Information processing system and information processing method

Abstract

To display information on commodities with expiration dates in a shop so that shop employees can take necessary actions.SOLUTION: One aspect of the present invention is an information processing system that includes: a storage unit configured to store inventory information including information on cost price, quantity, and expiration date of each commodity in a shop; a generation unit configured to generate display data based on the inventory information; a display unit; and a display control unit configured to display information in the display unit based on the display data. The display control unit displays the number of commodities associated with each of multiple levels set according to first information regarding the period from the current time to the expiration date of the commodity for commodities in the shop, and when one of the multiple levels is selected, displays multiple commodities corresponding to the selected level in order based on second information different from the first information, or displays some commodities extracted from the multiple commodities.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing system and an information processing method for inventory management of goods. [Background technology]

[0002] 2. Description of the Related Art In the past, inventory management systems for managing inventory of products in retail stores have been known (for example, see Patent Document 1). The inventory management system described in Patent Document 1 is configured to generate and display an inventory list in which inventory display groups for each product are arranged in the same format for comparison, with a single product display section having product images organized by supplier, corresponding to a product price section, a product purchase history section, a specific store's stock section, and each store status section showing sales quantities and stock quantities at multiple retail stores. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2021-28768 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Incidentally, the above-mentioned conventional inventory management system does not manage the expiration date of products, but in retail businesses that handle food products and the like, it is necessary to efficiently manage inventory of products by taking into account the expiration date of the products (use-by date, best-before date, etc.). For example, in stores that sell food products and the like, products that are close to their expiration date must be sold out quickly, so it becomes necessary to promote sales by attaching discount labels to the products or by moving the products to more visible locations on the sales floor. For this reason, a method of displaying product inventory that enables store employees to take necessary actions regarding products according to the product expiration date is required.

[0005] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to display information about products with expiration dates in a store in a manner that enables store employees to take the necessary action. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] One aspect of the present invention is A storage unit that stores inventory information including information on the cost, quantity, and expiration date of each product in the store; A generation unit that generates display data based on the inventory information; A display unit; and a display control unit that causes the display unit to display information based on the display data. The display control unit is displaying, for products present in the store, the number of products associated with each of a plurality of levels set in accordance with first information relating to a period from a current time to an expiration date of the products; When any one of the plurality of levels is selected, a plurality of products corresponding to the selected level are displayed in order based on second information different from the first information, or some of the plurality of products are extracted and displayed. Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to one aspect of the present invention, information about products that have expiration dates in a store can be displayed in a manner that allows store employees to take the necessary action. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram illustrating an outline of a system configuration of an inventory management system according to an embodiment; [Diagram 2] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a label issued in an inventory management system according to an embodiment. [Diagram 3] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data configuration of a product inventory database. [Figure 4]2 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of each device in the inventory management system according to the embodiment; FIG. [Diagram 5] 1 is a sequence chart showing an operation of an inventory management system according to an embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a display example of an inventory management application installed in an in-store terminal. [Figure 7] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a display example of an inventory management application installed in an in-store terminal. [Figure 8] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a display example of an inventory management application installed in an in-store terminal. [Figure 9] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a display example of an inventory management application installed in an in-store terminal. [Figure 10] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a display example of an inventory management application installed in an in-store terminal. [Figure 11] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a display example of an inventory management application installed in an in-store terminal. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] The embodiments described below are not limited to the drawings which are illustrated by the brief description of the drawings.

[0010] A first aspect of the present invention is a method for storing inventory information including information on the cost, quantity, and expiration date of each commodity in a store, A generation unit that generates display data based on the inventory information; A display unit; a display control unit that causes the display unit to display information based on the display data; The display control unit is displaying, for products present in the store, the number of products associated with each of a plurality of levels set in accordance with first information relating to a period from a current time to an expiration date of the products; When any one of the plurality of levels is selected, the information processing system displays a plurality of products corresponding to the selected level in an ordered order based on second information different from the first information, or displays a portion of the plurality of products extracted from the plurality of products.

[0011] In the present disclosure, the "expiration date" of a product is information indicating whether or not the product can be used, enjoyed, or consumed by a user. Examples of expiration dates include a use-by date, a best-before date, a best-by date, and a quality assurance date.

[0012] According to a first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to visualize an overview of the inventory status of products in a store, and to order or extract and visualize products using an indicator other than the expiration date, thereby enabling employees to take the necessary action for specific products.

[0013] A second aspect of the present invention is the information processing system according to the first aspect, wherein the second information is information on the cost price of each of the plurality of products.

[0014] According to a second aspect of the present invention, the displayed products are sorted by cost price, or some products are extracted based on cost price, so that store employees can immediately recognize products that have a large impact on the store.

[0015] A third aspect of the present invention is the information processing system according to the first aspect, wherein the second information is a value obtained by multiplying the cost price of each of the plurality of products by the quantity.

[0016] According to a third aspect of the present invention, multiple products are displayed according to the cost obtained by multiplying the cost price of the product by the quantity, or some products are extracted based on cost, so that store employees can immediately recognize products that have a large impact on the store.

[0017] A fourth aspect of the present invention is an information processing system described in any one of the first to third aspects, wherein the memory unit stores information regarding the location within the store of each product present in the store, and the display control unit displays the location within the store of each of the plurality of products or some of the products.

[0018] According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the location within the store of each displayed product is known, making it easier for store employees to access the displayed products.

[0019] A fifth aspect of the present invention is an information processing system described in any one of the first to fourth aspects, wherein the display control unit obtains information regarding the current number of employees at the store and identifies the number of products to be extracted and displayed from the plurality of products.

[0020] According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the number of products that can be handled by the current number of employees in the store is displayed, so that excessive workload can be prevented from being placed on the employees.

[0021] A sixth aspect of the present invention is an information processing system described in any one of the first to fifth aspects, wherein the display control unit displays the total number of products associated with each of the multiple levels and / or the sum of the cost price of each product associated with each level multiplied by the quantity.

[0022] According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, an employee can have an overview of the number and cost of products associated with each of a plurality of levels.

[0023] A seventh aspect of the present invention is an information processing system described in any one of the first to sixth aspects, wherein the memory unit stores the inventory information for each of a plurality of stores, and the display control unit displays, for products present in each store, the number of products corresponding to each of a plurality of levels set according to the first information in a comparable manner between the plurality of stores.

[0024] According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, a manager who manages a plurality of stores can evaluate the merits and demerits of each store.

[0025] An eighth aspect of the present invention is an information processing system described in any of the first to seventh aspects, wherein the display control unit obtains either information regarding a period associated with at least one of the products present in the store, or information based on sales history of the products present in the store, and selects and displays the product from among the multiple products.

[0026] According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, for example, products are displayed based on promotional events, past sales performance, or sales forecasts for a particular product, allowing store employees to take appropriate action regarding the products in the store according to the current situation.

[0027] A ninth aspect of the present invention includes a communication terminal carried by an employee of the store, The information processing system according to any one of the first to eighth aspects, wherein the client terminal notifies the communication terminal of information relating to a product associated with a predetermined level among the multiple levels.

[0028] According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, information regarding products associated with a specified level is notified to store employees on-site, allowing the employees to immediately take the necessary action regarding the products.

[0029] A tenth aspect of the present invention includes a step of generating display data based on inventory information including information on the cost, quantity, and expiration date of each product in a store; a step of displaying, based on the display data, the number of products corresponding to each of a plurality of levels set according to first information related to a period from a current time to an expiration date of the products, for products present in the store; When any one of the plurality of levels is selected, a step of ordering and displaying a plurality of products corresponding to the selected level based on second information different from the first information, or extracting and displaying some of the plurality of products.

[0030] According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, an overview of the inventory status of products in a store can be visualized, and products can be ordered or extracted and visualized using an indicator other than the expiration date, allowing employees to take the necessary action for specific products.

[0031] Hereinafter, an inventory management system, which is one embodiment of an information processing system, will be described with reference to the drawings. First, with reference to FIG. 1, a system configuration of an inventory management system 1 according to an embodiment will be described. The inventory management system 1 is configured to manage inventory information of products in a store in roughly real time. In this example, the store is a retail business such as a supermarket that handles food, beverages, and the like. Product inventory information includes information on the cost, quantity, and expiration date (an example of an expiration date) for each product in the store by SKU (Stock Keeping Unit). An SKU is the smallest management unit when placing orders and managing inventory. In the following explanation, when "products" are mentioned, they refer to products by SKU, not individual products. For example, if an SKU is a box of products that contains six single items, "products" refers to that box of products.

[0032] 1 shows a case where the inventory management system 1 manages inventory information of products in a single store, but this is not the only case. The inventory management system 1 can manage inventory information of products in each of multiple stores. 1, the inventory management system 1 includes an in-store terminal 3, a printer 8, a handy terminal 6, and a cash register terminal 7 that are mainly installed in a store, and an inventory management server 2, a POS server 4, and a store server 5 that may be installed outside the store. The store server 5 is capable of communicating with an external business partner server 9 via a network. The in-store terminal 3, POS server 4, store server 5, handy terminal 6, cash register terminal 7, and printer 8 are communicatively connected via the store's LAN.

[0033] The goods that come into the store include purchased goods that are delivered to the store from the store's business partners (trading companies, wholesalers, etc.) and goods that are cooked in the store (products cooked in store), such as prepared meals and bento boxes. Purchased goods and products cooked in the store are sold on an SKU basis, and each is associated with a product code and expiration date information (best-before-date information). A product code is identification information that uniquely identifies a product, and is information that is assigned to an SKU. Purchased goods and products cooked in the store are goods that are stocked in the store, so in the following explanation they will be referred to collectively as "stocked goods" where appropriate. In the following explanation, data including product code and expiration date information will be referred to as "product data" as appropriate. In addition, in the following explanation, "number of units" refers to the number of products per SKU (i.e., per product code). Since there may be products with the same product code but different expiration dates, the number of units of products with the same product code will be counted for each different expiration date.

[0034] On the other hand, products that leave the store include products purchased by customers (sold products) and products that have passed their expiration date and are discarded by taking them off the shelves (discarded products). Sold products and discarded products are on an SKU basis, and are associated with product codes and expiration date information. Since sold products and discarded products are products that are shipped out of the store, they will be referred to collectively as "shipped products" in the following explanation as appropriate.

[0035] The product code and expiration date information are included in code information attached to the product or the product's packaging or label. Examples of this code information include GS1 Data Matrix (two-dimensional code) and CODE128 (one-dimensional code). In order to attach a label including GS1 Data Matrix or CODE128 to each product (SKU), a label attachment robot or the like may be used to automatically attach the labels in bulk at a logistics center before the purchased products are stored in the warehouse. For products cooked in-store, a label including GS1 Data Matrix or CODE128 is printed by the printer 8 in the store, and the label is attached to the cooked-in-store product by an employee.

[0036] FIG. 2 shows an example of a label that is issued and affixed to an in-store cooked product. 2, code information C1 is printed on a label PL to be affixed to a product P. This code information C1 is a GS1 data matrix, and includes the product code and expiration date information of the product P.

[0037] 1 again, the printer 8 issues labels to be affixed to in-store cooked products and is capable of communicating with the store server 5. The printer 8 transmits to the store server 5 product data including product codes and expiration date information of the in-store cooked products. The cash register terminal 7 is an information processing terminal that settles the account when a customer purchases an item in the store, and is capable of communicating with the POS server 4. The cash register terminal 7 transmits sales data, including item data consisting of item codes and expiration date information of sold items, to the POS server 4. The cash register terminal 7 may be a normal terminal operated by an employee, or may be a so-called self-checkout terminal that customers operate themselves.

[0038] The handheld terminal 6 is a communication terminal carried by an employee working on the sales floor, and is capable of communicating with the store server 5. The handheld terminal 6 transmits product data, including the product code and expiration date information of the discarded product, to the store server 5. When an employee takes down a product that has passed its expiration date, the employee uses the handheld terminal 6 to scan the code information printed on the label attached to the product (discarded product). This causes the handheld terminal 6 to transmit the product data (product code and expiration date information) contained in the code information of the discarded product to the store server 5.

[0039] As shown in FIG. 1, the inventory management server 2, the POS server 4, and the store server 5 do not necessarily have to be located within a store. The POS server 4 collects the sales data received from the register terminal 7 into the store's sales database, and provides the inventory management server 2 with the product data of the sold products and the number of units included in the sales data.

[0040] The store server 5 receives ASN (Advanced Shipping Notice) information for purchased goods from the business partner server 9. The ASN information is transmitted from the business partner server 9 to the store server 5 prior to delivery of the goods from the business partner to the store. The ASN information includes the order number, product code, inventory quantity of the goods (number of units of SKU), and expiration date information. In other words, the ASN information includes product data of the purchased goods and information on the number of units of the purchased goods. Note that the information received from the business partner server 9 is not limited to ASN information, and may be any information indicating the contents of the goods purchased from the business partner to the store. The store server 5 receives product data (product code and expiration date information) of the in-store cooked product and information on the number of printed labels from the printer 8 when the printer 8 prints labels for the in-store cooked product. Here, the number of printed labels can be regarded as the number of units of the product. The store server 5 receives product data (product code and expiration date information) of each unit of the discarded product from the handy terminal 6 every time the handy terminal 6 performs a scan operation on the discarded product. The store server 5 provides the inventory management server 2 with product data and unit number information for purchased products and products cooked in the store.

[0041] The store server 5 stores a cost database in which the product codes and costs of products in the store are associated with each other. An example of the data structure of the cost database is shown in Fig. 3. In the example shown in Fig. 3, each record in the cost database is associated with values ​​in the fields of "product code", "product name", and "cost". Here, "cost" means the store's purchase price for purchased goods, and in the case of products cooked in-store, it means the cost including the cost of ingredients, cooking costs, etc. required to complete the product.

[0042] The inventory management server 2 acquires product data and unit number information of sold products from the POS server 4, and acquires product data and unit number information of purchased products, products cooked in-store, and products to be discarded from the store server 5. In other words, the inventory management server 2 sequentially acquires product data and unit number information of incoming and outgoing products, and manages inventory information of products in the store by subtracting the data of outgoing products from the data of incoming products.

[0043] In one embodiment, the inventory management server 2 manages inventory information of products present in the store using a product inventory database (an example of inventory information). An example of the data structure of the product inventory database is shown in FIG. In the example shown in Figure 3, each record in the product inventory database is associated with values ​​in the fields "product code," "best before date," "product name," "cost," and "number of units." Each record corresponds to one SKU (i.e., one product code). Products with the same product code but different best before dates are recorded in different records. For example, if the value of the “Best Before” field is “202308131000”, it means that the best before date is 10:00 on August 13, 2023. The inventory management server 2 determines the values ​​of the “Cost” and “Product Name” fields by referring to the cost database of the store server 5.

[0044] Referring again to FIG. 1, the in-store terminal 3 is, for example, an information processing terminal operated by an employee in an in-store office, and is, for example, a personal computer, a tablet terminal, or a smartphone. An inventory management application (hereinafter, abbreviated as "inventory management app") for viewing inventory information of products in the store is installed on the in-store terminal 3. Store employees can view inventory information of products in the store in roughly real time by operating the in-store terminal 3. The inventory management app of the in-store terminal 3 configures a client-server model with the inventory management server 2. The inventory management app of the in-store terminal 3 requests the inventory management server 2 to display inventory information, and the inventory management server 2 provides display data to the inventory management app of the in-store terminal 3 in response to the display request.

[0045] Next, the configuration of each device in the inventory management system 1 of this embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 4. Fig. 4 is a block diagram including the internal configuration of the inventory management system 1 of this embodiment. The network NW is a network to which the inventory management server 2, the in-store terminal 3, the POS server 4, and the store server 5 are connected, and is, for example, the Internet, a Local Area Network (LAN), or a Wide Area Network (WAN).

[0046] As shown in FIG. 4, the in-store terminal 3 includes a control unit 31, a storage 32, an operation input unit 33, a display unit 34 (an example of a display unit), and a communication unit 37. The control unit 31 is mainly configured with a microprocessor, and controls the entire in-store terminal 3. For example, the microprocessor included in the control unit 31 loads and executes an inventory management application program and a web browser recorded in the storage 32, and displays the execution results of the inventory management application on the display unit 34. The storage 32 is a non-volatile memory, for example, a solid state drive (SSD) such as a flash memory, etc. The storage 32 stores the program of the inventory management application, as well as data, files, etc. created by executing the inventory management application.

[0047] By executing the inventory management application, the control unit 31 functions as a display control unit that displays inventory information on the display unit 34 based on display data provided by the inventory management server 2. The inventory information displayed by the inventory management application will be described later. In one embodiment, the inventory management application has a function for sending and receiving messages to and from the handheld terminal 6.

[0048] The operation input unit 33 may be, for example, a touch panel type input device or a pointing device provided on a display panel of the in-store terminal 3. The operation input unit 33 accepts an operation input from a user and notifies the inventory management application of the operation input. The display unit 34 includes, for example, a liquid crystal display panel or an organic EL panel, and displays the execution results of the inventory management application. The communication unit 37 is a communication interface for communicating with the inventory management server 2 via the network NW, and for communicating with the handy terminal 6 via the store's LAN.

[0049] As shown in FIG. 4, the inventory management server 2 includes a control unit 21, a storage 22, and a communication unit . The control unit 21 is mainly configured with a microprocessor, and controls the entire inventory management server 2. For example, the microprocessor included in the control unit 21 loads and executes a server program recorded in the storage 22. The storage 22 (an example of a storage unit) is a large-capacity storage device such as a hard disk drive (HDD), and stores a product inventory database (product inventory DB; see FIG. 3) in addition to the server program. The product inventory database is appropriately referenced by the control unit 21 when the server program is executed. The communication unit 23 is a communication interface for communicating between the inventory management application of the in-store terminal 3, the POS server 4, and the store server 5. The communication protocol between the inventory management application of the in-store terminal 3 and the inventory management server 2 is not limited, but is, for example, HTTPS.

[0050] By executing the server program, the control unit 21 obtains product data and unit number information of sold products from the POS server 4, and product data and unit number information of purchased products, products cooked in-store, and products to be discarded from the store server 5, and successively updates the product inventory database. The control unit 21 also functions as a generation unit that generates display data to be provided to the inventory management app based on the product inventory database.

[0051] As shown in FIG. 4, the handheld terminal 6 includes a control unit 61, an operation input unit 63, a display unit 64, an imaging unit 65, a code reader 66, and a communication unit 67. The control unit 61 is mainly composed of a microprocessor, and controls the entire handheld terminal 6. For example, the microprocessor included in the control unit 61 executes a predetermined program and displays the execution result on the display unit 64. The processes executed by the program include the following. (i) A process of displaying product data (product code and expiration date information) of a product on the display unit 64 in response to a scanning operation of code information on a label attached to a product displayed in a store. (ii) A process of registering the product corresponding to the product data displayed in response to the above-mentioned scanning operation as a discarded product, and transmitting the product data of the discarded product to the store server 5.

[0052] In one embodiment, the process executed by the program includes a process of displaying on the display unit 64 a message transmitted from the inventory management application of the in-store terminal 3.

[0053] The display unit 64 includes, for example, a liquid crystal display panel or an organic EL panel, and displays the results of execution of the above programs. The imaging unit 65 has, for example, an optical lens and an imaging element (image sensor) that converts incident light from the optical lens into an electrical signal, and sequentially generates digital images and outputs them to the display unit 64. The code reader 66 analyzes the code information contained in the image signal generated by the imaging unit 65, and extracts (acquires) product data (that is, product code and expiration date information) from the code information. The communication unit 67 is a communication interface for communicating with the in-store terminal 3 and the store server 5.

[0054] Next, the operation of the inventory management system 1 of the embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 5. Fig. 5 is a sequence chart showing an outline of the operation of the inventory management system 1.

[0055] Referring to FIG. 5, the store server 5 transmits product data to the inventory management server 2 as appropriate (step S2). For example, when the store server 5 receives ASN information from the supplier server 9, it extracts the product data and unit number information of the purchased product from the ASN information and transmits them to the inventory management server 2. The store server 5 receives the product data and unit number information of the in-store cooked product from the printer 8 when the printer 8 prints a label for the in-store cooked product. The store server 5 then transmits the product data and unit number information of the in-store cooked product to the inventory management server 2. Furthermore, every time a scanning operation of a discarded product is performed by the handheld terminal 6, the store server 5 receives product data for each unit of the discarded product from the handheld terminal 6. Next, the store server 5 transmits the product data of the discarded product and information on the number of units to the inventory management server 2.

[0056] The inventory management server 2 updates the product inventory database based on the product data and unit number information received from the store server 5 (step S4). If the received product data and unit number information are data on purchased products and in-store cooked products, the product inventory database is updated by adding the data. On the other hand, if the received product data and unit number information are data on discarded products, the product inventory database is updated by deleting the data.

[0057] When the POS server 4 receives the sales data from the register terminal 7, it extracts the product data of the sold products and the information on the number of units from the sales data and transmits it to the inventory management server 2 (step S6). Next, the inventory management server 2 updates the product inventory database by deleting the data corresponding to the received product data and the number of units (step S8).

[0058] When a display request is sent from the inventory management app to the inventory management server 2 in response to a predetermined operation on the in-store terminal 3 (step S10), the inventory management server 2 generates display data based on the product inventory database at that time (step S12) and sends it to the in-store terminal 3 (step S14). The inventory management app of the in-store terminal 3 displays an image of the inventory information of the products in the store based on the received display data (step S16).

[0059] Next, the manner in which the inventory management application displays inventory information of products in a store (that is, the manner in which the image displayed in step S16 in FIG. 5) will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 to 11. FIG. In one embodiment, as shown in Fig. 6, a screen G1 including an overview area 100 and a detail area 200 is displayed. The overview area 100 is an area that displays an overview of the product inventory of the store. The detail area 200 is an area that displays details of the product inventory of the store. The overview area 100 includes an expiration status list 101. The expiration status list 101 displays, for products in the store, the number of product codes that are set (classified) into one of five expiration statuses ("Expired," "Critical," "High," "Medium," and "Normal") according to the period from the current time until the product's expiration date (remaining time; an example of first information). The expiration status indicates the degree of urgency of the remaining time in the order of "Expired," "Critical," "High," "Medium," and "Normal," and is determined for each product when the inventory management server 2 generates display data. Note that "Expired" indicates a negative remaining time, i.e., the product has passed the expiration date. Even if the product code is the same, it may be classified into different expiration statuses depending on the expiration date.

[0060] The expiration status is not determined by the absolute value of the time remaining until the product's expiration date, but is determined by taking into consideration the product's category. For example, if the product is food, the period from the date of manufacture to the expiration date varies for each food depending on the degree of deterioration of the food over time. Therefore, in one embodiment, products are classified in advance into the following categories A to C, and a criterion for assigning each expiration status to each category is determined in advance. Category A products that degrade little over time (refrigerated coffee, pickles, etc.) Category B products with moderate deterioration over time (e.g. milk) Category C products that deteriorate over time (e.g. meat) For example, a product in category A will be judged as "Critical" if the remaining time is within 5 days, a product in category B will be judged as "Critical" if the remaining time is within 2 days, and a product in category C will be judged as "Critical" if the remaining time is within 1 day.

[0061] If data on the date and time of manufacture of the product can be obtained from the product inventory database, the expiration status may be determined according to the ratio of the remaining time to the period between the date and time of manufacture and the expiration date. For example, the store server 5 obtains information on the date and time of manufacture from the printer 8 in addition to the product code and expiration date information for in-store cooked products, and records the information on the date and time of manufacture of the in-store cooked products in the product inventory database. As an example, if the time period between the production date and the expiration date is 3 days, you would do the following: "Critical": Remaining time is 0-3 days x 10% "High": 3 days x 10~3 days x 20% "Medium": 3 days x 20% - 3 days x 50% "Normal": 3 days x 50% or more

[0062] When one of the multiple deadline statuses in the deadline status list 101 is selected on screen G1, a detailed data list 201 including detailed data on multiple products corresponding to the selected deadline status is displayed in the details area 200. The operation of selecting a deadline status is, for example, an operation of selecting an area corresponding to one of the deadline statuses in the overview area 100. The order of the products included in the detailed data list 201 does not matter, but for example, it may be in order of the least remaining time. All of the products in the expiration status list 101 can be viewed by using, for example, a scroll function.

[0063] In one embodiment, the detailed data list 201 includes values ​​for each of multiple items, such as "product name," "best before date," "remaining time," "best before date status," "price," "number of units," and "cost." In the detailed data list 201, one row corresponds to one product code (i.e., SKU). The cost is the cost multiplied by the number of units, and represents the amount of money that the store would lose if the product were to be discarded due to the expiration date having passed. This example shows the case where a deadline status of "Critical" (i.e., a deadline status indicating that expiration is imminent) is selected in deadline status list 101, and all of the values ​​in the "Deadline Status" item in detailed data list 201 are "Critical." The items of the detailed data list 201 displayed in FIG. 6 are merely an example, and it is possible to configure the screen by adding new items as appropriate or deleting some items.

[0064] When an operation is performed to select one of multiple items in detailed data list 201, the inventory management app displays the multiple products in detailed data list 201 in order based on the value of the selected item (an example of second information), or extracts and displays a portion of the multiple products in detailed data list 201. For example, when an operation is performed to select the "cost" item in the detailed data list 201 on the screen G1 in Fig. 6, the screen G2 in Fig. 7 is displayed. In the detailed data list 201A of the screen G2, a plurality of products are sorted and displayed in descending order of cost. Alternatively, instead of the screen G2, a screen including a detailed data list that extracts products whose cost is higher than a predetermined value may be displayed.

[0065] The selection of items is not limited to "cost", but may be "cost", "remaining time", etc. Information on products that have a large economic impact on the store is visualized by sorting and displaying multiple products included in the detailed data list by cost or expense, or by extracting and displaying products from the multiple products whose cost or expense is greater than a predetermined value. Therefore, employees can take necessary actions as a priority before the expiration date of products that would cause a large loss to the store when they are disposed of. Necessary actions include, for example, attaching a discount label to the product or moving the product to a more prominent location in the store. When reducing prices, the AI ​​may automatically set it based on the inventory quantity (number of units) and sales forecast. In addition, by sorting and displaying multiple products included in the detailed data list in order of the time remaining, or by extracting and displaying products from the multiple products whose remaining time is less than a specified value, employees can take the necessary action to reduce the number of products to be discarded. In other words, since information on products with less time remaining until their expiration date is visualized, employees can immediately take the necessary action. When products whose original price or cost is greater than a predetermined value are extracted and displayed, the order of the products to be displayed does not necessarily have to be in descending order of original price or cost. When extracting and displaying products, products that occupy a top predetermined percentage (such as 80%) in terms of cost price or other costs may be extracted and displayed from among the products corresponding to the selected expiration status.

[0066] As a preferred example, screen G2 in FIG. 7 displays the "shelf position" value of a product in detailed data list 201A. In this case, the store server 5 has a shelf position database that associates information about the shelf position within the store with each product present in the store. When creating display data, the inventory management server 2 refers to the shelf position database of the store server 5 to identify the shelf position of each product included in detailed data list 201A. By displaying the shelf position of each product included in detailed data list 201A, store employees can easily access each product included in detailed data list 201A because they know the location within the store of each displayed product.

[0067] In one embodiment, the inventory management app displays supplemental data 102 in the overview area 100, as shown in screen G3 of Fig. 8. The supplemental data 102 includes the total number of units of the product associated with each expiration status and / or the total cost of each product (the sum of the costs of each product). This allows employees to get an overview of the number of units and the cost of the products associated with each of a plurality of expiration statuses, making it easier for them to recognize the current product inventory situation in the store.

[0068] In one embodiment, the inventory management application displays supplemental data details 103 in the overview area 100 as shown on screen G4 in Fig. 9. On screen G4, it is assumed that products in the store are classified into categories A to C according to the degree of deterioration over time as described above. The supplemental data breakdown 103 includes data showing a breakdown by category of the supplemental data 102 in Fig. 8. For example, it shows that the SKU of a product in category A whose expiration status is classified as "Expired" is "3", the cost is "40,000 yen", and the number of units is "120". By displaying the supplemental data breakdown 103 in addition to the supplemental data 102, it becomes easier for employees to recognize the current product inventory situation in the store.

[0069] When an operation to select the "Cost" item in detailed data list 201B on screen G4 in FIG. 9 is performed, screen G5 in FIG. 10 is displayed. In detailed data list 201C on screen G5, multiple products are sorted and displayed in descending order of cost. Alternatively, instead of screen G5, a screen including a detailed data list that extracts products whose cost is greater than a predetermined value may be displayed. Employees who view screen G5 can take necessary action for products that have a large economic impact on the store (e.g., luxury food ingredients) before the expiration date arrives.

[0070] In one embodiment, the inventory management server 2 has a product inventory database (FIG. 3) for each of a plurality of stores. In this case, the inventory management server 2 generates display data for comparing and displaying the product inventory statuses of the plurality of stores in response to a predetermined display request from an inventory management app. An example of a screen displayed by the inventory management app based on the display data is shown in FIG. 11. Screen G6 shown in Fig. 11 displays a list of expiration statuses for a plurality of stores SA, SB, SC, etc. in a comparable manner. In other words, the inventory management app displays the number of products associated with each of a plurality of expiration statuses set according to the time remaining until the expiration date in a comparable manner among the plurality of stores SA, SB, SC, etc. This visualizes the product inventory status among a plurality of stores, allowing a manager who manages a plurality of stores, such as an area manager, to evaluate the merits and demerits of the stores, which can provide an opportunity to apply the management methods of a highly rated store to a store with a low rating, for example.

[0071] Screen G6 displays the number of units of a product for "shelved" and "not shelved" for the expiration status of "Expired". In this case, the inventory management server 2 manages in the product inventory database whether an expired product is shelved or not shelved. Specifically, the inventory management server 2 manages the product inventory database so that when it receives product data of a discarded product from the handheld terminal 6, the corresponding product is treated as a "shelved" product, and a product whose expiration date has passed but for which product data of a discarded product has not been received is treated as a "not shelved" product. Then, when generating display data in response to a specific display request from the inventory management app, the inventory management server 2 counts expired products by distinguishing between "shelved" and "not shelved". As shown in screen G6, by displaying "put away" and "not put away" products separately, the manager can encourage employees to put away expired products. In addition, it is possible to identify stores that have not done a good job of putting away products among multiple stores.

[0072] It is preferable that the distinction between "put on the shelf" and "not put on the shelf" is also displayed on the screens for each store shown in Figures 6 to 10. This allows the store manager to check whether the put on the shelf work has been completed or not via the inventory management app, and if the put on the shelf work has not been completed, he or she can instruct employees to do so in a timely manner.

[0073] The inventory management app may obtain information on the current number of employees in the store and specify the number of products to be extracted and displayed from the multiple products included in the detailed data list (i.e., the number of rows in the detailed data list). In this case, the store server 5 manages information on the number of employees in the store for each date and time. When generating display data, the inventory management server 2 obtains information on the number of employees at that time from the store server 5 and determines the number of products to be included in the detailed data list according to the number of employees. For example, if the number of employees is smaller than usual, the number of products to be included in the detailed data list is reduced. In other words, the number of products displayed is the number that can be handled by the current number of employees in the store, so that excessive workloads can be prevented from being imposed on the employees.

[0074] The inventory management app may be configured to obtain either information regarding a period associated with at least one of the products in the store, or information based on the sales history of the products in the store, and to display the product by extracting it from multiple products included in the detailed data list. Examples of "information related to a period associated with a product" include information on a limited-time promotional event (campaign) for a specific product, information on a specific date associated with a product, such as Christmas cake, etc. Examples of "information based on product sales performance" include information on the product's past sales performance during the same period, and information showing a sales forecast obtained by machine learning based on the product's past sales performance (e.g., sales forecast based on weather forecast or day of the week). By limiting the products displayed in the detailed data list based on information regarding the period associated with the product or information based on the product's sales history, store employees can take appropriate action regarding specific products in the store according to the current situation.

[0075] The in-store terminal 3 may notify the handheld terminal 6 of information about products associated with a predetermined expiration status (e.g., "Expired" or "Critical") among a plurality of expiration statuses. For example, the inventory management app of the in-store terminal 3 displays the screen G1 of FIG. 6 and pushes information about products whose expiration status is "Expired" or "Critical" to the handheld terminal 6. This allows information about products associated with the predetermined expiration status to be notified to employees on-site in the store in a timely manner, allowing the employees to immediately take necessary action on the products (e.g., taking the products off the shelves or attaching price reduction labels to the products).

[0076] As described above, in the inventory management system 1, the inventory management app of the in-store terminal 3 displays the number of products associated with each of a plurality of expiration statuses that are set according to the time remaining from the current time to the expiration date of the product for the products present in the store. This makes it possible to visualize an overview of the inventory status of products in the store. Conventionally, store employees would visually check products on the sales floor and take them off the shelves if their expiration date had passed. Products with relatively short expiration dates, such as prepared foods and bento boxes, are checked every day, so mistakes are unlikely to occur, but products with long expiration dates are more likely to be mistaken. In contrast, Inventory Management System 1 visualizes the number of products by expiration status, allowing for efficient checking.

[0077] Furthermore, in the inventory management system 1, when one of a plurality of expiration statuses is selected, the inventory management app orders and displays a plurality of products corresponding to the selected expiration status, or extracts and displays some of the products from the plurality of products, based on information other than the information on the remaining time until the expiration date (for example, information on the cost price or other costs). In other words, since the products are ordered or extracted and visualized by an index other than the expiration date, employees can take the necessary action for a particular product.

[0078] In one embodiment, an information processing method is disclosed that includes the following steps (a) to (c). (a) generating display data based on inventory information including information on the cost, quantity, and expiration date of each product in the store; (b) displaying, based on the display data, the number of products associated with each of a plurality of expiration statuses set in accordance with first information related to the period from the current time to the expiration date of the products, for products present in the store; (c) when any one of the plurality of expiration statuses is selected, a step of ordering and displaying the plurality of products corresponding to the selected expiration status based on second information different from the first information, or extracting and displaying some of the plurality of products

[0079] In the above embodiment, a case has been described in which data is received from the supplier server 9, the cash register terminal 7, the printer 8, and the handy terminal 6 to grasp the product inventory in the store (i.e., to generate a product inventory database), but the method of grasping the product inventory is not limited to this. It is also possible to grasp the product inventory in the store in real time by placing multiple cameras in the store and analyzing images obtained by the multiple cameras using AI.

[0080] Although the embodiments of the information processing system and the information processing method of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. Furthermore, the above embodiments can be improved or modified in various ways without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, the individual technical features described in the above embodiments and modifications can be appropriately combined as long as there is no technical contradiction. In the above-described embodiment, at least a part of the functions of the inventory management server 2 may be realized by software of the in-store terminal 3, or at least a part of the functions of the in-store terminal 3 may be realized by software of the inventory management server 2. Furthermore, the functions of the in-store terminal 3 and the functions of the inventory management server 2 may be realized by distributing them between the in-store terminal 3 and the inventory management server 2 as necessary. The functions executed by the inventory management server 2 may be distributed and executed by multiple devices. [Explanation of symbols]

[0081] 1. Inventory management system 2. Inventory management server 21...Control unit 22…Storage 23…Communications Department 3…In-store terminal 31...Control unit 32…Storage 33...Operation input section 34…Display section 35…Communications Department 4. POS server 5…Store server 6. Handheld terminal 61...Control unit 63...Operation input section 64…Display section 65…Imaging unit 66…Code reader 67…Communications Department 7…Cash register terminal 8. Printer 9. Partner server 100…Summary area 101...Deadline status list, 102...Supplementary data, 103...Supplementary data details 200…Detail area 201, 201A, 201B, 201C...Detailed data list P…Product PL…Label

Claims

1. A storage unit that stores inventory information including information on the cost, quantity, and expiration date of each product in the store; A generation unit that generates display data based on the inventory information; A display unit; a display control unit that causes the display unit to display information based on the display data; The display control unit is displaying, for products present in the store, the number of products associated with each of a plurality of levels set in accordance with first information relating to a period from a current time to an expiration date of the products; When any one of the plurality of levels is selected, a plurality of products corresponding to the selected level are displayed in order based on second information different from the first information, or a portion of the plurality of products are extracted and displayed. Information processing system.

2. The second information is information on the cost price of each of the plurality of products.

2. An information processing system according to claim 1.

3. The second information is a value obtained by multiplying the cost price of each of the plurality of products by the quantity.

2. An information processing system according to claim 1.

4. The storage unit stores information regarding a location within the store of each product present within the store, The display control unit displays a position within the store of each of the plurality of products or the part of the products. An information processing system according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

5. The display control unit acquires information regarding the current number of employees of the store, and specifies the number of products to be extracted and displayed from the plurality of products. An information processing system according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

6. the display control unit displays a total number of products associated with each of the plurality of levels and / or a sum of a value obtained by multiplying the cost price of each product associated with each level by the quantity of the product, An information processing system according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

7. The storage unit stores the inventory information for each of a plurality of stores, the display control unit displays, for each of the products present in each store, a number of products associated with each of a plurality of levels set according to the first information in a manner that allows comparison between the plurality of stores; An information processing system according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

8. generating display data based on inventory information including information on the cost, quantity, and expiration date of each product in the store; a step of displaying, based on the display data, a number of products corresponding to each of a plurality of levels set in accordance with first information related to a period from a current time to an expiration date of the products, for products present in the store; a step of displaying a plurality of products corresponding to the selected level in an ordered manner based on second information different from the first information, or displaying a portion of the plurality of products by extracting them from the plurality of products, when any one of the plurality of levels is selected; An information processing method comprising:

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