Inventory Product Prediction Period Calculation Method, Inventory Product Prediction Period Calculation System, and Program

Abstract

To provide technique for calculating an estimated expiration date for a stock item.SOLUTION: A stock item estimated expiration date calculation method comprises: a step for calculating an estimated expiration date of a stock item based on inventory data including the number of stock items, arrival history data including an arrival date and the number of arrival items, and item expiration date data for calculating the expiration date based on the arrival date.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a method for calculating the expiration date of stocked goods, a system for calculating the expiration date of stocked goods, and a program.

Background Art

[0002] Currently, POS (Point of Sales) systems are widespread in many retail stores such as convenience stores, and the sales data of collected products are utilized in various ways as in the system described in Patent Document 1.

[0003] Among the products handled in convenience stores, the expiration dates such as the shelf life of each actual product are managed in the system through cooperation with manufacturers for most of the products. When the expiration date is managed for each actual product in this way, the system can determine whether the product has expired by scanning the product code at the cash register during sales, and the sale of expired products is prevented.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] On the other hand, in many retail stores other than convenience stores (for example, supermarkets, drugstores, etc.), expiration date management for each actual product like in convenience stores is mostly not performed. Therefore, in order not to sell expired products, as much effort as possible is made through manual checks, but it requires a great deal of labor and is not sufficient due to a shortage of personnel.

[0006] Although it is not an expiration check operation, physical inventory is periodically conducted to accurately grasp the inventory quantity. For example, assuming the inventory quantity is approximately 100,000 units, it would take approximately 80 man-hours to count 100,000 units of inventory. 80 man-hours means 8 hours if done by 10 people and can be completed overnight. Here, it is considered preferable to conduct the expiration date check during the physical inventory count, but the expiration date check is time-consuming. According to the inventors' experiments, it was found that when conducting the expiration date check along with the inventory count, more than five times the time is required compared to a normal physical inventory that only performs the count. Thus, conducting the expiration date check during the physical inventory is difficult from the perspectives of cost and time. Therefore, there is no effective means to conduct the expiration date check of in-stock products without incurring significant costs and time at present.

[0007] This disclosure provides a technique for calculating the estimated expiration date of in-stock products.

Means for Solving the Problem

[0008] The method for calculating the estimated expiration date of in-stock products according to this disclosure is a method executed by one or more processors, and includes steps of calculating the estimated expiration date of the in-stock products based on inventory quantity data including the inventory quantity of the in-stock products, receipt history data including the receipt date and the receipt quantity, and product expiration date data for calculating the expiration date from the receipt date.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0009]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Embodiment for Carrying Out the Invention

[0010] The expiration date inventory information providing system 1 of this embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. In this embodiment, an example of a system used in a retail store such as a supermarket that deals with in-stock products having an expiration date will be described.

[0011] As shown in FIG. 1, the inventory information providing system 1 determines whether there are expired products using the data counted during the inventory, and provides the determination result. The inventory information providing system 1 includes an inventory data reception unit 10, a receipt history data acquisition unit 11, a product expiration date data acquisition unit 12, an expiration date determination unit 13, and an expired product information providing unit 14. Each of these units 10 to 14 is realized by the cooperation of software and hardware resources when one or more processors 1a execute the processes shown in FIG. 2.

[0012] The inventory data reception unit 10 shown in FIG. 1 receives the inventory data D1 from a user or another system. The inventory data D1 includes a product code for identifying the products attached to the in-stock products during the inventory and the inventory quantity measured during the inventory. As in this embodiment, the inventory data D1 may include shelf position information indicating the shelf position of the in-stock products. The product code, inventory quantity, and shelf position information are obtained by performing an inventory, and can be acquired, for example, from an inventory support system. In the example of FIG. 1, the inventory data D1 indicates that the inventory quantity of the product with the product code "Product A" is 30 and it exists at "Shelf Position 1". Although the JAN code is often used as the product code, it is not limited to this, and various identification information can be used.

[0013] The incoming shipment history data acquisition unit 11 shown in FIG. 1 acquires incoming shipment history data D2. The incoming shipment history data D2 includes a product code for identifying the incoming product, the incoming date, and the quantity of incoming products. In the example of FIG. 1, the incoming shipment history data D2 indicates that for the product with the product code "Product A", 10 units were received on March 1st, 10 units were received on February 1st, 10 units were received on January 1st, 10 units were received on December 1st of the previous year, and 10 units were received on November 1st of the previous year. The incoming shipment history data acquisition unit 11 may receive the incoming shipment history data D2 from the user in the form of CSV data, or may receive the incoming shipment history data D2 from another system.

[0014] The product expiration date data acquisition unit 12 shown in FIG. 1 acquires product expiration date data D3. The product expiration date data D3 is data for calculating the expiration date from the incoming date. In this embodiment, four expiration dates are used: the best-before date, the removal date for removing from the sales floor, the discount start date for discount processing, and the return date. However, as long as at least one expiration date is used, the types of expiration dates can be variously changed.

[0015] The expiration date only needs to include at least one of the expiration date, the best-before date, the removal date from the sales floor, and the discount start date. The best-before date and the expiration date are determined by the manufacturer. The removal date and the discount start date are determined by the retail store using this system 1. The return date is determined by the agreement between the retail store using this system 1 and the manufacturer.

[0016] The expiration date data D3 may be data that directly represents the number of days from the receipt date to various expiration dates. However, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, assuming that the receipt deadline is the midpoint of the number of days T1 from the manufacturing date to the expiration date (or the expiration date for consumption), and assuming that the product is always received by the receipt deadline, the number of days T2 from the receipt deadline to the expiration date (or the expiration date for consumption) is used to calculate various expiration dates. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, the number of days T1 from the manufacturing date to the expiration date for product A is 180 days, and the number of days T2 from the receipt deadline to the expiration date is 180 / 2 = 90 days. In this embodiment, the receipt deadline is based on the half rule, and the number of days from the receipt deadline to the expiration date is calculated by multiplying by 1 / 2, but it is not limited to this. For example, the receipt deadline may be the so-called one-third rule, and it may be calculated by multiplying by 2 / 3. The number of days T3 from the refund deadline, within which a return is possible, to the expiration date is set to 30 days. The number of days T4 from the removal deadline, when the product is removed from the sales floor, to the expiration date is set to 36 days. The number of days T5 from the discount start deadline to the expiration date is set to 54 days. The types and number of days of these deadlines are examples and can be changed as appropriate.

[0017] Based on the inventory data D1, the receipt history data D2, and the product expiration date data D3, the expiration date determination unit 13 shown in FIG. 1 determines whether there are expired products among the in-stock products. Although various determination algorithms can be considered, the following algorithm is used in this embodiment. The expiration date determination unit 13 of this embodiment includes a first oldest receipt date specifying unit 13a, an oldest estimated expiration date calculating unit 13b, and a determination unit 13c to implement the algorithm described below. Although not particularly limited, it is preferable that the expiration date determination unit 13 further includes a second oldest receipt date specifying unit 13d.

[0018] The first oldest receipt date specifying unit 13a shown in FIG. 1 specifies the first oldest receipt date corresponding to the inventory quantity of the physical inventory data D1. The first oldest receipt date means the oldest receipt date among the receipt dates corresponding to the inventory quantity when the inventory quantity (30 pieces) of the physical inventory data D1 is associated with the receipt quantity of the receipt history data D2 in the order of the newer receipt dates. Taking the physical inventory data D1 and the receipt history data D2 shown in FIG. 1 as an example, it will be described with reference to FIG. 4. As shown in FIG. 4, the physical inventory date and time was March 10, and the inventory quantity of product A was 30 pieces. Then, when the inventory quantity (30 pieces) is associated with the receipt quantity in the order of the newer receipt dates, the inventory quantity (30 pieces) corresponds to the receipt quantity of 10 pieces with the receipt date of March 1, the receipt quantity of 10 pieces with the receipt date of February 1, and the receipt quantity of 10 pieces with the receipt date of January 1, respectively. January 1, which is the oldest receipt date among one or more receipt dates (March 1, February 1, January 1), becomes the first oldest receipt date.

[0019] The second oldest receipt date specifying unit 13d is a process for adding a safety margin even when an act of ignoring the first-in, first-out method by some purchasers is performed. The second oldest receipt date specifying unit 13d shown in FIG. 1 specifies the second oldest receipt date taking into account at least one or more past receipts more than the first oldest receipt date specified by the first oldest receipt date specifying unit 13a. In the example of FIG. 4, the first oldest receipt date is January 1, and the second oldest receipt date (November 1 of the previous year) taking into account two more past receipts than January 1 is specified. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, two past receipts are taken into account, but at least one or more past receipts may be taken into account. Further, it is preferable to take into account at least two or more past receipts as in the present embodiment. The upper limit value can be set according to the receipt quantity, but it is preferably within 5 times at most. This is because if it is too many, the number of products determined to be expired will increase.

[0020] As shown in FIG. 1, in the configuration where the second oldest receipt date specifying unit 13d is implemented, the oldest expiration date calculating unit 13b calculates the oldest expiration date of the stocked items based on the second oldest receipt date (November 1 of the previous year) specified by the second oldest receipt date specifying unit 13d. The oldest expiration date is the oldest among the plurality of expiration dates (May 3, May 1, March 31, February 29, January 30) estimated from the receipt history data D2 and the product expiration date data D3. Here, the expiration date is exemplified as the expiration date, but it is not limited to this, and any expiration date such as the discount start date and the removal date can be adopted.

[0021] Note that in the configuration where the second oldest receipt date specifying unit 13d is not implemented, the oldest expiration date calculating unit 13b calculates the oldest expiration date of the stocked items based on the first oldest receipt date specified by the first oldest receipt date specifying unit 13a. The oldest expiration date of the expiration date corresponding to the first oldest receipt date (January 1) is March 31.

[0022] The expiration date determination unit 13c shown in FIG. 1 determines that there is an expired stocked item when the oldest expiration date is in the past compared to the comparison reference time. The comparison reference date is preferably set to the date when the inventory count was performed (March 10 in the example of FIG. 4), but it can be set as appropriate. In the example shown in FIG. 4, since the oldest expiration date (January 30) is in the past compared to the comparison reference time (March 10), the expiration date determination unit 13c determines that there is an expired item for product A.

[0023] The product information providing unit 14 shown in FIG. 1 provides information on the expired item when the expiration date determination unit 13 determines that there is an expired item in the stocked items. The information on the expired item is information for identifying the expired item so that a person who sees it can go to the shelf where the actual product is placed and find the corresponding product. For example, the product name, manufacturer name, external appearance photo, product code, etc. can be mentioned. These pieces of information can be obtained by accessing an existing database.

[0024] Although not particularly limited, in the present embodiment, the inventory data D1 includes shelf position information indicating the shelf positions of the stocked goods, and the product information providing unit 14 provides the shelf position information corresponding to the expired products. This is because by looking at the shelf position information, it is possible to know where in the store the stocked goods are located.

[0025] Based on the information regarding the expired products provided by the product information providing unit 14, when searching for the actual stocked goods and not knowing where the expiration date is marked on the actual stocked goods, it is necessary to check the products from all angles, which is time-consuming. Therefore, although not particularly limited, as in the present embodiment, it may have an expiration date printing data acquisition unit 15 that acquires expiration date printing data regarding the printing position of the expiration date on the stocked goods, and the product information providing unit 14 may provide information regarding the printing position of the expiration date corresponding to the expired products. The expiration date printing data has information regarding the presence or absence of an expiration date and the printing position of the expiration date for each product handled by the store. The expiration date printing data in the present embodiment is associated with an exterior photo of the product taken of the surface on which the expiration date is printed among the six sides of the product's exterior, the product code, and the presence or absence of an expiration date.

[0026] The user can know the information estimated to be expired products by the product information providing unit 14, but it takes time to check each one and is cumbersome to judge whether it is expired or not without calculation errors by looking at the expiration date of the actual product.

[0027] Therefore, although not particularly limited, as shown in FIG. 1, it is preferable that the inventory information providing system 1 has an actual expiration date / inventory reception unit 16 and an expiration date information providing unit 17.

[0028] The expiration date and inventory reception unit 16 provides the expiration date information confirmation screen of the inventory items shown in Fig. 5, and receives the actual expiration date and the actual inventory quantity of product A determined to be an expired product. In Fig. 5, the parts where the user can input or change are indicated by squares. When there is an expired product according to the product information providing unit 14, for the inventory product (product A), the results of confirming the actual expiration date and the actual quantity of product A actually on the shelf are input into the screen shown in Fig. 5. The inventory reception unit 16 receives the content input into the screen shown in Fig. 5. The expiration date information providing unit 17 provides information on the expiration date including whether it is expired or not for each actual expiration date received by the actual expiration date and inventory reception unit 16.

[0029] Fig. 5 is the first example of checking the inventory items and inputting the actual expiration date and the actual inventory quantity. As shown in Fig. 5, when it is input that the inventory quantity with an actual expiration date of May 20th is 10 and the inventory quantity with an actual expiration date of May 10th is 8, and there are 71 days until the expiration date and neither of them has reached the expiration date, as the information on the expiration date, it is indicated that it is not expired by not displaying anything in the expiration date information. Also, when it is input that the inventory quantity with an actual expiration date of May 1st is 7 and the inventory quantity with an actual expiration date of April 20th is 5, since both have passed the discount start deadline (54 days ago), it is indicated that it has passed the "discount start deadline" and it is indicated in the expiration date information that it is on discount.

[0030] Fig. 6 is the second example corresponding to Fig. 5. When the actual expiration dates of May 20th and May 10th are input, not displaying anything in the expiration date information is the same as the example in Fig. 5. When it is input that the inventory quantity with an actual expiration date of May 1st is 7 and the inventory quantity with an actual expiration date of April 20th is 3, since both have passed the discount start deadline (54 days ago), it is indicated that it has passed the "discount start deadline" and it is indicated in the expiration date information that it is on discount. Furthermore, when it is input that the inventory quantity with an actual expiration date of April 14th is 2, although the removal deadline (36 days ago) has passed, but the return deadline (30 days ago) has not arrived, it is indicated that it should be removed and it is returnable.

[0031] Figure 7 is a third example corresponding to Figures 5 and 6. When the actual expiration date is May 20th and May 10th is input, not displaying anything in the expiration information is the same as the example in Figure 5. When the actual expiration date is May 1st and April 20th is input, displaying that there is a price discount in the expiration information is the same as the example in Figure 5. When it is input that the actual expiration date is April 14th, displaying that it should be removed and that it is returnable is the same as the example in Figure 6. When inputting the inventory quantity of 1 for the expiration date of March 5th, since the expiration date has passed, it is displayed as information regarding the expiration date that it should be removed and that it is non-returnable.

[0032] <Application to Drugstores> In the above, it has been described on the premise of being used in retail stores such as supermarkets, but the present system 1 is applicable to drugstores that handle drugs with expiration dates set on an annual basis. In the case of drugs, unlike food, if the expiration date has passed, it is possible to return them to the manufacturer for a refund. Therefore, although not particularly limited, considering that it is refundable, as shown in Figure 1, it is preferable to provide a refund data acquisition unit 18 and an amount providing unit 19.

[0033] The refund data acquisition unit 18 shown in Figure 1 acquires refund data for calculating the refund amount per unit quantity of the in-stock products obtained by returning expired products. The refund data indicates, for example, the refund amount per unit of Product A. Examples include values based on the manufacturer's desired retail price and the purchase amount.

[0034] The amount providing unit 19 shown in Figure 1 provides at least one of the total refund amount of all products or the amount obtained by multiplying the total refund amount by a predetermined coefficient based on the actual inventory and the refund amount of the in-stock products whose actual expiration date has passed. In the present embodiment, both the total refund amount of all products and the amount obtained by multiplying the total refund amount by a predetermined coefficient are provided. The predetermined coefficient is a number greater than 0.0 and less than 1.0. For example, 0.1, etc. can be considered, but it is appropriately set according to the contract. The amount obtained by multiplying the total refund amount by a predetermined coefficient may be used as a license fee for using this system.

[0035] <Expired Stock Information Providing Method> Using FIG. 2, the method executed by the stock information providing system 1 will be described with reference to FIG. 2.

[0036] In step ST1 shown in FIG. 2, the inventory data reception unit 10 receives inventory data D1 including a product code for identifying a product attached to an in-stock product at the time of inventory taking and the number of in-stock items counted at the time of inventory taking. In the next step ST2, the incoming history data acquisition unit 11 acquires incoming history data D2 including a product code for identifying an incoming product, the incoming date, and the number of incoming items. In the next step ST3, the product expiration date data acquisition unit 12 acquires product expiration date data D3 for calculating the expiration date from the incoming date. Note that steps ST1 to ST3 may be performed in any order.

[0037] By executing steps ST4 to ST7, the expired determination unit 13 determines whether there are any expired products among the in-stock products based on the inventory data D1, the incoming history data D2, and the product expiration date data D3. Specifically, in step ST4, the first oldest incoming date specifying unit 13a associates the number of in-stock items in the inventory data D1 with the number of incoming items in the incoming history data D2 in descending order of the incoming date, and specifies the first oldest incoming date corresponding to the number of in-stock items. In the next step ST5, the second oldest incoming date specifying unit 13d specifies the second oldest incoming date taking into account at least one or more past incoming items further back than the specified first oldest incoming date. In the next step ST6, the oldest estimated expiration date calculation unit 13b calculates the oldest estimated expiration date of the in-stock products based on the second oldest incoming date. In the next step ST7, the determination unit 13c determines that there are expired products among the in-stock products if the oldest estimated expiration date is in the past compared to the comparison reference time. If the oldest estimated expiration date is after the comparison reference time, it is determined that there are no expired products among the in-stock products.

[0038] In the next step ST8, when the product information providing unit 14 determines that there are expired products among the in-stock products based on the determination by the expired determination unit 13, it provides information regarding the expired products. Additionally, it provides shelf location information.

[0039] In the next step ST9, the inventory reception unit 16 receives the expiration date and the actual inventory quantity of the expired products. In the next step ST10, the expiration information providing unit 17 provides information regarding the expiration date including whether it is expired for each received expiration date.

[0040] Although not particularly limited and not shown in FIG. 2, in the next step, the amount providing unit 19 may provide at least one of the total refund amount of all products or the amount obtained by multiplying the total refund amount by a predetermined count based on the actual inventory and the refund amount of the in-stock products whose expiration date has expired.

[0041] As described above, the expired inventory information providing method of the present embodiment is a method executed by one or more processors, and includes: (a) a step of receiving inventory data D1 including a product code for identifying a product attached to an in-stock product at the time of inventory taking and the inventory quantity counted at the time of inventory taking; (b) a step of obtaining receipt history data D2 including a product code for identifying a received product, the receipt date, and the received quantity; (c) a step of obtaining product expiration data D3 for calculating the expiration date from the receipt date; (d) a step of determining whether there are any expired products among the in-stock products based on the inventory data D1, the receipt history data D2, and the product expiration data D3; and (e) a step of providing information regarding the expired products when it is determined that there are expired products among the in-stock products.

[0042] The expired inventory information providing system 1 of the present embodiment includes an inventory data reception unit 10 that receives inventory data D1 including a product code for identifying a product attached to an in-stock product at the time of inventory taking and the inventory quantity counted at the time of inventory taking, a receipt history data acquisition unit 11 that obtains receipt history data D2 including a product code for identifying a received product, the receipt date, and the received quantity, a product expiration data acquisition unit 12 that obtains product expiration data D3 for calculating the expiration date from the receipt date, an expiration determination unit 13 that determines whether there are any expired products among the in-stock products based on the inventory data D1, the receipt history data D2, and the product expiration data D3, and a product information providing unit 14 that provides information regarding the expired products when it is determined that there are expired products among the in-stock products.

[0043] According to this method or system 1, by simply inputting the product code of the in-stock items at the time of inventory count and the counted inventory quantity into system 1, information regarding expired items will be provided if there are any expired items. Thus, without consuming a great deal of labor to sequentially check the expiration dates of in-stock items during the inventory count, the existence of expired items can be known. Only the expiration dates of the expired items provided by the system need to be checked without checking the expiration dates of all the inventory, and it becomes possible to significantly reduce the checking effort. As a result, it is possible to avoid the sale of expired items.

[0044] Although not particularly limited, as in this embodiment, the method preferably includes: (d1) associating the inventory quantity in the inventory data D1 with the incoming quantity in the incoming history data D2 in the order of the newest incoming date, and specifying the first oldest incoming date corresponding to the inventory quantity; (d2) calculating the oldest estimated expiration date of the in-stock items based on the specified first oldest incoming date; and (d3) when the oldest estimated expiration date is in the past compared to the comparison reference time, determining that there are expired items among the in-stock items.

[0045] According to this method, assuming that the products are sold in the first-in, first-out order, the oldest estimated expiration date of the in-stock items is specified. Thus, it becomes possible to determine the presence or absence of expired inventory by an algorithm suitable for the retail sales situation.

[0046] Although not particularly limited, as in this embodiment, the method includes specifying a second oldest incoming date that takes into account at least one or more past incoming quantities in addition to the specified first oldest incoming date in (d4), and in (d2), it is preferable to calculate the oldest estimated expiration date of the in-stock items based on the second oldest incoming date specified in (d4).

[0047] In the sales shelf, old products are placed in the front, but there is a possibility that the purchaser may deliberately reach deep into the shelf to purchase new products from the back. According to this method, even when some purchasers ignore the first-in, first-out method, it is possible to add a safety margin to determine the presence or absence of expired inventory and improve the determination accuracy.

[0048] Although not particularly limited, as in this embodiment, the expiration date preferably includes at least one of the expiration date, the best-before date, the removal date from the sales floor, and the discount start date. This is preferable for the proper operation of the retail business.

[0049] Although not particularly limited, as in this embodiment, the inventory data D1 includes shelf position information indicating the shelf position of the stocked products, and in (e), it is preferable to provide the shelf position information corresponding to the expired products.

[0050] In relation to the information on the expired products, since the shelf position information corresponding to the expired products is also provided, by looking at the shelf position information, the location of the stocked products determined to be expired can be immediately known, so that it becomes possible to easily perform an actual expiration check on the stocked products.

[0051] Although not particularly limited, as in this embodiment, the method includes the step of obtaining a expiration date printing data acquisition unit 15 regarding the printing position of the expiration date in the stocked products, and in (e), it is preferable to provide the information regarding the printing position of the expiration date corresponding to the expired products.

[0052] According to this configuration, since the information regarding the expired products is provided, it becomes possible to easily perform an actual expiration check on the stocked products determined to be expired.

[0053] Although not particularly limited, as in this embodiment, the method preferably includes the step of accepting the actual expiration date of the products determined to be expired after the provision in (e), and the step of providing information regarding the expiration date including whether it is expired for each accepted actual expiration date.

[0054] According to this configuration, by checking the inventory items determined to be expired items and simply inputting the actual expiration date and the actual inventory quantity, information including whether it is expired for each actual expiration date is provided. Thus, it is not necessary to perform mental calculations by looking at the actual expiration date to determine whether the expiration date has arrived. For example, it is easy to understand what to do next, such as whether to put it back on the shelf because it is not expired, remove it from the shelf, whether it can be returned to the manufacturer, or attach a discount sticker.

[0055] Although not particularly limited, like in this embodiment, the method preferably includes, after the provision in (g)(e), a step of receiving the actual expiration date and the actual inventory quantity for the expired items, a step of obtaining refund data for calculating the refund amount per unit quantity of the inventory items obtained by return, and a step of providing at least one of the total refund amount of all items or the amount obtained by multiplying the total refund amount by a predetermined count based on the actual inventory and the refund amount of the inventory items whose actual expiration date is expired.

[0056] According to this configuration, since it provides the total refund amount obtained by return or the amount obtained by multiplying the total amount by a predetermined coefficient, the store can receive, as a condition for receiving from the manufacturer the total refund amount that should not have been obtained originally, the amount obtained by multiplying the total amount by a predetermined coefficient as the royalty for using this system, making it possible to provide a system essential for a new business.

[0057] The inventory information providing system 1 of this embodiment includes one or more processors that execute the above method.

[0058] The program of this embodiment is a program that causes one or more processors to execute the above method. Also, the non - transitory computer - readable recording medium of this embodiment stores the above program.

[0059] As described above, the embodiments of the present disclosure have been described with reference to the drawings. However, the specific configuration should be considered not to be limited to these embodiments. The scope of the present disclosure is shown not only by the description of the above embodiments but also by the claims, and further includes all modifications within the meaning and scope equivalent to the claims.

[0060] For example, the execution order of each process such as operations, procedures, steps, and stages in the devices, systems, programs, and methods shown in the claims, the specification, and the drawings can be realized in any order as long as the output of the previous process is not used in the subsequent process. Regarding the flows in the claims, the specification, and the drawings, even if terms such as "first" and "next" are used for convenience of explanation, it does not mean that it is essential to execute in this order.

[0061] Each part 10 to 19 shown in FIG. 1 is realized by executing a predetermined program with one or more processors, but each part may be configured with a dedicated memory or a dedicated circuit. The system 1 of the above embodiment may be implemented by distributing each part 10 to 19 among a plurality of computers or clouds.

[0062] It is possible to adopt the structure employed in each of the above embodiments in any other embodiment. The specific configuration of each part is not limited to only the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible without departing from the spirit of the present disclosure.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0063] 1 Inventory Information Providing System 10 Physical Inventory Data Reception Unit 11 Receipt History Data Acquisition Unit 12 Product Expiration Date Data Acquisition Unit 13 Expiration Date Judgment Unit 13a First Oldest Receipt Date Specifying Unit 13b Oldest Estimated Expiration Date Calculation Unit 13c Judgment Unit 13d Second Oldest Receipt Date Specifying Unit 14 Product Information Providing Unit 15 Expiration Date Printing Data Acquisition Unit 16 Actual Expiration Date and Inventory Receiving Unit 17 Expiration Date Information Providing Unit 18 Refund Data Acquisition Unit 19 Amount Providing Unit

Claims

1. A method executed by one or more processors, comprising: A step of calculating an estimated expiration date of the stocked item based on inventory quantity data including the number of stocked items in stock, arrival history data including the arrival date and the number of arrivals, and product expiration date data for calculating the expiration date from the arrival date. Including, (a1) associating the stock quantity of the stock quantity data with the stock quantity of the arrival history data in order of the most recent arrival date, and identifying a first oldest arrival date corresponding to the stock quantity; (a2) calculating the earliest estimated deadline of the inventory item based on the identified first earliest arrival date; A method for calculating the estimated expiration date of inventory items, including:

2. (a3) specifying a second earliest arrival date that takes into account at least one past arrival date in addition to the first earliest arrival date specified, In the (a2), the oldest estimated deadline of the inventory item is calculated based on the second oldest arrival date specified in the (a3). The method for calculating an estimated expiration date of an inventory item according to claim 1.

3. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the deadline includes at least one of a use-by date, a best-before date, a deadline for removal from a sales floor, and a deadline for starting discounts.

4. A system for calculating an estimated expiration date of an inventory item, comprising one or more processors for executing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

5. A program causing one or more processors to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

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