Turnover stockpiling system

Abstract

To avoid the disposal of disaster-related articles that have been problematic in stockpiling.SOLUTION: A turnover stockpiling system (1) for performing the distribution and stockpiling of articles (P) in parallel comprises a high-order management section (2) and one or more low-order management sections (3).SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a system for concurrently performing consumption and storage of articles. The present invention is a system that can consume articles within their expiration dates and avoid discarding articles by rotating replenishment and shipment of articles in a facility for storing articles.

Background Art

[0002] Activities for preparing for disasters derived from floods, earthquakes, epidemics, and more recently geopolitical threats and supply chain disruptions have become widespread. Today, many companies and local governments are stockpiling articles such as food, daily necessities, sanitary products, medical supplies, and protective clothing. Facilities and devices have been developed that can efficiently store articles during normal times and easily retrieve articles during disasters.

[0003] However, since articles have expiration dates, it is necessary to replace articles whose expiration dates are approaching with new ones in the storage facility. Since the expiration dates vary for each article, frequent replacement work is required in facilities that stockpile multiple types of articles. Products that have passed their expiration dates are discarded. Currently, there is a demand to reduce the costs of replacement and disposal during storage.

[0004] For example, the inventory management device described in Patent Document 1 can calculate and output, for each product category, the inventory quantity near the expiration date, the inventory quantity with sufficient margin until the expiration date, and the like. By doing so, the administrator managing the inventory can easily grasp, for each product category, the quantity that should be used promptly to avoid discarding due to expiration, the quantity that should be newly replenished due to disposal, the quantity that can be ensured without newly replenishing, and the like.

[0005] For example, in the disaster reserve method described in Patent Document 2, RFID tags are placed on the pallets where disaster reserve items are installed, and quantity, expiration date, etc. are stored in each RFID tag as disaster reserve item information. The information on the disaster reserve items is transmitted to the terminal of the reserve operator. The reserve management operator can instantaneously check the disaster reserve items whose expiration dates are approaching and smoothly perform operations such as replacing the disaster reserve items.

[0006] Patent Documents 1 and 2 describe in detail the technology for grasping items whose expiration dates are approaching. However, specific methods for preferentially consuming / using items whose expiration dates are approaching are not described.

[0007] On the other hand, Patent Document 3 describes a system for storing disaster prevention items smoothly and fluidly. In this system, products with short expiration dates (old products) are preferentially sold, and the items are replenished by the amount sold, and a certain amount of items are always stored for disaster prevention purposes (that is, only the surplus is sold). Such a system is effective when the seller of disaster prevention items also serves as the stockpiler of disaster prevention items. In this case, the sales store can also serve as a storage warehouse, and sales and storage can be carried out in parallel at each store. This system is effective for items for general consumers such as food and daily necessities.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0008]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Patent Document 3

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0009] However, so-called business supplies that are not for general consumers have few sales stores and it is difficult to adopt a system as described in Patent Document 3. For example, protective clothing, welfare equipment, medical instruments, and inspection equipment are items that are constantly required in special facilities such as hospitals and nursing homes, and a large number of products are supplied. In recent years, in preparation for the spread of infectious diseases, the stockpiling of these items has been progressing, but in this case, the stockpiling is separated from the normal distribution route. Therefore, unless a disaster occurs, the stockpiled items remain unused at the storage location until their expiration date. In the case of these items, the problem is that the waste rate of the stockpiled items is high and the stockpiling cost is high.

[0010] Even for items such as protective clothing that have few distribution routes through stores, a system that fluidly conducts the consumption and stockpiling of items has not yet been proposed. The inventor has sought a system that can reduce the waste rate of such items and reduce the stockpiling cost.

Means for Solving the Problem

[0011] As a result, the inventor has succeeded in concurrently performing the consumption and stockpiling of items by integrally managing one or more warehouses for storing items, the supply of items to item users, and the lot management of items in individual warehouses through a hierarchical system consisting of an upper management part and a lower management part. That is, the present invention is as follows.

[0012] (Invention 1) A rotating stockpiling system (1) for concurrently performing the consumption and stockpiling of items (P), including an upper management part (2) and one or more lower management parts (3), The upper management part (2) is a part that comprehensively manages the order receiving, procurement, incoming, storage, and shipping of items (P), receives order information for items (P), determines the procurement conditions for items (P), The lower management part (3) is a part that manages the incoming, storage, and shipping of items (P) in each of the above facilities, and generates the position information of items (P) so that items (P) with an earlier expiration date are shipped earlier. The upper management unit (2) and the lower management unit (3) communicate with each other, and the information of the article (P) stored in the upper management unit (2) and / or the information of the article (P) stored in the lower management unit (3) is updated. Rotary reserve system (1). (Invention 2) The upper management unit (2) stores the required reserve quantity (Ps) of the article (P), the order information (20) of the article (P), the identification information (Pi) of the article (P), the expiration date (Pt) of the article (P), and the incoming goods information (21), inventory information (22), and shipping information (23) of the article (P) at the current time. The expiration date (Pt), incoming goods information (21), inventory information (22), and shipping information (23) are associated with the identification information (Pi). The lower management unit (3) stores the incoming goods information (31), inventory information (32), and shipping information (33) of the article (P). The incoming goods information (31), inventory information (32), and shipping information (33) are the information extracted from the incoming goods information (21), inventory information (22), and shipping information (23). The upper management unit (2) and the lower management unit (3) communicate with each other. The upper management unit (2) acquires the incoming goods information (31), inventory information (32), and shipping information (33), updates the incoming goods information (21), inventory information (22), and shipping information (23) using the acquired incoming goods information (31), inventory information (32), and shipping information (33), calculates the quantity (Po) of the article (P) to be newly procured by referring to the updated incoming goods information (21), inventory information (22), shipping information (23), required reserve quantity (Ps), and optionally the order information (20), and generates procurement information (24). The rotary reserve system (1) of Invention 1. (Invention 3) By referring to the order information (20) and / or the procurement information (24), the upper management unit (2) updates any one or more of the incoming goods information (21), inventory information (22), and shipping information (23). As a result, any one or more of the incoming goods information (31), inventory information (32), and shipping information (33) in the lower management unit (3) are updated. The rotary reserve system (1) of Invention 1. (Invention 4) The rotation reserve system (1) of Invention 1, wherein the incoming information (21), inventory information (22), and shipping information (23) include the replacement information of the article (P) between facilities. (Invention 5) The rotation reserve system (1) of Invention 1, wherein the article (P) is a sanitary clothing item. (Invention 6) The rotation reserve system (1) of Invention 1, wherein the article (P) is any one of a gown, gloves, a mask, a face shield, or a combination of two or more selected from a gown, gloves, a mask, and a face shield.

Advantages of the Invention

[0013] The warehouse to which the rotation reserve system (1) is applied serves as both the supply facility and the storage facility of the article (P). The upper management unit (2) of the rotation reserve system (1) can instruct the purchase and replenishment of the article (P) while achieving the overall storage target of the warehouse. The upper management unit (2) of the rotation reserve system (1) comprehensively manages one or more lower management units (2), and further, each of the lower management units (2) manages by associating the identification information (Pi) of the article (P) in each warehouse with the movement of the article (P), so that the article (P) with a closer expiration date can be preferentially shipped and consumed.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0014]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Modes for Carrying Out the Invention

[0015] [Rotation Reserve System (1)] The rotation reserve system (1) of the present invention (hereinafter referred to as "this system (1)") is a system for performing the consumption and storage of the article (P) in parallel. This system (1) includes an upper management unit (2) and a lower management unit (3).

[0016] The upper management unit (2) can be paraphrased as the central management unit or the data center. One or more lower management units (3) are subordinate to the upper management unit (2). The lower management unit (3) is a local management unit. All the lower management units (3) are subordinate to the upper management unit (2) in a hanging state on the system. Each lower management unit (3) adopts a division of labor system in terms of the operation of the system.

[0017] The upper management unit (2) is a part that comprehensively manages the order receiving, procurement, incoming, storage, and shipping of the article (P). The upper management unit (2) receives order information for the article (P) and determines the procurement conditions of the article (P).

[0018] The lower management unit (3) is a part that manages the incoming, storage, and shipping of the article (P) in each of the above facilities. The lower management unit (3) generates the position information of the article (P) so that the article (P) with an earlier expiration date in the assigned facility is shipped earlier.

[0019] In this system (1), the upper management unit (2) and the lower management unit (3) communicate with each other, and the information of the article (P) stored in the upper management unit (2) and / or the information of the article (P) stored in the lower management unit (3) is updated.

[0020] The article (P) to which this system (1) is applied is an article (P) that is consumed to a certain extent even in normal times and has a higher consumption volume during disasters than in normal times. The article (P) is, for example, protective clothing, sanitary clothing, welfare equipment, medical instruments, and inspection equipment. The sanitary clothing is, for example, single items such as gowns, gloves, masks, or a set combining a plurality of these articles. Generally, the expiration date of a personal protective clothing set is several years.

[0021] This system (1) can preferentially supply the user with the articles (P) whose expiration dates are approaching among the stocked articles (P), and replenish the articles (P) by the number consumed by the user and the number newly ordered. As a result, the articles (P) are always stored in a quantity that is neither excessive nor insufficient with respect to the stock target quantity.

[0022] [Upper management department (2)] The upper management department (2) usually has a database for storing information for managing the entire flow of goods (P). In the database of the upper management department (2), for example, the required stock quantity (Ps) of the goods (P), the order information (20) of the goods (P), the identification information (Pi) of the goods (P), the expiration date (Pt) of the goods (P), and the incoming goods information (21), inventory information (22), and shipping information (23) of the goods (P) at the current time are stored. In this case, the expiration date (Pt), incoming goods information (21), inventory information (22), and shipping information (23) are associated with the identification information (Pi).

[0023] When the supply and stockpiling of goods (P) are carried out in parallel at one warehouse (logistics center) by this system (1), the quantity of goods (P) stored in the warehouse is maintained at a quantity corresponding to the required stock quantity (Ps). When the supply and stockpiling of goods (P) are carried out in parallel at multiple warehouses by this system (1), the total quantity of goods (P) stored in the multiple warehouses is maintained at a quantity corresponding to the required stock quantity (Ps).

[0024] Table 1 shows an example of a stockpiling plan. Table 1 is a model using virtual quantities and does not introduce an actual stockpiling plan. In this plan, for five items of goods: P01, P02, P03, P04, P05, the stockpiling quantity is increased by 10% starting from March 2024. In this case, data including the item, period, and required stock quantity (Ps) extracted from this stockpiling plan can be registered in the stockpiling information master that constitutes the database of the upper management department (2).

[0025] Conversely, a user of this system (1) can create, for example, a stockpiling plan table shown in Table 1 on a terminal device and transmit this stockpiling plan table to the communication department of the upper management department (2). In this case, the upper management department (2) extracts the numerical values assigned to P01, 02···, T1, T2,··· from the stockpiling plan table as data related to Ps and registers them in the stockpiling information master.

[0026]

Table 1

[0027] When a customer (consumer / user of article (P)) places an order for article (P), the upper management unit (2) generates order receiving information (20). For example, when a message and / or data for ordering article (P) via the Internet is / are sent from the terminals of hospitals 1 and 2 which are customers to the upper management unit (2), the upper management unit (2) generates new order receiving information (20) from the above and / or data, and updates the order receiving information (20) stored before order receiving. In this case, the order information (20) includes, for example, customer location information (delivery destination address), article name, quantity to be delivered, delivery time, etc.

[0028] The incoming goods information (21), inventory information (22), and shipping information (23) include the totality of information held by one or more warehouses, and include the incoming goods information (31), inventory information (32), and shipping information (33) described later.

[0029] The incoming goods information (21), inventory information (22), and shipping information (23) stored in the upper management unit (2) are information that can generate forms shown in Table 2, for example. Table 2 is a model using virtual quantities and does not introduce actual storage quantities. In this model, article P06 is stored in three warehouses: H01, H02, and H03. In warehouse S01, 100 new articles of P06 are stocked in the selected month, 1000 articles of P06 do not move, and 100 articles of P06 are shipped out.

[0030]

Table 2

[0031] [Lower management unit (3)] This system (1) includes one or more lower management units (3). While the upper management unit (2) is the control center of this system (1), the lower management unit (3) performs local management.

[0032] For example, when an item (P) is shipped from one warehouse to a user and stocked, the subordinate management unit (3) manages the movement and storage of the item (P) in the above-mentioned one warehouse. When the item (P) is shipped from multiple warehouses to a user and stocked, a plurality of subordinate management units (3) are interlocked with the upper management unit (2). In this case, each subordinate management unit (2) independently manages the movement and storage of the item (P) in one assigned warehouse. Here, "warehouse" does not only mean one warehouse as a building. One warehouse as a building, a group of warehouses, and a logistics area close to each other may be divided into a plurality of sections, and each section may be assigned to a separate subordinate management unit (3).

[0033] The database of the subordinate management unit (3) can store the incoming information (31) of the item (P), the inventory information (32) of the item (P), and the shipping information (33) of the item (P). In this case, the incoming information (31), the inventory information (32), and the shipping information (33) are information extracted from the incoming information (21), the inventory information (22), and the shipping information (23).

[0034] When the expiration date (Pt), the incoming information (21), the inventory information (22), and the shipping information (23) are associated with the identification information (Pi), in the database of the subordinate management unit (3), the incoming information (31), the inventory information (32), and the shipping information (33) are stored in a state associated with the identification information (Pi) and the expiration date (Pt).

[0035] The identification information (Pi) means the so-called lot number of a product within the facility assigned to the subordinate management unit (2). The subordinate management unit (3) can set the position of the item (P) for each lot using the expiration date (Pt) of the item (P) as an index. Here, "position" corresponds to the incoming part, storage part, and shipping part in the warehouse, and each part indicates the shelf and location where the item is located. The incoming information (31), the inventory information (32), and the shipping information (33) generally include the shelf number as data. Therefore, typically, the lot number and shelf number of the item (P) are stored in the subordinate management unit (3) in an associated manner.

[0036] For each lot of the article (P), codes such as P01L01, P01L02, ··· P01L99 are assigned. P01L101 represents "Lot No. 101 of Article P01". For example, codes as shown in Table 3 can be assigned to the positions of each lot of the article (P). In this case, for example, the dataset: P01L115#31G01 represents "Lot No. 115 of Article P01 is scheduled to arrive at Gate No. 1", and the dataset: P02L220 #31R02S01 represents "Lot No. 220 of Article P02 is being stored on Shelf No. 1 in Row 2".

[0037]

Table 3

[0038] The expiration date (Pt) of the article (P) can be associated with each lot data of the article (P) as data corresponding to the date. Alternatively, the structure of each lot data of the article (P) can also be made to correspond to the expiration date (Pt). For example, for the article (P) lot codes shown in Table 3, L101, L102, L103… are assigned in ascending order of the manufacturing date (from the oldest to the newest). The same applies to L201, L202, L203···, L301, L302, L303···. In this case, the subordinate management item (3) generates the position code of the article (P) so that the items with an older manufacturing date can be shipped earlier.

[0039] [Procurement of Article (P)] This system (1) periodically or irregularly refers to the storage status of the article (P) in each warehouse and determines whether the required reserve quantity (Ps) of the article (P) is stored in all the subordinate warehouses. The number of subordinate warehouses is the number of local facilities that can be collectively managed by this system (1). That is, it means the number of systems: subordinate management units (3) that are systemically connected to one upper management unit (2). There is no limit to the number of subordinate warehouses. There may be one subordinate warehouse, or any number of two or more.

[0040] When the number of items (P) in storage is less than the required stockpile quantity (Ps), the insufficient items (P) are procured. For example, if 100 sets of protective clothing are manufactured and sold as one lot, and the required stockpile quantity (Ps) of protective clothing is set at 10,000 pieces (100 lots), this system (1) compares the total number of protective clothing in all warehouses with Ps: 10,000 pieces (100 lots) and procures the shortage.

[0041] In this system (1), the upper management unit (2) and the lower management unit (3) communicate regularly or irregularly. At this time, the upper management unit (2) refers to the incoming goods information (31), inventory information (32), and outgoing goods information (33) of the lower management unit (3) to update the incoming goods information (21), inventory information (22), and outgoing goods information (23). For example, when the incoming goods information (31), inventory information (32), and outgoing goods information (33) in the warehouse (warehouse code H01) store the item lots shown in Table 3 in the lower management unit (2) and the position information associated with the above item lots, the upper management unit (2) refers to the incoming goods information (31), inventory information (32), and outgoing goods information (33), extracts the data corresponding to the number (lot number) of items (P) stored in warehouse H01 during a predetermined period, and updates the incoming goods information (21), inventory information (22), and outgoing goods information (23) as shown in Table 2, for example.

[0042] The upper management unit (2) calculates the number (Po) of items (P) to be newly procured by referring to the updated incoming goods information (21), inventory information (22), outgoing goods information (23), and the required stockpile quantity (Ps). Typically, the upper management unit (2) calculates the inventory quantity (lot number) of items (P) during a predetermined period based on the updated incoming goods information (21), inventory information (22), and outgoing goods information (23), and compares the calculated inventory quantity (lot number) of items (P) with the required stockpile quantity (Ps) during the above predetermined period. When the above inventory quantity is less than Ps, the difference (P0) is the shortage quantity of items (P). The upper management unit (2) stores the above shortage quantity as the number (Po) of items (P) to be newly procured.

[0043] For example, the upper management department (2) refers to the incoming goods information (31), inventory information (32), and shipping information (33) of the goods P01 accumulated in each of the warehouses H01, H02, and H03 for the current month, and updates the incoming goods information (21), inventory information (22), and shipping information (23) for the entire warehouses H01, H02, and H03. Based on the updated incoming goods information (21), inventory information (22), and shipping information (23), the upper management department (2) calculates the inventory quantity of the goods P01 in the entire warehouses H01, H02, and H03 for the next month. The upper management department (2) compares the calculated inventory quantity with the required reserve quantity (Ps) for the next month, and calculates the number of goods (lot number) Po to be newly procured. Po = (Ps for the next month) - (calculated inventory quantity) (Po > 0).

[0044] When calculating Po, the upper management department (2) can also refer to the latest order information (20). In this case, the upper management department (2) refers to the latest order information (20), the updated incoming goods information (21), inventory information (22), shipping information (23), and required reserve quantity (Ps), and calculates the number (Po) of the goods (P) to be newly procured.

[0045] The upper management department (2) generates the data including Po as procurement information (24) and stores it in the database. The user of this system (1) can place an order for the goods (P) with suppliers such as manufacturers and / or wholesalers based on the procurement information (24). The upper management department (2) can also send the order information to the supplier via the communication department (4) of this system (1) connected to the Internet.

[0046] In addition to Po corresponding to the number of goods (lot number), the procurement information (24) can include information on suppliers such as manufacturers and wholesalers. The procurement information (24) can further include information on the warehouse where the newly procured goods (P) will be received.

[0047] Procurement information (24) is updated each time the incoming information (21), inventory information (22), and shipping information (23) are updated with reference to the incoming information (31), inventory information (32), and shipping information (33). For example, when items (P) are shipped monthly from any of the warehouses H01, H02, H03, the upper management unit (2) updates the procurement information (24) each month so that items with a procurement quantity (Po) equal to the shipping quantity are received at any of the warehouses H01, H02, H03.

[0048] [Receipt] When the procurement information (24) is updated and Po > 0, it is necessary to receive items with a quantity of Po at any of the warehouses to which this system (1) is applied. In this case, first, the upper management unit (2) updates the incoming information (21), inventory information (22), and shipping information (23) based on the latest (updated) procurement information (24). At this time, as the incoming information (21), the information of the items to be newly received and the information of the warehouse designated as the new receiving destination are updated. As a result, the incoming information (31) is updated in the database of the lower management unit (3) assigned to the warehouse designated as the new receiving destination.

[0049] In this way, when the procurement information (24) is generated, the incoming information (21) is updated in the upper management unit (2), and the incoming information (31) is updated in the lower management unit (3) assigned to the item (P) to be procured.

[0050] If the movement of the stored items is required due to the new receipt at the warehouse, the lower management unit (3) assigned to the warehouse updates the inventory information (32) and / or the shipping information (33).

[0051] In this way, when any one or more of the incoming information (31), inventory information (32), and shipping information (33) are updated along with the procurement and receipt of new items (P), any one or more of the incoming information (31), inventory information (32), and shipping information (33) are also updated through the communication between the upper management unit (2) and the lower management unit (3).

[0052] When the upper management unit (2) acquires the lot number of the item to be procured, the upper management unit (2) associates the arrival information (21) of the corresponding item (P) with the lot number of the item. When the lower management unit (3) acquires the lot number of the item (already arrived) scheduled for arrival, the lower management unit (2) associates the location information of the corresponding item (P) with the lot number.

[0053] In this way, in this system (1), the upper management unit (2) designates the procurement and arrival information of the item (P). In each warehouse to which this system (1) is applied, in principle, the warehouse does not designate the procurement and arrival of the item (P) by itself.

[0054] When the item (P) with the planned quantity (lot number): Po arrives at the warehouse designated by the upper management unit (2), hereafter, the lower management unit (3) assigns the location information in the above warehouse to each lot of the item (P) with the quantity (lot number): Po.

[0055] [Shipping] When shipping an item (P) from any of the warehouses to which this system (1) is applied, the upper management unit (2) updates the shipping information (23). For example, when it is pre-planned to ship a predetermined quantity of an item (P) from a predetermined warehouse at ordinary times, the upper management unit (2) automatically updates the shipping information (23) according to the shipping time. When there is a temporary order and the order receiving information (20) is generated, the upper management unit (2) generates the shipping information (23) that reflects the regular shipping and the temporary shipping.

[0056] For example, the upper management unit (2) generates data corresponding to 'Shipping instruction to Warehouse H01' one month before the shipping date of the preset Warehouse H01 and instructs the warehouse H01 to ship. The upper management unit (2) stores data corresponding to 'Shipping instruction to Warehouse H01 has been completed' in the shipping information (23). As the above 'instruction', for example, text data is transmitted to the communication unit of the lower management unit (3). For example, in Warehouse H01, an employee can confirm the above instruction on a terminal device that displays the above text data.

[0057] The subordinate management unit (3) that has received the above "instruction" extracts the articles (P) to be shipped and updates the location information of the extracted articles (P). As a result, a new dataset associated with the identification information (Pi) (generally the lot number) of the extracted articles (P) is generated. The shipping information (33) is updated based on the generated data.

[0058] The criterion for extracting the articles (P) to be shipped is the expiration date (Pt) of the articles (P). When the identification information (Pi) (generally the lot number) is assigned to the articles (P) corresponding to the period until the expiration date (Pt), that is, in the order of the manufacturing date, the subordinate management unit (3) refers to the identification information (Pi) and extracts the article (P) with the earliest expiration date (Pt). For example, in the example shown in Table 3, among the lots L101, L102, L103... of the article P01, the lot L101 is the oldest and reaches the expiration date Pt the earliest. Therefore, the subordinate management unit (3) of the warehouse H01 extracts the lot (Pi: P01L101) as the article to be shipped. The location code of the extracted article (Pi: P01L101) is overwritten from the location code #32R01S01 indicating in storage to the location code #33B10 assigned to the article during shipment, and the shipment of the lot L101 of the article P01 starts in the actual warehouse H01.

[0059] When the shipment of the article (P) is completed, the subordinate management unit (3) updates the receipt information (31), inventory information (32), and shipping information (33). The upper management unit (2) refers to the updated receipt information (31), inventory information (32), and shipping information (33) to update the receipt information (21), inventory information (22), and shipping information (23), calculates the number (Po) of articles (P) to be newly procured, updates the procurement information (24), and newly procures the articles (P) as necessary. After procurement, the receipt information (31) is updated again in the subordinate management unit (3), and the article (P) will be received at a later date.

[0060] When the upper management department (2) receives order data via the communication department, it generates order received information (20). The upper management department (2) refers to information such as the name (product name code), quantity, and user information (address) of the item (P) included in the order received information (20), as well as the inventory information (22) at the time of order receipt, etc., and designates the warehouse that ships the ordered item. At this time, the shipping information (23) is updated. The lower management department (3) assigned to the designated warehouse extracts the information from the database of the upper management department (2) and updates the shipping information (31).

[0061] When it is determined that replenishment of the item (P) to this warehouse is necessary to fulfill the required reserve quantity (Ps) with the shipment of the ordered item, for example, the upper management department (2) can generate procurement information (24). The upper management department (2) referring to the expiration date (Pt) of the item (P) can also perform the above replenishment by moving the item (P) from other warehouses to this warehouse. In this case, the inventory information (22) assigned to two or more warehouses is updated.

[0062] Thus, when any one or more of the incoming information (31), inventory information (32), and shipping information (33) are updated with the order and shipment of the item (P), any one or more of the incoming information (31), inventory information (32), and shipping information (33) are also updated via the communication between the upper management department (2) and the lower management department (3).

[0063] In the lower management department (3) assigned to the warehouse where the item (P) is shipped, referring to the updated shipping information (33), it extracts the identification information (Pi) (lot number) of the item (P) actually carried out and the location information (shelf number) assigned to Pi. In this warehouse, the extraction of the item (P) starts using the extracted location information (shelf number).

[0064] [Inventory Management] When an article (P) arrives at a warehouse to which this system (1) is applied, until shipment, the position information (shelf) of the article (P) in each warehouse is managed by the subordinate management unit (3). Generally, since the expiration date (Pt) of the article (P) is linked to the identification information (Pi), the subordinate management unit (3) refers to the identification information (Pi) and assigns the position code (shelf) of the article in the order of arrival of the expiration date (Pt). In this case, in an actual warehouse, a group of articles (P) with an earlier arrival of the expiration date (Pt) can be arranged at a position (shelf) closer to the shipping department.

[0065] [Rotational reserve] In this system (1), the upper management unit (2) observes the increase and decrease of the total number of articles (P). This system (1) moves the articles (P) in and out at an appropriate facility in the order of arrival of the expiration date (Pt) while maintaining the necessary reserve quantity (Ps) for the entire subordinate warehouse. The upper management unit (2) arranges the articles (P) in each warehouse at an appropriate time. In the warehouse assigned to the subordinate management unit (2), the articles (P) handled by the warehouse are positioned according to the expiration date (Pt), and the articles with an approaching expiration date are shipped earlier.

[0066] In this way, this system (1) performs the consumption of articles (P) in normal times and the reserve of articles (P) in parallel. With this system (1), while maintaining a sufficient reserve quantity for disaster prevention, old articles can be preferentially consumed, the consumed articles can be replenished, and they can be consumed within the expiration date without being discarded.

Example

[0067] [Example 1] Fig. 1 shows a conventional reserve method. A manufacturer / seller (200) receives an order for articles from users (hospitals 401, 402) (see the dotted line). The articles are carried into warehouses (301, 302) from the manufacturer / seller (200). Articles are shipped from warehouse (301) to user (401), and user (401) consumes the articles. Articles are shipped from warehouse (302) to user (402), and user (402) consumes the articles. Such normal consumption (10) consumes a certain amount of articles. The local government (100), which is responsible for stockpiling goods, conducts stockpiling of goods separately from normal consumption (10). The conventional stockpiling (11) is separated from normal consumption (10). Goods for stockpiling are stored in the warehouse (303) upon an order from the local government (100), but during normal times, no goods are shipped out from the warehouse (303), and goods are moved from the warehouse (303) to users (401, 402) only in the event of a disaster.

[0068] Goods whose expiration date has arrived while being stored in the warehouse (303) are discarded. New goods are replenished in the warehouse (303) in place of the discarded goods.

[0069] Such a mechanism has the problem of involving the cost of discarding and replenishing a large amount of goods.

[0070] [Example 2] FIG. 2 schematically shows how the present system (1) of the present invention is used. The present system (1) includes a superior management unit (2) and an inferior management unit (3).

[0071] The superior management unit (2) comprehensively manages the receipt, storage, and shipment of goods (P) in the warehouses (304) and (305) according to the plan of the local government (100). The superior management unit (2) manages the procurement (purchase) of goods (P) from the manufacturers and sellers (200) of the goods (P). The superior management unit (2) receives an order for the goods (P) and generates order information (20).

[0072] Stored in the superior management unit (2) are the required stockpile quantity (Ps) of the high-quality goods (P), order information (20), receipt information (21) of the goods (P), inventory information (22) of the goods (P), shipment information (23) of the goods (P), and procurement information (24) of the goods (P). The required stockpile quantity (Ps) is a numerical value specified by the local government (100).

[0073] The subordinate management unit (3) applied to the warehouse (304) manages the incoming, storage, and outgoing of the articles (P) in the warehouse (304). In the subordinate management unit (3) on the warehouse (304) side, the identification information (Pi) of the articles (P) handled by the warehouse (304), the expiration date (Pt) of the articles (P) associated with the identification information (Pi), the incoming information (31) of the articles (P), the inventory information (32) of the articles (P), and the outgoing information (33) of the articles (P) are stored.

[0074] The subordinate management unit (3) applied to the warehouse (305) manages the incoming, storage, and outgoing of the articles (P) in the warehouse (305). In the subordinate management unit (3) on the warehouse (305) side, the identification information (Pi) of the articles (P) handled by the warehouse (305), the expiration date (Pt) of the articles (P) associated with the identification information (Pi), the incoming information (31) of the articles (P), the inventory information (32) of the articles (P), and the outgoing information (33) of the articles (P) are stored.

[0075] The upper management unit (2) refers to the incoming information (31), inventory information (32), and outgoing information (33) on the warehouse (304) side and the incoming information (31), inventory information (32), and outgoing information (33) on the warehouse (305) side to update the incoming information (21), inventory information (22), and outgoing information (23).

[0076] When an order message is sent from the hospital (401), which is the user of the article (P), to the upper management unit (2) via a terminal device connected to the Internet, the upper management unit (2) generates order information (20), selects the warehouse (304) as the warehouse for shipping the ordered article (P), updates the outgoing information (23), and transmits shipping instruction data to the subordinate management unit (3) on the warehouse (304) side.

[0077] Then, the lower-level management unit (3) on the warehouse (304) side refers to the item (P) lot number and extracts the lot of items (P) to be shipped to the hospital (401). Since the above lot number is assigned in association with the manufacturing time, the lot of items (P) selected by the lower-level management unit (3) is the lot with the earliest expiration date (Pt) among the items (P) stored in the warehouse (304). The lower-level management unit (3) on the warehouse (304) side updates the incoming information (31), inventory information (32), and shipping information (33) according to the progress of shipping to the hospital (401).

[0078] When an order message is sent from the hospital (402), the upper-level management unit (2) also generates order information (20) (not shown in the figure). Through the same processing as described above, the parts (P) ordered from the nearest warehouse (305) are delivered to the hospital (402). The lower-level management unit (3) on the warehouse (305) side updates the incoming information (31), inventory information (32), and shipping information (33) according to the progress of shipping to the hospital (402).

[0079] The upper-level management unit (2) communicates with the lower-level management unit (3), and the upper-level management unit (2) collects the updated incoming information (31), inventory information (32), and shipping information (33) and updates the incoming information (21), inventory information (22), and shipping information (23).

[0080] The upper-level management unit (2) refers to the updated incoming information (21), inventory information (22), shipping information (23), and the required reserve quantity (Ps), calculates the quantity (Po) of items (P) that need to be newly procured, and generates procurement information (24).

[0081] Based on the procurement information (24), the upper-level management unit (2) transmits order information including the quantity (Po) of the item and the information of the warehouse (305) as the delivery destination to the terminal device of the manufacturer and seller (200) of the item (P) from the communication unit (not shown). According to the order information, the warehouse (305) is replenished with the quantity Po of the item (P). The replenished item (P) is positioned according to the location information (shelf) generated by the lower-level management unit (2).

[0082] In this example, the upper management department (2) centrally manages the maintenance of the required reserve quantity (Ps), order reception, and procurement (purchasing) for all subordinate warehouses (304, 305), and selects the procurement route (factory - warehouse route) and supply route (warehouse - hospital route) for the articles (P). The subordinate management department (3) in accordance with the decision of the upper management department (2) manages the shelf movement of the articles (P) so that the articles (P) with an earlier expiration date (Pt) are preferentially shipped.

[0083] In this way, when this system (1) is applied, the consumption and reserve of the articles (P) proceed in parallel. The articles (P) managed by this system (1) are always for reserve and for consumption. As a result, the discard of the articles (P) can be avoided by this system (1).

[0084] [Example 3] Fig. 3 shows the state in which the consumption and reserve of the article (P01) proceed in parallel at the warehouse H05 to which this system (1) is applied.

[0085] Corresponding to the required reserve quantity Ps in the reserve plan, the upper management department (1) updates the incoming information (21), inventory information (22), shipping information (23), and procurement information (24) so that 12 lots of the article P01, which is the number of lots consumed by the user in 12 months, are always stored in the warehouse H01. At the start of reserve (year and month: Y1M1), 12 lots: L2301, L2302, L2303 ··· L2312 of the article P01 are stored in the warehouse H05.

[0086] For each of the lots: L2301, L2302, L2303 ··· L231, the manufacturing month is separated by one month. The manufacturing months of each lot are in the order from the oldest to the newest: L2301, L2302, L2303 ··· L2312. The lot with the earliest expiration date (Pt) is L2301.

[0087] The lower management department (3) selects lot L2301 as the lot to be shipped from warehouse H01 from the start of stockpiling (year and month: Y1M1) to one month later (year and month: Y1M2), and updates the shipping information (33). On the other hand, the upper management department (2) refers to the updated shipping information (33) and generates the lot number (Po) of item P01 to be newly procured. The upper management department (2) selects warehouse H01 as the destination for the newly procured item P01.

[0088] While lot L2301 of item P01 is shipped from warehouse H01, one new lot of item P01 is replenished to warehouse H01. The replenished one lot of item P01: L2401 is a lot manufactured one month after lot L2312. The lower management department (3) applied to warehouse H01 generates position data corresponding to the shelf of the newly received lot: L2401, and updates the receipt information (31), inventory information (32), and shipping information (33).

[0089] At one month after the start of stockpiling (year and month: Y1M1) (year and month: Y1M2), items P01 that users will consume in 12 months, such as L2302, L2303, L2304···, L2401, are stored in warehouse H01. The manufacturing months of each lot are in the order from the oldest to the newest: L2302, L2303, L2303···L2312, L2401.

[0090] Before another month passes, lot L2302 selected by the lower management department (3) is shipped, and on the other hand, a new lot: L2402 procured by the upper management department (2) arrives at warehouse H01. Items P01 that users will consume in 12 months, such as L2303, L2304, L2305···L2401, L2402, are available in warehouse H01. The manufacturing months of each lot are in the order from the oldest to the newest: L2303, L2304, L2305···L2401, L2402.

[0091] If such monthly shipments and replenishments are repeated, 12 months after the start of stockpiling (year and month: Y1M1), i.e., at (year and month: Y2M1), items L2401, L2402, L2403 ··· L2411, L2412, which are the items P01 consumed by the user in 12 months, will be stored in warehouse H01. At this point, all 12 lots of item P01 that were in stock at the start of stockpiling (year and month: Y1M1) have been replaced.

[0092] If the expiration date Pt of item P01 is 5 years, it is possible to stockpile the quantity of item P01 that is shipped over 12 months during normal times while repeating the incoming and outgoing shipments (while rotating). By repeating such rotational stockpiling, there is no need to discard item P01.

Industrial Applicability

[0093] Therefore, this system (1) can reduce the costs associated with the continuation of stockpiled items, which was a conventional problem. With this system (1), it is possible to avoid environmental pollution associated with waste treatment. Moreover, whether during a disaster or normal times, it is always possible to supply users with items within the expiration date. This system (1) of the present invention is useful as a logistics support system that also serves as a disaster countermeasure.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0094] 1 Rotational Stockpiling System 2 Upper Management Department 3 Lower Management Department 10 Normal Consumption 11 Conventional Stockpiling 21 Incoming Shipment Information of Item (P) Stored in Upper Management Department (2) 22 Inventory Information of Item (P) Stored in Upper Management Department (2) 23 Outgoing Shipment Information of Item (P) Stored in Upper Management Department (2) Ps Required Stockpile Quantity of Item (P) Stored in Upper Management Department (2) 24 Procurement Information of Item (P) Stored in Upper Management Department (2) 31 Incoming Shipment Information of Item (P) Stored in Lower Management Department (3) Inventory information of the item (P) stored in the lower management unit (3) Shipping information of the item (P) stored in the lower management unit (3) 100 Local government 200 Manufacturer / seller 301, 302, 303 Warehouses 304, 305 Warehouses 401, 402 Hospitals Pi Identification information of the item (P) Pt Expiration date of the item (P) Ps Required reserve quantity of the item (P)

Claims

1. A rotating inventory system (1) that performs the consumption and storage of an article (P) in parallel, comprising a higher-level management unit (2) and one or more lower-level management units (3), The higher-level management unit (2) is a part that comprehensively manages the order receipt, procurement, receipt, storage, and shipment of the article (P), and determines the procurement conditions of the article (P) based on the position information of the article (P) in one or more facilities and the storage conditions of the article (P). The lower-level management unit (3) is a part that manages the receipt, storage, and shipment of the article (P) in each of the above facilities, and generates the position information of the article (P) so that the article (P) with an earlier expiration date is shipped earlier. The higher-level management unit (2) and the lower-level management unit (3) communicate with each other, and the information of the article (P) stored in the higher-level management unit (2) and / or the information of the article (P) stored in the lower-level management unit (3) is updated. Rotating inventory system (1).

2. The higher-level management unit (2) stores the required inventory quantity (Ps) of the article (P), the order receipt information (20) of the article (P), the identification information (Pi) of the article (P), the expiration date (Pt) of the article (P), and the current receipt information (21), inventory information (22), and shipment information (23) of the article (P). The expiration date (Pt), receipt information (21), inventory information (22), and shipment information (23) are associated with the identification information (Pi). The lower-level management unit (3) stores the receipt information (31) of the article (P), the inventory information (32) of the article (P), and the shipment information (33) of the article (P). The receipt information (31), inventory information (32), and shipment information (33) are information extracted from the receipt information (21), inventory information (22), and shipment information (23). The higher-level management unit (2) and the lower-level management unit (3) communicate with each other. The higher-level management unit (2) acquires the receipt information (31), inventory information (32), and shipment information (33), and updates the receipt information (21), inventory information (22), and shipment information (23) using the newly acquired receipt information (31), inventory information (32), and shipment information (33). refers to the order receipt information (20), the updated receipt information (21), inventory information (22), shipment information (23), and the required inventory quantity (Ps), calculates the quantity (Po) of the article (P) to be newly procured, and generates procurement information (24). The rotating inventory system (1) according to claim 1.

3. The rotating inventory system (1) according to claim 1, wherein when the procurement information (24) is generated, the receipt information (21) and the receipt information (31) are updated.

4. The rotation reserve system (1) according to claim 1, wherein the incoming information (21), the inventory information (22), and the shipping information (23) include replacement information of articles (P) between facilities.

5. The rotation reserve system (1) according to claim 1, wherein the article (P) is a sanitary clothing item.

6. The rotation reserve system (1) according to claim 1, wherein the article (P) is any one of a gown, gloves, a mask, a face shield, or a combination of two or more selected from a gown, gloves, a mask, and a face shield.

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