Method for providing information on whether an item can be ordered, apparatus thereof, and non-transitory computer readable recording medium in which computer program for executing method is recorded

Abstract

According to one embodiment, a method for providing information about whether an item is available for order includes: receiving first information from a supplier device indicating whether the item is available for order; receiving second information from a customer device requesting a check on whether the item is available for order; identifying the item to be checked for order availability based on the second information; determining whether the item is available for order based on the first and second information; generating third information indicating whether the item is available for order based on the determination; and transmitting the third information to the customer device in response to the second information. One embodiment provides an apparatus for providing information about whether an item is available for order. Another embodiment provides a computer-readable recording medium on which a computer program is recorded for performing a method for providing information about whether an item is available for order.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] This invention relates to a method and apparatus for managing item inventory while taking into account multiple pieces of information (such as whether it is necessary to install items, the quantity of inventory by region, the resources used to install items, and the inventory of sub-items). [Previous Technology]

[0002] As e-commerce has been implemented to a greater extent, many users purchase goods via the Internet, and workers can perform various tasks in the process of loading goods into a warehouse and moving goods for sale and transportation.

[0003] Information on the quantity of goods in stock is essential for managing goods loaded into a warehouse. According to relevant technologies, inventory is managed by simply providing information on the quantity of goods sold to sellers and similar items.

[0004] However, recently, in addition to the item management level of simply selling and delivering a single item, it is increasingly necessary to manage inventory in consideration of various conditions (such as the quantity of items to be sold and a sales type).

[0005] As an example, when an item purchased by a consumer is a package containing a plurality of sub-items, it is also necessary to manage the inventory of the sub-items associated with the ordered item.

[0006] As another example, when an additional resource other than a delivery worker is required (such as in a situation where a consumer wants an installer to perform installation work in addition to delivering an item purchased by the consumer), inventory needs to be managed in consideration of whether an additional resource is available. [Summary of the Invention]

[0007] [Technical Objectives]

[0008] One aspect of the present invention relates to providing information on whether an item is available for ordering and managing inventory while taking into account multiple pieces of information related to the item.

[0009] Another aspect of the present invention relates to comprehensively managing inventory based on multiple external information received from an external company for comprehensive inventory management.

[0010] The objectives that can be derived from the following exemplary embodiments are not limited to those described above, and other objectives and advantages not yet described can be understood from the following description and will become clearer from the exemplary embodiments. Furthermore, it will be readily apparent that the objectives and advantages derived from the exemplary embodiments can be implemented by means of the elements stated in the claims of the invention and combinations thereof. [Technical Solution]

[0011] According to one embodiment, a method for providing information about whether an item is available for ordering includes: receiving first information from a supplier device indicating whether the item is available for ordering; receiving second information from a customer device requesting a check of order availability; identifying the item to be checked for order availability based on the second information; determining whether the item is available for ordering based on the first information and the second information; generating third information indicating whether the item is available for ordering based on the determination that the item is available for ordering; and transmitting the third information to the customer device in response to the second information.

[0012] The receipt of the second information from the orderer may include receiving the second information from the orderer's device indicating whether the plurality of sub-items are available for ordering when the item comprises a plurality of sub-items.

[0013] The receipt of the first information from the supplier may include receiving the first information from the supplier's device regarding whether each of the plurality of sub-items is available for ordering.

[0014] The determination of whether an item is available for ordering may include determining that the item is unavailable for ordering when at least one of the plurality of sub-items is determined to be unavailable for ordering.

[0015] The method may further include transmitting information related to the sub-item that is determined to be unavailable for ordering to at least one of the plurality of sub-items when at least one of the sub-items is determined to be unavailable for ordering.

[0016] The generation of the third information may include generating information indicating that the item is unavailable for ordering when at least one of the plurality of sub-items is determined to be unavailable for ordering.

[0017] The availability of the order may include at least one of the following: whether the item is in stock and whether the item can be delivered at a specific time related to the second information.

[0018] When the item requires additional work besides delivery, the order availability may include whether one of the resources for the additional work can be assigned to one of the item's destinations at a specific point in time related to the second information.

[0019] When the item requires additional work other than delivery, is the item available for ordering in a manner that includes whether the item is in stock in an area associated with the item's destination, and whether the item's inventory can be managed on a regional basis?

[0020] According to another embodiment, an apparatus for providing information on whether an item is available for order includes a transceiver and a processor. The processor controls the transceiver to receive first information from a supplier device indicating whether the item is available for order; controls the transceiver to receive second information from a customer device requesting a check of order availability; identifies the item whose order availability is to be checked based on the second information; determines whether the item is available for order based on the first and second information; generates third information indicating whether the item is available for order based on the determination that the item is available for order; and controls the transceiver to transmit the third information to the customer device in response to the second information.

[0021] When the item contains a plurality of sub-items, the processor can control the transceiver to receive the second information from the orderer's device indicating whether the plurality of sub-items are available for ordering.

[0022] The processor can control the transceiver to receive first information from the supplier device regarding whether each of the plurality of sub-items is available for ordering.

[0023] When at least one of the plurality of sub-items is determined to be unavailable for ordering, the processor may determine that the item is unavailable for ordering.

[0024] When at least one of the plurality of sub-items is determined to be unavailable for ordering, the processor may control the transceiver to transmit information related to the sub-item determined to be unavailable for ordering to at least one of the orderer device and the supplier device.

[0025] When at least one of the plurality of sub-items is determined to be unavailable for ordering, the processor may generate the third information containing information indicating that the item is unavailable for ordering.

[0026] Whether the item is available for order may include at least one of the following related to the second information: whether the item is in stock and whether the item can be delivered at a specific time related to the second information.

[0027] When the item requires additional work besides delivery, whether the item can be used for ordering may include whether one of the resources used for the additional work can be assigned to one of the item's destinations at a specific point in time related to the second information.

[0028] When the item requires additional work other than delivery, is the item available for ordering in a manner that includes whether the item is in stock in an area associated with the item's destination, and whether the item's inventory can be managed on a regional basis?

[0029] According to yet another aspect of the present invention, a program for performing the method described above is recorded on a computer-readable recording medium. [Effect]

[0030] According to the various exemplary embodiments provided in this invention, inventory can be comprehensively managed while taking into account multiple pieces of information related to the item.

[0031] In addition to the effects described above, specific derived effects will be described together with details for carrying out the present invention.

Implementation Method

[0038] In the following, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail so that those skilled in the art can readily implement these embodiments. These embodiments may be implemented in many different forms and are not limited to those set forth herein.

[0039] The suffixes “part” and “unit” used in the following description are given or used interchangeably only for ease of producing this specification and do not have different meanings or functions in themselves.

[0040] For clarity, parts irrelevant to the description are omitted, and throughout this specification, the same element symbols denote the same element. Some embodiments will be described in detail with reference to illustrative drawings. When assigning element symbols to elements in various drawings, the same element symbols may denote the same element, even if the same element is shown in different drawings. Detailed descriptions may be omitted when it is determined that a detailed description of a known structure or function related to the invention may obscure the essence of the illustrative embodiments.

[0041] In order to describe the elements of the exemplary embodiments, terms such as "first," "second," "A," "B," "(a)," and "(b)" may be used. However, these terms are used only to distinguish one particular element from another, and the nature, order, sequence, number, etc., of the related elements are not limited by these terms. It will be understood that when an element is referred to as "connected," "coupled," or "linked" to another element, the elements may be directly connected, coupled, or linked to each other, another element may be "inserted" between the elements, or the elements may be "connected," "coupled," or "linked" to each other via another element.

[0042] In this invention, terms such as “comprising,” “including,” and “having” indicate the presence of features, numbers, steps, operations, elements, parts, or combinations thereof described herein. Therefore, it should be understood that the possibility of having or adding one or more other features, numbers, steps, operations, elements, parts, or combinations thereof is not excluded.

[0043] In carrying out the present invention, the elements may be subdivided and described for ease of description. However, such elements may be embodied in one device or module, or an element may be divided and embodied in two or more devices or modules.

[0044] Figure 1 is a block diagram of an apparatus 100 for providing information on whether an item is available for ordering, according to an exemplary embodiment.

[0045] According to an exemplary embodiment, device 100 may include a transceiver 110 and a processor 120. According to an exemplary embodiment, transceiver 110 is configured to execute a program for exchanging specific information between device 100 and other external devices. According to an exemplary embodiment, the communication technology used by transceiver 110 for transmitting and receiving information may include mobile communication (GSM), code division multiple access (CDMA), long-term evolution (LTE), fifth generation (5G), wireless local area network (WLAN), wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi), Bluetooth™, radio frequency identification (RFID), Infrared Data Association (IrDA), ZigBee, near field communication (NFC), and the like.

[0046] According to an exemplary embodiment, the processor 120 may be included in the device 100 and configured to control various components included in the device 100, thereby enabling the execution of various embodiments to be implemented by the device 100. According to an exemplary embodiment, the transceiver 110 may be configured to transmit and receive specific information under the control of the processor 120.

[0047] According to an exemplary embodiment, the processor 120 may be configured to control the transceiver 110 to receive first information from a supplier device 170 indicating whether an item is available for ordering; to be configured to control the transceiver 110 to receive second information from a customer device 150 requesting a check on whether an item is available for ordering; to be configured to identify an item to be checked for order availability based on the second information; to be configured to determine whether an item is available for ordering based on the first and second information; to be configured to generate third information indicating whether an item is available for ordering based on the determination that an item is available for ordering; and to be configured to control the transceiver 110 to transmit the third information to the customer device 150 in response to an inventory check request information.

[0048] According to an exemplary embodiment, processor 120 may include at least one of a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), and a bus, which are interconnected with each other. According to an exemplary embodiment, processor 120 may be configured to access a memory contained in device 100 and perform various operations using various types of programs, data, and specific information stored in the memory.

[0049] According to an exemplary embodiment, device 100 can be configured to perform various operations in conjunction with additional hardware added to the configuration shown in FIG1. ​​According to an exemplary embodiment, the device may further include a memory configured to store information transmitted and received by transceiver 110. According to an exemplary embodiment, device 100 may include (or may be wired or wirelessly connected to) a display configured to display specific information under the control of processor 120. Processor 120 may output at least some of the multiple pieces of information transmitted and received in the exemplary embodiment of the present invention to the display, and an administrator may receive information transmitted and received in conjunction with a worker's terminal.

[0050] According to an exemplary embodiment, when an order is placed by the orderer device 150, the device 100 can use the Bifrost platform to manage and track order-related information in real time, enabling the execution of a delivery procedure that meets (some) specific conditions (e.g., delivery and / or additional work, such as installation work, on a date and / or at a time requested by an orderer).

[0051] Figure 2 is a diagram illustrating the relationship between a seller 200, a buyer 210 and a supplier 230 in a procedure for ordering an item according to an exemplary embodiment.

[0052] According to an exemplary embodiment, the seller 200, the orderer 210, and the supplier 230 in FIG2 can correspond to the device 100, the orderer device 150, and the supplier device 170 shown in FIG1, respectively. According to an exemplary embodiment, the seller 200 can provide specific information to the orderer 210 during the process of the orderer 210 ordering an item. According to an exemplary embodiment, the seller 200 can provide not only information about the item (such as the item's configuration and specifications) but also multiple pieces of information related to an ordering process (such as delivery, installation, repair, return, and refund) to the orderer 210, so that this information can be displayed on the orderer's device.

[0053] According to an exemplary embodiment, in the process of ordering a specific item, the seller 200 may provide the orderer 210 with multiple pieces of information related to the item's inventory. According to an exemplary embodiment, the orderer 210 may request the seller 200 to check whether an orderable item is available for ordering. According to an exemplary embodiment, the seller 200 may provide the orderer 210 with information regarding the quantity of the orderable item in stock and a date and / or time on which a specific task (e.g., delivery, installation, or removal) can be performed for the ordered item. According to an exemplary embodiment, the orderer 210 may place an order and make payment for an item based on multiple pieces of received information.

[0054] According to an exemplary embodiment, seller 200 may transmit specific information to and receive specific information from supplier 230 to obtain multiple pieces of information to be provided to orderer 210 in a process of ordering an item. According to an exemplary embodiment, seller 200 may obtain multiple pieces of information related to whether a particular item is available for ordering by communicating with supplier 230. According to an exemplary embodiment, seller 200 may communicate with supplier 230 to obtain information about item inventory, information about a date and / or time when a particular task (e.g., delivery, installation, or removal) can be performed, and the like.

[0055] According to an exemplary embodiment, supplier 230 may include different types of suppliers (e.g., suppliers 231, 232, and 233), which can be identified as individual suppliers through supplier identifiers communicating with seller 200. According to an exemplary embodiment, when orderer 210 orders and pays for an item, seller 200 may order the item from supplier 230 based on synchronization information about inventory and the like, and may transmit order information related to the item ordered by orderer 210 to at least one of the plurality of suppliers 231, 232, and 233 in supplier 230. At least one of the plurality of suppliers 231, 232, and 233 receiving the order information may deliver the item to orderer 210 and perform additional work (e.g., installation). According to an exemplary embodiment, seller 200 may receive information about a procedure for delivering the item from at least one of the plurality of suppliers 231, 232, and 233, and provide delivery-related information to orderer 210 based on the procedure information.

[0056] According to related technologies, in most cases, items are managed through these supplier identifiers. For this reason, managing item inventory can be difficult. For example, in managing the inventory of items sold as packages containing multiple sub-items (e.g., an order for an air conditioner containing multiple different sub-items (e.g., an order for an air conditioner containing an air conditioner body and an outdoor unit, an order for an item containing a washing machine and a dryer, etc.) and packages containing multiple identical sub-items (e.g., packages of multiple sub-items of the same type sold separately)), supplier identifier-based inventory management makes it difficult to accurately count the sub-items. Furthermore, when additional work beyond delivery is required, supplier identifier-based inventory management may not even be suitable for managing additional work schedules for that additional work. Therefore, in order to manage the inventory of items containing multiple sub-items and the inventory of items requiring additional work, it is necessary to efficiently manage and process information transmitted and received from supplier 230.

[0057] Figure 3 is a flowchart illustrating one method of providing information about whether an item is available for ordering, according to an exemplary embodiment.

[0058] In operation S310, device 100 may receive first information from supplier device 170 indicating whether the item is available for order.

[0059] According to an exemplary embodiment, the first information received by device 100 from supplier device 170 indicating whether an item is available for order may include multiple pieces of information necessary to determine whether an item is available for order. For example, the first information may include multiple pieces of information such as inventory information for each item, inventory status of items by region, and whether the item can be delivered and / or performed on a specific date (e.g., installation, removal, repair, retrieval, return, and exchange). For ease of description, it is assumed that whether an item is available for order indicates whether delivery and / or various tasks other than delivery can be performed for that item.

[0060] According to an exemplary embodiment, the information received from the supplier device 170 indicating whether an item is available for order may include snapshot information of the supplier device 170. For example, information such as a snapshot of inventory movement between supplier devices 170, a snapshot of inventory movement between internal company centers, etc., may be included in the first information as information indicating whether an item is available for order.

[0061] According to an exemplary embodiment, the availability of items that can be ordered by the orderer device 150 can be synchronized between device 100 and supplier device 170 based on first information received from supplier device 170. In other words, device 100 synchronizes information with supplier device 170 regarding whether items are available for ordering based on the first information.

[0062] In operation S320, device 100 may receive second information from orderer device 150 for requesting a check of order availability. According to an exemplary embodiment, in operation S330, device 100 receiving the second information may identify the item whose order availability needs to be checked based on the second information. According to an exemplary embodiment, the second information may include multiple pieces of information related to an order for one of the items. According to an exemplary embodiment, the second information may include multiple pieces of information such as an identifier for an item (e.g., an identifier used by a seller to manage an item, an item serial number, or an item inventory unit of measurement (SKU)), the quantity of the item, the type of the item, a destination of the item, additional work required for the item to be delivered, and the like.

[0063] In operation S340, according to an exemplary embodiment, device 100 may determine whether an item is available for ordering based on first information received from supplier device 170 and second information received from orderer device 150. According to an exemplary embodiment, device 100 may use the first information received from supplier device 170 to determine and / or synchronize whether an item is available for ordering, and when receiving second information from orderer device 150 after determining whether an item is available for ordering, device 100 may determine whether the item to be checked for order availability is available for ordering based on the second information. In other words, according to an exemplary embodiment, device 100 may use information synchronized with supplier device 170 based on the first information and related to whether each item is available for ordering to check whether an item ordered by an orderer is available for ordering.

[0064] According to an exemplary embodiment, in operation S350, device 100 may generate third information based on the determination in operation S340 whether an item is available for ordering, the third information being determined based on the second information and related to whether the item is available for ordering. According to an exemplary embodiment, the third information indicating whether an item is available for ordering may include the item's inventory status identified based on the second information, whether the item can be delivered on a specific date (and / or time) and / or additional work other than delivery and the like. According to an exemplary embodiment, when the item whose order availability is to be checked comprises a plurality of sub-items, device 100 may generate third information indicating whether each of the plurality of sub-items is available for ordering.

[0065] In operation S360, according to an exemplary embodiment, device 100 may transmit third information to orderer device 150 in response to second information. According to an exemplary embodiment, orderer device 150, which transmits the second information to device 100, may obtain a response regarding whether an item is available for ordering by receiving the third information. According to an exemplary embodiment, orderer device 150, which receives the third information, may display whether the item to be ordered is available for ordering based on the third information. According to an exemplary embodiment, the orderer may identify whether an item is available for ordering based on the information displayed on orderer device 150, and then place an order and make payment.

[0066] According to an exemplary embodiment, device 100 may transmit information about a template that can be used in a process for generating information (e.g., first information) to be provided by an external company (such as supplier device 170). According to an exemplary embodiment, in a process for generating information to be provided to device 100 based on information about the template received from device 100, supplier device 170 can quickly generate and provide accurate entries to device 100. Therefore, device 100 can manage multiple pieces of information received from external companies and generated in a predetermined manner to jointly manage and process information received from various external companies.

[0067] FIG4 is a sequence diagram illustrating the transmission, reception, and processing of information flows between a purchaser device 430, a seller device 400, and a supplier device 460 in a procedure for performing a method according to an exemplary embodiment. According to the exemplary embodiment, the seller device 400 of FIG4 may correspond to the device 100 of FIG1, and the purchaser device 430 and the supplier device 460 may correspond to the purchaser device 150 and the supplier device 170 of FIG2, respectively.

[0068] According to an exemplary embodiment, the supplier device 460 may generate first information indicating whether an item is available for ordering (S410). According to an exemplary embodiment, the first information may include multiple pieces of information related to whether at least one item that can be sold through the seller device 400 is available for ordering.

[0069] According to an exemplary embodiment, the seller device 400 may receive first information from the supplier device 460. Based on the received first information, the seller device 400 may notify the orderer device 430 whether an item is available for ordering.

[0070] According to an exemplary embodiment, the orderer device 430 may generate second information for requesting a check of order availability (S420). According to an exemplary embodiment, the second information received from the orderer device 430 may be information for requesting a check of whether at least one item is available for ordering. According to an exemplary embodiment, when a screen provided in any program (in which an orderer orders items through the orderer device 430) is displayed, a procedure may be executed in which the seller device 400 receives the second information from the orderer device 430.

[0071] According to an exemplary embodiment, when the seller device 400 receives the second information (S425), the seller device 400 can identify the item to be checked for order availability based on the second information (S430).

[0072] According to an exemplary embodiment, the seller device 400 may determine whether an item is available for ordering based on first information indicating whether the item is available for ordering and second information for requesting a check on order availability (S440). According to an exemplary embodiment, the item to be checked for order availability may include at least one item that can be sold through the seller device 400. According to an exemplary embodiment, the seller device 400 may determine whether at least one salable item is available for ordering, and then generate third information indicating whether the item is available for ordering (S450). The third information generated according to an exemplary embodiment may include whether the item for which the second information is requested to check order availability is available for ordering among the items that can be sold through the seller device 400 (whether there is stock available for ordering, whether the item can be delivered on any date, and other tasks, etc.).

[0073] According to an exemplary embodiment, the seller device 400 may respond to the second information by transmitting third information to the orderer device 430 that transmitted the second information (S455). According to an exemplary embodiment, the orderer device 430 that receives the third information may display information to the orderer regarding whether the item to be ordered is available for ordering based on the third information.

[0074] Figures 5 and 6 are sequence diagrams illustrating the information flow transmitted, received, and processed between a purchaser device, a seller device, and a supplier device when a request is made to determine whether an item comprising a plurality of sub-items is available for ordering, according to an exemplary embodiment.

[0075] Referring to FIG5, a seller device 500 may provide information on whether an item (or a package of sub-items) comprising a plurality of sub-items is available for ordering to a buyer device 530. According to an exemplary embodiment, the seller device 500 of FIG5 may correspond to the device 100 of FIG1, and the buyer device 530 and a supplier device 560 may correspond to the buyer device 150 and the supplier device 170 of FIG2, respectively.

[0076] According to an exemplary embodiment, the supplier device 560 may generate first information (S510) indicating whether each of the plurality of sub-items that can be sold through the seller device 500 is available for ordering. According to an exemplary embodiment, an item package containing the plurality of sub-items may be a package containing different types of sub-items or a package containing the same type of sub-items. According to an exemplary embodiment, the first information may include information related to whether each of the plurality of sub-items is available for ordering and / or information related to whether an item package containing the plurality of sub-items is available for ordering.

[0077] According to an exemplary embodiment, the seller device 500 may receive first information from the supplier device 560 indicating whether each of the plurality of sub-items is available for ordering (S515). The seller device 500 may notify the orderer device 530 whether an item is available for ordering based on the received first information.

[0078] According to an exemplary embodiment, the orderer device 530 may generate second information (S520) for requesting a check on whether an item package containing a plurality of sub-items is available for ordering. According to an exemplary embodiment, the second information may include information related to whether each of the plurality of sub-items is available for ordering and / or information related to whether the item package containing the plurality of sub-items is available for ordering.

[0079] According to an exemplary embodiment, the second information received from the orderer device 530 may be information for requesting a check on whether at least one item package containing a plurality of sub-items is available for ordering. According to an exemplary embodiment, when a screen provided in any program (in which an orderer places an order for an item through the orderer device 530) is displayed, a procedure may be executed in which the seller device 500 receives the second information from the orderer device 530.

[0080] According to an exemplary embodiment, when the seller device 500 receives the second information (S525), the seller device 500 can determine whether an item is available for ordering based on the second information (S530). According to an exemplary embodiment, one of the items to be checked for order availability may be each of a plurality of sub-items or an item package containing all the sub-items.

[0081] According to an exemplary embodiment, the seller device 500 can determine whether a plurality of sub-items are available for ordering based on first information indicating whether an item is available for ordering and second information for requesting a check on whether an item is available for ordering (S540). According to an exemplary embodiment, the determination of whether a plurality of sub-items are available for ordering may include the determination of whether each of the sub-items and / or the item packaging containing the plurality of sub-items is available for ordering.

[0082] According to an exemplary embodiment, the seller device 500 can determine whether an item is available for ordering, and then generate third information (S550) based on the determination, indicating whether one of the items comprising a plurality of sub-items is available for ordering. The third information generated according to the exemplary embodiment may include whether the item package, which requests a check on order availability via second information, is available for ordering and / or whether the plurality of sub-items contained in the item package are available for ordering (i.e., whether the item package and / or the plurality of sub-items contained in the item package are in stock and available for ordering, whether the item package and / or sub-items can be delivered on any date and other work can be performed, etc.).

[0083] According to an exemplary embodiment, the seller device 500 may generate third information about the product packaging based on whether each of the plurality of sub-items included in the product packaging is available for ordering. According to an exemplary embodiment, when even at least one of the plurality of sub-items is determined to be unavailable for ordering, the seller device 500 may generate third information indicating that the product packaging containing the plurality of sub-items is unavailable for ordering.

[0084] According to an exemplary embodiment, the seller device 500 may respond to the second information and transmit the third information to the orderer device 530 that transmitted the second information (S555).

[0085] According to an exemplary embodiment, the orderer device 530 can determine whether an item package containing a plurality of sub-items is available for ordering based on third information (S560). According to an exemplary embodiment, when the third information indicates that an item package containing a plurality of sub-items is not available for ordering, the third information can be used to determine whether the item package is available for ordering. For example, an air conditioner may be packaged as an air conditioner body and an outdoor unit, and the orderer may request to check whether the item package referred to as "air conditioner" is available for ordering, rather than checking whether each of the air conditioner body and the outdoor unit is available for ordering. Therefore, the orderer device 530 can determine whether an item package containing a plurality of sub-items is available for ordering based on third information regarding whether each of the plurality of sub-items is available for ordering, and display the third information to the orderer.

[0086] According to an exemplary embodiment, when the third information indicates whether each of the plurality of sub-items is available for ordering, it can be determined that at least one of the plurality of sub-items is not available for ordering. In this case, the orderer device 530 and the seller device 500 can determine that the package containing the plurality of sub-items is not available for ordering.

[0087] According to an exemplary embodiment, the orderer device 530 that receives third information can display information to the orderer on whether the packaging of the item to be ordered is suitable for ordering based on the third information (S570).

[0088] According to an exemplary embodiment, when the third information indicates whether the item packaging and / or the plurality of sub-items contained in the item packaging are available for ordering, the orderer device 530 may display whether the item packaging and / or the plurality of sub-items contained in the item packaging are available for ordering based on the third information.

[0089] According to an exemplary embodiment, referring to FIG6, when it is determined that at least one of the plurality of sub-items is unavailable for ordering after determining whether an item package containing one of the plurality of sub-items is available for ordering, a seller device 600 may transmit information indicating that the sub-item determined to be unavailable for ordering needs to be added to a buyer device 630 and / or a supplier device 660. According to an exemplary embodiment, the seller device 600 of FIG6 may correspond to the device 100 of FIG1, and the buyer device 630 and the supplier device 660 may correspond to the buyer device 150 and the supplier device 170 of FIG2, respectively.

[0090] According to the exemplary embodiment, the characteristics of operations S610 to S640 of FIG6 may be the same as or similar to the characteristics of operations S510 to S540 of FIG5, and therefore detailed descriptions thereof are omitted.

[0091] According to an exemplary embodiment, when at least one of the plurality of sub-items is determined to be unavailable for ordering, the seller device 600 may generate information related to the sub-item determined to be unavailable for ordering (S650). According to an exemplary embodiment, an item package containing the plurality of sub-items is available for ordering only when all of the plurality of sub-items are available for ordering. According to an exemplary embodiment, the seller device 600 may determine one of the plurality of sub-items that is unavailable for ordering based on first information received from the supplier device 660.

[0092] According to an exemplary embodiment, the information related to the sub-items determined to be unavailable for ordering by the seller device 600 may include information indicating that the sub-items are unavailable for ordering and / or information indicating that the sub-items determined to be unavailable for ordering need to be stocked.

[0093] According to an exemplary embodiment, the seller device 600 may transmit information related to a sub-item that has been determined to be unavailable for ordering to the orderer device 630 and / or the supplier device 660 (S655).

[0094] According to an exemplary embodiment, the seller device 600 may, in response to second information, transmit information related to sub-items determined to be unavailable for order to the orderer device 630. According to an exemplary embodiment, the orderer device 630 may, based on information related to sub-items determined to be unavailable for order, display that sub-items determined to be unavailable for order and / or item packaging containing a plurality of sub-items are unavailable for order. According to an exemplary embodiment, item packaging containing at least one sub-item determined to be unavailable for order may be displayed as unavailable for order. According to an exemplary embodiment, the orderer device 630 may display each of one or more sub-items determined to be unavailable for order, thereby displaying relevant information to the orderer so that the orderer can order the sub-items individually (S662).

[0095] According to an exemplary embodiment, the seller device 600 may transmit information related to sub-items determined to be unavailable for order to the supplier device 660, enabling adaptive inventory management (S664) between the seller device 600 and the supplier device 660. In other words, the supplier device 660, which receives information related to sub-items determined to be unavailable for order from the seller device 600, may prevent sub-items from being determined to be unavailable for order by expanding the resources required for inventory management of sub-items determined to be unavailable for order and / or for operations such as delivery and the like.

[0096] According to an exemplary embodiment, when a sub-item determined to be unavailable for ordering changes to an orderable state, the supplier device 660 may transmit information indicating that the sub-item has changed to an orderable state to the seller device 600. According to an exemplary embodiment, when information indicates that a sub-item has changed to an orderable state, the seller device 600 may generate third information indicating whether a plurality of sub-items are available for ordering to reflect the change, and transmit the third information to the orderer device 630.

[0097] Figure 7 is a sequence diagram illustrating a method for providing information on whether an item is available for ordering, taking into account a point in time when an ordered item can be delivered and / or a point in time when additional work can be performed on the ordered item, according to an exemplary embodiment.

[0098] According to an exemplary embodiment, a seller device 700 in FIG7 may correspond to device 100 in FIG1, and a buyer device 730 and a supplier device 760 may correspond to buyer device 150 and supplier device 170 in FIG2, respectively.

[0099] According to an exemplary embodiment, the supplier device 760 may generate first information (S710) including information about the inventory of items. According to an exemplary embodiment, the information about the inventory of items includes the quantity in stock, the location in stock, and / or similar items that can be ordered by the orderer device 730.

[0100] According to an exemplary embodiment, the supplier device 760 may generate first information (S712) further including whether an item can be delivered at a specific time and / or whether resources for additional work other than delivery can be assigned to a destination of the item at a specific time. According to an exemplary embodiment, for delivery work and / or additional work other than delivery, the supplier device 760 may separately manage inventory in an area associated with a customer's delivery address and provide the relevant information to the seller device 700. According to an exemplary embodiment, the supplier device 760 may generate first information including whether delivery work and / or additional work can be performed at the customer's address based on a date and / or time. According to an exemplary embodiment, address-related information may be managed based on information such as a postal code.

[0101] According to an exemplary embodiment, the orderer can specify delivery work and additional work, and should confirm the availability of a resource required for the work to be performed on a specified date. According to an exemplary embodiment, the seller device 700 can receive first information from the supplier device 760 and generate third information indicating whether the items are available for ordering based on the inventory of items at a distribution center near the orderer's address and / or the availability of a resource for performing the work at that address. According to an exemplary embodiment, inventory for work can be managed based on regional distribution centers, and a resource for performing the work can be individually assigned to each region. According to an exemplary embodiment, the supplier device 760 and the seller device 700 can share multiple pieces of information through first information that includes inventory information and / or information related to the availability of a resource for the work. According to an exemplary embodiment, the information related to the availability of a resource for the work may include holiday information for each company and / or each employee of the company, scheduling information for each employee by date and / or time, and the like.

[0102] According to an exemplary embodiment, when the orderer device 730 generates second information for requesting to check order availability (S720) and transmits it to the seller device 700 (S725), the seller device 700 can identify the item to be checked for order availability based on the second information (S730). According to an exemplary embodiment, the seller device 700 can determine whether the item is available for ordering, whether delivery is available at a specific point in time, and / or whether additional work is available at a specific point in time based on the first and second information (S740). According to an exemplary embodiment, the seller device 700 can determine the item, delivery address, etc., based on the second information. According to an exemplary embodiment, the seller device 700 can determine whether the item is in stock at a distribution center in an area corresponding to a destination based on the first information, and further determine whether delivery is available and / or whether the supply of a resource for performing additional work is available at the destination.

[0103] According to an exemplary embodiment, based on the determination of operation S740, the seller device 700 may generate third information indicating whether an order can be made (i.e., whether the item is available for ordering, whether delivery work is available at a specific time and / or whether additional work is available at a specific time) (S750), and transmit the third information to the orderer device 730 (S755).

[0104] According to an exemplary embodiment, the supplier device 760 can provide not only information about the current inventory of an item, but also information about the quantity of items scheduled for future storage to the seller device 700. According to an exemplary embodiment, the supplier device 760 can further provide information about the quantity of items scheduled for future storage, scheduled warehousing dates, etc., to the seller device 700, and the seller device 700 can provide additional information to the orderer device 730 based on information received from the supplier device 760 in an ordering process. For example, the seller device 700 can provide information about the current inventory quantity of items to be ordered through the orderer device 730 and a date when delivery work and / or additional work are available, based on information received from the supplier device 760, and can also provide information about a recommended schedule for delivery work and / or additional work to the orderer device 730 based on the quantity of items to be stored, a scheduled warehousing date, work scheduling information, etc.

[0105] The methods described above in this invention can be recorded as a program to be executed on a computer and provided in a computer-readable recording medium. The methods of this invention can be executed by software. When the methods are executed by software, the elements of this invention are code segments used to perform necessary operations. The program or code segments can be stored in a processor-readable recording medium.

[0106] Computer-readable recording media includes all types of recording media that store data readable by a computer system. Examples of computer-readable recording media include a ROM, a RAM, an optical disc (CD)-ROM, a digital multifunction disc (DVD), a DVD-RAM, a magnetic tape, a floppy disk, a hard disk, an optical data storage device, and the like. Computer-readable recording media can also be distributed across computer systems connected via a network, enabling computer-readable code to be stored and executed in a distributed manner.

[0107] From the above description of the present invention, those skilled in the art can make various substitutions, modifications, and changes without departing from the technical spirit of the present invention. Therefore, the present invention is not limited to the exemplary embodiments described above and the accompanying drawings. [Simplified Explanation of the Diagram]

[0032] Figure 1 is a block diagram of an apparatus for providing information about whether an item is available for ordering, according to an exemplary embodiment.

[0033] Figure 2 is a diagram illustrating the relationship between a seller, a purchaser and a supplier in a process of ordering an item according to an exemplary embodiment.

[0034] Figure 3 is a flowchart illustrating one method of providing information about whether an item is available for ordering, according to an exemplary embodiment.

[0035] Figure 4 is a sequence diagram illustrating the transmission, reception and processing of information flows between a customer device, a seller device and a supplier device in a procedure for performing a method according to an exemplary embodiment.

[0036] Figures 5 and 6 are sequence diagrams illustrating the information flow transmitted, received, and processed between a purchaser device, a seller device, and a supplier device when a request is made to determine whether an item comprising a plurality of sub-items is available for ordering, according to an exemplary embodiment.

[0037] Figure 7 is a sequence diagram illustrating a method for providing information on whether an item is available for ordering, taking into account a point in time when an ordered item can be delivered and / or a point in time when additional work can be performed on the ordered item, according to an exemplary embodiment.

Claims

1. A method for providing information about whether an item is available for ordering, the information being provided by a device including a transceiver and a processor, the method comprising: The transceiver receives initial information from a supplier's device indicating whether the item is available for order. The transceiver receives second information from a customer device requesting a check of order availability; the processor identifies the item whose order availability needs to be checked based on the second information; the processor determines whether the item is available for ordering based on the first and second information; the processor generates third information indicating whether the item is available for ordering based on the determination of whether the item is available for ordering; and the transceiver transmits the third information to the customer device in response to the receipt of the second information, wherein when the item requires additional work besides delivery, the order availability includes whether resources for the additional work can be assigned to a destination of the item at a specific point in time related to the second information, and wherein the destination is associated with an address of a customer.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the second information from the orderer device includes, when the item comprises a plurality of sub-items, receiving, via the transceiver, the second information from the orderer device indicating whether the plurality of sub-items are available for ordering.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein receiving the first information from the supplier device includes receiving, via the transceiver, the first information from the supplier device regarding whether each of the plurality of sub-items is available for ordering.

4. The method of request item 3, wherein the determination of whether the item is available for ordering includes, when at least one of the plurality of sub-items is determined to be unavailable for ordering, determining by the processor that the item is unavailable for ordering.

5. The method of claim 4 further includes, when at least one of the plurality of sub-items is determined to be unavailable for ordering, transmitting information related to the sub-item determined to be unavailable for ordering to at least one of the orderer's device or the supplier's device via the transceiver.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the generation of the third information includes, when at least one of the plurality of sub-items is determined to be unavailable for ordering, the processor generates the third information containing information indicating that the item is unavailable for ordering.

7. The method of request item 1, wherein the order availability includes at least one of whether the item is in stock or whether the item can be delivered at a specific time related to the second information.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein when the item requires additional work other than delivery, the processor determines whether the item is available for ordering, including determining whether the item is in stock in an area associated with the item's destination, and manages the item's inventory on a predetermined area basis.

9. An apparatus for providing information about whether an item is available for ordering, the apparatus comprising: One transceiver; The transceiver is configured to: control the transceiver to receive first information from a supplier device indicating whether an item is available for ordering; control the transceiver to receive second information from a customer device requesting a check of order availability; identify the item whose order availability is to be checked based on the second information; determine whether the item is available for ordering based on the first and second information; generate third information indicating whether the item is available for ordering based on the determination of whether the item is available for ordering; and control the transceiver to transmit the third information to the customer device in response to the receipt of the second information, wherein when the item requires additional work besides delivery, the order availability includes whether resources for the additional work can be assigned to a destination of the item at a specific point in time related to the second information, and wherein the destination is associated with an address of a customer.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein when the item comprises a plurality of sub-items, the processor is configured to control the transceiver to receive second information from the orderer's device indicating whether the plurality of sub-items are available for ordering.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the processor is configured to control the transceiver to receive first information from the supplier device regarding whether each of the plurality of sub-items is available for ordering.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein when at least one of the plurality of sub-items is determined to be unavailable for ordering, the processor is configured to determine that the item is unavailable for ordering.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein when at least one of the plurality of sub-items is determined to be unavailable for ordering, the processor is further configured to control the transceiver to transmit information relating to the sub-item determined to be unavailable for ordering to at least one of the orderer's device or the supplier's device.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein when at least one of the plurality of sub-items is determined to be unavailable for ordering, the processor is configured to generate the third information including information indicating that the item is unavailable for ordering.

15. The device as claimed in claim 9, wherein the order availability includes at least one of whether the item is in stock or whether the item can be delivered at a specific time related to the second information.

16. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein when the item requires additional work other than delivery, the item can be used to order whether the item is in stock in an area associated with the item's destination, and the inventory of the item is managed on a predetermined area basis.

17. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium having a computer program recorded thereon for performing one of the methods as claimed in claim 1.

Images