For example, it becomes possible to provide orderer H or orderer J with a service that centralizes and presents the delivery status of a predetermined product (hereinafter referred to as "delivery status unification service").
A specific example of the delivery status unified service will be described later with reference to FIG. 7.

For example, if a project is defined as the completion of one transaction between orderer H and orderer J for one or more products, the transaction is It becomes possible to provide orderer H or contractor J with a service that creates a predetermined project when a project occurs and manages it (hereinafter referred to as "project creation/management service").
The ordering party H and the ordering party J can carry out ordering work, order receiving work, and provision work on a project-by-project basis, so that they can work efficiently.
Note that a specific example of the project creation/management service will be described later with reference to FIG. 5.

Further, for example, when orderer H's terminal operation instructs to keep stock of a predetermined product, a service (hereinafter referred to as "inventory It becomes possible to provide the orderer H or the orderer J with a "reservation service".
The orderer H can keep stock of desired products for a predetermined period by simply performing a simple operation.
By simply accessing the comprehensive DB 71 and checking the inventory information, the order taker J can easily see which of his company's products will be kept in stock and for how long, so he can reliably keep the inventory. That is, in the past, order taker J received instructions to keep stock over the phone, which often led to problems such as selling items when they should have kept stock. The "Inventory Holding Service" makes it possible to prevent such troubles from occurring.
Note that a specific example of the inventory holding service will be described later with reference to FIG. 6.

Further, for example, when a search instruction regarding a predetermined product is given by an operation on orderer H's terminal, a service (hereinafter referred to as "product search service") that extracts the product information of the predetermined product from the comprehensive DB 71 and presents it to orderer H's terminal. ”) to orderer H.
Conventionally, the orderer H has had to search for a desired predetermined product from among a large amount of paper catalogs provided by the orderer J, which is a complicated, time-consuming, and time-consuming task.
On the other hand, with the product search service, the orderer H can search for a desired predetermined product in a short time by simply operating a terminal, which is a simple and hassle-free task.

Furthermore, when searching for or selecting a predetermined product, orderer H has to decide on a combination of options, which has conventionally been complicated. For example, when the predetermined product is furniture, determining the combination of options such as size and material of the legs is complicated.
Therefore, the following services are also provided to make it easier to decide on a combination of options.
That is, the product information stored in the comprehensive DB 71 includes information regarding options of the target product. Therefore, when an order or search instruction is given for a predetermined product including a predetermined option by operation on the orderer's terminal, the product information (including information regarding options) of the predetermined product is extracted from the comprehensive DB 71, and the orderer The service presented on the terminal (hereinafter referred to as the "option determination service") can be provided to the orderer H.

In addition, in the product search service and option determination service, not only the specified product but also one or more product information that is a candidate for the substitute product is extracted from the comprehensive DB 71 as necessary and presented to the orderer's terminal. .

Specific examples of the product search service and option determination service will be described later with reference to FIG.

In addition, if the product of order taker J is furniture, the following various services can be provided as part of this service.

For example, the product information includes a photo of the product, and orderer H places an order for a predetermined product by looking at this photo.
However, although we have already explained to orderer H that photos cannot convey the feel of the skin, the specified product (actual product) is too different from the photo, has cracks (even though they are not shown in the photo), and Even though it is clean, there may be rust on the steel.
In such cases, the contractor J (furniture manufacturer) has traditionally taken responsibility. Therefore, it is also possible to provide a service that allows replacement of predetermined products after shipment by insurance, that is, a function for insurance companies as part of this service.

Furthermore, for example, the platform using the comprehensive DB 71 is not limited to the one shown in FIG. 1(B), but it is also possible to create a single platform that includes, for example, an asset management system.
Here, it is assumed that the downstream asset management company that participates in the platform has an arranger and a yard.
In this case, the various products distributed on the platform by the service provider will be transported to the yard, where they can be subject to horizontal recycling, chemical recycling, disposal, etc., or they can be taken over by the raw material manufacturer.
Therefore, by having business operators involved in the assessment participate in the platform, it is also possible to provide a service as part of this service in which the service provider conducts an assessment of various products distributed on the platform. It is.
As a specific example of this service, for example, when client H is building a new office, a service can be implemented in which the company creates a report that shows what percentage of the currently installed furniture will be recycled. can. In this case, information on the materials of the furniture to be recycled can be obtained from the furniture manufacturer who is the order recipient J. Further, information such as the unit price for purchasing materials of a predetermined material (for example) iron can be obtained from the yard.

In providing such a service (platform), the service provider can collect fees for the service from each of the orderer H and the orderer J.
The method of collecting consideration is not particularly limited, and for example, subscription (for example, monthly fixed amount payment), charging based on a predetermined trigger, or a combination of these can be adopted.

Here, as the charge, for example, circulation market charge may be adopted.
Distribution market charging is when a transaction occurs at a predetermined distribution price between the orderer Hq (q is an integer value of 2 or more) and the contractor Jr. (r is an integer value of 2 or more). This is a system in which the orderer Hq is charged a first price based on the distribution price, and the orderer Jr is charged a second price based on the distribution price.
The distribution price is a price that is set at each of multiple ordering parties by the intention of the ordering party, and is set at a relatively different amount depending on the relationship (transaction history, etc.) between the multiple ordering parties and the ordering party, and the setting contents are not reflected. This refers to the estimated amount, etc. of each of the multiple ordering parties.
Specifically, for example, the amount to be charged to the orderer Hq, that is, the default amount of the first price based on the distribution price may be 1.2% of the distribution price.
Furthermore, for example, the default amount of the second price based on the amount to be charged to the order taker Jr., ie, the distribution price, may be 5% of the distribution price.
The details of the distribution market charge are stated in the specification and drawings originally attached to the application for patent application with reference number AT1-4139, which was filed separately by the applicant on April 20, 2020. ing.

In this way, the service provider can provide a platform that can make effective use of the comprehensive DB 71 and for conducting transactions between multiple orderers H and multiple order takers J. .
By concentrating various information on the orderer H side and the orderer J side in the comprehensive DB 71 as shown in Figure 1, it is possible to As a result, it becomes possible to realize a platform that manages a series of processes from order recipient J receiving an order to delivery of a predetermined product from the warehouse to the destination designated by orderer H.

Next, with reference to FIG. 2, the configuration of an information processing system that realizes the provision of the above-described service, that is, an information processing system to which a server according to an embodiment of the information processing apparatus of the present invention is applied will be described. .
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of an information processing system to which the service shown in FIG. 1 is applied, that is, an information processing system to which a server according to an embodiment of the information processing apparatus of the present invention is applied.

The information processing system shown in FIG. 2 is configured to include a server 1, an orderer terminal 2 of an orderer H, and a group of devices of an orderer J. The equipment group of the order taker J includes an order taker terminal 3, an ERP system JE, and a warehouseman terminal 4.
The server 1, the orderer terminal 2, the order taker terminal 3, and the ERP system JE are interconnected via a predetermined network such as the Internet.
The warehouseman terminal 4 is connected to the ERP system JE.

The server 1 is an information processing device managed by a service provider. The server 1 executes various processes for realizing this service while appropriately communicating with the orderer terminal 2, the order taker terminal 3, and the ERP system JE.

The orderer terminal 2 is an information processing device operated by the orderer H. The orderer terminal 2 is composed of a personal computer, a tablet, a smartphone, or the like. The orderer terminal 2 receives various information input operations by the orderer H, for example, and transmits them to the server 1, and receives and displays various information transmitted from the server 1.

The order taker terminal 3 is an information processing device operated by the order taker JT. The order-receiving person terminal 3 is composed of a personal computer, a tablet, a smartphone, or the like. The order taker terminal 3 accepts various information input operations by the order taker JT, for example, and transmits them to the server 1, and receives and displays various information transmitted from the server 1.

The ERP system JE is a core system managed by the contractor J, and is composed of one or more information processing devices such as a server. The ERP system JE is provided with a predetermined API, and various information is exchanged with the server 1 via the network using this API.

The warehouse worker terminal 4 is an information processing device operated by the warehouse worker JS. The warehouseman terminal 4 is composed of a personal computer, a tablet, a smartphone, etc. The warehouseman terminal 4 accepts various information input operations by the warehouseman JS, for example, and transmits them to the ERP system JE, and receives and displays various information transmitted from the ERP system JE.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of a server in the information processing system shown in FIG. 2. As shown in FIG.

The server 1 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 11, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 12, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 13, a bus 14, an input/output interface 15, an input section 16, and an output section 17. , a storage section 18, a communication section 19, and a drive 20.

The CPU 11 executes various processes according to programs recorded in the ROM 12 or programs loaded into the RAM 13 from the storage section 18 .
The RAM 13 also appropriately stores data necessary for the CPU 11 to execute various processes.

The CPU 11, ROM 12, and RAM 13 are interconnected via a bus 14. An input/output interface 15 is also connected to this bus 14 . An input section 16 , an output section 17 , a storage section 18 , a communication section 19 , and a drive 20 are connected to the input/output interface 15 .

The input unit 16 includes, for example, a keyboard, and inputs various information.
The output unit 17 includes a display such as a liquid crystal display, a speaker, and the like, and outputs various information as images and sounds.
The storage unit 18 is composed of a DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) or the like, and stores various data.
The communication unit 19 communicates with other devices (for example, the orderer terminal 2, the order-taking person terminal 3, and the ERP system JE in FIG. 2) via a network including the Internet.

A removable medium 40, such as a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, or a semiconductor memory, is appropriately installed in the drive 20. The program read from the removable medium 40 by the drive 20 is installed in the storage unit 18 as necessary.
Further, the removable medium 40 can also store various data stored in the storage section 18 in the same manner as the storage section 18.

Although not shown, the orderer terminal 2, order-receiver terminal 3, ERP system JE, and warehouseman terminal 4 in FIG. 2 can also have basically the same hardware configuration as the one shown in FIG. can. Therefore, a description of the hardware configurations of the orderer terminal 2, the order-taking person terminal 3, the ERP system JE, and the warehouseman terminal 4 will be omitted.

Through cooperation between various hardware and various software of the server 1 shown in FIG. 3, various processes can be executed. As a result, the above-mentioned service can be provided.
The functional configuration of the server 1 in FIG. 3 in the information processing system in FIG. 2 will be described below.
FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the server in FIG. 3 that constitutes the information processing system in FIG. 2.

As shown in FIG. 4, an ordering/placement cloud service control unit 51 functions in the CPU 11.
Furthermore, a comprehensive DB 71 is arranged in the storage unit 18 .

As part of this service, the ordering/placement cloud service control unit 51 supports the ordering process, the order receiving process, and the providing process in order to improve the efficiency of the ordering process of orderer H and the ordering process and provision process of order receiver J. Various control processes related to the service (hereinafter referred to as "ordering cloud service") provided to the orderer terminal 2 and the ordering person terminal 3 in the cloud are executed.

The ordering/placement cloud service control unit 51 includes an API control unit 61 , an orderee information acquisition unit 62 , a product information acquisition unit 63 , a warehouse information acquisition unit 64 , an orderer information acquisition unit 65 , and a central management unit 66 and a commodity transaction control section 67.

The API control unit 61 controls the exchange of various information with the ERP system JE of the contractor J using an API provided in the ERP system JE.

When a transaction for a predetermined product occurs between an orderer H and an order taker J, the order taker information acquisition unit 62 transmits order taker information regarding the order taker J regarding the transaction for the predetermined product to the API control unit 61. and stores it in the comprehensive DB 71.
Here, as will be described later, when one transaction occurs between the orderer H and the order receiver J, a project is generated by the commodity transaction control unit 57. Therefore, the contractor information acquisition unit 62 acquires contractor information for each project and stores it in the comprehensive DB 71.

The product information acquisition unit 63 acquires product information regarding each of the plurality of types of products of the order taker J via the API control unit 61 and stores it in the comprehensive DB 71 .

The warehouse information acquisition unit 64 acquires warehouse information regarding the warehouse including inventory information for each of a plurality of types of products of the order taker J via the API control unit 61 and stores it in the comprehensive DB 71 .

The orderer information acquisition unit 65 acquires orderer information regarding the orderer H regarding the transaction of a predetermined product between the orderer H and the orderer J based on the operation of the orderer H on the orderer terminal 2. , and stored in the comprehensive DB 71.
The information input in step SN1 of FIG. 1(B) described above is at least part of the orderer information.

In response to an order placed by orderer H for one or more predetermined products among multiple types of products stored as inventory in the warehouse, the central management unit 66 receives the order from orderer J and supplies the predetermined product from the warehouse to orderer H. In order to manage a series of processes up to delivery to the delivery destination specified by In addition, order recipient information regarding transactions of predetermined products is stored in the comprehensive DB 71 and centrally managed.

The product transaction control unit 67 uses at least part of the product information, warehouse information, orderer information, and orderer information stored in the comprehensive DB 71 to control the operation of the orderer terminal 2 by the orderer H and the order-receiving person. Based on the operation of the order taker terminal 3 by the JT, the processing related to the transaction of a predetermined product between the orderer H and the order taker J is controlled.
Here, as processing related to product transactions, there are various processing related to the ordering work of the orderer H, and various processing related to the ordering work or provision work of the order receiving person JT.

When the above-mentioned project creation/management service is provided, the product transaction control unit 67 treats the project until one transaction is completed as a project, and performs predetermined operations on the orderer terminal 2 by the orderer H or order-receiving personnel JT. A predetermined project is created when a transaction of one or more predetermined products occurs based on an operation on the user terminal 3, and processing related to the predetermined project is controlled.

A specific example of the project creation/management service will be explained with reference to FIG. 5.
FIG. 5 is a screen provided by the service shown in FIG. 1 to which the server having the functional configuration shown in FIG. 4 is applied, and is a diagram showing an example of the screen presented when an orderer performs ordering work.
In the transaction list of screen G1 in FIG. 5, items RG that are projects created by the project creation service and that represent projects of orderer H are displayed in a list.
The orderer H can easily grasp the outline of the project by viewing the item RG for the project for which ordering work is to be performed on the screen G1 displayed on the orderer terminal 2.
In addition, the orderer H uses the orderer terminal 2 to perform a predetermined operation such as clicking on the item RG for the project for which the order is to be placed, thereby displaying the screen displayed on the orderer terminal 2. It is possible to transition to various screens (drawings) for concretely performing order work and provision work for the project.

Here, the commodity transaction control unit 67 in FIG. 4 can permit access to the comprehensive DB 71 when an instruction to access the comprehensive DB 71 is received through an operation of the order-taking person JT on the order-taking person terminal 3.
As a result, although not shown in the figure, the item RG indicating the project for order taker J's project (or the project that order taker JT is in charge of) is also displayed on the order taker terminal 3 of order taker JT. The screen that appears can now be displayed.
Thereby, the order-receiving person JT can perform order-receiving work and provision work in the same way.

Returning to FIG. 4, when the above-mentioned product search service is provided, the product transaction control unit 67 provides product information of the predetermined product when a search instruction regarding a predetermined product is given by orderer H's operation on the orderer terminal 2. is extracted from the comprehensive DB 71 and transmitted to the orderer terminal 2.

Further, when the above-mentioned option determination service is provided, the product information stored in the comprehensive DB 71 includes information regarding options of the target product.
When the product transaction control unit 67 receives an instruction to search including a predetermined option for a predetermined product by the orderer H's operation on the orderer terminal 2, information regarding the predetermined option is extracted from the comprehensive DB 71, and Executes control for sending data to terminal 2.

Specific examples of the product search service and option determination service will be described with reference to FIG. 6.
FIG. 6 is a screen provided by the service shown in FIG. 1 to which the server with the functional configuration shown in FIG. 4 is applied, and is different from FIG. It is a figure which shows an example.
Screen G2 in FIG. 6 displays a photo, item information, and option information as product information (details of various products) of a predetermined product searched by the product search service described later.
Among these, the photo and item information of a predetermined product are an example of product information extracted from the comprehensive DB 71 provided by the product search service.
Further, option information for a predetermined product is an example of information regarding a predetermined option extracted from the comprehensive DB 71 by providing an option determination service.

Note that at the bottom of the screen G2 in FIG. 6, a list of product information and inventory information of substitute products (same or similar products taking options into consideration) for the predetermined product is presented.

Returning to FIG. 4, when the above-mentioned inventory holding service is provided, when the orderer H instructs to reserve the stock of a predetermined product through an operation on the orderer terminal 2, the product transaction control unit 67 Control is executed to add information indicating that the stock will be kept for a predetermined period of time to the stock information stored in the comprehensive DB 71.

A specific example of the inventory holding service will be described with reference to FIG. 6.
On the screen G2 of FIG. 6, a photo, item information, and option information are displayed as product information of a predetermined product searched by the above-described product search service and option determination service.
If the orderer H wishes to reserve the predetermined product for a predetermined period of time, the orderer H may use the orderer terminal 2 to press the "Reserve" button BTO at the top of the screen G2.
Note that, when setting the predetermined period, the orderer H may input the desired period into a sub-window (not shown), for example.
As a result, information indicating that the predetermined product is to be kept in stock for a predetermined period is added to the inventory information stored in the comprehensive DB 71.

Returning to FIG. 4, when the above-mentioned delivery status unified service is provided, the product transaction control unit 67 selects a predetermined product by the orderer H's operation on the orderer's terminal 2 or the order-taking person JT's operation on the order-taking person's terminal 3. When an instruction to check the progress status of a project is given, orderer information, order receiver information, and warehouse information regarding a predetermined product are extracted from the comprehensive DB 71.
The product transaction control unit 67 generates information indicating the progress status of the project (hereinafter referred to as "progress information") based on orderer information, order receiver information, and warehouse information regarding a predetermined product, and It controls the execution of processing to be sent to the terminal 2 or the order-receiving person terminal 3.

A specific example of the delivery status unification service will be described with reference to FIG. 7.
FIG. 7 shows a screen provided by the service shown in FIG. 1 to which the server with the functional configuration shown in FIG. 4 is applied, and FIGS. It is a figure which shows an example different from.
Screen G3 in FIG. 7 shows progress status information regarding a project consisting of four products.
As shown in screen G3 of FIG. 7, the progress information visualizes the delivery status for each product. Specifically, for example, in the example of FIG. 7, a graph indicating the progress status is displayed as progress status information along with the message "Scheduled to arrive on October 0, 2022." This graph shows items in preparation for shipment, already collected,..., and currently being delivered. ..., circle marks indicating each process, such as arrival of goods, are arranged in the order of the process, and a process with a black circle indicates that it has already been completed, and a process with a white circle indicates that the process has already been completed. indicates that it has not finished yet.
Therefore, the orderer H can immediately grasp to what stage each product has progressed and when it is scheduled to arrive (delivery) simply by visually checking the progress information.
This progress information is updated almost in real time, so the orderer H can check the progress almost in real time.

In other words, when it comes to large-scale projects, it is necessary to control the delivery of hundreds of products (furniture and fixtures) from more than a dozen furniture manufacturers (more than a dozen contractors) at once. It was a black box. There was a problem in that the orderer H had to check each of the ten or so furniture manufacturers (the ten or so order takers J) by phone or email each time.
The delivery status centralization service solves this problem.

Here, the commodity transaction control unit 67 in FIG. 4 can permit access to the comprehensive DB 71 when an instruction to access the comprehensive DB 71 is received through an operation of the order-taking person JT on the order-taking person terminal 3.
As a result, although not shown in the diagram, the progress status information for the project of order taker J (or the case that order taker JT is in charge of) is also displayed on order taker JT's order taker terminal 3. . Similarly, JT, the person in charge of receiving orders, can check the progress status in real time.

Furthermore, the progress status information provided by the delivery status centralization service can be accessed by not only JT on the sales side who can access server 1, but also the warehouse staff through the ERP system JE using APIs. It is also possible to present the information to the warehouse worker JS, who is a warehouse worker, and to a delivery person (not shown).

In this way, by providing a unified delivery status service to orderer H and orderer J (order person JT, warehouse staff JS, and delivery person not shown), the delivery status of each ordered product is is visualized. In particular, it will be possible to see the delivery status on a project-by-project basis.
As a result, the following effects occur for the orderer H side.
In other words, the effect is that the delivery status of ordered products can be known.
This has the effect of knowing each delivery company and invoice number.
This has the effect of being able to see the status of deliveries at affiliated warehouses.
On the other hand, the following effects occur on the side of order taker J.
That is, there is an effect that there is no need to go to the trouble of conveying the delivery status and arrangement status to the orderer H.
This results in the effect that communication loss can be reduced within Contractor J.

Further, as shown in screen G of FIG. 7, the orderer H and the order taker J (order person JT, warehouse worker JS, delivery person not shown) can exchange messages with each other.
Here, the person who sends the message among the orderer H and the orderer J (order person JT, warehouse worker JS, delivery person not shown) is hereinafter referred to as the "sender" and receives the message. The recipient is called the “receiver.”
When the sender specifies a specific product (for example, furniture for which you want to know the delivery status) on screen G and sends a message to C (furniture manufacturer, etc.), the URL of the product information for the specific product is displayed, although not shown. A linked messenger thread will be automatically created.
Specifically, in this example, the sender requests the recipient to send a message regarding a specific product by specifying a specific product (for example, furniture for which the delivery status is desired) on screen G, etc. do.
Then, a text chat thread is created between the sender and the recipient, in which the sender can upload a message as a comment. At that time, the chat is started with the URL of the product information of the specific product automatically uploaded to the thread as a comment from the sender.

This produces the following effects.
That is, when a sender and a receiver exchange messages about a specific product, they need to mutually understand what the specific product is before starting the message exchange. In other words, if the sender thinks that the specific product is the first product, but the receiver thinks that it is a second product that is different from the specific product, then the sender and receiver It is not possible to maintain proper communication between the parties.
Therefore, in order to ensure that the sender and receiver agree that the specific product is the first product, it is preferable for the sender to present the product information of the first product to the receiver at the beginning of communication. It is.
Conventionally, the sender had to find the product information for the first product himself, paste it into the chat as his own comment, and upload it, which was a tedious and time-consuming operation for the sender. Ta.
On the other hand, in this service, as mentioned above, the URL of the product information of the first product is automatically sent to the recipient as a message (it is automatically uploaded as a message from the sender). This has the effect of eliminating the need for such troublesome and time-consuming operations.

Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and modifications, improvements, etc. within the range that can achieve the purpose of the present invention are included in the present invention. regarded as.

For example, the objects ordered by the orderer and accepted by the orderer are products such as furniture in the above embodiment, but are not limited to this, and include free goods, electronic information materials, and both paid and free items. It is possible to hire any service, etc. without any requirement. In this specification, not only products, but also such free goods, electronic information materials, and services, whether paid or free, are collectively referred to as "products, etc." That is, the present invention can be widely applied to products and the like.
Further, information regarding products, etc., such as product information of products, is referred to as "product information" in this specification.

Further, for example, the location where products and the like are stored as inventory is not limited to a warehouse, and may be any location. Any place where such products, etc. are stored as inventory will be broadly referred to as a "base". Further, information regarding the base including inventory information will be referred to as "base information" hereinafter. That is, the warehouse information described above is an example of base information.

Further, for example, although the location of product information is inside the server 1 in the above-described embodiment, it is not limited to this, and may be any storage device (a location that can be specified by URL) on the Internet (cloud), etc. , a location that can be expressed as identifiable information (existence location information) is sufficient.

For example, in the above-described embodiment, the information processing device on the side of order taker J to which the comprehensive DB 71 connects via API is the ERP system JE, but it is not particularly limited to this. Any device that manages information including at least personal information is sufficient.

Further, the system configuration shown in FIG. 2 and the hardware configuration of the server 1 shown in FIG. 3 are merely examples for achieving the object of the present invention, and are not particularly limited.

Further, the functional block diagram shown in FIG. 4 is merely an example and is not particularly limited. In other words, it is sufficient that the information processing system shown in FIG. 2 is equipped with a function that can execute the above-mentioned series of processes as a whole, and what kind of functional blocks and databases are used to realize this function is particularly dependent on FIG. 4. The example is not limited to.

Furthermore, the locations of the functional blocks are not limited to those shown in FIG. 4, and may be arbitrary.
For example, at least a part of the functional blocks arranged on the server 1 side may be provided on the orderer terminal 2 side, the order-taking person terminal 3 side, or another information processing device (not shown).

Furthermore, the series of processes described above can be executed by hardware or by software.
Further, one functional block may be configured by a single piece of hardware, a single piece of software, or a combination thereof.

When a series of processes is executed by software, a program constituting the software is installed on a computer or the like from a network or a recording medium.
The computer may be a computer built into dedicated hardware.
Further, the computer may be a computer that can execute various functions by installing various programs, such as a server, a general-purpose smartphone, or a personal computer.

Recording media containing such programs not only consist of removable media (not shown) that is distributed separately from the main body of the device in order to provide the program to the user, but also are provided to the user in a state that is pre-installed in the main body of the device. Consists of provided recording media, etc.

Note that in this specification, the step of writing a program to be recorded on a recording medium is not only a process that is performed chronologically in accordance with the order, but also a process that is not necessarily performed chronologically but in parallel or individually. It also includes the processing to be executed.

To summarize the above, an information processing apparatus to which the present invention is applied only needs to have the following configuration, and can take various embodiments.
That is, the information processing device (for example, the server 1 in FIG. 3) to which the present invention is applied,
In response to an order by an orderer (for example, orderer H in Figure 1) for one or more predetermined products out of multiple types of products stored as inventory at a base (for example, the above-mentioned warehouse), the orderer (for example, the orderer H in Figure 1) In order to manage a series of processes from receiving an order to order recipient J) and delivering the specified product from the base to the orderer, the base includes product information and inventory information regarding each of the plurality of types of products. (e.g., the above-mentioned warehouse information), orderer information regarding the orderer regarding the transaction of the predetermined product, and orderer information regarding the orderer regarding the transaction of the predetermined product, are stored in a predetermined database (e.g., 1 or comprehensive DB 71 in FIG. 4) for unified management (for example, the central management unit 66 in FIG. 4);
Using at least a part of the product information, the base information, the orderer information, and the orderer information stored in the predetermined database, the orderer's terminal (for example, orderer terminal 2 in FIG. ), and the order taker's operation on the order taker terminal (for example, the order taker terminal 3 in FIG. 4), the predetermined communication between the orderer and the order taker is A commodity transaction control means (for example, the commodity transaction control unit 67 in FIG. 4) that controls the execution of processing related to commodity transactions;
It is sufficient to have the following.

In this way, the administrator of the information processing device (for example, a service provider) can provide a platform for conducting transactions between a plurality of orderers H and a plurality of order takers J.
By centralizing information in a predetermined database, the orderer can receive an order for one or more predetermined products out of the multiple types of products stored as inventory at the base. It becomes possible to realize a platform that manages a series of processes from the base to the delivery of the specified product to the orderer.

For example, the commodity transaction control means may define the period until one transaction is completed as a project, and based on the predetermined operation by the orderer on the orderer terminal or the orderer's operation on the orderer terminal, Creating a predetermined project when the transaction of the product occurs and controlling processing related to the predetermined project (for example, see FIG. 5);
be able to.
This makes it possible to provide the above-mentioned project creation and management services.

For example, when the product transaction control means is instructed to check the progress status of the project for the predetermined product by the orderer's operation on the orderer's terminal or the orderer's operation on the orderer's terminal. , extracting the orderer information, the orderer information, and the base information regarding the predetermined product from the predetermined database, and extracting the orderer information, the orderer information, and the base information regarding the predetermined product. Controlling the execution of a process that generates information indicating the progress status (for example, the above-mentioned progress information) and transmits it to the orderer terminal or the order taker terminal (for example, see FIG. 7);
be able to.
This makes it possible to provide a unified delivery status service.

For example, when the orderer's operation on the orderer terminal instructs to keep the predetermined product in stock, the product transaction control means may transmit information indicating that the predetermined product is to be kept in stock for a predetermined period of time. Execute control to add to the inventory information (for example, refer to the "Reserve" button BTO at the top of screen G2 in FIG. 6),
be able to.
This makes it possible to provide inventory holding services.

For example, when a search instruction regarding the predetermined product is given by the orderer's operation on the orderer terminal, the product transaction control means extracts the product information of the predetermined product from the predetermined database, and extracts the product information of the predetermined product from the predetermined database. Execute the control to send to the orderer terminal (for example, refer to the photo and item information on screen G2 in Figure 6)
be able to.
This makes it possible to provide a product search service.

For example, the product information includes information regarding options of the target product,
When a search instruction including a predetermined option for the predetermined product is given by the orderer's operation on the orderer terminal, the product transaction control means stores the information regarding the predetermined option in the predetermined database. Execute control to extract the information from the orderer and send it to the orderer terminal (for example, refer to option information on screen G2 in FIG. 6),
be able to.
This makes it possible to provide an option determination service.

For example, the base information and the a contractor information acquisition unit (for example, the contractor information acquisition unit 62 in FIG. 4) that acquires the contractor information and stores it in the predetermined database;
The commodity transaction control means allows access to the predetermined database when there is an instruction to access the predetermined database by the order taker's operation on the order taker terminal;
be able to.

1... Server, 2, 2-1 to 2-n... Orderer terminal, 3, 3-1 to 3-m... Orderer terminal, 11... CPU, 12... ROM, 13... RAM, 14... Bus, 15... Input/output interface, 16... Input section, 17... Output section, 18... Storage section, 19... Communication section, 20. . . . Drive, 30 . . . Removable media, 51 . . . Ordering/placement cloud service control section, 61 . . . . Warehouse information acquisition department, 65 . . . Orderer information acquisition department, 66 .

Claims (9)

In response to an order by an orderer for one or more specified products among multiple types of products stored as inventory at a base, until the order receiver accepts the order and the specified product is delivered from the base to the orderer. In order to manage a series of processes, product information regarding each of the plurality of types of products, base information regarding the base including inventory information, orderer information regarding the orderer regarding the transaction of the predetermined product, and the predetermined product central management means for storing and centrally managing the order recipient information regarding the order recipient regarding the transaction in a predetermined database;
Using at least a part of the product information, the base information, the orderer information, and the orderer information stored in the predetermined database, the orderer operates the orderer terminal and the orderer receives the order. a commodity transaction control means for controlling the execution of processing related to the transaction of the predetermined commodity between the orderer and the order receiver based on at least one of the operations on the customer terminal;
An information processing device comprising: The product transaction control means controls the predetermined product based on a predetermined operation on the orderer terminal by the orderer or an operation on the orderer terminal by the orderer, with a period until one transaction is completed as a project. creating a predetermined project when the transaction occurs and controlling processing related to the predetermined project;
The information processing device according to claim 1. When an instruction to check the progress status of the project for the predetermined product is given by the orderer's operation on the orderer's terminal or the orderer's operation on the orderer's terminal, the product, etc. transaction control means The orderer information, the orderer information, and the base information regarding the predetermined product are extracted from the predetermined database, and the progress status is determined based on the orderer information, the orderer information, and the base information regarding the predetermined product. controlling the execution of processing to generate information indicating and transmitting it to the orderer terminal or the orderer terminal;
The information processing device according to claim 2. When the orderer's operation on the orderer terminal instructs to reserve the stock of the predetermined product, the product transaction control means stores information indicating that the predetermined product is to be kept in stock for a predetermined period of time. Execute controls that add to the information;
The information processing device according to claim 1. When a search instruction regarding the predetermined product is given by the orderer's operation on the orderer terminal, the product etc. transaction control means extracts the product information of the predetermined product from the predetermined database, and Execute the control sent to the terminal,
The information processing device according to claim 1. The product information includes information regarding options of the target product,
When a search instruction including a predetermined option for the predetermined product is given by the orderer's operation on the orderer terminal, the product transaction control means stores the information regarding the predetermined option in the predetermined database. Execute control to extract from and send to the orderer terminal;
The information processing device according to claim 5. Obtaining the base information and the order taker information from another information processing device on the order taker side that manages information including at least the base information and the order taker information regarding the order taker, and storing the acquired information in the predetermined database. A means for acquiring order recipient information;
The commodity transaction control means allows access to the predetermined database when there is an instruction to access the predetermined database by the order taker's operation on the order taker terminal;
The information processing device according to claim 1. In an information processing method executed by an information processing device,
In response to an order by an orderer for one or more specified products among multiple types of products stored as inventory at a base, until the order receiver accepts the order and the specified product is delivered from the base to the orderer. In order to manage a series of processes, product information regarding each of the plurality of types of products, base information regarding the base including inventory information, orderer information regarding the orderer regarding the transaction of the predetermined product, and the predetermined product a central management step of storing in a predetermined database and centrally managing the order recipient information regarding the order recipient regarding the transaction;
Using at least a part of the product information, the base information, the orderer information, and the orderer information stored in the predetermined database, the orderer operates the orderer terminal and the orderer receives the order. a product etc. transaction control step for controlling the execution of processing related to the transaction of the predetermined product between the orderer and the order receiver based on at least one of the operations on the customer terminal;
Information processing methods including to the computer,
In response to an order by an orderer for one or more specified products among multiple types of products stored as inventory at a base, until the order receiver accepts the order and the specified product is delivered from the base to the orderer. In order to manage a series of processes, product information regarding each of the plurality of types of products, base information regarding the base including inventory information, orderer information regarding the orderer regarding the transaction of the predetermined product, and the predetermined product a central management step of storing in a predetermined database and centrally managing the order recipient information regarding the order recipient regarding the transaction;
Using at least a part of the product information, the base information, the orderer information, and the orderer information stored in the predetermined database, the orderer operates the orderer terminal and the orderer receives the order. a product etc. transaction control step for controlling the execution of processing related to the transaction of the predetermined product between the orderer and the order receiver based on at least one of the operations on the customer terminal;
A program that executes control processing including.

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