Information processing device, rental management program, and rental management method

Abstract

To provide a rental management program for facilitating securement and management of inventory for rent, and a rental management method.SOLUTION: In a rental management system comprising a plurality of user terminals, a rental management server, and an EC management server which communicate with each other over a network, the rental management server 1 includes an inventory management unit 111, a reception processing unit 112, and a rental processing unit 113. The inventory management unit 111 acquires external inventory information which indicates inventory of an article managed by the EC management server, and updates rental candidate information of an article to be rented based on the external inventory information. The reception processing unit receives application information indicating an application for renting an article from a user. The rental processing unit sets, based on the application information received by the reception processing unit, a rental article for rent from the inventory of the article indicated by the rental candidate information, and transmits rental setting information indicating that the rental article has been set, to the EC management server.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical field]

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

[0002] Conventionally, there has been known a technique for managing rental items by an information processing device such as a computer. Patent Document 1 discloses this type of technique.

[0003] Patent Document 1 describes a rental management server configured to manage a first record associating at least an investor ID, a material ID, and a contract period after a rental company borrows materials from an investor. The sales management server is equipped with a storage unit that manages a second record associating at least the material ID of the material to be lent to the sub-rental destination, the investor ID of the investor who owns the material, the sub-rental destination ID of the sub-rental destination, and the rental period after the material is returned from the sub-rental destination, and deletes the second record related to the returned material from the storage unit. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2020-173863 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] When an EC (electronic commerce) business operates a rental business, it becomes necessary to secure rental inventory in addition to the inventory of products for sale, and the inventory for sale and the rental inventory must be managed. Conventional technology has room for improvement in terms of securing and managing rental inventory.

[0006] An object of the present invention is to provide a rental management program and a rental management method that can facilitate securing and managing rental inventory. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The present invention relates to an information processing device that includes an inventory management unit that acquires external inventory information indicating an inventory of items managed by another management device, and updates rental candidate information of items that are candidates for rental based on the external inventory information, a reception processing unit that accepts application information indicating an application for renting an item from a user, and a rental processing unit that sets rental items to be rented from the inventory of items indicated by the rental candidate information based on the application information accepted by the reception processing unit, and transmits rental setting information to the management device indicating that the rental items have been set. Effect of the Invention

[0008] According to the rental management program and rental management method of the present invention, it is possible to easily secure and manage rental inventory. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic diagram showing the overall configuration of a rental management system according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a rental site according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 3] 1 is a schematic diagram showing an EC site according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] 1 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of an information processing device according to an embodiment of the present invention and a functional configuration for executing each process. [Diagram 5] 11 is a flowchart illustrating a rental process between an EC site and a rental site according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6]1 is a schematic diagram illustrating data linkage between an EC site and a rental site at the start of rental processing in an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a reservation process in a rental process between an EC site and a rental site in an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 8] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a shipping process between an EC site and a rental site in an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 9] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a return process between an EC site and a rental site according to an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0011] [Overall configuration of rental management system] Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of a rental management system S according to this embodiment. The rental management system S shown in Fig. 1 is a system for managing information relating to rental items.

[0012] The rental management system S of this embodiment includes a rental management server 1 as an information processing device, and an EC (Electric Commerce) management server 2 as another management device. In this embodiment, the rental management server 1 and the EC management server 2 are operated by different operating companies. However, the rental management server 1 and the EC management server 2 may be operated by the same operating company.

[0013] The rental management system S provides users with Web services by having n (n is any integer value equal to or greater than 1) user terminals 3 as clients, a rental management server 1, and an EC management server 2 communicate with each other via a network N. The network N is realized by, for example, a network such as a LAN (Local Area Network), the Internet, a mobile phone network, or a combination of these.

[0014] The rental management server 1 is installed, for example, by a rental business that operates the rental management system S. The rental management server 1 is realized, for example, by a computer having a server function. The rental management server 1 creates a rental site, which is a website as shown in FIG.

[0015] FIG. 2 is an example of a display screen of the rental site according to this embodiment. The display screen of the rental site displays, for example, product images and product descriptions of items to be rented, rental fee information, a calendar showing the dates when the item can be rented, and an "Add to Cart" button 5 for making a rental reservation. On the calendar, a "circle" is displayed in a column immediately below the date when the item can be rented. A user selects a date on the calendar where a "circle" is displayed and then presses button 5. After this, a user of the rental site rents an object displayed on the rental site by going through a prescribed procedure. Furthermore, on the rental site according to this embodiment, the items to be rented can be purchased as second-hand goods.

[0016] As shown in FIG. 1, the rental management server 1 can communicate with an affiliated warehouse terminal 4 as a rental inventory management device via a network N. The affiliated warehouse terminal 4 is used to manage an affiliated warehouse, which is a warehouse of a warehouse company with which the rental business is affiliated. The rental management server 1 can send and receive rental-related information to and from the affiliated warehouse terminal 4. The affiliated warehouse terminal 4 may be a computer installed in the affiliated warehouse, a computer installed in an office located different from the affiliated warehouse, or a portable smartphone, tablet, or notebook computer that can be carried by the person in charge.

[0017] The EC management server 2 is installed, for example, by an EC business operator that conducts electronic commerce. The EC management server 2 is realized, for example, by a computer having a server function. The EC management server 2 creates an EC site, which is a website as shown in FIG.

[0018] 3 is an example of a display screen of the EC site according to this embodiment. The display screen of the EC site displays, for example, an input field 6 for the product image, product name, model number, price, and number of items to be purchased, an "Add to Cart" button 7 for reserving a purchase, and a "Rent" rental button 8, which will be described later. A user can purchase an item by inputting the number of items to be purchased in the input field 6 and pressing the button 7 to go through a predetermined procedure. The rental button 8 will be described later.

[0019] The user terminal 3 is a computer owned by a user. The user terminal 3 is realized by a general electronic device having an information processing function, such as a smartphone or a personal computer.

[0020] In this embodiment, a user can access an EC site established on the EC management server 2 or a rental site established on the rental management server 1 via a user terminal 3, and make an application to rent or purchase a desired item.

[0021] In the figure, user terminal 3-1, user terminal 3-2, and user terminal 3-n are illustrated as n user terminals 3. When describing these n user terminals 3 without distinguishing between them, some of the reference numerals will be omitted and they will simply be referred to as "user terminals 3."

[0022] [Hardware configuration of rental management server] Next, the hardware configuration and functional configuration of this embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 4. Here, Fig. 4 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration and functional configuration of the rental management server 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[0023] As shown in Fig. 4, the rental management server 1 comprises a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 11, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 12, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 13, a communication unit 14, a storage unit 15, an operation unit 16, and a display unit 17. The rental management server 1 further comprises a bus 18 that connects these respective units. These respective units are connected via the bus 18 so as to be able to communicate with each other.

[0024] The CPU 11 executes various processes based on programs recorded in the ROM 12 or programs loaded from the storage unit 15 to the RAM 13. In addition to the programs, the RAM 13 also stores data and the like necessary for the CPU 11 to execute various processes as appropriate.

[0025] The communication unit 14 realizes communication with other devices. The other devices are, for example, the EC management server 2, the user terminal 3, the affiliated warehouse terminal 4, etc. This communication is performed via the network N as described above. This communication may be performed via a relay device, or may be performed directly between the devices without the relay device.

[0026] The storage unit 15 is configured with a semiconductor memory such as a dynamic random access memory (DRAM), and stores various data.

[0027] The operation unit 16 is composed of various buttons and devices such as an externally connected keyboard and mouse, and inputs various information in response to user instructions.

[0028] The display unit 17 is configured with a display and outputs an image. The display unit 17 may be integrated with the operation unit 16 using a touch panel or the like.

[0029] The above-mentioned hardware configuration is merely an example, and is not limited thereto. For example, the rental management server 1 may be equipped with a speaker that outputs music, sound effects, and voice. Furthermore, the rental management server 1 may be equipped with an interface to which a removable medium such as a semiconductor memory can be attached, and various data may be read from the removable medium via this interface.

[0030] [Functional configuration of rental management server] Next, the functional configuration of the rental management server 1 will be described with reference to Fig. 4. Each functional configuration described below is a functional configuration for executing rental processing among the functional configurations of the rental management server 1. Here, the rental processing is a series of processes for managing commercial transactions related to goods based on a user's request.

[0031] When each of these processes is executed, an inventory management unit 111, a reception processing unit 112, and a rental processing unit 113 function in the CPU 11, as shown in Fig. 4. In addition to the processes mentioned below, these functional blocks also perform arithmetic operations required to execute each of these processes and transmit and receive information between the functional blocks as necessary.

[0032] The functional block is realized, for example, by an API (Application Programming Interface) set in the rental site. In this embodiment, the EC site is registered in advance in the rental site's API to exchange data such as IDs. However, the functional block is not limited to a configuration realized by an API. For example, the rental site and the EC site may exchange data such as IDs through the exchange of data in a CSV (Comma Separated Values) file format.

[0033] In addition, a management information storage unit 151 is set in one area of ​​the storage unit 15. The management information storage unit 151 stores management information for managing items. Details of this management information will be described later when explaining the rental processing unit 113.

[0034] The inventory management unit 111 executes a process of acquiring external inventory information indicating the inventory of items managed by the EC management server 2, and a process of updating rental candidate information, which is information on rental candidate items, based on the external inventory information.

[0035] The process of acquiring external inventory information will be described. External inventory information is information about products stored in the warehouse of an EC business operator, and includes information about products sold on an EC site and information about the inventory. Information about products is set for each type of product, and includes product IDs, product names, and inventory quantities. Note that the information about products is not limited to the information described above.

[0036] Furthermore, information regarding product inventory is set for each stock item. The information regarding product inventory includes, for example, an inventory ID assigned to identify each stock item. However, the information regarding inventory is not limited to the above information, and some of the information may be omitted. On the EC site, commercial transactions are carried out using this external inventory information.

[0037] The process of updating the rental candidate information will be described. The inventory management unit 111 updates the rental candidate information, which is information about rental candidate items, based on external inventory information. The rental candidate information is, for example, information about the rental candidate and the inventory. The information about the rental candidate is set for each type of rental candidate, and includes product ID, product name, inventory quantity, etc. Note that the information about the rental candidate is not limited to the above information.

[0038] Furthermore, information regarding the inventory of the rental candidates is set for each inventory item. The information regarding the rental candidates includes, for example, an inventory ID assigned to identify each inventory item. Specifically, in the rental management server 1 according to this embodiment, the inventory management unit 111 sets an inventory ID as identification information for each item in the rental candidate information.

[0039] The reception processing unit 112 acquires application information indicating an application for rental of an item from the user terminal 3 used by the user. The application information includes a designation of the item to be rented, a designation of the rental period (i.e., the rental date and the return date), the user's name, information regarding the payment of the user's usage fee (e.g., information regarding the user's payment method such as a credit card, an electronic payment application, or Web money), an address of the destination of the item (e.g., the user's home), and the like.

[0040] The name, address, payment information, and other information contained in the application information may be registered in advance as member information, eliminating the need to send and receive such information each time.

[0041] When the reception processing unit 112 acquires application information from the user terminal 3 of the user, the rental processing unit 113 sets a rental item to be rented from among rental candidate items based on the application information. A rental item refers to an item to be rented to a user.

[0042] When a rental candidate item is set as a rental item, the inventory management unit 111 moves the inventory ID and other identification information of the rental candidate item from the rental candidate information to the rental target information. The inventory ID entered in the rental target information is managed separately from the inventory ID of the rental candidate item. In this embodiment, an item moved to the rental target information is treated as an item for rental. Note that in this embodiment, an item that has been rented once is treated as an item for rental, but it may also be treated as an item for second-hand sale.

[0043] Furthermore, the rental processing unit 113 sends rental setting information indicating that the rental item has been set to the EC management server 2. The rental setting information includes, for example, information such as the product ID and inventory ID of the EC site corresponding to the set rental item, the shipping address of the rental applicant, and the rental start date. Note that the rental setting information is not limited to the information described above. Based on the rental setting information, the EC business operator sends the item for sale corresponding to the application to the address corresponding to the application at the time corresponding to the application. In other words, the EC business operator sends the product inventory held by the EC business operator to the user as the initial rental inventory.

[0044] The carrier that sends the item may be, for example, a carrier that handles general home delivery services or the like, or a carrier that is affiliated with the rental company. In addition, when a user requests to return the item that was sent to them, a return slip is created. The return slip contains information such as the pickup date (return date), the address of the pickup destination, the item to be picked up, and the address of a warehouse or the like managed by the rental company. The carrier travels to the address of the user who rented the item on the return date in accordance with the return slip. In addition, the carrier collects the item and transports it to a warehouse or the like managed by the rental company in accordance with the return slip.

[0045] As described above, items returned from rental have their identification information included in the rental item information, and are managed as rental items. In other words, the returned items are stored as rental item inventory at the affiliated warehouse. Therefore, when the inventory management unit 111 accepts a rental of an item including rental item information, the rental processing unit 113 makes an order request to the affiliated warehouse terminal 4 corresponding to the affiliated warehouse that stores the rental item inventory. However, this does not apply when a user applies to rent a new item.

[0046] In addition, in this embodiment, the storage location of the inventory of rental items is an affiliated warehouse of an affiliated warehouse company, but this is not limited to this. For example, the storage location of the inventory of rental items may be a company's own warehouse. In addition, in the rental management system S according to this embodiment, the rental item can be purchased by submitting a purchase request on the rental site before the rental deadline.

[0047] That is, when the inventory management unit 111 receives a rental of a rental candidate item while the rental item is stored as inventory in the affiliated warehouse, the rental processing unit 113 may make an order request (send rental setting information) to the EC management server 2. Also, when there is no rental inventory due to rental, the rental management server 1 may select a rental candidate from the product inventory on the EC management server 2.

[0048] In this way, in the initial stage of cooperation between the EC management server 2 and the rental management server 1, rental candidates are selected from the product inventory on the EC management server 2. On the other hand, from the second time onwards, rental candidates are selected from the rental inventory on the rental management server 1, since items that have been rented once are kept as rental inventory. In this embodiment, the user can rent the items selected in this way from the comfort of their own home.

[0049] Furthermore, the rental processing unit 113 updates the management information stored in the management information storage unit 151 based on the external inventory information acquired by the inventory management unit 111 and the contents of each application acquired by the reception processing unit 112. This management information includes a rental slip, which is data having information such as an inventory status and a rental status indicating the inventory situation of each item in the rental management server 1. The rental slip is not limited to electronic data and may be issued on paper.

[0050] The inventory status information in the rental management server 1 includes inventory status related to rental candidate information and inventory status related to rental target information. Rental slips are generated for each rental reservation when a rental reservation is made. Rental slips are generated to share information about the rental situation between the operating company and the user.

[0051] The inventory status of the rental management server 1 may be set to, for example, "valid," "reserved," "rented," "moved," "invalid," or "sold."

[0052] "Valid" indicates that the inventory data is valid. Valid inventory data indicates that the inventory data is available for selection when a user makes a rental reservation. An example of a situation in which inventory data is "valid" is when the preparation for rental of an item is complete.

[0053] "Reserved" indicates that a rental reservation has been made for the item indicated by the inventory data. When a user makes a rental reservation, inventory data with an inventory status of "Reserved" cannot be selected. Only the user who has reserved an item has the right to rent the item, and other users do not have the right to rent or purchase the item.

[0054] "Rented" indicates that the item indicated by the inventory data is currently rented to a user. When other users make a rental reservation, they cannot select inventory data with an inventory status of "Rented." When an item is in the "Rented" state, only the user who is currently renting the item has the right to use the item, and other users do not have the right to rent or purchase the item.

[0055] "Moved" indicates that the identification information of the rental candidate item indicated in the inventory data has been moved from the rental candidate information to the rental target information. In other words, when a rental item is returned by a user, the rental processing unit 113 moves the identification information of the returned rental candidate item to the rental target information and changes the inventory status to "moved."

[0056] "Invalid" indicates that the inventory data is invalid. The "invalid" inventory status is set when the item indicated by the inventory data is being prepared for the next rental, etc. In this case, too, when a user makes a reservation, the inventory data with the "invalid" inventory status cannot be selected.

[0057] "Sold" indicates that the item indicated by the inventory data of the rental management server 1 has been sold on an EC site or rental site. For example, the inventory status of inventory data indicating an item sold on an EC site or rental site is changed to "Sold." In this case, too, when a user makes a rental reservation, the user cannot select inventory data with an inventory status of "Sold."

[0058] Based on the above-described inventory status, the rental processing unit 113 of the rental management server 1 performs rental processing. The inventory status of the rental management server 1 is not limited to these.

[0059] The rental status on the rental slip may be, for example, "reserved," "rented," "returning," "return completed," "cancelled," or "purchased."

[0060] For example, "Reservation in progress" indicates that the current rental status is from the start of reservation to the time of shipping. "Rented" indicates that the current rental status is from the time of shipping to the rental due date. "Returning" indicates that the current rental status is from the start of return to the completion of return. "Cancelled" indicates that the current rental status is from the time cancellation occurs to the time the next rental is ready. "Purchased" indicates that the current rental status is that the item being rented has been purchased by the user.

[0061] However, the rental status information is not limited to these. In this embodiment, this information is displayed on the display screen of the user terminal 3 at the EC site or rental site.

[0062] When the rental status is "reserved," "rented," or "returned," the item is owned by the e-commerce business and the rental business has been entrusted with managing the item.

[0063] In the management information, in addition to the rental status information, information on the owner or user of each item, and commercial transaction information such as the contents of management requests, the contents of applications to borrow the item, and the contents of applications to purchase the item are linked to each item. In addition, for example, image information showing the appearance of the item may be further linked.

[0064] Similarly to the inventory status of the rental management server 1, management information including the inventory status is also stored in the storage unit of the EC management server 2. The inventory status of the EC management server 2 is set to, for example, statuses such as "valid", "shipped", and "invalid".

[0065] "Valid" indicates that the inventory data is valid. Valid inventory data indicates that the inventory data is available for selection when a user purchases a product. An example of a situation in which inventory data is "valid" is when the goods to be sold have arrived and are ready for sale.

[0066] "Shipping" indicates a state in which the inventory data has been decided to be sold or has been decided to be a rental item. In this case, when a user purchases a product, the inventory data with the inventory status of "Shipping" cannot be selected.

[0067] "Invalid" indicates that the inventory data is invalid. The "invalid" inventory status is set when the item indicated by the inventory data is in the process of being delivered, etc. In this case, too, when a user makes a reservation, the inventory data with the "invalid" inventory status cannot be selected.

[0068] The EC managing server 2 performs rental processing based on the inventory status explained above. However, the inventory status of the EC managing server 2 is not limited to these.

[0069] In this embodiment, a predetermined code, which is a program, is incorporated into the EC site constructed on the EC management server 2. With the predetermined code incorporated, the EC management server 2 displays a rental button 8 shown in FIG. 3 on the display screen of the EC site. When the user presses the rental button 8 on the display screen, the user terminal 3 switches the access destination from the EC site to the rental site. Thus, when the user presses the rental button 8, the user terminal 3 switches the access destination from the EC site to the rental site. Furthermore, at the rental site to which the access has been switched, the user terminal 3 can input a rental application to the rental management server 1 by user operation.

[0070] That is, in this embodiment, the application information is information input at the rental site and transferred by operating the rental button 8 incorporated in the EC site displayed by the EC management server 2. The rental management server 1 according to this embodiment starts the rental process described below immediately after incorporating the code.

[0071] <Rental Processing> Next, the operation of the rental process executed by the rental management system S will be described with reference to Figs. 5 to 9. Fig. 5 is a flowchart illustrating the rental process according to an embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating data linkage between the EC site and the rental site at the start of the rental process according to an embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating reservation processing in the rental process between the EC site and the rental site according to an embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 8 is a schematic diagram illustrating shipping processing between the EC site and the rental site according to an embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 9 is a schematic diagram illustrating return processing between the EC site and the rental site according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0072] First, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 5, the inventory management unit 111 of the rental management server 1 acquires external inventory information of the EC site via the communication unit 14, and updates the rental candidate information of the rental site based on the acquired external inventory information of the EC site (step S10). That is, the product IDs of the EC site and the rental site are linked to share the inventory quantity. However, in the rental management system S according to this embodiment, the inventory quantity that can be provided as rental among the inventory quantity shared in the rental candidate information can be arbitrarily determined. For example, if the EC site has five inventory items and the upper limit of rental items is to be two, the inventory status of the rental candidate information can be set so that only up to two items are "valid". As a result, in the rental management system S according to this embodiment, it is possible to prevent all five inventory items on the EC site from being used for rental, and to suppress a situation in which sales are not possible due to a shortage of inventory.

[0073] As shown in Fig. 6, the EC site has information about products, such as product IDs, product names, and stock quantities, and information about product inventory, such as inventory IDs, inventory names, and inventory statuses. The inventory status of the top inventory data among the inventory data is "valid," indicating that the item indicated by the top inventory data is available for purchase or rental. In the following explanation, for the sake of convenience, the number of items in inventory at the start of the rental process is assumed to be four.

[0074] Like the EC site, the rental site also has rental candidate information including information about products such as product ID, product name, and stock quantity, and information about product inventory such as inventory ID, inventory name, and inventory status. The inventory status of the top inventory data among the inventory data is "valid," indicating that the item indicated by the top inventory data is available for rental. In step S10, the inventory management unit 111 updates the inventory quantity of the rental site's products to four, matching the inventory quantity of the EC site's products.

[0075] Next, the user terminal 3 accesses the EC management server 2 via the network N through a user operation, as shown in Fig. 1. As a result, the user terminal 3 accesses the EC management server 2 and displays on the display screen the EC site constructed on the EC management server 2. On the EC site, when a display screen of rental products is displayed as shown in Fig. 3, a rental button 8 for transitioning to the rental site is displayed on the product display screen.

[0076] When the user presses the rental button 8, the user terminal 3 switches its access destination from the EC management server 2 to the rental management server 1. That is, the user terminal 3 displays a rental site constructed in the rental management server 1 on the display screen. This allows the user to apply for rental by performing operations within the rental site displayed on the display screen of the user terminal 3. When a rental item is selected from the items available for rental by the user's operation, the user terminal 3 transmits rental application information to the rental management server 1.

[0077] In the rental management server 1, the reception processing unit 112 receives the transmitted application information as shown in Fig. 5 (step S11). Next, the rental processing unit 113 sets a rental item to be rented from the inventory of items indicated by the rental candidate information based on the rental application information, and transmits rental setting information indicating that the rental item has been set to the EC management server 2 (step S12).

[0078] At this time, the rental processing unit 113 generates a rental slip as shown in Fig. 7. The rental status of the rental slip at this time is "reserved". Product A is also listed on the rental slip, indicating that product A has been reserved. The rental slip shows the name of the item to be rented and a rental status indicating the rental status. Note that the name of the item to be rented may include the names of multiple items when multiple items are rented.

[0079] In addition, the rental processing unit 113 changes the inventory status stored in the management information storage unit 151 to "reserved" when the rental slip is generated. This prevents other users from reserving the rental item set as a rental item.

[0080] Furthermore, the rental processing unit 113 transmits reservation information as rental setting information to the EC site via the communication unit 14 at the same time as generating the rental slip and changing the inventory status. When the EC management server 2 receives the reservation information, it updates the external inventory information based on the reservation information. That is, the EC management server 2 changes the inventory status of the product set as a rental item to "shipped." This prevents other users from purchasing the item set as a rental item. Furthermore, the inventory quantity of the item on the EC site is reduced by one, from 4 to 3, as the product is treated as having been shipped.

[0081] Next, the rental item is sent to the user by the EC business operator based on the received reservation information. At this time, the rental processing unit 113 accesses the management information storage unit 151 as shown in Fig. 8 and changes the rental status on the rental slip to "rented". In response to this, the rental processing unit 113 also changes the inventory status in the inventory data of the rental management server 1 to "rented", so that other users cannot make reservations for rental of the rental item.

[0082] The rental item is then returned from the user to the rental business. Specifically, the rental item is stored in an affiliated warehouse. The storage location for the inventory of rental items is the affiliated warehouse of the affiliated warehouse company, but as described above, it is not limited to this and may be the company's own warehouse. At this time, when the rental processing unit 113 acquires information regarding the return from the affiliated warehouse terminal 4 or the like, it changes the rental status on the rental slip to "return completed" as shown in FIG. 9. In addition, the rental processing unit 113 moves information such as the ID of the returned rental item due to the change in rental status from the rental candidate information to the rental target information.

[0083] At this time, the rental processing unit 113 updates the product ID information, etc. of the rental target information based on the rental candidate information, and changes the inventory data of the rental target information to "valid." This allows the user to make a rental reservation for the item that has become a rental target. In addition, as shown in FIG. 9, the rental processing unit 113 accesses the management information storage unit 151 and changes the inventory status of the rental candidate information to "moved," so that the item will not be rented out as a new item.

[0084] Also, the inventory quantity of the rental candidate information on the rental site is reduced by one, changing from four to three, as one of the rental candidates becomes a rental item. On the other hand, as one rental candidate is changed to a rental item, the inventory quantity of the rental target information is increased by one. In other words, the rental management system S of this embodiment rents to the user the inventory of the EC site as the initial inventory of the rental site for the first rental, and uses the returned product for rental from the second rental onwards.

[0085] As described above, in the rental management system S of this embodiment, inventory information of products on the EC site is linked to inventory information of products on the rental site, and the inventory on the EC site and the initial inventory on the rental site are made common, making it easier to secure and manage rental inventory.

[0086] [Non-limiting aspects of the present embodiment] Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, this embodiment is merely an example and does not limit the technical scope of the present invention. The present invention can take various other embodiments, and further, various modifications such as omissions and substitutions can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. For example, modifications such as those shown below can be made. These embodiments and their modifications are included in the scope and gist of the invention described in this specification, etc., and are included in the scope of the invention described in the claims and their equivalents.

[0087] <Other Modifications> In the present embodiment, the rental items are managed in stock at a warehouse owned by a warehouse company that is affiliated with the rental site operator, but this is not limited to the above. For example, the rental items may be managed in stock at a warehouse owned by the EC operator.

[0088] In this case, when the reception processing unit 112 receives application information for an item in the inventory of the rental target information, the rental processing unit 113 sets a rental item from the items in the inventory of the rental target information. As a result, in the rental management system S according to this modification, the EC business operator can manage the inventory of items for sale and items for rental, making management easier.

[0089] In addition, in the rental management system S of this embodiment, a mechanism is provided that allows a user to purchase an item that has been rented by making a purchase request before the rental deadline, but it is not necessary to have a mechanism for purchasing an item that is being rented.

[0090] In the rental management system S according to the present embodiment, the items for sale are stored in the EC business's own warehouse, and the items for rental are stored in an affiliated warehouse of a warehouse company affiliated with the rental business, but this is not limited to the above. For example, the items for sale may be stored in an affiliated warehouse of a warehouse company affiliated with the EC business, and the items for rental may be stored in a warehouse owned by the rental business.

[0091] In addition, in the rental management system S according to the present embodiment, the EC site embeds the code of the forwarding button, but this is not limited to this. For example, the program of the EC site may be modified to display a link destination to the rental site.

[0092] The above-mentioned series of processes can be executed by hardware or software. In other words, the functional configuration shown in FIG. 4 is merely an example and is not particularly limited. In other words, it is sufficient that the rental management server 1, the EC management server 2, and the user terminal 3 are provided with a function capable of executing the above-mentioned series of processes as a whole, and the type of functional block used to realize this function is not particularly limited to the example of FIG. 4. In addition, for example, the rental management server 1 may be realized by a single server device, but the rental management server 1 may also be realized by multiple server devices working together, such as a so-called cloud server. In addition, one functional block may be configured by a single piece of hardware, a single piece of software, or a combination of them.

[0093] The functional configuration in this embodiment is realized by a processor that executes arithmetic processing, and processors that can be used in this embodiment include those that are composed of various types of processing devices alone, such as single processors, multiprocessors, and multicore processors, as well as those that combine these various types of processing devices with processing circuits such as ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuits) and FPGAs (Field-Programmable Gate Arrays).

[0094] When a series of processes is executed by software, the programs constituting the software are installed into a computer or the like from a network or a recording medium. The computer may be a computer incorporated in dedicated hardware. The computer may also be a computer capable of executing various functions by installing various programs, such as a general-purpose personal computer.

[0095] The recording medium including such a program is not only constituted by a removable medium distributed separately from the device main body in order to provide the program to the user, but also constituted by a recording medium provided to the user in a state in which the program is pre-installed in the device main body. The removable medium is, for example, a magnetic disk (including a floppy disk), an optical disk, or a magneto-optical disk. The optical disk is, for example, a CD-ROM (Compact Disk-Read Only Memory), a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk), a Blu-ray (registered trademark) Disc, etc. The magneto-optical disk is, for example, an MD (Mini-Disk), etc. Also, the recording medium provided to the user in a state in which the program is pre-installed in the device main body is, for example, a semiconductor memory included in the ROM 12 and the storage unit 15 in FIG. 4 in which the program is recorded.

[0096] In this specification, the steps described in the program recorded on the recording medium include not only processes performed in chronological order, but also processes that are not necessarily performed in chronological order but are performed in parallel or individually. Furthermore, the steps performed by the program recorded on the recording medium may be performed in any order without departing from the spirit of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0097] 1 Rental management server (information processing device) 2 EC management server (management device) 111 Inventory Management Department 112 Reception department 113 Rental Processing Department

Claims

1. an inventory management unit that acquires external inventory information indicating an inventory of an item managed by another management device, and updates rental candidate information of an item that is a rental candidate based on the external inventory information; a reception processing unit that receives application information indicating an application for rental of an item from a user; a rental processing unit that sets a rental item to be rented from an inventory of items indicated by the rental candidate information based on the application information received by the reception processing unit, and transmits rental setting information indicating that the rental item has been set to the management device; An information processing device comprising:

2. The inventory management unit sets identification information for each of the items in the rental candidate information, 2 . The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the rental processing unit executes a process of transferring the identification information of the item set for the rental item from the rental candidate information to rental target information indicating an inventory of items that have already been rented.

3. 3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein when the reception processing unit receives the application information for an item in stock of the rental object information, the rental processing unit transmits the rental setting information to a rental inventory management device different from the management device.

4. An information processing device as described in claim 2, wherein when the reception processing unit receives the application information for an item in the inventory of the rental item information, the rental processing unit transmits to the management device the rental setting information indicating that a rental item has been set as the item in the inventory of the rental item information.

5. 5. An information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the rental setting information includes information on a shipping address of the rental applicant.

6. 6. An information processing device according to claim 1, wherein the application information is information input at a rental site to which the application information is transferred by operating a rental button incorporated in a sales website displayed by a sales management device that sells the item.

7. On the computer, an inventory management function for acquiring external inventory information indicating an inventory of an item managed by another management device, and updating rental candidate information of an item that is a rental candidate based on the external inventory information; A reception processing function for receiving application information indicating an application for rental of an item from a user; a rental processing function for setting a rental item to be rented from an inventory of items indicated by the rental candidate information based on the application information received by the reception processing function, and transmitting rental setting information indicating that the rental item has been set to the management device; A rental management program that executes the following:

8. A rental management method executed by a computer, comprising: an inventory management step of acquiring external inventory information indicating an inventory of an item managed by another management device, and updating rental candidate information of an item that is a rental candidate based on the external inventory information; A receiving step of receiving application information indicating an application for rental of an item from a user; a rental processing step of setting a rental item to be rented from an inventory of items indicated by the rental candidate information based on the application information received in the receiving step, and transmitting rental setting information indicating that the rental item has been set to the management device; Rental management methods including.

9. The rental management method according to claim 8, further comprising an external inventory information processing step of setting the rental items to be shipped to the user from the external inventory information based on the rental setting information transmitted in the rental processing step, and updating the external inventory information.

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