JP7334921B1 - shipping cost estimator - Google Patents

Abstract

[Problem] To provide a technology that smoothly predicts the cost required for delivering goods. SOLUTION: A delivery charge estimation device includes a receiving unit that receives a delivery charge estimation request including identification information of one or more types of goods to be delivered and a delivery quantity of each type of goods to be delivered; A container identification unit that identifies packaging containers that can accommodate all items to be delivered based on the size and delivery quantity of each type of item, and calculates the estimated shipping fee based on the volumetric weight of the identified packaging container. and a transmitting unit that transmits the estimated amount of shipping charges. [Selection diagram] Figure 7

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a technique for estimating charges required for delivery of goods.

In recent years, mail-order sales using the Internet have become popular. This type of business is called "electronic commerce" (EC). On EC sites launched by sellers, products are introduced, and purchasers (users) view them and place orders. At this time, a payment method such as a credit card and information on a delivery address such as home are also registered.

When the seller accepts the order, the seller packs the products in the warehouse and ships them using the delivery service. Then, the product package is delivered to the address (home, etc.) designated as the delivery destination at a later date. The user can place an order and receive the product while staying at home, which is convenient.

Since it uses the Internet, it is possible to receive orders from overseas. In that case, use a delivery service that can deliver to foreign countries. International shipping services are numerous. Such international electronic commerce is called "cross-border EC". Systems for small and medium-sized enterprises to develop small-scale businesses with relatively low risk have also been proposed (Patent Documents 1 and 2).

JP 2019-169152 A Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2021-108200

In both domestic EC and cross-border EC, the purchaser (user) often bears the shipping fee. In particular, when shipping overseas, the shipping fee is high, so the purchaser tends to be conscious of the shipping fee (see Patent Document 2).

Delivery charges vary depending on the delivery service. Which delivery service you choose to get the lowest shipping fee will vary depending on the destination country. If a parcel is to be sent to country X, delivery service A may be cheaper, and if it is to be sent to country Y, delivery service B may be cheaper. Also, the shipping fee varies depending on the weight and size of the package. When sending package S to a certain country, delivery service A may be cheaper, and when sending package T to the same country, delivery service B may be cheaper. Such a phenomenon is caused by the fact that fee systems reflecting the business circumstances of each delivery company are set separately.

On the other hand, before accepting an order, the seller needs to present the billing amount including the delivery charge to the purchaser (user) for his/her consent. If the shipping charges offered at this time are too low, the seller will have to cover the shortfall. Conversely, if you offer too high shipping rates, you're asking buyers to overcharge, discourage purchases, and risk losing credibility. Thus, it is an important business matter for a merchant to accurately predict shipping charges before accepting an order.

Therefore, there is a demand for a means that allows sellers and purchasers to easily select suitable delivery services in accordance with different agreements for each delivery service.

The present invention has been completed in view of the above background, and its main object is to provide a technique for smoothly predicting the cost required for delivery of goods.

An apparatus for estimating shipping charges in an aspect of the present invention receives a request for estimating shipping charges including identification information of one or more types of articles to be delivered, delivery quantities of each type of articles to be delivered, and a destination country. a service selection unit that selects one or more delivery services that can deliver to the destination country; and an estimated shipping charge for the package including all items to be delivered for the selected one or more delivery services. and a transmission unit for transmitting an estimate of the shipping charge for each delivery service.

A delivery charge estimation device according to another aspect of the present invention comprises a receiving unit that receives a delivery charge estimate request including identification information of one or more types of articles to be delivered and the delivery quantity of each type of article to be delivered; A container identification part that identifies a packaging container that can accommodate all the items to be delivered, based on the size and quantity of each type of item to be delivered, and an estimate of the shipping charge based on the dimensional weight of the specified packaging container. It has an estimated amount calculation unit that calculates the amount and a transmission unit that transmits the estimated amount of the shipping fee.

A delivery charge estimation device in another aspect of the present invention receives a delivery charge estimate request including identification information of one or more types of articles to be delivered, delivery quantities of each type of article to be delivered, and a destination country. a receiving unit, a service selection unit that selects a first delivery service and a second delivery service that can deliver to the destination country, and a first delivery service that includes all items to be delivered for the selected first delivery service. An estimate calculation unit for calculating a first estimate of the delivery charge and inquiring the second estimate of the second delivery charge for the package including all the items to be delivered via the network to the server of the selected second delivery service. an estimate inquiry unit that acquires a second estimated amount of the second delivery charge from the server; a first estimated amount of the first delivery charge in the first delivery service; and a second delivery charge in the second delivery service and a transmitting unit configured to transmit a second estimated amount of

A delivery charge estimation device according to another aspect of the present invention comprises a receiving unit that receives a delivery charge estimate request including identification information of one or more types of articles to be delivered and the delivery quantity of each type of article to be delivered; Based on the size and delivery quantity of each type of article to be delivered, a container identification unit that identifies a packaging container that can accommodate all the articles to be delivered, and a delivery service that can deliver packages in the specified packaging container. An estimated amount inquiry unit for inquiring an estimated shipping charge amount based on the volumetric weight of the packaging container to a server via a network, an estimated amount acquiring unit for acquiring the estimated shipping charge amount from the server, and an estimated shipping charge amount. and a transmitter for transmitting.

According to the present invention, it is possible to smoothly predict the cost required for the delivery of goods.

1 is a network configuration diagram of a mail order system; FIG. It is a functional block diagram of a delivery charge estimate server. It is a data structure diagram of product information. 4 is a data structure diagram of container information; FIG. It is an example of a shipping charge table. It is a transition diagram of the screen of an EC site. It is a flowchart which shows the processing process in a delivery charge estimation server.

FIG. 1 is a network configuration diagram of a mail order system.
A mail-order system realizes electronic commerce in which a purchaser (user) places an order to purchase a product via the Internet and receives the delivered product. For this example, assume that the seller is a Japanese clothing retailer. A seller launches an EC site for selling clothing. The EC site server 200 for that purpose is connected to the Internet.

A purchaser (user) accesses the EC site using the user terminal 300, selects a product, and places an order. The user terminal 300 is a personal computer, tablet terminal, smart phone, or the like that can be connected to the Internet. The user terminal 300 has a browser for browsing EC sites.

Purchasers (users) are not limited to domestic residents. Residents outside the country can also purchase products (clothes) from clothing retailers using EC sites. That is, cross-border EC is realized. Therefore, the EC site supports multiple languages and can display in foreign languages.

A seller (clothing retailer) outsources inventory management and shipping operations to an agent. The seller entrusts the commodities that can be shipped to the agent. When an order is received from a purchaser (user) regardless of whether it is domestic or overseas, an EC site sends a shipping instruction to an agent. The agent manages the merchandise of the seller in a warehouse, packs the merchandise when receiving shipping instructions, and ships the merchandise using a delivery service. The seller is registered as a member of the agency as a user. A seller ID is assigned by the agency.

In mail-order sales, parcels containing products are delivered by a delivery service. A shipping fee is charged to deliver the package. Below, we discuss some issues related to shipping costs.

Problem A: The conditions for packages that can be handled (hereinafter referred to as "package conditions") differ for each delivery service.
Delivery services have restrictions on the weight and size of packages. This limit varies by delivery service. For example, if the maximum weight for delivery service A is 40 kg and the maximum weight for delivery service B is 30 kg, even if delivery service A can send a package weighing 35 kg, delivery service B cannot. The same applies to the size of luggage. Therefore, the shipper needs to determine whether the package can be delivered in light of the unique package conditions for each delivery service, depending on the weight and size of the package, which is complicated.

Problem B: The delivery charge system differs for each delivery service.
Each shipping service has its own shipping rate structure. In many cases, shipping charges are determined according to the country of origin, the country of destination and the weight of the package. In this example, the country of origin is always Japan. The country of delivery depends on the buyer's place of residence. Weight varies from package to package. When the country of the delivery source and the country of the delivery destination are determined, the corresponding delivery charge table (see FIG. 5) is specified. In the delivery charge table, for example, the weight is set in steps of 0.5 kg (0.5 kg or less, 0.5 to 1.0 kg, 1.0 to 1.5 kg, . . . ), and the delivery charge is set for each step. is associated. If the weight of the parcel is 0.8 kg, a delivery charge corresponding to 0.5-1.0 kg will apply. However, the settings at this stage may vary by carrier. Delivery service A may have tiers in 0.5 kg increments and delivery service B may have tiers in 1.0 kg increments. Even if the method of setting the tiers is the same, the shipping charges corresponding to each tier are different. Therefore, it is necessary for the shipper to refer to the delivery charge table for each delivery service, identify the stage to which the weight of the package belongs, and read the corresponding delivery charge.

Problem C: Volumetric weight may be adopted.
The weight used in the shipping rate structure is usually the actual weight (the weight of the package). However, in the case of a load with a small specific gravity, even a light load is large and occupies a large loading area. As a result, the number of packages that can be loaded onto an aircraft or the like is reduced. In order to justify the costs in this case, shipping charges may be higher for light but oversized packages. As a method, a weight different from the actual weight may be set based on the concept of volumetric weight. Volumetric weight is determined by the volume of the package. The volumetric weight is calculated by the volume (in cubic centimeters) times the factor. The coefficient is, for example, 1/5000 (kg/cubic cm). When using dimensional weight, it is common to compare the actual weight to the dimensional weight and apply the larger weight to the shipping rate table. For example, if the size of the luggage (length x width x height) is 30 cm x 20 cm x 10 cm, the volume of the luggage is 6000 cubic cm. Therefore, the volumetric weight of the package is 6000/5000=1.2 kg. If the actual weight of this parcel is 0.8 kg, the delivery fee is calculated based on the larger volumetric weight: 1.2 kg. If the actual weight is 1.6 kg, the shipping fee is calculated based on the larger actual weight: 1.6 kg. The coefficient mentioned above is not uniform and may be 1/6000 (kg/cubic cm). Thus, calculating shipping charges using volumetric weight is complicated.

Problem D: The rules of the delivery service fluctuate.
Due to changes in international situations and fuel prices, rules such as cargo conditions and delivery fee systems change. Also, the number of days required for delivery may change. Shippers (eg, sellers or agents) have to monitor these trends, which is cumbersome.

Problem E: It is difficult to grasp the size of the luggage.
The seller can know the items to be ordered and their quantity, but does not know the size of the package in which those items are packed. This is because a cardboard box (an example of a packaging container) cannot be decided until the product is actually packed. Therefore, when the seller receives the order, the volumetric weight cannot be calculated, and the delivery charge based on the volumetric weight cannot be presented.

Problem F: Seller's risk due to shipping charge prediction error The shipping charge is borne by the purchaser (user). Therefore, it is necessary to present the billing amount including the expected shipping fee to the purchaser at the stage of ordering on the EC site. However, if the seller cannot accurately estimate the shipping charges, the actual shipping charges may exceed the stated shipping charges and the seller may have to make up the shortfall. To avoid that risk, sellers tend to offer higher shipping rates. This may impose an excessive burden on the purchaser and discourage purchase.

Problem G: Selection of Delivery Service by Purchaser (User) In a case where a plurality of delivery services are available, it is desirable that the purchaser himself/herself can select the delivery service. A delivery service that is suitable for the customer's situation, such as choosing the one with the shortest number of days required for delivery if the buyer wants to obtain the product quickly, or choosing the one with the lower shipping fee if the buyer wants to reduce the payment. may be different.

Problem H: Selection of Delivery Service by Seller For example, if the product is a precision instrument or tableware, there is a possibility that the product will be damaged during transportation. If the product is damaged upon arrival, the seller may resend the product in response to a complaint from the purchaser (user). Therefore, it is better to use a delivery service that handles with care. Thus, sellers also have a desire to eliminate inappropriate delivery services for the products they sell.

In this embodiment, in order to solve these problems, the delivery fee estimate server 100 is provided to assist the seller's EC site. The shipping charge estimation server 100 provides a shipping charge estimation service to EC sites. By providing a shipping fee estimation service, we will take the following measures.

Measure A: Determine whether the subject A meets the parcel conditions of each delivery service. The delivery charge estimation server 100 checks restrictions on the weight and size of packages for each delivery service and selects an available delivery service.

Measure B: Regarding problem B, estimate the delivery charge for each delivery service. Calculate the estimated amount based on the delivery fee structure of each delivery service.

Measure C: Regarding problem C, in the case of a delivery service that employs volumetric weight, calculate the delivery charge based on the volumetric weight of the parcel.

Measure D: Regarding problem D, manage the rules of each delivery service. Always get the latest rules of delivery service and reflect them in quotations.

Measure E: Regarding problem E, identify cardboard boxes suitable for the number of products and the number of products, and determine the size of the package. If we know the size of the package without actually packing it, we can immediately provide a delivery charge based on volumetric weight.

Measure F: Accurately estimate the shipping fee for issue F. Therefore, there is no risk of reimbursement for the seller. In addition, the purchaser (user) does not have to pay excessively, and the willingness to buy can be enhanced.

Measure G: Regarding problem G, provide delivery charges and days for a plurality of delivery services, present them to the purchaser (user) on the EC site, and allow the purchaser (user) to freely select. In addition, the package will be shipped by the delivery service selected by the purchaser.

Measure H: Regarding issue H, allow the seller to specify a delivery service as a quotation candidate.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of the shipping charge estimation server 100. As shown in FIG.
Each component of the shipping charge estimation server 100 includes computing units such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and various coprocessors, storage devices such as memory and storage, and hardware including wired or wireless communication lines connecting them. , and is implemented by software that is stored in a storage device and supplies processing instructions to the calculator. A computer program may consist of a device driver, an operating system, various application programs located in their higher layers, and a library that provides common functions to these programs. Each illustrated block mainly indicates a functional unit block. Each block may be implemented by causing a computer to execute a program stored in a storage device.

Delivery charge estimation server 100 includes communication processing unit 108 , data processing unit 104 and data storage unit 106 . The communication processing unit 108 is in charge of communication processing via the network. A data storage unit 106 stores various data. The data processing unit 104 executes various processes based on data acquired by the communication processing unit 108 and data stored in the data storage unit 106 . Data processing unit 104 also functions as an interface for communication processing unit 108 and data storage unit 106 .

The communication processing unit 108 includes a receiving unit 182 that receives various data and a transmitting unit 180 that transmits various data.

The data processing unit 104 includes an estimate calculation unit 140 , a container identification unit 142 , a service selection unit 144 , a service recommendation unit 146 , a rule acquisition unit 148 , an estimate inquiry unit 150 , an estimate acquisition unit 152 and a delivery request unit 154 .
The estimate calculation unit 140 calculates the estimated amount of the shipping charge for the package including all the items to be delivered based on the unique shipping charge calculation rule for each delivery service. The container identification unit 142 identifies a container (in this example, a cardboard box) for packing all the articles. The service selection unit 144 selects a delivery service that can deliver to the destination country. Depending on the delivery service, it may not be possible to deliver to the destination country. The service recommendation unit 146 selects a recommended delivery service based on the estimated delivery charge. The service recommendation unit 146 will be described in Modification 2. The rule acquisition unit 148 acquires rules (delivery charge calculation rules, parcel conditions, etc.) from the delivery company server 400 for each delivery service. The estimate inquiry unit 150 inquires of the delivery company server 400 about the estimated amount of the delivery charge. The estimate acquisition unit 152 acquires the inquired estimate of the delivery charge. The estimate inquiry unit 150 and the estimate acquisition unit 152 will be described in modification 3. The delivery request unit 154 transmits a package delivery request to the delivery company server 400 .

Data storage unit 106 includes product information storage unit 160 , container information storage unit 162 , rule storage unit 164 , delivery information storage unit 166 and seller information storage unit 168 .
The product information storage unit 160 stores information on products for each seller. The container information storage unit 162 stores information on containers (cardboard boxes in this example). The rule storage unit 164 stores the rules regarding the delivery service acquired by the rule acquisition unit 148 . The delivery information storage unit 166 stores the seller ID, the type and quantity of products included in the package, information described in the delivery slip (shipping country, purchaser's name, purchaser's telephone number, purchaser's address, shipping date), parcel identification information (used for parcel tracking), etc. The seller information storage unit 168 stores information (seller ID, password, etc.) on sellers registered as members.

FIG. 3 is a data structure diagram of product information.
Each seller sells multiple products through the EC site. These products are stored in the agent's warehouse. The product information is a list (product list) of products that each seller has stored in the warehouse. The illustrated product information corresponds to the seller ID. In other words, the illustrated product information is managed for each seller. The product information has a record for each product sold by the seller. The record stores merchandise ID, merchandise name, size, weight (actual weight), price, and stock quantity in association with each other. The product ID is information that identifies the product. The product name is the name of the product. The size represents the size of the product as length x width x height. Weight is the unit weight of the item including the item's packaging (eg, bag or carton). The price is the price at which the purchaser (user) purchases the product. In this example, consumption tax is included. The number of stocks is the number of products stored in the warehouse.

For example, the product "sweater" is identified by product ID: G001 and has dimensions of 340 mm in length, 240 mm in width, and 50 mm in height when packed in a paper box. The weight of "sweater" is 200 g, and the selling price is 3000 yen. Also, 100 "sweaters" are stored in the warehouse.

The product information stored in the delivery charge estimation server 100 is the same as the product information stored in the EC site server 200. FIG. In other words, the product information on both servers is in data synchronization. Synchronization may be performed automatically, or may be performed by the operation of an operator (manager of the seller or agent). When the product data is added, deleted, or changed in the EC site server 200, the information is transferred to the delivery charge estimation server 100, and is similarly added, deleted, or changed. Further, when the inventory quantity is updated in the delivery charge estimation server 100, the information is transferred to the EC site server 200, and updated in the EC site server 200 in the same manner.

FIG. 4 is a data structure diagram of container information.
The illustrated container information has a record for each type of cardboard box (example of container) prepared in the warehouse. The record stores the box ID, the inner dimensions, the outer dimensions, and the weight of the container in association with each other. The box ID identifies the type of cardboard box. The inner dimensions are the inner dimensions (length x width x height) of the cardboard box. The outer dimensions are the outer dimensions (length x width x height) of the cardboard box. Weight is the actual weight of the cardboard box.

When the types of cardboard boxes are increased in the warehouse, records indicating the types of the increased cardboard boxes are added, and when the types of cardboard boxes are reduced, the records indicating the types of the reduced cardboard boxes are deleted.

FIG. 5 is an example of a shipping charge table.
Multiple shipping services each have their own shipping rate structure. The delivery fee system is determined by a delivery fee calculation rule (including a delivery fee table). The rule for calculating the shipping fee is stored in the rule storage unit 164 . Specifically, different delivery charge tables are prepared for each delivery destination country. Since the transportation distance differs depending on the destination country, the shipping fee is determined for each country. For example, a delivery charge table for delivery to country X using delivery service A, a delivery charge table for delivery to country Y, and so on are prepared for each combination of delivery service A and each delivery destination country. there is In addition, a delivery charge table corresponding to the combination of delivery service B and each delivery destination country is prepared, such as a delivery charge table for delivery to country X by delivery service B and a delivery charge table for delivery to country Y. there is Therefore, once the delivery service and the country of delivery are determined, one corresponding delivery charge table is determined. The country of the delivery source is the country where the warehouse is located (Japan in this example).

The shipping rate table defines the shipping rate for each weight tier. The weight steps in this example are in 0.5 kg increments (0.5 kg or less, 0.5-1.0 kg, 1.0-1.5 kg, . . . ), but may also be in 1 kg increments and so on. In the example of the delivery charge table, if the weight of the package is 0.8 kg, the delivery charge (4100 yen) corresponding to 0.5 to 1.0 kg is applied. The weight of the package may be actual weight or dimensional weight. Which weight to use is determined by the shipping charge calculation rule.

FIG. 6 is a transition diagram of EC site screens.
Each illustrated screen is displayed by the browser of the user terminal 300 . The product screen 500 is a screen that presents products (for example, sweaters) sold on the EC site. A product photo area 502 displays a product photo, displaying the product name “sweater” and the price “3000 yen”. When the purchaser (user) wants to purchase this item, he/she enters the quantity (for example, 2) to be ordered in the quantity input area 504 and clicks (or touches) the “add to cart” button 506 . In this example, it is assumed that the product screen 500 for "muffler" (not shown) has also entered the quantity: 2 and put it in the cart.

Go to cart screen 510 . The cart screen 510 displays the products and quantities put in the cart. Also, the subtotal "10000 yen" of the product price is displayed. If the purchaser (user) wants to order these products all together, he/she clicks the "proceed to checkout" button 512 .

The screen moves to destination input screen 520 . Cart screen 510 is provided with destination country input area 521 , name input area 522 , telephone number input area 523 and address input area 524 . The purchaser (user) enters the destination country, the user's name, telephone number and address in the respective fields. Credit card information is also displayed as a payment method on the delivery address input screen 520 . At this stage, it has not been decided which delivery service to use. The purchaser then selects the “select delivery service” button 526 .

The screen moves to the delivery service selection screen 530 . The delivery service selection screen 530 displays a list of delivery services that can be selected by the purchaser (user). For each delivery service, the name of the delivery service, the delivery charge, the number of days required for delivery, and the billed amount are displayed. Shipping charges vary depending on the shipping service. The number of days required may also vary depending on the delivery service. The billed amount is the amount obtained by adding the shipping fee to the subtotal of the product described above. The purchaser selects the delivery service they want to use by referring to the delivery charge and required number of days. A delivery service is selected by touching any of the selection buttons 532a to 532d. When the purchaser touches the "confirm order" button 534, the order is confirmed and payment is made. In addition, the product will be delivered by the selected delivery service.

The screen data of each illustrated screen is configured in the form of a web page. The EC site server 200 stores these image data. Also, a URL is prepared for each screen. When the EC site server 200 receives access to the URL from the user terminal 300, it adds necessary information (subtotal, payment method, delivery service information, etc.) to the image data. The EC site server 200 then transmits the image data to the user terminal 300 . The user terminal 300 displays each screen based on the received image data and accepts input. The image data is set so that when each button is clicked, the URL of the screen to be displayed next is accessed. Parameters entered on the screen (for example, quantity, information on the destination, selected delivery service, etc.) are added to the URL and sent to the EC site server 200 .

Information related to the delivery service (delivery service ID, name of the delivery service, delivery charge, required number of days, etc.) displayed on the delivery service selection screen 530 is generated by the delivery charge estimation server 100 . Therefore, at the timing when the "delivery service selection" button 526 is clicked on the destination input screen 520 and the EC site server 200 receives access to the URL of the delivery service selection screen 530 from the user terminal 300, the EC site server 200 receives the delivery estimate. A request is sent to the shipping charge estimation server 100 . The delivery estimate request includes the seller ID, destination country, item ID and quantity of the item to be ordered. After that, the EC site server 200 receives the quotation list. The estimate list includes information related to the delivery service (delivery service ID, name of the delivery service, delivery charge, number of days required, etc.). The EC site server 200 adds information related to the delivery service to the screen data of the delivery service selection screen 530. FIG. The delivery service selection screen 530 is configured such that a delivery service is selected by clicking a selection button 532 corresponding to each delivery service. Then, when the “confirm order” button 534 is clicked, the selected delivery service ID is transmitted to the EC site server 200 . A delivery service ID is information for identifying a delivery service.

When the EC site server 200 receives the delivery service ID selected by the purchaser (user), it transmits a shipping instruction including the delivery service ID to the delivery charge estimation server 100 . The EC site server 200 also stores purchaser information, product IDs and quantities of purchased products, billing amounts, delivery service IDs, and the like, and performs settlement processing using payment methods.

When the receiving unit 182 of the delivery charge estimation server 100 receives the shipping instruction, a work order including the product ID, quantity and box ID is transmitted to the warehouse worker terminal (not shown). The warehouse worker packs the specified quantity of products in the specified cardboard boxes according to this information. When the packing is completed, the worker terminal notifies the delivery charge estimation server 100 of the completion of preparation. When receiving unit 182 receives this notification, delivery request unit 154 transmits a package delivery request to delivery company server 400 . The delivery company receives this, collects the cargo, and delivers it. The delivery request may simply be a request for pickup, or may include information described in the shipping slip. The delivery charge calculated by the delivery company at this stage matches the amount estimated by the delivery charge estimation server 100 in advance. When the shipment is completed, the delivery information storage unit 166 stores the seller ID, the type and quantity of the products included in the package, the information described in the shipping slip (the country of the delivery destination, the name of the purchaser, the telephone number of the purchaser, the The address of the person, the date of address shipment), the identification information of the parcel (used for tracking the parcel), etc. are stored.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart showing the processing steps in the delivery charge estimation server 100. As shown in FIG.
The delivery charge estimate server 100 receives a delivery estimate request (information on destination countries and products, etc.) from the EC site server 200 and returns an estimate list (delivery charge estimate results) to the EC site server 200 . At this time, a corrugated cardboard box suitable for packing is selected. The estimate list includes, for example, the name of delivery service A "A home delivery", the delivery charge (4600 yen) and the required number of days (3 days), the name of delivery service B "B post", the delivery charge (5000 yen) and the required number of days (3 days). day), etc. The EC site server 200 can generate the delivery service selection screen 530 by receiving these pieces of information.

First, the receiving unit 182 receives a delivery estimate request from the EC site server 200 (S10). The delivery estimate request includes the seller ID, destination country, item ID and quantity of the item to be ordered. In the example shown in FIG. 6, the seller ID of the clothing retailer, the United States (United States), the product ID of the sweater (G001) and the quantity of sweaters (two), the product ID of the muffler (G002) and the number of the muffler The quantity (2 sheets) is included in the shipping quote request. As described with reference to FIG. 6, the delivery estimate request is sent from the EC site server 200 when the "delivery service selection" button 526 on the destination input screen 520 is clicked. In other words, the EC site server 200 transmits a delivery estimate request to the delivery charge estimate server 100 during the procedure for a purchaser (user) to apply for purchase of a product (example of article) on an EC site (example of a commercial transaction site). A product ID is an example of identification information for one or more types of products to be delivered. Item quantity is an example of a shipping quantity for each type of item being shipped.

The container identification unit 142 identifies a cardboard box (an example of a packaging container) that can accommodate all the items to be delivered, based on the size and quantity of each type of product to be delivered (S12). The product size is specified with reference to the product information (see FIG. 3). In the example shown in FIG. 6, a cardboard box that can accommodate two sweaters and two scarves is identified. Using cardboard boxes with box IDs B001 to B003 shown in FIG. 4 as candidates, how the cardboard boxes are specified will be described.

First, the cardboard box of B001 is targeted for determination. The sweater shall be packed horizontally in a cardboard box. Therefore, the length and width of the sweater must be smaller than the inner dimensions of the cardboard box. The vertical length of the sweater (340 mm) is greater than the vertical length (317 mm) of the cardboard box of B001, and the horizontal length (240 mm) of the sweater is greater than the horizontal length (224 mm) of the internal dimensions. so the sweater cannot be accommodated horizontally. Therefore, it is determined that the cardboard box B001 cannot be accommodated.

Next, the cardboard box B002 is targeted for determination. The vertical length of the sweater (340mm) is smaller than the vertical length (350mm) of the inner dimension of the cardboard box of B002, and the horizontal length (240mm) of the sweater is smaller than the horizontal length (250mm) of the inner dimension. so the sweater can be stored horizontally. Mufflers are judged in the same way as sweaters. The vertical length of the muffler (300mm) is smaller than the vertical length (350mm) of the inner dimension of the cardboard box of B002, and the horizontal length of the muffler (200mm) is smaller than the horizontal length of the inner dimension (250mm). Therefore, the muffler can also be accommodated horizontally. Finally, the height direction is determined. The sum of the height of the two sweaters (50×2 mm) and the height of the two scarves (20×2 mm) is 140 mm. Since the 140 mm height of all the products is smaller than the 160 mm height of the inner dimension of the cardboard box of B002, it can be accommodated in the height direction as well. Therefore, it is finally determined that all products can be accommodated in the cardboard box B002.

The corrugated cardboard box B003 is determined to be able to contain all the products by the same procedure. When there are multiple corrugated cardboard boxes that can be accommodated in this manner, the one with the smaller capacity is selected. This is because the smaller the volume, the smaller the volumetric weight. The volume of a cardboard box is determined by multiplying the length, width and height of the external dimensions. In this example, the volume of the cardboard box B002 is smaller than the volume of the cardboard box B003, so the cardboard box B002 is selected as the cardboard box that can be accommodated.

Next, the service selection unit 144 selects a delivery service that can deliver to the destination country (S14). Here, all of the delivery services recognized as consignees by the agency are used as quotation candidates. Countries that can be specified as delivery destinations for each delivery service (hereinafter referred to as “delivery countries”) are limited. The country where delivery is possible for each delivery service is stored in the rule storage section 164 . The service selection unit 144 selects only delivery services whose delivery destination country is included in the deliverable countries from the estimate candidate delivery services. In this manner, one or more delivery services are selected.

Next, the estimate calculation unit 140 calculates the estimated amount of the shipping charge for the package including all the products for each of the selected one or more delivery services based on the respective shipping charge calculation rules. Specifically, the estimate calculation unit 140 repeats the following process for each selected delivery service (S16). The estimate calculation unit 140 determines whether or not the cardboard box containing all the products satisfies the package conditions of this delivery service (S18). Package conditions for each delivery service are stored in the rule storage unit 164 . The luggage requirement may be a restriction on the actual weight of the luggage or a restriction on the size of the luggage. The size of the luggage may be based on the volume, or may be based on the length, width and height. The estimate calculation unit 140 determines whether the parcel conditions for each delivery service are met or not according to respective restrictions. When the estimate calculation unit 140 determines that the package conditions are not satisfied (N of S18), the delivery service is not used. Therefore, the process of S20 is skipped and the process proceeds to S22. The delivery service is not on the quotation list.

When the estimate calculation unit 140 determines that the parcel condition is satisfied (Y of S18), it calculates an estimate of the delivery charge for this delivery service (S20). A rule for calculating a delivery charge for the delivery service is stored in the rule storage unit 164 . Below is an example of how to calculate an estimated shipping charge.

The estimate calculation unit 140 first identifies the delivery charge table (see FIG. 5) corresponding to the delivery destination country (delivery destination country). A delivery charge table for each delivery service is stored in the rule storage unit 164 .

Next, the estimate calculator 140 identifies the weight of the package. If the calculation rule of this delivery service stipulates that the actual weight should be used, the sum of the total weight of all products and the weight of the cardboard box is obtained. In the example shown in FIG. 6, the total weight (990 g) of the weight of two sweaters (200 x 2 g), the weight of two scarves (150 x 2 g), and the weight of the cardboard box of B002 (290 g) is weight. On the other hand, if the calculation rule of this delivery service stipulates that the volumetric weight should be used, the volumetric weight is calculated based on the outer dimensions of the cardboard box. The volume of the cardboard box of B002 is 16,256,064 cubic cm according to the external dimensions length (358 cm) x width (258 cm) x height (176 cm). This is multiplied by a factor of 1/5000 (kg/cubic cm) to obtain the volumetric weight (3251 g). Furthermore, if the calculation rule of this delivery service stipulates that the larger of the actual weight and the volumetric weight should be used, then the larger of the actual weight and the volumetric weight is taken as the weight of the parcel. In this example, since the volumetric weight (3251g) is larger than the actual weight (990g), the volumetric weight (3251g) is the weight of the package.

Then, the estimate calculation unit 140 applies the weight of the parcel to the delivery charge table (see FIG. 5) to identify the delivery charge corresponding to the stage to which the weight of the parcel belongs. If the weight of the parcel is 990 g (actual weight), the delivery charge (4100 yen) corresponding to the stage of "0.5 to 1.0" (kg) is the estimated amount. If the weight of the parcel is 3251 g (volumetric weight), the delivery charge (4600 yen) corresponding to the stage of "3.0 to 3.5" (kg) is the estimated amount. The estimate calculation unit 140 adds the estimate result (deliverable delivery service and delivery charge estimate) to the estimate list. The estimate list is stored in the data storage unit 106 or stored in memory as temporary data.

If unprocessed delivery services remain (Y of S22), the estimate calculation unit 140 returns to the process of S16 and repeats the above-described processes. When all the delivery services have been processed (N of S22), the transmission unit 180 transmits the estimate list to the EC site server 200 (S24). The estimate list includes, for each delivery service, the delivery service ID, the name of the delivery service, the estimated amount of the delivery charge, and the number of days required for delivery.

As described with reference to FIG. 6, the EC site server 200 displays information related to the delivery service (delivery service ID, name of the delivery service, delivery charge, required number of days, etc.) on the delivery service selection screen based on the estimate list. Add to 530. The delivery service ID corresponds to selection button 532 (see FIG. 6). When the delivery service selection screen 530 is displayed on the user terminal 300, the application for purchase has not yet been completed. When the purchaser (user) selects the delivery service and touches the "confirm order" button 534, the application for purchase is completed.

[Modification 1]
In the embodiment, an example was shown in which all of the delivery services accepted as consignees by the agency are used as quotation candidates. good too. Modification 1 corresponds to countermeasure H described above. The seller excludes unsuitable delivery services for their merchandise and allows purchasers (users) to select only appropriate delivery services. It can also be used to exclude delivery services, etc., that are considered to have poor customer service. Only merchant-qualified shipping services are quote candidates.

When the user logs in to the delivery charge estimation server 100 using an application installed in the seller's terminal (not shown) or a WEB application, a delivery service designation screen (not shown) is displayed. It should be noted that the seller ID is specified at the time of login.

The delivery service designation screen includes a list of delivery services and an OK button. A check box is provided for each delivery service. The seller selects the check box of the delivery service that the purchaser (user) may select. This operation allows the seller to specify quotation candidates for the delivery service. Services other than the delivery service specified here are excluded from the use targets of the EC site server 200 of the seller. When the decision button is clicked, a delivery service ID that identifies the selected delivery service is sent to the delivery charge estimation server 100 . The receiving unit 182 of the delivery charge estimation server 100 stores the received delivery service ID in the seller information storage unit 168 of the data storage unit 106 in association with the seller ID.

In the process of S14 shown in FIG. 7, the service selection unit 144 selects one or a plurality of delivery services from among the delivery services designated as quotation candidates by the seller. That is, only the delivery service of the delivery service ID associated with the seller ID included in the delivery estimate request received in S10 is targeted. Other delivery services are not processed after S16 regardless of whether they can be delivered to the destination country. Therefore, it is not added to the estimate list and is not displayed on the user terminal 300. FIG.

[Modification 2]
In the embodiment, an example is shown in which all delivery services for which delivery charges are estimated are sent as an estimate list, but the delivery charge estimate server 100 may narrow down to one delivery service.

The service recommendation unit 146 of the delivery charge estimation server 100 selects a recommended delivery service based on the estimate of the delivery charge from among the plurality of estimated delivery services. For example, the delivery service with the lowest estimated price is selected. Then, in S<b>24 , the transmission unit 180 transmits the name of the selected delivery service, the estimated amount of the delivery charge, and the number of days required for delivery to the EC site server 200 . Therefore, the delivery service selection screen 530 of FIG. 6 displays the name of the delivery service recommended by the delivery charge estimation server 100, the estimated amount of the delivery charge, and the required number of days. If the purchaser (user) agrees with the delivery service and the billed amount, the purchaser (user) touches the "confirm order" button 534 to complete the application for purchase.

[Modification 3]
In the embodiment, an example in which the estimated amount of the shipping charge is calculated by the shipping charge estimation server 100 is shown, but the estimated amount of the shipping charge is calculated by the delivery company server 400 instead of the calculation by the shipping charge estimation server 100. You may do so.

Instead of calculating the estimated shipping charge in S20 shown in FIG. The delivery company server 400 is a server of a delivery company that provides the delivery service for which the estimate was made in S14. At this time, the estimate inquiry unit 150 transmits estimate inquiry information to the delivery company server 400 . The estimate inquiry information includes the destination country, package weight (actual weight and/or volumetric weight), package size (length x width x height), etc., which are necessary for calculating the shipping fee in the delivery company server 400. contains parameters that are The delivery company server 400 calculates the estimated amount of the shipping charge based on the estimated inquiry information, and transmits the estimated amount to the shipping charge estimation server 100 . The estimate acquisition unit 152 acquires the estimate of the shipping charge received by the reception unit 280 . Subsequent processing is the same as in the embodiment.

However, it is not always possible to have the delivery company server 400 calculate the estimated delivery charge for all delivery services. For a delivery service for which the delivery company server 400 does not calculate the estimated amount, the estimated amount of the delivery charge may be calculated by the delivery charge estimation server 100 as shown in the embodiment. For example, in S14 of FIG. 7, delivery service A and delivery service B are selected, the delivery company server 400 of delivery service A does not calculate an estimated amount, and the delivery company server 400 of delivery service B calculates an estimated amount. shall be For the delivery service A, as described in the embodiment, the delivery charge estimation server 100 calculates the estimated amount of the delivery charge in S20. As for the delivery service B, as in the third modified example, the delivery company server 400 of the delivery company that provides the delivery service B is requested to calculate the estimated delivery charge. That is, when the service selection unit 144 selects the delivery service A (example of the first delivery service) and the delivery service B (example of the second delivery service) that can deliver to the destination country, the estimate calculation unit 140 calculates the estimated amount of the shipping charge (example of the first estimated amount of the first shipping charge) for the package including all the items to be delivered for the delivery service A. The estimate inquiry unit 150 inquires of the delivery company server 400 of the delivery service B via the network about the estimated amount of the delivery charge (example of the second estimated amount of the second delivery charge) for the package including all the items to be delivered. , the estimate acquisition unit 152 acquires an estimate of the delivery charge from the delivery company server 400 of the delivery service B. FIG. The transmission unit 180 transmits the estimated amount of the shipping fee for the delivery service A and the estimated amount of the shipping fee for the delivery service B together. That is, the transmission unit 180 merges the estimation result obtained in the embodiment and the estimation result obtained in the modification 3, and transmits the integrated estimation result to the EC site server 200 . The integrated estimate result includes the name of the delivery service, the estimated amount of the delivery charge, and the number of days required for delivery for the delivery service A and the delivery service B. Therefore, the EC site server 200 does not need to separately process the estimation result obtained in the embodiment and the estimation result obtained in the modification 3, and can handle them in the same manner, thus reducing the processing load.

[Other Modifications]
The cardboard box identification method in S12 of FIG. 7 is not limited to the example shown in the embodiment. For example, in the case of products that are easy to change shape by folding or rolling, such as fabrics and strings, the size of the product is specified by volume, and the total volume of all products is smaller than the capacity of the cardboard box. Alternatively, it may be determined that the product can be accommodated. In addition, the storage area specified by the inner dimensions of the cardboard box is represented by a three-dimensional model in a virtual space, and by trying in the virtual space whether the three-dimensional model of the product can be stored in the storage area, it is possible to store the product. You can determine if there is Cardboard boxes may be identified using conventional techniques other than these.

The rule acquisition unit 148 may automatically acquire the rules for each delivery service, or may allow the operator to input the rules while viewing the information on the delivery company server 400 .

The Seller may add shipping charges to the invoice amount. In that case, the delivery charge is displayed on the delivery service selection screen 530 of FIG. 6, and the billed amount including the delivery charge is displayed.

The EC site server 200 may be a server owned by the seller, or may be a rental server rented by the seller. The rental server may rent out resources for the EC site (basic data of the WEB site) to multiple sellers.

The cardboard box mentioned above is an example of a packaging container. The packaging container is not limited to a cardboard box. For example, it may be a plastic box or a wooden box.

The products described above are examples of items to be delivered. Embodiments or modifications may be applied to items other than merchandise, such as parts and materials brought into a factory, or products sent out from a factory. It can also be applied when goods are transported between bases of the same company.

The operator of the delivery charge estimation server 100 does not need to perform inventory management and shipping operations. The operator of the delivery charge estimation server 100 may simply provide a delivery charge estimate as a service. Therefore, the seller may perform inventory management and shipping operations, or may outsource inventory management and shipping operations to another agent.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments and modifications, and can be embodied by modifying constituent elements without departing from the scope of the invention. Various inventions may be formed by appropriately combining a plurality of constituent elements disclosed in the above embodiments and modifications. Also, some components may be deleted from all the components shown in the above embodiments and modifications.

Delivery rules are influenced by world affairs, high crude oil prices, etc., and the countries to which delivery is possible and delivery charges change frequently. Embodiments and variations incorporate shipping rules immediately so that shipping charges can be accurately estimated prior to product purchase. Therefore, according to various factors such as the purchaser's (user's) country of residence, cargo, and the times, a delivery service that is advantageous to the purchaser can be selected.

In addition, since the shipping charges can be accurately predicted at the stage of estimating, the seller does not have to worry about how much the estimated shipping charges to present to the purchaser (user) will be. This reduces the burden and risk on the seller.

There is also an aspect that cross-border e-commerce will be activated by making delivery charges clearer. If cross-border EC is activated, for example, even small Japanese sellers will be able to appeal attractive Japanese products to the world.

100 Delivery charge estimation server 104 Data processing unit 106 Data storage unit 108 Communication processing unit 140 Estimate calculation unit 142 Container identification unit 144 Service selection unit 146 Service recommendation unit 148 Rule acquisition unit 150 Estimate inquiry unit , 152 estimate acquisition unit 154 delivery request unit 160 product information storage unit 162 container information storage unit 164 rule storage unit 166 delivery information storage unit 168 seller information storage unit 182 reception unit 180 transmission unit 200 EC site server 300 User terminal 400 Delivery agent server 500 Product screen 502 Product photo area 504 Quantity input area 506 "Add to cart" button 510 Cart screen 512 "Proceed to checkout" button 520 Addressee input screen, 521 destination country input area, 522 name input area, 523 telephone number input area, 524 address input area, 526 "delivery service selection" button, 530 delivery service selection screen, 532 selection button, 534 "confirm order" button

Claims (2)

an article information storage unit that stores the size and unit weight of each of a plurality of types of articles;
a container information storage unit that stores the inner dimensions, outer dimensions, and weights of each of a plurality of types of packaging containers;
a receiving unit for receiving a shipping charge estimate request including identification information of one or more types of goods to be delivered and a delivery quantity of each type of the goods to be delivered;
a container identification unit that identifies a packaging container capable of accommodating all the articles to be delivered based on the size and delivery quantity of each type of article to be delivered and the inner dimensions of the packaging container ;
calculating the actual weight of the package by adding the weight of the specified packing container to the total weight of all the items based on the delivery quantity and the unit weight of each type of the item to be delivered, and calculating the actual weight and the specified amount; an estimated amount calculation unit that calculates an estimated amount of the shipping charge based on the larger weight of the volumetric weight based on the outer dimensions of the packaged container ;
and a transmitting unit that transmits the estimated amount of the shipping charge. an article information storage unit that stores the size and unit weight of each of a plurality of types of articles;
a container information storage unit that stores the inner dimensions, outer dimensions, and weights of each of a plurality of types of packaging containers;
a receiving unit for receiving a shipping charge estimate request including identification information of one or more types of goods to be delivered and a delivery quantity of each type of the goods to be delivered;
a container identification unit that identifies a packaging container capable of accommodating all the articles to be delivered based on the size and delivery quantity of each type of article to be delivered and the inner dimensions of the packaging container ;
calculating the actual weight of the package by adding the weight of the specified packaging container to the total weight of all the products based on the delivery quantity and unit weight of each type of the product to be delivered, and calculating the specified packaging container; to a server of a delivery service capable of delivering the parcel via a network for an estimated delivery charge based on the larger of the actual weight and the cubic weight based on the outer dimensions of the specified packing container. an estimate inquiry unit;
an estimated amount acquisition unit that acquires the estimated amount of the shipping fee from the server;
and a transmitting unit that transmits the estimated amount of the shipping charge.

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