Business support system

Abstract

To provide a business support system for collectively managing information of a group to which a facility belongs while forming a trust relationship between a facility side for hosting an event and an exhibitor side, and improving convenience of both sides in a series of procedures when holding the event and opening tenant stores.SOLUTION: A business support system accessible to users including facility staff, exhibitors who can set up stores in the facility's space, and managers, comprises a server including a control unit and a storage unit, where the storage unit includes information of users, facilities, and exhibitors, and where the control unit includes extraction means for extracting information in the storage unit in response to a request from a user, display data creation means for creating display data for displaying the information extracted by the extraction means in a form of satisfying the request of the user, and display data output means for outputting display data to terminals.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a business support system that reduces the workload of personnel in charge of facilities that have event spaces or vacant beds. [Background technology]

[0002] Traditionally, commercial facilities such as department stores and shopping malls have allowed third parties wishing to hold events in specific areas of the facility to use those areas (hereinafter referred to as "event space") and have received rent for such use. Events held by third parties (exhibitors) have the advantage of increasing the facility's overall customer base, and therefore, not only can the facility benefit from the rent, but it can also be expected to increase the facility's overall revenue.

[0003] Patent document 1 discloses a system that acts as an intermediary between a location provider and a mobile sales vehicle owner when the location provider rents out a location (front porch) to the owner of the vehicle to operate the business, thereby improving the convenience of procedures for both parties. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2023-55331 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] In the case of events held at commercial facilities, unlike the so-called "doorstep business" that provides a space outside the facility for a mobile sales truck, as disclosed in Patent Document 1, the facility allows the use of space within the facility. Therefore, when using the space to hold an event or other event, a strong relationship of trust with the exhibitors must be ensured. However, since neither the facility staff nor the exhibitors usually know the other's circumstances, there was a need for an intermediary to build a relationship of trust between the facility staff and the exhibitors when allowing the exhibitors to use the space, as well as a tool to improve convenience when exhibitors set up shop.

[0006] Facility managers are also required to centrally view and manage the business information of each facility in the entire group, including the facility they belong to, and reduce management costs through integrated management of the entire group, thereby improving profits.Furthermore, by setting appropriate rents for space that can be used to host events or open tenant stores at facilities within the group, and actively encouraging store owners who match the needs of each facility to host events or open tenant stores, it is possible to reduce vacant space within the facility and generate maximum profits with limited space and human resources.

[0007] The present invention has been made in light of the above situation, and aims to provide a business support system that builds trust between facility staff at facilities that own event spaces and exhibitors, improves the convenience of managing business information related to hosting events and tenant store openings, and maximizes the profits of the facility and / or the entire group. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] In order to achieve the above object, according to one embodiment of the present invention, A business support system accessible to users including facility personnel, shop owners who can set up shop in spaces within the facility, and managers, the system having a server including a control unit and a storage unit, The storage unit includes information on users, facilities, and store owners, The control unit includes an extraction unit that extracts information from the storage unit in response to a user request; a display data generating means for generating display data for displaying the information extracted by the extracting means in a format that satisfies a user's request; a display data output means for outputting display data to a terminal; A business support system having is provided. According to the present invention, information held by facility staff, exhibitors, and managers is managed in an integrated manner, and by appropriately extracting and processing this information in response to user requests, new information that is useful for business purposes can be created, reducing the burden of business management on facility staff and contributing to the performance of the facility.

[0009] Furthermore, according to one embodiment of the present invention, in the business support system, the control unit has a usage price creation means for creating a usage price for the space based on the events to be held in the space and / or the details of the tenants who will be setting up shop there. According to the present invention, by renting out facility space at an appropriate usage price, it is possible to contribute to maximizing the business performance of facilities, etc.

[0010] Furthermore, according to one embodiment of the present invention, the use price created by the use price creation means is a variable price. According to the present invention, the effort required for facility personnel to consider calculation of usage prices can be reduced, contributing to labor savings.

[0011] Furthermore, according to one embodiment of the present invention, the usage price creation means includes a trained model that has been trained using sales performance data of events held in the past and / or tenants that have opened stores. According to the present invention, by using AI that has learned past sales results to calculate usage prices, facility personnel can use highly reliable usage prices.

[0012] Furthermore, according to one embodiment of the present invention, the control unit has DB editing means for allowing the user to edit the use price from the terminal. According to the present invention, even if it is desired to change the usage price calculated by AI due to circumstances within the facility, it is possible to respond to an appropriate value.

[0013] Furthermore, according to one embodiment of the present invention, the display data creation means has a management display data creation means that creates display data for collectively viewing and editing information for the entire group to which the facility belongs, at the user's request. According to the present invention, by using various business information stored in the system of the present invention, display data that can collectively manage the business information of the group to which the facility belongs can be created, allowing facility personnel within the group to accurately grasp the performance of the entire group and make effective use of it.

[0014] Furthermore, according to one embodiment of the present invention, the system has an analytical information creating means for creating analytical data based on information at the request of a user. According to the present invention, it is possible to create analysis results in the manner desired by facility personnel based on the sales performance of the facility or group, and these can be used for formulating sales strategies for the facility or group.

[0015] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the users include multiple facility personnel within the group to which the facility belongs, and display data created in response to requests from some of the multiple facility personnel can be used by other facility personnel within the group. According to the present invention, the information about the entire group to which the facility belongs can be shared by the person in charge of each facility, thereby reducing the management burden on the entire group. [Effects of the Invention]

[0016] According to the system of the present invention, it is possible to build a relationship of trust between facility staff and exhibitors when hosting an event, while improving the convenience of information management for the facility or the entire group.

[0017] Furthermore, by optimizing the usage price of space within the facility, it is possible to maximize the profits of the facility or the entire group. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0018] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram illustrating an overall configuration of a business support system according to the present invention. [Figure 2] 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of a shop owner terminal, a manager terminal, and a facility terminal in the business support system of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 3A] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a server in the business support system of the present invention. [Figure 3B] 10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating examples of exhibitor information and facility master data. [Figure 3C] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of business management master data. [Figure 3D] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of account information master data. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a control unit in the business support system of the present invention. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the processing of a usage price creation means. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a display data generating unit. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a usage price creation means. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing processing by a search application on the shop owner side. [Figure 9] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the user registration input page of the store owner search site. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a search menu page of a store owner's search site. [Figure 11] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a search condition input page of a shop owner search site. [Figure 12] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a page displaying search results from a store owner search site. [Figure 13] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a facility details display page of a store owner search site. [Figure 14] This is a diagram showing switching from the facility details display page to the space details display page on the store owner's search site. [Figure 15] This is a diagram showing the space details display page of the store owner's search site. [Figure 16] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a My Page on a shop owner search site. [Figure 17] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a new plan registration page on a store owner search site. [Figure 18] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a progress display page for an offer application on a shop owner search site. [Figure 19] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating the processing of an event hosting offer in a store owner search application. [Figure 20] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an event hosting offer application page on the exhibitor search site. [Figure 21] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a process performed by a facility management application. [Figure 22] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a menu page of a facility-side management site. [Figure 23] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a search condition input page on a facility-side management site. [Figure 24] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a page displaying search results from a facility-side management site. [Figure 25] This is a diagram showing the exhibitor project details display page of the facility management site. [Figure 26] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a management page of a facility-side management site. [Figure 27] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a schedule management page of a facility management site. [Figure 28] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a sales management page of a facility management site. [Figure 29] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a basic information page of a facility-side management site. [Figure 30] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a space information page on a facility management site. [Figure 31A] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a price information page of a facility management site. [Figure 31B] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a price information page of a facility management site. [Figure 31C] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a process for changing the usage prices collectively on the price information page. [Figure 32]FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a sales management page of a facility management site. [Figure 33] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an analysis information page of a facility management site. [Figure 34A] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an analysis information page of a facility management site. [Figure 34B] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an analysis information page of a facility management site. [Figure 34C] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an analysis information page of a facility management site. [Figure 35] This is a diagram showing the bulletin board (exhibitor reviews) on the facility management site. [Figure 36] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a bulletin board (for reporting problems) on a facility-side management site. [Figure 37] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the store owner master data of the facility management site. [Figure 38] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the store owner master data of the facility management site. [Figure 39A] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an account management page. [Figure 39B] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an account management page. [Figure 40] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a project offer application page on a facility management site. [Figure 41] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a relationship between an application and master data in the business support system of the present invention. [Figure 42] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a relationship between an application and master data in the business support system of the present invention. [Figure 43] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a relationship between an application and master data in the business support system of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0019] An embodiment of the present invention will be described. The business support system of the present invention can appropriately manage facility information and business information of commercially available facilities (hereinafter referred to as "facilities") that have event space and / or vacant floor space. It can also utilize the usage prices appropriately set by vendors who hold events related to the sale of goods or services in space within the facility, vendors who set up shop as tenants in the vacant floor space within the facility (hereinafter these two vendors are collectively referred to as "shop owners"), and facility personnel, and can support the easy holding of events through a system administrator (hereinafter referred to as "administrator").

[0020] In this specification, examples of products handled by the store owner include food, drinking water, passenger cars, books, local products, communication equipment, housing, daily necessities, etc. Examples of services handled by the store owner include educational facilities such as English conversation schools, cram schools, and various schools, operation of sports facilities such as swimming, dance, and training gyms, appraisal services for used goods such as used books and antiques, provision of various insurance products, operation of beauty salons, etc. Note that the products and services handled by these store owners are not limited to the above examples.

[0021] Examples of facilities in this specification include, but are not limited to, commercial facilities, retail stores, hot spring facilities, movie theaters, rental shops, bookstores, department stores, shopping malls, drugstores, sports facilities, stations, office buildings, apartment complexes, post offices, amusement parks, sports stadiums, and road service facilities.

[0022] In this specification, the term "event" refers to the use of the event space described above by exhibitors to provide or advertise goods or services.

[0023] In this specification, "group" refers to a group of facilities managed and operated by the same or related entities. Groups include, but are not limited to, commonly-used chain stores and franchises. In this specification, each facility within a group is referred to as a "group store."

[0024] As used herein, "event space" refers to an area within a facility that can be rented out for a certain period of time to various businesses for the purpose of providing or advertising goods or services.

[0025] In this specification, "vacant space" refers to a space within a facility that can be used for retail purposes but is not being used as a store. A store opened by a store owner in a vacant space is called a "tenant."

[0026] In this specification, the event space and the available floor space are collectively referred to as "space."

[0027] In this specification, the term "facility staff" refers to a person who manages the space in a facility and has a certain authority to allow exhibitors to use the space. The term also refers to a person who manages the facilities belonging to a group (for example, a sales-related person at the head office who is not attached to a specific facility).

[0028] In this specification, the term "event hosting offer" refers to an offer made to a facility by an exhibitor who wishes to host an event in a space within the facility.

[0029] In this specification, "tenant store opening offer" means both an offer made to a facility staff member by a store owner wishing to open a tenant store in vacant space held by the facility, and an offer made by a facility staff member to a store owner to have the tenant open a store in vacant space held by the facility staff member.

[0030] In this specification, the term "planning offer" refers to an offer made by a facility staff member to an exhibitor to have the exhibitor hold an event in a space within the facility to which the facility staff member belongs.

[0031] In this specification, the term "user" refers to a person who has registered as a user to use the business support system of the present invention. When there is no need to distinguish between store owners and facility personnel who use the business support system of the present invention, they may be collectively referred to as "users." Note that the term "user" does not include administrators.

[0032] [1. Overall structure] FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of a business support system 1 according to the present invention. The business support system 1 of the present invention comprises a management server 10, a shop owner terminal 20, an administrator terminal 30, and a facility terminal 40, each of which is connected to enable the exchange of information via a network N. Here, the management server 10 is a device operated by an administrator of the business support system 1, the shop owner terminal 20 is an information terminal used by shop owners to use the business support system 1, and the facility terminal 40 is an information terminal used by facility personnel to use the business support system 1. The administrator terminal 30 is an information terminal used by the administrator to connect to the management server 10 and execute the various functions of the management server 10 or to edit data recorded in the management server 10. Furthermore, the business support system 1 of the present invention does not need to have all of its functions within its own management server 10. For example, a predetermined function may be outsourced to another company or the like that has an external server 10a. An example of the predetermined function here is the space usage price calculation function described below.

[0033] By using the business support system 1, facility personnel can manage facility information and business information related to the space owned by the facility and search for exhibitors who will hold events or tenant stores in the space by launching and using an application program (hereinafter referred to as the "app") within the business support system 1. Furthermore, by launching and using the app within the business support system 1, they can carry out the procedures necessary for holding an event or opening a tenant store with exhibitors (hereinafter referred to as the "facility management app"). In addition, by using the business support system 1, exhibitors can carry out various procedures related to holding events and opening tenant stores (hereinafter, this app will be referred to as the "exhibitor search app"). In other words, the business support system 1 can contribute to improving convenience for the store owner and / or the facility by using a store owner search app or a facility management app, or by using both while sharing data.

[0034] The overall configuration of the business support system 1 will be described in detail below.

[0035] [1.1 Exhibitor terminal] 2 shows the configuration of the exhibitor terminal 20. The exhibitor terminal 20 includes an input unit 202, a communication unit 204, a display unit 206, a control unit 208, and a memory unit 210. An exhibitor can use the exhibitor terminal 20 to connect to the business support system 1 and search for spaces. Examples of the exhibitor terminal 20 include, but are not limited to, a mobile phone, a smartphone, a tablet terminal, and a personal computer.

[0036] 2, the input unit 202 includes devices for accepting various input operations, such as a button, a touch panel, a keyboard, a mouse, a microphone, and a camera.

[0037] The communication unit 204 is an interface for communicating with external devices, and includes a communication interface for connecting the exhibitor terminal 20 to a network N (FIG. 1). Examples of the network N (FIG. 1) include various networks such as the Internet, a wireless LAN, and a wired LAN.

[0038] The display unit 206 includes a display device capable of displaying images, such as a liquid crystal display or an organic EL display.

[0039] The storage unit 210 is configured to be able to store various types of data and includes semiconductor memory such as ROM, RAM, NVRAM, flash memory, and SSD.

[0040] The control unit 208 is mainly configured with a known microcomputer having a CPU and memories such as RAM, ROM, and flash memory. The various functions of the control unit 208 are realized by the CPU executing a program stored in a non-transitory storage medium. In this example, the memory corresponds to the non-transitory storage medium storing the program. Furthermore, the execution of this program executes a method corresponding to the program. The number of microcomputers configuring the control unit 208 may be one or more. The control unit 208 can search for spaces by executing the application of the business support system 1 stored in the management server 10 via the network.

[0041] [1.2 Facility Terminal] Facility personnel can use the facility terminal 40 to connect to the business support system 1, manage the space within the facility, and search for exhibitors to hold events in the space or set up tenant stores in vacant floor space.

[0042] 2, facility terminal 40 includes an input unit 402, a communication unit 404, a display unit 406, a control unit 408, and a storage unit 410. Examples of facility terminal 40 include, but are not limited to, a mobile phone, a smartphone, a tablet terminal, and a personal computer.

[0043] The configurations of the memory unit 410, input unit 402, communication unit 404, and display unit 406 are the same as those of the input unit 202, communication unit 204, display unit 206, and memory unit 210 in the shop owner terminal 20 described above.

[0044] The control unit 408 has the same configuration as the control unit 208 in the exhibitor terminal 20. The control unit 408 manages the space within the facility by executing the application of the business support system 1 stored in the management server 10 via the network, and can also search for exhibitors who will hold events in the space or open tenant stores in vacant floor space.

[0045] [1.3 Administrator terminal] The administrator terminal 30 is an information device used by the business operator (administrator) who provides the business support system 1, and may be, for example, a smartphone, a tablet terminal, or a personal computer, but is not limited to these. As shown in Fig. 2, the configuration of the administrator terminal 30 is the same as that of the shop owner terminal 20 and the facility terminal 40, and includes an input unit 302, a communication unit 304, a display unit 306, a control unit 308, and a memory unit 310.

[0046] Specifically, the administrator terminal 30 performs various processing operations required for the administrator to operate the business support system 1. For example, the administrator terminal 30 performs operations related to account management for users (facility personnel and shop owners) of the business support system 1, approval / denial of user registration applications, editing of information stored in a database (hereinafter referred to as "DB") in the management server 10, and mediation of offers submitted by both users (facility personnel and shop owners).

[0047] [1.4 Server] FIG. 3A is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the management server 10. As shown in FIG. 3A, the management server 10 includes a communication unit 104, a control unit 108, and a storage unit 110. The communication unit 104 includes a communication interface for connecting the management server 10 to a network N in order to communicate with external devices.

[0048] The management server 10 is installed on the network N by an administrator. The management server 10 functions as a web server and an application server for providing the business support system 1. That is, the management server 10 executes processing in response to a request from an app stored in the storage unit 110 within the management server 10 or an app downloaded to the shop owner terminal 20 or the facility terminal 40. The management server 10 then transmits screen data (e.g., HTML data) and control data corresponding to the results of the processing to the shop owner terminal 20, the facility terminal 40, or the manager terminal 30. A screen based on the received data is displayed on the shop owner terminal 20, the facility terminal 40, or the manager terminal 30.

[0049] [1.4.1 Storage section] The storage unit 110 is configured to be able to store various types of data. The storage unit 110 has semiconductor memory such as ROM, RAM, NVRAM, flash memory, and SSD. The storage unit 110 also stores apps for implementing the functions of the business support system 1, other programs for executing various processes in response to requests from the apps, and various screen data and control data to be transmitted to the shop owner terminal 20, facility terminal 40, and administrator terminal 30. The storage unit 110 also stores registration information for users who use the business support system 1 and information regarding the system usage history of registered users.

[0050] 3A, the storage unit 110 includes a store owner information DB 1102, a facility information DB 1104, and a business management DB 1106.

[0051] The exhibitor information DB 1102 mainly stores basic information about exhibitors, such as company names and contact information, in list format as master data (hereinafter referred to as "exhibitor master data" in this specification). FIG. 3B(a) shows an example of the exhibitor master data. The information constituting the exhibitor master data may be obtained from information registered by the exhibitor when registering as a user (described later), detailed information added to the "My Page" on the exhibitor search site, detailed information registered and edited on the management screen page (exhibitor master) of the facility management site (FIG. 37), and registered information related to event planning (FIG. 17). The exhibitor master data may be created and edited in whole or in part by an administrator and / or facility staff.

[0052] The facility information DB 1104 stores information such as the location of space within a facility, usage fees, and contact information in list format as master data (hereinafter referred to as "facility master data" in this specification). FIG. 3B(b) shows an example of facility master data. FIG. 3B(b) shows an excerpt of X Supermarket's event spaces (Nos. 1-4) and Z Store's event spaces (Nos. 5-6) as examples. The information constituting the facility master data may include information about the facility itself, such as the company name, branch name, trade name, store name, group, address, contact information, business hours, contact information, access information, parking information, bank account information, and number of customers. In addition, the information may include the event space name, floor, space size, usage hours, available facilities, usage fees, required documents, payment methods, precautions within the facility, information about changing areas and restrooms, and available merchandise.

[0053] The information that makes up the facility master data may be obtained through sales activities conducted by the administrator toward the facility or procedures such as the basic transaction agreement, or may be obtained as user registration information when registering as a user on the facility management site described below, or may be registered and edited on the management screen page (facility information management page).Space searches on the store owner search site described below are primarily extracted from the facility master data.The facility master data can be edited as appropriate by the administrator and / or facility staff.

[0054] The following explains the usage prices of facility master data. Usage prices indicate the usage prices of spaces within a facility. The example in Figure 3B(b) shows the contents of the facility master data as of October 9th, and indicates the usage prices of each space from the next day (October 10th) to one month from now. The period for calculating and displaying usage prices is not particularly limited, and can be set as appropriate, such as one week or one year in the future, and past usage price data may also be displayed on the screen.

[0055] The bolded sections (Nos. 2 and 3, 10 / 10-10 / 12, and Nos. 5 and 6, 10 / 10-10 / 11) are slots where events have already been scheduled, while the other slots are slots where no events have been scheduled. In the example shown in Figure 3B(b), the usage price can vary depending on the space, date, merchandise, and other factors, but it can also be set at a fixed price for each facility or space. The method for calculating and updating usage prices will be described later.

[0056] The data regarding vacant beds in the facility master data is composed of the same items as the facility master data shown in Figure 3B(b), but the handling information at the facility may differ from that of the space. In that case, it may be composed of different items, such as omitting some of the information, or it may be created as completely separate master data. In this embodiment, for simplicity of explanation, it is assumed that the master data regarding event spaces and vacant beds are both stored as the same facility master data, and can be identified as "event" or "tenant" in the "category" in Figure 3B(b).

[0057] The facility information DB 1104 further includes account information master data consisting of account information for facility staff at facilities within the group. FIG. 3D shows an example of the account information master data. The account information master data is composed of information such as user ID, user name, area, affiliated store, email address, and usage authority. The account information master data can be registered and edited from the account management page described below. The account information master data may also include the user's past browsing information (not shown).

[0058] The business management DB 1106 stores various data on each process that occurs for each project, mainly for projects in which exhibitors have applied for offers to hold events and offers to open tenant stores, as master data in a list format linked to part of the exhibitor information and facility information (hereinafter referred to as "business management master data" in this specification).

[0059] Figure 3C shows an example of business management master data. Business management master data mainly consists of status information, exhibitor information, facility information, event period, sales information, etc. Status information includes information such as the application date, confirmation date, status, and person in charge for the event hosting offer. The application date is automatically entered when the offer application form described below is submitted, but some information, such as information related to the status and person in charge, may be entered by the administrator from the administrator terminal. Exhibitor information and facility information may be entered by the user in the application form (Figure 20) when applying for an offer, or may be copied from the exhibitor master data and facility master data described above based on the user's identification information. Schedule information may be used from the application form when applying for an event hosting offer.

[0060] The "status" in the business management master data indicates the progress of an event hosting offer application and is updated by the administrator via the administrator terminal 30 as the submitted offer progresses. In the status information illustrated in FIG. 3C, "confirmed" indicates that the event hosting or tenant store opening proposed by the exhibitor has been confirmed; "NG" indicates that the exhibitor's offer to host an event or other event has not been agreed upon; and "application in progress" indicates that the offer is currently being submitted and has not yet been confirmed. The administrator can update the business management master data. The status may be checked, for example, on the management page of the facility management site or the My Page of the exhibitor search site (described later), or the administrator may notify the exhibitor via communication such as email or chat.

[0061] The "sales information" in the business management master data is the sales of the facility resulting from the use of the space when an event is held. In this embodiment, the manager pays the facility an amount agreed upon between them at an event held by a store exhibitor, and this payment amount is input by the manager from the manager terminal 30 as sales information. The amount paid by the store exhibitor to the manager is the amount paid by the manager to the facility plus the manager's commission. In some cases, the amount may also include sales from merchandise sold by the store exhibitor when the event is held. The processing of sales resulting from holding an event is determined solely by agreement between the manager, store exhibitor, and facility, and the manner in which this is reflected in the master data is not limited to the manner described above. Furthermore, the sales information published in the business management master data can include amounts paid directly based on a contract between the store owner and the facility without the involvement of an administrator. In this case, the facility staff member directly enters the sales amount from the facility terminal 40 using a sales input screen (not shown).

[0062] Sales items are not limited to product sales and usage prices as shown in Figure 3C, but items such as purchase amounts and store opening expenses can be added as appropriate. Note that in Figure 3C, "usage price" refers to the daily usage price of event space or vacant floor space in the facility.

[0063] The data contained in the business management master data may include a series of records of exchanges between exhibitors, managers, and facilities after an offer is submitted, such as contract-related documents and various notification documents related to hosting an event or opening a tenant store, payment history from exhibitors to managers or facilities, distribution history of manuals and other documents related to specific facilities or spaces sent after the offer is confirmed, and comments entered using the bulletin board function described below.

[0064] 1.4.2 Control Unit In FIG. 3A, the control unit 108 is mainly configured with a known microcomputer having a CPU 108A and a memory 108B such as RAM, ROM, or flash memory. The various functions of the control unit 108 are realized by the CPU 108A executing a program stored in a non-transitory storage medium. In this example, the memory corresponds to the non-transitory storage medium storing the program. Furthermore, the execution of this program results in the execution of a method corresponding to the program. The number of microcomputers configuring the control unit 108 may be one or more.

[0065] In FIG. 3A, the control unit 108 has a function of starting and controlling the store owner search application, a function of starting and controlling the facility management application, and a function of managing and controlling the entire system. Here, the control unit 108 may be configured by a plurality of microcomputers, each of which is assigned a separate CPU 108A and memory 108B according to its function, or may be configured to share the same CPU 108A and memory 108B.

[0066] FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram showing the functional configuration of the control unit 108.

[0067] The control unit 108 has a user information registration means 108a, a user authentication means 108b, a search condition acquisition means 108c, an extraction means 108d, a display data creation means 108e, a display data output means 108f, an offer reception means 108g, a user management storage means 108h, a DB editing means 108i, a use price creation means 108j, and an analysis information creation means 108k. These execute functions (programs) provided in the shop owner search app or the facility management app stored in the storage unit 110 by the control unit 108.

[0068] When a user uses the business support system 1 for the first time, the user information registration means 108a acquires initial registration information, assigns identification information, and stores them in the shop owner information DB 1102 and the facility information DB 1104. In addition to the initial registration information, if the user information registration means 108a registers new information (planning information, person in charge information, etc.) from the My Page or management screen page described below, or if there are changes to the information, the control unit 108 (DB editing means 108i) updates the shop owner information DB 1102 or the facility information DB 1104. Here, the identification information may be a number assigned to each user, who is a store owner or facility staff member (or facility, etc.) (for example, the user ID in Figure 3B), or the name or email address of the store owner or facility staff member (or facility, etc.) may be used as the identification information.

[0069] When a user requests to log in to the business support system 1, the user authentication means 108b compares the user name (or user ID) and password entered by the user from the terminal with those stored in the store owner information DB 1102 or the facility information DB 1104, and if they match, it determines whether to allow the login, or not if they do not match.

[0070] The search condition acquisition means 108c is a means for acquiring search conditions when a user performs a search using the business support system 1. The search conditions are entered on a search condition input page (e.g., FIG. 11) described below, and examples of search conditions include, but are not limited to, location, products handled, and time. The search condition acquisition means 108c can use known input means such as chat service, voice input, and image input in addition to input of character text.

[0071] The extraction means 108d extracts necessary data from the shop owner information DB 1102, the facility information DB 1104 and / or the business management DB 1106 in response to a user request. For example, the search conditions acquired by the search condition acquisition means 108c are compared with the data stored in the store owner information DB 1102 or the facility information DB 1104, and matching data is extracted. That is, if the user is a store owner, information on spaces that match the specified conditions of location, merchandise, time, etc. is extracted from the facility information DB 1104. Similarly, if the user is a facility staff member, information on store owners that match the plan details entered as search conditions from the facility terminal 40 is extracted from the store owner information DB 1102. Furthermore, on the My Page described below, information stored in the shop owner information DB 1102, facility information DB 1104, and business management DB 1106 in association with the user's identification information is extracted based on the user's request.

[0072] The display data generating means 108e generates data to be displayed to the user based on the information extracted from each master data and other information. 6 shows an example of the configuration of the display data creation means 108e. The display data creation means 108e shown in FIG. 6 includes a management display data creation means 108e1 that creates display data for information related to management, such as the progress of store opening offers, various information about the facility and store owner, and the space usage price, as described below; a space display data creation means 108e2 that displays, in various formats, information when a user searches for a facility space that meets specified conditions, as described below; and a display data table 108e3 that associates a display menu selected by the user with the information to be displayed and the position where it should be displayed. However, the functions of the display data creation means 108e are not limited to these, and the display data creation means 108e may have a function for creating display data other than those described above when adding other functions to the business support system 1.

[0073] The management display data creation means 108e1 is a function for creating data for displaying information related to the management of the above-mentioned facilities and groups, and creates data for displaying information extracted by the extraction means 108d from information in the exhibitor information DB 1102, facility information DB 1104, and business management DB 1106 as a management page on, for example, a management screen described below. Examples of data displayed on the management page include schedule management data that lists the reservation status of space, usage price data that indicates the usage price of space, facility information data that indicates the area, characteristics, and appearance of the facility, sales management data for holding events, account management data regarding access rights to the business management system, bulletin board data used between facilities or between facilities and exhibitors, visualized data of analytical data created by the analytical information creation means 108k based on sales data, and exhibitor information data for viewing exhibitor information.

[0074] The space display data creation means 108e2 creates data displaying detailed information about a space from data extracted by the extraction means 108d, for example, based on a search request from a user. The display data creation means 108e also has a function for setting the layout of the display data. When a store owner searches for a space using the business support system 1, it is preferable that the owner be able to visually recognize the appearance of the space while considering it. Therefore, it is preferable that the display data creation means 108e be able to display basic information about the space along with image data of the space, surrounding facilities, and store, and further set a layout that embeds map information from a web mapping platform, etc.

[0075] The display data table 108e3 is a table that associates the layout of display data with the information to be displayed and the position at which it should be displayed. When the management display data creation means 108e1 acquires the display menu selected by the user, it acquires the information to be displayed and the position at which it should be displayed based on the display data table 108e3, and creates display data corresponding to the selected display menu. When the space display data creation means 108e2 acquires the layout selected by the user, it acquires the information to be displayed and the position at which it should be displayed based on the display data table 108e3, and creates display data corresponding to the selected layout.

[0076] Furthermore, it is preferable that the display data creation means 108e can change the layout setting at any time. For example, it may be set to display the search results in a desired layout from the beginning, or it may be set to display the search results in multiple display formats and then allow the most suitable layout to be selected each time.

[0077] The display data output means 108f displays the created display data on a user terminal (exhibitor terminal 20 or facility terminal 40) and / or manager terminal 30, or on a display device such as a projector that can be shared by multiple people.

[0078] The offer receiving means 108g receives an event hosting offer or a tenant store opening offer from a store owner, or a project offer or a tenant store opening offer from a facility staff member, and transmits to the administrator terminal 30 information that an offer has been made from a user.

[0079] The user management storage means 108h is a means for storing information in the business management DB 1106 in accordance with the format of the business management master data.

[0080] The DB editing means 108i is used when a user edits the master data in the above-mentioned shop owner information DB 1102, facility information DB 1104, and business management DB 1106. The editing function may be included as a function of the shop owner search application and the facility management application, or a separate application for editing the master data may be provided.

[0081] The usage price creation means 108j creates usage prices for spaces within the facility. 7 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the usage price creation means, which includes a usage price calculation means 108j1 for calculating a usage price, and a usage price reflection means 108j2 for reflecting the calculated usage price in the facility master data. Here, the usage price calculation means 108j1 calculates an appropriate usage price for renting out space in order to improve the profits of the facility or the entire group. The usage price may be calculated using a program that calculates an appropriate price using a formula preset by a facility staff member, or a trained model that has been trained using past business performance data, including other facilities, as training data. Specific aspects of usage price calculation will be described later. The other facilities may include facilities other than the group's stores.

[0082] The usage price calculation means 108j1 may be stored in the management server 10 (FIG. 7(a)), or may be owned by an external company connected via a network (FIG. 7(b)). If the usage price calculation means 108j1 is installed in an external server 10a, the calculation result of the usage price is obtained from the external server 10a.

[0083] The usage price reflecting means 108j2 is a function for managing usage prices, and may have a function for reflecting the usage price calculated by the usage price calculation means 108j1 in the facility master data, as well as a function for separately storing data before updating to the latest usage price data.

[0084] The analytical information generating means 108k performs statistical analysis of current and / or past business performance data.

[0085] It should be noted that the above-mentioned functions are a list of the main functions of the control unit 108, but the functions used in the business support system 1 are not limited to these.

[0086] [2 Processing] [2.1 Creating a Usage Price] The creation of a usage price will now be described. Figure 5 is a flowchart showing the steps up to the creation of a usage price by the usage price creation means 108j, which will be described later. Hereinafter, in this specification, a person who has the authority to give instructions to the usage price creation means 108j will be referred to as a "usage price creator." Typically, the usage price creator is a facility staff member or manager.

[0087] The use price creator sends a use price creation instruction to the management server 10 from the use price creator's terminal (S1101). The use price creation instruction may be issued by the use price creator each time, or it can be set so that the instruction is issued automatically periodically without an instruction being issued.

[0088] The calculation of the usage price can be performed automatically, manually, or a combination of both. In the example of Fig. 5, the usage price is initially set to be calculated automatically, and if automatic calculation is not to be performed, a setting to that effect (automatic calculation stop instruction) must be made. If a usage price creation instruction is made without an automatic calculation stop instruction (S1102: No), the management server 10 receives the usage price creation instruction via the communication unit 104, the usage price creation means 108j automatically calculates the usage price (S1105), the display data creation means 108e creates data for displaying the calculated usage price (S1106), and the display data output means 108f transmits the data from the communication unit 104 to the terminal of the usage price creator and causes it to be output to the terminal of the usage price creator (S1107).

[0089] If the usage price creator issues an instruction to stop automatic calculation (S1102: Yes), the management server 10 uses the display data creation means 108e to create a screen (e.g., Figure 31A) on which the usage price can be manually entered, and displays it on the terminal of the usage price creator using the display data output means 108f (S1103). The usage price creator manually enters the usage price from the screen displayed on the terminal. The screen on which the usage price can be manually entered may be launched by an app stored in advance in the administrator terminal 30 or facility terminal 40, or may display display data provided by the management server 10 each time manual entry is performed.

[0090] The screen on which the usage price can be manually input is, for example, a calendar-format input screen as shown in Fig. 31A described below, and the usage price is input within the box for each date and sent to the management server 10 after completion (S1104). Once manual input is complete and there is an instruction from the usage price creator that manual input is complete, the display data creation means 108e creates data relating to the usage price list screen after manual input (S1106), and the display data output means 108f displays the data on the terminal of the usage price creator (S1107).

[0091] The use price creator checks the use price list screen sent from the management server 10, and if it is determined that further corrections are necessary (S1108: Yes), the screen that allows manual input is redisplayed on the use price creator's terminal (S1103), and the creator corrects any necessary corrections by manual input. If it is determined that further corrections are not necessary (S1108: No), the control unit 108 (DB editing means 108i) saves the updated data related to the use prices in the facility master data (Fig. 3B(b)) (S1109), and ends the use price creation process (S1110).

[0092] The information regarding the usage price recorded in the facility master data may be the last updated price, but may also be configured to store the update history. In addition, if the setting is such that the usage price is automatically calculated periodically, the newly calculated usage price will be updated each time it is calculated, but the setting may be such that the part that has been manually corrected in the past is not automatically updated. In addition, as a general rule, no usage fees will be calculated for slots where it has already been decided that an event will be held.

[0093] The calculation of the usage price will now be described. As described above, the space usage price is calculated by the usage price calculation means 108j1, and is reflected in the facility master data by the usage price reflection means 108j2.

[0094] The usage price calculated by the usage price calculation means 108j1 is a variable price calculated based on the concept of so-called dynamic pricing. In other words, a usage price for a space with high demand from exhibitors can be set higher than a usage price for a space with low demand. Therefore, even for space within the same facility, the usage price can vary depending on the date and time of use. The dynamic pricing method is not particularly limited, and known methods can be used. For example, data such as the season, the timing of nearby events, past business and customer performance including other facilities, and the time required to select an exhibitor can be stored in the memory unit 110. By using a calculation formula using this data or a trained model trained using this data as training data, usage prices can be calculated taking into account the level of demand from exhibitors. Usage price data from other nearby facilities can also be used. If the usage price calculation means 108j1 is installed on the external server 10a, the management server 10 provides the external server 10a with the data necessary to calculate the usage price and obtains the calculated usage price from the external server 10a.

[0095] The usage price can vary based on the type of event being held in the space or the type of tenant exhibiting. The type of event being held or the type of tenant exhibiting includes, but is not limited to, the type of event, the items being offered, the scale of the event, the duration of the event, the time of the event, the location, past performance, and / or the time of the event (day of the week, season). The type of event refers to the type of event, such as product sales, advertising services such as English conversation classes, appraisals for used books and recycled goods, and performances by singers or characters. In addition, in this specification, the details of the events to be held in the space or the tenants that will be setting up shop may include the space usage price applicable to events or tenants that handle similar products in other facilities and / or surrounding information including the usage status of the space in the facility to which the space belongs or in neighboring facilities.

[0096] The usage price reflecting means 108j2 reflects the usage price calculated by the usage price calculation means 108j1 on the facility master data, but the calculated data may be overwritten and saved each time it is calculated, or all past calculated usage prices may be saved for use as training data, for example.

[0097] [2.2 Processing by the app] Next, we will explain the functions of the store owner search app and facility management app used in the business support system 1. Hereinafter, in this specification, the website displayed by the store owner search app will be referred to as the "store owner search site," and the website displayed by the facility management app will be referred to as the "facility management site."

[0098] An overview of the business support system 1 using an app will be described. FIG. 41 shows an outline of the relationships between the applications used in the business support system 1, the master data in the database, the users, and the administrators in one embodiment of the present invention. The processes (user registration, search, progress management, etc.) performed by the store owner search app and facility management app used by users are carried out by exchanging and editing data in the three master data sets in the business support system 1. In addition, the business management master data is formed by obtaining store owner and facility information from the store owner master data and facility master data, and then adding and editing information such as the user's system usage history. Meanwhile, the administrator can edit all master data. In this way, management and search processes are carried out using master data information that is common to multiple types of apps.

[0099] [2.2.1 Store search app] Figure 8 shows the system process in which a store owner becomes a user of the store owner search app and searches for facilities, etc. Store owners use the store owner search app to search for space to hold an event or for available floor space to set up a tenant store, and then complete the procedures leading up to holding an event.

[0100] [2.2.1.1 User registration function] A store owner accesses the URL of the store owner search site from the store owner terminal 20 via the network N. When a store owner accesses the site, the control unit 108 (display data output means 108f) in the management server 10 displays a top page with a login menu for the store owner search site (S101a), and proceeds from the top page to the login page (S102). Here, the top page may be a page for the store owner search site alone, or it may be a top page jointly with the facility management site described below. Also, in this embodiment, the store owner search site does not distinguish between search pages for event space and available floor space, but searches for event space and available floor space may be performed on separate search sites.

[0101] As mentioned above, if the top page also serves as the top page for multiple types of sites, the store owner may be allowed to select the desired search site after logging in, or a page may be displayed that allows the store owner to select the desired site before logging in, and the login page may be displayed after the store owner has selected the desired site.

[0102] The top page may display not only the login menu but also a search page. In this case, the store owner may be able to use only a part of the search function even before logging in, or may be able to display only a part of the search items.

[0103] If the shop owner has completed user registration for the shop owner's search site (S103: Yes), the shop owner enters the username and password provided by the administrator on the login page. If the control unit 108 (user authentication means 108b) determines that the username and password entered by the shop owner match those registered in advance, the control unit 108 displays the search menu page of the shop owner's search site to the shop owner (S106). If the shop owner has not completed user registration for the shop owner's search site (S103: No), the control unit 108 (user information registration means 108a) displays a new registration page (S104).

[0104] On the new registration page, an account is registered (S104), where the user is prompted to set a user name and password, and to register basic information such as a contact email address.

[0105] When the account registration is completed, the control unit 108 (user information registration means 108a) displays a user information registration page (S105) as shown in FIG. 9, and requests the user to input basic information about the shop owner. On the user information registration page, the shop owner inputs basic information (person in charge name, contact information for the person in charge, position of the person in charge, company name, company contact information, company representative name, business details, etc.).

[0106] In addition to registering store owner information, the business support system 1 may require store owners to upload various certificates related to the store owner in order to ensure the authenticity of the store owner's information and increase their credibility toward the facility. For example, a certificate upload page may be set up within the store owner's search site, and image data of various certificates may be uploaded on that page. Examples of various certificates include the store owner's identification card, seal certificate, registration book, land ownership certificate, etc.

[0107] Furthermore, user registration may require the approval of an administrator. In this case, the exhibitor information entered by the exhibitor from the exhibitor terminal 20 is stored in the exhibitor information storage DB 1102, and the administrator refers to this information and permits user registration only if it determines that user registration is possible. By setting a certain hurdle for user registration in this way, it is possible to reduce the risk of allowing an unreliable exhibitor to hold an event in the event space, which could result in damage to the facility.

[0108] Once user registration is complete, the store owner can use the store owner search site, and the user information is stored in the store owner information DB 1102. For example, if the store owner commits a serious breach of contract after user registration, the administrator can cancel the store owner's account information on the management server 10. Alternatively, without canceling the account information, it is possible to impose usage restrictions on some functions, such as not displaying search items on the top page or disabling some of the search items.

[0109] When user registration is completed by inputting basic shop owner information (S103: Yes), the control unit 108 displays a search menu page on the shop owner terminal 20 (S106).

[0110] [2.2.1.2 Facility Search Function] The search menu page is the start page for store owners to search for spaces, etc. Figure 10 shows an example of a search menu page on the store owner's search site. On the search menu page shown in Figure 10, store owners can select the most appropriate search item from multiple items and search for spaces, etc.

[0111] 10 displays buttons for multiple search items. Examples of search items include, but are not limited to, a "free word search" for searching by entered words such as facility name or address, an "area search" for searching by area such as the facility's location or prefecture, a "product search" for searching by the type of product or service offered by a store owner, a "facility type search" for searching by selecting a facility type such as a department store, shopping district, or roadside service facility, a "map search" for displaying map information on the page and searching for facilities based on their location on the map, a "new store search" for searching for newly opened facilities, a "my search" for searching by repeatedly using preset search criteria, a "date search" for searching by specifying an event date or a desired date and time for a tenant store to open, and a "bulk search" for searching by combining these search criteria.

[0112] When a shop owner presses these search item buttons in the search menu 1705 of FIG. 10, the control unit 108 (search condition acquisition means 108c) displays pages (S107-1 to S107-n) on the shop owner terminal 20 for inputting search conditions.

[0113] In addition, if the search items for space searches and vacant bed searches are significantly different, for example, a "Search for vacant beds here" button 1701 in Figure 10 may be provided, and when the exhibitor presses this button, the control unit 108 (search condition acquisition means 108c) may display a separate page (not shown) for vacant bed searches.

[0114] In addition to the search items exemplified above, the search results may be narrowed down from other perspectives (Detailed Search 1702 in FIG. 10). Examples of narrowing down the search results include data based on the number of visitors (ranking) of the event facility itself, the availability of facilities such as power sources and equipment for each event facility, whether image data of the space is available within the search site, data based on access status, and information based on circumstances specific to the event facility such as store opening hours (S109).

[0115] An additional search item for space may be provided (1703) to narrow down the search results to properties under contract management owned by the administrator (S110). A property under contract management is a facility that can only be opened through the administrator of the business support system 1, and is a property that can be searched exclusively by registered users. By providing these properties under contract management as searchable items, it is possible to provide registered users of the business support system 1 with added value that exceeds that of other systems. When a store owner presses the facility name button (Company A, etc. in Figure 10) listed in the list of entrusted management properties on the search menu page, the control unit 108 (search condition acquisition means 108c) displays a page (S114) showing the list of entrusted management properties on the store owner terminal 20.

[0116] The search menu page may display information useful for searching as a special feature page 1704 (S108-1 to S108-n). Examples of special feature pages include, but are not limited to, information on space required for handling merchandise that requires more than a certain amount of space, such as passenger cars, a ranking of the number of events held in a certain period in the past, a ranking of the number of requests from exhibitors by city, town, village or prefecture, a list of newly opened facilities, past trouble cases, etc. In this way, by using information that can only be known through an administrator who has actually built a relationship of trust with the facility as a search condition, it is possible to provide an incentive for exhibitors to use the business support system 1.

[0117] FIG. 11 shows an example of a search criteria input page for a shop owner to input search criteria (S107-1 to S107-n). FIG. 11(a) shows a condition input page for a free word search, and FIG. 11(b) shows a condition input page for a product search. When a shop owner inputs search criteria on the page for inputting search criteria and presses the "Search>" button, the control unit 108 (search criteria acquisition means 108c) acquires a search request and search criteria. Then, the control unit 108 (extraction means 108d) extracts information about spaces that match the search criteria from the facility information DB 1104. The extracted results are edited as display data by the control unit 108 (display data creation means 108e), and are transmitted from the management server 10 to the shop owner terminal 20 by the display data creation means 108e (S112-1 to S112-n).

[0118] FIG. 12 shows an example of a search result display page extracted based on search criteria entered by a shop owner through the shop owner terminal 20. The search result display page displays information about spaces that match the entered search criteria in four different display formats, and store owners can select the desired display format from these and view information about the space. As shown in Figure 12, it is preferable that search results can be displayed in one or more display formats to improve viewability for store owners.

[0119] For example, Figure 12 shows examples of search results such as a "list view" that shows a list of predetermined items, a "list view" that displays more items than a list view, a "block view" that lists blocks such as images of event facilities, and a "map view" that shows the location of the facilities on a map, but the display formats are not limited to these. Also, in the example of Figure 12, the usage price of the space extracted as a search result is extracted from the facility master data and displayed.

[0120] 12, by pressing a "facility details" button provided on the page, the control unit 108 (display data creation means 108e) edits display data showing detailed information about the facility, and the display data output means 108f displays the facility details display page (S120). In addition, in the block display or map display, pressing an icon consisting of a thumbnail or logo mark made up of an image of the facility also transitions to the facility details display page showing detailed facility information.

[0121] 12, for the list display, pressing the "Space Details" button will directly display a space details display page within the facility (S121), which will be described later. In this way, the order in which the search results page, facility display page, and space details display page are displayed is not limited, and can be set appropriately by the administrator.

[0122] Furthermore, the results displayed when the search conditions are narrowed down from the special feature page are the same as those shown in FIG. 15 (S113-1 to S-113-n), and therefore the explanation will be omitted.

[0123] FIG. 13 shows an example of a facility details display page. The facility details display page can be configured to display basic information such as the facility name, location, access information, and business hours, as well as a calendar showing available dates, facility map information, and a list of basic space information. Note that the display content on the facility details display page is not limited to the above items, and can be set appropriately taking into consideration the relationship with the display content on the space details display page described below. In Figure 13, a "Space Details" button is displayed in the space list, and pressing this button displays the details display page for each space (S121).

[0124] As shown in Figure 13, the facility details display page may be embedded with a floor map that displays the facility's map information and the location of spaces within the facility. The floor map will be described later. In the example of Figure 13, the usage price of spaces within the facility is extracted from the facility master data and displayed.

[0125] Figure 14 is an example of a space details display page that displays details of a specific space from the list display of the page shown in Figure 12 or 13. When a shop owner presses the "Space details" button in the list display of Figure 12 or the "Space details" button in the space list on the facility details display page in Figure 13, the control unit 108 (display data creation means 108e) creates data for the space details display page, and the display data output means 108f displays the space details display page shown in Figure 14 on the shop owner terminal 20.

[0126] The top right corner of the space details display page displays a "reservation request" button 1801 and an "inquiry" button 1802. "reservation request" will be described later. The "Inquiry" button is a button for making inquiries to the administrator regarding the space displayed on the page. When the user presses the "Inquiry" button (S151), the control unit 108 displays a window for entering the inquiry (not shown). The window displays information about the store owner, such as the company name, the name of the person in charge, a telephone number, and a reply email address, along with a field for entering the inquiry. When the store owner enters and submits the inquiry, the inquiry is notified to the administrator, and the administrator confirms the inquiry and then sends a response to the reply email address, or displays the response using the My Page described below, or may reply via chat using a known chat tool.

[0127] The "Contact Us" button for the administrator can be placed on any page within the store owner's search site, such as the facility details display page or search result list page.

[0128] In addition to basic information and images of the space within the facility, the space details display page in Fig. 14 can have tabs 1803 for "facility information," "usage price," "commercial materials," "equipment / rental," "calendar," "notes," and "map display." Each item in this tab 1803 will be explained using Fig. 15.

[0129] As shown in Figure 15, "facility information" displays comprehensive information about the facility itself to which the selected space belongs. Examples of this information include, but are not limited to, the type of event facility, location, access information, information about various areas such as the site area, parking information, number of visitors, number of stores, tenant information, information about setup and removal, location information, facility information such as power and water, and available hours. The aforementioned map information may also be embedded as facility information. The content displayed as facility information may overlap with the information on the facility details display page shown in Figure 13. This improves convenience for exhibitors, as they can consider the facility information as well as the space information.

[0130] "Usage Price" shows details of the usage price of the selected space. For example, clicking the "Usage Price" tab 1803 displays the basic usage price per day for each day of the week, the usage price of equipment such as audio equipment, and cancellation fees for using the space and equipment.

[0131] "Products" indicates the products and services that can be handled in the selected space. When the usage price tab 1803 is pressed, the products are displayed categorized into, for example, "Available products," "Not available products," and "Products to be confirmed."

[0132] "Equipment / Rental" shows information about equipment that exhibitors can use when holding an event. Equipment includes, but is not limited to, long tables, chairs, partitions, extension power cords, tents, sound equipment, loading carts, and storage. Instructions on how to use and rent these items can also be displayed.

[0133] The "Calendar" displays the availability and price of the selected space in a calendar format. In Fig. 15, the calendar can be displayed by selecting an item in the tab, but as shown in Fig. 14, it may be displayed permanently below the tab for layout reasons.

[0134] "Notes" displays notes on using the selected space, as shown in Figure 15. These notes include, but are not limited to, notes on bringing in fixtures, rules on setup and removal, wattage and number of available outlets for power supply, notes on distributing flyers, applications for vehicles to be brought in, filling out the management register, entry and exit procedures, changing areas, restrooms and smoking areas, procedures for renting equipment, notes on night work, height restrictions on exhibits, restrictions on calling in and calling out to visitors, rules on garbage disposal, entrance passes (badges, etc.), baggage inspection, restrictions on use of rest areas, rules on taking photographs, and contact information in case of emergency.

[0135] "Map" can display map information about the facility and its surroundings. As mentioned above, maps may overlap with other pages, such as facility information and search result lists, so they may be excluded from the details display page for the selected space. However, being able to display maps on multiple display pages can improve convenience for exhibitors when considering facilities.

[0136] When map information of a facility is used, a display format in which a symbol indicating the location of the facility is superimposed on a map of the surrounding area may be used. In this case, symbols indicating the locations of nearby facilities may also be superimposed on the same map, thumbnail images of the facility may be displayed, and when a thumbnail image is selected by pressing it, the display of the thumbnail image may be changed, or an explanation of the facility corresponding to the thumbnail image may be displayed.

[0137] When a user (exhibitor) uses a space within a facility to hold an event, the relative position of the space to surrounding stores, its relative position to the entrance, aisles, escalators, and other visitor traffic lines, the orientation of the booth and how it is visible to passersby, etc. are all extremely important factors that affect the number of attendees the event will attract. Therefore, to avoid misunderstandings between the facility and the exhibitor and to allow both parties to hold the event with peace of mind, it is preferable that the floor map show the above factors that will affect the number of attendees the event will attract.

[0138] The space details page may include embedded map information, such as a publicly available web mapping platform. The map information used should preferably be one that allows switching between maps and photos, and should also allow switching between a floor plan map and a panoramic view. Furthermore, it is preferable that the map information can be operated by the exhibitor to display the interior of the facility. If the map information can display detailed information about the interior of the facility, it may be used as a floor map of the space.

[0139] It is preferable to display the "Reservation Request" and "Inquiry" buttons on multiple pages within these facility and space detail display pages. Since exhibitors usually decide to offer an event after referring to the detailed information of each page, it is more convenient for exhibitors to have a page structure that allows them to apply immediately from multiple pages. Details of "Reservation Request" will be provided later.

[0140] The space details display page can have a communication display space 1804 that displays important notices for each space. In the case of the page shown in Figure 15, it displays the message "Posting posters or other notices on the window glass is prohibited," but this is because, when posters were posted on the window glass during past events, it took time to clean the window glass when the event was over. In this way, by prominently displaying important but additional notices based on past cases, it is possible to reduce trouble between the facility and exhibitors.

[0141] The display items provided on the space details display page are not limited to these examples. For example, multiple linked tags (e.g., "3 minutes from the station," "High-speed Wi-Fi," "Under 20,000 / day," etc.) indicating the characteristics of a specific space viewed by the exhibitor may be displayed, and by clicking on these tags, a list of spaces with similar characteristics may be displayed.

[0142] Additionally, comments from administrators or facility staff can be posted on the space details page. For example, comments such as "This is one of the most popular spaces in the Omiya area, and it's rare to find a space available, so we recommend you apply now" or "This is a facility that sees many children. We recommend holding a children's event" can help encourage exhibitors to decide to hold an event.

[0143] [2.2.1.3 My Page] When the "My Page" button is pressed on the search menu page shown in FIG. 10, the control unit 108 (display data output means 108f) displays My Page (S111). My Page is a page that displays, for a user who has completed user registration, information stored in association with the store owner's identification information from the master data stored in each DB of the storage unit 110 of the business support system 1, extracted by the extraction means 108d, and edited by the display data creation means 108e for display data. Here, the information stored in association with the identification information corresponds to information generated due to the store owner's actions, such as the store owner's search log and status information of event hosting offers. My Page is a page edited to provide this information for the convenience of the store owner.

[0144] FIG. 16 shows an example of a My Page on the store owner's search site. Items displayed on My Page include, but are not limited to, "Download Materials," "Planning Information," "Company Information," "My Menu," "Account Management," and "Application Progress."

[0145] "Download Materials" is a page where exhibitors can download facility rules, manuals, and other information when hosting an event in a space (S115). Examples of materials that can be uploaded include event management information summarizing the basic flow and precautions for hosting an event, as illustrated in FIG. 16, and a morning meeting checklist summarizing items that should be checked at the start of work each day. These materials may be general manuals that can be used for most facilities, or manuals with content specific to a specific space. If the manuals are related to a specific space, they may be designed so that they can only be downloaded by the exhibitor, who is the party reserving the facility, once the reservation for use of the space has been completed. When the exhibitor presses the linked text, for example, "Event Management Information" or "Morning Assembly Checklist," the control unit 108 displays a download page (S122) (not shown) for the materials.

[0146] "Plan Information" is a page where the exhibitor can register, edit, and display the details of the event they are planning. When the exhibitor clicks on the linked "Plan Information," the control unit 108 displays a plan information menu page with links to a new plan registration page for registering a plan and a plan content confirmation page for viewing and editing registered plans (S118). When the shop owner clicks the linked "New plan registration" button, the control unit 108 (display data output means 108f) displays a new plan registration page for newly registering plan information (S128).

[0147] FIG. 17 shows an example of a new project registration page. Items to be registered on the new project registration page include, for example, the event location, target age group, target gender, project name, project content, required space, budget, promotional points, project image or image, and project proposal upload. When a store owner enters these items on the new project registration page and presses the "Register" button, the control unit 108 sends the information to the administrator. If the administrator approves the registration of the content, it is automatically registered in the store owner information DB 1102 as the store owner's project information.

[0148] When the linked text "Confirm Plan Contents" is pressed in the "Plan Information," the control unit 108 displays a plan content confirmation page (S129) (not shown) where the registered plan information can be viewed and edited. The plan content confirmation page is designed to be editable by the exhibitor, and the exhibitor master data is updated by the control unit 108 (DB editing means 108i) each time the plan information is edited by the exhibitor from the exhibitor terminal 20, either with the permission of the administrator or automatically.

[0149] The plan information registered and edited by the exhibitor is used as a basis for the facility staff or manager in the process of determining whether or not to offer an event, which will be described later. Also, on the facility management site, which will be described later, the plan information registered here in the exhibitor information DB 1102 is used by the facility staff when searching for exhibitors. In addition, instead of providing a project information menu page, users may be directed directly to the project content page and new project page by pressing the linked text "Check project details" and "Register new project" on their My Page.

[0150] "Company Information" is a page where basic information about the store owner, the store owner's staff member, and the store owner's group information can be registered (S119). When the store owner presses the linked "Company Information" button, the control unit 108 displays a company information menu page with links to the company information page, staff management page, and group management page. The company information can be viewed and edited from the company information page (S130), and the store owner's staff member and group information can be viewed and edited from the staff management page (S131) ​​and group management page (S132), respectively (not shown). It is also possible to have a system where the company information menu page is not provided, and the company information page, staff management page, and group management page can be directly linked by pressing the "Company Information," "Staff Management," and "Group Management" buttons on My Page.

[0151] "My Menu" is a page where the exhibitor can view the exhibitor's past search history, the browsing history of event spaces in the search results, third-party survey reports, my search list, etc. (S117). When the exhibitor presses the linked "My Menu" text, the control unit 108 displays the My Menu page with links to the search history page, browsing history page, and third-party survey report page. It is also possible to have no My Menu page, and instead press the "Search History," "Browse History," and "Third-Party Survey Report" text on the My Page to directly link to the company information page, staff management page, and group management page.

[0152] The "third-party investigation report" is a summary of a report when a third party conducts an investigation of an event previously held by an exhibitor via the business support system 1. The subject of the third-party investigation may include, for example, the appearance and language of exhibitor staff, as well as infection control measures such as the wearing of masks, the availability of alcohol disinfectant, the installation of acrylic panels, and the wearing of gloves. Regarding the setup status, the completeness of the booth setup, the use of handwritten POPs, the organization of the back-of-house area, the height of fixtures and banners, and the use of sound equipment, but is not limited to these.

[0153] When a shop owner clicks the linked "Third Party Survey Report" on, for example, their My Menu page, the control unit 108 (display data output means 108f) displays the third party survey report page (S125). The third party report may be a numerical evaluation by a third party, or an evaluation using a circle, cross, triangle, etc., and if the evaluations are by multiple inspectors, the average, highest, lowest, etc. may be displayed. In this way, a third party survey can identify matters that the person involved would not be able to notice, and is effective in improving the shop owner's business and attracting more customers.

[0154] When the exhibitor presses, for example, the linked text "browsing history," the control unit 108 (display data output means 108f) displays the browsing history of the event space extracted as a result of the search performed by the exhibitor on the exhibitor's search site (S126). Furthermore, for example, when the linked "search history" is pressed, the usage history (search formula) of My Search shown in FIG. 10 is displayed (S127).

[0155] "Account Management" is a page that displays a user account list page (S123) and an authority list page (S124) that sets the editing authority of store owners who use the business support system 1 (S116). When a store owner presses the linked "Account Management" text on the My Page in FIG. 16, the control unit 108 displays an account management menu page (not shown) that has links to the account list page and the authority list page. It is also possible to have a specification whereby the account management menu page is not provided, and that pressing the text "Account List" and "Authority List" on the My Page directly links to the account list page and the authority list page, respectively.

[0156] "Application Progress Management" is a page that displays a list of the application status progress for each event hosting offer submitted by the store owner (S141). When the store owner presses the "Application Progress Management" button, the control unit 108 (display data creation means 108e) extracts and edits data including the latest status of the offer from the business management master data in the business management DB 1106 for the event hosting offer submitted by the store owner, and displays a progress status display page on the screen of the store owner terminal 20 by the display data output means 108f (S142).

[0157] Figure 18 shows an example of a progress display page. Figure 18 shows a list of the application progress for multiple spaces for which exhibitors have made offers to host events. In the list, the "Status" column displays, for example, Confirmed, NG, Applying, or Cancelled. Here, "Confirmed" indicates that the reservation procedure for hosting the event has been completed. "NG" indicates that the application to host the event has not been approved. "Applying" indicates that it has not yet been decided whether or not a exhibitor can be set up in the space in response to the offer. "Cancelled" indicates that the offer to host the event has been cancelled by the user.

[0158] At the top of the page in Figure 18, there are provided buttons for "Confirm," "NG," "Applying," and "Cancel" for filtering the status of offers in the list. When these buttons are pressed, the control unit 108 (display data creation means 108e) extracts the offers with the selected status and creates data to be displayed on the exhibitor terminal 20. In Figure 18, filtering is limited to status, but it is also possible to filter by other items, such as the date of request or the store name.

[0159] Other examples of items that may be displayed on the My Page include, for example, word-of-mouth information from visitors about the facility related to the exhibitor's offer, or word-of-mouth information from visitors about events that the exhibitor has held in the past.

[0160] 2.2.1.4 Event Hosting Offer Processing The processing of an offer to host an event will be explained using Figure 19. As described above, when a store exhibitor presses the "Apply for reservation" button on the space details display page (Figures 14 and 15), an offer to host an event is sent from the communication unit 204 in the store exhibitor terminal 20 to the management server 10 (S201), received by the control unit 108 (offer receiving means 108g), and notified to the administrator (S301).

[0161] Figure 20 shows an example of a form for submitting an offer. When submitting an offer, the items to be entered include basic information about the user (the exhibitor) as well as the desired date and time for the event. Information about the offer from the exhibitor is tagged with the user's identification information, associated with exhibitor information about the user and facility information about the offered space, and stored as business management master data in the business management DB 1106. Thereafter, as the event progresses, new information such as sales and document exchanges during the event is added to the data, and the data is updated by the DB editing means 108i (hereinafter, this data will be referred to as data 1). In Data 1, before the event hosting offer is submitted, there is no status.

[0162] Returning to FIG. 19, the processing of an offer to hold an event will be described. When an offer application is received from the exhibitor terminal 20 (S301), the control unit 108 (DB editing means 108i) changes the status of Data 1 to "Application in progress" (S302). The control unit 108 also notifies the administrator terminal 30 of the offer application. The administrator determines whether to inquire about the offer from the exhibitor to the facility, and if it is determined that an inquiry is necessary (S303: Yes), the administrator terminal 30 sends part or all of Data 1 related to the offer to the facility staff (S304). If it is determined that an inquiry to the facility is not necessary (S303: No), the administrator determines whether to hold the event. The administrator may grant the facility staff the authority to view the information entered in Data 1, as well as the registration information at the time of user registration and the project information entered on the user's personal page.

[0163] Typically, the administrator and the facility have a basic transaction agreement in place, and in order to reduce the burden on the facility staff, the administrator has the authority to approve event hosting offers from individual exhibitors and to act on behalf of the exhibitors in handling the various procedures for facility use after the offer has been approved.Examples of when the administrator needs to inquire with the facility staff include when an exhibitor has no or very little experience of hosting events through the system of the present invention, or when the exhibitor has caused problems and trouble in past events. By having the administrator have the authority described above, the process from the exhibitor's offer to the completion of the reservation can be completed between the exhibitor and the administrator, which reduces the workload of facility staff.

[0164] Communication between the administrator and facility staff can be carried out using email, a message board on the management page, or a chat function via the administrator terminal 30 and the facility terminal 40. The facility staff receives an inquiry from the administrator terminal 30 at the facility terminal 40 (S401), and then sends a response to the administrator on whether or not the event can be held using the facility terminal 40 (S402).

[0165] The administrator receives the response from the facility staff at the administrator terminal 30 (S305) and determines whether or not to allow the event to be held. If the administrator determines that the event should not be allowed to be held (S306: No), the administrator terminal 30 outputs a request to the control unit 108 (DB editing means 108i) to change the status of data 1 to "NG" (S302). On the other hand, if the administrator determines that the event should be allowed to be held (S306: Yes), the administrator notifies the exhibitor that the event has been allowed to be held, as necessary, and begins the procedures necessary to hold the event between the exhibitor and the administrator.

[0166] If it is determined that the event should be permitted (S306: Yes), the administrator terminal 30 outputs a request to the control unit 108 (DB editing means 108i) to change the authority of the exhibitor information DB 1102 and grant the exhibitor the authority to download the necessary manuals and rules for using the space from My Page (S307). The exhibitor is then also granted the authority to download the necessary procedural documents. The procedural documents required for hosting the event may be mailed to the exhibitor, sent as electronic files by email, or a new form for the procedures (not shown) may be created within My Page to simplify the process.

[0167] When the administrator and the exhibitor have completed the procedures necessary to hold the event (S309: Yes), the administrator terminal 30 outputs a request to the control unit 108 (DB editing means 108i) to change the status of data 1 to "confirmed" (S310). On the other hand, when the procedures with the exhibitor have not yet been completed (S309: No) and the exhibitor has notified the administrator that the offer has been canceled, the administrator terminal 30 outputs a request to the control unit 108 (DB editing means 108i) to change the status of data 1 to "cancelled" (S311). When the procedures with the exhibitor have not yet been completed (S309: No) and the exhibitor has not notified the administrator that the offer has been canceled, the administrator does not change the status of data 1.

[0168] In the above-described embodiment of the store owner search app, the store owner searches to find a suitable location for holding an event in a space within the facility or for setting up a tenant store in an empty space, but the above-described events and tenant stores may include so-called "pop-up stores." A pop-up store is a store or the like that is opened for a limited period of time, such as a few days to a few months, and may operate as a temporary store set up in an event space or in an empty space. To search for a suitable location for setting up a "pop-up store," the store owner can use the space search or empty space search as appropriate, depending on the type of pop-up store to be opened.

[0169] To facilitate searching for locations for pop-up stores, a pop-up store search specification may be added to the store owner's search app. For example, an administrator may add a field for whether or not a pop-up store can be opened in the facility master data, and the search menu of the store owner's search app may be configured to allow narrowing down by whether or not a pop-up store can be opened.

[0170] [2.2.2 Facility management app] Next, the processing performed by the facility management application used in the business support system 1 will be described.

[0171] As shown in Figure 21, by launching the facility management app, facility personnel can manage various information within the facility as a user of the facility management site, and can also search for exhibitors who will hold events within their facility or who will set up tenant stores in vacant space. The processing of the facility management app is shown below. Note that the exhibitor information searched for using the facility management app includes exhibitor planning information, which will be described later.

[0172] [2.2.2.1 User registration function] The facility staff accesses the URL of the facility management site from the facility terminal 40 via the network N. When the facility staff accesses the site, the control unit 108 in the management server 10 displays a top page with a login menu for the facility management site (S501b). Here, the top page may be a page of the facility management site alone, or it may be a top page jointly with the store owner search site described above. Also, in this embodiment, the facility management site does not distinguish between search pages for opening a store in an event space and for opening a store as a tenant in an empty space, but the search for both may be performed on separate search sites. When the facility staff issues a login instruction from the login menu, the control unit 108 (user authentication means 108b) displays the login page (S502).

[0173] As with the shopkeeper search site, if user registration has been completed (S503: Yes), the facility staff member enters the username and password provided by the administrator on the login page into the facility terminal 40. If the control unit 108 (user authentication means 108b) determines that the username and password entered by the facility staff member match those previously registered, the control unit 108 (display data output means 108f) displays a menu page of the facility-managed site to the facility staff member (S505). If the facility staff member has not yet completed user registration for the facility-managed site (S503: No), the control unit 108 (user information registration means 108a) displays an account registration page (S504) and requests account registration. The menu page of the facility-managed site may also serve as the management page or search menu page, described below.

[0174] Unlike the case of a store owner search site, in many cases the administrator has already acquired facility information through sales activities, etc. In such cases, the administrator may register the facility staff member as a user in advance without going through the account registration page on the site.

[0175] Once user registration is complete, the facility staff member can use the facility management site, and the account information of the facility staff member is added to the facility master data in the facility information DB 1104. If the facility staff member is no longer a facility staff member after user registration, an administrator or a facility staff member with the required authority can cancel the account information of the facility staff member, or can restrict the use of some of the functions of the facility management site.

[0176] When user registration is completed by inputting basic shop owner information (S503: Yes), the control unit 108 (display data output means 108f) displays the menu page of the facility management site on the facility terminal 40 (S505).

[0177] [2.2.2.2 Management functions] Figure 26 shows an example of a menu page (management menu page) on the facility management site. In the example of Figure 26, there is provided a My Page frame 2602 (S512) containing links to each page of the My Page described below, a management screen frame 2603 (S506) containing links to each page of the management screen, and a link button 2601 to the store owner search page described below. The specifications of the menu page on the facility management site are not limited to the example of Figure 26, and may be, for example, a selection page with links to both the management page and the store owner search page, or a menu page of the store owner search page with a link to the management page.

[0178] A screen where each page on the My Page or management screen described below is edited may be displayed in the blank space within the management menu page exemplified in Fig. 26. By displaying a portion of the schedule management page or bulletin board described below for the facility or group store on the management menu page, users can grasp the necessary information simply by looking at the first menu screen of the facility management site.

[0179] [2.2.2.3 My Menu] In the My Menu section of the management menu page shown in Figure 26, for example, linked text such as "Offer History," "Browse History," and "My Search" is displayed, and pressing these will display the Offer History page, Browse History page, and My Search page, respectively.

[0180] The offer history page displays the history of planned offers made by the facility staff (S516). When the user presses the word "Offer History" in the My Menu box, the extraction means 108d extracts information related to the user's past planned offers from the business management DB 1106, the management display data creation means 108e1 creates data for a screen for referencing the planned offer history, and the display data output means 108f outputs a planned offer history screen to the user's terminal.

[0181] The browsing history page displays the browsing history when searching for store owners using the facility management site (S517). When the user presses the word "browsing history" in the My Menu frame, the extraction means 108d extracts information related to the user's past browsing from the facility information DB 1104, the display data creation means 108e (management display data creation means 108e1) creates data for a screen for referencing the browsing history, and the display data output means 108f outputs the browsing history screen to the user's terminal.

[0182] "My Search" is a function that allows a search formula to be stored so that the same search formula can be used repeatedly, and can be used by facility personnel when periodically searching for exhibitors (S518). When the word "My Search" in the My Menu frame is pressed, the extraction means 108d extracts information related to the search formula used in the user's past browsing from the facility information DB 1104, the display data creation means 108e (management display data creation means 108e1) creates data for a screen that refers to the search formula used in the past, and the display data output means 108f outputs the My Search screen to the user's terminal.

[0183] [2.2.2.4 Management screen] The "management screen" is a page where the status of facility spaces in the group stores can be managed and viewed all at once (S513). As mentioned above, when a facility staff member requests to log in to the business support system 1, the user authentication means 108b compares the user name (or user ID) and password entered by the facility staff member from the facility terminal 40 with those stored in the facility information DB 1104, and if they match, permits the log-in. The display data generating means 108e (management display data generating means 108e1) generates display data based on the usage authority stored in the account information master data (FIG. 3D) stored in the facility information DB.

[0184] In the example shown in FIG. 26, a management screen frame is provided within the management menu page. Within the management screen frame, for example, text with links such as "Schedule Management," "Facility Information," "Sales Management," "Account Management," "Bulletin Board," "Analysis Information," and "Store Owner Master" are displayed. Pressing these links displays the schedule management page, facility information management page, sales management page, account management page, bulletin board, analysis information page, and store owner master, respectively. Note that the page items within the management menu page are not limited to these. Furthermore, links to each page within the management screen may be displayed on each page other than the management menu page, for example, by using reduced displays such as icons.

[0185] The schedule management page displays the event status of the group stores, for example, in a calendar format (S519). By being able to collectively view and edit the event status of the group stores, the facility staff can plan the event schedule as a member of the group store.

[0186] An example of a schedule management page is shown in Figure 27. Figure 27(a) is a screen showing a list of events being held from October 1st to October 31st at Department Store A and Store B, which belong to the same group, and the dates on which the events will be held, along with the store name, store name, and event location, are filled in with a band 2701, making them visually recognizable. A band 2701 indicating the event period is displayed by, for example, a facility staff member dragging a cell in the calendar.

[0187] FIG. 27(b) shows a screen where event details, displayed as band 2701, can be registered or viewed. For example, it may appear as a pop-up screen when a blank cell in the calendar is dragged, or it may pop up when the cursor is moved over the already displayed band 2701. The pop-up screen in FIG. 27(b) allows users to change the event date and time, select the purpose of use, the event type, and register and change the main and sub-items of the event details. Furthermore, a free entry field may be provided for information sharing among facility personnel within a group. Note that FIG. 27(b) shows the following as usage options: headquarters events, where events are held at the direction of the group headquarters; product display, where space is used for product display due to store circumstances; and external reservations (external events), where space is used by exhibitors not managed by the administrator of the business management system 1. However, these options are not limited to these.

[0188] The event schedule information for group stores on the schedule management page of Figure 27 is extracted from the facility master data and business management master data and edited as display data by the control unit 108 (extraction means 108d and display data creation means 108e (management display data creation means e1)), and is displayed on the facility terminal 40 by the display data output means 108f.

[0189] The facility information management page displays facility information for group stores and is used as an input screen when registering information in the facility master data. The facility information management page is displayed by selecting facility information on the management page of FIG. 26 (S520). FIG. 28 is an example of the facility information management page, which displays basic information related to the facility information of group stores in list format. The specifications of the facility information management page can be set appropriately by the system administrator. Hereinafter, the facility information management page and individual information pages within the facility information management page are edited versions of information contained in the facility master data and / or business management master data, and necessary information is extracted from the master data by the extraction means 108d in response to a user request, edited as display data by the control unit 108 (management display data creation means 108e1), and displayed on the facility terminal 40 or the manager terminal 30 by the display data output means 108f.

[0190] The facility information management page shown in Figure 28 is in the form of a list of the facility name (store name), area, prefecture, address, number of indoor spaces, and number of outdoor spaces of each group store, and these can be narrowed down by area and prefecture by pulling down the narrowing down button 2801 in the upper left of the screen. Here, area is a classification determined by organizational or business circumstances within the group. In the example of Figure 28, a house mark 2802 is added to the leftmost column of the list, and this mark is a link to a page that displays information about each facility.

[0191] The facility information management page also has an add facility button 2803. Pressing this button displays a facility registration page (not shown). When a facility staff member inputs information into the facility registration page, the facility registration information is sent to the administrator, and with the administrator's permission, the DB editing means 108i registers the new facility data in the facility master data. The administrator's permission may be omitted when registering facility information in the facility master data. The format of the facility registration page is not particularly limited, and for example, it may be a specification in which all fields on the basic information display page in FIG. 29 (described later) are left blank.

[0192] Figure 29 is an example of a page that is displayed by pressing the house mark 2802 for the Yokohama store in Figure 28, and individual information about the Yokohama store is displayed. There may be multiple pages that display individual information about such facilities. For example, by selecting one of "Basic Information," "Space Information," "Price Information," "Equipment Information," or "Merchandise Information" in the page selection frame 2901 at the top of Figure 29, detailed information about the facility is displayed. Figure 29 shows the state when "Basic Information" is selected. Note that in the example of Figure 29, the basic information page is displayed first (S520a) as a page that displays individual information about the facility, but the type of each page and the display order are not limited.

[0193] The page displaying individual information about the facility will be described using the example of FIG. The basic information page shown in FIG. 29 displays basic facility information such as the facility's address, telephone number, access information, and the store's ability to attract customers. It is displayed by selecting "basic information" from page selection frame 2901 (S520a). In the example shown in FIG. 29, image information such as the facility's exterior and floor guide can be uploaded, and uploaded images are displayed on the screen. By providing a page displaying detailed information for each facility, facility personnel can easily grasp the status of the group's stores. Each piece of information on the basic information page can also be updated in the facility master data from the frame displaying the respective information. The update is performed by editing the facility master data by the control unit 108 (DB editing means 108i) based on a request input by the facility personnel from the facility terminal 40 or a request input by the administrator from the administrator terminal 30.

[0194] The space information page is a page that displays detailed information about spaces within a facility, and is displayed by selecting "Space Information" from the page selection frame 2901 (S520b). Figure 30 shows an example of the space information page for Department Store A's Yokohama branch. Department Store A's Yokohama branch has three spaces, and for each, data such as floor number, space name, location, size, and exterior image information can be uploaded and displayed. If a new space is created within the facility, a new space row (Space 4 in Figure 30) can be added by selecting Add New Space 3001.

[0195] In addition, if the space is not a function space for events but a vacant floor space for a tenant to set up shop, in addition to the registration information for an event space, it may include items commonly used to indicate the contents of the vacant floor space, such as delivery conditions, location information and precautions, available move-in date, power and water usage, security deposit, and implementation conditions.

[0196] The price information page, which lists and edits space usage prices, is displayed by selecting "Price Information" from page selection frame 2901 (S520c). FIG. 31A shows an example of the price information page, displaying the usage prices for Department Store A's Yokohama branch from October 1 to October 28 in calendar format. In the example of FIG. 31A, one of three spaces at Department Store A's Yokohama branch can be selected by checking a box in space selection frame 3101. Similarly, a product can be selected from product selection frame 3102. In the example of FIG. 31A, a rooftop event space is selected as the space, and PR (non-product sales other than merchandise sales and purchases) is selected as the product. If a facility staff member wants to view the usage prices of other spaces or products, they can simply select a different item in space selection frame 3101 or product selection frame 3102. Note that the product classifications on the price information page are not limited to PR and purchases as described above; other classifications, such as merchandise sales and non-product sales, may also be used.

[0197] The usage prices shown on the calendar on the price information page are extracted from the facility master data by the extraction means 108d, edited as display data by the display data creation means 108e (management display data creation means 108e1), and displayed on the facility terminal 40 or the administrator terminal 30 by the display data output means 108f. In the example of FIG. 31A, the usage price of only one selected set of space and merchandise is displayed, but it may also be configured to list the usage prices of multiple spaces together, as shown in FIG. 31B, for two of the three spaces (the rooftop event space, next to the main entrance, and next to the central elevator on the first floor) for which the checkboxes are checked, only the usage price is displayed because the merchandise is promotional.

[0198] Facility personnel may not only view the usage prices displayed on the calendar on the price information page, but may also edit them on this page. For example, in FIG. 31A, the daily usage prices may be displayed in price display box 3105, allowing users to enter and update the prices. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 31A, clicking on a daily box on the screen may pop up a new screen 3103 for changing the usage price, allowing users to change the price in input box 3104. In either case, changing the usage price displayed on the calendar automatically updates the facility master data. It is preferable to distinguish the dates for which event contracts have already been signed (e.g., October 1-3, October 12-14) by changing the font or color to indicate that the price cannot be changed. In the example of FIG. 31A, the font for the dates for which contracts for event hosting have already been signed (e.g., October 1-3, October 12-14) is italicized and underlined, preventing users from changing the values.

[0199] The usage price may be changed on a daily basis, or on a weekly basis, or may be changed collectively for a desired group such as by product. A bulk change of the usage price can be made in the bulk usage price change frame 3107 based on predetermined rules. Figure 31C shows an example of the bulk usage price change frame 3107. When you click inside the input box in the bulk usage price change frame in Figure 31C(a), a new frame appears as shown in Figure 37C(b), containing selection options such as bulk selection by day of the week, bulk selection by week, bulk selection by month, and bulk selection by specified period. When you select the bulk usage price change type here, the usage price input frame shown in Figure 37C(c) appears. Figure 37C(c) is the input frame when bulk change by day of the week is selected. For example, by selecting Sunday and entering the price for each product, the usage prices for Sunday in the calendar on the price information page are changed all at once. When usage prices are edited in this way on the price information page from the facility terminal 40, the DB editing means 108i updates the usage price information in the facility master data.

[0200] In the example of Figure 31A, a fair price is displayed for each day on the calendar. This fair price is a usage price automatically generated by the usage price generation means 108j and is displayed as needed, and can be changed by the user afterwards, taking into consideration the fair price and the circumstances of each facility. Note that facility personnel can stop the function of the usage price generation means 108j to automatically generate usage prices as needed. For example, an automatic generation stop button (not shown) may be provided on the price information page, and pressing this button will stop the automatic generation of usage prices.

[0201] 31A and 31B, the usage price in the price display box 3105 is ultimately determined by the user's will, but in the initial state, a provisional usage price determined uniformly for each day of the week may be displayed, or the fair price automatically created by the usage price creation means 108j may be displayed as is. However, even if the automatically created fair price is used as is, it is preferable that it be confirmed after being approved by the user by an approval means (not shown).

[0202] Other tools that improve user convenience can be added to the price management page. For example, in the example of Figure 31A, a button marked "i" is provided in each day box on the calendar, and various information (in Figure 31A, the basis for calculating the fair price) can be displayed, which can be used as a reference when examining the validity of the fair price information.

[0203] The equipment information page (not shown) and merchandise information page (not shown) are pages for registering, changing, etc., equipment that can be used in the space and merchandise that can be handled at the event, respectively, and are displayed by selecting equipment information (S520d) or merchandise information (S520e) in page selection frame 2901. There are no particular limitations on the method for selecting and displaying equipment and merchandise.

[0204] The sales management page displays sales information for each space of events held at group stores in a list format. The sales management page is displayed by selecting sales information on the management page of FIG. 26 (S521).

[0205] Figure 32 shows an example of a sales management page. The table in Figure 32 illustrates the event history for Department Store Group A in June 2023. The table can display information such as the store name, store name, event location, category, type, merchandise, dates, and sales amount. The facilities displayed in the table can be narrowed down by using the pull-down selection buttons 3201 provided for each category, such as store name, area, store, merchandise, and type. In the example in Figure 32, the dates are narrowed down to June 10, 2023, and the store name is Department Store A. By referring to this sales information, facility personnel can use it as a reference for determining what kind of events should be held at their stores. The categories in the table in Figure 32 correspond to those in Figure 27(b), indicating whether the event is a headquarters event or an external reservation. By inputting and using sales from exhibitors outside the scope of the business management system 1 administrator's management, management that is in line with the actual situation at the facility and group can be achieved.

[0206] In the list of Figure 32, the sales values ​​indicate the total value of the usage prices during the period when the event was held at each store of the A department store group, and these are extracted from the business management master data and edited as display data by the extraction means 108d and the display data creation means 108e (management display data creation means 108e1), and are displayed on the facility terminal 40 or the manager terminal 30 by the display data output means 108f.

[0207] The analysis information page is a page showing the analysis results of the business performance of the facility or the entire group, and allows for operation rate analysis, product analysis, profit analysis, etc. The analysis information page is displayed by selecting analysis information on the management page in Fig. 26 (S522). The analysis information is created by analysis information creation means 108k, processed into display data by display data creation means 108e, and displayed on the facility terminal 40 or the manager terminal 30 by display data output means 108f. Furthermore, the analysis information may be a report created regarding the business performance of the facility or the entire group, future performance forecasts, etc.

[0208] Figure 33 is an example of an analysis information page. In the example in Figure 33, it is a pie chart showing the number of events held per product within the Department Store A group. By showing the number of events held by various genres across all group stores in this way, it is possible to properly grasp the strengths and weaknesses of the entire group and use this as reference material for considering which events to attract in the future. Facility personnel can freely set the layout of the analysis information page, for example, by product category in Figure 33, target month, and the target items for the graph, such as the number of events held or event revenue. The content of the analysis information page can be switched to include various analysis information by selecting each item in the analysis information selection frame 3301 .

[0209] 34A to 34C show specific examples of the analysis information page. FIG. 34A is another example of an analysis information page, a page for managing performance and analyzing revenue. The bar graph in FIG. 34A shows sales performance from January to December due to an event held by the entire group of Department Store A. The bar graph in FIG. 34A shows the trend in sales performance for the entire group over a specified period, and the length of the period on the horizontal axis, the start and end months, and the items on the vertical axis (e.g., monthly sales, cumulative sales, and percentage increase / decrease in sales compared to the previous month) can be set arbitrarily. Furthermore, the bar graph is not limited to the performance of the entire group, and may be configured to allow the display to be switched to show the sales performance values ​​of each store within the group.

[0210] The revenue analysis table in FIG. 34A shows in tabular form the revenue generated by holding events and the revenue compared to the previous month for each facility in the group, and is displayed by selecting "Revenue Analysis" in the analysis information selection frame 3301. The facilities (stores in the table) that are the subject of the cumulative analysis table can be selected for each user, for example. For example, in the account management described below, the facilities can be those that belong to the area to which the user belongs, or if the user is a sales representative at headquarters, all stores that belong to the group can be selected. The analysis information page may include a pull-down button (not shown) to narrow down the analysis target by area or product type within the group of facilities, or may be configured to perform revenue analysis for a specific space within the store. The display order may also be changed to any of the following: number of events, amount, revenue, percentage, etc. By using the results of such analysis, it becomes possible to objectively classify stores within the group into those that are doing well at hosting events and those that are not, and to take measures that are targeted at stores with poor sales.

[0211] Clicking on a store name in the revenue analysis table of Figure 34A displays a revenue analysis by space for a specific facility. The same can be achieved by selecting "Revenue analysis by space" in the analysis information selection frame 3301. Figure 34B shows an example of revenue analysis for each space at Department Store A's Yokohama branch. The example in Figure 34B displays a list of data such as the total number of spaces in a specific facility (Yokohama branch), the total number of days events are held, revenue from hosting events, and space occupancy rates, as well as sales by space, the number of days events are held, and revenue compared to the previous month. The list can be narrowed down by selecting each item in the filter frame 3402. By enabling such revenue analysis by space, facility personnel can perform more detailed analyses when formulating usage plans for event spaces, etc.

[0212] Figure 34C shows a page showing the facility operation status and is displayed by selecting "Operation Status" in the analysis information selection box 3301. The "event-capable facilities" in Figure 34C refer to the number of facilities with event space for hosting events, while the "event-uncapable facilities" refer to the number of facilities without event space for hosting events. Understanding the status of facilities within a group that cannot host events can be used to formulate strategies to increase space usage revenue for the entire group. The example in Figure 34C displays a list of stores that cannot host events. Detailed information about stores that cannot host events can be viewed by clicking the link for the store name (not shown). The list of facilities that cannot host events can also be narrowed down by selecting an item in the narrowing box 3403, such as area, prefecture, or facility name. Such a series of analytical information is extracted from the facility master data and business management master data by the analytical information creation means 108k, edited as display data by the display data creation means 108e (management display data creation means 108e1), and displayed on the facility terminal 40 or the manager terminal 30 by the display data output means 108f.

[0213] The bulletin board is a communication tool for sharing information mainly between facility personnel within a group, or between managers and exhibitors (S523). Examples of information shared here include information about problems that have occurred within the group, evaluations of exhibitors, etc. The bulletin board function is not particularly limited, and known bulletin board tools such as chat format and thread format can be used.

[0214] Figures 35 and 36 are examples of message boards. Figure 35 is an exhibitor review page for evaluating exhibitors hosting events, and Figure 36 is a message board for a trouble report page for sharing trouble information related to exhibitors within a group. The exhibitor review page and the trouble report page can be switched between by selecting the respective items in selection boxes 3501 and 3601.

[0215] In the store owner review page of Figure 35, the left side is a posting space 3503 where facility staff can post reviews of the store owner, and the right side is a viewing space 3504 where reviews posted by other facility staff are displayed. In the posting space 3503, users can enter ratings for the items listed in the rating space 3505 by checking the corresponding checkboxes. The entered ratings for multiple items are reflected in the color of the star as an overall rating. Because the number of reviews available for viewing in the viewing space 3504 can be large, the results can be narrowed down using the display item selection section 3502. In the example of Figure 35, the store owner name is narrowed down to AA Co., Ltd., and reviews posted by staff at the Yokohama and Machida branches of A Department Store are displayed for events previously held by AA Co., Ltd. In addition, the number of stars in a review increases with the rating, and satisfaction levels can be narrowed down by the number of black stars in the display item selection section 3502. Reviews may also be displayed in order of highest rating or most recent review date, for example.

[0216] In FIG. 35, the reviews displayed in the viewing space 3504 are displayed in a simplified manner due to space constraints, but it is also possible to display the same content as in the posting space by pressing a detailed display button 3506, for example.

[0217] The trouble report page in Figure 36 has a posting space 3603 on the left where facility staff can post trouble information received by the facility, and posted trouble information is displayed in a viewing space 3604 on the right. This bulletin board function makes it easy for exhibitors to share evaluations and trouble information from past events with the entire group of stores, allowing those exhibitors to use this information to take more effective measures when holding events. 35 and 36, the posted store owner reviews and trouble reports are recorded in the facility master data and business management master data. Then, based on the user's request, they are extracted from the facility master data and business management master data by extraction means 108d, edited as display data by display data creation means 108e (management display data creation means 108e1), and displayed on the facility terminal 40 or the manager terminal 30 by display data output means 108f.

[0218] The use of the bulletin board is not limited to trouble reports and exhibitor reviews. For example, facility managers within a group may be required to submit reports every time an event is held at their facility, and these reports may be made available for viewing. In this case, by using a specified report format, exhibitor review results and trouble information can be communicated and objectively analyzed as the above-mentioned analytical information.

[0219] The store owner master page is a page where facility personnel can view and register new store owner information (S524). For example, it is a screen for recording and managing store owners who have hosted events, store owners who have received offers to host events, store owners' sales data, offer progress, and store owners' reputations and ratings. Store owner information can be stored in the store owner master data by entering it from the store owner terminal 20 via the new store owner registration page shown in FIG. 6 or by the administrator entering it from the administrator terminal 30. The store owner master page is a page where facility personnel can enter store owner information. Cases where facility personnel enter store owner information include when they want to add new information to the store owner information already registered in the store owner master data or when they want to register a new store owner that the administrator does not know.

[0220] An example of a store owner master page is shown in Figure 37. The store owner master page in Figure 37 displays information registered in the store owner master data in a list format, and the search can be narrowed down by selecting each item in the selection box 3701. In addition, underlined company names have links to detailed information, and clicking on the company name displays the store owner information details page. When a facility staff member wants to add a new store owner, they can press the Add New button 3702 to display the store owner information details page with blank information, and enter the store owner information.

[0221] Figure 38 is an example of the exhibitor information details page, showing the company overview page when "Company Overview" is selected in the page selection frame 3801. On the company overview page, you can view the company overview of AA Co., Ltd. and edit the displayed content. Exhibitor information changed from the exhibitor information details page and newly added exhibitor information are stored in the exhibitor master.

[0222] The exhibitor information details page illustrated in Figure 38 can also include a payment information page (not shown) containing payment information from financial institutions, etc., a contact person information page (not shown) containing contact information for the exhibitor, etc., a product information page (not shown) containing information on the products handled, and a confirmation page (not shown) containing credit information, etc., and these can be switched by selecting an item in the page selection frame 3801. Each page of the store owner master and store owner detailed information is extracted from the store owner master data by extraction means 108d based on the user's request, edited as display data by display data creation means 108e (management display data creation means 108e1), and displayed on the facility terminal 40 or the administrator terminal 30 by display data output means 108f.

[0223] The account management page is a page for managing account information of facility staff in group stores, and is displayed by selecting "Account Management" on the management menu page in Fig. 26 (S525). The account information displayed here is extracted from the account information master data by the extraction means 108d, edited as display data by the display data creation means 108e (management display data creation means 108e1), and displayed on the facility terminal 40 or the manager terminal 30 by the display data output means 108f.

[0224] The account management page preferably displays a list of account information for facility staff at group stores and allows them to edit the account information for facility staff. Here, account information includes user name, user ID, password, email address, area, affiliated store, affiliated department, job title, etc.

[0225] Figure 39A is an example of an account management page. 39A, the list of account information can be narrowed down for each displayed item by pulling down narrow down button 3902. In addition, pressing add user button 3901 displays a user addition screen (not shown) (S525a), on which a new user can be added and the information of an already registered user can be changed or deleted.

[0226] Figure 39B is an example of a screen for adding or changing facilities and departments within a group. Figure 39B is displayed when the Add / Edit Department button 3903 in Figure 39A is pressed (S525b). In the example of Figure 39B, the organization within the group is displayed in a tree format. By clicking the "Add" or "Edit" button next to each facility, business division, or department, you can add or edit the business division or department. In Figure 39B, the Head Office, Tohoku Business Division, and Kanto Business Division are registered as areas in the account information master data, and are used, for example, when narrowing down searches on the screens of Figures 34B and 34C. By reflecting the organizational structure of the group to which the user using the business support system 1 belongs as an area, management of the group's facilities, equipment, and sales information can be tailored to the actual situation of the organization. In this specification, "area" is a classification for managing various information by facility or business division within a group, and is not limited to the location of the facility. For example, the names of business divisions or departments within a group, such as the first sales department or the second planning department, may also be used as areas.

[0227] In the example of the account management page in Figure 39A, when the user authority change button 3904 is pressed, a user authority change page (not shown) is displayed (S525c). On the user authority setting screen, it is possible to set viewing authority for approval applications, status management, schedule management, facility information, sales management, etc., authority to determine whether or not an event can be held, authority to edit master data, etc.

[0228] The management page may include items other than those described above. For example, the facility staff may be able to view reviews from visitors to past events, comments from visitors about the store, and the aforementioned third-party survey report for exhibitors narrowed down by search.

[0229] 2.2.2.5 Search Function When the "Search for Shop Owner" button 2601 is pressed on the management menu page shown in FIG. 26, the control unit 108 (display data output means 108f) displays a search menu page (S507). 22 shows an example of a search menu page. Search menu 2201 displays multiple search items. Examples of search items include, but are not limited to, a "free word search" that searches by terms including facility names and areas, an "area search" that searches by area such as the location of a facility or prefecture, a "plan content search" that searches by the plan content of an event being planned by an exhibitor, a "product search" that searches by the type of product or service handled by an exhibitor, and a "bulk search" that searches by a combination of these search conditions. When the facility staff selects these search items on the search menu page of FIG. 22, the control unit 108 (search condition acquisition means 108c) displays pages (S508-1 to S508-n) for inputting the respective search conditions.

[0230] The search menu page may also have a special feature menu 2202 that allows a search from a group of exhibitors that has been individually edited by the administrator (S509-1 to S509-n). The special feature menu 2202 shown in Fig. 22 may, for example, be a list of merchandise handled by the exhibitors, categorized by multiple categories, and when the facility staff selects one of these items, a list of plans by the corresponding exhibitor is displayed (S511-1 to S511-n). The specifications of the special feature menu 2202 can be arbitrarily set by the administrator, and are not limited to the example of FIG.

[0231] Fig. 23 shows an example of a page where the facility staff member inputs search conditions from the facility terminal 40 (S508-1 to S508-n). Fig. 23 is an example of an area search. When the facility staff member selects area search on the search menu page, the control unit 108 (search condition acquisition means 108c) displays a search condition input page as shown in Fig. 23a, which allows the facility staff member to select a major area category. When the facility staff member checks the checkbox for "Kanto Koshinetsu," for example, and presses the "Search >" button, the control unit 108 (search condition acquisition means 108c) displays a search condition input page as shown in Fig. 23b, which allows the facility staff member to select a minor area category.

[0232] 23b, when a facility staff member checks the checkboxes for "Tokyo" and "Saitama, Chiba, Kanagawa" and presses the "Search>" button, the control unit 108 (extraction means 108d) extracts information about store owners that match the search criteria from the store owner information DB 1102. The extracted results are edited as display data by the control unit 108 (display data creation means 108e) and transmitted from the management server 10 to the facility terminal 40 by the display data output means 108f, and the search result display page (S510-1 to S510-n) is displayed on the store owner terminal 20.

[0233] FIG. 24 shows an example of a search result display page (S510-1 to S510-n) corresponding to the search conditions entered by the facility staff. The search results page displays the event information of exhibitors that match the search criteria entered on the search criteria input page shown in Figure 23(a) or 23(b) in three different display formats, and facility personnel can select the most convenient display from the multiple display formats to view the event information. As shown in Figure 24, to improve viewability for facility personnel, it is preferable that the search results be displayed by selecting any one or more of the multiple display formats.

[0234] For example, Figure 24 shows examples of search results in a "list display" in a table format, a "list display" with more display items than a list display, and a "block display" that lists blocks such as images of event facilities, but the display formats are not limited to these.These display formats can be selected appropriately by the facility staff, and a list of results can also be displayed in multiple display formats on one page.

[0235] On the search result display page in Fig. 24, by pressing a predetermined button provided on the page, it is possible to move to a store owner plan details display page showing detailed information about the store owner's plan (S514). In the case of Fig. 24, by pressing the "detailed information" button in the single column display, the control unit 108 (display data creation means 108e) edits display data showing detailed information about the store owner's plan, and the display data output means 108f displays the store owner plan details display page. In addition, in the block display or map display, by pressing an icon consisting of a thumbnail or logo mark made up of an image representing the store owner's plan, the store owner plan details display page is displayed.

[0236] FIG. 25 is an example of a detailed display page for exhibitor events, showing a promotional event by a company that runs English conversation schools. In the example of Figure 25, the exhibitor project details display page is composed of basic information such as the area where the event can be held, the target age group and gender, and the amount of space required to hold the event, as well as items such as project promotion points, project details, and company overview. The facility staff will refer to these details and consider whether to submit a planning offer to the exhibitor.

[0237] [2.2.2.6 Proposal Offer Processing] When the facility staff member presses the "Offer" button on the shop owner plan details display page (FIG. 25), the control unit 108 (display data creation means 108e) creates an offer application page having an application form for the plan offer, and the display data output means 108f displays it on the facility terminal 40 (S515).

[0238] 40 shows an example of a form to be filled out when applying for a project offer. When submitting an offer, the input items include basic information about the facility to which the facility person in charge belongs, as well as the application details. Information about the offer from the facility person in charge is associated with the facility person's identification information and facility information, and is stored as business management master data in the business management DB 1106.

[0239] When a facility staff member submits a planning offer, the offer is received by the offer receiving means 108g and notified to the administrator. The administrator contacts the exhibitor that is the subject of the offer, and if the exhibitor is willing to hold an event at the facility, they apply for a reservation using the exhibitor search site. The subsequent processing is the same as for a reservation application using the exhibitor search site, so a description will be omitted.

[0240] In addition, when a facility staff member applies for a planning offer, the administrator may confirm the exhibitor's intentions and then create new business management master data related to the offer using the DB editing means 108i, without having the exhibitor apply for an event hosting offer again using the exhibitor's search site.

[0241] As with the store owner's search site, the status of the offer application can be checked on the management page by extracting data from the business management master data, or the administrator can contact the facility staff member each time by email or other means.

[0242] [2.3 Searching for available beds] As mentioned above, we have specifically explained how to search for spaces using the store owner's search app and how to search for store owner plans using the facility management app, but the same process is also used for store owners searching for available floor space to open a tenant store, and for facility staff searching for store owners to open a tenant store in the available floor space.In addition, as mentioned above, in the case of available floor space searches, the administrator can make appropriate changes, such as using a different search site or changing some of the search items.

[0243] [3. Modifications] In the above embodiment, the store owner's search app is used to search for spaces, and the facility management app is used to search for store owner's project information, but both apps may be the same app (Fig. 42). That is, since the store owner's search app and the facility management app use the same DB data to extract results during processing such as searches, the two apps may be integrated into the same app, and the store owner and the facility staff may use either app by specifying the type of search after logging in.

[0244] In the above-described embodiment, the store owner search app is used to search for spaces, and the facility management app is used to search for store owner project information, and both apps use the same database, but the apps may use different databases. In that case, if multiple databases are used, it is preferable that the data in those databases be synchronized.

[0245] In the above embodiment, the shop owner search app and the facility management app are stored in the management server 10 and controlled by the control unit 108 of the management server 10, but they may be downloaded to the shop owner terminal 20 and the facility terminal 40, respectively, and installed in each terminal, and only the information stored in the memory unit 110 of the server may be used. In this case, the control function of the control unit 108 of the management server 10 is replaced by the control unit 208 in the shop owner terminal 20 or the control unit 408 in the facility terminal 40.

[0246] In the above embodiment, the store owner search app and the facility management app share database information, and the business support system 1 can be used by both the store owner and the facility staff. However, the store owner search app function may be removed from the business support system 1, and the system may be specialized for the management of group stores by the facility staff (FIG. 43). In this case, input and editing of the store owner master data, facility master data, and business management master data will be performed only by the administrator and the facility staff.

[0247] In the above-described embodiment, when an offer to hold an event was processed by an exhibitor, an administrator intervened in the interaction between the exhibitor and facility staff to determine whether the event could be held or not. However, the process of processing an offer to hold an event may be configured in such a way that the administrator terminal 30 does not involve the process of outputting a request to the control unit 108 (DB editing means 108i) to change the status of data 1 (decision process by the administrator). For example, when the control unit 108 (offer receiving means 108g) receives an event hosting offer application from the store owner terminal 20 via the communication unit 104, the DB editing means 108i changes the status of data 1 to "application in progress," and the control unit 108 notifies both the facility terminal 40 and the manager terminal 30 or only the facility terminal 40 of the offer application. The facility staff determines whether or not to host the event based on the offer from the store owner, and inputs the result of the determination into a predetermined form (not shown) from the facility terminal 40. Information related to the determination result input from the facility terminal 40 is sent to the management server 10, and the control unit 108 transmits the determination result from the management server 10 to the store owner terminal 20 that sent the offer via the communication unit 104. The control unit 108 (DB editing means 108i) updates the status information in the business management master data based on the input from the facility terminal 40 by the facility staff. This series of determination processes does not include a determination process by the manager.

[0248] Here, the information regarding the judgment result sent from the management server 10 may be data for notifying the judgment result created by the display data creation means 108e, which may be displayed on the exhibitor terminal 20 by the display data output means 108f, or the judgment result may be notified via a known chat function or email.

[0249] Alternatively, the facility staff may make only some of the decisions on whether or not to hold multiple events, and the administrator may make the rest. Alternatively, the decision maker may be switched at the discretion of the facility staff. For example, if the facility staff is an experienced staff member, the authority column of the account information master data (FIG. 3D) may be configured to identify whether or not the staff member can decide whether or not to hold an event, and the person who can decide whether or not to hold an event may be switched to either the administrator or an authorized facility staff member. The facility staff member who can decide whether or not to hold an event can be set appropriately on the group's account management page. By omitting the administrator's decision on whether to accept or reject the event hosting offer in the process of processing the event hosting offer, facility personnel can process the event hosting offer simply and quickly.

[0250] [4. Summary] Although the embodiments of the information processing device of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments. Furthermore, the effects described in the above embodiments are merely a list of the most preferable effects resulting from the present invention, and the effects of the present invention are not limited to those described in the present embodiments. [Explanation of symbols]

[0251] 1: Business support system, 10: Management server, 10a: External server, 20: Exhibitor terminal, 30: Administrator terminal, 40: Facility terminal, 104: Communication unit, 108: Control unit, 108A: CPU, 108B: Memory, 110: Storage unit, 202: Input unit, 204: Communication unit, 206: Display unit, 208: Control unit, 210: Storage unit, CPU: 212, Memory: 214, 302: Input unit, 304: Communication unit, 306: Display unit, 308: Control unit, 310: Storage unit, CPU: 312, Memory: 314, 402: Input unit, 404: Communication unit, 406: Display unit, 408: Control unit, 410: Storage unit, CPU: 412, Memory: 414, 108 a: user information registration means, 108b: user authentication means, 108c: search condition acquisition means, 108d: extraction means, 108e: display data creation means, 108e1: management display data creation means, 108e2: space display data creation means, 108e3: display data table, 108f: display data output means, 108g: offer reception means, 108h: user management storage means, 108i: DB editing means, 108j: usage price creation means, 108j1: usage price calculation means, 108j2: usage price reflection means, 108k: analysis information creation means, 1102: store owner information DB, 1104: facility information DB, 1106: business management DB

Claims

1. A business support system accessible by facility personnel, exhibitors who can set up shop in spaces within the facility, and an administrator, comprising a server including a control unit and a memory unit, a facility terminal for the facility personnel to access the server, an exhibitor terminal for the exhibitors to access the server, and an administrator terminal for the administrator to access the server; The storage unit includes information about the facility and the store owner, The control unit an extraction means for extracting information from the storage unit based on an information extraction request input from the store owner terminal and / or the facility terminal; a display data creation means for creating display data for displaying the information extracted by the extraction means on the shop owner terminal and / or the facility terminal; a display data output means for outputting the display data to the shop owner terminal and / or the facility terminal; and The display data creating means a display data creation table that associates layout settings with information to be displayed and a position at which it should be displayed, and creates display data that displays the information extracted by the extraction means at the position at which it should be displayed on the store owner terminal and / or the facility terminal based on the layout settings input from the store owner terminal and / or the facility terminal; The control unit a search condition acquisition means for acquiring search conditions input from the store owner terminal and / or the facility terminal for a selection item selected from a plurality of search items; The extraction means extracts information about spaces stored in the storage unit based on the acquired search conditions, the display data creation means creates display data for displaying the extracted information about the space on the store owner terminal and / or the facility terminal; Further, an offer receiving means is provided for receiving an offer from the store owner to hold an event or open a tenant store, the storage unit stores information including a status of the offer as an offer application progress status; The extraction means extracts information including a status of the offer based on a request for displaying the progress of the offer application input from the shop owner terminal, The display data output means outputs information including the status of the extracted offer to the shop owner terminal. The business support system.

2. The display data creation means creates display data including map information that displays visual information about the location and appearance of the space within the facility to which the space belongs, as well as their surrounding environment. The business support system according to claim 1.

3. The surrounding environment includes the positional relationship between the space and surrounding stores, the positional relationship between the space and the flow of visitors to the facility, the installation direction of the booth in the space and / or how it is visible to passersby. The business support system according to claim 2.

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