Information processing system, information processing method, and program

Abstract

To reduce the time and effort required for a producer of agricultural products to input commodity information for an EC site, and keep the commodity information fresh.SOLUTION: An information processing system includes a control unit. The control unit receives, from a producer terminal of a producer of agricultural products, commodity information of the agricultural products and estimated harvest period information indicating an estimated harvest period of the agricultural products, transmits, based on the estimated harvest period information, when the day which is predetermined days before a date included in the estimated harvest period of the agricultural products arrives, a confirmation notice for confirming whether the agricultural products can be shipped or not, to the producer terminal, and places, when receiving shipment-available reply information from the producer terminal in response to the confirmation notice, the commodity information on a web page on which orders can be accepted from consumer terminals of consumers or generates a catalog containing the commodity information so as to be printed.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 11

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing system, an information processing method, and a program capable of processing information for electronic commerce (EC) of agricultural products. [Background technology]

[0002] BACKGROUND ART Conventionally, systems for matching producers who produce agricultural products with consumers who purchase the agricultural products have been known.

[0003] For example, Patent Document 1 listed below discloses an electronic commerce method that acquires a plurality of pieces of sales information including variety information indicating the variety of agricultural products to be produced, quality information related to the quality of the agricultural products, harvest yield information indicating the harvest yield of the agricultural products, and desired selling price information for the agricultural products; acquires purchase offer information including item information indicating the type of agricultural product to be purchased, characteristic information related to the characteristics of the agricultural products, required quantity information indicating the required quantity of the agricultural products, and desired purchasing price information for the agricultural products; identifies one or more pieces of sales information that match the acquired purchase offer information from the acquired plurality of pieces of sales information; and provides the identified one or more pieces of sales information so that they can be viewed by the sender of the purchase offer information. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2021-56839 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, in conventional e-commerce systems such as those described in Patent Document 1, producers are required to input product information for the agricultural products they wish to sell each time they make a sale. Many producers are elderly or otherwise unaccustomed to entering information on a computer, and entering product information each time is a significant hassle and effort. Furthermore, producers may have dirty hands when operating a computer or other device while working in the fields, making it difficult to input information about agricultural products to be shipped in a timely manner. These circumstances are thought to be hindering the development of e-commerce sites for agricultural products.

[0006] In view of the above circumstances, the present invention aims to provide an information processing system, information processing method, and program that can reduce the time and effort required by agricultural producers to input product information for e-commerce sites, while maintaining the freshness of the product information. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] To achieve the above object, an information processing system according to one embodiment of the present invention includes a control unit that receives, from a producer terminal of an agricultural product, product information for the agricultural product and planned harvest period information indicating a planned harvest period for the agricultural product, and, based on the planned harvest period information, transmits a confirmation notice to the producer terminal confirming whether the agricultural product can be shipped when a predetermined day before a day included in the planned harvest period for the agricultural product arrives, and, when a response notice indicating that the agricultural product can be shipped is received from the producer terminal in response to the confirmation notice, posts the product information on a web page that can accept orders from a consumer terminal of a consumer, or generates a catalog containing the product information in a printable format.

[0008] With this configuration, the information processing system sends a confirmation notification to the producer terminal as to whether the produce can be shipped based on the planned harvest period information for the produce. This allows the producer to list the produce simply by replying to the confirmation notification, thereby reducing the time and effort required for the producer to input product information. Furthermore, by updating the product information every time a predetermined date arrives (for example, once a week or every day), the freshness of the product information on the web page is maintained. The predetermined date is, for example, the day before or the day before that, but is not limited to this.

[0009] The control unit may receive the product information and the planned harvest period information for a plurality of agricultural products, and receive the shipping possibility for each of the plurality of agricultural products in response to the confirmation notice.

[0010] This allows producers to receive information on whether multiple agricultural products can be shipped at once.

[0011] The product information may include information indicating the unit price of the agricultural product and the amount of the agricultural product that can be shipped in one shipment. In this case, the control unit may accept, from the producer terminal, changes to the information indicating the unit price and the amount of the agricultural product that can be shipped, in addition to the availability of shipping.

[0012] This allows producers to review the unit price and shipping volume of agricultural products that they have set immediately before shipping.

[0013] The control unit may send the confirmation notice two days before the scheduled shipping date of the agricultural product, and may display the product information on the web page until the day before the scheduled shipping date.

[0014] This allows producers to always receive a confirmation notice two days before shipping, allowing them to manage and understand shipping schedules based on the confirmation notice.

[0015] When the control unit receives a notification in response to the confirmation notice indicating that the shipment of the agricultural produce has been postponed, the control unit may postpone the planned harvest period for a predetermined period.

[0016] In addition, the control unit may receive an extension period in addition to the postponement of the shipment of the agricultural products from the producer terminal, and when the extension period is received, may stop sending the confirmation notification during the extension period even if it is during the planned harvest period.

[0017] With these configurations, if there is a discrepancy between the planned harvest period and the actual harvest period due to weather or other factors, producers can change the planned harvest period so that confirmation notices can be received at a different time, rather than simply replying that shipment is not possible.

[0018] The control unit may receive, from the producer terminal, a selection input of a market organizer to which the agricultural products will be shipped from among a plurality of market organizers.

[0019] This allows producers to receive information on whether or not agricultural products destined for multiple different market organizers can be shipped at once from their terminals, allowing producers to exhibit agricultural products destined for multiple different market organizers using the same system.

[0020] When the control unit receives an order for agricultural products corresponding to the product information from a consumer terminal on the webpage, it may send order information for the agricultural products, including a shipping request to a designated market organizer, to the producer terminal.

[0021] This allows producers to easily sell agricultural products online by simply shipping them to market organizers in response to orders from consumers, without having to set up their own e-commerce site or handle tasks such as packaging and shipping.

[0022] An information processing method according to another aspect of the present invention includes: receiving product information of the agricultural product and planned harvest period information indicating a planned harvest period for the agricultural product from a producer terminal of the agricultural product producer; based on the planned harvest period information, when a day before a predetermined day included in the planned harvest period of the agricultural produce arrives, a confirmation notice is sent to the producer terminal to confirm whether the agricultural produce can be shipped; When a response to the confirmation notice is received from the producer terminal indicating that the product is ready for shipment, the product information is posted on a web page that can accept orders from the consumer terminal of the consumer, or a catalog containing the product information is generated in a printable format.

[0023] According to yet another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a program for executing the program on an information processing device, receiving, from a producer terminal of a producer of the agricultural product, product information of the agricultural product and information on a planned harvest period indicating a planned harvest period of the agricultural product; a step of transmitting a confirmation notice to the producer terminal, when a day before a predetermined day included in the planned harvest period of the agricultural produce arrives based on the planned harvest period information, to confirm whether the agricultural product can be shipped; When response information indicating that the product can be shipped is received from the producer terminal in response to the confirmation notice, the step of posting the product information on a web page that can accept orders from the demander terminal of the demander, or generating a catalog containing the product information in a printable state is executed. [Effects of the Invention]

[0024] As described above, the present invention reduces the time and effort required for agricultural producers to input product information for e-commerce sites and maintains the freshness of the product information. However, this effect does not limit the present invention. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0025] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of an agricultural product EC system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] 1 is a diagram showing the hardware configuration of an agricultural product EC server according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a database included in an agricultural product EC server according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] 10 is a flowchart showing the flow of agricultural product EC processing by an agricultural product EC server according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 5] 10 is a diagram showing an example of an input screen in a process for registering information on a planned harvest period for agricultural produce by a producer terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 6] 10 is a diagram showing an example of an input screen in a process for registering information on a planned harvest period for agricultural produce by a producer terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 7] 10 is a diagram showing an example of an input screen in a process for registering information on a planned harvest period for agricultural produce by a producer terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 8] 10 is a diagram showing an example of an input screen in a process for registering information on a planned harvest period for agricultural produce by a producer terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 9] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of an input screen in the product information registration process for agricultural products by a producer terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 10] 10 is a diagram showing an example of an input screen in the agricultural product information registration process by a producer terminal according to an embodiment of the invention. FIG. [Figure 11] 10 is a flowchart showing the flow of a catalog update process performed by an agricultural product EC server according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 12] A figure showing an example of a notification confirming whether or not an agricultural product can be shipped that is sent to a producer terminal by an agricultural product EC server according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 13] 1 is a diagram showing an example of a web catalog of agricultural products posted by an agricultural product EC server according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 14] 10 is a diagram showing an example of agricultural product ordering information transmitted to a producer terminal by an agricultural product EC server according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 15] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the lead time from catalog update to produce delivery in an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0026] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0027] [System Configuration] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of an agricultural product EC system according to this embodiment.

[0028] As shown in the figure, this system includes an agricultural product EC server 100 on the Internet 50, a producer terminal 200 of an agricultural product producer (farmer), an MO terminal 400 of an agricultural product market organizer (hereinafter also referred to as a "market owner (MO)"), and a consumer terminal 300 of a consumer of agricultural products.

[0029] An MO is, for example, a local farmer's market, an agricultural cooperative, or a producers' association, and it hosts an agricultural market and also functions as a collection point for agricultural products. Although only one MO is shown in the figure, there can be multiple MOs. Agricultural products are shipped from producers to the MO as a collection point, and then delivered directly from the MO to consumers. Delivery can be made directly from the MO to consumers by vehicle, or consumers can come to the MO to pick up the products. Alternatively, the MO can outsource delivery to another business.

[0030] The consumers are actual users of agricultural products, such as restaurants, food processing plants, school lunch centers, etc. The consumers are located within a distance range from the MO, such as a radius of about 20 to 30 km, within which agricultural products can be directly delivered by vehicle from the MO, and may be located across prefectures or municipalities from the MO.

[0031] The agricultural product EC server 100 is a server that operates an EC site (agricultural product web catalog) that sells agricultural products (including processed products thereof) via the Internet 50. The agricultural product EC server 100 is connected to a plurality of producer terminals 200, MO terminals 400, and consumer terminals 300 via the Internet 50. Note that the EC site is an example of a web page and does not limit the present invention.

[0032] The agricultural product EC server 100 posts product information of agricultural products received from the producer terminal 200 on the web catalog on the EC site, accepts orders for agricultural products from the consumer terminal 300, and places an order for the ordered products with the producer terminal 200.

[0033] The agricultural product EC server 100 may send the product information of the agricultural product received from the producer terminal 200 to the consumer terminal 300 by including the URL of the product information in a message such as an email or SMS, or may send the product information to the consumer terminal 300 as printable information including a two-dimensional code. The consumer terminal 300 can receive each product information or a web catalog based on it from the agricultural product EC server 100 via the URL or two-dimensional code, and can send an order request for the agricultural product to the agricultural product EC server 100 in response to an operation by the consumer.

[0034] The producer terminal 200 is a terminal used by a producer of agricultural products, such as a smartphone, mobile phone, tablet PC, etc. An application for agricultural product e-commerce (hereinafter also referred to as an EC app) that is linked to the above-mentioned EC site is installed on the producer terminal 200, and the producer terminal 200 accesses the agricultural product EC server 100 via the EC app to upload product information, etc. and receive order information.

[0035] The consumer terminal 300 is a terminal owned by each consumer, and may be a tablet PC, notebook PC, desktop PC, or the like. The consumer terminal 300 accesses the EC site of the agricultural product EC server 100, receives the web pages that make up the web catalog, and displays them on a screen using a browser or the like. When a consumer places an order from the paper catalog, the consumer terminal 300 can perform the same process by accessing the web page. The consumer terminal 300 also selects agricultural products from the web catalog and performs the order (add to cart) process and payment process.

[0036] The MO terminal 400 is a terminal installed in each MO, and may be a tablet PC, notebook PC, desktop PC, or the like. The agricultural product EC server 100 provides a management screen for the web catalog for the MO, and the MO terminal 400 can access the management screen to edit and update product information, switch between displaying and not displaying, and print, etc. The MO terminal can print out a list of agricultural products scheduled for shipment received from the producer terminal 200, as well as receipt slips containing tally results and the like, and can print out a list of agricultural products to be delivered from the MO to consumers.

[0037] In hosting the agricultural produce market, the MO will have concluded a contract with the operator of the agricultural produce EC server 100 to pay a system usage fee and a specified percentage of agricultural product sales on the EC site.

[0038] [Hardware configuration of agricultural product e-commerce server] 2 is a diagram showing the hardware configuration of the agricultural product EC server 100. As shown in the figure, the agricultural product EC server 100 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 11 (server control unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory) 12, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 13, an input / output interface 15, and a bus 14 connecting these components to each other.

[0039] The CPU 11 accesses the RAM 13 and other memory as needed, and performs various arithmetic processing while controlling all blocks of the agricultural product EC server 100. The ROM 12 is a non-volatile memory that permanently stores firmware such as the OS, programs, and various parameters to be executed by the CPU 11. The RAM 13 is used as a working area for the CPU 11, and temporarily stores the OS, various applications currently being executed, and various data being processed.

[0040] The input / output interface 15 is connected to a display unit 16, an operation reception unit 17, a storage unit 18, a communication unit 19, and the like.

[0041] The display unit 16 is a display device that uses, for example, an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), an OLED (Organic ElectroLuminescence Display), a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube), or the like.

[0042] The operation reception unit 17 is, for example, a pointing device such as a mouse, a keyboard, a touch panel, or other input device. When the operation reception unit 17 is a touch panel, the touch panel can be integrated with the display unit 16.

[0043] The storage unit 18 is a non-volatile memory such as a hard disk drive (HDD), a flash memory (solid state drive (SSD)), or other solid-state memory. The storage unit 18 stores the OS, various applications, and various data.

[0044] In particular, in this embodiment, the storage unit 18 stores data, applications, and other programs for the agricultural product EC server 100 to execute the agricultural product EC processing described below. As will be described later, the storage unit 18 has databases containing such data, including a producer information database, a consumer information database, an MO information database, a product information database, and an order information database.

[0045] The communication unit 19 is, for example, a NIC (Network Interface Card) for Ethernet or various modules for wireless communication such as wireless LAN, and is responsible for communication processing between the producer terminal 200, the consumer terminal 300, and the MO terminal 400.

[0046] [Database configuration of agricultural product e-commerce server] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the configuration of a database included in the agricultural product EC server 100. As shown in FIG.

[0047] As shown in the figure, the agricultural product EC server 100 has a producer information database 31, a consumer information database 32, an MO information database 33, a product information database 34, and an order information database 35 in the memory unit 18.

[0048] The producer information database 31 stores information about agricultural producers who are members of the EC system hosted by the MO and who own the producer terminal 200. Specifically, the producer information database 31 stores information for each producer, such as the producer ID, password, name, display name in the web catalog, email address, telephone number, address, ID of the MO used, producer preferences, images of the producer or farm, and deposit account information.

[0049] The consumer information database 32 stores information about consumers of agricultural products (restaurants, food processing plants, school lunch centers, etc.) who are members of the EC site and own consumer terminals 300. Specifically, the consumer information database 32 stores information for each consumer, such as consumer ID, password, name (name), email address, telephone number, address, age (group), gender, and payment information (credit card information).

[0050] The MO information database 33 stores information about the MO that hosts the agricultural produce market, specifically, information such as the MO's ID, name, representative, email address, telephone number, address, fee payment information (credit card information), and agricultural product delivery schedule (delivery days and whether or not delivery is available each day).

[0051] The product information database 34 stores information about agricultural produce received from the producer terminal 200. Specifically, the product information database 34 stores information such as the name of the agricultural produce, the variety name, information about the planned harvest period, the MO of the shipping destination, the product name, the sales price, the sales unit (kg, piece, bundle, bag, case, box, pack, etc.), the packaging (partial or whole sale, presence or absence of leaves, presence or absence of mud, presence or absence of pre-processing, etc.), the daily shipping quantity, product description, product images, and information on whether the product can be shipped during the planned harvest period, all linked to the producer ID and the MO ID. Note that some of the sales units can also be treated as packaging types. For example, bundles, bags, cases, boxes, packs, etc. can be treated as both sales units and packaging types. In other words, in the present invention, the product database 34 may store a mixture of sales units and packaging types, or it may be configured to store only either sales units or packaging types.

[0052] The order information database 35 stores, for each product, the product information regarding agricultural products whose orders have been confirmed on the EC site, the number of orders, the amount, the order date and time, the order number, the customer information regarding the customer who placed the order, the shipping date and time, the delivery date and time, etc., as well as the cart information before the order was confirmed.

[0053] These databases are mutually referenced and used as needed in the agricultural product e-commerce processing by the agricultural product e-commerce server 100. The storage unit 18 also stores information necessary for generating the web catalog and paper pages, as well as settlement management information (payment and receipt details) for fees and the like.

[0054] [System Operation] Next, the operation of the system configured as described above (mainly the agricultural product EC server 100) will be described. The operation is performed by the cooperation of hardware such as the CPU 11 of the agricultural product EC server 100 and software stored in the storage unit 18. For convenience, in the following description, the CPU 11 is the subject of operation.

[0055] FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the flow of agricultural product EC processing by the agricultural product EC server 100.

[0056] The CPU 11 of the agricultural product EC server 100 first receives planned harvest period information (planting plan) for agricultural products from the producer terminal 200 (step 41), and then receives product information for agricultural products from the producer terminal 200 (step 42). Here, the planned harvest period information and the product information are described as separate processes, but they may be integrated.

[0057] The planned harvest period information and product information are input and transmitted on the EC application at the producer terminal 200. Figures 5 to 8 are diagrams showing examples of input screens for planned harvest period information on the EC application.

[0058] As shown in Figure 5, first, the producer terminal 200 selects the MO to which the farm product is to be shipped, for example, from a list of MOs in a pull-down MO selection field 51. If only one MO is linked to the producer information, that MO may or may not be displayed. Furthermore, selecting an MO is not required at this stage, and an MO can also be selected at the time of shipment.

[0059] On the initial screen of the input screen, a list of agricultural products is displayed as a plurality of round icons 52 each showing the name of the agricultural product, and the producer selects one of the icons 52 on the producer terminal 200 by operating the producer to select the agricultural product for which the planned harvest period is to be registered. The CPU 11 receives the selected information. The figure shows an example in which "tomato" has been selected. Note that the agricultural products displayed in the list may differ for each MO.

[0060] When an agricultural product is selected, a list of the selected agricultural product varieties is displayed as icons 54 on the input screen in the same manner as above, as shown in FIG. 6. The producer selects one of the icons 54 on the producer terminal 200 through operation by the producer, thereby selecting the variety of agricultural product for which the planned harvest period is to be registered. The CPU 11 receives the selected information. The figure shows an example in which "Momotaro" has been selected. With this selection, for example, the agricultural product information display field 53 displays the selected agricultural product name and variety name at the top of the input screen.

[0061] 7, the producer operates the producer terminal 200 to input the planned harvest period (planned shipping period) of the selected variety of agricultural produce into the planned harvest period input field 55. In the figure, March 13, 2024 to May 1, 2024 is input as the planned harvest period for the tomato (Momotaro).

[0062] When the planned harvest period is entered and, for example, the planned harvest period registration button 56 at the bottom of the input screen is pressed, the CPU 11 receives the planned harvest period information and, as shown in Figure 8, displays the planned harvest period information in the agricultural product information display field 53, as well as a dialog 58 that indicates that registration of the planned harvest period information has been completed and then displays a message encouraging the user to register product information.

[0063] Additionally, the producer terminal 200 can also additionally register planned harvest period information and product information for other agricultural products using the information registration button 69 at the bottom of the input screen. The process of registering planned harvest period information and product information for multiple agricultural products may be performed collectively, for example, once every six months or once a year, or may be performed each time.

[0064] 9 and 10 are diagrams showing examples of product information input screens of an EC application.

[0065] As shown in Figure 9, when a producer presses a product registration button 57 located, for example, at the bottom of the agricultural product information display field 53, a product information input field 59 is displayed on the input screen. The product information input field 59 includes input fields for the product name, sales price, sales unit (kg, piece, bundle, bag, case, box, pack, etc.), daily shipping volume, product description, and product image. Although not shown, it may also be possible to input the packaging style mentioned above.

[0066] When the producer operates the producer terminal 200 to input information into the product information input field 59, and for example presses the product registration confirmation button 60 located at the bottom of the input screen, the CPU 11 receives the product information and displays a dialog 61, as shown in Figure 10, indicating that the registration of the product information has been completed and that a confirmation notification will be sent regarding whether the product can be shipped or not during the planned harvest period (shipping period).

[0067] 4, the CPU 11 then determines whether or not a predetermined time has arrived on the day before the day included in the planned harvest period (planned shipping period) (step 43). The predetermined time is, for example, 5:00 PM, but is not limited to this.

[0068] If it is determined that the predetermined time of the previous day has arrived (Yes in step 43), the CPU 11 executes a process for updating the web catalog on the EC site (step 44).

[0069] FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the detailed flow of the web catalog update process.

[0070] As shown in the figure, first, the CPU 11 transmits to the producer terminal 200 a shipping (catalog listing) confirmation notice for the agricultural product for which the planned harvest period has been registered (step 71).

[0071] 12 is a diagram showing an example of the shipping availability confirmation notice displayed on the EC app. As shown in the figure, the shipping availability confirmation notice displays information about the publication date of the web catalog and the scheduled delivery date of the agricultural product, and also has a confirmation input field 62 including a shipping availability selection field 63 for selecting, for example, by radio button, whether or not the agricultural product can be shipped (whether or not it can be published).

[0072] The confirmation input field 62 also displays the sales price and available shipping quantity input when the product information was registered, and is also provided with a sales price input field 64 and an available shipping quantity input field 65 where these can be changed.

[0073] Whether or not shipping is possible is selected in the shipping possibility selection field 63, and the information in the sales price input field 64 or the shippable quantity input field 65 is optionally changed. When, for example, the reply send button 70 displayed at the bottom is pressed, reply information regarding whether or not shipping is possible, the sales price, and the shippable quantity is sent to the agricultural product EC server 100.

[0074] In this way, the agricultural product EC server 100 allows producers to input whether or not to ship multiple agricultural products on a single input screen, and receives these at once, and also allows producers to review the unit price and shipping volume of agricultural products that they have once set just before shipping.

[0075] The confirmation notification also has an MO selection field 51 that allows selection from a list of MOs using a pull-down menu, and the producer terminal 200 can select whether or not to ship for each MO and send shipping availability response information for multiple MOs at once.

[0076] Next, the CPU 11 determines whether or not the response information on whether or not the product can be shipped (listed) has been received from the producer terminal 200 (step 72).

[0077] When it is determined that the shipping (publication) possibility response information has been received (Yes in step 72), the CPU 11 updates the information in the product information database 34 with the response information (step 73), and then determines for each agricultural product whether "shippable" is selected in the response information (step 74). Note that only agricultural products for which "shippable" is selected in the shipping (publication) possibility response information may be stored in the product information database 34.

[0078] If "shippable" is selected (Yes in step 74), the CPU 11 updates the updated product information in the product information database 34 by posting it on the web catalog within the EC site (step 75). On the other hand, if "unshippable" is selected (No in step 74), the CPU 11 ends the process. The above process is repeated for each agricultural product every time response information is received from each producer terminal 200, thereby completing the web catalog update process.

[0079] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the web catalog.

[0080] As shown in the figure, the web catalog has product information display fields 66 for multiple agricultural products. Although not shown, when the consumer terminal 300 selects one of the product information display fields 66, an order (add to cart) button is displayed along with detailed information contained in the product information database 34 for the corresponding agricultural product.

[0081] Returning to FIG. 4, the CPU 11 then determines whether or not an order has been received from the consumer terminal 300 via the order button for the agricultural product in the updated web catalog (step 45).

[0082] If it is determined that the order has been accepted (Yes in step 45), the CPU 11 executes a cart addition process for the target agricultural product and updates the information in the order information database 35 (step 46).

[0083] Next, the CPU 11 determines whether a predetermined time has arrived on the day before the scheduled delivery (shipment) date of the ordered agricultural products (step 47). The predetermined time may be, for example, 4:00 PM, but is not limited to this.

[0084] If it is determined that the specified time on the day before the scheduled delivery date has arrived (Yes in step 47), the CPU 11 closes the acceptance of orders for agricultural products through the web catalog, confirms the orders for each agricultural product based on the order information entered in the cart, and updates the order information database 35 (step 48).

[0085] Then, the CPU 11 sends order confirmation information to the consumer terminal 300 that placed the order for the agricultural product, sends order information for the agricultural product to each producer terminal 200, and sends order information to the MO terminal 400 that includes the order information plus orderer information (orderer name and delivery address information) corresponding to the order information (step 49).

[0086] It is not necessary to send order confirmation information to the consumer terminal 300; it is sufficient if order information for the agricultural product (including when no order is placed) is sent to each producer terminal 200, and the order information is then sent to the MO terminal 400. Alternatively, the order information for the agricultural product may be sent only to each producer terminal 200 of the producer who has placed an order.

[0087] FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of the above-mentioned order information displayed on the EC application.

[0088] As shown in the figure, the order information has an order information display field 67 for each agricultural product and an order confirmation button 68. The order information display field 67 includes information on the MO of delivery destination of the ordered agricultural products, delivery date, product name, quantity, and total sales amount.

[0089] If there are multiple consumers ordering the same agricultural product, this quantity and total sales amount is the sum of all the orders and does not include information on which consumer the product should be delivered to; this information is managed by the MO terminal 400 that received the order information. Therefore, producers no longer need to prepare agricultural products for shipment for each of multiple consumers; they can sell agricultural products to multiple consumers via e-commerce by simply shipping the total quantity to the MO together, without having to worry about each consumer. In other words, agricultural products can be sold to consumers via e-commerce in conjunction with regular shipments to the MO, so there is no increase in the producer's shipping workload.

[0090] Furthermore, producers will always receive order information for the next day's shipment, which reduces the burden on producers of managing shipping schedules.

[0091] When the producer presses the order confirmation button 68, order confirmation information is sent to the agricultural product EC server 100. If the order confirmation information is not received within a predetermined period of time after the transmission of the order information, the CPU 11 may send an order confirmation notice to the producer terminal 200.

[0092] Figure 15 shows the lead time from catalog update to produce delivery.

[0093] As described above, a shipping confirmation notice is sent to the producer terminal 200 at, for example, 5 PM on the day before the scheduled delivery date, the web catalog is updated for agricultural products that have been confirmed as ready for shipping, orders are accepted from 7 PM on that day until, for example, 4 PM on the day before the scheduled delivery date, orders are closed at 4 PM, and order information is sent to the producer terminal 200. Then, at 9 AM on the following day, the producer ships the ordered agricultural products to the MO collection point, which divides them into loads for each consumer at the collection point and delivers them by vehicle to each consumer's address.

[0094] Producers always receive a confirmation notice two days before shipment and order information the day before shipment, allowing them to manage and understand their shipping schedules. Furthermore, by simply replying to the confirmation notice, producers can list their freshly harvested vegetables in a daily updated online catalog, freeing them from the hassle of listing their products.

[0095] [summary] As described above, according to this embodiment, the agricultural product EC server 100 connects local producers and consumers with the market organizer (MO) as the base point, and matches local supply and demand in real time, thereby building an online market for locally produced and locally consumed agricultural products, improving producers' profits, and providing consumers with fresh agricultural products, thereby contributing to the local area. If producers' profits can be improved, it may be possible to put a stop to the chronic withdrawal of farmers and further contribute to attracting new entrants into agriculture.

[0096] In addition, the agricultural product EC server 100 sends a confirmation notification to the producer terminal 200 regarding whether or not the agricultural product can be shipped based on information about the planned harvest period, allowing the producer to list the agricultural product simply by replying to the confirmation notification, thereby reducing the time and effort required for producers to input product information.

[0097] Furthermore, the product information is updated each time the day before a day included in the planned harvest period arrives, thereby keeping the product information on the web page fresh.

[0098] [Variations] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

[0099] In the above-described embodiment, the producer terminal 200 inputs product information along with planned harvest period information and transmits it to the agricultural product EC server 100. However, the producer terminal 200 may first transmit only planned harvest period information to the agricultural product EC server 100 and input product information when receiving the above-described shipping availability confirmation notice. In this case, unlike the shipping availability confirmation notice shown in FIG. 12 above, the agricultural product EC server 100 generates a screen prompting the producer terminal 200 to input product information in addition to the shipping availability of the agricultural product, and transmits the screen to the producer terminal 200. Furthermore, the agricultural product EC server 100 may receive product information input at the producer terminal 200 between the time when the planned harvest period information is received and the time when the shipping availability confirmation notice is transmitted.

[0100] In the above-described embodiment, when the agricultural product EC server 100 receives a shipment postponement notice in response to the shipment availability confirmation notice, the agricultural product EC server 100 may extend the planned harvest period for a predetermined period. Here, the predetermined period may be one day, one week, one month, etc., and by pressing an extension button (not shown) displayed on the producer terminal 200, the producer can respond to the shipment availability confirmation notice by stating that the shipment is not possible and extend the planned harvest period by the predetermined period that has been set in advance. This extension button is additionally displayed on the input screen of the producer terminal 200, for example, as shown in FIG. 12. In other words, the last day of the planned harvest period is extended for a predetermined period. As a result, by simply pressing the extension button, the producer can not only respond to the shipment availability confirmation notice by stating that the shipment is not possible, but also extend the planned harvest period.

[0101] Furthermore, in addition to inputting a postponement of the shipment of agricultural produce in response to the shipping availability confirmation notice, an extension period may be received from the producer terminal 200. When the extension period is received, the producer may stop sending shipping availability confirmation notices for the received extension period (e.g., one week) even if the planned harvest period is still in progress. This allows the producer to change the planned harvest period so that shipping availability confirmation notices can be received during a different period when there is a discrepancy between the planned harvest period and the actual harvest period due to weather or other factors, rather than simply replying that the product cannot be shipped.

[0102] In the above-described embodiment, the agricultural product EC server 100 may store information regarding the average selling price for each agricultural product, and may transmit alert information to the producer terminal 200 when it determines that the difference between the selling price in the product information received from the producer terminal 200 and the average price is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold (for example, equal to or greater than twice the average price, or equal to or less than half the average price). In this way, by transmitting alert information to the producer when the available price of an agricultural product significantly deviates from the average price, it is possible to provide an opportunity to correct pricing errors, etc., and to prevent the producer from incurring damages due to the product being mistakenly sold at an unfairly low price.

[0103] The processing of the agricultural product EC server 100 in the above-described embodiment may be distributed and executed by multiple servers. For example, the above-described process of receiving the planned harvest period information and product information of agricultural products, and the subsequent process of updating the web catalog and the order acceptance process may be executed by separate servers.

[0104] In the above-described embodiment, when the agricultural product EC server 100 receives from the producer terminal 200 response information indicating that the product is ready to ship in response to the shipping availability confirmation notification, the agricultural product EC server 100 posts the corresponding product information on a web catalog. Alternatively, when the agricultural product EC server 100 receives the response information indicating that the product is ready to ship, the agricultural product EC server 100 may generate a catalog containing the product information in a printable format (e.g., a PDF file). In this case, the agricultural product EC server 100 may download the catalog in a printable format in response to a request from another computer, such as the consumer terminal 300 or the MO terminal 400, or may send the catalog file to a printer in response to a remote print request from the printer.

[0105] Among the inventions described in the claims of this application, the invention described as an "information processing method" is one in which each step is automatically performed by at least one device such as a computer through software-based information processing, and is not performed by a human using a device such as a computer. In other words, the "information processing method" is an information processing method using computer software, and is not a method in which a human operates a computing tool called a computer. [Explanation of symbols]

[0106] 11...CPU 12...ROM 13...RAM 14...Bus 15...Input / output interface 18...Storage section 19…Communications Department 31...Producer information database 32...Demand information database 33...MO information database 34...Product information database 35...Order information database 55...Planned harvest period input field 56...Register planned harvest period button 63...Shipping availability selection field 70...Reply send button 100...Agricultural product e-commerce server 200...Producer terminal 300...MO terminal 400...Demand terminal

Claims

1. receiving product information of the agricultural product and planned harvest period information indicating a planned harvest period for the agricultural product from a producer terminal of the agricultural product producer; based on the planned harvest period information, when a day before a predetermined day included in the planned harvest period of the agricultural produce arrives, a confirmation notice is sent to the producer terminal to confirm whether the agricultural produce can be shipped; a control unit that, when receiving from the producer terminal response information indicating that the product can be shipped in response to the confirmation notice, posts the product information on a web page that can accept orders from the consumer terminal of the consumer, or generates a catalog containing the product information in a printable format. An information processing system comprising:

2. 2. The information processing system according to claim 1, The control unit receives the product information and the planned harvest period information for a plurality of agricultural products, and receives the shipping permission / prohibition for each of the plurality of agricultural products in response to the confirmation notice. Information processing system.

3. 3. The information processing system according to claim 2, the product information includes information indicating the unit price of the agricultural product and the amount that can be shipped per shipment, The control unit accepts, from the producer terminal, changes to the information indicating the product unit price and the shippable quantity in addition to the shipping availability. Information processing system.

4. 3. The information processing system according to claim 1, The control unit transmits the confirmation notice two days before the scheduled shipping date of the agricultural product, and displays the product information on the web page until the day before the scheduled shipping date. Information processing system.

5. 3. The information processing system according to claim 1, When the control unit receives a notification of postponement of the shipment of the agricultural produce in response to the confirmation notice, the control unit postpones the planned harvest period for a predetermined period. Information processing system.

6. 6. The information processing system according to claim 5, The control unit receiving an extension period in addition to the postponement of the shipment of the agricultural products from the producer terminal; If the extension period is received, the transmission of the confirmation notice is stopped during the extension period even if the harvesting period is within the planned period. Information processing system.

7. 3. The information processing system according to claim 1, The control unit receives, from the producer terminal, a selection input of a market organizer to which the agricultural products will be shipped from among a plurality of market organizers. Information processing system.

8. 3. The information processing system according to claim 1, When the control unit receives an order for the agricultural product corresponding to the product information from a consumer terminal of a consumer on the web page, the control unit transmits order information for the agricultural product including a shipping request to a predetermined market organizer to the producer terminal. Information processing system.

9. receiving product information of the agricultural product and planned harvest period information indicating a planned harvest period for the agricultural product from a producer terminal of the agricultural product producer; based on the planned harvest period information, when a day before a predetermined day included in the planned harvest period of the agricultural produce arrives, a confirmation notice is sent to the producer terminal to confirm whether the agricultural produce can be shipped; When a response to the confirmation notice is received from the producer terminal indicating that the product is ready for shipment, the product information is posted on a web page that can accept orders from the consumer terminal of the consumer, or a catalog containing the product information is generated in a printable format. Information processing methods.

10. In the information processing device, receiving, from a producer terminal of a producer of the agricultural product, product information of the agricultural product and information on a planned harvest period indicating a planned harvest period of the agricultural product; a step of transmitting a confirmation notice to the producer terminal, when a day before a predetermined day included in the planned harvest period of the agricultural produce arrives based on the planned harvest period information, to confirm whether the agricultural product can be shipped; When receiving a response from the producer terminal indicating that the product can be shipped in response to the confirmation notice, the product information is posted on a web page that can accept orders from the consumer terminal of the consumer, or a catalog containing the product information is generated in a printable state. A program that executes the following.

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