Management apparatus, management method, and program

Abstract

To provide a management apparatus, a management method, and a program for determining a shipping price of inventory items stored under high-humidity and low-temperature conditions such that a market price and a transaction volume are stabilized.SOLUTION: A management apparatus in a storage facility that stores items as inventory items under high-humidity and low-temperature conditions includes a management unit that manages a receiving date and a storage period of the inventory items, an acquisition unit that acquires annual price information regarding an annual market price of the items, and a determination unit that determines shipping price information regarding a shipping price of the inventory items during the storage period based on the annual price information.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1A

Description

[Technical Field]

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

[0002] Traditionally, refrigerators and freezers have been used to keep foods that require temperature control, such as meat, fish, and vegetables, fresh. In general, enzyme activity in food is positively correlated with food temperature, so the lower the temperature at which food is stored, the easier it is to maintain freshness. In addition, the growth rate of mold and bacteria can be kept extremely slow at temperatures around 0°C.

[0003] However, when storage temperatures are around 0°C, for example, meat and seafood, which are 70% to 80% water, and vegetables, which are 80% to 90% water, will freeze. When water turns to ice, its volume expands, and the extracellular fluid in the food freezes first, forming large ice crystals, which destroy the cell membrane from the outside. Furthermore, when frozen food is thawed, the intracellular and intercellular fluids released from the broken cells leak out, causing a loss of taste components and nutrients along with the water, and the food itself will also become less chewy. Furthermore, when storing food, if the relative humidity is not higher than the food's moisture content, water vapor will escape from the food into the surrounding air, causing it to dry out.

[0004] However, if the temperature inside the storage facility is raised to prevent freezing inside temperature-controlled items such as food, the activity of enzymes that break down food will increase, making it impossible to maintain freshness for a long period of time.

[0005] Therefore, Patent Document 1 discloses an evaporator for a storage facility in which a cold air temperature and humidity changing unit including a crushed ice heat exchanger is placed between a first blower and a second blower, adjacent to the first blower and the second blower. This cold air temperature and humidity changing unit contains ice supplied from the ice crushing unit, so the basic cold air comes into contact with this ice and becomes cold air containing water vapor at around 0°C.

[0006] Furthermore, as the ice melts and the resulting water vaporizes, the storage cabinet becomes filled with water vapor, creating a high-humidity environment with an internal temperature of around 0°C and a relative humidity of around 100%. Therefore, the quality of food stored in the storage cabinet can be maintained by keeping it at around 0°C and a relative humidity of around 100%. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0007] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2018-162967 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0008] As described above, storage facilities that can maintain items at around 0°C and a relative humidity of around 100% can maintain the freshness of stored food for a long period of time without deteriorating its quality, and can even improve the nutritional value and taste through aging.

[0009] Conventional foods could not be stored for long periods, so prices fluctuated greatly throughout the year, with large quantities distributed at low prices during the on-season when the food was harvested, and small quantities distributed at high prices during the off-season when the food was not harvested. However, by storing foods under high-humidity, low-temperature conditions, it is possible to store foods for much longer periods than before, and as a result, it is possible to maintain an average distribution volume throughout the year. This allows consumers to enjoy more stable market transactions, unlike conventional market transactions that were based on the assumption that long-term storage was not possible.

[0010] The present invention aims to provide a management device, a management method, and a program for determining the shipping price of inventory stored under high humidity and low temperature conditions so as to stabilize the market price and transaction volume. [Means for solving the problem]

[0011] That is, the present invention is as follows. [1] A management device in a storage facility that stores items as inventory under high humidity and low temperature conditions, a management unit that manages the storage date and storage period of the inventory items; an acquisition unit that acquires annual price information regarding the annual market price of the item; a determination unit that determines shipping price information regarding the shipping price of the inventory item during the storage period based on the annual price information, Management device. [2] the acquisition unit acquires annual trading volume information regarding an annual market trading volume of the item; the determination unit determines the shipping price information of the inventory item during the storage period based on the annual price information and the annual transaction volume information. The management device described in [1]. [3] the determination unit determines the shipping price information of the inventory item so that the price fluctuation range is smaller than the price fluctuation range of the market price during the storage period. The management device according to [1] or [2]. [4] The determination unit determines the shipping price information of the inventory item so that the shipping price information is smaller than the maximum value or larger than the minimum value of the market price during the storage period. The management device according to any one of [1] to [3]. [5] When the storage period includes a period during which the goods are not traded in the market and the market price cannot be obtained, the determination unit determines the shipping price information of the inventory item during a period when the market price is unavailable, based on the shipping price information of the inventory item during a period when the market price is available; The management device according to any one of [1] to [4]. [6] The determination unit determines the shipping price information of the inventory item further based on information regarding the inventory of the storage warehouse. The management device according to any one of [1] to [5]. [7] The determination unit determines the price of the item in consideration of the maturity of the inventory item according to the storage period or information on the producer of the inventory item. The management device according to any one of [1] to [6]. [8] The annual price information is information excluding outliers, The management device according to any one of [1] to [7]. [9] an output unit that outputs the shipping price information of the inventory item in response to a request from a consumer; The management device according to any one of [1] to [8].

[10] The output unit further outputs, in addition to the shipping price information, information on past or future shipping prices outside the storage period, information indicating price stability in the shipping price information, and / or information indicating instability of the market price during the storage period. The management device described in [9].

[11] The output unit further outputs information about the warehouse storing the inventory items and / or a logistics cost for delivering the inventory items. The management device according to [9] or

[10] .

[12] The output unit further outputs traceability data of the inventory. The management device according to any one of [9] to

[11] .

[13] further comprising a receiving unit that receives a transaction reservation to purchase the inventory item on a specific future date within the storage period in response to a request from a consumer; The management device according to any one of [1] to

[12] .

[14] The system further includes a proposal unit that makes a purchase proposal to a consumer or a shipping proposal to a producer regarding the inventory. The management device according to any one of [1] to

[13] .

[15] the proposal unit makes the purchase proposal or the outsourcing proposal based on an inventory increase rate of the inventory item, a price fluctuation of the item, and / or a utilization rate of the storage facility; The management device described in

[14] .

[16] A management device in a storage facility that stores items as inventory under high humidity and low temperature conditions, a step of managing the warehousing date and storage period of the inventory; obtaining annual price information relating to an annual market price of the commodity; determining, based on the annual price information, outgoing price information relating to the outgoing price of the inventory during the storage period; How to manage orders.

[17] A management device for a storage facility that stores items as inventory under high humidity and low temperature conditions, a step of managing the warehousing date and storage period of the inventory; obtaining annual price information relating to an annual market price of the commodity; determining shipping price information regarding the shipping price of the inventory item during the storage period based on the annual price information; program. [Effects of the Invention]

[0012] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a management device, a management method, and a program for determining the shipping price of inventory stored under high-humidity, low-temperature conditions so as to stabilize the market price and transaction volume. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1A] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a management system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 1B] 1 is a schematic perspective view showing one aspect of a storage cabinet according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2A] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing one aspect of a management device according to the present embodiment. [Figure 2B] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing one example of in-fridge data. [Figure 2C] (a) Annual price information on the annual market price of a certain item in a certain year, and (b) annual trading volume information on the annual trading volume, were compiled based on a survey of the fruit and vegetable wholesale market. [Figure 2D] 10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating examples of input and output of a storage period estimation model and examples of learning data for the storage period estimation model. [Figure 3A] This data is obtained by smoothing or averaging information on actual market prices. (a) A graph showing annual price information with a curve approximated by a fifth-order polynomial as a reference line, and (b) A graph showing annual price information with a moving average approximation curve with 21 intervals as a reference line. [Figure 3B] 10 is a flowchart showing an example of a process for creating annual price information relating to the annual market price of a commodity. [Figure 4A] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of shipping price information relating to the shipping price of an inventory item in a period corresponding to a predetermined storage period, among the annual price information (baseline). [Figure 4B] 10 is a diagram illustrating a process for determining shipping price information of inventory items during a period when market prices cannot be obtained, based on shipping price information of inventory items during a period when annual price information can be obtained. FIG. [Figure 4C] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a process for determining shipping price information for an inventory item based on information about the inventory stored in a warehouse. [Figure 4D] This is an image of information about inventory. [Figure 4E] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process for determining shipping price information. [Figure 5A] 10 is a flowchart of a process from managing a storage period to determining a shipping price. [Figure 5B] 10 is a flowchart of a transaction based on the acceptance of a purchase from a consumer. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0014] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention (hereinafter referred to as "the present embodiment") will be described in detail with reference to the drawings as necessary, but the present invention is not limited to this, and various modifications are possible without departing from the spirit of the present invention. In the drawings, the same elements are given the same reference numerals, and redundant explanations will be omitted. Furthermore, positional relationships such as up, down, left, and right will be based on the positional relationships shown in the drawings unless otherwise specified. Furthermore, the dimensional ratios of the drawings are not limited to those shown in the drawings.

[0015] 1. Management System FIG. 1A is a schematic diagram showing a management system according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1A, an example of the management system according to the present embodiment may include storage cabinets 100a, 100b, and 100c (hereinafter simply referred to as "storage cabinet 100") for storing items under high-humidity and low-temperature conditions, a management device 200 in storage cabinet 100, a terminal 300a used by a user (producer) of storage cabinet 100, and a terminal 300b used by a consumer of the items stored in storage cabinet 100. The user of storage cabinet 100 is a person who stores items in storage cabinet 100, and may be a producer of the items or another distributor. When terminal 300a and terminal 300b are not distinguished from each other, they are also simply referred to as "terminal 300."

[0016] The management device 200 of this embodiment is a device that determines shipping price information regarding the shipping prices of inventory items during a storage period based on annual price information regarding the annual market price of the items. In the example of FIG. 1A, the management device 200 is shown as a server connected to the storage warehouse 100 via a network N. This allows the management device 200 to concurrently determine shipping prices for inventory items in multiple storage warehouses 100a, 100b, and 100c located in various locations. Note that, although the following description will be given using the management device 200 as an example, the management device 200 of this embodiment is not limited to this. Specifically, the management device 200 may be provided for each storage warehouse 100 and determine shipping price information for the items stored in each storage warehouse 100.

[0017] In this embodiment, "stock items" refers to items stored in storage 100, and "goods" refers to items that are generally traded in the market. For example, taking lettuce as an example, lettuce traded in the general market corresponds to the goods in this embodiment, and lettuce stored in storage 100 corresponds to the stock items in this embodiment. Therefore, "annual price information related to the annual market price of goods" means the market price of goods (lettuce) that are generally traded in the market. In contrast, "shipping price information related to the shipping price of stock items" means the shipping price of stock items (lettuce) stored in storage 100.

[0018] There are no particular restrictions on the market prices and transaction volumes of goods traded in the open market, but for example, information disclosed by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries as part of the Fruit and Vegetable Wholesale Market Survey (daily survey) or other similar information can be used. Furthermore, annual market prices and transaction volumes can be shown as the prices and transaction volumes corresponding to each day from January 1st to December 31st based on the results of this daily survey (see Figure 2C). Figure 2C shows annual price information (a) on the annual market price of a certain item for a certain year, and annual transaction volume information (b) on the annual transaction volume, created based on the Fruit and Vegetable Wholesale Market Survey.

[0019] The management device 200 may receive various data such as in-storage environment information and inventory information from the storage 100, and may determine the shipping price of the inventory stored in the storage 100 based on the data. The management device 200 may also obtain annual price information from another information processing device (not shown), or may obtain daily market prices and transaction volumes of items to generate annual price information. Furthermore, the management device 200 may transmit shipping price information to the terminals 300a and 300b in response to a request from the terminals 300a and 300b, or may transmit a shipping proposal or a purchase proposal to the terminals 300a and 300b.

[0020] Fig. 1B is a schematic perspective view showing one embodiment of a storage facility. As shown in Fig. 1B, storage facility 100 may have a storage room 110 for accommodating items 160 and their packaging 170 to be stored under high-humidity, low-temperature conditions, a cooling evaporator 120 for maintaining the high-humidity, low-temperature conditions inside storage room 110, and a control device 130 for controlling cooling evaporator 120 and the like. Fig. 1B shows storage room 110 having a door 140 and sized to allow human entry, but the size of storage room 110 is not limited to this and may be one that is not intended for human entry.

[0021] The cooling evaporator 120 is an example of an air conditioner, and is not particularly limited as long as it can maintain high humidity and low temperature conditions inside the storage room 110. For example, the cooling evaporator 120 may have a water tank and a blower that blows air onto the water surface of the water tank to send moist air into the storage room, or may have a blower that blows air onto the ice to send moist air into the storage room.

[0022] The relative humidity under the high-humidity, low-temperature conditions of this embodiment is preferably 80% RH or higher, 85% RH or higher, 90% RH or higher, or 95% RH or higher. The upper limit of the relative humidity is not particularly limited, but is preferably 100% RH or lower. The temperature under the high-humidity, low-temperature conditions of this embodiment is preferably -1°C or higher, -0.5°C or higher, or -0.3°C or higher. The upper limit of the temperature is preferably 1°C or lower, 0.5°C or lower, or 0.3°C or lower.

[0023] The control device 130 may instruct the cooling evaporator 120 to control the temperature and humidity in the storage room 110, record the current and past temperature and humidity trends obtained from the sensor 150, manage information related to the entry and exit of the items 160 stored in the storage room 110, and transmit this information to the management device 200. In addition to this, the control device 130 may also transmit information related to the temperature and humidity in the storage room 110 and other information obtained by various sensors provided in the storage room 110 to the management device 200.

[0024] The cooling / evaporating device 120 may include an ultraviolet irradiation device that irradiates ultraviolet rays onto the water or ice used to create the high-humidity, low-temperature environment. By irradiating ultraviolet rays, the number of bacteria contained in the cooling / evaporating device 120 can be reduced, and the spread of bacteria by the cooling / evaporating device 120 can be suppressed.

[0025] 1B shows an example in which the control device 130 is provided on the door 140 so that the user can easily check the temperature and humidity as well as manage the entry and exit of goods, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the control device 130 may be located in a place separate from the storage room 110 as long as it is connected to the storage room 110 via the network N. Furthermore, when a management device 200 is provided for each storage room 100, the management device 200 may be integrated with the control device 130.

[0026] Furthermore, the terminal 300 is not particularly limited as long as it is a terminal used by a user who stores items in the storage facility 100 or a consumer of the items stored in the storage facility 100, but may be, for example, a smartphone, tablet, desktop, laptop, or other computer.

[0027] 2A to 2F, the hardware configuration and functional configuration of management device 200 will be described. Note that management device 200 is not particularly limited and may be, for example, a desktop, laptop, or other computer. Furthermore, management device 200 is a general-purpose computer and may be configured as a single computer or multiple computers on network N.

[0028] 2A, the following describes the hardware configuration and functional configuration of the management device 200. The management device 200 includes, for example, a processor 210, a communication interface 220, an input / output interface 230, a memory 240, a storage 250, and one or more communication buses 260 for interconnecting these components.

[0029] The processor 210 is not particularly limited, but may include, for example, one or more central processing units (CPUs), MPUs, GPUs, microprocessors, processor cores, multiprocessors, ASICs, FPGAs, etc., and may perform processing, functions, or methods realized by code or instructions contained in a program stored in storage 250 using a logic circuit (hardware) formed in an integrated circuit or the like, or a dedicated circuit.

[0030] Specifically, the processor 210 may be configured to function as a management unit 211, an acquisition unit 212, a determination unit 213, an output unit 214, a reception unit 215, and a proposal unit 216, as shown in FIG. 2A.

[0031] The communication interface 220 transmits and receives various data to and from other devices via the network N. The communication may be performed either wired or wirelessly, and any communication protocol may be used as long as mutual communication is possible. For example, the communication interface 220 may be implemented as hardware such as a network adapter, various communication software, or a combination of these.

[0032] Network N may be, but is not limited to, an ad-hoc network, an intranet, an extranet, a virtual private network (VPN), a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a metropolitan area network (MAN), a portion of the Internet, a portion of the public switched telephone network (PSTN), a cellular network, ISDNs, wireless LANs, LTE, CDMA, Bluetooth, satellite communications, etc., or a combination thereof. A network may include one or more networks.

[0033] The input / output interface 230 may include an input device for inputting various operations to the management device 200, and an output device for outputting processing results processed by the management device 200. For example, the input / output interface 230 may include information input devices such as a keyboard, a mouse, and a touch panel, and an information output device such as a display. Note that the management device 200 may receive predetermined inputs and execute predetermined outputs by connecting an external input / output interface 230. In the example shown in FIG. 1B, for example, the sensor 150 and the control device 130 of the storage 100 may function as external information input devices for the management device 200.

[0034] The sensor 150 is not particularly limited, but examples thereof include a temperature and humidity sensor, an oxygen concentration sensor, a carbon dioxide concentration sensor, an ethylene gas sensor, etc. Using these sensors, the state inside the refrigerator can be recorded in the refrigerator data 251.

[0035] The goods and inventory items are not particularly limited as long as they are generally stored at low temperatures, and examples include food ingredients, fresh flowers, etc. Food ingredients include not only food ingredients before cooking such as meat, fish, and vegetables, but also food ingredients after pre-processing for cooking and cooked dishes.

[0036] The memory 240 temporarily stores programs loaded from the storage 250 and provides a working area for the processor 210. The memory 240 also temporarily stores various data generated while the processor 210 is executing the programs. The memory 240 may be, for example, a high-speed random access memory such as a DRAM, an SRAM, a DDR RAM, or another random access solid-state storage device, or a combination of these.

[0037] The storage 250 stores programs, each functional unit, models for various estimation processes, and various data. The storage 250 may be, for example, one or more magnetic disk storage devices, optical disk storage devices, flash memory devices, or nonvolatile memories such as other nonvolatile solid-state storage devices, or a combination thereof. Another example of the storage 250 may be one or more storage devices installed remotely from the processor 210.

[0038] 2B shows an example of the in-fridge data 251. The in-fridge data 251 records information measured by various sensors, information determined by the management unit 211, information acquired by the acquisition unit 212, etc. Furthermore, each functional unit may acquire information required for various processes from the in-fridge data 251.

[0039] The "storage ID" is an identifier for uniquely identifying a storage facility when multiple storage facilities exist in different regions. The "storage environment information" records information about high and low humidity environments such as temperature and humidity, as well as other information about the environment inside the storage facility such as oxygen concentration. The storage environment information may be time-series data. Furthermore, the "inventory information" records information about the inventory status, such as information about the entry and exit of items into the storage facility 100.

[0040] Furthermore, the "inventory information" may include information such as an "inventory item ID," which is an identifier for uniquely identifying an inventory item, and information such as the "entry date and time," "quality at time of entry," "quantity," "storage period," "shipping date and time," "quality at time of exit," "shipping price information," and "storage condition" associated with each inventory item. In addition, if the item is an agricultural product, the harvest date may be recorded, and if the item is a cooked or pre-processed food ingredient, the cooking date may be recorded.

[0041] The "storage period" is a period recorded by the management unit 211, which will be described later. The management unit 211 may determine the storage period based on the goods to be stored, their condition, and the time elapsed since the harvest date. The storage period indicates the period during which goods can be stored with a certain level of freshness and quality when stored under high-humidity, low-temperature conditions.

[0042] Because foodstuffs and other items gradually deteriorate after harvest and are difficult to store for long periods, foodstuffs brought to the market are immediately priced and traded, as shown in the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries' survey of fruit and vegetable wholesale markets. In other words, in typical wholesale market transactions, foodstuffs are not stored for long periods of time before being traded, even though their freshness decreases. However, in this embodiment, a long storage period can be ensured by storing them under high-humidity, low-temperature conditions. Therefore, there is no need to trade immediately after harvest, and trading can occur during the storage period. Therefore, in this embodiment, instead of the conventional instant pricing, the determination unit 213 (described later) determines shipping price information regarding the shipping price of inventory items during the storage period and records it in the "shipping price information." This shipping price may fluctuate during the storage period (see FIG. 3A).

[0043] This allows the time required for transactions to be secured within the storage period, making it possible to distribute food ingredients at stable prices without being affected by temporary fluctuations in price or transaction volume, such as price hikes or declines in transaction volume due to poor harvests caused by natural disasters, or price drops or shipment suspensions due to good harvests.In particular, even for fresh foods, long-term storage of one, two, or even more months is possible, making it possible to stabilize market prices and transaction volumes.

[0044] "Quality at time of arrival" and "quality at time of departure" refer to the quality at the time of arrival or departure, and may indicate the grade or class of the food material, or may further include information on ingredients such as nutritional content. Here, "grade" refers to a rating of shape, color, taste, etc., and generally includes ratings classified as special, excellent, good, or A to C, or special excellent, or specially selected. "Class" refers to a rating of size, and generally includes size ratings classified as L, M, S, etc.

[0045] Such quality may be recorded as imaging data of the product or quality evaluated from the imaging data using a quality evaluation model, or may be recorded as a value evaluated using a known component meter such as a sugar content meter. The quality evaluation model is not particularly limited as long as it can evaluate the quality of an ingredient based on an appearance image of the ingredient or other item, and any conventionally known model can be used. Furthermore, such a quality evaluation model may be created by machine learning using learning data that associates image data of the ingredient with its quality evaluation.

[0046] The "storage condition" may include the packaging condition of the product. For example, in the case of lettuce, information such as whether the lettuce is stored as is, whether it is covered with a film that may have holes, or whether it is stored in a box such as a cardboard box may be included. Depending on the food ingredient, the storage condition may allow for even longer storage.

[0047] 2C shows an example of the market condition data 252. The market condition data 252 may record information on market trends and conditions, supply and demand fluctuations, trends, etc., such as annual price information (a) on the annual market price and annual trading volume information (b) on the annual trading volume for each type of commodity such as lettuce, tomatoes, strawberries, etc. For example, the annual trading volume information (b) may include the trading volume for each central wholesale market in each region, such as Hokkaido, Tohoku, Kanto, and Kansai.

[0048] 1.1. Management Department The management unit 211 manages the entry date and storage period of inventory items. For example, a user who has stored an item in the storage warehouse 100 registers the stored inventory item in the control device 130. The management unit 211 acquires information regarding the registration of inventory items via the network N, assigns an inventory item ID, and records the entry date, quantity, and storage period in the in-storage data 251 in association with the inventory item ID. Furthermore, when the management unit 211 acquires, as information regarding the registration of inventory items, information regarding the harvest date, storage condition, images at the time of entry and quality based on the images, or other information regarding quality, it may record such information as the quality at the time of entry.

[0049] The management unit 211 may, for example, use a storage period estimation model to set a storage period based on the type of stocked inventory, without any particular limitation. FIG. 2D shows examples of input and output of the storage period estimation model and examples of training data for the storage period estimation model. As shown in FIG. 2D, a storage period estimation model that can output a storage period during which a predetermined quality can be maintained according to the storage date may be created by machine learning based on the storage date, shipping date, and quality at the time of shipping of past storage performance data. Furthermore, the model may estimate the storage period taking into account the quality at the time of storage, storage conditions, harvest date, etc. The machine learning algorithm is not particularly limited, but, for example, a random forest or a support vector machine (SVM) may be used.

[0050] In the storage period setting process by the management unit 211, as described above, the storage period may be set taking into consideration at least one of the harvest date, storage date, and storage condition. By taking the harvest date and storage date into consideration, the length of the period from harvest to storage can be evaluated, and the shorter the period from harvest to storage, the longer the storage period may be set. Also, the way in which cold air hits the produce varies depending on the storage condition, and the storage period may be set longer by storing the produce so that it is not directly hit by cold air. Also, the better the quality at the time of storage, the longer the storage period may be set.

[0051] Such a storage period estimation model is not particularly limited, but can be created by machine learning using, as learning data, data in which at least the type of stocked item and the storage period are associated, such as the inventory information in the warehouse data 251.

[0052] 1.2. Acquisition part The acquisition unit 212 acquires annual price information related to the annual market price of the product, and may acquire annual transaction volume information and other information required for each process described below as necessary. Furthermore, the acquisition unit 212 may acquire information on the price and transaction volume during the storage period from the annual price information and annual transaction volume information.

[0053] In this embodiment, "obtaining information" includes making the information processable by another functional unit. "Obtaining information" may mean, for example, receiving the information from another device, reading the information from storage 250, or generating the information as a result of predetermined processing.

[0054] For example, the annual price information regarding annual market prices acquired by the acquisition unit 212 may include, in addition to actual market price information as shown in FIG. 2C, market price information obtained by smoothing or averaging such actual market price information. FIG. 3A shows data obtained by smoothing or averaging actual market price information. (a) of FIG. 3A is a graph of annual price information with a curve approximated by a fifth-order polynomial as a reference line, and (b) is a graph of annual price information with a moving average approximation curve with 21 intervals as a reference line.

[0055] The process of creating an approximate curve (baseline) for a graph of annual price information in this way is also called curve fitting. The approximate curve (baseline) created in this way is also included in the "annual price information related to the annual market price of goods" in this embodiment as data obtained by leveling or averaging the information on actual market prices.

[0056] The process of creating annual price information relating to the annual market price of a commodity will be described in more detail using Figure 3B. Note that Figure 3B shows an example of a flowchart of the process of creating annual price information, and the annual price information is not limited to that created by this process as long as it is based on information on actual market prices.

[0057] First, in step S11, the acquisition unit 212 may acquire information on actual market prices over multiple years, for example, information on market prices for the most recent three years. Because market prices can be affected by factors such as the supply and demand situation and weather conditions of a given year, in the subsequent step S13, a market price is created by averaging prices over multiple years, thereby eliminating factors specific to that year and creating information on a more average annual market price.

[0058] Next, in step S12, the acquisition unit 212 may remove outliers from the market prices for each year. As shown in FIG. 2C, market prices are affected by factors such as supply and demand conditions and weather conditions for that year, and may include locally large or small outliers. The annual price information may be information from which such outliers have been removed.

[0059] An "outlier" is a value that deviates significantly from other values, or from the normal data pattern. Outliers can occur when a phenomenon or event is outside of the normal range. During statistical analysis or data analysis, outliers can distort accurate results or inferences, so these values ​​may be identified and processed, such as by removing them. Processes for removing outliers include identifying outliers from a data set and removing them, correcting them, or replacing them with alternative values. Removing outliers can eliminate market prices that are based on unique circumstances such as supply and demand conditions or weather conditions.

[0060] Furthermore, in step S13, the acquisition unit 212 may create a market price by averaging prices over multiple years, thereby obtaining information on market prices (averaged annual price information) that excludes unique factors such as supply and demand conditions and weather conditions.

[0061] Finally, in step S14, the acquisition unit 212 may create a baseline by performing a curve fitting process on the averaged annual price information, thereby smoothing out short-term price fluctuations and representing the flow of large annual price fluctuations as a baseline, as shown in Fig. 3A.

[0062] Note that the process shown in Figure 3B is an example, and for example, step S12 may not be executed, or a process of removing outliers may be performed after the averaging process in step S13. Furthermore, a process not shown in Figure 3B may be executed. For example, a curve obtained by performing any correction process on the approximation curve (baseline) obtained as described above may also be included in the "annual price information related to the annual market price of goods" of this embodiment.

[0063] 1.3.Decision Section The determination unit 213 determines shipping price information related to the shipping price of the inventory item during the storage period based on the annual price information. Figure 4A shows an example of shipping price information related to the shipping price of the inventory item during the period corresponding to the specified storage period, from the annual price information (baseline) created above.

[0064] As shown in FIG. 4A, the determination unit 213 may determine the shipping price information of the inventory item so that the price fluctuation range is smaller than the price fluctuation range of the market price of the item, or may determine the shipping price information of the inventory item so that the price fluctuation range is smaller than the maximum value or larger than the minimum value of the market price of the item.

[0065] This allows the delivery price of inventory stored under high-humidity, low-temperature conditions to be determined so as to suppress price fluctuations and stabilize market prices and transaction volumes. More specifically, the delivery price information shown in FIG. 4A may determine a relatively high delivery price when market prices are low and a relatively low delivery price when market prices are high. This motivates consumers to purchase goods from the market when market prices are low and to purchase goods from storage when market prices are high. Therefore, for producers, when market prices are low and profit margins are small, it is more advantageous to store inventory in storage rather than ship goods. Furthermore, when market prices are high, it is possible to offer the large amount of inventory thus stored at a more price-competitive price. Furthermore, since it is possible to offer large amounts of inventory stored when market prices are low when market prices are high, market prices and transaction volumes are stabilized, and producer sales, which are the product of unit price and supply volume, can be maximized.

[0066] The effect of determining such shipping price information is unique to this embodiment, which is based on the premise that long-term storage is possible under high humidity and low temperature conditions, and cannot be achieved with conventional refrigerators that are not capable of long-term storage.

[0067] The determination unit 213 may determine the shipping price information of the inventory item during the storage period based on not only the annual price information but also annual transaction volume information regarding the annual market transaction volume of the item. Specifically, the shipping price may be determined to be relatively low in a period when the transaction volume is relatively low, and may be determined to be relatively high in a period when the transaction volume is relatively high.

[0068] Furthermore, since this embodiment allows for long-term storage under high humidity and low temperature conditions, it is possible to supply products, such as cherries, which traditionally have not been available on the market from summer to autumn. However, for products that are not available on the market for a certain period of time, it is not possible to obtain market prices for those periods, and it is therefore difficult to obtain annual price information.

[0069] In this way, when the storage period includes a period during which the item is not traded on the market and the market price cannot be obtained, the determination unit 213 may determine the shipping price information of the inventory item for the period during which the market price cannot be obtained based on the shipping price information of the inventory item for the period during which the annual price information can be obtained, as shown in Figure 4B. Specifically, the shipping price information of the inventory item for the period during which the market price cannot be obtained may be determined by calculating the shipping price information of the inventory item for the period during which the annual price information can be obtained and performing extrapolation or interpolation processing on this. In the example shown in Figure 4B, the shipping price information of the inventory item for the period during which the market price cannot be obtained is interpolated by performing polynomial interpolation on the market price for the entire year, including the period during which the market price cannot be obtained.

[0070] Additionally, as shown in FIG. 4C, the determination unit 213 may determine the shipping price information of the stock items based on information about the stock stored in the warehouse. The determination of the shipping price information based on the information about the stock may be a correction of the baseline (annual price information). Here, the information about the stock may include the number of stock items, the rate of increase in the stock items, the percentage of stock items in the warehouse or the vacancy rate of the warehouse, the storage period of the stock items, and the percentage of stock items stored for a long period of time. FIG. 4D shows an image of the information about the stock.

[0071] In determining shipping price information based on inventory information, for example, when market prices are low and there is no need to store a large amount of inventory already in stock, excess inventory can be suppressed by lowering the shipping price to approach the market price, as shown in Figure 4C. Conversely, when market prices are low and there is a need to store more inventory than expected, the shipping price can be raised to be higher than the market price, which can promote savings.

[0072] In addition, as a process for determining shipping price information based on information about inventory, for example, when the market price is high and the amount of inventory stored is small and it is expected that a stable supply cannot be secured, the shipping price may be raised to adjust the supply amount for that period. Conversely, when the market price is high and the amount of inventory stored is large and a sufficient supply can be secured, the shipping price may be lowered to be cheaper than the market price, thereby promoting a stable supply.

[0073] In addition, the process of determining the shipping price information of inventory items based on information about inventory is not limited to the above example. For example, if the inventory increase rate is above a certain level, the shipping price may be determined to be relatively low, and if the inventory increase rate is below a certain level, the shipping price may be determined to be relatively high.

[0074] Furthermore, the determination unit 213 may determine the price of an item by taking into consideration the maturity level according to the storage period of the inventory item. Here, maturity level refers to the degree to which quality is improved or maintained due to storage. For example, if the quality improves due to storage, the determination unit 213 may determine the price of the item relatively high by taking into consideration the improvement in quality. Also, if the quality deteriorates due to storage, the determination unit 213 may determine the price of the item relatively low by taking into consideration the deterioration in quality.

[0075] The determination unit 213 may determine the price of the item by taking into consideration information about the producer of the inventory item. Here, the information about the producer is not particularly limited, and may include, for example, the name of the producer, the location or region of the field, the producer's evaluation, the evaluation of the item produced by the producer, and the production volume of the item by the producer. For example, if the evaluation of the producer and the evaluation of the item produced by the producer are high and the quality and safety of the inventory item are high, the determination unit 213 may determine the price of the item to be relatively high by taking into consideration the evaluation.

[0076] Next, the process for determining shipping price information will be described in more detail using Figure 4E. Note that Figure 4E shows an example of a flowchart for the process for determining shipping price information based on the reference line shown in Figure 3A, and the shipping price information is not limited to that created by this process as long as it is based on annual price information.

[0077] First, in steps S21 and S22, depending on whether or not there is a market price corresponding to the storage period, if the storage period includes a period for which the market price cannot be obtained, the determination unit 213 may interpolate the shipping price information for that period for which the market price cannot be obtained based on the shipping price information for a period for which the market price can be obtained, as shown in Fig. 4B. Alternatively, if there is no market price corresponding to the storage period, the determination unit 213 may skip step S22 and proceed to step S23.

[0078] In step S23, the determination unit 213 may adjust the price against the baseline based on information about inventory such as the inventory status in the storage facility, in step S24 the determination unit 213 may adjust the price against the baseline based on market information such as the amount of goods circulating in the market, and in step S25 the determination unit 213 may adjust the price against the baseline based on information about the producer such as quality.

[0079] Finally, in step S26, the determination unit 213 may determine the shipping price information that has undergone the price adjustment processing in steps S23 to S24 and the like.

[0080] 4E is an example, and steps S23 to S24 are an example of price adjustment, and some or all of these steps may or may not be performed, or price adjustment processes other than those disclosed herein may be performed. For example, the determination unit 213 may adjust the shipping price information so that the price fluctuation range is smaller than the price fluctuation range of the market price during the storage period, or may adjust the shipping price information so that the price is smaller than the maximum value or larger than the minimum value of the market price during the storage period. Furthermore, the order of the price processing in steps S23 to S24 may be arbitrarily changed.

[0081] 1.4.Output Section The output unit 214 may output various information in the management system of this embodiment to an information output device of the management device 200, or to an information output device such as a display of a terminal 300a used by a user (producer) of the storage facility 100 or a terminal 300b used by a consumer.

[0082] For example, the output unit 214 may output the shipping price information determined as described above in response to a request from a consumer or a producer. This allows the producer using the terminal 300a and the consumer using the terminal 300b to obtain the shipping price information, which can then be used to make decisions about shipping or purchasing, or to make a reservation for future purchases, or other transactions.

[0083] In addition, the output unit 214 may further output, as reference information, information on past or future shipping prices outside the storage period, information indicating price stability in the shipping price information, and / or information indicating market price instability. This allows producers using the terminal 300a and consumers using the terminal 300b to know whether the shipping price during the storage period is relatively low or high by comparing it with the price outside the storage period, and use this information in making trading decisions.

[0084] Furthermore, information indicating price stability in the shipping price information is not particularly limited, but may include, for example, information indicating a low rate of fluctuation, such as the ratio of the fluctuation range of the shipping price to the fluctuation range of the market price. On the other hand, information indicating market price instability is not particularly limited, but may include, for example, information regarding the fluctuation range of the market price, the frequency of outliers, and the risk of overproduction or natural disasters. By presenting such information, it can be used to make trading decisions for inventory items at the shipping price during the storage period.

[0085] Furthermore, the output unit 214 may further output information about the warehouse that stores the inventory items and / or the logistics costs for delivering the inventory items. Information about the warehouse may include operational data and cleanliness information about the warehouse, inventory information, and the usage costs of the warehouse depending on the storage period. Information about logistics costs may include the logistics route from the warehouse to the delivery destination and the logistics costs when using that logistics route. This allows the storage costs and logistics costs to be used in determining whether to trade inventory items.

[0086] The output unit 214 may further output traceability data of the inventory items. The traceability data is not particularly limited, but may include, for example, information about the producer, information about the quality of the item at the time of receiving and leaving the warehouse, information about the storage period, tracking information about distribution, etc.

[0087] 1.5. Reception Department The accepting unit 215 may accept purchases of stock items in response to requests from consumers, or may accept transaction reservations to purchase stock items on a specific future date within the storage period. In this embodiment, since transactions are possible within the storage period, reservations can be accepted for the purchase of existing stock items one month from now at the shipping price determined as described above. Note that this is a different concept from futures transactions, such as purchasing stock items one month from now when they do not exist.

[0088] 1.6. Proposal Department The proposal unit 216 may make a purchase proposal to the consumer terminal 300b or a shipping proposal to the producer terminal 300a for an item in stock. For example, the purchase proposal and shipping proposal may be a proposal to present shipping price information of an item in stock to the consumer or producer. Furthermore, as a consumer to whom the proposal is to be made, shipping price information of an item in stock of lettuce may be sent to a consumer who has a purchase history of lettuce.

[0089] The proposal unit 216 may make a purchase proposal or a shipping proposal based on the inventory increase rate of the inventory item, the price fluctuation of the item, and / or the utilization rate of the storage facility. For example, if the inventory increase rate of the inventory item is high, if the storage period of the item is long, if the risk of price fluctuation of the item is high, or if the utilization rate of the storage facility is high, the proposal unit 216 may make a purchase proposal or a shipping proposal to the consumer or producer. In addition, at this time, the proposal unit 216 may further add discount information to the shipping price information and make the purchase proposal or shipping proposal.

[0090] 1.7. Operation Processing Next, the operation of the management device 200 will be described.

[0091] Figure 5A shows a flowchart of the process from managing the storage period to determining the shipping price. As shown in Figure 5A, in step S1, the management unit 211 manages the inventory entry date and storage period of the inventory item, in step S2 the acquisition unit 212 acquires annual price information, and in step S3 the determination unit 213 determines the shipping price for the storage period. The acquisition of annual price information in step S2 and the determination of the shipping price in step S3 are as described in detail in Figures 3B and 4E.

[0092] Next, a flowchart of a transaction based on the acceptance of a purchase from a consumer is shown in Fig. 5B. As shown in Fig. 5B, in step S41, the proposal unit 216 may make a purchase proposal to the consumer terminal 300b or a shipping proposal to the producer terminal 300a.

[0093] Then, in step S42, the reception unit 215 receives requests from consumers to inquire about shipping price information for inventory items, and in response to these requests, in step S43, the output unit 214 may transmit to the consumer's terminal 300b shipping price information, information regarding past or future shipping prices outside the storage period, information indicating the price stability of the shipping price information, and / or information indicating the instability of market prices.

[0094] Then, in step S43, upon receiving a purchase decision or reservation decision from the consumer, the accepting unit 215 may accept a purchase request or reservation request for the stock item and proceed with the transaction.

[0095] The above describes the flow for accepting a transaction request from a consumer in response to a purchase proposal made to the consumer's terminal 300b. Alternatively, in the case of a shipping proposal made to the producer's terminal 300a, a request for an inquiry about shipping price information of an inventory item may be accepted from the producer, and in response to the request, shipping price information, information about past or future shipping prices outside the storage period, information indicating the price stability of the shipping price information, and / or information indicating the instability of the market price may be transmitted to the producer's terminal 300a.

[0096] Then, upon receiving the producer's decision, the reception unit 215 may accept a discount on the shipping price information of the stocked item and transmit information about the discount to the demander, thereby promoting the transaction.

[0097] 2.Management method The management method of this embodiment involves a management device in a storage facility that stores items as inventory under high humidity and low temperature conditions performing the following steps: managing the entry date and storage period of the inventory items; acquiring annual price information regarding the annual market price of the items; and determining, based on the annual price information, shipping price information regarding the shipping price of the inventory items during the storage period.

[0098] Note that the specific aspects of the method of this embodiment have been described above in the operational processing, so detailed description thereof will be omitted here.

[0099] 3. Program The program of this embodiment causes a management device in a storage facility that stores items as inventory under high humidity and low temperature conditions to perform the following steps: managing the entry date and storage period of the inventory items; acquiring annual price information regarding the annual market price of the items; and determining, based on the annual price information, shipping price information regarding the shipping price of the inventory items during the storage period.

[0100] The program may be recorded on a readable recording medium. Note that the specific aspects of the processing executed by the program of this embodiment have been described in the above operational processing, and therefore detailed description thereof will be omitted here. [Explanation of symbols]

[0101] 100, 100a, 100b, 100c...storage, 110...storage room, 120...cooling evaporator, 130...control device, 140...door, 150...sensor, 160...item, 170...packaging, 200...management device, 210...processor, 211...management unit, 212...acquisition unit, 213...determination unit, 214...output unit, 215...reception unit, 216...proposal unit, 220...communication interface, 230...input / output interface, 240...memory, 250...storage, 251...warehouse data, 252...market data, 260...communication bus, 300, 300a, 300b...terminal.

Claims

1. A management device in a storage facility that stores items as inventory under high humidity and low temperature conditions, a management unit that manages the storage date and storage period of the inventory items; an acquisition unit that acquires annual price information regarding the annual market price of the item; a determination unit that determines shipping price information regarding the shipping price of the inventory item during the storage period based on the annual price information, Management device.

2. the acquisition unit acquires annual trading volume information regarding an annual market trading volume of the item; the determination unit determines the shipping price information of the inventory item during the storage period based on the annual price information and the annual transaction volume information. The management device according to claim 1 .

3. the determination unit determines the shipping price information of the inventory item so that the price fluctuation range is smaller than the price fluctuation range of the market price during the storage period. The management device according to claim 1 .

4. the determination unit determines the shipping price information of the inventory item so that the shipping price information is smaller than the maximum value or larger than the minimum value of the market price during the storage period. The management device according to claim 1 .

5. When the storage period includes a period during which the goods are not traded in the market and the market price cannot be obtained, the determination unit determines the shipping price information of the inventory item during a period when the market price is unavailable, based on the shipping price information of the inventory item during a period when the market price is available; The management device according to claim 1 .

6. The determination unit determines the shipping price information of the inventory item further based on information regarding the inventory of the storage warehouse. The management device according to claim 1 .

7. The determination unit determines the price of the item in consideration of the maturity of the inventory item according to the storage period or information on the producer of the inventory item. The management device according to claim 1 .

8. The annual price information is information excluding outliers, The management device according to claim 1 .

9. an output unit that outputs the shipping price information of the inventory item in response to a request from a consumer; The management device according to claim 1 .

10. The output unit further outputs, in addition to the shipping price information, information on past or future shipping prices outside the storage period, information indicating price stability in the shipping price information, and / or information indicating instability of the market price during the storage period. The management device according to claim 9 .

11. The output unit further outputs information about the warehouse storing the inventory items and / or a logistics cost for delivering the inventory items. The management device according to claim 9 .

12. The output unit further outputs traceability data of the inventory. The management device according to claim 9 .

13. further comprising a receiving unit that receives a transaction reservation to purchase the inventory item on a specific future date within the storage period in response to a request from a consumer; The management device according to claim 1 .

14. The system further includes a proposal unit that makes a purchase proposal to a consumer or a shipping proposal to a producer regarding the inventory. The management device according to claim 1 .

15. the proposal unit makes the purchase proposal or the outsourcing proposal based on an inventory increase rate of the inventory item, a price fluctuation of the item, and / or a utilization rate of the storage facility; The management device according to claim 14.

16. A management device in a storage facility that stores items as inventory under high humidity and low temperature conditions, a step of managing the warehousing date and storage period of the inventory; obtaining annual price information relating to an annual market price of the commodity; determining, based on the annual price information, outgoing price information relating to the outgoing price of the inventory during the storage period; How to manage orders.

17. A management device for a storage facility that stores items as inventory under high humidity and low temperature conditions, a step of managing the warehousing date and storage period of the inventory; obtaining annual price information relating to an annual market price of the commodity; determining shipping price information regarding the shipping price of the inventory item during the storage period based on the annual price information; program.

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