Product delivery method, product delivery system and product delivery server

Abstract

To provide a product delivery method that facilitates transactions on a CtoC platform by reducing burden of securing inventory on a seller without significantly changing a warehouse operation.SOLUTION: In a product delivery method according to the present invention, a photo of an exhibited product captured by a seller terminal is registered in a delivery management server. Collection is performed by a delivery business operator who has received a collection request. The photo of the exhibited product is captured in a warehouse where the collected exhibited product has been arrived and is registered in the delivery management server. Association between the photo registered by the seller terminal and the photo registered in the warehouse is accepted from the seller terminal. When accepting a purchase request for the exhibited product that is enabled to receive the purchase request for the exhibited product, shipment is requested to the warehouse to deliver the exhibited product to a delivery destination associated with a purchaser terminal.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a product delivery method, a product delivery system, and a product delivery server for delivery of products exchanged between a buyer and a seller. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, the spread of so-called CtoC (Consumer to Consumer) platforms has made it easier for individuals to buy and sell goods. However, in such cases, inventory management is often done by the individual, and individuals who sell large quantities of goods face the challenge of finding a place to store their inventory.

[0003] Patent documents 1 and 2 propose a system that allows users to utilize available space in a warehouse, allowing them to visually check detailed information, including image information, of each item they have requested to be stored at any time without having to go to the storage location each time, and allowing them to request the removal of items they need at any time.

[0004] Furthermore, Patent Document 3 proposes a system that, in particular, in the shipping business, takes photographs of cargo and provides the photographs to shippers, thereby enabling them to check the condition of the cargo when it is received at a warehouse. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2014-28677 [Patent Document 2] Patent Publication No. 2016-62552 [Patent Document 3] Patent Publication No. 2017-001821 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] Incidentally, one of the reasons for the popularity of the above-mentioned CtoC platform is that listing, purchasing, and delivery can all be easily performed on the seller's own terminal, etc. However, none of the above-mentioned technologies take into consideration the work of listing products. Also, although there is a process for taking photos of the products at the warehouse where the products arrive, if the photos were to be used to list the products (i.e., to register the products on the CtoC platform), a new burden would be placed on the warehouse.

[0007] Therefore, the present invention aims to reduce the burden on sellers of securing inventory without making major changes to warehouse operations from the conventional method, and to simplify transactions on CtoC platforms. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] According to the present invention, A product delivery method executed by at least a seller terminal, a buyer terminal, and a delivery management server, A photo of the auctioned item captured by the seller terminal but A display product registration step in which a display product is registered in the delivery management server; By the delivery company that received the collection request collection In the warehouse where the loaded products arrive The above Exhibited products of A warehouse arrival product registration step in which a photo is taken and registered in the delivery management server; before The photo registered in the step of registering the listed product is associated with the photo registered in the step of registering the product that has arrived at the warehouse. conduct An association step; The said association was made a purchase acceptance step for accepting a purchase request for the exhibited product; When a purchase request for the exhibited product is received from the buyer terminal, The above The warehouse is instructed to deliver the auctioned product to a delivery destination associated with the buyer terminal. In contrast Shipment request Do shipping request Step A method of product delivery is obtained. Effect of the Invention

[0009] According to the present invention, in particular, the seller associates the product photos that the seller takes and registers on the CtoC platform with the product photos that the warehouse takes of the products that have been put in stock. This configuration reduces the burden on the seller to secure inventory without significantly changing the warehouse's operations compared to the past, and makes it easy to conduct transactions on the CtoC platform. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] 1 is a configuration diagram of a delivery management system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of the sales PF server of FIG. 1. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of the delivery management server of FIG. 1. [Figure 4] 3 shows a process flow of a delivery management system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 5] 4 is a flow of processing for each terminal in the delivery management system according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] 3 shows a process flow within a warehouse in a delivery management system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a process flow of a delivery management system according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which only the process of shipping packaging materials from a warehouse is partially extracted. [Figure 8] 13 is a screen display example of a buyer side terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 9] 13 is a screen display example of a buyer side terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 10] 13 is a modified example of a screen display of a seller side terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 11] 13 is a screen display example of a seller side terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 12] 13 is a screen display example of a seller side terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011] The contents of the embodiments of the present invention will be listed and described below. A delivery management method, a delivery management system, and a delivery management server according to the embodiments of the present invention have the following configuration. [Item 1] A product delivery method executed by at least a seller terminal, a buyer terminal, and a delivery management server, a product listing registration step in which a photo of the product listed is registered in the delivery management server by the seller terminal; A collection step in which the auctioned products are collected by a delivery company that has received a collection request; A warehouse arrival product registration step in which a photo of the exhibition product is taken in the warehouse where the collected exhibition product arrives and the photo is registered in the delivery management server; an association step of accepting, from a seller terminal, an association between the photo registered in the exhibition product registration step and the photo registered in the warehouse arrival product registration step; a purchase acceptance step for accepting a purchase request for the exhibited product exhibited in the exhibit registration step; A shipping step in which, when a purchase request for the exhibited product is received from the buyer terminal, a shipping request is made to the warehouse to deliver the exhibited product to a delivery destination associated with the buyer terminal. Product delivery method. [Item 2] The product delivery method according to item 1, The warehouse arrival product registration step includes a step of measuring at least size information of the exhibitor by a predetermined measurement method and providing the size information to the sales PF server, Product delivery method. [Item 3] The product delivery method according to item 2, The predetermined measuring method is to take a photograph of the auction item together with a predetermined scale measure in the warehouse. Product delivery method. [Item 4] The product delivery method according to item 1 or 3, The purchase acceptance step is to make the auctioned product in a provisional listing state in which information about the auctioned product is not disclosed to the buyer terminal and a purchase request is not accepted until the association is established. Product delivery method. [Item 5] A product delivery method according to any one of items 1 to 4, The product registration step includes generating a product ID associated with the photo of the product, The warehouse arrival product registration step generates a delivery management ID associated with the photo of the arrived product, The associating step associates the exhibition ID with the delivery management ID. Product delivery method. [Item 6] A product delivery system including at least a seller terminal, a buyer terminal, and a delivery management server, A photograph of the auctioned item taken by the seller terminal is registered in the delivery management server, The delivery company that received the collection request will collect the exhibited goods, A photograph of the collected auction item is taken in the warehouse where the auction item arrives and is registered in the delivery management server; receiving, from the seller terminal, an association between the photo registered by the seller terminal and the photo registered in the warehouse; A purchase request for the exhibited product related to the photo registered by the seller terminal is made available for acceptance; When a purchase request for the auctioned product is received from the buyer terminal, a shipping request is made to the warehouse to deliver the auctioned product to a delivery destination associated with the buyer terminal. Product delivery system. [Item 7] A delivery management server communicably connected to at least a seller terminal and a buyer terminal, an item registration unit that accepts registration of photos of items for sale captured by the seller terminal; a warehouse arrival product registration unit that accepts registration of a photo of the exhibition product taken in a warehouse where the exhibition product is collected by a delivery company that has received a collection request and where the collected exhibition product arrives; an association unit that prompts the seller terminal to associate the photo registered by the auction product registration unit with the photo registered in the warehouse arrival product registration unit; a shipping request unit that, when receiving a purchase request for the exhibition product for which the association has been completed, acquires delivery destination information and makes a shipping request to the warehouse to ship the exhibition product, Product delivery server.

[0012] <Embodiments of the present invention> A product delivery system for realizing a product delivery method according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the terms "arrival," "warehousing," "outsourcing," and "shipment" may be used as follows, but the definitions of the terms are not limited to these, and even if "arrival" and "warehousing" are taken to be synonymous, and "outsourcing" and "shipment" are taken to be synonymous, there is no effect on the function, configuration, and effect of the present invention. "Arrival": Bringing goods into the warehouse "Storage": The act of storing brought-in goods in the appropriate place (on a shelf, pallet, etc., sometimes called the "storage area") in the warehouse (after inspection is completed, if inspection is performed). "Issuing": Removing (picking) luggage from a storage location "Shipping": Proper delivery of the removed goods (after inspection, if any, is completed).

[0013] <Summary> The delivery management system according to this embodiment is particularly suitable for services in which "items" are transferred between buyers and sellers, such as auction services, EC services, and flea market services. The above-mentioned services may be so-called platform services, or one-to-one sales services such as one-off products. They may also be so-called D2C (Direct to Consumer) services. Furthermore, with regard to transactions, it does not matter whether the product itself is paid for or free of charge.

[0014] <Hardware configuration> Fig. 1 is a network configuration diagram of a delivery management system according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Fig. 1, the delivery management system according to this embodiment is composed of a main terminal 1 of a seller who puts up a product, a buyer terminal 2 of a buyer of the product, a sales PF server 3 that provides a sales platform service (hereinafter referred to as "sales PF") that matches sellers and buyers, a delivery management server 4 that manages the delivery of the seller's products to the buyers, a warehouse terminal 5 operated by a worker in a warehouse where the products are stored, and a network 6 that connects them so that they can communicate with each other.

[0015] In this embodiment, the sales PF server 3, the seller terminal 1, and the buyer terminal 2 are a so-called client-server model system, and the delivery management server 4 provides the delivery management function described below as an API (Application Programming Interface) so that it can be used by the sales PF server.

[0016] The network 3 according to this embodiment includes a carrier network for mobile phones or smartphones, and an IP-based computer network. Here, the computer network is used in a broad sense including the Internet constructed by interconnected IP networks. The computer network may also include a wireless network constructed by a wireless base station (e.g., WiFi) not shown. The carrier network and the IP network are connected, for example, via a gateway, but are not limited to this.

[0017] <Sales PF Server 3> The functional blocks of the sales PF server 3 will be described with reference to Fig. 2. The sales PF server 3 has a user registration unit 201, a listing acceptance unit 202, a listing product provision unit 203, a purchase settlement processing unit 204, an external linkage unit 205, an information notification unit 206, and an association UI unit 207. Note that the functional blocks shown in the figure are merely examples, and functions may be added as appropriate depending on the purpose and needs of the services provided.

[0018] The user registration unit 201 registers and manages the login IDs and passwords of users who use the sales PF.

[0019] When the item information including a photo of the item being sold is received from the seller terminal 1, the item-selling reception unit 202 generates an item-selling ID for identifying the item being sold and associates it with the photo. The item being sold in this embodiment may be acquired by the seller taking an image of the item using a camera function or the like of the seller terminal and uploading it.

[0020] The put-up product providing unit 203 particularly displays to the buyer terminal 2 those put-up products that are ready to be displayed (described in detail below).

[0021] The purchase settlement processing unit 204 performs settlement between the buyer and the seller directly or indirectly for the product purchased by the buyer.

[0022] The external linking unit 205 uses the API of an external server (eg, the delivery management server 4) to implement a function provided by the external server in the sales PF.

[0023] The information notification unit 206 notifies the seller and the buyer about the service (for example, auction completion notification, product shipment notification, etc.).

[0024] The association UI unit 207 provides a UI (User Interface) for associating product photos, which will be described later.

[0025] <Delivery management server 4> The functional blocks of the delivery management server 4 will be described with reference to Fig. 3. The delivery management server 4 includes a listing product registration unit 301, a warehouse arrival product registration unit 302, an association unit 303, a shipping request unit 304, and an external linkage unit 304. As with the sales PF server 3, the functional blocks shown in the figure are merely examples, and appropriate functions may be added according to the contents to be managed and the purpose.

[0026] The exhibited product registration unit 301 acquires the above-mentioned exhibited product information from the sales PF server via the API and registers it in a management database (not shown). This enables the delivery management server 4 to associate the exhibited product on the service provided by the sales PF server with the seller terminal 1 and manage them.

[0027] The warehouse arrival product registration unit 302 acquires a photo of the auction product that has arrived at the warehouse from the warehouse terminal 5. The photo is taken by a warehouse worker. At this time, a warehousing ID is assigned to the product that has arrived at the warehouse and the product is managed in association with the ID.

[0028] The associating unit 303 provides the seller with the photo of the auction item taken by the seller terminal 1 and the photo taken in the warehouse via the sales PF server 3, and prompts the seller to approve whether they are the same. As a result, the listing ID of the auction item registered in the sales PF server 3 is associated with the inventory ID.

[0029] When a request for purchase and delivery of an auctioned product is received from the sales PF, the shipping request unit 304 requests the warehouse terminal 5 to ship the product related to the purchase request.

[0030] The external linking unit 305 transmits and receives information required for linking with the sales PF server 3 .

[0031] Each of the above-mentioned functional blocks can be configured by, for example, hardware provided in a server device, a DSP (Digital Signal Processor), or software. For example, when configured by software, each of the above-mentioned functional blocks 11 to 16 is actually configured with a CPU, RAM, ROM, etc. of a computer, and is realized by the operation of a program stored in a recording medium such as a RAM, ROM, hard disk, or semiconductor memory.

[0032] <Processing flow> The flow of processing in the delivery management system according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Fig. 4. When a seller puts up an item for sale, first, a photo of the item for sale (hereinafter referred to as "listing photo") taken using the seller terminal 1 and size information (delivery size information) of the item for sale are registered in the delivery management server 4 via the sales PF server 3 (via an application provided by the sales PF server 3, etc.) (step S401). Specifically, as shown in Fig. 8, after logging in to the sales PF server 3, the seller activates the camera of the seller terminal 1 to take a photo of the item to be put up for sale, and uploads the taken photo to the sales PF server 3.

[0033] After that, the system sends the size information to a specified delivery company and requests collection (step S402). The collection request may be made by the sales PF server 3 or the delivery management server 4. The delivery company that receives the collection request collects the goods at the address specified by the seller. At this time, the packaging materials may be prepared by the seller or by the delivery company (see FIG. 7, which will be described later).

[0034] When the collected items arrive at the warehouse, the warehouse worker unpacks the items and takes pictures of the items (step S403). As shown in Fig. 9, the images are taken together with a predetermined scale measure based on the delivery standard (delivery fee). This makes it possible to estimate the cost required to ship the items by looking at the taken photos (hereinafter referred to as "warehouse photos").

[0035] More specifically, as shown in Fig. 6, when an item is unpacked (step S601), a photo of the item is taken (step S602), and its exact size and weight are measured (steps S603, S604). Then, location information within the warehouse where the item is to be stored is registered (step S605), and the item is stored in a predetermined position within the warehouse in association with the generated storage ID (step S606). The captured photo is transmitted from the warehouse terminal 5 to the delivery management server 4 (step S607) and managed together with the storage ID. In this way, the stored item is stored in the warehouse until it is purchased.

[0036] Meanwhile, the delivery management server 4 prompts the seller terminal via the sales PF server 3 to associate the auction item photo (see FIG. 8) with the warehouse photo (step S404).

[0037] The association may be performed by some method based on the photo registered at the time of listing and the photo sent from the warehouse. For example, as shown in Fig. 9, the warehouse photo 701 and the photo of the product registered by the seller as a listing item may be displayed and a confirmation button may be pressed. This completes the association between the warehouse photo 701 and the listing photo 702.

[0038] After the seller registers the product, the sales PF server 3 does not disclose information about the product to the buyer terminal and keeps it in a provisional listing state until the above-mentioned association (see FIG. 9) is made. This prevents the product from being purchased before it is in stock.

[0039] Once the association is complete, the sales PF server 3 publishes the exhibited product on a service site (application) managed by the sales PF server 3, and enables other users to make purchase requests and ask questions about the product (step S405).

[0040] When a purchase request for the listed item is accepted from the buyer terminal and payment is completed, the delivery management server 4 requests the warehouse to ship the listed item to the delivery destination (such as the buyer's home) associated with the buyer terminal (step S406).

[0041] In detail, as described above, the information of the exhibited product registered in the sales PF server 3 is associated with the inventory ID of the actual product stored in the warehouse, so it is possible to identify the inventory ID from the information of the exhibited product for which a purchase request has been made (for example, an identifier on the sales PF server 3). In this way, the shipped product reaches the buyer.

[0042] <Service flow> The flow of the service by the delivery management system according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 5. Note that the description overlapping with the above description may be omitted. As shown in the figure, the seller terminal 1 applies to the sales PF server 3 for the use of the service provided by this system (SQ01). The application method may be selected as one of the delivery options. When the application is made, the sales PF server 3 performs user registration for the seller and the information on the exhibited product (SQ02). Next, the seller takes and registers a photo of the product using the camera function of the seller terminal 1 (SQ03), and can also apply for collection (SQ04). At this point, the information on the exhibited product on the service site provided by the sales PF is in a state of non-disclosure to the buyer terminal (i.e., it cannot be purchased) (SQ05). The sales PF server 3 requests the delivery management server 4 to store the product in response to the application for collection (SQ06), and registers the product information in cooperation with the delivery management server 4 (SQ07). At this time, the information on the photograph remains in the sales PF server 3, and information other than the photograph is provided to the delivery management server 4.

[0043] After that, the delivery management server 4 generates a warehousing ID (SQ08: details will be described later with reference to FIG. 8), and the product is delivered from the seller to the warehouse (SQ09). When the auctioned product arrives at the warehouse, the size and weight are measured (SQ11) according to a warehousing request from the delivery management server 4 (SQ10), and a photo is taken by a warehouse worker and sent to the sales PF server 3 (SQ12). The sales PF server 3 notifies the seller terminal 1 that the auctioned product has been stored in the warehouse (SQ13) and prompts the seller to make the above-mentioned association (SQ14). When the association is completed (SQ15), the sales PF server 3 publishes the auctioned product (SQ16). This publication allows many buyers registered on the service site to access the information on the auctioned product. After that, when a purchase request is made from the buyer terminal 2 (SQ17), the sales PF server 3 notifies the seller terminal 1 (SQ18). Meanwhile, the sales PF server 3 shares the buyer's delivery address information with the delivery management server 4 (SQ19), and the delivery management server 4 makes a shipping request to the warehouse (SQ20), after which the product is shipped and delivered to the buyer (SQ21).

[0044] As shown in Figure 10, when a seller initially registers a product, the seller's place of residence, "Chiba Prefecture," is registered, and the number of days until packaging etc. and shipping (i.e., the time required until actual shipping) is set to "2-3 days" (this may be set by the seller). On the other hand, when an auctioned product is received at a warehouse, the sender is changed to the prefecture of the warehouse where the product is received, and the number of days until shipping is also changed to the number of days set by the warehouse as the number of days available for shipping.

[0045] In addition, as shown in Figures 11 and 12, the sales PF server 3 displays a message "Please wait for shipment from the warehouse" on the buyer terminal 2 after the buyer purchases the product until it is shipped, and after the product is shipped from the warehouse, displays a message "Shipped from the warehouse."

[0046] As shown in FIG. 7, after a photo of the exhibited product is registered, packaging materials for packaging the product may be shipped when the product is collected. Specifically, as shown in the figure, a photo of the exhibited product taken by the seller terminal 1 is registered in the sales PF server 3 (SQ01), and the product information is also linked and registered in the delivery management server 4 via the API (SQ02), which is the same as the flow diagram shown in FIG. 5. The delivery management server 4 requests the warehouse terminal 5, which stores packaging materials suitable for packaging the exhibited product, to ship the packaging materials based on the size information of the exhibited product included in the product information and the seller's address information, etc. (SQ51). When the warehouse terminal 5 accepts the request, a storage ID for the exhibited product that will be stored in the warehouse is generated at that time, and packaging materials with a shipping slip with address information (which will be the destination of the collected goods) printed on them are shipped (SQ51). The seller puts the exhibited product in the packaging materials that have arrived and leaves them with a delivery company, so that the product is delivered to the destination warehouse. In addition, the warehouse from which the packaging materials are shipped may be different from the warehouse to which the seller's products are delivered (effective use of available space in the warehouse).

[0047] The above-mentioned embodiment is merely an example for facilitating understanding of the present invention, and is not intended to limit the present invention. The present invention can be modified and improved without departing from the spirit of the present invention, and it goes without saying that the present invention includes equivalents. [Explanation of symbols]

[0048] 1 Seller terminal 2 Buyer terminal 3 Sales PF Server 4. Delivery Management Server 5 Warehouse Terminal 5 6 Network

Claims

1. A product delivery method executed by at least a seller terminal, a buyer terminal, and a delivery management server, a product listing registration step in which a photo of the product listed is registered in the delivery management server by the seller terminal; A warehouse arrival product registration step in which a photo of the auction product is taken in a warehouse where the auction product has arrived after being collected by a delivery company that has received a collection request, and the photo is registered in the delivery management server; an associating step of associating the photo registered in the exhibition product registration step with the photo registered in the warehouse arrival product registration step; a purchase acceptance step of accepting a purchase request for the associated exhibition product; and a shipping request step of, when receiving a purchase request for the exhibited product from the buyer terminal, making a shipping request to the warehouse to deliver the exhibited product to a delivery destination associated with the buyer terminal. Product delivery method.

2. 2. The product delivery method according to claim 1, The warehouse arrival product registration step includes a step of measuring at least size information of the auction product by a predetermined measurement method. Product delivery method.

3. The product delivery method according to claim 1 or 2, The warehouse arrival product registration step further includes a step of taking the photo in a state in which the auction product and a predetermined scale measure are both captured, Product delivery method.

4. A product delivery method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, Before the association is established, information about the exhibited product is not disclosed to the buyer terminal and the exhibited product is put into a provisional listing state in which no purchase request is accepted. Product delivery method.

5. A product delivery method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, In the product registration step, a product ID associated with the photo of the product is generated; In the warehouse arrival product registration step, a delivery management ID is generated that is associated with the photo of the arrived auction product; In the associating step, the exhibition ID is associated with the delivery management ID. Product delivery method.

6. A product delivery system including at least a seller terminal, a buyer terminal, and a delivery management server, A photograph of the exhibited item taken by the seller terminal is registered in the delivery management server, A photograph of the auction item taken in a warehouse where the auction item arrived after being collected by a delivery company that received a collection request is registered in the delivery management server; Associating the photo taken by the seller terminal with the photo taken in the warehouse; A purchase request for the associated exhibited product is made available for acceptance; When a purchase request for the auctioned product is received from the buyer terminal, a shipping request is made to the warehouse to deliver the auctioned product to a delivery destination associated with the buyer terminal. Product delivery system.

7. A delivery management server communicably connected to at least a seller terminal and a buyer terminal, an item registration unit that accepts registration of photos of items for sale captured by the seller terminal; a warehouse arrival product registration unit that accepts registration of a photo of the auction product taken in a warehouse where the auction product arrived after being collected by a delivery company that received a collection request; an association unit that prompts the seller terminal to associate the photo registered by the auction product registration unit with the photo registered in the warehouse arrival product registration unit; a shipping request unit that, upon receiving a purchase request for the associated exhibited product, acquires delivery address information and makes a shipping request to the warehouse to ship the exhibited product; Delivery management server.

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