WO2016198946A1 - Information processing system, pos system, information processing method, and computer-readable storage medium storing program - Google Patents

Information processing system, pos system, information processing method, and computer-readable storage medium storing program Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2016198946A1
WO2016198946A1 PCT/IB2016/000832 IB2016000832W WO2016198946A1 WO 2016198946 A1 WO2016198946 A1 WO 2016198946A1 IB 2016000832 W IB2016000832 W IB 2016000832W WO 2016198946 A1 WO2016198946 A1 WO 2016198946A1
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WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
restaurant
menu item
information
pos
page
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/IB2016/000832
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
Shinji Iwata
Original Assignee
Gurunavi, Inc.
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Gurunavi, Inc. filed Critical Gurunavi, Inc.
Publication of WO2016198946A1 publication Critical patent/WO2016198946A1/en

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    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06Q—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • G06Q10/00—Administration; Management

Definitions

  • the invention relates to an information processing system communicable with a POS (point of sales) system of a restaurant, a POS system, an information processing method that is used in the information processing system, and a computer-readable storage medium storing a program that is used in the information processing system.
  • POS point of sales
  • POS system is introduced in a restaurant from the viewpoint of the efficiency of management.
  • the POS system summarizes which products are sold and when the products are sold.
  • the restaurant is managed on the basis of the summarization.
  • each restaurant ordinarily provides information about the restaurant via a website that is managed by itself or a portal site that is managed by another company.
  • a user is allowed to search for a restaurant that matches the taste of a user with reference to information on these sites.
  • JP 2013-137657 A describes a system that is able to update menu item information on a website corresponding to an intended restaurant and provided by a restaurant information providing company at the same time as product (menu item) information in a POS system is updated.
  • JP 2013-137657 A just merely synchronizes the menu item information of the POS system at each restaurant with the menu item information on the restaurant information providing site, and is not the one from user's viewpoint in terms of management.
  • the invention provides an information processing system that is able to dynamically change menu item information on a restaurant information providing site to menu item information that reflects the taste of a user who has actually come to a restaurant, a POS system, an information processing method and a computer-readable storage medium storing a program.
  • An aspect of the invention provides an information processing system.
  • the information processing system includes a storage unit, a communication unit and a control unit.
  • the storage unit stores restaurant information and a menu item page.
  • the restaurant information includes menu item information about food menu items that at least one restaurant is able to provide.
  • the menu item page constitutes a restaurant information providing page group regarding the at least one restaurant, and contains at least part of the menu item information.
  • the communication unit receives POS data from a POS system located at the at least one restaurant.
  • the POS data includes at least one of the number of orders, amount of sales and rate of profit in each predetermined period at the at least one restaurant.
  • the control unit updates the menu item information on the menu item page on the basis of the received POS data.
  • the information processing system is able to dynamically change the menu item information on the restaurant information providing page group to menu item information that reflects the taste of a user who has actually come to the restaurant by updating the menu item information on the restaurant information providing page group on the basis of the POS data of each menu item at the restaurant, so it is possible to arouse user's interest for the restaurant.
  • the restaurant information providing page group is typically a website
  • the menu item page is typically a webpage, and these are allowed to be browsed with the use of a browser of a user terminal.
  • the restaurant information providing page group and the menu item page may be data that are allowed to be displayed by an application program other than the browser of the user terminal or a program that operates on an ordering terminal at the restaurant.
  • the control unit may update the menu item information on the menu item page to menu item information, of which at least one of the number of orders, amount of sales and rate of profit in the predetermined period is included in a predetermined number of higher ranks, on the basis of the POS data.
  • the information processing system is able to, for example, constantly inform a user of menu items of which the number of orders is included in higher ranks and arouse user's interest by updating the menu item information on the menu item page to menu item information of which the number of orders, amount of sales or rate of profit in the predetermined period is included in higher ranks, so it is possible to increase profit by advertising menu items of which the rate of profit is included in higher ranks to the user.
  • the control unit may update the menu item information on the menu item page to menu item information, of which at least one of the number of orders and amount of sales in the predetermined period is included in a predetermined number of lower ranks, on the basis of the POS data.
  • the information processing system is able to advertise menu items which a restaurant desires to recommend for a user but the sales thereof is not increasing, by updating the menu item information on the menu item page to menu item information of which the number of orders or amount of sales in the predetermined period is small.
  • the menu item page may have a menu item information display field for each time period within business hours of the at least one restaurant.
  • the communication unit may receive sales data of each time period f om the POS system, and the control unit may update menu item information in the menu item information display field of each time period on the basis of the received sales data of the corresponding time period.
  • the communication unit may be able to receive the POS data from the POS system of a first restaurant and the POS system of at least one second restaurant.
  • the control unit may update menu item information on a restaurant information providing site of the first restaurant on the basis of the POS data of the at least one second restaurant such that menu item information at the first restaurant, corresponding to menu items of which the number of orders or the amount of sales is included in a predetermined number of higher ranks at the at least one second restaurant, is provided.
  • the information processing system is able to arouse user's interest for the first restaurant by, for example, advertising menu items, corresponding to the well-selling menu items at the second restaurant of which the total sales is larger than that of the first restaurant, on the information providing site of the first restaurant.
  • the storage unit may store the menu items at the second restaurant and the menu items at the first restaurant in association with each other by utilizing, for example, the categories of the menu items, and the control unit may determine corresponding menu items in both restaurants as a result of coincidence of the categories.
  • the restaurant information may at least include information about a location, scale and food type of each restaurant.
  • the control unit may calculate a similarity between the first restaurant and another restaurant on the basis of the restaurant information of the first restaurant, and may select another restaurant having a similarity larger than or equal to a predetermined value as the at least one second restaurant.
  • the information processing system is able to more highly accurately arouse user's interest for the first restaurant by incorporating well-selling menu items of the restaurant that is located in the neighborhood of the second restaurant or of which the scale or food type is similar to that of the first restaurant, into the menu item page of the first restaurant.
  • the POS system includes a storage unit and a communication unit.
  • the storage unit stores restaurant information and POS data.
  • the restaurant information includes menu item information about food menu items that a corresponding restaurant is able to provide.
  • the POS data include at least one of the number of orders, amount of sales and rate of profit of each menu item in each predetermined period at the restaurant.
  • the communication unit transmits the POS data to an information processing system including a restaurant information providing page group in order to update menu item information on a menu item page on the basis of the POS data.
  • the menu item page constitutes the restaurant information providing page group regarding a restaurant and contains at least part of the menu item information.
  • the POS system is typically installed at each restaurant, and can be formed of at least one of a POS register terminal, an ordering device and a restaurant server.
  • the information processing method includes storing restaurant information and a menu item page, the restaurant information including menu item information about food menu items that at least one restaurant is able to provide, the menu item page constituting a restaurant information providing page group regarding the at least one restaurant and containing at least part of the menu item information; receiving POS data from a POS system located at the at least one restaurant, the POS data including at least one of the number of orders, amount of sales and rate of profit in each predetermined period at the at least one restaurant; and updating the menu item information on the menu item page on the basis of the received POS data.
  • Yet another aspect of the invention provides a computer-readable storage medium storing a program.
  • the program causes an information processing system to execute instructions.
  • the instructions include storing restaurant information and a menu item page, the restaurant information including menu item information about food menu items that at least one restaurant is able to provide, the menu item page constituting a restaurant information providing page group regarding the at least one restaurant and containing at least part of the menu item information; receiving POS data from a POS system located at the at least one restaurant, the POS data including at least one of the number of orders, amount of sales and rate of profit in each predetermined period at the at least one restaurant; and updating the menu item information on the menu item page on the basis of the received POS data.
  • FIG. 1 is a view that shows the configuration of a restaurant information providing system according to an embodiment of the invention
  • FIG 2 is a view that shows the hardware configuration of a restaurant information providing server according to the embodiment of the invention
  • FIG. 3 is a view that shows the configuration of databases included in the restaurant information providing server according to the embodiment of the invention.
  • FIG. 4 is a flowchart that shows the process of updating menu item information, which is executed by the restaurant information providing server according to the embodiment of the invention
  • FIG 5 is a view that shows an example of menu item information that is provided by the restaurant information providing server in the embodiment of the invention.
  • FIG. 6 is a flowchart that shows the process of updating menu item information, which is executed by a restaurant information providing server according to another embodiment of the invention.
  • FIG. 1 is a view that shows the configuration of a restaurant information providing system according to the embodiment.
  • the system includes a restaurant information providing server 100 on the Internet 50, POS systems 200 respectively provided at a plurality of restaurants, and a plurality of user terminals 300.
  • the restaurant information providing server 100 is a web server that manages a portal site (restaurant information providing site) that provides information about restaurants.
  • the restaurant information providing server 100 is connected to the POS system 200 of each of the plurality of restaurants and the plurality of user terminals 300 via the Internet 50.
  • the restaurant information providing server 100 transmits a webpage to the user terminal 300 that has accessed the portal site and input the search condition.
  • the webpage contains restaurant information that coincides with a search condition input through the user terminal 300.
  • the restaurant information providing server 100 is able to receive POS data including at least one of the number of orders, amount of sales and rate of profit of each menu item from the POS system 200 of each restaurant periodically (for example, at intervals of a predetermined period, such as half a day, a day, a week and a month).
  • the POS systems 200 (200A, 200B, ...) are respectively provided at restaurants.
  • Each of the POS systems 200 is, for example, formed of a POS register terminal, an ordering device, a restaurant server, and the like.
  • Order data for example, include the identification information of a menu item (dish), the price of the menu item, the number of orders, the date of order and the rate of profit, and those pieces of data are transmitted to a restaurant server as POS data and are stored.
  • the POS register terminal is a computer that executes a billing process corresponding to dishes ordered by a customer of the restaurant.
  • the POS register terminal reads identification information, such as bar code, printed on a slip delivered to a customer after the customer has ordered a dish, inquires the restaurant server of the identification information, acquires information about the corresponding product and price, and then calculates the total price.
  • the restaurant server stores information about dishes (menu items) that the restaurant is able to provide (identification numbers, menu item names, prices, categories, and the like).
  • the restaurant server attaches a paid flag to POS data on which the billing process has been finished, on the basis of, for example, an inquiry about the identification information from the POS register terminal.
  • the POS register terminal, ordering device and restaurant server that constitute each POS system 200 are not necessarily physically separate devices, and may be, for example, a single tablet PC having those functions.
  • each POS system 200 (for example, the restaurant server) periodically transmits the POS data of each menu item to the restaurant information providing server 100 on the basis of stored paid POS data.
  • the user terminals 300 are terminals that are used by users (user A, user B, user C, ).
  • Each of the user terminals 300 is, for example, a smartphone, a cellular phone, a tablet PC, a notebook PC, a desktop PC, or the like.
  • Each user terminal 300 accesses the restaurant information providing site that is provided by the restaurant information providing server 100, receives the webpage, and displays the webpage on the screen by the use of a browser.
  • each user terminal 300 searches for a restaurant on the portal site via the screen that is displayed by the browser, and browses information about a desired restaurant.
  • Information about each restaurant, which is displayed on the webpage includes the shop name of the restaurant, ID (shop ID) that identifies the restaurant, category information about the business category and service of the restaurant, information that introduces the restaurant (information that indicates the feature of the shop, such as the advertising text of the restaurant, event information of the restaurant, and the like), information of the area in which the restaurant is located, the address and phone number of the restaurant, menu item information that the restaurant provides, and the like.
  • FIG 2 is a view that shows the hardware configuration of the restaurant information providing server 100.
  • the restaurant information providing server 100 includes a central processing unit (CPU) 11, a read only memory (ROM) 12, a random access memory (RAM) 13, an input/output interface 15 and a bus 14.
  • the bus 14 connects the CPU 11, the ROM 12, the RAM 13 and the input/output interface 15 with one another.
  • the CPU 11 where necessary accesses the RAM 13, and the like, and generally controls all the blocks of the restaurant information providing server 100 while executing various arithmetic processing.
  • the ROM 12 is a nonvolatile memory in which firmware, such as an OS, program and various parameters to be executed by the CPU 11, is fixedly stored.
  • the RAM 13 is used as a work area, or the like, of the CPU 11, and temporarily holds the OS, various active applications and various in-process data.
  • a display unit 16, an operation receiving unit 17, a storage unit 18, a communication unit 19, and the like, are connected to the input/output interface 15.
  • the display unit 16 is, for example, a display device, such as a liquid crystal display (LCD), an organic electroluminescence display (OELD) and a cathode ray tube (CRT).
  • LCD liquid crystal display
  • OELD organic electroluminescence display
  • CRT cathode ray tube
  • the operation receiving unit 17 is, for example, a pointing device, such as a mouse, a keyboard, a touch panel, or another input device.
  • a pointing device such as a mouse, a keyboard, a touch panel, or another input device.
  • the touch panel may be integrated with the display unit 16.
  • the storage unit 18 is, for example, a nonvolatile memory, such as a hard disk drive (HDD), a flash memory (solid state drive (SSD)) and another solid-state memory.
  • the OS, various applications and various data are stored in the storage unit 18.
  • the storage unit 18 includes a restaurant information database, a page information database and a POS information database.
  • the communication unit 19 is, for example, a network interface card
  • NIC for Ethernet or various modules for wireless communication, such as wireless LAN, and carries out communication process with the POS system 200 of each restaurant.
  • At least one of the POS register terminal, ordering device and restaurant server that constitute each POS system 200 includes a storage unit, such as an HDD, that stores the POS data and a communication unit that transmits the POS data to the restaurant information providing server 100.
  • a storage unit such as an HDD
  • FIG 3 is a view that shows the configuration of databases included in the restaurant information providing server 100.
  • the restaurant information providing server 100 includes the restaurant information database 31, the page information database 32 and the POS information database 33 in the storage unit 18.
  • the restaurant information database 31 stores not only the name of a restaurant and an ID (shop ID) that identifies the restaurant but also category information about the business category and service of the restaurant, text that introduces the restaurant (information that indicates the feature of the restaurant, such as the advertising text of the restaurant, event information about the restaurant, or the like), area information in which the restaurant is located, the address and phone number of the restaurant, menu item information (including menu item IDs) that the restaurant provides, and information, such as the website URL, for each restaurant.
  • ID shop ID
  • text that introduces the restaurant information that indicates the feature of the restaurant, such as the advertising text of the restaurant, event information about the restaurant, or the like
  • area information in which the restaurant is located the address and phone number of the restaurant
  • menu item information including menu item IDs
  • the area information is stored, for example, by prefectures, and may be stored by the unit of a narrower range, for example, by municipalities.
  • the category information may include not only main categories, such as Japanese food, Chinese food, Italian food, French food and grilled meat, but also more detailed sub-categories, such as yakitori and tempura in Japanese food and pasta and pizza in Italian food.
  • the menu item information is information about all the menu items that each restaurant is able to provide.
  • the menu item information is received from the POS system 200 of each restaurant periodically (for example, at intervals of a day or a week) and stored.
  • the menu item information that is provided on the restaurant information providing site is at least part of all the stored pieces of menu item information.
  • the page information database 32 stores information that constitutes the webpage of each restaurant, that is, hypertext markup language (HTML) or extensible HTML (XHTML), a style sheet, image data, and the like.
  • the webpage of each restaurant is included in the restaurant information providing site that is provided by the restaurant information providing server 100.
  • the POS information database 33 stores POS data menu by menu.
  • the POS data are received from the POS system 200 of each restaurant periodically.
  • Each piece of the POS data for example, consists of a menu item ID, the number of orders (or amount of sales or rate of profit), time of order, and the like.
  • the restaurant information providing server 100 is able to extract a menu item name corresponding to the number of orders with reference to the menu item information in the restaurant information database 31 with the menu item ID as a key.
  • FIG 4 is a flowchart that shows the process of updating menu item information, which is executed by the restaurant information providing server 100.
  • the CPU 11 of the restaurant information providing server 100 determines whether POS data of each menu item in a predetermined period have been received by the communication unit 19 from the POS system 200 of a specific restaurant (restaurant of which the menu item information is intended to be updated on the site) (step 41).
  • the POS data include information, such as the menu item IDs, the number of orders corresponding to each menu item ID, and the time of order of each menu item ID.
  • the CPU 11 determines that the POS data have been received (Yes)
  • the CPU 11 sorts the sales data by the time periods of order of each menu item ID (step 42).
  • the time periods of order into which the sales data are sorted are, for example, two time periods, that is, 18:00 to 21:00 and 21:00 to 23:00; however, the time periods of order are not limited to these.
  • the CPU 11 extracts a predetermined number of (for example, three, five, ten, or the like) menu items of which the number of orders is included in higher ranks for each sorted time period of order (step 43).
  • a predetermined number of for example, three, five, ten, or the like
  • the CPU 11 updates the fields of the menu item information of the intended restaurant on the restaurant information providing site with the extracted menu items of which the number of orders is included in higher ranks in each time period (step 44).
  • FIG 5 is a view that shows an example of a webpage including menu item information that is provided by the restaurant information providing server 100.
  • the webpage shown in FIG. 5 is transmitted from the restaurant information providing server 100 to the user terminal 300 and is displayed when the user of the user tenninal 300 inputs a search condition to input boxes 51, for example, in a top page, or the like, of the restaurant information providing site and then selects one from among a restraint information list that is displayed as a result of depression of a search button 52.
  • the input boxes 51 and the search button 52 are, for example, constantly displayed at the upper portion on a page in the restaurant information providing site, and the user is allowed to search for a restaurant any time.
  • the website of each restaurant is able to display not only the name and area of the restaurant and the introduction information of the restaurant (at the upper portion of the page) but also a page that provides menu item information that the restaurant provides (menu item page) through, for example, a tab 53.
  • menu items of which the number of orders in each time period, sorted by the restaurant information providing server 100 with the above-described technique, is included in higher ranks is displayed in a menu item information display field 54 (54a, 54b) of each time period.
  • the menu item information that is displayed in each menu item information display field 54 is updated each time of the process of the restaurant information providing server 100, shown in FIG 4 (that is, each time sales data are received from the POS system 200 of each restaurant).
  • the menu item information that is displayed in each menu item information display field 54 is displayed in the ranking form based on the number of orders; however, the menu item information does not need to be displayed in the ranking form.
  • Ihe restaurant information providing server 100 is able to dynamically change the menu item information on the restaurant information providing site to menu item information that reflects the taste of a user who has actually come to the restaurant by updating the menu item information on the restaurant information providing site on the basis of sales of each menu item at the restaurant, so it is possible to arouse user's interest for the restaurant.
  • the restaurant information providing server 100 updates menu item information on the restaurant information providing site of a restaurant on the basis of POS data of each menu item of the restaurant.
  • the restaurant information providing server 100 may update menu item information on the restaurant information providing site of another restaurant on the basis of POS data of each menu item at a restaurant.
  • FIG 6 is a flowchart that shows the process of updating menu item information, which is executed by the restaurant information providing server 100 in this case.
  • a restaurant of which menu item information is intended to be updated is restaurant A
  • another restaurant that is a reference source of the update is restaurant B.
  • the CPU 11 of the restaurant information providing server 100 determines whether POS data of each menu item in a predetermined period have been received by the communication unit 19 from the POS system 200A of the restaurant B (step 61).
  • the CPU 11 sorts the POS data by the time periods of order of each menu item ID (step 62).
  • the time periods of order into which the POS data are sorted are, for example, similar to those shown in FIG 4; however, the time periods of order are not limited to these.
  • the CPU 11 extracts a predetermined number of menu items of which the number of orders is included in higher ranks for each sorted time period of order (step 63).
  • the CPU 11 extracts the menu item information of the restaurant A, corresponding to the extracted menu items of which the number of orders is included in higher ranks in each time period, from the restaurant information database 31 (step 64).
  • the menu item information of the restaurant B and the menu item information of the restaurant A may be stored in the restaurant information database 31 in association with each other by utilizing, for example, the categories of the menu items, and the CPU 11 may determine corresponding menu items in both restaurants on the basis of coincidence of the categories.
  • the CPU 11 updates the menu item information fields for the restaurant A on the restaurant information providing site with reference to the menu items of the restaurant A, corresponding to the extracted menu items of which the number of orders is included in higher ranks in each time period at the restaurant B (step 65).
  • the information processing system is able to arouse user's interest for the restaurant A by, for example, advertising menu items corresponding to the well-selling menu items at the restaurant B on the restaurant information providing site of the restaurant A.
  • the total sales (rate of profit) of the restaurant B is larger than that of the restaurant A.
  • Menu items of a restaurant vary depending on the business category and the category of food to be provided, so the CPU 11 needs to select the restaurant B that is the source of the update in updating the menu item information of the restaurant A.
  • the CPU 11 may calculate a similarity between the restaurant A and another restaurant with reference to information about the location, scale and food type of each restaurant, included in the restaurant information database 31, and then may select another restaurant having a similarity higher than or equal to a predetermined value as the restaurant B.
  • the CPU 11 may express a similarity (the degree of neighborhood in the case of location) in score for each location, each scale and each food type, and may, for example, set whether the average of each score is larger than or equal to a predetermined threshold as a selection criterion.
  • the CPU 11 may assign higher weights to the scores of food type than the other scores.
  • the information processing system is able to more highly accurately arouse user's interest for the restaurant A by ⁇ ⁇ ⁇ 3 ⁇ 4 well-selling menu items of the restaurant B that is located in the neighborhood of the restaurant A or of which the scale or food type is similar to that of the restaurant A into the information providing site of the restaurant A.
  • the restaurant information providing server 100 updates menu item information on the restaurant information providing site to a predetermined number of pieces of menu item information of which the number of orders is included in higher ranks in a predetermined period on the basis of POS data of each menu item in the predetermined period.
  • the restaurant information providing server 100 may update the menu item information to a predetermined number of pieces of menu item information of which the number of orders is included in lower ranks in a predetermined period.
  • the restaurant information providing server 100 is able to advertise menu items, which a restaurant desires to recommend for customers but the number of orders thereof is not increasing, for users.
  • menu item information recommended by each restaurant may be provided from the POS system 200 of the restaurant to the restaurant information providing server 100, and the restaurant information providing server 100 may extract only a predetermined number of menu items that coincide with the recommended menu items from among the menu items of which the number of orders is included in lower ranks and then update the corresponding page with this menu item information.
  • the restaurant information providing server 100 updates the menu item information of the restaurant information providing site in response to the number of orders of each menu item. Instead, the restaurant information providing server 100 may update the menu item information in response to not the number of orders of each menu item but the amount of sales or rate of profit of each menu item. The restaurant information providing server 100 may update menu item information in response to any two or more of the number of orders, amount of sales and rate of profit of each menu item. That is, the restaurant information providing server 100 is able to update menu item information in response to at least one of the number of orders, amount of sales and rate of profit of each menu item.
  • menu item information may be updated with menu items of which the number of orders is included in higher ranks (within a predetermined rank) and the amount of sales is included in higher ranks (within a predetermined rank) or menu items of which the number of orders is included in higher ranks (within a predetennined rank) or the rate of profit is included in higher ranks (within a predetermined rank).
  • the restaurant information providing server 100 may receive information about not only the number of orders but also the amount of sales or rate of profit of each menu item as part of the POS data from the POS system 200 of each restaurant and store the information in the POS information database 33.
  • the restaurant information providing server 100 may receive information about at least cost (purchase price) of each menu item from the POS system 200 of each restaurant and then may update the menu item information with menu items of which the ratio of an amount obtained by subtracting the cost from the amount of sales to the amount of sales of each menu item (this is defined as the rate of profit) is included in a predetermined number of higher ranks.
  • a server that manages the restaurant information providing site and a server that receives POS data from the POS system 200 of each restaurant and manages the POS data are one and the same server (restaurant information providing server 100).
  • a POS server that manages POS data of each restaurant may be separately provided from a server that provides restaurant information, and menu item information on the restaurant information providing site may be updated as a result of an exchange of POS data between the POS server and the restaurant information providing server.
  • the restaurant information providing server 100 provides a portal site (restaurant information providing site) that provides a plurality of pieces of restaurant information and the restaurant information providing server 100 updates menu item information on the webpage of a specific restaurant in the restaurant information providing site is described.
  • a portal site restaurant information providing site
  • the restaurant information providing server 100 updates menu item information on the webpage of a specific restaurant in the restaurant information providing site.
  • an object to be updated may be not a webpage.
  • the restaurant information providing server 100 may update menu item information on a menu item page included in a restaurant information providing page group on the basis of POS data of each menu item.
  • the restaurant information providing page group is displayed by an application or exclusive program in an ordering terminal (tablet PC or exclusive terminal) installed at each table in each restaurant such that a user is allowed to browse and operate the ordering terminal.
  • Menu item information that is updated in this case may be, for example, menu items that are provided as recommended menu items on a top page, menu item page, or the like, of the restaurant information providing page group in the ordering terminal.
  • menu items that are displayed on the user terminal may be updated on the basis of POS data.
  • the user terminal may be able to issue an order to the POS system 200 of the restaurant when a menu item is selected on a menu item page on the restaurant information providing site, or may be able to issue an order to the POS system 200 by downloading an application, or the like, including menu item information from the POS system 200 or an external device and then selecting a menu item on a menu item page in a restaurant information providing page group that is displayed on the application.

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Abstract

An information processing system includes a storage unit, a communication unit and a control unit. The storage unit stores restaurant information and a menu item page. The restaurant information includes menu item information about food menu items that at least one restaurant is able to provide. The menu item page constitutes a restaurant information providing page group regarding the at least one restaurant, and contains at least part of the menu item information. The communication unit receives POS data from a POS system located at the at least one restaurant. The POS data includes at least one of the number of orders, amount of sales and rate of profit in each predetermined period at the at least one restaurant. The control unit updates the menu item information on the menu item page on the basis of the received POS data.

Description

INFORMATION PROCESSING SYSTEM, POS SYSTEM, INFORMATION PROCESSING METHOD, AND COMPUTER-READABLE STORAGE MEDIUM
STORING PROGRAM
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
[0001] The invention relates to an information processing system communicable with a POS (point of sales) system of a restaurant, a POS system, an information processing method that is used in the information processing system, and a computer-readable storage medium storing a program that is used in the information processing system.
2. Description of Related Art
[0002] Conventionally, a POS system is introduced in a restaurant from the viewpoint of the efficiency of management. The POS system summarizes which products are sold and when the products are sold. The restaurant is managed on the basis of the summarization.
[0003] In recent years, each restaurant ordinarily provides information about the restaurant via a website that is managed by itself or a portal site that is managed by another company. A user is allowed to search for a restaurant that matches the taste of a user with reference to information on these sites.
[0004] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2013-137657 (JP 2013-137657 A) describes a system that is able to update menu item information on a website corresponding to an intended restaurant and provided by a restaurant information providing company at the same time as product (menu item) information in a POS system is updated.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0005] However, the technique described in JP 2013-137657 A just merely synchronizes the menu item information of the POS system at each restaurant with the menu item information on the restaurant information providing site, and is not the one from user's viewpoint in terms of management.
[0006] The invention provides an information processing system that is able to dynamically change menu item information on a restaurant information providing site to menu item information that reflects the taste of a user who has actually come to a restaurant, a POS system, an information processing method and a computer-readable storage medium storing a program.
[0007] An aspect of the invention provides an information processing system. The information processing system includes a storage unit, a communication unit and a control unit. The storage unit stores restaurant information and a menu item page. The restaurant information includes menu item information about food menu items that at least one restaurant is able to provide. The menu item page constitutes a restaurant information providing page group regarding the at least one restaurant, and contains at least part of the menu item information. The communication unit receives POS data from a POS system located at the at least one restaurant. The POS data includes at least one of the number of orders, amount of sales and rate of profit in each predetermined period at the at least one restaurant. The control unit updates the menu item information on the menu item page on the basis of the received POS data.
[0008] Thus, the information processing system is able to dynamically change the menu item information on the restaurant information providing page group to menu item information that reflects the taste of a user who has actually come to the restaurant by updating the menu item information on the restaurant information providing page group on the basis of the POS data of each menu item at the restaurant, so it is possible to arouse user's interest for the restaurant. The restaurant information providing page group is typically a website, the menu item page is typically a webpage, and these are allowed to be browsed with the use of a browser of a user terminal. Instead, the restaurant information providing page group and the menu item page may be data that are allowed to be displayed by an application program other than the browser of the user terminal or a program that operates on an ordering terminal at the restaurant.
[0009] The control unit may update the menu item information on the menu item page to menu item information, of which at least one of the number of orders, amount of sales and rate of profit in the predetermined period is included in a predetermined number of higher ranks, on the basis of the POS data.
[0010] Thus, the information processing system is able to, for example, constantly inform a user of menu items of which the number of orders is included in higher ranks and arouse user's interest by updating the menu item information on the menu item page to menu item information of which the number of orders, amount of sales or rate of profit in the predetermined period is included in higher ranks, so it is possible to increase profit by advertising menu items of which the rate of profit is included in higher ranks to the user.
[0011] The control unit may update the menu item information on the menu item page to menu item information, of which at least one of the number of orders and amount of sales in the predetermined period is included in a predetermined number of lower ranks, on the basis of the POS data.
[0012] Thus, the information processing system is able to advertise menu items which a restaurant desires to recommend for a user but the sales thereof is not increasing, by updating the menu item information on the menu item page to menu item information of which the number of orders or amount of sales in the predetermined period is small.
[0013] The menu item page may have a menu item information display field for each time period within business hours of the at least one restaurant. In this case, the communication unit may receive sales data of each time period f om the POS system, and the control unit may update menu item information in the menu item information display field of each time period on the basis of the received sales data of the corresponding time period.
[0014] Thus, it is assumed that menu items that are demanded by users are different between a relatively early time period and a relatively late time period within business hours, so the information processing system is able to arouse user's interest in response to the different demands by updating the menu item information in each display field that varies depending on the time period.
[0015] The communication unit may be able to receive the POS data from the POS system of a first restaurant and the POS system of at least one second restaurant. In this case, the control unit may update menu item information on a restaurant information providing site of the first restaurant on the basis of the POS data of the at least one second restaurant such that menu item information at the first restaurant, corresponding to menu items of which the number of orders or the amount of sales is included in a predetermined number of higher ranks at the at least one second restaurant, is provided.
[0016] Thus, the information processing system is able to arouse user's interest for the first restaurant by, for example, advertising menu items, corresponding to the well-selling menu items at the second restaurant of which the total sales is larger than that of the first restaurant, on the information providing site of the first restaurant. In this case, the storage unit may store the menu items at the second restaurant and the menu items at the first restaurant in association with each other by utilizing, for example, the categories of the menu items, and the control unit may determine corresponding menu items in both restaurants as a result of coincidence of the categories.
[0017] The restaurant information may at least include information about a location, scale and food type of each restaurant. In this case, the control unit may calculate a similarity between the first restaurant and another restaurant on the basis of the restaurant information of the first restaurant, and may select another restaurant having a similarity larger than or equal to a predetermined value as the at least one second restaurant.
[0018] Thus, the information processing system is able to more highly accurately arouse user's interest for the first restaurant by incorporating well-selling menu items of the restaurant that is located in the neighborhood of the second restaurant or of which the scale or food type is similar to that of the first restaurant, into the menu item page of the first restaurant.
[0019] Another aspect of the invention provides a POS system. The POS system includes a storage unit and a communication unit. The storage unit stores restaurant information and POS data. The restaurant information includes menu item information about food menu items that a corresponding restaurant is able to provide. The POS data include at least one of the number of orders, amount of sales and rate of profit of each menu item in each predetermined period at the restaurant. The communication unit transmits the POS data to an information processing system including a restaurant information providing page group in order to update menu item information on a menu item page on the basis of the POS data. The menu item page constitutes the restaurant information providing page group regarding a restaurant and contains at least part of the menu item information.
[0020] The POS system is typically installed at each restaurant, and can be formed of at least one of a POS register terminal, an ordering device and a restaurant server.
[0021] Further another aspect of the invention provides an information processing method. The information processing method includes storing restaurant information and a menu item page, the restaurant information including menu item information about food menu items that at least one restaurant is able to provide, the menu item page constituting a restaurant information providing page group regarding the at least one restaurant and containing at least part of the menu item information; receiving POS data from a POS system located at the at least one restaurant, the POS data including at least one of the number of orders, amount of sales and rate of profit in each predetermined period at the at least one restaurant; and updating the menu item information on the menu item page on the basis of the received POS data.
[0022] Yet another aspect of the invention provides a computer-readable storage medium storing a program. The program causes an information processing system to execute instructions. The instructions include storing restaurant information and a menu item page, the restaurant information including menu item information about food menu items that at least one restaurant is able to provide, the menu item page constituting a restaurant information providing page group regarding the at least one restaurant and containing at least part of the menu item information; receiving POS data from a POS system located at the at least one restaurant, the POS data including at least one of the number of orders, amount of sales and rate of profit in each predetermined period at the at least one restaurant; and updating the menu item information on the menu item page on the basis of the received POS data.
[0023] As described above, according to the aspects of the invention, it is possible to dynamically change the menu item information on the restaurant information providing site to menu item information that incorporates the taste of a user who has actually come to the restaurant. However, this advantageous effect does not limit the invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0024] Features, advantages, and technical and industrial significance of exemplary embodiments of the invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which like numerals denote like elements, and wherein:
FIG. 1 is a view that shows the configuration of a restaurant information providing system according to an embodiment of the invention;
FIG 2 is a view that shows the hardware configuration of a restaurant information providing server according to the embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 3 is a view that shows the configuration of databases included in the restaurant information providing server according to the embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 4 is a flowchart that shows the process of updating menu item information, which is executed by the restaurant information providing server according to the embodiment of the invention;
FIG 5 is a view that shows an example of menu item information that is provided by the restaurant information providing server in the embodiment of the invention; and
FIG. 6 is a flowchart that shows the process of updating menu item information, which is executed by a restaurant information providing server according to another embodiment of the invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS
[0025] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
System Configuration
[0026] FIG. 1 is a view that shows the configuration of a restaurant information providing system according to the embodiment.
[0027] As shown in FIG. 1, the system includes a restaurant information providing server 100 on the Internet 50, POS systems 200 respectively provided at a plurality of restaurants, and a plurality of user terminals 300.
[0028] The restaurant information providing server 100 is a web server that manages a portal site (restaurant information providing site) that provides information about restaurants. The restaurant information providing server 100 is connected to the POS system 200 of each of the plurality of restaurants and the plurality of user terminals 300 via the Internet 50.
[0029] The restaurant information providing server 100 transmits a webpage to the user terminal 300 that has accessed the portal site and input the search condition. The webpage contains restaurant information that coincides with a search condition input through the user terminal 300.
[0030] The restaurant information providing server 100 is able to receive POS data including at least one of the number of orders, amount of sales and rate of profit of each menu item from the POS system 200 of each restaurant periodically (for example, at intervals of a predetermined period, such as half a day, a day, a week and a month).
[0031] The POS systems 200 (200A, 200B, ...) are respectively provided at restaurants. Each of the POS systems 200 is, for example, formed of a POS register terminal, an ordering device, a restaurant server, and the like.
[0032] Information about an order from a customer at a restaurant is received by, for example, a tablet personal computer (PC)-type ordering device that is carried by an employee of the restaurant (or that is installed on a customer table). Order data, for example, include the identification information of a menu item (dish), the price of the menu item, the number of orders, the date of order and the rate of profit, and those pieces of data are transmitted to a restaurant server as POS data and are stored.
[0033] The POS register terminal is a computer that executes a billing process corresponding to dishes ordered by a customer of the restaurant. The POS register terminal reads identification information, such as bar code, printed on a slip delivered to a customer after the customer has ordered a dish, inquires the restaurant server of the identification information, acquires information about the corresponding product and price, and then calculates the total price.
[0034] The restaurant server stores information about dishes (menu items) that the restaurant is able to provide (identification numbers, menu item names, prices, categories, and the like). The restaurant server attaches a paid flag to POS data on which the billing process has been finished, on the basis of, for example, an inquiry about the identification information from the POS register terminal.
[0035] The POS register terminal, ordering device and restaurant server that constitute each POS system 200 are not necessarily physically separate devices, and may be, for example, a single tablet PC having those functions.
[0036] As described above, each POS system 200 (for example, the restaurant server) periodically transmits the POS data of each menu item to the restaurant information providing server 100 on the basis of stored paid POS data.
[0037] The user terminals 300 (300A, 300B, 300C, ...) are terminals that are used by users (user A, user B, user C, ...). Each of the user terminals 300 is, for example, a smartphone, a cellular phone, a tablet PC, a notebook PC, a desktop PC, or the like.
[0038] Each user terminal 300 accesses the restaurant information providing site that is provided by the restaurant information providing server 100, receives the webpage, and displays the webpage on the screen by the use of a browser.
[0039] The user of each user terminal 300 searches for a restaurant on the portal site via the screen that is displayed by the browser, and browses information about a desired restaurant. Information about each restaurant, which is displayed on the webpage, includes the shop name of the restaurant, ID (shop ID) that identifies the restaurant, category information about the business category and service of the restaurant, information that introduces the restaurant (information that indicates the feature of the shop, such as the advertising text of the restaurant, event information of the restaurant, and the like), information of the area in which the restaurant is located, the address and phone number of the restaurant, menu item information that the restaurant provides, and the like.
Hardware Configuration of Restaurant Information Providing Server
[0040] FIG 2 is a view that shows the hardware configuration of the restaurant information providing server 100. As shown in FIG. 2, the restaurant information providing server 100 includes a central processing unit (CPU) 11, a read only memory (ROM) 12, a random access memory (RAM) 13, an input/output interface 15 and a bus 14. The bus 14 connects the CPU 11, the ROM 12, the RAM 13 and the input/output interface 15 with one another.
[0041] The CPU 11 where necessary accesses the RAM 13, and the like, and generally controls all the blocks of the restaurant information providing server 100 while executing various arithmetic processing. The ROM 12 is a nonvolatile memory in which firmware, such as an OS, program and various parameters to be executed by the CPU 11, is fixedly stored. The RAM 13 is used as a work area, or the like, of the CPU 11, and temporarily holds the OS, various active applications and various in-process data.
[0042] A display unit 16, an operation receiving unit 17, a storage unit 18, a communication unit 19, and the like, are connected to the input/output interface 15.
[0043] The display unit 16 is, for example, a display device, such as a liquid crystal display (LCD), an organic electroluminescence display (OELD) and a cathode ray tube (CRT).
[0044] The operation receiving unit 17 is, for example, a pointing device, such as a mouse, a keyboard, a touch panel, or another input device. When the operation receiving unit 17 is a touch panel, the touch panel may be integrated with the display unit 16.
[0045] The storage unit 18 is, for example, a nonvolatile memory, such as a hard disk drive (HDD), a flash memory (solid state drive (SSD)) and another solid-state memory. The OS, various applications and various data are stored in the storage unit 18.
[0046] As will be described later, particularly, in the present embodiment, the storage unit 18 includes a restaurant information database, a page information database and a POS information database.
[0047] The communication unit 19 is, for example, a network interface card
(NIC) for Ethernet or various modules for wireless communication, such as wireless LAN, and carries out communication process with the POS system 200 of each restaurant.
[0048] Although not shown in the drawing, at least one of the POS register terminal, ordering device and restaurant server that constitute each POS system 200 includes a storage unit, such as an HDD, that stores the POS data and a communication unit that transmits the POS data to the restaurant information providing server 100.
Database Configuration of Restaurant Information Providing Server
[0049] FIG 3 is a view that shows the configuration of databases included in the restaurant information providing server 100.
[0050] As shown in FIG 3, the restaurant information providing server 100 includes the restaurant information database 31, the page information database 32 and the POS information database 33 in the storage unit 18.
[0051] The restaurant information database 31 stores not only the name of a restaurant and an ID (shop ID) that identifies the restaurant but also category information about the business category and service of the restaurant, text that introduces the restaurant (information that indicates the feature of the restaurant, such as the advertising text of the restaurant, event information about the restaurant, or the like), area information in which the restaurant is located, the address and phone number of the restaurant, menu item information (including menu item IDs) that the restaurant provides, and information, such as the website URL, for each restaurant.
[0052] The area information is stored, for example, by prefectures, and may be stored by the unit of a narrower range, for example, by municipalities. The category information, for example, may include not only main categories, such as Japanese food, Chinese food, Italian food, French food and grilled meat, but also more detailed sub-categories, such as yakitori and tempura in Japanese food and pasta and pizza in Italian food.
[0053] The menu item information is information about all the menu items that each restaurant is able to provide. The menu item information is received from the POS system 200 of each restaurant periodically (for example, at intervals of a day or a week) and stored. The menu item information that is provided on the restaurant information providing site is at least part of all the stored pieces of menu item information.
[0054] The page information database 32 stores information that constitutes the webpage of each restaurant, that is, hypertext markup language (HTML) or extensible HTML (XHTML), a style sheet, image data, and the like. The webpage of each restaurant is included in the restaurant information providing site that is provided by the restaurant information providing server 100.
[0055] The POS information database 33 stores POS data menu by menu. The POS data are received from the POS system 200 of each restaurant periodically. Each piece of the POS data, for example, consists of a menu item ID, the number of orders (or amount of sales or rate of profit), time of order, and the like. The restaurant information providing server 100 is able to extract a menu item name corresponding to the number of orders with reference to the menu item information in the restaurant information database 31 with the menu item ID as a key.
[0056] These databases are consulted with one another where necessary in a menu item information updating process that is executed by the restaurant information providing server 100 (described later).
Operation of Restaurant Information Providing Server
[0057] Next, the operation of the thus configured restaurant information providing server 100 will be described. The operation is executed in cooperation between hardware, such as the CPU 11 and communication unit 19 of the restaurant information providing server 100, and software stored in the storage unit 18. In the following description, for the sake of convenience, the CPU 11 executes the operation.
[0058] FIG 4 is a flowchart that shows the process of updating menu item information, which is executed by the restaurant information providing server 100.
[0059] As shown in FIG. 4, initially, the CPU 11 of the restaurant information providing server 100 determines whether POS data of each menu item in a predetermined period have been received by the communication unit 19 from the POS system 200 of a specific restaurant (restaurant of which the menu item information is intended to be updated on the site) (step 41).
[0060] The POS data include information, such as the menu item IDs, the number of orders corresponding to each menu item ID, and the time of order of each menu item ID.
[0061] When the CPU 11 determines that the POS data have been received (Yes), the CPU 11 sorts the sales data by the time periods of order of each menu item ID (step 42). The time periods of order into which the sales data are sorted are, for example, two time periods, that is, 18:00 to 21:00 and 21:00 to 23:00; however, the time periods of order are not limited to these.
[0062] Subsequently, the CPU 11 extracts a predetermined number of (for example, three, five, ten, or the like) menu items of which the number of orders is included in higher ranks for each sorted time period of order (step 43).
[0063] The CPU 11 updates the fields of the menu item information of the intended restaurant on the restaurant information providing site with the extracted menu items of which the number of orders is included in higher ranks in each time period (step 44).
[0064] FIG 5 is a view that shows an example of a webpage including menu item information that is provided by the restaurant information providing server 100.
[0065] The webpage shown in FIG. 5 is transmitted from the restaurant information providing server 100 to the user terminal 300 and is displayed when the user of the user tenninal 300 inputs a search condition to input boxes 51, for example, in a top page, or the like, of the restaurant information providing site and then selects one from among a restraint information list that is displayed as a result of depression of a search button 52.
[0066] As shown in FIG. 5, the input boxes 51 and the search button 52 are, for example, constantly displayed at the upper portion on a page in the restaurant information providing site, and the user is allowed to search for a restaurant any time.
[0067] The website of each restaurant is able to display not only the name and area of the restaurant and the introduction information of the restaurant (at the upper portion of the page) but also a page that provides menu item information that the restaurant provides (menu item page) through, for example, a tab 53.
[0068] On the menu item page, menu items of which the number of orders in each time period, sorted by the restaurant information providing server 100 with the above-described technique, is included in higher ranks is displayed in a menu item information display field 54 (54a, 54b) of each time period.
[0069] The menu item information that is displayed in each menu item information display field 54 is updated each time of the process of the restaurant information providing server 100, shown in FIG 4 (that is, each time sales data are received from the POS system 200 of each restaurant).
[0070] In FIG 5, the menu item information that is displayed in each menu item information display field 54 is displayed in the ranking form based on the number of orders; however, the menu item information does not need to be displayed in the ranking form.
[0071] It is assumed that menu items that are demanded by users are different between a relatively early time period and a relatively late time period within business hours, so the restaurant information providing server 100 is able to arouse user's interest in response to the different demands by updating menu item information in display fields that vary depending on the time period.
Conclusion
[0072] As described above, Ihe restaurant information providing server 100 is able to dynamically change the menu item information on the restaurant information providing site to menu item information that reflects the taste of a user who has actually come to the restaurant by updating the menu item information on the restaurant information providing site on the basis of sales of each menu item at the restaurant, so it is possible to arouse user's interest for the restaurant.
Alternative Embodiments
[0073] The invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. The above-described embodiment may be variously modified without departing from the scope of the disclosure.
[0074] In the above-described embodiment, the restaurant information providing server 100 updates menu item information on the restaurant information providing site of a restaurant on the basis of POS data of each menu item of the restaurant. However, the restaurant information providing server 100 may update menu item information on the restaurant information providing site of another restaurant on the basis of POS data of each menu item at a restaurant.
[0075] FIG 6 is a flowchart that shows the process of updating menu item information, which is executed by the restaurant information providing server 100 in this case. In the example of FIG. 6, a restaurant of which menu item information is intended to be updated is restaurant A, and another restaurant that is a reference source of the update is restaurant B.
[0076] As shown in FIG 6, initially, the CPU 11 of the restaurant information providing server 100 determines whether POS data of each menu item in a predetermined period have been received by the communication unit 19 from the POS system 200A of the restaurant B (step 61).
[0077] When it is determined that the POS data have been received (Yes), the CPU 11 sorts the POS data by the time periods of order of each menu item ID (step 62). The time periods of order into which the POS data are sorted are, for example, similar to those shown in FIG 4; however, the time periods of order are not limited to these.
[0078] Subsequently, the CPU 11 extracts a predetermined number of menu items of which the number of orders is included in higher ranks for each sorted time period of order (step 63).
[0079] Subsequently, the CPU 11 extracts the menu item information of the restaurant A, corresponding to the extracted menu items of which the number of orders is included in higher ranks in each time period, from the restaurant information database 31 (step 64).
[0080] In this case, the menu item information of the restaurant B and the menu item information of the restaurant A may be stored in the restaurant information database 31 in association with each other by utilizing, for example, the categories of the menu items, and the CPU 11 may determine corresponding menu items in both restaurants on the basis of coincidence of the categories.
[0081] The CPU 11 updates the menu item information fields for the restaurant A on the restaurant information providing site with reference to the menu items of the restaurant A, corresponding to the extracted menu items of which the number of orders is included in higher ranks in each time period at the restaurant B (step 65).
[0082] Thus, the information processing system is able to arouse user's interest for the restaurant A by, for example, advertising menu items corresponding to the well-selling menu items at the restaurant B on the restaurant information providing site of the restaurant A. The total sales (rate of profit) of the restaurant B is larger than that of the restaurant A.
[0083] Menu items of a restaurant vary depending on the business category and the category of food to be provided, so the CPU 11 needs to select the restaurant B that is the source of the update in updating the menu item information of the restaurant A. The CPU 11 may calculate a similarity between the restaurant A and another restaurant with reference to information about the location, scale and food type of each restaurant, included in the restaurant information database 31, and then may select another restaurant having a similarity higher than or equal to a predetermined value as the restaurant B. Specifically, the CPU 11 may express a similarity (the degree of neighborhood in the case of location) in score for each location, each scale and each food type, and may, for example, set whether the average of each score is larger than or equal to a predetermined threshold as a selection criterion. Because it is assumed that the importance of food type is higher for menu items, the CPU 11 may assign higher weights to the scores of food type than the other scores. [0084] Thus, the information processing system is able to more highly accurately arouse user's interest for the restaurant A by ϊηϋθ θ ή¾ well-selling menu items of the restaurant B that is located in the neighborhood of the restaurant A or of which the scale or food type is similar to that of the restaurant A into the information providing site of the restaurant A.
[0085] In the above-described embodiment, the restaurant information providing server 100 updates menu item information on the restaurant information providing site to a predetermined number of pieces of menu item information of which the number of orders is included in higher ranks in a predetermined period on the basis of POS data of each menu item in the predetermined period. However, the restaurant information providing server 100 may update the menu item information to a predetermined number of pieces of menu item information of which the number of orders is included in lower ranks in a predetermined period.
[0086] Thus, the restaurant information providing server 100 is able to advertise menu items, which a restaurant desires to recommend for customers but the number of orders thereof is not increasing, for users. In this case, menu item information recommended by each restaurant (menu item information that each restaurant desires to sell) may be provided from the POS system 200 of the restaurant to the restaurant information providing server 100, and the restaurant information providing server 100 may extract only a predetermined number of menu items that coincide with the recommended menu items from among the menu items of which the number of orders is included in lower ranks and then update the corresponding page with this menu item information.
[0087] In the above-described embodiment and the above-described other embodiment, the restaurant information providing server 100 updates the menu item information of the restaurant information providing site in response to the number of orders of each menu item. Instead, the restaurant information providing server 100 may update the menu item information in response to not the number of orders of each menu item but the amount of sales or rate of profit of each menu item. The restaurant information providing server 100 may update menu item information in response to any two or more of the number of orders, amount of sales and rate of profit of each menu item. That is, the restaurant information providing server 100 is able to update menu item information in response to at least one of the number of orders, amount of sales and rate of profit of each menu item. For example, menu item information may be updated with menu items of which the number of orders is included in higher ranks (within a predetermined rank) and the amount of sales is included in higher ranks (within a predetermined rank) or menu items of which the number of orders is included in higher ranks (within a predetennined rank) or the rate of profit is included in higher ranks (within a predetermined rank).
[0088] In this case, the restaurant information providing server 100 may receive information about not only the number of orders but also the amount of sales or rate of profit of each menu item as part of the POS data from the POS system 200 of each restaurant and store the information in the POS information database 33. As for the rate of profit, the restaurant information providing server 100 may receive information about at least cost (purchase price) of each menu item from the POS system 200 of each restaurant and then may update the menu item information with menu items of which the ratio of an amount obtained by subtracting the cost from the amount of sales to the amount of sales of each menu item (this is defined as the rate of profit) is included in a predetermined number of higher ranks.
[0089] In the above-described embodiment, a server that manages the restaurant information providing site and a server that receives POS data from the POS system 200 of each restaurant and manages the POS data are one and the same server (restaurant information providing server 100). Instead, a POS server that manages POS data of each restaurant may be separately provided from a server that provides restaurant information, and menu item information on the restaurant information providing site may be updated as a result of an exchange of POS data between the POS server and the restaurant information providing server.
[0090] In the above-described embodiment, an example in which the restaurant information providing server 100 provides a portal site (restaurant information providing site) that provides a plurality of pieces of restaurant information and the restaurant information providing server 100 updates menu item information on the webpage of a specific restaurant in the restaurant information providing site is described. However, an object to be updated may be not a webpage.
[0091] For example, the restaurant information providing server 100 may update menu item information on a menu item page included in a restaurant information providing page group on the basis of POS data of each menu item. The restaurant information providing page group is displayed by an application or exclusive program in an ordering terminal (tablet PC or exclusive terminal) installed at each table in each restaurant such that a user is allowed to browse and operate the ordering terminal. Menu item information that is updated in this case may be, for example, menu items that are provided as recommended menu items on a top page, menu item page, or the like, of the restaurant information providing page group in the ordering terminal.
[0092] When a user terminal, such as a smartphone and a tablet PC, that is carried by a user functions as the ordering terminal, menu items that are displayed on the user terminal may be updated on the basis of POS data. In this case, the user terminal may be able to issue an order to the POS system 200 of the restaurant when a menu item is selected on a menu item page on the restaurant information providing site, or may be able to issue an order to the POS system 200 by downloading an application, or the like, including menu item information from the POS system 200 or an external device and then selecting a menu item on a menu item page in a restaurant information providing page group that is displayed on the application.

Claims

CLAIMS:
1. An information processing system (100) characterized by comprising:
a storage unit (18) that stores restaurant information and a menu item page, the restaurant information including menu item information about food menu items that at least one restaurant is able to provide, the menu item page constituting a restaurant information providing page group regarding the at least one restaurant and containing at least part of the menu item information;
a communication unit (19) that receives POS data from a POS system (200A, 200B) located at the at least one restaurant, the POS data including at least one of the number of orders, amount of sales and rate of profit in each predetermined period at the at least one restaurant; and
a control unit (11) that updates the menu item information on the menu item page on the basis of the received POS data.
2. The information processing system according to claim 1 , wherein
the control unit updates the menu item information on the menu item page to menu item information, of which at least one of the number of orders, amount of sales and rate of profit in the predetermined period is included in a predetermined number of higher ranks, on the basis of the POS data.
3. The information processing system according to claim 1 , wherein
the control unit updates the menu item information on the menu item page to menu item information, of which at least one of the number of orders and amount of sales in the predetermined period is included in a predetermined number of lower ranks, on the basis of the POS data.
4. The information processing system according to claim 1 , wherein
the menu item page has a menu item information display field (54a, 54b) for each time period within business hours of the at least one restaurant,
the communication unit receives sales data of each time period from the POS system, and
the control unit updates menu item information in the menu item information display field of each time period on the basis of the received sales data of the corresponding time period.
5. The information processing system according to claim 1, wherein
the communication unit is able to receive the POS data from the POS system of a first restaurant and the POS system of at least one second restaurant, and
the control unit updates menu item information on a restaurant information providing site of the first restaurant on the basis of the POS data of the at least one second restaurant such that menu item information at the first restaurant, corresponding to menu items of which the number of orders or the amount of sales is included in a predetermined number of higher ranks at the at least one second restaurant, is provided.
6. The information processing system according to claim 5, wherein
the restaurant information at least includes information about a location, scale and food type of each restaurant, and
the control unit calculates a similarity between the first restaurant and another restaurant on the basis of the restaurant information of the first restaurant, and selects another restaurant having a similarity larger than or equal to a predetermined value as the at least one second restaurant.
7. A POS system (200A, 200B) characterized by comprising:
a storage unit that stores restaurant information and POS data, the restaurant information including menu item information about food menu items that a corresponding restaurant is able to provide, the POS data including at least one of the number of orders, amount of sales and rate of profit of each menu item in each predetermined period at the restaurant; and
a cornmunication unit that transmits the POS data to an information processing system (100) including a restaurant information providing page group in order to update menu item information on a menu item page on the basis of the POS data, the menu item page constituting the restaurant information providing page group regarding a restaurant and containing at least part of the menu item information.
8. An information processing method characterized by comprising:
storing restaurant information and a menu item page, the restaurant information including menu item information about food menu items that at least one restaurant is able to provide, the menu item page constituting a restaurant information providing page group regarding the at least one restaurant and containing at least part of the menu item information;
receiving POS data from a POS system (200A, 200B) located at the at least one restaurant, the POS data including at least one of the number of orders, amount of sales and rate of profit in each predetermined period at the at least one restaurant; and
updating the menu item information on the menu item page on the basis of the received POS data.
9. A computer-readable storage medium (18) storing a program, the program causing an information processing system (100) to execute instructions, the instructions characterized by comprising:
storing restaurant information and a menu item page, the restaurant information including menu item information about food menu items that at least one restaurant is able to provide, the menu item page constituting a restaurant information providing page group regarding the at least one restaurant and containing at least part of the menu item information;
receiving POS data from a POS system (200A, 200B) located at the at least one restaurant, the POS data including at least one of the number of orders, amount of sales and rate of profit in each predetermined period at the at least one restaurant; and updating the menu item information on the menu item page on the basis of the received POS data.
PCT/IB2016/000832 2015-06-09 2016-06-08 Information processing system, pos system, information processing method, and computer-readable storage medium storing program WO2016198946A1 (en)

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