JP6853984B2 - Distribution inventory information provision system, method and program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a distribution inventory information providing system, and more particularly to a system that generates and provides distribution inventory information based on information acquired from a traceability system. "Distribution inventory" means inventory held by a trader in the process of distribution of goods, such as a wholesaler or a retailer.

The "traceability system" is a mechanism that makes it possible to grasp the movement of products by keeping a record of the handling of products. Prior art documents relating to this mechanism include, for example, "Food Traceability Guidelines" (Patent Document 1) issued as part of the project of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.
However, a system that generates and provides distribution inventory information based on the information acquired from this traceability system has not been proposed.

"Food Traceability System Introduction Guide (Food Traceability Guidelines", "Food Traceability System Introduction Guide" Revision Committee, March 2008, 2nd Edition, 2nd Print

An object of the present invention is to realize a system that generates and provides distribution inventory information based on information acquired from a traceability system.

In order to solve this problem, in the distribution inventory information providing system of the present invention, the designated business ID and product ID are selected from the association information for chain traceability that is updated in the storage unit in real time by the traceability system. It is equipped with a search unit that extracts associative information for multiple chain traceability including. In addition, the number of association information for multiple chain traceability extracted by this search unit is aggregated for each of the most downstream businesses, and the inventory quantity information for each product is generated in order to provide the information acquisition device. It is provided with a processing unit to be processed.

According to this, the search unit extracts only the association information for chain traceability regarding a specific product purchased or sold by a specific business operator. Then, the processing department determines the number of association information (that is, the product) for each of the most downstream businesses (that is, the business that currently stocks the product) shown in each extracted association information. The number of identification units (individuals or lots)) is aggregated, and inventory quantity information for each product and each business operator is generated. The inventory quantity information by business operator by product is the inventory quantity of the product identification unit (individual or lot), and represents the inventory quantity currently held by each business operator.

Instead of the process of aggregating the number of association information for the plurality of chain traceabilitys for each of the most downstream businesses, the quantity of products corresponding to the association information for chain traceability is calculated for each of the most downstream businesses. It may be totaled. In this case, the inventory quantity information for each business operator by product is the inventory quantity of the product and represents the inventory quantity currently held by each business operator. In this case, the inventory quantity may represent the number of products such as one or two, or may represent the quantity of products such as 1 kg and 2 kg.

Further, the information acquisition device also serves as an information requesting device, and the reception unit may use the business operator ID of the business operator who is the user of the information requesting device as the designated business operator ID. In this case, since the search unit extracts only the association information including the operator ID of the user of the information requesting device, the association information to be processed is purchased or sold by the operator corresponding to the operator ID. It is only the association information of the identified identification unit. Therefore, the inventory information that can be known by the business operator who is the user of the information requesting device is only for the identification unit purchased or sold by the business operator, and is owned by the business operator upstream from the business operator. A filtering function is realized in which it is not possible to know the inventory that is present or the inventory that the business operator does not handle.

According to the present invention, it is possible to realize a system that generates and provides distribution inventory information based on the information acquired from the traceability system.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a system configuration according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a data structure diagram of association information for chain traceability shown in FIG. 1 (first embodiment). FIG. 3 is a data structure diagram of inventory quantity information for each product and each business operator generated based on the association information of FIG. 2 (first embodiment). FIG. 4 is a data structure diagram of total distribution inventory amount information for each product generated based on the association information of FIG. 2 (first embodiment). FIG. 5 is a data structure diagram of association information for chain traceability shown in FIG. 1 (second embodiment). FIG. 6 is a data structure diagram of inventory quantity information for each product and each business operator generated based on the associative information of FIG. 5 (second embodiment). FIG. 7 is a data structure diagram of total distribution inventory amount information for each product generated based on the association information of FIG. 5 (second embodiment). FIG. 8 is a block diagram of an inventory list. FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing a modified example of the embodiment shown in FIG. FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of another inventory information providing system. FIG. 11 is a data structure diagram of the product delivery information stored in the product delivery information DB of FIG. FIG. 12 is a flowchart of processing executed by the inventory information generation unit of FIG.

[First Embodiment]
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described. In the following description, the terms defined in the "food traceability guideline" listed in Non-Patent Document 1 will be used as appropriate. However, the present invention can also be applied to products other than food products.

FIG. 1 shows an overall configuration diagram of the system. The distribution inventory information providing system 10 is configured to send and receive information to and from the traceability system 20 and the information request terminal 30.

The traceability system 20 records the association information for chain traceability in the storage unit. Correspondence information for chain traceability is information that enables grasping the movement of products through businesses at each stage of production, processing, processing, wholesale, retail, etc., and is one step upstream for each business. It is composed by associating a business operator (supplier) with a business operator (sales destination) one step downstream. The traceability system 20 serves as a center for acquiring real-time information on the movement of products from each business operator, and based on the information, the association information for chain traceability is constantly updated to real-time information and centrally managed.

The distribution inventory information providing system includes a reception unit 1, a search unit 2, and a processing unit 3. The reception unit 1 sends and receives information to and from the information request terminal 30 via a communication device. The search unit 2 accesses a database that stores association information for chain traceability. The processing unit 3 generates inventory information based on the association information acquired by the search unit 2 and passes it to the reception unit 1. The operations of each part 1, 2, and 3 are realized by the processor executing the program. All the information used for processing by each unit 1, 2, and 3 is read from the storage area of the storage device. In addition, all the information processed by each unit 1, 2, and 3 is stored in the storage area of the storage device.

When the traceability system 20 and the distribution inventory information providing system 10 are processes executed on the same computer, information is exchanged between them via a storage area. When the traceability system 20 and the distribution inventory information providing system 10 are processes executed on different computers, information transmission / reception between the two is performed via a communication device.

The information request terminal 30 is a terminal that requests the distribution inventory information providing system 10 to provide inventory information. There are a plurality of information request terminals 30 that communicate with the distribution inventory information providing system 10 corresponding to a plurality of users.

In the present embodiment, the association information for chain traceability has the data structure shown in FIG. That is, each business ID from the business ID of the most upstream business to the business ID of the most downstream business is directly or indirectly linked to each identification unit ID. The product ID is directly or indirectly associated with the identification unit ID. The identification unit is a unit when the traceability system identifies a product, and there are cases where a lot is a unit and cases where an individual / individual product is a unit. The identification unit ID is an identification symbol for distinguishing one identification unit from another identification unit. The product ID is an identification symbol for distinguishing product items, and corresponds to a JAN code or the like.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. The reception unit 1 receives the business ID and the product ID from the information request terminal 30, and passes the received business ID and the product ID to the search unit 2. This business operator ID is a business operator ID corresponding to the business operator who is the user of the information request terminal 30. The product ID is a product ID specified by the user for the information request terminal 30.

The search unit 2 extracts and processes a plurality of association information including both the business ID and the product ID passed from the reception unit 1 from the association information for chain traceability stored in the storage unit. Give it to Part 3.

Regarding the association information passed from the search unit 2, the processing unit 3 aggregates the number of association information common to the business ID of the most downstream business operator for each business ID of the most downstream business operator. The inventory quantity information (Fig. 3) for each product, which associates the corresponding product ID with the business ID of the most downstream business and the total number, is generated and passed to the reception unit 1. The inventory quantity information for each business operator for each product is the inventory quantity of the product identification unit (individual product or lot) corresponding to the product ID, and represents the inventory quantity held by the business operator corresponding to the business operator ID.

In addition, the processing unit 3 aggregates the total number of association information passed from the search unit 2, generates information on the total number of distribution inventory by product (FIG. 4) in which the corresponding product ID and the aggregated number are associated with each other, and the reception unit. Pass to 1. Alternatively, the processing unit 3 aggregates the inventory quantity information for each product of each business operator, associates the corresponding product ID with the aggregated number, generates the total distribution inventory quantity information for each product, and passes it to the reception unit 1. May be good. The total amount of distribution inventory information for each product represents the total amount of distribution inventory of the product identification unit (individual product or lot) corresponding to the product ID.

The reception unit 1 transmits the inventory quantity information for each product and the total number of distribution stocks for each product, which is passed from the processing unit 3, to the information request terminal 30 of the request source. When the information of the business name corresponding to the business ID can be acquired, the reception unit 1 may also transmit the business name corresponding to the business ID.

The information request terminal 30 outputs the inventory quantity information for each product and the total number of distribution inventory for each product received from the distribution inventory information providing system 10 to the output device. When the information of the product name corresponding to the product ID can be acquired, the product name corresponding to the product ID may be output together.

The user of the information request terminal 30 can know the inventory quantity information of the product corresponding to the specified product ID by the business operator and the total inventory quantity information of the distribution stock by the product.

Further, since the search unit 2 extracts only the association information including the operator ID of the user of the information request terminal 30, the association information to be processed is purchased by the operator corresponding to the operator ID. Only the association information of the sold identification unit. Therefore, the inventory information that can be known by the business operator who is the user of the information request terminal 30 is only for the identification unit purchased or sold by the business operator, and is owned by the business operator upstream from the business operator. A filtering function is realized in which it is not possible to know the inventory that is in stock or the inventory that the business operator does not handle.

[Second Embodiment]
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. Since the system configuration of FIG. 1 described in the first embodiment is the same, the description thereof will be omitted.

In the present embodiment, the association information for chain traceability has the data structure shown in FIG. That is, each business ID from the business ID of the most upstream business to the business ID of the most downstream business is directly or indirectly linked to each identification unit ID. The product ID and the product quantity are directly or indirectly linked to the identification unit ID. The product quantity indicates the quantity of products included in the lot, which is an identification unit. The quantity of the product may be a number such as one or two, or an amount such as 1 kg or 2 kg.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. The reception unit 1 receives the business ID and the product ID from the information request terminal 30, and passes the received business ID and the product ID to the search unit 2. This business operator ID is a business operator ID corresponding to the business operator who is the user of the information request terminal 30. The product ID is the product ID specified by the user of the terminal 30 for the information request terminal 30.

The search unit 2 extracts and processes a plurality of association information including both the business ID and the product ID passed from the reception unit 1 from the association information for chain traceability stored in the storage unit. Give it to Part 3.

Regarding the association information passed from the search unit 2, the processing unit 3 aggregates the quantity of products of the association information in which the business ID of the most downstream business operator is common for each business ID of the most downstream business operator. Then, the inventory quantity information (FIG. 6) for each product, which associates the corresponding product ID with the business ID of the most downstream business and the total quantity, is generated and passed to the reception unit 1. The inventory quantity information for each business operator by product is the inventory quantity of the product corresponding to the product ID, and represents the inventory quantity held by the business operator corresponding to the business operator ID.

In addition, the processing unit 3 aggregates the quantity of products in all the association information passed from the search unit 2, and collects the total amount of distribution inventory information (FIG. 7) for each product in which the corresponding product ID and the aggregated quantity are associated with each other. Generate and pass to reception unit 1. Alternatively, the processing unit 3 aggregates the inventory quantity information for each product of each business operator, associates the corresponding product ID with the aggregated quantity, generates the total distribution inventory quantity information for each product, and passes it to the reception unit 1. May be good. The total amount of distribution inventory information for each product represents the total amount of distribution inventory of the product corresponding to the product ID.

The reception unit 1 transmits the inventory quantity information for each product and the total number of distribution stocks for each product, which is passed from the processing unit 3, to the information request terminal 30 of the request source. When the information of the business name corresponding to the business ID can be acquired, the reception unit 1 may also transmit the business name corresponding to the business ID.

The information request terminal 30 outputs the inventory quantity information for each product and the total number of distribution inventory for each product received from the distribution inventory information providing system 10 to the output device. When the information of the product name corresponding to the product ID can be acquired, the information request terminal 30 may also output the product name corresponding to the product ID.

The user of the information request terminal 30 can know the inventory quantity information of the product corresponding to the specified product ID by the business operator and the total inventory quantity information of the distribution stock by the product. Further, according to the present embodiment, even when the identification unit of the association information for chain traceability is a lot, the quantity of the product is known as the inventory quantity information by the business operator by the product and the total inventory quantity information by the product. Can be done.

[Modified examples of the first embodiment and the second embodiment]
(1) Hereinafter, "inventory quantity information by business operator by product" and "total inventory quantity information by product" are collectively referred to as "distribution inventory information". Here, in the first embodiment and the second embodiment, the business operator who is the user of the information request terminal 30 can browse only the distribution inventory information of the products purchased or sold by the company. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the user of the information request terminal 30 may be configured to be able to browse the distribution inventory information of the products purchased or sold by another business operator. The user may be a consumer. In this case, the reception unit 1 may be configured to receive the business ID and product ID of an arbitrary business operator from the information request terminal 30 and pass the received business operator ID and product ID to the search unit 2.

With this configuration, the user of this system can know the distribution inventory information of any business operator. For example, the information can be used as information for knowing the timing and place of purchasing a product, or distributed. Inventory information can be used as a reference for stock trading.

(2) Further, in the first embodiment and the second embodiment, pull-type distribution that provides distribution inventory information in response to a request from the information request terminal 30 is performed. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the distribution inventory information may be push-distributed from the distribution inventory information providing system 10 to the information request terminal 30.

(3) Further, in the first embodiment and the second embodiment, the information request terminal 30 also serves as an information acquisition device for acquiring distribution inventory information. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and an information acquisition device other than the information request device 30 may be configured to acquire distribution inventory information. The "information acquisition device" may be any device that acquires distribution inventory information, regardless of whether it is a terminal or an external server. Further, an "information requesting device" may be provided instead of the "information requesting terminal". The "information requesting device" may be any device that requests distribution inventory information, regardless of whether it is a terminal or an external server.

According to each embodiment described above, it is possible to realize a system that provides distribution inventory information of products based on the correspondence information for chain traceability managed by the traceability system. By knowing the inventory quantity information for each product and the total inventory for each product, the manufacturer can measure the production timing and prevent unnecessary production and disposal. Businesses in the distribution process can time the purchase and prevent unnecessary purchase and disposal. On the contrary, there is no loss of sales opportunities such as sold out. In addition, production costs and distribution costs can be reduced by planned production or purchasing. It is also possible to link the automatic ordering system according to the status of the number of distribution stocks downstream, and it is also possible to reduce the management cost. Furthermore, by analyzing fluctuations in the number of distribution stocks in each business operator, it can be used as big data. If the association information for chain traceability is associated with the ID of the final consumer, it is possible to propose an appropriate product by analyzing the product preference and purchase timing of the final consumer. At the same time, since it is possible to know who bought the product, it is easy to collect the product when it is recalled. In addition, since it is possible to know where a specific product is currently in stock, it is possible to guide where to go to buy the product in response to an inquiry about the product.
In the above, the following can be considered as a method of incorporating the ID of the final consumer into the association information for chain traceability. For example, the store-side system acquires the product identification unit ID and the final consumer ID at the time of payment at the cash register, and traceability of transaction information including the association between the identification unit ID and the final consumer ID. By sending it to the system, it can be incorporated into the association information. Here, it is conceivable that the product identification unit ID is acquired from an information holding unit such as a QR code (registered trademark). Further, the final consumer ID may be obtained from a personal information source such as a point card or a credit card. Further, when purchasing at an online shop, it is conceivable that the final consumer ID is obtained from a personal information source such as a user login ID managed by the online shop or the shopping mall to which the online shop belongs.

The present invention is not limited to each of the above embodiments. For example, a search unit and a processing unit may be equipped as a part of the traceability system. As the association information for chain traceability, the information copied to the external storage part of the traceability system may be used. The business operator may include a business operator involved in the transfer of the goods themselves such as transportation and packaging.

[Provision of date and time information]
It is convenient for wholesalers and retailers to know the products with the old manufacturing date or the old arrival date and time from their inventory, because it is easy to ship the old products first. In addition, manufacturers and wholesalers will be able to know where old products are, replace them, and dispose of them. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 5, the association information for chain traceability is associated with the date and time information T in which the identification unit arrived at the business operator for each business operator ID that handled each identification unit. There is. In the case of the most upstream business operator (manufacturer), T is the date and time of manufacture. In FIG. 1, when a product ID and a business operator ID are specified from the information request terminal 30 and a request for an inventory list of the product is made, the distribution inventory information providing system 10 executes the following processing.

The reception unit 1 receives the inventory list request from the information request terminal, and passes the product ID and the business operator ID specified in accordance with the request to the search unit 2. The search unit 2 searches for a record in which the product ID acquired from the reception unit 1 matches and the business ID matches the most downstream business ID from the association information for chain traceability. From each record hit as a result, the search unit 2 includes the product ID, the identification unit ID, the manufacturing date and time associated with the most upstream business operator ID, and the arrival date and time associated with the most downstream business operator ID. Extract the association with.

Then, the search unit 2 enumerates the extracted information for each identification unit ID and generates an inventory list shown in FIG. The processing unit 3 passes the inventory list generated by the search unit 2 to the reception unit 1. The reception unit 1 transmits the inventory list to the information request terminal 30 that has requested the inventory list. The information request terminal 30 displays the inventory list received from the reception unit 1 on the display device. By viewing the inventory list, the business operator who operates the information request terminal 30 can easily know the identification unit whose production or arrival is old, out of its own inventory or the inventory of other companies distributed by the company. Therefore, the business operator can ship the company's inventory first in the identification unit whose manufacturing or arrival is oldest. In addition, since the business operator can know the inventory of other companies, for example, the manufacturer can know which wholesaler or retail store has the old one among the own products, so the old one can be replaced and renewed. When retailer B, which is different from retailer A, ships, ask B to use the old inventory of A (for applications that do not care about the expiration date), so that waste can be reduced and goods can be used effectively. Can be done.

[Consumer management by traceability system]
In FIG. 1, the traceability system 20 includes a storage unit 21 that stores association information for chain traceability, and an update unit 22 that updates the association information. The operation of the update unit 22 is realized by the processing device of the traceability system 20 executing the program. The update unit 22 includes information (product ID, identification unit ID, business ID or consumer ID of the shipping destination or receiving destination, and the shipping date / time or arrival date / time thereof) indicating the shipment or arrival of the product from the information registration terminal 40. (Association of) is received, the association information with which the identification unit ID matches is updated. That is, the update unit 22 adds the received business ID or consumer ID most downstream to the record of the association information with which the identification unit ID matches, and the shipping received to the business ID or consumer ID. Link the date and time or the arrival date and time T. When the consumer ID is added to the most downstream of the association information, the distribution inventory information providing system 10 does not count the identification unit as the inventory of the business operator, assuming that the identification unit is in the hands of the consumer.

When a business operator consumes inventory in-house, the information registration terminal 40 inputs information to the traceability system 20 indicating that the identification unit has moved from the business operator ID of the business operator to the consumer ID of the business operator. Just do it. As a result, the traceability system 20 adds the consumer ID of the business operator to the most downstream of the association information of the identification unit. Therefore, the distribution inventory information providing system 10 calculates the correct inventory quantity assuming that the inventory of the business operator has decreased.

[Cooperation with transaction management system]
FIG. 9 shows a modified example of the first embodiment and the second embodiment. The traceability system 20 communicates with the transaction management system 50 instead of communicating with the information registration terminal 40 described above. Other configurations are the same as in FIG.
The distribution inventory information providing system 10, the traceability system 20, and the transaction management system 50 do not necessarily have to be independent network nodes. For example, the distribution inventory information providing system 10, the traceability system 20, and the transaction management system 50 may each be a program unit. Communication between units can be performed by passing data between programs.

The transaction management system 50 includes an order processing function, a shipping / delivery processing function, and a slip issuing processing function. Each function is realized by executing a program on a computer.
The order processing function receives an ordering instruction for a product from a business operator or a consumer to a first business operator from an external terminal, and processes the ordering instruction. In addition, the order processing function determines whether or not it is necessary to further order the product from the first business operator to the second upstream business operator, and if it is necessary to place an order with the second business operator, Execute the processing of the order.

The shipping / delivery processing function manages the shipping status of products by the business operator of the ordering party. In addition, the shipping / delivery processing function manages the delivery status of the product to the business operator or the consumer who placed the order. When a product is delivered from the supplier to the business operator or consumer of the ordering party, the shipping / delivery processing function includes the business ID or consumer ID of the receiving destination, the product ID of the delivered product, and the corresponding product. The product identification unit ID and the date and time of delivery are acquired from an external terminal, and these information are associated and stored in the storage unit. The transaction management system 50 reads out these pieces of information from the storage unit at a predetermined timing and hands them over to the update unit 22 of the traceability system 20.

The update unit 22 acquires the association between the product ID, the identification unit ID, the business ID or the consumer ID of the arrival destination, and the arrival date and time from the transaction management system 50, and associates the identification unit IDs with each other. The information is searched, and the business ID or consumer ID received this time is added to the association information and updated.
The slip issuing processing function issues a purchase order (ordering slip) from the ordering party of the product to the ordering party, an invoice (billing slip) and a delivery note (delivery slip) from the ordering party of the product to the ordering party. As described above, when the ordering business operator or consumer gives an instruction to order a product from the first business operator, and further, the first business operator orders the product from the second upstream business operator. , The slip issuance processing function is not only a transaction slip between the business or consumer who first ordered the order and the first business, but also an order from the first business to the second upstream business. Transaction slips related to are also automatically issued.

[Other inventory information provision system]
The invention described below relates to a system that provides information on an inventory quantity that increases or decreases depending on the distribution of goods.
For example, the producer can grasp the quantity of goods delivered from the producer to the wholesaler. However, the producer may not be able to grasp the delivery destination and quantity of the goods delivered from the wholesaler to the retailer after that. An object of the present invention is to make it possible to understand the distribution of inventories of delivered products after the direct delivery destination.

FIG. 10 shows an embodiment. In the transactions of company A, company B, company C, and company D, the transactions of company A and company B are managed by the inter-company transaction management system 201. Similarly, the transactions between company B and company C are managed by the inter-company transaction management system 202. Similarly, the transactions between company B and company D are managed by the transaction management system 203 between companies BD. Each transaction management system 201-203 provides the inventory information providing system 100 with information indicating the product ID, production lot ID, delivery quantity, delivery route, and delivery date and time of the product delivered based on the business-to-business transaction. Send each. Each transaction management system 201-203 operates by executing a program by a computer. Communication between each transaction management system 201-203 and the inventory information providing system 100 is performed via the Internet or the like. Each transaction management system 201-203 is an independent system having different specifications, and the specifications of data to be transmitted to the inventory information providing system 100 are also different for each system.

The inventory information providing system 100 includes a system adapter 101-103, a recording processing unit 104, a product delivery information DB 105, an inventory information generating unit 106, and an inventory information providing I / F 107. The system adapter 101-103, the recording processing unit 104, the inventory information generating unit 106, and the inventory information providing I / F are realized by executing a program by a computer. The product delivery information DB 105 is a database provided in the storage device.

The system adapter 101-103 receives the data transmitted from each transaction management system 201-203. Data is received via a communication device. The AB system adapter 101 understands the specifications of the data transmitted from the AB intercompany transaction management system 201, and from the data, the product ID, the production lot ID, the delivery quantity, the information indicating the delivery route, and the delivery. Information indicating the date and time is extracted, and the product delivery information associated with this information is delivered to the recording processing unit 104. Similarly, the BC system adapter 102 understands the specifications of the data transmitted from the BC intercompany transaction management system 202, and from the data, the product ID, the production lot ID, the delivery quantity, and the information indicating the delivery route, Then, the information indicating the delivery date and time is extracted, and the product delivery information associated with this information is delivered to the recording processing unit 104. Similarly, the BD system adapter 103 understands the specifications of the data transmitted from the BD intercompany transaction management system 203, and from the data, the product ID, the production lot ID, the delivery quantity, and the information indicating the delivery route, Then, the information indicating the delivery date and time is extracted, and the product delivery information associated with this information is delivered to the recording processing unit 104.

The recording processing unit 104 stores the product delivery information acquired from each system adapter 101-103 in the product delivery information DB 105. FIG. 11 shows an example of product delivery information stored in the product delivery information DB 105. Here, as shown in the lower part of FIG. 10, 100 pieces of a certain product are delivered from company A to company B, and then 50 pieces of the product are delivered from company B to company C, and 40 pieces are delivered from company B to company D. It is assumed that it has been delivered.

In this case, the product delivery information represented by the reference numeral ab in FIG. 11 is transmitted from the inter-company transaction management system 201 AB and stored in the product delivery information DB 105. The breakdown is that 100 products with product ID p001 are delivered from company A to company B, and the delivery date and time is 12:00 on June 1.

Further, the product delivery information represented by the reference numeral bc in FIG. 11 is transmitted from the BC intercompany transaction management system 202 and stored in the product delivery information DB 105. The breakdown is that 50 products with product ID p001 are delivered from company B to company C, and the delivery date and time is 18:00 on June 1.

Further, the product delivery information indicated by the reference numeral bd in FIG. 11 is transmitted from the BD intercompany transaction management system 203 and stored in the product delivery information DB 105. The breakdown is that 40 products with product ID p001 are delivered from company B to company D, and the delivery date and time is 9:00 on June 2. Similarly, other products such as p002 are also accumulated in the product delivery information DB 105 according to the delivery record.

As mentioned earlier, the transaction management systems 201-203 between companies do not share information with transaction management systems between other companies, and are operated in the form of a closed system. On the other hand, the inventory information providing system 100 is operated as an open system that aggregates and processes information from each closed system.

The inventory information generation unit 106 refers to the product delivery information accumulated in the product delivery information DB 105, and in order to show the distribution of inventory of the products shipped by the designated company in the companies downstream from the company, the inventory information generation unit 106 is downstream. Calculate the inventory quantity of each company.

This operation is shown in FIG. In the explanation, it is assumed that the product p001 shipped by Company A is specified as the processing target on the premise of the product delivery information shown in FIG. First, the inventory information generation unit 106 selects the product delivery information (record) ab whose delivery source is the designated company A for the designated product p001, and delivers the delivery quantity of 100 of the record ab to the record. It is set as the inventory quantity of the previous company B (S1).

Subsequently, the inventory information generation unit 106 inspects the records from the previously selected record ab in chronological order of the delivery date and time, and the specified product p001 is delivered by the company B, which is the delivery destination of the previously selected record ab. Select the original records bc and bd (YES in S2 and S3).

Subsequently, the inventory information generation unit 106 subtracts 50 delivery quantities of the selected record bc from the inventory quantity of company B, which is the delivery source of the record bc, and the inventory quantity of company C, which is the delivery destination of the record bc. Set to. Further, 40 pieces of the selected record bd delivered are subtracted from the stock quantity of the company B, which is the delivery source of the record bd, and set as the stock quantity of the company D, which is the delivery destination of the record bd (S4). After that, the inventory information generation unit 106 repeats the process from S2. In the example of FIG. 11, since there is no record whose delivery source is Company C or Company D, which is the delivery destination of the previously selected record, the process ends (NO in S2 and S3). As a result, the inventory quantity of 100 commodities p001 delivered by company A is calculated to be 10 for company B (100-50-40), 50 for company C, and 40 for company D.

The inventory information providing I / F 107 provides a user interface to the external inventory information requesting device 300. Communication between the inventory information providing I / F 107 and the inventory information requesting device 300 is performed via the communication device and the Internet. The inventory information providing I / F 107 authenticates the user of the inventory information requesting device 300 that uses the inventory information providing system 100. Here, company A is authenticated as a user. After that, the inventory information providing I / F 107 receives the designation of the product for which the inventory is to be checked and the information request operation from the inventory information request device 300. Here, p001 is specified as the product ID. The inventory information providing I / F 107 that has received the information request operation from the inventory information request device 300 delivers the authenticated identifier of company A and the designated product ID to the inventory information generation unit 106, and instructs the inventory information generation unit 106 to generate the inventory information. ..

Upon receiving the instruction, the inventory information generation unit 106 calculates the inventory quantity distributed to each company and passes it to the inventory information providing I / F 107 as described above. According to the example shown in FIG. 11, in the inventory information generation unit 106, 100 items p001 shipped by company A are in stock of 10 items of company B, 50 items of company C, and 40 items of company D. The inventory information that the product is in stock is passed to the inventory information providing I / F107.

The inventory information providing I / F 107 shapes the inventory information acquired from the inventory information generation unit 106 and transmits it to the inventory information requesting device 300 of the requesting source. The user of the inventory information requesting device 300 can know the inventory distribution in the downstream of the product shipped by the company, which can be useful for planning the procurement of the product in the future.

According to this embodiment, by collecting transaction information managed by a plurality of closed systems having different specifications in an inventory information providing system as an open system, not only the company's inventory that can be grasped by the closed system but also further downstream You can know the distribution of inventory including distribution destinations.

Further, the inventory information providing I / F 107 may indicate the current inventory quantity held by the delivery source to the delivery destination. In this case, the inventory information providing I / F 107 receives from the inventory information requesting device 300 the identifier of the company authenticated as the user of the inventory information requesting device and the designation of the product ID. Here, it is assumed that p001 is received as the product ID and the identifier of company C is received as the user's identifier. The inventory information generation unit 106 searches the product delivery information DB 105 for the record bc of the product delivery information in which the product ID is p001 and the delivery destination indicated in the delivery route is company C. The inventory information generation unit 106 determines the delivery source company indicated in the delivery route of the searched record bc, and reads out the inventory quantity of p001 set in the delivery source company from the storage device. Then, the inventory information generation unit 106 passes the read inventory quantity to the inventory information providing I / F 107. The inventory information providing I / F 107 transmits the inventory quantity passed from the inventory information generation unit 106 to the inventory information requesting device 300 of the information requesting source.

The inventory quantity of p001 owned by Company B can be calculated by the inventory quantity calculation process shown in FIG. In this case, the record ab to which Company B is the delivery destination indicated in the delivery route for the product p001 may be the processing target of step S1.

In this way, the delivery destination company can know the inventory quantity of the products owned by the delivery source company, which is a reference for measuring the purchase timing. Further, the inventory information providing system 100 can acquire the inventory quantity of the product owned by the manufacturer company from the transaction management system, so that the inventory quantity can be indicated to the downstream delivery destination through the inventory information requesting device 300. .. In this case as well, the downstream company can know how much inventory the manufacturer has, which is a reference for timing the purchase.

1 Reception unit 2 Search unit 3 Processing unit 10 Distribution inventory information provision system 20 Traceability system 21 Storage unit 22 Update unit 30 Information request terminal 40 Information registration terminal 50 Transaction management system 100 Inventory information provision system 101, 102, 103 System adapter 104 Recording Processing unit 105 Product delivery information DB
106 Inventory information generator 107 Inventory information provision I / F
201, 202, 203 Inter-company transaction management system 300 Inventory information request device

Claims (2)

A search unit that extracts the association information for multiple chain traceability including the specified business ID and product ID from the association information for chain traceability that is updated in the storage unit in real time by the traceability system. ,
In order to provide the information acquisition device with inventory quantity information for each product, which is the total number of association information for multiple chain traceability extracted by this search unit, for each selected business operator and for each product. The processing unit to be generated and
Distribution inventory information provision system equipped with. In the distribution inventory information providing system according to claim 1,
Instead of the process of totaling the number of association information for the plurality of chain traceabilitys for each selected business operator and each product, the quantity of products corresponding to the association information for the chain traceability is calculated for each business operator. Aggregate to,
Distribution inventory information provision system.

Images