Registration management system

Abstract

To provide a registration management system capable of widely registering and managing a user and introducing an online shopping site with a wide range of choices of merchandise to the user.SOLUTION: A registration management system 10 is configured by bidirectionally connecting a host device 12 and a user terminal device 13 via a network 11. A predetermined distribution group composed of a predetermined headquarters and a plurality of branches connected to the headquarters is provided, a host device is installed in the headquarters, and a plurality of branch folders for storing branch data related to the branches are formed in a server provided in the host device. A designation code for designating one branch among the plurality of branches is attached to user data of the user terminal device to form designated user data, and the designated user data are transmitted to the host device, and the host device stores and retains the designated user data related to the user terminal device in a branch folder having branch data based on the designation code.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a registration management system for registering and managing users. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, when a user visits a brick-and-mortar store to shop, there is an advantage in that the user can select the most desired product from among products from many manufacturers, based on the advice of a store clerk who is knowledgeable about those products, or based on the user's own selection. However, there is also a disadvantage in that once a user has purchased a preferred product, the next time they visit the store, the product may be out of stock and the user may not be able to continue purchasing it, or the user may end up purchasing a product that is not the user's preference, simply because the store clerk recommends it. In addition to conventional online shopping, where a user accesses a virtual shopping mall on a website and selects and purchases a product from among many products, electronic commerce and online shopping have recently become popular, where manufacturers directly conduct online sales transactions with users through websites that they operate themselves. This type of online shopping has the advantage of allowing users to enjoy shopping casually, since they can purchase the product they want without going to a physical store, but it is extremely difficult for users who are not knowledgeable about products to find the product they want from the many products on the virtual shopping mall, and there are many failures in that the product they purchase is different from what they expected. In addition, online shopping using a specific manufacturer's direct sales site has the advantage that the manufacturer can directly manage users and easily grasp their needs, compared to online shopping using a virtual shopping mall, but has the disadvantage that users can only purchase products from that manufacturer, which limits their options and makes it difficult to compare products from other companies.

[0003] The purchase support system disclosed in JP2012-048528A is composed of access points installed in each of a plurality of stores, and a web server communicably connected to a mobile terminal device via the access points. The web server is equipped with a store / product database that stores the price of each product for each store, and is configured to read out the price corresponding to the store and product from the store / product database when a price confirmation request is received from the mobile terminal device, the price including information specifying one of the plurality of stores and information specifying one product at the store, and transmit information including the read out price to the mobile terminal device, and transmit payment information to the mobile terminal device and the store server when a purchase request is received. This allows customers who visit a store to easily and quickly select the products they want on a specific Web site, while still enjoying the benefits of online shopping, which involves completing purchase procedures online. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2012-048528 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, the above-mentioned purchasing support system is configured to read product tags and image codes on product shelves in a store with a mobile terminal device and access a Web server to conduct online shopping. While this means that the store may not have the product in stock and does not have to hold excess inventory, it can also mean that customers who have made the effort to visit the store may leave without purchasing the product, resulting in a missed opportunity to purchase other products at the store. Furthermore, there is no problem if a company can set up a virtual store on a Web server in addition to its physical store and create the appearance of online shopping. However, for small stores and the like that cannot afford the costs of setting up a virtual store or shopping site for online shopping, the cost of setting up and maintaining a shopping site in addition to running the store is large, and there is also the problem that they cannot devote that much time and effort to online shopping.

[0006] In addition to the purchasing support systems mentioned above, when a retail store opens a shopping site for online shopping, they usually take measures to prevent customers from switching to other stores and to prevent loss of sales opportunities by issuing points to customers who purchase products or encouraging them to register their customer information with the store or shopping site via application software installed on their smartphones. However, for small stores, the introduction costs compared to the profits can seem expensive, and it is extremely difficult to create a digital sales strategy that increases the sales promotion effect for customers by building application software and a shopping site linked to that software. Furthermore, if users are registered and managed for each small retail store and an online shopping site is created for those users, the product options available to the users will be limited, and since the products have to be ordered from manufacturers, wholesalers, etc., the users will not be able to obtain the products promptly.

[0007] Therefore, the problem that the present invention aims to solve is to provide a registration management system that enables a wide range of users to be registered and managed, and that introduces online shopping sites that offer a wide range of product options to the users. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The registration management system according to claim 1 comprises: A host device including a server that stores and manages predetermined data in a predetermined format; A plurality of user terminal devices used by a plurality of users respectively; a network including at least the Internet that connects the host device and the user terminal device so as to be capable of two-way communication and enables the data to be freely transmitted between the host device and the user terminal device; transmitting user data relating to the user from the user terminal device to the host device via the network; a host device registering the user data in the server and managing the user data read from the server, thereby the host device registering and managing the user who uses the user terminal, Establish a distribution group consisting of a headquarters and a number of branches connected to the headquarters; The host device is installed in the headquarters, and a plurality of branch folders are formed in the server, each of which stores branch data relating to the branch; The host device includes: a designation code issuing means for issuing a designation code for designating one of the branches; a branch identification means for identifying the branch folder related to one of the branches based on the designation code; a user classification means for classifying the user data according to a predetermined condition; a user identification means for identifying the user terminal device based on the user data; a response output means for outputting a result of a host processing in response to a predetermined request input from the user terminal device for causing the host device to perform a predetermined host processing; providing an incentive giving means for giving a predetermined incentive to the branch data in accordance with the result; The user terminal device a designated code input means for inputting the designated code into the user terminal device; a designated code embedding means for embedding the captured designated code into the user data to form designated user data; a designated user data output means for outputting the designated user data onto the network; providing a request output means for outputting a request for the host processing to the host device; The designated code issued by the designated code issuing means is input to the user terminal device by the designated code input means, the designated code is incorporated into the user data by the designated code embedding means to form the designated user data, and the designated user data is output to the network by the designated user data output means, The host device, which has acquired the designated user data transmitted over the network, classifies and stores the designated user data in the branch folder related to the designated one of the branches based on the designation code incorporated in the designated user data by the user classification means, The host device registers the designated user data in the branch folder related to the designated one of the branches based on the designation code; When the user terminal device outputs the request for the host processing to the network together with the designated user data by the request output means and the designated user data output means, In the host device which has acquired the request and the designated user data to be transmitted over the network, the user identification means identifies the user terminal device which has output the request based on the designated user data, and the response output means outputs to the identified user terminal device a result of the host processing carried out in response to the request, the branch identification means identifies the branch folder related to one of the branches based on the designation code incorporated in the designated user data, and the incentive granting means grants the incentive to the branch data in the branch folder related to the identified one of the branches, when the user terminal device makes the request to the host device to perform the host processing, the host device responds to the user terminal device with a result of the host processing and also assigns the incentive to the branch data in the branch folder in which the user terminal device is registered; The host device registers and manages the user for each of the branches designated by the user terminal device, and when the result of the host processing is returned to the user terminal device in response to the request output by the user terminal device, the host device grants the incentive to the branch designated by the user terminal device.

[0009] The registration management system according to claim 2 is the invention according to claim 1, forming a virtual space in the server, and providing a virtual shop in the virtual space for storing and managing product data relating to a predetermined product; providing a product selling means for selling the product based on the product data in the host device; when the user terminal device makes a request to the host device to cause the product selling means to perform the host process for selling the product in order to purchase the product from the virtual shop, the host device outputs the product data as a result of the host processing to the user terminal device identified by the user identification means, and the product is virtually bought and sold between the virtual shop and the user terminal device, while the branch identification means identifies the branch folder related to one of the branches based on the designated user data that identifies the user terminal device, and the incentive granting means grants the incentive to the branch data in the branch folder related to the identified one of the branches, When the product is traded between the virtual shop and the user terminal device, The host device may provide the incentive to the branch data relating to one of the branches identified based on the designated user data.

[0010] The registration management system according to claim 3 is the invention according to claim 1 or claim 2, The user data or the designated user data includes at least predetermined pet data that identifies a pet owned by the user.

[0011] The registration management system according to claim 4 is the invention according to claim 2, The product is characterized in that the product is pet food or pet supplies.

[0012] The registration management system according to claim 5 is the invention according to claim 1 or claim 2, When the result of the host processing is returned to the user terminal device in response to the request output by the user terminal device, or when the product is sold or bought between the virtual shop and the user terminal device, The host device is characterized by being provided with a point giving means for giving a predetermined number of points to the designated user data relating to the user terminal device identified by the user identification means and stored in the branch folder. Effect of the Invention

[0013] According to the registration management system of the present invention, a host device equipped with a server and a number of user terminal devices used by a number of users are connected via a network to enable two-way communication, and specific user data is transmitted from the user terminal device to the host device and registered in the server. The host device reads and manages the user data from the server, thereby registering and managing the user terminal devices and ultimately the users. Here, a distribution group is provided that is composed of a predetermined headquarters and a plurality of branches connected to the headquarters. For example, the headquarters of the distribution group is a business that plays a central role in commercial transactions, such as a franchisor of a franchise group, a headquarters of a retailer, or a wholesaler, and the branches are stores operated by franchisees of the franchise group, branches of retailers, or small and medium-sized retailers that do business with wholesalers. Furthermore, the host device is installed in the franchisor, etc., and a plurality of branch folders that store branch data related to the branches of the franchisees, etc. are formed in the server. As a result, the host device owned by the headquarters of the franchisor, etc. has branch folders in the server that store branch data for each of the branches of the franchisees, etc. The host device is provided with a designation code issuing means for issuing a designation code designating one of the multiple branches, a branch identification means for identifying a branch folder related to the one branch based on the designation code, and a user classification means for classifying user data in accordance with predetermined conditions, and the user terminal device is provided with a designation code input means for importing the designation code into the user terminal device, a designation code embedding means for incorporating the designation code into the user data to form designated user data, and a designated user data output means for outputting the formed designated user code onto the network. When the user obtains the issued designated code, for example, from a poster or flyer posted in a franchisee's or retail store, imports it into a user terminal device using a designated code input means, incorporates the designated code into user data to form designated user data equipped with the designated code, and outputs the data to the network, the host device which has acquired the designated user data from the network classifies and stores the designated user data in a branch folder related to a designated branch based on the designated code, and registers the designated user data. This allows a user to specify a branch that they frequently use, such as a franchisee or retail store, and register as a user with the headquarters of the franchisor, etc., while the headquarters of the franchisor, wholesaler, etc. can easily understand and manage which franchisee or retail store has which type of users and how many of the many franchisees and retailers they have by analyzing the specified user data in the branch folder.

[0014] Furthermore, when a user inputs a specific request to a host device that classifies and stores registered users in a branch folder as described above to cause a specific host process to be performed using a user terminal device, a response output means is provided for outputting the specific host process in response to the request input, and a user identification means is provided for identifying the user terminal device that input the request based on designated user data with a designation code.In addition, an incentive granting means is provided for granting a specific incentive to one branch data stored in the branch folder in which the designated user data related to the user terminal device is registered when the host device responds to the user terminal device identified based on the designated user data. As a result, when a user makes a specified request input to the host device, the host device can identify the user who made the request input based on the designated user data, respond with the results of the specified host processing, and grant a specified incentive to the branch data in the branch folder based on the designated code contained in the designated user data. Here, conventionally, when a transaction is made between a branch of a franchisee or the like and a user, a certain incentive is given to the franchisee by the headquarters of the franchisor or the like, and this becomes the income of the branch. However, when a transaction is made directly between a user and the headquarters, there is no branch between the headquarters and the user, so no incentive is given, and there is a risk that the income of the branch will decrease. Therefore, according to the registration management system of the present invention, even if the user makes a direct request to the host device installed at the headquarters via the network and the headquarters responds directly to the user, an incentive is given to the branch linked based on the designated code. This allows the branch to develop customers as before and receive appropriate incentives according to the number of customers it has.

[0015] That is, according to the registration management system of the present invention, when a user performs online shopping at a virtual store set up in a server, the user terminal device requests the host device to perform host processing to sell a specified product in order to purchase the product. In response to the request input, the host device outputs product data on the virtual store and performs host processing to virtually buy and sell products between the virtual store and the user terminal device. At the same time, the host device is configured such that the branch identification means identifies a branch folder related to a branch to which the user terminal device is linked based on a designation code included in the designated user data, and the incentive granting means grants an incentive to the branch data related to the identified branch. Thus, while a predetermined product is bought and sold between user terminal devices on the network and the host device through online shopping, the host device can give an incentive to the branch to which the user terminal device is linked, that is, the branch that encloses the user. Therefore, the branch such as a franchisee can obtain a predetermined incentive by simply introducing a comprehensive online shopping site operated by the headquarters of the franchisor to users and having the users use the online shopping site, without having to take the time, effort, or cost to open an online shopping site on its own and advertise to its users. Therefore, the branch operator of the franchisee can enter the online shopping business very easily while continuing the original store business. On the other hand, the headquarters operator of the franchisor can very easily grasp which branch has how many users and what products the users purchase most at the online shopping site, and can manage the consumption trends of the users held by each branch. Therefore, according to the registration management system of the present invention, users can be widely registered and managed at the headquarters of the franchisor, etc., rather than each branch of the franchisee, etc. registering and managing users on its own. Furthermore, by introducing online shopping sites opened by the headquarters of the franchisor, etc., it is possible to provide a wider range of product options for users, without incurring losses to each branch of the franchisee, etc.

[0016] Furthermore, according to the registration management system of the present invention, the user data of a user having a user terminal device preferably includes pet data related to a pet kept by the user. The pet data is, for example, data related to the type of pet kept by the user, the pet food given to the pet, the pet supplies used for the pet, etc. The product traded between the user terminal device and the virtual shop is preferably pet food or pet supplies. This allows franchisees or small-scale privately-run businesses that operate pet-related facilities, such as pet product stores, pet salons, pet hotels, and animal hospitals, to distribute designated codes to users who use the pet-related facilities and encourage them to register with a host device owned by the headquarters operated by the franchisor or wholesaler via the designated codes. When a user registers using the designated code, businesses that operate pet-related facilities can capture the user, and the headquarters of the franchisor, wholesaler, etc. can easily grasp what kind of users each branch has, and can easily grasp what products each user frequently purchases on the online shopping site along with the trends of pet products at the pet-related facilities. In addition, when pet products and the like are traded between the virtual store and the user terminal device, the host device gives a predetermined number of points to the designated user data. This motivates the user to actively purchase products in the virtual store, and by making the user shop frequently at the virtual store, the branch to which the user terminal device associated with the user is linked can receive an even greater incentive. Therefore, branch managers such as franchisees can obtain the same cost-effectiveness as if they had entered the online shopping business while continuing their original store business. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0017] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram showing an outline of the configuration of a registration management system according to a first embodiment. [Diagram 2] 1 is a block diagram showing an outline of the configuration of a host device of a registration management system in accordance with a first embodiment; [Diagram 3] 1 is a block diagram showing an outline of the configuration of a user terminal device of a registration management system in accordance with a first embodiment; [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an outline of how to use the registration management system according to the first embodiment; Example 1

[0018] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a registration management system according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Fig. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an outline of the configuration of the registration management system according to the present embodiment.

[0019] As shown in FIG. 1, the registration management system 10 comprises a network 11, a host device 12, and a user terminal device 13.

[0020] 1, the network 11 is composed of at least one host device 12 and a plurality of user terminal devices 13, each of which is connected to each other via wired or wireless communication for two-way communication, and is composed of the Internet and a local area network (hereinafter referred to as "LAN") through which predetermined data can be freely transmitted. The Internet and LAN are well-known technologies, so detailed explanations are omitted. Here, the registration management system 10 according to the present embodiment is a system in which a user terminal device 13 is registered in a host device 12, and the host device 12 manages the registered user terminal device 13. Therefore, as a premise, a predetermined distribution group 100 is exemplified as follows. The distribution group 100 is composed of a headquarters 105 and a number of branches 110 connected to the headquarters 105. For example, (1) A distribution group 100 consisting of a wholesaler as a headquarters 105 and multiple retailers that do business with the wholesaler as branches 110 (2) A distribution group 100 consisting of a retailer's headquarters 105 and multiple branches 110 (3) A distribution group 100, etc. consisting of a franchise chain consisting of a franchisor as the headquarters 105 and multiple franchisees that are bound by contract or other agreement with the franchisor as branches 110. As shown in FIG. 1, the host device 12 is installed at the headquarters 105, and is configured so that the user terminal devices 13 of users who use the stores etc. of each branch 110 are connected to the host device 12 for two-way communication via the network 11. In this embodiment, it is preferable that a wholesaler dealing in pet food and pet supplies in particular is the headquarters 105, and retailers to which the wholesaler wholesales pet food and pet supplies, such as pet supply stores, home improvement stores, pet salons, veterinary clinics, pet hotels, pet trainers, etc. are the branches 110.

[0021] Here, the registration management system 10 according to this embodiment mainly comprises two components, one related to the registration process and the other related to the utilization process. The first configuration comprises various means for registering user terminal device 13 in host device 12 and for host device 12 to manage registered user terminal device 13 . The second configuration, in addition to the first configuration, comprises various means for a managed user terminal device 13 to request a specified host processing from a host device 12, and for the host device 12 to return the results of the host processing to the user terminal device 13 that manages it. First, the first configuration will be described below.

[0022] As shown in FIG. 2, the host device 12 is composed of at least a control unit 20, a designation code issuing unit 21, a recognition unit 22, and a classification unit 23, and further includes a server 12a.

[0023] The server 12a includes a storage medium for storing various types of data. A plurality of branch folders 24 and a virtual space 25 are formed on the storage medium. The branch folder 24 stores and memorizes separately the branch data relating to each branch 110 related to the headquarters 105. When the host device 12 reads out the branch data indicating one of the branches 110, the branch data is read out from the branch folder relating to that one branch 110 among the branch folders. An online shopping site called a virtual store (shopping site) is formed in the virtual space 25. The virtual store is related to the second configuration and will be described later. The storage medium constituting the server 12a may be a cloud server that virtually forms a storage medium via the Internet on the network 11, as shown in FIG. 2, or may be an external storage medium provided in the host device 12.

[0024] The control unit 20 is configured to perform a predetermined host process on the data read from the server 12a and to comprehensively control the host device 12. The host process is a process performed by at least a response output means and an incentive granting means. The response output means and the incentive granting means will be described later. In addition to the response output means and the incentive granting means, the control unit 20 further has at least a decoding means and a control means. The decoding means is configured to perform a process of decoding a predetermined signal related to data transmitted over the network 11 and addressed to the host device 12 to form the predetermined data when the decoding means receives the predetermined signal. The control means is configured to comprehensively control the designation code issuing unit 21, the identification unit 22, and the classification unit 23 based on the decrypted predetermined data. This allows the host device 12 to register the user terminal device 13 in the server 12a, and further to easily manage the registered user terminal device 13.

[0025] The designated code issuing unit 21 has a designated code issuing means. The designated code issuing means is configured to perform a process of issuing a designated code for designating one of the branches 110 constituting each of the distribution groups 100. Here, the designation code is a code that identifiably designates a branch office using an ID pass consisting of specified letters, numbers, and symbols, or a two-dimensional code such as a barcode or QR code (registered trademark), or a similar known format. The designated code issued by the designated code issuing means is then printed on advertising media such as posters and flyers and distributed to each branch 110, or is printed on, for example, a website or social networking service (hereinafter referred to as "SNS"), and is widely disclosed to specific or unspecified users who use the store of the branch 110. This allows a user who uses one of the branches 110 to obtain the designated code through the store, website, SNS, etc. The designated code obtained by the user is used when registering the user terminal device 13 used by that user to the host device 12.

[0026] The identification unit 22 has a branch identification means. The branch identification means is configured to perform a process of identifying the branch folder 24 related to a specified branch 110 based on the designation code. This allows the host device 12 to identify the branch 110 selected based on the designation code, access the branch data in the branch folder related to the branch 110, and add specified data to the branch folder. The identification unit 22 also includes a user identification means, which will be described later.

[0027] The classification unit 23 has a user classification means. The user classification means is configured to perform a process of classifying users into designated branch folders based on the designated code. This allows the host device to register and manage users for each designated branch folder based on the designated code.

[0028] Next, as shown in FIG. 3, the user terminal device 13 has at least a storage unit 30, a control unit 31, and an output unit 32, and is equipped with input devices (not shown) such as a numeric keypad or keyboard, a camera, etc. Here, the user terminal device 13 is a terminal device used by a specific user, and is preferably, for example, a smartphone, a tablet terminal device, a notebook computer, or a similar portable terminal device that an individual can carry and use. In this embodiment, a smartphone is assumed, although there is no particular limitation.

[0029] The storage unit 30 includes a storage medium capable of freely storing data, and is configured to store predetermined user data input by a user via an input device or read from another recording medium. Here, the user data is preferably data made up of personal data for identifying the user and pet data of a pet kept by the user. Pet data consists of data that can identify an individual pet, such as the pet's name, type, etc., and may include a variety of other data, such as the pet food that the pet is being fed, the pet's favorite toys, and even data related to the pet's injuries or illnesses. Furthermore, the user data can be freely assigned a specific code such as a designated code, and can be updated by adding information, etc. The host device 12 acquires the user data held by such user terminal device via the network 11, and can easily identify and specify the user and the pet kept by the user based on the user data.

[0030] The user terminal device 13 is equipped with a designated code input means. The designated code input means is configured to input and store a designated code posted on a poster, flyer, or homepage into the storage unit 30 by inputting the designated code from a numeric keypad using an input device, an image captured via a camera, or an input operation such as copy and paste. This allows the user terminal device 13 to import a designated code indicating one of the multiple branches 110 into the storage unit 30. Furthermore, the storage unit 30 may store a designation code and install application software in association with the designation code. The application software is preferably an application software that provides a shortcut to an online shopping site for pet supplies, or a unique browser that displays the online shopping site, or that allows a discount coupon to be obtained when purchasing pet supplies, etc., based on the pet data. This allows the user terminal device to easily access the host device in the second configuration described below.

[0031] The control unit 31 includes a decoding means, a control means, and a designation code embedding means. The decoding means is configured to, when it acquires a predetermined signal relating to data addressed to the user terminal device 13 and transmitted over the network 11, perform processing to decode the signal and form the predetermined data. The control means is configured to comprehensively control the user terminal device 13 based on the decoded specified data, together with the user data and other data stored in the memory unit 30, and is also configured to control the output of the specified data to the output unit 32 as appropriate. The designated code embedding means is configured to perform processing to embed the designated code captured in the storage unit 30 by the designated code input means into the user data also stored in the storage unit 30 to form designated user data. This allows the user terminal device 13 to designate one of the multiple branches 110. Based on the designated user data, the headquarters 105 of the franchisor, etc. and the branch 110 of the franchisee, etc. can easily know that the user using the user terminal device 13 is a user or a regular customer of the branch 110, and further the headquarters 105 of the franchisor, etc. can easily know the users that are surrounded by each branch 110.

[0032] The output unit 32 includes a user data output means, a designated user data output means, and an encoding means. The user data output means is configured to perform a process of outputting the user data to the network 11. On the other hand, the designated user data output means is configured to perform a process of outputting the designated user data to the network 11. That is, the user can output user data consisting of at least the user's personal data and pet data to the network 11, and can also output designated user data including a designation code that designates one of the multiple branches 110. Therefore, the host device 12 that acquires raw user data without a designation code can treat the user associated with the user terminal device 13 that sent the user data as a user who does not have a regular doctor or regular regular doctor. The encoding means is configured to perform processing for encoding the user data or the designated user data into a user signal or a designated user signal that complies with a predetermined standard. Then, the output unit 32 performs processing to output the formed user signal or designated user signal to the network 11. This enables the user terminal device 13 to send the user data or designated user data to the host device 12.

[0033] A method for registering a user in the server 12a of the host device 12 using the registration management system 10 having the above-mentioned first configuration, and a method for the host device 12 to manage the registered users will be described below with reference to FIG.

[0034] As a preliminary step in registering the user terminal device 13 with the host device 12, the host device 12 performs a designation code issuing process. The designation code issuing process is a process of issuing a unique designation code assigned to each branch 110 using a designation code issuing means. The designated code is issued in a predetermined format, such as an ID pass consisting of letters, numbers, and symbols, or a barcode, or a two-dimensional code such as a QR code (registered trademark) in which data such as letters and numbers are formed into a two-dimensional graphic pattern. The issued designated code is printed on posters, flyers, etc. and distributed by the headquarters 105 of the franchisor, etc. to the stores of each branch 110 of the franchisee, etc., or is published as a page or link on a website introducing each branch 110, and is made public to a large number of specific or unspecified users through the stores of the branch 110 or the website established by the headquarters 105.

[0035] The user causes the user terminal device 13 to carry out a designated code input process. The designated code input process is a process of storing a designated code in memory unit 30 by manual or automatic input, such as photographing a designated code printed on a poster put up in front of a store or on a distributed flyer with the camera of user terminal device 13 and importing the designated code into user terminal device 13, importing the designated code into user terminal device 13 by inputting the designated code using the numeric keypad or keyboard, or accessing a homepage from user terminal device 13 and importing the designated code. This allows the user terminal device 13 to capture the designated code into the storage unit 30.

[0036] Next, the user terminal device 13 performs a designated code embedding step. The designated code incorporating step is a process of reading out the user data together with the captured designated code from the storage unit 30, incorporating the designated code into the user data, and forming designated user data. The formed designated user data is sent to the output unit 32. On the other hand, user terminal device 13 that has not undergone the designated code input process may send user data read from storage unit 30 to output unit 32 without incorporating a designated code. Then, the output unit 32 performs a user data output process. The user data output step is a process of encoding the designated user data or user data into a designated user signal or user signal conforming to a predetermined standard and outputting the encoded data or user data to the network 11. This enables the user terminal device 13 to output the designated user data or user data to the host device 12 via the network 11.

[0037] The host device 12 is configured to acquire a designated user signal or user signals transmitted over a network, and the host device 12 performs a decoding process on the acquired designated user signal or user signals. The decoding process is a process of decoding the designated user signal or user signal into designated user data or user data. Then, the classification unit performs a first user classification step, and then performs a second user classification step. The first user classification process is a process of classifying the designated user data and the user data into designated user data with a designation code that designates one of the multiple branches 110, and user data that does not include a designation code. Here, the user data that does not include a designation code is stored as it is in the server 12a. As a result, the user data that does not have a designation code is registered in the host device 12 as an unregistered branch user with no regular or regular practice. Note that the unregistered branch user may be configured to be able to register one of the multiple branches 110 by inputting a designation code later, or may be treated as a user directly managed by the headquarters 105 of the franchisor or the like. The subsequent second user classification step is a process of collating the designated user data including the designated code with branch data to which the same designated code is assigned, storing the designated user data in the branch folder 24 in which the branch data with the matching designated code is stored, and classifying the designated user data by the designated code. This makes it possible to classify and store the designated user data that designates one branch 110 in each of the multiple branch folders 24 formed in the server 12a. Therefore, by identifying the branch 110 that the user frequents or regularly consults, the branch 110 can directly send coupons and other preferential treatment, and the branch 110 can effectively advertise to the users it has captured. Meanwhile, the headquarters 105 of the franchisor or the like that has the host device 12 can easily grasp the users captured by each branch 110 of a plurality of franchisees, etc., and can easily manage the registered users by easily grasping consumption trends such as which products the users in each branch 110 are primarily purchasing. In addition, wholesalers that handle pet food and pet supplies in particular can easily grasp consumption trends, such as what pet food and pet supplies are being recommended to which users by which retailer, and what users are purchasing, from retailers that belong to the pet industry but have different business formats, such as pet supply stores, home improvement centers, pet salons, pet hotels, veterinary clinics, and pet trainers.Furthermore, by obtaining a cross-sectional view of the pet industry and obtaining pet data on the pets kept by each user who uses retailers of different business formats, the wholesalers can easily form big data on the sales trends and price ranges of the pet food and pet supplies that they wholesale to each retailer. In this way, the first configuration of this embodiment has a great advantage in that the designated user data is collected in the host device 12 provided in the headquarters 105 of the distribution group 100 .

[0038] Next, the second configuration will be described. As described above, the second configuration is made up of each means by which a registered user terminal device 13 requests a host device 12 to perform a specific host process, and the host device 12 returns the result of the host process to the user terminal device 13 that manages it.

[0039] In addition to the first configuration, the host device 12 has a virtual space on the server 12a that virtually simulates a three-dimensional space, and has at least the identification unit 22 and control unit 20 described in the first configuration. A virtual shop is provided in the virtual space of the server 12a. In the virtual shop, product data relating to a specific product is stored and managed, and the product is displayed on a virtual product shelf as if it were displayed on a product shelf. The virtual shop is not limited to a virtual imitation of such a three-dimensional space, but may simply be a shopping site that lists and displays photos and videos of products based on product data in an easily searchable manner. This allows the headquarters 105 of a franchisor or the like to open a shopping site for online shopping on the server 12a of the host device 12. The products sold in the virtual shop according to this embodiment are preferably pet supplies and pet food.

[0040] The identification unit 22 has a user identification means in addition to the branch identification means described in the first configuration. The user identification means is configured to identify the registered user terminal device 13 based on the designated user data or user data. The user identification means is configured to identify by collating data on the user terminal device 13 side with data on the host device 12 side, such as collating the designated user data or user data output from the user terminal device 13 to the host device 12 with the designated user data or user data stored in the server 12a of the host device 12 and identifying whether they match. Note that the collation is not limited to the collation of the entire user data, and any known means may be used, such as collating using an address in the server 12a where the user data is stored, or a combination of an ID and a password for accessing the address. This allows the host device 12 to identify which user terminal device 13 has accessed the network 11 among the multiple user terminal devices 13 connected thereto, and to identify whether the identified user terminal device 13 has designated a specific branch 110, and if so, to which branch 110 the device is linked and the designated user data is stored in the branch folder 24. Therefore, as described below, the host device 12 can easily grant a predetermined incentive to the linked branch 110.

[0041] The control unit 20 includes, in addition to the first configuration, a product selling means, a response output means, and an incentive giving means. The product sales means is configured to sell products based on product data stored and managed in a virtual shop (shopping site) of the server 12a to the accessed user terminal device 13. The product sales means is configured to perform a process of buying and selling products with the user terminal device 13 via the product data, and to transmit the results of the sale to the user terminal device 13. Here, the act of selling and purchasing is performed without the user actually holding the product, and when a sales contract is concluded, the actual product is delivered to the user at a later date. This allows online shopping to be performed between the host device and the user terminal device. The response output means is configured to respond to a specified request input from the user terminal device 13 to the host device 12 requesting the results of specified host processing performed by the host device 12, and to output the results via the network 11 to the user terminal device 12 that made the request. The product sales means and response output means work together so that user terminal device 13 makes a request for a desired product from a virtual store (shopping site), host device 12 sells the product in response to the request, and product data related to the product and the results of host processing related to a sales contract for the product are output to user terminal device 13. This allows user terminal device 13 to do online shopping at a virtual store (shopping site) opened on server 12a and obtain the desired product.

[0042] The incentive granting means is configured to grant a predetermined incentive to the branch data in the branch folder 24 to which the user terminal device 13 belongs in accordance with the result of a specified host processing when the result is output to the user terminal device 13. Here, the incentive is, for example, when a specified product is sold to a user terminal device 13 by the above-mentioned product sales means, a portion of the profit is returned from the headquarters 105 of the franchisor to the branch office 110 of the franchisee. Conventionally, when a user shops at a store of a branch 110, the branch 110 of a franchisee or the like receives profits in the form of sales commissions or the like from the headquarters 105 of a franchisor or the like according to the sales of the product sold. However, when a user shops online, that is, when the user and the headquarters 105 of a franchisor or the like directly trade at a virtual store (shopping site) opened in the server 12a of the host device 12 installed in the headquarters 105, the stores of the branches 110 affiliated with the distribution group 100 based on the franchise contract do not generate sales of the product, and therefore no sales commissions are paid. Therefore, even if the branch 105 of a franchisee or the like makes sales efforts to acquire users and has a large number of users, it is unable to receive profits related to the sales commissions, which makes it difficult to maintain motivation to acquire new users. In addition, when a user shops online directly at the virtual store (shopping site) of the headquarters 105, the branch 105 of a franchisee or the like may have a large amount of unsold products, expire, or end up with a large amount of inventory. In contrast, according to the registration management system 10 of this embodiment, the user terminal device 13 is configured to belong to one of the multiple branches 110 designated by the designation code based on the designated user data. That is, the branch 110 such as a franchisee can acquire new users through introductions, advertisements, etc., and retain them, and when the user purchases a product by online shopping at a virtual store, the branch 110 can receive an incentive equivalent to a sales commission in the same way as if the product was sold at a conventional store. In addition, by introducing the virtual store (shopping site) to the retained users and having them use it, it is possible to eliminate the risk of unsold products or expiration dates by not holding more inventory than necessary.

[0043] In addition to the first configuration, user terminal device 13 has a request output means in control unit 31 and output unit 32. The request output means is configured to output a predetermined request for receiving a result of a predetermined host process performed by host device 12. The host processing requested by the request output means is processing by a response output means which responds to a specified request from the user terminal device 13 and outputs the result of the host processing. In particular, according to the registration management system of this embodiment, it is preferable for the processing to be performed by a product sales means which, in response to a request input from the user terminal device 13 to purchase a specified product, performs processing to sell the product based on the product data and returns the result of the sales contract being established to the user terminal device.

[0044] A method for a user to perform online shopping at a virtual shop set up in the server 12a of the host device 12 using the registration management system 10 having the above-mentioned second configuration will be described below with reference to the attached FIG.

[0045] First, the user terminal device 13 performs a request output step. The request output process is a process in which, when a desired product is selected from the products displayed in the virtual store (shopping site) and a request to purchase is input, the designated user data output means and the request output means output designated user data with a designated code and purchase data requesting the sale of the selected product to the host device 12.

[0046] In response to a request from the user terminal device 13, the host device 12 performs a response output process. First, before the response output process, the host device performs a user identification process. The user identification process is a process for identifying the user terminal device that desires the product based on the designated user data acquired when the host device 12 acquires the designated user data and purchase data from the network. In addition to this process, the process is also a process for identifying and specifying the branch folder 24 to which the user terminal device 13 belongs based on the designated code. Next, the host device performs a response output process. The response output process is a process in which the response output means processes the user terminal device 13 identified in the user identification process as the destination of the product, and the product sales means outputs product data based on the purchase data to the user terminal device 13, thereby concluding a sales contract for the product. This completes online shopping between the user terminal device 13 and the host device 12, and later, based on the product data, the actual product is delivered to the user who owns the user terminal device 13 from the headquarters 105 of the franchisor or the like where the host device 12 is installed.

[0047] In addition, the host device 12 performs an incentive granting step in parallel with the response output step. The incentive granting process is a process in which the branch identification means identifies the branch folder 24 to which the user terminal device 13 that purchased the product belongs based on the designated code attached to the designated user data, and the incentive granting means grants an incentive to the branch data in the identified branch folder 24. As a result, when a user terminal device 13 performs online shopping at a virtual store (shopping site) of the host device 12, the branch 110 such as a franchisee related to the branch folder 24 to which the user terminal device 13 belongs can receive a predetermined incentive according to the sales of the purchased item. In this way, by providing a predetermined incentive according to the sales at the shopping site, the branch 110 such as a franchisor or retailer will actively seek to acquire users of the user terminal device 13 and widely solicit the registration of designated user data in order to obtain even greater incentives, thereby enabling the expansion of the registration management system 10 according to this embodiment.

[0048] 1, a branch terminal device 14 configured to be capable of two-way communication with the host device 12 via a network 11 may be provided. The branch terminal device 14 is, for example, a terminal device such as a personal computer or a mobile terminal device such as a tablet PC installed in each of the branches 110 of each distribution group 100, such as a plurality of branches for the head office of the retailer described above, a plurality of retailers for a wholesaler, or a plurality of franchisees for a franchisor, and is made up of a known POS system configured by connecting the host device 12 installed in the headquarters 105 of the franchisor etc. and the branch terminal device 13 installed in the branch 110 of the franchisee etc. via the network 11. The branch terminal device 14 is configured to output the branch data to the host device 12 and to be able to update the branch data in the branch folder 24 of the host device 12 at any time. It is also configured to be able to access the designated user data in the branch folder 24. This makes it possible to use the designated user data in the branch folder 24 for sales promotion activities, such as by viewing the designated user data in the branch folder 24 from the branch terminal device 14 to grasp the sales of products, introducing recommended products to the user related to the user terminal device 13, or sending coupon data related to discount coupons to the user, or managing reservations made by users to stores and the like related to the branch 110 of a franchisee, etc.

[0049] Furthermore, the registration management system 10 according to this embodiment may be configured to include a host device 12, a user terminal device 13, and a branch terminal device 14, and further include a point granting means in the host device 12. The point granting means is configured to grant a predetermined number of points to user data on the server 12a or designated user data in the branch folder 24 when the user terminal device 13 makes online shopping at a virtual store (shopping site) or when shopping at a store or the like of a branch 110 of a franchisee or the like. This allows the host device 12 to collectively manage points granted to user data or designated user data, and allows points to be shared between online shopping and shopping at physical stores. In addition, by incorporating the registration management system 10 according to the present embodiment into a known POS system, it becomes easy to connect to other management systems, etc. With other management systems, for example, by linking pet data managed by a veterinary clinic using electronic medical records, etc. with designated user data or user data in the registration management system 10 according to the present embodiment, it is possible to share pet data of pets kept by users, enable remote treatment, and provide dietary therapy using managed pet food, and arrange pet products for treatment or palliative care of a specified disease, etc., and it is expected to enhance the effects of both the registration management system 10 according to the present embodiment and other remote diagnosis systems.

[0050] According to the registration management system 10 of this embodiment, the user data or the designated user data includes pet data consisting of information about pets, and the products sold in the virtual store (shopping site) are pet food and pet supplies. Therefore, the host device 12 or the branch terminal device 14 can recommend recommended pet food or pet supplies to the user terminal device 13 based on the user data or the designated user data.

[0051] According to the registration management system 10 of this embodiment, when a user registers a user terminal device 13 used by a user in a server 12a of a host device 12 by designating one of a plurality of branches 110, designated user data related to the user terminal device 13 is registered in a branch folder 24 related to the designated branch 110. This allows users to be sorted and registered for each branch folder 24. For example, when a pet food / pet supplies wholesaler is set up as the headquarters 105 and a branch terminal device 14 is set up as the branches 110 of retailers of different business types that belong to the pet industry, such as pet supply stores, home improvement centers, veterinary clinics, pet salons, pet hotels, and pet trainers, forming a distribution group 100 for pet supplies, etc., the wholesaler at the headquarters 105 can collectively register and manage the separate users held by the multiple branches 110 consisting of retailers of different business types across the pet industry. This allows the wholesaler at the headquarters 105 to grasp the trends of a wide variety of products for each retailer of different business types, and further allows the retailer to easily promote products to the wide variety of users held by the retailer, tailored to each user, through the branch folder 24.

[0052] The branch folder 24 is adapted to store and memorize branch data relating to one branch terminal device 14 and designated user data relating to at least one or two or more user terminal devices 13 . As a result, similar to the known method in which a branch 110 of a franchisee or the like set up a website on a server prepared by each branch 110 of the franchisee or the like by rental or the like in the past, the branch 110 of the franchisee or the retailer or the like having the branch terminal device 14 can set up a simple website using the branch data and the designated user data in the branch folder 24 stored in the server 12a of the host device 12 operated by the headquarters 105 of the franchisor, wholesaler, etc., without setting up a website by itself. Using the set up simple website, the branch terminal device 14 can send coupons to the user terminal device 13 related to each designated user data in the branch folder 24, and when a user shops at the actual store of the branch 110, the host device 12 can give points to the designated user data, thereby building a point system that can be easily shared with online shopping. In this way, the headquarters 105 of the franchisor or the like having the host device 12 and the branch 110 of the franchisee or the like having the branch terminal device 14 can cooperate to capture users and carry out effective sales promotion activities.

[0053] Furthermore, when a user accesses a virtual store (shopping site) via a user terminal device 13 and performs online shopping, a specified incentive is given to the branch terminal device 14 related to the branch data in a specified branch folder 24, based on a designated code contained in the designated user data related to the user terminal device 13. As a result, even if the user terminal device 13 belonging to the branch folder 24 does online shopping at the virtual store (shopping site) of the headquarters 105 without using the actual store of the branch 110, a predetermined incentive such as a sales commission can be given to the branch data according to the sales amount of the product. In other words, the branch 110 of a franchisee or the like can obtain an incentive even if the user is guided to the virtual store (shopping site) of the headquarters 105 by issuing a coupon or the like and shopping online, and in addition, the branch 110 of the franchisee or the like does not need to hold excess inventory in the store, and can secure free space in the back yard and reduce costs related to unsold products, products close to their expiration date, and the like. In particular, in the case of pet food and pet supplies, various products are required according to the type, age, preferences, etc. of the pets kept by each user, so eliminating the need to hold excess inventory has a significant cost-saving effect. Furthermore, for wholesalers that handle products such as pet food and pet supplies, users who use pet supply stores, users who use home improvement centers, and users who frequently use veterinary clinics, pet salons, and pet hotels each have different desired pet food and pet supplies and different purchasing trends, so in the past, they would wholesale products according to information and orders fed back from retailers such as pet supply stores. However, by allowing users to shop online at a virtual store (shopping site) operated directly by the wholesaler, it is possible for each retailer to grasp the purchasing history and product purchasing trends of each user without having to wait for feedback from pet supply stores and other retailers.By reflecting this in the branch data for each retailer, the wholesaler can more thoroughly analyze and deliver the pet food and pet supplies desired by each user when wholesale to retailers of different business types, such as pet supply stores, home improvement stores, veterinary clinics, pet salons, pet hotels, etc.

[0054] According to the registration management system 10 of this embodiment, for example, users that were previously registered and managed by each retailer individually can be registered and managed collectively by a wholesaler that does business with multiple retailers, and a branch folder can be created for each retailer that does business with the wholesaler. Conventionally, the number of users, pet food, pet supplies, etc., sales trends of products, coupon issuance, point usage rate, etc., which were analyzed by various retailers involved in the pet industry, such as pet supply stores, home centers, veterinary clinics, pet salons, pet hotels, pet trainers, etc., can be analyzed comprehensively by the wholesaler across the pet industry for each of the various types of retail businesses, and products can be delivered appropriately. In addition to online shopping at virtual stores (shopping sites), the number of products that are discarded due to unsold items or expiration dates can be reduced. Therefore, the distribution costs between the wholesaler and each retailer can be reduced. [Explanation of symbols]

[0055] 10: registration management system, 11: network, 12: host device, 12a: server, 13: user terminal device, 14: branch terminal device, 20: host device control unit 20, 21: designation code issuing unit, 22: identification unit, 23: classification unit, 30: storage unit, 31: control unit of user terminal device, 33: output unit 100...Distribution Group, 105...Headquarters, 110...Branch.

Claims

1. A host device including a server that stores and manages predetermined data in a predetermined format; A plurality of user terminal devices used by a plurality of users respectively; a network including at least the Internet that connects the host device and the user terminal device so as to be capable of two-way communication and enables the data to be freely transmitted between the host device and the user terminal device; transmitting user data relating to the user from the user terminal device to the host device via the network; a host device registering the user data in the server and managing the user data read from the server, thereby the host device registering and managing the user who uses the user terminal, Establish a distribution group consisting of a headquarters and a number of branches connected to the headquarters; The host device is installed in the headquarters, and a plurality of branch folders are formed in the server, each of which stores branch data relating to the branch; The host device includes: a designation code issuing means for issuing a designation code for designating one of the branches; a branch identification means for identifying the branch folder related to one of the branches based on the designation code; a user classification means for classifying the user data according to a predetermined condition; a user identification means for identifying the user terminal device based on the user data; a response output means for outputting a result of a host processing in response to a predetermined request input from the user terminal device for causing the host device to perform a predetermined host processing; providing an incentive giving means for giving a predetermined incentive to the branch data in accordance with the result; The user terminal device a designated code input means for inputting the designated code into the user terminal device; a designated code embedding means for embedding the captured designated code into the user data to form designated user data; a designated user data output means for outputting the designated user data onto the network; providing a request output means for outputting a request for the host processing to the host device; The designated code issued by the designated code issuing means is input to the user terminal device by the designated code input means, the designated code is incorporated into the user data by the designated code embedding means to form the designated user data, and the designated user data is output to the network by the designated user data output means, The host device, which has acquired the designated user data transmitted over the network, classifies and stores the designated user data in the branch folder related to the designated one of the branches based on the designation code incorporated in the designated user data by the user classification means, The host device registers the designated user data in the branch folder related to the designated one of the branches based on the designation code; When the user terminal device outputs the request for the host processing to the network together with the designated user data by the request output means and the designated user data output means, In the host device which has acquired the request and the designated user data to be transmitted over the network, the user identification means identifies the user terminal device which has output the request based on the designated user data, and the response output means outputs to the identified user terminal device a result of the host processing carried out in response to the request, the branch identification means identifies the branch folder related to one of the branches based on the designation code incorporated in the designated user data, and the incentive granting means grants the incentive to the branch data in the branch folder related to the identified one of the branches, when the user terminal device makes the request to the host device to perform the host processing, the host device responds to the user terminal device with a result of the host processing and also assigns the incentive to the branch data in the branch folder in which the user terminal device is registered; A registration management system characterized in that the host device registers and manages the user for each branch specified by the user terminal device, and when the result of the host processing is returned to the user terminal device in response to the request output by the user terminal device, the incentive is granted to the branch specified by the user terminal device.

2. forming a virtual space in the server, and providing a virtual shop in the virtual space for storing and managing product data relating to a predetermined product; providing a product selling means in the host device for selling the product based on the product data; when the user terminal device makes a request to the host device to cause the product selling means to perform the host process for selling the product in order to purchase the product from the virtual shop, the host device outputs the product data as a result of the host processing to the user terminal device identified by the user identification means, and the product is virtually bought and sold between the virtual shop and the user terminal device, while the branch identification means identifies the branch folder related to one of the branches based on the designated user data that identifies the user terminal device, and the incentive granting means grants the incentive to the branch data in the branch folder related to the identified one of the branches, When the commodity is traded between the virtual shop and the user terminal device, 2. The registration management system according to claim 1, wherein the host device provides the incentive to the branch data relating to one of the branches identified based on the designated user data.

3. 3. The registration management system according to claim 1, wherein the user data or the designated user data includes predetermined pet data that identifies at least a pet owned by the user.

4. 3. The registration management system according to claim 2, wherein the product is pet food or pet supplies.

5. When the result of the host processing is returned to the user terminal device in response to the request output by the user terminal device, or when the product is sold or bought between the virtual shop and the user terminal device, The registration management system according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that the host device is provided with a point allotting means for allotting a predetermined number of points to the designated user data relating to the user terminal device identified by the user identification means and stored in the branch folder.

Images