JP5641841B2 - Inventory management method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a technology for managing product inventory.

  A company that handles products (for example, non-durable consumer goods) generally performs inventory management of products by handling, for example, thousands of items using an SKU (Stock Keeping Unit). Taking a T-shirt as an example, inventory management is performed for each size (S size, M size, L size, etc.) and each color (white, red, blue, etc.). Note that inventory management is not limited to that using SKU.

  In inventory management, there is a need to make a decision to quickly find and focus on the items that may or may not have inventory management problems such as excess and shortage. In Patent Document 1, when the item distribution status is displayed on the display unit using the scatter diagram plotted for each item with the two item determination indexes as axes, the shape of the plot is set according to the index value based on the index determined by the user. It is disclosed that a scatter diagram is divided by changing, drawing an arbitrary dividing line, and groups having the same plot shape in each divided area are grouped. As a result, the problematic item can be highlighted so that the user can easily understand it.

JP 2006-309390 A (FIG. 9)

  However, in the technique of Patent Document 1, due to the nature of a scatter diagram, the change over time in the index value of an item displayed as a plot is not displayed on the display unit. For this reason, it is not easy to find items that are likely to cause inventory management problems.

  In view of such circumstances, an object of the present invention is to find out items that are likely to cause problems in inventory management, and to support more appropriate inventory management decisions.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides:
In the inventory management method by the inventory management device that has a display unit that displays a scatter diagram showing the inventory management state of the item by plotting for each item, and supports the decision making of inventory management of the item,
The storage unit of the inventory management device includes:
Data indicating the history of the value of the first evaluation index indicating the inventory management status of the item and data indicating the history of the value of the second evaluation index indicating the inventory management status of the item are stored for each item. ,
The control unit of the inventory management device includes:
Identifying a display date that is a date for determining an inventory management state of an item plotted in the scatter diagram, and a comparison date that is a date different from the display date, by an input from the input unit;
From the storage unit, the value of the first evaluation index on the display date, the value of the first evaluation index on the comparison date, the value of the second evaluation index on the display date, and the comparison date The value of the second evaluation index is acquired, and the acquired value of the first evaluation index on the display date, the value of the first evaluation index on the comparison date, and the value on the display date Based on the value of the second evaluation index and the value of the second evaluation index on the comparison date, the value of the first evaluation index generated between the comparison date and the display date for the item. Calculating a degree of change and a degree of change in the value of the second evaluation index;
And causing the display unit to display the calculated degree of change in the value of the first evaluation index and the degree of change in the value of the second evaluation index on the scatter diagram in a predetermined display mode. It is characterized by that.
Details will be described later.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the item with high possibility of causing the problem on inventory management can be found, etc., and the decision making of more appropriate inventory management can be supported.

It is a block diagram of the inventory management apparatus of this embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the data structure of log | history data. It is a figure which shows an example of the data structure of a change degree symbol corresponding | compatible table. It is a flowchart which shows a scatter diagram production | generation procedure. It is an example of the display of the scatter diagram by which the plot was made. It is a flowchart which shows a change degree drawing procedure. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a procedure for drawing a degree of change according to Method 1. FIG. It is a display example of a scatter diagram when Method 1 is used as the degree of change display method and Method A is used as the degree of change calculation method. It is a display example of a scatter diagram when Method 1 is used as the degree of change display method and Method B is used as the degree of change calculation method. It is a display example of a scatter diagram when Method 1 is used as the degree of change display method and Method C is used as the degree of change calculation method. It is a display example of a scatter diagram when Method 1 is used as the degree of change display method and Method B and Method C are used as the degree of change calculation method. It is another display example of a scatter diagram when Method 1 is used as the degree of change display method and Method A is used as the degree of change calculation method. It is another example of a scatter diagram when Method 1 is used as the degree of change display method and Method C is used as the degree of change calculation method. It is a display example of a scatter diagram when Method 2 is used as the degree of change display method.

  A mode for carrying out the present invention (hereinafter referred to as “embodiment”) will be described with reference to the drawings as appropriate.

≪Configuration≫
FIG. 1 is a software configuration diagram of the inventory management apparatus according to the present embodiment. The inventory management apparatus S includes an X / Y axis display date designation unit 1, an X / Y axis comparison date designation unit 2, an X / Y axis change degree calculation method designation unit 3, a change degree display method selection unit 4, and history data M. , A change degree symbol correspondence table T, and scatter diagram generation means 5 are provided.

  The inventory management device S includes an input unit (eg, pointing device, touch panel), a display unit (eg, display, touch panel), a control unit (eg, CPU (Central Processing Unit)), and a storage unit (eg, memory, ROM). (Read Only Memory), RAM (Random Access Memory), and HDD (Hard Disk Drive)) as hardware. The inventory management device S stores an inventory management program (including an inventory management program) as the software in the storage unit. When the control unit executes this program, processing required for inventory management (including processing by the inventory management method) is executed.

  The X / Y-axis display date designating means 1 displays the date when displaying the inventory management status of an item on a certain date as a plot of a scatter diagram displayed on the display unit, for example, by input from the input unit. Specify as. In the scatter diagram, two evaluation indices (a first evaluation index and a second evaluation index) representing the inventory management state of an item are set on the X axis serving as the horizontal axis and the Y axis serving as the vertical axis. The evaluation index will be described later.

  The X / Y-axis comparison date designating means 2 uses, for example, an input from the input unit to display the inventory management status of an item on a certain date as a plot of a scatter diagram, with the date before that date as the comparison date. specify. Basically, the inventory management status of the items on the comparison date is not displayed in the scatter diagram, but it is possible to design the software to perform such display.

  The X / Y axis change degree calculation method designating means 3 is a method for calculating the degree of change indicating the difference between the inventory management state of the item on the display date and that on the comparison date (input change from the input unit, for example). Specify the calculation method. One or more of these methods exist and are stored in the storage unit as an algorithm. For example, the following method A, method B, and method C exist.

  The X-axis evaluation index values on the display date and comparison date are x1 and x2, respectively. The Y-axis evaluation index values on the display date and comparison date are y1 and y2, respectively. Let Rx and Ry. At this time, method A, method B, and method C are expressed by the following calculation formulas.

(Method A)
Rx = x1-x2
Ry = y1-y2

(Method B)
Rx = (x1-x2) / x2
Ry = (y1-y2) / y2

(Method C)
Rx = r (when x1-x2> 0)
0 (when x1-x2 = 0)
-R (when x1-x2 <0)

Ry = r (when y1-y2> 0)
0 (when y1-y2 = 0)
-R (when y1-y2 <0)

However, r = {(x1-x2) ^ 2 + (y1-y2) ^ 2} ^ (1/2)

Method A expresses the difference value itself between the evaluation index values as the degree of change in each of the X axis and the Y axis.
Method B divides the difference value of the evaluation index value by the evaluation index value on the comparison date on each of the X and Y axes, thereby normalizing the magnitude of the difference value and changing the normalized difference value. Expressed as degrees.
Method C normalizes the direction (angle) of the difference value by classifying the difference value of the evaluation index value into only a positive value, a zero value, and a negative value on each of the X axis and the Y axis. The calculated difference value is expressed as a degree of change.

  The change degree display method selection means 4 designates a method (change degree display method) for determining a display mode when the calculated change degree is displayed on the scatter diagram, for example, by an input from the input unit. One or more of these methods exist and are stored in the storage unit as an algorithm. For example, the following method 1 and method 2 exist.

(Method 1)
For example, the degree of change obtained by the method A, the method B, and the method C is drawn with an arrow on the scatter diagram.
(Method 2)
With reference to the change degree symbol correspondence table T, for example, the change degree obtained by the method A, the method B, and the method C is drawn on the scatter diagram with a special symbol.

The history data M is a database that is stored in the storage unit and registers the inventory management state of each item for each item.
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data structure of history data. The history data M includes fields such as “article number”, “date”, “number of sales”, “total number of sales”, and “number of inventory”.

“Product number” is an identification number of an item to be managed, and is, for example, an SKU code.
“Date” is a date for determining the inventory management state of the item, and the inventory transition of the item can be tracked on a daily basis. The week, month, and year may be determined according to the type of product, and tracking may be performed on a weekly, monthly, or yearly basis. For the sake of convenience of explanation, it is assumed that the history data M includes a record relating to daily items.

“Number of sales” indicates the actual sales volume as a quantity when the corresponding item is sold in the market on the same day. For convenience of explanation, it is shown as a quantity, but basically, since the unit price of the item is determined, it may be shown as the amount of the item.
The “cumulative sales number” indicates the total of the actual sales amount as a quantity when the corresponding item is sold in the market from the date of calculation to the date. The starting date can be set, for example, by input from the input unit.
The “stock quantity” indicates the actual stock quantity as a quantity when the corresponding item is stocked in a predetermined space on that day.

  “Number of sales”, “Total number of sales”, and “Number of inventory” are evaluation indexes representing the inventory management state of the item. Other evaluation indexes include production lead time, procurement lead time, sales lead time, and the like. In this case, these are set in the field of the history data M.

The change degree symbol correspondence table T is a table that defines a rule for drawing a change degree with a special symbol when the method 2 is selected by the change degree display method selection means 4 and stored in the storage unit.
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data structure of the change degree symbol correspondence table. The change symbol correspondence table T includes fields such as “X change”, “Y change”, and “symbol”.

The “X change degree” indicates a range of values that the change degree Rx on the X axis of the scatter diagram can take. In FIG. 3, “0 or more” and “less than 0” are registered in this field.
“Y change degree” indicates a range of values that the change degree Ry on the Y axis of the scatter diagram can take. In FIG. 3, “0 or more” and “less than 0” are registered in this field.
The “symbol” indicates a special symbol corresponding to the value of the degree of change Rx on the X axis and the degree of change Ry on the Y axis. For example, if both Rx and Ry are greater than or equal to 0, “☆” is drawn at the plotted location in the scatter diagram.

  The scatter diagram generation means 5 includes predetermined information from the X / Y axis display date designation means 1, the X / Y axis comparison date designation means 2, the X / Y axis change degree calculation method designation means 3, and the change degree display method selection means 4. Is input, the history data M and, if necessary, the change degree symbol correspondence table T are referred to generate a scatter diagram plotted for each item to be stocked and displayed on the display unit. The degree of change is also displayed in a predetermined display mode for each item.

<< Process >>
Next, the processing content of the inventory management apparatus of this embodiment is demonstrated in detail. The subject of the processing described below is the control unit of the inventory management device S.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a scatter diagram generation procedure. This scatter diagram generation procedure is realized by the scatter diagram generation means 5, and in the generation of the scatter diagram, the process for drawing the degree of change is not performed.

  First, in step S401, the control unit inputs history data M and display date d1. That is, the control unit reads the history data M from the storage unit, acquires the display date from the input unit, and substitutes the acquired display date into the variable d1. After the input, go to step S402.

  In step S402, the control unit extracts all product codes from the history data M, and creates a list C of product codes without duplication. The product code means “product number” of the history data M. “Extract all product codes” means that all product codes with the “date” value of the history data M matching the display date d1 are extracted. Since there is no duplication, the number of product codes registered in the list C is basically equal to the number of types of items subject to inventory management on the display date d1. After the creation, the process proceeds to step S403.

  In step S403, the control unit acquires one product code CP from the list C. The product code CP may be acquired in order from the top of the list C, for example. After acquisition, the process proceeds to step S404.

  In step S404, the control unit extracts information on the product p corresponding to the product code CP from the history data M. That is, the control unit extracts, as product (item) p information, a record that matches the value of the “product number” of the history data M using the product code CP as a search key. After extraction, the process proceeds to step S405.

  In step S405, the control unit draws the plot b on the scatter diagram with the sales quantity of the product p on the display date d1 as the X-axis value and the inventory quantity as the Y-axis value. That is, the control unit acquires the value of “number of sales” and the value of “number of stock” from the record of the history data M related to the product p, and plots the values on the scatter diagram. The evaluation index constituting the X-axis and the Y-axis of the scatter diagram can be set, for example, from the input unit. In this case, “number of sales” is set on the X-axis, and “number of stocks” is set on the Y-axis. After drawing, the process proceeds to step S406.

  In step S406, the control unit determines whether there is unprocessed data in the list C. If there is such data (Yes in step S405), it means that there is still a product not drawn as a plot in the scatter diagram, and the process returns to step S403. If there is no such data (No in step S405), it means that all products have been plotted in the scatter diagram, and the entire process is terminated.

  FIG. 5 is an example of a display of a scatter diagram on which a plot has been made. In the scatter diagram in which two evaluation indexes are set on the X axis (horizontal axis) and the Y axis (vertical axis), the plot b is drawn at a position corresponding to the value of the evaluation index. Thereby, it is possible to grasp at a glance the inventory management state of the item on the display date.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the degree-of-change drawing procedure. This change degree drawing procedure is realized by the scatter diagram generation means 5, and in the generation of the scatter diagram, processing related to the change degree drawing is also performed based on the scatter diagram generation procedure shown in FIG.

  First, in step S601, the control unit inputs history data M, display date d1, comparison date d2, change degree calculation method F, change degree display method L, and change degree symbol correspondence table T. That is, the control unit reads the history data M from the storage unit, acquires the display date, the comparison date, the change rate calculation method, and the change rate display method from the input unit, and acquires the acquired display date, comparison date, and change rate calculation method. And the degree-of-change display method are assigned to variables d1, d2, F, and L, respectively. The change rate symbol correspondence table T is basically read from the storage unit, but when the input change rate display method L is the method 1, the reading can be omitted. After the input, go to step S602.

  Since the process of step S603 performed after step S602 and step S602, and the process of step S604 performed after step S603 are based on the process of step S402, step S403, and step S404 of FIG. 4, respectively, detailed description thereof is omitted. To do. After the process of step S604, the process proceeds to step S605.

  In step S605, the control unit sets the number of sales on the display date d1 of the product p, the number of sales on the comparison date d2 of the product p, the number of inventory on the display date d1 of the product p, and the number of inventory on the comparison date d2 of the product p. Assign to the variables sales1, sales2, stock1, and stock2. After the substitution, go to step S606.

  In step S606, the control unit draws a plot b on the scatter diagram with sales1 as the X-axis value and stock1 as the Y-axis value. That is, the control unit acquires the value of “number of sales” and the value of “number of stock” on the display date d1 from the record of the history data M related to the product p, and plots the values on the scatter diagram. The evaluation index constituting the X-axis and the Y-axis of the scatter diagram can be set, for example, from the input unit. In this case, “number of sales” is set on the X-axis, and “number of stocks” is set on the Y-axis. After drawing, the process proceeds to step S607.

  In step S607, the control unit calculates the X change rate Rx from sales1, sales2, and F. That is, the control unit obtains the degree of change in the number of sales between the display date d1 and the comparison date d2 using the calculation formula of the degree of change calculation method F. After the calculation, the process proceeds to step S608.

  In step S608, the control unit calculates the Y change rate Ry from stock1, stock2, and F. That is, the control unit obtains the degree of change in the inventory quantity between the display date d1 and the comparison date d2 using the calculation formula of the degree of change calculation method F. After the calculation, the process proceeds to step S609.

  In step S609, the control unit draws the degree of change from Rx, Ry, L, T to the position of the plot b. That is, if the change degree display method L is the method 1, the control unit draws the change degree with an arrow, and if the change degree display method L is the method 2, the control unit refers to the change degree symbol correspondence table T. Is drawn with a special symbol. Details of these drawings will be described later. After drawing, the process proceeds to step S610.

  In step S610, the control unit determines whether there is unprocessed data in the list C. If there is such data (Yes in step S610), it means that there is still a product that is not drawn as a plot expressing the degree of change in the scatter diagram, and the process returns to step S603. If there is no such data (No in step S610), it means that all products have been plotted with the degree of change expressed in the scatter diagram, and the entire process is terminated.

≪Specific example≫
Here, the details of the change degree drawing will be specifically described.
FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a procedure for drawing the degree of change by the method 1. FIG. 7A is a diagram showing a data structure of history data M relating to a sample item (product number: I001). FIGS. 7B-1 to 7B-4 are conceptual diagrams illustrating a procedure for creating an arrow representing the degree of change. The display date is specified as 1/11, and the comparison date is specified as 1/1. For the evaluation index of the scatter diagram, the number of sales is set on the X axis (horizontal axis), and the number of inventory is set on the Y axis (vertical axis). The conceptual diagrams shown in FIGS. 7 (b-1) to (b-4) are not scatter charts displayed on the display unit, but the number of sales as an evaluation index is taken on the X axis (horizontal axis), and the Y axis ( It is a so-called pseudo scatter diagram in which plotting is performed on a graph taking the number of inventory as an evaluation index on the vertical axis).

  In FIG. 7A, a record whose “date” corresponds to the display date 1/11 is “A”, and a record whose “date” corresponds to the comparison date 1/1 is “B”. In the graph shown in FIG. 7 (b-1), the plot corresponding to the record of the display date 1/11 is located at the place marked “A” (displayed by a solid circle), and the comparison date 1/1. A virtual plot corresponding to the record of (2) is located at a location labeled “B” (indicated by a dotted circle).

  Here, for example, the degree of change is obtained by method A, and the degree of change is displayed by an arrow by method 1. Then, as shown in FIG. 7B-2, an arrow is formed from the plot labeled “B” to the plot labeled “A”. According to Fig.7 (a), since the number of sales has decreased and the number of stock has increased, the upper left arrow is formed.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 7 (b-3), the arrows are translated so that the starting point of the formed arrow matches the position of the plot labeled “A”. The result of the parallel movement is as shown in FIG. 7B-4, and the arrow drawn in the scatter diagram is drawn so as to extend from the plot as the starting point. By performing such drawing, it is possible to give a prediction of transition of the inventory management state of the item to the user.

  Next, a display form of a scatter diagram displayed on the display unit when various change degree calculation methods and change degree display methods are used will be described.

  FIG. 8 is a display example of a scatter diagram when Method 1 is used as the degree of change display method and Method A is used as the degree of change calculation method. The calculated degree of change is the difference value itself between the evaluation index values on the X axis and the Y axis. For this reason, the arrow displayed in FIG. 8 has various lengths and directions, and the transition of the inventory management state for each item is accurately expressed.

  By the way, when the number of sales is set as the evaluation index on the X axis of the scatter diagram and the number of inventory is set as the evaluation index on the Y axis, the items related to the plot with the arrow pointing almost to the lower right are selling well, for example. This suggests that the number of inventories is small and is likely to fall into a shortage. For this reason, the user who sees the scatter diagram understands at a glance that it is better to produce more items. In addition, items related to the plot with the arrow pointing almost to the upper left suggest that, for example, although sales are sluggish, they are produced in large quantities and the number of inventory increases, making it easy to fall into an excess state. Yes. For this reason, the user who sees the scatter diagram can understand at a glance that it is better to suppress the production amount of the item.

  FIG. 9 is a display example of a scatter diagram when Method 1 is used as the degree of change display method and Method B is used as the degree of change calculation method. The calculated degree of change is obtained by normalizing the magnitude of the difference value by dividing the difference value of the evaluation index value by the evaluation index value on the comparison date on each of the X axis and the Y axis. For this reason, although the arrow displayed in FIG. 9 has various directions, the variation in length is small. Therefore, an arrow can be expressed with an appropriate length for any item, and the transition of the inventory management state for each item can be clearly expressed.

  For example, in the case of FIG. 8, since the degree of change of a certain item is relatively large, it may be necessary to make the arrow of the item extremely long and the arrow of the other item extremely short. . However, in this case, the direction of the extremely short arrow cannot be seen well, and the transition of the inventory management state of the item cannot be clearly expressed. However, in the case of FIG. 9, since the value is divided by the value of the evaluation index on the comparison date, the degree of change can be appropriately expressed for any item.

  FIG. 10 is a display example of a scatter diagram when Method 1 is used as the degree of change display method and Method C is used as the degree of change calculation method. The calculated degree of change is obtained by normalizing the direction (angle) of the difference value by classifying the difference value of the evaluation index value into only a positive value, a zero value, and a negative value. For this reason, the arrows displayed in FIG. 10 have various lengths, but the directions are up, 45 degrees diagonally upper right, right, diagonal 45 degrees lower right, down, diagonal 45 degrees lower left, left, diagonal 45 The upper left is limited to nine types with no orientation (when Rx = 0, Ry = 0). Therefore, the change of each evaluation index can be easily expressed for any item, and the transition of the inventory management state for each item can be clearly expressed.

  FIG. 11 is a display example of a scatter diagram when Method 1 is used as the degree-of-change display method and Method B and Method C are used as the degree-of-change calculation method. The X / Y axis change degree calculation method designating means 3 can designate a plurality of degree of change calculation methods. Alternatively, a method for executing the processing content obtained by combining the processing content of the method B and the processing content of the method C may be separately generated, and the method may be designated.

  The calculated degree of change is obtained by normalizing the difference value of the evaluation index value with respect to the length and also with respect to the direction. For this reason, the arrow displayed in FIG. 11 has a small variation in length and is limited to the nine types described above. Therefore, an arrow can be expressed with an appropriate length for any item, and a change in each evaluation index can be expressed easily, and a transition of the inventory management state for each item can be clearly expressed.

FIG. 12 is another display example of a scatter diagram when Method 1 is used as the degree of change display method and Method A is used as the degree of change calculation method. The difference from FIG. 8 is that the length of the displayed arrow is unified to 1. The length of 1 is a relative distance on the XY axis plane, and the actual length may be determined arbitrarily. Thus, by unifying the length, discarding the magnitude of the degree of change, and showing the direction of change of each evaluation index, it is possible to clearly represent the transition of the inventory management state for each item in return. Such drawing is effective when the user thinks that the user should be able to roughly grasp the transition of the inventory management state.
Note that the process of unifying the lengths of the arrows can be realized by the scatter diagram generation means 5.

FIG. 13 shows another display example of a scatter diagram when Method 1 is used as the degree of change display method and Method C is used as the degree of change calculation method. The difference from FIG. 10 is that the length of the displayed arrow is unified to 1. The length of 1 is a relative distance on the XY axis plane, and the actual length may be determined arbitrarily. Thus, by unifying the length, discarding the magnitude of the degree of change, and showing the direction of change of each evaluation index, it is possible to clearly represent the transition of the inventory management state for each item in return. Furthermore, in FIG. 13, since the direction of the arrow is also normalized, the transition of the inventory management state is expressed more clearly. Such drawing is effective when the user thinks that the user should be able to roughly grasp the transition of the inventory management state.
Note that the process of unifying the lengths of the arrows can be realized by the scatter diagram generation means 5.

  FIG. 14 is a display example of a scatter diagram when Method 2 is used as the degree of change display method. The calculated degree of change may be calculated by any one of method A, method B, and method C. Based on the change degree symbol correspondence table T, special symbols are used instead of plots for each item and are drawn in a scatter diagram.

  If the degree of change is expressed by an arrow, the arrow occupies a corresponding area on the scatter diagram. For this reason, the arrow may overlap other plots, or may overlap other arrows, which may cause a situation in which the transition of the inventory management state cannot be clearly expressed. However, since the size of the special symbol itself is the same as or substantially the same as that of the plot, such a situation can be avoided and the transition of the inventory management state for each item can be clearly expressed.

≪Summary≫
According to the present embodiment, not only the inventory management state of the item is displayed as a scatter plot, but also the degree of change from a past point in time is displayed, so that an item that is likely to cause a problem in inventory management is displayed. Can help find out.

≪Others≫
The above-described embodiment is suitable for carrying out the present invention, but the form of implementation is not limited to these, and various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. Is possible.

  For example, the X / Y axis display date designating means 1, the X / Y axis comparison date designating means 2, the X / Y axis change degree calculation method designating means 3, and the change degree display method selecting means 4 of the present embodiment are arranged on the display unit. This is realized by designation by a GUI operation on the screen or designation by an external file.

  Further, in the present embodiment, when the degree of change is drawn with an arrow, the translation is performed so that the starting point side of the arrow matches the position of the plot (see FIG. 7B-3). However, the arrow may be drawn so that the end point side of the arrow matches the position of the plot without performing such parallel movement. An arrow that matches the position of the plot on the start point can suggest a prediction of the transition of the inventory management state, whereas an arrow that matches the position of the plot on the end point side displays a history of the transition of the inventory management state. Can be specified.

  In this embodiment, the comparison date designation by the X / Y axis comparison date designation unit 2 is realized by inputting the date itself from the input unit. However, the specification of the comparison date may be realized by inputting a period (eg, 7 days) indicating the difference between the display date and the comparison date from the input unit.

  Further, in the present embodiment, only one comparison date is designated so as to be a date before the display date. Two or more comparison dates may be designated so as to be a date before the display date. For example, two comparison dates are designated, and the one closer to the display date is the first comparison date and the other is the second comparison date. Then, the first change degree can be obtained from the display date and the first comparison date, and the second change degree can be obtained from the first comparison date and the second comparison date. Therefore, based on the first change degree and the second change degree, the transition of the inventory management state on the day after the display date can be predicted with higher accuracy. On the scatter diagram, an arrow or a special symbol reflecting the prediction from the corresponding plot is displayed. This can further assist the user in finding items that are likely to cause inventory management problems. This is basically the same when three or more comparison dates are designated.

  In the present embodiment, the comparison date is designated to be a date before the display date. However, the X / Y axis comparison date designating unit 2 may designate a date different from the display date as the comparison date. That is, for example, the comparison date may be specified to be a date later than the display date. Thereby, the degree of change in the value of the evaluation index can be displayed to the user as the degree of change retroactive to the future, and useful information can be given to the user who performs inventory management.

  Further, in the present embodiment, by displaying a plot of a scatter diagram for each item, a product having a problem in inventory management can be extracted at the item level. This extraction can be performed at a higher level that is a collection of a plurality of items such as product category, brand, and division.

The product category is a range where the main uses of the product are common, and for example, a range of clothing including not only T-shirts but also trousers and shoes is defined as the product category.
A brand is any concept that distinguishes a good or service from other goods or services of the same category.
The business division is an organization that manages a business related to one or more products that are the targets of inventory management.

  When a product having a problem in inventory management is extracted at a higher level, a plot on a scatter diagram is drawn, for example, for each product category, brand, or business unit. The history data M includes not only the fields already described such as “product number”, “date”, “sales number”, “cumulative sales number”, “stock quantity”, but also “product category”, “brand”, “business unit” Some or all of the fields indicating higher levels such as "" are provided, and it is also registered which product category, brand, or division belongs to the item determined for each record.

  When evaluating metrics such as “sales”, “cumulative sales”, and “inventory” at a higher level such as “product category”, “brand”, “business unit”, all items belonging to the higher level are extracted, For the extracted item, for example, a total value of “number of sales”, “total number of sales”, and “number of inventory” is obtained. And it is good to plot on a scatter diagram according to this total value.

  Further, all or part of the hardware included in the inventory management apparatus S of the present embodiment may be software, or all or part of the software included in the inventory management apparatus S may be hardware.

  In addition, it is possible to realize a technique in which various techniques described in this embodiment are appropriately combined.

  Other specific configurations of hardware, software, flowcharts, databases, and the like can be changed as appropriate without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

S Stock management device 1 X / Y axis display date designation means 2 X / Y axis comparison date designation means 3 X / Y axis change degree calculation method designation means 4 Change degree display method selection means 5 Scatter chart generation means M History data (first Data indicating the history of the value of the first evaluation index, data indicating the history of the value of the second evaluation index)
T change symbol correspondence table

Claims (7)

In the inventory management method by the inventory management device that has a display unit that displays a scatter diagram showing the inventory management state of the item by plotting for each item, and supports the decision making of inventory management of the item,
The storage unit of the inventory management device includes:
Data indicating the history of the value of the first evaluation index indicating the inventory management status of the item and data indicating the history of the value of the second evaluation index indicating the inventory management status of the item are stored for each item. ,
The control unit of the inventory management device includes:
Identifying a display date that is a date for determining an inventory management state of an item plotted in the scatter diagram, and a comparison date that is a date different from the display date, by an input from the input unit;
From the storage unit, the value of the first evaluation index on the display date, the value of the first evaluation index on the comparison date, the value of the second evaluation index on the display date, and the comparison date The value of the second evaluation index is acquired, and the acquired value of the first evaluation index on the display date, the value of the first evaluation index on the comparison date, and the value on the display date Based on the value of the second evaluation index and the value of the second evaluation index on the comparison date, the value of the first evaluation index generated between the comparison date and the display date for the item. Calculating a degree of change and a degree of change in the value of the second evaluation index;
Wherein the display unit, the change of the value of the change degree and the second evaluation index value of the first evaluation index which is the calculated, but to be displayed on the scatter diagram in a predetermined display mode, in the comparative Date And a step of not displaying a plot determined from the value of the first evaluation index and the value of the second evaluation index on the comparison date on the scatter diagram . The controller is
The inventory management method according to claim 1, wherein when a period indicating a difference between the display date and the comparison date is input from the input unit, the step of specifying the comparison date is executed. The degree of change in the value of the first evaluation index is a difference between the value of the first evaluation index on the display date and the value of the first evaluation index on the comparison date,
The degree of change in the value of the second evaluation index is a difference between the value of the second evaluation index on the display date and the value of the second evaluation index on the comparison date. The inventory management method according to 1. The degree of change in the value of the first evaluation index is the difference between the value of the first evaluation index on the display date and the value of the first evaluation index on the comparison date, and the first evaluation index on the comparison date. Divided by the metric value of,
The degree of change in the value of the second evaluation index is the difference between the value of the second evaluation index on the display date and the value of the second evaluation index on the comparison date, and the second on the comparison date. The inventory management method according to claim 1, wherein the inventory management method is a value divided by a value of the evaluation index. The degree of change in the value of the first evaluation index is a difference between the value of the first evaluation index on the display date and the value of the first evaluation index on the comparison date, a positive value, a zero value, and a negative value. Values classified into
The degree of change in the value of the second evaluation index is a difference between the value of the second evaluation index on the display date and the value of the second evaluation index on the comparison date, a positive value, a zero value, and a negative value. The inventory management method according to claim 1, wherein the inventory management method is a value classified into: The display unit
In the scatter diagram, the degree of change in the value of the first evaluation index and the degree of change in the value of the second evaluation index are displayed by arrows at substantially the same position as the position where the item is plotted. 6. The inventory management method according to claim 1, wherein the inventory management method is characterized in that: The storage unit
Storing symbols corresponding to the degree of change in the value of the first evaluation index and the degree of change in the value of the second evaluation index;
The display unit
In the scatter diagram, the degree of change in the value of the first evaluation index and the degree of change in the value of the second evaluation index are displayed by the symbols at substantially the same position as the position where the item is plotted. The inventory management method according to claim 1, wherein:

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