Commodity management system

Abstract

To present information useful for determining replacement of commodities handled in a retail store to a person in charge of the retail store.SOLUTION: The commodity replacement processing is performed. In the product replacement processing, a replacement target indicating an existing sales product having the same attribute as the attribute of the new sales product and having a sales amount per unit area in the retail store equal to or less than a replacement threshold value is specified. In the product replacement process, the store influence degree associated with the replacement of the replacement target product is calculated based on the store influence factor for the replacement target retail store. In the product replacement process, it is further determined whether to recommend replacement of the replacement target product based on the store impact, and the recommendation determination information is transmitted to the product management terminal of the retail store.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a system for managing merchandise handled in a retail store. [Background technology]

[0002] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-143950 discloses a system for managing product information. This conventional system specifies old products to be replaced with new products registered in the system. The old products to be replaced are specified by identifying products with low sales or sales volume on a weekly or monthly basis.

[0003] In addition to Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-143950, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-334379 can be cited as examples of documents showing the state of the art in the technical field related to the present disclosure. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 11-143950 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-334379 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] Replacing a product with low sales with a new product is expected to increase the total sales of the product in the entire retail store. However, for example, if a product with low sales tends to be purchased at the same time as a product with high sales, replacing the product with low sales may reduce users' willingness to purchase the product with high sales. Furthermore, if a product with low sales is purchased frequently by a specific user, it is expected that the specific user's purpose in visiting the store is to purchase this product. Therefore, replacing such a product because it has low sales may reduce the specific user's willingness to visit the store.

[0006] In this way, if product replacement is carried out based solely on the sales of individual products, the total sales of the entire retail store may stagnate. Therefore, it is desirable that product replacement decisions be made comprehensively through multifaceted consideration. However, there are limits to the multifaceted consideration that retail store personnel can give to all of the products handled in the store.

[0007] One object of the present disclosure is to provide a technology that can present information useful for deciding on replacement of products handled in a retail store to a retail store staff member. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The present disclosure relates to a system for managing products sold in a retail store, and has the following features. The system includes a storage device and a processor. The storage device stores information about existing products currently sold at the retail store and information about new products to be sold to replace the existing products. The processor performs product replacement processing based on the information stored in the storage device. The information about the existing products includes information about the attributes of the existing products, information about the sales amount of the existing products at the retail store, and information about store influence factors of the existing products at the retail store. The information about the new products includes information about the attributes of the new products. The product replacement process includes identifying a replacement target that indicates an existing product for sale that has the same attributes as the attributes of the new product for sale and whose sales amount per unit area at the retail store is equal to or less than a replacement threshold; when the replacement target is identified, calculating the store impact degree associated with the product replacement of the replacement target based on the store impact factors of the replacement target; determining whether or not to recommend the product replacement of the replacement target based on the store impact degree; and sending recommendation determination information for the product replacement of the replacement target to a product management terminal of the retail store. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to the present disclosure, a product replacement process is performed. In the product replacement process, a replacement target is identified, which indicates an existing product that has the same attributes as the new product and whose sales amount per unit area at the retail store is equal to or less than a replacement threshold. In the product replacement process, a store impact degree associated with the replacement of the product to be replaced is calculated based on the store impact factors for the retail store of the replacement target. In the product replacement process, a determination is further made based on the store impact degree as to whether or not to recommend the replacement of the product to be replaced, and this recommendation determination information is sent to the product management terminal of the retail store. Therefore, it is possible to present the recommendation determination information, which is information useful for deciding on product replacement, to the retail store staff. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a product management system according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of product replacement on a product shelf. [Figure 3] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of identifying replacement targets based on sales amounts. [Figure 4] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing particularly related to the embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. In each drawing, the same or corresponding parts are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be simplified or omitted.

[0012] 1. System configuration example Fig. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a product management system according to an embodiment. In the example shown in Fig. 1, a product management system 100 includes a management server 10 and a retail store 20 that communicates with the management server 10. The management server 10 is a computer that manages products P that are the subject of commercial transactions at the retail store 20. The management server 10 includes at least one processor 11 and at least one storage device 12.

[0013] The processor 11 executes various processes. Examples of the processor 11 include a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), and a field-programmable gate array (FPGA). Various information is stored in the storage device 12. Examples of the storage device 12 include a volatile memory, a non-volatile memory, a hard disk drive (HDD), and a solid state drive (SSD). The storage device 12 also stores various programs. The various programs may be stored in a computer-readable recording medium.

[0014] The management of product P by the management server 10 includes management of basic information (master data) of product P. The basic information of product P is managed based on product information and price information periodically sent from the supplier of product P (e.g., the manufacturer of product P), product information collected by periodically referencing websites, etc. Examples of basic information of product P include the ID of product P, the product name of product P, the supplier, purchase price, purchase date, category, size, weight, color, sales target (men, women, children, etc.), release date (sales start date), production status (production temporarily suspended, production discontinued), etc. The basic information of product P is stored in the storage device 12 as basic product information 13.

[0015] The management of the product P by the management server 10 also includes management of payment information (POS data) for the product P at the retail store 20. The management of the payment information for the product P is performed by periodically receiving this information from the product management terminal 21 of the retail store 20. The payment information for the product P is managed, for example, for each retail store 20. The payment information for the product P is also managed for each unit period (for example, week, month, quarter, etc.). Examples of the payment information for the product P include the ID of the product P, the ID of the store (retail store 20) selling the product P, the date and time of sale of the product P, the number of units of the product P sold, the selling price of the product P, and purchaser information for the product P (gender, age group, etc.). If the purchaser can be identified at the time of payment for the product P, the purchaser ID is added to the purchaser information for the product P. The payment information for the product P is stored in the storage device 12 as product payment information 14.

[0016] The management of product P by the management server 10 further includes management of handling information of product P at retail stores 20. The management of handling information of product P is performed based on information sent from product management terminals 21 of the retail stores 20. The handling information of product P is managed, for example, for each retail store 20. Examples of handling information of product P include the ID of product P, the ID of the store (retail store 20) that sells product P, attributes of product P, and the start date of handling product P at the store. The handling information of product P is stored in the storage device 12 as product handling information 15.

[0017] Here, the attributes of the product P are set by, for example, appropriately combining elements (category, sales target, etc.) that make up the basic information of the product P. The attributes of the product P are set by a person in charge of the retail store 20 operating the product management terminal 21.

[0018] The management of product P by the management server 10 also includes management of request vote information for product P displayed on the shelves of the retail store 20. The management of request vote information for product P is performed by periodically receiving this information from the product request receiving terminal 22 of the retail store 20. The request vote information for product P is managed, for example, for each retail store 20. Examples of request vote information for product P include the ID of product P, the ID of the vote receiving store (retail store 20), the number of votes for product P, and voter information for product P (gender, age group, etc.). If the voter can be identified at the time of request voting for product P, the voter ID is added to the voter information for product P. The request vote information for product P is stored in the storage device 12 as product request information 16.

[0019] Here, information on request votes for product P is collected from users (consumers) of the retail store 20. The information on request votes for product P is collected, for example, by outputting information on product P (e.g., new products, best-selling products) recommended by the retail store 20 from the product request receiving terminal 22. The request vote information for product P is generated when users select (vote) for product P displayed on the screen of the product request receiving terminal 22. In order to collect requests when customers visit the store, the product request receiving terminal 22 is installed inside the retail store 20 (e.g., adjacent to the product payment terminal or adjacent to the product shelf). The product P to be output from the product request receiving terminal 22 is set up by a person in charge of the retail store 20 operating the product request receiving terminal 22 or the product management terminal 21.

[0020] The management of product P by the management server 10 also includes management of information on store influence factors of product P with respect to the retail store 20. The management of information on store influence factors of product P is carried out, for example, through analysis of product payment information 14, product handling information 15, and product request information 16, as well as analysis of information collected by periodic reference to websites, etc. Examples of store influence factors include the sales amount of another product P (simultaneous purchase product) purchased at the retail store 20 at the same time as product P, the purchase frequency of product P by the same user at the retail store 20, the area competition rate of product P in a sales area including the retail store 20, the contribution of product P to the store attractiveness of the retail store 20, the number of request votes for product P, etc. Information on store influence factors of product P is stored in the storage device 12 as store influence factor information 17.

[0021] Here, the sales amount of another product P (simultaneously purchased product) purchased at the same time as product P is calculated based on the product payment information 14. The sales amount of another product P is calculated based on the unit area (e.g., 1 tsubo, 1 m²) of the unit period (e.g., week, month, etc.) of the other product P. 2 The purchase frequency of product P is collected by calculating the number of purchases of product P in a unit period (e.g., week, month, etc.) by the same user identified based on product payment information 14. The area competition rate of product P is collected by collecting sales information of product P in a sales area set for each retail store 20 from a website or the like, and calculating the number of stores that carry product P relative to the number of stores in this sales area.

[0022] The store attractiveness contribution of product P is a contribution to sales of retail store 20 due to the richness of the product lineup of common-attribute products to which product P belongs, such as the variety and price range of products (common-attribute products) that share attributes with those of product P. The richness of the product lineup of common-attribute products to which product P belongs is collected by calculating the total number of products P that have the same attributes as product P and the price difference between the lowest and highest prices, based on product handling information 15. The attributes of product P here are set by appropriately combining elements (such as categories) that make up the basic information of product P. The number of request votes for product P is collected as the number of request votes in a unit period (such as a week or a month) accepted through product request acceptance terminal 22 when product P is the target of request votes.

[0023] 2. Product replacement In the embodiment, the replacement of a product P handled in a retail store 20 is considered. Product replacement is carried out, for example, on a product shelf SS in the retail store 20. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the replacement of a product P carried out on a product shelf SS. FIG. 2 illustrates product shelves SS1, SS2, ..., SSX (X≧3). The product shelves SS1, SS2, ..., SSX are provided in one retail store 20. The product shelf SS1 displays products P11, P12, P13, ... with attribute CT1, the product shelf SS2 displays products P21, P22, P23, ... with attribute CT2, and the product shelf SSX displays products PY1, PY2, PY3, ... with attribute CTY (Y≦X). The attributes CT1, CT2, and CTY correspond to the attributes of product P contained in the display information of product P, and are set by appropriately combining elements that make up the basic information of product P (category, sales target, etc.).

[0024] Focusing on the product shelf SSX, the products PY1, PY2, PY3,... displayed on the product shelf SSX can be said to be "existing products for sale" currently displayed on the product shelf SSX. In Figure 2, product PYZ is also depicted outside the frame depicting products PY1, PY2, PY3,..., i.e., the frame showing the group of products currently displayed on the product shelf SSX. Product PYZ is a "new product for sale" that is scheduled to be displayed on the product shelf SSX. Product PYZ has the same attribute as products PY1, PY2, PY3,... (i.e., attribute CTY).

[0025] The replacement of product P is carried out by identifying at least one "replacement target" from among "existing sales products" that have the same attributes as the "new sales product." The "replacement target" is identified, for example, based on the production status (discontinuation of production) of product P included in the product basic information 13. Discontinued products are a typical example of a "replacement target."

[0026] The "replacement target" can also be specified by sales amount. FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining an example of specifying the "replacement target" by sales amount. In the example shown in FIG. 3, the unit area (e.g., 3.3 m², 1 tsubo) in a unit period (e.g., week, month, quarter, etc.) including the day on which the "replacement target" is specified is used. 2 ) is used as the basis, and "existing products on sale" whose sales amount is below the replacement threshold are identified as "replacement targets." The replacement threshold is set in advance as the sales amount at which replacement of product P is recommended. The basis may also be the sales amount per unit area in a unit period prior to the unit period including the day on which the "replacement target" is identified, or the average of the sales amount per unit area in multiple unit periods prior to the unit period including this day.

[0027] 3. Product replacement recommendation In the embodiment, the process for replacing the above-mentioned product P (product replacement process) is performed by the management server 10. In the product replacement, a "new product" is identified, and a "replacement target" is identified from among the "existing products" based on the attributes of this "new product." However, there may be cases where replacing the "replacement target" identified from among the "existing products" based on the sales amount with the "new product" does not contribute to an increase in the total sales amount of the entire store of the retail store 20.

[0028] For example, if the "replacement target" tends to be purchased at the same time as another frequently purchased product P (a product purchased at the same time), replacing the "replacement target" may reduce the user's desire to purchase the product purchased at the same time. Also, if the "replacement target" is purchased at a high frequency by a specific user, replacing the "replacement target" may reduce the specific user's desire to visit the store. If the "replacement target" is a product P with low area competition, replacing the "replacement target" may reduce the user's motivation to visit the store because they are aware that the "replacement target" is sold at retail store 20.

[0029] Furthermore, if the "replacement target" is part of the above-mentioned common attribute products, the replacement of the "replacement target" product may reduce the attractiveness of the retail store 20, and users who expect a wide variety of products and a wide price range may lose their motivation to visit the store. Furthermore, if the "replacement target" is the target of the above-mentioned request vote, the replacement of the "replacement target" product may prevent users who have cast a request vote from purchasing the requested product when they visit the retail store 20. This may result in a decrease in the trust of the retail store 20 of the users who have cast a request vote.

[0030] Therefore, when a "replacement target" is identified based on the sales amount, the management server 10 calculates the store impact degree associated with the product replacement of the "replacement target" based on the store impact factors of the "replacement target." The management server 10 also determines whether or not to recommend replacing the "replacement target" with a "newly sold product" based on this store impact degree. The management server 10 then generates replacement information for the product P, including recommendation determination information for this replacement, and transmits it to the product management terminal 21. Note that the replacement information includes information on the "newly sold product" and the "replacement target" in addition to the recommendation determination information.

[0031] By outputting the product P replacement information received from the management server 10 from the product management terminal 21, useful information such as recommended judgment information for replacing the "replacement target" with the "newly sold product" can be provided to the person in charge (e.g., sales manager) of the retail store 20 who makes the final decision on replacing the product P.

[0032] When it is determined to replace the "replacement target" by referring to the recommendation determination information, the person in charge at the retail store 20 replaces the product P by referring to the replacement information. When replacing the product P, the person in charge at the retail store 20, for example, operates the product management terminal 21 to order a "new sales product." The order recipient for the "new sales product" is a dealer (for example, a manufacturer) of the "new sales product." Then, when the dealer delivers the "new sales product," some or all of the "replacement target" on the product shelf SS is replaced with the "new sales product." Before and after this replacement, the handling information for the "new sales product" and the "replacement target" is updated.

[0033] 4. Example of processing by the management server 4 is a flowchart showing an example of a product replacement process particularly related to the embodiment. The routine shown in FIG. 4 is repeatedly executed by the processor 11 shown in FIG. 1 at predetermined intervals (e.g., one day, one week, one month).

[0034] 4, first, various information is acquired (step S11). The various information includes basic product information 13, product payment information 14, product handling information 15, product request information 16, and store influence factor information 17 stored in the storage device 12.

[0035] Following the processing of step S11, it is determined whether or not there is a "new product" (step S12). Whether or not there is a "new product" is determined based on, for example, the category (new product) of the product P included in the basic product information 13. In another example, it is determined whether or not the product P is a new product based on the release date of the product P included in the basic product information 13, and if there is a product P that is a new product, it is determined that there is a "new product."

[0036] Following the processing of step S12, it is determined whether or not there is a "replacement target" (step S13). As described above, the "replacement target" is identified from among the "existing sales products" that have the same attributes as the attributes of the "new sales product." The "replacement target" is identified, for example, based on the production status (end of production) of product P included in the product basic information 13. In another example, the "replacement target" is identified based on the unit area (e.g., 3.3 m², 1 tsubo, 1 m²) in a unit period (e.g., week, month, quarter, etc.) that includes the day on which the "replacement target" is identified. 2 ) is specified by the sales amount per unit of time. Another example of this is as described with reference to FIG.

[0037] If the determination result of step S13 is negative, the processing routine ends. If the determination result of step S13 is positive, the store impact degree associated with the product replacement of the "replacement target" is calculated (step S14). In the processing of step S14, specifically, the store impact degree associated with the product replacement of the "replacement target" is calculated based on the store influence factors of the "replacement target" included in the store influence factor information 17.

[0038] When the sales amount of another product P (a product purchased simultaneously) purchased at the same time as the "replacement target" is used as the store influence factor for the "replacement target," the store influence is represented by the sales amount of this product purchased simultaneously. When the purchase frequency of the "replacement target" by the same user is used as the store influence factor for the "replacement target," the store influence is represented by this purchase frequency. When the area competition rate of the "replacement target" is used as the store influence factor for the "replacement target," the store influence is represented by this area competition rate. When the store attractiveness contribution rate of the "replacement target" is used as the store influence factor for the "replacement target," the store influence is represented by this store attractiveness contribution rate. When the "replacement target" is the target of a request vote, and the number of request votes for the "replacement target" is used as the store influence factor for the "replacement target," the store influence is represented by this number of request votes.

[0039] The above-mentioned store influence degree is expressed using one type of store influence factor. However, the store influence degree may be calculated by combining two or more types of store influence factors. In this case, the store influence degree is calculated by normalizing each of the combined store influence factors.

[0040] Following the processing of step S14, it is determined whether or not to recommend replacing the "replacement target" with the "newly sold product" (step S15). In the processing of step S15, a threshold value corresponding to the store influence factor used to calculate the store influence degree in the processing of step S14 is compared with the store influence degree.

[0041] Specifically, if the store influence factor is the sales amount of another product P (product purchased simultaneously) purchased at the same time as the "replacement target," the set amount is compared with the store influence as the corresponding threshold. If the store influence factor is the purchase frequency of the "replacement target" by the same user, the set frequency is compared with the store influence as the corresponding threshold. If the store influence factor is the area competition rate of the "replacement target," the set competition rate is compared with the store influence as the corresponding threshold. If the store influence factor is the store attractiveness contribution rate of the "replacement target," the set contribution rate is compared with the store influence as the corresponding threshold. If the store influence factor is the number of request votes for the "replacement target," the set number of votes is compared with the store influence as the corresponding threshold.

[0042] If the sales amount of another product P (a product purchased simultaneously) purchased at the same time as the "replacement target" is the store influence, it is determined that replacement is recommended if the sales amount is less than a set amount. Otherwise, it is determined that replacement is not recommended. If the purchase frequency of the "replacement target" by the same user is the store influence, it is determined that replacement is recommended if the purchase frequency is less than a set frequency. Otherwise, it is determined that replacement is not recommended. If the area competition rate of the "replacement target" is the store influence, it is determined that replacement is recommended if the area competition rate is greater than a set competition rate. Otherwise, it is determined that replacement is not recommended. If the store attractiveness contribution of the "replacement target" is the store influence, it is determined that replacement is recommended if the store attractiveness contribution is less than the set contribution. Otherwise, it is determined that replacement is not recommended. If the number of request votes for the "replacement target" is the store influence, it is determined that replacement is recommended if the number of request votes is less than the set number of votes. Otherwise, it is determined that replacement is not recommended.

[0043] In the case of a store influence level that combines two or more store influence factors, the store influence level is compared with a threshold value set based on the store influence factors used to calculate the store influence level, and a determination is made as to whether or not a replacement should be recommended.

[0044] Following the processing of step S15, the processing of steps S16 and S17 is performed. The processing of step S16 is performed when the determination result of the processing of step S15 is affirmative, and the processing of step S17 is performed when the determination result of the processing of step S15 is negative. In the processing of step S16, replacement information is generated, which includes information on the "newly sold products" and the "replacement targets" and recommendation determination information for replacing the "replacement targets". On the other hand, in the processing of step S17, replacement information is generated, which includes information on the "newly sold products" and the "replacement targets" and recommendation determination information for replacing the "replacement targets". In the processing of steps S16 and S17, the generated replacement information is also transmitted. The replacement information is transmitted to the product management terminal 21 shown in FIG. 1. [Explanation of symbols]

[0045] 10...Management server, 11...Processor, 12...Storage device, 13...Basic product information, 14...Product payment information, 15...Product handling information, 16...Product request information, 17...Store influence factor information, 20...Retailer, 21...Product management terminal, 22...Product request reception terminal, CT1, CT2, CTY...Attributes, P, P11, P12, P13, P21, P22, P23, PY1, PY2, PY3...Product, SS, SS1, SS2, SSX...Product shelf

Claims

1. A system for managing merchandise handled in a retail store, a storage device storing information about existing products currently being sold at the retail store and information about new products to be sold that will replace the existing products; a processor that performs product replacement processing based on the information stored in the storage device; Equipped with the information about the existing products includes information about attributes of the existing products, information about sales amounts of the existing products at the retail store, and information about store influence factors of the existing products at the retail store; the information about the new product includes information about the attributes of the new product, The product replacement process Identifying the existing products that have the same attributes as the new products and whose sales amount per unit area at the retail store is equal to or less than a replacement threshold as replacement targets to be replaced with the new products; When the replacement target is set, calculating a store impact degree associated with the replacement of the product of the replacement target based on the store impact factor of the replacement target; determining whether to recommend replacement of the product to be replaced based on the store influence degree; transmitting recommendation determination information for the replacement target product to a product management terminal of the retail store; A merchandise management system comprising:

2. 10. The system of claim 1, The store influence factor includes a sales amount of a simultaneously purchased product indicating another existing product purchased at the retail store at the same time as the existing product; In the product replacement process, the sales amount of the simultaneously purchased products is calculated as the store influence degree, If the sales amount of the simultaneously purchased products is equal to or greater than a set amount, it is determined that the replacement of the products to be replaced is not to be performed. A merchandise management system characterized by:

3. 3. The system according to claim 1 or 2, The store influence factor includes a purchase frequency of the existing product by the same user of the retail store; In the product replacement process, a purchase frequency of the replacement target by the same user at the retail store is calculated as the store influence degree, If the purchase frequency of the replacement target is equal to or greater than a set frequency, it is determined that the replacement target product will not be replaced. A merchandise management system characterized by:

4. 3. The system according to claim 1 or 2, The store influence factors include an area competition rate of the existing product in a sales area including the retail store; In the product replacement process, the area competition rate of the replacement target is calculated as the store influence degree, If the area competition rate of the replacement target is equal to or lower than a set competition rate, it is determined that the replacement of the replacement target product will not be performed. A merchandise management system characterized by:

5. 3. The system according to claim 1 or 2, The store influence factor includes a degree of contribution of the existing product to the retail store's store attractiveness, In the product replacement process, the store attractiveness contribution degree of the replacement target is calculated as the store influence degree, If the store attractiveness contribution degree of the replacement target is equal to or greater than a set contribution degree, it is determined that the replacement target product will not be replaced. A merchandise management system characterized by:

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