Commodity management device, commodity management method, and program

Abstract

To provide a commodity management device capable of easily grasping the number of cooking of commodities cooked in a store.SOLUTION: A commodity management device includes: acquisition means for acquiring a disposal time of commodities, on the basis of a photographic image obtained by photographing commodities displayed in a display furniture and an expiration date of the commodities; prediction means for predicting a sales quantity for each time zone, on the basis of a prediction model created using past sales quantity information of the commodities; estimation means for estimating the number of cooking required for cooking the commodities for each of the time zones, on the basis of the disposal time of the commodities and the sales quantity; and output means for outputting the number of cooking.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a product management device, a product management method, and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] The present invention relates to a technology for managing the expiration dates and best-before dates of hot snack products such as fried foods sold at convenience stores, etc. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technology for determining the deadline for removing fried foods from display shelves based on the state of parameters related to the best-before date. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] International Publication No. 2022 / 145218 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, it is difficult for store employees to prepare just the amount of hot snacks they need to sell and display them in advance while taking into account the expiration date.

[0005] An example of an objective of the present disclosure is to provide a product management device that can easily grasp the number of products to be cooked in a store. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] A product management device in one aspect of the present disclosure includes an acquisition means for acquiring a product disposal time based on a photographed image of the product displayed on a fixture and the product's expiration date; a prediction means for predicting sales numbers for each time period based on a prediction model created using past sales information for the product; an estimation means for estimating the number of dishes that need to be cooked for each time period based on the product disposal time and sales number; and an output means for outputting the number of dishes to be cooked.

[0007] In one aspect of the product management method of the present disclosure, a computer obtains the disposal time of a product based on photographed images of the product displayed on fixtures and the product's expiration date, predicts sales numbers for each time period based on a prediction model created using past sales information for the product, estimates the number of meals that need to be cooked for the product for each time period based on the disposal time and sales numbers of the product, and outputs the number of meals that need to be cooked.

[0008] In one aspect of the present disclosure, a recording medium stores a program that causes a computer to execute a process of obtaining the disposal time of a product based on photographed images of the product displayed on fixtures and the product's expiration date, predicting sales numbers for each time period based on a prediction model created using past sales information for the product, estimating the number of dishes that need to be cooked for the product for each time period based on the disposal time and sales numbers of the product, and outputting the number of dishes that need to be cooked. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide a product management device that can easily grasp the number of products to be cooked in a store. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example configuration of a product management device according to the present disclosure. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a hardware configuration in which the product management device according to the present disclosure is realized by a computer device and its peripheral devices. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of a case in which products are displayed in the present disclosure. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the product management device according to the present disclosure. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an example configuration of a product management device according to the present disclosure. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the product management device according to the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] Hereinafter, with reference to the drawings, embodiments of a product management device, a product management method, and a non-transitory recording medium for recording a program according to the present disclosure will be described in detail. The disclosed technology is not limited to these embodiments.

[0012] [First embodiment] First, the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a system configuration including a product management device 100 according to the present disclosure. As shown in Fig. 1, the product management system has the product management device 100 connected to an output device 200 via a network. The product management device 100 includes an acquisition unit 101, a prediction unit 102, an estimation unit 103, and an output unit 104.

[0013] The product management system is a system that manages cooked products, particularly fried foods such as fried chicken, croquettes, and French fries, displayed in fixtures such as hot showcases installed near cash registers in convenience stores and the like.

[0014] The product management device 100 is a device that estimates the number of dishes that a store employee needs to prepare for a product. The output device 200 is a device that outputs the number of dishes to prepare and an alert regarding the disposal deadline, and is configured, for example, as a terminal device carried by an employee.

[0015] 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration in which the product management device 100 according to the present disclosure is realized by a computer device 500 including a processor. As shown in FIG. 2, the product management device 100 includes a central processing unit (CPU) 501, memories such as read-only memory (ROM) 502 and random access memory (RAM) 503, a storage device 505 such as a hard disk for storing a program 504, a communication interface 508 for network connection, and an input / output interface 509 for inputting and outputting data. In the present disclosure, the product management device 100 is connected to each component via a bus 510. The product management device 100 according to the present disclosure shown in FIG. 1 can also be configured using cloud computing or the like.

[0016] The CPU 501 runs an operating system to control the entire product management device 100 according to the present disclosure. The CPU 501 also reads programs and data into memory from a recording medium 506 attached to, for example, a drive device 507. The CPU 501 also functions as the acquisition unit 101, prediction unit 102, estimation unit 103, and output unit 104 according to the present disclosure, or as part of these, and executes processing or commands in the flowchart shown in FIG. 4, which will be described later, based on the program.

[0017] The recording medium 506 is, for example, an optical disk, a flexible disk, a magneto-optical disk, an external hard disk, or a semiconductor memory. The semiconductor memory or the like that is part of the recording medium is a non-volatile storage device that stores the program. The program may also be downloaded from an external computer (not shown) that is connected to a communication network.

[0018] As described above, the product management device 100 shown in Fig. 1 is realized by the computer hardware shown in Fig. 2. However, the means for realizing each unit of the product management device 100 in Fig. 1 is not limited to the configuration described above. Furthermore, the product management device 100 may be realized by a single physically coupled device, or may be realized by a system consisting of two or more physically separate devices connected by wire or wirelessly.

[0019] FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of the configuration of a hot snack display case. Case 1 is a fixture installed in a retail store such as a convenience store, displaying hot snacks prepared in the store. The interior of case 1 is managed under conditions that maintain the quality of the products and ensure that they are available for sale to customers. Camera 2 is also installed in the store at a position that allows the display status of the fixtures to be monitored. Product management device 100 analyzes images captured by camera 2 to obtain information about the display of products, their display positions, and the elapsed time since they were displayed.

[0020] The acquisition unit 101 is a means for acquiring the disposal time of a product based on a photographed image of the product displayed on the fixture and the product's expiration date. The acquisition unit 101 identifies each product captured in the photograph and the time the product was displayed by analyzing the photographed image using a known method. The acquisition unit 101 also acquires the disposal time of the product based on the time the product was displayed and the product's expiration date. The product's expiration date is, for example, a date determined for each product during which the product can be eaten while maintaining its quality, and is stored in, for example, the storage device 505. The acquisition unit 101 outputs the acquired disposal time to the estimation unit 103.

[0021] The acquiring unit 101 may tag products via the camera 2 when the products are displayed on the fixtures, and may trace the time that has passed since each product was displayed until the product's expiration date has passed. For example, the acquiring unit 101 may trace the time that has passed for each product that was displayed at the same time. Furthermore, if a store has established rules for the arrangement of cooked products on the fixtures, the acquiring unit 101 may acquire the disposal time based on the results of comparing the rules with the analysis results of the captured images. An example of the rules is that cooked products should be displayed in a specific display location at a specific time.

[0022] The prediction unit 102 is a means for predicting sales figures for each time period based on a prediction model created using past sales number information for the product. The prediction model may be a model generated by machine learning that learns the correlation between sales numbers and factors. The prediction model may be any model, as long as it uses past sales numbers as a dependent variable and the dependent variable is expressed in a mathematical formula using explanatory variables. Parameters corresponding to factors that affect sales numbers are used as explanatory variables. The prediction model may be a model generated for each time period or for each store.

[0023] The parameters include, for example, weather information (maximum temperature, minimum temperature, weather) for the time period to be predicted, or information such as the number of customers.

[0024] The prediction unit 102 may predict when to replace ingredients used in cooking the product based on the estimated number of cooking times. Here, ingredients refer to oil, etc. used in cooking the product, which deteriorates with the number of cooking times. For example, suppose there is a product that requires oil replacement every 10 cooking times. In this case, the prediction unit 102 predicts the timing of cooking the 10th product as the time to replace the oil.

[0025] The estimation unit 103 is a means for estimating the number of items that need to be cooked for each time period based on the disposal time and sales number of the items. Various known methods can be used to estimate the number of items to be cooked. For hot snack items, items to be discarded and items to be sold are removed from the fixtures during each time period. That is, the estimation unit 103 may determine the number of items to be cooked as the sum of the number of items that will be discarded during that time period and the number of items sold during the same time period. The estimation unit 103 may estimate the number of items to be cooked for each time period when the customer demographics of the store change, such as immediately after opening, lunchtime, evening, or immediately before closing, or may estimate the number of items to be cooked for each predetermined time period (every 2 to 4 hours).

[0026] The estimation unit 103 may estimate the number of dishes to be cooked for each time period, including time periods when cooking is not performed. In a store, cooking may not be possible during busy times such as when the store is crowded, during lunch time, during breaks, or during other busy work hours. Therefore, the estimation unit 103 may predict the number of dishes to be cooked by increasing the number of dishes to be cooked for other time periods so that cooking does not need to be performed during these time periods.

[0027] The output unit 104 is a means for outputting the predicted number of dishes to be cooked. The output unit 104 outputs the number of dishes to be cooked for the product to any one of the output devices 200 in the store. Furthermore, when the prediction unit 102 predicts the replacement time of ingredients used in cooking the product, the output unit 104 may output the replacement time of the ingredients.

[0028] 4 is a flowchart showing an outline of the operation of the product management device 100 according to the present disclosure. The processing according to this flowchart may be executed based on program control by the processor described above. The processing according to this flowchart may be executed at any timing, for example, at a predetermined time within a day.

[0029] 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the product management device 100 according to the present disclosure. The acquisition unit 101 acquires the disposal time of a product based on a photographed image of the product displayed on the fixture and the product's expiration date (step S101). Next, the prediction unit 102 predicts the sales volume for each time period based on a prediction model created using past sales volume information for the product (step S102). Next, the estimation unit 103 estimates the number of cookings required for cooking the product for each time period based on the disposal time and sales volume of the product (step S103). Finally, the output unit 104 outputs the number of cookings (step S104). This completes the product management process for the product management device 100.

[0030] As described above, in the product management device 100 of the present disclosure, the estimation unit 103 estimates the number of meals required for cooking a product for each time period based on the product disposal time and sales quantity. The output unit 104 then outputs the number of meals required. This allows, for example, store employees to easily grasp the number of meals required for cooking a product in the store.

[0031] [Modification of the first embodiment] Next, modified examples of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Below, explanations of content that overlaps with the above explanation will be omitted to the extent that the explanation of this embodiment is not unclear. It should be noted that each modified example can be applied in combination.

[0032] Fig. 5 is a block diagram showing an example configuration of a product management device 110 in a modified example of the present disclosure. Referring to Fig. 5, the product management device 110 includes an acquisition unit 111, a prediction unit 112, an estimation unit 113, an output unit 114, and a detection unit 115. In this modified example, it is assumed that products that need to be disposed of remain on display on fixtures even after the disposal time has passed.

[0033] The detection unit 115 is a means for detecting products in a captured image whose disposal time has passed. For example, the detection unit 115 detects that a product that has been traced via a camera has reached a preset disposal time while still on display. The detection unit 115 outputs information about the detection to the output unit 114 at the timing of detection. The detection unit 115 may also output information to the output unit 114 at the timing when a predetermined time has passed since the disposal time. The detection unit 115 may also detect products whose disposal time is about to arrive or whose disposal time is a predetermined time away.

[0034] The output unit 114 outputs an alert to notify that the disposal time has passed. The output unit 114 may output a different alert depending on the amount of time that has passed since the disposal time. The output unit 114 may change the strength of the alert depending on the amount of time that has passed since the disposal time. The output unit 104 may notify a terminal at a headquarters that oversees each store of an alert when a predetermined amount of time (for example, six hours or more) has passed.

[0035] [Modification 2 of the First Embodiment] Next, another modification of the present disclosure will be described. Below, the description of the present embodiment will be omitted to the extent that it does not become unclear. In this modification, it is assumed that an alert is output when the number of products displayed on the fixtures is less than the predicted number of products.

[0036] The detection unit 115 detects that there is a shortage of products displayed on the fixtures compared to the predicted sales number. That is, the detection unit 115 counts the number of products using a camera, for example, and outputs the information to the output unit 114 when the number of products displayed falls below the sales number predicted by the prediction unit 112. The detection unit 115 may also output to the output unit 114 when the number of products displayed falls below the predicted sales number by a predetermined amount or more.

[0037] The output unit 114 outputs an alert to notify that there are insufficient products on display. The output unit 114 may output different alerts depending on the number of products that are insufficient.

[0038] FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the product management device 110 according to the present disclosure. In this flowchart, the flow of S111 to S114 is the same as S101 to S104 in FIG. 4. That is, the acquisition unit 111 acquires the disposal time of the product based on a photographed image of the product displayed on the fixture and the product's expiration date (step S111). Next, the prediction unit 112 predicts the sales number for each time period based on a prediction model created using past sales information for the product (step S112). Next, the estimation unit 113 estimates the number of cookings required for cooking the product for each time period based on the disposal time and sales number of the product (step S113). Then, the output unit 114 outputs the number of cookings (step S114). Next, if the detection unit 115 detects a product in the captured image whose disposal time has passed (S115; YES), or if it detects that there are insufficient products displayed on the fixtures compared to the predicted sales number (S116; YES), the output unit 114 outputs an alert (step S117). On the other hand, if the detection unit 115 does not detect a product in the captured image whose disposal time has passed (S115; NO), or if it does not detect that there are insufficient products displayed on the fixtures compared to the predicted sales number (S116; NO), the flow ends. With this, the product management device 110 ends the product management process.

[0039] As described above, in the product management device 110 of the present disclosure, when the detection unit 115 detects a product in a captured image whose disposal time has passed, or when it detects that the number of products displayed on the fixtures is insufficient compared to the predicted sales number, the output unit 114 outputs an alert. This notifies store employees that the product needs to be disposed of or replenished.

[0040] Although the present disclosure has been described above with reference to various embodiments, the present disclosure is not limited to the above embodiments. The configuration and details of each of the present disclosures may include various modifications that would be apparent to those skilled in the art within the scope of the present disclosure. The present disclosure may also include embodiments in which the features described herein are appropriately combined or substituted as necessary. For example, features described using a particular embodiment may also be applied to other embodiments to the extent that no inconsistency arises. For example, in a modified example of the present disclosure, the detection unit 115 may detect that the material replacement period has passed, and the output unit 114 may output an alert indicating that the material replacement period has passed. Furthermore, although multiple operations are described in a flow chart format, the order of the descriptions does not limit the order in which the multiple operations are performed. Therefore, when implementing each embodiment, the order of the multiple operations may be changed as long as it does not interfere with the content.

[0041] A part or all of the above-described embodiments can be described as, but not limited to, the following supplementary notes.

[0042] (Appendix 1) An acquisition means for acquiring a disposal time of the product based on a photographed image of the product displayed on the fixture and the expiration date of the product; a prediction means for predicting the number of sales per time period based on a prediction model created using past sales information of the product; an estimation means for estimating the number of times the product needs to be cooked for each time period based on the disposal time and the sales number of the product; and an output means for outputting the number of cooking steps.

[0043] (Appendix 2) The product management device according to claim 1, wherein the acquisition means acquires the disposal time of the product based on the elapsed time since the product was put on display.

[0044] (Appendix 3) The product management device according to claim 1, wherein the estimation means estimates the number of cooking times for each time period so as to include time periods in which cooking is not performed.

[0045] (Appendix 4) 2. The product management device according to claim 1, wherein the prediction means predicts the number of sales for each time period using a prediction formula expressed by parameters that affect the number of sales.

[0046] (Appendix 5) 5. The product management device according to claim 4, wherein the prediction means predicts the number of sales for each time period using a prediction formula expressed by parameters that differ for each time period.

[0047] (Appendix 6) The prediction means further predicts a replacement time of ingredients used in cooking the product based on the estimated number of cooking times; 2. The product management device according to claim 1, wherein the output means outputs a replacement time for the material.

[0048] (Appendix 7) Further, a detection means is provided for detecting products in the photographed image that have passed their disposal time, 7. The product management device according to claim 6, wherein the output means further outputs an alert to notify that the disposal time has passed.

[0049] (Appendix 8) The detection means further detects a shortage of the products displayed on the fixtures by comparing the number of products with the number of sales, The product management device according to claim 7, wherein the output means further outputs an alert to notify that there is a shortage of displayed products.

[0050] (Appendix 9) The computer Obtaining a disposal time for the product based on a photographed image of the product displayed on the fixture and the expiration date of the product; predicting the number of sales per time period based on a prediction model created using past sales information of the product; estimating the number of times the product needs to be cooked for each time period based on the disposal time and the sales number of the product; A product management method that outputs the number of dishes to be cooked.

[0051] (Appendix 10) Obtaining a disposal time for the product based on a photographed image of the product displayed on the fixture and the expiration date of the product; predicting the number of sales per time period based on a prediction model created using past sales information of the product; A program that causes a computer to execute a process of estimating the number of times the product needs to be cooked for each time period based on the disposal time and the sales number of the product, and outputting the number of times the product needs to be cooked.

[0052] Some or all of the configurations described in Supplements 2 to 8 that are dependent on Supplement 1 above may also be dependent on Supplement 9 and Supplement 10 in the same dependent relationship as Supplements 2 to 8. Not limited to Supplements 1, 9, and 10, some or all of the configurations described as Supplements may also be dependent on various hardware, software, various recording devices for recording software, or systems, within the scope of each of the above-mentioned embodiments. [Explanation of symbols]

[0053] 100, 110 Product management device 101, 111 Acquisition Department 102, 112 Prediction Department 103, 113 Estimation part 104, 114 Output section 115 Detection unit 500 Computer equipment 501 CPU 502 ROM 503 RAM 504 Program 505 Storage device 506 Recording Media 507 Drive Device 508 Communication Interface 509 Input / Output Interface 510 Bus

Claims

1. An acquisition means for acquiring a disposal time of the product based on a photographed image of the product displayed on the fixture and the expiration date of the product; a prediction means for predicting the number of sales per time period based on a prediction model created using past sales information of the product; an estimation means for estimating the number of times the product needs to be cooked for each time period based on the disposal time and the sales number of the product; and an output means for outputting the number of cooking steps.

2. The product management device according to claim 1 , wherein the acquisition means acquires the disposal time of the product based on the amount of time that has elapsed since the product was put on display.

3. The product management device according to claim 1 , wherein the estimation means estimates the number of cooking times for each time period so as to include time periods in which no cooking occurs.

4. 2. The merchandise management device according to claim 1, wherein the prediction means predicts the number of sales for each time period using a prediction formula expressed by parameters that affect the number of sales.

5. 5. The merchandise management device according to claim 4, wherein the prediction means predicts the number of sales for each time period using a prediction formula expressed by parameters that differ for each time period.

6. The prediction means further predicts a replacement time of ingredients used in cooking the product based on the estimated number of cooking times; The product management device according to claim 1 , wherein the output means outputs a replacement time for the material.

7. Further, a detection means is provided for detecting products in the photographed image that have passed their disposal time, The product management device according to claim 6 , wherein the output means further outputs an alert to notify that the disposal time has passed.

8. The detection means further detects a shortage of the products displayed on the fixtures by comparing the number of products with the number of sales, The product management device according to claim 7 , wherein the output means further outputs an alert to notify that there is a shortage of displayed products.

9. The computer Obtaining a disposal time for the product based on a photographed image of the product displayed on the fixture and the expiration date of the product; predicting the number of sales per time period based on a prediction model created using past sales information of the product; estimating the number of times the product needs to be cooked for each time period based on the disposal time and the sales number of the product; A product management method that outputs the number of dishes to be cooked.

10. Obtaining a disposal time for the product based on a photographed image of the product displayed on the fixture and the expiration date of the product; predicting the number of sales per time period based on a prediction model created using past sales information of the product; A program that causes a computer to execute a process of estimating the number of times the product needs to be cooked for each time period based on the disposal time and the sales number of the product, and outputting the number of times the product needs to be cooked.

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