Commodity management system

Abstract

To improve usability of a service for providing daily necessities including consumables such as a diaper and a hip towel.SOLUTION: The problem is solved by using a JAN code originally attached to daily necessities.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a system for managing daily necessities, including consumables such as diapers and baby wipes, provided to users of facilities such as nursing homes, medical facilities, and childcare facilities. [Background technology]

[0002] Nursing care facilities, medical facilities, childcare facilities, and the like have traditionally offered services that provide consumables such as diapers and baby wipes to facility users. Providing such services inherently poses a problem in that tasks such as ordering, receiving, and inventory management of consumables, as well as tasks related to individual billing, take up time, placing a burden on facility staff's primary duties. One example of a technology for solving the above problem is known, which uses barcodes attached to diapers to identify the number of diapers provided at each facility, and then orders any shortages and automatically bills for the diapers provided (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-058759 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, the above-mentioned conventional technology requires attaching a dedicated barcode to the diaper itself, which is time-consuming. Furthermore, there is a need for technology that can be applied to everyday items other than consumables such as diapers and baby wipes (e.g., bottled beverages).

[0005] In addition, when the applicant interviewed 94 facilities, it was found that approximately 90% of the facilities were conducting inventory management, that approximately 35% of the employees found inventory management to be troublesome, that approximately 70% of the inventory management methods were handwritten, Excel (registered trademark), or a combination of these, and that only approximately 5.5% of the facilities had introduced a system.

[0006] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned problems, and aims to improve the usability of a service that provides daily necessities including consumables such as diapers and baby wipes. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] As a result of intensive research into solving the above problems, the inventors have succeeded for the first time in optimizing services by using the JAN codes originally attached to everyday items, thereby completing the present invention.

[0008] The main configuration of the present invention is as follows. [1] A daily necessities management system including a facility terminal device and a management server, The facility terminal device A reading means for reading the daily commodity identification information from the JAN code attached to the daily commodity, and a transmitting means for transmitting the household item identification information read by the reading means to a management server; The management server The facility information is input to the management server and stored in the storage means. The facility information includes at least facility identification information and daily necessities management information; a receiving means for receiving the daily commodity identification information transmitted from the transmitting means of the facility terminal device; The system includes a storage means configured to store facility information of each facility registered by the registration means, and the storage means is configured to cumulatively store the daily commodity identification information received by the receiving means as information associated with the facility identification information of each facility; a counting means for counting the number of daily necessities provided at each facility within a predetermined period from the daily necessities identification information cumulatively stored in the storage means; a determination means for determining whether the inventory quantity of daily necessities at each facility has fallen below a preset number based on the counting result by the counting means; and a shipping instruction means for automatically issuing a shipping instruction for the daily necessities based on the determination result by the determination means that the number of items has fallen below a predetermined number; The daily necessities management system. [2] The management server also a billing data creating means for creating billing data relating to billing amounts corresponding to the number of daily necessities provided at each facility within a predetermined period based on the counting result by the counting means; a bill output means for creating and outputting a bill to each facility based on the billing data created by the billing data creation means; [1] The daily necessities management system described in [1]. [3] the facility terminal device further includes an input means for inputting user identification information; the transmitting means is further configured to transmit the user identification information to the management server; The registration means is further configured to input user information of daily necessities to the management server and store the information in the storage means, and each piece of user information includes at least user identification information and daily necessities provision information; the receiving means further receives the user identification information transmitted from the transmitting means of the facility terminal device; The storage means is further configured to store user information of the daily necessities registered by the registration means, and the storage means is configured to cumulatively store the daily necessities identification information received by the receiving means as information associated with the user identification information; The counting means further counts the number of daily necessities provided to each user within a predetermined period from the daily necessities identification information cumulatively stored in the storage means; The billing data creation means further creates billing data relating to the billing amount corresponding to the number of daily necessities provided to each user within the predetermined period based on the counting result by the counting means, and The daily necessities management system further includes a facility-side computer, which has the authority to view, rewrite, and output user information of its own facility stored in the storage means of the management server, to view, rewrite, and output the counted results of the number of daily necessities provided to each user within a specified period, and to view, rewrite, and output billing data regarding the billed amount corresponding to the number of daily necessities used by each user within the specified period. [2] The daily necessities management system described in [2]. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] Specific effects relating to inventory management in facilities obtained by the present invention include the following. - Daily necessities are charged only for the amount provided. Inventory costs are reduced because items kept in stock are not charged for unless they are used. Reduce inventory management and ordering tasks The facility staff's task for inventory management and ordering of daily necessities is simply to read the JAN codes of the daily necessities. - Reduced risk of stockouts The system manages and maintains the inventory of necessary daily necessities, making it less likely that items will run out of stock. - No system installation costs The system operator will prepare the necessary equipment and provide it to the facility, allowing the facility to introduce the system without any burden. Easy to receive Since the delivery location and delivery pace of daily necessities can be specified in advance, the number of times daily necessities need to be collected can be reduced.

[0010] In addition, specific effects relating to individual claims obtained by the preferred embodiment of the present invention include the following. -Easy to record daily events By simply scanning the JAN code of the daily necessities, the number of daily necessities provided to each user is recorded. - Understand the latest usage status of users It is possible to obtain timely information such as which users received daily necessities, when, and how much. -Easy to issue billing statements Since the supply record of daily necessities to each user is managed, it is easy to issue invoices for each user. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a daily necessities management system of the present invention. Note that dashed lines in the figure indicate that data communication is performed wirelessly, and the same applies to Figs. 2 to 4. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a facility terminal device in the daily necessities management system of the present invention. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the management server in the daily necessities management system of the present invention. [Figure 4] 4 is a block diagram showing a preferred example of the configuration of the daily necessities management system of the present invention. Note that dashed lines in the figure indicate that the systems relate to the same facility. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a flowchart of the first embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0012] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0013] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a daily necessities management system of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, system 100 is configured to include one or more facility terminal devices 200 and a management server 300 connected via a network. The network may be, for example, the Internet, but may also be other types of networks such as dedicated lines. System 100 may also be a web application system or a client-server system. Note that in the example of FIG. 1, for the sake of explanation, three facility terminal devices 210, 220, and 230 are shown as facility terminal devices 200. However, the daily necessities management system of the present invention may include a number of facility terminal devices corresponding to the number of daily necessities delivery locations in each facility. Furthermore, multiple management servers may be provided depending on the number of facilities using the daily necessities management system of the present invention. These management servers may be connected to each other in parallel via a network, and an additional server may be provided to manage these servers in an integrated manner.

[0014] (Daily necessities) In this specification, the term "daily necessities" refers not only to consumables (as used herein, generally refers to products that are purchased and replaced periodically by consumers, including, for example, diapers and related auxiliary products, tissue products such as toilet paper and facial tissue, personal hygiene products, paper towels, etc.), but also broadly to encompass everyday items used in daily life, including, for example, beverages and food (bottled drinks, snacks, seasonings, etc.). The types of daily necessities the provision of which is managed by the daily necessities management system of the present invention vary from facility to facility, and may be one type or two or more types.

[0015] (facility) In this specification, the term "facility" includes nursing care facilities, medical facilities, childcare facilities, etc. Also, a facility is a facility whose facility information is registered in a management server so that the provision of daily necessities can be managed by the daily necessities management system of the present invention.

[0016] (Facility terminal equipment) 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of facility terminal device 200 according to the present invention. Facility terminal device 200 includes at least reading means 201 and transmission means 202. Facility terminal device 200 may also include input means 203.

[0017] In this specification, the term "facility terminal device" refers to one or more terminal devices that are provided to the facility by the system operator and are capable of data communication with the management server, and is preferably a computer. Specific examples of computers that are preferred as facility terminal device 200 include handheld terminals and smartphones.

[0018] The "reading means," "input means," and "transmission means" of the facility terminal device may each be configured with hardware for performing necessary physical operations such as reading, input, and transmission (data communication), and software (computer program) executed within the facility terminal device. In this case, the hardware is a device connected to the facility terminal device and may be provided integrally with the facility terminal device or may be a separate external device. The software is a portion of the computer program executed within the facility terminal device that operates as a means for accepting data sent from the hardware and / or a portion that operates as a means for sending data required by the hardware. Interfaces between the hardware and software, and interfaces between pieces of hardware, may be provided as appropriate.

[0019] (Reading means) In this specification, the term "reading means" refers to a means for reading out the household item identification information from the JAN code attached to the household item, such as a barcode reader built into a handheld terminal or a smartphone.

[0020] (Transmission means) In this specification, the "transmitting means" refers to a means for transmitting the household item identifying information read by the reading means to the management server. The transmission means may also be configured to transmit user identification information input by an input means, which will be described later, to the management server. The transmitting means may be configured to have a program portion related to data transmission executed by the facility terminal device and hardware (communication device) related to data communication with the management server. In this case, the hardware portion may be integrated with the facility terminal device or may be an external device. Depending on the communication protocol for data communication between the facility terminal device and the management server, the transmitting means may be provided with a receiving function as appropriate. Data communication between the server and the information data may be transmitted via a wireless communication line such as a wireless LAN or a wireless telephone line for mobile communication, or may be communication via the Internet.

[0021] (Input means) In this specification, "input means" refers to a means for inputting user identification information into a facility terminal device, such as a keyboard, mouse, dedicated physical buttons, touch panel, etc. The user identification information includes at least the name of the user (e.g., a resident in a nursing home, an inpatient in a medical facility, etc.), and may also include furigana and arbitrary numbers and symbols. The user identification information may be input using a keyboard or pull-down menu on the screen displayed on the display of the facility terminal device.

[0022] (Management server) 3 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a management server 300 in the daily necessities management system of the present invention. The management server 300 includes a registration means 301, a receiving means 302, a storage means 303, a counting means 304, a determination means 305, and a shipping instruction means 306.

[0023] In this specification, a "management server" refers to a computer managed by a system operator and configured to be capable of data communication with one or more facility terminal devices. The management server and facility terminal devices are connected via a transmission means and a reception means so that they can exchange information data over a network. Regarding communication technology between the management server and facility terminal devices, known technologies can be referenced. The management server may also be a cloud server, or may be, for example, a physical server installed under the management of the system operator.

[0024] In this specification, the various means of the management server, such as the "registration means" and "receiving means," may each be configured with hardware for performing necessary physical operations such as data storage and reception (data communication), and software (computer program) executed within the management server. In this case, the hardware is a device connected to the management server, and may be provided integrally with the management server or may be a separate external device. The software is the part of the computer program executed within the management server that operates as a means for accepting data sent from the hardware. Interfaces between the hardware and software, and interfaces between pieces of hardware, may be provided as appropriate.

[0025] (System operator) As used herein, a "system operator" may or may not be a manufacturer of one or more types of everyday items. The system operator also purchases daily necessities from manufacturers, stores them in a warehouse, and delivers the daily necessities to the facility upon receiving instructions from a shipping instruction means (to be described later). Therefore, the facility using the daily necessities management system of the present invention does not need to hold more inventory than necessary.

[0026] (Means of registration) In this specification, the "registration means" refers to a means configured to input facility information for each facility for which the provision of daily commodities is managed into a management server for each facility and store it in a storage means (described later). Here, the "facility information" includes at least facility identification information (including at least the name of the facility, and may also include furigana and arbitrary numbers and symbols) and daily commodity management information (for example, the type of daily commodity, purchase price and inventory quantity, delivery location and delivery pace, etc.), and may also include other remarks such as the facility's address and contact information. The registration means may also be configured to input user information of users of daily necessities for each user into the management server and store it in the storage means. Here, "user information" includes at least user identification information (including at least the user's name, and may also include furigana and arbitrary numbers and symbols) and daily necessities provision information (e.g., type of daily necessities, selling price, etc.), and may also include other remarks such as the user's age, address, contact information, floor, room number, bed location, etc. The registration means may be configured to include hardware (display device, keyboard, mouse, etc.) for the user to input information, and software that accepts the input information and stores it in the storage means.

[0027] (Means of receiving) In this specification, the term "receiving means" refers to means for receiving at least the household item identification information transmitted from the transmitting means of the facility terminal device, and may be configured to include a program portion for data reception executed by the management server and hardware (communication device) for data communication with the facility terminal device. In this case, the hardware portion may be integrated with the management server or may be an external device. Depending on the communication protocol for data communication between the facility terminal device and the management server, the receiving means may be appropriately equipped with a transmitting function. The receiving means may also receive the user identification information transmitted from the transmitting means of the facility terminal device.

[0028] (memory means) In this specification, the term "storage means" may refer to the management server's on-board memory, a hard disk, various storage devices, an external large-capacity storage device, etc. The storage means is configured to store at least facility information for each facility registered by the registration means provided in the management server. The storage means is configured to cumulatively store the daily necessities identification information received by the receiving means as information associated with the facility identification information. The daily necessities identification information for each facility may be stored over time as a past log along with date and time information, or only an integrated value indicating the total number of daily necessities supplied may be stored.

[0029] The storage means may further be configured to store user information of each user of the daily necessities registered by the registration means provided in the management server. The storage means may be configured to cumulatively store the daily commodity identifying information received by the receiving means as information associated with the user identifying information. The daily necessities identification information for each user may be stored over time as a past log along with date and time information, or only an integrated value indicating the total number of daily necessities used may be stored.

[0030] (Method of calculation) In this specification, the "counting means" refers to a means for counting the number of daily necessities provided at each facility within a predetermined period of time from the daily necessities identifying information cumulatively stored in the storage means. The counting means may also count the number of daily necessities provided to each user within a predetermined period from the daily necessities identification information cumulatively stored in the storage means.

[0031] (output means) In a preferred embodiment of the configuration of the daily necessities management system of the present invention, the management server 300 in the daily necessities management system of the present invention may further include an output means. In this specification, the "output means" refers to a means for outputting the results of the aggregation by the aggregation means. The data output by the output means may include, for example, for a facility, the name, type of daily necessities, the number of daily necessities provided per day, and the number of daily necessities provided per month, and for a user, the name, furigana, personal identification number, floor, room number, type of daily necessities, the number of daily necessities provided per day, and the number of daily necessities provided per month. etc.

[0032] The tallying means and output means may be configured by an input device and an output device connected to the management server, and a computer program portion executed on the management server.

[0033] (judgment means) In this specification, the "determination means" is a means for determining whether the inventory quantity of daily necessities calculated based on the counting result by the counting means has fallen below a preset number (inventory constant).

[0034] (Shipping instruction means) In this specification, the "shipping instruction means" is a means for automatically issuing a shipping instruction for the daily necessities to the shipping department based on the determination result by the determination means that the quantity has fallen below a preset number (stock constant). When the shipping department ships out the daily necessities in accordance with the shipping instructions, the quantity is added to the inventory.

[0035] According to the above configuration, the facility staff only need to perform the reading and inputting operations and the provision of daily necessities using the facility terminal device, and the daily necessities management system of the present invention will handle all other administrative calculations related to daily necessities, thereby significantly reducing the burden on the facility staff.

[0036] (Billing data creation means and billing output means) In a preferred embodiment of the configuration of the daily necessities management system of the present invention, the management server 300 in the daily necessities management system of the present invention may further include billing data creation means 307 and bill output means 308, as shown in Fig. 3. The billing data creation means and bill output means may be configured by an input device and an output device (which may include a printer as necessary) connected to the management server, and a computer program portion executed on the management server. The input device may be hardware for inputting facility / user information and operating instructions for the billing data creation means and bill output means, and the output device may be a display device or a printing device.

[0037] In this specification, the "billing data creation means" refers to a means for creating billing data regarding the amount of billing corresponding to the number of daily necessities provided at each facility within a specified period based on the results of the counting means. The billing data creating means may also create billing data relating to the amount of billing corresponding to the number of daily commodities provided to each user within a predetermined period based on the counting result by the counting means.

[0038] In this specification, the term "bill output means" refers to means for creating and outputting a bill to each facility based on the billing data created by the billing data creation means. The data included in the output invoice for the facility may include, for example, the name of the facility, the date, the type of daily necessities, the number of daily necessities provided, the unit price of the daily necessities, and the total amount.

[0039] According to the above configuration, an invoice can be created and output based on the billing amount corresponding to the number of daily necessities provided at each facility at a predetermined time, such as the end of the month when invoices are issued on a regular basis, thereby reducing the burden on the system operator. The billing method may be a method in which payment is charged only for the amount provided and stock is replenished free of charge (the so-called "Toyama medicine delivery method"), or a method in which stock is replenished by selling off each time and payment is charged for the replenished amount.

[0040] (facility computer) In a preferred embodiment of the configuration of the daily necessities management system of the present invention, a facility-side computer 400 may be further provided, as shown in Fig. 4. The facility-side computer is one or more computers capable of data communication with the management server, and examples thereof include desktop computers, notebook computers, and tablet computers (including mobile communication terminals such as smartphones).

[0041] In this specification, the "facility computer" has the authority to view, rewrite (add, change, or delete), and output the user information of its own facility stored in the storage means of the management server, view, rewrite (add, change, or delete), and output the aggregated results of the number of daily necessities provided to each user within a specified period, and view, rewrite (add, change, or delete), and output the billing data regarding the billed amount corresponding to the number of daily necessities provided to each user within a specified period. Access to the management server by the facility computer can be managed appropriately using existing technology such as IDs and passwords.

[0042] Information included in the invoice output for the user includes, for example, the user's name, date, room number, type of daily necessities, number of daily necessities used, unit price of the daily necessities, total amount, etc.

[0043] According to the above configuration, an invoice can be created and printed at a predetermined time, such as at the end of the month when invoices are issued on a regular basis, based on the amount billed corresponding to the number of daily necessities supplied to each user, thereby further reducing the burden on facility staff. [Example]

[0044] The present invention will be described in more detail below with reference to examples, but the present invention is not limited to the following examples.

[0045] Example 1 This embodiment aims to eliminate the hassle associated with tasks related to daily necessities, such as ordering and receiving daily necessities and inventory management. In this embodiment, the facility is a nursing care facility, the users are residents of the nursing care facility, and the facility terminal device is a handheld terminal. The flowchart is shown in Figure 5.

[0046] 1. Conduct a hearing First, we interview the nursing care facility that manages the provision of daily necessities about (1) the types of daily necessities and their stock levels, and (2) the delivery locations and delivery schedules.

[0047] 2. Register facility information in the system Facility information of the nursing care facility for which the provision of daily necessities is to be managed is registered in the management server (Step 1). The registered information is stored in the storage means.

[0048] 3. Read the product identification information from the JAN code attached to the product Before providing the daily necessities, a staff member of the care facility with a handy terminal reads the daily necessities identification information from the JAN code attached to the daily necessities (reading means) (step 2). The read daily necessities identification information is transmitted to the management server (transmission means) (step 3).

[0049] 4. Provide daily necessities Nursing home staff provide daily necessities to residents.

[0050] 5. The system performs the calculations The data received by the management server from the handy terminal is stored in the storage means (status Step 4), and then the number of daily necessities provided at the nursing care facility within a predetermined period is tallied based on the received data (Step 5).

[0051] 6. As soon as inventory decreases, the system will send out shipping instructions for daily necessities. The system issues a shipping instruction when it determines that the inventory of the daily necessities has fallen below a preset number (determination means and shipping instruction means) (steps 6 and 7). When the daily necessities are shipped, the inventory number of the daily necessities is updated (step 8).

[0052] 7. Daily necessities are delivered The daily necessities are delivered to a delivery location designated in advance in the care facility.

[0053] 8. Print the invoice from the system An invoice to the nursing care facility is created and output (invoice data creation means and invoice output means) on a preset closing date (steps 9 and 10).

[0054] Example 2 This embodiment aims to eliminate not only tasks related to daily necessities such as ordering and receiving daily necessities and inventory management, but also the hassle associated with personal billing-related tasks.In this embodiment, the facility is a nursing care facility, the users are residents of the nursing care facility, and the facility terminal device is a handheld terminal.

[0055] 1. Conduct a hearing First, we interview the nursing care facility that manages the provision of daily necessities about (1) the types of daily necessities and the stock levels, (2) the delivery locations and delivery schedules, and (3) information for creating resident billing statements (floor and room information, resident lists, selling prices of daily necessities, etc.).

[0056] 2. Register facility and resident information in the system Facility information and resident information (user information) of the nursing care facility where the use of daily necessities is managed are registered in the management server. The registered information is stored in a storage means.

[0057] 3. Enter resident identification information Before providing daily necessities, a care facility staff member holding a handheld terminal inputs resident identification information (user identification information) using a pull-down menu on the handheld terminal's display (input means). The input resident identification information is then sent to the management server (transmission means).

[0058] 4. Read the identification information of daily necessities from the JAN code attached to the daily necessities Before supplying daily necessities, a staff member at the nursing care facility with a handheld terminal reads daily necessities identification information from the JAN code attached to the daily necessities (reading means). The read daily necessities identification information is then sent to the management server (sending means). Note that either step 3 or step 4 may be executed first, but it is preferable to execute step 3 first in order to prevent resident information from being omitted.

[0059] 5. Provide daily necessities Nursing home staff provide daily necessities to residents.

[0060] 6. The system performs the calculations The data received by the management server from the handheld terminal is stored in a memory means, and then the number of daily necessities provided at the nursing facility within a specified period and the number of daily necessities provided to each resident are tallied based on the received data.

[0061] 7. As soon as inventory decreases, the system will send out shipping instructions for daily necessities. The system issues a shipping instruction when it determines that the inventory of the daily necessities has fallen below a preset number (determination means and shipping instruction means). When the daily necessities are shipped, the inventory number of the daily necessities is updated. 8. Daily necessities are delivered The daily necessities are delivered to a delivery location designated in advance in the care facility. 9. Print the invoice from the system A bill to the nursing care facility is created and output (by a billing data creation means and a bill output means) on a preset closing date. In addition, the facility's computer can create and print out bills for residents. [Industrial Applicability]

[0062] The daily necessities management system of the present invention can be expected to improve the efficiency of operations related to facility staff and to be used as an important backup for improving the quality of services provided by facilities. [Explanation of symbols]

[0063] 100 Daily Necessities Management System 200 (210, 220, 230) Facility terminal equipment 201 Reading means 202 Transmission Method 203 Input Method 300 Management Server 301 Registration Method 302 Receiving means 303 Memory means 304 Aggregation Methods 305 Judgment means 306 Shipping Instruction Means 307 Billing data creation method 308 Invoice output means 400 Facility computer

Claims

1. A daily necessities management system including a facility terminal device and a management server, The facility terminal device The reading means includes a reading unit for reading the commodity identification information from the JAN code attached to the commodity, and a transmitting means for transmitting the household item identification information read by the reading means to a management server; The management server a registration means configured to input facility information into the management server and store the facility information in the storage means, the facility information including at least facility identification information and daily necessities management information; a receiving means for receiving the daily commodity identification information transmitted from the transmitting means of the facility terminal device; The system includes a storage means configured to store facility information of each facility registered by the registration means, and the storage means is configured to cumulatively store the daily commodity identification information received by the receiving means as information associated with the facility identification information of each facility; a counting means for counting the number of daily necessities provided at each facility within a predetermined period from the daily necessities identification information cumulatively stored in the storage means; a determination means for determining whether the inventory quantity of daily necessities at each facility has fallen below a preset number based on the counting result by the counting means; and a shipping instruction means for automatically issuing a shipping instruction for the daily necessities based on the determination result by the determination means that the number of items has fallen below a predetermined number; The daily necessities management system.

2. The management server also a billing data creating means for creating billing data relating to billing amounts corresponding to the number of daily necessities provided at each facility within a predetermined period based on the counting result by the counting means; a bill output means for creating and outputting a bill to each facility based on the billing data created by the billing data creation means; The daily necessities management system according to claim 1 .

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