Ordering support system, ordering support method, and program

Abstract

To provide an ordering support system for supporting product ordering that utilizes paper order sheets.SOLUTION: An ordering support system includes: image acquisition means for acquiring an image of an order sheet imaged by a customer terminal; recognition means for recognizing an order number per product entered on the order sheet according to a customer, from the image; calculation means for calculating a difference between the order number recognized and an order number of the past, for a product ordered by the customer in the past; and output means for outputting a notification related to correction of the order number recognized to the customer terminal, based on the difference between the order number recognized and an order number of the past.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an order assistance system and the like. [Background technology]

[0002] In a product delivery service to customers, customer orders may be received using paper order forms. When regular deliveries are made, the delivery person collects the paper order forms from the customer. The collected order forms are then set in, for example, a scanner. The scanner uses character recognition technology to read the order quantity written on the order form for each product. The read information on the order quantity for each product is sent to an order management system. The ordered products are then delivered by the delivery person at a later date.

[0003] Patent Document 1 discloses an order catalog with peelable stickers. The stickers are peeled from the order catalog and attached to an order sheet. The information processing device in Patent Document 1 obtains an identifier for the order item from the code of the sticker included in an image of the order sheet to which the sticker is attached. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2020-086661 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] Some customers prefer to place orders using paper order forms, but using paper order forms can have some inconveniences.

[0006] One of the purposes of the present disclosure is to provide an order support system, etc. that supports ordering products using paper order forms. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] An order assistance system in one aspect of the present disclosure includes an image acquisition means for acquiring an image of an order form taken by a customer terminal, a recognition means for recognizing from the image the number of orders by the customer for each product entered on the order form, a calculation means for calculating the difference between the recognized order number and the previous order number for products previously ordered by the customer, and an output means for outputting to the customer terminal a notification regarding a correction to the recognized order number based on the difference between the recognized order number and the previous order number.

[0008] An order assistance method in one aspect of the present disclosure acquires an image of an order form photographed by a customer terminal, recognizes from the image the number of orders by the customer for each item entered on the order form, calculates the difference between the recognized order number and the previous order number for items previously ordered by the customer, and outputs a notification to the customer terminal regarding a correction to the recognized order number based on the difference between the recognized order number and the previous order number.

[0009] A program according to one aspect of the present disclosure causes a computer to execute a process of acquiring an image of an order form captured by a customer terminal, recognizing from the image the number of orders placed by the customer for each product entered on the order form, calculating a difference between the recognized order number and the previous order number for products previously ordered by the customer, and outputting a notification regarding a correction to the recognized order number to the customer terminal based on the difference between the recognized order number and the previous order number. The program may be stored in a computer-readable non-transitory recording medium. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] One example of the effect of the present disclosure is that it can support ordering products using paper order forms. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of an order support system. [Figure 2] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing an example in which the customer terminal 20 photographs an order form. [Figure 3] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of an order form. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of an order form. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a display screen of a customer terminal. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a display screen of a customer terminal. [Figure 7] 10 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the order support system. [Figure 8] FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of an order support system. [Figure 9] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a display screen of a customer terminal. [Figure 10] 10 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the order support system. [Figure 11] FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a computer. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0012] In the present disclosure, a customer uses a writing instrument to write an order for a product on a paper order form. The order form is, for example, periodically distributed to the customer by a delivery company that regularly delivers products to the customer. A field for entering the order quantity for each product is pre-printed on the order form. For example, a field for entering the order quantity is printed on the order form next to the product number or product name for each product. Alternatively, a field for entering the order quantity may be printed on the order form next to the field for entering the product number or product name. The customer considers the products to order while looking at a product catalog or order form and enters the order quantity on the order form. The order form is, for example, an OCR (Optical Character Recognition) order form. In the following description of the first embodiment, it is mainly assumed that the delivery company collects the order form and accepts the order. In addition, in the description of the second embodiment, it is assumed that the customer terminal reads the order form and the delivery company can accept the order from the customer terminal.

[0013] [First embodiment] An example configuration of an order support system 100 according to the present disclosure will be described using Fig. 1. The order support system 100 includes an image acquisition unit 101, a recognition unit 102, a calculation unit 103, and an output unit 104. The order support system 100 is communicatively connected to a customer terminal 20 via a communication network. The order support system 100 is further communicatively connected to an order history database 30 and a product database 31 via the communication network, either wired or wirelessly.

[0014] The customer terminal 20 is used by a customer ordering a product. The customer terminal 20 is equipped with a camera and photographs an order form when operated by the customer. The customer terminal 20 then transmits the photographed image of the order form to the order support system 100. The customer terminal 20 may associate customer identification information with the image and transmit the image to the order support system 100. The customer terminal 20 then receives information to support the customer's order from the order support system 100 and displays the received information. The type of customer terminal 20 is not particularly limited and may be a smartphone or a tablet terminal.

[0015] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the customer terminal 20 capturing an image of an order form. The customer terminal 20 captures the entire writing area of ​​the order form. The customer terminal 20 may capture the entire order form by capturing portions of the order form and dividing it into multiple images. For example, the customer terminal 20 captures an image of the front and back of the order form. The customer may also have the customer terminal 20 capture an image while moving the area of ​​the writing area of ​​the order form to be captured left and right or up and down. While the customer moves the capture area, the customer terminal 20 continuously captures multiple images. In the following description, it is primarily assumed that one order form is used for one order. However, if multiple order forms are used for one order, the customer terminal 20 captures each page of the multiple order forms.

[0016] An application for taking images and communicating with the order assistance system 100 may be installed on the customer terminal 20. The customer may input customer identification information, for example, to log in to an account on the application.

[0017] The order history database 30 stores the order history of each customer, including, for example, customer identification information, order date, ordered product, and order quantity.

[0018] The product database 31 stores information about products that can be ordered. For example, the product database 31 stores product identification information that identifies each product. The product identification information is, for example, a product number and a product name. The product database 31 may further store product prices and product images. The product database 31 may further store order form data. For example, the product database 31 stores the product identification information in association with the abbreviated product names printed on the order form.

[0019] The image acquisition unit 101 of the order support system 100 acquires an image of an order form captured by the customer terminal 20. For example, the image acquisition unit 101 receives a plurality of images of a single order form, each of which is captured as a portion thereof, from the customer terminal 20. The image acquisition unit 101 may receive customer identification information from the customer terminal 20 in association with the image of the order form.

[0020] The image acquisition unit 101 may send an instruction to capture an order form to the customer terminal 20 and acquire an image captured in accordance with the instruction. The customer terminal 20 displays the instruction to the customer. The instruction may include information guiding the customer to capture an image of the entire order form. The guiding information may be an instruction to move the capture area of ​​the order form up and down or left and right. The customer operates the customer terminal 20 according to the guiding information to have the customer terminal 20 capture an image. A graphic indicating a position on the order form may be printed on the order form. Figure 3 is a diagram showing an example of a portion of the upper left corner of an order form. A mark M1 is printed on the order form as a graphic indicating a position. The information guiding the customer's operation may be information instructing the camera to capture the graphic indicating the position. The instruction to capture an image may also include information guiding the customer to adjust the distance between the camera of the customer terminal 20 and the order form in order to capture an image in which the characters written on the order form are recognizable.

[0021] The recognition unit 102 recognizes the customer's order quantity for each product entered on the order form from the image acquired by the image acquisition unit 101. On the order form, the product name or product number and the column for entering the order quantity are printed in a predetermined positional relationship. For example, the column for entering the order quantity for that product is printed below or next to the product name or product number. The recognition unit 102 recognizes the printed product name or product number using character recognition technology and recognizes the order quantity entered nearby. The recognition unit 102, for example, references the product database 31 to identify the product corresponding to the recognized characters in the product name or product number.

[0022] FIG. 3 shows an example of how an order form is filled out. In the order form in FIG. 3, product names are printed vertically across three lines. Below each product name, a space for entering the order quantity is printed. Although not shown for simplicity, the order form may also include a product number, price, and product image for each product. For example, a three-digit product number is printed on the order form. When product names and product numbers are printed on the order form in numerical order, customers can easily search for products listed in the product catalog using the product number as an index. As shown by the number M2 in FIG. 3, the customer writes the order quantity below the product they wish to order. From an image captured of the area in FIG. 3, the recognition unit 102 performs character recognition of the product name and order quantity, and recognizes that the order quantity for the product "ham" is "1." For products for which the entered order quantity was not recognized, the recognition unit 102 recognizes that the order quantity is "0."

[0023] Another example of how to fill out an order form is shown in Figure 4. As shown in Figure 4, an order form may have a field for entering the order quantity printed to the right of the field for entering the six-digit product number. While Figure 4 shows fields for entering four products, the number of lines printed on the order form may be more or less than four. The order number is an example of a product number. From an image captured of the area in Figure 4, the recognition unit 102 performs character recognition of the product number and order quantity, and recognizes that the order quantity for the product with product number "100123" is "1." The recognition unit 102 may also recognize that the order quantity for products for which no product number is entered in the product number field is "0."

[0024] The entry field as shown in Figure 4 may be printed as part of the order form. That is, the order form may include an entry field for the number of items to be ordered with the product name printed as shown in Figure 3, and an entry field for the number of items to be ordered where the customer writes in the product name or product number themselves as shown in Figure 4. For example, for items with product numbers of up to three digits, the product name is printed as shown in Figure 3. For items with product numbers of four to six digits, an entry field for the product number as shown in Figure 4 is used. Furthermore, if the number of items ordered exceeds 10, the entry field for the number of items to be ordered as shown in Figure 4 is used.

[0025] The format for filling out an order form is not limited to the examples shown in Figures 3 and 4. The order form may be in a format in which the customer fills in a mark next to the product name of the product they wish to order. If the order form is in the form of a mark sheet that can be read by an optical mark reader, a shape to be filled in is printed next to the product name. The customer fills in the shape corresponding to the product they wish to order. In addition, multiple shapes to be filled in may be printed next to the product name, one for each orderable quantity. The customer fills in the shape corresponding to the quantity they wish to order.

[0026] An image of an order form photographed by a customer may include an unphotographed area. The recognition unit 102 may refer to the order form data in the product database 31 for any of the products printed on the order form and determine that the recognition unit 102 was unable to recognize any of the fields for the product name, product number, or order quantity. The image acquisition unit 101 then sends a photography instruction to the customer terminal 20 to instruct the customer terminal 20 to photograph the unphotographed area. If marks indicating positions on the order form are printed on the order form, the recognition unit 102 may recognize different marks for each position. If any of the marks cannot be recognized, the recognition unit 102 may determine that there is an unphotographed area.

[0027] For example, the recognition unit 102 recognizes the recognized number of orders as the number of orders by a customer identified by the customer identification information received in association with the image of the order form. The recognition unit 102 may also recognize customer identification information printed on the order form. The customer identification information is, for example, the customer's name or customer number. The recognition unit 102 may also recognize customer identification information printed as a barcode or a two-dimensional code. The recognition unit 102 transmits the recognized customer identification information to the calculation unit 103. In this case, the image acquisition unit 101 may receive the customer identification information from the customer terminal 20 as needed. It is time-consuming for the customer to input the customer identification information into the customer terminal 20. By having the recognition unit 102 recognize the customer identification information from the image and transmit it to the calculation unit 103, the customer can avoid having to log in to their account on the customer terminal 20. Therefore, the recognition unit 102 can reduce the time and effort required of the customer.

[0028] The recognition unit 102 may recognize that something other than the order quantity has been written. Customers may use a pencil or highlighter to write marks other than the order quantity on the order form for items they are considering ordering. Also, customers may black out numbers written with pen to cancel an order. Regarding the check mark M3 or the blacked-out mark M5 written in the order quantity entry field in FIG. 3 , the recognition unit 102 outputs, as a recognition result, for example, a message indicating that it is unable to recognize which number it represents. This allows the recognition unit 102 to recognize that something has been written in the entry field. The recognition unit 102 may recognize that the order quantity for an item for which no number can be recognized from the image is 0. The recognition unit 102 may also recognize that a space has been filled in by detecting a difference from information printed in a field other than the order quantity entry field. For example, the recognition unit 102 recognizes that a mark M4 has been written around the product name in FIG. 3 .

[0029] The recognition unit 102 may recognize the submission date or delivery date of the order form printed on the order form. If the order form has a space for entering comments, the recognition unit 102 may perform character recognition of the entered comments.

[0030] The calculation unit 103 calculates the difference between the recognized order quantity and the past order quantity for products previously ordered by the customer. For example, the calculation unit 103 searches the order history database 30 for the transmitted customer identification information associated with the image or the customer identification information recognized from the image. The calculation unit 103 then references the customer's order history stored in association with the customer identification information and extracts data on the order quantities of products previously ordered. The calculation unit 103 may also extract data on the order quantities for products ordered in each of the most recent multiple orders. The orders to be extracted are, for example, orders within the most recent specified period or the most recent specified number of orders.

[0031] The calculation unit 103 may calculate that there is a difference in the order quantities when the order quantity on the order form is recognized as 0 even though an order has been placed at least once in the past. The calculation unit 103 may also calculate that there is a difference in the order quantities when the number of past orders and the entered order quantity differ. When the order quantities differ for two or more of multiple orders, it is determined as appropriate which order quantity the calculation unit 103 will calculate the difference with. The calculation unit 103 may determine that there is a difference in the order quantities when the entered order quantity does not match any of the past order quantities. When the order quantity in the past orders and the recognized order quantity match, the calculation unit 103 calculates that there is no difference in the order quantities.

[0032] Customers sometimes overlook products in product catalogs or order forms, or forget to write the order quantity on an order form. As a result, the order quantity for previously ordered products may not be written on a photographed order form, resulting in a discrepancy with the previous order quantity. Also, discrepancies in the order quantity may occur if the product number or order quantity for previously ordered products is written incorrectly on a photographed order form. Furthermore, discrepancies in the order quantity may occur if numbers from an image are misrecognized. Misrecognition can occur when visually similar numbers are written or when marks other than numbers are written in the order quantity entry field.

[0033] The calculation unit 103 may calculate the difference in the order quantity for a target product for which the difference between the recognized order quantity and the past order quantity is to be calculated. Examples of methods for identifying target products are described below. The following identification methods may be used in combination.

[0034] The calculation unit 103 may identify products that can be ordered in the photographed order form as target products. Products listed on the order form and product catalog may be replaced depending on the period. The calculation unit 103 may identify products with product names recognized by the recognition unit 102 as target products. The calculation unit 103 may also identify products that can be ordered by referring to the product database 31. This allows the calculation unit 103 to narrow down the target products to products that can be ordered.

[0035] The calculation unit 103 may also identify the target product based on the customer's order history. The calculation unit 103 may also identify, as the target product, a product that has been ordered in the past and that is more likely to be ordered by the customer based on the photographed order form.

[0036] For example, the calculation unit 103 may identify as target products products for which a predetermined period has passed since the last order. This is because products for which a predetermined period has passed since the last order can be treated as products that are likely to be ordered by customers. The predetermined period may be determined for each type of product based on the general order frequency of the product. Alternatively, the predetermined period may be determined for each customer based on the order frequency of each product by the customer. Note that products for which a period of time has passed after the predetermined period determined based on the order frequency may be excluded from the target products. This is because products that have been ordered in the past but not recently can be treated as products that are unlikely to be ordered by customers. The length of the period may be determined as appropriate. For example, for a product that is generally ordered once a week, if a customer has not ordered the product for a month, the product may be excluded from the target products.

[0037] Furthermore, the calculation unit 103 may specify, as the target product, a product that has been ordered by a customer a predetermined number of times or more. This is because a product that is continuously ordered is likely to be ordered again. For example, the calculation unit 103 specifies, as the target product, a product that has been ordered a predetermined number of times or more within a predetermined period.

[0038] The calculation unit 103 may specify, as the target product, a product that has been ordered in the past and that is less likely to be ordered by the customer based on the photographed order form. For example, the calculation unit 103 specifies, as the target product, a product that has been ordered less recently than the general order frequency of the product or the customer's past order frequency.

[0039] The calculation unit 103 may also identify target products based on the recognition results of the recognition unit 102. For example, the calculation unit 103 may identify, as the target product, a product whose product name or product number is printed next to a product whose recognized order quantity is 1 or more. The calculation unit 103 may also identify, as the target product, a product whose recognized order quantity is 0 and is printed next to a product whose recognized order quantity is 1 or more. The position of the order quantity may be shifted to the left or right, or up or down. The calculation unit 103 is capable of calculating the difference from the past order quantity caused by the shift in the position of the order. For example, in FIG. 3, the number of orders for milk is not written and is "0." Furthermore, the number of orders for ham printed next to milk is written as "1." Therefore, the calculation unit 103 searches for whether milk has been ordered in the past and calculates the difference between the past order quantity of milk and the recognized order quantity. In the above example, an example in which the position of the order is shifted to the next position is given, but the range of target products that the calculation unit 103 identifies as target products is not particularly limited as long as the range in which the position of the order may be shifted. The calculation unit 103 may determine the product two products adjacent to the product with the recognized order quantity of one or more as the target product.

[0040] The calculation unit 103 may determine, as the target product, a product with a product number similar to the product number of the product whose entered product number and order quantity are recognized. Similar product numbers are numbers that may have been mistyped or misrecognized. Similar product numbers include, for example, product numbers in which some digits of the recognized product's product number have been replaced and product numbers in which the order of some digits of the recognized product's product number has been swapped. Even if a recognized product number is missing or has been added, the product may be treated as a similar product number if the pattern of other digits matches. For example, the calculation unit 103 identifies a product number similar to the recognized product number from the product database 31. Among products with similar product numbers, the calculation unit 103 may also identify a product with a recognized order quantity of 0 as the target product. The product number "100123" is recognized from the image captured in FIG. 4. As products with product numbers similar to product number "100123," the calculation unit 103 identifies products with product numbers "100132," "100128," and the like that are not recognized from other columns on the order form as target products. The calculation unit 103 determines whether the identified products have been ordered in the past, and thereby determines the difference between the number of past orders and the recognized number of orders.

[0041] The calculation unit 103 may identify as target products items on the order form that have information other than the order quantity written on them based on the recognition result of the recognition unit 102. For example, products that have marks other than numbers written in the order quantity entry field or products that have information written in spaces other than the order quantity entry field are considered target products. The calculation unit 103 makes it possible to calculate the difference between the past order quantity and the order quantity for products for which the customer is planning to write the order quantity later.

[0042] The calculation unit 103 calculates the difference between the recognized order quantity and the past order quantity for products previously ordered by the customer. The calculation unit 103 may further calculate the difference between the recognized order quantity and the past order quantity for products whose recognized order quantity is one or more but that the customer has not previously ordered. The calculation unit 103 searches the order history database 30 for an order history for a product whose recognized order quantity is one or more. If there is no order history for the product whose recognized order quantity is one or more, the calculation unit 103 calculates that there is a difference from the past order quantity. The calculation unit 103 may also calculate the difference between the recognized order quantity and the past order quantity for products that the customer has not ordered within a specified period of time. The specified period may be set as appropriate, such as one year. A difference between the recognized order quantity and the past order quantity for products not previously ordered by the customer may occur if the customer writes the order quantity in the wrong position, if the product number is written incorrectly, or if the product number is misrecognized. Products not previously ordered by the customer can be treated as products that the customer is unlikely to order. Therefore, there is an advantage that the calculation unit 103 calculates the difference in the order quantity for products that the customer has not ordered in the past.

[0043] The output unit 104 outputs a notification to the customer terminal 20 regarding the correction of the order quantity based on the difference between the recognized order quantity and the past order quantity. The output unit 104 may output a notification suggesting correction of the order form as the notification regarding the correction of the order quantity. The customer checks the notification on the customer terminal 20, and if the order quantity has been omitted, the customer corrects it by adding the order quantity. Furthermore, if the customer makes a writing error or the order support system 100 misrecognizes characters, the customer corrects it by erasing the order quantity written in pencil with an eraser and rewriting it.

[0044] The output unit 104 may output a notification when there is a difference in the order quantities, and the past order quantity is greater than the recognized order quantity. For example, the output unit 104 may output a notification for a product where the order quantity of the product in the past is 1 or more and the recognized order quantity is 0. The output unit 104 outputs a notification regarding a correction to increase the order quantity of the product. The notification may be a message such as "Did you forget to buy milk?" Alternatively, the output unit 104 may be configured to output a notification when the recognized order quantity is greater than the past order quantity.

[0045] Due to a misalignment in the entry position, the calculation unit 103 may calculate the difference between the past order quantity and the order quantity of a product whose recognized order quantity is 0 and the order quantity of a product printed next to that product whose recognized order quantity is 1 or more. In such a case, the output unit 104 may output a notification suggesting a correction to delete the order quantity of the product printed next to the product, in addition to a correction to add an order for the product whose recognized order quantity is 0.

[0046] Due to an entry error or misrecognition of the product number, the calculation unit 103 may calculate the difference between the past order quantity and the product number of the product with a similar product number to the recognized product number among the products whose recognized order quantity is 0. In such a case, the output unit 104 may output a notification suggesting correction of the product number.

[0047] The output unit 104 may output a notification regarding correction of the order quantity even when there is no difference between the past order quantity and the entered order quantity. A customer may forget that they have already ordered an item in their most recent order and enter an order again. The output unit 104 may output a notification suggesting correction to delete the order quantity of an item that has been ordered in a short interval since the previous order, compared with the general order frequency of the item and the customer's past order frequency, among items with no difference in order quantity.

[0048] The output unit 104 may output an ordered item list of items with a recognized order quantity of one or more to the customer terminal 20. The ordered item list includes the product names and order quantities of the items. The ordered item list may further include product numbers, prices, and product images. The output unit 104, for example, searches the product database 31 using the product number and outputs the price and product image. This allows the customer to check the details entered in the order form on the customer terminal 20. The output unit 104 may output a notification regarding the correction of the order quantity in association with the output of the ordered item list. For example, the output unit 104 may output a notification to display the notification regarding the correction of the order quantity on a screen displaying the ordered item list.

[0049] The output unit 104 may output a notification including an image of a portion of the order form. For example, the output unit 104 may output an image including an area printed with items for which it has been calculated that there is a difference between the recognized order quantity and the previous order quantity. The output unit 104 may also output an image of an area in which an item number similar to the item number of a previously ordered item has been written. The customer can check the image displayed on the customer terminal 20 for any entry errors or misrecognition of the order quantity.

[0050] An example of a notification displayed on the customer terminal 20 will be described using FIG. 5. The read result in FIG. 5 is an example of an ordered item list. The customer terminal 20 may display the screen of FIG. 5 in response to receiving a notification regarding the correction of the ordered item list and the order quantity. The ordered item list in FIG. 5 includes the product name, order quantity, and product image of the item for which the recognized order quantity is one or more. Furthermore, the screen of FIG. 5 includes a display area D1 for the notification regarding the correction of the order quantity. If the product names of ham and milk are printed next to each other on the order form as in FIG. 3, a notification such as that in FIG. 5 may be displayed.

[0051] Instead of or in addition to display area D1 in Fig. 5, display area D2 for a notification regarding correction of the order quantity may be displayed as shown in Fig. 6. Display area D2 is an image of the area of ​​the order form image captured by customer terminal 20 where the products for which the order quantity is to be corrected are printed.

[0052] The output unit 104 may also provide notifications other than notifications regarding corrections to the order quantity. For example, the output unit 104 may output a notification regarding the deadline for submitting an order form to the customer terminal 20 based on the recognition results of the order form submission date or delivery date. When new order forms are distributed to customers periodically, customers may fill out orders on old order forms that they have at home. By the output unit 104 notifying the customer that the submission deadline has passed, the customer can fill out the correct order form and submit the order.

[0053] An example of the operation of the order support system 100 will be described with reference to Fig. 7. The order support system 100 starts the operation of Fig. 7 after an image is captured by the customer terminal 20, for example.

[0054] In step S1, the image acquisition unit 101 acquires an image of the order form captured by the customer terminal 20. In step S2, the recognition unit 102 recognizes the number of items ordered by the customer for each item entered on the order form from the image acquired by the image acquisition unit 101. In step S3, the calculation unit 103 calculates the difference between the recognized order number and the previous order number for items previously ordered by the customer. In step S4, the output unit 104 outputs a notification to the customer terminal 20 regarding a correction to the order number based on the difference between the recognized order number and the previous order number. With this, the order support system 100 completes the operation of FIG. 7.

[0055] According to one embodiment, the recognition unit 102 recognizes the customer's order quantity for each product entered on the order form from an image of the order form captured by the customer terminal 20. Furthermore, the calculation unit 103 calculates the difference between the recognized order quantity and the previous order quantity for products previously ordered by the customer. The output unit 104 then outputs a notification to the customer terminal 20 regarding the correction of the order quantity based on the difference between the recognized order quantity and the previous order quantity. Thus, the order support system 100 can notify the customer of the possibility of an error or misrecognition of the order quantity entered on the paper order form. This notification allows the customer to notice the possibility of an entry error or misrecognition of characters after submission, and correct the order form. Thus, the order support system 100 can support ordering products using paper order forms.

[0056] [Second embodiment] An example configuration of an order support system 200 according to the present disclosure will be described using Fig. 8. The order support system 200 differs from the order support system 100 according to the present disclosure in that it includes an order receiving unit 105 and an assigning unit 106. Regarding the order support system 200, a description of the same configuration as that of the order support system 100 will be omitted. The order support system 200 may include the assigning unit 106 as necessary.

[0057] The order support system 200 is communicatively connected to the order management system 40. The order management system 40 manages orders received by delivery companies. The order management system 40 receives information about orders received by the order support system 200. A scanner 50 may be communicatively connected to the order management system 40. In this case, the order management system 40 receives the order information read by the scanner 50.

[0058] The scanner 50 reads the paper order form collected from the customer. For example, the scanner 50 uses character recognition technology to read the customer identification information and the number of items ordered written on the order form. The scanner 50 may be an optical mark reader. The scanner 50 transmits the read information to the order management system 40.

[0059] The order receiving unit 105 of the order support system 200 receives an order for a product whose order quantity has been recognized by the recognition unit 102. The order receiving unit 105 transmits information about the received order to the order management system 40. This allows arrangements to be made for delivery of the product to the customer. When the order receiving unit 105 receives an order, the customer's order can be received without the delivery company having to collect an order form from the customer.

[0060] The order receiving unit 105 may receive an order in response to receiving an instruction to confirm the order from the customer terminal 20. For example, the customer terminal 20 transmits an instruction to confirm the order to the order receiving unit 105 in response to pressing an order confirmation button on a display screen of an ordered item list displayed on the customer terminal 20. The ordered item list is a list of items recognized by the recognition unit 102 with an order quantity of one or more.

[0061] The order receiving unit 105 may accept orders for the recognized order quantity up to a deadline that is later than the deadline for accepting orders based on the collected order form. For example, the order receiving unit 105 may accept orders up to one or two days after the deadline for submitting the order form printed on the order form. This allows the order receiving unit 105 to accept the customer's order even if the customer forgets to submit the order form by the deadline.

[0062] If the deadline for accepting an order based on an order form has passed at the time the image acquired by the image acquisition unit 101 is captured, the output unit 104 may output a notification from the customer terminal 20 that the order will be accepted. After confirming the notification output to the customer terminal 20, the customer performs an operation to proceed with the order based on the details recognized by the recognition unit 102. If there is an error in the details recognized by the recognition unit 102, the customer may correct the order form. In this case, the image acquisition unit 101 acquires an image of the corrected order form, and the recognition unit 102 recognizes the order quantity from the image.

[0063] The order receiving unit 105 may receive an instruction to correct the recognized order quantity from the customer terminal 20. Corrections to the order quantity include adding, deleting, and changing the quantity of products. As in the first embodiment, the output unit 104 outputs a notification regarding the correction of the order quantity. The order receiving unit 105 may receive a correction instruction related to the notification. By the order receiving unit 105 receiving a correction instruction from the customer terminal 20, the customer does not need to refill out the order form. The order receiving unit 105 may send an ordered item list that reflects the contents of the received correction instruction to the customer terminal 20.

[0064] An example of a notification displayed on the customer terminal 20 will be described using FIG. 9. The read result in FIG. 9 is an example of an ordered item list. In response to receiving a notification regarding a correction to the ordered item list and the order quantity, the customer terminal 20 may display the screen of FIG. 9. The screen of FIG. 9 includes a display area D3 for the notification regarding the correction to the order quantity. In FIG. 9, in response to pressing the "Modify Order" button, the order receiving unit 105 may accept a correction to the order quantity related to the notification from the customer terminal 20. For example, the order receiving unit 105 accepts a correction to change one ham to one milk.

[0065] The granting unit 106 may be provided in cases where both orders based on paper order forms and orders based on images captured by the customer terminal 20 are accepted. When the order accepting unit 105 accepts an order for the number of items recognized by the recognition unit 102, the granting unit 106 grants a higher benefit to the customer than when an order is accepted based on a collected order form. The benefit is, for example, points or discount coupons that can be used to pay for the ordered items. The granting unit 106 may grant a benefit that would not be granted when an order is accepted based on a collected order form to a customer who places an order based on an image captured by the customer terminal 20.

[0066] An example of the operation of the order support system 200 and the customer terminal 20 will be described with reference to FIG.

[0067] In step S201, the customer terminal 20 photographs the order form in response to a customer operation. In step S202, the image acquisition unit 101 acquires the image of the order form photographed by the customer terminal 20. In step S203, the number of orders by the customer for each product entered on the order form is recognized from the image acquired by the image acquisition unit 101. In step S204, the calculation unit 103 calculates the difference between the recognized order number and the past order number for products previously ordered by the customer.

[0068] In step S205, the output unit 104 outputs an ordered item list of items for which the recognized order quantity is 1 or more to the customer terminal 20. Note that in step S205, the output unit 104 may output a notification regarding a correction of the order quantity to the customer terminal 20 based on the difference between the recognized order quantity and the past order quantity.

[0069] In step S206, the customer terminal 20 displays the received list of ordered items. In step S206, the customer terminal 20 may display a notification regarding the correction of the order quantity. After step S206, the customer terminal 20 transmits an instruction to confirm the order. Alternatively, after step S206, the customer terminal 20 may transmit an instruction to correct the order.

[0070] In step S207, the order receiving unit 105 receives an order for the product whose order quantity has been recognized by the recognition unit 102 in response to receiving an instruction to confirm the order from the customer terminal 20. Alternatively, in step S207, if the order receiving unit 105 receives an instruction to modify the order, it may accept the order with the modified content. In step S208, the granting unit 106 grants the customer a higher benefit than if the order had been accepted using the collected order form.

[0071] With the above, the order support system 200 ends the operation shown in FIG.

[0072] According to one embodiment, the order receiving unit 105 receives an order for a product whose order quantity has been recognized by the recognition unit 102. Therefore, a customer can order a product by entering the order quantity on a paper order form and taking a photo of the order form. That is, the customer does not need to perform an operation to search for the product name, etc. on the customer terminal 20. Furthermore, the customer does not need to perform an operation to order on the customer terminal 20 while looking at a paper catalog. Therefore, the order support system 200 can improve the convenience of ordering products using the customer terminal 20 and utilizing a paper order form.

[0073] Due to the burden of collecting order forms and maintaining the scanner 50, delivery companies may wish to reduce orders using paper order forms. However, customers may be accustomed to filling out orders on paper. According to one embodiment, the awarding unit 106 awards a reward to customers who place orders based on images captured with the customer terminal 20. Therefore, the order support system 200 can encourage customers to order products using the customer terminal 20 with paper order forms.

[0074] [Variations] The above-described embodiments may be combined as appropriate. Furthermore, the order support systems 100 and 200 according to the above-described embodiments may be modified as appropriate. Modifications are described below. The following modifications may be combined.

[0075] In one variation, some or all of the functions of the recognition unit 102 of the order support system 100, 200 may be provided in the customer terminal 20. In this case, the order support system 100, 200 may be provided with the image acquisition unit 101 and the recognition unit 102 as necessary. The functions of the image acquisition unit 101 and the recognition unit 102 may be realized, for example, by an application installed in the customer terminal 20. In this variation, the calculation unit 103 of the order support system 100, 200 receives the recognition result of the order quantity for each product from the customer terminal 20.

[0076] In one variation, the order support system 200 may include a calculation unit 103 as needed. In this variation, the output unit 104 of the order support system 200 outputs the order quantity for each product recognized from the image to the customer terminal 20. This allows the customer to check the recognition results for themselves and confirm that there are no mistakes or misrecognitions. The order receiving unit 105 then receives the order based on the recognized order quantity for each product or the corrected order quantity.

[0077] [Hardware configuration] In each of the above-described embodiments, each component of the order support systems 100 and 200 represents a functional block. Some or all of the components of the order support systems 100 and 200 may be realized by any combination of a computer 500 and a program.

[0078] Fig. 11 is a block diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of a computer 500. Referring to Fig. 11, the computer 500 includes, for example, a processor 501, a read only memory (ROM) 502, a random access memory (RAM) 503, a program 504, a storage device 505, a drive device 507, a communication interface 508, an input device 509, an output device 510, an input / output interface 511, and a bus 512.

[0079] The processor 501 controls the entire computer 500. The processor 501 may be, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit). The number of processors 501 is not particularly limited, and there may be one or more processors 501.

[0080] The program 504 includes instructions for realizing each function of the order support systems 100, 200. The program 504 is stored in advance in the ROM 502, RAM 503, and storage device 505. The processor 501 executes the instructions included in the program 504 to realize each function of the order support systems 100, 200. The RAM 503 may also store data to be processed in each function of the order support systems 100, 200.

[0081] The drive device 507 reads and writes data from and to the recording medium 506. The communication interface 508 provides an interface with a communication network. The input device 509 is, for example, a mouse or a keyboard, and receives input of information from a manager or the like of the delivery company. The output device 510 is, for example, a display, and outputs (displays) information to the manager or the like. The input / output interface 511 provides an interface with peripheral devices. The bus 512 connects these hardware components. The program 504 may be supplied to the processor 501 via a communication network, or may be stored in advance on the recording medium 506, read by the drive device 507, and supplied to the processor 501.

[0082] It should be noted that the hardware configuration shown in FIG. 11 is an example, and other components may be added, or some components may not be included.

[0083] There are various variations in the method of realizing the order support systems 100 and 200. For example, the order support systems 100 and 200 may be realized by any combination of different computers and programs for each component. Furthermore, multiple components included in the order support systems 100 and 200 may be realized by any combination of a single computer and program.

[0084] Furthermore, at least a portion of the order support systems 100 and 200 may be provided in a software as a service (SaaS) format. That is, at least a portion of the functions for realizing the order support systems 100 and 200 may be executed by software that runs over a network.

[0085] Although the present disclosure has been described above with reference to the embodiments, the present disclosure is not limited to the above embodiments. Various modifications that can be understood by those skilled in the art can be made to the configuration and details of the present disclosure within the scope of the present disclosure. Furthermore, the configurations in the respective embodiments can be combined with each other without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0086] Some or all of the above embodiments may be described as, but are not limited to, the following supplementary notes.

[0087] [Appendix 1] an image acquisition means for acquiring an image of the order form photographed by the customer terminal; a recognition means for recognizing the number of items ordered by the customer for each product entered in the order form from the image; a calculation means for calculating a difference between the recognized order quantity and the past order quantity for the products previously ordered by the customer; an output means for outputting a notification regarding a correction of the recognized order quantity to the customer terminal based on a difference between the recognized order quantity and a past order quantity; An order support system equipped with:

[0088] [Appendix 2] The output means outputs the notification when the number of past orders is 1 or more and the recognized order number is 0 for a product printed on the order form next to the product for which the recognized order number is 1 or more. The order assistance system described in Appendix 1.

[0089] [Appendix 3] The output means outputs the notification when the number of past orders for a product having a product number similar to the product number of the product whose product number and order number are entered is 1 or more and the recognized order number is 0. An order assistance system as described in Appendix 1 or 2.

[0090] [Appendix 4] the output means outputs the notification in association with an output of a list of the recognized products whose order quantity is one or more. An order support system according to any one of appendices 1 to 3.

[0091] [Appendix 5] The device further includes an order receiving means for receiving an order for the product whose order quantity has been recognized. An order support system according to any one of appendices 1 to 4.

[0092] [Appendix 6] The system further includes a granting means for granting a higher privilege to the customer who has placed the order accepted by the order accepting means than to a customer who has placed the order accepted using the collected order form. An order assistance system as described in Appendix 5.

[0093] [Appendix 7] The order receiving means receives orders for the recognized order quantity of products up to a deadline that is later than the deadline for receiving orders based on the collected order form. An order assistance system as described in Appendix 5 or 6.

[0094] [Appendix 8] If the deadline for submitting the order form has passed at the time the image is taken, the output means outputs a notification that the order is accepted if it is received from the customer terminal. An order support system according to any one of appendices 5 to 7.

[0095] [Appendix 9] Acquire an image of the order form taken by the customer's terminal, Recognizing the number of items ordered by the customer for each item entered in the order form from the image; Calculating the difference between the recognized order quantity and the past order quantity for products previously ordered by the customer; outputting a notification to the customer terminal regarding a correction of the recognized order quantity based on a difference between the recognized order quantity and a past order quantity; How to order assistance.

[0096] [Appendix 10] Acquire an image of the order form taken by the customer's terminal, Recognizing the number of items ordered by the customer for each item entered in the order form from the image; Calculating the difference between the recognized order quantity and the past order quantity for products previously ordered by the customer; outputting a notification to the customer terminal regarding a correction of the recognized order quantity based on a difference between the recognized order quantity and a past order quantity; A program that causes a computer to perform a process.

[0097] Some or all of the configurations described in Supplementary Notes 2-8, which are dependent on Supplementary Note 1, may also be dependent on Supplementary Notes 9-10 in the same dependent relationship as Supplementary Notes 2-8. Not limited to Supplementary Notes 1, 9-10, but also to various hardware, software, various recording devices for recording software, or systems, some or all of the configurations described as Supplements may be made dependent on each other within the scope of the above-mentioned embodiments. [Explanation of symbols]

[0098] 100 Order Support System 101 Image acquisition unit 102 Recognition part 103 Calculation section 104 Output section 105 Order Reception Department 106 Granting Department 20 Customer terminal 30 Order History Database 31 Product Database 40 Order Management System 50 scanners

Claims

1. an image acquisition means for acquiring an image of the order form photographed by the customer terminal; a recognition means for recognizing the number of items ordered by the customer for each product entered in the order form from the image; a calculation means for calculating a difference between the recognized order quantity and the past order quantity for the products previously ordered by the customer; an output means for outputting a notification regarding a correction of the recognized order quantity to the customer terminal based on a difference between the recognized order quantity and a past order quantity; An order support system equipped with:

2. The output means outputs the notification when the number of past orders is 1 or more and the recognized order number is 0 for a product printed on the order form next to the product for which the recognized order number is 1 or more. The order support system according to claim 1 .

3. The output means outputs the notification when the number of past orders for a product having a product number similar to the product number of the product whose product number and order number are entered is 1 or more and the recognized order number is 0. The order support system according to claim 1 .

4. the output means outputs the notification in association with an output of a list of the recognized products whose order quantity is one or more. The order support system according to claim 1 .

5. The device further includes an order receiving means for receiving an order for the product whose order quantity has been recognized. The order support system according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

6. The system further includes a granting means for granting a higher privilege to the customer who has placed the order accepted by the order accepting means than to a customer who has placed the order accepted using the collected order form. The order support system according to claim 5 .

7. The order receiving means receives orders for the recognized order quantity of products up to a deadline that is later than the deadline for receiving orders based on the collected order form. The order support system according to claim 5 .

8. If the deadline for submitting the order form has passed at the time the image is taken, the output means outputs a notification that the order is accepted if it is received from the customer terminal. The order support system according to claim 5 .

9. Acquire an image of the order form taken by the customer's terminal, Recognizing the number of items ordered by the customer for each item entered in the order form from the image; Calculating the difference between the recognized order quantity and the past order quantity for products previously ordered by the customer; outputting a notification to the customer terminal regarding a correction of the recognized order quantity based on a difference between the recognized order quantity and a past order quantity; How to order assistance.

10. Acquire an image of the order form taken by the customer's terminal, Recognizing the number of items ordered by the customer for each item entered in the order form from the image; Calculating the difference between the recognized order quantity and the past order quantity for products previously ordered by the customer; outputting a notification to the customer terminal regarding a correction of the recognized order quantity based on a difference between the recognized order quantity and a past order quantity; A program that causes a computer to perform a process.

Images