Product information management server, product information management method, and program

Abstract

To present multiple items that have the same basic content but some differences in a list so that they can be easily distinguished. [Solution] The product information management server 101 is connected to one or more terminals via a network, and includes an extraction unit 120 that extracts multiple pieces of summary information from a product information registration database in which multiple pieces of detailed information including summary information for items are registered, an identification unit 140 that identifies different parts of the first detailed information and the second detailed information when first summary information in the first detailed information of a first item and second summary information in the second detailed information of a second item match, and a list presentation unit 130 that outputs second difference information, which is information on different parts in the second detailed information, to the terminal together with a list of the extracted summary information.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a product information management server, a product information management method, and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] In an online market, sellers of products can manage the items they are selling by viewing a list (e.g., Patent Document 1) that shows an overview of the sales information (e.g., product name and model number), selecting and editing the desired sales information, or selecting existing sales information to create a new copy and then editing the contents of the copied sales information (or existing sales information). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2022-181385 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] A seller may plan to sell different stocks of a certain item at different prices at different sales times. In this case, the seller can prepare multiple pieces of sales information for selling the item, each of which has the same basic content but differs in some parts, and can instantly and easily switch the sales information for the item by enabling only one of the multiple pieces of sales information and disabling the rest.

[0005] New sales information copied from another sales information is difficult to distinguish from the list because the basic contents are the same (the product name and model number are the same). This causes a problem that the sales information of the desired item cannot be immediately selected from the list.

[0006] The present invention is intended to solve the above-mentioned problems, and has an object to present a plurality of items that are basically the same but have some differences in a list in an easily distinguishable manner. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] A representative embodiment of the present invention will be briefly described below. The product information management server according to the present embodiment includes: A product information management server connected to one or more terminals via a network, an extracting unit that extracts a plurality of pieces of summary information from a product information registration database in which a plurality of pieces of detailed information including summary information of items are registered; an identifying unit that identifies a different portion between the first detailed information and the second detailed information when first summary information in the first detailed information of the first item and second summary information in the second detailed information of the second item match; a list presentation unit that outputs, to a terminal, a list of the extracted summary information and second difference information, which is information on the different parts in the second detailed information; Equipped with. Effect of the Invention

[0008] According to the present invention, a plurality of items that have the same basic content but some differences can be presented in a list in an easily distinguishable manner. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 2 is an explanatory diagram showing cooperation between the product information management server and other devices in the embodiment; FIG. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a functional configuration of a product information management server according to the present embodiment. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a product information record in the present embodiment. [Figure 4] 4 is a sequence diagram showing the state of communication between the product information management server and the terminal in the present embodiment. FIG. [Diagram 5]FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a list display screen in the present embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of an item information registration screen in the present embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a list display screen in the present embodiment. [Figure 8] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of an editing screen in the present embodiment. [Figure 9] FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a list display screen in the present embodiment. [Figure 10] FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a copy screen in the present embodiment. [Figure 11] FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a list display screen in the present embodiment. [Figure 12] 10 is a flowchart illustrating the flow of a product information management process in the present embodiment. [Figure 13] 1A is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a product information record in this embodiment, and FIG. 1B is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a list in this embodiment. [Figure 14] FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a list display screen according to the embodiment; [Figure 15] FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a list display screen according to the embodiment; [Figure 16] FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a list display screen according to the embodiment; [Figure 17] FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a list display screen according to the embodiment; [Figure 18] FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a list display screen according to the embodiment; [Figure 19] FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a list display screen according to the embodiment; [Figure 20] FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a list display screen according to the embodiment; DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] (Relationship between product information management server, terminal and program) The product information management server according to this embodiment is composed of one or more server devices. The product information management server manages information (hereinafter, also referred to as product information) about items handled by users who use terminals such as smartphones, tablet computers, and personal computers. The product information management server presents a list of items in response to user operations, and registers and edits product information.

[0011] The product information management server according to this embodiment can be used, for example, when providing a seller participating in an online market with a means for managing items to be offered for sale.

[0012] The product information management server of this embodiment is generally realized by causing a computer to execute a program, but it is also possible to cause the processing to be executed by a dedicated electronic circuit.

[0013] In addition, it is also possible to configure the product information management server of this embodiment by applying technology such as FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), which compiles a program into a design script for an electronic circuit as an intermediate form of a dedicated electronic circuit for a computer and dynamically configures the electronic circuit based on the design script.

[0014] The product information management server of this embodiment is realized by one or more server computers that communicate with terminals that access the product information management site provided by the product information management server, executing each function realized by one or more server programs.

[0015] The terminal according to this embodiment is a terminal computer that realizes a smartphone or the like, and can be realized by executing a terminal program provided by a business operator or an operator through a distribution server or the like.

[0016] The terminal program may be equivalent to a so-called "app." The terminal program may also be incorporated into another app, such as an app for providing an internet sales service.

[0017] In addition, a general browser can be used as the terminal program, and a script program that runs on a browser can also be used as the terminal program.

[0018] In these cases, the application or browser running on the terminal computer becomes an interface for providing the user with a product information management service by communicating with a product information management server that functions as an application server or web server.

[0019] In general, programs executed by server computers and terminal computers can be recorded on computer-readable non-transitory information recording media such as compact disks, flexible disks, hard disks, magneto-optical disks, digital video disks, magnetic tapes, ROMs (Read Only Memory), EEPROMs (Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM), flash memories, semiconductor memories, etc. These information recording media can also be distributed and sold independently of the server computers.

[0020] In server computers and terminal computers, programs recorded on non-transitory information recording media such as flash memory and hard disks are read into a temporary storage device called a Random Access Memory (RAM), and then the instructions contained in the read program are executed by a Central Processing Unit (CPU). However, in architectures where RAM and ROM can be mapped and executed in a single memory space, the instructions contained in the program stored in the ROM are directly read and executed by the CPU.

[0021] Furthermore, server programs and terminal programs can be distributed and sold to server computers and terminal computers, etc. from a distribution server, etc. managed by a business operator or operator, via a temporary transmission medium such as a computer communication network, independently of the computer on which the program is executed.

[0022] In addition, when the product information management server is composed of multiple computers, the programs running on each computer are multiple different server programs that have different functions and work together. Therefore, the combination of these multiple programs can be considered as a system program for realizing the product information management server.

[0023] Hereinafter, in this embodiment, the product information management server provides an online market, presents a list of item information that is information on items to be put up for sale on the online market, and provides means for registering, editing, etc. the item information.

[0024] (Overall composition) 1 is an explanatory diagram showing the cooperation between a product information management server 101 and other devices. The following description will be made with reference to this diagram.

[0025] The product information management server 101 is connected to one or more terminals 102 via a computer communication network 103 such as the Internet. The product information management server 101 and the one or more terminals 102 may be connected to each other via various networks such as lines.

[0026] Product information management server 101 is operated by a business operator or an operator that provides an online marketplace, and provides a means for managing item information on items to be put up for sale to users who are sellers using terminals 102, via computer communications network 103. Item information includes, for example, product name, model number, selling price, number in stock, sales period, color, and size.

[0027] The terminal 102 is a terminal used by a user who puts up items for sale on the online market provided by the product information management server 101. The user uses the terminal 102 to perform operations such as presenting a list of item information related to the items that the user puts up for sale, registering and editing the item information, etc.

[0028] (Functional configuration of product information management server) 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the functional configuration of the product information management server 101. The product information management server 101 includes a product information registration database (DB) 110, an extraction unit 120, a listing unit 130, a specification unit 140, an item registration unit 150, and an editing unit 160.

[0029] The product information registration DB110 is a database in which detailed information of items handled by users who sell items on the online market is registered. Here, "each user" may refer to each store selling items. FIG. 3 is an example of a product information record related to items handled by seller P. Each item of information has fields for line number (#i), product name, model number, selling price, stock quantity, sales period, color, size, and copy flag. In this example, it is assumed that N products handled by seller P are registered in the product information registration DB110. The copy flag is an example of copy status information. The product information registration DB110 may associate user identification information with detailed information of the item.

[0030] A line number is a number assigned to a line of a product information record, and is assigned in the order in which each item is sorted according to a predetermined criterion. Here, sorting according to a predetermined criterion means sorting each item in alphabetical order, alphabetical order, or numerical order, and may be set by the user. A copy flag is a flag that indicates that the item information has been registered by copying other item information through an editing operation by the user. A copy flag of "0" is assigned to newly registered item information, and a copy flag of "1" is assigned to item information that has been copied from other item information.

[0031] In this embodiment, the contents of each item in each item information in the product information record are called detailed information DEI. For example, the detailed information DEI is a part of each product information record excluding the line number as shown in FIG. 3. The detailed information DEI may be each product information record as a whole. The product information registration DB 110 may not store the line number. In this case, the product information management server 101 may search for a plurality of detailed information DEI from the product information registration DB 110, sort based on a predetermined part of the searched detailed information DEI, assign a line number to the sorted result, and output to the terminal 102. In addition, in each item information, a predetermined part such as a product name and a model number that show the overview of the item is called summary information OI, and other predetermined parts such as a selling price and a stock quantity that are references for a user to determine the contents of the item are called reference information RI. Here, the summary information OI is information that can identify a product. For example, the summary information OI is information that identifies a purchase target. In addition, the reference information RI is information that can identify the characteristics of a product. In addition, the reference information RI is also called information that shows the management status of a product. For example, reference information RI is information that identifies information that may vary depending on the sales period among information that indicates the characteristics of the purchased item, such as the sales price, the number of items in stock, etc.

[0032] Returning to FIG. 2, the extraction unit 120 extracts predetermined portions from the detailed information DEI of multiple items registered in the product information registration DB 110, and sets the extracted portions as summary information OI. The extraction unit 120 extracts the product name or model number as the predetermined portion, and sets the extracted portions as summary information OI. The extraction unit 120 further extracts other predetermined portions from the detailed information DEI of multiple items registered in the product information registration DB 110, and sets the other predetermined portions as reference information RI. The extraction unit 120 extracts the selling price and inventory as the other predetermined portions, and sets the other predetermined portions as reference information RI. It is assumed that the items extracted as summary information OI and reference information RI are set in advance by a user's operation, etc.

[0033] The list presentation unit 130 outputs a list of the summary information OI extracted by the extraction unit 120 to the terminal 102. For example, the list presentation unit 130 presents the list of the summary information OI extracted by the extraction unit 120 to the user via the terminal 102. Furthermore, when the summary information OI of each of the multiple pieces of detailed information is common, the list presentation unit 130 outputs information on differences and the like. This will be described in detail later.

[0034] When first summary information extracted from first detailed information of a first item of multiple items in a product information record matches second summary information extracted from second detailed information of a second item, the identification unit 140 identifies the different parts of the first detailed information and the second detailed information.

[0035] The item registration unit 150 accepts an operation from a user via the terminal 102 to register information about a new item in a product information record.

[0036] The editing unit 160 accepts an operation to edit detailed information DEI of item information included in a product information record from a user via the terminal 102. The editing unit 160 also accepts an operation to copy item information included in a product information record from a user.

[0037] (Interaction between product information management server and terminal) 4 is a sequence diagram showing the state of communication between the product information management server 101 and the terminal 102. Below, an overview of the communication between the product information management server 101 and the terminal 102 will be described with reference to FIG.

[0038] First, when a user performs a list display operation to display a list of items handled by the user (301), the terminal 102 transmits a list presentation request specifying information for identifying the user (identification information) to the product information management server 101 (302). Note that in the following processing, when various request processes are made from the terminal 102 to the product information management server 101, the identification information of the user of the terminal 102 is transmitted.

[0039] When the product information management server 101 receives a list presentation request from the terminal 102, it accesses the product information registration DB 110 and refers to the user's product information record related to the information specified in the list presentation request. Then, the extraction unit 120 extracts summary information OI and reference information RI from the user's product information record (303).

[0040] Thereafter, the listing unit 130 creates a list L in which the summary information OI and the reference information RI extracted by the extraction unit 120 are arranged (304), and transmits a listing response specifying the list L to the terminal 102 (305).

[0041] When the terminal 102 receives the list presentation response, it displays the list L specified in the list presentation response (306). Fig. 5 is an example of a list display screen 400 displayed on the terminal 102. On the list display screen 400, the list L, a new registration button 401, an edit button 402, and a copy button 403 are displayed. The edit button 402 and the copy button 403 are displayed to the right of each item information outside the list L.

[0042] Returning to FIG. 4, when the user selects the new registration button 401 (307), the terminal 102 transmits an item registration request to the product information management server 101 to newly register item information (308). When the product information management server 101 receives the item registration request, the item registration process starts (309), and the terminal 102 displays an item information registration screen 500 as shown in the example of FIG. 6. The item information registration screen 500 displays an input field 501 for inputting detailed information DEI, and a register button 502. When the user edits the input field 501 (331) and selects the register button 502, the item information is registered, and the item registration process ends.

[0043] Then, the product information management server 101 transmits an item registration completion response specifying the list L after the item registration to the terminal 102 (310). Upon receiving the item registration completion response, the terminal 102 displays the list L specified in the item registration completion response (311). The newly registered item information has been added to this list L.

[0044] Next, as shown in Fig. 7, when the user selects the edit button 402 for row number 2 (312), the terminal 102 transmits an edit request for editing the item information to the product information management server 101 (313). When the product information management server 101 receives the edit request, the edit process starts (314), and the terminal 102 displays an edit screen 700 as shown in Fig. 8. The edit screen 700 allows the detailed information DEI for row number 2 to be edited. When the user edits the input field 701 (332) and selects the save button 702, the edited item information is registered and the edit process ends.

[0045] Then, the product information management server 101 transmits an edit completion response specifying the edited list L to the terminal 102 (315). Upon receiving the edit completion response, the terminal 102 displays the list L specified in the edit completion response (316). This list L shows the edited item information.

[0046] 9, when the user selects the copy button 403 in row number 2 (317), the terminal 102 transmits a copy request for copying the item information to the product information management server 101 (318). When the product information management server 101 receives the copy request, the copy process starts (319), and the terminal 102 displays a copy screen 800 as shown in the example of FIG.

[0047] In the copy screen 800, the item information of the line number 2 can be copied and edited. In addition, in the copy screen 800, some input fields 801 such as the selling price and the number of items in stock may be left blank. Furthermore, the start date of the sales period may be set to the day after the end date of the sales period of the original item (in this example, December 23, 2023 to January 7, 2024) (January 8, 2024), without specifying the end date. In this way, by leaving the items that tend to be edited after the copy operation blank or specifying predetermined content, it is possible to improve the user's convenience. Note that, for items that tend to be edited after the copy operation, the information of the copy source may be displayed in a separate field on the copy screen as reference information for editing.

[0048] When the user edits (333) the input field 801 and selects the save button 802, the copied item information is registered and the copy process ends. The editing unit 160 sets the copy flag in the copied item information to "1" and registers it in the product information registration DB 110. The product information management server 101 then transmits (320) a copy completion response specifying the list L to which the copied item information has been added to the terminal 102.

[0049] When the terminal 102 receives the copy completion response, it displays the list L specified in the copy completion response (321). As shown in Fig. 11, in this list L, the item information after copying (line number 3) has been added immediately below the item information before copying (line number 2). In the example of Fig. 11, the difference between the item in line number 2 and the item in line number 3 cannot be distinguished at a glance, but this embodiment incorporates a technique that makes it easy to distinguish the items before and after copying. Details will be described later.

[0050] (Product information management processing) 12 is a flowchart illustrating the flow of product information management processing executed by the product information management server 101 in this embodiment. The product information management server 101 presents to the user via the terminal 102 a list L in which a plurality of items are arranged, in a manner that allows the user to easily distinguish the differences between similar items. The following description will be given with reference to FIG. 12.

[0051] The product information management process starts when the product information management server 101 receives a list presentation request specifying information for specifying a user (similar to the above-mentioned user identification information) from the terminal 102 used by the user, seller P. When the product information management process starts, the extraction unit 120 accesses the product information registration DB 110 and refers to the product information record of seller P shown in the example of FIG. 13(a). The extraction unit 120 first extracts the product name and model number, which are the specified parts (step S801). Here, the extracted specified parts are taken as overview information OI.

[0052] After that, the extraction unit 120 further extracts other predetermined parts from the detailed information DEI of the multiple pieces of item information registered in the product information registration database (step S802). Here, the extraction unit 120 extracts the sales price and the stock quantity as the other predetermined parts. The extraction unit 120 may extract the summary information OI and the reference information RI together.

[0053] Next, the listing unit 130 creates a list in which the extracted summary information OI and the reference information RI are arranged, as shown in the example of Fig. 13(b) (step S803). That is, the listing unit 130 further presents reference information RI extracted from the same detailed information DEI as each summary information OI, in association with each summary information OI in the list. After that, the listing unit 130 sets the row number i for comparison to 1 (step S804).

[0054] Thereafter, the identifying unit 140 searches the created list for item information whose summary information OI matches the item information in row number i=1 of the comparison criteria (step S805), and determines whether there is item information (second item) whose summary information OI matches the item information in row number i=1 of the comparison criteria (first item) (step S806). That is, the identifying unit 140 determines whether the first summary information OI extracted from the first detailed information DEI of the first item matches the second summary information OI extracted from the second detailed information DEI of the second item.

[0055] If the identification unit 140 determines that there is no item information whose summary information OI matches the item information of row number i=1 of the comparison criteria (No in step S806), the product information management server 101 determines whether the currently calculated item information is the last item information, that is, whether row number i is i=N (step S807). Since the currently calculated item information is the item information of row number i=1, the product information management server 101 determines that row number i of the comparison criteria is not i=N (No in step S807) and increments row number i of the comparison criteria (step S808). After that, the process proceeds to step S805.

[0056] Here, if one of the two detailed information DEI having the same summary information OI extracted by the extraction unit 120 is caused by copying the other of the two detailed information DEI, the identification unit 140 may determine the other as the first detailed information DEI and the one as the second detailed information DEI. That is, among the detailed information DEI having the same summary information OI, the identification unit 140 may determine the one having a copy flag of 0 as the first detailed information DEI and the one having a copy flag of 1 as the second detailed information DEI.

[0057] On the other hand, when the identifying unit 140 determines that there is item information (second item) whose summary information OI matches the item information (first item) of the comparison reference row number i=1 (Yes in step S806), it determines whether or not there is a difference in the detailed information DEI of the two items of information (step S809). That is, the identifying unit 140 determines whether or not there is a difference between the first detailed information DEI of the first item and the second detailed information DEI of the second item.

[0058] When the identification unit 140 determines that there is a difference between the detailed information DEI of the two pieces of item information (Yes in step S809), the listing unit 130 adds difference information DII (step S810). Here, the listing unit 130 presents the second difference information DII relating to the difference between the second detailed information DEI together with the second summary information OI arranged in the list. For example, in the case of the list display screen 400 shown in FIG. 14, the second difference information DII indicating that the sales period is different is presented to the left of the product name of the item information (second item) in row number 3 which is a copy of the item information (first item) in row number 2. Note that, when the item information is copied, the second difference information DII may include a fact that it is a copy. Also, information identifying the item information from which it is copied may be added.

[0059] The listing unit 130 may further present first difference information DII relating to a different part of the first detailed information DEI together with the first summary information OI arranged in the listing. For example, as in the listing screen 400 shown in Fig. 15, the second difference information DII is presented in the item information of the second item in row number 3, and the first difference information DII is presented to the left of the product name of the first item in row number 2. Here, the first difference information DII may display the sales period of the first item, and the second difference information DII may display the sales period of the second item.

[0060] Furthermore, as shown in the example of FIG. 16, the listing unit 130 may display the first difference information DII and the second difference information DII in a column of the product name, which is the summary information OI.

[0061] 12, on the other hand, if the identification unit 140 determines that there is no different part in the detailed information DEI of the two pieces of item information (No in step S809), the listing unit 130 adds warning information WI (step S810). In other words, if the identification unit 140 cannot identify the different part, the listing unit 130 presents the first warning information WI together with the first summary information OI, and presents the second warning information WI together with the second summary information OI.

[0062] Fig. 17 is an example of the list display screen 400 in the case where the identification unit 140 cannot identify a difference between the detailed information DEI of the item information in the mth row and the detailed information DEI of the item information in the nth row. When the first summary information is in the mth row of the list and the second summary information is in the nth row, the list presentation unit 130 may indicate in the first warning information WI that the content is the same as that of the nth item information, and may indicate in the second warning information WI that the content is the same as that of the mth item information. Furthermore, the list presentation unit 130 may display the first warning information WI and the second warning information WI in the respective product name columns, as shown in the example of Fig. 18. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S807.

[0063] 12, the identifying unit 140 then determines whether the difference information DII is included in the reference information RI (step S812). If the identifying unit 140 determines that the difference information DII is included in the reference information (Yes in step S812), the listing unit 130 highlights the difference information (step S813). That is, if the second difference information DII is included in the second reference information RI extracted from the second detailed information DEI, the listing unit 130 highlights the second difference information DII included in the second reference information RI in the listing, thereby presenting the second difference information DII together with the second summary information OI.

[0064] FIG. 19 is an example of the list display screen 400 in the case where the reference information RI includes the sales price, which is the difference information DII of the item information (second item) in row number 4 obtained by copying the item information (first item) in row number 2. The list presentation unit 130 displays the second difference information DII to the left of the product name, which is the second summary information OI of the second item. At this time, the list presentation unit 130 may display the sales prices of the item information in row number 2 and the item information in row number 4 as the difference information DII. In addition, the list presentation unit 130 may display the difference information DII in the product name column as shown in the example of FIG. 20, or may display the first difference information DII in the product name column of the first item and the second difference information DII in the product name column of the second item. In addition, the list presentation unit 130 may highlight the sales price parts in row numbers 2 and 4 as difference information.

[0065] Then, the process proceeds to step S807. When the product information management server 101 determines whether the currently calculated item information is the last item information, that is, the row number i is i=N (Yes in step S807), it transmits a list presentation response specifying the created list L to the terminal 102 and ends the process.

[0066] As described above, according to the present embodiment, in a list in which multiple pieces of item information that are basically the same but partially different are arranged, the identifying unit 140 identifies the different parts, and the listing unit 130 presents the different parts. As a result, for example, when a copy operation is performed, items that are seemingly indistinguishable from each other can be displayed. Items However, the user can distinguish between them without any special operations.

[0067] (Modification) In the above embodiment, the line number is used as the item assigned to the record among the items of the product information record shown in the example of Fig. 3, but instead of the line number, a record number that identifies the item information may be used. The line numbers may shift when new item information is added between lines by a copy operation or the like, or when specific item information is deleted, but the record numbers are assigned to the item information itself and will not shift due to these operations.

[0068] In the above embodiment, the copy flag "0" is assigned to the item information of the copy source, and the copy flag "1" is assigned to the item information after copying. However, the value of the copy flag may be increased each time the number of copies increases. In this case, for example, when item information with a copy flag of "1" is copied, item information with a copy flag of "2" is added to the list L. This allows the identification unit 140 to distinguish the first item from the second item based on the magnitude of the copy flag, and the listing unit 130 can clarify the correspondence between the first item and the second item and present the difference information DII. Furthermore, the copy flag may be configured to input the record number of the copy source. This allows the listing unit 130 to clarify the correspondence between the first item and the second item and present the difference information DII.

[0069] In the above embodiment, the copy flag information is used, but the copy status information may include not only information on whether or not the item is a copy, but also information on the copy source. This allows the parent-child relationship of the copies of each product information record to be defined. Furthermore, such information indicating the parent-child relationship of the copies may be displayed as difference information.

[0070] In the above embodiment, the summary information, the reference information, and the difference information are displayed, but the summary information and the difference information may be output. In the above embodiment, the list of the product information is displayed, but the terminal 102 may simply store the list of the product information without displaying it.

[0071] (Additional Note) (Appendix 1) A product information management server connected to one or more terminals via a network, an extracting unit that extracts a plurality of pieces of summary information from a product information registration database in which a plurality of pieces of detailed information including summary information of items are registered; an identifying unit that identifies a difference between first detailed information and second detailed information when first summary information in first detailed information of a first item and second summary information in second detailed information of a second item match; a list presentation unit that outputs, to the terminal, second difference information, which is information on the different part in the second detailed information, together with a list of the extracted summary information; A product information management server comprising:

[0072] (Appendix 2) The detailed information further includes copy status information indicating whether the information is a copy information, when the identification unit identifies, by referring to the copy status information, that one of the two detailed information pieces having the same extracted summary information is caused by copying the other of the two detailed information pieces, the other detailed information piece is designated as the first detailed information piece and the one detailed information piece is designated as the second detailed information piece; 2. A product information management server according to claim 1.

[0073] (Appendix 3) The detailed information of the item further includes reference information; the extracting unit further extracts other predetermined parts from the detailed information of the plurality of items registered in the product information registration database, and sets the other parts as reference information; The listing unit includes: Further presenting reference information extracted from the same detailed information as each of the summary information in the list in association with the summary information; If the second difference information is included in second reference information extracted from the second detailed information, the second difference information included in the second reference information is highlighted in the list. 3. The product information management server according to claim 1 or 2.

[0074] (Appendix 4) The listing unit further presents, together with the first summary information arranged in the list, first difference information relating to the different part of the first detailed information. 4. A product information management server according to claim 1,

[0075] (Appendix 5) When the identification unit cannot identify the different portion, the listing unit presents warning information. 5. A product information management server according to claim 1,

[0076] (Appendix 6) when the first summary information is in an m-th position in the list and the second summary information is in an n-th position in the list and the identification unit cannot identify the different part, the listing unit presents, as the warning information, first warning information together with the first summary information and presents the second warning information together with the second summary information; The first warning information indicates that the content is the same as that of the n-th item, The second warning information indicates that the content is the same as that of the m-th item. 6. The product information management server according to claim 5.

[0077] (Appendix 7) A server computer connected to one or more terminal computers via a network, Extracting multiple pieces of summary information from a product information registration database in which multiple pieces of detailed information including summary information of items are registered; If first summary information in the first detailed information of the first item matches second summary information in the second detailed information of the second item, identifying a difference between the first detailed information and the second detailed information; outputting, to the terminal computer, second difference information, which is information on the different parts in the second detailed information, together with a list of the extracted summary information; A product information management method comprising:

[0078] (Appendix 8) A server computer connected to one or more terminal computers via a network, an extraction unit that extracts a plurality of pieces of summary information from a product information registration database in which a plurality of pieces of detailed information including summary information of items are registered; an identifying unit that identifies a different portion between the first detailed information and the second detailed information when first summary information in the first detailed information of the first item and second summary information in the second detailed information of the second item match; a list presentation unit that outputs, to the terminal computer, second difference information, which is information on the different part in the second detailed information, together with a list of the extracted summary information; A program characterized by:

[0079] Various embodiments and modifications of the present disclosure are possible without departing from the broad spirit and scope of the present disclosure. The above-described embodiments are for explaining the present disclosure and do not limit the scope of the present disclosure. That is, the scope of the present disclosure is indicated by the claims, not the embodiments. Various modifications made within the scope of the claims and the scope of the disclosure equivalent thereto are considered to be within the scope of the present disclosure. [Industrial Applicability]

[0080] The present invention can be suitably adopted in a product information management server, a product information management method, and a program that present a plurality of items that are basically the same but have some differences in content in an easily distinguishable list. [Explanation of symbols]

[0081] 101 Product information management server 102 Terminals 103 Network 110 Product Information Registration Database 120 Extraction part 130 Listing section 140 Specific section 150 Item Registration Section 160 Editorial Department 400 List display screen 401, 502 New registration button 402 Edit button 403 Copy button 500 Item information registration screen 501, 701, 801 Input field 700 Editing screen 702, 802 Save button 800 Copy Screen DEI detailed information DII Difference Information L List OI Overview RI Reference Information WI warning information

Claims

1. A product information management server connected to one or more terminals via a network, an extracting unit that extracts summary information, which is a predetermined portion of detailed information of each of a plurality of items, from a product information registration database in which detailed information of each of the plurality of items is registered; a list presentation unit that causes the terminal to present a list in which summary information extracted for each of the plurality of items is arranged; an identification unit that identifies a different portion between the first detailed information and the second detailed information when first summary information, which is the predetermined portion of first detailed information of a first item among the plurality of items, and second summary information, which is the predetermined portion of second detailed information of a second item among the plurality of items, match; Equipped with When the different portion is identified, the listing unit causes the terminal to further present second difference information, which is information on the different portion in the second detailed information, together with the second summary information arranged in the listing. A product information management server comprising:

2. The detailed information further includes copy status information indicating whether the information is a copy information, when the identification unit identifies, by referring to the copy status information, that one of the two detailed information pieces whose extracted summary information matches is caused by copying the other of the two detailed information pieces, the other is designated as the first detailed information and the one is designated as the second detailed information; 2. The product information management server according to claim 1.

3. When any summary information is selected from the list on the terminal, detailed information of the item related to the selected summary information can be edited via the terminal.

2. The product information management server according to claim 1.

4. The listing unit further displays first difference information related to the different portion of the first detailed information together with the first summary information arranged in the list.

4. The product information management server according to claim 1, wherein the product information management server is a server that performs a process for acquiring product information from the product information storage device.

5. The second difference information further includes information relating to the different part of the first detailed information.

2. The product information management server according to claim 1.

6. When the identification unit cannot identify the different part, and the first summary information is in the mth position in the list, and the second summary information is in the nth position in the list, the list presentation unit causes first warning information to be presented together with the first summary information, and causes the second warning information to be presented together with the second summary information, The first warning information indicates that the content is the same as that of the n-th item, The second warning information indicates that the content is the same as that of the m-th item.

2. The product information management server according to claim 1.

7. A server computer connected to one or more terminal computers via a network, extracting summary information, which is a predetermined portion of the detailed information of each of the plurality of items, from a product information registration database in which detailed information of each of the plurality of items is registered; causing the terminal computer to present a list of summary information extracted for each of the plurality of items; When first summary information, which is the predetermined portion of first detailed information of a first item among the plurality of items, matches with second summary information, which is the predetermined portion of second detailed information of a second item among the plurality of items, a different portion of the first detailed information and the second detailed information is identified. A product information management method, comprising: when the different portion is identified, the terminal computer is caused to further present, together with the second summary information arranged in the list, second difference information which is information on the different portion in the second detailed information; A product information management method comprising:

8. A server computer connected to one or more terminal computers via a network, an extracting unit that extracts summary information, which is a predetermined portion of detailed information of each of a plurality of items, from a product information registration database in which detailed information of each of the plurality of items is registered; a list presentation unit that causes the terminal computer to present a list in which summary information extracted for each of the plurality of items is arranged; an identifying unit that identifies a different portion between the first detailed information and the second detailed information when first summary information, which is the predetermined portion of the first detailed information of a first item among the plurality of items, and second summary information, which is the predetermined portion of the second detailed information of a second item among the plurality of items, match each other; Function as a When the different portion is specified, the listing unit causes the terminal computer to further present second difference information, which is information on the different portion in the second detailed information, together with the second summary information arranged in the listing. A program characterized by:

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