Delivery support device

Abstract

A delivery support device and a delivery support method are provided that improve the efficiency of the loading rate of delivery vehicles that replenish products at retail stores, thereby reducing the number of delivery vehicles. [Solution] The delivery support device has a product information storage means for storing store inventory and trends in store sales for each store and for each product sold at the store, a delivery threshold storage means for storing a first threshold and a second threshold for store inventory for each product, a first inventory prediction means for calculating a predicted store inventory for each product after a specified period of time based on information stored in the product information storage means for a single store, a first candidate extraction means for extracting products whose store inventory for the single store is below the first threshold as first delivery candidate products, a second candidate extraction means for extracting products whose predicted store inventory for the single store is below the second threshold as second delivery candidate products, and a delivery means for performing delivery arrangement processing to deliver the first delivery candidate products and the second delivery candidate products to the single store using a single vehicle.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] This relates to delivery techniques used when replenishing inventory in stores. [Background technology]

[0002] Inventory levels for products sold at drugstores and other retail outlets are managed to ensure that products displayed and sold in the store do not run out of stock. When inventory levels fall below a certain level, new products are shipped from manufacturers, wholesalers, the store's own warehouses, etc., and the store shelves are replenished.

[0003] Against this background, for example, Patent Document 1 proposes an order determination device that can provide quantitative criteria for determining an appropriate order quantity when ordering goods, thereby making it possible to verify the appropriateness of the order quantity. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2024-049832 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, when replenishing a store with goods, a vehicle equipped with a cargo bed for loading goods is used. However, with the above-mentioned conventional technology, the delivery work is carried out with there still being free space on the cargo bed, which results in low vehicle utilization efficiency and the need to use many vehicles.

[0006] In view of the above problems, the present invention aims to provide a delivery support device that reduces the number of delivery vehicles by improving the efficiency of the loading rate of the cargo bays of delivery vehicles that replenish products at retail stores, thereby contributing to reducing the working hours of people involved in logistics and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] One form of the delivery support device disclosed includes a product information storage means for storing store inventory and trends in store sales for each store and for each product sold at the store, a delivery threshold storage means for storing, for each product, a first threshold value related to the store inventory and a second threshold value greater than the first threshold, a first inventory quantity prediction means for calculating, for each product at one of the stores, a predicted value of the store inventory quantity after a predetermined period of time based on information stored in the product information storage means, a first candidate extraction means for extracting, as a first delivery candidate product, a product whose store inventory quantity for the one store is below the first threshold, a second candidate extraction means for extracting, as a second delivery candidate product, a product whose predicted value of the store inventory quantity for the one store is below the second threshold, and a delivery means for performing delivery arrangement processing to deliver the first delivery candidate product and the second delivery candidate product to the one store using a vehicle. Effect of the Invention

[0008] The disclosed delivery support device aims to reduce the number of delivery vehicles by improving the efficiency of the loading rate of the cargo bays of delivery vehicles that replenish products at retail stores, thereby contributing to reducing the working hours of people involved in logistics and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an overview of a delivery support device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of the delivery support device according to the present embodiment. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of the delivery support device according to the present embodiment. [Figure 4] 10 is a flowchart showing a flow of an example of processing by the delivery support device according to the present embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS With reference to the drawings, an embodiment of the present invention will be described. (Operation principle of the delivery support device according to this embodiment)

[0011] The operation principle of a delivery support device (hereinafter simply referred to as "the device") 100 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 1 and 2. Figure 1 is a diagram showing the connection relationship between the device 100 and other devices, and Figure 2 is a functional block diagram of the device 100.

[0012] 1, the device 100 is connected to a store terminal 370 via a communication network 380. The communication network 380 may be either wired or wireless. The store terminal 370 is a device that notifies the device 100 of the sales status and inventory status of the product 240 sold in the store 210, and may be, for example, a POS (Point of Sales) system.

[0013] As shown in FIG. 2, the device 100 has a product information storage means 110, a delivery threshold storage means 120, a nearby store storage means 130, a first inventory quantity prediction means 140, a first candidate extraction means 150, a second candidate extraction means 160, a second inventory quantity prediction means 170, a third candidate extraction means 180, an available space determination means 190, and a delivery means 200.

[0014] The product information storage means 110 stores store inventory 250 and store sales volume trend 260 for each product 240 sold in the store 210. The store sales volume trend 260 is, for example, the most recent sales, seasonal characteristics of sales volume, weather-related characteristics of sales volume, etc. for each product 240, and is information necessary for predicting the future store inventory volume 250 of the product 240.

[0015] The delivery threshold storage means 120 stores a first threshold 270 related to the store inventory amount 250 and a second threshold 280 that is greater than the first threshold 270 for each product 240 sold at the store 210. The delivery threshold storage means 120 may also store the first threshold 270 and the second threshold 280 for each store 210. This makes it possible to handle cases where the store inventory amount 250 to be held and the trend 260 of store sales amount differ depending on the store 210.

[0016] The nearby store storage means 130 stores store grouping information 330 that groups stores 210 based on a predetermined criterion. Here, the predetermined criterion is a concept that includes the same delivery route and the distance between stores 210 being equal to or less than a predetermined value. In this way, it is possible to know stores 210 that can deliver goods efficiently when using the same vehicle for delivery.

[0017] The first stock quantity forecasting means 140 calculates a forecast value 290 of a future (predetermined period after) store stock quantity 250 for each product 240 in one store 220 based on the information 250, 260 stored in the product information storage means 110. The forecast value 290 is, for example, the store stock quantity 250 three days or one week after. The forecast value 290 is calculated based on a general forecasting method, and the forecasting method is not particularly limited.

[0018] The first candidate extraction means 150 extracts a product 240 for which the store inventory amount 250 for a certain store 220 is below a first threshold value 270 as a first delivery candidate product 300. This is a general process for selecting a product 240 to be replenished in a certain store 220.

[0019] The second candidate extraction means 160 extracts products 240 for which the predicted store inventory amount 290 for one store 220 is below the second threshold value 280 as second delivery candidate products 310. The products 240 extracted as the first delivery candidate products 300 by the first candidate extraction means 150 are excluded from the second delivery candidate products 310. This is a process of selecting products that still have more room in the store inventory amount 250 than the first delivery candidate products 300, but are close to the time for restocking (will be delivered soon).

[0020] In this way, by aligning the delivery timing of each product 240 as much as possible, the number of products 240 that can be loaded onto one delivery vehicle 340 increases, and as a result, the number of delivery vehicles 340 in operation can be reduced. This contributes to reducing the working hours of people involved in logistics and reducing the emission of greenhouse gases emitted during the operation of the delivery vehicles 340.

[0021] The second stock quantity forecasting means 170 calculates a forecast value 290 of the future (predetermined period after) store stock quantity 250 for each product 240 based on the information 250, 260 stored in the product information storage means 110 for the other stores 230. The forecast value 290 is, for example, the store stock quantity 250 three days or one week after. The forecast value 290 is calculated based on a general forecasting method, and the forecasting method is not particularly limited.

[0022] The second inventory forecasting means 170 may be configured to calculate a forecast value 290 of the store inventory amount 250 for other stores 230 that belong to the same group as the one store 220 in the store grouping information 330 stored in the nearby store storage means 130. By narrowing down the candidates for the other stores 230 from the perspective of improving logistics efficiency, the operation efficiency of the delivery vehicle 340 can be improved, which can contribute to reducing the working hours of people involved in logistics and reducing the emission of greenhouse gases emitted during the operation of the delivery vehicle 340.

[0023] The third candidate extraction means 180 extracts, as a third delivery candidate product 320, a product 240 for which the predicted value 290 of the store inventory amount 250 for the other store 230 is below the second threshold value 280.

[0024] In this way, by aligning the delivery timing of each product 240 as much as possible, the number of products 240 that can be loaded onto one delivery vehicle 340 increases, and as a result, the number of delivery vehicles 340 in operation can be reduced. This contributes to reducing the working hours of people involved in logistics and reducing the emission of greenhouse gases emitted during the operation of the delivery vehicles 340.

[0025] The empty space determination means 190 confirms and determines whether or not there is an empty space 350 in the loading platform of one delivery vehicle 340 when the first delivery candidate product 300 and the second delivery candidate product 310 are loaded on the loading platform.

[0026] The free space determination means 190 also checks the size 360 ​​of the free space in the loading platform of the one delivery vehicle 340 when the first delivery candidate product 300 and the second delivery candidate product 310 are loaded onto the loading platform. If the free space determination means 190 can confirm that the size 360 ​​of the free space is larger than the size of the third delivery candidate product 320, it determines that the third delivery candidate product 320 can be delivered by the one delivery vehicle 340.

[0027] The delivery means 200 performs delivery arrangement processing to deliver the first delivery candidate product 300 and the second delivery candidate product 310 to one store 220 using one delivery vehicle 340. Furthermore, in addition to the above processing, the delivery means 200 may perform delivery arrangement processing to deliver the third delivery candidate product 320 to another store 230 using one delivery vehicle 340.

[0028] In this way, by aligning the delivery timing of each product 240 or different stores 220, 230 as much as possible, the number of products 240 that can be loaded onto one delivery vehicle 340 can be increased, and as a result, the number of delivery vehicles 340 in operation can be reduced. This can also contribute to reducing the working hours of people involved in logistics and reducing the emission of greenhouse gases emitted during the operation of the delivery vehicles 340.

[0029] In addition to the above processing, the delivery means 200 may also be configured to perform a delivery arrangement process to deliver the third delivery candidate product 320 to another store 230 using a delivery vehicle 340 when the available space determination means 190 determines that there is available space 350.

[0030] In addition to the above processing, when the available space determination means 190 determines that the third delivery candidate product 320 can be delivered by one delivery vehicle 340, the delivery means 200 performs a delivery arrangement process to deliver the third delivery candidate product 320 to another store 230 using the one delivery vehicle 340.

[0031] Based on the above operating principle, the device 100 aims to reduce the number of delivery vehicles 340 by efficiently increasing the loading rate of the delivery vehicles 340 that replenish products 240 to retail stores 210, thereby contributing to reducing the working hours of people involved in logistics and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. (Hardware configuration of the delivery support device according to this embodiment)

[0032] An example of the hardware configuration of the present device 100 will be described with reference to Fig. 3. Fig. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the present device 100. As shown in Fig. 3, the present device 100 has a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 510, a ROM (Read-Only Memory) 520, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 530, an auxiliary storage device 540, a communication I / F 550, an input device 560, a display device 570, and a storage medium I / F 580.

[0033] CPU 510 is a device that executes a program stored in ROM 520, performs arithmetic processing on data expanded (loaded) into RAM 530 in accordance with instructions from the program, and controls the entire device 100. ROM 520 stores programs and data to be executed by CPU 510. When CPU 510 executes a program stored in ROM 520, the program and data to be executed are expanded (loaded) into RAM 530, and RAM 530 temporarily holds the arithmetic data during calculation.

[0034] The auxiliary storage device 540 is a device that stores the OS (Operating System) which is the basic software, the application program according to the present embodiment, and the like together with related data, and includes, for example, the product information storage means 110, the delivery threshold storage means 120, and the nearby store storage means 130. The auxiliary storage device 540 is, for example, a HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or a flash memory.

[0035] The communication I / F 550 is an interface for connecting to a communication network 380 such as a wired or wireless LAN (Local Area Network) or the Internet, and for transmitting and receiving data to and from another device (such as a POS system) 370 that provides a communication function.

[0036] The input device 560 is a device such as a keyboard for inputting data to the present device 100. The display device (output device) 570 is a device constituted by an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) or the like, and functions as a user interface when the user utilizes the functions of the present device 100 or when performing various settings. The storage medium I / F 580 is an interface for transmitting and receiving data to and from a storage medium 590 such as a CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, or USB memory.

[0037] Each of the means of the present device 100 may be realized by CPU 510 executing a program corresponding to each of the means stored in ROM 520 or auxiliary storage device 540. Each of the means of the present device 100 may be realized by hardware that performs processing related to each of the means. Alternatively, the present device 100 may be caused to read the program according to the present invention from an external server device via communication I / F 550, or to read the program according to the present invention from storage medium 590 via storage medium I / F 580, and cause the present device 100 to execute the program. (Example of processing by the delivery support device according to the present embodiment) An example of processing by the present device 100 will be described with reference to Fig. 4. Fig. 4 is a flowchart showing the flow of an example of processing by the present device 100.

[0038] In S10, the first candidate extraction means 150 extracts a product 240 for which the store inventory amount 250 for a certain store 220 is below a first threshold value 270 as a first delivery candidate product 300. This is a general process for selecting a product 240 to be replenished in a certain store 220.

[0039] In S20, the first stock quantity forecasting means 140 calculates a forecast value 290 of the future (predetermined period after) store stock quantity 250 for each product 240 in one store 220 based on the information 250, 260 stored in the product information storage means 110. The forecast value 290 is, for example, the store stock quantity 250 three days or one week from now. The forecast value 290 is calculated based on a general forecasting method, and the forecasting method is not particularly limited.

[0040] Furthermore, in S20, the second candidate extraction means 160 extracts the product 240 for which the predicted store inventory amount 290 for one store 220 is below the second threshold value 280 as the second delivery candidate product 310. The product 240 extracted as the first delivery candidate product 300 in S10 is excluded from the second delivery candidate product 310. This is a process of selecting a product that has more room in the store inventory amount 250 than the first delivery candidate product 300, but is close to the time for restocking (will be delivered soon).

[0041] In this way, by aligning the delivery timing of each product 240 as much as possible, the number of products 240 that can be loaded onto one delivery vehicle 340 increases, and as a result, the number of delivery vehicles 340 in operation can be reduced. This contributes to reducing the working hours of people involved in logistics and reducing the emission of greenhouse gases emitted during the operation of the delivery vehicles 340.

[0042] In S30, the second stock quantity forecasting means 170 calculates a forecast value 290 of the future (predetermined period after) store stock quantity 250 for each product 240 based on the information 250, 260 stored in the product information storage means 110 for the other stores 230. The forecast value 290 is, for example, the store stock quantity 250 three days or one week after. The forecast value 290 is calculated based on a general forecasting method, and the forecasting method is not particularly limited.

[0043] The second inventory forecasting means 170 may be configured to calculate a forecast value 290 of the store inventory amount 250 for other stores 230 that belong to the same group as the one store 220 in the store grouping information 330 stored in the nearby store storage means 130. By narrowing down the candidates for the other stores 230 from the perspective of improving logistics efficiency, the operation efficiency of the delivery vehicle 340 can be improved, which can contribute to reducing the working hours of people involved in logistics and reducing the emission of greenhouse gases emitted during the operation of the delivery vehicle 340.

[0044] Furthermore, in S30, the third candidate extraction means 180 extracts, as a third delivery candidate product 320, a product 240 for which the predicted value 290 of the store inventory amount 250 for the other store 230 is below the second threshold value 280.

[0045] In this way, by aligning the delivery timing of each product 240 as much as possible, the number of products 240 that can be loaded onto one delivery vehicle 340 increases, and as a result, the number of delivery vehicles 340 in operation can be reduced. This contributes to reducing the working hours of people involved in logistics and reducing the emission of greenhouse gases emitted during the operation of the delivery vehicles 340.

[0046] In S40, the empty space determination means 190 confirms and determines whether or not there is an empty space 350 in the loading platform of one delivery vehicle 340 when the first delivery candidate product 300 and the second delivery candidate product 310 are loaded on the loading platform.

[0047] As another embodiment, in S40, the free space determination means 190 checks the size 360 ​​of the free space in the loading platform of one delivery vehicle 340 when the first delivery candidate product 300 and the second delivery candidate product 310 are loaded onto the loading platform of the one delivery vehicle 340. Then, if the free space determination means 190 can confirm that the size 360 ​​of the free space is larger than the size of the third delivery candidate product 320, it determines that the third delivery candidate product 320 can be delivered by the one delivery vehicle 340.

[0048] In S50, the delivery means 200 performs a delivery arrangement process to deliver the first delivery candidate product 300 and the second delivery candidate product 310 to the one store 220 using one delivery vehicle 340. In addition to the above process, the delivery means 200 may perform a delivery arrangement process to deliver the third delivery candidate product 320 to another store 230 using one delivery vehicle 340.

[0049] As an alternative embodiment, in addition to the above processing, in S50 the delivery means 200 may perform a delivery arrangement process to deliver the third delivery candidate product 320 to another store 230 using one delivery vehicle 340 if it is determined in S40 that there is available space 350.

[0050] As yet another embodiment, in addition to the above processing, if it is determined in S40 that the third delivery candidate product 320 can be delivered by one delivery vehicle 340, the delivery means 200 performs a delivery arrangement process to deliver the third delivery candidate product 320 to another store 230 using one delivery vehicle 340.

[0051] In this way, by aligning the delivery timing of each product 240 or different stores 220, 230 as much as possible, the number of products 240 that can be loaded onto one delivery vehicle 340 can be increased, and as a result, the number of delivery vehicles 340 in operation can be reduced. This can also contribute to reducing the working hours of people involved in logistics and reducing the emission of greenhouse gases emitted during the operation of the delivery vehicles 340.

[0052] By performing the above-described processing, the device 100 can reduce the number of delivery vehicles 340 by efficiently increasing the loading rate of the delivery vehicles 340 that replenish products 240 to retail stores 210, thereby contributing to reducing the working hours of people involved in logistics and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

[0053] Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail above, the present invention is not limited to such specific embodiment, and various modifications and variations are possible within the scope of the gist of the present invention described in the claims. [Explanation of symbols]

[0054] 100 Delivery support equipment 110 Product information storage means 120 Delivery threshold storage means 130 Nearby store storage means 140 First inventory forecasting method 150 First candidate extraction means 160 Second candidate extraction means 170 Second inventory forecasting method 180 Third candidate extraction means 190 Means for determining free space 200 Means of delivery 210 stores 220 First Store 230 other stores 240 items 250 Store inventory 260 Trends in store sales volume 270 First Threshold 280 Second Threshold 290 Estimated store inventory after a given period 300 1st delivery candidate product 310 2nd delivery candidate product 320 3rd delivery candidate product 330 Store Grouping Information 340 vehicles 350 Free space in the cargo area 360 Amount of free space in the cargo area 370 Store terminal (POS (Point of Sales) system) 380 Communication Network 510 CPU 520 ROM 530 RAM 540 Auxiliary storage 550 Communication Interface 560 Input Device 570 Output Device 580 Storage Media Interface 590 Storage medium

Claims

1. a product information storage means for storing trends in store inventory and store sales for each product sold at the store; a delivery threshold storage means for storing a first threshold value related to the store inventory amount and a second threshold value greater than the first threshold value for each of the products; a first inventory amount prediction means for calculating a prediction value of the store inventory amount after a predetermined period for each of the commodities based on the information stored in the commodity information storage means for one of the stores; a first candidate extraction means for extracting a commodity whose store inventory amount in the one store is below the first threshold as a first delivery candidate commodity; A second candidate extraction means extracts a commodity whose predicted store inventory amount for the one store is below the second threshold as a second delivery candidate commodity; a delivery means for performing delivery arrangement processing for delivering the first delivery candidate product and the second delivery candidate product to the one store using one vehicle.

2. a second inventory amount forecasting means for calculating a forecasted value of the store inventory amount after a predetermined period for each of the products based on the information stored in the product information storage means for the other of the stores; and a third candidate extraction means for extracting, as a third delivery candidate commodity, a commodity whose predicted value of the store inventory amount for the other store is lower than the second threshold value, 2. The delivery support device according to claim 1, wherein the delivery means performs delivery arrangement processing for delivering the third delivery candidate product to the other store using the one vehicle.

3. a nearby store storage means for storing store grouping information obtained by grouping the stores based on a predetermined criterion including that the stores have the same delivery route or that the stores are located within a predetermined distance from each other; 3. The delivery support device according to claim 2, wherein the second inventory forecasting means calculates the forecasted store inventory amount for the other stores that belong to the same group as the one store in the store grouping information.

4. A delivery support method carried out on a computer including a product information storage means for storing store inventory and store sales trends for each store and for each product sold at the store, and a delivery threshold storage means for storing, for each product, a first threshold value related to the store inventory amount and a second threshold value greater than the first threshold value, a first inventory amount forecasting means for calculating, for one of the stores, a forecasted value of the store inventory amount after a predetermined period for each of the products based on the information stored in the product information storage means; A step of a first candidate extraction means extracting a commodity whose store inventory amount in the one store is below the first threshold as a first delivery candidate commodity; A step of extracting, by a second candidate extraction means, a commodity having a predicted value of the store inventory amount for the one store that is lower than the second threshold value as a second delivery candidate commodity; A delivery means performs a delivery arrangement process to deliver the first delivery candidate product and the second delivery candidate product to the one store using one vehicle.

5. a second inventory amount forecasting means for forecasting an inventory amount of the other store for each of the products based on information stored in the product information storage means; a third candidate extraction means extracting a product whose predicted store inventory amount for the other store is below the second threshold as a third delivery candidate product; The delivery support method according to claim 4, characterized in that the delivery means performs delivery arrangement processing for delivering the third delivery candidate product to the other store using the one vehicle.

6. The computer has a nearby store storage means for storing store grouping information in which the stores are grouped based on a predetermined criterion including that the stores have the same delivery route or that the stores are located within a predetermined distance from each other, The delivery support method according to claim 5, characterized in that the second inventory forecasting means calculates a forecast value of the store inventory for the other stores that belong to the same group as the one store in the store grouping information.

7. A delivery support program for causing a computer to execute the method according to any one of claims 4 to 6.

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