JP2024083420A - Information processing device - Google Patents

Abstract

[Problem] To easily create a flexible delivery plan that takes into account information from both the shipper and the logistics company.
[Solution] In an information processing device that creates a transportation plan for transporting goods between bases, an order information acquisition unit 101 acquires information on the receipt and removal of goods at each of inventory bases K1 to Kn as order information. A planning unit 103 creates a transportation plan for each of inventory bases K1 to Kn that resolves inventory backlogs based on information including the order information. This makes it possible to solve the above problem.
[Selected figure] Figure 4

Description

The present invention relates to an information processing device.

Technology for managing inventory held in warehouses that serve as logistics bases has existed for some time. For example, Patent Document 1 describes a logistics management system that allocates stocked products to product orders from customers received by a retailer and transmits the allocation results and delivery dates for the orders to the retailer.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-136704

However, conventional logistics management systems, including the technology described in Patent Document 1, refer to information from the logistics company that transports the goods, but do not take into account information from the shipper (e.g., the product manufacturer or sales store) that orders and receives the goods.
One of the reasons for this is that there was no way for a transport company (e.g., a logistics company) to obtain information from the shipper and then reflect that information in plans for the delivery of goods (hereinafter referred to as "delivery plans").
Furthermore, when there are multiple locations where products can be stored as inventory (hereinafter referred to as "inventory locations"), it has not been possible to centrally manage the inventory at each inventory location.

The present invention was made in consideration of these circumstances, and aims to provide a method for easily creating flexible delivery plans that take into account information from both the shipper and the logistics company.

In order to achieve the above object, an information processing device according to one aspect of the present invention comprises:
In an information processing device that creates a transportation plan for transporting goods between bases,
A first acquisition means for acquiring information regarding receipt and removal of products at each of the one or more bases as order information;
a planning means for planning the transportation plan for each of the base stations to resolve the backlog of inventory of the product based on information including the order information;
Equipped with.

The system may further include a presentation means for presenting the transportation plan prepared by the planning means to the base station.

The order information may also include information regarding the expected delivery of the product at each of the one or more locations.

The method further includes a second acquisition means for acquiring, as information required for carrying out the transportation plan, information related to transportation that can be managed by a person who transports the goods, as transportation logistics center information;
The planning means can create the transportation plan to resolve the backlog of inventory of the product at the base based on the acquired transportation logistics center information and the order information.

The planning means can also prepare a transportation plan that adjusts the quantity of the product to be transported to the base in one trip, thereby resolving inventory backlogs of the product at the base.

According to the present invention, it is possible to easily create a flexible delivery plan that takes into account information from both the shipper and the logistics company.

FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram showing an overview of the present service that can be realized by various processes executed by a server according to an embodiment of the information processing device of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of an information processing system including the server of FIG. 1 . FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of the server in FIG. 2 . FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram showing an example of a functional configuration of the server in FIG. 3 . FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a specific example of a delivery plan created by the present service. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a specific method for adjusting the entire delivery plan by modifying the scheduled value (reservation number) of the daily delivery quantity of a specified store. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a specific method for adjusting the entire delivery plan by modifying the scheduled value (reservation number) of the daily delivery quantity of a specified store. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a specific method for adjusting the entire delivery plan by adding a new scheduled value (reservation number) of the daily delivery quantity of a specified store. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a specific example of store-related information displayed on a customer terminal. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a specific example of a reservation screen displayed on a customer terminal. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing another specific example of the present service. 1A and 1B are diagrams showing specific examples of inventory information and forecast information among the order information on which a delivery plan is based. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a specific example of vehicle information among the transportation logistics center information on which a delivery plan is based. FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a specific example of a delivery plan drawn up by a server based on the various information shown in FIGS. 12 and 13 .

The following describes an embodiment of the present invention with reference to the drawings.

[Service contents]
FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing an overview of this service that can be realized by various processes executed by a server 1 according to an embodiment of an information processing device of the present invention.

As shown in Figure 1, in this service, products that store M holds as inventory for sale to customers are managed as information regarding the inventory held by store M as an inventory base (hereinafter referred to as "inventory information").
Here, an inventory base is a base that can hold goods as inventory in order to efficiently deliver goods to customers. There are multiple inventory bases within a certain area in order to realize efficient delivery to customers. An inventory base may be any space that can hold goods as inventory on a long-term, short-term, or temporary basis. For example, the interior of a building such as a warehouse W or a store M, or the loading platform of a vehicle such as a cargo transport vehicle T are all examples of inventory bases.
When the inventory of a product held by store M becomes low, store M places an order for the product with shipper S. In this service, when store M places an order with shipper S, the contents of the order are managed as "order information."

The shipper S, who receives an order from the store M, places an order for the manufacture of the product with a vendor V (e.g., a factory that manufactures the product) based on the contents of the order. In this service, when the shipper S places an order with a vendor V, the contents of the order are managed as "order information."
Although the shipper S shown in Fig. 1 is assumed to be a party that does not hold the goods as inventory and sends the goods from the vendor V, the shipper S may hold the goods as inventory itself. For this reason, in this service, the shipper S is also treated as one of the inventory bases.

In this service, the products that a vendor V, which manufactures products and ships them to a store M, holds as inventory to be shipped to the store M are managed as inventory information held by the vendor V, which serves as an inventory base.
Vendor V, who has received an order from shipper S, requests distributor L to deliver the product based on the contents of the order from shipper S. In this service, when vendor V requests distributor L to deliver the product, the contents of the request are managed as "request information."

This service manages various information held for business purposes by a logistics company L that delivers merchandise to a store M upon request from a vendor V. Specifically, information about a cargo transport vehicle T used to transport the merchandise (hereinafter referred to as "vehicle information"), such as the vehicle number, loading capacity, vehicle class, and driver information (e.g., name, age, working hours, overtime hours, etc.) for each cargo transport vehicle T, is managed.
The distributor L, who has received a request from the vendor V, delivers the product to the store M based on the contents of the request from the vendor V.
Here, the distributor L is a party that uses a logistics center, warehouse, trucks, etc. as facilities for delivering goods. Therefore, in this service, the logistics center, warehouse, trucks, etc. used by the distributor L are treated as inventory bases that can hold goods as inventory on a long-term, short-term, or temporary basis.
In this service, information regarding delivery from distributor L to store M is managed as "delivery information."

In addition, with this service, information about the equipment and people (including drivers and on-site workers) managed by logistics company L is also managed as "equipment and people information."

With this service, the above-mentioned inventory information, order information, ordering information, request information, vehicle information, delivery information, and equipment/personnel information are managed all in one place, and flexible delivery plans are created that take this information into consideration.
That is, this service enables the formulation of an effective delivery plan based on information that the logistics company L can essentially manage (request information, vehicle information, delivery information, and equipment/personnel information) and information that the shipper S can essentially manage (inventory information, order information, and ordering information). In other words, it enables the formulation of an effective delivery plan based on information from the logistics company side and information from the shipper side. As a result, efficient transportation without waste can be realized.

[System configuration]
Next, a configuration of an information processing system including the server 1 that executes various processes for providing this service will be described.
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of an information processing system including a server 1 according to an embodiment of the information processing device of the present invention.

The information processing system shown in FIG. 2 is composed of a server 1, base terminals 2-1 through 2-n (n is an integer value of 1 or more), and customer terminals 3-1 through 3-m (m is an integer value of 1 or more), which are interconnected via a predetermined network N such as the Internet.

Each of the base terminals 2-1 to 2-n in this embodiment is an information processing device installed at each of the inventory bases K1 to Kn, and is composed of a personal computer, a smartphone, a tablet terminal, etc. Each of the base terminals 2-1 to 2-n is operated by a person in charge of each of the inventory bases K1 to Kn.
In the following, when there is no need to distinguish between the inventory bases K1 to Kn and the base terminals 2-1 to 2-n, they will be collectively referred to as the "inventory base K" and the "base terminal 2", respectively.

The base terminal 2 stores inventory information of the inventory base K and information on the expectation of product delivery (hereinafter referred to as "expectation information"). Some of the base terminals 2 further store vehicle information.
Here, "accepting" a product means storing the product temporarily for transportation or holding the product as inventory for sale. Specifically, for example, when a distributor L receives a request for product delivery from a vendor V and delivers the product to a distribution center, a warehouse, and a store in that order, the distribution center, the warehouse, and the store all "accept" the product as inventory.
Additionally, "issuing" a product means removing the product held as inventory from your possession by transporting or selling it.
Further, the "projected delivery" of a product refers to the projected delivery in the future of a product that is already held as inventory at inventory base K or is scheduled to be held as inventory.

In this way, the base terminal 2 stores inventory information and forecast information for that inventory base K, and some also store vehicle information. The server 1 acquires this information stored in multiple base terminals 2 and creates a delivery plan for each inventory base K. This makes it possible to realize practical transportation that takes into account not only information from the logistics company side, but also information from the shipper side.

In this embodiment, each of the customer terminals 3-1 to 3-m is an information processing device operated by each of the customers U1 to Um, and is configured with a personal computer, a smartphone, a tablet terminal, or the like.
In the following description, when there is no need to distinguish between the customers U1 to Um and the customer terminals 3-1 to 3-m, they will be collectively referred to as "customer U" and "customer terminal 3", respectively.

[Hardware configuration]
Next, a hardware configuration of the server 1 that executes various processes for providing this service will be described.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the server 1 of 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 output unit 16, an input unit 17, a memory unit 18, a communication unit 19, and a drive 20.

The CPU 11 executes various processes according to a program recorded in the ROM 12 or a program loaded from the storage unit 18 to the RAM 13 .
The RAM 13 also stores data and the like 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 output unit 16, an input unit 17, a memory unit 18, a communication unit 19, and a drive 20 are connected to the input/output interface 15.

Although not shown, the base terminal 2 also has the hardware configuration shown in FIG. 3.

The output unit 16 is composed of various liquid crystal displays and the like, and outputs various information.
The input unit 17 is composed of various hardware leads and the like, and inputs various types of information.
The storage unit 18 is configured with a dynamic random access memory (DRAM) or the like, and stores various data.
The communication unit 19 controls communications with other devices (for example, the base terminals 2-1 to 2-n in FIG. 2) via a network N including the Internet.

The drive 20 is provided as necessary. Removable media 30, which may be a magnetic disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, or semiconductor memory, is appropriately attached to the drive 20. Programs read from the removable media 30 by the drive 20 are installed in the storage unit 18 as necessary. The removable media 30 can also store various data stored in the storage unit 18 in the same way as the storage unit 18.

[Functional configuration]
Next, the function of the server 1 having such a hardware configuration will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the server 1 of FIG.

As shown in FIG. 4, when the delivery plan planning process is executed in the CPU 11 of the server 1, an order information acquisition unit 101, a transportation logistics center information acquisition unit 102, a planning unit 103, and a presentation unit 104 function.
An order DB 401 and a transportation DB 402 are provided in one area of the storage unit 18 .

The order information acquisition unit 101 acquires, as order information, information relating to the receipt and delivery of merchandise at each of one or more bases.
Specifically, the order information acquisition unit 101 acquires product order information for each of the inventory bases K1 to Kn. The order information includes inventory information and forecast information for each of the inventory bases K1 to Kn.
The order information for each of the inventory bases K1 to Kn acquired by the order information acquisition unit 101 is stored and managed in an order DB 401.
There is no particular limitation on the specific method by which the order information acquisition unit 101 acquires the order information. For example, a method of acquiring information stored in the base terminal 2 or another method may be used.

The transportation logistics center information acquisition unit 102 acquires, as transportation logistics center information, information related to transportation that can be managed by a person who transports goods, as information required for executing a transportation plan.
Specifically, the transportation logistics center information acquisition unit 102 acquires, as transportation logistics center information, information managed by the logistics company L as information required for executing a transportation plan drawn up by the later-described planning unit 103. The transportation logistics center information includes the above-mentioned request information, vehicle information, and delivery information.
The transportation logistics center information acquired by the transportation logistics center information acquisition unit 102 is stored and managed in the transportation DB 402 .
In addition, there is no particular limitation on the specific method by which the transportation logistics center information acquisition unit 102 acquires the transportation logistics center information. For example, a method of acquiring vehicle information or the like stored in the base terminal 2 operated by the logistics company L as the transportation logistics center information may be used, or another method may be used.

The planning unit 103 plans a transportation plan for each base location to resolve inventory backlogs of products based on information including order information.
Specifically, the planning unit 103 plans a transportation plan for each of the inventory bases K1 to Kn to resolve inventory backlogs of goods based on the order information acquired by the order information acquisition unit 101 and the transportation logistics center information acquired by the transportation logistics center information acquisition unit 102.
This makes it possible to create an effective delivery plan based on information on the distributor side that the distributor L can essentially manage, as well as information on the shipper side that the store M, the shipper S, and the vendor V can essentially manage. As a result, efficient transportation without waste can be realized.

In addition, the planning unit 103 can create a delivery plan that minimizes the cost burden on a specific base (for example, store M1).
This makes it possible to realize transportation according to an effective transportation plan that takes into account the financial circumstances of the store M1 that receives the goods.
A specific example of a delivery plan drawn up by the planning unit 103 will be described later with reference to FIG. 5 and subsequent figures.

The presentation unit 104 presents the proposed transportation plan to each base station.
Specifically, the presentation unit 104 transmits the transportation plan drawn up by the planning unit 103 to each of the base terminals 2-1 to 2-n. This allows each inventory base K to easily refer to the delivery plan drawn up by the server 1.
In addition, the presentation unit 104 presents the proposed transportation plan to the customer.
Specifically, the presentation unit 104 transmits the transportation plan drawn up by the planning unit 103 to each of the customer terminals 3-1 to 3-m. This allows each of the customers U1 to Um to easily refer to the delivery plan drawn up by the server 1.

The order DB 401 stores order information.
The transportation DB 402 stores transportation logistics center information.

By executing the various processes described above using the server 1 with the above-mentioned functional configuration, an effective delivery plan based on information from the logistics company and information from the shipper can be created, enabling efficient transportation without waste.

[Concrete example]
Next, a specific example of a delivery plan created by this service will be described with reference to FIGS.

(Specific Example 1)
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a specific example of a delivery plan created by this service.

When a delivery plan is created, a screen such as that shown in FIG. 5 is displayed on the base terminal 2. The screen displayed on the base terminal 2 is made up of display areas F1 to F4.

The display area F1 displays the results of a simulation of the allocation of cargo transport vehicles T when the logistics company L transports goods on a specified date (e.g., December 12). A "set" is a unit of packaging for goods, and "one set" is the smallest unit for transporting goods. A "taxi," a "light car," a "2-ton truck," a "4-ton truck," and a "10-ton truck" are all vehicles used as cargo transport vehicles T by the logistics company L.
As shown in the gauge G of the display area F1, one taxi can transport only one set of goods. One light vehicle can transport up to five sets of goods. One 2-ton truck can transport up to ten sets of goods. One 4-ton truck can transport up to 25 sets of goods. One 10-ton truck can transport up to 60 sets of goods.
In the example shown in Fig. 5, the planned value (reserved number) of the transportation quantity (number of sets) on December 12 is shown as 12 sets by the bar B. Therefore, the person operating the base terminal 2 can understand at a glance that one 4-ton truck needs to be dispatched.

A reservation adjustment screen is displayed in display areas F2 to F4.
Among these, the display area F2 shows the weather forecast for each day. That is, the weather forecast for December 12 is "cloudy," and the weather forecast for December 13 is also "cloudy." The contents of the weather forecast for the other days are as shown in the display area F2 in FIG. 5.
This allows the person operating the base terminal 2 to understand the daily weather forecast at a glance.

In the display area F3, the actual results for last year (past results) regarding the transportation quantity are displayed for each day. That is, it can be seen that the actual results for December 12th of last year were "5 sets (transported by one light vehicle)" and the actual results for December 13th of last year were "6 sets (transported by one 2-ton truck)." It can also be seen that the past results for December 15th of last year were "40 sets (transported by one 10-ton truck)" and the weather was "cloudy." In this way, the weather may be displayed in the past results. The actual results for last year (past results) for other days are as shown in the display area F3 of FIG. 5.
The past performance may be information that is useful for the operator of the base terminal 2, and may be the value from last year as in the example of FIG. 5, or the average value from the past few years.
This allows the person operating the base terminal 2 to grasp at a glance the past performance regarding transportation quantities.

In the display area F4, the planned delivery quantities (reservations) of products for each of the stores M1 to M11 are displayed for each day.
In other words, on December 12th, the delivery quantity to store M1 was "2 sets," the delivery quantity to store M3 was "3 sets," the delivery quantity to store M5 was "1 set," the delivery quantity to store M8 was "2 sets," the delivery quantity to store M9 was "4 sets," the delivery quantities to stores M2, M4, M6, M7, M10, and M11 were "0 sets (no deliveries)," and the total shipping quantity was "12 sets."
It can also be seen that on December 13th, the delivery quantity to store M4 was "3 sets," the delivery quantities to stores M1 to M3 and M5 to M11 were "0 sets (no deliveries)," and the total shipping quantity was "12 sets."
It can also be seen that on December 14th, the delivery quantity to store M1 was "3 sets", the delivery quantity to store M2 was "3 sets", the delivery quantity to store M3 was "6 sets", the delivery quantity to store M5 was "3 sets", the delivery quantity to store M7 was "1 set", the delivery quantity to store M11 was "4 sets", the delivery quantities to stores M4, M6, and M8 to M10 were "0 sets (no deliveries)", and the total transportation quantity was "20 sets". The delivery quantities for the other days are as shown in the display area F4 of FIG. 5.

This allows the person operating the base terminal 2 to grasp at a glance the planned delivery quantities (reservations) for each day for each of the stores M1 to M11.
Specifically, for example, on December 12th, 12 sets are reserved, so the simulation shows that one 4-ton truck will be used to transport them. However, one 4-ton truck can transport a maximum of 25 sets, so 13 more sets can be transported. In other words, if an additional reservation for 13 sets is made, one 4-ton truck will be used to transport 25 sets, making transportation more efficient.

In other words, in the above case, if 12 sets of goods are to be transported using one 2-ton truck, two sets will be exceeded, exceeding the maximum load capacity of a 2-ton truck (10 sets). Also, if 12 sets of goods are to be transported using one 4-ton truck, 13 sets will be short of the maximum load capacity of a 4-ton truck (25 sets), so although it is possible to transport the goods, it will be inefficient. For this reason, in this service, the planned delivery quantity (number of reservations) for each type of cargo transport vehicle T (taxi, light vehicle, 2-ton truck, 4-ton truck, and 10-ton truck) is adjusted so that it is maximized within the maximum load capacity. This allows for efficient transportation, which in turn allows logistics company L to maximize its freight income.

In the above case, it is also possible to transport 10 of the 12 sets using one 2-ton truck and the remaining 2 sets using one light vehicle. However, since a total of two cargo transport vehicles T need to be dispatched, a total of two drivers need to be secured, which is not efficient.
For this reason, as described above, it is preferable to adjust the planned delivery quantity (reservation number) so as to approach the maximum loading capacity of each cargo transport vehicle T (for example, 5 sets for a light vehicle).

In this service, the entire delivery plan can be adjusted by appropriately modifying the planned delivery quantity (reservation number) for each day of each of the stores M1 to M11 shown in the display area F4. The planned delivery quantity (reservation number) can be adjusted by launching an application program (hereinafter referred to as "app") downloaded to the base terminal 2 or by launching a web browser to display the delivery plan.
Furthermore, it is also possible to actively recommend, via an app or the like, adjustments to the planned delivery quantities (reservation numbers) to the respective staff members of the stores M1 to M11 who operate the base terminals 2.
A specific method for appropriately correcting the scheduled delivery quantities (reservations) for each day for each of the stores M1 to M11 will be described below with reference to FIGS.

Figure 6 shows a specific method for adjusting the entire delivery plan by modifying the planned daily delivery quantity (reservation number) for store M8.

As shown in Figure 5, the total planned delivery quantity (reservations) for December 12th is 12 sets, so as mentioned above, if there are additional reservations for 13 sets, they can be transported efficiently using one 4-ton truck. However, if no additional reservations are expected, and two of the 12 sets can be transported on a day other than December 12th, then only 10 sets will need to be transported on December 12th.
For example, as shown in the display area F4 of FIG. 6, if the delivery date to store M8 could be delayed by one day, then only 10 sets would need to be transported using one 2-ton truck on December 12th, making transportation more efficient.

If the delivery date is delayed by one day, the total planned delivery quantity (reservations) for December 13th will increase from 3 sets to 5 sets, so 5 sets, the maximum load that can be carried by one light vehicle, will be transported on December 13th. In other words, transportation can be done efficiently not only on December 12th but also on December 13th.
Therefore, this service issues a guide to stores M1, M3, M5, M8, and M9, whose delivery date is December 12, recommending that they change the delivery date from December 12 to December 13. Specifically, the service displays a guide on the base terminal 2, including benefits such as a discount on shipping charges if the delivery date is changed from December 12 to December 13.
In response to this, if store M8 responds that the delivery date can be changed from December 12th to December 13th, then it will be sufficient to transport only 10 sets using one 2-ton truck on December 12th. Also, it will be sufficient to transport 5 sets using one light vehicle on December 13th, which makes it possible to realize efficient transportation.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a specific method for adjusting the entire delivery plan by modifying the scheduled value (reservation number) of the daily delivery quantity of store M4.
FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a specific method for adjusting the entire delivery plan by adding a new scheduled value (reservation number) of the daily delivery quantity of store M9.

As shown in Fig. 5, the delivery date for December 13th is only three sets to store M4, so if the delivery date for store M4 can be changed from December 13th to December 14th, the freight transport vehicle T will not have to run on December 13th. The driver can also be given a rest.
7, the total planned delivery quantity (reservations) for December 14th is 20 sets, so even if this change results in an increase of 3 sets, there is still room for 2 sets until the maximum load capacity of a 4-ton truck (25 sets) is reached. Therefore, if there are 2 additional reservations, it is efficient that the maximum load capacity of a 4-ton truck (25 sets) can be used for transportation on December 14th.

Therefore, this service issues a notice to customers U who may use stores M1 to M11, stating that there will be benefits such as a discount on shipping fees if a new reservation is made with stores M1 to M11 for a delivery date of December 14th. In addition, stores M1 to M11 are announced to customers U who may use stores M1 to M11. Specifically, information about stores M1 to M11 is displayed on customer terminal 3 to encourage product purchases. Specific examples of information about stores M1 to M11 to be displayed on customer terminal 3 will be described later with reference to FIG. 9.

In addition, the benefits described in the guide for the stores M1 to M11 are not limited to monetary benefits such as a discount on transportation charges. For example, as shown by the dashed line in FIG. 8, the guide may include information based on a weather forecast and past performance.
Specifically, if the product is something that needs to be purchased before snow falls, such as studless tires, it is effective to send out the following notice: Last year, the continuous snowfall from December 16th to December 18th caused a dramatic increase in the number of deliveries, but this year snow is also forecast for December 17th to December 18th. This will hopefully encourage some store M to request delivery on December 14th.
If there is a new order (2 sets) from store M9 with a delivery date of December 14th, as shown in Figure 8, a 4-ton truck can transport 25 sets, which is the maximum load, on December 14th. This allows for efficient transportation.

Figure 9 shows a specific example of information about stores M1 to M11 displayed on customer terminal 3.

As shown in FIG. 9, the customer terminal 3 displays a list of information relating to each of the stores M1 to M11.
That is, in Fig. 9, information on stores M8, M10, M7, and M3 are displayed as examples among stores M1 to M11. Specifically, a photo of the store's exterior, a rating from customer U (number of stars), the store's name, telephone number, address, distance from the customer terminal 3, and the lowest price of the product are displayed. In addition, when a discount rate is applied, an icon indicating this (an icon showing "Discount") is displayed. As shown in Fig. 9, the order of display of stores M1 to M11 displayed in a list on the customer terminal 3 can be sorted in ascending or descending order using "distance from customer terminal 3,""price of product," and "reputation from customer U" as sorting items.

If customer U is considering purchasing the product at store M8, he or she operates the customer terminal 3 to press the icon representing store M8 from among the listed stores M1 to M11. This causes a reservation screen for purchasing the product at store M8 to be displayed. A specific example of the reservation screen displayed on the customer terminal 3 will be described later with reference to FIG. 10.

Figure 10 shows a specific example of a reservation screen displayed on the customer terminal 3.

10, a plurality of buttons D1 to D6 for reserving products at the store M8 are displayed for each time period during which the products are provided, together with information about the store M8, on the customer terminal 3. Also, an icon is displayed indicating that a discount rate is applicable for each time period during which the products are provided.
Specifically, for example, if the product is studless tires and the customer U wants to reserve the work of replacing the product between 9:00 and 10:00 on December 14th, the customer presses button D2. Also, as shown in FIG. 10, a discount fee of "-500 yen" is applied to this time period.
This allows customer U to easily purchase the product and also obtain a new reservation for store M8 on December 14th, making it easy to achieve efficient shipping as shown in Figure 8 above.

(Specific Example 2)
FIG. 11 is a diagram showing another specific example of this service.
11, there are a logistics center C1, a warehouse W, stores M1 to M3, and cargo transport vehicles T1 to T3. In the following, when there is no need to distinguish between the stores M1 to M3 and the cargo transport vehicles T1 to T3, they will be collectively referred to as "store M" and "cargo transport vehicle T", respectively.

Logistics center C1 is one of the large-scale inventory bases K owned by logistics company L that holds inventory of products destined for customer U in eastern Japan. Although not shown in the figure, there is also a logistics center C2 that holds inventory of products destined for customer U in western Japan.

Warehouse W is one of the inventory bases K owned by logistics company L that holds inventory of goods destined for customer U in region A. The inventory held by warehouse W is transported from logistics center C1.

Stores M1 to M3 are retail stores that sell goods to customers U in area A. The goods sold by each of stores M1 to M3 are transported from warehouse W. Each of stores M1 to M3 is one of inventory bases K.

The cargo transport vehicles T1 to T3 in the specific example 2 are all trucks that transport goods. The cargo transport vehicle T1 is a truck that transports goods between a vendor V and a logistics center C1. The cargo transport vehicle T2 is a truck that transports goods between the logistics center C1 and a warehouse W. The cargo transport vehicle T3 is a truck that transports goods between the warehouse W and stores M1 to M3.
For ease of explanation, only one cargo transport vehicle T1 to T3 is shown in FIG. 11, but the number of vehicles is not limited to one, and multiple vehicles of various types (load capacities) are in operation.

When using conventional methods, product deliveries in area A shown in Figure 11 were made in the following order: product vendor V, logistics center C1, warehouse W, and stores M1 to M3. Also, as mentioned above, product delivery plans were created based only on information from the logistics company.

For example, let's assume that store M1 has 80 sets of a product in stock at closing time (6:00 PM) on July 20th, and that the expected sales for the following day (July 21st) and the day after (July 22nd) are 20 sets and 100 sets, respectively. In this case, since there are 80 sets in stock at closing time (6:00 PM) on July 20th, there will be no problem with sales the next day (July 21st). However, in preparation for sales the day after (July 22nd), at least 40 sets must be secured in stock by closing time (6:00 PM) the next day (July 21st).

In this case, store M1 places an order with shipper S (Figure 1) to deliver 40 sets by closing time on July 21st (6:00 PM) for sale on July 22nd. Having received the order from store M1, shipper S requests logistics company L via vendor V to transport the goods so that they can be delivered to store M1 by closing time on July 21st (6:00 PM). Having received the transportation request, logistics company L creates a delivery plan based on the request to deliver 40 sets to store M1 by 6:00 PM on July 21st.

Specifically, distributor L checks the inventory in warehouse W that has jurisdiction over region A, and if there is sufficient inventory, creates a delivery plan, for example, as shown below.
That is, distributor L creates a delivery plan in which the product name is "product," the departure location is "warehouse W," the delivery location is "store M1 (recipient)," the departure date and time is "July 21st, 4:00 PM," the delivery date and time is "July 21st, 5:00 PM," and the truck to be used is "one 2-ton truck."

On the other hand, if there is not enough inventory in warehouse W, distributor L creates a delivery plan, for example, as follows:
That is, a delivery plan is created in which the product name is "product," the departure point is "logistics center C1," the stopover point is "warehouse W," the delivery point is "store M1 (recipient)," the departure date and time is "July 21st, 1:00 PM," the arrival date and time at the stopover point is "July 21st, 2:00 PM," the truck to be used from the departure point to the stopover point is "one 10-ton truck, mixed load," the departure date and time from the stopover point is "July 21st, 4:00 PM," the delivery date and time is "July 21st, 5:00 PM," and the truck to be used from the stopover point to the delivery point is "one 2-ton truck, chartered."
In this way, when using the conventional method, distributor L creates a delivery plan based on information from the distributor side.

As described above, in the conventional delivery management, when the distributor L creates a delivery plan, only the information from the distributor side is taken into consideration, and the information from the shipper side is not taken into consideration. For this reason, the delivery plan created is often ad-hoc and inefficient.
For example, the above-mentioned store M1 places an order with the shipper S at 6:00 PM on July 20th to have 40 sets delivered by 6:00 PM on the following day, July 21st. This is based on sales forecasts for the following day (July 21st) and the day after (July 22nd), but does not take into account sales forecasts thereafter. In other words, no delivery plan is made based on continuous sales forecasts, such as one week, two weeks, one month, a quarter, half a year, or one year from July 20th. For this reason, the delivery plans that are made are often ad-hoc and inefficient.
Therefore, with this service, it is possible to create delivery plans based on continuous sales forecasts, something that was not possible with conventional delivery management methods.

Specifically, in this service, a delivery plan is output based on order information at the store M. The delivery plan includes, for example, a delivery plan that minimizes the cost burden on the store M. In addition, when the delivery plan is created, the working conditions of the driver of the cargo transport vehicle T are taken into consideration, so that a delivery plan that observes compliance is created.
The delivery plan drawn up by this service is presented to the person in charge at each inventory base via the base terminal 2. Specifically, for example, the delivery plan can be displayed by starting an app downloaded to the base terminal 2 or starting a web browser.

Next, a specific example of a delivery plan drawn up by the server 1 will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a specific example of inventory information and forecast information out of the order information on which a delivery plan is based.

FIG. 12A is a diagram showing a specific example of inventory information of product I in store M1, which is part of the order information that is the basis for the server 1 to create a delivery plan.
According to the inventory information shown in FIG. 12(A), as of 8:00 a.m. today, Monday, July 21st, before the store opens, store M1 has 180 sets in stock.
Although the example shown in FIG. 5A shows only the inventory information of store M1, inventory information of stores M2 and M3, warehouse W, and logistics center C1 is also managed.

FIG. 12B is a diagram showing a specific example of forecast information for store M1, which is part of the information that serves as the basis for the server 1 to create a delivery plan.
According to the forecast information shown in Fig. 12(B), as of 8:00 a.m. today, Monday, July 21, the expected deliveries (i.e., planned sales quantities) for the week from Monday, July 21 to Sunday, July 27 are 20 sets, 100 sets, 20 sets, 10 sets, 40 sets, 200 sets, and 250 sets, respectively. The expected deliveries are calculated based on the order volume, past deliveries (e.g., results for the same period last year, results for the same period last month, results for last week), etc.

Figure 13 shows a specific example of vehicle information from the transportation logistics center information that serves as the basis for creating a delivery plan.

13, the cargo transport vehicles T operating as cargo transport vehicles T1 to T3 are of four types, a 10 t truck, a 4 t truck, a 2 t truck, and a light truck, with loading capacities of 10 t, 4 t, 2 t, and 350 kg, respectively. The maximum amount of goods I that one cargo transport vehicle T can load at one time (maximum loading capacity) is 100 sets, 40 sets, 20 sets, and 3 sets, respectively.
Furthermore, the number of these four types of cargo transport vehicles T is as follows: for 10 ton trucks, five are in operation as cargo transport vehicles T1, four are in operation as cargo transport vehicles T2, and three are in operation as cargo transport vehicles T3, for a total of 12. For 4 ton trucks, three are in operation as cargo transport vehicles T2, and two are in operation as cargo transport vehicles T3, for a total of five. For 2 ton trucks, three are in operation as cargo transport vehicles T2, and two are in operation as cargo transport vehicles T3, for a total of five. For light trucks, five are in operation as cargo transport vehicles T3. In other words, the total number of cargo transport vehicles T used to transport product I in area A is 27.

The vehicle information also includes, for each of the 27 cargo transport vehicles T, information about the cargo transport vehicle T itself and information about the driver of the cargo transport vehicle T. The information about the cargo transport vehicle T itself includes the vehicle number, the load, and the vehicle class. The information about the driver includes the name (driver's name), age, the accumulated overtime hours for this month (accumulated overtime), and the available overtime hours for this month (remaining overtime).
Specifically, for example, among the five cargo transport vehicles T deployed as cargo transport vehicles T1, the cargo transport vehicle T with the vehicle number "Yamanashi 100 or XX-XX" has a loading capacity of "10 t" and a vehicle class of "10 t wing". The driver of this cargo transport vehicle T is named "Yamada Jiro", is 34 years old, has accumulated overtime hours this month of "38 hours", and is allowed overtime hours this month of "1 hour". The vehicle information of the other cargo transport vehicles T deployed as cargo transport vehicles T1 to T3 is as shown in FIG. 13.
In this way, when a delivery plan is made, the working conditions of the drivers of the cargo transport vehicles T are taken into consideration, so that a delivery plan that adheres to compliance is made.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to this example. For example, overtime may be managed by the amount of overtime worked per day, per week, per month, or by the total amount of overtime worked per year.
In addition, for example, work hours, overtime, and number of working days may also be managed to manage the schedule.
In addition, the schedule may be managed taking into consideration information such as the driver's chronic illness or physical condition that prevents excessive work. The driver may manually input the physical condition, or an application may be installed on the driver's terminal (smartphone) to measure the physical condition by sensing when logging in.

Figure 14 shows a specific example of a delivery plan drawn up by server 1 based on the various information shown in Figures 12 and 13.

Figure 14 shows the delivery plan for store M1 for the week from Monday, July 21st to Sunday, July 27th as of 8:00 a.m. on Monday, July 21st.

The delivery plan shown in FIG. 14 includes information on the number of deliveries scheduled for each day from today, Monday, July 21st, to Sunday, July 27th, and on the cargo transport vehicle T3 to be used for the deliveries.
The planned delivery quantity is described in two patterns, namely, "Delivery Pattern 1" and "Delivery Pattern 2."
Among these, "Delivery Pattern 1" indicates a delivery pattern in which delivery is made almost daily according to the stock quantity of store M1 and the expected take-off quantity for that day. In other words, by adopting delivery pattern 1, store M1 can avoid the risk of having a large amount of inventory.
Furthermore, "Delivery Pattern 2" indicates a delivery pattern in which, if possible, multiple days' worth of goods are delivered in one delivery based on the expected delivery quantity for one week. In other words, "Delivery Pattern 2" is a delivery pattern (and a vehicle allocation pattern, described later) presented by the server 1 that allows efficient use of the free space of the cargo transport vehicle T in order to reduce the number of transports. By adopting such a delivery pattern, the store M1 can reduce the number of deliveries, and therefore the freight charges.

The delivery plan shown in FIG. 14 lists two patterns, "dispatch pattern 1" and "dispatch pattern 2", for the type and number of cargo transport vehicles T3 used for delivery. Of these, "dispatch pattern 1" is a dispatch pattern that corresponds to the above-mentioned "delivery pattern 1". Also, "dispatch pattern 2" is a dispatch pattern that corresponds to the above-mentioned "delivery pattern 2".

Specifically, delivery pattern 1 (and allocation pattern 1) shows that the planned delivery quantities (and trucks to be used) are 20 sets to be delivered today, Monday, July 21st, using one 2-ton truck, 80 sets to be delivered on Tuesday, July 22nd, using one 10-ton truck, 30 sets to be delivered on Thursday, July 24th, using one 4-ton truck, 10 sets to be delivered on Friday, July 25th, using one 2-ton truck, 250 sets to be delivered on Saturday, July 26th, using three 10-ton trucks, and 180 sets to be delivered on Sunday, July 27th, using two 10-ton trucks. It also shows that the transportation charges will be XX million yen.

In contrast, delivery pattern 2 (and vehicle allocation pattern 2) shows that the planned delivery quantities (and trucks to be used) are 100 sets to be delivered today, Monday, July 21st, using one 10-ton truck, 40 sets to be delivered on Thursday, July 24th using one 4-ton truck, 250 sets to be delivered on Saturday, July 26th using three 10-ton trucks, and 180 sets to be delivered on Sunday, July 27th using two 10-ton trucks. It also shows that the transportation charges will be XX million yen.
14 describes only the type and number of trucks to be used, but the delivery plan includes specific vehicle information of the cargo transport vehicles T to be used. That is, since the delivery pattern is created including information on the drivers of the cargo transport vehicles T, it is possible to create a delivery plan that includes compliance with the working hours of the drivers of the cargo transport vehicles T.

As described above, the delivery plan drawn up by the server 1 shows two types of delivery patterns, so that the store M1 can select the delivery pattern (and vehicle dispatch pattern) that best suits its financial and business circumstances at the time.
As a result, efficient transportation can be realized by taking into consideration not only the information from the logistics company but also the information from the shipper.

Furthermore, conventional schedule adjustment methods have been limited to merely providing convenience to stores, individuals, and other parties placing orders or sending packages.
In contrast, by applying the above-described embodiment, appropriate and efficient scheduling becomes possible according to the requirements of not only the ordering or shipping destination of the package (store, individual, etc.), but also the shipper, vendor, and logistics parties in between.
In addition, it is now possible to perform scheduling that takes into account both equipment and people as scheduling elements. In other words, in the past, scheduling was only meaningful because it took into account one or the other of the two elements, but this is no longer the case.

Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment, and modifications and improvements that can achieve the object of the present invention are included in the present invention.

For example, in the above embodiment, the logistics company L uses a cargo transport vehicle T to transport goods, but this is not limited to a vehicle and may be, for example, a ship, an aircraft, etc.

For example, the delivery plan drawn up in the above-mentioned embodiment is for a period of about one week, but this is merely an example. Delivery plans can be drawn up in any unit, such as one month, one quarter, one half year, one year, etc.

Also, for example, the delivery plan shown in FIG. 14 shows two types of delivery patterns (and vehicle allocation pattern 2), but this is merely an example. Many more types of delivery patterns may be planned. For example, in the delivery plan shown in FIG. 14, in delivery pattern 1 (and vehicle allocation pattern 1), 10 sets are scheduled to be delivered by one 2-ton truck on Friday, July 25, but other vehicle allocation patterns may be planned. For example, although not shown, vehicle allocation pattern 3 may be planned in which 10 sets are delivered by four light trucks. In this case, if the transportation fee using one 2-ton truck is 30,000 yen and the transportation fee using four light trucks is 24,000 yen (6,000 yen x 4 trucks), vehicle allocation pattern 3 is planned as the "vehicle allocation pattern with the lowest transportation fee."
Similarly, in pattern 1, 250 sets are scheduled to be delivered by three 10-ton trucks on Saturday, July 26, but a dispatch pattern 3 (not shown) may be created as the "dispatch pattern with the lowest transportation fee." For example, dispatch pattern 3 may be created in which 250 sets are delivered by two 10-ton trucks, one 4-ton truck, and one 2-ton truck. Here, if the transportation fee using a 10-ton truck is 100,000 yen per truck, the transportation fee using a 4-ton truck is 70,000 yen per truck, and the transportation fee using one 2-ton truck is 30,000 yen, the transportation fees are as follows. That is, the fee for pattern 1 is 300,000 yen (100,000 yen x 3 trucks), but the fee for pattern 3 is 290,000 yen (100,000 yen x 2 trucks + 60,000 yen x 1 truck + 30,000 yen x 1 truck), which is reasonable.
Furthermore, if the shipping fee varies depending on the day of the week due to busy schedules at logistics company L, it is possible to plan a delivery pattern (and vehicle allocation pattern) that recommends weekday transportation rather than weekend transportation when the shipping fee is relatively high. Specifically, although not shown in the figure, it is possible to plan a delivery pattern (and vehicle allocation pattern) that delivers 470 sets that are scheduled to be delivered by the weekend at once on Wednesday, July 23rd or Thursday, July 24th when the shipping fee is relatively low.

Furthermore, each hardware configuration shown in FIG. 3 is merely an example for achieving the objectives of the present invention and is not particularly limited.

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 is provided with a function capable of executing the above-mentioned series of processes as a whole, and the type of functional block used to realize this function is not particularly limited to the example in FIG. 4.

Furthermore, the locations of the functional blocks are not limited to those shown in Fig. 4 and may be arbitrary. For example, at least some of the functional blocks on the server 1 side may be provided on the base terminal 2 side, or vice versa.
A single functional block may be configured as a single piece of hardware, or may be configured in combination with a single piece of software.

When the processing of each functional block is executed by software, the program constituting the software is installed into a computer or the like from a network or a recording medium.
The computer may be a computer built into dedicated hardware, or may be a computer capable of executing various functions by installing various programs, such as a server, a general-purpose smartphone, or a personal computer.

Recording media containing such programs are not only configured as removable media that are distributed separately from the device body in order to provide each user with the program, but also configured as recording media etc. that are provided to each user in a state where they are already installed in the device body.

In this specification, the steps of describing a program to be recorded on a recording medium include not only processes that are performed chronologically in accordance with the order, but also processes that are not necessarily performed chronologically but are executed in parallel or individually.
In addition, in this specification, the term "system" refers to an overall device that is composed of a plurality of devices, a plurality of means, etc.

In summary, the information processing apparatus to which the present invention is applied is sufficient if it has the following configuration, and can take various different embodiments.
That is, an information processing device to which the present invention is applied (for example, the server 1 in FIG. 4)
In an information processing device that creates a plan for transporting goods between bases (e.g., stores M1 to M11) as a transport plan (e.g., a delivery plan),
A first acquisition means (e.g., the order information acquisition unit 101 in FIG. 4 ) that acquires information on receipt and delivery of products at each of the one or more bases as order information;
A planning unit (e.g., the planning unit 103 in FIG. 4) that plans the transportation plan for each base station to resolve the backlog of inventory of the product based on information including the order information;
Equipped with.

This makes it easy to create flexible delivery plans that take into account information from the shipper, resulting in efficient transportation without waste.

The system may further include a presentation means (e.g., the presentation unit 104 in FIG. 4) that presents the transportation plan prepared by the planning means to the base station.

This allows the person operating the base terminal 2 to understand the proposed delivery plan at a glance, making it easier to adjust schedules at each inventory base K (store M, etc.), for example.

The order information may also include information (e.g., forecast information) regarding the expected delivery of the product at each of the one or more locations.

This makes it easy to create flexible delivery plans that take into account information from the shipper, including future forecasts. For example, it is easy to create delivery plans that take into account past performance, such as last year's performance, and weather, etc.

The system further includes a second acquisition unit (e.g., the transportation logistics center information acquisition unit 102 in FIG. 4) for acquiring, as transportation logistics center information, information related to transportation that can be managed by a person who transports the goods, as information required for carrying out the transportation plan;
The planning means can create the transportation plan to resolve the backlog of inventory of the product at the base based on the acquired transportation logistics center information and the order information.

This makes it possible to create effective delivery plans based on information from both the logistics company and the shipper.

The planning means can also prepare a transportation plan that adjusts the quantity of the product to be transported to the base in one trip, thereby resolving inventory backlogs of the product at the base.

This makes it possible to create an effective and flexible delivery plan based on information from both the logistics company and the shipper. As a result, it is possible to achieve more efficient transportation with less waste. For example, with the consent of store M, it will be possible to split the transportation, such as by transporting goods in a 2-ton truck and a light car.

1: Server, 2, 2-1, 2-n: Base terminal, 3, 3-1, 3-m: Customer terminal, 11: CPU, 12: ROM, 13: RAM, 14: Bus, 15: Input/output interface, 16: Output section, 17: Input section, 18: Memory section, 19: Communication section, 20: Drive, 30: Removable media, 101: Order information acquisition section, 102: Transportation logistics center information acquisition section, 103: Planning section, 1 04: Presentation unit, 401: Order DB, 402: Transportation DB, M, M1 to M11: Store, S: Shipper, V: Vendor, L: Logistics company, K, K1 to Kn: Base, U, U1 to Um: Customer, I: Product, N: Network, A: Region, C1, C2: Logistics center, F1 to F4: Display area, B: Bar, G: Gauge, D1 to D6: Button, W: Warehouse, T, T1 to T3: Cargo transport vehicle

Claims (5)

In an information processing device that creates a transportation plan for transporting goods between bases,
A first acquisition means for acquiring information regarding receipt and removal of products at each of the one or more bases as order information;
a planning means for planning the transportation plan for each of the base stations to resolve the backlog of inventory of the product based on information including the order information;
An information processing device comprising: The transportation plan generating means further includes a presentation means for presenting the transportation plan generated by the planning means to the base station.
The information processing device according to claim 1 . The order information includes information regarding the expected delivery of the product at each of the one or more bases.
3. The information processing device according to claim 1 or 2. The system further includes a second acquisition means for acquiring, as information required for carrying out the transportation plan, information related to transportation that can be managed by a person who transports the goods, as transportation logistics center information;
The planning means plans the transportation plan to resolve the backlog of inventory of the product at the base based on the acquired transportation logistics center information and the order information.
The information processing device according to claim 1 . The planning means further prepares the transportation plan by adjusting the quantity of the product transported to the base in one trip, thereby resolving the backlog of inventory of the product at the base.
The information processing device according to claim 4.

Images